Gospel

Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.

On the first day of the week, at the first sign of dawn, they went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, but on entering discovered that the body of the Lord Jesus was not there. As they stood there not knowing what to think, two men in brilliant clothes suddenly appeared at their side. Terrified, the women lowered their eyes. But the two men said to them, ‘Why look among the dead for someone who is alive? He is not here; he has risen. Remember what he told you when he was still in Galilee: that the Son of Man had to be handed over into the power of sinful men and be crucified, and rise again on the third day?’ And they remembered his words.

When the women returned from the tomb they told all this to the Eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary of Magdala, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them also told the apostles, but this story of theirs seemed pure nonsense, and they did not believe them.

Peter, however, went running to the tomb. He bent down and saw the binding cloths but nothing else; he then went back home, amazed at what had happened.

(Luke 24:1–12)

Did you know?

Points of interest and Catholic lore

• At the time of Jesus, women were not considered to be reliable witnesses in a court of law.
• The burial practices of the time required that the body be anointed with spices, but Jesus had been buried in haste before the Sabbath, so the women are now returning at the first opportunity to complete the process of his burial rites.
• The Jewish Sabbath runs from sunset on Friday night to sunset on Saturday night, so the dawn of Sunday morning (the first day of the week) was when this action could take place.
• The first witnesses to the resurrection are women. This echoes the faith demonstrated by Mary at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, when she says ‘yes’ to God’s plan for her.

Exploring the Word

Spend some time reading over the many Scripture texts used in the past three days, especially those of the Easter Vigil liturgy, which trace the relationship between God and God’s people. The first three tell the story of creation, the promise to Abraham and the deliverance of Israel from bondage. The extracts from the prophets give voice to God’s love for God’s people. The New Testament readings reflect on the final and definitive act of God—the passing over of Jesus from death to life and our sharing in this mystery through baptism. These are the ‘mighty works’ of God on behalf of the people.

• What ‘mighty works’ has God done for you?
• As you read through and discuss the texts, identify the dominant motifs and major themes.
• Which of the readings speak most clearly to you at this moment? Why?
• What connections can you make between what has just happened to you and what is spoken of in the readings?
• How did you celebrate your new life with family and friends after the events of the Easter Vigil? Share your experiences.

Making connections

Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer

• It is the women who first give witness to the risen Christ. What was it that first led you on the journey that has culminated in today’s events?
• How will you give witness to this event?
• Are you ‘amazed at what had happened’?
• Reflect together on all that has happened in the last three days. Identify the most powerful moment for you. Why was it so meaningful? Congratulate each other. Celebrate.
• Follow the example of the women by telling your story to others this week. Celebrate your birth into new life in Christ.
• Use the first memorial acclamation this week:
  We proclaim your Death, O Lord,
  and profess your Resurrection
  until you come again.

Sharing the tradition

A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ

There is an essential unity in the three days of the Triduum, which begins with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, including the washing of the feet, and culminates in the Easter Vigil, featuring the Service of Light, late on Holy Saturday night.

• Explore the unity of themes in the readings.

The newly baptised neophytes now enter the period of mystagogy or post-baptismal catechesis.

• Explain that baptism or reception is not the end of the journey but the beginning of a new journey, in which both our faith and our place in the community of believers are deepened.

This is a time for the community and the neophytes together to grow in deepening their grasp of the paschal mystery and in making it a part of their lives through meditation on the Gospel, sharing in the Eucharist and doing the works of charity.

(RCIA, §234)

• Explore the meaning of this and talk about how it may be carried out with the community.

Symbols and images

The first day of the week, Sunday, has a special significance for Christians because of the resurrection of Jesus. It is known as the Lord’s Day and was set aside from earliest times as the day for the community of believers to gather for the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist.

Living the Word

Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment

• How does your community integrate the neophytes into the life of the parish? In what ways do both groups grow together during this time? Are there ways you can better do this?

Use a candle, preferably the one given to the elect at their baptism, and yellow flowers to recall the resurrection. Sing an Easter song. You could use adaptations of the prayers used during the baptismal liturgy of the Vigil—for example, the invitation in the RCIA at §227.

