Gospel of March 16, 2023 with the words of Pope Francis

From the book of the prophet Isaìa Is 49,8: 15-XNUMX Thus says the Lord:
"At the time of benevolence I replied to you,
on the day of salvation I helped you.
I trained you and established you
as an alliance of the people,
to resurrect the earth,
to make you reoccupy the devastated legacy,
to say to the prisoners: "Go out",
and to those who are in darkness: "Come out".
They will graze on all roads,
and on every hill they will find pastures.
They will not suffer from hunger or thirst
and neither the heat nor the sun will strike them,
because he who has mercy on them will guide them,
it will lead them to water sources.
I will turn my mountains into roads
and my ways will be elevated.
Here, these come from afar,
and behold, they come from the north and the west
and others from the Sinìm region ».

Rejoice, O heavens,
slow down, o earth,
shout for joy, o mountains,
because the Lord consoles his people
and has mercy on his poor.
Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me ».
Maybe you forget a woman from your baby,
so as not to be moved by the son of his bowels?
Even if they forget,
instead I will never forget you.

Today's Gospel Wednesday 17 March

From the Gospel according to John Jn 5,17: 30-XNUMX At that time, Jesus said to the Jews: "My Father acts even now and I also act". For this reason the Jews tried even more to kill him, because not only did he violate the Sabbath, but he called God his Father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus spoke again and said to them: «Verily, verily, I say to you: the Son cannot do anything by himself, except what he sees the Father doing; what he does, the Son also does the same way. In fact, the Father loves the Son, manifests everything he does to him and will manifest works even greater than these, so that you may be amazed.
Just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also the Son gives life to whoever he wants. In fact, the Father does not judge anyone, but he has given every judgment to the Son, so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

Truly, truly, I say to you: whoever hears my word and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and does not go to judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you: the hour is coming - and this is it - when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who will have listened to it, will live.

In fact, just as the Father has life in himself, so he also granted the Son to have life in himself, and gave him the power to judge, because he is the Son of man. Do not be surprised at this: the hour comes when all those who are in the tombs will hear his voice and go out, all those who did good for a resurrection of life and those who did bad for a resurrection of condemnation.

From me, I can't do anything. I judge according to what I listen and my judgment is right, because I am not seeking my will, but the will of the one who sent me ».

Pope francesco: Christ is the fullness of life, and when he faced death he annihilated it forever. Christ's Passover is the definitive victory over death, because he transformed his death into a supreme act of love. He died for love! And in the Eucharist, he wants to communicate this victorious Easter love of his to us. If we receive it with faith, we too can truly love God and neighbor, we can love as He loved us, giving our life. Only if we experience this power of Christ, the power of his love, are we truly free to give ourselves without fear.