Sunday, May 25, 2014
Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 25, 2014
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17 / Ps 66: 1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20/ 1 Pt 3: 15-18/ Jn 14: 15-21
First Reading: Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17
Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him and saw the miraculous signs that he did. For in cases of possession, the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people who were paralyzed or crippled were healed. So there was great joy in that town. Now, when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. They went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not as yet come down upon any of them since they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. So Peter and John laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Second Reading: 1 Peter 3: 15-18
Bless the Lord Christ in your hearts. Always have an answer ready when you are called upon to account for your hope, but give it simply and with respect. Keep your conscience clear so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your upright, Christian living. Better to suffer for doing good, if it is God's will, than for doing wrong. Remember how Christ died, once and for all, for our sins. He, the just one, died for the unjust in order to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the Spirit he was raised to life,
Gospel: John 14:15-21
If you love me, you will keep my commandments; and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, that Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him for he is with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you. A little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me because I live and you will also live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in me, and I in you. Whoever keeps my commandments is the one who loves me. If he loves me, he will also be loved by my Father; I too shall love him and show myself clearly to him."
Reflection:
The gospel passage is part of the Last Discourse of Jesus, something that is usually taken more seriously when we know that what is being shared is from someone who believes in one's imminent death. In an attempt to minimize regrets, the one to pass away shares one's most intimate thoughts as a sort of legacy with the hope that one will be remembered.
In this short passage, Jesus repeats his earlier commandment to love one another which he considers as something new. Though there is basis in the Old Testament of the commandment of love as found in the Book of Leviticus (Lv 19:18), the claim of Jesus regarding the newness of his commandment of love is true because our capacity to love will only be possible in the way that Jesus wants is essentially dependent with regard to the reality that Jesus loves us first. Love is synonymous to many words that would include being patient, understanding, and merciful, among many others. But due to our human weaknesses and limitations, we sometimes get discouraged and begin to readily give up. Besides, to love others would mean becoming vulnerable, something that we would not readily prefer.
Given such human tendencies that will somehow prevent us in achieving the mission of Jesus, the latter now provides us with assistance. In particular, he says in this passage that he shall send an Advocate, a helper who is none other than the Holy Spirit. This passage essentially details two important functions of the Spirit of Jesus.
First, the Advocate will be with us. Consequently, we shall never feel orphaned and abandoned because Jesus through his Spirit will continue to be present. Jesus will die but his relationship with us will not end due to his abiding presence. Such accompaniment of the Spirit may hopefully give us courage and strength especially when we face trials and crisis moments. The Spirit will help us manage and overcome our fears so that the mission of Jesus may be fulfilled.
Equally important is that the Spirit shall be responsible in reminding us regarding all the teachings of Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus from his Father has no other agenda except to promote and reinforce the mission of Jesus. This is significant because Jesus knows that we can easily be forgetful of our task as friends of Jesus to proclaim his love and mercy to anyone who is open enough to allow Jesus to enter one's life.
Yet, how many among us truly desire for the Spirit of Jesus to be with us and accompany us in our journey in life especially with the task and responsibility to do our share in the mission of salvation initiated by Jesus? How can we then become more aware of this Advocate that Jesus promised to be with us so that we can expend efforts to work with Jesus in his desire that we all be transformed and be back in his fold?
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.
+================================================+
-- Sixth Sunday of Easter
Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17 / Ps 66: 1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20/ 1 Pt 3: 15-18/ Jn 14: 15-21
First Reading: Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17
Philip went down to a town of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. All the people paid close attention to what Philip said as they listened to him and saw the miraculous signs that he did. For in cases of possession, the unclean spirits came out shrieking loudly. Many people who were paralyzed or crippled were healed. So there was great joy in that town. Now, when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. They went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not as yet come down upon any of them since they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. So Peter and John laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Second Reading: 1 Peter 3: 15-18
Bless the Lord Christ in your hearts. Always have an answer ready when you are called upon to account for your hope, but give it simply and with respect. Keep your conscience clear so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your upright, Christian living. Better to suffer for doing good, if it is God's will, than for doing wrong. Remember how Christ died, once and for all, for our sins. He, the just one, died for the unjust in order to lead us to God. In the body he was put to death, in the Spirit he was raised to life,
Gospel: John 14:15-21
If you love me, you will keep my commandments; and I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, that Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him for he is with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you. A little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me because I live and you will also live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father and you in me, and I in you. Whoever keeps my commandments is the one who loves me. If he loves me, he will also be loved by my Father; I too shall love him and show myself clearly to him."
Reflection:
The gospel passage is part of the Last Discourse of Jesus, something that is usually taken more seriously when we know that what is being shared is from someone who believes in one's imminent death. In an attempt to minimize regrets, the one to pass away shares one's most intimate thoughts as a sort of legacy with the hope that one will be remembered.
In this short passage, Jesus repeats his earlier commandment to love one another which he considers as something new. Though there is basis in the Old Testament of the commandment of love as found in the Book of Leviticus (Lv 19:18), the claim of Jesus regarding the newness of his commandment of love is true because our capacity to love will only be possible in the way that Jesus wants is essentially dependent with regard to the reality that Jesus loves us first. Love is synonymous to many words that would include being patient, understanding, and merciful, among many others. But due to our human weaknesses and limitations, we sometimes get discouraged and begin to readily give up. Besides, to love others would mean becoming vulnerable, something that we would not readily prefer.
Given such human tendencies that will somehow prevent us in achieving the mission of Jesus, the latter now provides us with assistance. In particular, he says in this passage that he shall send an Advocate, a helper who is none other than the Holy Spirit. This passage essentially details two important functions of the Spirit of Jesus.
First, the Advocate will be with us. Consequently, we shall never feel orphaned and abandoned because Jesus through his Spirit will continue to be present. Jesus will die but his relationship with us will not end due to his abiding presence. Such accompaniment of the Spirit may hopefully give us courage and strength especially when we face trials and crisis moments. The Spirit will help us manage and overcome our fears so that the mission of Jesus may be fulfilled.
Equally important is that the Spirit shall be responsible in reminding us regarding all the teachings of Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus from his Father has no other agenda except to promote and reinforce the mission of Jesus. This is significant because Jesus knows that we can easily be forgetful of our task as friends of Jesus to proclaim his love and mercy to anyone who is open enough to allow Jesus to enter one's life.
Yet, how many among us truly desire for the Spirit of Jesus to be with us and accompany us in our journey in life especially with the task and responsibility to do our share in the mission of salvation initiated by Jesus? How can we then become more aware of this Advocate that Jesus promised to be with us so that we can expend efforts to work with Jesus in his desire that we all be transformed and be back in his fold?
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 @ 9:41 PM 
