April 29, 2020 Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church
2020년 4월 29일 부활 제3주간 수요일
시에나의 성녀 가타리나 동정 학자 기념일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
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
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.”
April 29, 2020
Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church
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
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
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://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«Whoever comes to me shall never be hungry»
Fr. Gavan JENNINGS
(Dublín, Ireland)
Today we see how much our hunger and our thirst concern God! How can we continue to think that God is indifferent to our sufferings? And yet, so often, we “refuse to believe” in the tender love that God has for each one of us. In hiding himself in the Eucharist, God manifests the incredible lengths He will go to in order to satiate our thirst and our hunger.
But what thirst and hunger are these? Ultimately it is the hunger and thirst for “eternal life”. Physical hunger and thirst is only a pale reflection of a deep desire each man has for a divine life that only Christ can give us. «This is the will of the Father, that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall live with eternal life» (Jn 6,39). And what must we do to obtain this eternal life we so desire? Some heroic, superhuman feat? No, it is something much simpler for Jesus says: «Whoever comes to me, I shall not turn away» (Jn 6,37). We simply have to turn up – to come to Him.
These words of Christ spur us to come to him daily in Mass. This is the easiest thing in the world: simply to turn up at Mass, pray and then receive his Body. once we do this, we not only possess this new life, but we radiate it to others. Pope Francis, the then Cardinal Bergoglio, said in a Corpus Christi homily: «How beautiful it is, after receiving Holy Communion, to think of our lives as a prolonged Mass in which we bring the fruit of the presence of the Lord to the world of families, to the housing estates, to our study and work; thus we will also come to think of our life as a daily preparation for the Eucharist, in which the Lord takes everything that is ours and offers it once again to the Father».
«This is the will of the Father, that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall live with eternal life»
Fr. Joaquim MESEGUER García
(Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)
Today Jesus reveals himself as the bread of life. At first sight, the definition He makes of himself is rather curious and paradoxical; but, when we dig into it a little further, we realize that with these words the meaning of his mission is clearly stated: to save man and give him a new life. «And the will of him who sent me is that I lose nothing of what He has given me, but instead that I raise it up on the last day» (Jn 6:39). This is why, to perpetuate his saving act of giving himself for us and his presence among us, Jesus Christ has become spiritual aliment for us.
God makes it possible for us to believe in Jesus Christ and get close to him: «Yet, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I shall not turn away. For I have come from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me» (Jn 6:37-38). Therefore, with our faith, let us get close to him who has decided to be our nourishment, our light and our life for, as Ignatius of Antioch affirms «faith is the principle of true life».
Jesus Christ invites us to follow him, to nourish ourselves through him, for this is what it means to see him and believe in him. At the same time, He shows us how to abide by his Father's will, just as He does. When teaching his disciples the prayer of the sons of God, the Lord's Prayer, He put together these two petitions: «Your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today the bread that we need». This refers not only to the material bread, but to Himself, as the bread of eternal life whom, day after day, we have to remain very close to with the profound cohesion the Holy Spirit provides us with.
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Today is the feast day of Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church. Coincidentally, she’s my confirmation saint. I chose her for two reasons, one to honor my great-aunt Catherine who had recently died, and two because in reading the lives of saints I found much to admire in her. I loved that she was a writer and a scholar, a doctor of the church. I was in college when I converted to Catholicism and in studying for conversion I was reading and learning a lot about the religion and its history. I was an English major and a writer and knew even then that advanced degrees were in my future so I felt a real connection to Catherine who read and studied and wrote a lot. She had local followers and she also travelled and wrote many letters teaching spirituality. She also travelled and acted politically in support of the pope and carried on a long correspondence with him.
She was not keen on an arranged marriage her parents had planned for her. She considered herself married to Christ. She also took today’s Gospel reading to heart. “Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger.’” She was well known for her fasting. She would donate her family’s food and belongings to the poor, and the rest of her family was not always happy about that, but she fasted so she could donate food more freely. I try to emulate her in writing and studying, I’m not so great with the fasting. In fact, her own spiritual advisors and lay sisters thought she went too far with the fasting. Eventually her only sustenance was the daily Eucharist. Whether it was excess fasting or studying, she died at age 33. Almost immediately there were reports of miracles at her gravesite, and she was quickly canonized.
Our Psalm today says, “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.” Catherine lived every aspect of her life for God and his glory. She learned to read and write so she could learn more about God and religion and so she could share her mystical experiences through her letters and dialogues. She travelled in support of the pope at a time when women didn’t travel and not alone. She considered herself married to Christ in opposition to her parents’ wishes for her family. She accepted Jesus totally as the bread of life. I think I made a good choice when I chose Catherine for my confirmation saint as a role model for women in the church. She lived her spirituality in every fiber of her being and shared her love of God with everyone she could.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
the vocation in all locations
"Philip, for example, went down to the town of Samaria and there proclaimed the Messiah." —Acts 8:5
Philip, the deacon, was a witness for the risen Jesus no matter where he was. He witnessed in Jerusalem and even in Samaria. Philip witnessed to Simon the Magician (Acts 8:13), the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:35), and his four daughters who became prophetesses (Acts 21:8-9). He witnessed at home, in Jerusalem, in Samaria, and then in the Ethiopian's chariot on "the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route" (Acts 8:26). Then the Spirit "snatched Philip away" (Acts 8:39). "Philip found himself at Azotus next, and he went about announcing the good news in all the towns until he reached Caesarea" (Acts 8:40).
Because Philip began as a family man to witness to his family, he was led in stages to witness to the ends of the earth by the effects of the Ethiopian's conversion. Philip exemplified the last words of Jesus before His Ascension: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you; then you are to be My witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, even to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
Do you witness for the risen Jesus everywhere, especially beginning at home? Do you freely break the unwritten rules against witnessing for Jesus at work, at school, even in some homes, and in countless other places in our secular humanistic culture of death? Where are the places in your life where you are most strongly tempted to join in the exclusion of Jesus? By the power of the Holy Spirit, be like Philip. May you never let your location stop you from living your vocation to witness for the risen Jesus.
Prayer: Father, fill me with love for Jesus. May I always speak from the abundance of that love (Lk 6:45).
Promise: "No one who comes will I ever reject." —Jn 6:37
Praise: St. Catherine was the 23rd child in her family. The Lord had special plans for her. She greatly influenced public affairs and had a profound impact on the papacy in her time.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
"I will raise you up at the last day"
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.
Jesus offers us real abundant life - now and forever
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 offers unbroken friendship and the gift of everlasting life with God
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)
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