4th Week of Lent
22nd March 2023 (Wednesday) Readings and Reflection
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Reading of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 49:8-15
Thus says the Lord: "In a time of favour I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, 'Come out', to those who are in darkness, 'Appear.' They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene." Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. But Sion said, "The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you."
Psalm 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18 (R. 8a)
R/. The Lord is kind and full of compassion.
Gospel : John 5:17-30
At that time: Jesus answered the Jews, "My Father is working until now, and I am working." This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. "Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. "I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Never forsaken!
Indicative: Often life seems to be a time of discomfort and desolation. In such moments, God comforts us that He loves us immeasurably{alertSuccess}
1. One great sense that pulls down our spirits is the sense of not being loved but being abandoned. This sense of lack of love and remembrance can be very depressing and devastating. Nothing else can compensate for the love
2. God knows this human predicament. That is why He gives us the greatest assurance of His love for us. We have in today’s first reading from Isaiah one of the few most profound love-statements: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you”
3. How consoling and soothing words are these words! God loves us unceasingly. He never forgets us nor forsakes us. His love is unsurpassable; it surpasses even the superlative love of a mother. God leads and guides on levelled paths. He feeds His people in the nourishing pastures and beside the springs of water. He is ever at work for the sake of His loved ones
4. In fact, Jesus came to show this most visibly and concretely. It is not only that the Father loves him and he loves the Father. He is the reflection of the Father Himself because he is the Son of the Father. He is one with Him, in identity, in love and mission
5. But unfortunately, the Jews in their stubbornness are not open to seeing his identity. So his communion with the Father. Hence his attestation of oneness with the Father is misunderstood as blasphemy. Hence they begin to persecute and plot to kill him
Imperative: This is the right and appropriate time – a time of favour when God will answer us, and a time of salvation when He will help us{alertSuccess}