Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 05-22-04, Opt. St. Rita of Cascia

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 05-22-04 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

May 22, 2004
Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Psalm: Saturday 23 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel

Reading I
Acts 18:23-28

After staying in Antioch some time,
Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence
through the Galatian country and Phrygia,
bringing strength to all the disciples.

A Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria,
an eloquent speaker, arrived in Ephesus.
He was an authority on the Scriptures.
He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord and,
with ardent spirit, spoke and taught accurately about Jesus,
although he knew only the baptism of John.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue;
but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him,
they took him aside
and explained to him the Way of God more accurately.
And when he wanted to cross to Achaia,
the brothers encouraged him
and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him.
After his arrival he gave great assistance
to those who had come to believe through grace.
He vigorously refuted the Jews in public,
establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 47:2-3, 8-9, 10

R (8a) God is king of all the earth.
or:
R Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with cries of gladness.
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R God is king of all the earth.
or:
R Alleluia.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R God is king of all the earth.
or:
R Alleluia.
The princes of the peoples are gathered together
with the people of the God of Abraham.
For God's are the guardians of the earth;
he is supreme.
R God is king of all the earth.
or:
R Alleluia.

Gospel
Jn 16:23b-28

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

"I have told you this in figures of speech.
The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures
but I will tell you clearly about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name,
and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have come to believe that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world.
Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."

[Salvation]

For your reading, reflection, faith sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

[Salvation]

Alleluia Ping!

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[Salvation]

From: Acts 18:23-28

Galatia and Phrygia

---

[23] After spending some time there he (Paul) departed and went from
place to place through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening
all the disciples.

Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth

---

[24] Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus.
He was an eloquent man, well versed in the scriptures. [25] He had
been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he
spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew
only the baptism of John. [26] He began to speak boldly in the
synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and
expounded to him the way of God more accurately. [27] And when he
wished to cross to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him, and wrote to
the disciples to receive him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those
who through grace had believed, [28] for he powerfully confuted the
Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

---

Commentary:

18:23 - 21:26. Paul's third apostolic journey starts, like the earlier
ones, from Antioch, but it ends with his imprisonment in Jerusalem
(Acts 21:27ff). It was a long journey, but Luke devotes most attention
to events in Ephesus.

To begin with Paul tours the cities he already evangelized in Galatia
and Phrygia: this would have taken him from the last months of 53 to
early 54. Then he goes to Ephesus, where he stays for almost three
years and meets up with all kinds of contradictions (cf. 2 Cor 1:8), as
he describes it in his letter to the Corinthians in spring 57: "To the
present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and
homeless.... We have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world,
the offscourings of all things" (1 Cor 4:11, 13). Despite this, or
perhaps because of it, his apostolate was very fruitful and the
Christian message spread through all proconsular Asia, to important
cities like Colossae, Laodicae, Hierapolis, etc. and to countless
towns; as he put it in a letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 16:9), "a
wide door for effective work has opened to me".

The Apostle had to leave Ephesus on account of the revolt of the
silversmiths, moving on towards Macedonia and Achaia to visit the
churches he founded on his second journey--Philippi, Thessalonica and
Corinth. He stayed there the three months of the winter of 57/58. On
his return journey (to Jerusalem, to bring money collected) he went via
Macedonia to avoid a Jewish plot. He embarked at Neapolis (the port
near Philippi), stopping off at Troas, Miletus (where he met with the
elders from Ephesus whom he had called to come to him), Tyre and
Caesarea, and managing to reach Jerusalem in time for the Passover.

24. Priscilla and Aquila knew how valuable a man with Apollos'
qualities would be if he could be got to dedicate himself to the Lord's
service; so they took the initiative and spoke to him. Monsignor
Escriva sees this episode as a good lesson about boldness in speaking
about God, as "an event that demonstrates the wonderful apostolic zeal
of the early Christians. Scarcely a quarter of a century had passed
since Jesus had gone up to heaven and already his fame had spread to
many towns and villages. In the city of Ephesus a man arrived, Apollos
by name, 'an eloquent man, well versed in the scriptures'. . . . A
glimmer of Christ's light had already filtered into the mind of this
man. He had heard about our Lord and he passed the news on to others.
But he still had some way to go. He needed to know more if he was to
acquire the fulness of the faith and so come to love our Lord truly. A
Christian couple, Aquila and Priscilla, hear him speaking; they are not
inactive or indifferent. They do not think: 'This man already knows
enough; it's not our business to teach him.' They were souls who were
really eager to do apostolate and so they approached Apollos and 'took
him and expounded to him the way of God more accurately"' ("Friends of
God", 269).

This was the kind of zeal the first Christians had; a little later on
St Justin wrote: "We do our very best to warn them [Jews and heretics],
as we do you, not to be deluded, for we know full well that whoever can
speak out the truth and fails to do so shall be condemned by God"
("Dialogue with Tryphon", 82, 3).

27. God uses people, in this case Apollos, to channel his grace to the
faithful. They are instruments of his; they preach his word and reap
an apostolic harvest, but it is God himself who makes the harvest grow,
by providing his grace. "It depends not upon man's will or exertion,
but upon God's mercy" (Romans 9:16). "It is not we who save souls and
move them to do good. We are quite simply instruments, some more, some
less worthy, for fulfilling God's plans for salvation. If at any time
we were to think that we ourselves were the authors of the good we do,
then our pride would return, more twisted than ever. The salt would
lose its flavor, the leaven would rot and the light would turn into
darkness" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 250).

Hence the importance of supernatural resources in apostolic activity:
building is in vain if God does not support it (cf. Psalm 127:1). "All
the exterior effort is a waste of time, if you lack Love. It's like
sewing with a needle and no thread" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 967).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

From: John 16:23b-28

Fullness of Joy (Continuation)

---

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [23b] Truly, truly, I say to you, if you
ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in My name. [24] Hitherto
you have asked nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy
may be full.

[25] "I have said this to you in figures; the hour is coming when I
shall no longer speak to in figures but tell you plainly of the
Father. [26] In that day you will ask in My name; and I do not say to
you that I shall pray the Father for you; [27] for the Father Himself
loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from
the Father. [28] I came from the Father and have come into the world;
again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

---

Commentary:

25-30. As can be seen also from other passages in the Gospels, Jesus
spent time explaining His doctrine in more detail to His Apostles than
to the crowd (cf. Mark 4:10-12 and paragraph)--to train them for their
mission of preaching the Gospel to the whole world (cf. Matthew
28:18-20). However, our Lord also used metaphors or parables when
imparting instruction to the Apostles, and He does so in this discourse
of the Last Supper--the vine, the woman giving birth, etc.: He
stimulates their curiosity and they, because they do not understand,
ask Him questions (cf. verses 17-18). Jesus now tells them that the
time is coming when He will speak to them in a completely clear way so
that they will know exactly what He means. This He will do after the
Resurrection (cf. Acts 1:3). But even now, since He knows their
thoughts, He is making it ever plainer to them that He is God, for only
God can know what is happening inside someone (cf. 2:25). Verse 28, "I
came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving
the world and going to the Father" summarizes the mystery of Christ's
Person (cf. John 1:14; 20:31).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

Saturday, May 22, 2004
St. Rita of Cascia, Religious (Optional Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Acts 18:23-28 Psalm 47:2-3, 8-10 John 16:23-28 When we have once placed ourselves entirely in the hands of God, we need fear no evil. If adversity comes, He knows how to turn it to our advantage, by means which will in time be made clear to us.  -- St. Vincent de Paul

[Salvation]

American Catholic’s Saint of the Day

May 22, 2004

St. Rita of Cascia

(1381-1457)

Like Elizabeth Ann Seton, Rita of Cascia was a wife, mother, widow and member of a religious community. Her holiness was reflected in each phase of her life.

Born at Roccaporena in central Italy, Rita wanted to become a nun but was pressured at a young age into marrying a harsh and cruel man. During her 18-year marriage, she bore and raised two sons. After her husband was killed in a brawl and her sons had died, Rita tried to join the Augustinian nuns in Cascia. Unsuccessful at first because she was a widow, Rita eventually succeeded.

Over the years, her austerity, prayerfulness and charity became legendary. When she developed wounds on her forehead, people quickly associated them with the wounds from Christ's crown of thorns. She meditated frequently on Christ's passion. Her care for the sick nuns was especially loving. She also counseled lay people who came to her monastery.

Beatified in 1626, Rita was not canonized until 1900. She has acquired the reputation, together with St. Jude, as a saint of impossible cases. Many people visit her tomb each year.

Comment:

Although we can easily imagine an ideal world in which to live out our baptismal vocation, such a world does not exist. An “If only ….” approach to holiness never quite gets underway, never produces the fruit that God has a right to expect.

Rita became holy because she made choices that reflected her Baptism and her growth as a disciple of Jesus. Her overarching, lifelong choice was to cooperate generously with God's grace, but many small choices were needed to make that happen. Few of those choices were made in ideal circumstances—not even when Rita became an Augustinian nun.

Quote:

For the Baptism of adults and for all the baptized at the Easter Vigil, three questions are asked: “Do you reject sin so as to live in the freedom of God's children? Do you reject the glamour of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin? Do you reject Satan, father of sin and prince of darkness?”

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Saturday, May 22, 2004

Meditation
John 16:23-28



The Father himself loves you. (John 16:27)

How fortunate we are to be children of a loving God! Jesus told his disciples—and he tells us—that whatever we ask the Father in his name, he will give us. Why? Simply because the Father loves us. As a provider for his children, our heavenly Father wants to give us every good gift. He wants to heal our broken hearts, hold us in his arms, and bestow his blessings upon us. Loving us is a priority to him. As Fr. Henri Nouwen once wrote, “God loves us before any human person can show love to us. He loves us with a ‘first’ love, an unlimited, unconditional love.”

Developing a loving relationship with God is the most important thing we could ever do. But how many of us think we have to “do” something to earn God’s love? How many of us equate serving God with loving him? Our world is so goal-oriented that it’s easy to think that God wants us to “make the grade.” But Jesus no longer calls us servants but friends. He wants his church filled with people who love him just as passionately as he loves them. Like a bride who delights in pleasing her groom, we are called to do things for Jesus because we love him, not because we want to prove ourselves to him or earn his love.

What does this love of God look like? What does it feel like? At times, it’s an overwhelming sense of joy, even in the midst of difficult circumstances. At other times, it may be a deep sense of peace in your heart. Or it may be the security that comes from knowing that you’re never alone.

If you want to experience this love of God today, start by getting real with him. Admit to God and to yourself that you desperately need him. Ask him to fill you with his Spirit and to reveal his love to you. God the Father longs to find you even more than you want to find him.

“Thank you, Father, that you love me with a passion that knows no bounds. I cannot even fathom the depth of your love for me! Thank you for giving up your only Son so that I could know this love today.”

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

 

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<< Saturday, May 22, 2004 >>

Pentecost Novena - Day 2

Acts 18:23-28

Psalm 47

John 16:23-28

View Readings

VERY INVITING?

He was “instructed in the new way of the Lord. Apollos was a man full of spiritual fervor. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he knew only of John’s baptism.” —Acts 18:25

Apollos was:

• “a man of eloquence” (Acts 18:24),
• “an authority on Scripture” (Acts 18:24),
• “instructed in the new way of the Lord” (Acts 18:25),
• teaching “accurately about Jesus” (Acts 18:25), and
• speaking “fearlessly in the synagogue” (Acts 18:26).

Nevertheless, Apollos “knew only of John’s baptism.” Apollos did not have new life in Christ and in the Holy Spirit.

Why wasn’t Apollos invited to give His life to Jesus long before Priscilla and Aquila “took him home and explained to him God’s new way in greater detail”? (Acts 18:26) There are various historical reasons which partially explain Apollos, a teacher of Christians, not having been more quickly invited to be a Christian. However, we might ask ourselves another question: Why are Christians today not challenging each other more to live radically and fully their baptismal promises? Many baptized and confirmed Christians have never totally committed their lives to the Lord. Therefore, we need to follow the example of Priscilla and Aquila by inviting others, including Christians, into our homes in order to invite them to give themselves 100% to Jesus.

To be zealous and eager about person-to-person evangelization, particularly in our homes, we need faith and love, that is, we need to receive more powerfully the Holy Spirit, Who gives us faith (1 Cor 12:9) and love (Gal 5:22). Come, Holy Spirit!

