Daily Readings for March 11, 2018

Fourth Sunday of Lent

1ST READING

The Jews broke their covenant with God and entered into alliances with the gods of other nations. The Jews suffer dire consequences not because God punishes them but because the nations, whom they consider as allies, cannot be trusted to keep their word. Israel becomes vulnerable and is at the mercy of powers greater than itself. Let us be faithful to our promises to God and not allow ourselves to be at the mercy of godless peoples.

2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

14 In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 Early and often did the Lord, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the Lord against his people was so inflamed that there was no remedy. 19 Their enemies burnt the house of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, set all its palaces afire, and destroyed all its precious objects. 20 Those who escaped the sword he carried captive to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the Persians Kingdom came to power. 21 All this was to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah: “Until the land has retrieved its lost sabbaths, during all the time it lies waste it shall have rest while seventy years are fulfilled.” 22 In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord inspired King Cyrus of Persia to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: 23 “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me, and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever, therefore, among you belongs to any part of his people, let him go up, and may his God be with him!”

P S A L M

Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R: Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!

1 By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On the aspens of that land we hung up our harps. (R) 3 For there our captors asked of us the lyrics of our songs, and our despoilers urged us to be joyous: “Sing for us the songs of Zion!” (R) 4 How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be forgotten! (R) 6 May my tongue cleave to my palate if I remember you not, if I place not Jerusalem ahead of my joy. (R)

2ND READING

Just as God has been merciful to us in forgiving our sins, so too are we called to be merciful to others. Forgiveness is at the heart of the Gospel and must be lived by the disciples of Jesus. Let us pray for the grace to forgive those who sin against us and be true witnesses to the healing and saving power of the Gospel.

Ephesians 2:4-10

4 Brothers and sisters: God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ — by grace you have been saved, 6 raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so no one may boast. 10 For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

GOSPEL

Any encounter with Jesus is always one of love. He did not come to condemn us — He came to save us out of love for us. Let us open our hearts to God’s transforming love. His love encourages us to share the same love with those whom we meet. The Gospel is an encounter with a loving God, not an angry one. An encounter with a disciple of Jesus should likewise be an encounter of love.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

John 3:14-21

14 Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. 21 But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.