TODAY'S MASS READINGS: 4th SUN. OF LENT/ YEAR A

1 Samuel 16: 1, 6 - 7, 10 - 13
1The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons."
6When they came, he looked on Eli'ab and thought, "Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him."
7But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
10And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these."
11And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and fetch him; for we will not sit down till he comes here."
12And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he."
13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

Psalms 23: 1 - 6
1The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
2he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;
3he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Ephesians 5: 8 - 14
8for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light
9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),
10and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
12For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret;
13but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.
14Therefore it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."
John 9: 1 - 41
1As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
2And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him.
4We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work.
5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes with the clay,
7saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Silo'am" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
8The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar, said, "Is not this the man who used to sit and beg?"
9Some said, "It is he"; others said, "No, but he is like him." He said, "I am the man."
10They said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"
11He answered, "The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, `Go to Silo'am and wash'; so I went and washed and received my sight."
12They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."
13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
14Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
15The Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."
16Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was a division among them.
17So they again said to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
18The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight,
19and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"
20His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
21but how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself."
22His parents said this because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any one should confess him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.
23Therefore his parents said, "He is of age, ask him."
24So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give God the praise; we know that this man is a sinner."
25He answered, "Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see."
26They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
27He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you too want to become his disciples?"
28And they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."
30The man answered, "Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if any one is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
32Never since the world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind.
33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
34They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out.
35Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of man?"
36He answered, "And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?"
37Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you."
38He said, "Lord, I believe"; and he worshiped him.
39Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind."
40Some of the Pharisees near him heard this, and they said to him, "Are we also blind?"
41Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, `We see,' your guilt remains.

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