March
9, 2016
Wednesday
of the Fourth Week of Lent
Saint
of the Day: Saint Frances of Rome,Religious 91834-1440)
Reading 1
8Thus
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, 9Saying
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.
10They
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.
11I
will cut a road through all my mountains, and
make My highways level. 12See,
some shall come from afar, others
from the north and the west, and
some from the land of Syene.[1]
13Sing
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.
14But
Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my
Lord has forgotten me.” 15Can
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
8The
LORD is gracious and merciful, slow
to anger and of great kindness.
9The
LORD is good to all and
compassionate toward all His works.
R.
The Lord is gracious and merciful.
13cThe
LORD is faithful in all His words 13dand
holy in all His works. 14The
LORD lifts up all who are falling and
raises up all who are bowed down.
R.
The Lord is gracious and merciful.
17The
LORD is just in all His ways and
holy in all His works. 18The
LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to
all who call upon Him in truth.
R.
The Lord is gracious and merciful.
Verse
Before The Gospel John 11;25a, 26
I
am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever
believes in Me will never die.
Gospel
17Jesus
answered the Jews: “My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”[2]
18For 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.
19Jesus
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.[3] 20For 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.
21For
just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give
life to whomever He wishes.[4] 22Nor does the Father judge anyone, but He has
given all judgment to the Son,[5]
23so 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.
24Amen,
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.
25Amen,
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.
26For
just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He gave to the Son the
possession of life in Himself. 27And He gave Him power to exercise judgment,
because He is the Son of Man.
28Do
not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the
tombs will hear His voice[6]
29and 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.
30“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.”
Notes on Readings:
[1] Isaiah 49:12 - Syene: now called Aswan, at the first cataract of the Nile in southern Egypt.
[1] Isaiah 49:12 - Syene: now called Aswan, at the first cataract of the Nile in southern Egypt.
[2] John 5:17 - Sabbath observance (10)
was based on God's resting on the seventh day (compare with Genesis 2:2-3); Exodus 20:11. Philo and some rabbis insisted that God's providence
remains active on the sabbath, keeping all things in existence, giving life in
birth and taking it away in death. Other rabbis taught that God rested from
creating, but not from judging (=ruling, governing). Jesus here claims the same
authority to work as the Father, and, in the discourse that follows, the same
divine prerogatives: power over life and death (John 5;21, 24, 26) and judgment (John 522, 27).
[3] John
5:19 - This proverb or parable is taken from apprenticeship in a trade: the
activity of a son is modeled on that of his father. Jesus' dependence on the
Father is justification for doing what the Father does.
[4] John
5:21 - Gives life: in the Old Testament, a divine prerogative (Deuteronomy 32:39; 1 Samuel 2;6; 2 Kings 5:7 ; Tobit 13:2; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2).
[5] John 5:22 - Judgment: another divine
prerogative, often expressed as acquittal or condemnation (Deuteronomy 32:36; Psalm 43:1).
[6] John 5:28-29 - While John 5:19-27 present realized
eschatology, John 5:28-29 are future
eschatology; compare with Daniel 12:2.
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Dear Humanity,
I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.
And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.
Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.