A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words. You who are Israelites, hear these words: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him. But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it. For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. “My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day. But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him
that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption. God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God,
he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured him forth, as you see and hear.”

The Word of the Lord

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Lord, you will show us the path of life

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.

Lord, you will show us the path of life


I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

Lord, you will show us the path of life


Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

Lord, you will show us the path of life


You will show me the path to life,
abounding joy in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.

A Reading from the First Letter of Peter

Beloved: If you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works,
conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb. He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.

The Word of the Lord

A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Luke

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place.

Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.”

And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”

So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

The Gospel of the Lord

The Road to Emmaus - the Second Mass

4-12-26: Divine Mercy Sunday Readings

First Reading:  A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles
  
They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes.
They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm 

Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting

Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”

Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.

I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just.

Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.

The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.


Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.

Second Reading: A Reading from the First Letter of St. Peter

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time. In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,
may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

The Word of the Lord

A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to John

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.

”Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

”Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

The Gospel of the Lord

Reading before the Procession with Palms 

When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, 'The master has need of them.' Then he will send them at once." This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: Say to daughter Zion, "Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden." The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. The very large
crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest." And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, "Who is this?" And the crowds replied, "This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee."

A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 

The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm 

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
All who see me scoff at me;
they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads:
“He relied on the LORD; let him deliver him,
 let him rescue him, if he loves him.”

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Indeed, many dogs surround me,
a pack of evildoers closes in upon me;
They have pierced my hands and my feet;
I can count all my bones.

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
They divide my garments among them,
and for my vesture they cast lots.
But you, O LORD, be not far from me;
O my help, hasten to aid me.

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:
“You who fear the LORD, praise him;
all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him;
revere him, all you descendants of Israel!”

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
 
A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians 

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Word of the Lord

The Passion according to the Gosepl of St. Matthew

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, 'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples."' The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, "Surely it is not I, Lord?" He said in reply, "He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
He answered, "You have said so."

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father." Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them, "This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed; but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee." Peter said to him in reply, "Though all may have their faith in you shaken, mine will never be." Jesus said to him, "Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." Peter said to him, "Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you." And all the disciples spoke likewise.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me." He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will." When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep He said to Peter, "So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, "My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!" Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open. He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again. Then he returned to his disciples and said to them,
"Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand."

While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests and the elders of the people. His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying, "The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him." Immediately he went over to Jesus and said, "Hail, Rabbi!" and he kissed him. Jesus answered him, "Friend, do what you have come for." Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus put his hand to his sword, drew it, and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must come to pass in this way?"
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to seize me? Day after day I sat......

A Reading from the Book of Ezekiel

Thus says the Lord GOD:  O my people, I will open your graves  and have you rise from them,  and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD,  
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,  O my people! 
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,  and I will settle you upon your land;  
thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD. 

The Word of the Lord

 Responsorial Psalm  R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. 
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; 
    LORD, hear my voice! 
Let your ears be attentive 
    to my voice in supplication.  
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. 
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, 
    LORD, who can stand? 
But with you is forgiveness, 
    that you may be revered.  
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. 
I trust in the LORD; 
    my soul trusts in his word. 
More than sentinels wait for the dawn, 
    let Israel wait for the LORD. 
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. 
For with the LORD is kindness 
    and with him is plenteous redemption; 
And he will redeem Israel 
    from all their iniquities. 
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. 

A Reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans 

Brothers and sisters: Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh;  on the contrary, you are in the spirit,  if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you,  although the body is dead because of sin,  the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,  the one who raised Christ from the dead  will give life to your mortal bodies also,  through his Spirit dwelling in you. 

The Word of the Lord

A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to John

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany,  the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil  and dried his feet with her hair;  it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him saying,   “Master, the one you love is ill.”  When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death,  but is for the glory of God,  that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples,  “Let us go back to Judea.” The disciples said to him,  “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you,  and you want to go back there?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble,  because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles,  because the light is not in him.”  

He said this, and then told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” So the disciples said to him, “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.” But Jesus was talking about his death,  while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.  So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe.  Let us go to him.” So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,  “Let us also go to die with him.”  When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus  had already been in the tomb for four days. 
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary  to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus,  

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.”  Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life;  whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,  and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”  When she had said this,  she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying,  “The teacher is here and is asking for you.” As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him.
 
For Jesus had not yet come into the village,  but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her  saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her,  presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,  she fell at his feet and said to him,  “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping,  he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,  “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said,  “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man  have done something so that this man would not have died?”  So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,  “Lord, by now there will be a stench;  he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe  you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me;  but because of the crowd here I have said this,  that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice,  “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands,  and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.”  Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him. 

