March 22 2009 Fourth Sunday of Lent With RCIA
About the sources used. The readings on this site are not official for the Mass of Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in the USA, but are from sources free from copyright. They are here to present the comparable readings alongside traditional Catholic commentary as published in the Haydock Bible for your own personal study. Readings vary depending on your local calendar.
Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/032209.shtml
There are 2 sets of Readings for Today
Readings for Fourth Sunday with RCIA here or CLICK HERE for the Ordinary Fourth Sunday Readings
1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Douay-Rheims Challoner
And the Lord said to Samuel:
Fill thy horn with oil, and come, that I may send thee to Isai, the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
And when they were come in, he saw Eliab, and said:
Is the Lord’s anointed before him?
And the Lord said to Samuel:
Look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature: because I have rejected him, nor do I judge according to the look of man: for man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart.
Isai therefore brought his seven sons before Samuel: and Samuel said to Isai:
The Lord hath not chosen any one of these.
And Samuel said to Isai:
Are here all thy sons?
He answered:
There remaineth yet a young one, who keepeth the sheep.
And Samuel said to Isai:
Send, and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
He sent therefore and brought him. Now he was ruddy and beautiful to behold, and of a comely face. And the Lord said:
Arise, and anoint him, for this is he.
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward
Responsorial Psalm 22 (Ps 23 NAB/Hebrew)
DR Challoner Text Only
The Lord ruleth me: and I shall want nothing.
He hath set me in a place of pasture.
He hath brought me up, on the water of refreshment:
He hath converted my soul.
He hath led me on the paths of justice,
for his own name’s sake.
For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evils, for thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.
Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me.
Thou hast anointed my head with oil;
and my chalice which inebreateth me, how goodly is it!
And thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord unto length of days.
Ephesians 5:8-14
Haydock New Testament
For you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. Walk ye as children of the light: For the fruit of the light is in all goodness, and justice, and truth: Proving what is acceptable to God: And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For the things that are done by them in secret, it is shameful even to mention. But all things that are reproved, are made manifest by the light: for all that is made manifest is light. Wherefore he saith: Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten thee.
The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint John 9:1-41
Haydock New Testament
AND Jesus passing by, saw a man that was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him:
Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?
Jesus answered:
Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, whilst it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
When he had said these things, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and spread the clay upon his eyes; And said to him:
Go, wash in the pool of Siloe, (which is interpreted, Sent).
He went, therefore, and washed, and he came seeing. The neighbours, therefore, and they who had seen him before that he was a beggar, said:
Is not this he that sat, and begged?
Some said:
This is he.
But others,
No: but he is like him.
But he said:
I am he.
They said, therefore, to him:
How were thy eyes opened?
He answered:
That man who is called Jesus, made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me; God to the pool of Siloe, and wash. And I went, I washed, and I see.
And they said to him:
Where is he?
He saith;
I know not.
They bring him that had been blind, to the Pharisees. Now it was the sabbath, when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Again, therefore, the Pharisees asked him how he had received his sight. But he said to them:
He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and I see.
Some, therefore, of the Pharisees said;
This man is not of God, who keepeth not the sabbath.
But others said;
How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?
And there was a division among them. They say, therefore, to the blind man again;
What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes?
And he said;
He is a prophet.
The Jews then did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight: And asked the, saying;
Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth he now see?
His parents answered them, and said:
We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But how he now seeth, we know not: or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: ask himself; he is of age; let him speak for himself.
These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had already agreed among themselves, that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore did his parents say;
He is of age; ask himself.
They, therefore, called the man again that had been blind, and said to him:
Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.
He said then to them;
If he be a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.
Then they said to him;
What did he to thee? How did he open thy eyes?
He answered them:
I have told you already, and you have heard: why would you hear it again? Will you also become his disciples?
They reviled him, therefore, and said;
Be thou his disciple: but we are the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses: but as to this man, we know not from whence he is.
The man answered, and said to them;
Why herein is a wonderful thing, that you know not from whence he is, and he hath opened my eyes: Now we know that God doth not hear sinners: but if a man be a worshipper of God, and doth his will, him he heareth. From the beginning of the world it hath not been heard, that any man hath opened the eyes of one born blind. Unless this man were of God, he could not do any thing.
They answered, and said to him:
Thou wast wholly born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out: and when he had found him, he said to him;
Dost thou believe in the Son of God?
He answered, and said;
Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?
And Jesus said to him;
Thou hast both seen him, and it is he who talketh with thee.
And he said;
I believe, Lord.
And falling down, he adored him. And Jesus said;
For judgment I am come into this world; that they who see not, may see, and they who see, may become blind.
And some of the Pharisees, that were with him, heard: and they said to him;
Are we also blind?
Jesus said to them;
If you were blind, you should not have sin: but now you say, We see; Your sin remaineth.
Haydock Commentary 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a (1 Kings in the Douay-Rheims)
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site
- Ver. 1. Horn. Such vessels were formerly very common, and were used to contain liquor, and instead of cups. 3 K. i. 39. Horace ii. Sat. 2. The ancient silver cups, at Athens, resembled horns. Athen. xi. 7. But the northern nations, particularly Denmark, &c. used horns to drink, as the Georgians still do. The rims are ornamented with silver, &c. Plin. xi. 37. Chardin. C. — A fragile vile was not used, but a horn, to denote the duration and abundance of David’s reign. Rupert. M.
- Ver. 6. Him. Heb. “surely the Lord’s anointed is in his presence.” This he spoke by his own spirit, judging from the comeliness of Eliab. C. — But the beauty of Saul’s body had concealed a deformed soul. H.
- Ver. 7. Rejected, or not chosen. M. — God had positively rejected this eldest son, as his pride seems to have been the greatest. C. xvii. 28. H. — Heart. This is one of God’s perfections. Glorified saints see man’s heart in his light, for their own and our advantage, (S. Greg. Mor. xii. 11. S. Aug.) as the prophets have sometimes done. 3 K. xiv. W.
- Ver. 10. Seven. David was absent. Isai had eight sons. C. xvii. 12. Yet only seven are mentioned, 1 Par. ii. 13. Perhaps one of those whom he produced on this occasion, might be a grandson, or one is omitted in Chronicles. C.
- Ver. 11. Young son, (parvulus,) “a little one;” (H.) or the youngest, who might be about 15, (C.) or 28. Seder. olam. iii. M.
- Ver. 12. Ruddy, like the spouse, Cant. v. 10. Some explain it of his hair. So Alexander is said to have had reddish or golden locks. — Behold. Heb. “with the beauty of the eyes.”
- Ver. 13. Brethren. Some say, without informing him, (C.) or them, (M.) what the unction meant. If he told the brothers, he would no doubt take the necessary precautions to keep it secret, as the whole family would have been in imminent danger, if the transaction had come to the ears of Saul, v. 2. Josephus says, that Samuel only informed Isai in private: and David’s brothers treated him with no peculiar distinction. Whence it is inferred, that they had not been present when he was anointed. Some witnesses seem, however, to have been requisite, as the title of David to the regal dignity depended on this ceremony, and none were more interested than his own family to assert his pretensions. He now had a right to the kingdom, but not the possession; being like a son expecting his father’s estate as his future right, of which, as yet, he cannot dispose. C. — Came upon, to make him prosper. M. — Heb. “came with prosperity; (Sept.) impetuosity.” God endued him with all those graces which might render him fit to command. C. — So David prays himself, “with a princely spirit confirm me;” (Ps. l. 14.) or, strengthen me with a perfect spirit. Salien observes, that he did not now receive the spirit of charity, as if he had hitherto been in enmity with God, (C. xiii. 14.) but he began to advance in virtue with more rapid strides, while Saul became every day more criminal and abandoned to the devil. H. — David received the spirit of fortitude and of prophecy, of which Saul had formerly had some experience, when he was first elevated to that high dignity. C. x. He was changed into a new man, and adorned with all that could render a king most glorious. Though he returned to his wonted occupations, the spirit of the Lord enabled him to destroy wild beasts, as in play, (Eccli. xlvii. 3.) and to compose and sing many of those divine canticles which we still admire. Salien, A. 2969. — Whether he composed all the Psalms, as S. Chrysostom endeavours to prove, (præf.) we shall examine hereafter. H.
Haydock Commentary Ephesians 5:8-14
- Ver. 8. By darkness is here meant the state of infidelity into which they had been plunged so far as to adore stones as God, and committed without remorse the above-mentioned grievous sins. But delivered by Christ from this darkness, they have become light in the Lord, shining in faith and justice. Estius.
- Ver. 9. For the fruit of the light. So the Latin and divers Greek copies; not the fruit of the spirit, as we read in many Greek manuscripts; and in this Dr. Wells thought fit to change the Prot. translation. Wi.
- Ver. 10. With solicitude seek out what things are pleasing to God, and carefully perform them. Estius.
- Ver. 11. You are light, they are darkness; do you, therefore, shew by the light of your good works how base and detestable their works of darkness are. Estius.
- Ver. 14. Rise, thou that sleepest. The sense may be taken from Isai. lx. 1. S. Jerom thinks they may be cited from work not canonical. Wi.
Haydock Commentary John 9
- Ver. 2. When Christ healed the paralytic, he dismissed him with this injunction: Behold thou art made whole; now sin no more. From this the disciples concluded, that his infirmity was sent him in punishment of former sins. When, therefore, they saw this man afflicted with blindness, they inquired of their divine Master, whether it was on account of his or his parents’ sin. S. John Chrys. hom. lv. in Joan.
- Ver. 3. When Christ says that neither he nor his parents had sinned, we must not understand that he was born without original sin, nor even that he had not committed other sins. For both he and his parents had sinned; but the meaning is, that this blindness was not a penal blindness inflicted in punishment of any sin either himself or his parents had committed; but, as is afterwards subjoined, it was sent him for the manifestation of the glory of God. S. Austin, tract. xliv. in Joan.
- Ver. 4. Whilst it is day. That is, during all the time of this mortal life; the night comes, that is, death. Wi. — He speaks of that night of which mention is made is S. Matt. c. xxii. Cast him into exterior darkness. This is a night in which none can work, but only receive the reward of their labours. If you wish to work, work now whilst you live; for beyond the grave there is neither faith, nor labour, nor repentance. S. Chrys. as above.
- Ver. 5. Thus the day of which I am to avail myself is the time of my mortal life; and the night which is to follow this, is that of my death. V.
- Ver. 6. He spat on the ground. With clay and spittle he cured the blind man, to make the miracle more visible. Wi. — From the example of Jesus Christ, religious ceremonies are introduced in the administration of the sacraments; and can the Church be blamed for copying her divine Founder? A.
- Ver. 7. The fountain of Siloe was at the foot of the walls of Jerusalem, to the east, where its waters were collected in a reservoir for the benefit of the city. Thither our Saviour sent the blind man. The word Siloe signifies sent, and was a figure of Christ, who was sent by his eternal Father into the world to enlighten all men, of whom this blind man was the emblem. The pool of Siloe represents the sacrament of baptism, by which we are sanctified and made Christians. It is still to this day held in great veneration by the Turks, who think its waters very beneficial in diseases of the eyes. Calmet. — Its waters signify those of divine grace and light, communicated to the faithful soul through Jesus Christ, who was sent of God. V. — Thus Sedulius:
- ———-Cognoscite cuncti,
- Mystica quid doceant animos miracula nostros.
- Cœca sumus proles miseræ de fœtibus Hevæ,
- Portantes longo natas errore tenebras.
- Sed dignante Deo mortalem sumere formam
- Tegminis humani, facta est de Virgine nobis
- Terra salutaris, quæ fontibus oblita sacris
- Clara renascentis referat spiracula lucis.
- Ver. 17. The Hebrews gave the name of prophet to all those who were honoured by the Almighty in a particular manner. And it was a maxim amongst them, that a prophet could dispense with the law of the sabbath. Cal. — Do you wish to know what he believed Jesus to be? asks S. Austin. And falling down, he adored him. Before, he regarded him as a holy man, as a prophet; but he did not adore him until he understood him to be the Son of God; whereas no sooner did he know this, than, falling down, he paid him that sovereign worship which is due to God alone. Calmet.
- Ver. 22. The Jews had already agreed, or combined together, that if any one owned him for the Messias, he should be turned out of their synagogues, as a person excommunicated. Wi.
- Ver. 24. Give glory to God, before whom thou art speaking, and tell us the truth. It could not be this man who cured thee; for we know he is a sinner, who seduceth the people. V. — So say our separated brethren, when they derogate from miracles done by saints, pharisaically pretending the glory of God, as if it were not God’s glory when his servants act by his power and virtue. Witness Peter’s shadow, (Acts v.) and Paul’s handkerchiefs that cured diseases, and expelled wicked spirits. Acts xix. 11, 12.
- Ver. 27. I have told you already, and you have heard. In almost all Greek manuscripts we now read, and you have not heard. Beza, with good reason, here prefers the Latin Vulgate, as more correct than the Greek. Wi.
- Ver. 28. They reviled him with scornful[1] and disdainful language. Wi.
- Ver. 31. God doth not hear sinners. That is, in so particular a manner, as to work miracles in favour of them and their doctrine. Wi.
- Ver. 32. From the beginning of the world it hath not been heard. Though we read of many miracles done by Moses and the prophets, this, saith he, is the first example of any man receiving his sight who had been born blind. Wi.
- Ver. 39. For judgment I am come into this world. Christ said (c. iii. 17.) that God did not send his Son to judge the world: the same he repeats; (John xii. 47.) nor is this contradictory to those words: the meaning here is not that he is come to exercise the office of a judge, but he tells them what will be the consequences of his coming, and their refusing to believe in him, that they shall be justly punished with the greatest severity for their wilful blindness. Wi. — Jesus Christ came into the world that the pagans, who were yet in darkness, might receive light, and that the Jews, who enjoyed the light, might fall into darkness. The Jews were thus condemned, on account of their presumption and hardness of heart, and grace was granted to the Gentiles to enter into the true Church. These are the designs of the Almighty upon mankind, some of whom remain in infidelity, whilst others receive the light of faith; but all is done by the secret and impenetrable decrees of the justice and wisdom of God. The Holy Ghost, by these words, tells us only what was to be the event, not what was the cause of these things. We must seek for the cause of them in the malice of the heart of man, and in the depth of the judgments of God. Cal. — I am come, &c. Not that Christ came for that end, that any one should be made blind; but that the Jews, by the abuse of his coming, and by their not receiving him, brought upon themselves this judgment of blindness. Ch.
