May 4, 2022 Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

 2022년 5월 4일 부활 제3주간 수요일

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

제1독서

<사람들은 이곳저곳 돌아다니며 말씀을 전하였다.>

사도행전. 8,1ㄴ-8
1 그날부터 예루살렘 교회는 큰 박해를 받기 시작하였다.
그리하여 사도들 말고는 모두 유다와 사마리아 지방으로 흩어졌다.
2 독실한 사람 몇이 스테파노의 장사를 지내고
그를 생각하며 크게 통곡하였다.
3 사울은 교회를 없애 버리려고
집집마다 들어가 남자든 여자든 끌어다가 감옥에 넘겼다.
4 한편 흩어진 사람들은 이곳저곳 돌아다니며 말씀을 전하였다.
5 필리포스는 사마리아의 고을로 내려가
그곳 사람들에게 그리스도를 선포하였다.
6 군중은 필리포스의 말을 듣고 또 그가 일으키는 표징들을 보고,
모두 한마음으로 그가 하는 말에 귀를 기울였다.
7 사실 많은 사람에게 붙어 있던 더러운 영들이 큰 소리를 지르며 나갔고,
또 많은 중풍 병자와 불구자가 나았다.
8 그리하여 그 고을에 큰 기쁨이 넘쳤다.

 

복음

<아버지의 뜻은, 아들을 본 사람은 누구나 영원한 생명을 얻는 것이다.>

요한. 6,35-40
그때에 예수님께서 군중에게 35 이르셨다.
“내가 생명의 빵이다. 나에게 오는 사람은 결코 배고프지 않을 것이며,
나를 믿는 사람은 결코 목마르지 않을 것이다.
36 그러나 내가 이미 말한 대로,
너희는 나를 보고도 나를 믿지 않는다.
37 아버지께서 나에게 주시는 사람은 모두 나에게 올 것이고,
나에게 오는 사람을 나는 물리치지 않을 것이다.
38 나는 내 뜻이 아니라 나를 보내신 분의 뜻을 실천하려고
하늘에서 내려왔기 때문이다.
39 나를 보내신 분의 뜻은,
그분께서 나에게 주신 사람을 하나도 잃지 않고
마지막 날에 다시 살리는 것이다.
40 내 아버지의 뜻은 또,
아들을 보고 믿는 사람은 누구나 영원한 생명을 얻는 것이다.
나는 마지막 날에 그들을 다시 살릴 것이다.” 

May 4, 2022

Wednesday 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 8:1b-8
There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem,
and all were scattered
throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria,
except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;
entering house after house and dragging out men and women,
he handed them over for imprisonment.

Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus 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 and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.

 

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a

R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

Gospel

Jn 6:35-40

Jesus said to the crowds,
“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”   

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

Not surprisingly in the weeks following the end of WWII the orphans and dislocated children in refugee camps had difficulties sleeping. After trying several remedies, the adults finally discovered that if after the children were fed dinner, if they gave each of them a piece of bread to hold in their hand, they would drift off. As the great author Annie Lamont writes in telling this story, “Holding the bread reminded them and connected them to the great truth — that morning would come, that there were grown-ups who cared and were watching over them, that there would be more food when they awoke.”

This is the message that we need to take away from today’s gospel. It is ok to feel uneasy with the goings on in the world around us, but the remedy is to keep Jesus close. Only He can provide a nourishment that satisfies our deepest hungers. He is the bread of life.

We will rest easier when we surrender to his love and grace. This connects us to the great truth — life is better when we let God watch over us. Eternal salvation is ours when we allow ourselves to wake up and accept His unending love for us. 

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

HARD TIMES ARE GOOD TIMES

“Saul, for his part, concurred in the act of killing. That day saw the beginning of a great persecution of the Church.” —Acts 8:1

We can be witnessing for the risen Christ by preaching (Acts 2:14ff), healing (Acts 3:7), rejoicing (Acts 3:8; 8:8), worshiping (see Jn 20:28), suffering (Acts 5:40), and dying (Acts 7:60). We can also witness for the risen Christ by continuing to serve the Lord, especially during hard times. For example, “devout men buried Stephen, bewailing him loudly as they did so. After that, Saul began to harass the Church. He entered house after house, dragged men and women out, and threw them into jail. The members of the Church who had been dispersed went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:2-4). In terrible times, the Church continued to focus on its work of preaching the good news of the risen Christ.

Our natural reactions to hard times are to shut down or to compensate. When things are bad, we tend to lose our motivation or busily exhaust ourselves on escapist activities. Only disciples of Jesus can witness, preach, forgive, and love from the cross. When we persevere and even accelerate our service to the Lord in difficult times, we witness to the love and power of the risen Christ. Paradoxically, the cross is the prime place from which to proclaim Jesus’ Resurrection. Make hard times good times. Keep keeping on.

Prayer:  Jesus, pour out Your love in my heart (Rm 5:5) so that I will never reject You but constantly worship You.

Promise:  “I Myself am the Bread of Life. No one who comes to Me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in Me shall ever thirst.” —Jn 6:35

Praise:  Sharon personally handed out many thousands of One Bread, One Body booklets with a smile, a hug, and a “Praise Jesus.” She died on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

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

 

Why did Jesus call himself the bread of life? The Jews understood that God promised them manna from heaven to sustain them on their journey to the promised land. Bread is the very staple of life. We could not live without food for very long. Bread sustains us. But what is life? Jesus clearly meant something more than mere physical existence. The life Jesus refers to is connected with God, the author of life. Real life is a relationship with the living God, a relationship of trust, love, obedience, peace, and joy. This is what Jesus makes possible for us - a loving relationship with God who created us for love with him. Apart from Jesus no one can enter that kind of life and relationship. Are you satisfied with mere physical existence or do you hunger for the abundant life which Jesus offers?

Jesus makes three claims here. First he offers himself as spiritual food which produces the very life of God within us. Second, he promises unbroken friendship and freedom from the fear of being forsaken or cut off from God. Third, he offers us the hope of sharing in his resurrection. Jesus rose physically never to die again. Those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior will be bodily raised up to immortal life with Jesus when he comes again on the last day. Do you know the joy and hope of the resurrection?

Lord Jesus Christ, your death brought life and hope where there was once only despair and defeat. Give me the unshakable hope of everlasting life, the inexpressible joy of knowing your unfailing love, and the unwavering faith and obedience in doing the will of our Father in heaven.

Psalm 66:1-7

1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name." [Selah]
5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land; men passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might for ever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations -- let not the rebellious exalt themselves. [Selah]

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Possessing the Scriptures, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"When you understand anything in the Scriptures, it is love that is manifesting itself to you. When you fail to understand, it is love that is hiding itself from you. Those, therefore, who possess charity possess both what is manifest in the divine words and what is hidden in them." (excerpt from Sermon 350,2) 

  

More Homilies

April 21, 2021 Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter