Catholic Missal of the day: Tuesday, March 8 2016

Tuesday of the Fourth week of Lent

Tuesday of the Fourth week of Lent

1. Reading

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."

Psalm

Psalms

46(45),2-3.5-6.8-9.

]God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
]Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
]There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
]God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
]The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
]Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.

Gospel

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.

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St. John of God(Religious (1495-1550))

SAINT JOHN OF GOD Religious (1495-1550) Nothing in John's early life foreshadowed his future holiness. He ran away from home in Portugal, tended sheep and cattle in Spain, and served as a soldier against the French and afterward against the Turks. Around 40 years old, feeling remorse for his wild life, John devoted himself to ransoming Christian slaves in Africa. He went there with the family of an exiled nobleman, whom he supported with his labor. After returning to Spain, he began selling holy pictures and books at low prices. At length, the hour of grace struck. In Granada, a sermon by the celebrated John of Avila shook his soul to its depths; and his expressions of self-abhorrence were so extraordinary that he was taken to an asylum. There, he comforted and ministered to the sick. After leaving the asylum, John sheltered the homeless and supported them byworking and begging. One night, he found a man who was nearly dead lying in the street. He carried the man to the hospital and washed the latter's feet. John knelt, and was awestruck: The feet were pierced and the print of nails bright and radiant. He raised his eyes to look and heard the words, "John, to Me thou doest all that thou doest to the poor ... I reach forth My hand for the alms thou givest; Me dost thou clothe, Mine are the feet thou dost wash." The bishop became John's patron and named him John of God. When John's hospital was on fire, he was seen rushing uninjured amidst the flames until he had rescued all his poor. After ten years of serving the poor, he passed away from an illness. He contracted the illness after diving into the river Xenil to save a drowning boy. He was 55 years old and was welcomed by Jesus Christ into Heaven.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2016 / Catholic Missal of march 2016