March 30, 2022 Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

2022년 3월 30일 사순 제4주간 수요일 

오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp 

제1독서

<땅을 다시 일으키려고 내가 너를 백성을 위한 계약으로 삼았다.>

이사야서. 49,8-15 

8 주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
“은혜의 때에 내가 너에게 응답하고 구원의 날에 내가 너를 도와주었다.
내가 너를 빚어내어 백성을 위한 계약으로 삼았으니
땅을 다시 일으키고 황폐해진 재산을 다시 나누어 주기 위함이며
9 갇힌 이들에게는 ‘나와라.’ 하고
어둠 속에 있는 이들에게는 ‘모습을 드러내어라.’ 하고 말하기 위함이다.”
그들은 가는 길마다 풀을 뜯고 민둥산마다 그들을 위한 초원이 있으리라.
10 그들은 배고프지도 않고 목마르지도 않으며
열풍도 태양도 그들을 해치지 못하리니
그들을 가엾이 여기시는 분께서 그들을 이끄시며
샘터로 그들을 인도해 주시기 때문이다.
11 나는 나의 모든 산들을 길로 만들고 큰길들은 돋우어 주리라.
12 보라, 이들이 먼 곳에서 온다.
보라, 이들이 북녘과 서녘에서 오며 또 시님족의 땅에서 온다.
13 하늘아, 환성을 올려라. 땅아, 기뻐 뛰어라. 산들아, 기뻐 소리쳐라.
주님께서 당신 백성을 위로하시고 당신의 가련한 이들을 가엾이 여기셨다.
14 그런데 시온은 “주님께서 나를 버리셨다.
나의 주님께서 나를 잊으셨다.” 하고 말하였지.
15 여인이 제 젖먹이를 잊을 수 있느냐?
제 몸에서 난 아기를 가엾이 여기지 않을 수 있느냐?
설령 여인들은 잊는다 하더라도 나는 너를 잊지 않는다.

복음

<아버지께서 죽은 이들을 일으켜 다시 살리시는 것처럼 아들도 자기가 원하는 이들을 다시 살린다.>

 요한. 5,17-30
 그때에 예수님께서는 유다인들에게,

17 “내 아버지께서 여태 일하고 계시니 나도 일하는 것이다.” 하고 말씀하셨다.
18 이 때문에 유다인들은 더욱 예수님을 죽이려고 하였다.
그분께서 안식일을 어기실 뿐만 아니라, 하느님을 당신 아버지라고 하시면서
당신 자신을 하느님과 대등하게 만드셨기 때문이다.
19 예수님께서 그들에게 말씀하셨다.
“내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
아버지께서 하시는 것을 보지 않고서 아들이 스스로 할 수 있는 것은 하나도 없다.
그분께서 하시는 것을 아들도 그대로 할 따름이다.
20 아버지께서는 아들을 사랑하시어
당신께서 하시는 모든 것을 아들에게 보여 주신다.
그리고 앞으로 그보다 더 큰 일들을 아들에게 보여 주시어,
너희를 놀라게 하실 것이다.
21 아버지께서 죽은 이들을 일으켜 다시 살리시는 것처럼,
아들도 자기가 원하는 이들을 다시 살린다.
22 아버지께서는 아무도 심판하지 않으시고,
심판하는 일을 모두 아들에게 넘기셨다.
23 모든 사람이 아버지를 공경하듯이 아들도 공경하게 하시려는 것이다.
아들을 공경하지 않는 자는 아들을 보내신 아버지도 공경하지 않는다.
24 내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
내 말을 듣고 나를 보내신 분을 믿는 이는 영생을 얻고 심판을 받지 않는다.
그는 이미 죽음에서 생명으로 건너갔다.
25 내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
죽은 이들이 하느님 아들의 목소리를 듣고
또 그렇게 들은 이들이 살아날 때가 온다. 지금이 바로 그때다.
26 아버지께서 당신 안에 생명을 가지고 계신 것처럼,
아들도 그 안에 생명을 가지게 해 주셨기 때문이다.
27 아버지께서는 또 그가 사람의 아들이므로 심판을 하는 권한도 주셨다.
28 이 말에 놀라지 마라. 무덤 속에 있는 모든 사람이 그의 목소리를 듣는 때가 온다.
29 그들이 무덤에서 나와, 선을 행한 이들은 부활하여 생명을 얻고
악을 저지른 자들은 부활하여 심판을 받을 것이다.
30 나는 아무것도 스스로 할 수 없다.
나는 듣는 대로 심판할 따름이다. 그래서 내 심판은 올바르다.
내가 내 뜻이 아니라 나를 보내신 분의 뜻을 추구하기 때문이다.”

March 30, 2022

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent   

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass 

Reading 1

Is 49:8-15

Thus says the LORD:
In a time of favor I answer you,
on the day of salvation I help you;
and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,
To restore the land
and allot the desolate heritages,
Saying to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!
Along the ways they shall find pasture,
on every bare height shall their pastures be.
They shall not hunger or thirst,
nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.
I will cut a road through all my mountains,
and make my highways level.
See, some shall come from afar,
others from the north and the west,
and some from the land of Syene.
Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,
break forth into song, you mountains.
For the LORD comforts his people
and shows mercy to his afflicted.

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me."
Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you. 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18

R. (8a) The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful. 

Gospel  

Jn 5:17-30

Jesus answered the Jews: 
"My Father is at work until now, so I am at work."
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus answered and said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent him.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, 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 just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will come out,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wicked deeds
to the resurrection of condemnation.

"I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me."

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

 

 For the LORD comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted. - Isaiah

Where’s God?

With masses of people fleeing the horrors of war in Ukraine, it’s a question many of us are asking as we confront heartbreaking image, especially those of dead and suffering children.

Why God? Why? What about the promise in today’s reading from Isaiah that the Lord “comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted?” Where’s the mercy and comfort for these poor innocent people?  

With things so dark, what message can we draw from this timely passage?

Even as I question God, I hear him asking me, “Where are YOU? What are YOU doing for my people? You know that I act through people like YOU. "

Fair enough, Lord. We must be your instruments on earth even though we feel so helpless now. But I hear your voice reminding me of two things we CAN do:

• Pray for the safety and comfort of the Ukrainian people.

• Contribute to groups like the Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services and Jesuit Refugee Services that are on the scene helping. If we are ever called to welcome some of the refugees, I hope we will respond generously.

I take odd comfort from today’s reading because Isaiah reminds us that tyrants have been driving people from their homes for thousands of years. Maybe there’s hope for the horrors of today although the worldwide problem is staggering.

The United Nations estimates that there are more than 82 million refugees in the world. Most are the victims of wars or ethnic cleansing that get little coverage in our media. Many are people Americans know nothing about, like the Karen family from Burma that St. John’s Church at Creighton sponsors. If you know anything about the Karen, you’re ahead of where I was when we were assigned our wonderful family.

Working with refugees powerfully reminds us that we are all God’s children.  It is a rich way to grow spiritually even though the actual tasks are mundane. God’s universal family comes alive when you’re driving cute toddlers from a nation you could scarcely locate on a map to a clinic or pre-school. I find myself thanking God that they are in my life.  

As we approach Good Friday, I picture Jesus and Mary en route to Calvary, surrounded by refugees. Are we also in that scene coming to the aid of these suffering people? Are we acting as God’s agents in showing “mercy to his afflicted?”  

 http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

NO MORE FAILURES IN RENEWING OUR BAPTISMS

“He not only was breaking the sabbath but, worse still, was speaking of God as His own Father, thereby making Himself God’s equal.” —John 5:18

It seems that for the last few years the renewal of the baptismal promises has not been successful for the Catholic Church throughout the world. The evidence for this is the continued proliferation of the culture of death, including abortion, contraception, unforgiveness, vengeance, denominations, racism, starvation, and other injustices. Our Baptisms are such great works of God that if millions of Christians renewed their Baptisms, the world could not help but be changed according to God’s will.

The key to renewing our Baptisms is believing that Jesus is God. Jesus is the only Way to the Father (Jn 14:6) and the One Who baptizes us in the Spirit (Mk 1:8). When we believe in the Trinity with all our hearts, we are compelled to reject Satan, all his works, and all his empty promises. We believe Jesus is God and His revelation of the Trinity because of Jesus’ Resurrection and because of the Church’s authoritative revelation of Jesus’ divinity in her teachings, especially in the Scriptures. His divinity is corroborated by the fact that He does the works of God (Jn 5:36).

“Just as the Father raises the dead and grants life, so the Son grants life to those to whom He wishes” (Jn 5:21). I have seen Jesus give new life to myself and countless others through Baptism. I have seen Jesus do the works of God. I have good reason to believe that the risen Jesus, proclaimed by His infallible Church, is God. I will profess this on the first day of Easter with all my heart.

Prayer:  Father, may I renew my Baptism by Your standards.

Promise:  “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” —Is 49:15

Praise:  Philip was baptized on Easter at the age of 40.

 http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/

 

  Who can claim authority and power over life and death itself? Jesus not only made such a claim, he showed God's power to heal and restore people to wholeness of life. He also showed the mercy of God by releasing people from their burden of sin and guilt. He even claimed to have the power to raise the dead to life and to execute judgment on all the living and dead. The Jewish authorities were troubled with Jesus' claims and looked for a way to get rid of him. He either had to be a mad man and an imposter or who he claimed to be - God's divine son. Unfortunately, they could not accept Jesus' claim to be the Messiah, the anointed one sent by the Father to redeem his people. They sought to kill him because he claimed an authority and equality with God which they could not accept. They failed to recognize that this was God's answer to the long-awaited prayers of his people: "In a time of favor I have answered you, in a day of salvation I have helped you" (Isaiah 49:8).

A "covenant" to the people
Jesus was sent by the Father as "a covenant to the people" to reconcile them with God and restore to them the promise of paradise and everlasting life. Jesus' words and actions reveal God's mercy and justice. Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah when he brings healing, restoration, and forgiveness to those who accept his divine message.

The religious authorities charged Jesus as a Sabbath-breaker and a blasphemer. They wanted to kill Jesus because he claimed equality with God - something they thought no mortal could say without blaspheming. Little did they understand that Jesus was both human and divine - the eternal Son with the Father and the human son, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. Jesus answered their charge of breaking the Sabbath law by demonstrating God's purpose for creation and redemption - to save and restore life. God's love and mercy never ceases for a moment. Jesus continues to show the Father's mercy by healing and restoring people, even on the Sabbath day of rest. When the religious leaders charged that Jesus was making himself equal with God, Jesus replied that he was not acting independently of God because his relationship is a close personal Father-Son relationship. He and the Father are united in heart, mind, and will. The mind of Jesus is the mind of God, and the words of Jesus are the words of God.

The unity of love and obedience
Jesus also states that his identity with the Father is based on complete trust and obedience. Jesus always did what his Father wanted him to do. His obedience was not just based on submission, but on love. He obeyed because he loved his Father. The unity between Jesus and the Father is a unity of love - a total giving of oneself for the sake of another. That is why their mutual love for each other is perfect and complete. The Son loves the Father and gives himself in total obedience to the Father's will. The Father loves the Son and shares with him all that he is and has. We are called to submit our lives to God with the same love, trust, and obedience which Jesus demonstrated for his Father.

If we wish to understand how God deals with sin and how he responds to our sinful condition, then we must look to Jesus. Jesus took our sins upon himself and nailed them to the cross. He, who is equal in dignity and stature with the Father, became a servant for our sake to ransom us from slavery to sin. He has the power to forgive us and to restore our relationship with God because he paid the price for our sins.

Jesus offers us abundant, life, peace, and joy
Jesus states that to accept him islife - a life of abundant peace and joy with God. But if we reject him, then we freely choose fordeath - an endless separation with an all-loving and merciful God. Do you want the abundant life which Jesus offers? Believe in him, the living Word of God, who became a man for our sake and our salvation, and reject whatever is false and contrary to the Gospel - the good news he came to give us.

Lord Jesus, increase my love for you and unite my heart and will with yours, that I may only seek and desire what is pleasing to you.

Psalm 145:8-9,13b-14,17-18

8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
13b The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
14 The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.
17 The LORD is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
18 The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The wonderful exchange, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Unless the Word of God had first assumed our mortal flesh he could not have died for us. Only in that way was the immortal God able to die and to give life to mortal humans. Therefore, by this double sharing he brought about a wonderful exchange. We made death possible for him, and he made life possible for us." (excerpt from Sermon 218c,1)

  

More Homilies

March 17, 2021 Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent