GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Saturday - May 21, 2022

  

Saturday - May 21, 2022

If you wish to walk securely and be certain of your salvation, if you aspire to a great crown in Heaven that will never fade, love and honor Mary, and strive to make her known, loved, and honored by others.

 

-St. Joseph Cafasso

May 21, 2022

 

SATURDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER

Lectionary: 290

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Acts 16:1-10

 

Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra

where there was a disciple named Timothy,

the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,

but his father was a Greek.

The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,

and Paul wanted him to come along with him.

On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,

for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

As they traveled from city to city,

they handed on to the people for observance the decisions

reached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.

Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith

and increased in number.

 

They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory

because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit

from preaching the message in the province of Asia.

When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,

but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,

so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.

During the night Paul had a vision.

A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words,

“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

When he had seen the vision,

we sought passage to Macedonia at once,

concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  100:1b-2, 3, 5

 

R.        (2a)  Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

 

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;

            serve the LORD with gladness;

            come before him with joyful song.

R.        Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

 

Know that the LORD is God;

            he made us, his we are;

            his people, the flock he tends.

R.        Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

The LORD is good:

            his kindness endures forever,

            and his faithfulness, to all generations.

R.        Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8 Col 3:1

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

If then you were raised with Christ,

seek what is above,

where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Jn 15:18-21

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.

If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;

but because you do not belong to the world,

and I have chosen you out of the world,

the world hates you.

Remember the word I spoke to you,

‘No slave is greater than his master.’

If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.

If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,

because they do not know the one who sent me.”

 

**********************************

Persecution

 

“Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”  John 15:20

 

Do you want to be like Jesus?  If so, beware of what that means.  It’s easy to think that the closer we grow to Christ the more we will be loved and understood by the world.  We can think that everyone will see our holiness and admire it and all will be good and easy in life.

 

But all we have to do is look at the life of Christ to know this is not the case.  He was obviously perfect in every way.  As a result, He was treated with great malice and persecution.  It’s hard to fathom the dark truth that they actually killed Him.  In the dark of the night, He was arrested, given a mock trial, found guilty and sentenced to death.  His punishment was then carried out immediately.

 

Why did they do this to the Son of God?  Why would someone so perfect and merciful in every way be so cruelly treated? 

 

If we were there, as His first followers, we would have most likely been shocked, frightened, scandalized and confused.  We may have thought that Jesus messed up and lost hope in Him.  But His plan was perfect in every way and His plan did centrally involve Him enduring false accusations and malicious persecution.  And by freely accepting this abuse, He redeemed the world.

 

So back to the original question, “Do you want to be like Jesus?”  This is a tough question when we look at it in the light of what happened to Him.  “No slave is greater than his master.”  “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”  These are tough sayings to accept and agree to. 

 

Persecution is something from which we should not run.  We should not despair if it happens and we should not hold our head low.  Why?  Because persecution is a clear sign that we are following in the footsteps of our Master.  We are more deeply united to Christ as a result of persecution than we could ever realize.

 

The key is to know that God intends to use all maltreatment for good if we let Him.  And we let Him use it for good when we surrender it to Him and receive it freely, not begrudgingly.  Our response must be to “rejoice and be glad” that we have been found worthy to follow in the steps of our Divine Lord.

 

Ponder today any form of persecution or injustice you suffer for the sake of your faith and embrace of the Gospel.  The Lord wants to use that if you let Him.

 

Today's Prayer

 

My persecuted Lord, I do surrender to You all that weighs me down.  I give any suffering I receive for being Your follower.  May I not only imitate You in Your suffering, but also in Your willing embrace of it.  Jesus, I trust in You.

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”