St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church
Your Sunday Prayer Guide - The Fourth Sunday of Lent
The Scriptures for Mass March 22, 2020
The Fourth Sunday of Lent
Reading 1 1 SM 16:1B, 6-7, 10-13A
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.
Responsorial Psalm PS 23: 1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
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.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
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.
Reading 2 EPH 5:8-14
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.”
Verse Before The Gospel
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
Gospel Reading
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
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.”
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.”
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, and
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
From the Pastor - Rev. Michael Robinson
Into the Light
From the opening prologue of the gospel of John, the evangelist introduces the theme of light and darkness. The Word of God becomes flesh and makes the life of God visible to us all through his human life and appearance. This life of God that has become visible in Jesus the Christ, the Word made flesh, is a light that shines in the darkness of the world. The light shines into the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. Jesus the Christ is the light of the world and his light can penetrate and dispel the darkness of sin and even death itself. The light that shines in Jesus is the very life of God, a life that God the Father desires to share with all of his children. He desires that we all become children of the light and live in the light of His love for us. As Paul reminds us, if we are children of the light then we must live in the light and allow the light to shine in our lives through deeds of light.
We cannot profess to be followers of Jesus and children of God and continue at the same time to live in darkness. We cannot practice deeds of darkness and spread darkness around ourselves by our actions and attitudes. We must desire to live in the light and bring everything that we are and do to the light. There should be nothing hidden or shameful in our lives. We should not be keeping any deep, dark secrets. We should not be walking around in a perpetual bad mood. To live in the light means to act in a way that is consistent with light and to carry an attitude of joy and peace throughout the world.
In his gospel John further develops this truth that Jesus is the light of the world. With the light of Christ in our lives, we who once were blind can now see. The Christian journey is a journey into the light; the full light of the truth; the full light of knowledge of Jesus the Christ; the full light of the love of God manifest in Jesus. As we continue the journey of faith, with Jesus as our companion and guide leading us deeper and deeper into the truth, we begin to see, and therefore believe, things that we had never seen before. Our journey arrives at its destination when we see the full glory of God the Father revealed in Jesus and are moved to prostrate ourselves in worship before him.
Jesus encounters the man born blind and his disciples ask him whose sin it was that caused him to be blind. Was it his own personal sin or was it the sins of his parents? We ask the same questions today when a young person becomes blind to the life of faith and leaves the Church. Is it the fault of his parents who failed to pass on the faith to him or is he responsible for his own decision. Jesus doesn’t want to play the blame game, rather, he declares that this person’s condition is “so that the works of God might be made visible through him.” (Jn 9,2) In some way it is most often presumed that it is the fault of God who did not sufficiently reveal his presence to the person. God’s work is the work of love and healing. Clearly throughout the scripture we see that time and time again God does not will suffering, loss or death. His will is for salvation and is manifested in acts of love, kindness, compassion and mercy. Jesus redirects the disciples to see that this situation is an opportunity for God to manifest his glory. In a sense I think that Jesus is entreating us to break out of a very human weakness in which we curse the darkness but do nothing about it. Don’t curse the darkness, just turn on the light, walk in the light and bring light to others.
We are all persons born blind because of original sin. Through the waters of baptism we can be washed clean of original sin and be born anew in the light of life. In making clay from his spittle and some earth, Jesus is taking us back to creation and creating new eyes to see in his light. This new vision is a vision of faith. We have no need to curse the darkness or to allow others to draw us back into the darkness through their doubt. We are children of the light, we can see through the eyes of faith what is true and we can profess the truth that Jesus is Lord. Don’t listen to the naysayers in life who fabricate explanations to explain away any marvel or joy we might experience and who want us to join them in their doubt, unbelief and therefore blindness. We have reason for joy. We see, we know, we believe.
Universal Prayer
May the Light of Christ guide us in these challenging times as we entrust to him our prayers:
For the Church, that she may lead her children to live always in the light of Christ… We pray to the Lord: Lord, Hear our prayer.
For world leaders, that they may work together to bring healing to our world… We pray to the Lord…Lord, Hear our prayer.
For all who have not yet experienced the truth of God’s love… We pray to the Lord…Lord, Hear our prayer.
For our parish community, that we may be a light of hope to one another… We pray to the Lord…Lord, Hear our prayer.
For the sick and for a swift end to the threat brought about by the coronavirus… We pray to the Lord…Lord, Hear our prayer.
For those who serve our nation in the armed forces, that they may be protected in God’s love and return home soon and safely to their families … We pray to the Lord…Lord, Hear our prayer.
For those who have died, for the deceased listed below, that they may enter into the eternal presence of God… We pray to the Lord…Lord, Hear our prayer.
5:00 Bob Mertz 9:30 Mary Rosgen
7:30 Jim Murray 11:30 Francisco Badar
For the prayers and intentions of our hearts … We pray to the Lord…Lord, Hear our prayer.
God of endless mercy, hear the prayer of your people. Open our eyes to the truth of your love for all people. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song: Infinite Grace - Sara Hart
St. Elizabeth Seton Church
Email: parsec.ses@gmail.com
Website: seschurch.org
Location: 6628 Santa Isabel St, Carlsbad, CA, USA
Phone: 760-438-3393
Facebook: facebook.com/SESchurchcarlsbad