Wednesday of the Fourth week of Lent

Book of Isaiah

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.

Psalms

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.
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.
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.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

Jesus answered the Jews: "My Father is at work until now, so I am at work."
For this reason the Jews 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, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what he does, his son will do also.
For the Father loves his 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 his 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 his 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."

St. Euphrasia(Virgin and Martyr (+ 303))

SAINT EUPHRASIA Virgin and Martyr(+ 303) The holy virgin Euphrasia lived in Nicomedia during the reign of Maximian. She was noble, virtuous, pure and faithful. When idolaters forced her to offer pagan sacrifice, she refused and was scourged. When they failed to break her, they gave her to a barbarian who would rape her. On the way to the barbarian's house, Euphrasia prayed silently asking God to preserve her undefiled. When they entered the house, Euphrasia asked the barbarian to wait so she could to give him a plant with miraculous power.“If you wear the sprout on your person, no one can harm you,” she said. When he replied,“Give it to me later," Euphrasia said, “The plant is powerless if touched by a woman who has lost her virginity." The barbarian agreed to let Euphrasia go into the garden, so she went, broke off a sprig and showed it to him. He asked her, “How will I know if you are telling the truth?” Euphrasia placed the sprig against her neck and said, “Strike my neck with a sword as hard as you can and you will not hurt me.” The barbarian fetched a sword and brought it down with all his might - decapitating her. Too late, he realized, he had been outwitted. The wise virgin, who preferred death rather than defilement, was welcomed by Jesus Christ into heaven.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2024 / Catholic Missal of march 2024