May 5, 2015

Tuesday of Fifth Week of Easter

In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium
arrived and won over the crowds.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,
supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered around him,
he got up and entered the city.
On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God.”
They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Then they spent no little time with the disciples.

Responsorial Psalm PS 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 21

R. (see 12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May my mouth speak the praise of the LORD,
and may all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia See Lk 24:46, 26

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 14:27-31a

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.
I will no longer speak much with you,
for the ruler of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
but the world must know that I love the Father
and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.”

Regina Coeli

This prayer, which dates from the twelfth century, is substituted for the Angelus during Easter Season.

In Latin

In English

Regina coeli, laetare, alleluia: Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia. Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia. Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, Alleluia,

R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Oremus: Deus qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus, ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum.

R. Amen.

Queen of Heaven rejoice, alleluia: For He whom you merited to bear, alleluia, Has risen as He said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.

R. Because the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray: O God, who by the Resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, granted joy to the whole world: grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may lay hold of the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 14
27.	Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.	Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis : non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis. Non turbetur cor vestrum, neque formidet.	ειρηνην αφιημι υμιν ειρηνην την εμην διδωμι υμιν ου καθως ο κοσμος διδωσιν εγω διδωμι υμιν μη ταρασσεσθω υμων η καρδια μηδε δειλιατω
28.	You have heard that I said to you: I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father: for the Father is greater than I.	Audistis quia ego dixi vobis : Vado, et venio ad vos. Si diligeretis me, gauderetis utique, quia vado ad Patrem : quia Pater major me est.	ηκουσατε οτι εγω ειπον υμιν υπαγω και ερχομαι προς υμας ει ηγαπατε με εχαρητε αν οτι ειπον πορευομαι προς τον πατερα οτι ο πατηρ μου μειζων μου εστιν
29.	And now I have told you before it comes to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe.	Et nunc dixi vobis priusquam fiat : ut cum factum fuerit, credatis.	και νυν ειρηκα υμιν πριν γενεσθαι ινα οταν γενηται πιστευσητε
30.	I will not now speak many things with you. For the prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not any thing.	Jam non multa loquar vobiscum : venit enim princeps mundi hujus, et in me non habet quidquam.	ουκετι πολλα λαλησω μεθ υμων ερχεται γαρ ο του κοσμου αρχων και εν εμοι ουκ εχει ουδεν
31.	But that the world may know, that I love the Father: and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I: Arise, let us go hence.	Sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo Patrem, et sicut mandatum dedit mihi Pater, sic facio. Surgite, eamus hinc.	αλλ ινα γνω ο κοσμος οτι αγαπω τον πατερα και καθως ενετειλατο μοι ο πατηρ ουτως ποιω εγειρεσθε αγωμεν εντευθεν

27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world gives, give I to you.

CHRYS. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you: He says this to console His disciples, who were now troubled at the prospect of the hatred and opposition which awaited them after His departure.

AUG. He left no peace in this world; in which we conquer the enemy, and have love one to another: He will give us peace in the world to come, when we shall reign without an enemy, and where we shall be able to avoid disagreement. This peace is Himself, both when we believe that He is, and when we shall see Him as He is. But why does He say, Peace I leave with you, without the My, whereas He puts in My in, My peace 1 give to you? Are we to understand My in the former; or is it not rather left out with a meaning?

His peace is such peace as He has Himself; the peace which He left us in this world is rather our peace than His. He has nothing to fight against in Himself, because He has no sin: but ours is a peace in which we still say, Forgive us our debts (Matt 6:12). And in like manner we have peace between ourselves, because we mutually trust one another, that we mutually love one another. But neither is that a perfect peace; for we do not see into each other's minds. I could not deny however that these words of our Lord's may be understood as a simple repetition.

He adds, Not as the world gives, give I unto you: i.e. not as those men, who love the world, give. They give themselves peace, i.e. free, uninterrupted enjoyment of the world. And even when they allow the righteous peace, so far as not to persecute them, yet there cannot be true peace, where there is no true agreement, no union of heart.

CHRYS. External peace is often even hurtful, rather than profitable to those who enjoy it.

AUG. But there is a peace which is serenity of thought, tranquillity of mind, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the fellowship of charity. None will be able to come to the inheritance of the Lord who do not observe this testament of peace; none be friends with Christ, who are at enmity with the Christians.

27. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
28. You have heard how I said to you, I go away, and come again to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go to the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
29. And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it is come to pass, you might believe.
30. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me.
31. But that the world may know that I love the Father: and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

CHRYS. After saying, Peace I leave with you, which was like taking farewell, He consoles them: Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid: the two feelings of love and fear were now the uppermost in them.

AUG. Though He was only going for a time, their hearts would be troubled and afraid for what might happen before He returned; lest in the absence of the Shepherd the wolf might attack the flock: you have heard how I said to you, I go away, and come again to you. In that He was man, He went; in that He was God, He stayed.

Why then be troubled and afraid, when He left the eye only, not the heart? To make them understand that it was as man that He said, I go away, and come again to you; He adds, If you loved Me you would rejoice, because I said, I go to My Father; for My Father is greater than I. In that the Son then is unequal with the Father, through that inequality He went to the Father, from Him to come again to judge the quick and dead: in that He is equal to the Father, He never goes from the Father, but is everywhere altogether with Him in that Godhead, which is not confined to place.

Nay, the Son Himself, because that being equal to the Father in the form of God, He emptied Himself, not losing the form of God, but taking that of a servant, is greater even than Himself: the form of God which is not lost, is greater than the form of a servant which was put on. In this form of a servant, the Son of God is inferior not to the Father only, but to the Holy Ghost; in this the Child Christ was inferior even to His parents; to whom we read, He was subject. Let us acknowledge then the twofold substance of Christ, the divine, which is equal to the Father, and the human, which is inferior.

But Christ is both together, not two, but one Christ else the Godhead is a quaternity, not a Trinity. Wherefore He says, If you loved Me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go to the Father; for human nature should exult at being thus taken up by the Only Begotten Word, and made immortal in heaven; at earth being raised to heaven, and dust sitting incorruptible at the right hand of the Father. Who, that loves Christ, will not rejoice at this, seeing, as he does, his own nature immortal in Christ, and hoping that He Himself will be so by Christ.

HILARY. Or thus: If the Father is greater by virtue of giving, is the Son less by confessing the gift? The giver is the greater, but He to whom unity with that giver is given, is not the less.

CHRYS. Or thus: The Apostles did not yet know what the resurrection was of which He spoke when He said, I go, and come again to you: or what they ought to think of it. They only knew the great power of the Father. So He tells them: Though you fear I shall not be able to save Myself, and do not trust to My appearing again after My crucifixion; yet when you hear that I go to My Father, you should rejoice, because I go to one greater, one able to dissolve and change all things. All this is said in accommodation to their weakness: as we see from the next words:

And now I have told you before it comes to pass; that when it does come to pass, you may believe.

AUG. But is not the time for belief before a thing takes place? Is it not the praise of faith, that it believes what it does not see? according to w hat is said below to Thomas: Because you have seen, you has believed. He saw one thing, believed another: what he saw was man, what he believed was God. And if belief can be talked of with reference to things seen, as when we say that we believe our eyes; yet it is not mature faith, but is merely preparatory to our believing what we do not see.

When it has come to pass, then He says, because after His death they would see Him alive again, and ascending to His Father; which sight would convince them that He was the Christ, the Son of God; able as He was to do so great a thing, and to foretell it. Which faith however would not be a new, but only an enlarged faith; or a faith which had failed at His death, and been renewed by His resurrection.

HILARY. He next alludes to the approach of the time when He would resume His glory. Hereafter 1 will not talk much with you.

BEDE. He says this because the time was now approaching for His being taken, and given up to death: For the Prince of this world comes.

AUG. i.e. the devil; the prince of sinners, not of creatures; as the Apostle said, Against the rulers of this world. Or, as He immediately adds by way of explanation, this darkness, meaning, the ungodly. And has nothing in Me. God had no sin as God, nor had His flesh contracted it by a sinful birth, being born of the Virgin. But how, it might be asked, can you die, if you have no sin: He answers,

But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. He had been sitting at table with them all this time. Let us go, i.e. to the place, where He, Who had done nothing to deserve death, was to be delivered to death. But He had a commandment from His Father to die.

AUG. That the Son is obedient to the will and commandment of the Father, no more shows a difference in the two, than it would in a human father and son. But over and above this comes the consideration that Christ is not only God, and as such equal to the Father, but also man, and as such inferior to the Father.

CHRYS. Arise, let us go hence, is the beginning of the sentence which l, follows. The time and the place (they were in the midst of a town, and it was night time) had excited the disciples' fears to such a degree, that they could not attend to any thing that was said, but rolled their eyes about, expecting persons to enter and assault them; especially when they heard our Lord say, Yet a little while I am with you; and, The prince of this world comes. To quiet their alarm then, He takes them to another place, where they imagine themselves safe, and would be able to attend to the great doctrines which He was going to set before them.

Catena Aurea John 14

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Judith of Prussia

Feast Day: May 05
Died: 1260

St. Judith was born at Sangerhausen in Thuringia which is now central Germany. Her family was rich but she wanted to follow the example of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. In St. Judith's time, many Christian women were influenced by her inspiring example.

When she was just fifteen, Judith was married to a wealthy young nobleman. She tried to be a good Christian wife and was very generous with the poor. Her husband was a good man, but he was happy with his rich and comfortable life.

He also wanted his wife to dress and live like a rich woman so that people would respect them. But Judith gently made him realize that they would have more to give to people less fortunate than themselves if they lived and dressed more simply.

Then Judith's husband died suddenly while he was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. As a young widow Judith raised her children alone. When the children grew up and didn't need her help any longer, Judith finally gave in to a longing that had been hidden in her heart even during the busy, happy days of her life.

She sold everything she had and moved to Prussia where people would not know that she was from a wealthy family. There she lived as a hermit in a little hut and spent her time praying and taking care of weary travelers who passed by.

She prayed especially for nonbelievers to come to Jesus in faith. She prayed also for the newly baptized Christians to be true to their faith.

"Three things can lead us close to God," she once said. "They are painful physical suffering, being in exile in a foreign land, and being poor by choice because of love for God."

St. Judith died of fever in 1260 at Kulmsee in Prussia. She was named the patroness of Prussia.

Day 125 - Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem // Jesus Curses the Fig Tree

Today's Reading: Mark 11:1-14

1 And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 2 and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it. 3 If any one says to you, Why are you doing this?' say, The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.' " 4 And they went away, and found a colt tied at the door out in the open street; and they untied it. 5 And those who stood there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?" 6 And they told them what Jesus had said; and they let them go. 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and threw their garments on it; and he sat upon it. 8 And many spread their garments on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went before and those who followed cried out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!"

11 And he entered Jerusalem, and went into the temple; and when he had looked round at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

12 On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it.

Today's Commentary:

the colt: Recalls the messianic prophecy of Zech 9:9. The colt in this oracle symbolizes the king's humility as he comes to Israel in "peace", not mounted on a "war horse" to lead a military strike against Rome (Zech 9:10). Jesus' entry into the city also recalls Solomon's procession into Jerusalem at his coronation as the King of Israel.

spread their garments: A symbolic gesture for honoring a newly crowned king (2 Kings 9:13).

-- Morally (St. Bede, In Marcum): the garments thrown under the colt signify the flesh of Christian martyrs, who lay down their lives for the gospel and so proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:May 05, 2015
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ, grant your people constancy in faith and hope, that we may never doubt the promises of which we have learned from you. 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.

RECIPES

o Minced Chicken (or Turkey) a la King

o St. Mary's Mocha Surprise

ACTIVITIES

o Marian Hymn: Stella Matutina

o Mary Garden

o May, the Month of Mary

PRAYERS

o Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven)

o May Pilgrimages

o May Devotion: Blessed Virgin Mary

o Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loretto)

o Prayers for the Easter Season

· Easter: May 5th

· Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

Old Calendar: St. Pius V, pope and confessor; St. Jutta (Hist)

Historically today is the feast of Bl. Jutta (Judith) of Russia. She was a Thuringian of a noble family whose husband lost his life crusading in the Holy Land, and who, after providing for her children, became a recluse. She is venerated as the patroness of Russia.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Pius V. His feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on April 30.

St. Jutta
Jutta was of the noble family of Sangerhausen in Saxony. She married young, and her husband died on a pilgrimage to Palestine. She had several children, all of whom embraced a religious life, in various Orders. After the death of her husband, Jutta devoted herself for a time to the care of the sick, especially lepers, and was favored with visions.

At that time Poland was over run by Tartars, Rutheni, and Lithuanians. They burnt Cracow, Sendomiria, and other cities, and twice within ten months choked up the river Vistula with Christian corpses. Prussia was devastated next. The Crucifers with difficulty saved their lives and liberties by taking refuge in the fortresses they held against the barbarians; while the natives who had but recently been baptized relapsed into paganism, joined the invaders, and massacred the priests and other Christians who dwelt among them. The aid the Christians sent for from Germany was long in coming.

It pleased God that Prussia and the adjacent province of Masovia should at this time receive a special protector and patron from Germany, in the person of St. Jutta. She came to Prussia in 1260, to lead a solitary and austere life in its thick and dark forests, while Boleslaw the Chaste and St. Cunegund were reigning in Poland. She chose for her dwelling a ruined building, not far from Culm, near a great pond or marsh called Bielczna. The neighbors observed that she was sometimes lifted up from the earth and suspended in the air while she prayed, and that when she went to the new church at Culm, she sometimes went through the wood a long way round, by the edge of the lake, and sometimes she walked straight across the water by a path which could still be seen after her death. She lived in great sanctity in the forest for four years, and died in 1264. Her friend and confessor, Henry, bishop of Culuza, wanted to bury her quietly according to her own inclination, but he could not prevent an immense concourse of people assembling from the surrounding country, so that such a multitude had never been seen in Culuza before. Thirteen priests were present at the funeral, a great number at that time, when none but missionaries had settled there, and most of those had been massacred by the barbarians.

She was buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity. Fifteen years afterwards, steps were taken for her canonization, in consequence of her great renown for sanctity and the numerous miracles wrought at her tomb.

Excerpted from A Dictionary of Saintly Women

The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 14:27-31

5th Week of Easter

My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. (John 14:27)

In the late nineteenth century, French artists experimented with a new technique in painting called pointillism. They used small dots of color to create pictures. Up close, dots are all you can see. But step back, and the picture becomes clear! Sometimes, our lives can be like that. Daily joys and problems, ups and downs, can loom large before our eyes. We get distracted by the chaotic or colorful or tragic moments. We lose our peace or get swept up into an unwarranted sense of excitement. We forget to step back and see the big picture.

The peace that Jesus promises us in today’s Gospel reading is not something we conjure up on our own. It doesn’t come from manipulating our circumstances so that nothing ruffles our feathers. It’s far more solid and reliable than that.

Look at Paul and Barnabas: they certainly had ups and downs! They were threatened with being stoned while in Iconium, so they moved to Lystra, where the people hailed them as gods. But these same people were easily swayed and attacked Paul, leaving him for dead. Then, escaping Lystra, Paul and Barnabas ended up making a “considerable number” of disciples elsewhere.

According to the world, these men should have felt anxious, not peaceful. But they didn’t. Writing years later, Paul said, “I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance… . I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Philippians 4:12, 13).

Will we face ups and downs? Fickle responses from people? Happiness interspersed with hardship? Yes. But we can still find peace in Christ.

How? By stepping back and looking at the big picture. Lean into the arms of the divine Artist who is painting the masterpiece of your life. The chaos and beauty will become clearer, and God’s vision will make more sense as you look beyond your changing circumstances and remember his love and provision. So today and every day, take a deep breath, and ask the Lord for his gift of peace.

“Jesus, you are my Prince of Peace!”

Acts 14:19-28; Psalm 145:10-13, 21

Regnum Christi

Danger of Slavery

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

May 5, 2015. Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

By Father Patrick Langan, LC

John 14: 27-31a

Jesus said to his disciples: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ´I am going away and I will come back to you.´ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for granting me the opportunity to be with you. There are things in life, Lord, that attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t really understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love the way I should, but I do love you.

Petition: Lord, help me always to remember who I am, where I come from, and where I am going.

Activism: In today´s culture, many people believe, almost religiously, that what they do will eventually make them someone. They believe that from doing flows being, since their activity defines them. This makes it easy for them to be exploited. In nineteenth century America, a slave was often not told his birthday, so he could never really know who he was. He was just made to work. This same temptation exists today. Many people work such long hours — some as a means of escape from difficulties or responsibilities at home; others for the satisfaction they feel seeing a job completed; still others, just to earn more money and to be able to afford a more comfortable life. However, these are all manifestations of the same slavery.

