GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Thursday - June 02, 2022

  Thursday - June 02, 2022

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. 

- St. Gertrude the Great

June 2, 2022

 

THURSDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER

Lectionary: 300

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Acts 20:28-38

 

Wishing to determine the truth

about why Paul was being accused by the Jews,

the commander freed him

and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.

Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

 

Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,

so he called out before the Sanhedrin,

“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;

I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”

When he said this,

a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,

and the group became divided.

For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection

or angels or spirits,

while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.

A great uproar occurred,

and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party

stood up and sharply argued,

“We find nothing wrong with this man.

Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

The dispute was so serious that the commander,

afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them,

ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midst

and take him into the compound.

The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage.

For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,

so you must also bear witness in Rome.”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

 

R.        (1)  Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

 

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;

            I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”

O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,

            you it is who hold fast my lot.

R.        Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

 

I bless the LORD who counsels me;

            even in the night my heart exhorts me.

I set the LORD ever before me;

            with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R.        Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

 

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,

            my body, too, abides in confidence;

Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,

            nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

R.        Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

 

You will show me the path to life,

            fullness of joys in your presence,

            the delights at your right hand forever.

R.        Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8 Jn 17:21

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

that the world may believe that you sent me, says the Lord.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Jn 17:20-26

 

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:

“I pray not only for these,

but also for those who will believe in me through their word,

so that they may all be one,

as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

that they also may be in us,

that the world may believe that you sent me.

And I have given them the glory you gave me,

so that they may be one, as we are one,

I in them and you in me,

that they may be brought to perfection as one,

that the world may know that you sent me,

and that you loved them even as you loved me.

Father, they are your gift to me.

I wish that where I am they also may be with me,

that they may see my glory that you gave me,

because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,

but I know you, and they know that you sent me.

I made known to them your name and I will make it known,

that the love with which you loved me

may be in them and I in them.”

 

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Lifting Your Eyes to Heaven

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”  John 17:20–21

 

“Lifting His eyes to Heaven…”  What a great phrase!

 

As Jesus lifted His eyes to Heaven, He prayed to His Father in Heaven.  This act, of lifting His eyes, reveals one unique aspect of the presence of the Father.  It reveals that the Father is transcendent.  “Transcendent” means that the Father is above all and beyond all.  The world cannot contain Him.  So, in speaking to the Father, Jesus begins with this gesture by which He acknowledges the transcendence of the Father.

 

But we must also note the imminence of the Father’s relationship with Jesus.  By “imminence” we mean that the Father and Jesus are united as one.  Their relationship is one that is profoundly personal in nature. 

 

Though these two words, “imminence” and “transcendence,” may not be a part of our daily vocabulary, the concepts are worth understanding and reflecting upon.  We should strive to be very familiar with their meanings and, more specifically, with the way that our relationship with the Holy Trinity shares in both.

 

Jesus’ prayer to the Father was that we who come to believe will share in the unity of the Father and the Son.  We will share in God’s life and love.  For us, this means we start by seeing the transcendence of God.  We also lift our eyes to Heaven and strive to see the splendor, glory, greatness, power, and majesty of God.  He is above all and beyond all.

 

As we accomplish this prayerful gaze to the Heavens, we must also strive to see this glorious and transcendent God descend into our souls, communicating to us, loving us, and establishing a deeply personal relationship with us.  It’s amazing how these two aspects of God’s life go together so well even though, at first, they can appear to be complete opposites.  They are not opposed but, rather, are wedded together and have the effect of drawing us into an intimate relationship with the Creator and sustainer of all things. 

 

Reflect, today, upon the glorious and all-powerful God of the Universe descending into the secret depths of your soul.  Acknowledge His presence, adore Him as He lives within you, speak to Him and love Him.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Most glorious Lord, help me to always lift my eyes to Heaven in prayer.  May I constantly turn to You and Your Father.  In that prayerful gaze, may I also discover You alive in my soul where You are adored and loved.  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!”