ST FRANCIS XAVIER PARISH WHANGAREI (Hato Werahiko Kawerio)
Resources for Sunday Worship in your Home 4th Sunday of Lent 22 March 2020
These resources are so you can gather with your immediate whanau or a few close friends and have your own Sunday prayer liturgy. Here we offer some suggestions of prayers and readings that you might like to use. It gives you a basic pattern and structure for Sunday prayer together.
AT HOME WITH THE BLIND MAN
You can begin by singing a song that is familiar to you all. A few suggestions:
Whakaaria Mai, Christ be our Light, Gather your People O Lord.
The sign of the Cross… In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Amen.
Greeting: Leader: Kia noho te Ariki ki a koutou
All Ki tō wairua anō hoki
Psalm 150: Together: Praise God in his wonderful works
Praise God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his powerful deeds,
praise his surpassing greatness.
O praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.
O praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that breathes
give praise to the Lord. Glory be to the Father and to the Son….
Psalm Prayer: Lord God, maker of heaven and earth and of all created things, you make your children holy and you heal sinners who confess your name. Hear us as we humbly pray to you: give us eternal joy with your saints.. Through Christ our Lord Amen
Gospel Reading for 4th Sunday of Lent. You are welcome to read the gospel either in English or Te Reo Māori
GOSPEL John 9: 1 – 41
As Jesus walked along he saw a man who had been blind since birth. …. Jesus spat on the ground. He made some mud and smeared it on the man’s eyes. Then he said, “Go and wash off the mud in Siloam Pool.” The man went and washed in Siloam, which means, ‘One who is sent.’ When he had washed off the mud he could see. The man’s neighbours and the people who had seen him begging wondered if he really could be the same man. Some of them said he was the same beggar, while others said he only looked like him. But he told them, “I am that man.” So the people took the man to the Pharisees. They asked him how he was able to see, and he answered, “Jesus made some mud and smeared it on my eyes. Then after I washed it off I could see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus doesn’t come from God. If he did he wouldn’t break the law of the Sabbath.” Others asked, “How could someone who is a sinner work such a miracle?” Since the Pharisees could not agree among themselves, they asked the man, “What do you say about this one who healed your eyes?” “He is a prophet!” the man told them. The leaders told the man, “You have been a sinner since the day you were born! Do you think you can teach us anything?” Then they said, “You can never come back into any of our meeting places!” When Jesus heard what had happened, he went and found the man. Then Jesus asked, “Do you have faith in the Son of Man?” He replied, “Sir, if you will tell me who he is, I will put my faith in him.” “You have already seen him,” Jesus answered, “and right now he is talking with you.” The man said, “Lord I put my faith in you!” Then he worshipped Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord …
RONGO PAI Hāto Hoane 9: 1-4 Na, i a Hēhu e haere atu ana, ka kite ia i tētahi tangata i matapō. Ka tuwha ia ki te whenua, ā, pokepoke ana e ia tētahi paru ki te huare, pania atu ana te paru ki ngā kanohi o te matapō. Na, ka mea ia, “Haere ki te horoi ki te hōpua o Hiroama.” (Ko Tono te whakamāoritanga). Heoi, haere ana ia, horoi ana, ka puta mai me te kite ōna kanohi. Na, ka mea ngā tāngata e noho pātata ana rātou ko ngā tāngata i kite i ā ia i mua e īnoi oranga mōna, “Ehara rānei tēnei i taua tangata i noho rā, i īnoi oranga mōna?” Ka mea ētahi, “Ko ia tēnei.” Ko ētahi i mea, “Kāhore, engari e rite ana ki a ia te āhua.” Na ka mea ia, “Ko ahau anō ia.” Kātahi ka kawea atu ki ngā Parihi taua tangata i matapō i mua rā. Ā, ko te hāpati i pokepoke ai ōna kanohi. Na, ka ui anō ngā Parihi ki ā ia ki te pēheatanga i kite ai ia. Ā, ka mea ia ki a rātou, “I whakatakotoria e ia he paru ki ōku kanohi. Ā, ka horoi ahau, na, ko te kitenga o ōku kanohi.” Na, ka mea ētahi o ngā Parihi, “Ehara tēnei i te tangata nā te Atua, kāhore nei hoki e whakarite i te hāpati.” Ko ētahi i mea, “Me pēhea ka taea ai te mea ēnei merekara e te tangata hara?” Na ka wehewehe rātou. Ka mea anō rātou ki te matapō, “E pēhea ana to kupu mō taua tangata i meinga ai ōu kanohi kia kite?” Ka mea ia, “He poropiti ia.” Ka whakahokia e rātou, ā, ka mea ki ā ia, “I whānau katoa koe i roto i ngā hara, ā, ko koe hei whakaako i a mātou?” Ā, peia ana ia e rātou ki waho. Ā, te kitenga a Hēhu ki ā ia, ka mea ki ā ia, “E whakapono ana rānei koe ki te Tama a te Atua?” Ka whakahokia e ia, ā, ka mea, “Ko wai ia, e te Ariki, kia whakapono ai hoki ahau ki ā ia?” Na, ka kī atu a Hēhu ki ā ia, “Kua kite koe i ā ia, ā, ko ia anō tēnei e kōrero nei ki ā koe.” Anō rā ko tērā, “E whakapono ana ahau, e te Ariki.” Na, tāpapa ana ia, koropiko ana ki ā ia.
Ko te Rongo Pai a te Ariki.
Kia whakanuia rā koe …
Some questions to reflect upon
1. Do I have a blind spot in my life?
2. What might I need to do in order to see again?
Share your insights before you go on to the Homily.
Homily
The gospels of the Sundays of Lent are chosen as gospels of Instruction for the Catechumens preparing to be received into the Church at Easter. They are stories about important moments in Jesus life or about coming to faith in Christ. Last week we had the woman at the well…today we have the man born blind. Water is prominent in these two readings. Jacob’s Well last week and the pool of Siloam today. The water of life and cleansing both refer to baptism. The pool of Siloam is a symbol of the baptismal font. Today’s gospel I believe is about Original Sin which is like the state of the man born blind – a state of darkness, of stumbling around in the dark until we encounter Christ who is the Light of the World. The gospel passage begins with the disciples asking about sin. Who sinned? the man or his parents? They suspect that his blindness has something to do with sin. Jesus responds that neither of them did. It is not so much about a personal sin but a state of the world. The man born blind represents all of us. We have all been born into sin…into darkness if you like. That’s why he says those who think they can see probably can’t…those who understand they are blind, at least spiritually blind, will depend on Jesus and are able to recognise him. The story is about how the man comes to meet and recognise and understand who Jesus is… all the dialogue is about his growing understanding and coming to realise what has happened to him. He doesnt recognise who Jesus is until after he comes back from washing in the pool. The washing of baptism has taken away his blindness. Now he can see Jesus. But he won’t know what he looks like until someone points him out to him or he recognises his voice. The dialogue with the Pharisees is great… because what they display is actually how much they think they can see and yet they display to us that they are in fact the most blind of all.
So if original sin… the sin we are born with…the blindness of the world is cured by encountering Jesus and washing in the pool of baptism, what does it tell us? How important it is that we keep introducing our children and grandchildren to who Jesus is….like the man who washes in the pool…the blindness might be cured but we still need someone to point out who Jesus is and explain it to us. That’s why we have catechetical programmes, that’s why we have life long learning. We are always learning. We are always being challenged to see life from a different viewpoint as we learn more about who Jesus is.
Let us pray that we will be always more and more healed of our spiritual blindness. Let us pray for our Catechumens too as they journey to the pool of Siloam that they will be able to recognise Jesus in us and that we will show them his kindness. Amen.
Fr Peter McDermott sm
Prayers of Intercession
Let us pray for Bishop Pat as he leads the Diocese through this difficult time.
Lord hear us…. Lord hear our Prayer
Let us pray for those who are sick or have contracted the coronavirus. May God help them and bring them back to good health… Lord hear us….Lord hear our Prayer
Let us remember our families and friends wherever they may be in the world. May God keep them safe.
Lord hear us… Lord hear our prayer.
You may like to add other spontaneous prayers. Conclude your prayer by saying together the Our Father
Our Father who art in heaven……
Final Prayer: God of majesty, you enlighten everyone who comes into this world; fill our hearts with the light of your grace, that our thoughts may always be pleasing to you and our love for you always sincere.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Message to Parishioners
Dear Parishioners
It is all about Keeping in touch.
We tend to take things for granted till we lose them.
Especially with our physical health and also in other aspects.
Sadly we cannot gather together to celebrate our faith life – most especially the Mass.
I want to encourage each of us to make a special effort to be creative for new ways to pray and new ways to be church – reaching out to support one another.
We are going to provide prayer resources and also to continue Pastoral Care in new ways.
With Aroha and Blessings to you all in this time.
Fr Chris Martin S.M.
Parish Priest.