Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 295
Lectionary: 295
One night while Paul was in
Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision,
“Do not be afraid.
Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.
No one will attack and harm you,
for I have many people in this city.”
He settled there for a year and a half
and taught the word of God among them.
“Do not be afraid.
Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.
No one will attack and harm you,
for I have many people in this city.”
He settled there for a year and a half
and taught the word of God among them.
But when Gallio was proconsul of
Achaia,
the Jews rose up together against Paul
and brought him to the tribunal, saying,
“This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law.”
When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews,
“If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud,
I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews;
but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles
and your own law, see to it yourselves.
I do not wish to be a judge of such matters.”
And he drove them away from the tribunal.
They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official,
and beat him in full view of the tribunal.
But none of this was of concern to Gallio.
the Jews rose up together against Paul
and brought him to the tribunal, saying,
“This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law.”
When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews,
“If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud,
I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews;
but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles
and your own law, see to it yourselves.
I do not wish to be a judge of such matters.”
And he drove them away from the tribunal.
They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official,
and beat him in full view of the tribunal.
But none of this was of concern to Gallio.
Paul remained for quite some time,
and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria,
together with Priscilla and Aquila.
At Cenchreae he had shaved his head because he had taken a vow.
and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria,
together with Priscilla and Aquila.
At Cenchreae he had shaved his head because he had taken a vow.
Responsorial
Psalm47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. (8a) God is king of all the
earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He brings people under us;
nations under our feet.
He chooses for us our inheritance,
the glory of Jacob, whom he loves.
R. God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He brings people under us;
nations under our feet.
He chooses for us our inheritance,
the glory of Jacob, whom he loves.
R. God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaLK 24:46, 26
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 16:20-23
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn,
while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.
When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world.
So you also are now in anguish.
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.
On that day you will not question me about anything.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn,
while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.
When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world.
So you also are now in anguish.
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.
On that day you will not question me about anything.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”
For the readings of the Optional Memorial
of Saint Rita of Cascia, please go here.
Meditation: "Your
sorrow will turn into joy"
name.
Meditation: Why did the Lord Jesus
tell his disciples that they would weep and be sorrowful? Jesus was
neither a pessimist nor a masochist, and he was certainly more than a realist!
The way to happiness and joy in the kingdom of God is through the cross. Sin
must be brought to the cross of Jesus Christ and evil can only be completely
mastered by the power of God's redeeming love. Jesus told his disciples that it
was more blessed to mourn for sin because it would yield the fruit of peace,
joy, and righteousness. Jesus knew that the cross would be a stumbling block
for those who refused to believe in him.
We,
too, have a share in the victory and joy of Christ's resurrection
The cross for Jesus was not defeat but victory - victory over sin, over the forces of evil in the world, and over the devil - the arch-enemy of God and the human race. Through his atoning sacrifice on the cross Jesus won for us new abundant life and freedom over the power of sin, despair, and death. He was raised in power from the tomb on the third day and his glorified body will never taste death again. The Easter victory of the Lord Jesus gives us courage, strength, and confident hope in the face of suffering and death. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ our fears are laid to rest. His resurrection is total and final triumph over death, and for us peace and joy in the confident hope that we, too, will be raised to everlasting life with Christ.
The cross for Jesus was not defeat but victory - victory over sin, over the forces of evil in the world, and over the devil - the arch-enemy of God and the human race. Through his atoning sacrifice on the cross Jesus won for us new abundant life and freedom over the power of sin, despair, and death. He was raised in power from the tomb on the third day and his glorified body will never taste death again. The Easter victory of the Lord Jesus gives us courage, strength, and confident hope in the face of suffering and death. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ our fears are laid to rest. His resurrection is total and final triumph over death, and for us peace and joy in the confident hope that we, too, will be raised to everlasting life with Christ.
We
will have trials in this present age - but, through the eyes of faith, we know
the final outcome - complete victory over sin, suffering, and death in Jesus
Christ. That is why we can pray confidently now, knowing that the Father in
heaven will give us everything we need to live as his children and as disciples
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know the Easter joy of Christ's victory over
sin and death?
"Lord
Jesus, we are an Easter people, and alleluia is our song. Fill us with your
Holy Spirit that we may we radiate the joy of your Resurrection and live in the
reality of your great victory over sin and death."
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: Alleluia will be our whole joy, by
Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"I
trust I will not weary you if I mention what you know already: that we
say ALLELUIA daily and that we take delight in it daily.
For you know that ALLELUIA means "Praise God" and by
this expression we, agreeing in speech and thought, exhort one another to
praise God. Only the one who displeases God in no respect praises God in
security. Furthermore, in this time of journeying we say ALLELUIA for
solace on our way. ALLELUIA is the song of the traveler for
us; but we are advancing through a laborious path to a peaceful country where
all our activities will be laid aside and nothing will remain for us except
the ALLELUIA. Let us sing now, not for the delights of peace,
but for comfort in our labor. Sing as travelers are accustomed to sing; comfort
your labor by singing; do not love inactivity; keep singing and keep
progressing. ...If you are advancing; progress in well-doing, progress in good
faith, progress in good deeds. Keep singing and keep advancing. While we are
here let us sing ALLELUIA though we are still beset with
cares, so that in the future we may sing it there (in heaven) in tranquility.
After the labors of this world there will be unceasing repetition of ALLELUIA.
..There ALLELUIA will be our food; ALLELUIA will
be our drink; ALLELUIA will be our peaceful action; ALLELUIA will
be our whole joy." [excerpts from Sermon 255 (1); Sermon 256 (1
and 3); Sermon 252 (9)]
FRIDAY, MAY 22, JOHN 16:20-23
EASTER WEEKDAY
(Acts 18:9-18; Psalm 47)
EASTER WEEKDAY
(Acts 18:9-18; Psalm 47)
KEY VERSE: "But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice" (v.22).
TO KNOW: Before his passion and death, Jesus consoled his disciples who were distressed at the thought that he was about to be taken from them. Jesus compared their grief to that of a woman who travailed in labor. When the child was born, the woman was no longer in anguish, but rejoiced that a new life has been brought forth. The prophet Isaiah used this image of child-birth when speaking of the suffering of Israel before her restoration (Is 26:17-19). Paul said that "all creation was groaning and in labor pains" awaiting the fullness of redemption (Ro 8:22). Jesus' disciples were in tribulation because they were on the threshold of a new age. When they saw the Risen Lord, they would rejoice, and on that happy day, their joy would be complete (Jn 20:20). In this life there will always be unanswered questions and unresolved problems. In the age to come there will be fullness of knowledge in Christ.
TO LOVE: Who needs my words of comfort today?
TO SERVE: Risen Lord, help the Church to focus upon your glory in times of travail.
Optional Memorial of Saint Rita of Cascia, religious
From her early youth, Rita showed an interest in a religious life. However, when she was twelve, her parents betrothed her to an ill-tempered, abusive individual. Disappointed but obedient, Rita married him when she was 18, and became the mother of twin sons. She put up with her husband's abuses for eighteen years before he was ambushed and stabbed to death. Her sons swore vengeance on their father's killers, but through Rita's prayers and interventions, they forgave the offenders. Upon the deaths of her sons, Rita again felt the call to religious life, and she was admitted to the Augustine monastery at age 36. Rita lived 40 years in the convent. She was devoted to the Passion of Christ, and in response to a prayer to suffer as he did, she received a chronic head wound that appeared to have been caused by a crown of thorns, and which bled for 15 years. Rita is well-known as a patron of seemingly impossible situations.
From her early youth, Rita showed an interest in a religious life. However, when she was twelve, her parents betrothed her to an ill-tempered, abusive individual. Disappointed but obedient, Rita married him when she was 18, and became the mother of twin sons. She put up with her husband's abuses for eighteen years before he was ambushed and stabbed to death. Her sons swore vengeance on their father's killers, but through Rita's prayers and interventions, they forgave the offenders. Upon the deaths of her sons, Rita again felt the call to religious life, and she was admitted to the Augustine monastery at age 36. Rita lived 40 years in the convent. She was devoted to the Passion of Christ, and in response to a prayer to suffer as he did, she received a chronic head wound that appeared to have been caused by a crown of thorns, and which bled for 15 years. Rita is well-known as a patron of seemingly impossible situations.
Friday 22 May 2020
Acts 18: 9-18. God is king of all the earth –
Psalm 46(47):2-7. John 16:20-23.
‘You will be joyful again.’
Life is full of swings and roundabouts. It includes suffering,
jubilation and all the spaces in-between. Indeed, today’s Gospel image of
childbirth reflects well how times of pain can give way to experiences of deep
joy. While joy and consolation are the resting place of the disciple, we will
know pain on the way to fullness of life.
In this vein, Carmelite saint Teresa of Avila wrote words of
counsel to remember in times of challenge: ‘Let nothing trouble you, let
nothing disturb you. Everything will pass, God remains.’ The Taize community in
France put it to music in the chant Nada te turbe. Christ makes the
same promise to us in today’s Gospel: ‘now is your time of grief, but I will
see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy’. Let us
be Easter people, and may alleluia be our song.
Saint Rita of Cascia
Saint of the Day for May 22
(1381 – May 22, 1457)
 |
| The Translation of Saint Rita of Cascia | Nicolas Poussin |
Saint Rita of Cascia’s Story
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 Saint Jude, as a saint of impossible
cases. Many people visit her tomb each year.
Reflection
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.
Saint Rita of Cascia is the Patron Saint of:
Difficult Marriages
Impossible Causes
Infertility
Parenthood
Impossible Causes
Infertility
Parenthood
Lectio Divina: John 16:20-23a
Lectio Divina
Friday, May 22, 2020
1) Opening prayer
Lord God, merciful Father,
it is hard for us to accept pain,
for we know that You have made us
for happiness and joy.
When suffering challenges us
with a provocative "why me?"
help us to discover the depth
of our inner freedom and love
and of all the faith and loyalty
of which we are capable,
together with, and by the power of,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
it is hard for us to accept pain,
for we know that You have made us
for happiness and joy.
When suffering challenges us
with a provocative "why me?"
help us to discover the depth
of our inner freedom and love
and of all the faith and loyalty
of which we are capable,
together with, and by the power of,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - John 16:20-23a
Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, you
will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief
will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour
has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers
the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you
also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will
rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not
question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the
Father in my name he will give you."
3) Reflection
• During these days between the Ascension and Pentecost, the
Gospels of the day are taken from chapters 16 to 21 of the Gospel of Saint
John, and form part of the Gospel called: “The Book of Consolation or of the
Revelation acting in the Community” (Jn 13:1 to 21:31). This Book is divided as
follows: the farewell to the friends (Jn 13:1a to 14:31); witness of Jesus and prayer
to the Father (Jn 15:1 to 17:28); and the accomplished work (Jn 18:1 to 20:31).
The environment of sadness and expectation: sadness, because Jesus leaves and
nostalgia invades the heart; expectation, because the hour is coming for
receiving the promised gift, that of the Consoler who will make all sadness
disappear and will once again bring the joy of the presence of Jesus in the
midst of the community.
• John 16:20: The sadness will be transformed into joy. Jesus
says, “In all truth I tell you: you will be weeping and wailing while the world
will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.” The
frequent references to sadness and suffering express the environment of the
communities at the end of the first century in Asia Minor (present day Turkey),
for whom John wrote his Gospel. They lived in a difficult situation of
persecution and oppression, which caused sadness. The Apostles had taught that
Jesus would return soon, but the “parousia,” the glorious return of Jesus, had
not happened and persecution increased. Many were impatient: “Until when?” (cf.
2 Thess 2:1-5; 2 Pet 3:8-9). A person bears suffering and persecution when
he/she knows that suffering is the way and the condition to attain perfect joy.
Thus, even having death before his/her eyes, the person bears and faces
suffering and pain. This is why the Gospel makes this beautiful comparison with
the pangs of childbirth.
• John 16:21: The comparison with pangs of childbirth. All
understand this comparison, especially mothers: “The woman in childbirth
suffers because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child
she forgets the suffering in her joy that a human being has been born into the
world.” The suffering and sadness caused by persecution, even without offering
any chance of improvement on the horizon, are not the death rattle, but rather
the pangs of childbirth. Mothers know all this by experience. The pain is
terrible, but they bear it, because they know that the pain, the suffering, is
a source of new life. So is the suffering of the persecution of Christians, and
thus, any suffering should be lived in the light of the experience of the death
and resurrection of Jesus.
• John 16:22-23a: Eternal joy. Jesus explains the comparison:
“So it is with you: you are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts
will be full of joy and that joy no one shall take from you”.” When that day
comes, you will not ask Me any questions. This is the certainty that gives
courage to the tired and persecuted communities of Asia Minor and which makes
one exult with joy in the midst of suffering and pain. As the poet says, “It
hurts, but I sing!” Or as the mystic Saint John of the Cross says, “In a dark
night, with an inflamed yearning for love, oh happy venture, I went out without
being noticed, in my house all slept!” The expression on that day indicates the
definitive coming of the Kingdom which brings with it its clarity. In the light
of God, there will no longer be need to ask anything. The light of God is the
full and total response to all the questions which could arise within the human
heart.
4) For Personal Consideration
• “On that day you will not question Me about anything.” The joy
and love of the reality is greater than all of the questions of “how can this
be”, rendering them mute. Do I question “how can this be?”, or am I satisfied
with the presence of Jesus in my life?
• Pangs of childbirth. This experience is found in the origin of
life of each one of us. My mother suffered the pain with hope, and this is why
I am alive. Stop and think about this mystery of life and how it recurs in
faith, as in the dark night of Saint John of the Cross.
• Am I weeping and mourning right now, or am I rejoicing, or am
I in between, lukewarm, being not one way or the other? What does this say
about my relationship with Jesus? How would people around me answer this about
me?
5) Concluding Prayer
Clap your hands, all peoples,
acclaim God with shouts of joy.
For Yahweh, the Most High, is glorious,
the great king over all the earth. (Ps 47:1-2)
acclaim God with shouts of joy.
For Yahweh, the Most High, is glorious,
the great king over all the earth. (Ps 47:1-2)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét