"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Seventh Sunday of Easter - Year B
Saints of the day:
Saint Paschal Baylon
Seventh Sunday of Easter - Year B
Franciscan lay brother and mystic. Born to a peasant family at Torre Hermosa, in Aragon, on Whitsunday, he was christened Pascua in honor of the feast. According to accounts of his early life, Paschal labored as a shepherd for his father, performed miracles, and was distinguished for his austerity. He also taught himself to read. Receiving a vision which told him to enter a nearby Franciscan community, he became a Franciscan lay brother of the Alcantrine reform in 1564, and spent most of his life as a humble doorkeeper. He practiced rigorous asceticism and displayed a deep love for the Blessed Sacrament, so much so that while on a mission to France, he defended the doctrine of the Real Presence against a Calvinist preacher and in the face of threats from other irate Calvinists. Paschal died at a friary in Villareal, and was canonized in 1690. In 1897 Pope Leo XIII declared him patron of all eucharistic confratemities and congresses. Since 1969, his veneration has been limited to local calendars.
Acts of the Apostles 1:15 During this period, when the group of believers numbered about 120, Kefa stood up and addressed his fellow-believers: 16 “Brothers, the Ruach HaKodesh spoke in advance through David about Y’hudah, and these words of the Tanakh had to be fulfilled. He was guide for those who arrested Yeshua — 17 he was one of us and had been assigned a part in our work.”
Commentary of the day:
Saint Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-395), monk and Bishop
Sermon on the Song of Songs, no.15 ; PG 44, 1116 (trans. cf. breviary, 7th. Sunday of Easter)
“That they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one.” The bond of this unity is glory, and that the Holy Spirit is called “glory” no sensible person will deny if he considers the Lord’s words: “The glory which you have given me, I have given them” (Jn 17,22). He truly gave such glory to his disciples, for he said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20,22). When he clothed himself in human nature, Christ received this glory, which he had from all ages, “before the world began” (Jn 17,5); and when his human nature was thus glorified by the Holy Spirit, the glory of the Spirit could be handed on to Christ's kin, beginning with the disciples. This is the meaning of Christ's words: “Father, the glory which you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one as we are one.”
____________________________
20 “Now,” said Kefa, “it is written in the book of Psalms,
‘Let his estate become desolate,
let there be no one to live in it’;[a]
and
‘Let someone else take his place as a supervisor.’[b]
21 Therefore, one of the men who have been with us continuously throughout the time the Lord Yeshua traveled around among us, 22 from the time Yochanan was immersing people until the day Yeshua was taken up from us — one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.”
23 They nominated two men — Yosef Bar-Sabba, surnamed Justus, and Mattityahu. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over the work and the office of emissary that Y’hudah abandoned to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they drew lots to decide between the two, and the lot fell to Mattityahu. So he was added to the eleven emissaries.[Footnotes:
Acts 1:20 Psalm 69:26(25)
Acts 1:20 Psalm 109:8]
Psalms 103: (0) By David:
(1) Bless Adonai, my soul!
Everything in me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless Adonai, my soul,
and forget none of his benefits!
11 because his mercy toward those who fear him
is as far above earth as heaven.
12 He has removed our sins from us
as far as the east is from the west.
19 Adonai has established his throne in heaven;
his kingly power rules everything.
20 Bless Adonai, you angels of his,
you mighty warriors who obey his word,
who carry out his orders!
First Letter of John 4:11 Beloved friends, if this is how God loved us, we likewise ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains united with us, and our love for him has been brought to its goal in us. 13 Here is how we know that we remain united with him and he with us: he has given to us from his own Spirit. 14 Moreover, we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as Deliverer of the world. 15 If someone acknowledges that Yeshua is the Son of God, God remains united with him, and he with God. 16 Also we have come to know and trust the love that God has for us. God is love; and those who remain in this love remain united with God, and God remains united with them.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 17:11 Now I am no longer in the world. They are in the world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, guard them by the power of your name, which you have given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are. 12 When I was with them, I guarded them by the power of your name, which you have given to me; yes, I kept watch over them; and not one of them was destroyed (except the one meant for destruction, so that the Tanakh might be fulfilled). 13 But now, I am coming to you; and I say these things while I am still in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
14 “I have given them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world — just as I myself do not belong to the world. 15 I don’t ask you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. 16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17 Set them apart for holiness by means of the truth — your word is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 On their behalf I am setting myself apart for holiness, so that they too may be set apart for holiness by means of the truth.
Seventh Sunday of Easter - Year BCommentary of the day:
Saint Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-395), monk and Bishop
Sermon on the Song of Songs, no.15 ; PG 44, 1116 (trans. cf. breviary, 7th. Sunday of Easter)
"Holy Father, keep them in your name... so that they may be one just as we are"
The Beloved in the Song of Songs says: “My dove, my perfect one, is only one. She is the only child of her mother…” (6,9). The same point is made even more clearly by the Lord's own words in the Gospel. For when in his blessing he bequeathed all power to his disciples, in his prayer to his Father he bestowed on his followers all good gifts, and he added the greatest gift of all, that they should never be fragmented or divided…, but they should all be one, united in growth with the one and only good. And so, through “the unity of the Holy Spirit”, they should all be clasped together in “the bond of peace,” and become “one body, one spirit, through the one hope to which they are called” (Eph 4,3-4)… “That they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one.” The bond of this unity is glory, and that the Holy Spirit is called “glory” no sensible person will deny if he considers the Lord’s words: “The glory which you have given me, I have given them” (Jn 17,22). He truly gave such glory to his disciples, for he said to them: “Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20,22). When he clothed himself in human nature, Christ received this glory, which he had from all ages, “before the world began” (Jn 17,5); and when his human nature was thus glorified by the Holy Spirit, the glory of the Spirit could be handed on to Christ's kin, beginning with the disciples. This is the meaning of Christ's words: “Father, the glory which you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one as we are one.”
____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment