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Sunday, March 30, 2014: (FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT) Readings for today: 1 Samuel 16:1B, 6-7, 10-13A / Ephesians 5:8-14 / John 9:1-41:
Readings from: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/033014.cfm (Pics from elsewhere on the internet)
Reading 1 - A reading from the first book of the Prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 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 - (Psalm 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6):
From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DesMWtNZPeA
R/ (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R/ The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
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.
R/ The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R/ The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
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.
R/ The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Reading 2 - A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians (Ephesians 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.”
Gospel - A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. John (John 9:1-41):
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, 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.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.”
And they said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I don’t know.”
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.”
Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?”
His parents answered and said,
“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid
of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”
So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, “Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner.”
He replied,
“If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
So they said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
They ridiculed him and said,
“You are that man’s disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from.”
The man answered and said to them,
“This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.”
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, ADo 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,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
“I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind.”
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.
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03/30/2014 - St. Peter Regalado (1390-1456 / Feast Day: March 30): A.K.A. St. Pierre Regalat, San Pedro Regalado. Miracles attributed to this austere saint include bilocation (he would be seen in 2 different convents at the same time taking care of important business); when feeding the poor, the bread never seemed to run out; at prayer he could be seen raised above the ground with flames radiating from his body; and he could cross rivers as if they were solid ground.
From: http://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/saint-peter-regalado.html
March 30
St. Peter Regalado
(1390-1456)
The life of this great servant of God appeared to be merely the unfolding and an ever stronger exemplification of the virtues which he received in holy baptism. Born in 1390 of wealthy and devout parents at Valladolid in Spain, he lost his father at an early age; but he himself became the comfort of his pious mother, who with joy and gratitude to God recognized in her little son distinct signs of future holiness.
One could notice nothing childish in him. He loved places of retirement, where he would sit for hours in deepest devotion. Not only did the saintly child meditate upon the sufferings of Christ, but he wished also to have a share in them by inflicting pain on his tender body.
When he was ten years old, he importuned his mother to permit him to consecrate himself entirely to God in the Franciscan Order. The prudent woman first tried his vocation for a long time; but after three years, when she could no longer doubt that the call came from God, she gave her consent despite his youthful age; and thirteen-year-old Peter was also granted admittance into the convent, a thing frequently done in those days. Although he was a child, he practiced all the austerities and virtues of a perfect religious.
Just at that time there was being introduced into Spain a stricter observance of the rule, and Peter attached himself to it with lively zeal. From Valladolid he traveled with his teacher and superior, Father Peter of Villagarcia, to the quiet little convent of Aguilar in the diocese of Osma, where he prepared himself for the priesthood by earnest study and still more earnest prayer. He had been a priest but a short time when his teacher, who had set out on a journey to establish new convents of this reform movement, believed that he could find no one in Augilar better fitted for the superiorship than his pupil, Peter Regalado. In this position he proved himself so efficient that, after the death of Father Peter of Villagarcia in the year 1442, he was appointed head of all the convents of the movement in Spain. Whatever he, as superior, taught the brethren, they saw him observe most perfectly in his own life. Perhaps to enable him to better supervise the convents, Peter had the ability to bilocate, as he was often known to be at two different convents at exactly the same time taking care of important matters.
Saint Peter Regalado kept almost continuous silence; the greater part of the night he devoted to prayer; Holy Mass he celebrated with such devotion that often he was not able to refrain from tears. He scourged his body sometimes even until he bled; his bed was the bare floor or a little straw; nine times a year he kept a forty-day fast, mostly on bread and water. Religious poverty he observed most rigorously, for which reason he had to suffer much opposition and even persecution. He accepted that, however, in patience and meekness out of love for God.
His love of neighbor was so great that he often brought the poor and the sick with him into the convent and cared for them with great love. God rewarded his faithful service with most extraordinary graces. At prayer he was so filled with seraphic ardor that he was seen raised above the ground, with flames radiating from his body. On occasion there occurred a prodigy such as was once observed in the life of St Francis: the flames rose above the roof of the convent through not damaging it. The bishop of Osma, who one saw this prodigy himself, cried out:
“Truly, that is the abode of God.”
It seemed that the body of the holy man possessed the agility and ease which our glorified bodies will one day have, because he crossed over rivers as though they were solid ground; and often he was found at the same hour at convents far distant from one another, transacting business pertaining to his office.
God almighty announced the praises of His servant through the mouths of babes. On one occasion, Peter said to a babe in the arms of his mother: “May the Lord bless you, my dear child! Oh, what a beautiful and brilliant soul you have!” At this the babe turned to him and said to the amazement of its mother: “But still more beautiful is your soul, which God has adorned with so many graces.”
Soon, however, the great mass of the people was to praise him.
Saint Peter Regalado died in the sixty-sixth year of his life, on March 31, 1456, and immediately the veneration of the people began. His grave was glorified by innumerable miracles.
In 1492, the Catholic Queen Isabella requested to have several fingers taken from the saint as relics. This was done, and the amputation of the fingers caused blood to flow from the wounds for some time, as if the saint were still alive. This took place 36 years after the death of the saint.
Pope Innocent XI beatified him, and Pope Benedict XIV solemnly enrolled Saint Peter Regalado among the saints.
from: The Franciscan Book Of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, OFM
