Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Showing posts with label Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54. Show all posts
Monday, March 16, 2026
Monday, March 31, 2025
Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
All human life has dignity.
Ergo, euthanasia is wrong. But letting
live only begins to respect life. Life must
be assisted so that it may develop and prosper.
This is the whole point of Easter as the readings during this second
half of Lent will testify.
In today’s first reading the prophet promises a new
earth. It will be a place of joy. There will be no premature death. Indeed, at a hundred years old, a person will
be considered young. The gospel shows
Jesus enabling the dying son of the royal official to live. His miraculous cure is called a “sign.” It signifies that Jesus has come to give
eternal life to those who believe in him.
We should note a very different tenor in the mass readings of the second half of Lent. They no longer call for repentance and penance. Rather, they emphasize the fullness of life God bestows through His Son. Easter will soon be here. We will leave behind our sins and worries. It is almost time for us to rejoice.
Monday, March 28, 2022
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
Yesterday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, is
called “Laetare Sunday.” Most Catholics know that this term means rejoicing. Preachers in pink vestments explain that the
Church rejoices because the time of penance is half-over. Wearing pink, rather than the solemn purple,
symbolizes the lighter spirit.
The shift of Laetare Sunday is more
significant than a one-day change of color. The daily mass readings will no
longer call for repentance and prayer. They
will anticipate the fulfilment of God’s promises at Easter. The spirit of coming fulfilment is readily
seen in today’s first reading. God tells
the people that He is “about to create new heavens and a new earth.” The gospel
actually shows fulfilment. Jesus rescues
the son of a Jewish royal official from death.
We may look for signs of fulfilment in our
own lives. Perhaps fasting has slimmed our
waistlines a bit. But if this were all
the fulfilment so far, we have missed Lent’s purpose. By now we should have developed a closer
familiarity with the Lord. Our
conversation with him should be less tentative and more intimate. We should be communicating our readiness to
suffer with him. If this is the case,
we will likely see those around us in a new way as well.
Monday, March 12, 2018
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
The readings today focus on innovation. In the first the Lord announces that He is
about to create something so great that it will forever change life as it has
been lived. The gospel gives a hint of what that change will be by relatedly a
previously unheard of feat. It shows
Jesus healing the dying son of a royal official without even seeing him. More wondrously, Jesus will bring new life to
women and men living in different places and at different times.
Jesus accomplishes new life for people by rising from the
dead on Easter Sunday. As he rose, they
will rise as well at the end of time when he returns to earth in glory. Until relatively recently there was a lot of
fanfare about Easter. Most Christians
wore something new on that day to symbolize the new life that was promised. Everyone went to church. Now the day seems to have less significance
for most Christians than Mother’s or Father’s Day. Perhaps Easter promises too much for people
who are regularly awed by the products of technology.
We should strive to keep Easter faith strong. The best way to do so is to invite others to
participate in the events of Holy Week and to celebrate Easter Sunday in an
especially festive way. Whatever the
blessings that we have experienced in our lives, they are nothing compared to
what Christ’s Easter victory promises.
Monday, March 7, 2016
Monday of the
Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
The “Age of Aquarius” portends the dawn of an age of
peace based on astrological signs. Some
believed it arrived in the 1960s and 1970s with the hippie culture. But that peace has proved delusional perhaps because
hippies did not ground their hope in righteous living. The readings today proclaim a more credible
age of fulfillment with Jesus.
In the first reading the prophet Isaiah announces that
God is about to create something wonderful.
There will be no more fleeing one’s land because of war or famine. Rather people will live in the houses they
build and eat the fruit of the gardens they plant. They will survive well beyond a hundred years
because of their righteousness.
We find the completion of this prophecy in Jesus. As the gospel indicates, he restores health
to those who believe in him. Of course,
we need to ask, “Why do not people live forever?” But don’t we share that hope in Jesus? Just as he rose from the dead to live in
glory, we -- his followers – expect to enjoy eternal life without discomfort or
distress.
Monday, Mar 16, 2015
Monday of the
Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
When St. John Paul II was elected pope in 1978, he
advised that the celebration of Jubilee 2000 would be the hallmark of his
papacy. Sure enough, as the bicentennial
became more proximate, he issued calls for a global celebration. Grand synods of bishops were convoked in the
different parts of the world. Tributes
were issued to God the Father in 1998, God the Spirit in 1999, and Jesus, the
Son of God, in the long anticipated year.
The readings today suggest that similar preparations for Easter now be
planned.
The theme of the Lenten mass readings has changed from
remorse and repentance for sins to anticipation of the graces of Easter. The first reading from the third part of the
Book of the Prophet Isaiah tells of a new beginning about to take place. God, it says, will turn the people’s mourning
into joy. No one, it continues, will be
deprived of a long life. The gospel
passage indicates why. It shows Jesus
performing the first of his healings in the Gospel of John. His power, it makes clear, transcends space
as he heals the royal official’s son from a distance.
People have traditionally prepared for Easter by buying a
new set of clothes. The idea was as much
as clothes make the person, so the people will show that they have been
recreated in Christ by new dress. We should
concern ourselves with the virtues that indicate a new creation: gratitude in place
of criticism, charity in place of miserliness, and hope in place of
discouragement. Of course, now is the
time to start practicing these virtues so that at Easter they become as
apparent as a beautiful woman’s Easter bonnet.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Monday of
the Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
Last year during his Holy Thursday mass Pope Francis made
an extraordinary gesture. He washed the feet of two young women and one
Muslim. He obviously intended the action as a sign to the world that
Jesus Christ has come to serve all people. In today's gospel, Jesus also gives a
sign to the world.
In curing the official's son from a distance, Jesus shows to the people of Galilee that he is the one sent from God to heal the world. The time is coming soon when he will hang on the cross to take away human guilt. As the first reading from Isaiah intimates, God is about to do great things on behalf of humanity.
Still some of us doubt the good news in the gospel. We tire of being told that Jesus has saved us from our sins when we find ourselves ever struggling with same temptations. Perhaps our problem is that we fail to turn to the Lord with these needs. We will find his grace strengthening our spirits when we turn to him to reform our sinful ways.
In curing the official's son from a distance, Jesus shows to the people of Galilee that he is the one sent from God to heal the world. The time is coming soon when he will hang on the cross to take away human guilt. As the first reading from Isaiah intimates, God is about to do great things on behalf of humanity.
Still some of us doubt the good news in the gospel. We tire of being told that Jesus has saved us from our sins when we find ourselves ever struggling with same temptations. Perhaps our problem is that we fail to turn to the Lord with these needs. We will find his grace strengthening our spirits when we turn to him to reform our sinful ways.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
Younger Next Year is one of many books promising a longer, healthier life. Its principal idea is that a proper regime of diet and exercise decreases your “biological age” even as your “physical age” advances. Although a good mix of diet and exercise should grant almost anyone a longer life, the concept of “biological age” is, at best, subtle. One can hardly arrest the whole process of aging. Similarly, we have to think hard about what Isaiah means when he promises that there will be a time when dying at a hundred would seem a short life.
We should understand the prophet to be expressing himself poetically, not literally. That is, Isaiah is commenting upon one’s spiritual life, not physical life. He means to say that in the new creation we will maintain the glory of youth and the wisdom of the aged. Death will be of no concern for us because we will have encountered the source of eternal life.
It may be hard to believe, but the new creation has already begun. Jesus has conquered death even though its cold reality swamps us at times. Humans will be dying until Jesus comes as he promised, but physical death need not be the last utterances of a person’s existence. When we give ourselves over to him, we enter the new creation. He buoys our lives to float above the currents of sin that would destroy us. At death he will give us spiritual life in its fullness. No one can say exactly what this will be like except that it will be like Jesus’ own life. Meanwhile, we should feel younger just by giving ourselves over to him.
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
Younger Next Year is one of many books promising a longer, healthier life. Its principal idea is that a proper regime of diet and exercise decreases your “biological age” even as your “physical age” advances. Although a good mix of diet and exercise should grant almost anyone a longer life, the concept of “biological age” is, at best, subtle. One can hardly arrest the whole process of aging. Similarly, we have to think hard about what Isaiah means when he promises that there will be a time when dying at a hundred would seem a short life.
We should understand the prophet to be expressing himself poetically, not literally. That is, Isaiah is commenting upon one’s spiritual life, not physical life. He means to say that in the new creation we will maintain the glory of youth and the wisdom of the aged. Death will be of no concern for us because we will have encountered the source of eternal life.
It may be hard to believe, but the new creation has already begun. Jesus has conquered death even though its cold reality swamps us at times. Humans will be dying until Jesus comes as he promised, but physical death need not be the last utterances of a person’s existence. When we give ourselves over to him, we enter the new creation. He buoys our lives to float above the currents of sin that would destroy us. At death he will give us spiritual life in its fullness. No one can say exactly what this will be like except that it will be like Jesus’ own life. Meanwhile, we should feel younger just by giving ourselves over to him.
