Churches of the Day

Monday, Third Week in Lent

Just as Naaman learned to do God's will, so also with us.
Jesus emphasises salvation is a gift of God,
but also the value of every act of love and obedience to his Father.

Saint of the Day: March 7 ; St Frances of Rome, religious
C/f A short life of this saint can be found below todays' Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING           

A reading from the second book of Kings          5:1-15
There were many lepers in Israel, but none were cured except the Syrian, Naaman.

Naaman, army commander to the king of Aram, was a man who enjoyed his master's respect and favour, since through him the Lord had granted victory to the Aramaeans. But the man was a leper. Now on one of their raids, the Aramaeans had carried off from the land of Israel a little girl who had become a servant of Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would approach the prophet of Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.'
Naaman went and told his master. 'This and this' he reported 'is what the girl from the land of Israel said.'
'Go by all means,' said the king of Aram 'I will send a letter to the king of Israel.'

So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten festal robes.
He presented the letter to the king of Israel. It read:
'With this letter, I am sending my servant Naaman to you for you to cure him of his leprosy.'
When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his garments.
'Am I a god to give death and life,' he said 'that he sends a man to me and asks me to cure him of his leprosy? Listen to this, and take note of it and see how he intends to pick a quarrel with me.'

When Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king,
'Why did you tear your garments? Let him come to me, and he will find there is a prophet in Israel.'
So Naaman came with his team and chariot and drew up at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent him a messenger to say, 'Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean once more.'

But Naaman was indignant and went off, saying, 'Here was I thinking he would be sure to come out to me, and stand there, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure the leprous part. Surely Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than any water in Israel?
Could I not bathe in them and become clean?'
And he turned round and went off in a rage.

But his servants approached him and said, 'My father, if the prophet had asked you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? All the more reason, then, when he says to you, "Bathe, and you will become clean".'
So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.

Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. 'Now I know' he said 'that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.
Now, please, accept a present from your servant.'

The Word of the Lord.            Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm           Ps 41:2-3:42/:3-4. R/v Ps 42:3
Response                                My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life;
when can I enter and see the face of God?

1. Like the deer that yearns for running streams,
so my soul is yearning for you, my God.                                         Response

2. My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life;
when can I enter and see the face of God?                                     Response

3. O send forth your light and your truth; let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain to the place where you dwell.                                                                                                                                                   Response

4. And I will come to the altar of God, the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp, O God, my God.   Response

Gospel  Acclamation             2 Cor 6:2
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

or                                                   Ps 129:5.7.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
My soul is waiting for the Lord; I count on his word,
because with the Lord, there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

GOSPEL                     

The Lord be with you.                       And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke  4:24-30         Glory to you, O Lord
Like Elijah and Elisha, Jesus was not sent to the Jews only.

Jesus came to Nazara and spoke to the people in the synagogue:
'I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.

'There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah's day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town.

And in the prophet Elisha's time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.'

When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

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

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Gospel Reflection        Monday.       Third Week of Lent           Luke 4:24-30

It is said in today’s gospel reading that in response to Jesus’ preaching in Nazareth ‘everyone in the synagogue was enraged’. What was it that enraged people so much? Jesus had the nerve to suggest that God was as concerned with the enemies of Israel as with the people of Israel. Jesus identifies himself with Elijah when he was sent to minister to a widow of a town near Sidon in Phoenicia and with Elisha when he ministered to a commander in the Syrian army. The Phoenicians and the Syrians were perceived by the people of Israel as enemies because of the past history of the relationship between them and Israel. It can be very dangerous to speak well of enemies, especially in time of war.

The great anger that Jesus generated has been replicated all through history by those who have tried to show that life is more complex, less black and white, than we may think. Jesus was revealing to the people of Nazareth that God was not a national God, fighting on the side of Israel against everyone else. Rather, the heart of God embraced all humanity, and he was as concerned for widows in Phoenicia as for widows in Israel and for lepers in Syria as for lepers in Israel. God sent his Son to show the length and breadth and depth and height of God’s love, a love that surpasses knowledge, in the language of Saint Paul (Eph 3:19).

