FRIDAY - APRIL 22, 2022
"The Cross had asked the questions; the Resurrection had answered them...The Cross had asked: "Why does God permit evil and sin to nail Justice to a tree?" The Resurrection answered: "That sin, having done its worst, might exhaust itself and this be overcome by Love that is stronger than either sin or death."
~~Archbishop Fulton Sheen
TODAY'S READINGS
April 22 2022
Friday in the Octave of Easter
Lectionary: 265
Reading 1ACTS 4:1-12
After the crippled man had been cured,
while Peter and John were still speaking to the people,
the priests, the captain of the temple guard,
and the Sadducees confronted them,
disturbed that they were teaching the people
and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
They laid hands on Peter and John
and put them in custody until the next day,
since it was already evening.
But many of those who heard the word came to believe
and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes
were assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest,
Caiaphas, John, Alexander,
and all who were of the high-priestly class.
They brought them into their presence and questioned them,
“By what power or by what name have you done this?”
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them,
“Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
Responsorial Psalm118:1-2 AND 4, 22-24, 25-27A
R. (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
O LORD, grant salvation!
O LORD, grant prosperity!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, and he has given us light.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaPS 118:24
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 21:1-14
Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We also will come with you.”
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him, “No.”
So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something.”
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.
Are you involved in a ministry or service that needs a resurrection? Perhaps you've been working on something for a long time and have not yet succeeded. Does it seem like your efforts are pointless, fruitless? Where has progress been too slow or too lethargic? Are you hedged in and unable to do what you believe you're called to do? Is it time to cast your net over the other side of the boat, as in our Gospel reading today?
In today's first reading, Peter and John experience the first roadblock in their preaching ministry. They are put into prison because someone wants to stop them. The next day, they will be ordered by the authorities to never mention Jesus publicly again.
Would this have stopped you? What is stopping you now?
Peter and John knew that when it comes to doing God's will, there's no such thing as an insurmountable obstacle. They could easily recall two incidents of fishing all night without success and then catching an abundance because they had obeyed Jesus.
Our only true obstacle is our lack of endurance. In reality, when we're tired and we think that we've failed, we're actually in the middle of building up to a great success that's far more wonderful than we can imagine. It might not be the outcome we're expecting, it might not be in the direction we started, but it will happen just as surely as Peter and John were released from prison to continue fulfilling God's plans -- if we persist in following Jesus.
Usually, he tells us to do something that does not make sense or feels very uncomfortable. Jesus told the disciples to fish in the very same waters where they had already cast their nets unproductively! What difference did it make to try the other side of the boat? It was uncomfortable to change, because they had developed muscles and a good working pattern of swinging the net one way. The advice Jesus gave them was like telling a right-handed artist to paint with his left hand in order to produce a masterpiece.
Are you ready to try something that doesn't make sense? Go ahead and do whatever will stretch you beyond what feels logical and comfortable. If it seems like a "wrong" direction, but the "right" direction hasn't been working, as long as it doesn't conflict with scripture or Church teaching, go ahead and assume that it is Jesus talking to you. Move boldly into it and trust that if you're making another mistake, God will get your attention and redirect you again.
Today's Prayer
Jesus, Lord: Heal me from everything that stops me from being aware that You are alive within me, and that You are immensely good and wonderful. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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