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DAILY GOSPEL
Thursday, 28th March 2024

John 5:1-16

Date posted: April 2, 2019

Let us all remember that we are in the Holy Presence of God.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Gospel: John 5:1-16
There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep (Gate) a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes. In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.” Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who was cured, “It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” He answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.'” They asked him, “Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk'” The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, “Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a Sabbath.

Reflection
Today, let us reflect on the message of the gospel regarding our understanding on Sabbath day. Is it like that of the legal scholars in the early church or that of Jesus, who for them violated the Sabbath? -For the scholars, Sabbath day must be strictly observed and practiced what is written on the law i.e. emphasizing much on discipline and of conduct thus no room for exemption nor mercy (legalism). Jesus Christ, on the other hand, gives us the transcendental idea of Sabbath i.e. showing deep compassion and mercy to ailing people even if it is on Sabbath day (epikeia). In a nutshell, Legalism is following rigorously the letter of the Law, while Epikeia is seeing the spirit of the Law i.e. looking beyond the letter of the Law. For our reflection, let us once again go back to the very example of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we be reminded that Sabbath is our way of showing, doing and extending the 2 nd greatest commandment of God i.e. Love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Mk 12:31). Let us also ask the grace of God to unfold to us the subtle message of the gospel as we religiously observe the season of Lent?

Lasallian Guiding Principle
As we contemplate on the Lasallian values on nurturing service, we cannot avoid but to go back on one of the core values of the Lasallian family i.e. the zeal for service. In our LGP, it is clearly defined as “an enthusiastic and total gift of self for the sake of the mission expressed in such qualities as gratuity and generosity.” This definition basically derived from the undeniable and passionate service exemplified by our founder himself. Therefore, as Lasallians, let us always live out the teaching of the Resurrected Christ and the example of our founder: to walk the extra mile, to plunge into the deep, to serve selflessly and to offer noble sacrifices for the salvation of all and to the glory of His name.

Prayer for the Tercentenary of the Founder’s passing to Eternal Life (adapted)
God, our Father and Mother, You love us with endless mercy. You call us to be your sons and daughters.
Give us a generous heart. A heart of flesh that “burns within us.” A heart always willing to love. A compassionate heart for those who suffer. A heart where there is a place for all Lasallians around the world. Lord Jesus, You call us to follow you. Give us the courage to live our commitment. Teach us to go beyond our borders. Teach us to discover you in the lowliest. Teach us to look with the eyes of faith.
Teach us to share our mission with all Lasallians of the whole world.
Holy Spirit, You call us to live with joy. Fill us with your grace to live the values of the Gospel. Fill us with your grace to be active members in your Church. Fill us with your grace so that we may be credible witnesses, together with the entire Lasallian Family, in the midst of our world.
Together and by association, we wish to renew our Lasallian commitment, and, in an attitude of thanksgiving, celebrate these 300 years of life.
We ask this through Mary’s intercession, Queen and Mother of the Christian Schools. And through the intercession of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, Universal Patron of Christian Educators. Amen.
Our Lady of the Star, pray for us.
St. John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us.
St. Miguel Febres Cordero, pray for us.
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever!
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Value: Zeal for Service (Nurturing Service)
Culture Theme: We give selflessly and receive graciously
Productivity Theme: Going the extra mile
Week 1: We advocate community-oriented health education.

Sources:
C. (n.d.). Daily Gospel. Retrieved April 2, 2019, from https://dailygospel.org/M/AM/
DLSU ITS, DLSU STRATCOM, DLSU IRPA. (n.d.). Guiding Principles of the Philippine Lasallian Family.
Retrieved April 2, 2019, from http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/inside/lasallian-guiding-principles/default.asp
 

Prepared: Vladimher F. Gorde
through the DLSMHSI Lasallian Mission and Linkages, Lasallian Formation and Social Action

Our Daily Lasallian Reflection and Prayer is DLSMHSI gift to the Lasallian family for the 2019 Celebration of the Year of Vocation and Tercentenary celebration of the death of our founder SJBDLS.