Posted on 05/15/2023 4:35:27 AM PDT by annalex
Monday of the 6th week of Eastertide ![]() San Isidro Labrador Parish in Makiling, Calamba, the Philippines Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: A(I).
The Lord opened Lydia's heart to accept what Paul was sayingSailing from Troas we made a straight run for Samothrace; the next day for Neapolis, and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that particular district of Macedonia. After a few days in this city we went along the river outside the gates as it was the sabbath and this was a customary place for prayer. We sat down and preached to the women who had come to the meeting. One of these women was called Lydia, a devout woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade. She listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptised she sent us an invitation: ‘If you really think me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said ‘come and stay with us’; and she would take no refusal.
The Lord takes delight in his people. or Alleluia! Sing a new song to the Lord, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel rejoice in its Maker, let Zion’s sons exult in their king. The Lord takes delight in his people. or Alleluia! Let them praise his name with dancing and make music with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people. He crowns the poor with salvation. The Lord takes delight in his people. or Alleluia! Let the faithful rejoice in their glory, shout for joy and take their rest. Let the praise of God be on their lips: this honour is for all his faithful. The Lord takes delight in his people. or Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia! It was ordained that the Christ should suffer and rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory. Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia! The Spirit of truth will be my witness; and you too will be my witnesses. Alleluia!
The Spirit of truth will be my witnessJesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the outset. ‘I have told you all this that your faith may not be shaken. They will expel you from the synagogues, and indeed the hour is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy duty for God. They will do these things because they have never known either the Father or myself. But I have told you all this, so that when the time for it comes you may remember that I told you.’ Christian Art![]() Each day, The Christian Art website gives a picture and reflection on the Gospel of the day. The readings on this page are from the Jerusalem Bible, which is used at Mass in most of the English-speaking world. The New American Bible readings, which are used at Mass in the United States, are available in the Universalis apps, programs and downloads. |
KEYWORDS: catholic; easter; jn15; prayer
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John | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
John 15 | |||
26. | But when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me. | Cum autem venerit Paraclitus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre, Spiritum veritatis, qui a Patre procedit, ille testimonium perhibebit de me ; | οταν δε ελθη ο παρακλητος ον εγω πεμψω υμιν παρα του πατρος το πνευμα της αληθειας ο παρα του πατρος εκπορευεται εκεινος μαρτυρησει περι εμου |
27. | And you shall give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning. | et vos testimonium perhibebitis, quia ab initio mecum estis. | και υμεις δε μαρτυρειτε οτι απ αρχης μετ εμου εστε |
John 16 | |||
1. | THESE things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. | Hæc locutus sum vobis, ut non scandalizemini. | ταυτα λελαληκα υμιν ινα μη σκανδαλισθητε |
2. | They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God. | Absque synagogis facient vos : sed venit hora, ut omnis qui interficit vos arbitretur obsequium se præstare Deo. | αποσυναγωγους ποιησουσιν υμας αλλ ερχεται ωρα ινα πας ο αποκτεινας υμας δοξη λατρειαν προσφερειν τω θεω |
3. | And these things will they do to you; because they have not known the Father, nor me. | Et hæc facient vobis, quia non noverunt Patrem, neque me. | και ταυτα ποιησουσιν οτι ουκ εγνωσαν τον πατερα ουδε εμε |
4. | But these things I have told you, that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them. | Sed hæc locutus sum vobis, ut cum venerit hora eorum, reminiscamini quia ego dixi vobis. | αλλα ταυτα λελαληκα υμιν ινα οταν ελθη η ωρα μνημονευητε αυτων οτι εγω ειπον υμιν ταυτα δε υμιν εξ αρχης ουκ ειπον οτι μεθ υμων ημην |
15:26–27
26. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
27. And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxvii. 2) The disciples might say, If they have heard words from Thee, such as none other hath spoken, if they have seen works of Him, such as none other hath done, and yet have not been convinced, but have hated Thy Father, and Thee with Him, why dost Thou send us to preach? How shall we be believed? Such thoughts as these He now answers: But when the Comforter is come, Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of Me.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xcii. 2) As if He said, Seeing Me, they hated and killed Me: but the Comforter shall give such testimony concerning Me, as shall make them believe, though they see Me not. And because He shall testify, ye shall testify also: And ye also shall bear witness: He will inspire your hearts, and ye shall proclaim with your voices. And ye will preach what ye know; Because ye have been with Me from the beginning; which now ye do not do, because ye have not yet the fulness of the Spirit. But the love of God shall then be shed abroad in your hearts by the Spirit which shall be given you, and shall make you confident witnesses to Me. The Holy Spirit by His testimony made others testify; taking away fear from the friends of Christ’s, and converting the hatred of His enemies into love.
DIDYMUS. (Didym. De Spir. Sanct.) The Holy Spirit He calls the Comforter, a name taken from His office, which is not only to relieve the sorrows of the faithful, but to fill them with unspeakable joy. Everlasting gladness is in those hearts, in which the Spirit dwells. The Spirit, the Comforter, is sent by the Son, not as Angels, or Prophets, or Apostles, are sent, but as the Spirit must be sent which is of one nature with the Divine wisdom and power that sends Him. The Son when sent by the Father, is not separated from Him, but abides in the Father, and the Father in Him. In the same way the Holy Spirit is not sent by the Son, and proceedeth from the Father, in the sense of change of place. For as the Father’s nature, being incorporeal, is not local, so neither hath the Spirit of truth, Who is incorporeal also, and superior to all created things, a local nature.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxvii. 3) He calls Him not the Holy Spirit, but the Spirit of truth, to shew the perfect faith that was due to Him. He knew that He proceedeth from the Father, for He knew all things; He knew where He Himself came from, as He says of Himself above, I know whence I came, and whither I go. (John 8:14)
DIDYMUS. (ut sup.) He does not say, from God, or, from the Almighty, but, from the Father: because though the Father and God Almighty are the same, yet the Spirit of truth properly proceeds from God, as the Father, the Begetter. The Father and the Son together send the Spirit of truth: He comes by the will both of the Father and the Son.
THEOPHYLACT. Elsewhere He says that the Father sends the Spirit; now He says He does: Whom I will send unto you; thus declaring the equality of the Father and the Son. That He might not be thought however to be opposed to the Father, and to be another and rival source, as it were, of the Spirit, He adds, From the Father; i. e. the Father agreeing, and taking an equal part in sending Him. When it is said that He proceedeth, do not understand His procession to be an external mission, such as is given to ministering spirits, but a certain peculiar, and distinct procession, such as is true of the Holy Spirit alone. To proceed is not the same as being sent, but is the essential nature of the Holy Ghost, as coming from the Father.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xcix. 6, et sq.) If it be asked here whether the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son also, we may answer thus: The Son is the Son of the Father alone, and the Father is the Father of the Son only; but the Holy Spirit is not the Spirit of one, but of both; since Christ Himself saith, The Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. (Matt. 10:20) And the Apostle says, God hath sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts. (Gal. 4:6) This indeed, I think, is the reason why He is called peculiarly the Spirit. For both of the Father and the Son separately we may pronounce, that each is a Spirit. But what each is separately in a general sense, He who is not either one separately, but the union of both, is spiritually. But if the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son, why should we not believe that He proceeds from the Son? Indeed if He did not proceed from the Son, Christ would not after the resurrection have breathed on His disciples, and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. (John 20:29) This too is what is meant by the virtue which went out of Him, and healed all. (Luke 6.) If the Holy Ghost then proceeds both from the Father and the Son, why does Christ say, Who proceedeth from the Father? He says it in accordance with His general way of referring all that He has to Him from whom He is; as where He says, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If the doctrine was His, which He says was not His own, but the Father’s, much more does the Holy Spirit proceed from Him, consistently with His proceeding from the Father. From whom the Son hath His Godhead, from Him He hath it that the Holy Ghost proceedeth from Him. And this explains why the Holy Ghost is not said to be born, but to proceed. For if He were born, He would be the Son of both Father and Son, an absurd supposition; for if two together have a Son, those two must be father and mother. But to imagine any such relation as this between God the Father, and God the Son, is monstrous. Even the human offspring does not proceed from father or mother at the same time; when it proceeds from the father, it does not proceed from the mother. Whereas the Holy Spirit does not proceed from the Father into the Son, and from the Son into the creature to be sanctified; but proceeds from Father and Son at once. And if the Father is life, and the Son is life, so the Holy Ghost is life also. Just then as the Father when He had life in Himself, gave also to the Son to have life in Himself; so He gave to the Son also that life should proceed from Him, even as it proceeded from Himself.Catena Aurea John 15
16:1–4
1. These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
3. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
4. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xciii) After the promise of the Holy Spirit, to inspire them with strength to give witness; He well adds, These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. (Rom. 5:5) For when the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us, then great peace have they that love God’s law, and they are not offended at it. (Ps. 118.) What they were about to suffer follows next: They shall put you out of the synagogues.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxvii) For the Jews had already agreed, if any confessed that He was Christ, that he should be put out of the synagogue.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xciii) But what evil was it to the Apostles to be put out of the Jewish synagogues, which they would have gone out of, even if none had put them out? Our Lord wished to make known to them, that the Jews were about not to receive Him, while they on the other hand were not going to desert Him. There was no other people of God beside the seed of Abraham: if they acknowledged Christ, the Churches of Christ would be none other than the synagognes of the Jews. But inasmuch as they refused to acknowledge Him, nothing remained but that they should put out of the synagogue those who would not forsake Christ. He adds: But the time cometh, that whoever killeth you, will think that he doeth God service. Is this intended for a consolation, as if they would so take to heart their expulsion from the synagogues, that death would be a positive relief to them after it? God forbid that they who sought God’s glory, not men’s, should be so disturbed. The meaning of the words is this: They shall put you out of the synagogue, but do not be afraid of being left alone. Separated from their assemblies, ye shall assemble so many in my name, that they fearing that the temple and rites of the old law will be deserted, will kill you, and think to do God service thereby, having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. These who kill, are the same with those who put out of the synagogues, viz. the Jews. For Gentiles would not have thought that they were doing God service, by killing Christ’s witnesses, but their own false gods; whereas every one of the Jews, who killed the preacher of Christ, thought he was doing God service, believing that whoever were converted to Christ, deserted the God of Israel.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxxviii) Then He consoles them: And all these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father nor Me. As if He said, Let this consolation content you.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xciii) And He mentions these things beforehand, because trials, however soon to pass away, when they come upon men unprepared for them, are very overwhelming: But these things have I told you, that when the hour shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them: the hour, the hour of darkness, the hour of night. But the night of the Jews was not allowed to mix with or darken the day of the Christians.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxviii) And He predicted these trials for another reason, viz. that they might not say that He had not foreseen them; That ye may remember that I told you of them, or that He had only spoken to please them, and given false hopes. And the reason is added, why He did not reveal these things sooner: And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you; because, that is, ye were in My keeping, and might ask when you pleased, and the whole battle rested upon Me. There was no need then to tell you these things at the first, though I myself knew them.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xciv. 1) In the other three Evangelists these predictions occur before the supper; John gives them after. Still if they relate them as given very near His Passion, that is enough to explain His saying, These things I said not unto you at the beginning. Matthew however relates these prophecies as given long before His Passion, on the occasion of His choosing the twelve. How do we reconcile this with our Lord’s words? By supposing them to apply to the promise of the Holy Spirit, and the testimony He would give amidst their suffering. This was what He had not told them at the beginning, and that because He was with them, and His presence was a sufficient consolation. But as He was about to depart, it was meet that He should tell them of His coming, by whom the love of God would be shed abroad in their hearts, to preach the word of God with boldness.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxviii. 1) Or, He had foretold that they should suffer scourgings, but not that their death could be thought doing God service; which was the strangest thing of all. Or, He there told them what they would suffer from the Gentiles, here what from the Jews.
Catena Aurea John 16
St. Isidore the Farmer (1070-1130) is considered the patron saint of farmers and rural communities. (He is not to be confused with another Spanish saint, St. Isidore of Seville [April 4]. Isidore was born in Madrid; as a young boy, he went to work on the estate of John de Vergas, a wealthy landowner from the nearby town of Torrelaguanna.
Isidore labored on John’s farm for the remainder of his life. He was a model worker, a simple and caring person, and a very devout Christian. Every day he rose early in the morning to attend Mass at a nearby church, sometimes, according to fellow workers, showing up late for work because he spent too much time in prayer.
Isidore married Maria de la Cabeza, a simple and devout woman who herself became a canonized saint. The couple had one child, who died at an early age. They were both known for their piety and concern for the poor; legends exist about Isidore miraculously supplying them with food on occasion, and the saint had a great concern that animals be treated properly. Isidore would pray while plowing in the fields, and it’s even said that angels would sometimes help him with his work.
St. Isidore the Farmer died in 1130. Along with Saints Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri, he is known in Spain as one of the “Five Saints.”
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Acts 16:11-15
They Go Over Into Macedonia
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[11] Setting sail therefore from Troas we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, [12] and from there to Philippi, which is the leading city of the district of Macedonia, and a Roman colony.
The Conversion of Lydia
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We remained in this city some days; [13] and on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. [14] One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul. [15] And when she was baptized, with her household, she besought us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.
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Commentary:
12. Philippi was a prosperous city, founded by the father of Alexander the Great (in the 4th century B.C.). Nearby, in 42 B.C., there took place the battle in which those who assassinated Julius Caesar were defeated. Octavius raised Philippi to the status of a "colonia" and endowed it with many privileges.
Very few Jews lived in the city, as can be seen from the fact that it had no synagogue (for there to be a synagogue there had to be at least ten Jewish men living in a place). The text refers only to a group of women who met on the riverside to pray--a location probably chosen for the purpose of ritual purification.
14. Lydia was probably a surname taken from the region this woman came from. She was not a Jew by birth but a "God-fearer" (cf. note on Acts 2:5-11). God chose her from this group of women to enlighten her with the light of faith, opening her heart to understand the words of the Apostle. Origen explains that "God opens our mouth, our ears and our eyes to make us say, hear and see divine things" ("In Ex. Hom.", III, 2). This shows that we can and ought to address God using the words of the Church's liturgy: "Open my lips, Lord, to bless your holy name; clean my heart from all evil thoughts; enlighten my understanding and inflame my will...so that I merit to be admitted to Your presence" ("Liturgy of the Hours", Introductory Prayer).
When Christians address God, they ask Him for the grace to pray well--not only at times of prayer but also in the course of everyday activities: "Lord, be the beginning and end of all that we do and say. Prompt our actions with Your grace, and complete them with Your all-powerful help" ("ibid.", Morning Prayer, Monday, First Week).
This episode shows faith to be a gift from God, stemming from His goodness and wisdom: for "no one can give his assent to the Gospel message in a truly salvific way except it be by the light and inspiration of the Holy Spirit: He it is who gives to all the power necessary for affirming and believing the truth" (Vatican I, "Dei Filius", Chapter 3).
15. St. Luke's succinct account shows that Lydia's good dispositions allow St. Paul's preaching to bear fruit very quickly. Her whole family receives Baptism and she insists on the Apostles' staying in her house. "Look at her wisdom, how full of humility her words are: 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord.' Nothing could be more persuasive. Who would not have been softened by these words. She did not simply request or entreat: she left them free to decide and yet by her insistence obliged them to stay at her house. See how she straightaway bears fruit and accounts her calling a great gain" (St. John Chrysostom, "Hom. on Acts", 35).
It is worth reflecting on the fact that Christianity began in Europe through a housewife's response to God's calling. Lydia set about her mission to Christianize the whole world from within, starting with her own family. Commenting on the role of women in the spread of Christianity, Monsignor Escriva says: "The main thing is that like Mary, who was a woman, a virgin and a mother, they live with their eyes on God repeating her words 'fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum' (Luke 1:38) 'let it be done to me according to your word'. On these words depends the faithfulness to one's personal vocation--which is always unique and non-transferable--which will make us all cooperators in the work of salvation which God carries out in us and in the entire world" ("Conversations", 112).
A Hostile World (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [26] "But when the Counsellor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness to Me; [27] and you also are witnesses, because you have been with Me from the beginning.
The Action of the Holy Spirit
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[1] "I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. [2] They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. [3] And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor Me. [4a] But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them."
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Commentary:
26-27. Just before the Ascension our Lord will again charge the Apostles with the mission to bear witness to Him (cf. Acts 1:8). They have been witnesses to the public ministry, death and resurrection of Christ, which is a condition for belonging to the Apostolic College, as we see when Matthias is elected to take the place of Judas (cf. Acts 1:21-22). But the public preaching of the Twelve and the life of the Church will not start until the Holy Spirit comes.
Every Christian should be living witness to Jesus, and the Church as a whole is a permanent testimony to Him: "The mission of the Church is carried out by means of that activity through which, in obedience to Christ's command and moved by the grace and love of the Holy Spirit, the Church makes itself fully present to all men and peoples in order to lead them to the faith, freedom and peace of Christ by the example of its life and preaching, by the sacraments and other means of grace" (Vatican II, "Ad Gentes", 5).
2-3. Fanaticism can even bring a person to think that it is permissible to commit a crime in order to serve the cause of religion--as happened with those Jews who persecuted Jesus to the point of bringing about His death, and who later persecuted the Church. Paul of Tarsus was a typical example of misguided zeal (cf. Acts 22:3-16); but once Paul realized he was wrong he changed and became one of Christ's most fervent apostles. As Jesus predicted, the Church has often experienced this sort of fanatical, diabolical hatred. At other times this false zeal, though not so obvious, takes the form of systematic and unjust opposition to the things of God. "In the moments of struggle and opposition, when perhaps `the good' fill your way with obstacles, lift up your apostolic heart: listen to Jesus as He speaks of the grain of mustard seed and of the leaven. And say to Him: `edissere nobis parabolam': explain the parable to me.'
"And you will feel the joy of contemplating the victory to come: the birds of the air lodging in the branches of your apostolate, now only in its beginnings, and the whole of the meal leavened" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 695).
In these cases, as our Lord also pointed out, those who persecute God's true servants think they are serving Him: they confuse God's interest with a deformed idea of religion.
4. Here Jesus prophesies not only His own death (cf. Matthew 16:21-23) but also the persecution His disciples will suffer. He forewarns them of the contradictions they will experience so that they will not be scandalized or depressed when they do arise; in fact, difficulties will give them an opportunity to demonstrate their faith.
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