Lectionary Readings for the 4th Sunday of Lent, Year A

Readings, Responsorial Psalm and Gospel

Reading I, 1 Sm 16, 1. 6-7. 10-13

A Reading from the First Book of Samuel
In the presence of the Lord God, they anointed David
king of Israel.

The Lord said to Samuel: "I am sending you to Jesse of
Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.

As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel
looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed
is here before him." But the Lord said to Samuel: "Do
not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God
see, because man sees the appearance but the Lord looks
into the heart." In the same way Jesse presented seven
sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse. "The Lord
has not chosen any one of these." Then Samuel asked
Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" Jesse replied,
"There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep."
Samuel said to Jesse, "Send for him; we will not begin
the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here." Jesse
sent and had the young man brought to them. He was
ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid
appearance. The Lord said, "There - anoint him, for
this is he!" Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and from
that day on, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.

The Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm, Ps 23, 1-3. 3-4. 5. 6. R. v. 1

R. The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.

1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul R.

2. He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage. R.

3. You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. R.

4. Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
for years to come. R.

Reading II, Eph 5, 8-14

A Reading From the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians
Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.

There was a time when you were darkness, but now you
are light in the Lord. Well, then, live as children
of light. Light produces every kind of goodness and
justice and truth. Be correct in your judgment of
what pleases the Lord. Take no part in vain deeds
done in darkness; rather condemn them. It is shameful
even to mention the things these people do in secret;
but when such deeds are condemned they are seen in the
light of day, and all that then appears is light. That
is why we read:

"Awake, O sleeper,
arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light."

The Word of the Lord.

Gospel, Jn 9, 1-41

Verse before the Gospel Jn 8, 12
R. I am the light of the world, says
the Lord; the man who follows me will have
the light of life.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to John
The blind man went off and washed himself and
came away with his sight restored.

As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been
blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi,
was it his sin or his parents' that caused him to
be born blind?" "Neither," answered Jesus:

"It was no sin, either of this man or of his parents.
Rather, it was to let God's works show forth in him.
We must do the deeds of him who sent me while it is
day. The night comes on when no one can work. While
I am in the world I am the light of the world."

With that Jesus spat on the ground, made mud with
his saliva, and smeared the man's eyes with the mud.
Then he told him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam."
(This name means "One who has been sent.") So the
man went off and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and the people who had been accustomed
to see him begging began to ask, "Isn't this the
fellow who used to sit and beg?" Some were claiming
it was he; others maintained it was not but someone
who looked like him. The man himself said, "I'm the
one, all right." They said to him then, "How were
your eyes opened?" He answered: 'That man they call
Jesus made mud and smeared it on my eyes, telling me
to go to Siloam and wash. When I did go and wash, I
was able to see." "Where is he?" they asked. He
replied, "I have no idea."

Next, they took the man who had been born blind, to
the Pharisees. (Note that it was on a sabbath that
Jesus had made the mud paste and opened his eyes.)
The Pharisees, in turn, began to inquire how he had
recovered his sight. He told them, "He put mud on
my eyes. I washed it off, and now I can see." This
prompted some of the Pharisees to assert, "This man
cannot be from God because he does not keep the
sabbath." Others objected, "If a man is a sinner,
how can he perform signs like these?" They were
sharply divided over him. Then they addressed the
blind man again: "Since it was your eyes he opened,
what do you have to say about him?" "He is a prophet,"
he replied.

The Jews refused to believe that he had really been
born blind and had begun to see, until they
summoned the parents of this man who now could see.
"Is this your son?" they asked, "and if so, do you
attest that he was blind at birth? How do you
account for the fact that he now can see?" His
parents answered, "We know this is our son, and
we know he was blind at birth. But how he can see
now, or who opened his eyes, we have no idea. Ask
him. He is old enough to speak for himself." (His
parents answered in this fashion because they
were afraid of the Jews, who had already agreed
among themselves that anyone who acknowledged
Jesus as the Messiah would be put out of the
synagogue. That was why his parents said, "He is
of age - ask him.")

A second time they summoned the man who had been
born blind and said to him, "Give glory to God!
First of all, we know this man is a sinner." "I
would not know whether he is a sinner or not,"
he answered. "I know this much: I was blind before;
now I can see." They persisted: "Just what did he
do to you? How did he open your eyes?" "I have
told you once, but you would not listen to me,"
he answered them. "Why do you want to hear it
all over again? Do not tell me you want to become
his disciples too?" They retorted scornfully, "You
are the one who is that man's disciple. We are
disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to
Moses, but we have no idea where this man comes
from." He came back at them: "Well, this is news!
You do not know where he comes from, yet he
opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear
sinners, but that if someone is devout and obeys
his will he listens to him. It is unheard of
that anyone ever gave sight to a person blind
from birth. If this man were not from God, he
could never have done such a thing." "What!"
they exclaimed, "You are steeped in sin from your
birth, and you are giving us lectures?" With
that they threw him out bodily.

When Jesus heard of this expulsion, he sought
him out and asked him, "Do you believe in the
Son of Man?" He answered, "Who is he, sir, that
I may believe in him?" "You have seen him,"
Jesus replied, "He is speaking to you now."
"I do believe, Lord," he said, and bowed down
to worship him. Then Jesus said:

"I came into this world to divide it,
to make the sightless see
and the seeing blind."

Some of the Pharisees around him picked this up
saying, "You are not counting us in with the
blind, are you?" To which Jesus replied:

"If you were blind
there would be no sin in that.
'But we see,' you say,
and your sin remains."

The Gospel of the Lord.

If you wish to use contents
and resources from this website,
kindly link to us at:
Catholic Internet Mission:
Proclaiming the Gospel Online -
Catholic articles and blogs,
Free internet information,
and Web site services
http://www.pcentral-online.net

Search Site | Privacy Policy