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May 12, 2017 Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 13:26-33When Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue:"My brothers, children of the family of Abraham,and those others among you who are God-fearing,to us this word of salvation has been sent. The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him,and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophetsthat are read sabbath after sabbath. For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence,they asked Pilate to have him put to death,and when they had accomplished all that was...

May 11, 2017 Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 13:13-25From Paphos, Paul and his companionsset sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia. But John left them and returned to Jerusalem. They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the sabbath they entered into the synagogue and took their seats. After the reading of the law and the prophets,the synagogue officials sent word to them,"My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortationfor the people, please speak." So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said,"Fellow children of Israel and...

May 10, 2017 Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 12:24—13:5aThe word of God continued to spread and grow. After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission,they returned to Jerusalem,taking with them John, who is called Mark. Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saulfor the work to which I have called them." Then, completing their...

May 9, 2017 Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 11:19-26Those who had been scattered by the persecutionthat arose because of Stephenwent as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,preaching the word to no one but Jews.There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however,who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well,proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with themand a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.When he...

May 8, 2017 Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 11:1-18The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judeaheard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalemthe circumcised believers confronted him, saying,'You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them." Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,"I was at prayer in the city of Joppawhen in a trance I had a vision,something resembling a large sheet coming down,lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me. Looking...

“The Good Shepherd for Straying and Suffering Sheep” (1 Peter 2:19-25) I’m guessing by now you’ve picked up on the theme of the day. You’ve heard it throughout the service so far. For example, in the Introit, the words of Jesus: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, and I lay down my life for the sheep.” In the Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd.” In the Holy Gospel, where Jesus calls himself “the shepherd of the sheep.” In the Hymn of the Day, “The King of Love My Shepherd Is.” Yes, no...

May 7, 2017 Fourth Sunday of Easter Reading 1 Acts 2:14a, 36-41Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,raised his voice, and proclaimed:"Let the whole house of Israel know for certainthat God has made both Lord and Christ,this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,and they asked Peter and the other apostles,"What are we to do, my brothers?"Peter said to them,"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.For the promise is made...

May 6, 2017 Saturday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 9:31-42The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samariawas at peace. She was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit she grew in numbers. As Peter was passing through every region,he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas,who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him,"Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed." He got up...

May 5, 2017 Friday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 9:1-20Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,went to the high priest and asked himfor letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. On his journey, as he was nearing 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 are you persecuting me?"He said, "Who are you, sir?" The reply...

May 4, 2017 Thursday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 8:26-40The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,"Get up and head south on the roadthat goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route." So he got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,a court official of the Candace,that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,in charge of her entire treasury,who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.The Spirit said to Philip,"Go and join up with that chariot." Philip ran up and...

May 3, 2017 Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles Reading 1 1 Cor 15:1-8I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,of the Gospel I preached to you,which you indeed received and in which you also stand.Through it you are also being saved,if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,unless you believed in vain.For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:that Christ died for our sinsin accordance with the Scriptures;that he was buried;that he was raised on the third dayin accordance with the Scriptures;that he appeared to Cephas, then to the...

May 2, 2017 Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Acts 7:51—8:1aStephen said to the people, the elders, and the scribes:"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears,you always oppose the Holy Spirit;you are just like your ancestors.Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one,whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.You received the law as transmitted by angels,but you did not observe it." When they heard this, they were infuriated,and they ground their teeth at him.But Stephen, filled with the...

May 1, 2017 Monday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 6:8-15Stephen, filled with grace and power,was working great wonders and signs among the people.Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,and people from Cilicia and Asia,came forward and debated with Stephen,but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.Then they instigated some men to say,"We have heard him speaking blasphemous wordsagainst Moses and God."They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,accosted him, seized him,and brought him before the Sanhedrin.They presented false witnesses who testified,"This man never stops...

Mass on the Move – A Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter Msgr. Charles Pope • April 29, 2017 • In today’s Gospel we encounter two discouraged and broken men making their way to Emmaus. The text describes them as “downcast.” That is to say, their eyes are cast on the ground, their heads are hung low. Their Lord and Messiah has been killed, the one they had thought would finally liberate Israel. Some women had claimed that He was alive, but these disciples have discredited those reports and are now leaving Jerusalem. It is late in the...

April 30, 2017 Third Sunday of Easter Reading 1 Acts 2:14, 22-33Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,raised his voice, and proclaimed:"You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.You who are Israelites, hear these words.Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by Godwith mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.But God raised him up, releasing him from...

“Opening the Scriptures, Breaking the Bread” (Luke 24:13-35) One of my favorite paintings is one we happen to have hanging in the hallway here at St. Matthew’s. I’ve brought it forward this morning, because it goes with the Gospel reading for today. The painting is called, in German, “Gang nach Emmaus,” “The Road to Emmaus,” by a 19th-century Swiss artist, Robert Zünd. I love this painting, because it really activates my imagination. You’re looking from a distance at Jesus walking with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, while Jesus is opening the Scriptures to them. You wish you could...

April 29, 2017 Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Acts 6:1-7As the number of disciples continued to grow,the Hellenists complained against the Hebrewsbecause their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said,"It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men,filled with the Spirit and wisdom,whom we shall appoint to this task,whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayerand to the ministry of the word."The proposal was acceptable...

April 28, 2017 Friday of the Second Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 5:34-42A Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel,a teacher of the law, respected by all the people,stood up, ordered the Apostles to be put outside for a short time,and said to the Sanhedrin, "Fellow children of Israel,be careful what you are about to do to these men.Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important,and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed,and all those who were loyal to himwere disbanded and came to nothing.After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of...

April 27, 2017 Thursday of the Second Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 5:27-33When the court officers had brought the Apostles inand made them stand before the Sanhedrin,the high priest questioned them,"We gave you strict orders did we not,to stop teaching in that name.Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teachingand want to bring this man's blood upon us."But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,"We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.God exalted him at his right hand as leader and saviorto...

April 26, 2017 Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 5:17-26The high priest rose up and all his companions,that is, the party of the Sadducees,and, filled with jealousy,laid hands upon the Apostles and put them in the public jail.But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,led them out, and said,"Go and take your place in the temple area,and tell the people everything about this life."When they heard this,they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.When the high priest and his companions arrived,they convened the Sanhedrin,the full...