Monday - May 29, 2017
“As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary”
-- Saint Thomas Aquinas
TODAY'S READINGS
May 29, 2017
Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Lectionary: 297
Reading 1ACTS 19:1-8
While Apollos was in Corinth,Paul traveled through the interior of the country
and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples.
He said to them,
"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?"
They answered him,
"We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
He said, "How were you baptized?"
They replied, "With the baptism of John."
Paul then said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance,
telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him,
that is, in Jesus."
When they heard this,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul laid his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came upon them,
and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Altogether there were about twelve men.
He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly
with persuasive arguments about the Kingdom of God.
Responsorial PsalmPS 68:2-3AB, 4-5ACD, 6-7AB
R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.or:
R. Alleluia.
God arises; his enemies are scattered,
and those who hate him flee before him.
As smoke is driven away, so are they driven;
as wax melts before the fire.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
But the just rejoice and exult before God;
they are glad and rejoice.
Sing to God, chant praise to his name;
whose name is the LORD.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The father of orphans and the defender of widows
is God in his holy dwelling.
God gives a home to the forsaken;
he leads forth prisoners to prosperity.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaCOL 3:1
R. Alleluia, alleluia.If then you were raised with Christ,
seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 16:29-33
The disciples said to Jesus,"Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech.
Now we realize that you know everything
and that you do not need to have anyone question you.
Because of this we believe that you came from God."
Jesus answered them, "Do you believe now?
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home
and you will leave me alone.
But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world."
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Do You Really Believe?
In the first reading, St. Paul asks: "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" That answer to that one is: Yes, during baptism we received the fullness of God's presence. The Holy Spirit is the presence of Christ our Savior within us.
But … do you really believe this?
There's a difference between receiving God's Spirit by sacrament and living in the Spirit as a faith-filled believer. To live fully by faith requires being fully committed to an active Christian lifestyle, relying on the Holy Spirit to help us become holier and holier each day, continually purifying ourselves so that we are ever-increasingly united to the fullness of God through the gifts of all the sacraments and in the Church community.
True believers have a trusting relationship with God. They regret their sins and realize they're forgiven because of what Jesus did on Good Friday. They understand that with this forgiveness they're able to go to heaven because of what he did on Easter. They want to imitate him by laying down their lives for others in loving service. None of this is possible without the Holy Spirit.
How do you know that the Holy Spirit is active in you? Speaking in tongues and uttering God-inspired prophecies, like we see in the story from Acts, are not the only indications, nor are they necessary. They are just a few examples of outward signs. Read carefully what Jesus tells us in this Gospel passage: True belief brings peace, even in the midst of suffering!
Again, this is only possible by relying on the Holy Spirit. We lose peace when we rely on our own resources and our limited perceptions of the problems we face. Faith, hope, and inner peace come from relying on the Spirit of Christ, who is the Higher Power behind all of our overcomings, and who lives within each of us like a fountain of grace waiting to be released.
Saint Pope John Paul the Great gave us this beautiful prayer to the Holy Spirit (May 30, 1998): "Come, Holy Spirit, come and renew the face of the earth! Come with your seven gifts! Come, Spirit of Life, Spirit of Communion and Love!"
Let us journey toward heaven with this prayer daily on our lips.
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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