Dear Brother and Sister in Christ,
Welcome to Catholic Mass Readings in Biblemsg.com. We are on the April 01, 2023 in the 5th Saturday of Lent. Today’s Mass readings and reflection on Ezekiel 37:21-28; John 11:45-57. In our daily reflection today, the Main theme is For God and for good!
Catholic Mass Readings
Main Theme of the Day: For God and for good!
Table of Contents
Today’s Readings
| First Reading | Ezekiel 37:21-28 |
| Resposorial Psalm | Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12ab, 13 (R. see 10d) |
| Gospel Reading | John 11:45-57 |
First Reading
Ezekiel 37:21-28
21 Thus speaks the Lord GOD: I will take the Israelites from among the nations to which they have come, and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.
22 I will make them one nation upon the land, in the mountains of Israel, and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.
23 No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols, their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people and I may be their God.
24 My servant David shall be prince over them, and there shall be one shepherd for them all; they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees.
25 They shall live on the land which I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their fathers lived; they shall live on it forever, they, and their children, and their children’s children, with my servant David their prince forever.
26 I will make with them a covenant of peace; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them, and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.
27 My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD, who make Israel holy, when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.
Responsorial Psalm
Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12ab, 13 (R. see 10d)
Response: The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Gospel
John 11:45-57
45 Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs.
48 If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.”
49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing,
50 nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.”
51 He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
52 and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
53 So from that day on they planned to kill him.
54 So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.
55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before Passover to purify themselves.
56 They looked for Jesus and said to one another as they were in the temple area, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?”
Catholic Homily for Today
Focus: When we stand for God and good, the evil forces cannot stand us. Hence they will try desperately to pull and out us down
1. God’s promises in the Old Testament are by and large very exuberant and lavish. But we need not see them as exaggerated and empty promises like those of many politicians. Rather, we can see in those promises God’s boundless mercy and condescending generosity. It looks as if God suffers from “Short-time memory”, especially concerning the people’s sins
2. He feels deeply sad and anguished when they become disloyal and go astray. But as soon as they repent and plead for mercy, He immediately relents and forgives them. Not only that. He promises to them much more prosperity than before
3. There is exuberance and abundance, so much so a doubt arises, whether they will really happen, or whether there are only idealistic and wishful thinking. We need not take them as shallow non-realisable promises. Rather they indicate God’s holy design of “restoration”
4. Some highlights of these promises are: the re-gathering and unifying of all the dispersed people of Israel. There will be no division, no conflict or fight but only unity and one nation, and one ruler. They shall be taken care by one shepherd
5. They will be cleansed from all their defilement. That is by sin which is apostasy and idolatry. They will also be delivered from their exile and slavery, symbolised by sin. God will make an everlasting covenant of peace. He will multiply them. He will dwell among them and make them holy
6. Now all these find their referent and fulfilment in Jesus. He gathers into one all the dispersed children of Israel. This dispersion is not geographical. It is spiritual. Those who sin are dispersed from God
7. Jesus came on the mission of restoration and unification. In him all become one new nation, of new Israel. God will begin to dwell them though the living sanctuary of Jesus Christ
Direction: Let us constantly allow God to cleanse us, liberate, unify, sanctify and glorify us through a covenantal relationship of intimacy and fidelity
Note
Hope you had a good experience reading the catholic reflection for the day. With another inspiring message we shall meet in the next post. Stay Tuned in Biblemsg.com Thank You.
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