May 11, 2026
Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 291
Reading
1
We set sail from
Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace,
and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi,
a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We spent some time in that city.
On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river
where we thought there would be a place of prayer.
We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.
One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.
After she and her household had been baptized,
she offered us an invitation,
"If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us.
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalm 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and
9b
R. (see 4a) The
Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord,
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his
disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051126.cfm
Commentary on Acts
16:11-15
Following on his vision of the young Macedonian man, Paul
and his companions decide to cross over from Troas and head towards the town of
Philippi. On the way they passed through Samothrace (a place made famous by the
magnificent marble sculpture of Victory now on display in the Louvre at Paris)
and Neapolis (meaning ‘New City’—a name it shares with Naples among other
places).
Samothrace was actually an island in the northeastern Aegean
Sea, lying just half way between Troas and Neapolis. It was a convenient place
for boats to anchor rather than risk sailing at night. Neapolis was the seaport
for Philippi, about 16 km (10 miles) away. Today it is known as Kavalla.
Philippi, as Acts tells us, was a major town in the
principal district of the province of Macedonia. It had become a Roman colony
and was a completely Latin city—its administration modelled on that of Rome.
According to the New International Version Bible, it was
“…a city…named after Philip II, father of Alexander the
Great. Since it was a Roman colony, it was independent of provincial
administration and had a governmental organisation modelled after that of Rome.
Many retired legionnaires from the Roman army settled there, but few Jews.”
Its name was further enhanced by Paul’s writing one of his
most beautiful letters to the Christian community of the town. Hence, Philippi
was a place, then as well as now, steeped in history, both secular and
religious.
Paul and his companions spent some time in the city. On a
Sabbath day, they went outside the city to find a place to pray. With so few
Jews in the city, there was probably no synagogue so, as was not uncommon, they
chose an outdoor venue near running water. In this case it would have been the
bank of the Gangites River. By choosing such a place they could also carry out
the necessary ablutions before prayer (it is clear that Paul, the Pharisee,
maintained many of his old religious customs).
There they met some women and among them was one named
Lydia, a dealer in purple goods from Thyatira. She may have been called Lydia
because she came from the district of Lydia. Thyatira, situated in the Roman
province of Asia, 33 km (20 miles) southeast of Pergamum (in the Hellenistic
kingdom of Lydia), was famous for its dye-works, especially royal purple
(crimson). Later, there was a Christian community there which is twice
mentioned in the book of Revelation (1:11; 2:18). As purple-dyed goods were
expensive and only worn by the wealthy, we can take it that this woman was
fairly well off herself. Also remember that the rich man in the parable of
‘Dives and Lazarus’ was clothed in fine purple (Luke 16:19-31).
Lydia was also a “worshiper of God”. In other words, though
a Gentile, she believed in the God of the Jews and followed the moral teachings
of Scripture. She was not, however, a full convert to Judaism. But being well
disposed, “the Lord opened her heart” to what Paul was saying, and Lydia
accepted the gospel message. Like Cornelius before her, she and her whole
household (family members and servants) were all baptised.
She then invited Paul and his companions to share the
hospitality of her (probably large) house, if they truly regarded her as
“faithful to the Lord”, and she would brook no refusal. The wording suggests
that Paul was not altogether willing to stay in such a place; in general, he
tended to boast that he supported himself from what he earned by his work. In
this case, he may have regarded Lydia’s place as too grand, or perhaps he
remembered the instruction of the Master about not moving from house to house,
but to stay in the first place which offered hospitality. Lydia apparently was
a woman who would not take ‘no’ for an answer. A place like hers, in fact, would
make an excellent house church where the community could gather. So it seems
that in this one case Paul did accept, and this is a compliment to Lydia’s
charity and that of the other newly baptised Philippian Christians.
As such, Philippi shares the distinction of really being the
first European centre to hear the Christian message. It was to be the beginning
of a glorious history, which was to transform the continent, not only in the
area of religion, but also in culture and the arts (painting, sculpture,
literature, music) and in social and political development—a movement which
still continues.
Paul, of course, was not to know any of that; he would quote
the saying from the Gospel:
One sows and another reaps. (John 4:37)
Paul saw himself primarily as a sower. The same is true of
each one of us. But it is important that we sow the seed; otherwise there is
nothing to reap.
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Commentary on John
15:26—16:4
We continue reading the discourse of Jesus to his disciples
at the Last Supper. Today he promises that the Paraclete, “the Spirit of truth”
will come, sent both by the Father and by Jesus the Son.
As we saw earlier, Paraclete (Greek, parakletos)
means a person who stands by one and gives support. It can be applied to a
defence lawyer in a court of law. So the word is sometimes translated as an
‘advocate’ or someone who ‘consoles’. It can be anyone who gives comfort, good
advice or moral support. Various forms of the word are used about eight times
in a short and beautiful passage at the opening of St Paul’s Second Letter to
the Corinthians (1:3-7).
Here, the Spirit that God bestows through Jesus on his
disciples will be one who will comfort and strengthen them in the sometimes
difficult days ahead, and will guide them in their fuller understanding of what
Jesus has taught them. The Spirit will confirm all that Jesus has said and
done. As well, the disciples are, with the help of the same Spirit, to give
witness to all that Jesus has said and done. And again he warns them that they
will need all the help they can get from the support of the Spirit because:
They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour
is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering
worship to God.
