May 16, 2020 Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter

2020년 5월 16일 부활 제5주간 토요일

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

제1독서

사도행전. 16,1-10
그 무렵 1 바오로는 데르베를 거쳐 리스트라에 당도하였다.
그곳에 티모테오라는 제자가 있었는데,
그는 신자가 된 유다 여자와 그리스인 아버지 사이에 태어난 아들로서,
2 리스트라와 이코니온에 있는 형제들에게 좋은 평판을 받고 있었다.
3 바오로는 티모테오와 동행하기를 원하였다.
그래서 그 고장에 사는 유다인들을 생각하여
그를 데려다가 할례를 베풀었다.
그의 아버지가 그리스인이라는 것을 그들이 모두 알고 있었기 때문이다.

4 바오로 일행은 여러 고을을 두루 다니며,
예루살렘에 있는 사도들과 원로들이 정한 규정들을
신자들에게 전해 주며 지키게 하였다.
5 그리하여 그곳 교회들은 믿음이 굳건해지고 신자들의 수도 나날이 늘어 갔다.
6 성령께서 아시아에 말씀을 전하는 것을 막으셨으므로,
그들은 프리기아와 갈라티아 지방을 가로질러 갔다.
7 그리고 미시아에 이르러 비티니아로 가려고 하였지만,
예수님의 영께서 허락하지 않으셨다.
8 그리하여 미시아를 지나 트로아스로 내려갔다.
9 그런데 어느 날 밤 바오로가 환시를 보았다.
마케도니아 사람 하나가 바오로 앞에 서서,
“마케도니아로 건너와 저희를 도와주십시오.” 하고 청하는 것이었다.
10 바오로가 그 환시를 보고 난 뒤,
우리는 곧 마케도니아로 떠날 방도를 찾았다.
마케도니아 사람들에게 복음을 전하도록
하느님께서 우리를 부르신 것이라고 확신하였기 때문이다.

복음

요한. 15,18-21
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
18 “세상이 너희를 미워하거든
너희보다 먼저 나를 미워하였다는 것을 알아라.
19 너희가 세상에 속한다면
세상은 너희를 자기 사람으로 사랑할 것이다.
그러나 너희가 세상에 속하지 않을 뿐만 아니라
내가 너희를 세상에서 뽑았기 때문에,
세상이 너희를 미워하는 것이다.
20 ‘종은 주인보다 높지 않다.’고 내가 너희에게 한 말을 기억하여라.
사람들이 나를 박해하였으면 너희도 박해할 것이고,
내 말을 지켰으면 너희 말도 지킬 것이다.
21 그러나 그들은 내 이름 때문에
너희에게 그 모든 일을 저지를 것이다.
그들이 나를 보내신 분을 알지 못하기 때문이다.”

May 16, 2020

Saturday 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 16:1-10

Paul reached also Derbe and Lystra
where there was a disciple named Timothy,
the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,
but his father was a Greek.
The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him,
and Paul wanted him to come along with him.
On account of the Jews of that region, Paul had him circumcised,
for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
As they traveled from city to city,
they handed on to the people for observance the decisions
reached by the Apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem.
Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith
and increased in number.

They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory
because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,
so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.
During the night Paul had a vision.
A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words,
“Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
When he had seen the vision,
we sought passage to Macedonia at once, 
concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.

Responsorial Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 5

R. (2a) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is good:
his kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Jn 15:18-21

Jesus said to his disciples: 
“If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you,
‘No slave is greater than his master.’
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me.”  

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 «All this they will do to you for the sake of my name because they do not know the one who sent me»

Fr. Ferran JARABO i Carbonell
(Agullana, Girona, Spain)

Today, the Gospel opposes the world to Christ's followers. The world represents whatever sinful there may be in our existence. Consequently, one of the main characteristics of Christ's followers is fighting all evil and sin to be found in the world and inside every man. This is why, Jesus is the light of men, the light that illuminates the world's darkness. Karol Wojtyla exhorts us «so that this light makes us strong and capable to accept and love the entire Truth of Christ, and love it even more when opposed by our world».

Neither Christians nor the Church can follow the passing fads or criteria of this world. Christ's criterion is the unique, definitive and unavoidable one for us to follow. It is not up to Jesus to adapt himself to the world where we live; it is up to us instead to transform our lives after Jesus. «Christ is the same one whether yesterday, today or always». This should make us wonder. When our secularized society demands from us and from the Church certain changes or licences, we are simply being asked us to move away from God. We, Christians, however, should be faithful to Christ and to his message. Saint Ireneus says: «God does not need anything; but man needs to be in permanent communion with God. And man's glory lies in persevering and always keep in God's service».

This fidelity may, quite often, mean persecution: «If they persecuted me, they will persecute you, too» (Jn 15:20). We should not be afraid of persecution; we should rather be afraid of not attempting strongly enough to always make God's will. Let's be brave and let us proclaim without any fear Christ resurrected, light and joy of all Christians! Let us leave the Holy Spirit to transform us so that we can inform the whole world about it!

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

 

In today's gospel reading, Jesus continues his final testament to his friends.  He offers words of caution.  If you choose to follow me, your lives will involve challenges.  Because you are my friends, I offer you a new way of living in harmony.  It is quite simple; love one another.  But if you choose to follow me, which means following the one that sent me, you will be hated.  You will no longer belong to the world, and the world will persecute you.

Following the resurrection, the disciples lived in an in-between time.  A time they did not choose.  They had no choice but to come to terms with what they had lost.  Initially, they hid, and some of them tried to return to their lives before Jesus.  It seems that at some point, they came to the realization there was no going back.  They accepted that their lived experiences of Jesus, including his death, and resurrection had transformed them.  They no longer fit the paradigm of the world they knew before Jesus.  The only way out of the in-between time was to go forward.  I can imagine this decision involved many conversations and many questions such as: "Can we return to our old lives?" "If we do not go back, how do we go forward?" "This is all new, uncharted territory, how can we decide, now that our Master is gone?" "Remember, Jesus told us we would be hated and persecuted.  If the world hates and persecutes us, can we succeed?"

I am sure my imagining of the questions is influenced by where I see our world today.  We are in an in-between time, a place we did not choose to go.  COVID-19 has inflicted excruciating physical, mental, and emotional pain on many people. At the same time, life has slowed down, allowing time for transformation.  Like the disciples, we cannot go back to who we were pre-pandemic.  We have no choice but to come to terms with our situation.  However, we do have the freedom to choose how we integrate these experiences and who we become.   

Some of us might be asking, "How can I decide what to do?" St. Ignatius of Loyola, through the Spiritual Exercises, offers us the gift of spiritual discernment to help us decide (elect) how to proceed.  We see a glimpse of this at work in today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles (16:1-10).  Paul and Timothy rely on the Holy Spirit to guide their teaching and missionary travels. By trusting God, and choosing to do the work God has in mind, "The churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number."

In our time, the world looks back to the early church and sees the impact of the apostles' choice (election) to follow in Christ's footsteps, no matter the cost.  When the world looks back at the COVID-19 pandemic, what will the world see about our choice (election) to follow Christ?

"Fidelity consists in walking at God's pace, day after day, with enough vision gained from discernment to keep moving forward, and enough flexibility to change paths when the gentle breath of the Spirit leads us where and as it wants." - Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. former Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Address to the World-Wide Gathering of Provincials of the Society of Jesus, Loyola, Spain, September 22, 2000. 

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

pentecost promises and easter commands

"Through all this, the congregations grew stronger in faith and daily increased in numbers." —Acts 16:5

Could you say that through this Easter season that "the congregations grew stronger in faith and daily increased in numbers"? If we don't see Jesus adding daily to the Church's number (Acts 2:47), it's not that His promises are not true but that we are not receiving them. Jesus said: "I — once I am lifted up from earth — will draw all men to Myself" (Jn 12:32). Jesus has been lifted up in His death, Resurrection, and Ascension; therefore, we should see people being drawn to Him and to His Body, the Church.

The fulfillment of God's promises is often conditioned on us obeying His commands. For example, the Lord will daily increase our numbers if we serve as His witnesses. He will give us victory if we obey Him and enter the battle. The Spirit will miraculously give us the right words to say if we expose ourselves to persecution (Mt 10:19-20). We will work signs and wonders if we profess our faith (Mk 16:17). We will rise from the dead into glory if we die in Christ (2 Tm 2:11). Easter will lead to a new Pentecost if we "let it be done" unto us according to God's Word (Lk 1:38). Obey God's commands and inherit His promises.

Prayer:  Father, may my delight be to obey Your will (Ps 40:9).

Promise:  "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own; the reason it hates you is that you do not belong to the world. But I chose you out of the world. Remember what I told you: no slave is greater than his master." —Jn 15:19-20

Praise:  Alice stepped out in faith and now her ministry is bearing great fruit.

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

 "You are not of the world"

What does Jesus mean when he says "you are not of this world"? The world in Scripture refers to that society of people who are hostile towards God and opposed to his will. The world rejected the Lord Jesus and treated him with contempt, and his disciples can expect the same treatment. The Lord Jesus leaves no middle ground for his followers. We are either for him or against him, for his kingdom of light and truth or for the kingdom of darkness and deception. The prophet Isaiah warned that people who separate themselves from God because of their rebellious pride and spiritual blindness would end up calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

"Those who kept my word" (John 15:20)
If we want to live in the light of God's truth, how can we rightly distinguish good from evil and truth from deception? True love of God and his ways draw us to all that is lovely, truthful and good. If we truly love God then we will submit to his truth and obey his word. A friend of God cannot expect to be a friend of the world because the world is opposed to God's truth and way of righteousness.

"I chose you out of the world" (John 15:18)
Jesus' demand is unequivocal and without compromise. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15). We must make a choice either for or against God. Do you seek to please God in all your intentions, actions, and relationships? Let the Holy Spirit fill your heart and mind with the love and truth of God (Romans 5:5).

"Lord Jesus, may the fire of your love fill my heart with an eagerness to please you in all things. May there be no rivals to my love and devotion to you who are my all."

Psalm 100:1-5

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his;  we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!  Give thanks to him, bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Those who suffer with Christ reign with Christ, by Cyril of Alexandria, 375-444 A.D.

"It is just as if Jesus said, 'I, the creator of the universe, who have everything under my hand, both in heaven and on earth, did not bridle their rage or restrain ... their inclinations. Rather, I let each one choose their own course and permitted all to do what they wanted. Therefore, when I was persecuted, I endured it even though I had the power of preventing it. When you too follow in my wake and pursue the same course I did, you also will be persecuted. You're going to have to momentarily endure the aversion of those who hate you without being overly troubled by the ingratitude of those whom you benefit. This is how you attain my glory, for those who suffer with me shall also reign with me.'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY on THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 10.2)

  

More Homilies

May 5, 2018 Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter