Posted on 05/09/2024 3:54:55 AM PDT by annalex
Thursday before Ascension Sunday The Remains of Fr. Preca, Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, Blata l-Bajda, Malta Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II). In some dioceses the Ascension of the Lord is celebrated today. If this applies to you, please reconfigure Universalis to use the appropriate local calendar.
Paul lodged with them and worked, and held debates in the synagoguesPaul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met a Jew called Aquila whose family came from Pontus. He and his wife Priscilla had recently left Italy because an edict of Claudius had expelled all the Jews from Rome. Paul went to visit them, and when he found they were tentmakers, of the same trade as himself, he lodged with them, and they worked together. Every sabbath he used to hold debates in the synagogues, trying to convert Jews as well as Greeks. After Silas and Timothy had arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted all his time to preaching, declaring to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. When they turned against him and started to insult him, he took his cloak and shook it out in front of them, saying, ‘Your blood be on your own heads; from now on I can go to the pagans with a clear conscience.’ Then he left the synagogue and moved to the house next door that belonged to a worshipper of God called Justus. Crispus, president of the synagogue, and his whole household, all became believers in the Lord. A great many Corinthians who had heard him became believers and were baptised.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations. or Alleluia! Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation. The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations. or Alleluia! The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel. The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations. or Alleluia! All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth, ring out your joy. The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations. or Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia! Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. Alleluia!
Alleluia, alleluia! I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord; I go, but I will come back to you, and your hearts will be full of joy. Alleluia!
You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joyJesus said to his disciples: ‘In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again.’ Then some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean, “In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again” and, “I am going to the Father”? What is this “short time”? We do not know what he means.’ Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said, ‘You are asking one another what I meant by saying: In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again. ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.’ Universalis podcast: The week ahead – from the Ascension to 18 MayThe Ascension as art and as drama. The time of waiting. The structure of a single Hour. From the Fall to the coming of the Spirit. (17 minutes) Christian ArtEach 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; jn16; prayer;
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John | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
John 16 | |||
16. | A little while, and now you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me: because I go to the Father. | Modicum, et jam non videbitis me ; et iterum modicum, et videbitis me : quia vado ad Patrem. | μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με οτι υπαγω προς τον πατερα |
17. | Then some of the disciples said one to another: What is this that he saith to us: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me, and, because I go to the Father? | Dixerunt ergo ex discipulis ejus ad invicem : Quid est hoc quod dicit nobis : Modicum, et non videbitis me ; et iterum modicum, et videbitis me, et quia vado ad Patrem ? | ειπον ουν εκ των μαθητων αυτου προς αλληλους τι εστιν τουτο ο λεγει ημιν μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με και οτι εγω υπαγω προς τον πατερα |
18. | They said therefore: What is this that he saith, A little while? we know not what he speaketh. | Dicebant ergo : Quid est hoc quod dicit : Modicum ? nescimus quid loquitur. | ελεγον ουν τουτο τι εστιν ο λεγει το μικρον ουκ οιδαμεν τι λαλει |
19. | And Jesus knew that they had a mind to ask him; and he said to them: Of this do you inquire among yourselves, because I said: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me? | Cognovit autem Jesus, quia volebant eum interrogare, et dixit eis : De hoc quæritis inter vos quia dixi : Modicum, et non videbitis me ; et iterum modicum, et videbitis me. | εγνω ουν ο ιησους οτι ηθελον αυτον ερωταν και ειπεν αυτοις περι τουτου ζητειτε μετ αλληλων οτι ειπον μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με |
20. | Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. | Amen, amen dico vobis : quia plorabitis, et flebitis vos, mundus autem gaudebit ; vos autem contristabimini, sed tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium. | αμην αμην λεγω υμιν οτι κλαυσετε και θρηνησετε υμεις ο δε κοσμος χαρησεται υμεις δε λυπηθησεσθε αλλ η λυπη υμων εις χαραν γενησεται |
16:16–22
16. A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
18. They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
19. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxix) Our Lord after having relieved the spirits of the disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit, again depresses them: A little while, and ye shall not see Me. He does this to accustom them to the mention of His departure, in order that they may bear it well, when it does come. For nothing so quiets the troubled mind, as the continued recurrence to the subject of its grief.
BEDE. (Hom. 1. Dom. See. Par. Oct. Pasch.) He saith, A little while, and ye shall not see Me, alluding to His going to be taken that night by the Jews, His crucifixion the next morning, and burial in the evening, which withdrew Him from all human sight.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxix. 1) But then, if one examines, these are words of consolation: Because I go to the Father. For they shew that His death was only a translation: and more consolation follows: And again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: an intimation this that He would return, and after a short separation, come and live with them for ever.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. c. 1) The meaning of these words however was obscure, before their fulfilment; Then said some of His disciples among themselves, What is this that He saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: and, Because I go to the Father.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxix. 1) Either sorrow had confused their minds, or the obscurity of the words themselves prevented their understanding them, and made them appear contradictory. If we shall see Thee, they say, how goest Thou? If Thou goest, how shall we see Thee? What is this that He saith unto us, A little while? We cannot tell what He saith.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ci. 1) For above, because He did not say, A little while, but simply, I go to the Father, He seemed to speak plainly. But what to them was obscure at the time, but by and by manifested, is manifest to us. For in a little while He suffered, and they did not see Him; and again, in a little while He rose again, and they saw Him. He says, And ye shall see Me no more; for the mortal Christ they saw no more.