The Gospel of the Lord

5th Sunday of Lent 3-22-26 Year A  
 
On this fifth Sunday of Lent we hear the story of Lazarus. This is a story, not a parable, not a fable. It actually happened, in the town of Bethany, just a mile or two outside of Jerusalem. Jesus tells many parables during his public ministry, but he also performs many miracles. These miracles are not parables. Among His greatest miracles are three resuscitations. He raises the son of the widow of Nain from the dead and he raises the daughter of Jairus from the dead. And most incredibly, he raises Lazarus from the dead after he has been in a rock tomb for four days. This is Christ's miracle of miracles, one only surpassed by Christ raising himself from the dead after three days. The events we hear about today, a “sign” in the language of John’s gospel, directly precipitate Christ’s passion and death, which will take place in nearby Jerusalem shortly afterwards.  
 
The details of today’s gospel are interesting. Jesus receives the message that Lazarus is sick yet he remains for two days where he is with his disciples. Why does he stay two days? Why doesn't he hurry to the side of his friend who is sick? Because he wants the will of God to be manifested. He waits. He takes his time so that the natural course of events may be succeeded by the supernatural course of events.  
 
Only after he knows that Lazarus has died does he depart for Bethany. When Jesus arrives near Bethany he meets Martha and Mary, Lazarus' sisters, who question him and wonder why he did not come earlier “Lord if you had been here our brother would not have died.” Jesus shares their grief as they express this existential wonder.  
 
Where is God when someone is suffering? Where is God when somebody is about to die? People don't ask questions about God’s presence when someone wins the lottery. They don't wonder about the presence of God when they get a promotion at work. But we do ask about God when in the face of evil, in the face of wickedness. We want to know how bad things can happen when we’ve been told that God is so good.  
 
Jesus enters into the suffering of Martha and Mary in a deeply human and admirable way. It's easy to share joy. It requires nothing to bask in the sea of happiness at a crowded wedding reception. It's a joy to be joyful with the parents after a baby is born. But to share another’s grief is work, isn't it? When a friend is depressed, a sibling loses his or her job, or a colleague’s marriage fractures and they want to share their grief with us, it can be a challenge. Joy is naturally communal. Grief is deeply personal. Sorrow is just harder to share than joy.  
 
Jesus is empathetic. He feels and mirrors the sorrow of Martha and Mary because Lazarus was his friend too. It’s the family’s loss and His loss. And so the gospel tells us, in a very short verse, “Jesus wept.”  
 
A famous Hollywood movie might help us to re-imagine the story of Lazarus in a more modern and imaginative key. In the 1978 movie Superman with Christopher Reeve, Superman is emotionally very close to Lois Lane. Lois dies when an earthquake splits the earth and her car slowly sinks into a crevice. She struggles to escape but is suffocated by the earth spilling into her car.  
 
Superman is not there to save her. He is not at her side in her hour of need. He zooms through the sky to help her but arrives too late. He pulls her car from the crevice, removes her body, and gently lays Lois’ dead body on the dirt. He weeps. He is forlorn. If only he had been there.  
 
And then he does something only a man of his power could do. He rockets into outer space and undoes what has been done. He uncreates what has been created. He whips around the circumference of the globe with such speed and force that the world’s rotation reverses. And slowly the boulders climb back up the mountains. The large chunks of concrete of the Hoover dam reassemble themselves and the water reverses and crawls back into its lake.  
 
Superman reverses creation, and thus reverses time. The earthquake is undone. Time reverses as creation reverses. This imaginary episode is not totally crazy. The movie does not show Superman firing a supersonic laser to save Lois, or reaching into a special magic box, slipping through a black hole, or consulting universal psychic. He does something that seems to make some fanciful sense.  
 
To uncreate means to undo time. To go back in time means to restore a previous time. We believe that our God is outside of time. Our God is perfect and so is not subject to time. Time is a means for measuring change and change implies becoming better or becoming worse. Change implies more virtue or less virtue. More power or less power. But God can’t improve or decline, by definition. So there is no time where God is, which means that there is no clock in heaven. There is nothing to gauge in the land of God. God is Timeless, or, in more familiar language, He is eternal.  
 
Jesus, as the second person of the Holy Trinity, is beyond time. He enters into our time- governed reality. He enters into creation but retains mastery over that creation. This is why many of his miracles are undoings. Christ engages in a great undoing project during his ministry. Someone has died. So he reverses time by 4 days and they live. Those who could not hear can now hear. Those who could not see can now see. This is the power of our eternal God. God’s nature is to create, which also means to re-create. How does God accomplish these things? How does Jesus Christ express his power here?  
 
Through his voice. Through his words. Notice that last week when Jesus cures the man born blind, he creates a saliva and dirt paste and spreads it on the man’s eyes. The man then washes and can then see. Another time, Jesus places his fingers in a man's ears and says “be opened.” At other times he merely speaks, no touching or paste needed, like he does to the daughter of Jairus when he says “Talitha Kum” - “Get up little girl” and she awakes from death.  
 
In today’s Gospel Jesus uses his voice alone, His creative voice. God's voice is an instrument of creation in the Book Genesis and of re-creation in the gospels.
 
This begs the question of what is the purpose of a word? We instinctively understand that words exist for communication, but that may not be their primary purpose. Words may be mental packets to help us organize our thoughts. They may be ways of mapping our various experiences into understandable categories. Words may exist only secondarily as vehicles for communication, as aids to help us when body language is insufficient. So words are not merely descriptive. They can also be creative in the sense of creating reality in the act of their vocalization.  
 
For example, when a baseball umpire says “you're out,” those words create the status of being out. When a judge says “innocent” the reality of innocence is created. When the priest says “I absolve you from your sins” you are absolved.” Someone must say “I'm sorry” for sorrow to truly be extended. To say I forgive you is to “do” I forgive you.  
 
And so our timeless God, our creative God, comes to a cave in Bethany. He comes to the grave of Lazarus and commands creation: “Lazarus come out” and death obeys and Lazarus comes out.  
 
Years ago on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, an Arab Christian guide said something thought provoking. He said to our group - “Do you know why Jesus said ‘Lazarus come out?’ Because if he had said just ‘Come out’ everyone would have come out. Jesus had to say his specific name so that only Lazarus would be resuscitated and walk forth from that tomb.  
 
God knows Lazarus by name. He knows each of our names. When he creates us, He creates us by name. And at the end of our lives, he will call us from this life by name. Last week we heard the gospel of the healing of the man born blind. The gospel says repeatedly that he is the man blind from birth, but it never gives his name. How curious. Why is it that sometimes people are named in the gospel and other times not? Perhaps that man born blind wandered into the deserts of Syria and never turned back. Maybe he became a deep believer in Christ but not a belonger.  
 
We want to be believers and belongers. Lazarus clearly is both. He must have become famous. There are old traditions about him in southern France, including that he became the first bishop of Marseille. We can be fairly certain that Lazarus became a kind of super spreader of the faith, someone whose presence provoked awe. What would people have asked him? What was it like, Lazarus, to be dead? What did you see? A bright light? The face of God? Did you perhaps see my uncle - he was from Bethany? We can likewise imagine Lazarus’ as one of the most compelling witnesses to the truth of Jesus Christ.  
 
The first lesson of all miracles is that they happened, which is not so much a lesson as an acknowledgment. The lesson is that our timeless God can reach down into time and undo evil that has been done. He can overpower death with life. He can command nature. He can bend the iron bar of reality with his voice.  
 
And we pray today and all days that at the end of time he will call us by name, and raise us from the dead, not to die a second death, as Lazarus did, but to live forever with a resurrected body, not just a resuscitated body, with Mary, and Saints Lazarus, Martha and Mary and all the holy ones in the timelessness of heaven. Amen. 
 

March 15, 2026: 4th Sunday of Lent Homily
 
The Louvre museum in Paris is one of the most popular museums in the world and also one of the largest. Hidden down one of its endless hallways is a small room where a dark stone is on simple display. The stone is shaped a bit like a tombstone and it's about four feet high and three feet across. It’s called the Moabite Stone and has a deep connection to today's first reading.  
 
It was discovered in 1868 by a German missionary in the area east of the Dead Sea in modern- day Jordan. The stone dates from about 840 BC, meaning its ancient letters were chiseled into the basalt stone just 130 years or so after David died. Along with just a few other pieces of archeological evidence, the Moabite stone establishes a solid historical foundation upon which the biblical story of David firmly rests. This rock-like evidence provides a powerful counter argument to any argument that the Old Testament is a mere collection of fables.  
 
The Moabite Stone is of great interest for a number of reasons: It contains some of the earliest non-biblical references to the Kingdom of Israel; it specifically mentions the Jewish god “Yahweh” and that images of him were stolen by the Moabites; and it also references the House of David, which was established with his modest anointing in today's first reading at Mass. 
 
When does this anointing of David occur? Probably around the year 1,000 BC. We need a little bit of history to set the context. 
  
After returning from their long exile in Egypt the Jewish people slowly populated the land of Canaan, more or less the western part of the modern Middle East.  
 
They were for a few centuries governed by judges., These judges, or local leaders, were non dynastic, that is, their power and authority did not pass on to their heirs. Their authority was probably over just one or two tribes and often temporary.  
 
After perhaps 300 - 400 years of being ruled by judges, the Jews asked asked God to be ruled by a king since so many of the neighboring tribes had kings. So Saul is anointed by Samuel as the first king of Israel. The era of the judges comes to a close, and the Jews, at least the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, will be ruled by kings 586. At that point, the start of the Babylonian exile, the last king with the blood of David in his veins, named Zedekiah, is killed after being taken into exile. This is when the house of David ends. 
 
David serves for approximately 40 years as king, and dies around the year 970 BC. He is followed by his son Solomon. This chain of Saul-David-Solomon is the well-known but short-lived United Monarchy of the Jews which will fracture in the time of Solomon's sons.  
 
Why does the history of the Jewish people matter? Because the church matters. The Catholic church, in its theology, worship, sacraments, and structure, grows out of that ancient chosen people. If the church is the tree, then the Jews are the roots. We fulfill, and are fulfilling, the promises God made to the Jews without canceling that promise.  
God's new and eternal Covenant, as we say at the consecration at Mass, brings to greater fruition and universality the Old Covenant God made with the Patriarchs.  
 
Theology is not a ship in a bottle or a precious diamond resting under a glass canopy. Theology happens in history for a real religion. Real people. Real dates. Real places. Real events. No castles in the clouds for us. No cosmic dreamcatchers or “the force be with you.” We are rooted in historical truth. 
 
Notice in the reading how David is not the first choice of Samuel. His choice is Eliab, the oldest of Jesse’s sons. He is tall and of a fine appearance, while David is the youngest, not present, and busy working the herd.  
 
In other words, a good appearance does not always translate into competence or leadership abilities. We often universalize, instinctively, physical and personal gifts, thinking that they indicate skilled competence or somehow translate into other areas of life. But there is no intrinsic relationship between competence and charm or personal attractiveness or athletic skill.  
The Bible reiterates this lesson. The best leader might be the physically least impressive person.  
 
And why do the Jews want a king in the first place? Partly out of jealousy and partly out of a natural human instinct. They want a king because every group wants a good leader. The ship needs a captain, the platoon a lieutenant, the team a coach. Groups thrive under good leaders and do things they would never be able to do when governed by committe.  
 
And if that leader is chosen and anointed by God, all the better. The anointing of Saul and then David, in fact, become the model for the anointing which is part of the coronation ritual for all kings, even down to today in the western world. Kings in the middle ages were even thought to have the gift of healing due that anointing.  
 
Samuel anoints David with oil and, presumeably, with words. The reading doesn't record exactly what Samuel said as he anointed David but there must have been a formula recited as the oil dripped down his scalp.  
 
Words and oil. Gestures and blessings. Water and bread and wine. It sounds familiar to Catholic ears. We see in this typology an echo of the seven sacraments. In the sacrament of Holy Orders the priest’s hands are anointed to consecrate the body and blood of Christ. In the ordination of a Bishop his head is anointed with sacred chrism, a very direct recalling of a king’s christening.  
 
Turning to the Gospel from St. John in the story of the unnamed man born blind, we see the same sacramental typology at work. Jesus could have just said “Abracadabra” or “Open Sesame” but he didn't. His touch would have been enough. The Divine finger placed on the human eyelid would have been enough. He is God after all. But Christ does some prefiguring of the sacraments here.He mixes his saliva with dirt and then smears the clay on the man's eyes in order for the man’s sight to be restored. How Sacramental! Our seven sacraments have deep roots! We see them in the anointing of David. We see them in the passage from John’s Gospel.  
 
The recipe of our sacraments is not incidental. The material, or matter, cannot be changed. It cannot be rice instead of bread for the Eucharist. It cannot be ginger ale instead of water at baptism, in the same way that Samuel could not have anointed David with honey instead of oil. The life giving grace of the sacraments are God’s gifts to the church, and the church’s gift to her faithful. They are not mere markers of the seasons or of life’s turning points. They are not equivalent to a birthday cake or the high school prom. 
 
David's anointing by Samuel is still with us in many ways: In the never ending geopolitical fights over Jerusalem; in the anointing of modern kings; in the sacraments, in the church hierarchical structure, in the sacred election of the bishop of Rome by ordained cardinals.  
 
The past is not so past for those paying attention. Much more unites us to our Jewish roots and to the ancient world than divides us. Christ, the founder of the church, is repeatedly called the “Son of David” in the Gospels. We are the sons and daughters of the Son of David, then. Through Creed, through baptism, through Holy Communion, we practice our ever ancient and ever new faith in beautiful and harmonious continuity with our religious forefathers. Amen. 

4th Sunday of Lent 3-15-26 Readings

A Reading from the 1st Book of Samuel

The LORD said to Samuel: “Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, 
because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance 
but the LORD looks into the heart.” In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, 
but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any one of these.” Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him;  we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.” Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, “There—anoint him, for this is the one!” Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.

The Word of the Lord

Responsorial Psalm

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
 in the sight of my foes;
 you anoint my head with oil;
 my cup overflows.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
 
A Reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
 
Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

The Word of the Lord

A Reading from the Holy Gospel accoring to John

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—. So he went and washed, and came back able to see.His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, 

“Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is, :but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.” And they said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I don’t know.”They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.”

But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”Now the Jews did not believe  that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?” His parents answered and said,  “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed  that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; question him.”So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner.” He replied, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”

So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” They ridiculed him and said,  “You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.” The man answered and said to them, “This is what is so amazing,  that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.”

They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?”
Then they threw him out.When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him. Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, 
so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.”Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin;  but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

The Gospel of the Lord

March 12, 2026 Thursday of the 3rd week of Lent  

Helen Keller said that blindness cuts you off from things but deafness cut you off from people. How true it is that hearing loss, especially severe hearing loss, leads to withdrawal, isolation, depression, and reduced independence. 

A world without sound is a much more flat, one-dimensional world. Although sound is invisible, we all live in a sound world as much as a visual world. In the same way that our eyes take in the landscapes all around us, our ears take in the soundscapes that surround us as well. 

To be cut off from this engrossing sound scape, from the voices and bird song and music that populates our world is to be reduced. We have a sound mind that yearns for the dense reality offered through all the gifts of the senses, especially hearing. 

It is a relatively short step to go from “I can't hear” to “I'm all alone.”  

A close cousin to not being able to hear is choosing not to listen. What is the point of the faculty of hearing, after all, if it’s used only to listen to your own voice and none other?  

In the first reading at Mass today the prophet Jeremiah speaks for his boss, God, and says “Thus says the Lord, listen to my voice then I will be your God and you shall be my people.” 

Jeremiah then complains to the Lord about his fellow Jews: “When you speak these words to them, they will not listen to you either. When you call to them they will not answer you.”  

Finally, he gives the Lord some advice: “Say to them, This is the nation that does not listen to the voice of the Lord its God or take correction.”  

And in the Psalms we hear this: “And if today, you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” 
How important it is to listen to God, to the church, to others in order to give meaning to our lives. Otherwise, we become a personal echo chamber, isolated and never growing or improving. 

How do we listen to God? Is He the call of the loon on the morning lake? The huge waves crashing on the rocky shore? The crackling fire? The wind threading through the trees? Nature has its soundtrack. But God is more than his creation in the same way that we are more than our bodies.  

We listen to God by listening to his church. The church and God are not strictly synonymous but to restrict God’s voice to nature’s symphony is to disembody him and to leave His will open to any and all interpretations.  

There's a wonderful scene in the 1980s movie The Mission. An indigenous chief from a rain forest tribe is arguing with a church cardinal. He asks the Cardinal: “Do you speak for God?” The Cardinal responds, pensively, “I personally do not speak for God, but I do speak for the church, which is his instrument on earth.” 

The church indeed is the instrument of God on earth. And this instrument, both beautiful and flawed, has a mind and has a voice, and has plenty to say.  

She speaks at mass. She speaks in the readings and in her liturgical prayers. The church speaks in her sacred music and in her homilies. We listen to the voice of God when we listen to the church. Even her liturgical body language is meaningful for those who can’t hear or who don’t speak the local language of the Mass.  

Most people who suffer from hearing loss wait about 10 years to do anything about it. It’s often too late - relationships have dried up, work ends, family members become distant. If we isolate ourselves from the voice of God in the church, we too will be cut off from the beneficial spiritual and moral formation the Church offers to all of her faithful.  

Solitary confinement is a punishment in prison partly because of the silence which reigns over the prisoners in their cells. Not everyone is good company for themselves.  

Many people are in a form of modern solitary confinement. Cut off, dwelling in a cell where the ancient voice of God does not reach.  

Jeremiah commands his fellow Jews to listen, not just to hear, the voice of God. Listening to the multi-track voice of the Church enriches our sound scape, contextualizes our existence, and gives more meaning to our life.  

Heaven will be beautiful for many reasons, and partly because of the hum and whistle of a great cloud of witnesses offering God sound worship and sound praise of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Hell may be very quiet, or perhaps a mere echo chamber of narcissists glorying in the voice they love the best – their own.