Prayer: Father, on this second day of the Pentecost novena, impel me by love to share my faith very freely (see 2 Cor 5:14).

Promise: “The Father already loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.” —Jn 16:27

Praise: After meeting at midday Mass, Sarah and Mary continued to nurture their faith by sharing it with one another over lunch.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	At the Core of Life, Half Isn't Enough
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Saturday, May 22, 2004

Acts 1:1-11; Lk 24:46-53

A pizza delivery man was pounding frantically on the back gate of the Vatican, "Let me in," he cried. "I have a pizza for the pope and it's getting cold." No answer. "Please, let me in," he shouted.

Finally, a tiny window in the gate opened just a crack, and a cranky looking guard glared out at him. "I'll let you in," he said, "if you give me half of the tip the pope gives you."

"Anything, absolutely anything," cried the delivery man. So the gate was opened, and he made his delivery. As he was leaving, the guard was watching for him. "You haven't forgotten me, have you? I want my half of the tip!"

"With pleasure," smiled the delivery man, who raised his hand and gave him exactly one-half...of a papal blessing!

+ + +

There are lots of circumstances where half looks pretty good: Half a loaf is better than none; a glass half full is infinitely better than an empty one; half a million dollars looks good anytime! But at the core of life, half isn't enough. What's half a commitment worth - in business or life? Absolutely nothing! And half a plan? That's going nowhere! How about, "Darling, I love you half-way"? It makes you want to walk away, doesn't it, because you know there's nothing there.

God's kingdom isn't built with half measures, and neither are healthy families or peaceful hearts. Yet at times even the best of us can go temporarily insane and think we can buy life on the cheap - with no pain and no sacrifice. It never works! Woody Allen was wrong: Just showing up is not 90%!

Jesus knew that. He invested His whole life in us, doing for us whatever was needed, never counting the cost, and never holding back. Are we that whole-hearted? Have we fully invested our whole selves in the life that God has given us? Or are we like those Apostles in Sunday's reading, standing around, looking up at the sky, believing in Jesus, hoping for the best, but not doing much to make the best happen?

Are we kidding ourselves about the seriousness of our commitments or about the quality of what we do? Are we really being true to each one of our gifts and giving our best to each part of life? Are we faithfully taking our gifts where they're needed? Are fears, distractions, lassitude, or plain old blindness causing us to make only token investments in life, but meanwhile to think we have a life? What are we saving our lives for, a rainy day?
Life is to be invested and spent - all of it - just as Jesus did.

Remember Jesus' warning: "Whoever holds onto his life will lose it, but whoever spends his life for my sake will save it."

This is not a dress rehearsal! This is the only life we're ever going to have on this earth! With God's help, it can be a masterpiece, just like Jesus' life. God will help us, so why settle for anything less?

 

[annalex]

Jn 16:23-28
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
23	And in that day you shall not ask me any thing. Amen, amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you.	et in illo die me non rogabitis quicquam amen amen dico vobis si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo dabit vobis
24	Hitherto, you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full.	usque modo non petistis quicquam in nomine meo petite et accipietis ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum
25	These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour cometh when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs, but will shew you plainly of the Father.	haec in proverbiis locutus sum vobis venit hora cum iam non in proverbiis loquar vobis sed palam de Patre adnuntiabo vobis
26	In that day, you shall ask in my name: and I say not to you that I will ask the Father for you.	illo die in nomine meo petetis et non dico vobis quia ego rogabo Patrem de vobis
27	For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came out from God.	ipse enim Pater amat vos quia vos me amastis et credidistis quia ego a Deo exivi
28	I came forth from the Father and am come into the world: again I leave the world and I go to the Father.	exivi a Patre et veni in mundum iterum relinquo mundum et vado ad Patrem

[Salvation]

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Rita was born in the year 1386 in at Rocca Porena in to elderly
parents. In her youth she felt called to become an nun but her
parents arranged a marriage for her to a local political official. He
was known for his bad temper and participated in a major political
struggle of the time that split much of the region into two factions.

Rita's marriage produced twin sons. When he sons were eighteen,
her husband was assassinated by political rivals. Her sons swore
vengeance and hunted the killers of their father. Rita pleaded with
them and offered prayers to dissuade their desire for revenge. They
too were killed but repented of their vengeance before they died.

Rita mourned the death of her family but soon the call to the religious
life returned. At first she was refused entry to the convent but was
eventually accepted. She spent the final forty years of her life as an
Augustinian nun devoting her time to prayer and charity.

Rita developed a devotion to the Passion and petitioned the Lord to
share in his suffering. She was graced with a chronic head wound
that was attributed to the Crown of Thorns. It bled for fifteen years. At
the end of her life, Rita was sickly and could not leave her bed. A
visitor from her hometown asked if she would like anything to ease
her suffering. She asked for a rose from her family's estate. The
visitor returned to her childhood wondering where he would find a
rose in the middle of January. Miraculously, he found a single rose
blossom on an otherwise dormant bush.

Rita was beatified in 1627 and canonized in 1900. She has been a
popular saint throughout Italy and was recently added to the
Universal Calendar of the Church.


QUOTE OF THE DAY

He who trusts himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things. -St.
Alphonsus Liguori


TODAY IN HISTORY

1541 The Conference of Ratisbon (Regensburg) closes unable to
fulfill its mission of fixing the growing rift between the Church and
Protestant reformers.


TODAY'S TIDBIT

From the beginning of Christianity, we have been honoring saints.
The practice came from a long-standing Jewish tradition of honoring
prophets and holy people with shrines. The first saints were martyrs,
who had given up their lives for the Faith.


INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all people who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses.

[Salvation]

I like this!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

He who trusts himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things. -St.
Alphonsus Liguori

[annalex]

In verse 26, a similar problem to yesterday. Literary:

In that day, you shall petition in my name: and I say not to you that I will inquire the Father about you.

Another difficulty is with "I say not to you". I don't quite understand it. Is Jesus saying that He shall NOT forward the request to the Father? The following verse provides a clue: Jesus is not going to act as a go-between because the Father listens to our prayer directly. It seems that Jesus is making the distinction between the Son, Who is with the Father, and the Holy Spirit Whose role is to be an advocate in conveying our prayers. Is it how you read it?

[NYer]

The following verse provides a clue: Jesus is not going to act as a go-between because the Father listens to our prayer directly. It seems that Jesus is making the distinction between the Son, Who is with the Father, and the Holy Spirit Whose role is to be an advocate in conveying our prayers. Is it how you read it?

Here's a 3rd interpretation. It comes from the St. Paul Catholic Bible.

Whoever believes in me,
the works I do he, too, will do.
And he'll do greater works than these,
because I'm going to the Father!
And whatever you ask in my name, I'll do it,
so the Father may be glorified in the Son;
If you ask me for anything in my name,
I'll do it."

"If you love me, you'll keep my commandments,
And I'll ask the Father and He'll give you
another Intercessor to be with you forever,
The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept
because it doesn't see or know Him.
You'll know Him, because He'll remain with you
and be in you.

I won't leave you orphaned--I'll come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer
see me, but you'll see me;
Because I will live, you, too, will live.

On that day you'll realize that I am in my Father,
and you in me and I in you.
Whoever keeps my commandments and obeys them--
he it is who loves me,
While whoever loves me is loved by my Father,
and I'll love him and reveal myself to him."

"And I'll ask the Father and He'll give you another Intercessor to be with you forever, The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept because it doesn't see or know Him. You'll know Him, because He'll remain with you and be in you. "

That would lead me to believe He referred to the Holy Spirit. What do you think?

[annalex]

That was my interpretation as well, that Jesus yields the role of an Advocate or Intercessor to the Holy Spirit.

[NYer]

Check out my response to you on yesterday's mass reading thread.

[Salvation]

Did you see this from what sandyeggo posted yesterday, too?

Uncomfortable Facts About The Douay-Rheims

I found it quite interesting.

[Salvation]

The Blessed Season of Easter - Fifty Days of Reflections

Read the last two entries for today's reflections.

[annalex]

I had read it a few months ago, I recall, -- Askel flagged me.

I certainly would not subscribe to Douay-Rheims "onlyism". Since it tends to be closest to the Vulgate is is helpful in a side-by-side with Vulgate.

At the same time, onlyist or not, I am uncomfortable with translations the main purpose of which is to make for easy reading. Too often the translator's bias creeps in.