My True Identity: With his example, however, Christ shows us a different way of life, a way that goes against the current. First I have to be. Then my doing will flow from my being. Christ says again and again: I am the Son of my Father. Now I will act accordingly. When Moses asked God of the burning bush who he was, he said, “I AM who AM.”

Who am I? What defines me is my relationship to God. Just imagine this: I have the privilege of being a child of God! God has loved me so much that he has adopted me as his child! This is something worthwhile. This is who I really am, and I should act accordingly, as Christ taught me.

True Peace: Christ´s great peace comes as a consequence of meditating on and living out who I really am. When I meditate, I discover that I am God’s creature. Suddenly, I find the strength to face reality. Others will be unable to exploit me, and I will stop exploiting others because I am – and they are – children of God. My dignity derives from this fundamental truth: I was created in God’s image and likeness. I came from God, and he is inviting me to return to him and be happy with him for all eternity.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I have the bad habit of focusing on my doing. That is why I am always anxious. I want to be like you, Lord, seeing first who I am and letting my activity flow from that. This will bring me peace. However, Lord, I need your grace. Help me to live as a true son or daughter.

Resolution: Today, I will do two kind acts to someone who is troubled in order to help them experience God’s love for them.

Homily of the Day

May 5, 2015

Seeking Signs

This Gospel reading can show us our lack of trust unto the Lord. We often pray to God and ask for immediate answers and sometimes, we even ask for signs. “Please let there be a rainbow today if yes is the answer to my prayer.”

And yet when we see a rainbow, we convince ourselves that the answer is not a yes and the rainbow was just a coincidence. It is either because we try to manage our expectations or because we try to give comfort to ourselves when the sign seems unfavorable to us. We lack that sense of peace.

When will we learn to completely trust God? When will we stop asking for immediate answers every time we pray?

The signs that we seek are actually what we believe what God wanted to convey with us but in reality, we really do not know what God has planned for us. We often pray the Lord’s Prayer and part of it is telling God let not our will but thy will be done. There in his promises and through his words, we will truly find peace.

Lord, teach us how to trust you completely. Forgive us for worrying too much and for not being able to lift everything up to you. Give us the strength to continue carrying our own crosses. Help us understand why things happen. Teach us how to accept your will even if it sometimes is difficult and painful for us.

May we truly seek your peace in all that we do even if at times it seems like such a mystery to us. Please continue to console us with your loving presence. Hopefully, let us realize that real peace can only be found in you. May you continue to guide us in having a forgiving heart, in having an open mind, in letting ourselves become instruments of your peace.

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 31, Issue 3

<< Tuesday, May 5, 2015 >>

Acts 14:19-28
View Readings

Psalm 145:10-13, 21

John 14:27-31
Similar Reflections

PERSEVERANCE IN PAIN

"They gave their disciples reassurances, and encouraged them to persevere in the faith." —Acts 14:22

After being beaten unconscious, dragged out of the town of Lystra, and left for dead, St. Paul regained consciousness and went back into Lystra (Acts 14:19-20). Paul was fearless, unstoppable, and persevering. After leaving Lystra, he soon returned to reassure the disciples and encourage "them to persevere in the faith" (Acts 14:22). Paul had credibility when he talked about perseverance. He had cuts, wounds, and bruises, which were the price of perseverance.

Paul proclaimed: "I put no value on my life if only I can finish my race and complete the service to which I have been assigned by the Lord Jesus" (Acts 20:24). From prison, Paul wrote: "My entire attention is on the finish line as I run toward the prize to which God calls me — life on high in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14). When he spoke of his imminent death, Paul asserted: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tm 4:7).

Paul and all Christians are so intent on persevering in the Faith, their vocations, and their commitments because Jesus persevered when He put His "hand to the plow" (see Lk 9:62) and "set His face" toward Jerusalem (Lk 9:51, RSV-CE) and toward Calvary. Jesus promised: "Whoever holds out till the end will escape death," that is, the second death of damnation (Mt 10:22).

We have the miracle of perseverance not by our power but by the Holy Spirit, Who confirms us to persevere under the worst of circumstances. Pray and suffer in the Holy Spirit to receive the grace of perseverance.

Prayer: Father, may I never stop loving You. May I always love You more, never less.

Promise: "My peace is My gift to you." —Jn 14:27

Praise: Jesus healed Sharon overnight of intense chronic pain in her muscles.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.