Gospel

Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.

… When they reached the place called The Skull, they crucified him and the two criminals also, one on the right, the other on the left. Jesus said, ‘Father forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.’ Then they cast lots to share out his clothing.

The people stayed there watching him. As for the leaders, they jeered at him. ‘He saved others,’ they said ‘let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers mocked him too and when they approached to offer him vinegar they said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’ Above him there was an inscription: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’

One of the criminals hanging there abused him. ‘Are you not the Christ?’ he said. ‘Save yourself and us as well.’ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it; we are paying for what we did. But this man has done no wrong. Jesus,’ he said, ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ ‘Indeed, I promise you, ‘he replied, ‘today you will be with me in paradise.’

It was now about the sixth hour and, with the sun eclipsed, a darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. The veil of the Temple was torn right down the middle; and when Jesus had cried out in a loud voice, he said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ With these words he breathed his last …

(Luke 22:14–23:56 heavily abridged)

Did you know?

Points of interest and Catholic lore

• The institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper is reported in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke but not in John. In John (6:1–15), the setting is the multiplication miracle of the loaves. Instead, in John’s Gospel, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper (13:1–11) in an act of service.
• All four gospels report the trials of Jesus before the Sanhedrin or governing council of the Jews and before Pilate, but only Luke tells of Jesus being sent to Herod.
• Luke’s Gospel emphasises the mercy and forgiveness of the Lord towards those who repent. Even on the cross, Jesus continues in this. He assures the repentant thief of his place in paradise. This incident is only reported in Luke’s Gospel.
• Jesus is crucified at Calvary, a Latin translation of the Semitic word Golgotha, which means ‘skull’.
• Since the fourth century, the site now marked by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been revered as the site of Calvary.

Exploring the Word

So much of what is at the heart of Christianity is present in today’s long gospel reading:

• The institution of the Lord’s Supper: ‘This is my body which will be given for you; do this in memorial of me … This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood which will be poured out for you’. It is in the Eucharist that we find the source and summit of our faith. Explore what that means.
• The ministry of service: ‘I am among you as one who serves.’ The Church and all its members are at the service of the world.
• Peter’s denials: like Peter, we so often fail, but we too can repent and reorient our lives.
• The centrality of the cross: The cross reveals that God, in Jesus, entered into human suffering and death and overcame the darkness. This death revealed for all time that God is in solidarity with all the pain of human beings, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
• Read the three statements that Jesus made from the cross: the plea for forgiveness for those who harm him, the invitation into paradise for the repentant thief, and the prayer of utter faith as he gives his spirit to God—forgiveness, hospitality and faithfulness. What is being asked of you in this gospel?

Making connections

Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer

• ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ Are you ready for this commitment? What will it mean for your life in the future?
• In our society, the idea of being ‘selfless’ is constantly challenged. Our culture of individualism emphasises the ‘I’ rather than the ‘other’. But it is in self-giving and self-emptying that we find life. Discuss this dichotomy. How does individualism manifest itself? How can we live selflessly in our daily lives?
• Die with Christ a little this week. Fast from food, TV or entertainment. Try to be less distracted as you prepare for Easter.
• ‘Lord, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ Reflect on these words and what they mean for you as you prepare for the Easter sacraments this week.

Sharing the tradition

A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ

Passion Sunday, also called Palm Sunday, was already being celebrated in Jerusalem before the year 400. Processions with palms followed the path of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. In following this custom today, we are not simply reenacting the events of that day but also uniting ourselves with Christ’s journey to the cross and resurrection. We celebrate that victory over death and sin and share his suffering so that we may also share his resurrection and the new life it won.

• Reflect on your feelings as you listened to the Passion being read.
• A Catholic tradition is to take a small piece of palm home and place it near a cross. What may this signify?

Symbols and images

Two symbols dominate the celebration of Christ’s Passion: the palms and the cross. The palms symbolise Christ’s triumph, and the cross is the means by which that triumph is achieved.

Living the Word

Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment

• How does your community celebrate the procession of the palms? What role can the elect play in this?
• Use a cross and some palms as a focus for prayer. Present to the elect a piece of palm (and a cross if you have not already done so) to take home. Reflect on ways in which they are called to share Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection, and the new life that awaits them. A suitable song could be ‘Jesus, remember me’ (GA 308). Conclude with the prayer over the elect in the RCIA at §169.

As we emerge from COVID, and as we reflect as a community on the experiences of the past two years, two special Masses will be celebrated by Archbishop Peter A Comensoli in May to recognise and remember some of those whose lives have been especially affected by the pandemic.

Mass of Thanksgiving for Health and Aged-care Workers

Sunday 1 May 2022
(Feast of St Joseph the Worker and May Day)
St Patrick’s Cathedral

Employees in the aged- and health-care service sectors are invited to attend this Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, with hospitality to follow.

Parishes are also encouraged to mark this event in their own communities by focusing prayerfully on the contributions and the needs of aged- and health-care workers during their own Masses on the weekend of 30 April and 1 May.

Some suggestions to engage parish communities during Mass

• Create a themed focus in the liturgical environment and/or include a procession of symbols—for example, some items of personal protective equipment (PPE) could be placed on the sanctuary.
• Invite a parishioner to share a story of their experience during this time. Ideally this would be someone who works in aged or health care, but could also be someone who was helped or inspired by the care they received from an aged- or health-care worker during the pandemic. You could ask them to:
  • share a stand-out memory or experience during COVID
  • share how their faith has supported them during this time, or how they have grown or been challenged.
• Invite a health- or aged-care worker to proclaim the readings.
• Invite workers to read the prayer of the faithful, or simply include the following intercessions.

• Following the prayer after Communion, invite health- and aged-care workers to come forward to receive a special blessing, using the following prayer from The Book of Blessings (Chapter 7—‘Organisations Concerned with Public Need’):

Suggested parish bulletin notice

Mass to Commemorate Those Who Have Died during the COVID Pandemic

Sunday 22 May 2022
St Patrick’s Cathedral

‘He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; death will be no more, and sadness and crying and pain will be no more. The first things have passed away.’

—Revelation 21:4

In recognition of the significant impact of COVID in our families and communities, Archbishop Peter will celebrate a memorial Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday 22 May for all those who have died during the COVID pandemic (including but not limited to those who have died from COVID). This Mass will be offered for all the departed who could not be mourned properly or whose lives could not be celebrated suitably because of pandemic restrictions.

You are invited to submit the name(s) of those you would like remembered during the Mass by filling out the following form. The names will be placed in a basket, which will be placed at the base of the altar, to be prayed for during all Masses over the weekend of 21–22 May.

Parishes are also encouraged to mark this event in their own communities during their Masses on the weekend of 21–22 May by focusing prayerfully on those who died during COVID.

Some suggestions to engage parish communities during Mass

• Offer a box or an online tool (such as Google Forms or TryBooking) for parishioners to submit the names of friends or loved ones who have died during 2020–2021.
• During the weekend Masses, place a basket containing these names on the sanctuary.
• Invite parishioners who have lost someone to write a paragraph on their friend or loved one and to submit their tribute and memories, with a photo, to be collected in an album, with the album to be placed on the sanctuary during the weekend Masses.
• Include the following intercessions in the prayer of the faithful.

• Submit a photo and/or name to be included in a PowerPoint presentation to be played during an appropriate song for reflection after Communion.
• Invite those who have lost a loved one to come forward and place a symbol (such as a photo, candle, flower or card with a name) in a focus space on the sanctuary.
• Invite those who have lost a loved one to come forward and collect a symbol to take home (for example, a flower, prayer card, candle or small plant).

Suggested parish bulletin notice

Gospel

Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.

The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he looked up and said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there. He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir’ she replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away, and do not sin anymore.’

(John 8:1–11)

Did you know?

Points of interest and Catholic lore

• Pilgrims who came to Jerusalem for the great festivals and who could not find lodging in the city often stayed the night on the Mount of Olives, just outside the city gates.
• On the Mount of Olives is a garden area called Gethsemane, which means ‘oil press’ in Hebrew.
• The Mount of Olives offered a spectacular view across to the temple.
• The death penalty for adultery is stipulated in both the book of Leviticus (20:10) and in Deuteronomy (22:22), but both these texts make clear that both parties should be thus punished. In this text, the man is missing.