It is very tempting to make God in our own image, our own personal image or our own image as a nation. Jesus reveals a God who has no favourites. He cares for the suffering and broken of the world, regardless of where they live or what their nationality. Jesus has sent the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, into our lives, so that we may be empowered to love others with the all-inclusive, non-discriminatory, love of God that Jesus revealed to the full by his teaching, his life, his death and resurrection.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers.  http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications  www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saint of the Day: March 7 ; St Frances of Rome, religious
Summary: Frances of Rome, lay family woman, carer of the poor and sick during a plague and a healer. Born in Rome in 1384; died there on this day in 1440. Frances established a community of laywomen who followed the Rule of Saint Benedict and ministered to the poor,  a dedicated laywoman who, in a time of plague and civil war, worked tirelessly for the poor and the sick yet without compromising her love for her husband and family.

This image is of a fresco in the Church of Santa Francesca Romana and shows the saint healing a girl who suffered from paralysis. At the age of eleven Frances dreamed of entering a convent to live a life of prayer and asceticism, but forced to marry, she lived forty years as wife, mother and house-keeper before she was able to realise her dream.

Patrick Duffy explains.

She wanted to be a nun but....
Frances (Francesca) Busso was born into an aristocratic family in Trastevere, Rome, in 1384. Her mother was quiet-mannered and religious, her father was vigorous and strong-willed. At eleven Frances wanted to become a nun, but her father arranged a marriage for her with aristocrat Lorenzo dei Ponziani. This caused Frances great pain, but she came to have a loving relationship with Lorenzo. They lived in the same palazzo as her parents-in-law. Frances's mother-in-law Cecilia was totally taken up with organising parties and banquets. Frances, on the other hand, was more attracted to prayer and fasting. However, she found a companion and ally in her sister-in-law Vanozza who lived with her husband in the same palazzo: Vanozza had also wanted to be a nun. Both women found a way to be cheerful amid their obligations to the family, and also to find time together for devout practices and works of charity.

Mistress of the household
Frances had two boys Battista and Evangelista and a daughter Agnes. When Cecilia, her mother-in-law, died, it was Frances who became the mistress of the household, a job she accomplished with skill and fairness. Generous-hearted, she would give away corn and wine to the poor during the famine and though the granary and wine cellar often became empty, they were just as often miraculously replenished, to the dismay of her father-in-law and her husband.

Her husband wounded, her son taken hostage, her daughter dies
When Ladislaus of Naples invaded Rome and took off John XXIII (then one of three antipopes of that time) as a prisoner, Lorenzo, who was commander of the papal troops, was seriously wounded and their son Battista was taken hostage to Naples. The plague then struck Rome and Evangelista died. Frances turned their palazzo into a hospital and shelter for the homeless.

A special guardian angel
One year after his death Evangelista came to his mother in a vision and told her that Agnes was going to die too. In return God was sending a special angel to be her guardian, companion and spiritual adviser. After the war Lorenzo and Battista returned home. Lorenzo was broken in mind and body. Much of Frances's time and attention was given to nursing him back to his old self.

Her daughter-in-law
By now Battista had grown into a charming young man. He married a pretty young woman named Mabilia. Frances expected Mabilia would share in the management of the household. But Mabilia only wanted to party. She would ridicule Frances in public for her shabby green dress, her habits, and her standards. But one day in the middle of yelling at her, Mabilia suddenly turned pale and fainted, crying, "Oh my pride, my dreadful pride." Frances had to nurse her also back to health and the differences between them were healed as well. A converted Mabilia did her best to imitate Frances after that.

The Oblates of Mary
With Lorenzo's support and respect, Frances started a lay order of women attached to the Benedictines called the Oblates of Mary. The women lived in the world but pledged to offer themselves to God and serve the poor. Eventually they bought a house where the widowed members could live in community.

Frances nursed Lorenzo until he died.
His last words to her were: "I feel as if my whole life has been one beautiful dream of purest happiness. God has given me so much in your love." After his death, Frances moved into the house with the other Oblates and was their superior for the four remaining years of her life. She now had the life she dreamed of when she was eleven. But God had had other things for her to do in between.

