Monday - April 30, 2018
"From silly devotions and
sour-faced saints,
good Lord, deliver us!"
-St. Teresa of Avila
April 30, 2018
Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 285
Reading 1ACTS 14:5-18
There was an attempt in Iconium
by both the Gentiles and the Jews,
together with their leaders,
to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.
They realized it,
and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe
and to the surrounding countryside,
where they continued to proclaim the Good News.
At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth,
who had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
and called out in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet."
He jumped up and began to walk about.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done,
they cried out in Lycaonian,
"The gods have come down to us in human form."
They called Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes,"
because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice.
The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments
when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
"Men, why are you doing this?
We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts."
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds
from offering sacrifice to them.
by both the Gentiles and the Jews,
together with their leaders,
to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.
They realized it,
and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe
and to the surrounding countryside,
where they continued to proclaim the Good News.
At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth,
who had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
and called out in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet."
He jumped up and began to walk about.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done,
they cried out in Lycaonian,
"The gods have come down to us in human form."
They called Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes,"
because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice.
The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments
when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
"Men, why are you doing this?
We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts."
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds
from offering sacrifice to them.
Responsorial PsalmPS 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16
R. (1ab) Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their God?"
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Heaven is the heaven of the LORD,
but the earth he has given to the children of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their God?"
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Heaven is the heaven of the LORD,
but the earth he has given to the children of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaJN 14:26
R. Alleluia, alleluia.The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 14:21-26
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
"Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
"I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name --
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you."
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
"Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
"I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name --
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you."
******************************
Learning love from the Holy Spirit
Jesus says in today's Gospel reading that love is the key to union with God. Loving him, he says, involves cherishing him and embracing him so closely that we also cherish his ways and desire to imitate him. We embrace his teachings, his ways of handling problems, his ready and willing forgiveness, his servanthood, and his Holy Spirit.
Hmmm, can we really be that loving? Jesus assures us that the Holy Spirit will teach us everything we need to know so that we really can love like him!
In today's first reading, Paul and Barnabas heal a lame man with Jesus. It's their love for Jesus and their fellowship with the Holy Spirit that stirred up their compassion for the crippled man and enabled them to do the miraculous. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they felt the calling to reach out to him and the courage to shout out loudly, in public, "Stand up!" before they had any evidence that their prayers would work.
Whenever we help others, we are partnering with the Holy Spirit. It is this Person of the Trinity who enables us to go beyond our human abilities so that we actually live in the realm of Christ's abilities.
Notice how Paul relied on this partnership: He looked "intently" at the man. Why? I suspect that he was silently asking the Holy Spirit if the man had the faith to receive the healing love of God. Then he trusted the Holy Spirit to provide the healing that the man's faith level allowed. He knew that faith comes from having a love relationship with God. Faith is not a power. It's a union with the One who has the power. Love is the outflow of that power.
The Holy Spirit answers people's prayers through us. But this partnership won't work unless we love Jesus so much that we embrace his love for others. Unanswered prayers are very often the fault of Christians who neglect to extend Christ's presence on earth through their own hands, their own feet, their own voice, their own actions and ministry -- in love.
Our love is lacking if we see a need that we can address with the help of God but walk away saying, "God will take care of it without me."
After the resurrection, Jesus could have resumed his normal ministry activities. Imagine how fast Christianity would have spread if he'd made himself visibly known to the public. Even the stubborn Pharisees would have dropped to their knees in worship had he shown up in the town square preaching and healing and proving he was real by showing the marks of the cross that had killed him. But as the stories in the Book of Acts make clear, he chose instead to share his Holy Spirit with his disciples -- who are now us -- to continue his ministry of love.
-----------------------------
God Bless You.....
Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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