Churches of the Day

Saturday, Third Week of Lent

When we admit that we do not know how best to pray, only then are we ready to receive the gift of prayer

FIRST READING

A reading from the prophet Hosea             5:15 – 6: 6
What I want is love, not sacrifice.

The Lord says this:
They will search for me in their misery.
'Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us;
he has struck us down, but he will bandage our wounds;
after a day or two he will bring us back to life, on the third day he will raise us and we shall live in his presence.
Let us set ourselves to know the Lord; that he will come is as certain as the dawn he will come to us as showers come, like spring rains watering the earth.'

What am I to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I to do with you, Judah?
This love of yours is like a morning cloud, like the dew that quickly disappears.
This is why I have torn them to pieces by the prophets,
why I slaughtered them with the words from my mouth, since what I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.

The Word of the Lord           Thanks be to God


Responsorial Psalm        Ps 50: 3-4. 18-21. R/v cc/f Hos.6:6
Response                             What I want is love, not sacrifice.

1. Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.                   Response

2. For in sacrifice you take no delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.          Response

3. In your goodness, show favour to Zion: rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice, burnt offerings wholly consumed. Response

Gospel  Acclamation         Ps 94: 8
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !
Harden not your hearts today, but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.                        And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke     18:9-14        Glory to you, O Lord.
The tax collector went home again at rights with God; the other did not.

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else, 'Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself,
"I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get."

The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner.'
This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.

The Gospel of the Lord.      Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.


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Gospel Reflection           Saturday.        Third Week of Lent        Luke 18:9-14

The parable in today’s gospel reading begins, ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray’. Both men did pray. The Pharisee prayed a prayer of thanksgiving, ‘I thank you, God…’. The tax-collector prayed a prayer of petition, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner’. Yet, only one prayer was acceptable to God. Only one person ‘went home at rights with God’. The difference between the two men’s prayer was what was in their heart when they prayed. The prayer of the Pharisee revealed a heart that looked down in judgement on a fellow worshipper. He thought of himself as morally better than the tax collector. The prayer of the tax collector revealed a heart that was humble and contrite before God. He knew that he had nothing to offer God and everything to receive from God, especially mercy.

In the first reading, speaking through the prophet Hosea, the Lord declares, ‘What I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts’. The journey to the Temple was an act of love for God, for both men. However, the heart of the Pharisee revealed a lack of love for the worshipper who stood close to him in the Temple. He considered him less acceptable to God than himself. The Pharisee was right to regard the tax collector as a sinner, but he failed to recognize that he too was a sinner. Both men went up to the Temple in need of God’s mercy, but only one of them recognized that reality. We all stand before the Lord as sinners. We all come before him in our poverty. None of us can get into the business of deciding who is less, or more, of a sinner than me. That is best left to God. All we can do is open ourselves to the Lord in our poverty and allow him to enrich us in his love, in other words, to pray the prayer of the tax collector.



The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/


The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare, (Rejoicing Sunday)
(- Rose or Violet Sunday-)

The healing of the blind man by Jesus is a sign of our baptism, we begin to see things differently. Like never before you begin to see the light of Jesus, his vision for us and our mission to follow him.

This is the day of the Second Scrutiny of the adult baptism candidates.

First Reading                 1Samuel 16:1. 6-7, 10-13
David is anointed king of Israel.

The lord said to Samuel,
‘Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.'
When Samuel arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought,
'Surely the Lord’s anointed one stands there before him',
but the Lord said to Samuel, 'Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.'
Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these.'
He then asked Jesse, 'Are these all the sons you have?'
He answered, 'There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.'

Then Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.'
Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, 'Come, anoint him, for this is the one.' At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on.

The Word of the Lord      Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm  Ps 32: 1-3, 3-4, 5-6. R/v 1.
Response                       The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

1. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
    Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.
    Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit.                                Response

2. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name.
    If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear.
    You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort.    Response

3. You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing.                                       Response                           

4. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life.
    In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.                                          Response

Second Reading 

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Ephesians    5:8-14
Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth. Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness but exposing them by contrast. The things which are done in secret are things that people are ashamed even to speak of; but anything exposed by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated turns into light. This is why it is said: 'Wake up from your sleep, rise from the dead, Christ will shine on you.'

The Word of the Lord           Thanks be to God.


Gospel  Acclamation        Jn 8:12
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have eternal life.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !

Gospel                    

The Lord be with you.          And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to John  9:1-41         Glory to you, O Lord
He went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him,
'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?'
'Neither he nor his parents sinned,' Jesus answered 'he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.' As long as the day lasts I must carry out the work of the one who sent me; the night will soon be here when no one can work. As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.'

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man. and said to him,
'Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam (a name that means 'sent').
So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, 'Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?'
Some said, 'Yes, it is the same one'. Others said, 'No, he only looks like him'. The man himself said, 'I am the man'. So they said to him, 'Then how do your eyes come to be open?' 'The man called Jesus', he answered 'made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me,
"Go and wash at Siloam"; so I went, and when I washed I could see.'
They asked, 'Where is he?' 'I don't know' he answered.

They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man's eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said, 'He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see'. Then some of the Pharisees said, 'This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath'.
Others said, 'How could a sinner produce signs like this?' And there was disagreement among them.

So they spoke to the blind man again, 'What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?'
'He is a prophet' replied the man. However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had gained his sight, without first sending for his parents and asking them, 'Is this man really your son who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?'
His parents answered, 'We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but we don't know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.'
His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, 'He is old enough; ask him'.

So the Jews again sent for the man and said to him,
'Give glory to God! For our part, we know that this man is a sinner.'
The man answered, 'I don't know if he is a sinner; I only know that I was blind and now I can see'.
They said to him, 'What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?'
He replied, 'I have told you once and you wouldn't listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples too?'
At this they hurled abuse at him: 'You can be his disciple,' they said 'we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know where he comes from'.
The man replied, 'Now here is an astonishing thing! He has opened my eyes, and you don't know where he comes from! We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but God does listen to men who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of a man who was born blind; if this man were not from God, he couldn't do a thing.'
'Are you trying to teach us,' they replied 'and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!' And they drove him away.

Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him,
'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'
'Sir,' the man replied 'tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.'
Jesus said, 'You are looking at him; he is speaking to you'.
The man said, 'Lord, I believe', and worshipped him.
Jesus said: 'It is for judgement that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see  and those with sight turn blind'.

Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, 'We are not blind, surely?'
Jesus replied: 'Blind? If you were, you would not be guilty,  but since you say, "We see",  your guilt remains.

The Gospel of the Lord    Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Shorter Form

Gospel 

The Lord be with you.                                     And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to John  9:1. 6-9. 13-17..34-38        Glory to you, O Lord
He went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. He spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man. and said to him, 'Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam (a name that means 'sent'). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, 'Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?' Some said, 'Yes, it is the same one'. Others said, 'No, he only looks like him'. The man himself said, 'I am the man'. 

 They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man's eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said, 'He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see'. Then some of the Pharisees said, 'This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath'. Others said, 'How could a sinner produce signs like this?' And there was disagreement among them. So they spoke to the blind man again, 'What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?'
'He is a prophet' replied the man.
'Are you trying to teach us,' they replied 'and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!' And they drove him away.

Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?' 'Sir,' the man replied 'tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.'
Jesus said, 'You are looking at him; he is speaking to you'. The man said, 'Lord, I believe', and worshipped him.
Jesus said: 'It is for judgement that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see  and those with sight turn blind'.

Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, 'We are not blind, surely?'
Jesus replied: 'Blind? If you were, you would not be guilty,  but since you say, "We see",  your guilt remains.




Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.