ALCUIN. Or thus, It will be a little time during which ye will not see Me, i. e. the three days that He rested in the grave; and again, it will be a little time during which ye shall see Me, i. e. the forty days of His appearance amongst them, from His Passion to His ascension. And ye shall see Me for that little time only, Because I go to the Father; for I am not going to stay always in the body here, but, by that humanity which I have assumed to ascend to heaven. It follows; Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask Him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament. Their merciful Master, understanding their ignorance and doubts, replied so as to explain what He had said.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ci) Which must be understood thus, viz. that the disciples sorrowed at their Lord’s death, and then immediately rejoiced at His resurrection. The world (i. e. the enemies of Christ, who put Him to death) rejoiced just when the disciples sorrowed, i. e. at His death: Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
ALCUIN. But this speech of our Lord’s is applicable to all believers who strive through present tears and afflictions to attain to the joys eternal. While the righteous weep, the world rejoiceth; for having no hope of the joys to come, all its delight is in the present.
Catena Aurea John 16
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
First Reading:
From: Acts 18:1-8
Paul in Corinth, with Aquila and Priscilla
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[1] After this he left Athens and went to Corinth. [2] And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them; [3] and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked, for by trade they were tentmakers. [4] And he argued in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
Preaching to Jews and Gentiles
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[5] When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with preaching, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. [6] And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be upon your heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." [7] And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshipper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. [8] Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
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Commentary:
1-11. St Paul must have arrived in Corinth very discouraged by what happened in Athens, and very short of money. Some time later he wrote: "And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God..." (1 Cor 2:3-4). He would never forget his experience in the Areopagus before the Athenians, who "were friends of new speeches yet who paid no heed to them or what they said; all they wanted was to have something new to talk about" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on Acts", 39).
Corinth was a very commercial, cosmopolitan city located on an isthmus between two gulfs (which are now joined). Ships came to Corinth from all over the world. Low moral standards, concentration on money-making and voluptuous worship of Aphrodite meant that Corinth did not seem the best ground for sowing the word of God; but the Lord can change people's hearts, especially if he has people as obedient and zealous as Paul, Silvanus, Timothy and the early Christians in general. The Athenians' intellectual pride proved to be a more formidable obstacle than the Corinthians' libertarian lifestyle.
Christians should not soft-pedal if they find themselves in situations where paganism and loose living seem to be the order of the day: indeed this should only spur them on. When addressing his Father at the Last Supper Jesus prayed: "I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one" (Jn 17:15).
2. This married couple were probably already Christians when they arrived in Corinth. Since they came from Rome, the indications are that there was a community of Christians in the capital from very early on. Aquila and Priscilla (the diminutive of Prisca) proved to be of great help to Paul from the very beginning of his work in Corinth.
Later on they both must have returned to Rome (cf. Rom 16:3); and it may well be that apostolic considerations dictated their movements, as would be the case with countless Christians after them. "The Christian family's faith and evangelizing mission also possesses this Catholic missionary inspiration. The sacrament of marriage takes up and reproposes the task of defending and spreading the faith, a task which has its roots in Baptism and Confirmation and makes Christian married couples and parents witnesses of Christ 'to the ends of the earth' (Acts 1:8) [...].
"Just as at the dawn of Christianity Aquila and Priscilla were presented as a missionary couple (cf. Acts 18; Rom 16:3f), so today the Church shows forth her perennial newness and fruitfulness by the presence of Christian couples who [...] work in missionary territories, proclaiming the Gospel and doing service to their fellowman for the love of Jesus Christ" (John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 54).
The edict of Claudius (41-54 A.D.) expelling the Jews from Rome was issued before the year 50. It is referred to by Suetonius, the Roman historian, but the details of the decree are not known. We do know that Claudius had protected the Jews on a number of occasions. He gave them the right to appoint the high priest and to have charge of the temple. Apparently, conflict between Jews and Christians in Rome led him to expel some Jews from the city, on a temporary basis, or at least to advise them to leave.
3. St Paul earns his living and manages to combine this with all his preaching of the Gospel. "This teaching of Christ on work," John Paul II writes, "based on the example of his life during his years in Nazareth, finds a particularly lively echo in the teaching of the Apostle Paul. Paul boasts of working at his trade (he was probably a tent-maker: cf. Acts 18:3), and thanks to that work he was able even as an Apostle to earn his own bread" ("Laborem Exercens", 26).
