Catechism Links[1]
CCC 2746-2751: Christ’s prayer at
the Last Supper
CCC 459,
1823, 2074, 2196, 2822, 2842: “As I have loved you”
CCC 756,
865, 1042-1050, 2016, 2817: A new heavens and a new earth
 |
| “St Paul Healing the Cripple at Lystra” by Karel Dujardin, 1663. |
Reading 1: Acts 14:21-27
After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news
to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom
of God
They appointed elders for them in each church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Acts
14:21-27
This reading recounts the first
missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas. It describes the model of how the
church was built. Persecution drives further expansion of the Church to another
town. Paul and Barnabas would enter a region and proclaim the Good News. They
would then identify leaders among the converted and entrust the word to them.
This action is seen by the Church as establishing the priesthood within
the early church. The apostles insured continuity of teaching and a source of
strength for the community. Once the leaders were trained and installed, Paul
and Barnabas would then move on, having accomplished the establishment of a
foothold among the Gentiles. (See also 1 Corinthians 16:9 and 2 Corinthians 2:12.)
Even though St. Luke records the progress
and success of the Word of God, he also shows that its preachers certainly
encounter the cross (cf. Acts 13:14, 50). The
Gospel meets with acceptance everywhere--and also with opposition. "Where
there are many laurels", St. Ambrose says, "there is fierce combat.
It is good for you to have persecutors: that way you attain more rapid success
in your enterprises" ("Expositio in Ps 118", 20, 43). [5]
CCC: Acts 14:22 556,
2847
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm
145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king
and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will
praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will
praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them make known your might to the children of Adam,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. I will
praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps
145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
This psalm selection is a song of
thanksgiving. The hymn extols God’s saving works and commends the people
to proclaim the word to all “the children of Adam,” the whole human
race. We see this exhortation as prefiguring St. Paul's mission to the
Gentiles.
CCC: Ps 145:9 295,
342
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”
The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rv 21:1-5a
In this selection from St. John’s
Revelation, John has a vision of the “new heaven” and the "new earth,”
after Christ begins his reign at God’s right hand. The "new
Jerusalem," is the image of God’s Church, viewed as the bride with Christ
the bridegroom. In the "new Jerusalem" (the Church), God dwells, and
there he will show his tender mercy (“He will wipe every tear from their
eyes”). The old order is washed away: “Behold, I make all things
new” (see also Isaiah 43:18ff, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and Galatians 6:15).
"This passage of the Book of
Revelation strengthens the faith and hope of the Church--not only St John's own
generation but all generations down the ages for as long as the Church makes
its way through this valley of tears. The Second Vatican Council says: 'We know
neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man nor the way the
universe will be transformed. The form of this world, distorted by sin, is
passing away and we are taught that God is preparing a new dwelling and a new
earth in which righteousness dwells, whose happiness will fill and surpass all
the desires of peace arising in the hearts of men. Then with death conquered
the children of God will be raised in Christ and what was sown in weakness and
dishonor will put on the imperishable: charity and its work will remain, and
all of creation which God made for man, will be set free from its bondage to
decay'” ("Gaudium Et Spes", 39). [6]
CCC: Rv 21:1-22:5 117; Rv
21:1-2 756; Rv
21:1 1043; Rv
21:2-4 677; Rv
21:2 757,
1045, 2016; Rv 21:3 756,
2676; Rv 21:4 1044,
1186; Rv 21:5 1044
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 13:31-33a, 34-35
When Judas had left them, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him,
God will also glorify him in himself,
and God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
In the Gospel of St. John, this
passage is a key part of what is called the Book of Exultation: “Those who
accept him become Sons of God.” We enter the Jesus story in St. John’s Gospel
during the Last Supper. Judas has just fled. Jesus, in Johannine fashion,
demonstrates his foreknowledge of what must happen in his passion and resurrection:
"I will be with you only a little while longer." The Lord next
delivers the “New Commandment: love one another." Christ’s love is
not only the model, but the motive. By using those words, Jesus places himself
with God whose commandments the disciples follow.
