May 26, 2022 Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter

 2022년 5월 26일 부활 제6주간 목요일 

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

제1독서

<바오로는 그들과 함께 지내며 일을 하였고, 회당에서 토론을 하였다.>

사도행전 .18,1-8
그 무렵 1 바오로는 아테네를 떠나 코린토로 갔다.
2 거기에서 그는 폰토스 출신의 아퀼라라는 어떤 유다인을 만났다.
아퀼라는 클라우디우스 황제가
모든 유다인은 로마를 떠나라는 칙령을 내렸기 때문에
자기 아내 프리스킬라와 함께 얼마 전에 이탈리아에서 온 사람이었다.
바오로가 그들을 찾아갔는데,
3 마침 생업이 같아 그들과 함께 지내며 일을 하였다.
천막을 만드는 것이 그들의 생업이었다.
4 바오로는 안식일마다 회당에서 토론하며
유다인들과 그리스인들을 설득하려고 애썼다.
5 실라스와 티모테오가 마케도니아에서 내려온 뒤로,
바오로는 유다인들에게 예수님께서 메시아시라고 증언하면서
말씀 전파에만 전념하였다.
6 그러나 그들이 반대하며 모독하는 말을 퍼붓자
바오로는 옷의 먼지를 털고 나서,
“여러분의 멸망은 여러분의 책임입니다.
나에게는 잘못이 없습니다.
이제부터 나는 다른 민족들에게로 갑니다.” 하고 그들에게 말하였다.
7 그리고 그 자리를 떠나 티티우스 유스투스라는 사람의 집으로 갔는데,
그는 하느님을 섬기는 이였다. 그 집은 바로 회당 옆에 있었다.
8 회당장 크리스포스는 온 집안과 함께 주님을 믿게 되었다.
코린토 사람들 가운데에서
바오로의 설교를 들은 다른 많은 사람도 믿고 세례를 받았다. 

 

복음

<너희가 근심하겠지만, 그러나 너희의 근심은 기쁨으로 바뀔 것이다.>

요한. 16,16-20
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
16 “조금 있으면 너희는 나를 더 이상 보지 못할 것이다.
그러나 다시 조금 더 있으면 나를 보게 될 것이다.”
17 그러자 제자들 가운데 몇 사람이 서로 말하였다.
“‘조금 있으면 너희는 나를 보지 못할 것이다.
그러나 다시 조금 더 있으면 나를 보게 될 것이다.’
또 ‘내가 아버지께 가기 때문이다.’ 하고 우리에게 말씀하시는데,
그것이 무슨 뜻일까?”
18 그들은 또 “‘조금 있으면’이라고 말씀하시는데, 그것이 무슨 뜻일까?
무슨 이야기를 하시는지 알 수가 없군.” 하고 말하였다.
19 예수님께서는 제자들이 묻고 싶어 하는 것을 아시고 그들에게 이르셨다.
“‘조금 있으면 너희는 나를 보지 못할 것이다.
그러나 다시 조금 더 있으면 나를 보게 될 것이다.’ 하고
내가 말한 것을 가지고 서로 묻고 있느냐?
20 내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
너희는 울며 애통해하겠지만 세상은 기뻐할 것이다.
너희가 근심하겠지만, 그러나 너희의 근심은 기쁨으로 바뀔 것이다.” 

May 26, 2022

Thursday of the Sixth 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 18:1-8 Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. He went to visit them and, because he practiced the same trade, stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue, attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. When they opposed him and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your heads! I am clear of responsibility.  From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” So he left there and went to a house belonging to a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next to a synagogue. Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized.   Responsorial Psalm Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4 R. (see 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power. or:  R. Alleluia. Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds; His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power. or: R. Alleluia. The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power. or: R. Alleluia. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; break into song; sing praise. R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power. or: R. Alleluia. Gospel Jn 16:16-20 Jesus said to his disciples:  “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks? We do not know what he means.”  Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

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

 

The Ascension of the Lord Back in the early sixties, in the Jesuit Novitiate, each Spring, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta was performed by the good singers of the class. The less-blest of us were given the opportunity to practice and sing, humilified, the Proper of the Ascension Mass. The first words of the Entrance Antiphone are the same for the Mass today, except they were in Latin and in Gregorian Chant. “Men of Galilee” or “Viri Galileei.”   I could actually sing all the parts even today.  We practice so hard and wanted to go up into heaven with Jesus rather than sing in chapel, assisting to pray those smirking members of the cast of "The H.M.S. Pinafore."  Some of us are known even today as the Viri Galileei Choir, with pride now I’d say, after sixty years. We have kind of two Gospels in today’s sacred liturgy. In the First Reading from the Gospel of the Holy Spirit which we know as Acts of the Apostles we hear of the beginning or birth of the Church. The second Gospel in this celebration is from Luke’s account of the birth, life and death and rising and the ascending of Jesus. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is ascending through His journeying up to Jerusalem. In Luke’s Gospel of the Holy Spirit Jesus asends, and as we will see, the Holy Spirit descends.   So it is that the story of God has its downs and ups. In the first Chapter of Luke’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit descends to Mary of Nazareth to initiate the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity. Luke has Jesus making His way up to Jerusalem. After His cruel downfall there, He rises and appears in proof of His Divinity and fidelity to His identity and to the world. What we hear in Luke’s account today, is that Jesus is lifted up after assuring his little group that they now have the mission to descend from Jerusalem to embrace all peoples with the Good News. At the end of our First Reading from the Acts up the Apostles, we hear of the two, who were dressed in white, asking the Apostles why they are looking up, gazing off into the blue. We can join them, if we wish, gazing into the blue of mysteries or insufficiencies. What these two messengers are saying to the Apostles is, “get on with it!” "You have seen enough, heard enough, now be enough for the Body of Christ to take flesh in you individually and corporally as The Church." The “men of Galilee” went back up to Jerusalem.   As with the "Viri Galille choir," they sang at times humilified with the more than scoffing listeners. They sang and their song continues when we are His Body revealing His Presence. We can be tempted that we are not ever enough. The Holy Spirit, Who inspired and guided that early Galilean band continues creating life in the Church and the world through such singers as ourselves. Don’t forget the words!!!

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

NINE DAYS TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

“You will grieve for a time, but your grief will be turned into joy.” —John 16:20

Because of the outbreak of the coronavirus, we in Ohio were not able to take part in public Masses for over two months. We “grieved” the loss of the Eucharist (see Jn 16:20). When the day arrived that we could attend Mass and receive the Holy Eucharist, our grief was turned to joy (Jn 16:20).

Tomorrow begins the Pentecost Novena, nine days of praying for and preparing to receive the Holy Spirit in a life-changing way at Pentecost. Jesus insisted that His apostles wait and pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The grief we have experienced in the two-month loss of Holy Mass was turned into joy that no one can take away from us (Jn 16:22).

The first apostles were also without the special presence of the Lord between the time of His Ascension and the day of Pentecost. They obeyed Jesus’ instruction to wait for the Holy Spirit by praying fervently (Acts 1:14). Likewise, we have been given nine days to pray and prepare for the Holy Spirit. Jesus says to you: “I send down upon you the promise of My Father. Remain [in prayer] until you are clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:49). Jesus has a most special gift for you, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). In obedience to Jesus, will you devote these next nine days to praying to receive a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

Prayer:  Father, I beg You to fill me with the Holy Spirit in a new way. May I use these gifts of the Spirit to serve You in holiness and power.

Promise:  “The Lord has made His salvation known; in the sight of the nations He has revealed His justice.” —Ps 98:2

Praise:  Focusing on our modern culture can be depressing. St. Philip Neri, a “saint of joy,” offers a remedy. He used his sense of humor while caring for the sick and imprisoned.

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

 

 Why did Jesus leave his disciples forty days after his resurrection? Forty is a significant number in the Scriptures. Moses went to the mountain to seek the face of God for forty days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years in preparation for their entry into the promised land. Elijah fasted for forty days as he journeyed in the wilderness to the mountain of God. For forty days after his resurrection Jesus appeared numerous times to his disciples to assure them that he had risen indeed and to prepare them for the task of carrying on the work which he began during his earthy ministry.

The Risen Lord is with us always to the end of time
Jesus' departure and ascension into heaven was both an end and a beginning for his disciples. While it was the end of Jesus' physical presence with his beloved disciples, it marked the beginning of Jesus' presence with them in a new way. Jesus promised that he would be with them always to the end of time (Matthew 28:20). Now as the glorified and risen Lord and Savior, ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven, Jesus promised to send them the Holy Spirit who would anoint them with power from on high on the Feast of Pentecost, just as Jesus was anointed for his ministry at the River Jordan (Luke 3:21-22, 4:1,18). When the Lord Jesus departed physically from the apostles, they were not left in sorrow or grief. Instead, they were filled with joy and with great anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The Risen Lord empowers us to carry on his work
Why did the Risen Lord ascend into heaven? The Father raised the glorified body of his Son and enthroned him in glory at his right hand in heaven. The Lord Jesus in his glorified body now reigns as Lord over the heavens and the earth - over all that he has created. The Risen Lord reigns from the throne in heaven as our Merciful Redeemer and Gracious King. He intercedes for us and he empowers us through the outpouring of his Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus gives us new life in his Spirit and he strengthens us in faith, hope and love so we can serve him and carry on his work as citizens of his kingdom here on earth.

You will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth
Jesus' last words to his disciples point to the key mission and task he has entrusted to his followers on earth - to be his witnesses and ambassadors to the ends of the earth so that all peoples, tribes, and nations may hear the good news that Jesus Christ has come to set us free from sin, Satan, and death and has won for us a kingdom of peace, joy, and righteousness that will last forever.

How can we be effective witnesses for Christ? Jesus told his disciples, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you - and you shall be my witnesses... to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Jesus gives his followers the same power he received when the Holy Spirit came upon him and anointed him at the beginning of his mission (John 1:32-33). The Gospel is the power of God, the power to release people from their burden of sin, guilt, and oppression, and the power to heal, restore, and make us whole. Do you believe in the power of the Gospel to change and transform your life?

We are ambassadors for Jesus Christ
Paul the Apostle reminds us that we are called to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ. Just as ambassadors are appointed to represent their country and to speak on behalf of their nation's ruler, we, too are appointed by the Lord Jesus to speak on his behalf and to bring others into a close and personal encounter with the Lord and Ruler of heaven and earth. This is the great commission which the risen Christ gives to the whole church. All believers have been given a share in this task - to be heralds of the good news and ambassadors for Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world. We have not been left alone in this task, for the risen Lord works in and through us by the power of his Holy Spirit. Today we witness a new Pentecost as the Lord pours out his Holy Spirit upon his people to renew and strengthen the body of Christ and to equip it for effective ministry and mission world-wide. Do you witness to others the joy of the Gospel and the hope of the resurrection?

Lord Jesus, through the gift of your Holy Spirit, you fill us with an indomitable spirit of praise and joy which no earthly trial can subdue. Fill me with your resurrection joy and help me to live a life of praise and thanksgiving for your glory. May I witness to those around me the joy of the Gospel and the reality of your great victory over sin and death.

Psalm 47:1-9

1 Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. [Selah]
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Jesus ascends to heaven in his body - divine and human nature, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"You heard what came to our ears just now from the Gospel: 'Lifting up his hands, he blessed them. And it happened, while he was blessing them he withdrew from them, and was carried up to heaven.' Who was carried up to heaven? The Lord Christ was. Who is the Lord Christ? He is the Lord Jesus. What is this? Are you going to separate the human from the divine and make one person of God, another of the man, so that there is no longer a trinity of three but a quaternary of four? Just as you, a human being, are soul and body, so the Lord Christ is Word, soul and body. The Word did not depart from the Father. He both came to us and did not forsake the Father. He both took flesh in the womb and continued to govern the universe. What was lifted up into heaven, if not what had been taken from earth? That is to say, the very flesh, the very body, about which he was speaking when he said to the disciples, 'Feel, and see that a spirit does not have bones and flesh, as you can see that I have' (Luke 24:39). Let us believe this, brothers and sisters, and if we have difficulty in meeting the arguments of the philosophers, let us hold on to what was demonstrated in the Lord's case without any difficulty of faith. Let them chatter, but let us believe." (excerpt from Sermon 242,6)

  

More Homilies

May 13, 2021 Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter