Churches of the Day

17th March: ST PATRICK, Bishop, Principal Patron of Ireland . Year A

Day of Prayer For Immigrants and Emigrants of Ireland

Saint of the Day; 17th March: ST PATRICK, Bishop, Principal Patron of Ireland . Year A
C/f A short life of be this saint can found below todays' Readings and Reflection for Year A.

First Reading
A reading from Ben Sirach (Eccles)         39:6-10
His memory will not disappear
and his name will live through all generations.

If it is the will of the great Lord, he will be filled with the spirit of understanding,
he will shower forth words of wisdom, and in prayer give thanks to the Lord.
He will grow upright in purpose and learning, he will ponder the Lord's hidden mysteries.
He will display the instruction he has received, taking his pride in the Law of the Lord's covenant.

Many will praise his understanding, and it will never be forgotten. His memory will not disappear, generation after generation his name will live. Nations will proclaim his wisdom, the assembly will celebrate his praises.

The Word of the Lord            Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm:     Psalm 115:12-19. R/. v. 12
Response:                           How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?

1 .How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation 1 will raise; I will call on the Lord's name.          Response

2. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.             Response

3. Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make; I will call on the Lord's name.         Response

4. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem.  Response

Second Reading       

A reading from the Second letter of St Paul to Timothy       4:1-8
Convince, rebuke and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.

Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience - but do all with patience and with the intention of teaching.
The time is sure to come when, far from being content with sound teaching, people will be avid for the latest novelty and collect themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then, instead of listening to the truth, they will turn to myths. Be careful always to choose the right course; be brave under trials; make the preaching of the Good News your life's work, in thorough going service.

As for me, my life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.

The Word of the Lord              Thanks be to God

Gospel Acclamation          James 1 :21
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Accept and submit to the word which has been planted
in you and can save your souls.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you.                           And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew       13:24-32          Glory to you, O Lord
It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs.

Jesus put a parable before the crowds,
'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner's servants went to him and said,
"Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?" "Some enemy has done this," he answered.
And the servants said, "Do you want us to go and weed it out?" But he said, "No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.'"

He put another parable before them:
'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air can come and shelter in its branches.'

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

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Scripture Reflection                Tues 17th March,              Feast of Saint Patrick                

We venerate Patrick on this his feast day because he gave himself over to proclaiming the gospel on our island of Ireland, bringing Christ to huge numbers of people. He says of himself in his Confessions, ‘The love of Christ gave me to these people to serve them humbly and sincerely for my entire lifetime’. In amazement at what God had done through him, he asks, ‘How then does it happen in Ireland that a people who in their ignorance of God always worshipped only idols and unclean things up to now, have lately become a people of the Lord and are called children of God?’
He was amazed at how much God had done through him. We are the heirs of Patrick’s great missionary work. He lit a new fire in this land which has never gone out. Patrick was all the more amazed at how God had worked through him because he was very aware of his failings and weaknesses.
At the beginning of his Confessions he says, ‘Although I am imperfect in many ways I want my brothers and sisters and my relatives to know what kind of man I am so that they may understand the aspiration of my life’. Later on in his Confessions he says, ‘I realize that I did not altogether lead a life as perfect as other believers’. Patrick knew that he was very much a work in progress, a mixture of wheat and weeds. When the Lord looks upon us, he looks beyond our failings to the good that is within us. Patrick did not allow his awareness of his imperfections to hold him back from doing what he knew God was calling him to do.

On his feast day we give thanks for Patrick’s response to God’s call to preach the gospel in the land of his former captivity. He was brought here as a slave at the age of sixteen, having been cruelly separated from his family and his homeland, a truly traumatic experience for a young adolescent. Yet, out of this difficult experience came great good. Although Patrick had been baptized a Christian in his youth, he had developed no relationship with Christ. The faith into which he had been baptized had made no impact on his life. It was only in his captivity that Christ became real for him. He tells us: ‘When I came to Ireland… I used to pray many times during the day... My faith increased… the spirit was burning within me’. Patrick uses a striking image to express this transformation in his life: ‘Before I was humbled I was like a stone lying in the deep mud. Then he who is mighty came and in his mercy he... lifted me up and placed me at the very top of the wall’. This spiritual awakening in captivity had enormous consequences for himself and for the people of the land where he was held captive.

In the course of our lives we can find ourselves in unfamiliar and threatening territory, unsure of our future and with regrets about the past. Patrick’s story reminds us that when we find ourselves in such wilderness places, our brokenness can provide the openings for the Lord to enter our lives. Patrick says in his confessions: ‘I cannot be silent… about the great benefits and graces that the Lord saw fit to confer on me in the land of my captivity’. When we are brought low, the Lord will be there to lift us up, and he will be as generous with us as he was with Patrick. If we seek the Lord in such times, as Patrick did, the Lord will not only grace us but he will grace many others through us.

After six years as a captive Patrick was given the opportunity to escape from his captivity. He was directed to a boat some distance from where
he was minding sheep. The captain reluctantly took him on board. Three days sailing was followed by twenty eight days journeying through deserted country. At the end of that journey Patrick describes a very dark spiritual experience that he had. ‘When I was asleep Satan tempted me with a violence which I will remember as long as I am in this body. There fell on me as it were a great rock and I could not stir a limb’. However, he goes on to say that when he cried out in prayer he saw the sun rising in the sky; he says, ‘the brilliance of that sun fell suddenly on me and lifted my depression at once’. Reflecting on that experience, he declares, ‘I believe that I was sustained by Christ my Lord and that his Spirit was even then calling out on my behalf’. Although he was a very successful missionary, Patrick struggled with the darker experiences of life. Yet, he knew that the Lord was as present to him in his darkness of spirit as much as in the success of his mission. Patrick’s experience teaches us to be alert to the signs of God’s presence in difficult times as well as in good times. His story also teaches us that even when all is not as well with us as we might like, the Lord continues to work powerfully within us and through us.
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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 Reflections on the Weekday Readings : Your word is a lamp for my feet and light for my path by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saint of the day: 17th March: ST PATRICK, Bishop, Principal Patron of Ireland

St Patrick, slave, bishop, Missionary to Ireland. Born in Britain probably in the early years of the fifth century, taken captive at the age of 16 and brought to Ireland, where he worked as a slave. His captivity led him to a renewal of his spiritual life. After he escaped back home at the age of 22, it was clear to him that God was calling him to return to convert the Irish. After studies in Europe he returned to Ireland, where he made a very large number of converts. His spiritual journey is recounted in his Confessio.

Here Patrick Duffy outlines his life.

The irony about St Patrick is that, though for long he has been touted as a symbol of Irish nationalism and opposition to Britain, he probably was himself a Brit, possibly from the Carlisle district of north-west England.

Patrick's writings

Two of St Patrick's own writings have come down to us. 'Patrick's Confession' and his 'Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus'. (c/f below) They are a completely different literary genre from the various lives of Irish saints that were written in subsequent centuries. Stung by criticisms of him and his mission to preach the gospel in Ireland, Patrick wrote his 'Confession' (or religious life story)

Early life
Probably originating from a clerical family in the Carlisle district of north-west England, Patrick's father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest. Captured by Irish invaders, he became a slave, herding sheep on Slemish mountain in Co Antrim. This changed his personality and through the power of prayer ("100 times a day and 100 times at night") he became totally devoted to God and trusting in his providence.

Escape and mission
After seven years Patrick escaped on a ship probably to Britain and back to his family. But he felt called to go back on a mission to Ireland. He trained as a monk and a priest, probably first in Britain and then in Gaul. It may have been a British monk-bishop who sent him as a missionary. He possibly sold his patrimony to finance his mission and gain access to Irish chiefs.

Success and influence
Patrick probably wandered from place to place in a rural setting especially in the northern half of the country and was highly successful in encouraging young converts to follow him as monks and nuns.

Letter to Coroticus
When some of his converts were kidnapped by Coroticus's soldiers, fearing that they would be raped, he excommunicated those responsible, which he may not have been entitled to do and there may have been an investigation. This the context of the second document that survives, his Letter to Coroticus.

Probably not the first missionary
Patrick probably  wasn't the first misssionary to Ireland. Others who possibly had contact with Christianity in the South of Wales were Kieran of Seir, Ailbe of Emly, Declan of the Déise in Waterford and Ibar or Iberius in Wexford. Places of pilgrimage like Lough Derg in Co Donegal and Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo are traditionally associated with him, as is the Celtic prayer, The Breastplate of St Patrick.

The prayer known as "Faeth Fiada" or the "Lorica of St. Patrick" (St. Patrick's Breast-Plate) was first edited by Petrie in his "History of Tara."

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,

In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today,
through the strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today,
through God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,

So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

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Memorable Irish Wish for Today

“May the Lord keep you in His hand
and never close His fist too tight.”
(“May God be with you and bless you".)

~  St Patrick  ~

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Alternate Readings
for Fifth Sunday of Lent YEAR  B (2027)
and St Patrick's day

Day of Prayer for Emigrants

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FIRST READING

A reading from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah 31:31-34
The old covenant will lead to a new covenant of love

  'Look, the days are coming, the Lord declares, when I shall make a new covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah), but not like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, even though I was their Master, the Lord declares. No, this is the covenant I shall make with the House of Israel when those days have come, the Lord declares.

Within them I shall plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I shall be their God and they will be my people. There will be no further need for everyone to teach neighbour or brother, saying, "Learn to know the Lord!" No, they will all know me, from the least to the greatest, the Lord declares, since I shall forgive their guilt and never more call their sin to mind.'

The Word of the Lord      Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm,            Ps 5o:3-4, 12-15
Response                                A pure heart create for me, o God

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

A pure heart create for me, o God put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit                Response

Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervour sustain me ,
That I may teach transgressors your ways and sinners may return to you.                    Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews 5:7-9
Obedience and suffering are part of the covenant of love

During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, with loud cries and with tears,
to the one who had the power to save him from death, and, winning a hearing by his reverence,
he learnt obedience, Son though he was, through his sufferings;
when he had been perfected, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation.

The Word of the Lord      Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL 

The Lord be with you                       And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 12:20-3o         Glory to you, O Lord
The pact with God means endless life

Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.
These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him,
"Sir, we would like to see Jesus."
Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus.
Jesus replied to them:
"Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.
Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father save me from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!"
A voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."
People standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said,
"It was an angel speaking to him."
Jesus answered,
"It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours. Now sentence is being passed on this world; now the prince of this world is to be overthrown. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all to myself."

By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.

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

(Note on St Patrick's Day: Some of today's Readings today may vary from place to place, but the Gospel does not. The following are alternative Readings)

FIRST READING  

A reading from the prophet Jeremiah           1 :4-9
You shall go to all to whom I send you.

The word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying,

'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you;
I have appointed you as prophet to the nations'.
I said, 'Ah, Lord God: look, I do not know how to speak: I am a child!'
But The Lord replied, 'Do not say, "I am a child".
Go now to those to whom I send you and say whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to protect you - it is the Lord who speaks!'

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me:
'There! I am putting my words into your mouth.'

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm     Psalm 116. R/. Mark 16:15
Response                           Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News.

1. O praise the Lord all you nations
acclaim him all you peoples. Response

2. Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful forever.              Response

Responsorial Psalm:   Psalm 115:12-19. R/. v. 12
Response:                        How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?

1 .How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation 1 will raise; I will call on the Lord's name.          Response

2. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people.
O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.                Response

3. Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make; I will call on the Lord's name.           Response

4. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem.              Response     

SECOND READING   

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans        10: 9-18
If you believe in your  heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.

If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your  heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved, By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: 'those who believe in him will have no cause for shame', it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

But they will not ask his help unless they believe in him, and they will not believe in him unless they have heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but is as scripture says: 'The footsteps of those who bring good news is a welcome sound. Not everyone, of course, listens to the Good News. As Isaiah says: 'Lord, how many believed what we proclaimed?' So faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ.

Let me put the question: is it possible that they did not hear? Indeed they  did; in the words of the psalm, their voice has gone out through all the earth, and their message to the ends of the world.

The Word of the Lord             Thanks be to God


Gospel Acclamation          James   1:21.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Accept and submit to the word which has been planted in you
and can save your souls.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

or Gospel Acclamation    Matt 28:19-20
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Go, make disciples of all nations, says the Lord;
I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.
Glory to you,  O Christ, you are the Word of God!

GOSPEL I

The Lord be with you                              And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark      16:15-20      Glory to you, O Lord
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation.

And Jesus said to his disciples
‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved;
he who does not believe will be condemned.

These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’

And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven: there at the right hand of God he took his place, while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it.

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

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or  GOSPEL 2

The Lord be with you                       And with your spirit.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 12:20-3o         Glory to you, O Lord

Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks.
These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."
Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus.
Jesus replied to them:
"Now the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
I tell you, most solemnly, unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me, wherever I am, my servant will be there too. If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.
Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say: Father save me from this hour? But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name!"
A voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."
People standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said,
"It was an angel speaking to him."
Jesus answered, "It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours. Now sentence is being passed on this world;
now the prince of this world is to be overthrown. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all to myself."

By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.

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

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Gospel Reflection        17th March          Feast of Saint Patrick       Mark 16:15-20

Saint Patrick lived at a time and place very different to our own. He was born at the end of the fourth century on the embattled edge of the crumbling Roman Empire, probably somewhere in Britain. This was a time when the Roman legions had been withdrawn from the edges of the Empire, and there was a general breakdown in Roman law and order. The way Patrick speaks of his family in his Confessions suggests that they were from the rural gentry. His father was a deacon of the church and his grandfather a priest. Yet, their reasonably comfortable background did not prevent them from suffering the effects of the general breakdown of order in Roman society. The protection of Rome was not there to prevent Patrick being captured at the tender age of sixteen. He spent six years as a slave in Ireland, escaping only at the age of twenty-two. Ireland, at the time, was a very different society to anywhere in the Roman Empire, even the edges of the Empire where Patrick was from. He often refers to himself as living among strangers. Coming to Ireland at that tender age must have been a huge culture shock, apart altogether from the hardships of slavery.

Yet, he subsequently came to see these six years as a time of great grace. He refers to ‘the many great blessings and grace which the Lord chooses to give me in the land of my captivity’. When he was taken captive, he said, ‘I did not yet know what I ought to desire and what to avoid’. Although born into a Christian family, he had never taken his faith seriously. He uses a striking image to describe his life at the time he was taken captive, ‘I was like a stone lying in the deepest mire’. Yet, in exile as a slave in Ireland, he underwent what can only be called a profound spiritual transformation. He writes, ‘I must not hide the gift of God which he gave us bountifully in the land of my captivity, because it was then that I fiercely sought him and there found him’. He writes at one point in his confessions, ‘When I had arrived in Ireland and was looking after flocks the whole time, I prayed frequently each day. And more and more, the love of God and the fear of him grew in me, and my faith was increased’. This spiritual renewal would form the basis of his extraordinary missionary work in Ireland many years later. This was a time of great loss in Patrick’s life, but also a time of deep spiritual and personal growth. It is often the way in our own lives that the most painful experiences can also be the most life-giving, for ourselves and for others. Patrick discovered that when so much was taken from him, the Lord worked powerfully in his life. The Lord is always at work in a life-giving way in all our struggles and losses. At any stage of our lives, we can find ourselves in a kind of exile experience. Our personal landscape changes and we feel estranged, lonely, frightened. We are not alone at such times. The Lord is at our side. He is always close to the broken hearted, those whose spirit is crushed, working to bringing something new out of what is dying.

After six years of captivity, Patrick made his escape and managed to board a boat. After a long and perilous journey, he finally made his way back to his home. He writes, ‘I was again with my parents in Britain who welcomed me home as a son. They begged me in good faith after all my adversities to go nowhere else, or ever leave them again’. It is likely that Patrick believed he would never leave them again. However, God works in mysterious ways. Patrick writes in his Confessions that after many long years ‘God chose to give me a great grace towards that people (who had held me captive), but this was something I had never thought of, nor hoped for, in my youth’. He had a vision in which he heard the voice of the Irish call out to him, ‘O holy boy, we beg you to come again and walk among us’.

After studying for the priesthood, he was eventually sent on mission to Ireland as a bishop. In the course of that difficult mission, he says that he often felt the urge to go back to his homeland, but he resisted it because, as he writes, ‘I fear the loss of the work I have begun here, since it is not I but Christ the Lord who ordered me to come here and be with these people for the rest of my life’. If his first visit to Ireland was as a young slave, this second visit was in response to the Lord’s call; he came as a slave of the gospel. As he says right at the end of his Confessions, ‘the one and only purpose I had in coming back to that people from whom I had earlier escaped was the gospel and the promises of God’. This second visit of Patrick to Ireland with all its momentous consequences brings home to us the unexpected nature of God’s call to all of us. God’s call can surprise us. God can be prompting us to take a path we might never have considered if left to ourselves. God’s purpose for our lives can be so much greater than our own plans. Patrick teaches us to hold ourselves in readiness for the Lord’s surprising call in our lives.

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The scripture readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Gospel reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings 2020-2021:  You have the Words of Eternal life: by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Lazarus’ resurrection is a 'figure' and 'type' of Jesus’ resurrection, and of our resurrection,
first to divine life in Baptism and after to our definitive resurrection at the end of time.
The Gospel is a call to a deeper faith and love in the Spirit living in us, giving life to our mortal bodies.

Third Scrutiny of the Elect 

FIRST READING

A reading from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel        37:12-14
 I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live.

"The Lord says this:
I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people.
And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this - it is the Lord who speaks."

The Word of the Lord            Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm          Ps 129 R/v 7
Response                              With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

l. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,  Lord, hear my voice!
   O let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading.                          Response

2. If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?
    But with you is found forgiveness: for this we revere you.                      Response

3. My soul is waiting for the Lord, I count on his word.
    My soul is longing for the Lord more than watchman for daybreak.
    (Let the watchman count on daybreak and Israel on the Lord.)            Response

4. Because with the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption,
     Israel indeed he will redeem from all its iniquity.                                    Response

SECOND READING

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans          8:8-11
The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.

