Daily Reflection | Gospel Reading | RVA

3RD WEEK OF EASTER
St. Anselm, bishop & doctor
Psalter: Week 3 / (White)

Ps 116:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
How shall I make a return to the Lord
for all the good he has done for me?

1^st Reading: Acts 9:31-42

Meanwhile, the Church had peace. It was building up throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, with eyes turned to the Lord, and filled with comfort from the Holy Spirit.

As Peter traveled around, he went to visit the saints who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed, and had been bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And the man got up at once. All the people living in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

There was a disciple in Joppa named Tabitha, which means Dorcas, or Gazelle. She was always doing good works and helping the poor. At that time, she fell sick and died. After having washed her body, they laid her in the upstairs room.

As Lydda is near Joppa, the disciples, on hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.”

So Peter went with them. On his arrival, they took him upstairs to the room. All the widows crowded around him in tears, showing him the clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter made them all leave the room; and then, he knelt down and prayed. Turning to the dead body, he said, “Tabitha, stand up.” She opened her eyes, looked at Peter and sat up. Peter gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the saints and widows, and presented her to them alive.

Gospel: Jn 6:60-69

 After hearing this, many of Jesus’ followers said, “This language is very hard! Who can accept it?”

Jesus was aware that his disciples were murmuring about this, and so he said to them, “Does this offend you? Then how will you react when you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, not the flesh. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. But among you there are some who do not believe.”

From the beginning, Jesus knew who would betray him. So he added, “As I have told you, no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”

After this many disciples withdrew and no longer followed him. Jesus asked the Twelve, “Will you also go away?” Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We now believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Reflections

LORD, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO?

Peter is not the most intelligent of the apostles. He commits blunders, sometimes speaks stupidly, and can be impulsive and unthinking. And yet in a moment of crisis, he seems to be the one to give a proper response. This is one situation. Jesus’ words and challenges seem to be too hard and too demanding that many disciples shook their heads and went away. And Jesus asked those closest to him the poignant question: Will you also go away? One can almost hear the sadness in this question. And Peter saves the situation with his brave and loyal response. Don’t we sometimes find the Christian challenge hard to follow: love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. Turn the other cheek. Be eunuchs for the Kingdom of God. Leave all you have and come and follow me. To whom do we go when we find our chosen path difficult and too heavy to bear? That is when we echo Peter’s unflinching loyalty and steadfast fidelity to God who has called us.

Daily Reflection 2018

Bible Diary ® is a product of Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today.

CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé.

Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57^th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL

With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

 

Bible Diary ® 2018
Copyright © 2O17 
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (63-2) 921-3984
Fax: (6352) 921-7429
Email: ccfi@claretianpublicationscom
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Web: www.claretianph.com

3RD WEEK OF EASTER
Psalter: Week 3 / (White)

Ps 117:1bc, 2
Go out to all the world
and tell the Good News.

1^st Reading: Acts 9:1-20*

Meanwhile, Saul considered nothing but violence and death for the disciples of the Lord. He went to the High Priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues of Damascus that would authorize him to arrest, and bring to Jerusalem, anyone he might find, man or woman, belonging to the Way.

As he traveled along and was approaching Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?” And he asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you persecute. Now, get up, and go into the city; there, you will be told what you are to do.” (…)

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, to whom the Lord called in a vision, “Ananias!” He answered, “Here I am, Lord!” Then the Lord said to him, “Go, at once, to Straight Street and ask, at the house of Judas, for a man of Tarsus named Saul. (…)

So Ananias left and went to the house. He laid his hands upon Saul and said, “Saul, my brother, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me to you, so that you may receive your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see; he got up and was baptized. Then he took food and was strengthened.

For several days Saul stayed with the disciples at Damascus, and he soon began to proclaim in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God.

Gospel: Jn 6:52-59

 The Jews were arguing among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

“My flesh is really food, and my blood is truly drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood, live in me, and I in them. Just as the Father, who is life, sent me, and I have life from the Father, so whoever eats me will have life from me. This is the bread from heaven; not like that of your ancestors, who ate and later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”

Jesus spoke in this way in Capernaum when he taught them in the synagogue.

Reflections

SOMETHING LIKE SCALES FELL FROM HIS EYES

This experience of Saul that transformed him to Paul is a moment of conversion, a moment of revelation, a moment of truth. And having been confronted with the truth a persecutor becomes a disciple. Can we recall a similar experience when our preconceived notions or biases fell like scales from our eyes and gave us a different, a new way of perceiving the world around us? Then we realize that “radicals,” “communists” and “rebels” were people of flesh and blood who have ideals and have a genuine concern for their country. We stopped thinking that nobody will be saved outside the Catholic Church. We saw the gems in other religions and the innate values of our indigenous culture and beliefs. We realize that diversity is something we should not only tolerate but actually celebrate because it adds richness to life and widen one’s horizons. We pray that, if there are still scales covering our eyes, these, too, may fall to give us a clearer vision of life.

Daily Reflection 2018

Bible Diary ® is a product of Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today.

CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé.

Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57^th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL

With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

 

Bible Diary ® 2018
Copyright © 2O17 
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (63-2) 921-3984
Fax: (6352) 921-7429
Email: ccfi@claretianpublicationscom
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.claretianph.com

3RD WEEK OF EASTER
Psalter: Week 3 / (White)

Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20
Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

1^st Reading: Acts 8:26-40

An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south, toward the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road.” So he set out and it happened that an Ethiopian was passing along that way. He was an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians. He had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was on his way home. He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and catch up with that carriage.” So Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; and he asked, “Do you really understand what you are reading?” The Ethiopian replied, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. This was the passage of Scripture he was reading: He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, he did not open his mouth. He was humbled and deprived of his rights. Who can speak of his descendants? For he was uprooted from the earth. The official asked Philip, “Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of someone else?” Then Philip began to tell him the Good News of Jesus, using this text of Scripture as his starting point. As they traveled down the road, they came to a place where there was some water. Then the Ethiopian official said, “Look, here is water; what is to keep me from being baptized?” Then he ordered the carriage to stop. Both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy.

Philip found himself at Azotus; and he went about, announcing the Good News in all the towns, until he reached Caesarea.

Gospel: Jn 6:44-51

 No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets: They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me.

For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the bread from heaven, so that you may eat of it, and not die. I am the living bread from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh, and I will give it for the life of the world.”

Reflections

HE CONTINUED ON HIS WAY FULL OF JOY

The Ethiopian Eunuch shares with us the astonishing feeling of joy that he felt after his baptism. Most of us were baptized as babies and our baptism is not the sign of some conversion but a social ritual for many. Somehow if this ritual will be what it is meant to be we have somehow at some time in our lives experience personal conversion. There has to be a personal decision to believe in Jesus Christ and his teachings. Those of us who have experienced such a spiritual experience even in a very fleeting way can understand the overwhelming joy of the Ethiopian. Such an experience cannot but result in some form of transformation in our lives and will give meaning to the many religious practices that we do – like going to Mass, praying the rosary, etc. The strong emotion of our experience might fade but our memory of the experience will give us strength to face all that will come into our life.

Daily Reflection 2018

Bible Diary ® is a product of Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today.

CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé.

Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57^th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL

With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

 

Bible Diary ® 2018
Copyright © 2O17 
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (63-2) 921-3984
Fax: (6352) 921-7429
Email: ccfi@claretianpublicationscom
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.claretianph.com

3RD WEEK OF EASTER
Psalter: Week 3 / (White)

Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a
Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

1^st Reading: Acts 8:1b-8

Saul was there, approving his murder. This was the beginning of a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem. All, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria. Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church. He entered house after house and dragged off men and women, and had them put in jail.

At the same time, those who were scattered went about, preaching the word. Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him, and saw the miraculous signs that he did. For, in cases of possession, the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people, who were paralyzed or crippled, were healed. So there was great joy in that town.

Gospel: Jn 6:35-40

 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never be thirsty. Nevertheless, as I said, you refuse to believe, even when you have seen. Yet all those whom the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me, I shall not turn away. For I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the One who sent me.

And the will of him who sent me is that I lose nothing of what he has given me, but instead that I raise it up on the last day. This is the will of the Father, that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall live eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Reflections

WHOEVER COMES TO ME SHALL NOT BE TURNED AWAY

I am sure all of us have experienced riding in a car and a beggar comes to our window. How do we feel if we have turned that person away? I have asked our drivers to put some crackers or biscuits in all the cars of the school or priory so that we don’t have to turn anyone empty handed. I am sure many of us or maybe all of us have experienced being turned away, being rejected, being refused help, made to feel one does not belong. It is a frustrating feeling which takes out energy from us, making us lose hope. It is such a consolation to know that we can go to Someone who will not turn us away, who will in some way give us a feeling of hope and a feeling of belonging. It is awesome that we are all capable of giving that feeling to someone — that we can choose to accept a person, give a person help he or she needs, of making someone feel hope. What a pity if we do not use this gift, this power to give a person hope and consolation.

Daily Reflection 2018

Bible Diary ® is a product of Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today.

CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé.

Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57^th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL

With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

 

Bible Diary ® 2018
Copyright © 2O17 
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (63-2) 921-3984
Fax: (6352) 921-7429
Email: ccfi@claretianpublicationscom
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.claretianph.com