Readings for Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 14:5-18
There was an attempt in Iconium
by both the Gentiles and the Jews,
together with their leaders,
to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.
They realized it,
and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe
and to the surrounding countryside,
where they continued to proclaim the Good News.
At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth,
who had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
and called out in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet."
He jumped up and began to walk about.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done,
they cried out in Lycaonian,
"The gods have come down to us in human form."
They called Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes,"
because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice.
The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments
when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
"Men, why are you doing this?
We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts."
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds
from offering sacrifice to them.
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Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 14:5-18
There was an attempt in Iconium
by both the Gentiles and the Jews,
together with their leaders,
to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.
They realized it,
and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe
and to the surrounding countryside,
where they continued to proclaim the Good News.
At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth,
who had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
and called out in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet."
He jumped up and began to walk about.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done,
they cried out in Lycaonian,
"The gods have come down to us in human form."
They called Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes,"
because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice.
The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments
when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
"Men, why are you doing this?
We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts."
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds
from offering sacrifice to them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 14:5-18
“In an effort to convince his hearers that the divine power works through his word, Paul cures the cripple. However, the pagan tradition of the occasional appearance of gods among human beings leads the people astray in interpreting the miracle. The incident reveals the cultural difficulties with which the church had to cope. Note the similarity of the miracle worked here by Paul to the one performed by Peter in Acts 3:2-10.”[4]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16
R. (1ab) Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their God?"
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Heaven is the heaven of the LORD,
but the earth he has given to the children of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“In an effort to convince his hearers that the divine power works through his word, Paul cures the cripple. However, the pagan tradition of the occasional appearance of gods among human beings leads the people astray in interpreting the miracle. The incident reveals the cultural difficulties with which the church had to cope. Note the similarity of the miracle worked here by Paul to the one performed by Peter in Acts 3:2-10.”[4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16
R. (1ab) Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their God?"
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Heaven is the heaven of the LORD,
but the earth he has given to the children of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16
In this hymn of praise, we are again reminded the difference between God and idol as the song contrasts idolatry (“Their idols are silver and gold, the handiwork of men.”) with the Lord (“Our God is in heaven; whatever he wills, he does.”) It is a nice support to the denouncement of idolatry in Acts 14:15.
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Gospel: John 14:21-26
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
"Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
"I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you."
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In this hymn of praise, we are again reminded the difference between God and idol as the song contrasts idolatry (“Their idols are silver and gold, the handiwork of men.”) with the Lord (“Our God is in heaven; whatever he wills, he does.”) It is a nice support to the denouncement of idolatry in Acts 14:15.
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Gospel: John 14:21-26
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
"Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.
"I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you."
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Commentary on Jn 14:21-26
We pick up the Lords dialogue with his disciples right after he has first promised to send the Holy Spirit (the new advocate – the Paraclete). He now reinforces that promise with a summation of his great commandment and then completes our understanding of the Holy Trinity with; “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name--he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”
The Father and the Son are one and in the Name of the Son the Holy Spirit now remains with us.
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We pick up the Lords dialogue with his disciples right after he has first promised to send the Holy Spirit (the new advocate – the Paraclete). He now reinforces that promise with a summation of his great commandment and then completes our understanding of the Holy Trinity with; “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name--he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”
The Father and the Son are one and in the Name of the Son the Holy Spirit now remains with us.
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Reflection:
The synthesis of faith (a confession that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one) proclaimed in the selection from St. John’s Gospel leads us to Acts were the miraculous healing actions by Sts. Paul and Barnabas are mistaken for a pagan accomplishment. We can see that people become confused when they have no context in which they can place an event or action.
To the person who does not know God or know Jesus, the actions and reactions of Christians to events or circumstances might seem strange or even bizarre. Take for example the situation of one of the friends to whom we are connected through the Deacon’s Bench. Fr Sunny (Vincent Pazhukkakulam). Fr. Sunny is at this moment in India visiting his family. He had just celebrated Mass with many of his family members and brother priests on May 2nd commemorating the death of his father in 2002. On the next day, while on an outing with many family members, there was a car accident which injured a number of his family members (Fr. Sunny himself was in a second vehicle that was not involved.). His mother was severely injured and during the course of treatment suffered a heart attack that caused irreparable damage to her heart. Here is a quote from Fr. Sunny’s email recounting the events that followed:
“On May 6th (2009) around 9:30 pm before I went to sleep I saw her asked her whether she need anything or any wish. She said she is so happy and asked for the rosary. I gave my rosary and at 1 am on May 7th I got the call from ICU and I reached there within a minute because we all were there spending our time in the hospital. But when we reached there I could only see in the mission that her pulse is going down. She had a very peaceful death. Very happy death. I gave her last anointing ,,,”
We see in this account how living as Christ calls us can be misunderstood. We can see how those who do not know Jesus would not understand how a death in such tragic circumstances could be considered a “Very happy death.” Yet it is this gift the savior gives, this promise that allows us to understand through the eyes of faith how God loves us. He offers us a home in heaven and eternal peace to those who believe in him.
Today we pray for Fr. Sunny’s mother, may her soul wing its way to heaven to be embraced there by our loving Savior. We pray also for Fr. Sunny and his family, that they may be consoled in their grief by the Holy Spirit and reassured by God’s consolation and mercy.
Pax
To the person who does not know God or know Jesus, the actions and reactions of Christians to events or circumstances might seem strange or even bizarre. Take for example the situation of one of the friends to whom we are connected through the Deacon’s Bench. Fr Sunny (Vincent Pazhukkakulam). Fr. Sunny is at this moment in India visiting his family. He had just celebrated Mass with many of his family members and brother priests on May 2nd commemorating the death of his father in 2002. On the next day, while on an outing with many family members, there was a car accident which injured a number of his family members (Fr. Sunny himself was in a second vehicle that was not involved.). His mother was severely injured and during the course of treatment suffered a heart attack that caused irreparable damage to her heart. Here is a quote from Fr. Sunny’s email recounting the events that followed:
“On May 6th (2009) around 9:30 pm before I went to sleep I saw her asked her whether she need anything or any wish. She said she is so happy and asked for the rosary. I gave my rosary and at 1 am on May 7th I got the call from ICU and I reached there within a minute because we all were there spending our time in the hospital. But when we reached there I could only see in the mission that her pulse is going down. She had a very peaceful death. Very happy death. I gave her last anointing ,,,”
We see in this account how living as Christ calls us can be misunderstood. We can see how those who do not know Jesus would not understand how a death in such tragic circumstances could be considered a “Very happy death.” Yet it is this gift the savior gives, this promise that allows us to understand through the eyes of faith how God loves us. He offers us a home in heaven and eternal peace to those who believe in him.
Today we pray for Fr. Sunny’s mother, may her soul wing its way to heaven to be embraced there by our loving Savior. We pray also for Fr. Sunny and his family, that they may be consoled in their grief by the Holy Spirit and reassured by God’s consolation and mercy.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used today “Disputation over the Trinity” by Andrea del Sarto, 1517
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[4] See NAB footnote on Acts 14:5-18
[2] The picture used today “Disputation over the Trinity” by Andrea del Sarto, 1517
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
[4] See NAB footnote on Acts 14:5-18
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