Sunday Bible Readings March 29 2009 Fifth Week of Lent

March 29 2009 Fifth Sunday of Lent
For the Readings of Fifth Sunday of Lent with RCIA CLICK HERE

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/032909.shtml

Jeremiah 31:31-34
Douay-Rheims Challoner

Behold the days shall come, saith the Lord, and I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Juda: Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, the covenant which they made void, and I had dominion over them, saith the Lord. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord: I will give my law in their bowels, and I will write it in their heart: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying: Know the Lord: for all shall know me from the least of them even to the greatest, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Responsorial Psalm 50:3-4, 12-15 (PS 51 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.
And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from thy face; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.

Hebrews 5:7-9
Haydock New Testament

Who in the days of his flesh, offering up prayers and supplications, with a strong cry and tears to him, that was able to save him from death, was heard for his reverence. And whereas indeed he was the Son of God, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered: And being consummated, he became the cause of eternal salvation to all that obey him.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint John 12:20-33
Haydock New Testament

Now there were certain Gentiles among them, that came up to adore on the festival day. These, therefore, came to Philip, who was of Bethsaida, of Galilee, and desired him, saying;

Sir, we wish to see Jesus.

Philip cometh, and telleth Andrew: again Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying;

The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground, die, Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life, shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life everlasting. If any man minister to me, let him follow me: and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause I came unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.

A voice, therefore, came from heaven:

I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again.

The multitude, therefore, that stood and heard, said that it thundered. Others said;

An Angel spoke to him.

Jesus answered, and said;

This voice came not for mine, but for your sake.

Now is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.

(Now this he said signifying what death he should die.)

Haydock Commentary Jeremias 31:31-34
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 31. Covenant. That made with the captives was not such. Their covenant is grown old, and at an end, as S. Paul shews. Heb. viii. 8. They were not indeed divided, as they had been. Ezec. xxxvii. 16.
• Ver. 32. Dominion. As a husband, (Heb. C.) or “Lord.” H. — “I despised them.” Sept. Heb. viii.
• Ver. 33. Heart. They were more docile after their return: yet still their service was very imperfect and forced. How many false traditions were received, at the coming of Christ! This of course, regards his disciples.
• Ver. 34. Lord. Christ himself came to instruct mankind. The true God was better known than ever, even by the illiterate. Yet God requires us to have recourse to men, in order to know his truths, as S. Paul was sent to Hananias, and the eunuch to Philip. H. — The apostles were enlightened by the Holy Ghost, (Jo. vi. 45. S. Aug. de Spir. C.) who still guides the flock by his pastors. The private spirit is too fanatical and delusive. H. — The most ignorant shall easily become acquainted with the truths of salvation. External preaching is requisite, though of little use unless grace touch the mind and the heart. T. — All will hear successively, (H.) or embrace the gospel at the same time, for several years before the last day. Houbig. pref. in Prop. 356. Is. xi. 9. and xlv. 23. Soph. iii. 9. &c. H.

Haydock Commentary Hebrews 5:7-9

• Ver. 7. Who in the days of his flesh, of his mortal and suffering condition, even with strong and fervent crying out, and tears, offering up as man, prayers and supplications to him, to God, who could save him from death; to wit, in the garden of Gethsemani, and on the cross, yet with a perfect resignation and conformity of his human will to the divine will, was heard for his reverence.[1] I leave this translation, which is in the Rhemes Testament, very literal from the Latin Vulgate, and which cannot be said to be any ways disagreeable to the Greek. As to the sense, there are two expositions in the best interpreters. S. Chrysostom and many others understand, that he was heard as to every prayer that he made absolutely, and not conditionally only, (as when he prayed that the cup of his sufferings might pass from him) and he was heard for that reverence, reverential regard, and just consideration which the eternal Father had for him, who was his true Son. This interpretation agrees better with the Greek text, in which is left out the word his. Others by his reverence, understand that he was heard on account of that reverential fear, that respectful submission and piety, which he always had towards his eternal Father. And if it be asked in what Christ was not heard, and in what he was heard: he was not heard when he said, let this cup of sufferings, or this death, pass from me, because it was not what he asked and prayed for with an absolute desire, but only thereby expressed the natural fear which, as man, he had of death, and therefore presently added, but not my will but thine be done, expressing what he knew to be the divine will. And to shew this, S. Chrys. on these words, brings all those sentences by which our Saviour, Christ, had declared that he had power to lay down his life, and power to take it up again; that no one taketh it from him, but that he laid it down of himself. See John x. 18. and S. Chrys. hom. vii. p. 475. But Christ was heard in all he prayed for with an absolute will, according to what he said to his Father, I know that thou always heareth me. Jo. xi. 42. He was heard as to all that he asked with an absolute will, either for himself or his Church. Wi. — What excellent dispositions these of Jesus Christ in his sacrifice, which we learn from his apostles. How truly worthy are these tears both of our love and our adoration! Hence it appears, that Jesus Christ in his prayer both in the garden and on the cross shed tears, though the evangelists are silent on this head. Menochius.
• Ver. 8. He that was truly the Son of God, and knew all things, learnt practically, and taught us perfect obedience in suffering and dying a cruel death on the cross. Wi.
• Ver. 9. And being consummated, or perfected as man in all kinds of virtues, and at the same time true God by his divine person, became the author of salvation to all those who both believe in him and obey him. Wi.

Haydock Commentary John 12:20-33

• Ver. 20. Gentiles . . . come up to adore. These either were proselytes who had been Gentiles, and now had embraced the Jewish law: or they were such among the Gentiles, who owned and served the one true God, as Cornelius did, (Acts, c. x.) but did not submit themselves to circumcision, and all the other Jewish rites and ceremonies. These could only enter into that part of the temple, called the court of the Gentiles. Wi.
• Ver. 24. Unless the grain of wheat. The comparison is this, that as the seed must be changed, and corrupted in the ground, before it fructify, so the world would not be converted but by Christ’s death. Wi. — By this grain of corn our Saviour means himself, who was to die by the infidelity of the Jews, and be multiplied by the faith of the Gentiles. S. Aug. tract. 51. in Joan.
• Ver. 26. We must minister to Jesus by seeking not our own things, but the things of Christ; that is; we must follow him, we must walk in his footsteps, we must perform the corporal works of mercy, and every other good work, for his sake, till we come to put in practice the most perfect act of charity, the laying down our lives for our brethren. Then will he crown us with the greatest of rewards, the happiness of reigning with him. And where I am, there shall my minister be. S. Aug. tract. 51. in Joan.
• Ver. 27. Now is my soul troubled. Christ permitted this fear and horror to come upon his human nature, as he did afterwards in the garden of Gethsemani. Father, save me from this hour; yet he presently adds, but for this cause I came unto this hour; that is, I came into this world for this end, that I might die on a cross for all mankind. In like manner, when he had said in the garden, let this cup pass from me, he presently joined these words: but not my will, but thine be done. Wi. — Lest the disciples, upon hearing our Saviour exhorting them willingly and courageously to suffer death, should think within themselves, that he could well exhort them to these things, being himself beyond the reach of human misery, he assures them in this place, that he himself is in agony, and yet does not refuse to die for them. S. Chrys. hom. lxvi. in Joan.
• Ver. 28. Father, glorify thy name, by my sufferings and death, as well as by many miracles that shall follow. A voice came from heaven, and so loud, that some there present compared it to thunder: and at the same time these words were heard: I have glorified it, thy name, and I will glorify it again, by a number of ensuing miracles at Christ’s death, at his resurrection and ascension, as well as by all those miracles, which the apostles and disciples wrought afterwards. Wi.
• Ver. 30. As the soul of Christ was troubled, not on his own account, but for the sake of the people; so this voice came from heaven, not for his sake, but for that of the people. What it announced was already known to him; the advantage and instruction of the Jews was its end, object, and motive. S. Aug. 52. tract. in Joan.
• Ver. 31. Now is the judgment of the world: their condemnation, says S. Chrys. for not believing. — The prince of this world, that is, the devil, shall be cast out from that great tyranny, which he had over mankind, before Christ’s incarnation. Wi. — By these words Christ informs the Gentiles that wished to see him, that soon he would punish the incredulous Jews, and cast off their synagogue, for their malice and insatiable hatred against him; and that the prince of this world, that is, the worship of idols, should be destroyed, and all called to the true faith. Calmet.
• Ver. 32. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth: that is, on the cross. See the same expression, Jo. iii. 14. and viii. 28. — I will draw all things, all nations, to myself by faith. Wi.

