Thursday, May 25, 2006
Friday 6th Week of Easter
May 26, 2006
Memorial, St. Philip Neri, priest
Friday 6th Week of Easter - Yr II
ACTS 18:9-18
One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision,
"Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with
you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this
city." He settled there for a year and a half and taught the word of
God among them. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose
up together against Paul and brought him to the tribunal, saying, "This
man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law." When Paul
was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews, "If it were a matter of
some crime or malicious fraud, I should with reason hear the complaint
of you Jews; but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and
titles and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a
judge of such matters." And he drove them away from the tribunal. They
all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official, and beat him in full view
of the tribunal. But none of this was of concern to Gallio. Paul
remained for quite some time, and after saying farewell to the brothers
he sailed for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae
he had shaved his head because he had taken a vow.
JOHN 16:20-23
Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep
and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief
will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because
her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no
longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born
into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you
again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away
from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen,
amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give
you."
REFLECTION
When Jesus told his disciples that he would be leaving them and then
after a bit he would return to them, he was very likely referring to
his three days' separation from them while he would be in the tomb.
They would grieve his loss, but their sorrow would turn to joy on his
return to them. And of course this is what happened.
The joy the apostles felt when Jesus retuned to them was so intense
that it carried them through years of persecution and trials, to
martyrdoms, which they joyously accepted.
Success in ministry often enough follows this same pattern: those being
evangelized will resist the word, whether it's the word preached or the
word acted out in our lives, and their resistance may manifest itself
in insult, ridicule or even physical violence. The pain guarantees the
success of ministry. We see this pattern playing itself out in the
first reading.
The Acts of the Apostles and Paul in his letters tell us how the
Apostle of the Gentiles frequently suffered because of his ministry. In
today's first reading Paul, accused by his own people, has been brought
by them before a pagan official on charges stemming from his preaching
the name of Christ. Paul had however the great joy of knowing that he
was leading many of his listeners to discipleship with Christ.
We have our trials and often enough they cause us to wonder why this is
happening to us, why we cannot find God. We tend to forget that the
deaths of martyrs are the seeds that give growth to the Church.
With this realization, we need only to remember to cling to Christ, and
peace will descend on us, a peace that the world can neither give nor
take from us.
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
- for the speedy recovery of Cadio.
- for the speedy recovery of Aida.
- for the special Intention of Greg
- for the good health of Elsa & Paolo
- for the complete healing of Elvie Lazaga
- for the special intentions of Amelia Domingo
- for the special intention of Carlos and Emma.
- for the complete healing of Angel Uichanco, Roger Ang and Paolo.
- for the personal intentions of Charles and Cheryl C.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Suzanne Go Kaw
- 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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