GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Sunday - May 14, 2023

   

Sunday - May 14, 2023

There is no one, however wicked, whom Mary does not save by her intercession when she wishes ... He who has recourse to Mary shall be saved.

 

-St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori

May 14, 2023

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 55

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Acts 8:5-8, 14-17

 

Philip went down to the city of Samaria

and proclaimed the Christ to them.

With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip

when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.

For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,

came out of many possessed people,

and many paralyzed or crippled people were cured.

There was great joy in that city.

 

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem

heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God,

they sent them Peter and John,

who went down and prayed for them,

that they might receive the Holy Spirit,

for it had not yet fallen upon any of them;

they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Then they laid hands on them

and they received the Holy Spirit.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20

 

R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

 

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,

sing praise to the glory of his name;

proclaim his glorious praise.

Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"

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

 

"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,

sing praise to your name!"

Come and see the works of God,

his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.

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

 

He has changed the sea into dry land;

through the river they passed on foot;

therefore let us rejoice in him.

He rules by his might forever.

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

 

Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare

what he has done for me.

Blessed be God who refused me not

my prayer or his kindness!

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

 

Reading II                                                     1 Pt 3:15-18

 

Beloved:

Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.

Always be ready to give an explanation

to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,

but do it with gentleness and reverence,

keeping your conscience clear,

so that, when you are maligned,

those who defame your good conduct in Christ

may themselves be put to shame.

For it is better to suffer for doing good,

if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.

 

For Christ also suffered for sins once,

the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,

that he might lead you to God.

Put to death in the flesh,

he was brought to life in the Spirit.

 

Alleluia         

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord,

and my Father will love him and we will come to him.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Jn 14:15-21

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father,

and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,

the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,

because it neither sees nor knows him.

But you know him, because he remains with you,

and will be in you.

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

In a little while the world will no longer see me,

but you will see me, because I live and you will live.

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father

and you are in me and I in you.

Whoever has my commandments and observes them

is the one who loves me.

And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,

and I will love him and reveal myself to him."

 

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Jesus Is Giving You the Best Partner Ever

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit is our “Advocate”. Some scholars translate the word to “Counselor”. In the original Greek, it means “called alongside”. It’s closely related to the verb “parakaleo” (“to call” or “summon”) from which we get “Paraclete” as a name for the Holy Spirit. It referred to a legal assistant, a courtroom advocate. Jesus is telling us that the Holy Spirit is our legal assistant when we’re falsely accused, misjudged, or wrongly condemned.

 

Notice that Jesus refers to our Advocate as the “Spirit of Truth”. No matter what other people think about us, no matter what wrong things they say about us, no matter what opinions they have of us, God always knows the truth. And the truth that sets us free from their bad attitudes is this: It’s only God’s opinion that really matters. And his opinion of us is better than we think it is!

 

We judge ourselves more harshly than we should, and this is why we worry so much about how others are judging us. If we honestly examine our consciences, seek reconciliation with God for our sins during the Penance Rite at Mass or in the Sacrament of Confession, and strive to improve, then Jesus says to us what he said to other sinners: “I do not condemn you; go and sin no more.”

 

Don’t you sometimes wish that Jesus would come physically to your rescue when you’re misjudged? He said that he will not leave us orphans — his Holy Spirit will always be with us when we need to be defended, telling us the truth about our goodness.

 

Even when we sin, the Spirit of Truth defends us to our heavenly Judge: “Look, this precious child really does want to be holy.” To us, the Spirit says, “Let me teach you how to grow in holiness and avoid this sin.” And to others, the Spirit says: “If you love me, love this good friend of mine.”

 

How have you been unjustly accused and unfairly judged? Imagine what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Father about that. And to those who condemned you. What is he saying to you about you?

 

Today's Prayer

 

Thank You, Lord, for keeping us in Your love, for letting us know Your greatness, and for offering us hope of new life in abundance! 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!”