:: Faith Today: Easter Season ::
(click to order)
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Today's Mass :: Divine Office :: Divine Mercy :: Saints :: News & Inspiration :: Intentions
Wishing you a Blessed and Happy Eastertide
"My sheep hear My Voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them Eternal Life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of My Hand."
"What Happens at Mass" Today's Mass
READINGS: usccb.org/nab/042710.shtml
+ FIND A MASS: (MassTimes.org)
+ "My sheep hear My Voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them Eternal Life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of My Hand."
+ "Then, with full confidence in God, present your body for sacrifice. God desires not death, but Faith; God thirsts not for blood, but for self-surrender; God is appeased not by slaughter, but by the offering of your free will."
+ "For a whole year they met with the Church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the Disciples were first called Christians."
+ DailyGospel.org Saintly historical commentary, Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
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USCCB brief reflection
on
this day's Readings,
April 27
http://www.usccb.org/video/
reflections.shtml GOSPEL: John 10:22-30
Jesus reminds us of the personal relationship we are to have with Him, recognizing His Voice like sheep recognizing the voice of their shepherd.
As Jesus walks around inside the temple in Jerusalem, people ask if He is the Christ. Their eagerness to know perhaps implies that they have indeed been anticipating and hoping for the arrival of the Messiah, and that they do believe He might be Jesus.
"The Gospel of John"
by Dr. Scott Hahn
(click to order)But Jesus responds: "I told you and you do not believe."
Jesus reminds them of the Works He has done in the Name of God the Father, and how the performance of those works in such a way testifies to Him. However, the real key is not whether the matter is explained to them, and the evidence they witness. The real question is whether they are among God's Flock:
The works I do in My Father’s Name testify to Me. But you do not believe, because you are not among My sheep. My sheep hear My Voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them Eternal Life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of My Hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
We encounter the Myster of the Holy Trinity, beyond human comprehension, as Jesus concludes "The Father and I are one." God the Father is greater than all; Jesus and He are One; no one can take the Flock out of the Father's Hand, and no one can take them out of Jesus' Hand. As such, when He gives his sheep Eternal Life, no one is going to successfully oppose Him and deny them what He gives them.
God is All-Powerful, and Jesus is God, one of the Three Divine Persons of the Holy Trinity, Three Persons and One God.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament © 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C., at times enhanced to provide additional capitalization. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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FIRST READING: Acts 11:19-26
Persecution spreads the Church; in Antioch the Disciples are first known as Christians
The Martyrdom of Saint Stephen and growing anti-Christian persecution causes a scattering of some of the early Christians, going as far away as Phoenicia (Lebanon), Cyprus, and Antioch. They preach the Word, some preaching it only to Jews, with others also preaching it to Greeks.The Christians accomplish a number of conversions. When the Church Fathers in Jerusalem hear about the growth of the Church in Antioch, they send Saint Barnabas, "a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and Faith." He rejoices when he sees the Grace of God at work there, and gives encouragement to the Faithful to remain true to God "in firmness of heart." Saint Barnabas travels to find Saint Paul in Tarsus, and brings him back to Antioch, where they spend a year:
- Back to the Top -For a whole year they met with the Church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the Disciples were first called Christians.
"Praying the Psalms
with the Early Christians"
PSALM 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7
Psalm 87 proclaims:
"All you nations, praise the Lord."
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Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours)
Liturgy of the Hours
Volume II:
Lent-Easter Season
In the final prayer for Night Prayer, a prayer to the Blessed Mother, one of the possible selections during Easter Season is:
Queen of Heaven rejoice, Alleluia. The Son Whom you merited to bear, Alleluia, has Risen as He said, Alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia!
For the Lord has truly Risen, Alleluia.
Night Prayer, The Liturgy of the Hours, According to the Roman Rite, Vol. II, Lent - Easter Season, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1975, at 1648.
In the Office of Readings for this day, Saint Peter Chrysologus, in a sermon, speaks of Divine Mercy, through which God wishes to have a personal, loving relationship with us:
I appeal to you by the Mercy of God. This appeal is made by Paul, or rather, it is made by God through Paul, because of God's desire to be loved rather than feared, to be a father rather than a Lord. God appeals to us in His Mercy to avoid having to punish us in His Severity.
Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop, Sermon, Office of Readings, Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter, The Liturgy of the Hours, According to the Roman Rite, Vol. II, Lent - Easter Season, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1975, at 770 (emphasis in original).