People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him. Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.

The Word of the Lord            Thanks be to God.

Gospel  Acclamation        Jn 11: 25. 26
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !
I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord,
whoever believes in me will never die.
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 11:1-45          Glory to you , Lord
'I am the resurrection and the life.

There was a man named Lazarus who lived in the village of Bethany with the two sisters, Mary and Martha, and he was ill. - It was the same Mary, the sister of the sick man Lazarus, who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. The sisters sent this message to Jesus, 'Lord, the man you love is ill'.
On receiving the message, Jesus said, 'This sickness will end not in death but in God's glory, and through it the Son of God will be glorified'.

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet when he heard that Lazarus was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judaea'. The disciples said, 'Rabbi, it is not long since the Jews wanted to stone you; are you going back again?'
Jesus replied: ' Are there not twelve hours in the day? A man can walk in the daytime without stumbling because he has the light of this world to see by; but if he walks at night he stumbles, because there is no light to guide him.'

He said that and then added, 'Our friend Lazarus is resting, I am going to wake him'.
The disciples said to him, 'Lord, if he is able to rest he is sure to get better'.
The phrase Jesus used referred to the death of Lazarus, but they thought that by 'rest' he meant 'sleep',
so Jesus put it plainly, 'Lazarus is dead; and for your sake I am glad I was not there because now you will believe. But let us go to him.'
Then Thomas - known as the Twin - said to the other disciples, 'Let us go too, and die with him'.

On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already. Bethany is only about two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to sympathise with them over their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus had come she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, 'If you had been here, my brother would not have died, but I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you'.
'Your brother' said Jesus to her 'will rise again.'
Martha said, 'I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day'.
Jesus said: 'I am the resurrection. If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live,
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'
'Yes, Lord,' she said 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.'

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in a low voice, 'The Master is here and wants to see you'. Hearing this, Mary got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village; he was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were in the house sympathising with Mary saw her get up so quickly and go out, they followed her, thinking that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

Mary went to Jesus, and as soon as she saw him she threw herself at his feet, saying, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died'. At the sight of her tears, and those of the Jews who followed her, Jesus said in great distress, with a sigh that came straight from the heart, 'Where have you put him?'
They said, 'Lord, come and see'. Jesus wept; and the Jews said, 'See how much he loved him!' But there were some who remarked, 'He opened the eyes of the blind man, could he not have prevented this man's death?'
Still sighing, Jesus reached the tomb: it was a cave with a stone to close the opening.
Jesus said, 'Take the stone away'.
Martha said to him, 'Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day'.
Jesus replied, 'Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?'
So they took away the stone.
Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said:
'Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I knew indeed that you always hear me,
but I speak for the sake of all these who stand round me, so that they may believe it was you who sent me.'

When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, here! Come out!'
The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with bands of stuff and a cloth round his face.
Jesus said to them, 'Unbind him, let him go free'.

Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what he did believed in him.

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

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 (Shorter form)
GOSPEL                         John  11:3-7. 17. 20-27. 33-45
I am the resurrection and the life.

The sisters Martha and Mary sent this message to Jesus, ‘Lord, the man you love is ill.’
On receiving the message, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death but in God’s glory, and through it the Son of God will be glorified.’

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet when he learned that Lazarus was ill he stayed where he was for two more days before saying to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judaea.’

On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days already. When Martha heard that Jesus had come she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died, but I know that even now, whatever you ask of God, he will grant you.’
'Your brother’ said Jesus to her ‘will rise again.’
Martha said, ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.’
Jesus said: ‘I am the resurrection and the life. If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

‘Yes Lord,’ she said ‘I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.’ Jesus said in great distress, with a sigh that came straight from the heart, ‘Where have you put him?’ They said, ‘See how much he loved him!’ But there were some who remarked, ‘He opened the eyes of the blind man, could he not have prevented this man’s death?’
Still sighing, Jesus reached the tomb; it was a cave with a stone to close the opening. Jesus said, ‘Take the stone away.’ Martha said to him, ‘Lord, by now he will smell; this is the fourth day.’
Jesus replied, ‘Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone.
Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and said:
‘Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I knew indeed that you always hear me, but I speak for the sake of all these who stand round me, so that they may believe it was you who sent me.’

When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, here! Come out!’
The dead man came out, his feet and hands bound with bands of stuff and a cloth round his face.
Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, let him go free.’

Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had seen what he did believed in him.

The Gospel of the Lord   Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here:  https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/




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.