May they witness to me by their unity in faith and love

Welcome to my blog. You will find the daily readings from the Bible which the Catholic Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has chosen and provides for our spiritual nourishment. If we use them seriously each day, we will grow in our relationship with God – ‘in whom we live, move and have our being’ – and come to know Jesus who loved us and gave his life for us on the Cross. He gives us life and gives it in abundance.

How to pray with the Bible. 1. Set aside a time each day when alone or in a group, you can in silence listen to God speaking to you. He speaks gently as with Elijah (1 Kings 19:12), Jesus, (Rev 3:20). 2.Sit comfortably where you will not be distracted or disturbed. You are to enter into the presence of God who loves and cares for you. 3.Pray for the Holy Spirit who teaches us how to pray (Rom 8:26-27). Ask Mary to intercede with her Son to send the Spirit upon you. (Luke 11:13). 4. Read slowly in the Spirit who inspired the reading, asking him to speak to you too. Phrases will strike you. “Speak Lord your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:11). “All Scripture is inspired and profitable for teaching… and instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16”. 5. Pray to Jesus with gratitude for the inspiration he has given you. 6. Go back in the Spirit of Jesus to your ordinary life.

Thursday 28 May 2020

May they witness to me by their unity in faith and love

Heb 4: 16

Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness,

so that we may receive mercy and find grace

to help in time of need.

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Prayer

Father, as we prepare for the feast of Pentecost, we beg you to send your Holy Spirit upon us and fill us with his gifts so that we are pleasing to you and are able to obey his commands. We make our prayer through your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.

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First reading

Acts 22:30,23:6-11 ·

'You have borne witness in Jerusalem: now you must do the same in Rome'

Since the tribune wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them. Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ As soon as he said this a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes from the Pharisees’ party stood up and protested strongly, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?’ Feeling was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered his troops to go down and haul him out and bring him into the fortress.

Next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.’ THE WORD OF THE LORD

Prayerful reflection 

Yesterday in the reading we heard the farewell address to the elders of the Church in Ephesus. Since then Paul has come to Jerusalem. He went into the Temple. He is a well-known figure and considered a renegade to the Jewish faith. His enemies fall upon him and are about to lynch him. However, the Roman tribune and his troops are next to the Temple in the Roman fortress. Since there is a riot going on, they descend on the people and take Paul. They bind him and the tribune is about to scourge him when Paul tells him that he is Roman citizen. It is illegal to scourge a Roman citizen without trial. Immediately the tribune stops. Next day he investigates his case. This is today’s reading.

How great a model Paul is for the Church! On fire with zeal to spread the name of Jesus, full of courage and energy, of supreme intelligence and learning, he can face any situation. Yet a man dear to the hearts of people as we saw yesterday, a man of love who makes himself all things for all people. People love him and weep when he must leave.

We may not be able to imitate him in his ability, but let us pray to have his zeal and love for Jesus and his self-outpouring love for others.

"You have borne witness to me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome" - if you are a believer in Jesus, how do you bear witness to him in the place where you are?

Psalm (Pray the psalm as your response to God’s Word)

Psalm 16:1-2,5,7-11

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.

I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.

O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;

it is you yourself who are my prize.’

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,

who even at night directs my heart.

I keep the Lord ever in my sight:

since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;

even my body shall rest in safety.

For you will not leave my soul among the dead,

nor let your beloved know decay.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

You will show me the path of life,

the fullness of joy in your presence,

at your right hand happiness for ever.

Preserve me, Lord, I take refuge in you.

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.Jn 16:7,13

Alleluia

I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;

he will lead you to the complete truth.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 17:20-26

Father, may they be completely one

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Holy Father,

I pray not only for these,

but for those also

who through their words will believe in me.

May they all be one.

Father, may they be one in us,

as you are in me and I am in you,

so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.

I have given them the glory you gave to me,

that they may be one as we are one.

With me in them and you in me,

may they be so completely one

that the world will realise that it was you who sent me

and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.

Father, I want those you have given me

to be with me where I am,

so that they may always see the glory you have given me

because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Father, Righteous One,

the world has not known you,

but I have known you,

and these have known that you have sent me.

I have made your name known to them

and will continue to make it known,

so that the love with which you loved me may be in them,

and so that I may be in them.’

Prayerful reflection

Seeing Jesus and then looking at his followers, one might ask ‘Are there any Christians?’ Jesus has come to the end of his life. These are the last few hours and he prays from his heart for his followers, for us. He prays to his Father. He and his Father are so one in mind, thought and Love that though they are two they are one God – Father, Son and their mutual Love, who is their Spirit. He prays that all his followers throughout the ages be one in mind, heart, and love, as they are. They are to be as one body. As sons in the Son they are to be all members of the Trinitarian God, bound together by the Love of God, the Holy Spirit. “May they be one in us”, he prays and “may they be one as we are one”.

As one body of people throughout the world united in faith, organisation, prayer, love and witness what a formidable proclamation and ‘the world will realise that it was you who sent me’. But what do we see? We see a splintered church, with thousands of different groups, all with different faiths. They rival one another, often fight one another. In history they have killed one another. It is a travesty of the vision and prayer of Jesus. 

Every Christian should be deeply concerned for the unity of all believers and pray for it daily. How often do you pray that all Christians be one as the three persons in God are one?

Do you realise that in every Mass we pray for the unity of Jesus' Church?

Jn 16: 7

I tell you the truth, it is for your good that I go;

for if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you,

says the Lord, alleluia.

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Prayer 

Father, may the Word we have heard from you, enlighten our minds and renew us in our spirit to be your witnesses in an alien world. We make our prayer through your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord