Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 03-29-20, Fifth Sunday of Lent

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Reading 1 Ez 37:12-14

Thus says the Lord GOD:
O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8.

R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

Reading 2 Rom 8:8-11

Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you,
although the body is dead because of sin,
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit dwelling in you.

Verse Before the GospelJn 11:25a, 26

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will never die.

Gospel Jn 11:1-45

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany,
the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil
and dried his feet with her hair;
it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.

So the sisters sent word to him saying,
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
“Let us go back to Judea.”
The disciples said to him,
“Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you,
and you want to go back there?”
Jesus answered,
“Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If one walks during the day, he does not stumble,
because he sees the light of this world.
But if one walks at night, he stumbles,
because the light is not in him.”
He said this, and then told them,
“Our friend Lazarus is asleep,
but I am going to awaken him.”
So the disciples said to him,
“Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.”
But Jesus was talking about his death,
while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.
So then Jesus said to them clearly,
“Lazarus has died.
And I am glad for you that I was not there,
that you may believe.
Let us go to him.”
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,
“Let us also go to die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,

“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”

When she had said this,
she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying,
“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
As soon as she heard this,
she rose quickly and went to him.
For Jesus had not yet come into the village,
but was still where Martha had met him.
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her
saw Mary get up quickly and go out,
they followed her,
presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell at his feet and said to him,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping,
he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,

“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

Or
Jn 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying,
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
+Let us go back to Judea.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
Your brother will rise.”
Martha said,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”

He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

From: John 11:1-16

The Raising of Lazarus

[1] Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. [3] So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” [4] But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified means of it.”

[5] Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. [6] So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. [7] Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” [8] The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” [9] Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. [10] But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” “Thus he spoke, and the he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep.” [12] The disciples said to him “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” [13] Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. [14] Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead; [15] and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” [16] Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.

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Commentary:

1-45. This chapter deals with one of Jesus’ most outstanding miracles. The Fourth Gospel, by including it, demonstrates Jesus’ power over death, which the Synoptic Gospels showed by reporting the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Mt 9:25 and par.) and of the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7:12).

The evangelist first sets the scene (vv. 1-16); then he gives Jesus conversation with Lazarus’ sisters (vv. 17-37); finally, he reports the raising of Lazarus four days after his death (vv. 38-45). Bethany was only about three kilometers (two miles) from Jerusalem (v. 18). On the days prior to his passion, Jesus often visited this family, to which he was very attached. St John records Jesus’ affection (vv. 3,5,36) by describing his emotion and sorrow at the death of his friend.

By raising Lazarus our Lord shows his divine power over death and thereby gives proof of his divinity, in order to confirm his disciples’ faith and reveal; himself as the Resurrection and the Life. Most Jews, but not the Sadducees, believed in the resurrection of the body. Martha believed in it (cf. v. 24).

Apart from being a real, historical event, Lazarus’ return to life is a sign our future resurrection: we too will return to life. Christ, by his glorious resurrection through which he is the “first-born from the dead” (1 Cor 15:2; Col 1:18; Rev 1:5), is also the cause and model of our resurrection. In this his resurrection is different from that of Lazarus, for “Christ being raised from the dead will never die again” (Rom 6:9), whereas Lazarus returned to earthly, later to die again.

2. There are a number of women in the Gospels who are called Mary. The Mary here is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus (v.2), the woman who later anointed our Lord, again in Bethany, at the house of Simon the leper (cf. In 12:1-8; Mk 14:3): the indefinite or aorist “(she) anointed” expresses an action which occurred prior to the time of writing, but the anointing took place after the resurrection of Lazarus.

Were Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene and the “sinful” woman who anointed Jesus’ feet in Galilee (cf. Lk 7:36) one, two or three women? Although sometimes it is argued they are one and the same, it seems more likely that they were all different people. Firstly, we must distinguish the Galilee anointing (Lk 7:35) by the “sinner” from the Bethany anointing done by Lazarus’ sister (Jn 12:1): because of the time they took place and particular details reported, they are clearly distinct (cf. note on Jn 12:1). Besides, the Gospels give us no positive indication that Mary of Bethany was the same person as the “sinner” of Galilee. Nor are there strong grounds for identifying Mary Magdalene and the “sinner”, whose name is not given; Mary Magdalene appears among the women who follow Jesus in Galilee as the woman out of whom seven demons were cast (cf. Lk 8:2), and Luke presents her in his account as someone new: no information is given which could link her with either of the two other women.

Nor can Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene be identified, for John differentiates between the two: he never calls Lazarus’ sister Mary Magdalene, nor does he in any way link the latter (who stays beside the Cross—Jn 19:25—and who goes to the tomb and sees the risen Lord) with Mary of Bethany.

The reason why Mary of Bethany has sometimes been confused with Mary Magdalene is due (1) to identification of the latter with the “sinner” of Galilee through connecting Magdalene’s possession by the devil with the sinfulness of the woman who did the anointing in Galilee; and (2) to confusing the two anointings, which would make Lazarus’ sister the “sinner” who does the first anointing. This was how the three women were made out to be one, but there are no grounds for that interpretation. The best-grounded and most common interpretation offered by exegetes is that they are three distinct women.

4. The glory which Christ speaks of here, St Augustine says, “was no gain to Jesus; it was only for our good. Therefore, Jesus says that this illness is not unto death, because the particular death was not for death but rather for a miracle, which being wrought men should believe in Christ and thereby avoid the true death” (”In Ioann. Evang.”, 49, 6).

8-10. Stoning was the form of capital punishment applying to blasphemy (cf. Lev 24:16). We have seen that people tried to stone Jesus at least twice: first, when he proclaimed that he was the Son of God and that he existed from eternity (by saying that he “was” before Abraham lived)—Jn 8:58-59; second, when he revealed that he and the Father were one (cf. Jn 10:30-3 1).

These attempts by the Jewish authorities failed because Jesus’ ‘hour’ had not yet arrived—that is, the time laid down by his Father for his death and resurrection. When the Crucifixion comes, it will be the hour of his enemies and of “the power of darkness” (Lk 22:53). But until that moment it is daytime, and our Lord can walk without his life being in danger.

16. Thomas’ words remind us of the Apostles saying at the last Supper that they would be ready to die for their Master (cf. Mt 26:31-35). We have seen how the Apostles stayed loyal when many disciples left our Lord after his discourse on the Bread of Life (Jn 6:67-71), and how they remained faithful to him despite their personal weaknesses. But when, after Judas Iscariot’ s betrayal, Jesus lets himself be arrested without offering resistance—in fact, forbidding the use of weapons (cf. Jn 18:11)—they become disconcerted and run away. Only St John will stay faithful in Jesus’ hour of greatest need.

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From: John 11:17-45

The Raising of Lazarus (Continuation)

[17] Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. [18] Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, [19] And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met Him, while Mary sat in the house. [21] Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] And even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give You.” [23] Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” [24] Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” [25] Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, [26] and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” [27] She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He who is coming into the world.” [28] When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” [29] And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to Him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met Him. [31] When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32] Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw Him, fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” [33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; [34] and He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” [35] Jesus wept. [36] So the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” [37] But some of them said, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

[38] Then Jesus deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. [39] Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” [40] Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” [41] So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted His eyes and said, “Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. [42] I knew that Thou hearest Me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me.” [43] When He had said this, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” [44] The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.

[45] Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him.

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Commentary:

18. Fifteen stadia, in Greek measurement: three kilometers (two miles).

21-22. According to St. Augustine, Martha’s request is a good example of confident prayer, a prayer of abandonment into the hands of God, who knows better than we what we need. Therefore, “she did not say, But now I ask You to raise my brother to life again. [...] All she said was, I know that You can do it; if you will, do it; it is for you to judge whether to do it, not for me to presume” (”In Ioann. Evang.”, 49, 13). The same can be said of Mary’s words, which St. John repeats at verse 32.

24-26. Here we have one of those concise definitions Christ gives of Himself, and which St. John faithfully passes on to us (cf. John 10:9; 14:6; 15:1): Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He is the Resurrection because by His victory over death He is the cause of the resurrection of all men. The miracle He works in raising Lazarus is a sign of Christ’s power to give life to people. And so, by faith in Jesus Christ, who arose first from among the dead, the Christian is sure that he too will rise one day, like Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:23; Colossians 1;18). Therefore, for the believer death is not the end; it is simply the step to eternal life, a change of dwelling-place, as one of the Roman Missal’s Prefaces of Christian Death puts it: body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting dwelling place in Heaven”.

By saying that He is Life, Jesus is referring not only to that life which begins beyond the grave, but also to the supernatural life which grace brings to the soul of man when he is still a wayfarer on this earth.

“This life, which the Father has promised and offered to each man in Jesus Christ, His eternal and only Son, who ‘when the time had fully come’ (Galatians 4:4), became incarnate and was born of the Virgin Mary, is the final fulfillment of man’s vocation. It is in a way the fulfillment of the ‘destiny’ that God has prepared for him from eternity. This ‘divine destiny’ is advancing, in spite of all the enigmas, the unsolved riddles, the twists and turns of ‘human destiny’ in the world of time. Indeed, while all this, in spite of all the riches of life in time, necessarily and inevitably leads to the frontiers of death and the goal of the destruction of the human body, beyond that goal we see Christ. ‘I am the resurrection and the life, He who believes in Me...shall never die.’ In Jesus Christ, who was
crucified and laid in the tomb and then rose again, ‘our hope of resurrection dawned...the bright promise of immortality’ (”Roman Missal”, Preface of Christian Death, I), on the way to which man, through the death of the body, shares with the whole of visible creation the necessity to which matter is subject” ([Pope] John Paul II, “Redemptor Hominis”, 18).

33-36. This passage gives an opportunity to reflect on the depth and tenderness of Jesus’ feelings. If the physical death of His friend can move Him to tears, what will He not feel over the spiritual death of a sinner who has brought about his eternal condemnation? “Christ wept: let man also weep for himself. For why did Christ weep, but to teach men to weep” (St. Augustine, “In Ioann. Evang.”, 49, 19). We also should weep—but for our sins, to help us return to the life of grace through conversion and repentance. We should appreciate our Lord’s tears: He is praying for us, who are sinners: “Jesus is your friend. The Friend. With a human heart, like yours. With loving eyes that wept for Lazarus.

“And He loves you as much as He loved Lazarus” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 422).

41-42. Through His sacred humanity Jesus is expressing Himself as the natural Son of God, that is, He is the metaphysical Son of God, not adopted like the rest of men. This is the source of Jesus’ feelings, which helps us to understand that when He says “Father” He is speaking with a unique and indescribable intensity. When the Gospels let us see Jesus praying, they always show Him beginning with the invocation “Father” (cf. note on Luke 11:1-2), which reflects His singular trust and love (cf. Matthew 11:25 and par.). These sentiments should also in some way find a place in our prayer, for through Baptism we are joined to Christ and in Him we became children of God (cf. John 1:12; Romans 6:1-11; 8:14-17), and so we should always pray in a spirit of sonship and gratitude for the many good things our Father God has given us.

The miracle of the raising of Lazarus, which really is an extraordinary miracle, is a proof that Jesus is the Son of God, sent into the world by His Father. And so it is, that when Lazarus is brought back to life, people’s faith in Jesus is increased—the disciples’ (verse 15), Martha’s and Mary’s (verses 26, 40) and that of the people at large (36, 45).

43. Jesus calls Lazarus by name. Although he is really dead, he has not thereby lost his personal identity: dead people continue to exist, but they have a different mode of existence, because they have changed from mortal life to eternal life. This is why Jesus states that God “is not God of the dead, but of the living”, for to Him all are alive (cf. Matthew 22:32; Luke 20:38).

This passage can be applied to the spiritual resurrection of the soul who has sinned and recovers grace. God wants us to be saved (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4); therefore we should never lose heart; we should always desire and hope to reach this goal: “Never despair. Lazarus was dead and decaying: ‘ Iam foetet, quatriduanus enim est”. By now he will smell; this is the fourth day”, says Martha to Jesus.

“If you hear God’s inspiration and follow it—’Lazare, veni foras!: Lazarus, come out!’—and you will return to Life” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 719).

44. The Jews prepared the body for burial by washing it and anointing it with aromatic ointments to delay decomposition and counteract offensive odors; they then wrapped the body in linen cloths and bandages, covering the head with a napkin—a method very like the Egyptians’, but not entirely extending to full embalming, which involved removing certain internal organs.

Lazarus’ tomb would have consisted of a subterranean chamber linked to the surface by steps, with the entrance blocked by a slab. Lazarus was moved out to the entrance by a supernatural force. As happened in the case of the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5;42-43), due to their astonishment no one moved until our Lord’s words broke the atmosphere of silence and terror which had been created.

St. Augustine sees in the raising of Lazarus a symbol of the Sacrament of Penance: in the same way as Lazarus comes out of the tomb, “when you confess, you come forth. For what does ‘come forth’ mean if not emerging from what is hidden, to be made manifest. But for you to confess is God’s doing; He calls you with an urgent voice, by an extraordinary grace. And just as the dead man came out still bound, so you go to Confession still guilty. In order that his sins be loosed, the Lord said this to His ministers: ‘Unbind him and let him go’. What you will lose on earth will be loosed in Heaven” (St. Augustine “In Ioann. Evang.”, 49, 24). Christian art has used this comparison from very early on; in the catacombs we find some one hundred and fifty representations of the raising of Lazarus, symbolizing thereby the gift of the life of grace which comes through the priest, who in effect repeats the words to the sinner: “Lazarus, come out.”

First reading
Ezekiel 37:12-14 ©

The raising of Lazarus is commemorated every year in the Orthodox Church on the Saturday before Palm Sunday as a prelude to Holy Week.

Some parishes sing the Lazarus Canon on the Friday evening prior to Lazarus Saturday.

THE CANON OF THE RAISING OF LAZARUS THE RIGHTEOUS,
CHANTED IN TONE ONE

ODE ONE

Let us all sing a triumphant song unto God, Who has done strange wonders with His mighty arm,
and has saved Israel: for He is glorified.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O my Savior, Thou hast raised Lazarus who was four days dead, and freed him from corruption
by Thy mighty arm; and in Thy strength Thou hast revealed Thy power.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Calling Lazarus from the tomb, immediately Thou hast raised him; but Hell below lamented
bitterly, and groaning, trembled at Thy power, O Savior.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou hast shed tears for Lazarus, O Lord, thus proving that Thou hast truly taken flesh at Thine
Incarnation; and that, being God by nature, Thou hast become by nature a man like us.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou hast made the tears of Martha and Mary to cease, O Lord and Savior, by raising Lazarus
from the dead, and in Thy power Thou hast endued a corpse with the breath of life.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Obedient to the laws of human nature, Thou hast asked, O Master, where Lazarus was laid,
showing to all, O Savior, that at Thine Incarnation Thou hast become true man for our sake.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Calling Lazarus by name, Thou hast broken in pieces the bars of Hell and shaken the power of
the enemy; and before Thy Crucifixion, Thou hast made him tremble because of Thee, O only
Savior.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O Master, Thou hast come as God to Lazarus, bound captive by Hell, and Thou hast loosed him
from his fetters, for all things submit to Thy command, O Mighty Lord.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Let us now glorify Father, Son and Holy Spirit, undivided Trinity in Unity of Nature, and with
the angels let us glorify Him as one uncreated God.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O Virgin Mother, still remaining virgin, Thou hast conceived the Creator of the World through
the Holy Spirit, according to the good pleasure of the Father; and without alteration or confusion,
He became what we are.

ODE TWO

Attend, O Heaven, and I shall speak and sing in praise of Christ, the Savior of the world, Who
alone lovest mankind.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Glory to Thee, Who alone hast called a four-day corpse from the tomb, raising Lazarus, Thy
friend.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

A lifeless corpse, he heard Thy voice; and at once he rose from the dead, filled with the breath of
life and glorifying Thee, O Lord.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Lazarus already stank; but, receiving the command of Thy life-giving voice, O my Savior, he
arose from the tomb.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou hast shed tears for Thy friend Lazarus, O my Savior, proving that Thou hast taken on
Thyself our nature, and then Thou hast raised him up.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Hell trembled when it saw him, bound in his grave-clothes yet returning at once to the life of this
world when he heard Thy voice.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

The Jews were amazed when Thou hadst called Lazarus, O Savior, and raised him by Thy word,
though his corpse already stank.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The palaces of Hell were shaken, when in its depths Lazarus began once more to breathe,
straightway restored to life by the sound of Thy voice.

ODE THREE

The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the rock
upon which Christ has established the Church that He has redeemed from among the nations.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O strange and marvelous wonder! Although He knew the answer, yet as if ignorant, the Maker of
All asked: Where does he lie, whom ye lament? Where is Lazarus buried, whom I shall shortly
raise up for your sake, alive from the dead.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Jesus commanded them to take away the stone that they had rolled upon thee when they buried
thee; and immediately He raised thee, calling thee: Lazarus, rise up and come to Me, that Hell
may tremble at My voice.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Shedding tears for Thy friend, O Savior, Thou hast shown the reality of Thine Incarnation: the
flesh that Thou hast taken from us was united to Thee in essence, not in appearance only. And,
since Thou art a God Who lovest mankind, immediately Thou hast called him and raised him up.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Woe is me! Now am I destroyed utterly, Hell cried out, and thus he spoke to Death: See, the man
from Nazareth has shaken the lower world, and cutting open my belly he has called a lifeless
corpse and raised it up.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

What is this madness that has seized you
O ye Jews? Why do ye disbelieve? How long will ye
wander in falsehood? Ye see the dead man leap up when Christ calls him, and do ye still
disbelieve in Christ? Truly ye are all children of darkness.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

I acknowledge Thee as one of the Trinity, even though Thou art incarnate, and I worship Thee as
one single Son, Who hast without seed taken flesh from the Theotokos, yet art glorified with the
Father and the Spirit.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O strange and dread sight, foreseen by the prophets who proclaimed the truth: by divine
providence the Virgin Theotokos conceived without seed and gave birth to God without
corruption, remaining still a virgin after childbirth.

ODE FOUR

The sun’s light was extinguished and the moon was halted in its course; Thou wast lifted, O
Longsuffering Lord, upon the Cross, and with it Thou hast built Thy Church.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O Lord, Thou hast shed tears for Lazarus, showing that Thou art man; and Thou hast raised him
from the dead, O Master, showing to the peoples that Thou art the Son of God.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Lifeless, he heard Thy command, O Loving Savior: Lazarus, come forth, and bound with graveclothes
he leapt up at once, bearing witness to Thy power.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O Christ our God, Thou hast made the tears of Martha and Mary to cease; calling Lazarus,
through Thine own authority Thou hast raised him by Thy voice, and he worshipped Thee.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

As man, Thou hast shed tears for Lazarus; as God, Thou hast raised him up. Thou hast asked, O
Loving Lord: Where is he buried, dead these four days; thus confirming our faith in Thine
Incarnation.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Wishing in Thy love to reveal the meaning of Thy Passion and Thy Cross, Thou hast broken
open the belly of Hell that never can be satisfied, and as God Thou hast raised up a man four
days dead.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Who has ever known or heard of a man raised from the dead, when his corpse already stank?
Elijah and Elisha raised the dead, yet not from the tomb or four days after death.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O Lord, we sing the praises of Thy might; O Christ, we sing the praises of Thy Passion: for
through the one in Thy tender mercy Thou hast worked a miracle; and the other Thou hast as
man accepted willingly for our salvation.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou art God and man, proving by Thine actions the true reality of both Thy natures. In the flesh
Thou hast come to the tomb, O Word, and as God Thou hast raised up the man four days dead.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

The Jews were amazed, O Master, when they saw dead Lazarus rising from the tomb at Thy
voice; yet still they believed not in Thy miracles.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Without beginning hast Thou shone forth from Thy Father as one of the Trinity, O Savior; and
within time Thou hast come forth from the Spirit, taking flesh in the Virgin’s womb, O
transcendent God.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

The Theotokos conceived without seed and gave birth without suffering corruption. For, bringing
forth these wonders to pass, God emptied Himself that He might be united to us.

ODE FIVE

Give us Thy peace, O Son of God, for we know no other God save Thee. We call upon Thy
Name, for Thou art God of the living and the dead.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Since, O Lord, Thou art Life and true Light, Thou hast called dead Lazarus and raised him up,
for in Thy power Thou hast shown to all that Thou art God of the living and the dead.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Hell, that had received so many, was unable to resist Thy sovereign command, O Jesus; but
trembling, it surrendered Lazarus, four days dead, yet brought up to life by Thy voice.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Hell, that had received so many, was unable to resist Thy sovereign command, O Jesus; but
trembling, it surrendered Lazarus, four days dead, yet brought up to life by Thy voice.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Joining dust to spirit, O Word, by Thy word in the beginning, Thou hast breathed into the clay a
living soul. And now, by Thy word, Thou hast raised up Thy friend from corruption and from the
depths of the earth.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

None can withstand Thy behest, O Lord, for when Thou hast called dead Lazarus, though
lifeless, he arose at once, and though his feet were bound, he walked.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O folly of the Jews! O blindness of the enemy! Who hast ever known a corpse raised from the
grave? Once Elijah raised the dead, yet not from the tomb or four days after death.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

There is none like Thee, O Forbearing Lord. Thou doest all things for our sake as God, and Thou
sufferest as man. Make us all partakers of Thy Kingdom, at the prayers of Lazarus.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

O Trinity Who wast before all things began, Father Almighty, Son and Holy Spirit, coeternal and
equal in honor, Holy Unity in three Persons: save us children of Adam who with faith sing Thy
praises.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Thine undefiled womb was sanctified, O pure Virgin, by the transcendent God Who took flesh
from it: He is adorned as one of the Trinity, the Word from the Father, one God with the Spirit.

ODE SIX

Thou hast cast me, O Savior, into the deep waters of the sea; yet Thou hast saved me from the
servitude of death, and loosed the bonds of my transgressions.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou knowest all things, yet hast asked where I was buried. As man by nature, Thou hast wept
for me, O Savior, and Thou hast raised me from the dead by Thy command.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou hast called me from the lowest depths of Hell, O Savior, cried Lazarus to Thee when Thou
hast set him free from Hell; and Thou hast raised me from the dead by Thy command.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou hast clothed me in a body of clay, O Savior, and breathed life into me, and I beheld Thy
light; and Thou hast raised me from the dead by Thy command.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou hast breathed life into my flesh, O Savior, when there was no breath within it; Thou hast
bound it fast with bones and sinews, and Thou hast raised me from the dead by Thy command.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou hast broken open the all-devouring belly of Hell and snatched me out, O Savior, by Thy
power; and Thou hast raised me from the dead by Thy command.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou hast clothed Thyself in all my human nature, O Savior, and hast kept pure in childbirth the
undefiled womb from which Thou camest forth incarnate, being one of the Trinity.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

O Holy Trinity, I glorify Thy compassion, and with the angels I sing the thrice-holy hymn: have
mercy on the souls of us who praise Thee.
Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O marvelous wonder! The Word entered Thine undefiled womb, pure Virgin Mother, yet
preserved it virgin after childbirth.

The fire, O Savior, did not touch or trouble Thy children in the furnace. Then with one voice the
three sang Thy praise and blessed Thee, saying: O God of our Fathers, blessed art Thou.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O Savior Who lovest mankind, Thou hast wept over the dead, in this way showing to all the
peoples that, being God, Thou hast become man for our sakes; and, shedding tears by Thine own
choice, Thou hast given us proof of Thy heartfelt love.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

When Lazarus, four days dead, heard Thy voice below, O Savior, he rose up and sang Thy
praises, crying aloud joyfully: Thou art my God and Maker; I glorify and worship Thee, for Thou
hast raised me up.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Though I lie in bonds, O Savior, Lazarus cried from below to Thee his Deliverer, yet shall I not
remain forever in the depth of Hell, if Thou wilt only call to me, ‘Lazarus, come out;’ for Thou
art my Light and my Life.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

I implore thee, Lazarus, said Hell, Rise up, depart quickly from my bonds and be gone. It is
better for me to lament bitterly for the loss of one, rather than of all those whom I swallowed in
my hunger.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Why dost thou delay, Lazarus? cried Hell. Thy Friend stands calling to thee: ‘Come out.’ Go,
then, and I too shall feel relief. For since I swallowed thee, all other food is loathsome to me.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O Lazarus, why dost thou not rise up swiftly? cried Hell below, lamenting. Why dost thou not
run straightway from this place? Lest Christ take prisoner the others, after raising thee.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Thou art magnified, O Master Christ, through the many miracles Thou hast performed. For Thou
hast given light to the blind and opened the ears of the deaf by a word; and, calling Thy friend
Lazarus, as God Thou hast raised him from the dead.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Let us sing praises to the Trinity, glorifying the eternal Father, the Son and the Spirit of
righteousness, one single Essence that we magnify in threefold song: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou,
O Trinity.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

We glorify Thee, O Christ, as one of the Trinity. Without changing, Thou wast made flesh from
the Virgin, and hast endured all things as man, O Jesus; but, though united with us, Thou wast
not divided from the Father’s nature.

O heaven of heavens and the waters that are above the heavens, bless and praise the Lord.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

The Maker, Who upholds all things, cam
e to Bethany in his compassion, to raise Lazarus.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Four days dead, already stinking, bound in grave-clothes, lacking the breath of life, at Thy call,
O Lord, Lazarus leapt up endued with life.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

The Jewish people, seeing the dead man rise at Thy command, O Christ, gnashed their teeth in fury.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O Jews, the Light shines round you, but ye still remain in darkness. Why do ye doubt the
resurrection of Lazarus? It is the work of Christ.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Rejoice, Zion, and sing praises to the Giver of Life, who by His word has raised Lazarus from
the tomb.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

The heavenly hosts and men on earth sang Thy praises, O my Savior, for Thou hast raised
Lazarus.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

I glorify and praise Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and with never-silent voice I cry: O Thrice-
Holy, glory to Thee.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

I bless and worship Thee, born from the Virgin, yet never parted from the throne of Thy holy
glory.

ODE NINE

He has showed strength with His arm; He has put down the mighty from their seats and exalted
the humble, for He is the God of Israel. The Dayspring from on High has visited us and guided
us into the way of peace.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Let Bethany sing with us in praise of the miracle, for there the Creator wept for Lazarus in
accordance with the law of nature and the flesh. Then, making Martha’s tears to cease and
changing Mary’s grief to joy, Christ raised him from the dead.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

To confirm men’s faith in Thy Resurrection, O Word, Thou hast called Lazarus from the tomb
and as God hast raised him up, to show the peoples that Thou art both God and man in very truth,
Who dost raise up the temple of Thy body.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Shaking the gates and iron bars, Thou hast made Hell tremble at Thy voice. Hell and Death were
filled with fear, O Savior, seeing Lazarus their prisoner brought to life by Thy word and rising
from the tomb.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

All were dismayed to see Thee, Savior, weeping over dead Lazarus, and in their misery they
said: Behold how He loves him. Then Thou hast straightway called him, and at Thy command
the dead man rose, delivered from corruption.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

The gates were shaken and the bars were shattered, and the bonds which held the dead man were
loosed. When Christ spoke in power, Hell groaned bitterly and cried aloud: Woe is me! What
and whence is this voice that brings the dead to life?

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

Rise up, obedient to the voice of thy Friend outside, calling thee. This is He Who raised the dead
of old: for when Elijah and Elisha brought the dead to life, He it was that spoke and acted
through them.

Glory to Thee, our God; glory to Thee.

O Word and Savior, we sing the praises of Thy surpassing power; for, by Thy word, as Creator
of all things, Thou hast raised from the depths dead Lazarus with his bones and sinews, as Thou
hast raised the widow’s son from the bier.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Most Holy Trinity, O God the Eternal Father, O Coeternal Son and Word of God, O Holy Spirit
of God, Loving Comforter; one Light of the Threefold Sun, Consubstantial Essence, one God
and Lord, take pity on the world.

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O Jesus, Who hast made all things in wisdom, Thou hast clothed Thyself in my whole nature,
taken from the Virgin, yet forever Thou remainest wholly in the bosom of the Father; and Thou
hast, as God, sent down Thy Holy Spirit on Thy flock: cover us with Thy shadow.