Her death and influence
Frances's last words were: "The angel has finished his task - he beckons me to follow him". When Frances died, she was buried in the Church of Santa Maria Nuova (now called Santa Francesca Romana, near the Roman Forum), where her relics still rest. She was canonised by Pope Paul V in 1608. Possibly it was because she had such continuous contact with her guardian angel that Pius XI named her the patron saint of motorists.

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Memorable Saying for Today

An ordinary woman makes herself available to an extraordinary God can do amazing things for Him

~ Elizabeth George ~

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Transfer Saint of the Day St Macartan to 24/3

Summary:
St Macartan, convert, A Tréanfhear (strongman) of St Patrick and who became bishop of the Diocese of Clogher.

Patrick Duffy tells what is known about him.

St Macartan (Aedh MacCairthinn) was a convert from paganism. He is said to have gone south from his home in the north to hear St Patrick preach and that their first meeting took place at Drumlease, near Dromahair, County Leitrim. Soon Patrick baptised him and Macartan became Patrick's companion and bodyguard. Because of this, he became known as the "strong man" (tréanfhear) of Patrick. When Patrick became worn out by his labours, Macartan would carry him on his broad shoulders across rivers and over rough ground.

Bishop of Clogher
An ancient life of St Macartan tells the story that as Patrick was crossing a stream at the druidic stronghold of Clogher, Macartan, his strong man, groaned exclaiming: "Ugh! Ugh!" "Upon my good word," said Patrick, "it has become usual with you now to be making that noise." "I am now old and infirm," said Macartan, "and all my early companions in mission-work you have settled down in their respective churches, while I am still travelling." "Found a church then," said Patrick, "that shall not be too near us (at Armagh) for familiarity, nor too far from us for communication."
And that is how Patrick made Macartan bishop of Clogher.

The Diocese
Macartan preached the gospel in Tyrone and Fermanagh. He died in the year 506 from natural causes and is thought to have been buried at Clogher, in Co Tyrone. There are two cathedrals of the Church of Ireland in the Clogher diocese - one in Clogher village and one in Enniskillen.

In post-Emancipation times, a great Catholic cathedral designed by architect J. J. McCarthy was built high on a hill above Monaghan town between 1864 and 1892. The diocese of Clogher of which St Macartan is the patron, includes County Monaghan, most of County Fermanagh and portions of Counties Tyrone, Donegal, Louth and Cavan.

The Golden Stone (Cloch-Ór)
The Cloch-Ór (Golden Stone), from which this ancient diocese takes its name, may have been a ceremonial or oracle stone originally covered in gold sacred to the druids, and called the Cermand Cestach. It is said to have been given to Macartan by an old pagan noble, who had harassed him in every possible way until the saint's patient love won the local ruler to the faith. The stone is preserved till today inside the Church of Ireland Cathedral in Clogher village, Co Tyrone.

The Domhnach Airgid
Patrick is also reputed to have left a reliquary called the Great Shrine of St Macartan containing a fragment of the True Cross, known as the Domhnach Airgid.  This is now preserved in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

'Fortis et Fidelis'
The spirituality of Macartan is evoked in the crest and motto of the diocesan secondary school for boys on the outskirts of Monaghan town. The crest is a cross and Celtic shield and, underneath, the motto of the college, 'Fortis et fidelis,' recalls St Paul's advice in 1 Cor 16:13: "Be firm in the faith, brave and strong". The words occur in one of the last letters of Father Cornelius Tierney, a former student and priest-teacher in St. Macartan's, and later a Columban missionary who died a prisoner of Communist guerillas in China in 1931.

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Memorable Saying for Today

When we encounter suffering,
we can either lean in or look away.
Looking away is never really an option —
because love always leans in.”

~ Jimmy Mellado ~

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Fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare, (Rejoicing Sunday)
(- Rose or Violet Sunday-)

The healing of the blind man by Jesus is a sign of our baptism, we begin to see things differently. Like never before you begin to see the light of Jesus, his vision for us and our mission to follow him.

This is the day of the Second Scrutiny of the adult baptism candidates.

First Reading                 1Samuel 16:1. 6-7, 10-13
David is anointed king of Israel.

The lord said to Samuel,
‘Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.'
When Samuel arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought,
'Surely the Lord’s anointed one stands there before him',
but the Lord said to Samuel, 'Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.'
Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these.'
He then asked Jesse, 'Are these all the sons you have?'
He answered, 'There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.'

