RELIGION AND ART

5th Sunday of Lent  -   'If Christ is in you then your spirit is life' First Reading Ezekiel 37:12-14  I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live The Lord says this: I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks. Responsorial Psalm:  With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption. S econd Reading Romans 8:8-11  The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you People who are interested only in unspiritual things can never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in ...

Saturday, week 4 of Lent -  ‘He is the Christ' First Reading Jeremiah 11:18-20  'Let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten' The Lord revealed it to me; I was warned. O Lord, that was when you opened my eyes to their scheming. I for my part was like a trustful lamb being led to the slaughter-house, not knowing the schemes they were plotting against me, ‘Let us destroy the tree in its strength, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may be quickly forgotten!’   But you, the Lord of Hosts, who pronounce a just sentence,  who probe the loins and heart,  let me see the vengeance you will take on them,  for I have committed my cause to you. Responsorial Psalm:  Lord God, I take refuge in you. Gospel John 7:40-52  The Law does not allow us to pass judgement on a man without hearing him Several people who had been listening to Jesus said, ‘Surely he must be the prophet’, and...

Friday, week 4 of Lent 'Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?' First Reading Wisdom 2:1a.12-22  Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man and condemn him to a shameful death The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright:  «Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the Lord. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways. He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the just and boasts that God is his Father. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him and deliver him from the hand of h...

St. Joseph , the Husband of Blessed Virgin Mary- Solemnity His dynasty shall last for ever ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife' First Reading 2 Samuel 7:4-5,12-14,16  The Lord will give him the throne of his ancestor David The word of the Lord came to Nathan:   ‘Go and tell my servant David, Thus the Lord speaks: “When your days are ended and you are laid to rest with your ancestors, I will preserve the offspring of your body after you and make his sovereignty secure. (It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will make his royal throne secure for ever.) I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established for ever.”’ Responsorial Psalm:  His dynasty shall last for ever Second Reading Romans 4:13,16-18,22  Abraham hoped, and he believed The promise of inheriting the world was not made to Abraham and his descendants on account of any ...

Wednesday of Lent - 'T he Lord comforts his people and shows mercy' First Reading Isaiah 49:8-15 On the day of salvation I will help you Thus says the Lord: «In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you; and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to restore the land and allot the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners: ‘Come out!’; to those in darkness: ‘Show yourselves!’. Along the ways they shall find pasture, on every bare height shall their pastures be. They shall not hunger or thirst, nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them; for he who pities them leads them and guides them beside springs of water. I will cut a road through all my mountains, and make my highways level.  See, some shall come from afar, others from the north and the west, and some from the land of Syene. Sing out, o heavens, and rejoice, o earth, break forth into song, you mountains. For the Lord comforts his people and shows mercy to his affl...

Tuesday week 4 of Lent -‘Do you want to be well again?’   First Reading Ezekiel 47:1-9.12  Wherever the water flows, it will bring life and health The angel brought me to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream came out from under the Temple threshold and flowed eastwards, since the Temple faced east. The water flowed from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water flowed out on the right-hand side. The man went to the east holding his measuring line and measured off a thousand cubits; he then made me wade across the stream; the water reached my ankles. He measured off another thousand and made me wade across the stream again; the water reached my knees. He measured off another thousand and made me wade across again; the water reached my waist. He measured off another thousand; it was now a river which I could not cross; the stream had swollen and was ...