GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Monday - May 01, 2023

   

Monday - May 01, 2023

"As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary."

 

- Saint Thomas Aquinas

May 1, 2023

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Lectionary: 279

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Acts 11:1-18

 

The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea

heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.

So when Peter went up to Jerusalem

the circumcised believers confronted him, saying,

'You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them."

Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,

"I was at prayer in the city of Joppa

when in a trance I had a vision,

something resembling a large sheet coming down,

lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.

Looking intently into it,

I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,

the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.

I also heard a voice say to me, 'Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.'

But I said, 'Certainly not, sir,

because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'

But a second time a voice from heaven answered,

'What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.'

This happened three times,

and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.

Just then three men appeared at the house where we were,

who had been sent to me from Caesarea.

The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.

These six brothers also went with me,

and we entered the man's house.

He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,

'Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,

who will speak words to you

by which you and all your household will be saved.'

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them

as it had upon us at the beginning,

and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,

'John baptized with water

but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'

If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us

when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,

who was I to be able to hinder God?"

When they heard this,

they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,

"God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too."

 

Responsorial Psalm                                                          Ps 42:2-3; 43:3, 4

 

R.(see 3a) Athirst is my soul for the living God.

 

As the hind longs for the running waters,

so my soul longs for you, O God.

Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.

 

Send forth your light and your fidelity;

they shall lead me on

And bring me to your holy mountain,

to your dwelling-place.

R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.

 

Then will I go in to the altar of God,

the God of my gladness and joy;

Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,

O God, my God!

R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.

 

Alleluia         

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;

I know my sheep, and mine know me.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                                   Jn 10:11-18

 

Jesus said:

“I am the good shepherd.

A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

A hired man, who is not a shepherd

and whose sheep are not his own,

sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,

and the wolf catches and scatters them.

This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd,

and I know mine and mine know me,

just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;

and I will lay down my life for the sheep.

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.

These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,

and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

This is why the Father loves me,

because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.

I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.

This command I have received from my Father.”

 

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Trusting in the Holy Spirit’s plan

Today’s first reading describes an important turning point for the early Church. Since Christianity was the fulfillment of Judaism, it seemed logical to the first Christians that Jewish laws should be obeyed. To eat with Gentiles was a sin, according to Jewish law, because they dined on food that was forbidden in the Torah.

 

The scene opens with Peter in trouble for breaking this law. He had evangelized Gentiles without first converting them to Judaism. The resulting uproar sent him to Jerusalem to defend his actions. The council’s disapproval created a major obstacle, not only to Peter’s ministry, but to the whole idea of spreading Christianity beyond Jewish boundaries.

 

Peter went through Jesus to reach the hearts of the council members and open them to God’s plan. The key that unlocked the solution was their trust in the Holy Spirit’s power to give direction and guidance through supernatural gifts such as Peter’s vision.

 

Similarly today, when we face the trials of being misjudged and dealing with the disapproval of fellow Christians, we can get through it with success by trusting Jesus and relying on the gifts of his Holy Spirit.

 

If people have shut a door on something that God wants you to do, Jesus wants to lead you to an opportunity elsewhere where you can proceed. If he’s given you a passion for which there seems to be no outlet, look for an outlet that you hadn’t planned.

 

For example, for many years, I felt inspired to give homilies, but I’m not an ordained priest, nor have I ever hoped to be. I do not believe that this inspiration was God giving evidence that women should become clergy. Women can have very dignified, very important roles as ministers in the Church. My lack of ordination was no obstacle for my gift. God had other plans. And since I never had the opportunity to give lay reflections during Mass, I waited on Jesus to show me what to do with this gift.

 

Eventually, a couple of friends and I began to send emails to each other about our thoughts on the daily Mass readings. As I wrote my personal reflections on the scriptures, my friends began to share them with others, and thus these daily Good News Reflections were born (November 1999). Today, I’m “homilizing” to thousands of people around the world through our website and other ministries’ websites that have been authorized to post my reflections, through email, WhatsApp, Telegram, several social networking sites, and podcasts.

