Monday May 16, 2022          

Monday of 5th Week in Easter

God Living in Us

 

Introduction

            In the first reading, Luke shows Paul working the same signs among pagans as Peter among the Jews (here the cure of a crippled person), and preaching the same message.

            In the Gospel, Christ speaks of God’s indwelling. In the Old Testament, God’s dwelling place was first the Tent and the Ark of the Covenant, then later, the Temple. The Temple was the sign that God lived among and with his people. This was taken often too materially and almost magically. God’s presence was more interior, i.e., through his wisdom found in the hearts of the just, said the wisdom books. Christ says that God’s presence is much more intimate: he lives by love in the hearts of those who love him and keep his word, a presence that can be known only by one who loves.

            Christ will manifest his presence among us now in the Eucharist.

 

Opening Prayer

Lord God, loving Father,
we look for your presence
in the temple of nature
and in churches built by our hands,
and you are there with your people.
But above all, you have made your temple
right here in our hearts.
God, give us eyes of faith and love
to recognize that you live in us,
with your Son and the Holy Spirit,
if we keep the Word of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.

 

Reading 1: Acts 14:5-18

There was an attempt in Iconium
by both the Gentiles and the Jews,
together with their leaders,
to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.
They realized it,
and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe
and to the surrounding countryside,
where they continued to proclaim the Good News.

At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth,
who had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
and called out in a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet.”
He jumped up and began to walk about.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done,
they cried out in Lycaonian,
“The gods have come down to us in human form.”
They called Barnabas “Zeus” and Paul “Hermes,”
because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice.

The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments
when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
“Men, why are you doing this?
We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts.”
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds
from offering sacrifice to them.

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16

R.(1ab) Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
“Where is their God?”
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Heaven is the heaven of the LORD,
but the earth he has given to the children of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.

 

Alleluia: Jn 14:26

Alleluia, alleluia.
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: Jn 14:21-26

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
“Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”

 

Intercessions

–          That we bear witness that we are disciples of Jesus by loving one another deeply and sincerely, we pray:

–          Now that Christ is no longer physically among us, we may discover his presence in every human face, we pray:

–          That the Holy Spirit may teach us to live by the Word we have heard from Christ speaking to us in the Gospel, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord, our God, loving Father,
your Son Jesus Christ is here with us
as we are gathered in his name
in this Eucharistic assembly.
Give him to us now
as our bread and wine, our food and drink,
that where we are, you may be present,
because your Son is alive in us,
he who lives with you and in us forever.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God, loving Father,
we thank you for giving us your Son
and for letting him live in us.
Help us to live the kind of life
he lived and wants us to live,
a life of obedience to your will
and of dedication to people and to our task in life.
Through us, you may be present
in this cold, calculating world
and bring to it the warmth of love,
of friendship and compassion,
through Christ who lives in us now,
we hope and pray, forever.

 

Blessing

Jesus assures us that we are certain that our Father in heaven loves us and lives in us if we live according to his words. We hear his words and we know them. Let us live accordingly, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Love Begets Labor

The Rector of a major seminary, with whom I shared formation responsibilities, would periodically lament, half-jokingly and half-seriously: “I am tired of showing good example to the students. I need a break!” Many of us can identify with his frustration. It is hard to keep doing good things and be “a model.” But, in truth, this is hard only when love hasn’t swept us off the feet. Anyone in love would know that he or she would go any length to do anything for the beloved. No work is hard for the one in love. Jesus is spot on when he says if anyone loves him, he or she will truly keep his word, and if one doesn’t, it would be hard for that person to keep the word. Love always effects a spring on our feet. It is love that makes our feet like the hind’s feet and helps us climb and dance upon the mountain heights (cf. Hab 3:19).

Reflection is taken from Bible Diary 2022;

written by Fr.Paulson Velyannoor, CMF