Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 289
Lectionary: 289
The Apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole Church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
"The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"
And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
"The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"
And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 57:8-9, 10 AND 12
R. (10a) I will
give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaJN 15:15B
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 15:12-17
Jesus said to his disciples:
"This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another."
"This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another."
Meditation: "I
have called you friends"
What
is the greatest act of love which one can give for the sake of another? Jesus
defines friendship - the mutual bond of trust and affection which people choose
to have for one another - as the willingness to give totally of oneself - even
to the point of laying down one's life for a friend. How is such love possible
or even desirable? God made us in love for love. That is our reason for being,
our purpose for living, and our goal in dying.
Scripture
tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8) - and everything he
does flows from his immense love for us. He loved us so much - far beyond what
we could ever expect or deserve - that he was willing to pay any price to
redeem us from our slavery to sin and death. That is why the Father sent us his
beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave up his life as the atoning
sacrifice for our sins. In this great exchange - the Father giving up his Son
to death on the cross in order to give us abundant everlasting life and adopt
us as his beloved sons and daughters in Christ (Romans 8:14-17).
God
has poured his love into our hearts
It is for this reason that we can take hold of a hope that does not fade and a joy that does not diminish because God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). God's love is not limited or subject to changing circumstances. It is an enduring love that has power to change and transform us to be like him - merciful, gracious, kind, forgiving, and steadfast in showing love not only for our friends, but for our enemies as well. God's love is boundless because he is the source of abundant life, perfect peace, and immeasurable joy for all who open their hearts to him. That is why Jesus came to give us abundant life through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit.
It is for this reason that we can take hold of a hope that does not fade and a joy that does not diminish because God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). God's love is not limited or subject to changing circumstances. It is an enduring love that has power to change and transform us to be like him - merciful, gracious, kind, forgiving, and steadfast in showing love not only for our friends, but for our enemies as well. God's love is boundless because he is the source of abundant life, perfect peace, and immeasurable joy for all who open their hearts to him. That is why Jesus came to give us abundant life through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus
gave his disciples a new commandment - a new way of loving and serving one
another. Jesus' love was wholly directed toward the good of others. He loved
them for their sake and for their welfare. That is why he willingly laid down
his own life for us to free us from sin, death, fear, and everything that could
separate us from the love of God. Our love for God and our willingness to lay
down our life for others is a response to the exceeding love God has given us
in Christ. Paul the Apostle states,
"Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ?... For I am sure that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to
come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord"
(Romans 8:35,38-39).
Friendship
with God
Jesus calls his disciples his personal friends. Jesus not only showed his disciples that he personally cared for them and sought their welfare. He personally enjoyed their company and wanted to be with them in a close and intimate relationship. He ate with them, shared everything he had with them - even his innermost heart and thoughts. And he spent himself in doing as much good for them as he could. To know Jesus personally is to know God and the love and friendship he offers to each one of us.
Jesus calls his disciples his personal friends. Jesus not only showed his disciples that he personally cared for them and sought their welfare. He personally enjoyed their company and wanted to be with them in a close and intimate relationship. He ate with them, shared everything he had with them - even his innermost heart and thoughts. And he spent himself in doing as much good for them as he could. To know Jesus personally is to know God and the love and friendship he offers to each one of us.
One
of the special marks of favor shown in the Scriptures is to be called the friend
of God. Abraham is called the friend of God (Isaiah 41:8,
James 2:23). God spoke with Moses as a man speaks with his friend (Exodus
33:11). Jesus, the Lord and Master, calls the disciples his friends rather than
his servants.
What
does it mean to be a friend of God? Friendship with God who is our everlasting
Father and with his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ entails a personal, close, and
loving relationship and a union of heart, mind, and spirit with the One who
created us in love for love. Such a relationship with our Father, Creator, and
Redeemer involves loyalty, respect, and obedience. But it is even more than
these because God has chosen to love us in the same way in which the Father and
the Son love and serve each other - a total giving of oneself to the other in a
bond of affection, esteem, and joy in each others company.
Jesus'
discourse on friendship and brotherly love echoes the words of Proverbs: A
friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs
17:17). The distinctive feature of Jesus' relationship with his disciples was
his personal, loyal, and sacrificial love for each one of them. He
loved his own to the end (John 13:1). His love was unconditional and
wholly directed to the good of others. His love was costly and sacrificial. He
gave the best he had and all that he had. He gave his very own life for those
he loved in order to secure for them an everlasting life of union and love with
the Father in heaven.
Love
to the death
The Lord Jesus gives his followers a new commandment - a new way of love that goes beyond giving only what is required or what we think others might deserve. What is the essence of Jesus' new commandment of love? It is a love to the death - a purifying love that overcomes selfishness, fear, and pride. It is a total giving of oneself for the sake of others - a selfless and self-giving love that is oriented towards putting the welfare of others ahead of myself.
The Lord Jesus gives his followers a new commandment - a new way of love that goes beyond giving only what is required or what we think others might deserve. What is the essence of Jesus' new commandment of love? It is a love to the death - a purifying love that overcomes selfishness, fear, and pride. It is a total giving of oneself for the sake of others - a selfless and self-giving love that is oriented towards putting the welfare of others ahead of myself.
Jesus
says that there is no greater proof in love than the sacrifice of one's life
for the sake of another. Jesus proved his love by giving his life for us on the
cross of Calvary. Through the shedding of his blood for our sake, our sins are
not only washed clean, but new life is poured out for us through the gift of
the Holy Spirit. We prove our love for God and for one another when we embrace
the way of the cross. What is the cross in my life? When my will crosses with
God's will, then God's will must be done. Do you know the peace and joy of a
life fully surrendered to God and consumed with his love?
Love
that produces abundant fruit and joy
The Lord Jesus tells us that he is our personal friend and he loves us wholeheartedly and unconditionally. He wants us to love one another just as he has loved us, wholeheartedly, without reserve, and full of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. His love fills our hearts and transforms our minds and frees us to give ourselves in loving service to others. If we open our hearts to his love and obey his command to love our neighbor, then we will know his love more fully and we will bear much fruit - especially the fruit of peace, joy, patience, kindness, and goodness - the kind of fruit that lasts for eternity. Do you wish to be fruitful and to abound in the love of God? Trust and obey him and he will fill you with his overflowing love.
The Lord Jesus tells us that he is our personal friend and he loves us wholeheartedly and unconditionally. He wants us to love one another just as he has loved us, wholeheartedly, without reserve, and full of mercy, kindness, and forgiveness. His love fills our hearts and transforms our minds and frees us to give ourselves in loving service to others. If we open our hearts to his love and obey his command to love our neighbor, then we will know his love more fully and we will bear much fruit - especially the fruit of peace, joy, patience, kindness, and goodness - the kind of fruit that lasts for eternity. Do you wish to be fruitful and to abound in the love of God? Trust and obey him and he will fill you with his overflowing love.
"Teach
us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor
and not to ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Prayer of Ignatius Loyola)
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: Love encompasses the other
commandments, by Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD)
"This
is my commandment." Have you then only one precept? This is sufficient,
even if it is unique and so great. Nevertheless he also said, "Do not
kill" (Matthew 19:18) because the one who loves does not kill. He said,
"Do not steal," because the one who loves does even more—he gives. He
said, "Do not lie," for the one who loves speaks the truth, against
falsehood. "I give you a new commandment" (John 13:14). If you have
not understood what "This is my commandment" means, let the apostle
be summoned as interpreter and say, "The goal of his commandment is
love" (1 Timothy 1:5). What is its binding force? It is that of which [the
Lord] spoke, "Whatever you want others to do to you, you should do also"
(Matthew 7:12)."Love one another" in accordance with this measure,
"as I have loved you." That is not possible, for you are our Lord who
loves your servants. But we who are equals, how can we love one another as you
have loved us? Nevertheless, he has said it... His love is that he has called
us his friends. If we were to give our life for you, would our love be equal to
yours?... How then can what he said be explained, "As I have loved
you"? "Let us die for each other," he said. As for us, we do not
even want to live for one another! "If I, who am your Lord and God, die
for you, how much more should you die for one another." (excerpt
from COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 19.13)
FRIDAY, MAY 24, JOHN 15:12-17
Easter Weekday
(Acts 15:22-31; Psalm 57)
Easter Weekday
(Acts 15:22-31; Psalm 57)
KEY VERSE: "You are my friends if you do what I command you" (v.14).
