DAILY READING and REFLECTIONS For Friday, May 30, 2014 6th week of Easter - Psalter 2 (White) Readings: Acts 18:9-18; Ps 47:1-7; Luke 24:26,46; John 16:20-23 Response: God is king of all the truth. Rosary: Sorrowful Mysteries Key Verse: In all truth I tell you, anything you ask from the Father he will grant in my name. SAINT OF THE DAY: Saint Joan of Arc Patron of soldiers and France Birth: 1412 - Death: 1431 Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne dArc,; ca. 1412 – 30 May 1431), nicknamed The Maid of Orléans (French: La Pucelle dOrléans), is considered a heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. She was born to a peasant family at Domrémy in north-east France. Joan said she received visions of the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine instructing her to support Charles VII and recover France from English domination late in the Hundred Years War. The uncrowned King Charles VII sent Joan to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted in only nine days. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VIIs coronation at Reims. On 23 May 1430, she was captured at Compiègne by the English-allied Burgundian faction, was later handed over to the English,and then put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon on a variety of charges, was convicted on 30 May 1431 and burned at the stake when she was about 19 years old. Twenty-five years after her execution, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr.[9] Joan of Arc was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. She is one of the nine secondary patron saints of France, along with St. Denis, St. Martin of Tours, St. Louis, St. Michael, St. Remi, St. Petronilla, St. Radegund and St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Joan of Arc has been a popular figure in cultural history since the time of her death, and many famous writers, filmmakers and composers have created works about her. Cultural depictions of Joan of Arc have continued in films, theatre, television, video games, music, and performances to this day. READINGS FOR THE DAY: READING 1: Acts 18:9-18 9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, Be fearless; speak out and do not keep silence: 10 I am with you. I have so many people that belong to me in this city that no one will attempt to hurt you. 11 So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months. 12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, 13 We accuse this man of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law. 14 Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, it would be in order for me to listen to your plea; 15 but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves -- I have no intention of making legal decisions about these things. 16 Then he began to hustle them out of the court, 17 and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the tribunal. Gallio refused to take any notice at all. 18 After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made. RESPONSORIAL PSALM, Psalms 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 2 For Yahweh, the Most High, is glorious, the great king over all the earth. 3 He brings peoples under our yoke and nations under our feet. 4 He chooses for us our birthright, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.Pause 5 God goes up to shouts of acclaim, Yahweh to a fanfare on the rams horn. 6 Let the music sound for our God, let it sound, let the music sound for our king, let it sound. 7 For he is king of the whole world; learn the music, let it sound for God! GOSPEL, John 16:20-23 20 In all truth I tell you, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. 21 A woman in childbirth suffers, because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So it is with you: you are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you. 23 When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions. In all truth I tell you, anything you ask from the Father he will grant in my name. REFLECTIONS: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God) OPENING PRAYER: Lord God, merciful Father, it is hard for us to accept pain, for we know that you have made us for happiness and joy. When suffering challenges us with a provocative why me? help us to discover the depth of our inner freedom and love and of all the faith and loyalty of which we are capable, together with, and by the power of, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ON READING 1: Acts 18:9-18 (Preaching to the Jews and Gentiles, Paul before Gallio and Return to Antioch via Ephesus) In this vision, given him to strengthen his resolve, Paul sees the Lord, that is, Jesus. The brief message he receives is reminiscent of the language God uses when he addresses the prophets and just men of the Old Testament (cf. Ex 3:12; Josh 1:5; Is 41:10). The words Do not be afraid occur often in divine visions and are designed to allay the impact of Gods overpowering presence (cf. Lk 1:30). In this case, the words are meant to allay Paul s premonitions about the severe treatment his opponents will hand out to him in Corinth. The vision once again indicates the graces which the Lord is bestowing on him to support his intense contemplative life, which is also a life of action in the service of Jesus and the Gospel. I tell you, St Teresa of Avila writes, those of you whom God is not leading by this road [of contemplation], that, as I know from what I have seen and been told by those who are following this road, they are not bearing a lighter cross than you; you would be amazed at all the ways and manners in which God sends them crosses. I know about both types of life and I am well aware that the trials given by God to contemplatives are intolerable; and they of such a kind that, were he not to feed them with consolations, they could not be borne. It is clear that, since God leads those whom he most loves by the way of trials, the more he loves them, the greater will be their trials; and there is no reason to suppose that he hates contemplatives, since with his own mouth he praises them and calls them his friends. To suppose that he would admit to his close friendship people who are free from all trials is ridiculous. I think, when those who lead an active life occasionally see contemplatives receiving consolations, they suppose that they never experience anything else. But I can assure you that you might not be able to endure their sufferings for as long as a day (Way of Perfection, chap. 18 ). God has foreseen the people who are going to follow the call of grace. From this it follows that the Christian has a serious obligation to preach the Gospel to as many people as he can. This preaching has a guaranteed effectiveness, as can be seen from its capacity to convert men and women of every race, age, social condition etc. The Gospel is for all. God offers it, through Christians, to rich and poor, to the educated and the uneducated. Any person can accept this invitation to grace: Not only philosophers and scholars believed in Christ, but also workmen and people wholly uneducated, who all scorned glory, and fear and death (St. Justin, Second Apology, 10, 8 ). Gallio was a brother of the Stoic philosopher Seneca. He had been adopted in Rome by Lucius Iunius Gallio, whose name he took. From an inscription at Delphi (reported in 1905) we learn that Gallio began his proconsulship of Achaia, of which Corinth was the capital, in July 51. Paul must have appeared before Gallio around the end of 52. This is one of the best-established dates we have for the Apostle. It is not quite clear what happened. Sosthenes may have been assaulted by the citizens of Corinth who were using the incident to vent their anti-Jewish feelings. But it is more likely that Sosthenes was in sympathy with the Christians and that the Jews were venting their frustration on him. In 1 Corinthians 1:1, a Christian called Sosthenes appears as co-author (amanuensis) of the letter; some commentators identify him with the ruler of the synagogue in this episode. The vow taken by a Nazarite (one consecrated to God) is described in the sixth chapter of the Book of Numbers. Among other things it involved not cutting ones hair (to symbolize that one was allowing God to act in one) and not drinking fermented drinks (meaning a resolution to practise self-denial). It is not clear whether it was Paul or Aquila who had taken the vow; apparently the vow ended at Cenchreae, for the devotees hair was cut there. ON THE GOSPEL: John 16:20-23 (Fullness of Joy) During these days between the Ascension and Pentecost, the Gospels of the day are taken from chapters 16 to 21 of the Gospel of Saint John, and form part of the Gospel called: “Book of Consolation or of the Revelation acting in the Community” (Jn 13, 1 to 21, 31). This Book is divided as follows: the farewell to the friends (Jn 13, 1a to 14, 31); witness of Jesus and prayer to the Father (Jn 15, 1 to 17, 28); the accomplished work (Jn 18, 1 to 20, 31). The environment of sadness and of expectation. Sadness, because Jesus leaves and the nostalgia invades the heart. Expectation, because the hour is arriving of receiving the promised gift, that of the Consoler who will make all sadness disappear and will once again bring the joy of the friendly presence of Jesus in the midst of the community. John 16, 20: The sadness will be transformed into joy. Jesus says: “In all truth I tell you: you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy”. The frequent reference to sadness and suffering express the environment of the communities at the end of the first century in Asia Minor (today, Turkey), for which John wrote his Gospel. They lived in a difficult situation of persecution and oppression which caused sadness. The Apostles had taught that Jesus would have returned afterwards, but the “parusia”, the glorious return of Jesus had not arrived and persecution increased. Many were impatient: “Until when?” (cfr. 2 Th 2, 1-5; 2 P 3, 8-9). Besides, a person bears a situation of suffering and of persecution when he/she knows that suffering is the way and the condition to attain perfect joy. And thus, even having death before the eyes, the person bears and faces suffering and pain. This is why the Gospel makes this beautiful comparison with the pangs of childbirth. John 16, 21: The comparison with pangs of childbirth. All understand this comparison, especially mothers: “The woman in childbirth suffers because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a human being has been born into the world”. The suffering and sadness caused by persecution, even without offering any horizon of improvement, are not the stertor of death, but rather the pangs of childbirth. Mothers know all this by experience. The pain is terrible, but they bear it, because they know that the pain, the suffering is a source of new life. Thus, is the suffering of the persecution of Christians, and thus, any suffering should be lived, that is, in the light of the experience of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. This image of the woman giving birth (frequently used in the Old Testament to express intense pain) is also often used, particularly by the prophets, to mean the birth of the new messianic people (cf. Isaiah 21:3; 26:17; 66:7; Jeremiah 30:6; Hosea 13:13; Micah 4:9-10). The words of Jesus reported here seem to be the fulfillment of those prophecies. The birth of the messianic people -- the Church of Christ -- involves intense pain, not only for Jesus but also, to some degree, for the Apostles. But this pain, like birth pains, will be made up for by the joy of the final coming of the Kingdom of Christ: I am convinced, says St. Paul, that the suffe- rings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). John 16, 22-23a: Eternal joy. Jesus explains the comparison: “So it is with you: you are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy and that joy no one shall take from you”. When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions. This is the certainty that gives courage to the tired and persecuted communities of Asia Minor and which makes one exult with joy in the midst of suffering and pain. As the poet says: “It hurts, but I sing!” Or as the mystic Saint John of the Cross says: “In a dark night, with an inflamed yearning for love, oh happy venture, I went out without being noticed, in my house all slept!” The expression on that day indicates the definitive coming of the Kingdom which brings with it its clarity. In the light of God, there will no longer be need to ask anything. The light of God is the full and total response to all the questions which could arise within the human heart. Jesus Christ is our intercessor in Heaven; therefore, He promises us that everything we ask for in His name, He will do. Asking in His name (cf. 15:7, 16; 16:23-24) means appealing to the power of the risen Christ, believing that He is all-powerful and merciful because He is true God; and it also means asking for what is conducive to our salvation, for Jesus is our Savior. Thus, by whatever you ask we must understand what is for the good of the asker. When our Lord does not give what we ask for, the reason is that it would not make for our salvation. In this way we can see that He is our Savior both when He refuses us what we ask and when He grants it.] FINAL PRAYERS: Clap your hands, all peoples, acclaim God with shouts of joy. For Yahweh, the Most High, is glorious, the great king over all the earth. (Ps 47,1-2) Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. -- St. Jerome The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever in everlasting silence; and in silence the soul has to hear it. -- St. John of the Cross
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 22:07:59 +0000
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