A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 13, n. 23)
5th Sunday of Easter & Easter Weekday 5: May 3-9, 2015 **
(N.B. The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year B from three perspectives. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 1. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 4. For reflections based on the Second Reading, open Series 7. Please go to Series 10 - Series 13 for the back issues of the Weekday Lectio. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: April 26-May 2, 2015, please go to ARCHIVES Series 13 and click on “Easter Week 4”.
(Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: May 3-9, 2015.)
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May 3, 2015: FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Vine and We Are the Branches”
BIBLICAL READINGS
Acts 9:26-31 // I Jn 3:18-24 // Jn 15:1-8
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
I love raisins. When I was a little girl, I would often yearn for that familiar red box with its signature smiling girl in a bonnet and the California SUN-MAID raisins that the box contains. The natural goodness and delightful sweetness of the raisins made my mouth water. If sun-dried raisins are good, the fresh grapes from the vine are even better. Every time I hold a bunch of grapes, my heart is filled with praise and thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord. Each little grape is a symbol of the fruitfulness of the vine and reminds me of the life-giving lymph that flows from the stem to the branches, to the leaves, and to the fruit. Our convent here in Fresno is bordered by a neighbor’s vineyard. I consider myself lucky that I have a chance to contemplate daily a well-tended vineyard, with pruned branches sprouting new leaves and, eventually, abundant fruit hanging from the vine. Indeed, seeing thick bunches of luscious grapes clinging firmly to the vine enables me to understand better the allegory that the evangelist John presents in this Sunday’s Gospel reading (Jn 15:1-8): Jesus the Vine, the Disciples the Branches.
The symbol of the vine and vineyard is well known to the Jews. Several Old Testament passages see Israel both as God’s vine (cf. Ps 80:8-16), the object of his loving care, and as the vineyard of God (cf. Is 5:1-7). The evangelist John, in presenting Jesus as the “true vine”, delineates the idea that Christ supersedes the Old Testament reality. Louis Bouyer remarks: “In Saint John’s Gospel, by identifying himself with the true vine, Jesus proclaims that the true Israel is in him, and only those united with him can form a part of it.” Old Testament traditions speak of pruning fruitless vines (cf. Jer 5:10; Ez 17:7). John’s reference to the unfortunate destiny of the unfruitful vines (cf. Jn 15:2) may have been a warning to “fallen off” Christians who attempt to hide their faith under persecution.
The main interest, however, of the allegory of the vine and the branches presented in John’s Gospel is to underline the necessity of the close union between the Lord and his disciples. When Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are the branches” (Jn 15:5), he declares his intimate oneness and personal relationship with his disciples. The disciples need to be integrated with him who is the source of life and the living principle of unity for the entire organism. Since Christ is the source of life, the disciples cannot bear fruit unless they remain organically united with him. When Jesus remains in them through indwelling, and they remain in Jesus through love, then they bear abundant fruit. Adrian Nocent comments: “There is, then, an exchange of love between Christ and each member of the Church, and between each member of the Church and the other members who are united to Christ.”
The disciples who abide in Jesus must bring forth abundant fruit. And God prunes and purifies the fruitful ones so that they can become even more fruitful. The painful process of pruning the vines is necessary for a fruitful harvest. In the same way that Jesus, the “true vine” has been “pruned” in the paschal process of passion and death that led to his glorification, so must the disciples of Jesus, as vibrant branches remaining in the “true vine”, undergo the cleansing power of the “living Word” and the pruning process of the Cross. Teresa Okure asserts: “There can be no stunted disciples of Jesus. The more one is alive and vibrant in the vine, the more one will need to be pruned.”
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In Christmas 2005 we had some wonderful guests for dinner at our convent in Monrovia: Fr. Matthew and his best friend Paul, who was about to be ordained a priest. The inspiring vocation story of Fr. Matthew Wayne Munoz, the grandson of the famous actor, John Wayne, was featured in the magazine, St. Anthony Messenger. I was delighted to meet Fr. Matthew and Paul and really enjoyed their company. After dinner Fr. Matthew and Paul tarried. When they were about to go, Fr. Matthew suggested that we pray one decade of the Rosary in the chapel. It was a great idea and so off we went to the chapel. After praying a decade of the Rosary, we sang a Christmas song with joy and devotion. Paul followed it with a very inspiring prayer. Soon we were praying and singing spontaneously in various languages. Fr. Matthew sang beautifully an evocative song in Hebrew. What was supposed to be a very brief moment of prayer was transformed into a true celebration of adoration and prayer. Time did not seem to matter as we remained in intimate communion with the Lord Jesus like “branches of the fruitful vine”. How we relished the beauty of abiding in him - the living and true vine!
Today’s First Reading (Acts 9:26-31) on the difficult beginnings of the convert Saul’s apostolate (v. 26-30) and the gradual expansion of the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria (v. 31), illustrates what it means to “remain in the vine” and to be “fruitful branches of the vine”. Paul, the mystic and apostle to the Gentiles who suffered terrible trials and persecutions on account of his faith, is a powerful example of a disciple who remains deeply united with Jesus Christ, the living vine, and who bears abundant fruit. The vibrant community of disciples in Judea, Galilee and Samaria who were walking in the fear of the Lord and being consoled by the Holy Spirit, is another illustration of the fruitfulness of branches attached to the true vine.
One of the most dramatic conversions in history is that of Saul of Tarsus who would later be known by his apostolic name, “Paul”. When Paul goes to Jerusalem, the Christian disciples realistically fear him at first, not believing he is really one of them. The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 3, comment: “God’s initiatives are disconcerting. When Paul tried to contact the community of disciples and join it, he ran into mistrust and suspicion. They could not believe that this man who was famous for his zeal, his rage, even his frenzy (Gal 1:13-14), who pursued and persecuted the community even to foreign cities (Acts 26:11) had undergone conversion. Far from welcoming him with open arms, they closed their doors to him, for they were all afraid of him. The reaction is completely understandable. That it was mistaken in this case does not cast doubt on the legitimacy and even the necessity of testing new converts to be sure of the seriousness of their conversion and the purity of their intention when they demand entrance into the community.”
Paul, however, would have a sponsor and guarantor in the person of Barnabas, described by evangelist Luke as “a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith” (Acts 11:24). Barnabas vouches for Paul. He introduces him to the apostles and explains how the Lord had appeared to Paul and spoken to him on his journey, and how Paul has preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. The testimony of Barnabas concerning the authenticity of Paul’s conversion is accepted and the latter is able to move freely among the Christian disciples in Jerusalem and preach fearlessly in the name of the Lord.
The Christian convert, Paul, also experiences violent hostility from his former colleagues, the Hellenists – Greek-speaking Jews whose cause Paul has but lately espoused. The Hellenists try to kill Paul, but his brothers in the faith help him to escape to Tarsus. The life of Paul and the trials he endures prove that his attachment to the true vine, Jesus, is sincere, total, faithful and strong. The fruitfulness that results from Paul’s apostolic preaching and witnessing to the nations reinforces the truth of Jesus’ declaration: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned” (Jn 15:5-6).
The authenticity and fruitfulness of the disciples abiding in the vine can be verified in the progressive building up of the Church in the years after the resurrection of Christ. The liturgical scholar, Adrian Nocent, remarks: “The Church is gradually expanding as the Spirit brings in new members. The vine is becoming larger as new branches are grafted on through faith in the risen Christ.” Indeed, in these Easter days of grace and blessings, the faithful and abiding branches of the living vine Jesus Christ receive new sap of vitality and growth.
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This Sunday’s Second Reading (I Jn 3:18-24) serves as a commentary on the Gospel reading (Jn 15:1-8). Our claim of “indwelling” – our avowal that we are in Jesus – proves true when we keep God’s great command of love. Our faith in Jesus is real and authentic when we love one another as he commanded us. We are truly united with Jesus by the loving concern we have for one another and by the love with which we serve each other. Indeed, the Spirit of love at work in our midst is proof that God lives in union with us.
The liturgist Mary Ehle comments on today’s Second reading: “Christians live in the here and now. Accordingly, John writes that Christians – the children of God – are to love not only through the profession of their belief in Christ, but also through deed and truth … In our contemporary idiom, John teaches in this passage that Christians cannot say one thing and mean another. John is realistic, though, realizing that sometimes our hearts lead us to sin. In this case, we are to know that God is greater than our hearts and knows everything – God is a God of forgiveness … Christians remain close to God by keeping his commandments. The Spirit of God, alive in them, will show them as true believers, separating them from false believers who speak their faith, but do not follow God’s commandments.”
I met Mrs. Vicky Trevillyan on March 8, 2009, at the Congress on Divine Mercy in San Ramon, California. She is a volunteer for the Vladivostok Mission, which aims to revive the Catholic Church in Eastern Russia. Based in Modesto, she is in charge of receiving the donations in kind from California to be sent to our needy brothers and sisters in Vladivostok. Vicky wrote an article in the newsletter, Vladivostok Sunrise (January 1, 2009, p. 7-8), which illustrates the meaning of “remaining in Christ” and the challenge of fulfilling his command of love and of bearing apostolic fruits.
I pray this story of one mission team to Vladivostok can remind us of the hope of Christ and how our prayers and efforts do make a difference. Our mission team in Vladivostok was assigned to work in one of the Hospice Hospitals outside the city. The women of our team were given buckets and gloves and asked to clean the floors and walls of one room. The walls were covered with human waste and dirt. The team dutifully scrubbed the room and made it as comfortable as they could. The men of our team were asked to carry the three male patients from this second floor room downstairs to the tiny plaza outside.
One team member shared later he carried a quadriplegic patient down the stairs and onto the courtyard below. He couldn’t bear the odor of urine and feces coming from the patient as he carried him. At one point the patient informed one of the attendants he needed to use the bathroom. The attendant ignored him and as if it was the norm, the patient casually proceeded to soil himself and was later carried back to his room in such a condition. Our team member asked not to go back to the hospice as the conditions were too unbearable and sad for him.
Days later, the administrator from the hospice sent a thank you note for the much needed help the team provided along with a message that changed the hearts of all in the team. When the three patients were carried downstairs and out to the courtyard, it was the first time in six years they had been outside! The hospice is understaffed with women employees and with no elevators, other resources or male employees to help. The patients live in their rooms day after day.
The mission team realized the simple acts of love they could provide are what bring Christ to the people of Russia. The team member who could not go back to the hospice, now wanted to return in renewed hope and understanding of the love of Christ. Later, when the story was told to his family, his father wisely said, “He did not know it was Christ, whom he carried down the stairs.”
This is one of countless stories of your prayers and support that bring hope to our brothers and sisters in Russia. If you would like to know more about how to volunteer your time with many tasks in the mission office, become a mission speaker, travel to Russia, and areas of financial help, and more, please contact me at (209) 408-0728 or write usoffice@vladmission.org. God bless you. Thank you for all you can do to revive the Catholic Church in Eastern Russia.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do I allow Christ to remain in me? Do I remain on the vine? Am I fruitful? What is the fruit of my union with the in-dwelling Christ? Do I willingly submit myself to the pruning and cleansing action of the “vinedresser?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Based on a prayer composed by Blessed James Alberione)
Jesus, my Life, my joy, and source of all good,
I love you.
Above all, I ask of you that I may love you more and more
and all those redeemed by your blood.
You are the vine and I am the branch.
I want to remain united to you always
so as to bear much fruit.
You are the source:
pour out an ever greater abundance of grace to sanctify my soul.
You are my head, I, your member:
communicate to me your Holy Spirit with all his gifts.
May your kingdom come through Mary.
Console and save those dear to me.
Free the souls in purgatory.
Multiply and sanctify those called to the apostolate.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“I am the true vine.” (Jn 15:1)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
When you drink the wine from the cup at the table of the Eucharist, be very grateful for the source of this life-giving gift, Jesus Christ, the “true vine” onto which we are grafted. As a way of transmitting God’s comfort and joy, you may send a basket of fruit to a family/person that needs moral, spiritual and material support.
***
May 4, 2015: MONDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (5)
“JESUS SAVIOR: His Command Is To Love”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 14:5-18 // Jn 14:21-26
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
(Gospel Reflection by Sr. Mary Cecilia Payawal, pddm; Illustrative Story prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret, pddm)
On this fifth week of Easter, we are invited to a continuous reading, and to reflect upon the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters of the Gospel of John. To help us in our reflection, we need to situate ourselves in the context of these two chapters. First, these chapters are found in the third part of the Gospel of John - The Book of Glory, the part wherein Christ will face and experience the “glory”, the fulfillment of His mission on earth, the culmination of His journey in this world, and journey towards the “glory”- communion with the Father. Second, it may help to situate us in the scene of this part of the Gospel of John, that is, the moment when Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples.
Considering these points, we are now ready to reflect on and experience more deeply the message of the Gospel for today. Some repeated words may be significant to note. For example, love and word. It is also important to notice the words: commandment, home, Father, Holy Spirit, teach and remembrance. We may allow the meaning of these words to sink into our whole being. Imagine how these words were uttered by Jesus to his disciples before leaving them.
Putting myself into the scene of the Gospel, I cannot help but imagine Jesus as someone who is telling his “habilin” (last words of someone who is about to leave or die) to his disciples. Jesus allowed them to experience the depth and height of his love. Thus he asked them to keep his commandment: “love one another” (Jn 13:34), the measure of which is his love for them: “As I have loved you” (Jn 13:34).
Following Jesus is never easy. Particularly, following his commandment of love is never easy. We may easily say that we love Jesus, yet have difficulty in “loving one another”, in loving our neighbor. We may experience deep within us the depth and height of God’s love for us in the person of Jesus, as well as our love for him, yet have more difficulty in experiencing this love in the persons around us. The Gospel for today presents a challenge, an invitation to us: “Let us love one another, as Christ has loved us.” In this way, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we may be led to our “home”, to our Father who loves us, in and through the person of Christ. Only through this are we able to proclaim with the disciples: “The Lord is Risen!”
Illustrative Story: The following account, circulated on the Internet, illustrates how a child puts this command of love into practice.
A four-year-old child’s next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”
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The First Reading (Acts 14:5-18) says that the persecution of the Christian disciples results in the word of God being spread abroad. The evangelization of Iconium ends with the same reaction toward Paul and Barnabas as that of Antioch in Pisidia. The unbelieving Jews and Gentiles attempt to attack and stone them. The apostles flee to Lystra where they continue to proclaim the Good News. A cripple, lame from birth, listens to Paul. The Good News makes a deep impression on him. Seeing that the cripple has faith, Paul orders him to stand up. The man springs up and begins to walk. The miracle provokes astonishment. The people, led by the priest of the temple, bring oxen and garlands. They intend to offer sacrifice to the two “miracle” workers, mistaking them for the Greek gods “Zeus” and “Hermes”. The apostles try to dissuade them from offering sacrifice to them since they are mere human beings. Paul endeavors to turn them away from false idols and to call them to serve the true and living God, whose goodness is revealed in the bounty of creation. He tries to make them understand that the healing of the cripple is a sign of the goodness of God, to whom glory is due. But Paul and Barnabas can hardly contain the enthusiasm of the crowd. The human heart, however, is fickle. Instigated by the people from Antioch and Iconium, the people of Lystra will soon turn against the apostles.
The fickleness and whims of those who reject the Good News that the apostles proclaim could be gleaned, with a comic touch, from the following story (cf. “Choosing a Good Minister” in Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul, ed. Jack Canfield, et. al., Deerfield Beach: Health Communications, Inc., 1997, p.323-324).
One of the toughest tasks a church faces is choosing a good minister. A member of an official board undergoing this painful process finally lost patience. He’d just witnessed the pastoral relations committee reject applicant after applicant for some minor fault … real or imagined. It was time for a bit of soul searching on the part of the committee. So he stood up and read this letter purported to be from an applicant.
Gentlemen: Understanding your pulpit is vacant, I should like to apply for the position. I have many qualifications. I’ve been a preacher with much success and also have had some successes as a writer. Some say I’m a good organizer. I’ve been a leader most places I’ve been.
I’m over 50 years of age and have never preached in one place for more than three years. In some places, I have left town after my work caused riots and disturbances. I must admit I have been in jail three or four times, but not because of any real wrongdoing.
My health is not too good, though I still accomplish a great deal. The churches I have preached in have been small, though located in several large cities.
I’ve not gotten along well with religious leaders in the towns where I have preached. In fact, some have threatened me, and even attacked me physically. I am not too good at keeping records. I have been known to forget whom I have baptized.
However, if you can use me, I promise to do my best for you.”
The board member turned to the committee and said, “Well what do you think? Shall we call him?”
The good church folks were appalled! Consider a sickly, troublemaking, absent-minded ex-jailbird? Was the board member crazy? Who signed the application? Who had such colossal nerve?
The board member eyed them all keenly before he replied, “It’s signed, ‘The Apostle Paul’.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do I really make an effort to be a true disciple of Jesus by knowing his word and keeping his love command?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Divine Master,
you are our saving Lord who loved us to the end.
Teach us to love you
by being compassionate to those around us
and by serving the poor and vulnerable in our midst.
Send us the Holy Spirit, the promised Advocate.
He will teach us everything
and remind us of all that you told us,
especially your farewell command of mutual love.
You are the Lord of Easter glory,
whom we proclaim to the nations,
now and forever.
Amen, alleluia.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Whoever loves me will keep my word.” (Jn 14:23)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for that the mass media and the digital media may be rightly used to promote the truth and not to distort the truth. Offer an act of charity to a person who seems to be “unlovable” and difficult to deal with.
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May 5, 2015: TUESDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (5)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Gives Us Peace”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 14:19-28 // Jn 14:27-31a
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
(Gospel Reflections by Sr. Mary Cecilia Payawal, pddm; Illustrative Story prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret, pddm)
“Peace…” After hearing Jesus’ words of farewell, the disciples are certainly troubled. For their Master is about to leave, and they will be left alone. They might have asked themselves: “Who will guide us now? Whom shall we follow? Who will lead us?” They feel lost. Jesus tells them: “Peace… Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” But how can they be at peace when Jesus is leaving them? What does this “peace” signify?
Nobody, certainly, would be at peace knowing that someone whom they love is about to leave; when they know the uncertainly of ever meeting him/her again. What then can give “peace”? This peace is surely not the absence of pain and sorrow, struggle and conflicts. It is the experience of the “presence” of someone that allows you to be embraced by a love that never fades, a love that assures a constant “presence”, despite the “absence”. This peace cannot be given to us by the world. Only God, in the person of Jesus, the Risen Lord, can grant us this peace. Persons can love us and assure us of their presence. Yet this presence is limited by death. But Jesus’ presence goes beyond death. If his resurrected presence is experienced, we will never be troubled or afraid. For even in the midst of pain and sorrow, struggle and conflict, there will be peace in our inner being. And with Jesus, our Risen Lord, we can “rise and go”, we can continue the journey ahead.
