{"id":13501,"date":"2017-04-04T08:44:45","date_gmt":"2017-04-04T12:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/?p=13501"},"modified":"2017-04-04T08:44:45","modified_gmt":"2017-04-04T12:44:45","slug":"beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fr. Roger J. Landry<br \/>\nVisitation Convent of the Sisters of Life, Manhattan<br \/>\nTuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent<br \/>\nApril 4, 2017<br \/>\nNumbers 21:4-9, Ps 102, Jn 8:21-30<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>To listen to an audio recording of today\u2019s homily,\u00a0please click below:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-13501-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/4.4.17-Homily-1.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/4.4.17-Homily-1.mp3\">https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/4.4.17-Homily-1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>The\u00a0following points were attempted in the homily:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We always learn a great deal from the penances God imposes \u2014 for example, the silence imposed on Zechariah, John the Baptist\u2019s father \u2014 because they\u2019re always primarily medicinal and therefore teach us a great deal about the deeper nature of the sin that elicited the penance. Today in the first reading from the Book of Numbers, we see the sin of the Israelites in the desert. They were complaining against God and against Moses. Taking up their familiar refrain, they wondered aloud whether God had worked all of his miracles freeing them from slavery in Egypt only to have them die in the desert. Even though God had been feeding them daily with manna from heaven in the morning and quails in the evening and quenching their thirst with water from the rock, they still said, \u201cWe are disgusted with this wretched food!\u201d Some people can complain even about the menu at the Last Supper! So God sent among the Israelites\u00a0saraph serpents who bit them, such that many of them died. It finally brought the people to acknowledge God, to acknowledge their sinful ways and to seek God\u2019s help. They said to Moses, &#8220;We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you.\u00a0Pray the Lord to take the serpents away from us!\u201d So Moses did. And God gave him what would seem at first glance a strange command in response to their prayers and their predicament. \u201cMake a saraph and mount it on a pole,\u00a0and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.\u201d And that\u2019s what he did. The Book of Numbers tells us, \u201cAnd whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>What was this penance about sin and remedy all about? There was a part of it that looked backward and another that looked forward.<\/li>\n<li>The retrospective part of it involved the sin. It looked back to the Garden when Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent and sinned against the Lord. By sending serpents among the Israelites, God was reminding them precisely about the presence of the devil and how he was slithering among them to lead them to complain and distrust God. He was out to kill them by poisoning them with his venom and that\u2019s precisely what happened. He had bitten them and infected them even before the saraph serpents appeared. The remedy the Lord proposed, making a bronze serpent, mounting it on a pole and having everyone look at it was a means by which to see precisely what had caused their predicament \u2014 their sins, their having been bitten by the serpent represented by the saraph serpents \u2014 and to repent of their immoral choices. Anyone who looked upon the bronze serpent would live, but it didn\u2019t say that he or she\u00a0would be healed immediately. Those bitten\u00a0would still have some of the poison in them and need to work to get better, but they would be saved. The cure began, however,\u00a0with looking at the bronze serpent. If they refused to look at the remedy God had given, they would die of the poison.<\/li>\n<li>That remedy is the prospective part of what God asked Moses to do. It pointed forward to Christ\u2019s own saving action to which he alludes in today\u2019s Gospel. Jesus tells the Pharisees that they were infected with a mortal wound. \u201cI am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin.\u201d He said that they would be unable to follow him and would die because they would not let go of their earthly ways to follow him where he was going, through self-sacrificial love and death through Calvary to the eternal Jerusalem. \u201cYou belong to what is below,\u00a0I belong to what is above,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou belong to this world,\u00a0but I do not belong to this world.\u00a0That is why I told you that you will die in your sins.\u00a0For if you do not believe that I AM,\u00a0you will die in your sins.\u201d Ultimately\u00a0<em>the great sin<\/em>\u00a0is to fail to believe in God and what God has said and done and whom he has sent. And they were refusing to do that and to acknowledge that Jesus\u2019 deeds and witnesses all pointed to his divine origin and mission.<\/li>\n<li>They were infected, essentially, with the same diabolical poison with which their ancestors were in the desert. So was everyone else except Jesus\u2019 mother. But Jesus would himself become the bronze serpent to save all of those who had the humility to look at him with faith. Talking about his crucifixion, he said today, \u201cWhen you lift up the Son of Man,\u00a0then you will realize that I AM,\u00a0and that I do nothing on my own,\u00a0but I say only what the Father taught me.\u201d No man, obviously, would choose to be crucified on his own. When he was lifted up on the Cross, that\u2019s when all who would look upon him with faith would grasp that he was the essence of divine love, that he was one not following his own will, but the Father\u2019s saving will, and that he \u201calways do[es] what is pleasing to Him.\u201d This passage links to an even clearer one from earlier in the Gospel when Jesus said, \u201cJust as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life\u201d (Jn 3:14-16). Out of love for us, to save us from the poison we carry within, Jesus allowed himself to become the new and eternal saraph serpent, lifted up on the pole of the Cross.<\/li>\n<li>Looking at Jesus on the Cross, we are called to recognize two things. First, we are called to see exactly what our sins have done. They crucified the most innocent and loving Person who ever lived. They crucified Mercy incarnate! Many times we can be tempted to dismiss our sins as if they\u2019re no big deal, just like the Jews in the desert would have been tempted to minimize their sins of complaining and distrust, but they are a big deal and led to the brutal torture and murder of Jesus. So Jesus on the Cross shows our\u00a0<em>our\u00a0<\/em>sins. But the second thing beholding Jesus lifted up like the serpent in the desert shows us is the type of sin that is killing us, that we have given into the slithering serpent. Jesus, however, mounted the cross in order to suck out all of the deadly venom from within us. St. Paul wrote some very deep theological words in his Second Letter to the Corinthians, \u201cFor our sake he made him who did not know sin to\u00a0<em>be sin,\u00a0<\/em>so that we might become the righteousness of God\u201d (2 Cor 5:21). He took on all our sins and was treated like a malefactor, like a criminal deserving capital punishment, where it was we who deserved the death penalty on account of the mortal nature of our sinfulness. But God so loved us that he allowed Jesus to do all of this so that we might not perish but might have eternal life. So that we might become filled with God\u2019s holy justice. This is the essence of the Good News! This is Christianity!<\/li>\n<li>But our cure involves not just glancing at Christ on the Cross with our eyes but really becoming one with this mystery, allowing it to penetrate our hearts and all parts of our being so that we may never cease\u00a0inwardly\u00a0contemplating Christ on the Cross. Like St. John, we must behold the one we have pierced and see the saving, transformative blood and water flowing from his side. Like St. Paul, we need to look at Christ on the Cross in a way that leads us to become one with his saving love. \u201cI have been crucified with Christ,\u201d St. Paul said to the Galatians, \u201cand it is no longer even I who live but Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me!\u201d That\u2019s why St. Paul was able to glory and boast in nothing\u00a0\u201cexcept the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified to me and I to the world.\u201d That\u2019s why when Jews found the Cross a scandal (that the Messiah would be murdered by the very occupying forces from whose clutches they anticipated he would liberate them) and the Greeks a folly (that someone would be so dumb as to be publicly tortured and ignominiously executed), St. Paul was able to find in the Cross his power and glory. He found in the Cross the source of the healing we most need!<\/li>\n<li>Today, during this Jubilee of mercy, Jesus wants to heal us by helping us to look upon him on the Cross not just with our physical eyes but in the deeper way that will bring us healing and holiness. He wants us to join him on the Cross and help us look at God, ourselves and the world with his divine lenses. He wants to feed us with the fruit of the new Tree of Life. That\u2019s why he gives us here the body and blood shed on the Cross so that we might not perish but have eternal life. The Mass is the means by which we become a Bride with him on the Cross, by which we become one Body with him in this great medicine of immortality. Far from \u201cwretched food,\u201d this is the food that heals, makes holy, and brings us to heavenly happiness!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>The readings for today\u2019s Mass were:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<div>\n<h4>Reading 1<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/numbers\/21:4\">NM 21:4-9<\/a><\/h4>\n<div>From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road,<br \/>\nto bypass the land of Edom.<br \/>\nBut with their patience worn out by the journey,<br \/>\nthe people complained against God and Moses,<br \/>\n\u201cWhy have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,<br \/>\nwhere there is no food or water?<br \/>\nWe are disgusted with this wretched food!\u201d<\/div>\n<div>In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,<br \/>\nwhich bit the people so that many of them died.<br \/>\nThen the people came to Moses and said,<br \/>\n\u201cWe have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.<br \/>\nPray the LORD to take the serpents away from us.\u201d<br \/>\nSo Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,<br \/>\n\u201cMake a saraph and mount it on a pole,<br \/>\nand whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.\u201d<br \/>\nMoses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,<br \/>\nand whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent<br \/>\nlooked at the bronze serpent, he lived.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h4>Responsorial Psalm<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/psalms\/102:2\">PS 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21<\/a><\/h4>\n<div>R. (2)\u00a0O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.<br \/>\nO LORD, hear my prayer,<br \/>\nand let my cry come to you.<br \/>\nHide not your face from me<br \/>\nin the day of my distress.<br \/>\nIncline your ear to me;<br \/>\nin the day when I call, answer me speedily.<br \/>\nR.\u00a0O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.<br \/>\nThe nations shall revere your name, O LORD,<br \/>\nand all the kings of the earth your glory,<br \/>\nWhen the LORD has rebuilt Zion<br \/>\nand appeared in his glory;<br \/>\nWhen he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,<br \/>\nand not despised their prayer.<br \/>\nR.\u00a0O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.<br \/>\nLet this be written for the generation to come,<br \/>\nand let his future creatures praise the LORD:<br \/>\n\u201cThe LORD looked down from his holy height,<br \/>\nfrom heaven he beheld the earth,<br \/>\nTo hear the groaning of the prisoners,<br \/>\nto release those doomed to die.\u201d<br \/>\nR.\u00a0O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h4>Gospel<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/john\/8:21\">JN 8:21-30<\/a><\/h4>\n<div>Jesus said to the Pharisees:<br \/>\n\u201cI am going away and you will look for me,<br \/>\nbut you will die in your sin.<br \/>\nWhere I am going you cannot come.\u201d<br \/>\nSo the Jews said,<br \/>\n\u201cHe is not going to kill himself, is he,<br \/>\nbecause he said, \u2018Where I am going you cannot come\u2019?\u201d<br \/>\nHe said to them, \u201cYou belong to what is below,<br \/>\nI belong to what is above.<br \/>\nYou belong to this world,<br \/>\nbut I do not belong to this world.<br \/>\nThat is why I told you that you will die in your sins.<br \/>\nFor if you do not believe that I AM,<br \/>\nyou will die in your sins.\u201d<br \/>\nSo they said to him, \u201cWho are you?\u201d<br \/>\nJesus said to them, \u201cWhat I told you from the beginning.<br \/>\nI have much to say about you in condemnation.<br \/>\nBut the one who sent me is true,<br \/>\nand what I heard from him I tell the world.\u201d<br \/>\nThey did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.<br \/>\nSo Jesus said to them,<br \/>\n\u201cWhen you lift up the Son of Man,<br \/>\nthen you will realize that I AM,<br \/>\nand that I do nothing on my own,<br \/>\nbut I say only what the Father taught me.<br \/>\nThe one who sent me is with me.<br \/>\nHe has not left me alone,<br \/>\nbecause I always do what is pleasing to him.\u201d<br \/>\nBecause he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img.Serpents.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-13502\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img.Serpents.jpg?resize=225%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fr. Roger J. Landry Visitation Convent of the Sisters of Life, Manhattan Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent April 4, 2017 Numbers 21:4-9, Ps 102, Jn 8:21-30 &nbsp; To listen to an audio recording of today\u2019s homily,\u00a0please click below:\u00a0 &nbsp; The\u00a0following points were attempted in the homily:\u00a0 We always learn a great deal from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10073,1063,3,5],"tags":[1795,2741,5393,2280,2114,5391,2093,515,9441,2655,5392,3712,2935,1423],"class_list":["post-13501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2016-2017","category-audio-homily","category-homily","category-year-i","tag-cross","tag-devil","tag-glorying-in-the-cross","tag-israelites","tag-jesus","tag-jn-821-30","tag-moses","tag-numbers-214-9","tag-poison","tag-ps-102","tag-saraph-serpent","tag-serpent","tag-sin","tag-st-paul"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017 - Catholic Preaching<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017 - Catholic Preaching\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fr. Roger J. Landry Visitation Convent of the Sisters of Life, Manhattan Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent April 4, 2017 Numbers 21:4-9, Ps 102, Jn 8:21-30 &nbsp; To listen to an audio recording of today\u2019s homily,\u00a0please click below:\u00a0 &nbsp; The\u00a0following points were attempted in the homily:\u00a0 We always learn a great deal from [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic Preaching\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-04T12:44:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img.Serpents-225x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Fr. Roger Landry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Fr. Roger Landry\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Fr. Roger Landry\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c062c14deafab54923b0b04c0da88827\"},\"headline\":\"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-04T12:44:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2347,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/04\\\/img.Serpents-225x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Cross\",\"Devil\",\"Glorying in the Cross\",\"Israelites\",\"Jesus\",\"Jn 8:21-30\",\"Moses\",\"Numbers 21:4-9\",\"Poison\",\"Ps 102\",\"Saraph Serpent\",\"Serpent\",\"Sin\",\"St. Paul\"],\"articleSection\":[\"2016-2017\",\"Audio Homily\",\"Homily\",\"Year I\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/\",\"name\":\"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017 - Catholic Preaching\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/04\\\/img.Serpents-225x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-04T12:44:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c062c14deafab54923b0b04c0da88827\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/04\\\/img.Serpents.jpg?fit=225%2C300&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/04\\\/img.Serpents.jpg?fit=225%2C300&ssl=1\",\"width\":225,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic Preaching\",\"description\":\"Msgr. Roger J. Landry, Diocese of Fall River\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c062c14deafab54923b0b04c0da88827\",\"name\":\"Fr. Roger Landry\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fddee06b798df6a84a99054c8290cca6a5d59ace9a7e086a9a1d1f23aa09ad3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fddee06b798df6a84a99054c8290cca6a5d59ace9a7e086a9a1d1f23aa09ad3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fddee06b798df6a84a99054c8290cca6a5d59ace9a7e086a9a1d1f23aa09ad3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Fr. Roger Landry\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/catholicpreaching.com\\\/wp\\\/author\\\/fr-roger-landry\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017 - Catholic Preaching","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017 - Catholic Preaching","og_description":"Fr. Roger J. Landry Visitation Convent of the Sisters of Life, Manhattan Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent April 4, 2017 Numbers 21:4-9, Ps 102, Jn 8:21-30 &nbsp; To listen to an audio recording of today\u2019s homily,\u00a0please click below:\u00a0 &nbsp; The\u00a0following points were attempted in the homily:\u00a0 We always learn a great deal from [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/","og_site_name":"Catholic Preaching","article_published_time":"2017-04-04T12:44:45+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img.Serpents-225x300.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Fr. Roger Landry","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Fr. Roger Landry","Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/"},"author":{"name":"Fr. Roger Landry","@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/c062c14deafab54923b0b04c0da88827"},"headline":"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017","datePublished":"2017-04-04T12:44:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/"},"wordCount":2347,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img.Serpents-225x300.jpg","keywords":["Cross","Devil","Glorying in the Cross","Israelites","Jesus","Jn 8:21-30","Moses","Numbers 21:4-9","Poison","Ps 102","Saraph Serpent","Serpent","Sin","St. Paul"],"articleSection":["2016-2017","Audio Homily","Homily","Year I"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/","url":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/","name":"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017 - Catholic Preaching","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img.Serpents-225x300.jpg","datePublished":"2017-04-04T12:44:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/c062c14deafab54923b0b04c0da88827"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img.Serpents.jpg?fit=225%2C300&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/img.Serpents.jpg?fit=225%2C300&ssl=1","width":225,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/beholding-jesus-like-the-lifted-serpent-in-the-desert-5th-tuesday-of-lent-april-4-2017\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Beholding Jesus Like the Lifted Serpent in the Desert, 5th Tuesday of Lent, April 4, 2017"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/#website","url":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/","name":"Catholic Preaching","description":"Msgr. Roger J. Landry, Diocese of Fall River","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/#\/schema\/person\/c062c14deafab54923b0b04c0da88827","name":"Fr. Roger Landry","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fddee06b798df6a84a99054c8290cca6a5d59ace9a7e086a9a1d1f23aa09ad3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fddee06b798df6a84a99054c8290cca6a5d59ace9a7e086a9a1d1f23aa09ad3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fddee06b798df6a84a99054c8290cca6a5d59ace9a7e086a9a1d1f23aa09ad3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Fr. Roger Landry"},"url":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/author\/fr-roger-landry\/"}]}},"views":1603,"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6XGcd-3vL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13501"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13507,"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13501\/revisions\/13507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}