Saturday - May 11, 2019
"EVEN WHILE LIVING IN THE WORLD, THE HEART OF MARY WAS SO FILLED WITH MOTHERLY TENDERNESS AND COMPASSION FOR MEN THAT NO-ONE EVER SUFFERED SO MUCH FOR THEIR OWN PAINS, AS MARY SUFFERED FOR THE PAINS OF HER CHILDREN."
- SAINT JEROME
"EVEN WHILE LIVING IN THE WORLD, THE HEART OF MARY WAS SO FILLED WITH MOTHERLY TENDERNESS AND COMPASSION FOR MEN THAT NO-ONE EVER SUFFERED SO MUCH FOR THEIR OWN PAINS, AS MARY SUFFERED FOR THE PAINS OF HER CHILDREN."
- SAINT JEROME
May 11 2019
Saturday of the Third Week of Easter
Lectionary: 278
Reading 1ACTS 9:31-42
The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria
was at peace.
She was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit she grew in numbers.
As Peter was passing through every region,
he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda.
There he found a man named Aeneas,
who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed.
Peter said to him,
“Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed.”
He got up at once.
And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him,
and they turned to the Lord.
Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha
(which translated is Dorcas).
She was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving.
Now during those days she fell sick and died,
so after washing her, they laid her out in a room upstairs.
Since Lydda was near Joppa,
the disciples, hearing that Peter was there,
sent two men to him with the request,
“Please come to us without delay.”
So Peter got up and went with them.
When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs
where all the widows came to him weeping
and showing him the tunics and cloaks
that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed.
Then he turned to her body and said, “Tabitha, rise up.”
She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.
He gave her his hand and raised her up,
and when he had called the holy ones and the widows,
he presented her alive.
This became known all over Joppa,
and many came to believe in the Lord.
was at peace.
She was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit she grew in numbers.
As Peter was passing through every region,
he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda.
There he found a man named Aeneas,
who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed.
Peter said to him,
“Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed.”
He got up at once.
And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him,
and they turned to the Lord.
Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha
(which translated is Dorcas).
She was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving.
Now during those days she fell sick and died,
so after washing her, they laid her out in a room upstairs.
Since Lydda was near Joppa,
the disciples, hearing that Peter was there,
sent two men to him with the request,
“Please come to us without delay.”
So Peter got up and went with them.
When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs
where all the widows came to him weeping
and showing him the tunics and cloaks
that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed.
Then he turned to her body and said, “Tabitha, rise up.”
She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.
He gave her his hand and raised her up,
and when he had called the holy ones and the widows,
he presented her alive.
This became known all over Joppa,
and many came to believe in the Lord.
Responsorial PsalmPS 116:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
R.(12) How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R. Alleluia.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD
R. How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R. Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R. Alleluia.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD
R. How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R. Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R. Alleluia.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaSEE JN 6:63C, 68C
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 6:60-69
Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father.”
As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer walked with him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father.”
As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer walked with him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
******************************
DEFEATING SATAN'S #1 STRATEGY
It's the time of year when the readings from Mass make it very clear what normal Christian living is supposed to look like. Let's take it seriously -- because Satan does not want us to.
In this Saturday's reading from the Book of Acts, Peter raises Dorcas from the dead. End result: Many came to believe in the Lord.
I believe that Satan's #1 strategy in today's world is the dis-empowering of Christians so that many do not come to believe in the Lord. He accomplishes this by convincing us Christians that the only thing Jesus asks of us is to be nice. Forget raising people from the dead! It won't work. So just be nice.
A week ago, something very strange happened that got my attention and led to this train of thought. It seemed like Satan did not want Friday's reflection on John 14:6-14 to get published. Very weirdly, one thing after another happened that interfered with both the written and the podcast version.
Whenever it seems that Satan might be interfering, I rejoice that God is about to do something special, something that frightens the devil. And I enjoy asking the Holy Spirit to let me in on the secret. What's up? What's this all about?
As I asked God why the devil was afraid this time, he inspired me re-read the Gospel, but just the first and last verses, this way:
I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
Proclaim it and then show it.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
Proclaim it and then show it.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.
We must proclaim the truth about Jesus. The Bible tells us that only those who publicly confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God, and he will have eternal life. It is not enough to believe privately. The souls of others are at stake, and we could lose our own salvation if we withhold the truth from them. (1 John 2:23, 1 John 4:15, Romans 10:9, Matthew 10:32, etc.)
However, this is only the first step! People do not become believers in Christ because we tell them that he is the only way to reach heaven. People become believers because they discover that (1) he is real, and (2) he cares about them, and (3) he is more powerful than all the evil they have been suffering.
It is hard for non-Christians to believe in Christ when they have not witnessed miracles. The problem is -- the thing Satan is counting on -- is that it is hard for us Christians to have enough faith in Christ to evangelize others if we have not witnessed miracles in the midst of our own sufferings.
God wants to change that. God is calling each of us to become his venues of truth and divine power. We are the voice of Christ in the world today, called to proclaim the truth. We are also the hands of Christ, called to reach out to prove that he cares by doing the works of divine power.
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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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