During this stay of a year and a half in Corinth St Paul wrote some rather severe letters to the Thessalonians, pointing out to them the need to work: "If any one will not work, let him not eat. [...] we command and exhort [idlers] in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living" (2 Thess 3:10, 12). St John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage of Acts, says that "Work is man's natural state. Idleness is against his nature. God has placed man in this world to work, and the natural thing for the soul is to be active and not passive" ("Hom. on Acts", 35).
Taking Christ's own example, St J Escriva points out that "Work is one of the highest human values and a way in which men contribute to the progress of society. But even more, it is a way to holiness" ("Conversations", 24). In Jesus' hands, "a professional occupation, similar to that carried out by millions of people in the world, was turned into a divine task. It became a part of our redemption, a way to salvation" ("ibid"., 55).
In fact, it is in work, in the middle of ordinary activity, that most people can and should find Christ. God "is calling you to serve him in and from the ordinary, material and secular activities of human life. He waits for us everyday [...] in all the immense panorama of work" ("ibid"., 114). Man thereby finds God in the most visible, material things, and Christians can avoid the danger of what might be called "a double life: on one side, an interior life, a life of relation with God; and on the other, a separate and distinct professional, social and family life, full of small earthly realities" ("ibid".).
Like most people Paul spent part of his day working to earn his living. When engaged in work he was still the Apostle of the Gentiles chosen by God, and his very work spoke to his companions and friends. We should not think that there was any split between his on-going personal relationship with God, and his apostolic activity or his work--or that he did not work in a concentrated or exemplary manner.
4. It is easy to imagine the hope and eagerness Paul felt when preaching the Gospel to his fellow Jews. He knew from experience the difficulties they had about recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and accepting the Good News. Paul feels both joy and sorrow: he is happy because the moment has arrived for the sons of Abraham to receive the Gospel as is their right by inheritance; but he also realizes that although it brings salvation to some, it spells rejection for those who refuse to accept it.
Origen spoke in similar terms: "I experience anxiety to speak and anxiety not to speak. I wish to speak for the benefit of those who are worthy, so that I may not be taken to task for refusing the word of truth to those who have the ability to grasp it. But I am afraid to speak in case I address those who are unworthy, because it means I am giving holy things to dogs and casting pearls before swine. Only Jesus was capable of distinguishing, among his listeners, those who were without from those who were within: he spoke in parables to the outsiders and explained the parables to those who entered with him into the house" ("Dialogue with Heraclides", 15).
6. The blindness of the Jews once again causes Paul great sadness; here is further evidence of the mysterious resistance to faith of so many of the chosen people. As he did in Pisidian Antioch (cf. 13:51), the Apostle shakes the dust from his clothes to show his break from the Jews of Corinth: their apparent fidelity to the religion of their forefathers disguises their proud rejection of God's promises.
He finds himself confronted by the great enigma of salvation history, in which God dialogues with human freedom. As St Justin writes, "The Jews, in truth, who had the prophecies and always looked for the coming of Christ, not only did not recognize him, but, far beyond that, even mistreated him. But the Gentiles, who had never even heard anything of Christ until his Apostles went from Jerusalem and preached about him and gave them the prophecies, were filled with joy and faith, and turned away from their idols, and dedicated themselves to the Unbegotten God through Christ" ("First Apology", 49, 5).
Paul's words on this occasion are addressed to the Jews of Corinth, not to Jews elsewhere. For a long time past he has directed his preaching to Gentiles as well as Jews. The phrase "From now on I will go to the Gentiles" does not mean that he will no longer address Jews, for in the course of his apostolic work he continues to evangelize Jews as well as Gentiles (cf. Acts 18:19; 28:17).
7. Titus Justus had a Roman name and was a Gentile, but the fact that he lived next door to the synagogue and, in particular, the Greek term used to identify him as a "worshipper" of God, indicates that he was a convert to Judaism. Cf. note on Acts 2:5-11.
From: John 16:16-20
Fullness of Joy
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [16] "A little while, and you will see Me no more; again a little while, and you will see Me." [17] Some of His disciples said to one another, "What is this that He says to us, `A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, `because I go to the Father'?" [18] They said, "What does He mean by `a little while'? We do not know what He means." [19] Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him; so He said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, `A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? [20] Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy."
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Commentary:
16-20. Earlier our Lord consoled the disciples by assuring them that He would send them the Holy Spirit after He went away (verse 7). Now He gives them further consolation: He is not leaving them permanently, He will come back to stay with them. However, the Apostles fail to grasp what He means, and they ask each other what they make of it. Our Lord does not give them a direct explanation, perhaps because they would not understand what He meant (as happened before: cf. Matthew 16:21-23 and paragraph). But He does emphasize that though they are sad now they will soon be rejoicing: after suffering tribulation they will be filled with a joy they will never lose (cf. John 17:13). This is a reference primarily to the Resurrection (cf. Luke 24:41), but also to their definitive encounter with Christ in Heaven.
If your diocese is celebrating the Ascension today:
Click here to go to the My Catholic Life! Devotional thread for today’s Gospel Reading
Let us pray.
O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.
Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.
Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God's promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart. Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray. Amen.
(From Magnificat magazine)
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