May 13, 2020 Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

2020년 5월 13일 부활 제5주간 수요일 

오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp 

제1독서

사도행전. 15,1-6
그 무렵 1 유다에서 어떤 사람들이 내려와,
“모세의 관습에 따라 할례를 받지 않으면
여러분은 구원을 받을 수 없습니다.” 하고 형제들을 가르쳤다.
2 그리하여 바오로와 바르나바 두 사람과 그들 사이에
적지 않은 분쟁과 논란이 일어나,
그 문제 때문에 바오로와 바르나바와 신자들 가운데 다른 몇 사람이
예루살렘에 있는 사도들과 원로들에게 올라가기로 하였다.
3 이렇게 안티오키아 교회에서 파견된 그들은 페니키아와 사마리아를 거쳐 가면서,

다른 민족들이 하느님께 돌아선 이야기를 해 주어
모든 형제에게 큰 기쁨을 주었다.
4 그들은 예루살렘에 도착하여 교회와 사도들과 원로들의 영접을 받고,
하느님께서 자기들과 함께 해 주신 모든 일을 보고하였다.
5 그런데 바리사이파에 속하였다가 믿게 된 사람 몇이 나서서,
“그들에게 할례를 베풀고
또 모세의 율법을 지키라고 명령해야 합니다.” 하고 말하였다.
6 사도들과 원로들이 이 문제를 검토하려고 모였다.

 

복음

요한 15,1-8
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
1 “나는 참포도나무요 나의 아버지는 농부이시다.
2 나에게 붙어 있으면서 열매를 맺지 않는 가지는 아버지께서 다 쳐 내시고,
열매를 맺는 가지는 모두 깨끗이 손질하시어 더 많은 열매를 맺게 하신다.
3 너희는 내가 너희에게 한 말로 이미 깨끗하게 되었다.
4 내 안에 머물러라. 나도 너희 안에 머무르겠다.
가지가 포도나무에 붙어 있지 않으면 스스로 열매를 맺을 수 없는 것처럼,
너희도 내 안에 머무르지 않으면 열매를 맺지 못한다.
5 나는 포도나무요 너희는 가지다.
내 안에 머무르고 나도 그 안에 머무르는 사람은 많은 열매를 맺는다.
너희는 나 없이 아무것도 하지 못한다.
6 내 안에 머무르지 않으면 잘린 가지처럼 밖에 던져져 말라 버린다.
그러면 사람들이 그런 가지들을 모아 불에 던져 태워 버린다.
7 너희가 내 안에 머무르고 내 말이 너희 안에 머무르면,
너희가 원하는 것은 무엇이든지 청하여라.
너희에게 그대로 이루어질 것이다.
8 너희가 많은 열매를 맺고 내 제자가 되면,
그것으로 내 아버지께서 영광스럽게 되실 것이다.”

May 13, 2020 

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass 

Reading 1

Acts 15:1-6
Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers,
“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you cannot be saved.”
Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and presbyters
about this question. 
They were sent on their journey by the Church,
and passed through Phoenicia and Samaria
telling of the conversion of the Gentiles,
and brought great joy to all the brethren.
When they arrived in Jerusalem,
they were welcomed by the Church,
as well as by the Apostles and the presbyters,
and they reported what God had done with them.
But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers
stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them
and direct them to observe the Mosaic law.”

The Apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter.

Responsorial Psalm

122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5

R. (see 1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
“We will go up to the house of the LORD.”
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 «Live in me as I live in you»

Fr. Antoni CAROL i Hostench
(Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, once more, we may see Jesus surrounded by the Apostles in an atmosphere of especial intimacy. He is giving them what we could consider as his final recommendations: what is normally said in the last moment, in the last farewell; that which has an especial force, as if it would be the last will.

We imagine them in the cenacle. Jesus has washed their feet there, has announced them again He must go, has transmitted them his command of fraternal love and has consoled them with the gift of the Eucharistic and the promise of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 14). And, well ahead this 15th chapter of John's Gospel we now find the exhortation to unity within charity.

Our Lord does not hide to his disciples all the dangers and difficulties they will have to face in the near future: «If they persecuted Me they will persecute you...» (Jn 15:20). But they should not be intimidated nor overwhelmed by all the hate they will find in this world: Jesus renews his promise of the arrival of the Protector, while assuring them they may ask and they will be given. Finally, the Lord prays for them —for all of us— to the Holy Father during his priestly prayer (cf. Jn 17).

But our danger does not come from outside, though: the worst menace may arise within ourselves when we fail to respect the fraternal love among the members of Christ's Mystic Body or the unity with the Head of that Body. The recommendation is clear: «I am the vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from me you can do nothing» (Jn 15:5).

The first generations of Christians managed to keep a very clear conscience of the importance of remaining united through charity. Here is the testimony of one the Fathers of the Church, saint Ignatius of Antioch: «Do you therefore all run together as into one temple of God, as to one altar, as to one Jesus Christ, who came forth from one Father». And here is also an indication from the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Christians: «Whatsoever he said unto you, do [it]» (Jn 2:5).

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

 

Where I live, it is spring and the natural world is blooming. Fruit trees bear fragrant flowers. Green buds pop out of the long-bare branches of trees and shrubs and vines. Everything is turning green and pink. And yes, people head for their gardens, armed with trowels and shears, to prune away the dead growth and make room for the new.

Today’s Gospel gives me much to think about as I prepare to prune the bushes and plants in my own garden. But it’s not just the garden outside. Jesus tells the disciples: “I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”  I need to cut away the branches that are part of me that represent me cutting corners of integrity, shaving compassion, slicing love – the things where I turn away from God because I choose the path of consumption, greed and selfishness. If I listen, really listen to and heed the word of God in my heart, that word will bear fruit in my actions and my life. Let me listen to the word of God and let it flower within me and grow.

Today’s Gospel also reminds of the Suscipe prayer of St. Ignatius. This prayer gets to the heart of Jesus’ words in the Gospel. It is my prayer for today.

Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.

 http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

to yield fruit, yield

"The fruitful ones He trims clean to increase their yield." —John 15:2

Disciples of Jesus bear a lot of fruit, and they can grow weary. They need energy because they are consumed as they live out their calling. A major battleground of a veteran disciple is the temptation to invest time in people or things they enjoy, which "give them life" and re-energize them. After a while, the disciple can find himself or herself starting to be energized enough by this source that they come to it to get energized instead of coming to Jesus (cf Mt 11:28). At this point, the activity has become a "sucker branch" that not only bears no fruit, it also consumes the disciple's time so they don't have much time or energy to bear fruit.

These activities may be good or even religious. Yet if we won't yield these activities to the will of God for the purpose of bearing fruit, the Father will soon come with a sharp sickle to cut them off. "He prunes away every barren branch" (Jn 15:2) from our life. He insists we bear fruit for His glory (Jn 15:8).

Jesus is the Vine, our Energy, and our Strength (Ps 18:2). He knows we grow weary, so He invites us to come to Him to be refreshed (Mt 11:28). He consumes us (Heb 12:29). However, as we are consumed by Him, we are not burned out (see Ex 3:2). Instead, we receive sustaining energy (Col 1:29; Heb 1:3) and new life (Jn 10:10). In Jesus, the Source of our strength, we have strength for everything (Phil 4:13).

Prayer:  Jesus, when I get tired for You, may I never get tired of You. Blow a cool, refreshing wind of the Spirit in my life so that I may bear abundant, enduring fruit for Your glory (Jn 15:8, 16).

Promise:  "He who lives in Me and I in Him, will produce abundantly, for apart from Me you can do nothing." —Jn 15:5

Praise:  Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three children in 1917. The message of Fatima is simple: Pray.

 http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/

 "Abide in me, and I in you"

Why does Jesus speak of himself as the true vine? The image of the vine was a rich one for the Jews since the land of Israel was covered with numerous vineyards. It had religious connotations to it as well. Isaiah spoke of the house of Israel as "the vineyard of the Lord"(Isaiah 5:7). Jeremiah said that God had planted Israel "as his choice vine" (Jeremiah 2:21). While the vine became a symbol of Israel as a nation, it also was used in the Scriptures as a sign of degeneration - a deformed state of spiritual growth and moral decline. Isaiah's prophecy spoke of Israel as a vineyard which "yielded wild grapes" (see Isaiah 5:1-7). Jeremiah said that Israel had become a "degenerate and wild vine" (Jeremiah 2:21).

One must be firmly rooted in the "Tree of Life"
When Jesus calls himself the true vine he makes clear that no one can grow in spiritual fruitfulness and moral goodness unless they are rooted in God and in his life-giving word. Religious affiliation or association with spiritually minded people is not sufficient by itself - one must be firmly rooted in the "Tree of Life" (Revelation 22:1-2, Genesis 2:8-9) who is the eternal Father and his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus makes a claim which only God can make - he is the true source of life that sustains us and makes us fruitful in living the abundant life which God has for us. It is only through Jesus Christ that one can be fully grafted into the true "vineyard of the Lord".

Bearing the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy
Jesus offers true life - the abundant life which comes from God and which results in great fruitfulness. How does the vine become fruitful? The vine dresser must carefully prune the vine before it can bear good fruit. Vines characteristically have two kinds of branches - those which bear fruit and those which don't. The non-bearing branches must be carefully pruned back in order for the vine to conserve its strength for bearing good fruit. Jesus used this image to describe the kind of life he produces in those who are united with him - the fruit of "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Jesus says there can be no fruit in our lives apart from him. The fruit he speaks of here is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23).

There is a simple truth here: We are either fruit-bearing or non-fruit-bearing. There is no in-between. But the bearing of healthy fruit requires drastic pruning. The Lord promises that we will bear much fruit if we abide in him and allow him to purify us. Do you trust in the Lord's healing and transforming power to give you the abundant life and fruit of his heavenly kingdom?

"Lord Jesus, may I be one with you in all that I say and do. Draw me close that I may glorify you and bear fruit for your kingdom. Inflame my heart with your love and remove from it anything that would make me ineffective or unfruitful in loving and serving you as my All."

Psalm 122:1-5

1 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!"
2 Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem, built as a city which is bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Cleansed by Jesus' word, by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.

"So the world - life enslaved by carnal passions - can no more receive the grace of the Spirit than a weak eye can look at the light of a sunbeam. First the Lord cleansed his disciples' lives through his teaching, and then he gave them the ability to both see and contemplate the Spirit. He says, 'You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you' (John 15:3). Therefore 'the world cannot receive him, because it neither sees him nor knows him... You know him, for he dwells with you' (John 14:17). Isaiah says, 'He who settled the earth and the things in it; and gives breath to the people on it, and Spirit to them that tread on it' (Isaiah 42:5). From this we can learn that those who trample earthly things and rise above them become worthy to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (excerpt from ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 22.53)

  

More Homilies

May 2, 2018 Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter