Saint Peter Chanel, Priest, Martyr
Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Priest
Biographical Information about St. Peter Chanel
Biographical Information St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort
Readings for Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 7:51—8:1a
Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always oppose the Holy Spirit;
you are just like your ancestors.
Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?
They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one,
whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.
You received the law as transmitted by angels,
but you did not observe it."
When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
"Lord, do not hold this sin against them";
and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Now Saul was consenting to his execution.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 7:51—8:1a
St. Stephen is martyred for proclaiming Jesus Christ risen. He is the first Christian martyr, stoned outside of Jerusalem with the consent of one of the representatives of the Sanhedrin (“The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.”) who we know later became St. Paul.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6 and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab
R. (6a) Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name's sake you will lead and guide me.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
My trust is in the LORD;
I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plottings of men.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab
This is an individual lament. The section links nicely to the death of St. Stephen with “Into your hands I commend my spirit” and “You hide them in the shelter of your presence from the plottings of men.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 6:30-35
The crowd said to Jesus:
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
So Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world."
So they said to Jesus,
"Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 6:30-35
Jesus continues the “Bread of Life” discourse. In this selection St. John provides the most solemn of statements by Jesus which are unambiguous statements about the real presence in the Eucharist: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Within all of the Christian denominations there is no more unifying and divisive doctrine of faith than that of the “real presence in the Eucharist”. Yes, there are, in addition to the Eastern Rite Churches, two other non-Catholic denominations that believe in the real presence, some of the Lutheran Synods and the “High” Episcopalians or Anglicans. Yet even in some of these, the understanding is different than that of the Roman Catholic Church. Now something even more disturbing, many professed Roman Catholics do not believe in the real presence.
That belief is one of the Precepts of the Church. That means that in order to be in communion with the Church, one must believe that; at the rite of consecration within the Liturgy of the Eucharist, first bread and then wine are transubstantiated (changed in substance) into the Body of Christ (the Bread of Life) and the Blood of Christ.
This event, repeated around the world each day (except Good Friday) is not a simple memorial and is not a remembrance as it is understood in a majority of the protestant denominations. It represents for us, as the Divine Mercy Chaplet says; “The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity” of our Lord Jesus Christ whose sacrifice on the cross redeemed us by becoming the “Sin Offering” for all of humanity.
Today, St. John gives us those amazing words, uttered by the Lord all those years ago in response to people looking for life through a physical meal (remember, this is the crowd that Jesus fed with the five barley loaves) and the Lord here offers them the spiritual food that will lead them to eternal life. Let us pray today that all Christians everywhere will come to understand the great gift the Lord left us in the Eucharist and the Holy Presence He maintains in it.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Communion of the Apostles” by Luca Signorelli, 1512
[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.
Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, Priest
Biographical Information about St. Peter Chanel
Biographical Information St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort
Readings for Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 7:51—8:1a
Stephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,
you always oppose the Holy Spirit;
you are just like your ancestors.
Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?
They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one,
whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.
You received the law as transmitted by angels,
but you did not observe it."
When they heard this, they were infuriated,
and they ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
"Lord, do not hold this sin against them";
and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Now Saul was consenting to his execution.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 7:51—8:1a
St. Stephen is martyred for proclaiming Jesus Christ risen. He is the first Christian martyr, stoned outside of Jerusalem with the consent of one of the representatives of the Sanhedrin (“The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.”) who we know later became St. Paul.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 31:3cd-4, 6 and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab
R. (6a) Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name's sake you will lead and guide me.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
My trust is in the LORD;
I will rejoice and be glad of your mercy.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
You hide them in the shelter of your presence
from the plottings of men.
R. Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 31:3cd-4, 6 and 7b and 8a, 17 and 21ab
This is an individual lament. The section links nicely to the death of St. Stephen with “Into your hands I commend my spirit” and “You hide them in the shelter of your presence from the plottings of men.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 6:30-35
The crowd said to Jesus:
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
So Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world."
So they said to Jesus,
"Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 6:30-35
Jesus continues the “Bread of Life” discourse. In this selection St. John provides the most solemn of statements by Jesus which are unambiguous statements about the real presence in the Eucharist: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Within all of the Christian denominations there is no more unifying and divisive doctrine of faith than that of the “real presence in the Eucharist”. Yes, there are, in addition to the Eastern Rite Churches, two other non-Catholic denominations that believe in the real presence, some of the Lutheran Synods and the “High” Episcopalians or Anglicans. Yet even in some of these, the understanding is different than that of the Roman Catholic Church. Now something even more disturbing, many professed Roman Catholics do not believe in the real presence.
That belief is one of the Precepts of the Church. That means that in order to be in communion with the Church, one must believe that; at the rite of consecration within the Liturgy of the Eucharist, first bread and then wine are transubstantiated (changed in substance) into the Body of Christ (the Bread of Life) and the Blood of Christ.
This event, repeated around the world each day (except Good Friday) is not a simple memorial and is not a remembrance as it is understood in a majority of the protestant denominations. It represents for us, as the Divine Mercy Chaplet says; “The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity” of our Lord Jesus Christ whose sacrifice on the cross redeemed us by becoming the “Sin Offering” for all of humanity.
Today, St. John gives us those amazing words, uttered by the Lord all those years ago in response to people looking for life through a physical meal (remember, this is the crowd that Jesus fed with the five barley loaves) and the Lord here offers them the spiritual food that will lead them to eternal life. Let us pray today that all Christians everywhere will come to understand the great gift the Lord left us in the Eucharist and the Holy Presence He maintains in it.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “Communion of the Apostles” by Luca Signorelli, 1512
[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.
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