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 11
1.	NOW there was a certain man sick, named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and Martha her sister.	Erat autem quidem languens Lazarus a Bethania, de castello Mariæ et Marthæ sororis ejus.	ην δε τις ασθενων λαζαρος απο βηθανιας εκ της κωμης μαριας και μαρθας της αδελφης αυτης
2.	(And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick.)	(Maria autem erat quæ unxit Dominum unguento, et extersit pedes ejus capillis suis : cujus frater Lazarus infirmabatur.)	ην δε μαρια η αλειψασα τον κυριον μυρω και εκμαξασα τους ποδας αυτου ταις θριξιν αυτης ης ο αδελφος λαζαρος ησθενει
3.	His sisters therefore sent to him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.	Miserunt ergo sorores ejus ad eum dicentes : Domine, ecce quem amas infirmatur.	απεστειλαν ουν αι αδελφαι προς αυτον λεγουσαι κυριε ιδε ον φιλεις ασθενει
4.	And Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.	Audiens autem Jesus dixit eis : Infirmitas hæc non est ad mortem, sed pro gloria Dei, ut glorificetur Filius Dei per eam.	ακουσας δε ο ιησους ειπεν αυτη η ασθενεια ουκ εστιν προς θανατον αλλ υπερ της δοξης του θεου ινα δοξασθη ο υιος του θεου δι αυτης
5.	Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.	Diligebat autem Jesus Martham, et sororem ejus Mariam, et Lazarum.	ηγαπα δε ο ιησους την μαρθαν και την αδελφην αυτης και τον λαζαρον
6.	When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days.	Ut ergo audivit quia infirmabatur, tunc quidem mansit in eodem loco duobus diebus ;	ως ουν ηκουσεν οτι ασθενει τοτε μεν εμεινεν εν ω ην τοπω δυο ημερας
7.	Then after that, he said to his disciples: Let us go into Judea again.	deinde post hæc dixit discipulis suis : Eamus in Judæam iterum.	επειτα μετα τουτο λεγει τοις μαθηταις αγωμεν εις την ιουδαιαν παλιν
8.	The disciples say to him: Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone thee: and goest thou thither again?	Dicunt ei discipuli : Rabbi, nunc quærebant te Judæi lapidare, et iterum vadis illuc ?	λεγουσιν αυτω οι μαθηται ραββι νυν εζητουν σε λιθασαι οι ιουδαιοι και παλιν υπαγεις εκει
9.	Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world:	Respondit Jesus : Nonne duodecim sunt horæ diei ? Si quis ambulaverit in die, non offendit, quia lucem hujus mundi videt :	απεκριθη ιησους ουχι δωδεκα εισιν ωραι της ημερας εαν τις περιπατη εν τη ημερα ου προσκοπτει οτι το φως του κοσμου τουτου βλεπει
10.	But if he walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.	si autem ambulaverit in nocte, offendit, quia lux non est in eo.	εαν δε τις περιπατη εν τη νυκτι προσκοπτει οτι το φως ουκ εστιν εν αυτω
11.	These things he said; and after that he said to them: Lazarus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.	Hæc ait, et post hæc dixit eis : Lazarus amicus noster dormit : sed vado ut a somno excitem eum.	ταυτα ειπεν και μετα τουτο λεγει αυτοις λαζαρος ο φιλος ημων κεκοιμηται αλλα πορευομαι ινα εξυπνισω αυτον
12.	His disciples therefore said: Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.	Dixerunt ergo discipuli ejus : Domine, si dormit, salvus erit.	ειπον ουν οι μαθηται αυτου κυριε ει κεκοιμηται σωθησεται
13.	But Jesus spoke of his death; and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep.	Dixerat autem Jesus de morte ejus : illi autem putaverunt quia de dormitione somni diceret.	ειρηκει δε ο ιησους περι του θανατου αυτου εκεινοι δε εδοξαν οτι περι της κοιμησεως του υπνου λεγει
14.	Then therefore Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead.	Tunc ergo Jesus dixit eis manifeste : Lazarus mortuus est :	τοτε ουν ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους παρρησια λαζαρος απεθανεν
15.	And I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him.	et gaudeo propter vos, ut credatis, quoniam non eram ibi, sed eamus ad eum.	και χαιρω δι υμας ινα πιστευσητε οτι ουκ ημην εκει αλλα αγωμεν προς αυτον
16.	Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him.	Dixit ergo Thomas, qui dicitur Didymus, ad condiscipulos : Eamus et nos, ut moriamur cum eo.	ειπεν ουν θωμας ο λεγομενος διδυμος τοις συμμαθηταις αγωμεν και ημεις ινα αποθανωμεν μετ αυτου
17.	Jesus therefore came, and found that he had been four days already in the grave.	Venit itaque Jesus : et invenit eum quatuor dies jam in monumento habentem.	ελθων ουν ο ιησους ευρεν αυτον τεσσαρας ημερας ηδη εχοντα εν τω μνημειω
18.	(Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.)	(Erat autem Bethania juxta Jerosolymam quasi stadiis quindecim.)	ην δε η βηθανια εγγυς των ιεροσολυμων ως απο σταδιων δεκαπεντε
19.	And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.	Multi autem ex Judæis venerant ad Martham et Mariam, ut consolarentur eas de fratre suo.	και πολλοι εκ των ιουδαιων εληλυθεισαν προς τας περι μαρθαν και μαριαν ινα παραμυθησωνται αυτας περι του αδελφου αυτων
20.	Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus had come, went to meet him: but Mary sat at home.	Martha ergo ut audivit quia Jesus venit, occurrit illi : Maria autem domi sedebat.	η ουν μαρθα ως ηκουσεν οτι ιησους ερχεται υπηντησεν αυτω μαρια δε εν τω οικω εκαθεζετο
21.	Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.	Dixit ergo Martha ad Jesum : Domine, si fuisses hic, frater meus non fuisset mortuus :	ειπεν ουν μαρθα προς τον ιησουν κυριε ει ης ωδε ο αδελφος μου ουκ αν ετεθνηκει
22.	But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.	sed et nunc scio quia quæcumque poposceris a Deo, dabit tibi Deus.	αλλα και νυν οιδα οτι οσα αν αιτηση τον θεον δωσει σοι ο θεος
23.	Jesus saith to her: Thy brother shall rise again.	Dicit illi Jesus : Resurget frater tuus.	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους αναστησεται ο αδελφος σου
24.	Martha saith to him: I know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection at the last day.	Dicit ei Martha : Scio quia resurget in resurrectione in novissimo die.	λεγει αυτω μαρθα οιδα οτι αναστησεται εν τη αναστασει εν τη εσχατη ημερα
25.	Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live:	Dixit ei Jesus : Ego sum resurrectio et vita : qui credit in me, etiam si mortuus fuerit, vivet :	ειπεν αυτη ο ιησους εγω ειμι η αναστασις και η ζωη ο πιστευων εις εμε καν αποθανη ζησεται
26.	And every one that liveth, and believeth in me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this?	et omnis qui vivit et credit in me, non morietur in æternum. Credis hoc ?	και πας ο ζων και πιστευων εις εμε ου μη αποθανη εις τον αιωνα πιστευεις τουτο
27.	She saith to him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world.	Ait illi : Utique Domine, ego credidi quia tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi, qui in hunc mundum venisti.	λεγει αυτω ναι κυριε εγω πεπιστευκα οτι συ ει ο χριστος ο υιος του θεου ο εις τον κοσμον ερχομενος
28.	And when she had said these things, she went, and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The master is come, and calleth for thee.	Et cum hæc dixisset, abiit, et vocavit Mariam sororem suam silentio, dicens : Magister adest, et vocat te.	και ταυτα ειπουσα απηλθεν και εφωνησεν μαριαν την αδελφην αυτης λαθρα ειπουσα ο διδασκαλος παρεστιν και φωνει σε
29.	She, as soon as she heard this, riseth quickly, and cometh to him.	Illa ut audivit, surgit cito, et venit ad eum ;	εκεινη ως ηκουσεν εγειρεται ταχυ και ερχεται προς αυτον
30.	For Jesus was not yet come into the town: but he was still in that place where Martha had met him.	nondum enim venerat Jesus in castellum : sed erat adhuc in illo loco, ubi occurrerat ei Martha.	ουπω δε εληλυθει ο ιησους εις την κωμην αλλ ην εν τω τοπω οπου υπηντησεν αυτω η μαρθα
31.	The Jews therefore, who were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: She goeth to the grave to weep there.	Judæi ergo, qui erant cum ea in domo, et consolabantur eam, cum vidissent Mariam quia cito surrexit, et exiit, secuti sunt eam dicentes : Quia vadit ad monumentum, ut ploret ibi.	οι ουν ιουδαιοι οι οντες μετ αυτης εν τη οικια και παραμυθουμενοι αυτην ιδοντες την μαριαν οτι ταχεως ανεστη και εξηλθεν ηκολουθησαν αυτη λεγοντες οτι υπαγει εις το μνημειον ινα κλαυση εκει
32.	When Mary therefore was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, and saith to him: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.	Maria ergo, cum venisset ubi erat Jesus, videns eum, cecidit ad pedes ejus, et dicit ei : Domine, si fuisses hic, non esset mortuus frater meus.	η ουν μαρια ως ηλθεν οπου ην ο ιησους ιδουσα αυτον επεσεν αυτου εις τους ποδας λεγουσα αυτω κυριε ει ης ωδε ουκ αν απεθανεν μου ο αδελφος
33.	Jesus, therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her, weeping, groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself,	Jesus ergo, ut vidit eam plorantem, et Judæos, qui venerant cum ea, plorantes, infremuit spiritu, et turbavit seipsum,	ιησους ουν ως ειδεν αυτην κλαιουσαν και τους συνελθοντας αυτη ιουδαιους κλαιοντας ενεβριμησατο τω πνευματι και εταραξεν εαυτον
34.	And said: Where have you laid him? They say to him: Lord, come and see.	et dixit : Ubi posuistis eum ? Dicunt ei : Domine, veni, et vide.	και ειπεν που τεθεικατε αυτον λεγουσιν αυτω κυριε ερχου και ιδε
35.	And Jesus wept.	Et lacrimatus est Jesus.	εδακρυσεν ο ιησους
36.	The Jews therefore said: Behold how he loved him.	Dixerunt ergo Judæi : Ecce quomodo amabat eum.	ελεγον ουν οι ιουδαιοι ιδε πως εφιλει αυτον
37.	But some of them said: Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind, have caused that this man should not die?	Quidam autem ex ipsis dixerunt : Non poterat hic, qui aperuit oculos cæci nati, facere ut hic non moreretur ?	τινες δε εξ αυτων ειπον ουκ ηδυνατο ουτος ο ανοιξας τους οφθαλμους του τυφλου ποιησαι ινα και ουτος μη αποθανη
38.	Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the sepulchre. Now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it.	Jesus ergo rursum fremens in semetipso, venit ad monumentum. Erat autem spelunca, et lapis superpositus erat ei.	ιησους ουν παλιν εμβριμωμενος εν εαυτω ερχεται εις το μνημειον ην δε σπηλαιον και λιθος επεκειτο επ αυτω
39.	Jesus saith: Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith to him: Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days.	Ait Jesus : Tollite lapidem. Dicit ei Martha, soror ejus qui mortuus fuerat : Domine, jam fœtet, quatriduanus est enim.	λεγει ο ιησους αρατε τον λιθον λεγει αυτω η αδελφη του τεθνηκοτος μαρθα κυριε ηδη οζει τεταρταιος γαρ εστιν
40.	Jesus saith to her: Did not I say to thee, that if thou believe, thou shalt see the glory of God?	Dicit ei Jesus : Nonne dixi tibi quoniam si credideris, videbis gloriam Dei ?	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους ουκ ειπον σοι οτι εαν πιστευσης οψει την δοξαν του θεου
41.	They took therefore the stone away. And Jesus lifting up his eyes said: Father, I give thee thanks that thou hast heard me.	Tulerunt ergo lapidem : Jesus autem, elevatis sursum oculis, dixit : Pater, gratias ago tibi quoniam audisti me.	ηραν ουν τον λιθον ου ην ο τεθνηκως κειμενος ο δε ιησους ηρεν τους οφθαλμους ανω και ειπεν πατερ ευχαριστω σοι οτι ηκουσας μου
42.	And I knew that thou hearest me always; but because of the people who stand about have I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.	Ego autem sciebam quia semper me audis, sed propter populum qui circumstat, dixi : ut credant quia tu me misisti.	εγω δε ηδειν οτι παντοτε μου ακουεις αλλα δια τον οχλον τον περιεστωτα ειπον ινα πιστευσωσιν οτι συ με απεστειλας
43.	When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth.	Hæc cum dixisset, voce magna clamavit : Lazare, veni foras.	και ταυτα ειπων φωνη μεγαλη εκραυγασεν λαζαρε δευρο εξω
44.	And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding bands; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Loose him, and let him go.	Et statim prodiit qui fuerat mortuus, ligatus pedes, et manus institis, et facies illius sudario erat ligata. Dixit eis Jesus : Solvite eum et sinite abire.	και εξηλθεν ο τεθνηκως δεδεμενος τους ποδας και τας χειρας κειριαις και η οψις αυτου σουδαριω περιεδεδετο λεγει αυτοις ο ιησους λυσατε αυτον και αφετε υπαγειν
45.	Many therefore of the Jews, who were come to Mary and Martha, and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.	Multi ergo ex Judæis, qui venerant ad Mariam, et Martham, et viderant quæ fecit Jesus, crediderunt in eum.	πολλοι ουν εκ των ιουδαιων οι ελθοντες προς την μαριαν και θεασαμενοι α εποιησεν ο ιησους επιστευσαν εις αυτον

1. Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3. Therefore his sisters sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick.
4. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
5. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

BEDE. After our Lord had departed to the other side of Jordan, it happened that Lazarus fell sick: A certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany. In some copies the copulative conjunction precedes, to mark the connection with the words preceding. Lazarus signifies helped. Of all the dead which our Lord raised, he was most helped, for he had lain dead four days, when our Lord raised him to life.

AUG. The resurrection of Lazarus is more spoken of than any of our Lord's miracles. But if we hear in mind who He was who wrought this miracle, we shall feel not so much of wonder; as of delight. He who made the man, raised the man; and it is a greater thing to create a man, than to revive him. Lazarus was sick at Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. The place was near Jerusalem.

ALCUIN. And as there were many women of this name, He distinguishes her by her well-known act: It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick

CHRYS. First we are to observe that this was not the harlot mentioned in Luke, but an honest woman, who treated our Lord with marked reverence.

AUG. John here confirms the passage in Luke, where this is said to have taken place in the house of one Simon a Pharisee: Mary had done this act therefore on a former occasion. That she did it again at Bethany is not mentioned in the narrative of Luke, but is in the other three Gospels.

