Wednesday - April 18, 2018
No matter how good food is, if poison is mixed with it, it may cause the death of him who eats it. So it is with conversation. A single bad word, an evil action, an unbecoming joke, is often enough to harm one or more young listeners, and may later cause them to lose God's grace.
-- St. John Bosco
April 18, 2018
Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
Lectionary: 275
Reading 1ACTS 8:1B-8
There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem,
and all were scattered
throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria,
except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;
entering house after house and dragging out men and women,
he handed them over for imprisonment.
Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.
and all were scattered
throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria,
except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;
entering house after house and dragging out men and women,
he handed them over for imprisonment.
Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.
Responsorial PsalmPS 66:1-3A, 4-5, 6-7A
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaSEE JN 6:40
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 6:35-40
Jesus said to the crowds,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day."
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day."
******************************
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR JOY 
I love how the Bible describes, in our first reading, what happened when Philip did the works of the Lord: "There was great joy in that city", which is also translated as: "The rejoicing in that town rose to fever pitch." In the responsorial Psalm we read: "Shout joyfully to God!" I hope that if you hear this in Mass today, the lector doesn't make it sound like an obituary. God is so awesome, it should show in how joyful we are.
Small wonder Christianity isn't very appealing to non-believers. They don't see enough of us enjoying our faith. Privately, we know the benefits, but do our faces show it? Do we rejoice more than we complain? Do we convey to the world that God is bigger than our problems? Do our attitudes communicate that faith is more fun than disbelief?
What holds us back from openly showing our excitement about being a follower of Christ? Are we afraid that others will ridicule us? How silly! We go to sporting events and whoop it up like there's nothing more exciting on earth, and we don't feel embarrassed there. Is a game more worthy of joyful shouting than God is?
Does having crucifixes on our walls and around our necks and dangling from our rosary beads imply that we're supposed to focus on pain and suffering? Does our history of Saints with stigmata imply it? No! We are an Easter people!
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus assures us that all who follow him will receive eternal life. That's something to get excited about! Imagine the joy that's in heaven. Could it be so wonderful that all the saints are whooping it up (including your deceased relatives and friends who used to be so subdued in church)?
Joy is one of the fruits of living in the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22). Guess what happens when we openly display our joy. We evangelize ourselves! Psychologists say that smiling reduces stress. Medical doctors say that laughter heals. If you need healing, if you need renewal, if you need to be lifted up out of misery, hold a praise and worship session -- just you and Jesus as you sing along with a CD or iTunes of joyful music.
No matter how bad things get, we still have much to be grateful for. When we remember to praise God, we enter into gratefulness, and then the burdens of our troubles become lighter.
One morning on the way to Mass during a long series of difficulties, my mind heard: "Shout to the Lord all the earth, let us sing..." So I chose some upbeat music, turned the volume up, and drove to church singing and seat-dancing. At three traffic lights, my joy was in plain view of the people in other cars. I gave myself permission to not care whether they thought I was crazy.
As I neared the church, guess which song began to play. "Shout to the Lord"! Was that a coincidence? No! I beebopped with the Lord in my car in the parking lot until it finished, keeping my eyes closed so I wouldn't know who saw me. It made the whole Mass a different experience for me. It made the whole day different.
Whatever happens in your life today, give yourself permission to have a spiritual party. Rejoice! Give praise to God for his goodness. Even if you have to go outside or lock yourself inside the bathroom, shout joyfully in praise of God! See if that doesn't at least make you giggle.
-----------------------------
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!”
No comments:
Post a Comment