Reading I Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question.
The apostles and elders, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers. This is the letter delivered by them:
“The apostles and the elders, your brothers, to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin: greetings. Since we have heard that some of our number who went out without any mandate from us have upset you with their teachings and disturbed your peace of mind, we have with one accord decided to choose representatives and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we are sending Judas and Silas who will also convey this same message by word of mouth: ‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 R (4) O God, let all the nations praise you! or: R Alleluia. May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. R O God, let all the nations praise you! or: R Alleluia. May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide. R O God, let all the nations praise you! or: R Alleluia. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you! May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him! R O God, let all the nations praise you! or: R Alleluia.
Reading II Rev 21:10-14, 22-23 The angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal. It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed and on which names were inscribed, the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites. There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west. The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
I saw no temple in the city for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb.
Alleluia Jn 14:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him and we will come to him. R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Jn 14:23-29 Jesus said to his disciples: “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, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER Dear brothers and sisters, where does this abiding in the Lord’s love lead? Where does it lead us? Jesus told us: “That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (v. 11). And the Lord wants that the joy he possesses, because he is in complete communion with the Father, also be in us insofar as we are united to him. The joy of knowing we are loved by God despite our infidelities enables us to face the trials of life confidently, makes us live through crises so as to emerge from them better. Our being true witnesses consists in living this joy, because joy is the distinctive sign of a true Christian. True Christians are not sad; they always have that joy inside, even in difficult moments. (Regina Caeli, 9 May 2021)
FAUSTI -The period in which Jesus lived with us is the centre and summit of time. Through the proclamation of the Gospel, each time enters that time in which God reveals Himself definitively and normally. The Spirit of Love will teach us and imprint the Son in our hearts. God, who was with us first in the Law and then with us in the flesh of the Son, will be in us with His Spirit. The Holy Spirit, who is love, will make us understand all that the Son has told us. Love, as it makes us understand, so it makes us remember, carry in our hearts, all that Jesus said, because we can live through it. Jesus said and gave everything. The Holy Spirit will not add anything to what He has revealed and given; instead, the Spirit will make the mystery of the Son and the Father enter ever more deeply into us, with a love that makes us know and a knowledge that makes us love. Peace is the gift that contains every other gift. Peace is only for those who have found what they seek and obtained what they desire. Jesus, leaving, leaves us peace, gives us His peace, it is messianic peace, the fullness of every blessing. Peace for the world is the interval between two wars. It lasts until the winner can impose himself and the conquered cannot rebel. It is the pax romana, fruit of weapons, that the world has always known, and it seems that it does not yet know a different one. This is not the peace that Jesus leaves us. But it is not even the peace of the Stoic, who remains fearless even if the world collapses on him. Nor is it the pernicious pax of those who live peacefully as slaves of selfishness, either their own or that of others. The peace of Jesus is born of a love stronger than death; it is the peace of the Risen Crucified One, which makes us fellow citizens of the Saints and family members of God. The leaving of Jesus does not leave a void full of fear and discouragement; it is in fact His being in us forever with His Love. Jesus once again calms His own, saying that His leaving is a coming to us in a new way. Whoever loves Jesus rejoices in His return to the Father "The Father is greater than me." The Father is greater in two ways: first because He is the origin of the Son, second because he who loves considers the beloved more than himself. He sees the Cross as the fulfilment of Love. The Word of Jesus anticipates the event because, when it happens, we can read it in its light. Then we will believe that He is the Lord of history: He knows what He does and does what He knows, directing everything according to His Love for us. (Ez 33,33)
