Tuesday - April 10, 2018
Men can heal the lustful.
Angels can heal the malicious.
Only God can heal the proud.
~~St. John Climacus
April 10, 2018
Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
Lectionary: 268
Reading 1ACTS 4:32-37
The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated Ason of encouragement"),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that he owned,
then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles.
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated Ason of encouragement"),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that he owned,
then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles.
Responsorial PsalmPS 93:1AB, 1CD-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The Son of Man must be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him
may have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaJN 3:14-15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.The Son of Man must be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him
may have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 3:7B-15
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"'You must be born from above.'
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
'How can this happen?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
"'You must be born from above.'
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
'How can this happen?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
******************************
Flying High in the Spirit
What does it mean "to be born from above"? In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus explained that it means being led by God even when we don't know where he's leading us. It means being free to float in the Spirit at any time in any direction, because we are not attached to this world even though it's what we can touch, smell, see, hear audibly, and control.
Life in the Spirit means living as a feather on the wind; offering no resistance to being picked up and transported by a gust that we cannot see, having no sense of alarm when find ourselves in an unexpected place. However, being a light-weight feather that's blown around by the Lord's invisible breath is more likely to freak us out than to relax us, because it challenges our "need" to be in control.
We see in today's first reading that the believers were detached from their possessions for the sake of community. They were so high on the Spirit, so fully trusting in God that everyone made themselves available to be used by God to meet each other's needs. Why can't we become like that? It is possible -- this is God's design -- but it can only happen within the context of community.
By ourselves, we cannot be that generous, supplying everything that another person needs, but we think we should, and so we feel overwhelmed and inadequate and therefore we don't do much at all. We get stuck in our inadequacies because we live such individualistic lives that we forget that we are part of the earthly Body of Christ, which is the whole Church in community. Individually, the Holy Spirit shows us which particular needs of the community he wants us to address, and in community, Christ's Spirit joins our helpfulness to others who can also help. Thus, everyone's needs can get met.
To measure your freedom of spirit, examine how attached you are to this world. Test yourself with the collection basket at Mass. In scripture, God repeatedly asks for a tithing, i.e., 10% of our total income (which can be split between the parish and other charities). If we're so attached to our possessions that we can't give five percent of our money to our own parish, how free are we to follow any other leadings of the Spirit?
What if the Lord makes you aware of a parishioner who cannot get employment because he has no car? And what if you're about to trade in your old car for a new one? Could you give it to him? What if he attempts to pay you for it but his check bounces? Would you demand payment or forgive the debt? Or would you instead thank God for the opportunity to experience one of the wounds of Jesus as you continue to float along wherever the Spirit blows? (It really is possible; I speak from experience.)
St. John of the Cross said, "It makes little difference whether a bird is tied by a thin thread or by a cord. For even if tied by thread, the bird will be prevented from taking off just as surely as if it were tied by cord -- that is, it will be impeded from flight as long as it does not break the thread....This is the lot of a man who is attached to something; no matter how much virtue he has, he will not reach the freedom of divine union."
Prayer
Jesus, give me docility to be guided by Your Spirit. Help me to control my passions and to be able to listen to Your voice guiding me in the depths of my heart. Amen.
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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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