This was a prophecy which was very soon to be fulfilled and
continues to be fulfilled down to our own day. People will do this because they
do not really know the Father or Jesus. If they did, they too would believe and
would recognise the presence of Jesus in the Christian community and its
message.
As has been mentioned several times already, we are not to
be surprised if we find ourselves (as Christians) the object of attack,
slander, abuse, misunderstandings, or even contempt. St Ignatius of Loyola is
said to have prayed that the members of the order he founded would always be
persecuted—it was a sign that they were doing their job. It is a strange
paradox, but the message of Christian love and forgiveness, a message of peace
and justice, is found by many to be very threatening and one that must be
attacked.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/e1062g/
Monday,
May 11, 2026
Easter Weekday
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, if we really believe in you and in your Son, we cannot be
but witnesses. Send us your Spirit of strength, that we may give no flimsy excuses
for not standing up for you and for the love and rights of our neighbor.
Make us only afraid of betraying you
and people and of being afraid to bear witness.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - John 15: 26-16: 4a
Jesus
said to his disciples: "When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you
from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my
witness. And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the
beginning.
I have told you all this so
that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues, and indeed
the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy
service to God. They will do these things because they have never known either
the Father or me. But I have told you all this, so that when the time for it
comes you may remember that I told you. I did not tell you this from the
beginning, because I was with you;
Reflection
In chapters 15 to 17 of the
Gospel of John, the horizon extends beyond the historical moment of the Supper.
Jesus prays to the Father “I pray not only for these but also for those who
through their teaching will come to believe in me” (Jn 17: 20). In these
chapters, there is constant reference to the action of the Spirit in the life
of the communities, after Easter.
•
John 16: 26-27: The action of the Holy Spirit in
the life of the community. The first thing that the Spirit does is to give
witness of Jesus: “He will be my witness”. The Spirit is not a spiritual being
without a definition. No! He is the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father,
will be sent by Jesus himself and introduces us into the complete truth (Jn 16:
13). The complete truth is Jesus himself: “I am the Way, the Truth and the
Life!” (Jn 14: 6). At the end of the first century, there were some Christians
who were so fascinated by the action of the Spirit that they no longer looked
at Jesus. They affirmed that now, after the Resurrection, it was no longer
necessary to look at Jesus of Nazareth, the one “who comes in the flesh”. They
withdrew from Jesus and remained only with the Spirit. They said: “Jesus is
anathema!” (1 Co 12: 3). The Gospel of John takes a stand and does not permit
that the action of the Spirit be separated from the memory of Jesus of Nazareth.
The Holy Spirit cannot be isolated with an independent greatness, separated
from the mystery of the Incarnation. The Holy Spirit is inseparably united to
the Father and to Jesus. He is the Spirit of Jesus that the Father sends to us
that same Spirit that Jesus has gained with his death and Resurrection. And we,
receiving this Spirit in Baptism, should be the prolongation of Jesus: “And you
too will be witnesses!” We can never forget that precisely on the eve of his
death Jesus promises the Spirit; in the moment when he gave himself for his
brothers. Today, the Charismatic Movement insists on the action of the Spirit
and does much good. It should always insist more, but it should also insist in
affirming that it is a question of the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth who, out of
love for the poor and the marginalized, was persecuted, arrested and condemned
to death and that, precisely because of this, he has promised us his Spirit in
such a way that we, after his death, continue his action and be for humanity the
revelation itself of the preferential love of the Father for the poor and the
oppressed.
•
John 16: 1-2: Do not be afraid. The Gospel tells
us that to be faithful to Jesus will lead us to have difficulties. The
disciples will be excluded from the Synagogue. They will be condemned to death.
The same thing that happened to Jesus will happen to them. This is why at the
end of the first century, there were persons who, to avoid persecution, diluted
or watered down the message of Jesus transforming it into a Gnostic message,
vague, without any definition, which was not in contrast with the ideology of
the Empire. To them is applied what Paul said: “They are afraid of the cross of
Christ” (Ga 6: 12). And John himself, in his letter, will say concerning them: “There
are many deceivers at large in the world, refusing to acknowledge Jesus Christ
as coming in human nature (he became man). They are the Deceiver; they are the
Antichrist!” (2 Jn 1: 7). The same concern appears also in Thomas’ demand:
“Unless I can see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my
finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I
refuse to believe”. (Jn 20: 25). The Risen Christ who promises to give us the
gift of the Spirit is Jesus of Nazareth who continues to have, even now, the
signs of torture and of the cross in his risen Body.
•
John 16: 3-4: They do not know what they do.
They do all these things “because they have never known either the Father or
me”. These persons do not have a correct image of God. They have a vague image
of God, in the heart and in the head. Their God is not the Father of Jesus
Christ who gathers us all together in unity and fraternity. In last instance,
it is the same reason which impelled Jesus to say: “Father, forgive them,
because they know not what they do (Lk 23: 34). Jesus was condemned by the
religious authority because, according to their idea, he had a false image of
God. In the words of Jesus there is no hatred or vengeance, but only
compassion: they are ignorant brothers who know nothing of our Father.
Personal Questions
•
The mystery of the Trinity is present in the
affirmation of Jesus, not as a theoretical truth, but as an expression of the
Christian with the mission of Christ. How do I live this central mystery of our
faith in my life?
•
How do I live the action of the Spirit in my
life?
Concluding Prayer
Sing a new song to Yahweh:
his praise in the assembly of the faithful! Israel shall
rejoice in its Maker, the children of Zion delight in their king. (Ps 149: 1-2)
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