Message of 5-1-17

Published: Mon, 05/01/17

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Monday: May 1, 2017
Message of the Day
One of the marks of spiritual maturity is the quiet confidence that God is in control - without the need to understand why He does what He does.
- Anonymous

. . . Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will. . .[The Serenity Prayer]
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Readings of the Day
ACTS 6:8-15;   PS 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30

JN 6:22-29
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[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you. 
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." 
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."

USCCB lectionary
Reflection on the Scripture
"Throughout, Stephen's face seemed like that of an angel." —Acts 6:15
 
The modern idea is that an angel's face is sweet, cherubic, and blissful. Yet the truth is that angels have their faces constantly focused on Jesus. Angels "fix [their] eyes on Jesus" (Heb 3:1). The angels worship Jesus, but also are in a state of constant focused attention on Jesus. Angels are messengers from God who wait for a message from God to deliver or for a command from the Lord to execute. Angels center their entire existence on Jesus (see Jn 1:51; Mt 4:11).

Angels are always at the wait. An army of "more than twelve legions of angels" stood ready for instant deployment to rescue Jesus as he was about to be arrested in Gethsemane. Jesus noted specifically that these angels were ready "at a moment's notice" (Mt 26:53). The obvious conclusion is that these angels' faces were fixed on the hand of almighty God, completely armed and totally prepared to enter battle upon command (see Ps 123:1-2).

St. Stephen, no doubt, was worshipping God as he sat in the crossfire of the trial by fire in the Sanhedrin. But His face was like that of an angel, with eyes focused on the Lord. Though the members of the Sanhedrin fixed their eyes "intently" on Stephen (Acts 6:15), Stephen's eyes were on the Lord, not on his dire circumstances. Stephen looked to God above in worship (Acts 7:55), but he was also looking to the Lord to see if he was to deliver a message, much of which he delivered in Acts chapter 7. When Stephen was being stoned to death, he continued to look at Jesus, this time at the crucified Jesus. Stephen quoted two passages of Jesus crucified as His final words (Acts 7:59-60).

Have the face of an angel. "Fix your eyes on Jesus" (Heb 3:1).
 
Prayer: Lord Jesus, may I desire to see nothing but You.
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Promise: "Your decrees are my delight." —Ps 119:24

Presentation Ministries
Amazon Gift Cards: Good for any occasion.
Spiritual Reading
Theological Gems from Emile Merch's Theology of the Mystical Body
- selected by Jim and Tyra Arraj

Book III: Christ
 
Chapter 14: The Holy Spirit
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424-5. When we say that He is Son, we indicate His entire origin; when we say that He spirates the Holy Spirit, we indicate His entire activity; and the two together designate Him in His entirety. He is nothing but Spirator as He is nothing but Son, for in their absolute simplicity the two are strictly identical.
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426. Jesus promises Him (the Holy Spirit), sends Him, and gives Him, for the Spirit is His.
 
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