6TH WEEK OF EASTER
Psalter: Week 2 / (White)
Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a & 9b
The Lord takes delight in his people.
1st Reading: Acts 16:11-15
So, we put out to sea from Troas and sailed straight across to Samothrace Island; and the next day, to Neapolis. From there, we went inland to Philippi, the leading city of the district of Macedonia, and a Roman colony. We spent some days in that city.
On the Sabbath, we went outside the city gate, to the bank of the river, where we thought the Jews would gather to pray. We sat down and began speaking to the women who were gathering there. One of them was a God-fearing woman, named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth.
As she listened, the Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. After she had been baptized, together with her household, she invited us to her house, “If you think I am faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us to accept her invitation.
Gospel: Jn 15:26 — 16:4a
From the Father, I will send you the Spirit of truth. When this Helper has come from the Father, he will be my witness, and you, too, will be my witnesses, for you have been with me from the beginning.
I tell you all this to keep you from stumbling and falling away. They will put you out of the synagogue. Still more, the hour is coming, when anyone who kills you will claim to be serving God; they will do this, because they have not known the Father or me. I tell you all these things now so that, when the time comes, you may remember that I told you about them.
Reflections
If you think I am faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my house
The Early Church expanded tremendously through the grace of the Spirit but also through the work of Paul and the other missionaries that proclaimed the Gospel and won converts, one individual or one household at a time. Many women were drawn to Jesus’ Gospel perhaps because of its insistence on inclusivity and gender equality, a stark contrast to their paternalistic culture.
Today, we have to ask ourselves whether we witness to inclusivity and gender equality or dilute the original Gospel message by our exclusion of others and suppression of the voices of women and those in the peripheries.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
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