CCC: Jn 13:34 782,
1823, 343, 2195, 2822, 2842
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Homily:
There are probably not many
of us who would recognize the name “Nikki Carpenter.” Nikki was one of the ten people killed in the
tornadoes the spread across the Deep South six years ago this spring. Nikki was 31 years old and the mother of
three sons Austin, 1, Ethan, 2, and Layne, 7.
They were all together in their mobile home near Yazoo City, Mississippi
one Saturday. According to Layne, the 7
year old, Nikki got a call just prior to a severe storm from someone telling
her that there was a tornado on the ground and headed her way. With no time to get somewhere safer, she got
the kids in the house, piled some pillows under the little ones, put Layne at
her feet and laid her body across the top of Austin and Ethan. Accounts say the trailer was picked up by the
storm and thrown one hundred yards.
Rescuers found the children bruised but safe under Nikki’s body. She had been killed when the walls and
ceiling collapsed.
Around Yazoo City Nikki was
hailed a hero for sacrificing her own life for those of her children, and rightfully
so. Here’s is a modern-day example of
what Jesus meant when he told his disciples to love one another. Whatever else Nikki did in her life, good or
bad, she will be remembered for her last act of sacrifice on behalf of her
children. For those of you who are
curious, nothing was ever said about the father of the children. They are now being taken care of by Nikki’s
parents.
We do not use this story
because acts of heroism by mothers to protect their children are unusual. No doubt, more heroic actions have been taken
by others with less fanfare or recognition.
But what is important is our understanding of what it means to love one
another as Christ loved us.
No one who hears this story
and knows Jesus would doubt for one minute that, if it had been Jesus with
those children, he would have done the same thing. He did, after all, give up his own life (a
life by the way which was probably about at the same age as Nikki’s) for all of
us. His words, passed on by St. John,
carry both an instruction and an example.
It is especially important to
hear Christ’s commandment in this day and age where the word “love” is twisted
and used so synonymously with “lust.”
The media uses the word poorly at best.
They tell us, and most especially our children, that love is a selfish
act directed only at self-gratification.
Too frequently the idea of love that Jesus intended, the idea that love
is an act of selfless charity to others, is hidden under media that celebrates
sex and violence and calls it love.
So what is it that we must do
to refute secular values and demonstrate, by our actions, that we understand
what the Lord meant when he said to: “Love one another”? Perhaps, if we redouble our efforts to be
constantly aware that we are all adopted by Jesus as his Father’s children, we
could show our attitude of love and concern for others. Familial love is what Jesus calls us to. We help one another at need, and hold each
other accountable to the same standards to which we ourselves are held by
Christ. We give to those in need, and
forgive those who, out of ignorance, have done us wrong. At the very high point of our love for one
another is self-sacrifice for those we love.
It is difficult what the Lord asks.
But it is what we are called to be.
St. John the Evangelist,
whose words we heard today, is said to have spent the last years of his life on
an island called Patmos. One of his
followers recounts that each day around noon
he would come down to his followers and deliver a short message. He would say simply: “Love one another.” After having done this for some time, one of
his disciples asked him “Master, you spent three years with the Lord and he
must have taught you so much. Why is it
that you only tell us in your messages to: ‘Love one another’?”
St. John answered and said,
“Yes, he taught us many things, but he repeated that message, to love one
another, frequently and I have come to believe that it is the most important
message he left us.”
As we continue our Easter
journey we are asked to remember this most important commandment that the Lord
left us. St. John
Pax
[1]
Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2]
The image today is “St Paul Healing the Cripple at Lystra” by Karel Dujardin, 1663.
[4]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the
psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
[5]
The Navarre Bible, Gospels and Acts, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002,
pp. 809-10.
[6]
The Navarre Bible: “Revelation and Hebrews and Catholic Letters,” Scepter
Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 118.
No comments:
Post a Comment