GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Thursday - May 06, 2022

  

Thursday - May 06, 2022

"Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence."

 

- Saint Francis de Sales

May 6, 2022

 

FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER

Lectionary: 277

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Acts 9:1-20

 

Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,

went to the high priest and asked him

for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,

if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,

he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.

On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,

a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

He said, “Who are you, sir?”

The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,

for they heard the voice but could see no one.

Saul got up from the ground,

but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;

so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.

For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

 

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,

and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”

He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight

and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.

He is there praying,

and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias

come in and lay his hands on him,

that he may regain his sight.”

But Ananias replied,

“Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,

what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.

And here he has authority from the chief priests

to imprison all who call upon your name.”

But the Lord said to him,

“Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine

to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,

and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”

So Ananias went and entered the house;

laying his hands on him, he said,

“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,

Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,

that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes

and he regained his sight.

He got up and was baptized,

and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.

 

He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,

and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,

that he is the Son of God.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  117:1bc, 2

 

R.        (Mark 16:15)  Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

 

Praise the LORD, all you nations;

            glorify him, all you peoples!

R.        Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

 

For steadfast is his kindness toward us,

            and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.

R.        Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8          Jn 6:56

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood,

remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Jn 6:52-59

 

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,

“How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them,

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,

you do not have life within you.

Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood

has eternal life,

and I will raise him on the last day.

For my Flesh is true food,

and my Blood is true drink.

Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood

remains in me and I in him.

Just as the living Father sent me

and I have life because of the Father,

so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.

This is the bread that came down from heaven.

Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,

whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

 

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

The Conviction of Jesus

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you.”  John 6:52-53

 

Certainly this passage reveals much about the Most Holy Eucharist, but it also reveals the strength of Jesus to speak the truth with clarity and conviction.

 

Jesus was facing opposition and criticism.  Some were upset and challenging His words.  Most of us, when we find ourselves under the scrutiny and wrath of others, will back down.  We will be tempted to be overly concerned about what others say about us and about the truth we may be criticized for.  But Jesus did exactly the opposite.  He did not give in to the criticism of others.

 

It’s inspiring to see that, when Jesus was faced with the harsh words of others, He responded with even greater clarity and confidence.  He took His statement about the Eucharist being His Body and Blood to the next level by saying, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you do not have life within you.”  This reveals a man of the utmost confidence, conviction and strength.

 

Of course, Jesus is God, so we should expect this from Him.  But nonetheless, it is inspiring and reveals the strength we are all called to have in this world.  The world we live in is filled with opposition to the truth.  It’s opposed to many moral truths, but it is also opposed to many of the deeper spiritual truths.  These deeper truths are things such as the beautiful truths of the Eucharist, the importance of daily prayer, humility, abandonment to God, putting God’s will above all things, etc.  We should be aware of the fact that the closer we grow to our Lord, the more we surrender to Him, and the more we proclaim His truth, the more we will feel the pressure of the world trying to steal us away.

 

So what do we do?  We learn from the strength and example of Jesus.  Whenever we find ourselves put in a challenging position, or whenever we feel as though our faith is being attacked, we must deepen our resolve to be all the more faithful.  This will make us stronger and turns those temptations we face into opportunities for grace!

 

Reflect, today, upon the way that you react when your faith is challenged.  Do you back down, give into fear and allow the challenges from others to affect you?  Or do you strengthen your resolve when challenged and allow persecution to purify your faith?  Choose to imitate the strength and conviction of our Lord and you will become a greater visible instrument of His grace and mercy.

 

Lord, give me the strength of Your conviction.  Give me clarity in my mission and help me to serve You unwaveringly in all things. May I never cower when faced with the challenges of life but always deepen my resolve to serve You with all my heart.  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!”

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : THURSDAY - May 5, 2022

THURSDAY - May 5, 2022

TODAY'S READINGS

May 5, 2022

 

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Lectionary: 276

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Acts 8:26-40

 

The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,

“Get up and head south on the road

that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.”

So he got up and set out.

Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,

a court official of the Candace,

that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,

in charge of her entire treasury,

who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.

Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

The Spirit said to Philip,

“Go and join up with that chariot.”

Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,

“Do you understand what you are reading?”

He replied,

“How can I, unless someone instructs me?”

So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.

This was the Scripture passage he was reading:

 

            Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,

                        and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

                                    so he opened not his mouth.

            In his humiliation justice was denied him.

                        Who will tell of his posterity?

                                    For his life is taken from the earth.

 

Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,

“I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?

About himself, or about someone else?”

Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,

he proclaimed Jesus to him.

As they traveled along the road

they came to some water,

and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water.

What is to prevent my being baptized?”

Then he ordered the chariot to stop,

and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,

and he baptized him.

When they came out of the water,

the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,

and the eunuch saw him no more,

but continued on his way rejoicing.

Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news

to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  66:8-9, 16-17, 20

 

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

 

Bless our God, you peoples,

            loudly sound his praise;

He has given life to our souls,

            and has not let our feet slip.

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.

When I appealed to him in words,

            praise was on the tip of my tongue.

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

 

Blessed be God who refused me not

            my prayer or his kindness!

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

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8          Jn 6:51

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord;

whoever eats this bread will live forever.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Jn 6:44-51

 

Jesus said to the crowds:

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,

and I will raise him on the last day.

It is written in the prophets:

 

            They shall all be taught by God.

 

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.

Not that anyone has seen the Father

except the one who is from God;

he has seen the Father.

Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever believes has eternal life.

I am the bread of life.

Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;

this is the bread that comes down from heaven

so that one may eat it and not die.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven;

whoever eats this bread will live forever;

and the bread that I will give

is my Flesh for the life of the world.”

 

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

Drawn to Jesus

Jesus said to the crowds: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.”  John 6:44

 

This Scripture passage reveals to us a wonderful spiritual principle we need to understand and live if we are to grow close to God.  It’s the principle of being drawn to Jesus by the Father.

 

First of all, it’s important to understand the first part of what Jesus says: “No one can come to me unless…”  This tells us that coming to Jesus in faith, growing in that faith, and growing in our love of God is not something we can do on our own.  Coming to faith

 

is a response to God’s action in our life. 

 

This is important to understand if we wish to establish an authentic relationship with Christ because it reveals to us the fact that we have to let God take the first step in that relationship.  When we let Him do this, it’s our responsibility to then respond.  

 

Of course this does not mean we just sit back in a passive way waiting for God to reach out.  God is constantly reaching out, constantly speaking and constantly drawing us to Himself.  So our first responsibility is to tune into His gentle “wooing.”  This comes in the form of gentle promptings of grace inviting us to turn more completely to Him and to surrender more fully each and every day. 

 

In our busy world it’s so very easy to let ourselves become distracted by the many competing voices.  It’s easy to hear the pulling, and even pushing, of the world and all its enticements.  The world has become quite good at penetrating our short attention spans and offering quick satisfactions that ultimately leave us empty.

 

But God’s voice and His invitation are quite different.  They are found in interior silence.  However, we need not be in a monastery in order to achieve this interior silence.  Rather, it’s achieved by faithful periods of prayer each day, and a formed habit of turning to God in all things.  It’s achieved when we respond to God’s calling, and then do it again, and again, and so forth.  This builds a habit of being drawn, hearing, responding and being drawn in even closer so as to respond again.

 

Reflect, today, upon how well you listen to God.  Try to find at least a few minutes (or more) of silence today.  Close your eyes and listen.  Listen to God speaking to you.  When He draws you, respond to Him with much generosity.  This is the best choice you can make each day!

 

Today's Prayer

 

Lord, please draw me in, draw me close and help me to recognize Your voice.  As I hear You calling, help me to respond to You with much generosity.  My life is Yours, dear Lord.  Help me to desire You all the more.  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!”