 

Only God knows the size of my daily Mass “congregation”. Plus, some of my subscribers are priests who use these reflections in actual homilies.

 

Because I have allowed Jesus to lead me, I’m using the gifts of the Spirit in a way that’s beyond anything I could have ever dreamed. God is awesome! Wait for him to give you an outlet for your passions. Because he’s calling you, he will lead you.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Your love for us, Lord Jesus, surpasses all that we can imagine. Praised be You for giving us Your life and for drawing us ever closer to You. Amen.

 

 

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!”

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Sunday - April 30, 2023

 

Sunday - April 30, 2023

"Mary, give me your Heart: so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate; your Heart so full of love and humility that I may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life and love Him as you love Him and serve Him in the distressing guise of the poor."

-- Blessed Mother Teresa

April 30, 2023

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 49

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Acts 2:14a, 36-41

 

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,

raised his voice, and proclaimed:

"Let the whole house of Israel know for certain

that God has made both Lord and Christ,

this Jesus whom you crucified."

 

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,

and they asked Peter and the other apostles,

"What are we to do, my brothers?"

Peter said to them,

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,

in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;

and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is made to you and to your children

and to all those far off,

whomever the Lord our God will call."

He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,

"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."

Those who accepted his message were baptized,

and about three thousand persons were added that day.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                                          Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6

 

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

 

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In verdant pastures he gives me repose;

beside restful waters he leads me;

he refreshes my soul.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

 

He guides me in right paths

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk in the dark valley

I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

With your rod and your staff

that give me courage.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

 

You spread the table before me

in the sight of my foes;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

 

Only goodness and kindness follow me

all the days of my life;

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

for years to come.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

 

Reading II                                                                             1 Pt 2:20b-25

 

Beloved:

If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,

this is a grace before God.

For to this you have been called,

because Christ also suffered for you,

leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.

He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

 

When he was insulted, he returned no insult;

when he suffered, he did not threaten;

instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.

He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,

so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

For you had gone astray like sheep,

but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

 

Alleluia         

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;

I know my sheep, and mine know me.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                                   Jn 10:1-10

 

Jesus said:

"Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate

but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.

But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,

as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has driven out all his own,

he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,

because they recognize his voice.

But they will not follow a stranger;

they will run away from him,

because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."

Although Jesus used this figure of speech,

the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

 

So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,

I am the gate for the sheep.

All who came before me are thieves and robbers,

but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the gate.

Whoever enters through me will be saved,

and will come in and go out and find pasture.

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

 

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Do You Need a Breakthrough?

Are you at an impasse in your spiritual growth or emotional healing or a difficult relationship? Do you need a breakthrough? Do you feel stuck behind a fence that’s keeping you on the outside of peace, joy, satisfaction, or healing?

 

This Sunday’s Gospel reading tells us that Jesus is the gate in that fence. He helps us reach the heavenly side of the gate, outside the realm of earthly restrictions — not only when we die and enter eternal life, but also here and now in our earthly life, so that we might always “have life and have it more abundantly.”

 

When our path seems blocked, we can only make progress by letting Jesus shepherd us around and through and over the obstacles. If people shut a door on something that God wants us to do, Jesus is still our open gate and no one can close him out of our lives. He will lead us into a new opportunity for accomplishing the plans of God. If he’s given us a frustrated holy desire or a passion for which there seems to be no outlet, instead of complaining or quitting, we must look at Jesus and see him as a gate that opens into a new direction or location.

 

Remember, however, that until we get all the way through this gate, we must stick close to him like dumb sheep. There’s a journey to take before we can reach the other side of the fence.

 

The thief that comes to steal and slaughter can only reach us when we stray away from Jesus and we take our eyes off of him.

 

Despair and worry are two common thieves, robbing us of peace, joy, satisfaction, and healing. But they’re not as powerful as they pretend to be. We defeat them easily by remembering that they do not speak the full truth. The truth is: Jesus is our Good Shepherd safely guiding us into a life of abundant victory!

 

Today's Prayer 

My Lord, do not let me wander away from the path You have shown, and if I have not yet found it, take me to it by Your Divine Mercy. Amen.

 

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!”