Feria Quarta infra Hebdomadam IV in Quadragesima

When I shall be sanctified in you, I will gather you from every land: and I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness: and I will give you a new spirit. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth. When I shall be sanctified in you, I will gather you from every land: and I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness: and I will give you a new spirit.

O God, Who graciously grant to the righteous the rewards of their merits, and to sinners forgiveness through fasting, have mercy upon Your humble servants, so that, confessing our guilt, we may obtain pardon for our transgressions.

O God, the greatness of the humble, Who raised blessed Francis, Your Confessor, to the glory of Your Saints, grant, we beseech You, that, by his merits and our imitation of his life, we may happily attain the rewards promised to the humble.

Lesson from the Prophecy of Isaias Thus says the Lord God: Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before My eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord: though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool. If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land, says the Lord almighty.

Happy the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. V. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made; by the breath of His mouth all their host. _ O Lord, deal with us not according to our sins, nor requite us according to our crimes. V. O Lord, remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may Your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. (kneel) V. Help us, O God, our Saviour, because of the glory of Your Name, O Lord; deliver us and pardon our sins for Your Name’s sake.

Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to John At that time, Jesus, passing by, saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who has sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered, Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents, but the works of God were to be made manifest in him. I must do the works of Him Who sent Me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world. When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the spittle, and spread the clay over his eyes, and said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloe - which is interpreted ‘Sent’. - So he went away, and washed, and returned seeing. The neighbors therefore and they who were wont to see him before as a beggar, began saying, Is not this he who used to sit and beg? Some said, It is he. But others said, By no means, he only resembles him. Yet the man declared, I am he. They therefore said to him, How were your eyes opened? He answered, The man who is called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloe and wash.’ And I went and washed, and I see. And they said to him, Where is He? He said, I do not know. They took him who had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath on which Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Again, therefore, the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight. But he said to them, He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and I see. Therefore some 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 work these signs? And there was a division among them. Again therefore they said to the blind man, What do you say of Him Who opened your eyes? But he said, He is a prophet. The Jews therefore did not believe of him that he had been blind and had got his sight, until they called the parents of the one who had gained his sight, and questioned them, saying, Is this your son, of whom you say that he was born blind? How then does he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we ourselves do not know. Ask him; he is of age, let him speak for himself. These things his parents said because they feared the Jews. For already the Jews had agreed that if anyone were to confess Him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. This is why his parents said, He is of age; question him. They therefore called a second time the man who had been blind, and said to him, Give glory to God! We ourselves know that this man is a sinner. He therefore said, Whether He is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. They therefore said to him, What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and you have heard. Why would you hear again? Would you also become His disciples? They heaped abuse on him therefore, and said, You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses; but as for this man, we do not know where He is from. In answer the man said to them, Why, herein is the marvel, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshipper of God, and does His will, him He hears. Not from the beginning of the world has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing. They answered and said to him, You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us? And they turned him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when He had found him, said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? And Jesus said to him, You have both seen Him, and He it is Who speaks with you. And he said, I believe, Lord. (Kneel.) And falling down, he worshipped Him.

Bless the Lord our God, you peoples, loudly sound His praise; He has given life to my soul, and has not let my feet slip. Blessed be God, Who refused me not my prayer or His kindness.

We humbly entreat You, almighty God, that these sacrificial gifts may cleanse us from sin, for in this way You grant us true health of soul and body.

May these sacrificial gifts which Your devoted people heap upon Your altar, O Lord, become pleasing to You by the merits of blessed Francis, and, by Your mercy, helpful to us.

The Lord made clay of spittle, and anointed my eyes: and I went, and I washed, and I saw, and I have believed in God.

May the sacrament we have received, O Lord, both fill us with spiritual nourishment and sustain us with bodily aid.

We pray You, O Lord, that the heavenly sacrament which we have received, may by the intercession of blessed Francis, Your Confessor, help us both in this life and in the life everlasting.

Let us pray. Bow your heads to God. May Your merciful ears be open, O Lord, to the prayers of those who humbly entreat You; grant that they may ask for what pleases You so that You may fulfill their desires.