4th Week of Lent
1st Reading: Is 65:17-21
Thus says the Lord: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying; No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime; He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years, and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed. They shall live in the houses they build, and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.
Gospel: Jn 4:43-54
At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover. They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.
IN GOD WE TRUST: God promises to rebuild Jerusalem and ensure that all who dwell in it cherish the Joy of the Lord. This fulfilment is in Jesus. He brings us salvation and conquers all that is to push us to damnation. We are heirs of the Kingdom. For this we are called to trust in God. This commitment shall allow our faith in God to keep growing. Jesus assures this growth when he says, “You may go, your son will live”, and the Royal official believes. Often we struggle to have faith in God. We have an unfounded sense of sufficiency, and our religiosity is reduced to rituals and external practices. Let us be aware of the inner void that only God can fill. Humility before God has to take root in us. May we cry to him: “In you I place my trust, you only can satisfy my hunger”.
Prayer: God , each morning we raise our cries to you , answer our prayer.
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DAILY GOSPEL 