April 20, 2021 Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

2021년 4월 20일 부활 제3주간 화요일 

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

제1독서

<주 예수님, 제 영을 받아 주십시오.>

사도행전. 7,51ㅡ8,1ㄱ
그 무렵 스테파노가 백성과 원로들과 율법 학자들에게 말하였다.
51 “목이 뻣뻣하고 마음과 귀에 할례를 받지 못한 사람들이여,
여러분은 줄곧 성령을 거역하고 있습니다.
여러분도 여러분의 조상들과 똑같습니다.
52 예언자들 가운데 여러분의 조상들이 박해하지 않은 사람이 어디 있습니까?

그들은 의로우신 분께서 오시리라고 예고한 이들을 죽였습니다.
그런데 이제 여러분은 그 의로우신 분을 배신하고 죽였습니다.
53 여러분은 천사들의 지시에 따라 율법을 받고도 그것을 지키지 않았습니다.”
54 그들은 이 말을 듣고 마음에 화가 치밀어 스테파노에게 이를 갈았다.
55 그러나 스테파노는 성령이 충만하였다.
그가 하늘을 유심히 바라보니,
하느님의 영광과 하느님 오른쪽에 서 계신 예수님이 보였다.
56 그래서 그는 “보십시오, 하늘이 열려 있고 사람의 아들이
하느님 오른쪽에 서 계신 것이 보입니다.” 하고 말하였다.
57 그들은 큰 소리를 지르며 귀를 막았다.
그리고 일제히 스테파노에게 달려들어,
58 그를 성 밖으로 몰아내고서는 그에게 돌을 던졌다.
그 증인들은 겉옷을 벗어 사울이라는 젊은이의 발 앞에 두었다.
59 사람들이 돌을 던질 때에 스테파노는,
“주 예수님, 제 영을 받아 주십시오.” 하고 기도하였다.
60 그리고 무릎을 꿇고 큰 소리로,
“주님, 이 죄를 저 사람들에게 돌리지 마십시오.” 하고 외쳤다.
스테파노는 이 말을 하고 잠들었다.
8,1 사울은 스테파노를 죽이는 일에 찬동하고 있었다. 

 

복음

<하늘에서 너희에게 참된 빵을 내려 주시는 분은 모세가 아니라 내 아버지시다.>

요한. 6,30-35
그때에 군중이 예수님께 30물었다. “그러면 무슨 표징을 일으키시어
저희가 보고 선생님을 믿게 하시겠습니까? 무슨 일을 하시렵니까?
31 ‘그분께서는 하늘에서 그들에게 빵을 내리시어 먹게 하셨다.’는 성경 말씀대로,
우리 조상들은 광야에서 만나를 먹었습니다.”
32 예수님께서 그들에게 이르셨다. “내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
하늘에서 너희에게 빵을 내려 준 이는 모세가 아니다.
하늘에서 너희에게 참된 빵을 내려 주시는 분은 내 아버지시다.
33 하느님의 빵은 하늘에서 내려와 세상에 생명을 주는 빵이다.”
34 그들이 예수님께, “선생님, 그 빵을 늘 저희에게 주십시오.” 하자,
35 예수님께서 그들에게 이르셨다. “내가 생명의 빵이다.
나에게 오는 사람은 결코 배고프지 않을 것이며,
나를 믿는 사람은 결코 목마르지 않을 것이다.” 

April 20, 2021

Tuesday of the Third 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 7:51?8:1a

Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always oppose the Holy Spirit;
you are just like your ancestors.
Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?
They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one,
whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.
You received the law as transmitted by angels,
but you did not observe it.”

When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul. 
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them”;
and when he said this, he fell asleep.

Now Saul was consenting to his execution.

 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab

R. (6a) Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
My trust is in the LORD;
I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plottings of men.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

Gospel

Jn 6:30-35

The crowd said to Jesus:
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:

He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”

So they said to Jesus,
“Sir, give us this bread always.” 
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

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

 Growing up, my family went to the earliest Mass time offered on Sunday mornings – often at 7:00 am, but even as early as 6:00 am. As a child I would roll out of bed as closely to leaving time as possible, and of course we never had a meal before Mass. So, by the time the Liturgy of the Eucharist rolled around, I was dreaming of the muffin, eggs, and bacon that was going to be for breakfast while my stomach rumbled in hunger. I soon figured out, what I thought was, a trick. I would convince myself that when I received the Body of Christ, that it would keep me full until I got to breakfast. To be honest, it was childhood survival strategy. But now I look back on it with theological insight to the wisdom I had as child.

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.’”

This small unleavened wafer, the Body of Christ transformed in Mass, would quiet my rumbling stomach ready for breakfast. But even more happens in receiving the Body of Christ.

During a year of post-graduate volunteering in Denver, every Monday, we celebrated Mass as a community. Our chaplain, a Vincentian priest, often presided in these weekly Masses. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we gathered in a half circle around the small altar with unleavened bread, that I baked each week as my community “chore.” The priest would break the bread and pray the words that we hear at each Mass “Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” While saying these words, he would hold up the unleavened bread, and look around at each of us gathered together, saying these words to us – that by receiving the Body and Blood of Christ we are transformed, becoming what we are reminded of in the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila:

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

In receiving the Bread of Life, we no longer spiritually hunger and thirst. In fact, we are transformed and empowered to act as Christ in the world today. May we respond to this nourishment with the courage to be compassionate to those most in need in our communities, to love our enemies, and to use our time, talents, and resources for a more just world.

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

 

WHO WILL DIE?

“Those who listened to his words were stung to the heart.” —Acts 7:54

At the first Christian Pentecost, many who heard St. Peter preach were cut to the heart by his words and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:37). Three thousand of them repented, were baptized, and received the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:38, 41).

After St. Stephen preached, the people hearing him were cut to the heart (see Acts 7:54). Nevertheless, they did not repent. Rather, “they ground their teeth in anger at” Stephen (Acts 7:54). “The onlookers were shouting aloud, holding their hands over their ears as they did so. Then they rushed at him as one man, dragged him out of the city, and began to stone him” (Acts 7:57-58).

“God’s word is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12). God’s Word resists our resistance and demands a response. As our hearts begin to burn (Lk 24:32) when they are penetrated by God’s Word (Heb 4:12), we will either crucify our flesh “with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24) or kill the Lord’s prophets and thereby continue “crucifying the Son of God” and “holding Him up to contempt” (Heb 6:6).

What will you do? Even if you try to hide from God’s Word, His prophets may find you. What will you do when you are confronted with the life-changing demands of God? Say with Mary: “May it be done to me according to Your word” (Lk 1:38, RNAB).

Prayer:  “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59).

Promise:  “You are my Rock and my Fortress; for Your name’s sake You will lead and guide me.” —Ps 31:4

Praise:  Rosa takes the Eucharist and One Bread, One Body to distribute to people in the nursing home.

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

Do you hunger for the bread of life? The Jews had always regarded the manna in the wilderness as the bread of God (Psalm 78:24, Exodus 16:15). There was a strong Rabbinic belief that when the Messiah came he would give manna from heaven. This was the supreme work of Moses. Now the Jewish leaders were demanding that Jesus produce manna from heaven as proof to his claim to be the Messiah. Jesus responds by telling them that it was not Moses who gave the manna, but God. And the manna given to Moses and the people was not the real bread from heaven, but only a symbol of the bread to come.

Jesus then makes the claim which only God can make: I am the bread of life. The bread which Jesus offers is none else than the very life of God. This is the true bread which can truly satisfy the hunger in our hearts. The manna from heaven prefigured the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist or Lord's Supper which Jesus gave to his disciples on the eve of his sacrifice. The manna in the wilderness sustained the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land. It could not produce eternal life for the Israelites.

The bread which Jesus offers his disciples sustains us not only on our journey to the heavenly paradise, it gives us the abundant supernatural life of God which sustains us both now and for all eternity. When we receive from the Lord's table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood and partakers of his divine life. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward. Do you hunger for God and for the food which produces everlasting life?

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the bread of life. You alone can satisfy the hunger in my heart. May I always find in you, the true bread from heaven, the source of life and nourishment I need to sustain me on my journey to the promised land of heaven.

Psalm 31:3-8, 19-21

3 Yes, you are my rock and my fortress; for your name's sake lead me and guide me,
4 take me out of the net which is hidden for me, for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
6 You hate those who pay regard to vain idols; but I trust in the LORD.
7 I will rejoice and be glad for your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction, you have taken heed of my adversities,
8 and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.
19 O how abundant is your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear you, and wrought for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the sons of men!
20 In the covert of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you hold them safe under your shelter from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as in a besieged city.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Trusting in the Lord, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"If you put your trust in money, you are paying futile regard to vain things; if you put your trust in high office or some exalted rank in human government, you are paying futile regard to vain things... When you put your trust in all these, either you expire and leave them all behind, or they will crumble while you are still alive, and what you trusted will have let you down... For my part, I do not put my trust in empty things as they do or pay futile regard to them; I have put my trust in the Lord." (excerpt from Exposition on the Psalms 31,12) 

 

 

More Homilies

April 28, 2020 Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter