MAY 22, 2012 : TUESDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER

Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Lectionary: 298

Reading 1 Acts 20:17-27

From Miletus Paul had the presbyters
of the Church at Ephesus summoned.
When they came to him, he addressed them,
"You know how I lived among you
the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with all humility
and with the tears and trials that came to me
because of the plots of the Jews,
and I did not at all shrink from telling you
what was for your benefit,
or from teaching you in public or in your homes.
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace.

"But now I know that none of you
to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels
will ever see my face again.
And so I solemnly declare to you this day
that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,
for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 68:10-11, 20-21

R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Jn 17:1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
"Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

"I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you."

(www.usccb.org)

Meditation: "This is eternal life, that they know the Father the only true God"

In his Last Supper discourse Jesus speaks of his glory and the glory of his Father. What is this glory? It is the cross which Jesus speaks of here. How does the cross reveal his glory? In the cross God reveals the breadth of his great love for sinners and the power of redemption which cancels the debt of sin and reverses the curse of our condemnation. Jesus gave his Father the supreme honor and glory through his obedience and willingness to go to the cross. In times of defense the greatest honor belongs not to those who fought and survived but to those who gave the supreme sacrifice of their own lives for their fellow citizens.

Jesus speaks of the Father bringing glory to the Son through the great mystery of the Incarnation and Cross of Christ. God the Father gave us his only begotten Son for our redemption and deliverance from slavery to sin and death. There is no greater proof of God's love for each and every person on the face of the earth than the Cross of Jesus Christ. In the cross we see a new way of love – a love that is unconditional, sacrificial and generous beyond comprehension.

Jesus also speaks of eternal life. What is eternal life? It is more than simply endless time. Science and medicine today looks for ways to extend the duration of life; but that doesn't necessarily make life better for us here. Eternal life is qualitative more than quantitative. To have eternal life is to have the life of God within us. When we possess eternal life we experience here and now something of God's majesty, his peace, joy and love and the holiness which characterizes the life of God. Jesus also speaks of the knowledge of God. Jesus tells his disciples that they can know the only true God. Knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally. The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the knowledge of God as our Father. Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect love of God – a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the point of laying down his life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is the revelation of God – a God who loves us completely, unconditionally  and perfectly. Do you seek unity of heart, mind and will with God and unity of love and peace with your neighbor?

"If only I possessed the grace, good Jesus, to be utterly at one with you! Amidst all the variety of worldly things around me, Lord, the only thing I crave is unity with you. You are all my soul needs. Unite, dear friend of my heart, this unique little soul of mine to your perfect goodness. You are all mine; when shall I be yours? Lord Jesus, my beloved, be the magnet of my heart; clasp, press, unite me for ever to your sacred heart. You have made me for yourself; make me one with you. Absorb this tiny drop of life into the ocean of goodness whence it came." (Prayer of Francis de Sales, 1567-1622)

(Don Schwager)

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth

A song written a few years ago had the words: ‘What the world needs now is love.’

As we look around us at the unhappiness and conflict that people impose upon each other, we must agree. The ideal of selfless love is clearly shown in both of today’s readings. ‘I do not place any value on my own life’, says Paul, ‘provided I complete the mission the Lord has given me.’ This mission, he tells them, will cost him his life, but he has no regrets. In the gospel we have Jesus’ prayer of farewell to his friends: his life is the price to be paid for their and our redemption, and he willingly pays it.

As Christians, we are asked for smaller sacrifices, but the motive is surely the same: love. Lord, you paid the ultimate price for love with your life. Teach me, in the life I have been given, not to be afraid to love, and not to be afraid of the pain that goes with it.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

GOD'S TODAY

Don't let yourself be torn

between yesterday

and tomorrow.

Live always and only

God's today.

Accept surprises

that upset your plans,

shatter your dreams,

give a completely

different turn

to your day

and - who knows?

to your life.

It is not chance,

Leave the Father free

Himself to weave

The pattern of your days.

- Dam Helder Camara, A Thousand Reasons fOr Living, DLT, London, 1984

 

From A Canopy of Stars: Some Reflections for the Journey by Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ [David Lovell Publishing 2003]

(Daily Prayer Online)

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Obedience Pleases God
God has set aside the kingdom of God for the childlike—for those who are loving enough to trust and obey Him and humble enough to depend on Him.
— from Ask the Bible Geek

May 22
St. Rita of Cascia
(1381-1457)

Like Elizabeth Ann Seton, Rita of Cascia was a wife, mother, widow and member of a religious community. Her holiness was reflected in each phase of her life.

Born at Roccaporena in central Italy, Rita wanted to become a nun but was pressured at a young age into marrying a harsh and cruel man. During her 18-year marriage, she bore and raised two sons. After her husband was killed in a brawl and her sons had died, Rita tried to join the Augustinian nuns in Cascia. Unsuccessful at first because she was a widow, Rita eventually succeeded.
Over the years, her austerity, prayerfulness and charity became legendary. When she developed wounds on her forehead, people quickly associated them with the wounds from Christ's crown of thorns. She meditated frequently on Christ's passion. Her care for the sick nuns was especially loving. She also counseled lay people who came to her monastery.
Beatified in 1626, Rita was not canonized until 1900. She has acquired the reputation, together with St. Jude, as a saint of impossible cases. Many people visit her tomb each year.

Comment:

Although we can easily imagine an ideal world in which to live out our baptismal vocation, such a world does not exist. An “If only ….” approach to holiness never quite gets underway, never produces the fruit that God has a right to expect.

Rita became holy because she made choices that reflected her Baptism and her growth as a disciple of Jesus. Her overarching, lifelong choice was to cooperate generously with God's grace, but many small choices were needed to make that happen. Few of those choices were made in ideal circumstances—not even when Rita became an Augustinian nun.

A Cathedral dedicated to Saint Rita de Cascia in the Apostolic
Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe, in Bontoc, Mountain Province,
Philippines.

Quote:

For the Baptism of adults and for all the baptized at the Easter Vigil, three questions are asked: “Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God's children? Do you reject the glamor of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin? Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?”

Patron Saint of:

Difficult marriages
Impossible causes
Infertility
Parenthood

ST. JOACHINA DE VEDRUNA, RELIGIOUS (M)

Liturgy:  Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Saint Joachina was born on 16th April 1783 in Barcelona, Spain. She married Theodore de Mas in 1799 but was widowed in 1816. She brought up nine children with loving care. In 1826, guided by the Holy Spirit, she founded the Congregation of Carmelite Sisters of Charity which spread throughout Catalonia, opening numerous houses for the care of the sick and to help and look after those who suffered from poverty and a lack of education. She found her inspiration in the mystery of the Holy Trinity and the distinguishing features of her spirituality were her love of prayer, self-denial, detachment, humility and her love for others. She died at Vich on 28th August 1854. She was beatified on 19th May 1940 and canonized on 12th April 1959.

(www.ocarm.org)

St. Michael Ho-Dinh-Hy

 

Feastday: May 22

Died: 1857

Canonized By: Pope John Paul II

Martyr of Vietnam. A native of Vietnam, he was born to Christian parents and was by profession a wealthy silk trader and superintendent of the royal silk mills. He did not practice the faith until late in life, becoming then protector of the Christian community. He was arrested for his Christian activities, suffering beheading. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 1988.

LECTIO: JOHN 17,1-11A

Lectio: 

 Tuesday, May 22, 2012

1) Opening prayer

Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ
carried out the mission you had given him,
without fear and in all faithfulness to you.
God, give us a bit
of his sense of mission.
Give us the strength of the Spirit
to speak your word as it is,
bold and demanding,
without compromising or giving in
to the changing moods and fashions of the day.
And may our lives be like an open book
in which people can read your word.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

2) Gospel Reading - John 17,1-11a

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; so that, just as you have given him power over all humanity, he may give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed. I have revealed your name to those whom you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now at last they have recognised that all you have given me comes from you for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me.
It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.

3) Reflection

• In today’s Gospel, in that of tomorrow and of day after tomorrow, we will meditate on the words that Jesus addressed to the Father at the moment of his farewell, when leaving. John keeps these words and puts them in Jesus’ mouth during his last encounter with the disciples. It is the Testament of Jesus in the form of a prayer, also called the Priestly Prayer (Jn 17, 1-26).
• Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John is the end of a long reflection of Jesus, begun in chapter 15, on the mission in the world. The communities preserved these reflections in order to be able to understand better the difficult moment that they were going through: tribulations, abandonment, doubts, and persecution. The long reflection ends with the prayer of Jesus for the communities. In it are expressed the sentiments and concerns which, according to the Evangelist, indwelled Jesus at that moment in which he was going out, leaving this world and going toward the Father. With these sentiments and with this concern Jesus now finds himself before his Father, interceding for us. Because of this the Priestly Prayer is also the Testament of Jesus. Many persons, in the moment when they leave forever, leave some message. Everyone keeps the important words of a father and of the mother, especially when they are the last moments of life. To keep these words is like keeping the persons. It is a form of respect and of affection.
• Chapter 17 is a diverse text. It is a friendlier one rather than one of reasoning. In order to grasp well the whole sense, it is not sufficient to reflect with the head, with reason. This text has to be meditated upon and accepted also in the heart. It is a text not so much to be discussed, but to meditate on and to reflect. Therefore, do not be worried if you do not understand it immediately. This text demands a whole life to meditate it and to deepen it. Such a text should be read, meditated on, thought, read again, repeated, savoured, as one does with a good sweet in the mouth. One turns it and turns it in the mouth until it is finished. For this, close the eyes, keep silence within you and listen to Jesus who speaks to you, transmitting in his Testament his greatest concern, his last will. Try to discover which is the point on which Jesus insists the most and, which he considers the most important.
• John 17, 1-3: “Father, the hour has come!” It is the long awaited hour (Jn 2, 4; 7,30; 8, 20; 12, 23.27; 13, 1; 16, 32). It is the moment of the glorification which will take place through the Passion, Death and Resurrection. In reaching the end of his mission, Jesus looks back and proceeds to a revision. In this prayer, he expresses the most intimate sentiment of his heart and the profound discovery of his soul: the presence of the Father in his life.
• John 17, 4-8: Father, they will recognize that I come from you! In reviewing his own life Jesus sees himself as a manifestation of the Father for the friends whom the Father has given him. Jesus does not live for himself. He lives in order that all may have a flash of goodness and of love which are enclosed in the Name of God which is Abba, Father.
• John 17, 9-11a: All I have is yours and all you have is mine! At the moment of leaving the world, Jesus expresses to the Father his concern and prays for the friends whom he leaves behind; and that they will continue in the world, but they are not of the world. They are of Jesus, they are God’s, and they are signs of God and of Jesus in this world. Jesus is concerned about the persons who remain, and he prays for them.

4) For Personal Confrontation

• Which are the words which orientate your life and which are from persons whom you love? If you were about to die which would be the message that you would like to leave to your family and to your community?
• Which is the word of the Testament of Jesus which struck you the most? Why?

5) Concluding Prayer

Blessed be the Lord day after day,
he carries us along, God our Saviour.
This God of ours is a God who saves;
from Lord Yahweh comes escape from death. (Ps 68,19-20)

(www.ocarm.org)