Reading 1
Acts 4:32-37
The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated “son of encouragement”),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that he owned,
then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
John 3:7b-15
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“‘You must be born from above.’
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
‘How can this happen?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: CULTURE WARS
"The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common." –Acts 4:32
Jesus is praying that we would be one as He and the Father are one, so that the world will believe the Father has sent Him (Jn 17:21). To witness with power for the risen Christ, the community of believers must be "of one heart and one mind" (Acts 4:32-33). This unity must not be superficial but deep and concrete like the first Christian communities, who voluntarily shared all things in common (Acts 4:32; 2:44). For example, Barnabas sold his farm and gave the money from the sale to the Church (Acts 4:37). The love and unity in the Church's early communities was so deep that they laid down their lives for each other (1 Jn 3:16).
The secular humanistic culture we live in values independence and individualism rather than Christian community. Therefore, the communal life of the early Church may seem foreign to us. We can continue to be "blinded by the god of the present age" (2 Cor 4:4), or we can repent, believe in God's Word, and live a new life. Pope John Paul II has taught: "In a word, we can say that the cultural change which we are calling for demands from everyone the courage to adopt a new lifestyle" (The Gospel of Life, 98). Change your lifestyle. Live in Christian community. Witness with power for the risen Christ.
PRAYER: Father, I will do anything and live any way to lead people to accept risen life in Jesus.
PROMISE: "The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes but you do not know where it comes from, or where it goes. So it is with everyone begotten of the Spirit." –Jn 3:8
PRAISE: St. Catherine's mother and father allowed the Lord to bless them with a large family. Their twenty-fourth child, Catherine, became a Doctor of the Church.
No comments:
Post a Comment