April 19, 2012

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

Reading 1 Acts 5:27-33

When the court officers had brought the Apostles in
and 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 teaching
and 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 savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."

When they heard this,
they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20

R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Jn 3:31-36

The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: April 19, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who for the salvation of the world brought about the paschal sacrifice, be favorable to the supplications of your people, so that Christ our High Priest, interceding on our behalf, may by his likeness to ourselves bring us reconciliation, and by his equality with you free us from our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

ACTIVITIES

Words of Affirmation

PRAYERS

Easter: April 19th

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter Old Calendar: St. Leo IX, pope (Hist)

Historically today is the feast of St. Leo IX, a cousin of the emperor Conrad the Salie, born in Alsace, and baptized Bruno. He was made bishop of Toul in 1026 and constrained to accept the papal office in 1048. He took his spiritual adviser, Hildebrand, the future Gregory VII, to Rome and began the reform of the Roman curia. Leo combated simony, condemned Berengarius, and strove to prevent the schism between the Eastern and the Western churches then being engineered by the emperor Michael Coerularius. While at Benevento, a city belonging to the Holy See, he was taken prisoner by the Normans. He was released, but shortly after died before the high altar in St. Peter's.

St. Leo IX
Before becoming Pope, St. Leo IX was known as Bruno. He was bitten by a poisonous reptile when a boy, but St. Benedict appeared to Bruno and cured him. In 1026, Bruno, then a deacon, commanded troops in Italy under the Emperor. The Bishop of Toul died during this time, and upon Bruno's return, he was made Bishop of Toul, where he remained for twenty years. After the death of Pope Damasus II in 1048, Bruno was elected to succeed him. As Pope, he denounced simony and began many needed reforms, traveling extensively to ensure their enforcement. For this reason he was given the title Peregrinus Apostolicus, Apostolic Pilgrim. St. Leo condemned the doctrines of Berengarius, who denied Transubstantiation. He increased the papal territory, though he was criticized by St. Peter Damian when he went to battle to defend it. He opposed the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius; this began the complete separation of Rome from the Eastern Church. Within 40 days of St. Leo's death, there were 70 cures through his intercession.

Excerpted fromSaints Calendar and Daily Planner by Tan Books

Regnum Christi

Gift From on High

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

Father Steven Reilly, LC

John 3:31-36

The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.

Introductory Prayer: I come before you, Lord, poor and unworthy. Yet you welcome me with such love. With my effort during this meditation I want to make a small return on your great kindness.

Petition: Help me to cooperate with your greatest gift, the Holy Spirit.

1. No Rationing: Jesus does not ration the gift of the Spirit. By and through the Holy Spirit, Christ lifts our whole life to another plane. The Lord’s generosity is amazing. Think of the Eucharist. Every time we receive the Lord, he leaves in our soul a renewal and deepening of the Holy Spirit’s presence. With every communion we are preparing our bodies and souls for the immortality of the Resurrection. Of course, such a gift invites a response. In the face of such generosity, how can we be stingy in return?

2. A Gift of Unity: The gift of the Spirit is vital for our human relationships. Jesus’ ardent prayer at the Last Supper was for the unity of his disciples: “that they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you” (John 17:21). For a unity like that, the Holy Spirit is absolutely indispensable. The gift of the Spirit, in order to be effective, provides the antidote for all our tendencies to disunity. The Spirit combats our pride and egotism by reminding us of Christ’s humility. He stirs up the realization that we have to live in charity and provides us with the strength to give without counting the cost. He enables us to persevere in unity.

3. A Personal Gift: The depths of our hearts is where we ultimately experience this gift of the Spirit. But at times we feel more like a dry well than a spring of water welling up to eternal life (cf. John 4:14). The Holy Spirit is at work — in abundance — no less in the moments of dryness than in the moments of consolation. He seeks to purify us of the petty attachments that hold us back. He directs us to seek God for his own sake and not to turn to him only as a divine dispenser of spiritual candy. But still, we should await the moment of consolation with the hope-filled knowledge that the Lord is near. When we experience this consolation, we will experience confirmation that the Lord’s gift of the Spirit is unlike any other!

Conversation with Christ: Lord, the Holy Spirit is the soul of Church. He is the gift you have given us with such generosity. Help us to live more in accord with this truth. Help us to be obedient when we are tempted to pride. Help us to love when we are tempted to reject. May your Holy Spirit constantly reinforce the bond that holds us together.

Resolution: I will foster charity by paying special attention to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.

Whom do you serve?

The Jews understood that God gave a certain portion of his Spirit to his prophets. When Elijah was about to depart for heaven, his servant Elisha asked for a double portion of the Spirit (2 Kings 2:9). Jesus tells his disciples that they can believe the words he speaks because God the Father has poured his Spirit on him in full measure, without keeping anything back. The function of the Holy Spirit is to reveal God’s truth to us. When we receive the Holy Spirit he enables us to recognize and understand God’s truth. Jesus is the Word of God and he gives us his Holy Spirit so that we can recognize his truth and live according to it. God’s truth has consequences and he gives us the freedom to choose how we will respond. The choice he gives us has eternal consequences — everlasting life or everlasting death. God challenged his people in the Old Covenant: See I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. …I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20).

And he issues the same challenge to the people of the New Covenant today. Do you weigh the consequences of your choices? Do they lead you towards life or towards death? If you choose to obey God’s voice and to do his will, then you will know and experience that life which comes from God himself. If you choose to follow your own way apart from God and his will, then you choose for death — a spiritual death which poisons and then kills the soul until there is nothing left but an empty person devoid of love, truth, goodness, purity, peace, and joy. Do your choices lead you towards God or away from God?

One Bread, One Body

<< Thursday, April 19, 2012 >>

Saint of the Day

Acts 5:27-33
View Readings

Psalm 34:2, 9, 17-20

John 3:31-36

TO OBEY IS TO DISOBEY

"Whoever believes in the Son has life eternal. Whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure the wrath of God." —John 3:36

Peter and John told the Sanhedrin: "Better for us to obey God than men!" (Acts 5:29) This meant: "Better for us to teach about Jesus' name than be intimidated by your threats" (see Acts 5:28). Because Peter and John stifled fear instead of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Thes 5:19), they received the Spirit in even greater abundance, for the Spirit is "given to those that obey" the Lord (Acts 5:32).

How can we apply this part of the Bible to our times? Should we say:

"Better for us to home-school our children than expose them to brainwashing from secular humanism"?
"Better to be attacked or mocked at work or school than tolerate pornography, profane language, racist remarks, or gossip"?
"Better to be shunned by the crowd than compromise the truth"?
"Better for us to be pure than popular"?

If we truly choose the better part (Lk 10:42), we will not sadden the Holy Spirit but receive an unrationed (Jn 3:34), lavish (Ti 3:6) outpouring of the rivers of the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:37ff). The Spirit is given to those who disobey the world in obeying God.

Prayer: Father, may I obey You quickly, cheerfully, and completely. Come, Holy Spirit!

Promise: "The One Whom God has sent speaks the words of God; He does not ration His gift of the Spirit." —Jn 3:34

Praise: Dr. Carlin performed thousands of abortions. He turned to Jesus and repented. Now he saves the lives of pre-born children.

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