ARMELLINI Jesus says, "If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence among him." What does Jesus mean? This of Jesus is not a promise for the hereafter, but the Father's response to a behavior held in this life. In fact, Jesus says, "If anyone keeps my word." Adherence to Jesus is inseparable from his message of love to man, which Jesus manifested in the one commandment He left to His community: the word of God is not revealed in a writing, but in life, not in law, but in love. In Exodus God had placed his dwelling in a tent in the midst of the people, and He walked with it guiding them toward freedom. Then God was as if sequestered by the priestly caste and relegated into a temple where not all were granted access, some were excluded and those who were admitted were so only under certain conditions, with certain ceremonials and above all through the payment of tribute and offerings. Through Jesus, God definitively abandoned the temple and, as John wrote at the beginning of his Gospel, " He pitched his tent among us." A new Exodus has now started, that is, a path new liberation where every disciple of Christ becomes his divine dwelling place. Man had sacralized God as a result of the communication of his Spirit. God now sacralizes man. There are no sacred ambits outside man; the sacralization of man accomplished by Jesus therefore desacralizes everything that was previously conceived or passed for sacred. God is not a reality outside man or distant from him, but is inside and now has a name: Father. Whereas the relationship with God needed mediations, the believer's intimacy with his Father, with the Father, makes them superfluous. God asks for incensing priests; Jesus' Father asks only for resembling sons, not for subjects, but collaborators, not pious psalmers, but fearful men. When man understands this his relationship with God changes; he understands that God does not absorb man's energies but communicates His own to him, a God who does not diminish man but who empowers him, and above all does not demand that man live for Himself-and this is typical of religion-but that he live of Him, and be with Him and as Him the bearer of this growing wave of life and love for all humanity. This is the commandment transmitted by Jesus and this is the teaching that the evangelist John conveys to us. By accomplishing this, man experiences that adherence to God does not diminishes him, but empowers him and fits into this project of the Creator, to communicate life to every man. And how does He do this? By making every man a visible sanctuary where is manifested His love and His mercy. God who does not ask for offerings from man, but who offers Himself to man and asks every man to accept Him, to merge with Him, and become the only true Sanctuary from which radiates His love, mercy and compassion. Whereas in the ancient sanctuary for people had to go under certain conditions, now it is the believer, the community, the new sanctuary, going out to others, but especially toward the distant, the estranged, the excluded and the rejected. This is the good news brought by Jesus to us on this Sunday.
Sixth Sunday of Easter
RispondiEliminaLectionary: 57
Reading I
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers,
“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,
you cannot be saved.”
Because there arose no little dissension and debate
by Paul and Barnabas with them,
it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others
should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders
about this question.
The apostles and elders, in agreement with the whole church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
“The apostles and the elders, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
R (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R Alleluia.
Reading II
Rev 21:10-14, 22-23
The angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven from God.
It gleamed with the splendor of God.
Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,
like jasper, clear as crystal.
It had a massive, high wall,
with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed
and on which names were inscribed,
the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
There were three gates facing east,
three north, three south, and three west.
The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,
on which were inscribed the twelve names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
I saw no temple in the city
for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.
The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gave it light,
and its lamp was the Lamb.
Alleluia
RispondiEliminaJn 14:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord,
and my Father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jn 14:23-29
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Dear brothers and sisters, where does this abiding in the Lord’s love lead? Where does it lead us? Jesus told us: “That my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (v. 11). And the Lord wants that the joy he possesses, because he is in complete communion with the Father, also be in us insofar as we are united to him. The joy of knowing we are loved by God despite our infidelities enables us to face the trials of life confidently, makes us live through crises so as to emerge from them better. Our being true witnesses consists in living this joy, because joy is the distinctive sign of a true Christian. True Christians are not sad; they always have that joy inside, even in difficult moments. (Regina Caeli, 9 May 2021)
FAUSTI -The period in which Jesus lived with us is the centre and summit of time.
RispondiEliminaThrough the proclamation of the Gospel, each time enters that time in which God reveals Himself definitively and normally.
The Spirit of Love will teach us and imprint the Son in our hearts.
God, who was with us first in the Law and then with us in the flesh of the Son, will be in us with His Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, who is love, will make us understand all that the Son has told us.
Love, as it makes us understand, so it makes us remember, carry in our hearts, all that Jesus said,
because we can live through it.
Jesus said and gave everything. The Holy Spirit will not add anything to what He has revealed and given; instead, the Spirit will make the mystery of the Son and the Father enter ever more deeply into us, with a love that makes us know and a knowledge that makes us love.
