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Message of the Day
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- A prayer of surrender for today:
Sweet Christ, highest Love,
have compassion for me.
Don't abandon me.
I take refuge in Your kindness,
because You're my only certainty.
You have all my hope.
- Umlita of Faenza, Sermons |
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Readings of the Day
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Acts 8:1b-8; Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5,
6-7a
Jn 6:35-40
Jesus said to the crowds,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last
day." USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“The members of the church who had been dispersed went about preaching the word.” —Acts 8:4
When the early Christians were chased out of Jerusalem, they went to other towns and chased out unclean spirits. When the Church was paralyzed and crippled from being persecuted, the wounded Church healed the paralytics and cripples. While the Christians mourned the deaths of martyrs, cities rejoiced because they heard and accepted the Gospel (see Acts 8:1-8).
The Lord
works everything together for the good of the Church (see Rm 8:28). “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rm 8:31) The One in us is greater than the prince of this world (see 1 Jn 4:4; Jn 14:30). God’s wounded become healers. “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 852, Tertullian). “Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed” (2 Cor 4:10). “There is no chaining the
word of God!” (2 Tm 2:9) “Despite the increase of sin, grace has far surpassed it” (Rm 5:20). “When I am powerless, it is then that I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10). “In all this we are more than conquerors because of Him Who has loved us” (Rm 8:37). Prayer: Father, change my mourning into dancing (Ps
30:12). Promise: “No one who comes will I ever reject.” —Jn 6:37 Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011. Part Three, Gift of the Spirit Chapter 4: Transformative
Gifts - Selected quotes
Early in the history of the Church, it was observed that those who received the Spirit began to evidence many wonderful changes in their lives. In reflecting on their experience, they consulted the Hebrew scriptures and found resonance in a passage from the writings of the
prophet Isaiah:
A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse,
A scion thrusts from his roots;
On him the spirit of Yahweh rests,
A spirit of wisdom and insight,
A spirit of counsel and power,
A spirit of knowledge and fear of Yahweh.
Is. 11:1-2
Eventually, these came to be known as the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The passage alludes to the Messiah, who manifested these gifts fully; the same Spirit was shared with the followers of the Messiah, who also began to evidence these gifts. What the transformative gifts describe is what we might call the “character of Christ.” The ongoing development of these gifts is a sure sign that the Spirit is
transforming our human nature into a likeness of Christ’s.
The transformative gifts of the Spirit are different from the charismatic or spiritual gifts; we will talk about the latter in our next chapter. The transformative gifts are given to individuals for the sanctification of the individual, while the charismatic gifts are given primarily for the good of the community. It is true
that the transformative gifts also benefit the community, but that is not their primary purpose. What they indicate is growth unto becoming a likeness of Christ.
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