Saint John I, Pope, Martyr
Biographical Information about St. John I, Pope
Readings for Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 16:11-15
We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace,
and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi,
a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We spent some time in that city.
On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river
where we thought there would be a place of prayer.
We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.
One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.
After she and her household had been baptized,
she offered us an invitation,
"If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 16:11-15
This passage recounts how St. Paul and his companions leave for Philippi in Macedonia. We hear of the conversion of Lydia and her family. It is not clear if Lydia is part of the Jewish Community of that region or like the Eunuch converted by Philip (Acts 8:26-40) a “God-fearer” who embraced the concept monotheism. It appears that she gives St. Paul a base from which the rest of the community can be evangelized.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
Psalm 149 is a communal song of praise, rejoicing in God’s kingship and inviting the faithful to celebrate his saving works. We rejoice because God brings victory to the lowly and hope to the oppressed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 15:26—16:4a
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 15:26—16:4a
Jesus continues the theme of the strength to be given in the “Advocate”, the “Spirit of truth”, the Holy Spirit (see commentary on John 14:15-21). In this instance he predicts to his friends that once they begin to spread the Good News he gives them, they will face serious condemnation from their own faith community.
Jesus tells them they will be martyred by people who believe they are doing God’s will. They do this because the people to not know Jesus or understand that the Father is in him and he is in the Father and he is in his dispels so his disciples are also in the Father. This foreknowledge is intended to strengthen them when their hour comes (“I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We are now earnestly seeking the Holy Spirit in John’s Gospel (as Paul continues his journeys and starts the church at Philippi – see Paul’s letter to the Philippians.) The Holy Spirit is truly God’s guiding hand on our shoulder. The problem, of course, is that unless we look for it and ask for it, we can’t feel it and we miss its wise guidance.
Sometimes, as we see in the Acts, it takes a hold of people and its affects are profound and visible to everyone. Other times it acts more subtly and it is only in retrospect that we see its presence.
We ask for its presence in informal ways as we go through the day. Generally these prayers are short like “God, Help me.” or “God, come to my assistance.” Today let’s pray in a more formal way:
Come, Holy Spirit,
almighty Sanctifier,
God of love,
who filled the Virgin Mary with grace,
who wonderfully changed the hearts of the apostles,
who endowed all Your martyrs with miraculous courage,
come and sanctify us.
Enlighten our minds,
strengthen our wills,
purify our consciences,
rectify our judgment,
set our hearts on fire,
and preserve us from the misfortunes of resisting Your inspirations. Amen.[4]
Or we could borrow the words of St. Augustine:
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.
Amen.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “The Descent of the Holy Ghost” by Vecellio Tiziano, 1545
[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] Copyright © 1996 Shepherds of Christ. Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted: May be copied in its entirety, but neither re-typed nor edited. Revised: Tuesday, July 14, 1998 URL: http://www.Shepherds-of-Christ.org
Biographical Information about St. John I, Pope
Readings for Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 16:11-15
We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace,
and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi,
a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We spent some time in that city.
On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river
where we thought there would be a place of prayer.
We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.
One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.
After she and her household had been baptized,
she offered us an invitation,
"If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts 16:11-15
This passage recounts how St. Paul and his companions leave for Philippi in Macedonia. We hear of the conversion of Lydia and her family. It is not clear if Lydia is part of the Jewish Community of that region or like the Eunuch converted by Philip (Acts 8:26-40) a “God-fearer” who embraced the concept monotheism. It appears that she gives St. Paul a base from which the rest of the community can be evangelized.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
Psalm 149 is a communal song of praise, rejoicing in God’s kingship and inviting the faithful to celebrate his saving works. We rejoice because God brings victory to the lowly and hope to the oppressed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 15:26—16:4a
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 15:26—16:4a
Jesus continues the theme of the strength to be given in the “Advocate”, the “Spirit of truth”, the Holy Spirit (see commentary on John 14:15-21). In this instance he predicts to his friends that once they begin to spread the Good News he gives them, they will face serious condemnation from their own faith community.
Jesus tells them they will be martyred by people who believe they are doing God’s will. They do this because the people to not know Jesus or understand that the Father is in him and he is in the Father and he is in his dispels so his disciples are also in the Father. This foreknowledge is intended to strengthen them when their hour comes (“I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.”)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We are now earnestly seeking the Holy Spirit in John’s Gospel (as Paul continues his journeys and starts the church at Philippi – see Paul’s letter to the Philippians.) The Holy Spirit is truly God’s guiding hand on our shoulder. The problem, of course, is that unless we look for it and ask for it, we can’t feel it and we miss its wise guidance.
Sometimes, as we see in the Acts, it takes a hold of people and its affects are profound and visible to everyone. Other times it acts more subtly and it is only in retrospect that we see its presence.
We ask for its presence in informal ways as we go through the day. Generally these prayers are short like “God, Help me.” or “God, come to my assistance.” Today let’s pray in a more formal way:
Come, Holy Spirit,
almighty Sanctifier,
God of love,
who filled the Virgin Mary with grace,
who wonderfully changed the hearts of the apostles,
who endowed all Your martyrs with miraculous courage,
come and sanctify us.
Enlighten our minds,
strengthen our wills,
purify our consciences,
rectify our judgment,
set our hearts on fire,
and preserve us from the misfortunes of resisting Your inspirations. Amen.[4]
Or we could borrow the words of St. Augustine:
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.
Amen.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used is “The Descent of the Holy Ghost” by Vecellio Tiziano, 1545
[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] Copyright © 1996 Shepherds of Christ. Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted: May be copied in its entirety, but neither re-typed nor edited. Revised: Tuesday, July 14, 1998 URL: http://www.Shepherds-of-Christ.org
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