Sixth Sunday of Easter

 
Catechism Links [1]
 
CCC 2746-2751: Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper
CCC 243, 388, 692, 729, 1433, 1848: The Holy Spirit as Advocate/Consoler
CCC 1083, 2670-2672: Invoking the Holy Spirit

“Blessing Christ”
by Raffaello Sanzio, 1506

Readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Acts of the Apostles 8:5-8, 14-17
 
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 or crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.
 
Now when the apostles in Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God,
they sent them Peter and John,
who went down and prayed for them,
that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
for it had not yet fallen upon any of them;
they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they laid hands on them
and they received the Holy Spirit.
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Commentary on Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
 
St. Philip (the deacon ordained with St. Stephen) begins his missionary activities immediately following the death of St. Stephen. We hear many of the Hellenists were scattered following the deacon’s witness against the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. St. Philip goes with them into Samaria and proclaims the arrival of the Messiah in Christ. The Word is spreading, ironically because of the persecution of Christians by Saul.
 
We note the omission of verses 9-13. This passage speaks of the conversion of Simon the magician which was important for the community in that it differentiated the signs being done by the apostles from illusions being done by those believed to be sorcerers by the local inhabitants of the region. This important distinction is qualified in Acts 8:6-7: “With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.”
 
CCC: Acts 8:9-24 2121; Acts 8:12-13 1226; Acts 8:14-17 1315; Acts 8:15-17 1288; Acts 8:17-19 699
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
 
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.
 
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
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.
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Commentary on Ps 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
 
Psalm 66 is a song of thanksgiving. As it continues, the selection starts with part of the whole community blessing the Lord and follows in the second and third strophes with individual responses to the communal prayer. In the final strophe, v.20, we see the usual action of the person who has been rescued coming forward to teach the community what God has done.
 
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Reading II: 1 Peter 3:15-18
 
Beloved:
Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.
Always be ready to give an explanation
to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,
but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear,
so that, when you are maligned,
those who defame your good conduct in Christ
may themselves be put to shame.
For it is better to suffer for doing good,
if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.
 
For Christ also suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.
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Commentary on 1 Pt 3:15-18
 
Speaking again to the persecuted Christian community, St. Peter tells them to always be ready to bear witness to their faith, but to do so without condescension, but with love. Witnessing in this way with “gentleness and reverence” and not being defensive or vehement, their attackers will cause the Christians to look like victims, giving no one a reason to punish them. In this way, they were to follow the example of Christ who “suffered” (many sources read “died”) for all mankind, the righteous and the unrighteous.
 
CCC: 1 Pt 3:18-19 632
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Gospel: John 14:15-21
 
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
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Commentary on Jn 14:15-21

The farewell speech of the Lord continues with the promise of the Holy Spirit – the Paraclete. We note he says “another advocate.” Jesus himself is the first advocate (in St. John’s Gospel the term used synonymously with spokesman, mediator, intercessor, comforter, and consoler). Jesus says this gift is “the Spirit of truth” (from the Qumran or Dead Sea Scrolls- a moral force put into a person by God.). This promise is made because the disciples are becoming worried and are afraid of being left without Jesus’ guidance. In addition to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he leaves his peace, not just the greeting “Shalom,” but an inner peace that conquers fear.
 
CCC: Jn 14:16-17 729, 2615; Jn 14:16 692; Jn 14:17 243, 687, 2466, 2671; Jn 14:18 788
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Reflection:
 
As always on the Day of the Lord, we are asked to be imitators of Christ.  It sounds so easy:  “All you need to do to earn a place in heaven is imitate Jesus of Nazareth, and do what he asked people to do” -- just this one thing.  Yet, even with the practical advice given in Holy Scripture, we find living the commandments of Christ to be the hardest thing we have ever attempted.
 
We are constantly faced with opportunities to fall from grace.  It is like walking a tight-rope, one moment of inattention, one false step and we lose our balance and fall.  With a deeper understanding of the message of Jesus, we see how hard it is and may think, “Why try? There is no way I can be like that.”
 
Into our questioning and doubt comes the Lord with help for us.  Through St. John he tells us (as he told his disciples) that even though he is going home, to join his Father in heaven, he is not making us orphans.  He is leaving us with a new Advocate.  He, who is both man and God, leaves us God, indwelling as a guide and counselor.  We feel it as that inner voice, guiding us; that warning voice telling us where not to go; that consoling voice that gives us hope.
 
Strengthened by the gift of the Holy Spirit, we should be convinced that what is asked of us by God’s perfect expression of love is possible, a reasonable expectation by the one who created us and should know.  Even though we still doubt (who, after all, has seen the Holy Spirit AKA “Holy Ghost”?), we are called onward by the voice of Jesus “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.” 
 
Ironically, it gets easier with that statement.  If we love the Lord and know what pleases him, it becomes a matter of keeping our love for him in the back of our minds constantly.  Similarly, one we are desperately in love with is always on our mind, not to the point of distraction (that is an obsession) but always nearby.
 
Still, it is not easy what the Lord asks, commands!  But he did not leave us without resources, so we only need to reach for that strength, and it will be there.  We pray today for the strength to call on that font of hope and wisdom left to us by the Prince of Peace.
 
Pax
 
On this date in other years: Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used today is “Blessing Christ” by Raffaello Sanzio, 1506.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.