Reading 1 Acts 16:11-15
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 PS 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
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.
Alleluia Jn 15:26b, 27a
R. Alleluia, alleluia.The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord,
and you will also testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Jn 15:26—16:4a
“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.”
I TOLD YOU SO...
"I have told you..." –John 16:1, 4
Jesus mentions twice in today's Gospel reading that He told the apostles something in advance. First, Jesus warns them that He told them "all this" so that their faith may not be shaken under worldly pressure, and therefore they may not fall away (Jn 16:1). To what does "all this" refer? Jesus had just finished warning His apostles that worldly people would hate, harass, and disrespect them. Why? Jesus says it's because they bear witness to Him and because they don't belong to the worldly system which refuses to accept His lordship (Jn 15:18-20). Jesus knew His apostles would be tempted to give up under this pressure, and so He warned them in advance (Jn 16:1).
Initially, the apostles experience only threats and hatred. Jesus warns that the hatred will soon escalate into physical violence. He warns them that when being beaten and even when about to be martyred, they must remember He had forewarned them (Jn 16:4). This remembrance is more than just recalling Jesus' warning. They must constantly live in a state of remembrance. Jesus gave these commands during the Last Supper, the first Mass, in which He commanded: "Do this in remembrance of me" (see Lk 22:19).
Is the world putting pressure on you for witnessing to Jesus by your words, actions, and lifestyle? Keep your faith unshakable. Go to Mass frequently, even daily. Remember that "Christ suffered in the flesh; therefore arm yourselves with His same mentality" (1 Pt 4:1).
| PRAYER: | "O Lord, look at the threats they are leveling against us. Grant to Your servants, even as [we] speak Your words, complete assurance by stretching forth Your hand in cures and signs and wonders to be worked in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:29-30). |
| PROMISE: | "The Lord loves His people." –Ps 149:4 |
| PRAISE: | St. Athanasius was exiled at least six times because he defended the divinity of Jesus. |
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