TO KNOW: As Jesus anticipated his return to the Father, he prepared his disciples for the work that he would hand over to them. Jesus told his followers that to be God's servant (Greek, doulos, literally a slave) was not a title of shame. The great leaders of the past: Moses (Deut 34:5); Joshua (Josh 24:29); David (Ps 89:20); and later Paul (Ti 1:1) and James (Jas 1:1) all counted it an honor to be God’s servants. But Jesus had something even greater in store for his disciples. He called them "friends" (Jn 14:15b). In the Old Testament, Abraham and Moses were each called a "friend of God" (2 Chr 20:7; Ex 33:11). The mark of friendship is an intimate knowledge of one another. Slaves did not have this kind of relationship with their masters. Jesus called his disciples "friends" because he shared with them everything he received from the Father. Jesus’ followers must imitate his example by being servants of one another (Jn 12:26; 13:14-16). Their labors would be fruitful if they obeyed his command to love, which was not a burden, but a loving response to God who loved them.
TO LOVE: In what ways am I a servant to my community?
TO SERVE: Risen Lord, help me to willingly obey your command to love in all I say and do.
Friday 24 May 2019
OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS.
Genesis 3:1-15, 20. Psalm 102(103):1-4, 8-9, 11-12. Ephesians
3:14-19. Luke 8:19-21.
Lord, do not deal with us as our sins deserve, nor punish us for
our faults. Psalm 102(103):1-4, 8-9, 11-12.
Mary help of Christians, pray for us.
Today’s reading from Paul to the Ephesians refers to God the
Father from whom every family on earth takes its name. In our families, God’s
families, Mary, the mother of Jesus, has such an all-embracing role that we call
her Mother of God. We pray to her that we will know the love of her son Jesus,
love which surpasses all understanding, so that we will be filled with the
fullness of God.
The frail and transient nature of human beings is such that we
need Mary’s companionship to help us live in harmony with our eternal,
ever-loving, ever-forgiving Father. She is one who responded to the invitation
to ‘hear the word of God and do it’, and in so doing, paved the way for
generations of Christians. By doing the same, we can open up futures full of
hope for people in our own time.
Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi
Saint of the Day for May 24
(April 2, 1566 – May 25, 1607)
 |
| Ecstasy of Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi | Alessandro Rosi |
Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi’s Story
Mystical ecstasy is the elevation of the spirit to God in such a
way that the person is aware of this union with God while both internal and
external senses are detached from the sensible world. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi
was so generously given this special gift of God that she is called the
“ecstatic saint.”
Catherine de’ Pazzi was born into a noble family in Florence in
1566. The normal course would have been for her to have married into wealth and
enjoyed comfort, but Catherine chose to follow her own path. At 9, she
learned to meditate from the family confessor. She made her first Communion at
the then-early age of 10, and made a vow of virginity one month later. At 16,
Catherine entered the Carmelite convent in Florence because she could receive
Communion daily there.
Catherine had taken the name Mary Magdalene and had been a
novice for a year when she became critically ill. Death seemed near, so her
superiors let her make her profession of vows in a private ceremony from a cot
in the chapel. Immediately after, Mary Magdalene fell into an ecstasy that
lasted about two hours. This was repeated after Communion on the following 40
mornings. These ecstasies were rich experiences of union with God and contained
marvelous insights into divine truths.
As a safeguard against deception and to preserve the
revelations, her confessor asked Mary Magdalene to dictate her experiences to
sister secretaries. Over the next six years, five large volumes were filled.
The first three books record ecstasies from May of 1584 through Pentecost week
the following year. This week was a preparation for a severe five-year trial.
The fourth book records that trial and the fifth is a collection of letters
concerning reform and renewal. Another book, Admonitions, is a
collection of her sayings arising from her experiences in the formation of
women religious.
The extraordinary was ordinary for this saint. She read the
thoughts of others and predicted future events. During her lifetime, Mary
Magdalene appeared to several persons in distant places and cured a number of
sick people.
It would be easy to dwell on the ecstasies and pretend that Mary
Magdalene only had spiritual highs. This is far from true. It seems that God
permitted her this special closeness to prepare her for the five years of
desolation that followed when she experienced spiritual dryness. She was
plunged into a state of darkness in which she saw nothing but what was horrible
in herself and all around her. She had violent temptations and endured great
physical suffering. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi died in 1607 at age 41, and was
canonized in 1669. Her Liturgical Feast Day is May 25.
Reflection
Intimate union, God’s gift to mystics, is a reminder to all of
us of the eternal happiness of union he wishes to give us. The cause of mystical
ecstasy in this life is the Holy Spirit, working through spiritual gifts. The
ecstasy occurs because of the weakness of the body and its powers to withstand
the divine illumination, but as the body is purified and strengthened, ecstasy
no longer occurs. See Teresa of Avila’s Interior Castle, and John
of the Cross’ Dark Night of the Soul, for more about various
aspects of ecstasies.
Lectio Divina: John 15:12-17
Lectio Divina
Friday, May 24, 2019
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God, loving Father,
You have given us your Son Jesus Christ
as the true vine of life
and our source of strength.
Help us to live His life
as living branches attached to the vine,
and to bear plentiful fruit
of justice, goodness and love.
Let our union with Him become visible
in our openness to one another
and in our unity as brothers and sisters,
that He may be visibly present among us
now and for ever.
You have given us your Son Jesus Christ
as the true vine of life
and our source of strength.
Help us to live His life
as living branches attached to the vine,
and to bear plentiful fruit
of justice, goodness and love.
Let our union with Him become visible
in our openness to one another
and in our unity as brothers and sisters,
that He may be visibly present among us
now and for ever.
2) Gospel Reading - John 15:12-17
Jesus said to his disciples: "This is my commandment: love
one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's
life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no
longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from
my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you
to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in
my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another."
3) Reflection
• Today Gospel of John 15:12-17: Jesus defines His relationship
with the disciples and gives His final commandment to them. Let us take some of
the points considered that day.
• John 15:12-13: To love one another as He has loved us. The
commandment of Jesus is only one: “to love one another as I have loved you!”
(Jn 15:12) Jesus exceeds the Old Testament. The ancient criteria was the
following: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lv 18:19). The new
criteria is this: “Love one another as I have loved you.” It is the
sentence that we sing even today and which says, “There is no greater
love than to give one’s life for one’s brother!”
• John 15:14-15: Friends and not servants. You are My friends if
you do what I command you,” that is, the practice of love to the point of total
gift of oneself! Immediately Jesus presents a very high ideal for the life of
His disciples. He says, “I shall no longer call you servants, because a servant
does not know his master’s business. I call you friends because I have made
known to you everything I have learned from My Father!” Jesus no longer held
any secrets from His disciples. He tells us everything that He has heard from
the Father! Behold the wonderful ideal of life in community: to reach a state
of total transparency to the point of not having any secrets among us and to
have full trust in one another. Being able to enrich one another by speaking
about the experience of God that we have. The first Christians succeeded in
reaching this ideal after many years: “They had one only heart and one
only soul” (Acts 4:32; 1:14; 2:42-46).
• John 15:16-17: Jesus has chosen us. We have not chosen Jesus.
He met us, called us and entrusted a mission to us to go and bear fruit, and a
fruit which lasts. We need Him, but He also wants to need us and our work in
order to be able to continue to do today for the people what He did for the
people of Galilee. This is My commandment: love one another!”
4) For Personal Consideration
• To love our neighbor as Jesus has loved us. This is the ideal
of every Christian. He showed this not only by dying for us, but by devoting
His life to helping us to know and find God the Father. Do I love as Jesus
loved and devote my life in the same way?
• All that I have heard from the Father I make it known to you. This is the ideal of the community: total transparency. How do I live this in my community, which can be family, parish, neighborhood or religious order?
• Jesus called them “friends” and told them to love one another. Do I make distinctions, rather than considering all equally, among those in my community whom I should call “friends”? How do I respond or accept it when I am treated differently than another “friend” in my community?
• All that I have heard from the Father I make it known to you. This is the ideal of the community: total transparency. How do I live this in my community, which can be family, parish, neighborhood or religious order?
• Jesus called them “friends” and told them to love one another. Do I make distinctions, rather than considering all equally, among those in my community whom I should call “friends”? How do I respond or accept it when I am treated differently than another “friend” in my community?
5) Concluding Prayer
My heart is ready, God, my heart is ready;
I will sing, and make music for You.
Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp,
that I may awake the dawn. (Ps 57:7-8)
I will sing, and make music for You.
Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp,
that I may awake the dawn. (Ps 57:7-8)
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