Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Thursday 3rd Week of Easter
May 4, 2006
Thursday 3rd Week of Easter - Yr II
ACTS 8:26-40
The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, "Get up and head south on the
road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route." So he
got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official
of the Candace, that is, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her
entire treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was
returning home. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet
Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, "Go and join up with that chariot."
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, "Do
you understand what you are reading?" He replied, "How can I, unless
someone instructs me?" So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
This was the Scripture passage he was reading: Like a sheep he was led
to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he
opened not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who
will tell of his posterity? For his life is taken from the earth. Then
the eunuch said to Philip in reply, "I beg you, about whom is the
prophet saying this? About himself, or about someone else?" Then Philip
opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage, he
proclaimed Jesus to him. As they traveled along the road they came to
some water, and the eunuch said, "Look, there is water. What is to
prevent my being baptized?" Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and
Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized
him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched
Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but continued on his way
rejoicing. Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good
news to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
JOHN 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowds: "No one can come to me unless the Father who
sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written
in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens
to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen
the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the
bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they
died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat
it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will
give is my Flesh for the life of the world."
REFLECTION
In today's Gospel, Jesus speaks about a mysterious drawing power that
exists on a higher level. He says, "No one can come to me unless the
Father who sent me draws him."
The drawing energy that operates on the natural level is not subject to
sensible perception. We see it only in its effects- the flower
searching for the sun, the moth seeking the light, the man and the
woman living together in loving matrimony. Nor can we see the drawing
power that emanates from the Father except in its effect: our
converging, coming together, the drawing power overcoming all resistant
walls, nationality, religion, race, biases, prejudices, hatreds.
The Father's power draws us to his Christ, whose beauty and goodness
suggest the full satisfaction we will find in a deepening relationship
with him. Showing us his Christ, the Father frees us from the myth of a
richly attractive world. It awakens within us the realization that
there is far more to life than the empty promises offered to us by this
world. We begin to sense that all the world offers is no more than
promises and pledges, in Christian terms a sacrament, of a supremely
satisfying love that will be ours when life is no longer trammeled by
sin and pain and death.
It is then we see that the drawing power of God is leading us to that
for which it first created us, the fullness of life, ecstatic joy. For
this were we created. To this the Father mysteriously draws us, while
drawing us to Christ.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for the speedy recovery of David. May the Holy Spirit guide his
doctors and caregivers.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Helen Yao
- Birthday: Dennis Cham
- Birthday: Alfonso Luzuriaga, Jr.
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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