The good Saint goes on to exhort us to the Priestly Life of the Christian, accepting and building upon what God gives us, and offering ourselves as a sacrifice to God through wholehearted commitment to His Will. He describes elements of such a life as the appropriate response to what God has given us:
Each of us is called to be both a Sacrifice to God and His Priest. Do not forget what Divine Authority confers on you. Put on the Garment of Holiness, gird yourself with the belt of Chastity. Let Christ be your helmet, let the cross on your forehead be your unfailing protection. Your breastplate should be the knowledge of God that He Himself has given you. Keep burning continually the sweet-smelling incense of prayer. Take up the Sword of the Spirit. Let your heart be an altar. Then, with full confidence in God, present your body for sacrifice. God desires not death, but Faith; God thirsts not for blood, but for self-surrender; God is appeased not by slaughter, but by the offering of your free will.
Ibid. at 772.
Note the concept of making an offering of free will. God gives us this gift, which is abused by the choice of sin; but the gift is fulfilled by offering it back to God.
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Saints of April
+ "Saint of the Day" by the USCCB
+ "Saint(s) of the Day," from St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Washington, D.C.
+ "Saint of the Day" by AmericanCatholic.org
(Franciscans; on rare occasions, slightly different than the official feast day)
+ Saints with Feast Days in April
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News & Inspiration
Saint Bonaventure:
The Soul's Journey
into God
(click here to order)
+ Saints News: Saint Bonaventure: A Man of Action and Contemplation - Pope Benedict XVI
+ Lent: Catechism of the Catholic Church
+ Lent: Papal Message for Lent 2010
+
Bioethics: Human Dignity and Natural Moral Law
+ Abide in God and Keep His Commandments: Pope Benedict on John Chapters 15-16
+ Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes: Pope Benedict tells Church to evangelize and care for the sick in body and spirit
+ Saint Anthony of Padua: Example to preachers, one of most popular Saints ― Pope Benedict XVI Audience
News Links
:: USCCB: Bishops Call For Extension Of Trade Preferences For Haiti As Part Of Long-Term Recovery Support
:: USCCB: Bishops Call for Bipartisan Action to Advance Health Care Reform That Protects Human Life and Dignity
:: USCCB: Series of Seminars Slated to Introduce Revised Translation of Roman Missal
:: USCCB: Archbishop O’Brien Speaks At Summit Aimed At Eliminating Nuclear Weapons
:: CNS: Pope expresses sorrow over murder of Christians in Iraq
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Prayer Intentions
Pray for the Holy Father and his intentions: Ecumenical Dialogue, Christian Perseverance in the Face of Persecution ― Pope Benedict XVI's April 2010 Prayer Intentions
April 2010
+ General Intention: ecumenical dialogue - "That every tendency to fundamentalism and extremism may be countered by constant respect, by tolerance and by dialogue among all believers."
+ Mission intention: Chrisitan perseverance in the face of persecution - "That Christians persecuted for the sake of the Gospel may persevere, sustained by the Holy Spirit, in faithfully witnessing to the Love of God for the entire human race"
... and recall that praying for the Holy Father and his intentions also is among the set of conditions when undertaking to earn an indulgence ... along with receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), receiving the Eucharist, and being free from attachment to sin, along with the other special action for which the indulgence is granted, such as reading Holy Scripture devoutly for at least a half-hour ...
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Additional Faith Central Prayer Intentions
+ For additional support and guidance for the development of Faith Central: Catholic Home on the Web
+ For patronage of, dissemination of, and donations to Faith Central and that the resources be used to fulfill, and be in obedience to, God's Love and Divine Will, with the growth of, and bearing of fruit by, the effort
+ For victims of storms other natural disasters
+ To know and do God's Will
+ For the unemployed to obtain honorable work and a dignified wage sufficient to meet their needs and those they provide for
+ For the elderly and infirmed, their protection by the Blessed Mother, and that they be treated with respect, dignity, and love.
+ For respect for human life and the dignity of the human person, from their creation
prior to conception, to natural death.
+ That God's Will be obeyed by all actions of government and all government-related actions of the populace
+ For an end to the recession, and for all humanity to work together to bear fruit in service to the needs of all
+ For those of means to divert resources to help those in the human family, locally or abroad, who are hungry, starving, or homeless
+ For peace in the world, and the conversion of the hearts of terrorists.
+ For peace in the world in families, especially for women and men facing crisis pregnancies, their preborn children, and those assisting them, especially their relatives and those volunteers and professionals dedicated to prolife work.
+ For the conversion of the hearts of sinners.
+ For the Faithful Departed, especially the relatives of those
praying and those they have met or have known.
+ For the Faithful Departed, especially those with no one praying for
them.
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Keywords: Jesus Christ, Catholic, Saint Paul, Saint Barnabas, Antioch, Jesus the Good Shepherd, Gospel of John, Psalm 100, Revelations, Saint John the Apostle, Acts of the Apostles, Divine Office, Saint Augustine, Regina Caeli, Liturgy of the Hours, Daily Readings, Mass, Catholic Faith, Christian, Pope Benedict XVI, Holy Father, Prayer Intentions, Catholic News, Scott Hahn
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