4TH WEEK OF LENT
Psalter: Week 4 / (Violet)
Ps 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18
The Lord is gracious and merciful.
1st Reading: Is 49:8-15*
This is what Yahweh says: “At a favorable time I have answered you, on the day of salvation I have been your help; I have formed you and made you to be my Covenant with the people. (…)
They will feed along the road; they will find pasture on barren hills. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the scorching wind or the sun beat upon them; for he who has mercy on them will guide them and lead them to springs of water. (…)
Can a woman forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child in her womb? Yet though she forget, I will never forget you.
Gospel: Jn 5:17-30*
Jesus replied, “My Father goes on working and so do I.” And the Jews tried all the harder to kill him, for Jesus not only broke the Sabbath observance, but also made himself equal with God, calling God his own Father.
Jesus said to them, “Truly, I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by himself, but only what he sees the Father doing. And whatever he does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does; and he will show him even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed.
As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom he wills. (…) Whoever ignores the Son, ignores as well the Father who sent him. (…)
Truly, the hour is coming and has indeed come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and, on hearing it, will live. For the Father has life in himself, and he has given to the Son also to have life in himself. And he has empowered him as well to carry out Judgment, for he is Son of Man.
Do not be surprised at this: the hour is coming when all those lying in tombs will hear my voice and come out; those who have done good shall rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
I can do nothing of myself. As I hear, so I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
Reflections
CAN A WOMAN FORGET THE BABY AT HER BREAST AND HAVE NO COMPASSION ON THE CHILD OF HER WOMB?
Jesus often uses the example of a mother to show the greatness of love. This quotation is one such example. It is really awesome when one comes to think of it that the baby is for nine months really and literally one with its mother. Whatever the mother drinks and eats becomes a part of the baby. A mother is the only one in the whole world who can say, looking at her child: THIS IS MY BODY, THIS IS MY BLOOD! It is impossible for a mother to forget the child who lived in her body for 9 months and to whom she gives birth suffering the greatest pain. That is why there is a saying:”He /she has a face only a mother can love. When one visits the death row, inevitably mothers will be the one found visiting their children condemned to death. Now let us go to the next sentence of Jesus which says “But even if a mother does forget her child” God will not forget. That is how much God loves us — with an unconditional love.
Daily Reflection 2018
Bible Diary ® is a product of Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today.
CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé.
Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Copyright © 2O17
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (63-2) 921-3984
Fax: (6352) 921-7429
Email: ccfi@claretianpublicationscom
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.claretianph.com
