April 22, 2021Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
2021년 4월 22일 부활 제3주간 목요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
<여기에 물이 있습니다. 내가 세례를 받는 데에 무슨 장애가 있겠습니까?>
사도행전. 8,26-40
그 무렵 26 주님의 천사가 필리포스에게 말하였다.
“일어나 예루살렘에서 가자로 내려가는 길을 따라 남쪽으로 가거라.
그것은 외딴길이다.”
27 필리포스는 일어나 길을 가다가 에티오피아 사람 하나를 만났다.
그는 에티오피아 여왕 칸다케의 내시로서,
그 여왕의 모든 재정을 관리하는 고관이었다.
그는 하느님께 경배하러 예루살렘에 왔다가 28 돌아가면서,
자기 수레에 앉아 이사야 예언서를 읽고 있었다.
29 그때에 성령께서 필리포스에게,
“가서 저 수레에 바싹 다가서라.” 하고 이르셨다.
30 필리포스가 달려가 그 사람이 이사야 예언서를 읽는 것을 듣고서,
“지금 읽으시는 것을 알아듣습니까?” 하고 물었다.
31 그러자 그는 “누가 나를 이끌어 주지 않으면
내가 어떻게 알아들을 수 있겠습니까?” 하고서,
필리포스에게 올라와 자기 곁에 앉으라고 청하였다.
32 그가 읽던 성경 구절은 이러하였다. “그는 양처럼 도살장으로 끌려갔다.
털 깎는 사람 앞에 잠자코 서 있는 어린양처럼 자기 입을 열지 않았다.
33 그는 굴욕 속에 권리를 박탈당하였다.
그의 생명이 이 세상에서 제거되어 버렸으니 누가 그의 후손을 이야기하랴?”
34 내시가 필리포스에게 물었다. “청컨대 대답해 주십시오.
이것은 예언자가 누구를 두고 하는 말입니까?
자기 자신입니까, 아니면 다른 사람입니까?”
35 필리포스는 입을 열어 이 성경 말씀에서 시작하여
예수님에 관한 복음을 그에게 전하였다.
36 이렇게 그들이 길을 가다가 물이 있는 곳에 이르자 내시가 말하였다.
“여기에 물이 있습니다.
내가 세례를 받는 데에 무슨 장애가 있겠습니까?”
(37)·38 그러고 나서 수레를 세우라고 명령하였다.
필리포스와 내시, 두 사람은 물로 내려갔다.
그리고 필리포스가 내시에게 세례를 주었다.
39 그들이 물에서 올라오자 주님의 성령께서 필리포스를 잡아채듯 데려가셨다.
그래서 내시는 그를 더 이상 보지 못하였지만 기뻐하며 제 갈 길을 갔다.
40 필리포스는 아스돗에 나타나,
카이사리아에 이르기까지 모든 고을을 두루 다니며 복음을 전하였다.
복음
<나는 하늘에서 내려온 살아 있는 빵이다.>
요한. 6,44-51
”그때에 예수님께서 군중에게 말씀하셨다.
44 “나를 보내신 아버지께서 이끌어 주지 않으시면 아무도 나에게 올 수 없다.
그리고 나에게 오는 사람은 내가 마지막 날에 다시 살릴 것이다.
45 ‘그들은 모두 하느님께 가르침을 받을 것이다.’라고 예언서들에 기록되어 있다.
아버지의 말씀을 듣고 배운 사람은 누구나 나에게 온다.
46 그렇다고 하느님에게서 온 이 말고 누가 아버지를 보았다는 말은 아니다.
하느님에게서 온 이만 아버지를 보았다.
47 내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다. 믿는 사람은 영원한 생명을 얻는다.
48 나는 생명의 빵이다.
49 너희 조상들은 광야에서 만나를 먹고도 죽었다.
50 그러나 이 빵은 하늘에서 내려오는 것으로, 이 빵을 먹는 사람은 죽지 않는다.
51 나는 하늘에서 내려온 살아 있는 빵이다.
누구든지 이 빵을 먹으면 영원히 살 것이다.
내가 줄 빵은 세상에 생명을 주는 나의 살이다.”
April 22, 2021
Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
“Get up and head south on the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.”
So he got up and set out.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a court official of the Candace,
that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,
in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
“Go and join up with that chariot.”
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,
“Do you understand what you are reading?”
He replied,
“How can I, unless someone instructs me?”
So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
This was the Scripture passage he was reading:
Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.
Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,
“I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?
About himself, or about someone else?”
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.
As they traveled along the road
they came to some water,
and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water.
What is to prevent my being baptized?”
Then he ordered the chariot to stop,
and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
When they came out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,
and the eunuch saw him no more,
but continued on his way rejoicing.
Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news
to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the crowds:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
When I read the lessons for today, especially the passage about the Ethiopian eunuch who had been baptized by Phillip on the road to Gaza, I was immediately drawn to the words, “on his way rejoicing.” It reminded of me of an old but very, popular hymn, “On Our Way Rejoicing.” It was written by John S. B. Monsell, a chaplain and rector of several churches in Ireland and England. He wrote over three hundred hymns, this one in 1863. The verses of the hymn are printed below. It was sung consistently in several denominations ever since and even experienced a rise in popularity in the 1990s, tapering off again in the 2000s. As was the case for many hymns, it was composed by a pastor to intensify the lessons of a particular Sunday through music and to intensify their message in the minds of worshipers in the week to come.
This hymn has come to be a particularly strong endorsement of the rest of the readings for today. It is a clear call to proclaim the good news of our redemption through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as a fulfilled promise of God. It is about rejoicing as in Psalm 66, where we are reminded to "Let all the earth cry out to God with joy!"
Verse 1:
On our way rejoicing, gladly let us go,
Christ our Lord has conquered, vanquished is the foe.
Christ without our safety, Christ within our joy,
Who, if we be faithful, can our hope destroy?Refrain:
On our way rejoicing,
As we (homeward, forward, or onward) move. (changed for recessions or processions)
Hearken to our praises,
O, blest God of love.Verse 2:
Unto God the Father, Joyful songs we sing,
Unto God the savior, thankful hearts we bring,
Unto God the Spirit, bow we and adore,
On our way rejoicing, now and evermore.Verse 3: (Not found in all hymn books)
If with honest-hearted, love for God and man,
Day by day Thou find us, doing what we can.
Thou who gives the seed-time, wilt give large increase,
Crown the head with blessings, fill the heart with peace.
I pray that today many readers will find this a useful way to pray today’s lessons throughout the day, as we go ON OUR WAY REJOICING!
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
EVANGELIZATION FOR DUMMIES
“An angel of the Lord then addressed himself to Philip: ‘Head south toward the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.’ Philip began the journey.” —Acts 8:26
There is currently a best-selling series of computer training books which all have titles ending with “For Dummies.” These books contain simple step-by-step directions. They have great popular appeal, because many people feel the subjects of the books are overwhelming and that they are not smart enough to understand them. Simple, specific directions are exactly what overwhelmed people are looking for. Likewise, the Holy Spirit used this same approach with Philip, the deacon, in today’s first reading.
The Holy Spirit directed Philip step-by-step in evangelizing, giving him specific, achievable directions. Anyone can head south down a specific road and catch up with a carriage (Acts 8:26, 29-30). When Philip reached the carriage, all he had to do was follow the eunuch’s lead and answer his questions. The eunuch made it easy on Philip by orchestrating his own Baptism. All Philip had to do was hear simple directions and obey them. Because he did, the Gospel was carried to the continent of Africa.
The task of evangelizing a neighborhood, town, or nation can seem overwhelming. If we focus on our own abilities, it is overwhelming. However, the Holy Spirit has everything planned. All we need to do is listen to the Spirit and be ready and willing to follow His directions.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, may I focus on You and not on myself.
Promise: “I Myself am the Living Bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world.” —Jn 6:51
Praise: Paul heard the call to the seminary and is now a transitional deacon.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
God offers his people abundant life, but we can miss it. What is the bread of life which Jesus offers? It is first of all the life of God himself - life which sustains us not only now in this age but also in the age to come. The Rabbis said that the generation in the wilderness have no part in the life to come. In the Book of Numbers it is recorded that the people who refused to brave the dangers of the promised land were condemned to wander in the wilderness until they died. The Rabbis believed that the father who missed the promised land also missed the life to come. God sustained the Israelites in the wilderness with manna from heaven. This bread foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers.
Jesus is the "bread of life"
Jesus makes a claim only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience. 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 for all eternity.
The food that makes us live forever
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 the "bread of life"?
Jesus offers us the abundant supernatural life of heaven itself - but we can miss it or even refuse it. To refuse Jesus is to refuse eternal life, unending life with the Heavenly Father. To accept Jesus as the bread of heaven is not only life and spiritual nourishment for this world but glory in the world to come. When you approach the Table of the Lord, what do you expect to receive? Healing, pardon, comfort, and rest for your soul? The Lord has much more for us, more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist or Lord's Supper is an intimate union with Christ. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more firmly rooted in the love of Christ. Do you hunger for the "bread of life"?
Lord Jesus, you are the living bread which sustains me in this life. May I always hunger for the bread which comes from heaven and find in it the nourishment and strength I need to love and serve you wholeheartedly. May I always live in the joy, peace, and unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and in the age to come.
Psalm 66:8-9,16-17,20
8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
17 I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.
20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Studying the Scriptures with humility, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"My ambition as a youth was to apply to the study of the Holy Scriptures all the refinement of dialectics. I did so, but without the humility of the true searcher. I was supposed to knock at the door so that it would open for me. Instead I was pushing it closed, trying to understand in pride what is only learned in humility. However, the all-merciful Lord lifted me up and kept me safe." (excerpt from Sermon 51,6)
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