Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

The Waters of Paradise

Liturgical Cycle: A, B, C | Lectionary Cycle: I, II

Introduction

Water flows from the Temple and turns the land into a fertile paradise, bringing health and life, says Ezekiel. But this living Temple is Christ, says John. Encountering him means forgiveness, health, and life. These readings on the symbolism of life-giving water and on Christ have been chosen in view of baptism, the Lenten-Easter sacrament: in its waters we encounter Christ.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you have quenched our thirst for life
with the water of baptism.
Keep turning the desert of our arid lives
into a paradise of joy and peace,
that we may bear fruits
of holiness, justice and love.
Lord, hear our prayer
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

First Reading

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12

The angel brought me, Ezekiel,
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water,
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?"
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

R. (8) The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

Alleluia Verse

Psalm 51:12a, 14a

Glory and Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ

A clean heart create for me, O God;
give me back the joy of your salvation.

Glory and Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ

Gospel

John 5:1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
"It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."
He answered them, "The man who made me well told me,
'Take up your mat and walk.'"
They asked him,
"Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
"Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you."
The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.

Prayers of the Faithful

– For people who are blind to the defects of their hearts and to the needs of their neighbour, we pray:

– For people who are paralysed by their fears and their lack of courage, we pray:

– For the physically handicapped, those who are blind, lame and paralysed, that they may move the hearts of people and keep up their trust in God, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
your Son Jesus comes among us
in these signs of bread and wine.
May he be for us
the source of living water
from which we can drink
until we are satisfied,
that we may turn this earth
into a hospitable place,
which gives us a foretaste
of your eternal paradise.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
we have encountered your Son
in this Eucharistic celebration.
May he say to us too:
“Pick up your sleeping mat and walk,”
and may we indeed walk
at the word of your Son
and go to you his way
of goodness, justice and peace.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Blessing

“Do you want to be made well?” Jesus asks the paralysed man and us. Of course, we say yes. And like the paralysed person, may we say yes and find people to help us and trust in God to let him make us better people and better Christians. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

REFLCETIONS

Hitting Where It Hurts

“Flooding” or “in-vivo exposure” is a behavioural modification technique used by some therapists to treat some phobias. The patient is flooded with the stimulus that causes anxiety, so as to create desensitisation and mastery. Jesus does this sort of hitting where it hurts most when he asks the paralysed man to get up, take up the mat, and walk! How on earth do you expect a man paralysed for 38 years to do so? The truth was: the man was more paralysed in his will than in his body. He lacked personal agency. Not that he was able to move by himself into the pond, but when Jesus asked him a straightforward question, “Do you want to be healed?”, instead of answering with a resounding “Yes!”, he was wallowing in self-pity, playing the blame game. Jesus ordered him to take responsibility for himself and do the impossible. To the man’s credit, he did!

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John 5:1-3,5-16

“Do You Want to Be Healed?”

In today’s Gospel (John 5:1-3, 5-16), Jesus encounters a man who has been sick for thirty-eight years, lying by the pool of Bethesda. When Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be healed?”, the man doesn’t say yes. Instead, he complains: “I have no one to put me into the pool…” He blames others for his situation and seems trapped in a cycle of discouragement and self-pity.

Yet Jesus, in His mercy, heals him anyway. “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” And immediately the man is made well. But even after his healing, his reaction is striking—there is no gratitude or joy. He simply shifts the focus: “The one who healed me told me to do it.” Later, he reports Jesus to the authorities.

How often do we act like this man? We stay in the same place spiritually, emotionally, even physically, blaming others for our situation. Jesus invites us to healing, but we hesitate, making excuses instead of responding with faith.

Lent is a time when the Church asks each of us: “Do you want to be healed?” It is an invitation to renew our Baptismal promises and allow the waters of life—grace—to stir our hearts. But healing requires a decision: to get up, to pick up our mats, and to walk in faith.

Let’s examine our hearts. Are we stuck in the apathy of complaining and excuses? Jesus calls us today to rise from our paralysis, to embrace His mercy, and to live with gratitude and joy.

Lord Jesus, heal our hearts. Stir the waters of our souls. Give us the courage to say yes, and to walk with You in newness of life. Amen.

“Do You Want to Be Healed?” - Youtube

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John 5:1-16

Get up and walk

Is there anything that is preventing us from experiencing the healing power and transforming grace of the Lord? The prophet Ezekiel was given a vision of the rivers of living water flowing from God's heavenly throne. This living water that flows from the temple and envelops people is meant to bring healing and restoration to his people, and help them live a life of joy and peace with God.

Centuries later, it is through Jesus, God continues his work of healing and restoration to his people. John presents in his Gospel account the miraculous healing of the man crippled for 38 years on a Sabbath at the pool of Bethzatha.

"Do you really want to be healed?" The crippled man did not ask for healing; perhaps he did not even know who Jesus was. It was purely an initiative of Jesus to approach him and offer him help. His complaint was that he had no one to help him, but the Lord helped him from his miseries.

Jesus approaches each one of us with the same probing question, "Do you really want to be healed - to be forgiven, set free from guilt and sin, from uncontrollable anger and other disordered passions, and from hurtful desires and addictions.” The first essential step towards freedom and healing is the desire for change. If we are content to stay as we are, then no amount of coaxing will change us. The Lord will not refuse anyone who sincerely asks for his pardon, mercy, and healing.

Listen to his voice, prompting us to action: “Get up and walk”!

Get up and walk - Youtube