Thursday, May 08, 2014
Friday Third Week of Easter
May 9, 2014
Friday Third Week of Easter
Acts 9: 1-20 / Ps 117: 1bc, 2 / Jn 6: 52-59
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." 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, "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. 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 myself 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.
Gospel: 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 live with eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. My flesh is really food and my blood is 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; unlike 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:
The First Reading, Acts 9: 1-20, is about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the Lord's chosen instrument to the Gentiles, and what an instrument! Who would have thought that Saul, terrorist to Christians, would be ever be counted among their most zealous and illustrious evangelizer! For Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, was gifted with a vision of Jesus that gave rise to a deep faith that would sustain him as he preached to the Gentiles even as other disciples continued to doubt him. He went on three apostolic missions, with Antioch as starting point, invariably ending in Jerusalem, writing in the midst of all these his Letters to various groups. In a council held sometime during his first mission, Paul's ideas were vindicated: Gentiles were deemed exempt from the Mosaic law, notably circumcision, except that the Gentiles had to abstain from sacrifices to idols, blood, things strangled and fornication. While the circumstances led to a dispute between Peter and Paul, Paul's manner of living as the Jews did seemed to have made Peter come around to Paul's arguments.
The second mission was made notable by his founding a new church because of discord with the Jews. During this time, he was directed by the Holy Spirit to portions of Europe. On the third mission, Paul finally reached Asia. He worked at tents while preaching the Gospel. His pains at this time included the continuing jealousy of the Jews, copycat exorcisms and superstitious pagans. Once, a silversmith selling souvenirs of the goddess Diana turned a crowd against him because of loss of revenue from pilgrims who no longer purchased the items. His third mission will be remembered for the Letters to the Corinthians, Galatians and Romans.
The Jews persisted with making trouble for Paul. His capture was highlighted by his five defense statements recorded in the Acts. Paul's trial in Rome resulted in his acquittal. Paul then seems to have travelled to Spain although by this time the Acts accounts had ended and no longer recorded his travels. He was again captured and sent to Rome for trial. Paul was reported by Eusebius of Caesarea as beheaded under Nero in AD 64 or 67.
Prayer Requests:
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary
... 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.
+================================================+
-- Friday Third Week of Easter
Acts 9: 1-20 / Ps 117: 1bc, 2 / Jn 6: 52-59
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." 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, "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. 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 myself 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.
Gospel: 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 live with eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. My flesh is really food and my blood is 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; unlike 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:
The First Reading, Acts 9: 1-20, is about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the Lord's chosen instrument to the Gentiles, and what an instrument! Who would have thought that Saul, terrorist to Christians, would be ever be counted among their most zealous and illustrious evangelizer! For Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, was gifted with a vision of Jesus that gave rise to a deep faith that would sustain him as he preached to the Gentiles even as other disciples continued to doubt him. He went on three apostolic missions, with Antioch as starting point, invariably ending in Jerusalem, writing in the midst of all these his Letters to various groups. In a council held sometime during his first mission, Paul's ideas were vindicated: Gentiles were deemed exempt from the Mosaic law, notably circumcision, except that the Gentiles had to abstain from sacrifices to idols, blood, things strangled and fornication. While the circumstances led to a dispute between Peter and Paul, Paul's manner of living as the Jews did seemed to have made Peter come around to Paul's arguments.
The second mission was made notable by his founding a new church because of discord with the Jews. During this time, he was directed by the Holy Spirit to portions of Europe. On the third mission, Paul finally reached Asia. He worked at tents while preaching the Gospel. His pains at this time included the continuing jealousy of the Jews, copycat exorcisms and superstitious pagans. Once, a silversmith selling souvenirs of the goddess Diana turned a crowd against him because of loss of revenue from pilgrims who no longer purchased the items. His third mission will be remembered for the Letters to the Corinthians, Galatians and Romans.
The Jews persisted with making trouble for Paul. His capture was highlighted by his five defense statements recorded in the Acts. Paul's trial in Rome resulted in his acquittal. Paul then seems to have travelled to Spain although by this time the Acts accounts had ended and no longer recorded his travels. He was again captured and sent to Rome for trial. Paul was reported by Eusebius of Caesarea as beheaded under Nero in AD 64 or 67.
Prayer Requests:
We pray ...
... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn
... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary
... 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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# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 10:18 PM 