Homilette for Monday, March 23, 2009
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
The Prospect of Immortality was written over forty years ago in an age of extravagant optimism. It describes the possibility of deep-freezing people at death so that they may be thawed when cures for their ailments are discovered. Since then, to my knowledge, there have been no accounts of successful revitalization. However, there have been reports of rotting cadavers of people who paid to have their dead bodies frozen.
It has been said that no one will get out of this world alive. Then what of our belief in the resurrection? In the first reading, Isaiah offers the springboard to this belief. God -- the prophet tells us -- will create a new earth where people will live hundreds of years. We believe that this new creation has been realized in Jesus Christ. He saves people from death as we see in the gospel today. He restores life as we read in the story of Lazarus and his sisters. And he will rise from the dead to eternal glory. We can assure ourselves that there is no “prospect of immortality” besides the hope of the resurrected Jesus redeeming us from death.
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
The Prospect of Immortality was written over forty years ago in an age of extravagant optimism. It describes the possibility of deep-freezing people at death so that they may be thawed when cures for their ailments are discovered. Since then, to my knowledge, there have been no accounts of successful revitalization. However, there have been reports of rotting cadavers of people who paid to have their dead bodies frozen.
It has been said that no one will get out of this world alive. Then what of our belief in the resurrection? In the first reading, Isaiah offers the springboard to this belief. God -- the prophet tells us -- will create a new earth where people will live hundreds of years. We believe that this new creation has been realized in Jesus Christ. He saves people from death as we see in the gospel today. He restores life as we read in the story of Lazarus and his sisters. And he will rise from the dead to eternal glory. We can assure ourselves that there is no “prospect of immortality” besides the hope of the resurrected Jesus redeeming us from death.
Homilette for March 3, 2008
Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
The Prospect of Immortality was written over forty years ago in an age of extravagant optimism. It describes the possibility of deep-freezing people at death so that they may be thawed when cures for their ailments are discovered. Since then, to my knowledge, there have been no accounts of successful revitalization. However, there have been reports of rotting cadavers of people who paid to have their dead bodies frozen. Despite this dismal reality, the book remains in print!
It has been said that no one will get out of this world alive. Then what of our belief in the resurrection? In the first reading, Isaiah offers the springboard to this belief. God -- the prophet tells us -- will create a new earth where people live hundreds of years. We believe that this new creation has been actualized in Jesus Christ. He saves people from death as we see in the gospel today. He raises people from the dead as we shall hear in next Sunday’s gospel. And he will rise from the dead himself to live in eternal glory. We can assure ourselves that there is no “prospect of immortality” besides the hope of the resurrected Jesus redeeming us from death.
We have entered the final weeks of Lent. Now we focus not so much on the sacrifices we make but on all that Jesus promises. Most wonderfully he promises us everlasting life with him. Like the royal official of the gospel, let us not demand that he accompany us physically in our needs. Rather, let us trust that he will be there to rescue us from death when we conform our ways to his.
(Isaiah 65:17-21; John 4:43-54)
The Prospect of Immortality was written over forty years ago in an age of extravagant optimism. It describes the possibility of deep-freezing people at death so that they may be thawed when cures for their ailments are discovered. Since then, to my knowledge, there have been no accounts of successful revitalization. However, there have been reports of rotting cadavers of people who paid to have their dead bodies frozen. Despite this dismal reality, the book remains in print!
It has been said that no one will get out of this world alive. Then what of our belief in the resurrection? In the first reading, Isaiah offers the springboard to this belief. God -- the prophet tells us -- will create a new earth where people live hundreds of years. We believe that this new creation has been actualized in Jesus Christ. He saves people from death as we see in the gospel today. He raises people from the dead as we shall hear in next Sunday’s gospel. And he will rise from the dead himself to live in eternal glory. We can assure ourselves that there is no “prospect of immortality” besides the hope of the resurrected Jesus redeeming us from death.
We have entered the final weeks of Lent. Now we focus not so much on the sacrifices we make but on all that Jesus promises. Most wonderfully he promises us everlasting life with him. Like the royal official of the gospel, let us not demand that he accompany us physically in our needs. Rather, let us trust that he will be there to rescue us from death when we conform our ways to his.
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