Then Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.'
Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, 'Come, anoint him, for this is the one.' At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on.

The Word of the Lord      Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm  Ps 32: 1-3, 3-4, 5-6. R/v 1.
Response                       The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

1. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
    Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose.
    Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit.                                Response

2. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name.
    If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear.
    You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort.    Response

3. You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing.                                       Response                           

4. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life.
    In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.                                          Response

Second Reading 

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Ephesians    5:8-14
Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth. Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness but exposing them by contrast. The things which are done in secret are things that people are ashamed even to speak of; but anything exposed by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated turns into light. This is why it is said: 'Wake up from your sleep, rise from the dead, Christ will shine on you.'

The Word of the Lord           Thanks be to God.


Gospel  Acclamation        Jn 8:12
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have eternal life.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ !

Gospel                    

The Lord be with you.          And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to John  9:1-41         Glory to you, O Lord
He went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him,
'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?'
'Neither he nor his parents sinned,' Jesus answered 'he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.' As long as the day lasts I must carry out the work of the one who sent me; the night will soon be here when no one can work. As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.'

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man. and said to him,
'Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam (a name that means 'sent').
So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, 'Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?'
Some said, 'Yes, it is the same one'. Others said, 'No, he only looks like him'. The man himself said, 'I am the man'. So they said to him, 'Then how do your eyes come to be open?' 'The man called Jesus', he answered 'made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me,
"Go and wash at Siloam"; so I went, and when I washed I could see.'
They asked, 'Where is he?' 'I don't know' he answered.

They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man's eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said, 'He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see'. Then some of the Pharisees said, 'This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath'.
Others said, 'How could a sinner produce signs like this?' And there was disagreement among them.

So they spoke to the blind man again, 'What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?'
'He is a prophet' replied the man. However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had gained his sight, without first sending for his parents and asking them, 'Is this man really your son who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?'
His parents answered, 'We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but we don't know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.'
His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, 'He is old enough; ask him'.

So the Jews again sent for the man and said to him,
'Give glory to God! For our part, we know that this man is a sinner.'
The man answered, 'I don't know if he is a sinner; I only know that I was blind and now I can see'.
They said to him, 'What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?'
He replied, 'I have told you once and you wouldn't listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples too?'
At this they hurled abuse at him: 'You can be his disciple,' they said 'we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know where he comes from'.
The man replied, 'Now here is an astonishing thing! He has opened my eyes, and you don't know where he comes from! We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but God does listen to men who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of a man who was born blind; if this man were not from God, he couldn't do a thing.'
'Are you trying to teach us,' they replied 'and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!' And they drove him away.

Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him,
'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'
'Sir,' the man replied 'tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.'
Jesus said, 'You are looking at him; he is speaking to you'.
The man said, 'Lord, I believe', and worshipped him.
Jesus said: 'It is for judgement that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see  and those with sight turn blind'.

Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, 'We are not blind, surely?'
Jesus replied: 'Blind? If you were, you would not be guilty,  but since you say, "We see",  your guilt remains.

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

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Shorter Form

Gospel 

The Lord be with you.                                     And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to John  9:1. 6-9. 13-17..34-38        Glory to you, O Lord
He went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. He spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man. and said to him, 'Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam (a name that means 'sent'). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, 'Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?' Some said, 'Yes, it is the same one'. Others said, 'No, he only looks like him'. The man himself said, 'I am the man'. 

 They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man's eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said, 'He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see'. Then some of the Pharisees said, 'This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath'. Others said, 'How could a sinner produce signs like this?' And there was disagreement among them. So they spoke to the blind man again, 'What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?'
'He is a prophet' replied the man.
'Are you trying to teach us,' they replied 'and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!' And they drove him away.

Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?' 'Sir,' the man replied 'tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.'
Jesus said, 'You are looking at him; he is speaking to you'. The man said, 'Lord, I believe', and worshipped him.
Jesus said: 'It is for judgement that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see  and those with sight turn blind'.

Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, 'We are not blind, surely?'
Jesus replied: 'Blind? If you were, you would not be guilty,  but since you say, "We see",  your guilt remains.




Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.