DAILY MASS REFLECTIONS WEDNESDAY FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

 

DAILY MASS REFLECTIONS: This is the Catholic Daily Mass Readings and Reflections for Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lenten Season. Today’s first reading is from Isaiah 49: 8-15 and Gospel Reading is from John 5: 17-30.

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Isaiah 49: 8-15.

Thus, says the LORD: “In a time of favor I have answered you, in a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages; saying to the prisoners, ‘Come forth,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’ They shall feed along the ways, on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene.” Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted. But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?  Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”

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Responsorial Psalm.

R.    The Lord is gracious and merciful.
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.
R.    The Lord is gracious and merciful.
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.
R.    The Lord is gracious and merciful.
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.
R.    The Lord is gracious and merciful.

Gospel Acclamation.

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die.

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John 5: 17-30.

Jesus said to the Jews, “My Father is working still, and I am working.” This was why the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself equal with God. The Authority of the Son Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all that he himself is doing; and greater works than these will he show him, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. The Testimony to Jesus “I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

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Gospel Reflection.

Dear God’s beloved children, the judgment of humanity is in the hands of Jesus. Heavenly Father entrusted Jesus to judge the world. The real judgment happens here in the world itself. When we have the chance to believe in Jesus, his deeds, and words, we failed to do that. Like choosing the darkness instead of light. God loves the world that’s the reason why God sent his only Son into the world. As we read in the first reading, Isaiah says: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” God never forsakes us but loves us unconditionally.

Jesus came to the world as a servant, his humility was so powerful. But it does not mean he lost his divinity in the incarnation. Father made Jesus equal to himself, the works of Jesus give witness to this. And all humanity is called to believe in the Son as they honor the Father. Our Faith in the Trinitarian Family makes us believe in the three persons of the Trinity equally. Although the mystery of the Trinity lies beyond human comprehension and the doctrines that define this mystery are quite technical, the Trinity is of enormous importance for human life.

As the catechism puts it, “God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange.” When we start to believe in Jesus, we start to partake in this divine mystery. We become part of this Trinitarian Family. Only the full participation in God’s Trinitarian life will permanently and completely satisfy us as a human being. The Trinity is the answer we seek, the fulfillment of our hopes and the satisfaction of our hearts. And only Jesus, the Word made flesh, is the gate and the way to share in the Trinitarian Communion. The incarnation of Jesus is an invitation to enter into the Trinitarian Family. The choice is ours.   

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