AUG. A cruel sickness had seized Lazarus; a wasting fever was eating away the body of the wretched man day by day: his two sisters sat sorrowful at his bedside, grieving for the sick youth continually. They sent to Jesus: Therefore his sisters sent to Him, saying, Lord, behold he whom you love is sick.

AUG. They did not say, Come and heal; they dared not say, Speak the word there, and it shall be done here; but only, Behold, he whom you love is sick. As if to say, It is enough that you know it, you are not one to love and then to desert whom you love.

CHRYS. They hope to excite Christ's pity by these words, Whom as yet they thought to be a man only. Like the centurion and nobleman, they sent, not went, to Christ; partly from their great faith in Him, for they knew Him intimately, partly because their sorrow kept them at home.

THEOPHYL. And because they were women and it did not become them to leave their home if they could help it. Great devotion and faith is expressed in these words, Behold, he whom you love is sick. Such was their idea of our Lord's power, that they were surprised, that one, whom He loved, could be seized with sickness.

AUG. When Jesus heard that, He said, This sickness is not to death. For this death itself was not to death, but to give occasion for a miracle; whereby men might be brought to believe in Christ, and so escape real death. It was for the glory of God, wherein observe that our Lord calls Himself God by implication, thus confounding those heretics who say that the Son of God is not God. For the glory of what God? Hear what follows, That the Son of God might be glorified thereby, i.e. by that sickness.

CHRYS. That here signifies not the cause, but the event. The sickness sprang from natural causes, but He turned it to the glory of God.

Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

AUG. He is sick, they sorrowful, all beloved. Wherefore they had hope, for they were beloved by Him Who is the Comforter of the sorrowful, and the Healer of the sick.

CHRYS. Wherein the Evangelist instructs us not to be sad, it sickness ever falls upon good men, and friends of God.

6. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.
7. Then after that says he to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again.
8. His disciples say to him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone you; and you go there again?
9. Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbles not, because he sees the light of this world.
10. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbles, because there is no light in him.

ALCUIN. Our Lord heard of the sickness of Lazarus, but suffered four days to pass before He cured it; that the recovery might be a more wonderful one. When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days still in the place where He was.

CHRYS. To give time for his death and burial, that they might say, he stinks, and none doubt that it was death, and not a trance, from which he was raised.

Then after that; He says to His disciples, let us go into Judea again.

AUG. Where He had just escaped being stoned; for this was the cause of His leaving. He left indeed as man: He left in weakness, but He returns in power.

CHRYS. He had not as yet told His disciples where He was going; but now He tells them, in order to prepare them beforehand, for they are in great alarm, when they hear of it: His disciples say to Him, Master, the Jews sought to stone you, and you go there again? They feared both for Him, and for themselves; for they were not yet confirmed in faith.

AUG. When men presumed to give advice to God, disciples to their Master, our Lord rebuked them: Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? He showed Himself to be the day, by appointing twelve disciples: i.e. reckoning Matthias in the place of Judas, and passing over the latter altogether.

The hours are lightened by the day; that by the preaching of the hours, the world may believe on the day. Follow Me then, says our Lord, if you wish not to stumble: If any man walk in the day, he stumbles not, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night he stumbles, because there is no light in him.

CHRYS. As if to say, the upright need fear no evil: the wicked only have cause to fear. We have done nothing worthy of death, and therefore are in no danger. Or, If any one sees this world's light, he is safe; much more he who is with Me.

THEOPHYL. Some understand the day to be the time preceding the Passion, the night to be the Passion. In this sense, while it is day, would mean, before My Passion; You will not stumble before My Passion, because the Jews will not persecute you; but when the night, i.e. My Passion, comes, then shall you be beset with darkness and difficulties.

11. These things said he: and after that he says to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.
12. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
13. Although Jesus spoke of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
14. Then said Jesus to them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
15. And I am glad for your sakes I was not there, to the intent you may believe; nevertheless let us go to him.
16. Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

CHRYS. After He had comforted His disciples in one way, He comforts them in another, by telling them that they were not going to Jerusalem, but to Bethany: These things says He and after that He says to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep: as if to say, I am not going to dispute again with the Jews, but to awaken our friend. Our friend, He says, to show how strongly they were bound to go.

AUG. It was really true that He was sleeping. To our Lord, he was sleeping; to men who could not raise him again, he was dead. Our Lord awoke him with as much ease from his grave, as you awake a sleeper from his bed. He calls him then asleep, with reference to His own power, as the Apostle says, But 1 would not have you to be ignorant, concerning them which are asleep.

Asleep, He says, because He is speaking of their resurrection which was to be. But as it matters to those who sleep and wake again daily, what they see in their sleep, some having pleasant dreams, others painful ones, so it is in death; every one sleeps and rises again with his own account.

CHRYS. The disciples however wished to prevent Him going to Judea: Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Sleep is a good sign in sickness. And therefore if he sleep, say they, what need to go and awake him.

AUG. The disciples replied, as they understood Him: Although Jesus spoke of his death; but they thought that He had spoken of taking rest in sleep.

CHRYS. But if anyone say, that the disciples could not but have known that our Lord meant Lazarus's death, when He said, that I may awake him; because it would have been absurd to have gone such a distance merely to awake Lazarus out of sleep; we answer, that our Lord's words were a kind of enigma to the disciples, here as elsewhere often.

AUG. He then declares His meaning openly: Then said Jesus to them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

CHRYS. But He does not add here, I go that I may awake him. He did not wish to anticipate the miracle by talking of it; a hint to us to shun vain glory, and abstain from empty promises.

AUG. He had been sent for to restore Lazarus from sickness, not from death. But how could the death be hid from Him, into whose hands the soul of the dead had flown?

And 1 am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you might believe; i.e. seeing My marvelous power of knowing a thing I have neither seen nor heard. The disciples already believed in Him in consequence of His miracles; so that their faith had not now to begin, but only to increase. That you might believe, means, believe more deeply, more firmly.

THEOPHYL. Some have understood this place thus. I rejoice, He says, for your sakes; for if I had been there, I should have only cured a sick man; which is but an inferior sign of power. But since in My absence he has died, you will now see that I can raise even the dead putrefying body, and your faith will be strengthened.

CHRYS. The disciples, all dreaded the Jews; end especially Thomas; Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, to his fellow-disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him. But he who was now the most weak and unbelieving of all the disciples, afterwards became stronger than any. And he who dared not go to Bethany, afterwards went over the whole earth, in the midst of those who wished his death, with a spirit indomitable.

BEDE. The disciples, checked by our Lord's answer to them, dared no longer oppose; and Thomas, more forward than the rest, says, Let us also go that we may die with him. What an appearance of firmness! He speaks as if he could really do what he said; unmindful, like Peter, of his frailty.

17. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
18. Now Bethany was nigh to Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.
19. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.
20. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
21. Then said Martha to Jesus, Lord if you had been here, my brother had not died.
22. But I know, that even now, whatsoever you will ask of God, God will give it you.
23. Jesus says to her, Your brother shall rise.
24. Martha says to him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never; die. Believe you this?
27. She says to him, Yea, Lord: I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

ALCUIN. Our Lord delayed His coming for four days, that the resurrection of Lazarus might be the more glorious: Then when Jesus came, He found that He had lain in the grave four days already.

CHRYS Our Lord had stayed two days, and the messenger had come the day before; the very day on which Lazarus died. This brings us to the fourth day.

AUG. Of the four days many things may be said. They refer to one thing, but one thing viewed in different ways. There is one day of death which the law of our birth brings upon us. Men transgress the natural law, and this is another day of death. The written law is given to men by the hands of Moses, and that is despised - a third day of death. The Gospel comes, and men transgress it - a fourth day of death. But Christ cloth not disdain to awaken even these.

ALCUIN. The first sin w as elation of heart, the second assent, the third act, the fourth habit.

Now Bethany was nigh to Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.

CHRYS. Two miles. This is mentioned to account for so many coming from Jerusalem:

And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. But how could the Jews be consoling the beloved of Christ, when they had resolved that whoever confessed Christ should be put out of the synagogue? Perhaps the extreme affliction of the sisters excited their sympathy; or they wished to show respect for their rank. Or perhaps they who came were of the better sort; as we find many of them believed. Their presence is mentioned to do away with all doubt of the real death of Lazarus.

BEDE. Our Lord had not yet entered the town, when Martha met Him: Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was t coming, went and met Him: but Mary sat still in the house.

CHRYS. Martha does not take her sister with her, because she wants to speak with Christ alone, and tell Him what has happened. When her hopes had been raised by Him, then she went her way, and called Mary.

THEOPHYL. At first she does not tell her sister, for fear, if she came, the Jews, present might accompany her. And she did not wish them to know of our Lord's coming.

Then says Martha to Jesus, Lord, if You had been here, my brother had not died.

CHRYS. She believed in Christ, but she believed not as she ought. She did not speak as if He were God: If You had been here, my brother had not died.

THEOPHYL. She did not know that He could have restored her brother as well absent as present.

CHRYS. Nor did she know that He wrought His miracles by His own independent power: But I know that even now, whatsoever You will ask of God, God will give it to you. She only thinks Him some very gifted man.

AUG. She does not say to Him, Bring my brother to life again; for how could she know that it would be good for him to come to life again; she says, I know that You can do so, if You will but what You will do is for your judgment, not for my presumption to determine

CHRYS. But our Lord taught her the truths which she did not know: Jesus says to her, Your brother shall rise again. Observe, He does not say, I will ask God, that he may rise again, nor on the other hand does He say, I want no help, I do all things of Myself, a declaration which would have been too much for the woman; but something between the two, He shall rise again.

AUG. Shall rise again, is ambiguous: for He does not say, now. And therefore it follows: Martha says to Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day; of that resurrection I am certain; of this I am doubtful.

CHRYS. She had often heard Christ speak of the resurrection. Jesus now declares His power more plainly: Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He needed therefore none to help Him; for if He did, how could He be the resurrection. And if He is the life, He is not confined by place, but is everywhere, and can heal every where.

ALCUIN. I am the resurrection, because I am the life; as through Me he will rise at the general resurrection, through Me he may rise now.

CHRYS. To Martha's, Whatsoever You shall ask, He replies, He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: showing her that He is the Giver of all good, and that we must ask of Him. Thus He leads her to the knowledge of high truths; and whereas she had been inquiring only about the resurrection of Lazarus, tells her of a resurrection in which both she and all present would share.

AUG. He that believes in Me, though he were dead: i.e. though his flesh die, his soul shall live till the flesh rise again, never to die more. For faith is the life of the soul.

And whomsoever lives, in the flesh, and believes in Me, though he die for a time in the flesh, shall not die eternally.

ALCUIN. Because He has attained to the life of the Spirit, and to an immortal resurrection. Our Lord, from Whom nothing was hid, knew that she believed, but sought from her a confession to salvation: Do you believe this? She says to Him, Yea, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ the Son of God, which should come into the world.

CHRYS. She seems not to have understood His words; i.e. she saw that He meant something great, but did not see what that was. She is asked one thing, and answers another.

AUG When I believed that You were the Son of God, I believed that you were the resurrection, that You were life, and that he that believes in you, though he were dead, shall live.

28. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calls for you.
29. And as soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came to him.
30. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.
31. The Jews then which were with her in the house and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goes to the grave to weep there.
32. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died.

CHRYS. Christ's words had the effect of stopping Martha's grief. In her devotion to her Master she had no time to think of her afflictions: And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly.

AUG. Silently, i.e. speaking in a low voice. For she did speak, saying, the Master is come, and calls for you.

CHRYS. She calls her sister secretly, in order not to let the Jews know that Christ was coming. For had they known, they would have gone, and not been witnesses of the miracle.

AUG. We may observe that the Evangelist has not said, where, or when, or how, the Lord called Mary, but for brevity's sake has left it to be gathered from Martha's words.

THEOPHYL. Perhaps she thought the presence of Christ in itself a call, as if it were inexcusable, when Christ came, that she should not go out to meet Him.

CHRYS. While the rest sat around her in her sorrow, she did not wait for the Master to come to her, but, not letting her grief detain her, rose immediately to meet Him; As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came to Him.

AUG. So we see, if she had known of His arrival before, she would not have let Martha go without her. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him.

CHRYS. He went slowly that He might not seem to catch at an occasion of working a miracle, but to have it forced upon Him by others asking Mary, it is said, arose quickly, and thus anticipated His coming.

The Jews accompanied her: The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she arose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goes to the grave to weep there.

AUG. The Evangelist mentions this to show how it was that so many were present at Lazarus' resurrection, and witness of that great miracle.

Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet.

CHRYS. She is more fervent than her sister. Forgetful of the crowd around her, and of the Jews, some of whom were enemies to Christ, she threw herself at her Master's feet. In His presence all earthly things were nothing to her; she thought of nothing but giving Him honor.

THEOPHYL. But her faith seems as yet imperfect: Lord, if You had been here, my brother had not died.

ALCUIN. As if to say, Lord, while You were with us, no disease, no sickness dared to show itself, amongst those with whom the Life deigned to take up His abode.

AUG. O faithless assembly! While You are yet in the world, Lazarus your friend dies! If the friend cries, what will the enemy suppose? Is it a small thing that they will not serve You upon earth? Lo, hell has taken your beloved.

BEDE. Mary did not say so much as Martha, she could not bring out what she wanted for weeping, as is usual with persons overwhelmed with sorrow.

33. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
34. And said, Where have you laid him? They said to him, Lord, come and see.
35. Jesus wept.
36. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37. And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
38. Jesus therefore again groaning in himself comes to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
39. Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, says to him, Lord, by this time he stinks: for he has been dead four days.
40. Jesus says to her, Said I not to you, that, if you would believe, you should see the glory of God?
41. Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.

CHRYS. Christ did not answer Mary, as He had her; sister, on account of the people present. In condescension to them He humbled Himself, and let His human nature be seen, in order to gain them as witnesses to the miracle: When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in His spirit, and was troubled.

AUG. For who but Himself could trouble Him? Christ was troubled, because it pleased Him to be troubled; He hungered, because it pleased Him to hunger. It was in His own power to be affected in this or that way or not. The Word took up soul and flesh, and whole man, and fitted it to Himself in unity of person. And thus according to the nod and will of that higher nature in Him, in which the sovereign power resides, He becomes weak and troubled.

THEOPHYL. To prove His human nature He sometimes gives it free vent, while at other times He commands, and restrains it by, the power of the Holy Ghost. Our Lord allows His nature to be affected in these ways both to prove that He is very Man, not Man in appearance only; and also to teach us by His own example the due measures of joy and grief. For the absence altogether of sympathy and sorrow is brutal, the excess of them is womanly.

AUG. And said, Where have you laid him? He knew where but He asked to try the faith of the people.

CHRYS. He did not wish to thrust the miracle upon them, but to make them ask for it, and thus do away with all suspicions.

AUG. The question has an allusion too to our hidden calling. That, predestination by which we are called, is hidden; and the sign of its being so is our Lord asking the question. He being as it were in ignorance, so long as we are ignorant ourselves. Or because our Lord elsewhere shows that He knows not sinners, saying, I know you not, because in keeping His commandments there is no sin.

They said to Him, Lord, come and see.

CHRYS. He had not yet raised anyone from the dead; and seemed as if He came to weep, not to raise to life. Wherefore they say to Him, Come and see.

AUG. The Lord sees when He pities, as we read, Look upon my adversity and misery, and forgive me all my sin.

Jesus wept.

ALCUIN. Because He was the fountain of pity. He wept in His human nature for him whom He was able to raise again by His divine.

AUG. Wherefore did Christ weep, but to teach men to weep?

BEDE. It is customary to mourn over the death of friends; and thus the Jews explained our Lord's weeping: Then said the Jews, Behold how He loved him.

AUG. Loved him. Our Lord came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

And some of them said, Could not this Man which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? He was about to do more than this, to raise him from death.

CHRYS. It was His enemies who said this. The very works, which should have evidenced His power, they turn against Him, as if He had not really done them. This is the way that they speak of the miracle of opening the eyes of the man that was born blind. They even prejudge Christ before He has come to the grave, and have not the patience to wait for the issue of the matter.

Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself, comes to the grave. That He wept, and He groaned, are mentioned to show us the reality of His human nature. John who enters into higher statements as to His nature than any of the other Evangelists, also descends lower than any in describing His bodily affections.

AUG. And do you too groan in yourself, if you would rise to new life. To every man is this said, who is weighed down by any vicious habit. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. The dead under the stone is the guilty under the Law. For the Law, which was as given to the Jews, was as graven on stone. And all the guilty are under the Law, for the Law was not made for a righteous man.

BEDE. A cave is a hollow in a rock. It is called a monument, because it reminds us of the dead.

Jesus said, Take away the stone.

CHRYS. But why did He not raise him without taking away the stone? Could not He who moved a dead body by His voice, much more have moved a stone? He purposely did not do so, in order that the miracle might take place in the sight of all; to give no room for saying, as they had said in the case of the blind man, This is not he. Now they might go into the grave, and feel and see that this was the man.

AUG. Take away the stone; mystically, take away the burden of the law, proclaim grace.

AUG. Perhaps those are signified who wished to impose the rite of circumcision on the Gentile converts; or men in the Church of corrupt life, who offend believers.

AUG. Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, though they had often seen Christ raise the dead, did not fully believe that He could raise their brother; Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said to Him, Lord, by this time he stinks, for he has been dead four days.

THEOPHYL. Martha said this from weakness of faith, thinking it impossible that Christ could raise her brother, so long after death.

BEDE. Or, these are not words of despair, but of wonder.

CHRYS. Thus everything tends to stop the mouths of the unbelieving. Their hands take away the stone, their ears hear Christ's voice, their eyes see Lazarus come forth, they perceive the smell of the dead body.

THEOPHYL. Christ reminds Martha of what He had told her before, which she had forgotten: Jesus said to her, Said I not to you, that, if you would believe, you should see the glory of God?

CHRYS. She did not remember what He said above, He that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. To the disciples He had said That the Son of God might be glorified thereby; here it is the glory of the Father He speaks of. The difference is made to suit the different hearers. Our Lord could not rebuke her before such a number, but only says, You shall see the glory of God.

AUG. Herein is the glory of God, that he that stinks and has been dead four days, is brought to life again.

Then they took away the stone.

ORIGEN. The delay in taking away the stone was caused by the sister of the dead, who said, By this time he stinks, for he has been dead four days. If she had not said this, it would not be said, Jesus said, Take away the stone. Some delay had arisen; it is best to let nothing come between the commands of Jesus and doing them.

41. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
42. And I knew that you hear me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that you have sent me.
43. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
44. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them, Loose him, and let him go.
45. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

ALCUIN. Christ, as man, being inferior to the Father, prays to Him for Lazarus's resurrection; and declares that He is heard: And Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said, Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

ORIGEN. He lifted up His eyes; mystically, He lifted up the human mind by prayer to the Father above. We should pray after Christ's pattern, Lift up the eyes of our heart, and raise them above present things in memory, in thought, in intention.

If to them who pray worthily after this fashion is given the promise in Isaiah, You shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am; what answer, think we, our Lord and Savior would receive? He was about to pray for the resurrection of Lazarus He was heard by the Father before He prayed; His request was granted before made. And therefore He begins with giving thanks; I thank You, Father, that You have heard Me.

CHRYS. i.e. There is no difference of will between Me and You. You have heard Me, does not show any lack of power in Him, or that He is inferior to the Father. It is a phrase that is used between friends and equals. That the prayer is not really necessary for Him, appears from the words that follow,

And I knew that You heard Me always: as if He said, I need not prayer to persuade You; for Ours is one will.

He hides His meaning on account of the weak faith of His hearers. For God regards not so much His own dignity, as our salvation; and therefore seldom speaks loftily of Himself, and, even when He does, speaks in an obscure way; whereas humble expressions abound in His discourses.

HILARY. He did not therefore need to pray: He prayed for our sakes, that we might know Him to be the Son: But because use of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that You have sent Me. His prayer did not benefit Himself, but benefited our faith. He did not want help, but we want instruction.

CHRYS. He did not say, That they may believe that I am inferior to You, in that I cannot do this without prayer, but, that You have sent Me. He says not, have sent Me weak, acknowledging subjection, doing nothing of Myself, but have sent Me in such sense, as that man may see that I am from God, not contrary to God; and that I do this miracle in accordance with His will.

AUG. Christ went to the grave in which Lazarus slept, as if He were not dead, but alive and able to hear, for He forthwith called him out of his grave. And when He had thus spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. He calls him by name, that He may not bring out all the dead.

CHRYS. He does not say, Arise, but, Come forth, speaking to the dead as if he were alive. For which reason also He does not say, Come forth in My Father's name, or, Father, raise him, but throwing off the whole appearance of one praying, proceeds to show His power by acts. This is His general way. His words show humility, His acts power.

THEOPHYL. The voice which roused Lazarus, is the symbol of that trumpet which will sound at the general resurrection. (He spoke loud, to contradict the Gentile fable, that the soul remained in the tomb. The soul of Lazarus is called to as if it were absent, and a loud voice were necessary to summon it.)

And as the general resurrection is to take place in the twinkling of an eye, so did this single one: And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was as bound about with a napkin. Now is accomplished what was said above, The hour is coming, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.

ORIGEN. His cry and loud voice it was which awoke him, as Christ had said, I go to awake him. The resurrection of Lazarus is the work of the Father also, in that He heard the prayer of the Son. It is the joint work of Father and Son, one praying, the other hearing; for as the Father raises up the dead and quickens them, even so the Son quickens whom He will.

CHRYS. He came forth bound, that none might suspect that he was a mere phantom. Besides, that this very fact, viz. of coming forth bound, was itself a miracle, as great as the resurrection. Jesus said to them, Loose him, that by going near and touching him they might be certain he was the very person. And let him go. His humility is strewn here; He does not take Lazarus about with Him for the sake of display.

ORIGEN. Our Lord had said above, Because of the people that stand by I said it, that they may believe that You have sent Me. It would have been ignorance of the future, if He had said this, and none believed, after all. Therefore it follows: Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on Him. But some of them went their way to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

It is doubtful from these words, whether those who went to the Pharisees, were of those many who believed, and meant to conciliate the opponents of Christ; or whether they were of the unbelieving party, and wished to inflame the envy of the Pharisees against Him.

The latter seems to me the true supposition; especially as the Evangelist describes those who believed as the larger party. Many believed; whereas it is only a few who go to the Pharisees: Some of them went to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

BEDE. By those who went and told the Pharisees, are meant those who seeing the good works of God's servants, hate them on that very account, persecute, and calumniate them.

AUG. Although according to the Gospel history, we hold that Lazarus was really raised to life, yet I doubt not that his resurrection is an allegory as well. We do not, because we allegorize facts, lose our belief in them as facts.

AUG. Everyone that sins, dies; but God, of His great mercy, raises the soul to life again, and does not suffer it to die eternally. The three miraculous resurrections in the Gospels, understand to testify, the resurrection of the soul.

GREG. The maiden is restored to life in the house, the young man outside the gate, Lazarus in his grave. She that lies dead in the house, is the sinner dying in sin: he that is carried out by the gate is the openly and notoriously wicked.

AUG. Or, it is death within; when the evil thought has not come out into action. But if you actually do the evil thing, you have as it were carried the dead outside the gate.

GREG. And one there is who lies dead in his grave, with a load of earth upon him; i.e. who is weighed down by habits of sin. But the Divine grace has regard even to such, and enlightens them.

AUG. Or we may take Lazarus in the grave as the soul laden with earthly sins.

AUG. And yet our Lord loved Lazarus. For had He not loved sinners, He would never have come down from heaven to save them. Well is it said of one of sinful habits, that He stinks. He has a bad report already, as it were the foulest odor.

AUG. Well may she say, He has been dead four days For the earth is the last of the elements. It signifies the pit of earthly sins, i.e. carnal lusts.

AUG. The Lord groaned, wept, cried with a loud voice. It is hard for Him to arise who is bowed down with the weight of evil habits. Christ troubles Himself, to signify to you that you should be troubled, when you are pressed and weighed down with such a mass of sin. Faith groans, he that is displeased with himself groans, and accuses his own evil deeds; that so the habit of sin may yield to the violence of repentance. When you say, I have done such a thing, and God has spared me; I have heard the Gospel, and despised it; what shall I do? Then Christ groans, because faith groans; and in the voice of your groaning appears the hope of your rising again.

GREG. Lazarus is bid to come forth, i.e. to come forth and condemn himself with his own mouth, without excuse or reservation: that so he that lies buried in a guilty conscience, may come forth out of himself by confession.

AUG. That Lazarus came forth from the grave, signifies the soul's deliverance from carnal sins. That he came bound up in grave clothes means, that even we who are delivered from carnal things, and serve with the mind the law of God, yet cannot, so long as we are in the body, be free from the besetments of the flesh.

That his face was bound about with a napkin means, that we do not attain to full knowledge in this life. And when our Lord says, Loose him, and let him go, we learn that in another world all veils will be removed, and that we shall see face to face.

AUG. Or thus: When you despise, you lie dead; when you confess, you come forth. For what is to come forth, but to go out, as it were, of your hiding place, and show yourself? But you cannot make this confession, except God move you to it, by crying with a loud voice, i.e. calling you with great grace.

But even after the dead man has come forth, he remains bound for some time, i.e. is as yet only a penitent. Then our Lord says to His ministers, Loose him, and let him go, i.e. remit his sins: Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

ALCUIN. Christ awakes, because His power it is which quickens us inwardly: the disciples loose, because by the ministry of the priesthood, they who are quickened are absolved.

Catena Aurea John 11

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March 29 2020

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Reading 1 Ez 37:12-14

Responsorial Psalm Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8.

Reading 2 Rom 8:8-11

Verse Before the GospelJn 11:25a, 26

Gospel Jn 11:1-45

I shall put my spirit in you, and you will live

The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you

I am the resurrection and the life