Illustrative Story: The following account illustrates how a young man found and experienced the Easter gift of peace (cf. Fr. James W. Modee, “Courage to Change” in 101 Inspirational Stories of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, ed. Sr. Patricia Proctor, OSC, Spokane: Franciscan Monastery of Saint Clare, 2006, p. 144-145).
I was in my first parish in Yuma, Arizona, when one day a young man came to the rectory and asked to talk to a priest. He had broken up with his live-in girlfriend in San Diego and had just arrived in Yuma. He was thinking about going back to her but something told him to stop at the church first.
We talked for a while. He knew that he wasn’t living the kind of life that the Lord wanted but confessed that fear of the unknown was worse than the fear of the known. He wanted to go back to her, but something kept telling him to seek advice first.
We talked about life goals and about the courage to make positive changes even when the future is in doubt. He ended up going to confession and decided to go to his hometown instead of back to California.
About a month later, I got a letter from the young man. He was very much at peace with his decision not to go back to San Diego. He felt new and forgiven and that God was going to lead him through the rest of his life. He was grateful that I was there for him and that I had taken the time that was needed to become reconciled with God.
***
With incredible fickleness, the crowd in Lystra, who had idolized Paul and Barnabas, turn against them. Instigated by the apostles’ Jewish opponents from Antioch and Iconium, they stone Paul and drag his body outside the town, thinking he is dead. Paul, however, miraculously survives a stoning that is usually fatal. The next day the apostles proceed to Derbe and proclaim the Good News, winning many disciples. They then retrace their steps through Lystra, Iconium and Antioch of Pisidia. In each place, they have left communities of disciples whom they now strengthen and encourage. They must have been dismayed by the ill-treatment suffered by the apostles and have experienced persecution themselves. Exhorting them to persevere in the faith, the apostles assert that they need to undergo many hardships on behalf of the Kingdom of God. Moreover, they assure the pastoral care of the fledging Christian communities by appointing leaders whom they commend to the Lord with prayer and fasting. Finally, Paul and Barnabas go back to Antioch in Syria, the home base for their mission, and report to the Church on the work they have completed and how God “opened the door of faith to the Gentiles”.
The sufferings of Paul and the apostles for the sake of the Kingdom continue to be experienced by today’s Christian missionaries, as well as God’s protection and the ecclesial support (cf. “Prayer Is the Key” in Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul, ed. Jack Canfield, et. al., Deerfield Beach: Health Communications, Inc., 1997, p.317-318).
A missionary was serving as a medic at a small field hospital in Africa. Periodically he had to travel by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. It was a two-day trip so he had to camp out overnight. He had made this trip several times without incident. One day, however, he arrived at his destination and saw two men fighting. One was seriously hurt, so he treated him and witnessed to him and went about his business.
Upon arriving in the city again several weeks later, he was approached by the man he had treated earlier. “I know you carry money and medicine”, said the man to the missionary. “Some friends and I followed you into the jungle the night you treated me, knowing you would camp overnight. We waited for you to go to sleep and planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. Just as we started moving into the campsite, we saw you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. There were only six of us and we knew we couldn’t possibly get near you, so we left.”
Hearing this, the missionary laughed and said, “That’s impossible. I can assure you I was alone in the campsite.” The young man pressed his point: “No sir, I was not the only one to see the guards. My friends also saw them, and we all counted them. We were frightened. It was because of those guards that we left you alone.”
Several months later, the missionary attended a church presentation in Michigan where he told his experiences in Africa. One of the congregants jumped to his feet, interrupting the missionary, and said something that left everyone stunned. “We were there with you in spirit”, said the man. The missionary looked perplexed. The man continued. “On that night in Africa, it was morning here. I stopped at the church to gather some materials for an out-of-town trip to another parish. But as I put my bags into the trunk, I felt the Lord leading me to pray for you. The urging was so great I called the men in the church together to pray for you.”
Then the man turned around and said, “Will all of those men who met with the Lord that morning please stand?” One by one they stood – all 26 of them!
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we treasure Jesus’ farewell gift of peace and his Easter peace benediction? Do we share the Lord’s peace with others?
2. Like Saint Paul and the apostles, are we willing to undergo many hardships for the sake of the Gospel? Do we entrust ourselves to God’s protection, and do we feel the support of the faith community?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving Lord,
peace is your farewell gift to us as well as your Easter gift.
Help us to treasure the peace
that springs forth from your presence.
You are our Risen Lord
and with your Easter benediction of peace,
we can “rise and go” to continue our paschal journey to the very end.
O Risen Lord,
make us channels of your peace
and help us to toil for the Gospel.
We love you and praise you.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen. Alleluia.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Peace I leave with you.” (Jn 14:27) )
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
When troubled and agitated, make a special effort to focus on the gift of divine peace that is within you. Be a channel of peace for the people around you. Unite any hardship or suffering you will experience today with the apostolic intention of entering the Kingdom of God.
***
May 6, 2015: WEDNESDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (5)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the True Vine”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 15:1-6 // Jn 15:1-8
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
(Gospel Reflections by Sr. Mary Cecilia Payawal, pddm; Illustrative Story prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret, pddm)
Once more, let us underline significant words repeated in this part of the Gospel: vine, branch, fruit, and abide. Other words and phrases which may speak to us are: bear fruit, can do nothing, abides in me, can do nothing, thrown away and withers. It may also help if we sit under a tree or vine and watch the connection or relationship between the tree/vine and the branches. We may notice some dead branches that fell to the ground, while others may be attached to the vine/tree and are bearing much fruit with many leaves.
This is the invitation of Jesus in the Gospel of today: “Abide in me, and I in you.” Other translations of the Bible say: “Remain in me, as I remain in you.” Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his book “Jesus of Nazareth” that this is the measure of love: “the remaining”. For true and authentic love remains, no matter what and in spite of… My spiritual director, when I was in Spain, once told me that a friendship or any love relationship that did not last is never a true friendship or love. Jesus remained till the end. He remained loving till such love brought him to his death on the cross. More so, he remained after death. He is risen and remains with us, here and now. He manifests true and faithful love that lasts, that remains - till the end. The Gospel announces good news to us: “God’s love that remains in and through the person of the Risen Lord!” It invites us to love, to remain, to abide, in the same way that Jesus has loved, loves and will love till the end of time.
