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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Archive: http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/
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Thursday Third Week of Easter
May 8, 2014
Thursday Third Week of Easter
Acts 8: 26-40 / Ps 66: 8-9, 16-17, 20 / Jn 6: 44-51
Reading: Acts 8: 26-40
An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south towards the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road." So he set out and it happened that an Ethiopian was passing along that way. He was an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians; he had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was on his way home. He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, "Go and catch up with that carriage." So Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; and he asked, "Do you really understand what you are reading?" The Ethiopian replied, "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. This was the passage of Scripture he was reading: He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, he did not open his mouth. He was humbled and deprived of his rights. Who can speak of his descendants? For he was uprooted from the earth. The official asked Philip, "Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of someone else?" Then Philip began to tell him the Good News of Jesus, using this text of Scripture as his starting point. As they traveled down the road they came to a place where there was some water. Then the Ethiopian official said, "Look, here is water; what is to keep me from being baptized?" Then he ordered the carriage to stop; both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy. Philip found himself at Azotus, and he went about announcing the Good News in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Gospel: John 6: 44-51
No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets: They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me. For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the bread which comes from heaven so that you may eat of it and not die. 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."
Reflection:
"Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life." (John 3:16) This verse is said to be the bible within the bible. "Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life" (John 6:47) and this one is the succinct formulation of our belief. And here is one of Jesus' many 'I AMs.' "I am the Bread of Life." "I am the Living Bread." Bread in the family life and culture in those days is a staple as rice is to us now. So when Jesus claims 'I AM the Bread of Life, the Living Bread,' he is giving the imprint of ordinariness, the availableness in daily life, the ease to identify if not relate to him. Yet it provides the families then of the deeper meaning of God's provision in the desert of the Manna, of the provision to prepare the Passover meal with the unleavened bread! So this I AM of the Blessed Lord Jesus evokes so much deeper meaning and significance in that setting.
How do we now relate or even associate ourselves with this particular I AM of Jesus, the Bread of Life and the Living Bread? It is often said one becomes what one eats, but with the Bread of Life and the Living Bread, one receives and becomes more like JESUS! Let us not starve ourselves through infrequent reception of the Eucharist. Let us approach the Banquet of Love to partake often and become an imprint of the Bread of Life, the Living Bread, Jesus Christ!
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
* Herman Gamboa
... for world peace and reconciliation
... for the eternal repose
* Erland D. Navarro
* Bong Lacida, Rowena Lacida-Yap, Joel Arrienda, Bert Bughao, TJ Sultan
... for special intentions
* Rom de Guzman
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.
+================================================+
-- Thursday Third Week of Easter
Acts 8: 26-40 / Ps 66: 8-9, 16-17, 20 / Jn 6: 44-51
Reading: Acts 8: 26-40
An angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south towards the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert road." So he set out and it happened that an Ethiopian was passing along that way. He was an official in charge of the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians; he had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was on his way home. He was sitting in his carriage and reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, "Go and catch up with that carriage." So Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah; and he asked, "Do you really understand what you are reading?" The Ethiopian replied, "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" He then invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. This was the passage of Scripture he was reading: He was led like a sheep to be slaughtered; like a lamb that is dumb before the shearer, he did not open his mouth. He was humbled and deprived of his rights. Who can speak of his descendants? For he was uprooted from the earth. The official asked Philip, "Tell me, please, does the prophet speak of himself or of someone else?" Then Philip began to tell him the Good News of Jesus, using this text of Scripture as his starting point. As they traveled down the road they came to a place where there was some water. Then the Ethiopian official said, "Look, here is water; what is to keep me from being baptized?" Then he ordered the carriage to stop; both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The Ethiopian saw him no more, but he continued on his way full of joy. Philip found himself at Azotus, and he went about announcing the Good News in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Gospel: John 6: 44-51
No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets: They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me. For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the bread which comes from heaven so that you may eat of it and not die. 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."
Reflection:
"Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life." (John 3:16) This verse is said to be the bible within the bible. "Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life" (John 6:47) and this one is the succinct formulation of our belief. And here is one of Jesus' many 'I AMs.' "I am the Bread of Life." "I am the Living Bread." Bread in the family life and culture in those days is a staple as rice is to us now. So when Jesus claims 'I AM the Bread of Life, the Living Bread,' he is giving the imprint of ordinariness, the availableness in daily life, the ease to identify if not relate to him. Yet it provides the families then of the deeper meaning of God's provision in the desert of the Manna, of the provision to prepare the Passover meal with the unleavened bread! So this I AM of the Blessed Lord Jesus evokes so much deeper meaning and significance in that setting.
How do we now relate or even associate ourselves with this particular I AM of Jesus, the Bread of Life and the Living Bread? It is often said one becomes what one eats, but with the Bread of Life and the Living Bread, one receives and becomes more like JESUS! Let us not starve ourselves through infrequent reception of the Eucharist. Let us approach the Banquet of Love to partake often and become an imprint of the Bread of Life, the Living Bread, Jesus Christ!
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
* Herman Gamboa
... for world peace and reconciliation
... for the eternal repose
* Erland D. Navarro
* Bong Lacida, Rowena Lacida-Yap, Joel Arrienda, Bert Bughao, TJ Sultan
... for special intentions
* Rom de Guzman
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.
+================================================+
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
Archive: http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
© 2014 Daily-Homily
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