Peace is the gift that contains every other gift.
Peace is only for those who have found what they seek and obtained what they desire.
Jesus, leaving, leaves us peace, gives us His peace, it is messianic peace, the fullness of every blessing.
Peace for the world is the interval between two wars.
It lasts until the winner can impose himself and the conquered cannot rebel.
It is the pax romana, fruit of weapons, that the world has always known, and it seems that it does not yet know a different one.
This is not the peace that Jesus leaves us. But it is not even the peace of the Stoic, who remains fearless even if the world collapses on him.
Nor is it the pernicious pax of those who live peacefully as slaves of selfishness, either their own or that of others.
The peace of Jesus is born of a love stronger than death; it is the peace of the Risen Crucified One, which makes us fellow citizens of the Saints and family members of God.
The leaving of Jesus does not leave a void full of fear and discouragement; it is in fact His being in us forever with His Love. Jesus once again calms His own, saying that His leaving is a coming to us in a new way.
Whoever loves Jesus rejoices in His return to the Father
"The Father is greater than me." The Father is greater in two ways: first because He is the origin of the Son, second because he who loves considers the beloved more than himself.
He sees the Cross as the fulfilment of Love.
The Word of Jesus anticipates the event because, when it happens, we can read it in its light.
Then we will believe that He is the Lord of history: He knows what He does and does what He knows, directing everything according to His Love for us. (Ez 33,33)
ARMELLINI
RispondiEliminaJesus says, "If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence among him."
What does Jesus mean?
This of Jesus is not a promise for the hereafter, but the Father's response to a behavior held in this life. In fact, Jesus says, "If anyone keeps my word."
Adherence to Jesus is inseparable from his message of love to man, which Jesus manifested in the one commandment He left to His community: the word of God is not revealed in a writing, but in life, not in law, but in love.
In Exodus God had placed his dwelling in a tent in the midst of the people, and He walked with
it guiding them toward freedom. Then God was as if sequestered by the priestly caste and
relegated into a temple where not all were granted access, some were excluded and those who
were admitted were so only under certain conditions, with certain ceremonials and
above all through the payment of tribute and offerings.
Through Jesus, God definitively abandoned the temple and, as John wrote at the beginning of his Gospel, " He pitched his tent among us." A new Exodus has now started, that is, a path
new liberation where every disciple of Christ becomes his divine dwelling place.
Man had sacralized God as a result of the communication of his Spirit.
God now sacralizes man. There are no sacred ambits outside man; the sacralization of man accomplished by Jesus therefore desacralizes everything that was previously conceived or passed for sacred.
God is not a reality outside man or distant from him, but is inside and now has a name: Father.
Whereas the relationship with God needed mediations, the believer's intimacy with his Father,
with the Father, makes them superfluous.
God asks for incensing priests; Jesus' Father asks only for resembling sons, not for
subjects, but collaborators, not pious psalmers, but fearful men.
When man understands this his relationship with God changes; he understands that God does not absorb man's energies but communicates His own to him, a God who does not diminish man but who
empowers him, and above all does not demand that man live for Himself-and this is typical of religion-but
that he live of Him, and be with Him and as Him the bearer of this growing wave of life and love for
all humanity.
This is the commandment transmitted by Jesus and this is the teaching that the evangelist
John conveys to us. By accomplishing this, man experiences that adherence to God does not
diminishes him, but empowers him and fits into this project of the Creator, to communicate life to
every man.
And how does He do this? By making every man a visible sanctuary where
is manifested
His love and His mercy.
God who does not ask for offerings from man, but who offers Himself to man and asks every
man to accept Him, to merge with Him, and become the only true Sanctuary from which radiates
His love, mercy and compassion.
Whereas in the ancient sanctuary for people had to go under certain conditions, now
it is the believer, the community, the new sanctuary, going out to others, but especially toward the
distant, the estranged, the excluded and the rejected.
This is the good news brought by Jesus to us on this Sunday.