[katoliko] Sunday Gospel and Homily (Fifth Sunday of Lent – Year B) for March 25, 2012 [3 Attachments]

[Ambrosio Antioquia]

 

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Sunday Gospel and Homily for March 25, 2012

Fifth Sunday of Lent – Year B

Lectionary: 35

 

First Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34 – from Old Testament – THE PROPHET

 

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah.

 

The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant, and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I will place my law within them and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will they have need to teach their friends and relatives how to know the LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.

 

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

 

Responsorial Psalm:                                                                               Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15.

 

R/.  Create a clean heart in me, O God.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.  R/.

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.  R/.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.  R/.

 

Second Reading: Hebrews 5:7-9 – from New Testament – EPISTLE

 

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews.

 

In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

 

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

 

Gospel Reading: John 12:20-33 – from Four Gospels (Year B)

                            

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.

 

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John. Glory to you, O Lord.

 

 

 

“..Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,

it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world

will preserve it for eternal life…”

 

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.

 

"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? 'Father, save me from this hour?' But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it and will glorify it again." The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

 

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Reflection:

 

 

 

“Unless a wheat grain falls to the ground and dies”

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit

From the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

My reputation grew very quickly and people from other countries were attracted to my teachings and the miracles that I was performing. They were pagans who would be transformed by my words and become my followers.

I asked my Heavenly Father to glorify his name, then my Father responded saying: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” Those who heard the voice thought they were hearing thunder, some thought an angel was speaking to me.

My Father made His presence felt in order to give faith to the unbelievers, to attest that I was the Son of the Living God, His eternal Word that must be heard, so that everyone can be saved.

The hour had come for the Son of God to be glorified, but it was hard for them to understand that I had to die to be glorified as the Savior of the world, the one who gives eternal life to those who are dead in their sins. I illustrated how, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. In the same way I had to suffer and die for the sins of humanity, so that with my death I would destroy sin, the devil and death in order to share the power of the resurrection with everyone who follows me.

I said, those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world, for my sake, will keep it for eternal life. The man who loves his life and lives for the flesh and the pleasures of this world will lose his life. The man who mortifies his senses for the sake of his soul, who denies himself and carries the cross of my will, will savor eternal life as his reward.

Dear soul, if you truly love me, have no fear of death. Death is the door to eternal life and I am standing there to receive your soul and bless you for eternity. Therefore live your life with contempt for the world, purify yourself with heavenly thoughts, aspire to posses the kingdom of heaven in your heart, accept the will of God and pray constantly because your liberation is near.

 

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary

 

Homily:

 

“To Know the Lord”

Homily by Fr. Phil Bloom

 

Bottom line: To know the Lord - to experience his new covenant - requires introduction, initiation, repentance and prayer. A sacred place, the psalms and the use of posture can help us pray - to see Jesus, to know the Lord.

 

In recent Sundays we have heard about the covenant: How God - by his initiative - establishes a relationship with human beings. We learned about the covenant with Noah after the great flood - when God made a new beginning. Jewish scholars call this the "Noah ide Covenant." It has certain norms that apply to all human beings: setting up law courts, respect for marriage and human life - and the prohibition of idolatry.

 

After many generations God made a specific covenant with Abraham - who is the father of the Jewish people. That covenant has laws which God spelled out in detail through Moses. Those laws guided the Jews in their relation to God and to others.

 

Today, in our first reading, we hear about a further covenant - a "new covenant." The prophet Jeremiah says God will place his law within us. The new covenant is not a new law. Rather, God by his Spirit helps us interiorize his ancient eternal law. He will write that law upon our hearts. Then, He says, "All shall know me."

 

All shall know me. How does that happen? How do we know the Lord? Not only know about him, but actually know him?

 

We have a cue in this Sunday's Gospel. It begins with some Greeks who approach the Apostle Philip with this request, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." To see Jesus, that is the key to knowing God. To see Jesus is to enter the "new covenant."

 

Before talking about what it means to see Jesus, I would like to say something about these "Greeks" who wanted to see Him. They had "come to Jerusalem to worship at Passover time." They were not necessarily people from what we today call the country of Greece. In Jesus time, "Greek" applied to the people who spoke that language - and Greek had become the common language of the Roman Empire and beyond. Some of those "Greeks" had adopted partial or full Judaism. And many first century Jews lived outside of Palestine and had immersed themselves in Hellenistic culture to the point that their first (or only) language was Greek. The Jews of Palestine referred to them as "Hellenists" or simply "Greeks." These two groups (Greek converts to Judaism and Hellenized Jews) were large.

 

So, the "Greeks" were a broad group. A few from this vast number wanted to see Jesus, to know him. How would they do it? We see the steps in today's readings.

 

First, of course, someone has to introduce them to Jesus - in this case the Apostle Philip, together with Andrew. It is not an accident that they both have Greek names. (Philip means "friend of horses" and Andrew simply means "man.) The important thing about them, however, is not their names, but that they are Apostles. They represent the Church. We need to be introduced to Jesus - and that happens through the Church, particularly by the sacraments of initiation: baptism, confirmation and Eucharist.

 

Along with that initiation (or introduction) comes repentance. Jesus says the grain has to fall to the ground and die in order to produce any fruit. C.S. Lewis put it this way: "love, as mortals understand the word, isn't enough. Every natural love will rise again and live forever in this country: but none will rise again until it has been buried."*

 

We must repent - die to sin - if we are to know the Lord. Jeremiah tells us that we will know the Lord because he will forgive our evildoing and remember our sins no more. When we see the Lord - and not our own reflection in a mirror - we become aware of our sins. And we open ourselves to his mercy. As we say in the Psalm, "Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense."

 

So, repentance and initiation. Then we begin the exhilarating work of daily prayer: conversation with God. Prayer, of course, does not happen by our own power. God has to lift our minds and hearts to him. Prayer is God's work in us. There are, however, certain things that facilitate prayer.

 

Regarding prayer, I recently read an interview with Fr. Liam Cary - the new bishop of Eastern Oregon. Bishop Cary emphasized having a place for prayer. He admitted that sometimes people grab a cup of coffee and sit on the porch in an easy chair. "You can do it," Bishop Cary said, but he added, "One should be more careful and attentive to the details of prayer." He told how a sacred image can help: "when you have holy images," he said, "you have someone looking back at you, as it were, you're conscious of being seen." Bishop Cary encouraged people to use the Book of Psalms, maybe reading three psalms in the course of a day. Finally, he underlined the importance posture: moments when a person sits, stands or kneels. I quote:

 

"Then, for example take the prayer of the monks or the sisters, you begin standing up and then you kneel, and then sit down for a while. You kneel while you pray the psalms, sit down when you read a little bit of scripture, stand up for certain parts of the office. Bow down, bow your head like the Muslims; I think the first thing they do in the morning is to bow their head to the ground as a sign of worship."

 

From what Bishop Cary says about prayer, we take home three things. They begin with the letter "P": place, a space that has some sacred image, psalms that provide inspired models for prayer and finally posture: kneel, stand, sit and bow. Place, psalms and posture can help us know the Lord.

 

To sum up: To know the Lord - to experience his new covenant - requires introduction, initiation, repentance and prayer. A sacred place, the psalms and the use of posture can help us pray - to see Jesus, to know the Lord. Amen.

 

Fr. Phil Bloom is currently parish priest of Holy Family Parish in Seattle.

 

Note:

If we want to love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves, let us feed our minds what do Catholic teach and believe. No matter how precious and true our faith is, if we do not learn and tell others about it, they will not know about it and they will not embrace it. But how can we be ready to defend the truth of our faith, you may ask? You can’t give what you don’t have. We must make effort to know our faith more by knowing the basic documents of our faith, the Catechism teachings of the Catholic Church and the Catholic Bible.

 

It was St Jerome who said: “Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.”

 

Prepared by:

 

 

 

Ambrosio (Bong) Antioquia

Legion of Mary

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart

St. Joachim Catholic Church

Hayward, CA. 94541-5809, USA

antio...@yahoo.com

 

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Attachment(s) from Ambrosio Antioquia

3 of 3 File(s)

Sunday Gospel and Homily for 03-25-12 - Fifth Sunday of Lent – Year B.pdf

Liturgy of the Word - Liturgical Year B (Gospel of John) - 03-25-12 - 5th Sunday of Lent - Year B.pdf

4 - St. John - 21 Chapters - 03-25-12 - Fifth Sunday of Lent - Year B.pdf

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