Thursday, April 18, 2013

 

SATURDAY 3RD WEEK OF EASTER – YR I

APRIL 20, 2013
SATURDAY 3RD WEEK OF EASTER – YR I

Acts 9:31-42 / Ps 116: 12-13. 14-15. 16-17 / Jn 6:60-69

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. This became known throughout all of Joppa and many people believed in the Lord because of it.

JOHN 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."

REFLECTION
What is it that some of the disciples find hard to accept? In John 6:51, Jesus says, "I am the living bread which has come 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."

Why did they find it hard to accept the words of Jesus? There were many who got stuck with knowing Jesus as the son of a carpenter. Their hearts were still hardened by their own desires of worldly things and didn't recognize the divine nature of Jesus, that he is the Son of God incarnate. In Matthew 22:14, Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." Many are invited to the kingdom of heaven, but only those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be chosen to enter the kingdom.

What does it mean to accept Jesus? It means that we respond to his call, that we take active participation in his passion regardless of the price. Our mission is to be apostles who will spread the word of God to all those who haven't heard it yet, to plant the seed and let God's grace grow in their hearts until it reaches full bloom. Our mission is not to go to God's kingdom alone, but to bring as many souls with us.

Have we been faithful in pursuing our mission, or have we brought souls farther away from God and from His kingdom with our worldliness, our selfishness? Or have we chosen to walk away like many of the disciples did during Jesus' time because we are not ready to take up our cross and follow him?

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of Elizabeth Lim
… for the personal intentions of Beny Chua
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Cecile C. Sison
- Birthday: Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr.
- Birthday: Nina C. Santamaria
- Birthday: Teresita Chikiamco
- Wedding Anniversary: Louie Tan Uy & Margaret Bautista Uy
- In Memoriam (+): Maguan, Jaime (Feb 2, 1928 - Apr 20, 2012)
- In Memoriam (+): Lim Bin (May 15, 1932 - Apr 20, 2004)
… for families who are in need of healing
… 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!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:

+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+

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FRIDAY 3RD WEEK OF EASTER – YR I

APRIL 19, 2013
FRIDAY 3RD WEEK OF EASTER – YR I

Acts 9:1-20 / Ps 117: 1bc. 2 / Jn 6:52-59

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." The men who were traveling with him stood there speechless: they had heard the sound, but could see no one. Saul got up from the ground and, opening his eyes, he could not see. They took him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. He was blind and he did not eat or drink for three days. There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, to whom the Lord called in a vision, "Ana ias!" 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. You will find him praying, for he has just seen in a vision that a man named Ananias has come in and placed his hands upon him, to restore his sight." Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, and now he is here with authority from the High Priest to arrest all who call upon your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to bring my name to the pagan nations and their kings, and the people of Israel as well. I my- self will show him how much he will have to suffer for my name." 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 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.

JOHN 6:52-59
The Jews were arguing among themselves, "How can this man give us 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 lives 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 which came 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.

REFLECTION
Flesh and blood represent life. When Jesus spoke of the giving of his flesh and blood, he was actually talking about the giving of himself, of his whole life, for them. So, when Jesus invited the people to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he was inviting them to partake in his life. It is an invitation to become part of Jesus' way of living out the salvation he came to bring to all of creation. What then is to live in Christ and Christ to live in me? It is to allow ourselves to be transformed so that whatever we do, we do it the way Christ would, as he showed us in the gospel. It is to live the perfect humanity that Jesus lived. It is to feel the needs of others, our family, our friends, the society and even those who hurt us. It is to respond as Christ did. Saint Ignatius of Loyola said that "love is shown more in deeds than in words." It is the way Jesus lived the justice and mercy of God. It is more than conforming to the letter of the Law; it is living the deeper meaning of what the Law is - LIFE. And the life that we live in Christ is the life that is eternal – an eternity that starts here and now in our earthly life. When we live the way Jesus did, we make the Kingdom of God present in the world today. How do we do that in our daily living? How do we make the eternity in God present to others around us?

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Elizabeth Lim
- Chief Samrose Anyaugo
… for the personal intentions of
- Dr Ugo Anyaugo, Oge Anyaugo, Barr (Mrs) adaugo Barbara Okoronkwo, Engr. Ifeanyi Matt Anyaugo, Chuba Anyaugo and Ezinne Cordelia Anyaugo
- Beny Chua
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Mr. Benigno De Quiroz
- In Memoriam (+): Elizabeth Sun (Jan 12, 1957 - Apr 19, 1999)
- In Memoriam (+): Felicidad Co Ong (Dec 23, 1923 - Apr 19, 2012)
… for families who are in need of healing
… 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!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only. Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends, colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the following:

+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+

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