Fifth Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 35
Il-Ħames Ħadd tar-Randan
The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel and the house of Judah land of Egypt Israel
Qari I - mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Ġeremija 31, 31-34
Araw, għad jiġi żmien, oraklu tal-Mulej, meta jien nagħmel
patt ġdid ma’ dar Iżrael u dar Ġuda;
mhux bħall-patt li għamilt ma’ missirijiethom fiż-żmien meta qbadthom minn
Responsorial Psalm
- PSalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15.
R. (12a) 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.
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. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
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. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
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. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Salm Responsorjali - Salm 50 (51), 3-4.12-13.14-15
Ikollok ħniena minni, o Alla, fi tjubitek;
fil-kobor tal-ħniena tiegħek ħassar ħtijieti.
Aħsilni kollni mill-ħtija tiegħi;
naddafni mid-dnub tiegħi.
R/. Oħloq fija qalb safja, o Alla
Oħloq fija qalb safja, o Alla,
u spirtu qawwi ġedded fija.
La twarrabnix minn
tneħħix minni l-ispirtu qaddis tiegħek.
R/. Oħloq fija qalb safja, o Alla
Roddli l-hena tas-salvazzjoni tiegħek,
u bi spirtu qalbieni wettaqni.
Lill-midinbin ngħallem triqatek,
u l-ħatjin jerġgħu lura lejk.
R/. Oħloq fija qalb safja, o Alla
Reading 2
- HEBrews 5:7-9
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. This is the Word of The Lord.
Qari II - mill-Ittra lil-Lhud 5, 7-9
Gospel - JohN 12:20-33
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. This is the Word
of The Lord.
Evanġelju - Qari skont San Ġwann 12, 20-33
F’dak iż-żmien, fost dawk li telgħu biex iqimu lil Alla
fil-festa kien hemm xi Griegi. Dawn marru għand Filippu li kien minn minn
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Gazing upon the Face of Jesus
Commentary by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year B) invites us to fix our gaze upon Jesus,
the model priest of suffering, compassion and human solidarity.
First, let us consider John’s Gospel story from Chapter 12 -- a fitting
climax to Jesus' public ministry. It is the last official act before the events
of his passion next Sunday. There are Gentiles, non-Jews, who seek Jesus out
for the first time. They do not come simply to catch a glimpse of him, to have
some general audience with him, but rather to "see" him. In John's
Gospel, "seeing" Jesus is believing in him. How simple yet how
stunning a request: "Sir, we would like to see Jesus" [John 12:21]!
Throughout the entire Scriptures, men and women have longed to see God,
to gaze upon God's countenance, beauty and glory. How many times in the psalms
do we ask to see the face of God? "Shine your face on your servant"
(Psalm 119:135). Not only do we beg to see God's face, but we are told to look
for it. "Seek my face," says the Lord (Psalm 27:8).
But we cannot seem to find the face we are told to look for. Then the
laments begin: "Do not hide your face from me" (Psalm 102:2).
"Why do you hide your face from me?" (Psalm 88:14). "How long
will you hide your face from me?" (Psalm 13:2). We beg, we seek, but we
cannot find God's face. Then we are distraught. Moses, speaking as
friend-to-friend, asked to see God's face. But God said to him, "You
cannot see my face; for no one shall see my face and live" (Exodus 33:20).
When we ask in the Psalms to see God's face, we are really asking to see
God as God truly is, to gaze into the depths of God. In the last chapter of the
last book of the Scriptures, it is written: "They will see his face"
(Revelation 22:4). We see God's face revealed to us in the person of Jesus of
Nazareth. How often do we long to “see” the face of Jesus? Where are we seeking
his face today? What do we do when we finally “see” the face of Jesus?
Garden of suffering
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews is filled with the thoughts and
theology of Paul and John, but he also contemplates Jesus' agony in the garden
in relation to temple sacrifices and the priesthood according to the Hebrew
Scriptures. The Old Testament never dreamed of requiring the high priest to
make himself like his brothers and sisters, but was preoccupied on the contrary
with separating him from them. An attitude of compassion toward sinners
appeared to be incompatible with the priesthood of the Old Covenant.
Furthermore, no text ever required that the high priest should be free from all
sin.
Hebrews 5:7-9 presents us with a different type of priesthood -- one of
extraordinary compassion and solidarity. In his days on earth, Jesus shared our
flesh and blood, crying out with prayers and silent tears. Jesus has been
tested in all respects like us -- he knows all of our difficulties; he is a tried
man; he knows our condition from the inside and from the outside -- only by
this did he acquire a profound capacity for compassion. That is the only kind
of priesthood that makes a difference, and that matters, then and now.
What does this image of Jesus teach us today? Far from creating an abyss
between Jesus Christ and ourselves, our own daily trials and weaknesses have
become the privileged place of our encounter with him, and not only with him,
but with God himself. The consequence is that from now on, not one of us can be
bowed down under a painful situation without finding that Christ is, by that
very fact, at our side. Jesus was "heard because of his 'reverence' or his
'pious submission.'" And we are given the consolation that we, too, will
be heard because of our own persistence in prayer, our reverence before God and
our pious submission to his will for us.
John Paul II's agony
We read in today’s Gospel passage that the Greeks address themselves
first to Philip, who is from the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee:
"Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told
Jesus" (John 12:22). To see Jesus, one must be led to him by an apostle.
The testimony of those who lived with him, at his side, shows him to us and we
cannot do without this testimony.
We need the apostolic writings, especially the Gospels, handed down to
us by tradition, of which our parents, priests, deacons, teachers, catechists,
preachers and other believers are witnesses and bearers of the Good News. How
important and necessary it is to recognize those key people in our lives who
are living witnesses and links to the tradition and the Good News about Jesus
Christ! One such person for millions of people throughout the world was Karol
Wojtyla, the man we know as Pope John Paul II.
In April 2005, the world witnessed the agony and passion of this
Successor of Peter in a most public way. As we commemorate the 13th anniversary
of the John Paul II's death on April 2, I cannot help but recall those moving
days and see how much he revealed to us the face of God and the image of Jesus
crucified.
One of the most powerful lessons he taught us in the twilight of his
Pontificate was that everyone must suffer, even the Vicar of Christ. Rather
than hide his infirmities, as most public figures do, he let the whole world
see what he went through. In the final act of his life, the athlete was
immobilized, the distinctive, booming voice silenced, and the hand that
produced voluminous encyclicals no longer able to write. Yet nothing made John
Paul II waver, even the debilitating sickness hidden under the glazed
Parkinsonian mask, and ultimately his inability to speak and move. Many believe
that the most powerful message he preached was when the words and actions
failed.
One of the unforgettable, silent, teaching moments of those final days
took place on Good Friday night 2005, while the Pope, seated in his private
chapel in the Vatican ,
viewed the television coverage of the Via Crucis from Rome
Several hours before his death, Pope John
Paul's last audible words were: "Let me go to the house of the
Father." In the intimate setting of prayer, as Mass was celebrated at the
foot of his bed and the throngs of faithful sang below in St. Peter's Square,
he died at 9:37 p.m. on April 2. Through his public passion, suffering and
death, this holy priest, Successor of the Apostles, and Servant of God, showed
us the face of Jesus in a remarkable way.
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