Creighton University's Online Ministries

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Daily Lent Prayer
"Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise."

Collect:
O God, who through your word
reconcile the human race to yourself in a wonderful way,
grant, we pray,
that with prompt devotion and eager faith the Christian people may hasten
toward the solemn celebrations to come.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. *

The Readings:

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

Daily Meditation:
Laetare Sunday: Be joyful!
This Sunday has a joy-filled tone.
We enter into the second part of Lent with a spirit of eagerness.
Our celebration of the mercy and life given to us in Jesus is near.

All the readings are profound.  The letter to the Ephesians can be a meditation for the week.
We have been saved by our Lord, Jesus, the Christ.
That is consoling at this part of Lent.  It is not the work we do that saves us.
It is God's love - in the midst of our darkness.

We can ask to be "lifted up" with Jesus in his surrender with the Father:
lifted up on the cross and therefore, lifted up in Glory.
And, we can express our desire to be an instrument of his healing love,
in the hearts of those to whom he sends us.

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

If we are celebrating the Second Scrutiny,
with the Elect journeying to the font of Baptism,
then we'll probably be using the gospel about the healing of the man born blind.

 [Learn more about the Scrutinies here.]

Today's Daily Reflection

Intercessions:
Let us give glory to God, whose kindess knows no limit.
Through Jesus Christ, who lives for ever to intercede for
us, let us pray:
Kindle in our hearts the fire of your love.

God of mercy, let today be a day rich in good works,
-a day of generosity to all we meet.
From the waters of the flood you saved Noah through the ark,
-from the waters of baptism raise up to new life those
under instruction.
May we live not by bread only,
-but by every word falling from your lips.
Help us to do away with all dissension,
-so that we may rejoice in your gifts of peace and love.

Closing Prayer:
Loving Father of mine,
I feel the pace quicken, the time draw near.
I am filled with joy as I move toward Easter
and the promised reconcilation with you.
Teach me to follow the example of your Son,
to be worthy of being called one his people: a Christ-ian.
Help me to live each day as he did
turning hatred to love and conflict to peace.
I await the new life with eagerness, faith
and a deep gratitude.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

The Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Lent Prayer
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”

Collect:
O God, who renew the world
through mysteries beyond all telling,
grant, we pray,
that your Church may be guided by your eternal design
and not be deprived of your help in this present age.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. *

The Readings:

Isaiah 65:17-21; Psalms 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a, and 13b; John 4:43-54

Daily Meditation:
You give us new life.
We now begin the second part of Lent.
The Gospel according to John will be our guide.
Before we enter into the controversy and the sense of being in a court room,
we have a wonderful story of a healing.
In this gospel, the acts of power that Jesus works
are the “signs” that help us see who he is.

We are reminded that he is the one who will give us new life.

Lo, I am about to create
new heavens and a new earth.
Isaiah 65:17  The First Reading

Today's Daily Reflection

Intercessions:
Blessed be God the Father for his gift of this sacrifice of praise.
In the spirit of this Lenten season, let us pray:
   Instruct us, Lord, in the ways of your kingdom.

God of power and mercy, give us the spirit of prayer and repentance,
  - with burning love for you and for all mankind.
Help us to work with you in making all things new in Christ,
  - and in spreading justice and peace throughout the world.
Teach us the meaning and value of creation,
  - so that we may join its voice to ours as we sing your praise.
Forgive us for failing to see Christ in the poor,
the distressed and the troublesome.
  - and for our failure to reverence your Son in their persons.

Closing Prayer:
God who created me,
You offer me new life through your Son
and through the gift of your sacraments.
While I see new life all around me,
I don't always recognize the new life you offer me.
Help me to grow this Lent in an awareness
of the gifts you place in my life
and in a greater appreciation for your care.
Give me the courage to ask for help.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

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The Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Lent Prayer
"Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise."

Collect:
May the venerable exercises of holy devotion
shape the hearts of your faithful, O Lord,
to welcome worthily the Paschal Mystery
and proclaim the praises of your salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. *

The Readings
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12; Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9; John 5:1-16

Daily Meditation:
Our embrace leads to praise.
This is the second part of Lent.
We begin to feel the power of the Fourth Gospel.
The "forces" that are opposed in the gospel
have everything to do with the forces at work in my heart.
He is clearly about to embrace his passage - his passover - from death to life.
This paschal mystery is what we are preparing to celebrate.