Exploring the Word

This gospel combines the themes that have been emerging during Lent: the goodness and mercy of God and the need for repentance. It is an interesting exercise to concentrate on the woman in this story. She is dragged in by the religious authorities to be used as a ‘thing’ to test Jesus. In this early phase of the encounter, Jesus does not look at the woman or acknowledge her presence but addresses his response to the crowd and to the scribes and Pharisees. It is only after they have left the scene in shame that he turns his attention to the woman and establishes personal contact with her, confirming that she is a human person and not a ‘thing’. The intimacy of his address to her as ‘Woman’ echoes the term he uses in addressing his mother (John 2:4, John 19:26). Jesus neither condemns nor condones. He simply accepts the woman as she is and invites her to a new life. It is acceptance and love that allows repentance and change to occur in others.

• Have you had the experience of being unconditionally loved and accepted by another?
• Who are those people in your life who you love and accept unconditionally?

Making connections

Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer

• Have you ever been too hasty in your judgment and condemnation of others?
• Have you ever been forgiven by someone for an offence you committed against them? How did you feel?
• What do you think Jesus wrote on the ground? The text does not tell us. What might it have been?
• Are there times or situations when you find yourself being judgmental or self-righteous? What is the best corrective to this attitude? Have you ever experienced the condemnation of others? How did you feel? Share your reflections.
• Is there someone who is on the outer to whom you can offer support this week?
• Use the psalm response as your prayer this week:
  The Lord has done great things for us;
  we are filled with joy.

Sharing the tradition

A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ

Last week, you explored understandings of sin. Turning away from sin requires a conversion of the heart (CCC, §1430).

Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil … At the same time, it entails the desire and resolution to change one’s life, with hope in God’s mercy and trust in the help of his grace.

(CCC, §1431)

• What does it mean to orient our whole lives towards God?

Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion. It is by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.

(CCC, §1427)

• As the elect approach their baptism or reception, how are they feeling about the new orientation of their lives?

Being a Christian demands constant re-conversion. Often we fail to live up to the promise of our new life, so we need to undergo many experiences of conversion to orient ourselves again to God.

• You could discuss the conversion experiences of great figures in the Church (for example, Paul, Augustine, Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, Dorothy Day or Thomas Merton).
• In what ways does the life of the Church assist us to continually nourish our orientation towards God?

Symbols and images

The question posed to Jesus by the Pharisees was meant to trick him. If he condoned her stoning, the act would break Roman law; if he refused to condone it, he would be holding religious law in contempt. In his response, God, in Jesus, is offering a new way. He does not condemn the sinner but invites her to leave her past behind and begin again. This imagery of forgiveness is consistent throughout the Lenten readings.

Living the Word

Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment

• How does your parish community constantly renew its orientation towards God? Is there a pastoral planning team that steers this process? What suggestions can be made to assist the elect to keep renewing their orientation to God in the future?
• You could use some stones and a cross as a focus for prayer. Pray for the ongoing conversion of each of the elect. A suitable song could be ‘Return to God’ (GA 304). Conclude with the prayer of exorcism for the third scrutiny in the RCIA at §162A.

Gospel

Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:

‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.

‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property—he and his women—you kill the calf we had been fattening.”

‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

(Luke 15:1–3, 11–32)

Did you know?

Points of interest and Catholic lore

• The son going to ‘a distant country’ shows that he has turned his back not only on his father but also on his faith. He has left his true heritage behind. His repentance and return becomes all the more poignant.
• Accepting work with pigs shows just how low the son had sunk because pigs are unclean animals to the Jews and touching them rendered the son unclean as well.
• By asking for his inheritance, the son was as good as saying to his father, ‘I wish you were dead.’ This makes the father’s forgiveness all the more astounding.

Exploring the Word

The religious leaders at the time of Jesus felt that there was no place for sinners in God’s kingdom. This parable shows that there is always hope and a promise of forgiveness for those who repent and turn again to God, and that God never tires of seeking the lost. The father allows his youngest son the freedom to choose his way and make his own mistakes, but he keeps the door of welcome open. Through his journey, this son comes to realise that his fulfillment lies with his father and returns. At this point, the elder son changes places with the younger and becomes the one who is alienated and outside the feast. The reaction of the father is consistent: he goes outside to meet his elder son, now the lost one, to tell him, ‘All I have is yours.’ The reward is for both the righteous and the repentant sinner.

• Do you have a sense of God seeking you out, even in your anger or confusion, and saying to you, ‘All I have is yours’?
• In what ways is the elder son ‘lost’, even though he has lived a model life?

Making connections

Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer

• Which of the characters in this story do you identify with the most: the younger son? the father? the older son? How might you react in such circumstances?
• Recall a moment in your life when you experienced something of either the father’s joy at reconciliation, the younger son’s change of heart or the elder son’s jealousy and resentment. Describe this experience for others.
• Reach out to someone with an invitation, a gesture or a word of forgiveness.
• This line from the gospel is particularly apt during Lent, the time of repentance. Use it often this week:

Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. Forgive me.

Sharing the tradition

A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ

The unhappiness of both the sons in this parable is ultimately traceable to their distancing themselves from their father. The Church names this distancing from God as sin.

Sin is an offence against reason, truth and right conscience; it is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbour … It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity.

(CCC, §1849)

• Explore various understandings of sin, especially as the choice to turn away from God.

Sin is a personal act … Sin gives rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to divine goodness.

(CCC, §§1868, 1869)

• Discuss these two forms of sin: personal, and communal or social. In what ways does personal sin give rise to social sin? How are they connected?
• Discuss some examples of social sin.
• Discuss the opportunities for forgiveness and reconciliation that will be available to the elect after their baptism or reception.
• Are the elect familiar with the rite of reconciliation?

Symbols and images

God’s abundance is again portrayed in the image of the great feast—the kingdom of heaven is open both to the righteous and to the sinner who repents. God’s boundless forgiveness and loving welcome of the penitent are at the core of this parable.

Living the Word

Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment

• What opportunities does your community provide during Lent for examination of conscience, recognition of sin (both personal and social) and forgiveness and reconciliation? Can the elect become involved in some aspects of this?
• Contemplate the mercy and gracious forgiveness of God during this week’s prayer. Use adaptations of the intercessions for the elect from the second scrutiny in the RCIA at §154. A suitable song could be ‘Be still and know’ (GA 401).

Gospel

Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.

Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’

He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’

(Luke 13:1–9)

Did you know?

Points of interest and Catholic lore

• The pool of Siloam was a reservoir that lay within the city walls of ancient Jerusalem. During the reign of King Hezekiah, an extraordinary tunnel was dug through bedrock to connect it to the spring of Gihon outside the city walls so that the city would have an ample water supply in times of siege.
• We have no evidence outside the biblical text of the incident referred to here where Pilate ‘mingled the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifice,’ but such an act is not out of character. Pilate had a reputation for being a brutal military leader.
• At the time in which Jesus lived, suffering was often considered to be a punishment from God for sin committed.

Exploring the Word

This gospel is really about the loving care and patience of God. It was commonly believed that a loving God could not be responsible for terrible calamities that befell people, but that these events must somehow be a result of their own sinfulness. Jesus takes the opportunity to say that the recent deaths of both Galileans and inhabitants of Jerusalem did not mean that they were any more sinful than others. They were no more deserving of death than anyone else. Indeed, we must not look to the sinfulness of others but to our own need for repentance.

The parable of the owner of the vineyard tells of God’s infinite patience in dealing with the sinfulness of humans. Despite our failings, God will graciously allow us time to produce our best fruit. The theme of this gospel—God’s forgiveness and care—will be taken up in the gospels of the next two weeks.

• Lent is a special time of preparation, particularly for the elect. In what ways can you cultivate your own garden of faith in this special time?
• Are there still areas of your life that are yet to produce their best fruit?

Making connections

Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer

• How ‘fruitful’ has your life been? What ‘fruit’ have you borne?
• Do you need a second chance to bear good fruit?
• In what ways can you make it even more fruitful?
• Have you ever had an experience of needing to nurture someone or something for a long period before they ‘produced fruit’? Were there failures along the way? What was it that eventually brought about the growth? Share your reflections.
• Attend carefully this week to cultivating your own relationship with God. Try to bring out the best in someone else as well.
• Use this section of today’s psalm as your prayer this week:
  The Lord is compassion and love,
  slow to anger and rich in mercy.
  For as the heavens are above the earth
  so strong is his love for those who fear him.

Sharing the tradition

A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ

Knowing how to explain the problem of suffering and evil in a world created by a good and loving God has always been a dilemma for people of faith. How can God allow terrible things to occur, especially to the innocent?

The world we live in often seems very far from the one promised us by faith. Our experiences of evil and suffering, injustice, and death, seem to contradict the Good News; they can shake our faith and become a temptation against it

(CCC, §164)

As Christians, we believe that the only answer to these profound questions lies in faith in the risen Christ, who overcame death and evil.

• Explore with people their ideas of how to make sense of the bad things that happen in life and in our world.
• You could ask how the elect have made sense of suffering in their own lives. What personal growth came from those experiences?

Symbols and images

The vineyard was often used in Scripture as a symbol of Israel, God’s people. God is depicted as the owner of the vineyard, who attends to it with great care—planting, cultivating, feeding and pruning the vines to make them fruitful and abundant. Israel will be judged on what fruit it bears or fails to bear. So too will we be judged on how fruitful our lives are.

Living the Word

Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment

• The third Sunday of Lent is the recommended day for the celebration of the first scrutiny. How can you involve your entire community in this celebration for the elect?
• If you are unable to have the presentation of the Creed in a community setting, this could be done as part of your closing prayer. Pray for each other as you near the completion of your journey. A suitable song could be ‘We believe’ (GA 448). Conclude with one of the prayers of exorcism in the RCIA at §141. Remember to adapt it, as you are not using the readings of the gospel for Year A.

Gospel

Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.

Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.

(Luke 9:28–36)

Did you know?

Points of interest and Catholic lore

• This event is traditionally known as ‘the transfiguration’. Although the place is not mentioned in the gospels, this event has, since the fourth century, been associated with Mount Tabor in Galilee.
• The white robes and changed appearance of Jesus represent his glory and divinity, revealed here to the disciples.
• Moses and Elijah are two of the greatest heroes of Israel. They represent the law and the prophets—two of the most important sections of the Hebrew Bible. Like Jesus, both of them suffered rejection during their lives.

Exploring the Word

One of the overriding themes of Luke’s Gospel is Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Just a few verses on from this text, Jesus ‘resolutely took the road for Jerusalem,’ and his resolve is foreshadowed here in the conversation he is having with Moses and Elijah as they speak of ‘his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem.’ Jesus is revealing not only his true identity to his chosen companions but also his destiny: the ‘passing over’ of his death and resurrection, by which his divinity will be definitively revealed to all. Through that event, all that the law (represented by Moses) and the prophets (represented by Elijah) stood for will be accomplished. Peter misunderstands and thinks that the event on the mountain is the end of the story—he wants to erect tents there. He has not yet grasped the need to continue with the journey to Jerusalem. As a Christian, one cannot simply remain on the mountain in contemplation of divinity; one must also come down from the mountain and take the earthly road of living the faith to its ultimate conclusion.

• This gospel emphasises the need to withdraw for prayer. How important is quiet contemplation and prayer in your journey?
• In what ways do you balance prayer and action in living your faith?

Making connections

Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer

• ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here.’ Reflect on what these words mean for you as you approach the sacraments.
• ‘Listen to him.’ What might Jesus be saying to you at this time?
• This gospel relates the experience of a personal encounter with the divine. Recall an experience you have had of encountering God or an intuition of God touching your life. Share your reflections.
• Spend extra time this week listening to the ‘beloved Son’. What is Jesus saying to you?
• Use today’s collect as your prayer this week:
  O God, who have commanded us to listen to your beloved Son,
  be pleased, we pray, to nourish us inwardly with your word,
  that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory.

Sharing the tradition

A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ

Prayer is a vital necessity … if we do not allow the Spirit to lead us, we fall back into the slavery of sin.

(CCC, §2744).

The tradition and life of prayer for Christians is richly explored in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. In this period of purification and enlightenment, it is appropriate to spend some time assisting the elect to identify forms of prayer that will sustain and strengthen their faith into their future life as members of the Church.

Part Four of the catechism provides extensive material on places, forms and styles of prayer.

• You could present some examples from the history of the great contemplatives (for example, John of the Cross, Hildegard of Bingen or Thérèse of Lisieux).
• Encourage the elect to talk about their own styles of prayer and to explore other ways (for example, praying the Scriptures or using a mantra).
• You could explain the rosary and the sets of mysteries, suggesting them as one way of prayerfully focusing on events in the life of Jesus and Mary.
• ‘We pray as we live, because we live as we pray’ (CCC, §2725). Explore the meaning of this.

Symbols and images

The cloud symbolises the presence of God. It reveals the divine presence but also conceals it, thus protecting the witnesses from the full power of God’s glory. Moses encountered the same phenomenon (Exodus 24:15). Another favourite symbol for the presence of God in the Hebrew Scriptures is flame or smoke—for example, in the burning bush (Exodus 3) or on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19).

Living the Word

Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment

• Does your community offer opportunities for prayer beyond the weekly liturgy (for example, the Liturgy of the Hours, the rosary)? Are there prayer groups that the elect could join? Perhaps you could encourage them to simply come together to pray with and for each other.
• Use a contemplative prayer and a Taizé setting. Pray for each other as you near your journey’s end. Conclude with the prayer over the elect in the RCIA at §122A.

Gospel

Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’

Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me, then, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says:

You must worship the Lord your God,
and serve him alone.’

Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says:

He will put his angels in charge of you
to guard you,

and again:

They will hold you up on their hands
in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’

But Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said:

You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’

Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time.

(Luke 4:1–13)

Did you know?

Points of interest and Catholic lore

• Numbers are often significant in the Bible. The number forty denotes an extended period. Thus, in the story of Noah, rain falls for forty days; the Israelites wandered for forty years in the desert; and both Elijah and Moses fast for forty days before an encounter with God.
• Lent, a time of fasting, prayer and giving for all Christians, also runs for forty days and is a special time of final preparation for people who will be receiving the sacraments at Easter.
• This text comes immediately after the baptism of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel. The baptism takes place in the lower reaches of the Jordan River, just north of the point where it enters the Dead Sea. This is a particularly desolate and barren region of dry river beds (wadis) and steep, rocky cliffs rising up from the Jordan Valley.
• The temple precinct in Jerusalem was built on a mountain. It comprised the temple itself and several courtyards surrounded by a very high wall. This is the parapet referred to in this text.

Exploring the Word

Jesus’ fast of forty days in the wilderness recalls the stories of Elijah and Moses, and his temptation recalls the severe testing to which the people of Israel were subjected when they too wandered in the desert. Israel was found wanting and succumbed to the temptations, worshipping false gods, but Jesus uses the word of God to defeat the power of evil: ‘Man does not live on bread alone’ (Deuteronomy 8:13); ‘You must worship the Lord your God’ (Deuteronomy 6:13). In testing Jesus, Satan is testing God himself and is dismissed from the story with the words ‘You must not put the Lord your God to the test’ (Deuteronomy 6:16). Jesus has reversed Israel’s experience in the desert and become the founder of a new people.

• Do you have the courage, like Jesus, to become sons and daughters of God?
• Which of the temptations faced by Jesus—material security, power or prestige—offers the greatest challenge to you?
• How do you overcome temptation when it arises?

Making connections

Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer

• What are the great temptations in your life?
• In what ways have you been ‘led by the Spirit through the wilderness’?
• ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’ What nourishes your spiritual life?
• Today’s gospel presents Jesus’ struggle to remain true to himself and his faith. Spend time reflecting on how you are feeling about the Rite of Election and the commitment you will make at Easter. Share your hopes and fears.
• Spend time this week contemplating the difficult periods of your life and how they led you to new understandings of yourself, others and God. Reach out to someone who may be experiencing a difficult time in their lives.
• Use the response to today’s psalm as your prayer this week:

Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.

Sharing the tradition

A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ

The whole season of Lent–Easter–Pentecost has a fundamental integrity and unity to it, despite being divided into forty- and fifty-day time frames, set each side of the Easter celebration. The word Lent is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘spring’ and was associated in the northern hemisphere with the seasonal change from winter and the lengthening of the days. The forty-day period of fasting and almsgiving in preparation for Easter was not firmly set until the fourth century and had strong catechumenal and baptismal overtones, as this was the final preparation time for people seeking baptism. This focus has been revised in recent years, and of course the current catechumens have become part of that process.

• You could give some history of the initiation practices of the early church and their links to the current practice of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
• You could talk about the history of the modern RCIA.
• Give some background on the common customs associated with Lent: the use of purple; the absence of decoration; the traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving; the ways that people observe Lent in their own homes.
• You could use the parish resource kit from Caritas to encourage participation in Project Compassion.

Symbols and images

In the Scriptures, the desert or the wilderness is a place of great deprivation and hardship. We sometimes hear of people undergoing a ‘dark night of the soul’ or a ‘desert experience’. It can be a time of testing. Often these experiences, however, lead to a new understanding of God or a renewed faith, in much the same way that God led God’s people through the wilderness to the Promised Land.

Living the Word

Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment

• How is Lent observed in your parish? Do you use a Lenten program that could provide extra preparation for catechumens in the lead-up to receiving the sacraments?
• Style your prayer together as an act of commitment. Give each of the elect a taper to light from a central candle as they make an informal pledge to enter fully into the final stage of the journey. A suitable song could be ‘Here I am Lord’ (GA 496). Conclude with adaptations of the intercessions for the elect in the RCIA at §121.

First reading

Ecclesiasticus 27:5–8
The test of a man is in his conversation.

Responsorial psalm

Psalm 91(92):2–3, 13–16
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

Second reading

1 Corinthians 15:54–58
Death is swallowed up in victory.

Gospel acclamation

Philippians 2:15–16
Shine on the world like bright stars; you are offering it the word of life.

Gospel

Luke 6:39–45
Can the blind lead the blind?

Images from the Word

• Fully trained disciple
• Plank in your own
• What fills his heart
• Work of the potter
• In vain

Liturgical notes

To bring to completion the prayer of the People of God, and also to conclude the entire Communion Rite, the priest sings or says the Prayer after Communion, in which he prays for the fruits of the mystery just celebrated.

—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, §89

Having completed our Sunday celebration of the Mass, we are blessed to take the fruits of the celebration into our world. Our God relies upon us to be ambassadors of his work in our world. It will be by our faith-filled service to our brothers and sisters that it will be possible for God to be present to our world.

‘Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, says the Lord.’

—communion antiphon

First reading

1 Samuel 26:2, 7–9, 11–13, 22–23
Do not lift your hand against the Lord’s anointed.

Responsorial psalm

Psalm 102(103):1–4, 8, 10, 12–13
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Second reading

1 Corinthians 15:45–49
The first Adam became a living soul; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

Gospel acclamation

John 13:34
I give you a new commandment; love one another as I have loved you.

Gospel

Luke 6:27–38
Love your enemies.

Images from the Word:

• Love your enemies
• Do good
• Be compassionate
• Lord’s anointed
• Life-giving spirit

Liturgical notes:

In the celebration of Mass

is found the high point both of the action by which God sanctifies the world in Christ and of the worship that the human race offers to the Father, adoring him through Christ, the Son of God, in the Holy Spirit.

—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, §16

As the Mass is the action of Christ and of the Church, we are both blessed by the action of Christ and join with Christ in giving true worship to God. Christ may be the Alpha, but Christ relies upon the Church to live appropriately so that he may be present as the Omega. Our God stands in need of our lives of holiness so that his plan for salvation may be achieved.

‘Lord, I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, who is coming into this world’

—communion antiphon