Saint Isidore, Bishop, Doctor
Biographical Information about St. Isidore
Readings for Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Ezekiel 37:21-28
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will take the children of Israel from among the nations
to which they have come,
and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.
I will make them one nation upon the land,
in the mountains of Israel,
and there shall be one prince for them all.
Never again shall they be two nations,
and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.
No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols,
their abominations, and all their transgressions.
I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy,
and cleanse them so that they may be my people
and I may be their God.
My servant David shall be prince over them,
and there shall be one shepherd for them all;
they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees.
They shall live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob,
the land where their fathers lived;
they shall live on it forever,
they, and their children, and their children's children,
with my servant David their prince forever.
I will make with them a covenant of peace;
it shall be an everlasting covenant with them,
and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.
My dwelling shall be with them;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD,
who make Israel holy,
when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ez 37:21-28
The Prophet Ezekiel was probably not aware that this oracle would have great meaning beyond what even he foresaw. He predicts in this oracle, the return of the Hebrew people from their exile in Babylon and the restoration of Israel under a king from David’s line. In this return the Prophet sees a conversion of the people (“…I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people”); a return also to the law of the Lord which they abandon during the exile and a return to God’s covenant.
For us, looking back at his words we can see him (Ezekiel) predict the coming of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ and how he will be the one prince over the entire world. It will have been Jesus that establishes the covenant of peace and reveals God’s love.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13
R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen.
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jer 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13
The song from Jeremiah also recalls the Diaspora, the exile of the Hebrews. Jeremiah also prophesies their return and reunification of the people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 11:45-56
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
"What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation."
But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them,
"You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish."
He did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.
So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,
but he left for the region near the desert,
to a town called Ephraim,
and there he remained with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country to Jerusalem
before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another
as they were in the temple area, "What do you think?
That he will not come to the feast?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 11:45-56
In the first section of this Gospel reading we can see the dilemma facing the Sanhedrin. The Messiah the God has sent is not the “Royal Messiah” coming to destroy the Roman domination but a humble servant. If the people of Israel follow him, Rome will wipe Israel from the map.
Caiaphas is introduced as the architect of the ultimate plot to kill Jesus. He unwittingly predicts that Jesus will die to save the whole nation, unwittingly because he does not understand that Jesus is God’s Son, only that he is a political threat.
This ends the period when Jesus was teaching openly in the temple area. He now leaves Jerusalem for a time. The plotting, however, continues as the scribes and Pharisees plan to seize him during the Passover.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The scripture journey through the Lenten season is coming to a close. Jesus, who started this mission in the desert, now returns to the desert, waiting for the time of fulfillment. For us, we see once more how the people have been turned from belief by leaders who think only of power, greed, and their own glorification. All of those self directed and self centered emotions that serve the evil one so well have set the stage for what must now follow.
As we wait for the tomorrow’s Palm Sunday celebration of the Lord’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, we can look back and see the roller coaster ride the Lord must have had. He made great progress and showed us great signs. We see clearly what he wants from us – he has asked that we look inside and see there the same ignoble feelings that have turned the people he loves against him. We recognize in ourselves the ability to follow those impulses and we hear the voice of the Lord tell us to turn away. All of this we have heard in the last five weeks.
Now, just when it looks like the Lord could win, the crowd is with him, they are cheering loud hosannas and laying palms before him, the plot in the background thickens. The Sanhedrin will use the very yoke they hoped to throw off to kill their own Savior. We see it coming. We know the story well and still we wonder, if we had been there, which side would we have been on?
We will now plunge into the remembrance of Holy Week. The lessons we heard during Lent are there, strengthened by our discipline. Now we give thanks for the great gift of the sacrifice of Jesus.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “No. 26 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 10. Entry into Jerusalem” (detail) by Giotto di Bondone, 1304-06
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
Biographical Information about St. Isidore
Readings for Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Ezekiel 37:21-28
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will take the children of Israel from among the nations
to which they have come,
and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.
I will make them one nation upon the land,
in the mountains of Israel,
and there shall be one prince for them all.
Never again shall they be two nations,
and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms.
No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols,
their abominations, and all their transgressions.
I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy,
and cleanse them so that they may be my people
and I may be their God.
My servant David shall be prince over them,
and there shall be one shepherd for them all;
they shall live by my statutes and carefully observe my decrees.
They shall live on the land that I gave to my servant Jacob,
the land where their fathers lived;
they shall live on it forever,
they, and their children, and their children's children,
with my servant David their prince forever.
I will make with them a covenant of peace;
it shall be an everlasting covenant with them,
and I will multiply them, and put my sanctuary among them forever.
My dwelling shall be with them;
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Thus the nations shall know that it is I, the LORD,
who make Israel holy,
when my sanctuary shall be set up among them forever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ez 37:21-28
The Prophet Ezekiel was probably not aware that this oracle would have great meaning beyond what even he foresaw. He predicts in this oracle, the return of the Hebrew people from their exile in Babylon and the restoration of Israel under a king from David’s line. In this return the Prophet sees a conversion of the people (“…I will deliver them from all their sins of apostasy, and cleanse them so that they may be my people”); a return also to the law of the Lord which they abandon during the exile and a return to God’s covenant.
For us, looking back at his words we can see him (Ezekiel) predict the coming of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ and how he will be the one prince over the entire world. It will have been Jesus that establishes the covenant of peace and reveals God’s love.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13
R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen.
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jer 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13
The song from Jeremiah also recalls the Diaspora, the exile of the Hebrews. Jeremiah also prophesies their return and reunification of the people.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 11:45-56
Many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him.
But some of them went to the Pharisees
and told them what Jesus had done.
So the chief priests and the Pharisees
convened the Sanhedrin and said,
"What are we going to do?
This man is performing many signs.
If we leave him alone, all will believe in him,
and the Romans will come
and take away both our land and our nation."
But one of them, Caiaphas,
who was high priest that year, said to them,
"You know nothing,
nor do you consider that it is better for you
that one man should die instead of the people,
so that the whole nation may not perish."
He did not say this on his own,
but since he was high priest for that year,
he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
and not only for the nation,
but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God.
So from that day on they planned to kill him.
So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,
but he left for the region near the desert,
to a town called Ephraim,
and there he remained with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was near,
and many went up from the country to Jerusalem
before Passover to purify themselves.
They looked for Jesus and said to one another
as they were in the temple area, "What do you think?
That he will not come to the feast?"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 11:45-56
In the first section of this Gospel reading we can see the dilemma facing the Sanhedrin. The Messiah the God has sent is not the “Royal Messiah” coming to destroy the Roman domination but a humble servant. If the people of Israel follow him, Rome will wipe Israel from the map.
Caiaphas is introduced as the architect of the ultimate plot to kill Jesus. He unwittingly predicts that Jesus will die to save the whole nation, unwittingly because he does not understand that Jesus is God’s Son, only that he is a political threat.
This ends the period when Jesus was teaching openly in the temple area. He now leaves Jerusalem for a time. The plotting, however, continues as the scribes and Pharisees plan to seize him during the Passover.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The scripture journey through the Lenten season is coming to a close. Jesus, who started this mission in the desert, now returns to the desert, waiting for the time of fulfillment. For us, we see once more how the people have been turned from belief by leaders who think only of power, greed, and their own glorification. All of those self directed and self centered emotions that serve the evil one so well have set the stage for what must now follow.
As we wait for the tomorrow’s Palm Sunday celebration of the Lord’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, we can look back and see the roller coaster ride the Lord must have had. He made great progress and showed us great signs. We see clearly what he wants from us – he has asked that we look inside and see there the same ignoble feelings that have turned the people he loves against him. We recognize in ourselves the ability to follow those impulses and we hear the voice of the Lord tell us to turn away. All of this we have heard in the last five weeks.
Now, just when it looks like the Lord could win, the crowd is with him, they are cheering loud hosannas and laying palms before him, the plot in the background thickens. The Sanhedrin will use the very yoke they hoped to throw off to kill their own Savior. We see it coming. We know the story well and still we wonder, if we had been there, which side would we have been on?
We will now plunge into the remembrance of Holy Week. The lessons we heard during Lent are there, strengthened by our discipline. Now we give thanks for the great gift of the sacrifice of Jesus.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “No. 26 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 10. Entry into Jerusalem” (detail) by Giotto di Bondone, 1304-06
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
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