Lectionary: 291
Reading 1
Acts 16:11-15
We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace,
and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi,
a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We spent some time in that city.
On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river
where we thought there would be a place of prayer.
We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.
One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.
After she and her household had been baptized,
she offered us an invitation,
“If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
John 15:26-16:4a
Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
“I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: AT HOME WITH JESUS
"If you are convinced that I believe in the Lord, come and stay at my house." –Acts 16:15
Your house is one of your most important resources for evangelization. The Church teaches that your home should be a "domestic church" (Catechism, 1656). You should be able to look at a chair in your kitchen and remember when your neighbor, John, sitting in that chair, gave his life to Jesus. You look out at the porch and remember when Kathy from work was filled with the Holy Spirit in that very spot of your house. Over there is the couch where Ted and Cindy sat, three years ago. They had come to announce their divorce. They left your home forgiving, forgiven, and reconciled.
Next to the family-altar is the table where you taught your children the Scriptures from their infancy (2 Tm 3:15). At the front door, you can see the holy water font where you blessed the kids a thousand times. On the buffet stands the statue of Mary – a little worse for wear. (You told the kids to be more careful.) Above the doorway hangs the crucifix. You still sometimes cry when you see His crucified love.
This is home. This is love. This is life in Jesus. Amen!
PRAYER: Father, make my home a house of prayer (see Is 56:7), evangelization, repentance, healing, hope, love, and life.
PROMISE: "When the Paraclete comes, the Spirit of truth Who comes from the Father – and Whom I Myself will send from the Father – He will bear witness on My behalf. You must bear witness as well." –Jn 15:26-27
PRAISE: St. Philip was so hospitable to the youth of Rome that his room was known as "the home of Christian mirth."
Be an inspiration, kindly Share!
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