Illustrative Story: In today’s Gospel, Jesus declares that he is the real vine and the Father is the gardener. The vinedresser breaks off every branch that does not bear fruit and prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will be clean and bear more fruit. The following article written by the award-winning author and organic farmer, David Masumoto, from Del Rey, California, gives insight into this (cf. David Masumoto, “The Art of Pruning” in Fresno Bee, January 26, 2014, p. A25).
My father taught me how to prune a peach tree … the biggest lesson was that trees like to be pruned … Pruning marked an annual rite of passage on our farm: cut out the things that don’t belong. Purge the negatives. Open up leaf canopies to life. My job was to learn what belongs and what did not. So I whacked and snipped and slashed. Branches fell, wood dropped. I copied the motions of my father pruning a tree next to me. He looked like a sculptor as his tree took shape. Hidden inside the mass of branches and limbs lay a clean, simple tree. (…)
Magic came when my father finished his tree. I looked up and could see through the branches. I saw the blue-gray sky of winter. It was as if he opened up a secret world. Trapped behind the clutter of growth, hidden from our view, he had pruned away branches to open up the canopy. “It’s all about light”, he explained. He slowly motioned with his arm and hand, raising it up high and then swinging it downward, wiggling his fingers as he mimicked the sunlight entering the tree top and striking the wood where buds lie, awaiting the warmth of a change of season.
He said you want to imagine the sunlight months from now, you want to feel summer when you prune; in the cold winter, you want to see the light of summer as it penetrates and gives life. His skill in life was the ability to anticipate. Destiny, he seemed to tell me, was determined by your prior actions. Fate was built on everyday seemingly simple deeds.
As my father whipped around another tree, opening it up to light, I could see the negative space he left behind. I saw branches – but also space between the branches. He helped me finish my tree and my lesson. I had more questions but he spoke little. He was about showing, not telling.
Now it was my turn. I struggle every year. It’s hard to purge things in our lives. Prune away the excess. We live in a world of accumulation. And I’m not sure I have the vision of my father as I try to see the future in the present.
***
Today’s passage from the Acts of the Apostles (15:1-6) reports on the burning issue presented to the Council of Jerusalem by the Church in Antioch on whether a non-Jew who becomes a believer in Christ should be compelled to undergo circumcision in order to be saved. The Benedictine scholar, Adrian Nocent, comments: “Radical decisions have to be made, yet a certain flexibility must also be preserved. The scene is the famous Council of Jerusalem, the first example of a Church Council. Leaders are chosen from the Jerusalem community, and they set out for Antioch with Paul and Barnabas to announce the decisions reached by the Council.”
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Council of Jerusalem - the Church’s first Ecumenical Council – made a radical and significant decision to officially break ties with Judaism. Thus the Christian assembly arrived at a newer way of defining itself centered on the faith in Jesus, without compelling the Gentile converts to become Jews in order to attain salvation, knowing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that the ultimate and final word of God is not the Torah, but Jesus Christ. Salvation is brought about, not with the observance of Jewish law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Under the impulse of the Holy Spirit and the freedom that he brings, the Gospel of the Risen Lord spread to the ends of the earth.
Against the backdrop of the first Ecumenical Council in Jerusalem it is fitting to recall the contribution of the newly canonized saint Pope John XXIII to the Church by convoking the Ecumenical Council Vatican II (cf. Barry Hoddock, “The Lasting Legacies of the Church’s Newest Saints”, Our Sunday Visitor, April 27, 2014, p. 10-12).
As the highly regarded Archbishop of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli certainly was a strong candidate for the office of pope. And following the 17-year reign of Pope Pius XII, which had been marked with much drama, an older man of modest personality seemed a good choice to many.
But there seems to be no question that the cardinals did not quite get what they expected for a pope after his election on October 28, 1958. From the very choice of name – Pope St. John XXIII proved to be a surprising and inspiring leader. Though he was pope for fewer than five years, he made a big splash; and now, 51 years after his death, he will be canonized by Pope Francis. Two generations later, what is the legacy of John XXIII?
Certainly his most prominent and enduring legacy is the Second Vatican Council and its many long-standing achievements. Expected to be a “caretaker pope”, Pope John announced less than three months into his pontificate that he would convene the 21st ecumenical council in the history of the Church. In fact, John’s predecessors, Pius IX and Pius XII, had given serious consideration to calling a council, said Massimo Faggioli, a church historian. “But they never managed to do it”, he said in a recent interview with Our Sunday Visitor. Faggioli is author of the new biography “John XXIII: The Medicine of Mercy” (Liturgical Press).
The council was in some ways the culmination of developments that had been going on somewhat quietly within the Church for the previous century or more. Progress in the study of liturgy, Church history, Scripture and even science bore fruit during the council’s 1962-65 gatherings. What resulted were major shifts in the liturgy, theology and Church life that continue to affect Catholic life today. These included a dramatic reform of the Mass and other sacraments, a widespread new interest in Scripture study, a keen concern for dialogue toward unity with other Christian communities and an unprecedented support by the Church of religious freedom for all people.
“The council”, Faggioli said, “was the most important Christian event in the 20th century.” Half a century later, many believe the reception of Vatican II and its effects upon the Church has only just begun to be seen.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we respond fully to the abiding presence and the enduring love of Jesus Savior? Do we make an effort to abide in his love?
2. What lessons do we glean from the decision of the Council of Jerusalem regarding the controversy on whether Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised to attain salvation? Do we endeavor to bring about the unity of the Church through our humble obedience to the workings of the Spirit of Jesus?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O Risen Christ,
you are the vine “pruned” by the Father
in your paschal sacrifice on the cross.
We are the branches that cling to you, the true vine.
Grant us the grace to abide in you
through trials and difficulties.
Make us one as Church.
Cleanse us and “prune” us
from all that impedes acts of love and self-giving.
Make us bear abundant fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Give us the grace to relish the Eucharistic wine in the heavenly banquet,
where you live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen. Alleluia.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.” (Jn 15:5)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In gratitude for the abiding love of the Risen Lord, do an act of charity for someone who feels “unloved” and broken in spirit. Endeavor to help manage conflicts and resolve divisive controversies by calling on the light and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
***
May 7, 2015: THURSDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (5)
“JESUS SAVIOR: We Must Abide in His Love”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 15:7-21 // Jn 15:9-11
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
(Gospel Reflections by Sr. Mary Cecilia Payawal, pddm; Illustrative Story prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret, pddm)
Words like love, abide and commandments continue to resound in today’s Gospel. But a new word comes out: JOY! Jesus’ love is coming from the Father’s love for him. The measure of his love is the measure of the Father’s love for him. We may even say that in Jesus’ love is alive the meaning of the saying: “The true measure of love is to love without measure.” For that is how the Father loves; that is how Jesus loves.
However, this love is never static or passive. Jesus presents a challenge, an invitation: “Abide in my love. Keep my commandment.” His love asks for a response: to abide in his love and keep his commandment. And he set an example. He was the first one who lived out what he was asking. He was the first one to keep the commandment of the Father, to abide in his love. In such a way, he experienced joy, the joy that comes from the Father, the joy that the world cannot give, the joy that lasts forever, the joy that comes and enters from/into deep within. In today’s Gospel, we are invited to see the source of our joy. Where is our joy coming from? From persons, things or achievements? From affirmations or recognitions? Or from Jesus in whom we abide, whom we love? May this source always be Jesus, the one who loves us and cares for us; who always keeps his promise if we abide in his love; the only one who can give us joy in its fullness!
Illustrative Story: The following story circulated on the Internet is an example of what it means to abide in the love of God.
Here is an eyewitness account from New York City on a cold day in December some years ago. A little boy, about 10-years old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the young boy and said, “My, but you’re in such a deep thought staring in that window!” “I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes”, was the boy’s reply.
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair on the boy’s feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, “No doubt, you will be more comfortable now.”
As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her: “Are you the wife of God?”
***
Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles (15:7-21) depicts the Council of Jerusalem in which the leaders of the early Church try to resolve the Gentile controversy. Some converted Judean Pharisees object to the Antioch church’s practice of baptizing uncircumcised pagans. The Council is significant because it threshes out the issue: “no salvation without circumcision”. The apostle Peter gives an important insight by recalling his experience with Cornelius and his household. God had given the Holy Spirit to them because they believe in Christ. Their hearts were cleansed through faith, and not through the Jewish rite of circumcision. Peter asserts: “We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.” Paul and Barnabas reinforce Peter’s insight by narrating their missionary experience. God had worked signs and wonders through them among the Gentiles, in the same way he had with Moses in the Exodus. The apostle James, the leader of the Jerusalem church, provides the clincher. Citing the prophet Amos, he justifies the Antioch practice of baptizing uncircumcised Gentiles. All are according to God’s plan. In his judgment, there is no need “to trouble” the Gentiles who turn to God. Therefore, it is decided that the Gentiles will not be required to undergo circumcision, but only to observe those stipulations that will enable Jewish Christians to associate in table fellowship with non-Jewish Christians. Wisdom and pastoral sense prevail in the first Church Council!
Just like the Spirit-filled leaders of the early Christian community, we need sage and wisdom to animate us, especially when dealing with difficult issues. The following story, circulated on the Internet, illustrates this.
One rich man owned 19 horses when he died. In his last will and testament he had written that upon his death, half the horses he owned should go to his only son; one fourth to the village temple and one fifth to the faithful servant. The village elders could not stop scratching their heads. How can they give half of the 19 horses to the son? You cannot cut up a horse. They puzzled over this dilemma for more than two weeks and then decided to send for a wise man who was living in a neighboring village.
The wise man came riding on his horse and asked the villagers if he can be of any help to them. The village elders told him about the rich man’s last will and testament which stated that half of the 19 horses must be given to his only son, one fourth must go to the temple and one fifth to the faithful servant.
The wise man said he will immediately solve the problem without any delay whatsoever. He had the 19 horses placed in a row standing next to one another. Then he added his own horse as the 20th horse. Now he went about giving half of the 20 horses - that is 10 horses - to the son. One fourth of 20 – that is 5 horses – were given to the temple committee. One fifth of 20 – that is 4 horses – were given to the faithful servant. Ten plus five plus four made 19 horses. The remaining 20th horse was his own which he promptly mounted, spoke a few inspiring words and rode back home.
The villagers were simply dumbfounded, full of disbelief and filled with admiration. And the parting words of the wise man were inscribed in their hearts and minds which they greatly cherished and passed on their succeeding generations till today.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do you strive to keep the Lord’s commandments and abide in his love? Do you experience joy in embracing the divine love?
2. Do we seek counsel and the wisdom of the sage when faced with perplexing and troubling situations?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Lord, how gracious you are in loving us!
You love us with the same love with which the Father loves you.
Grant us the grace to follow the divine saving will
and imitate your total self-giving.
Let us experience the joy that is the fruit of your sacrificial love.
Let us always live by the grace of God.
Grant us the joy of eternal life.
You are worthy of thanksgiving and praise.
We love you and adore you, now and forever.
Amen. Alleluia.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Remain in my love … that my joy may be in you.” (Jn 15:10-11)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Rejoice in the Lord. Make an effort to share the love and joy of Jesus with the people around you. Let “sharing a smile” be your special ministry today. When faced with conflict-filled situations invoke the guidance of the Holy Spirit and seek the counsel of a trusted Spirit-filled friend.
***
May 8, 2015: FRIDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (5)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Loved Us to the End”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 15:22-31 // Jn 15:12-17
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
(Gospel Reflections by Sr. Mary Cecilia Payawal, pddm; Illustrative Story prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret, pddm)
In the Gospel for today, Jesus continues his teachings on love. He underlines again the commandment of love, the basis of which is his love. However, he added a significant point: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Friendship is one of the most beautiful things that can happen in life. A true friend can lift us up when we are down; can brighten our gloomy day; loves us till the end; remains with us even in the midst of failures and weaknesses. A friend, like the branch, is intimately linked to the vine; is in deep communion with the other friend because of love. Thus Jesus did not consider the disciples as servants, but friends for he loves them despite “betrayals and denials”. And he is willing to lay down his life for them, even if that death was the most shameful - on the cross!
Jesus has set an example on how to love. A servant is a stranger to the master. He has no intimate relationship, no experience of deep communion with the master. However, a friend is someone to whom everything is revealed by the other. A friend is someone we trust and love despite weaknesses and limitations. Jesus loved the disciples not as servants but as friends. He revealed to them what the Father told him. He loved them as the Father loved him. Jesus exhorts the disciples: “… I chose you…Bear fruit….Love one another.” May Jesus’ examples inspire us to follow him that we may truly love one another as friends and radiate his living presence, here and now, in our community, in the Church, in the world.
Illustrative Story: The following article gives an example of one who has followed Christ’s love command to the full - to the point of laying down one’s life for one’s friends (cf. Gretchen Crowe, “Father van der Lugt Embraced the Smell of the Sheep” in Our Sunday Visitor, April 20, 2014, p. 2).
This spring marks the three-year point in the Syrian civil war. During that time, the casualties have been so numerous and the dangers so high that the United Nations in January stopped updating the number of dead. Since then, however, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates conservatively that more than 150,000 people have died – with about 30 percent of those being civilians.
One of the most recent civilian losses is Dutch Jesuit priest Father Frans van der Lugt, who, according to Father Alex Basili, Jesuit provincial in the Middle East and the Maghreb, was “abducted by armed men who beat him and then killed him with two bullets to the head in front of the Jesuit residence in Homs” on the morning of April 7.
According to Vatican Radio, Father van der Lugt had lived in Syria for nearly 50 years. He was involved in religious dialogue and, in the 1980s, opened a center of spirituality outside Homs, which included a home for 40 Syrian children with mental disabilities. Ever present to the Syrian people during the last three years of strife, Father van der Lugt posted a video online in January in which he pleaded for assistance from the international community to save the people in the city of Homs (in the middle of a more than year-long siege) from starvation. “People can’t find food”, he said. “There is nothing harder than seeing parents in the street looking for food for their children.”
When a truce was struck that same month and people evacuated, Father van der Lugt refused to leave, instead staying with his people left behind – the epitome of a shepherd who embraces the smell of his sheep. “The Syrian people have given me so much – so much kindness, inspiration and everything they have”, the priest said in February. “If the Syrian people are suffering now, I want to share their pain and their difficulties.”
Soon after, Father van der Lugt’s death was reported. Vatican spokesman Jesuit Federico Lombardi said the priest “died as a man of peace, who with great courage in an extremely dangerous situation, wanted to remain faithful to the Syrian people to whom he had dedicated so many years of his life and spiritual service.”
He added: “Where people die, their faithful shepherds also die with them. In this time of great sorrow, we express our participation in prayer, but also great pride and gratitude for having had a brother so close to the most suffering in the testimony of the love of Jesus to the end.”
***
The role of the Holy Spirit in the Church of the Risen Lord is evident in today’s First Reading (Acts 15:22-29). The passage reports on the burning issue presented to the Council of Jerusalem by the Church in Antioch whether a non-Jew who becomes a believer in Christ should be compelled to undergo circumcision in order to be saved. The Benedictine scholar, Adrian Nocent, comments: “The conciliar decision has been made with the help of the Holy Spirit … The Spirit whom Jesus has sent teaches everything, and bestows perspicacity of judgment on those who exercise authority in the Church. Circumcision will not be required of Gentile converts. The only prohibitions are not to eat meat sacrificed to idols, or blood, or the meat of strangled animals, and to abstain from illicit sexual unions … It provides us with a typical example of the difficulties that the establishment of the Church entailed, and of how the Spirit of Christ helped the disciples reach a sound decision in a matter that was agitating a local church.”
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Council of Jerusalem - the Church’s first Ecumenical Council – made a radical and significant decision to officially break ties with Judaism. Thus the Christian assembly arrived at a newer way of defining itself centered on the faith in Jesus, without compelling the Gentile converts to become Jews in order to attain salvation, knowing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that the ultimate and final word of God is not the Torah, but Jesus Christ. Salvation is brought about, not with the observance of Jewish law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Under the impulse of the Holy Spirit and the freedom that he brings, the Gospel of the Risen Lord spread to the ends of the earth.
In the following story, the role of the wife gives insight into how the Holy Spirit inspires us to confront new situations with courage and audacity.
When the heartbroken Nathaniel Hawthorne went home to tell his wife that he was a failure and had been fired from his job in the customhouse, she surprised him with an exclamation of joy. “Now,” she said triumphantly, “you can write a book!” “Yes,” replied Nathaniel, “and what shall we live on while I’m writing it?” To his amazement, she opened a drawer and pulled out a substantial amount of money. “Where on earth did you get that?” he exclaimed. “I’ve always known you were a man of genius,” she told him. “I knew that someday you would write a masterpiece. So every week, out of the housekeeping money you gave me, I saved a little. So here is enough to last us for a whole year!” From her confidence and encouragement came one of the greatest novels of United States literature, The Scarlet Letter.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we truly love one another? Are we willing to imitate Jesus in loving so greatly as to lay down one’s life for one’s friend?
2. How is the Holy Spirit at work in the early Christian community? What lessons do we glean from the decision of the Council of Jerusalem regarding the controversy whether Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised to attain salvation?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Lord,
thank you for being a “friend” to us.
Thank you for loving us intimately.
You loved us to the end.
Help us to prove our love for you
by loving and serving one another.
Grant that as a faith community
we may truly open ourselves
to the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen. Alleluia.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15:13)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
When the act of loving becomes “sacrificial”, trust in Jesus and beg him for the grace to overcome the difficulties and the pain of the sacrifice. Every day of your life, learn to make decisions in the light of the inspiration of the divine Advocate.
***
May 9, 2015: SATURDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (5)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Strengthens Us in Persecution”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 16:1-10 // Jn 15:18-21
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
(Gospel Reflections by Sr. Mary Cecilia Payawal, pddm; Illustrative Story prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret, pddm)
Following Jesus is not an easy task. His preaching, in words and deeds, is like a sharp sword that can pierce the heart of persons. In the same way that his teachings caused conflicts in his time, following his teachings would also cause conflicts in our time. The world may hate us, persecute us, “betray and deny” us, as the people of his time did to Jesus. To follow Jesus requires clarity of motivation and direction. We have to be clear that we are preaching not ourselves but Christ; that in our teachings we do not seek recognition and affirmation, but the “glory of God”; that “in all things, God may be glorified”.
However, our human nature needs recognition and affirmation. It is never easy to go against nature. But with the “grace” of God, everything would certainly be possible. Following Christ is putting on the whole Christ, embracing not only the resurrection but, first of all, his passion and death. May God, in and through the “salvation” brought by the resurrection of our Lord, grant us grace to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus. May we remain in him, even if others may hate us, even if everybody may leave us, even if we may be persecuted because of him. For only in and through this are we able to proclaim to the world, “Christ lives! He lives in you and in me!”
Illustrative Story: The following article gives insight into the “persecutions” that Christian disciples may experience in today’s secularized world (cf. Elizabeth Scalia, “Where’s the Tolerance? Mozilla CEO Forced to Resign”, Our Sunday Visitor, April 20, 2014, p. 13)
A mere two weeks after taking over as CEO of Mozilla, tech-prodigy and Javascript inventor Brendan Eich was released from his contract. No one had disputed either his leadership or creative abilities, and there was nothing in Eich’s management history that even hinted at unfairness or discriminatory practices or an unwillingness on his part to work with all sorts of people.
The issue was a $1,000 donation Eich made in 2008 in support of Proposition 8 – a California law that banned same-sex marriage – and his apparent unwillingness to publicly recant his personal beliefs on what constitutes marriage.
Despite Eich’s written commitment “to work on new initiatives to reach out to those who feel excluded or have been marginalized”, some members of the gay community would not give him the time he requested to demonstrate his inclusivity and would not accept his expression of “sorrow at having caused pain”.
“If he had apologized years ago”, said Hampton Catlin, “this would be a non-issue”. Catlin is a Web developer; his open letter to Mozilla protesting Eich’s appointment was the catalyst for what followed, including the weirdly self-contradicting apology from Mozilla, which affirmed the “wide diversity of views” it encouraged within its staff, even as it demonstrated that its tolerance on differing viewpoints ran the narrowest of gamuts.
Among social conservatives and the religious-minded, the Eich story is being received as evidence that our cultural pursuit of all things “diverse” does not extend itself to diversity of thought. Between Catlin’s permitting Brendan Eich his “personal beliefs” as long as he publicly falls in line with the Obama administration’s often repeated commitment to “freedom of worship” rather than freedom of religion, one need not be a weatherman to sense how awfully chill the wind is blowing. One’s beliefs are fine, it seems, as long as they go unspoken; one’s religion is free as long as it remains behind doors and within the church walls.
While some in the homosexual community have applauded Mozilla’s dismissal of Eich – Tyler Lopez of Slate.com suggests that Eich can only be “forgiven” for his sins if he recognizes his “duty to continue to acknowledge it” again and again – others have expressed “disgust”, perhaps none more defiantly than Andrew Sullivan, a long-time activist for same-sex marriage, who wrote: “If we are about intimidating the free speech of others, we are no better than the anti-gay bullies who came before us.”
***
In today’s account from the Acts of the Apostles (16:1-10), with Silas as a companion, Paul begins his second missionary journey to his home province of Syria and Cilicia (in modern Turkey) and revisits the communities they had established in their previous missionary expedition. In Lystra, where Paul was stoned and left for dead, a disciple named Timothy, whose father is a Greek and whose mother is a Jew, joins him as part of the missionary team. Paul circumcises Timothy not because it is needed for salvation, but for “pastoral reasons”. It will render Timothy more acceptable as a missionary to Jews as well as Gentiles. The Holy Spirit guides the missionaries in their vision, preventing them from going one direction and steering them in another. Paul extends the evangelizing campaign to other parts of Asia Minor, particularly westward through Mysia to the Aegean coast at Troas, a busy port at the hub of communications between Asia and Europe. There he had a vision. He saw a Macedonian standing and begging him: “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” Paul realizes that it is God’s will that they preach the Gospel in Macedonia.
Like Saint Paul and his companions, the following modern-day Christian disciple has opened herself to the promptings of the Holy Spirit for an important mission in the Church (cf. “Nothing Short of Heroic” in Extension, Christmas 2012, p. 14).
By many people, Florence Kaster has been warmly called “the general”. A brave Catholic laywoman, she brought hope and the Catholic faith to African-Americans living in Kingstree, South Carolina, during the 1950s and ‘60s when poverty and racial and religious prejudices were at all-time highs. (…)
Florence was a young woman from Titusville, Pennsylvania, when she met Father Patrick Quinlan, a Connecticut pastor who had resigned at his parish to become a priest in Kingstree. Known as a no-nonsense, get-things-done person, Florence had been seeking an experience that would be both challenging and fulfilling.
She readily accepted Father Quinlan’s invitation to run a catechism program for the African-American community spread throughout Williamsburg County, where Kingstree is located. Together, Father Quinlan and Florence set up centers in small outposts for families who lived too far away to travel to St. Ann Parish in Kingstree. She made it her life’s work to support the members of this community and to bring the Word of God to them.
It was not an easy assignment. Consider this: One night Florence gathered a huge crowd for a religious film. “After the film had started, three shots rang out, and three holes blasted through the screen”, Florence recalled in a 1978 Extension article. Although unsettled by the dramatic incident, she continued the movie. Many years later, one of the residents from the area talking to a friend and, referring to the shooting, said, “Them Catholics don’t scare easy!”
The article went on to describe another time when Florence was directly confronted while teaching 80 youngsters in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. “A man broke into the class and threatened to cut off her toes if she did not stop teaching the black children. At that point, she dismissed the class and faced her would-be attacker. He backed down and her toes remained intact.”
Father Stan Smolenski, currently director of the Shrine of Joyful Hope in Kingstree, recalled her courage: “The fact that as a 27 or 28-year-old woman, she would come and catechize here at that time was nothing short of heroic.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we ready to suffer persecution for the sake of Christ? Do we cling to Christ for life and strength in the midst of adversities?
2. Are we open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit with regards to the mission of the Church in the modern world and our personal role in it?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Savior,
you suffered death and persecution for our sake.
How could we ever repay you!
Grant us the grace to embrace your sacrificial love.
Make us trust in your life-giving word.
When we suffer persecution on account of your name,
teach us to remember how you loved us to the end.
Help us to be faithful and responsive
to the promptings of the Church at work in the Church.
We love you and glorify you, now and forever.
Amen. Alleluia.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (Jn 15:20)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Study the social teachings of the Church. Be ready to take a stand for the Christian teaching, especially when the world’s logic and socio-political forces assail it. If you are not involved yet in any Church ministry, seek information and advice on how you could actualize it.
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Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US