As we grow in love and compassion for what Jesus is facing for us,
we ask to be prepared to embrace his way, his path, the pattern of his dying and rising.
We ask that we would be prepared to proclaim this gift to others, with great joy

"It was because Jesus did things such as this on the Sabbath that they began to persecute him."
For me.

Come to the waters, all who thirst;
though you have no money,
come and drink with joy.
Isaiah 55:1

Today's Daily Reflection

Intercessions:
God the Father has given us his only Son, the Word made human,
to be our food and our life. Let us thank him and pray:
   May the word of Christ dwell among us in all its richness.

Help us this Lenten season to listen more frequently to your word,
 - that we may celebrate the solemnity of Easter with greater love for Christ, our paschal sacrifice.
May your Holy Spirit be our teacher,
 - that we may encourage those in doubt and error to follow what is true and good.
Enable us to enter more deeply into the mystery of your Anointed One,
 - that our lives may reveal him more effectively.
Purify and renew your Church in this time of salvation,
 - that it may give an ever greater witness to you.

Closing Prayer:
Joyful praise in Lent?
I'm not sure I always feel that.
I ask you to help me prepare to understand
and embrace the paschal mystery in my life.
I don't always see the beauty and mystery of this season
and often I run from the pain.
Help me to see how your saving grace
and your loving touch in my life
can fill me with joyful praise of the salvation
you have sent to me.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

The Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Lent Prayer
"Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise."

Collect:
O God, who reward the merits of the just
and offer pardon to sinners who do penance,
have mercy, we pray, on those who call upon you,
that the admission of our guilt
may serve to obtain your pardon for our sins.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. *

The Readings
Isaiah 49:8-15; Psalms 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18; John 5:17-30

Daily Meditation:
Grant us your forgiveness.
We know that this whole journey is about our reconciliation.
We know that God wants to forgive us.
We know we are preparing to renew our Baptismal promises,
and "refuse to be mastered by sin."
Today we hear the invitation and ask more earnestly.

In the marvelous discourse that follows his sign of healing,
Jesus says, "I am not seeking my own will but the will of him who sent me."
I am filled with a sense of sorrow and gratitude,
as I see what he did for me.

I tell you for certain that everyone who hears my message
and has faith in the one who sent me has eternal life and will never be condemned.
They have already gone from death to life.
John 5:24

Today's Daily Reflection

Intercessions:
Let us give thanks to God, our Father:
through the power of the Spirit he purifies our heart and strengthens us in love.
Let us humbly ask him:
Lord, give us your Holy Spirit.

Help us to receive good things from your bounty with a deep sense of gratitude;
-and to accept with patience the evil that comes to us.
Teach us to be loving not only in great and exceptional moments,
-but above all in the ordinary events of daily life.
May we abstain from what we do not really need,
-and help our brothers and sisters in distress.
May we bear the wounds of your Son,
-for through his body he gave us life.

Closing Prayer:
Loving and merciful God,
I am so aware of my sins and weaknesses.
But as painfully aware of my faults as I am,
Let me also remember your tender love,
your gentle and limitless forgiveness.
I come before you filled with pain and guilt
but look into your eyes and see the forgiving love
I so long for in my life.
Help me to forgive the same way.
Teach me to love as you love.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

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The Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Lent Prayer
"Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise."

 

Collect:
We invoke your mercy in humble prayer, O Lord,
that you may cause us, your servants,
corrected by penance and schooled by good works,
to preserve sincerely in your commands
and come safely to the paschal festivities.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. *

The Readings
Exodus 32:7-14; Psalms 106:19-20, 21-22, 23; John 5:31-47

Daily Meditation:
Lead us to the joy of Easter.
We are still aware of our patterns.
We still are realigning our priorities.
We are still trying to simplify and trying to eat in solidarity with others.
Most of all, we are still asking for a change of heart.

Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
Seek the Lord and his strength,
seek always the face of the Lord.
Psalm 104:3-4
 
Today's Daily Reflection

Intercessions:
God has revealed himself in Christ. Let us praise his goodness, and ask him from our hearts:
  Remember us, Lord, for we are your children.

Teach us to enter more deeply into the mystery of the Church,
 - that it may be more effective for ourselves and for the world as the sacrament of salvation.
Lover of mankind, inspire us to work for human progress,
 - seeking to spread your kingdom in all we do.
May our hearts thirst for Christ,
 - the fountain of living water.
Forgive us our sins,
 - and direct our steps into the ways of justice and sincerity.

Closing Prayer:
Merciful Father, Loving Mother,
I know that the tiny sacrifices I make this Lent
can never serve as a real penance in my life.
But help me to make my whole life
one of following your Son.
I am filled with your love.
Let your love shine out from within me
and guide my life in this sacred journey
toward the Easter joy you offer me.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

The Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Lent Prayer
"Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise."

Collect:
O God, who have prepared
fitting helps for us in our weakness,
grant, we pray, that we may receive
their healing effects with joy
and reflect them in a holy way of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. *

The Readings
Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22; Psalms 34:17-18, 19-20, 21, and 23; John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Daily Meditation:
May we reach out with joy to grasp your hand.
We keep acknowledging that God is the source of our life.
We realize that we have been seeking other sources of life.
We recognize our weakness and turn to God for help.
Though our hearts are being opened up to their depths,
though we cry out to God for help, we are not discouraged.

The Lord is near to broken hearts.

When the just cry out, the Lord hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The Lord is close to the broken hearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.

Today's Daily Reflection

Intercessions:
Let us pray to Christ our Savior, who redeemed us by  his death and resurrection:
   Lord, have mercy on us.

You went up to Jerusalem to suffer and so enter into your glory,
 - bring your Church to the Passover feast of heaven.
You were lifted high on the cross and pierced by the soldier's lance,
 - heal our wounds.
You made the cross the tree of life,
 - give its fruit to those reborn in baptism.
On the cross you forgave the repentant thief,
 - forgive us our sins.

Closing Prayer:
Loving God of forgiveness,
I come before you humbled and sad
in the face of my own repeated failings.
I hold out my hands as a petitioner would,
asking for mercy.
It is then that I feel you reach out and take my hand
in your loving grasp.
Thank you for the love you pour out on me so lavishly.
Help me to follow more closely
in the path you have set for me,
the path of your Son.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

The Fourth Week of Lent

Daily Lent Prayer
"Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise."

Collect:
May the working of your mercy, O Lord, we pray,
direct our hearts aright,
for without your grace
we cannot find favor in your sight.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. *

The Readings
Jeremiah 11:18-20; Psalm 7:2-3, 9bc-10, 11-12; John 7:40-53

Daily Meditation:
Apart from you we can do nothing.
The conflict around Jesus grows.
And all the while, we are turning to God for mercy.
What Jesus went through is for me,
that I might have mercy and the gift of everlasting life.

We call upon the Lord for help, for strength, for trust.

The snares of death overtook me,
the ropes of hell tightened around me;
and in my distress I called upon the Lord,
and he heard my voice.
Psalm 17

Today's Daily Reflection

Intercessions:
Let us always and everywhere give thanks to Christ our Savior, and ask him with confidence:
  Lord, help us with your grace.

May we keep our bodies pure,
  - as temples of the Holy Spirit.
May we offer ourselves this day to the service of others,
  - and do your will in all things throughout the day.
Teach us to seek the bread of everlasting life,
  - the bread that is your gift.
May your Mother, the refuge of sinners, pray for us,
  - and gain for us your loving forgiveness.

Closing Prayer:
Lord,
what you ask of my life seems so right.
It is how I want to live,
following your Son, Jesus, so closely.
And yet I fail so often to stay on that path.
I cannot do it alone, loving Lord.
I need your help and guidance.
I need to remember your love for me
and I want to remember
how very much I need you in my life.

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

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* New English translation according to the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal. 2010,
Copyright International Commission on English in the Liturgy.