Sunday Bible Readings March 29 2009 The Fifth Sunday of Lent For RCIA

March 29 2009 Fifth Sunday of Lent for RCIA
Standard Readings for Fifth Sunday of Lent are here CLICK HERE

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/032909.shtml

Ezekiel 37:12-14
Douay-Rheims Challoner

Therefore prophesy, and say to them:

Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will open your graves, and will bring you out of your sepulchres, O my people: and will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have opened your sepulchres, and shall have brought you out of your graves, O my people: And shall have put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall make you rest upon your own land: and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken, and done it, saith the Lord God:

Responsorial Psalm 129:1-8 (Ps 130 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord:
Lord, hear my voice.
Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it.
For with thee there is merciful forgiveness:
and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord.
My soul hath relied on his word:
my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Romans 8:8-11
Haydock New Testament

And they who are in the flesh, cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body, indeed, is dead, because of sin, but the spirit liveth, because of justification. And if the Spirit of him, who raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you: he that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead, shall quicken also your mortal bodies, because of his spirit dwelling in you.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint John 11:1-45
Haydock New Testament

NOW there was a certain man sick, named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary, and of Martha, her sister. (And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother, Lazarus, was sick.)His sisters, therefore, sent to him, saying;

Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest , is sick.

And Jesus hearing it, said to them;

This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.

Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, Mary, and Lazarus. When he had heard, therefore, that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days. Then after that he said to his disciples;

Let us go into Judea again.

The disciples say to him;

Rabbi, the Jews but just now sought to stone thee: and goest thou thither again?

Jesus answered:

Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world: But if he walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.

These things he said: and after that he said to them;

Lazarus, our friend, sleepeth: but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.

His disciples, therefore, said;

Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

But Jesus spoke of his death: and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep. Then, therefore, Jesus said to them plainly;

Lazarus is dead. And I am glad, for your sake, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him.

The Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow-disciples:

Let us go also, that we may die with him.

Jesus therefore came: and found that he had been four days already in the grave. (Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.) And many of the Jews were come to Martha, and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Martha, therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus was come, went to meet him: but Mary sat at home. Martha therefore said to Jesus:

Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died: But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

Jesus saith to her;

Thy brother shall rise again.

Martha saith to him;

I know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection at the last day.

Jesus said to her;

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live: And every one that liveth, and believeth in me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this?

She saith to him;

Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ, the Son of the living God, who art come into this world.

And when she had said these things, she went, and called her sister, Mary, secretly, saying;

The master is come, and calleth for thee.

She, as soon as she heard this, riseth quickly, and cometh to him. For Jesus was not yet come into the town: but he was still in that place where Martha had met him. The Jews, therefore, who were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying;

She goeth to the grave to weep there.

When Mary, therefore, was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, and saith to him; Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

When Jesus, therefore, saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her weeping, he groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself. And said;

Where have you laid him?

They say to him;

Lord, come and see.

And Jesus wept. The Jews, therefore, said;

Behold how he loved him.

But some of them said;

Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?

Jesus, therefore, again groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulchre: Now it was a cave: and a stone was laid over it. Jesus saith;

Take away the stone.

Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him;

Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days.

Jesus saith to her;

Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?

They took, therefore, the stone away: And Jesus, lifting up his eyes, said;

Father, I give thee thinks that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because of the people who stand about, have I said it: that they may believe that thou hast sent me.

When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice:

Lazarus, come forth.

And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding-bands, and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them;

Loose him, and let him go.

Many, therefore, of the Jews, who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.

Haydock Commentary Ezekiel 37:12-14
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

None

Haydock Commentary Romans 8:8-11

None

Haydock Commentary John 11:1-45

• Ver. 1. At the end of the preceding chapter, we are told that Jesus went into the place where John the Baptist was first baptizing. This place, as may be gather from S. John, (c. i. v. 28. and 44.) was Bethania; but not the Bethania where the sister of Lazarus resided. The Bethania where Christ was at this time was beyond the Jordan, and was likewise called Bethabara; whereas the Bethania where Lazarus lay sick, was two miles to the south of Jerusalem, and formed a part of the suburbs of that city. It is called the town of Martha and Mary, because they lived there; in the same manner as Bethsaida is called the city of Peter and Andrew. Calmet.
• Ver. 4. This sickness is not unto death. This is, though he truly die, it is not designed that he remain dead. Wi. — This sickness is not unto death; because his death itself was not unto death, but rather to the working of a great miracle, by which men were brought to the true faith, and thus avoided an eternal death. S. Austin, tract. 49. in Joan. — Lazarus indeed died of this sickness, but he did not die as other men, to continue dead; for Jesus raised him again to the glory of God. SS. Cyril, Chrys. &c.
• Ver. 9. Some, by the day in this place, understand the time preceding the Passion of our Saviour; and, by the night, the time of his Passion. Theophy. — By this he encouraged his disciples, assuring them that the day of his sojournment on earth was not yet over; and therefore that the Jews, with all their malice and hatred, could not hurt him. But when the night (the time of his Passion) comes, then their power over him commenced. This is your hour, says he to them, and the power of darkness. Calmet. — The Hebrews then divided the day into twelve parts of equal duration, from the rising to the setting sun. V.
• Ver. 11. Lazarus . . sleepeth. It is strange that the disciples could imagine that Christ spoke of an ordinary sleep, and that he would go two or three days’ journey to awake him. Nothing but the fear and concern they were under, would make them think so. Wi.
• Ver. 12. To men indeed he was dead, but to God he slept. For the Almighty as easily raised him from his grave, as man can raise the slumberer from his bead. S. Aust. tract. 49. in Joan.
• Ver. 15. When Christ says, that you may believe, we must not suppose he means, that they might begin than for the first time to believe, but that their faith, already begun, might be increased; for the faith of the disciples still stood in need of miracles, to make it grow more strong and rooted. S. Aust. as above.
• Ver. 16. Thomas . . . said, let us also go, that we may die with him. That is, with Jesus: this he said, exhorting the other disciples not to fear. Wi. — The words, Thomas and Didymus, have the same radical signification; both meaning twins.
• Ver. 18. About fifteen furlongs. About two Italian miles. Wi.
• Ver. 21. If thou hast been here. These words shew that the faith of the two sisters was but weak; as if the Son of God was not everywhere: or as if he could not restore him to life when dead and buried. Wi. — Martha believed in Christ, but not as she ought to have done. She did not yet believe him to be God, but addressed him as one who is remarkable for virtue, and approved of by heaven. S. Chrys. hom. 61. in Joan.
• Ver. 23. Thy brother shall rise again. Martha took notice that Christ did not express, whether immediately, or at the general resurrection, which she and the Jews generally believed. Wi.
• Ver. 25. I am the resurrection, and the life. That is, the author of both. Wi. — I am the resurrection, I am he who will at the last day raise him up; I can, therefore, if I will, raise him up now also. S. Aust.
• Ver. 27. Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. Martha breaks out into an act of perfect faith. See C. i. v. 49. Wi.
• Ver. 31. It was customary to visit, occasionally, the sepulchres, there to weep over the deceased. V.
• Ver. 33. He groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself. The Latin and Greek, both in this and the 38th verse, express a more than ordinary inward trouble. Christ, as he was truly man, had the affections and passions of human nature; yet so that he was master, even of the first motions, which could not raise in him any disturbance or disorderly inclinations. He permitted, therefore, and, as it is said, raised in himself these affections of compassion and grief at this time. Wi.
• Ver. 34. Where have you laid him? He asks what he knows, says S. Aug. to raise their attention, their faith, hope, &c. Wi.
• Ver. 35. Jesus wept. A mark of his human nature, when he was going to give them a proof of his divinity, in raising the dead to life. Wi. — The tears of the disconsolate sisters called forth tears from the tender commiseration of Jesus. Nor was it unworthy the Son of God to shed tears. See Luke xix. 41. About to give proofs of his divinity in raising the dead, he is pleased to give, first, undoubted proofs of his humanity, that he might shew himself both God and man.
• Ver. 39. Take away the stone. He could have done this by his word and command; or he could have made Lazarus come out without taking off the stone; he need not to pray, who could do and command every thing. Wi.
• Ver. 41. Father, I give thee thanks, that thou hast heard me. He knew that what he asked, even as man, must needs be granted; but he prayed for our instruction. Wi. — Christ was about to pray for the resurrection of Lazarus; but his eternal Father, who alone is good, prevented his petition, and heard it before he presented it. Therefore does Christ begin his prayer, by returning his almighty Father thanks for having granted his request. Orig. tract. 18. in Joan.
• Ver. 43. He cried with a loud voice: Lazarus come forth. His will had been sufficient. He calls upon the dead man, says S. Chrys. as if he had been living; and it is no sooner said than done. Wi.
• Ver. 44. Loose him, and let him go. Christ, says S. Greg. by giving these orders to his apostles, shews that it belongs to his ministers to loose and absolve sinners, when they are moved to repentance, though it is God himself that forgiveth their sins; and they by his authority only. Wi. — Lazarus comes forth bound from the sepulchre, that he might not be thought to be a phantom; and that the bystanders might themselves loose him, and touching and approaching him, might know for certain that it was he. S. Chrys. hom. lxiii. in Joan. — S. Cyril and S. Austin both adduce this verse to shew the power of priests in absolving sinners. See S. Cyril l. vii. c. ult. in Joan. and Aug. tract. 49. in Joan.