- Ver. 40-41. The Pharisees then replied: and are we also blind? Jesus said to them: if you were blind, by ignorance in not having heard of me, and my doctrine, you might be excused for not believing; but now saying, we see: and having been yourselves in the occasions and opportunities of seeing, your sin remaineth, and you in your sins. Wi. — If you were blind, &c. If you were invincibly ignorant, and had neither read the Scriptures, nor seen my miracles, you would not be guilty of the sin of infidelity: but now, as you boast of your knowledge of the Scriptures, you are inexcusable. Ch. — If you had humility enough to acknowledge your blindness and ignorance, and seriously to seek for a remedy, you would soon be delivered from sin, and freed from the evil of blindness. But filled as you are with presumption, you remain still in blindness, which, as it is voluntary, is at the same time criminal and inexcusable. This is your evil; this you sin. Calmet. — We here see that it is judged by truth itself far better not to read the Scriptures at all, than to read them with bad dispositions; not to see the miracles of Jesus Christ, than to refuse our assent to their author. At the present day all read the Scriptures, but do we see any marked improvement in the moral world? The text, without any comment, is given to Churchmen and to Dissenters: the latter gladly accept the offering, because, as the Rev. Frederick Noland observes, (in his objections of a Churchman to uniting with the Bible society, p. 34) “the authorized version is in many places accommodated to their peculiar opinions, through the conciliatory spirit of the Church, which revised the text for the purpose of doing their objections away.” And in his note on this part, he adds: “The last revisal of the translation of the Bible was undertaken, as is notorious, for the purpose of removing certain objections made to the old version by the non-conformists. That the execution has been answerable to the intent, is evident from the fact of the Dissenters having withdrawn their exceptions, and adopted the version. Comp. Nichols. Defens. Eccles. Anglic. p. 33. Pierre. Vindic. Fratr. Dissent. p. 60-67.” Thus (Acts xiv. 23.) “ceirotonhsanteV de autoiV presbuterouV kat ekklhsian. When they had ordained them elders by election, in every church. Bp’s Bible. When they had ordained them elders in every church. Authors. vers. These words, as applied to S. Paul and S. Barnabas, who had merely received first orders, (Acts xiii. 2.) form in the former version an argument against presbyters’ right to ordain, and in the latter one in favour of that practice.” As a further accommodation, he says the word elders was substituted for presbyters, &c. “Independency in the very nature of it is schism; for every congregation is a different church.“ Sherl. Def. of Stillingfl.
Sunday Bible Readings March 22 2009 The Fourth Sunday of Lent
Posted by Bob on March 22, 2009
March 22 2009 Fourth Sunday of Lent
About the sources used. The readings on this site are not official for the Mass of Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in the USA, but are from sources free from copyright. They are here to present the comparable readings alongside traditional Catholic commentary as published in the Haydock Bible for your own personal study. Readings vary depending on your local calendar.
Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/032209.shtml
There are 2 sets of Readings for Today
Ordinary Fourth Sunday here
or CLICK HERE for the Readings for Fourth Sunday with RCIA
2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23
Douay-Rheims Challoner
Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people wickedly transgressed according to all the abominations of the Gentiles: and they defiled the house of the Lord, which he had sanctified to himself in Jerusalem. And the Lord the God of their fathers sent to them, by the hand of his messengers, rising early, and daily admonishing them: because he spared his people and his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused the prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, and there was no remedy.
And the enemies set fire to the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burnt all the towers, and what soever was precious they destroyed. Whosoever escaped the sword, was led into Babylon, and there served the king and his sons, till the reign of the king of Persia, That the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled, and the land might keep her sabbaths: for all the days of the desolation she kept a sabbath, till the seventy years were expired. But in the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, to fulfil the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the mouth of Jeremias, the Lord stirred up the heart of Cyrus, king of the Persians: who commanded it to be proclaimed through all his kingdom, and by writing also, saying:
Thus saith Cyrus king of the Persians: All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord the God of heaven given to me, and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judea: who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up.
Responsorial Psalm 136:1-6 (Ps 137 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only
Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept:
when we remembered Sion:
On the willows in the midst thereof we hung up our instruments.
For there they that led us into captivity required of us the words of songs.
And they that carried us away, said:
Sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion.
How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.
Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee:
If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy.
Ephesians 2:4-10
Haydock New Testament
But God, who is rich in mercy, through his exceeding charity, with which he hath loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ, (by whose grace you are saved) And hath raised us up together, and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus: That he might shew in the ages to come the abundant riches of his grace, in goodness towards us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: for it is a gift of God; Not of works, that no man may glory. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, in good works; which God hath prepared, that we should walk in them.
The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint John 3:14-21
Haydock New Testament
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so much the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him. He that believeth in him is not judged: but he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the judgment: because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved. But he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God.
Haydock Commentary 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23 (2 Paralipomenon)
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site
Haydock Commentary Ephesians 2:4-10
Haydock Commentary John 3:14-21
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