Tim Greenway:Jesus4OurWorld: I will give you the Spirit of Truth to teach and guide you

CATHOLIC DAILY SCRIPTURE READING

Welcome to my blog. The Catholic Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit gives us each day at least two readings from the Bible, plus several verses from a psalm which is an inspired response to one of the readings, normally the first.

There is a cycle (a two-year cycle for weekdays and a three-year cycle for Sundays) which covers the major parts of the Old Testament, the Gospels and the New Testament writings.

Through these readings we get our spiritual nourishment. In my blog I give the readings and the inspirations I have received in prayer. I want to share them with others. If they help some to get in touch with God and his image in this world, Jesus the Christ, then my purpose will be fulfilled. May God bless you through his Spirit.

If we wish to grow spiritually, then we must set aside time each day to prayerfully read the WORD OF GOD. In silence we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the reading. We can respond with the PSALM.

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Wednesday 20 May 2020

I will give you the Spirit of Truth to teach and guide you

Cf. Ps 17: 50; 21: 23

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;

I will tell of your name to my kin, alleluia.

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Collect

Father, the victory is won. Your Son emptied himself and became a mere human being and even lower became a slave and died a miserable death on a cross. Through his love, obedience and sacrifice he has conquered Satan, usurper prince of this world. He is now risen with the glory of his Godhead in his body crushed on the Cross. We wait in hope for the establishment of his Kingdom in the whole of creation. Make us worthy to be part of his final triumph. We make our prayer through your Son, Christ our Lord.

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First reading

Acts 17:15,22-18:1

I proclaim the God you already worship without knowing it

Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.

So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

32When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” That ended Paul’s discussion with them, but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. THE WORD OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection

Paul makes himself all things to all people. He preaches to the people of Athens, the city of intellectuals and philosophers, a city where people had the leisure to listen to new ideas and discuss them without end. They listen with interest until he talks about someone rising from the dead. No man once dead can come ack to life – so some laugh scoffing at what he says, others are sceptical, ‘we’ll listen to you again’. Some few however do believe and become disciples of the Risen Lord.

Paul tells us that in God we live and move and have our being. Did you ever realise that? Sit quietly and realise that the Supreme God envelopes you in his love. If you get this, then you can relax, tension free. “If God is on your side, who can be against you?” – Paul to the Romans.

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Psalm (Make the psalm your prayer of gratitude for God’s Word)

Psalm 148:1-2,11-14