26 March 2017
4th Sunday of Lent

1 Samuel 16:1.6-7.10-13
Psalms 22
Ephesians 5:8-14
Gospel
John 9:1,6-9,13-17,34-38

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. He spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (a name that means ‘sent’). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, ‘Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘Yes, it is the same one.’ Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’ The man himself said, ‘I am the man.’

They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man’s eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said, ‘He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.’ Then some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How could a sinner produce signs like this?’ And there was disagreement among them. So they spoke to the blind man again, ‘What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?’ ‘He is a prophet’ replied the man.

‘Are you trying to teach us,’ they replied ‘and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!’ And they drove him away.

Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied ‘tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You are looking at him; he is speaking to you.’ The man said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and worshipped him.

It is Christ who heals the Blind

He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. He who had brought greater substances into being out of nothing, could much more have given sight without the use of any material: but He wished to show that He was the Creator, Who in the beginning used clay for the formation of man. He makes the clay with spittle, and not with water, to make it evident that it was not the pool of Siloam, where He was about to send him, but the virtue proceeding from His mouth, which restored the man’s sight. And then, that the cure might not seem to be the effect of the clay, He ordered the man to wash: And He said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. The Evangelist gives the meaning of Siloam, which is by interpretation, Sent, to intimate that it was Christ’s power that cured him even there.
St. John Chrysostom

Next Sunday’s readings
Ezekiel 37:12-14
Psalms 129
Romans 8:8-11
Gospel of John 11:1-45

Psalter week IV

Prayer

Prayer is an act of the virtue of religion which consists in asking proper gifts or graces from God. In a more general sense it is the application of the mind to Divine things, not only to acquire knowledge of them but to make use of such knowledge as a means of union with God. This may be done by acts of praise, petition and thanksgiving. In prayer, we express our desires to God, not to instruct or direct him, but to appeal to His goodness for the things we need; and the appeal is necessary, not because He is ignorant of our needs or sentiments, but to give definite form to our desires, to concentrate our whole attention on what we have to recommend to Him, to help us appreciate our close personal relation with Him. By prayer we acknowledge God’s power and our own neediness and dependence. Prayer implies reverence for God and habituates us to look to Him for everything. Prayer presupposes faith and hope, by these, God moves us to pray.
Cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, Prayer

NEWS

Fridays during Lent: Holy Mass at 11:30am followed by Stations of the Cross.

Fasting for CARITAS: Join us for soup and roll at the coffee shop on Lent Fridays after Stations of the cross. €2 Donation.

The Way of the Cross: St. Paul’s Parish Passion of the Lord 2017 will be on 9 April at 3:45pm on Agia Kyriaki grounds.

Hot Pot Supper: Fri 31 March, 7pm at the T Junction Restaurant. To help Hospice. Live entertainment. Call Linda 99562387

For Sick Calls at home or the hospital, please call Fr. Carlos, Fr. Fernando or Fr. Jim. Numbers in the back of Newsletter.

CARITAS PAPHOS: We need nοn-perishable food to help the poor in the Paphos area. Prayers and Donations are always welcomed.

Grand Day Out in Kyrenia: Fri 5 May, departing at 8am. €30 includes coach. Raffle. Call Mona 99494140, or Linda 99562387.  

Archangel Michael Hospice: Volunteers needed in the areas of reception, nursing assistants and cafeteria. Contact Mona 99 494140.

Mass Times HERE