DAILY GOSPEL: 05/04/2011
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Tuesday of the Fourth week of Lent
Book of Ezekiel 47:1-9.12.
The angel brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the right side of the temple, south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate, and around to the outer gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the southern side.
Then when he had walked off to the east with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water, which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand and once more had me wade through the water, which was now knee-deep. Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade; the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand, but there was now a river through which I could not wade; for the water had risen so high it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?" Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me, "This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."
Psalms 46(45):2-3.5-6.8-9.
God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.
Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,
Streams of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken; God will help it at break of day.
The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. Selah
Come and see the works of the LORD, who has done fearsome deeds on earth;
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 5:1-16.
There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep (Gate) a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."
He answered them, "The man who made me well told me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'"
They asked him, "Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you."
The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.
The angel brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the right side of the temple, south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate, and around to the outer gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the southern side.
Then when he had walked off to the east with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water, which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand and once more had me wade through the water, which was now knee-deep. Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade; the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand, but there was now a river through which I could not wade; for the water had risen so high it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?" Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me, "This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."
Psalms 46(45):2-3.5-6.8-9.
God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress.
Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea,
Streams of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be shaken; God will help it at break of day.
The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. Selah
Come and see the works of the LORD, who has done fearsome deeds on earth;
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 5:1-16.
There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep (Gate) a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."
He answered them, "The man who made me well told me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'"
They asked him, "Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you."
The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.
Saint Romanos Melodios (?-c.560), composer of hymns
Hymn « To the newly baptized », str. 1-5,19 (cf. SC 283, p. 343f.)
Lent as the last days of preparation for those to be baptized at Easter
The newly baptized, children of the font, and all of us who come to receive the light, cry out in thanksgiving to you, O Christ our God: «You have enlightened us with the light of your face, you have clothed us with the robe that befits your espousals (Ps 4,7; Mt 22,11). Glory to you, glory to you, for such was your gracious will.»
Who will tell, who show to Adam, the first created man, the beauty, splendor and dignity of his children? And who will also make known to poor Eve that her descendants have become kings, clothed with a robe of glory, and that they gloriously glorify Him who has glorified them, all shining through their body, their soul, their raiment?... And who has raised them up? Surely our Resurrection. Glory to you, glory to you, for such was your good pleasure...
How shining and radiant you are, O Adam... Your Enemy, seeing you, withers away and cries: «Who is this I see? I know him not. Dust has been renewed (Gn 2,7), ashes divinised. The poor and wretched man has been invited, he has bathed and entered in to sit at table. He is constrained to enter the feast and has had the audacity to eat, the effrontery to drink the very One who made him. And who has given it to him? Surely our Resurrection. Glory to you, glory to you, for such was your good pleasure.
«Of his former sins he has no remembrance, of his original wounds he shows not the slightest scar. As for his long years of paralysis, he has shed them all in the pool like the cripple of former times and now no longer carries his bed on his shoulders but, in truth, he takes upon him the cross of Him who pitied him and whom I myself had lost. Frequently, in former times, the Friend of man (Wsd 1,6) washed many a person in the waters yet they did not shine like this. The Resurrection of these has made them shine.» - Glory to you, glory to you, for such was your good pleasure.
See, you are created anew, O newly baptized one! See, you are made new! Bend your back no longer beneath your sins. The cross is yours for support; lean upon it. Take it into your prayer, to your table, to your bed; take it everywhere as your title to glory... Shout at the demons: «With the cross I my hand I stand erect, holding dear our Resurrection.» - Glory to you, glory to you, for such was your good pleasure.
Who will tell, who show to Adam, the first created man, the beauty, splendor and dignity of his children? And who will also make known to poor Eve that her descendants have become kings, clothed with a robe of glory, and that they gloriously glorify Him who has glorified them, all shining through their body, their soul, their raiment?... And who has raised them up? Surely our Resurrection. Glory to you, glory to you, for such was your good pleasure...
How shining and radiant you are, O Adam... Your Enemy, seeing you, withers away and cries: «Who is this I see? I know him not. Dust has been renewed (Gn 2,7), ashes divinised. The poor and wretched man has been invited, he has bathed and entered in to sit at table. He is constrained to enter the feast and has had the audacity to eat, the effrontery to drink the very One who made him. And who has given it to him? Surely our Resurrection. Glory to you, glory to you, for such was your good pleasure.
«Of his former sins he has no remembrance, of his original wounds he shows not the slightest scar. As for his long years of paralysis, he has shed them all in the pool like the cripple of former times and now no longer carries his bed on his shoulders but, in truth, he takes upon him the cross of Him who pitied him and whom I myself had lost. Frequently, in former times, the Friend of man (Wsd 1,6) washed many a person in the waters yet they did not shine like this. The Resurrection of these has made them shine.» - Glory to you, glory to you, for such was your good pleasure.
See, you are created anew, O newly baptized one! See, you are made new! Bend your back no longer beneath your sins. The cross is yours for support; lean upon it. Take it into your prayer, to your table, to your bed; take it everywhere as your title to glory... Shout at the demons: «With the cross I my hand I stand erect, holding dear our Resurrection.» - Glory to you, glory to you, for such was your good pleasure.
St. Vincent Ferrer, Priest (1350-1419)
SAINT VINCENT FERRER
Dominican priest
(1350-1419)
Dominican priest
(1350-1419)
This wonderful apostle, the "Angel of the Judgment," was born at Valencia in Spain, in 1350, and at the age of eighteen professed in the Order of St. Dominic. After a brilliant course of study he became master of sacred theology. For three years he read only the Scriptures, and knew the whole Bible by heart.
He converted the Jews of Valencia, and their synagogue became a church. Grief at the great schism then afflicting the Church reduced him to the point of death; but Our Lord Himself in glory bade him go forth to convert sinners, "for My judgment is nigh."
This miraculous apostolate lasted twenty-one years. He preached throughout Europe, in the towns and villages of Spain, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland. Everywhere tens of thousands of sinners were reformed; Jews, infidels, and heretics were converted. Stupendous miracles enforced his words. Twice each day the " miracle bell " summoned the sick, the blind, the lame to be cured. Sinners the most obdurate became Saints; speaking only his native Spanish, he was understood in all tongues. Processions of ten thousand penitents followed him in perfect order. Convents, orphanages, hospitals, arose in his path.
Amidst all, his humility remained profound, his prayer constant. He always prepared for preaching by prayer. Once, however, when a person of high rank was to be present at his sermon he neglected prayer for study. The nobleman was not particularly struck by the discourse which had been thus carefully worked up; but coming again to hear the Saint, unknown to the latter, the second sermon made a deep impression on his soul. When St. Vincent heard of the difference, he remarked that in the first sermon it was Vincent who had preached, but in the second, Jesus Christ.
He fell ill at Vannes in Brittany, and received the crown of everlasting glory in 1419.
