MAY 23, 2015 : SATURDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER

Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Lectionary: 302

Reading 1ACTS 28:16-20, 30-31

When he entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself,
with the soldier who was guarding him.

Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews.
When they had gathered he said to them, “My brothers,
although I had done nothing against our people
or our ancestral customs,
I was handed over to the Romans as a prisoner from Jerusalem.
After trying my case the Romans wanted to release me,
because they found nothing against me deserving the death penalty.
But when the Jews objected, I was obliged to appeal to Caesar,
even though I had no accusation to make against my own nation.
This is the reason, then, I have requested to see you
and to speak with you, for it is on account of the hope of Israel
that I wear these chains.” 

He remained for two full years in his lodgings.
He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance
and without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God
and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Responsorial PsalmPS 11:4, 5 AND 7

R. (see 7b) The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is in his holy temple;
the LORD’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold,
his searching glance is on mankind.
R. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD searches the just and the wicked;
the lover of violence he hates.
For the LORD is just, he loves just deeds;
the upright shall see his face.
R. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

AlleluiaJN 16:7, 13

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will guide you to all truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelJN 21:20-25

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved,
the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper
and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?”
When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?
What concern is it of yours? 
You follow me.”
So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die.
But Jesus had not told him that he would not die,
just “What if I want him to remain until I come?
What concern is it of yours?”

It is this disciple who testifies to these things
and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.
There are also many other things that Jesus did,
but if these were to be described individually,
I do not think the whole world would contain the books
that would be written.

www.usccb.org

Meditation: The immensity of what Jesus has done

Why do we often compare ourselves with others? Do we envy those who seem more fortunate than ourselves? Why did Peter question Jesus about John's future? Jesus had predicted that Peter was to suffer and die as a martyr for his faith. What would John's fate be? Jesus seems to indicate that John would live a long life - in fact he outlived all the other apostles.

While Peter and John were both called as disciples of Jesus, each was given a different task or function. When Peter questions John's role, Jesus retorts: "What is that to you?  Follow me!" Peter's given task was to "shepherd the sheep of Christ", and in the end to die for Jesus Christ. John's role was preeminently to witness to Christ and to give his testimony to the Gospel. John lived to long age and wrote the Gospel as his testimony to the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

John ends his Gospel with an astonishing remark: "Human books cannot exhaust the person and work of Jesus Christ." His power is inexhaustible, his grace is limitless, his wisdom unfathomable, his triumphs are innumerable and his love is unquenchable. We can never say enough of the power, majesty and glory which belongs to him alone. Do you witness to others the joy of the Gospel?

"May the power of your love, Lord Christ, fiery and sweet as honey, so absorb our hearts as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven. Grant that we may be ready to die for love of your love, as you died for love of our love."  (Prayer of Francis of Assisi, 1182-1226)

www.dailyscripture.net

SATURDAY, MARY 23, JOHN 21:20-25
Easter Weekday
(Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; Psalm 11)

KEY VERSE: "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?" (v 23).
TO READ: Jesus warned Peter what sort of death awaited him as shepherd of the flock. He then offered Peter another opportunity to follow him (v 19). As they walked along, John, the beloved disciple, followed them. Peter wanted to know about the apostle's fate. Jesus told Peter that it was not his business to know God's plan for someone else. Peter's only concern should be following Jesus. John the evangelist concluded his Gospel by testifying to the truth he had written. Although the whole world could not contain all that might be said about Jesus, we must be content, like Peter, with those things God wishes to reveal to us. Our job is to follow the Lord with our hearts, minds and wills in step with his.
TO REFLECT: In what way am I being asked to follow Jesus today?
TO RESPOND: Risen Lord, help me to trust in God's plan for my life.

NOTE: According to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, the apostle was crucified head down. Tradition also locates Peter's burial place as directly beneath the high altar where the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome was later built.

SHAVUOT BEGINS AT SUNSET

Shavu'ot, the Feast of the Weeks, is the Jewish holiday celebrating the harvest season in Israel. Jews read the book of Ruth at this time. Shavu'ot is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Passover and Sukkot). Shavuot tells the story of the yearly harvest when all Jews made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. They brought an offering of the First Fruit of the harvest as a gesture of thanksgiving for the successful yield. Shavu'ot also commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. While the Passover freed the Jews physically from slavery, the giving of the Torah on Shavu'ot redeemed them spiritually from bondage to idolatry. Shavuot means "weeks", as it is held seven weeks after Passover. Shavu'ot is also known as Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day after Passover. The Christian holiday of Pentecost occurs 50 days after Easter.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Saturday 23 May 2015

Acts 28:16-20, 30-31. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord—Ps 10(11):4-5, 7. John 21:20-25.

Readings

Loving at times means distancing ourselves from those we love (Flor McCarthy sdb).

Jesus knew the time had come for him to leave this band of companions to carry on the work he had begun. The Good News was needed throughout the world, not confined to the limits of Palestine.

To grow to our full potential, each of us needs to leave behind the comforts of home and step out into the deep. This was what Jesus was encouraging his followers to do. He leaves them free to develop in their own way, to receive from others they encounter, and learn of the unique contribution they have to make.

The same applies to us. We are called to spread the Gospel in ways that are unique to us. We may never know the end result, but that is in the hands of God.

www.pray.com.au

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

In Safe Hands

In Christ, true God and true man, our humanity was taken to God. Christ opened the path to us. If we entrust our life to him, if we let ourselves be guided by him, we are certain to be in safe hands, in the hands of our Savior.

— from The Spirit of Saint Francis 

May 23
St. Gregory VII
(1020-1085)

The 10th century and the first half of the 11th were dark days for the Church, partly because the papacy was the pawn of various Roman families. In 1049, things began to change when Pope Leo IX, a reformer, was elected. He brought a young monk named Hildebrand to Rome as his counselor and special representative on important missions. He was to become Gregory VII.

Three evils plagued the Church then: simony (the buying and selling of sacred offices and things), the unlawful marriage of the clergy and lay investiture (kings and nobles controlling the appointment of Church officials). To all of these Hildebrand directed his reformer’s attention, first as counselor to the popes and later (1073-1085) as pope himself.

Gregory’s papal letters stress the role of bishop of Rome as the vicar of Christ and the visible center of unity in the Church. He is well known for his long dispute with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over who should control the selection of bishops and abbots.

Gregory fiercely resisted any attack on the liberty of the Church. For this he suffered and finally died in exile. He said, “I have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore I die in exile.” Thirty years later the Church finally won its struggle against lay investiture.

Comment:

The Gregorian Reform, a milestone in the history of Christ’s Church, was named after this man who tried to extricate the papacy and the whole Church from undue control by civil rulers. Against an unhealthy Church nationalism in some areas, Gregory reasserted the unity of the whole Church based on Christ and expressed in the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter.

Quote:

Gregory's words still ring true today when civil or national religion is making subtle demands: “In every country, even the poorest of women is permitted to take a lawful husband according to the law of the land and by her own choice; but, through the desires and evil practices of the wicked, Holy Church, the bride of God and mother of us all, is not permitted lawfully to cling to her spouse on earth in accordance with divine law and her own will” (A Call to the Faithful).

www.anericancatholic.org

LECTIO DIVINA: JOHN 21,20-25

Lectio: 

 Saturday, May 23, 2015

1) OPENING PRAYER

Lord our God,
like Mary, the women and the apostles
on the day before the first Pentecost
we are gathered in prayer.
Let the Holy Spirit come down also on us,
that we may become enthusiastic believers
and faithful witnesses to the person
and the good news of Jesus.
May our way of living bear witness
that Jesus is our light and life,
now and for ever.

2) GOSPEL READING - JOHN 21,20-25

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them -- the one who had leant back close to his chest at the supper and had said to him, 'Lord, who is it that will betray you?' Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, 'What about him, Lord?' Jesus answered, 'If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.' The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, 'He will not die,' but, 'If I want him to stay behind till I come.' This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true. There was much else that Jesus did; if it were written down in detail, I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the books that would be written.

3) REFLECTION

• Today’s Gospel begins with the question of Peter: Lord, what about him? Jesus begins to speak with Peter, announcing the destiny or type of death by which Peter will glorify God. And at the end Jesus adds: Follow me. (Jn 21, 19).

• John 21, 20-21: Peter’s question concerning John’s destiny. At this moment, Peter turned back and saw the Disciple whom Jesus loved and asks: “Lord, what about him?” Jesus had just indicated the destiny of Peter and now Peter wants to know from Jesus which is the destiny of this other disciple. It is a curiosity which does not deserve an adequate response from Jesus.

• John 21, 22: The mysterious response of Jesus. Jesus says: If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.” A mysterious phrase which ends again with the same affirmation as before: Follow me! Jesus seems to want to stop Peter’s curiosity. Just as each one of us has his/her own history, in the same way each one of us has his/her own way of following Jesus. Nobody is the exact copy of another person. Each one of us should be creative in following Jesus.

• John 21, 23: The Evangelist clarifies the sense of the response of Jesus. Ancient tradition identifies the Beloved Disciple with the Apostle John and says that he died very old, when he was almost one hundred years old. Putting together the old age of John with the mysterious response of Jesus, the Evangelist clarifies things saying: “The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet, Jesus had not said to Peter: He will not die, but: If I want him to stay behind till I come; what does that matter to you?” Perhaps, it is a warning to be very attentive to the interpretation of the words of Jesus and not base oneself in any rumour.

• John 21, 24: Witness of the value of the Gospel. Chapter 21 is an added appendix when the final redaction of the Gospel was made. Chapter 20 ends with this phrase: “There were many other signs that Jesus worked in the sight of his disciples, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.” (Jn 20, 30-31). The Book was ready but there were many other facts about Jesus. This is why, on the occasion of the definitive edition of the Gospel, some of these “many facts” about Jesus were chosen and added, very probably to clarify better the new problems of the end of the first century. We do not know who wrote the definitive redaction with the appendix, but we know it was someone of the community who could be trusted, because he writes: “This is the disciple who vouches for these things and has written them down and we know that his testimony is true”.

• John 21, 25: The mystery of Jesus is inexhaustible. A beautiful phrase to conclude the Gospel of John: “There was much else that Jesus did; if it were written down in detail, I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the books that would be written”. It seems an exaggeration, but it is the truth. Never will anyone be capable of writing all the things that Jesus has done and continues to do in the life of persons who up until now follow Jesus!

4) FOR PERSONAL CONFRONTATION

• Is there something in your life which Jesus has done and which could be added to this book which will never be written?

• Peter is very concerned about the other disciple and forgets to carry on and live his own “Follow me”. Does this also happen to you?

5) CONCLUDING PRAYER

Yahweh in his holy temple!
Yahweh, his throne is in heaven;
his eyes watch over the world,
his gaze scrutinises the children of Adam. (Ps 11,4)

www.ocarm.org