PRAYER OF THE DAY

LENTEN PSALM

You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,

who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,

Say to the Lord,

"My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust."

For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler,

from the destroying pestilence.

With his pinions he will cover you,

and under his wings you shall take refuge;

his faithfulness is a buckler and a shield.

You shall not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day;

Though a thousand fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right side,

near you it shall not come.

Rather with your eyes shall you behold and see the requital of the wicked,

Because you have the Lord for your refuge;

you have made the Most High your stronghold.

No evil shall befall you,

nor shall affliction come near your tent.

For to his angels he has given command about you that they guard you in all your ways.

Upon their hands they shall bear you up,

lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Because he clings to me,

I will deliver him;

I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.

He shall call upon me,

and I will answer him;

I will be with him in distress;

I will deliver him and glorify him;

with length of days I will gratify him and will show him my salvation.

[Source: Lent and Holy Week in the Home by Emerson and Arlene Hynes, 
The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1977.]

DAILY MASS READINGS

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Reading

EZ 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 right 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.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

R. The Lord of hosts is with us;

our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

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.

R. The Lord of hosts is with us;

our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

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.

R. The Lord of hosts is with us;

our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

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.

R. The Lord of hosts is with us;

our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

Gospel

JN 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 OF THE DAY

March 12

St. Maximilian (d. 295)

We have an early, precious, almost unembellished account of the martyrdom of St. Maximilian in modern-day Algeria.

Brought before the proconsul Dion, Maximilian refused enlistment in the Roman army saying,

"I cannot serve, I cannot do evil. I am a Christian."

Dion replied: "You must serve or die."

Maximilian: "I will never serve. You can cut off my head, but I will not be a soldier of this world, for I am a soldier of Christ. My army is the army of God, and I cannot fight for this world. I tell you I am a Christian."

Dion: "There are Christian soldiers serving our rulers Diocletian and Maximian, Constantius and Galerius."

Maximilian: "That is their business. I also am a Christian, and I cannot serve."

Dion: "But what harm do soldiers do?"

Maximilian: "You know well enough."

Dion: "If you will not do your service I shall condemn you to death for contempt of the army."

Maximilian: "I shall not die. If I go from this earth, my soul will live with Christ my Lord."

Maximilian was 21 years old when he gladly offered his life to God. 

His father went home from the execution site joyful, 

thanking God that he had been able to offer heaven such a gift.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.

And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 99 (100)

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore him.

Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,

and serve him with joy.

Exult as you enter his presence.

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore him.

Know that the Lord is God.

He made us and we are his

– his people, the sheep of his flock.

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore him.

Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,

fill his courtyards with songs.

Proclaim him and bless his name;

for the Lord is our delight.

His mercy lasts for ever,

his faithfulness through all the ages.

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore him.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us.

Come, let us adore him.

Hymn

Lord, who throughout these forty days

for us didst fast and pray,

teach us with thee to mourn our sins,

and close by thee to stay.

As thou with Satan didst contend

and didst the victory win,

O give us strength in thee to fight,

in thee to conquer sin.

As thou didst hunger bear, and thirst,

so teach us, gracious Lord,

to die to self, and chiefly live

by thy most holy word.

And through these days of penitence,

and through thy Passiontide,

yea, evermore in life and death,

Jesus, with us abide.

Abide with us, that so, this life

of suffering overpast,

an Easter of unending joy

we may attain at last.

Psalm 101 (102)

Prayers and vows of an exile

Let my cry come to you, Lord:

do not hide your face from me.

Lord, listen to my prayer

and let my cry come to you.

Do not hide your face from me:

whenever I am troubled,

turn to me and hear me.

Whenever I call on you,

hurry to answer me.

For my days vanish like smoke,

and my bones are dry as tinder.

My heart is cut down like grass, it is dry –

I cannot remember to eat.

The sound of my groaning

makes my bones stick to my flesh.

I am lonely as a pelican in the wilderness,

as an owl in the ruins,

as a sparrow alone on a rooftop:

I do not sleep.

All day long my enemies taunt me,

they burn with anger and use my name as a curse.

I make ashes my bread,

I mix tears with my drink,

because of your anger and reproach –

you, who raised me up, have dashed me to the ground.

My days fade away like a shadow:

I wither like grass.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Let my cry come to you, Lord:

do not hide your face from me.

Psalm 101 (102)

Turn, Lord, to the prayers of the helpless.

But you, Lord, remain for ever

and your name lasts from generation to generation.

You will rise up and take pity on Zion,

for it is time that you pitied it,

indeed it is time:

for your servants love its very stones

and pity even its dust.

Then, Lord, the peoples will fear your name.

All the kings of the earth will fear your glory,

when the Lord has rebuilt Zion

and appeared there in his glory;

when he has listened to the prayer of the destitute

and not rejected their pleading.

These things shall be written for the next generation

and a people yet to be born shall praise the Lord:

because he has looked down from his high sanctuary,

– the Lord has looked down from heaven to earth –

and heard the groans of prisoners

and freed the children of death

so that they could proclaim the Lord’s name in Zion

and sing his praises in Jerusalem,

where people and kingdoms gather together

to serve the Lord.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

Turn, Lord, to the prayers of the helpless.

Psalm 101 (102)

You founded the earth, Lord,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

He has brought down my strength in the midst of my journey;

he has shortened my days.

I will say, “My God, do not take me away

half way through the days of my life.

Your years last from generation to generation:

in the beginning you founded the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will pass away but you will remain;

all will grow old, like clothing,

and like a cloak you will change them, and they will be changed.

“But you are always the same,

your years will never run out.

The children of your servants shall live in peace,

their descendants will endure in your sight.”

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

You founded the earth, Lord,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

Now is the favourable time.

– Now is the day of salvation.

First Reading

Leviticus 19:1-18,31-37

Duty to one's neighbor

The Lord spoke to Moses; he said:

‘Speak to the whole community of the sons of Israel and say to them:

“Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.

“Each of you must respect his father and mother.

“And you must keep my sabbaths; I am the Lord your God.

“Do not turn to idols, and cast no gods of metal. I am the Lord your God.

“If you offer a communion sacrifice to the Lord, make yourselves acceptable and so offer it. 
It must be eaten the same day or the day after; whatever is left the day after must be burnt. 
If eaten on the third day it would be a corrupt offering, it would not be acceptable. 
Anyone who eats it must bear the consequences of his fault, 

for he will have profaned the holiness of the Lord; 
this person shall be outlawed from his people.

“When you gather the harvest of your land, you are not to harvest to the very end of the field. 

You are not to gather the gleanings of the harvest. 

You are neither to strip your vine bare nor to collect the fruit that has fallen in your vineyard. 

You must leave them for the poor and the stranger.

I am the Lord your God.

“You must not steal nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your neighbour. 

You must not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God. 

I am the Lord. 

You must not exploit or rob your neighbour. 

You must not keep back the labourer’s wage until next morning. 

You must not curse the dumb, nor put an obstacle in the blind man’s way, 

but you must fear your God.

I am the Lord.

“You must not be guilty of unjust verdicts. 

You must neither be partial to the little man nor overawed by the great; 

you must pass judgement on your neighbour according to justice. 

You must not slander your own people, 

and you must not jeopardise your neighbour’s life. 

I am the Lord. 

You must not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. 

You must openly tell him, your neighbor, of his offence; 

this way you will not take a sin upon yourself. 

You must not exact vengeance, 

nor must you bear a grudge against the children of your people. 

You must love your neighbour as yourself.

I am the Lord.

“Do not have recourse to the spirits of the dead or to magicians; they will defile you.

I am the Lord your God.

“You are to rise up before grey hairs, you are to honour old age and fear your God.

I am the Lord.

“If a stranger lives with you in your land, do not molest him.

You must count him as one of your own countrymen and love him as yourself –

for you were once strangers yourselves in Egypt.

I am the Lord your God.

“Your legal verdicts, your measures – length, weight and capacity – must all be just. 
Your scales and weights must be just, a just ephah and a just hin.

I am the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

“Keep all my laws and customs, put them into practice. I am the Lord.”’

Responsory

The whole of the Law is summarized in a single command:

Love your neighbour as yourself;

serve one another in a spirit of love.

I give you a new commandment:

love one another. Just as I have loved you,

you also must love one another.

Serve one another in a spirit of love.

Second Reading

From a sermon 

by Pope St Leo the Great

In praise of charity

In John’s gospel the Lord says: By this love you have for one another, everyone will know you are my disciples. In a letter by John we read: My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love.

So the faithful should look into themselves and carefully examine their minds and the impulses of their hearts. If they find some of the fruits of love stored in their hearts then they must not doubt God’s presence within them, but to make themselves more and more able to receive so great a guest they should do more and more works of durable mercy and kindness. After all, if God is love, charity should know no limit, for God himself cannot be confined within limits.

What is the appropriate time for performing works of charity? My beloved children, any time is the right time, but these days of Lent provide a special encouragement. Those who want to be present at the Lord’s Passover in holiness of mind and body should seek above all to win this grace. Charity contains all other virtues and covers a multitude of sins.

As we prepare to celebrate that greatest of all mysteries, by which the blood of Jesus Christ destroyed our sins, let us first of all make ready the sacrificial offerings — that is, our works of mercy. What God in his goodness has already given to us, let us give it to those who have sinned against us.

And to the poor also, and to those who are afflicted in various ways, let us show a more open-handed generosity so that God may be thanked through many voices and the needy may be fed as a result of our fasting. No act of devotion on the part of the faithful gives God more pleasure than the support that is lavished on his poor. Where God finds charity with its loving concern, there he recognises the reflection of his own fatherly care.

Do not be put off giving by a lack of resources. A generous spirit is itself great wealth, and there can be no shortage of material for generosity where it is Christ who feeds and Christ who is fed. His hand is present in all this activity: 

his hand, which multiplies the bread by breaking it and increases it by giving it away.

When you give alms, do not be anxious but full of happiness. The greatest treasure will go to the one who has kept the least for himself. The holy apostle Paul tells us: He who provides seed for the sower will give bread for food, provide you with more seed, and increase the harvest of your goodness, in Christ Jesus our Lord, 

who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

Responsory

Give, and gifts will be yours:

good measure, pressed down and shaken up and running over,

will be poured into your lap.

You must forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Good measure, pressed down and shaken up and running over,

will be poured into your lap.

Let us pray.

By our Lenten prayer and observance, Lord,

prepare our hearts to welcome the mystery of Easter

and to proclaim the good news of salvation.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.