April 17, 2015

April 17

April 17, 2015:  Friday, Second Week of Easter



  • 'Wheat' pin:  5 loaves (gospel) [I don't have a 'barley' pin.]
  • NEW 'Fish' tie for gospel
  • 'Abacus' tie pin:  5 loaves, 2 fish, 5,000 men, 12 baskets:  do the math (gospel)
  • 'Eyeball' pin:  I seek to gaze on the Lord's loveliness; I'll see his bounty (psalm)
  • 'Clock' tie bar:  Wait for the Lord with courage (psalm)
  • Red and white shirt:  red for apostles/others who suffer/die for Christ, white for Easter season
Listen

Pope Francis homily
Don’t give hatred time:  Pharisee Gamaliel suggested the Apostles should be allowed to preach, because if their teaching were of human origin, it would destroy itself.  The Sanhedrin accepted the suggestion, choosing to take time, not reacting instinctively with hatred; this is a correct remedy for us all.  Give time; it puts things in harmony and makes us see in the right light.  If you react in a moment of anger, you'll be unjust and hurt yourself too.  Take time in the moment of temptation.
The one who pauses gives God time:  When we nurse resentments, there will be outbursts, insults, war; we're battling against God while God loves others, harmony, love, dialogue, and walking together.  We need to give ourselves pause, he said, giving space to the Holy Spirit, so we may arrive at peace.  Pride leads you to want to kill others; humility leads you to become like Jesus.  When our brothers and sisters are being martyred, they have the joy of having suffered dishonor for Jesus.  To fly from pride, there's only the path of humility with humiliation; we must ask for it.
Martyrs and the humble resemble Christ:  It's the grace of imitating Christ. All who suffer humiliation for their family's good bear witness to it, not just martyrs.  The Church's sanctity is this joy that humiliation gives, not because humiliation is beautiful but because with it we imitate Jesus.  Be closed to what brings you to hatred and open to God on the path of Jesus, accepting humiliation with joy.
Read
    I don't think it was like this
  • Acts 5:34-42  Gamaliel to Sanhedrin:  “Be careful.  If their endeavor is of human origin, it'll destroy itself, but if divine, you won't be able to destroy them.”  He persuaded them.  They flogged the Apostles, ordered them to stop speaking in Jesus' name, and dismissed them.  The Apostles left, rejoicing that they suffered for the Name's sake; they kept teaching and proclaiming Jesus.
  • Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14  "One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord."  The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?
  • Jn 6:1-15  Jesus, seeing a crowd coming to him, asked, “Where can we buy food for them?” / “A boy has five loaves and two fish, but what good are those?”  Jesus distributed the loaves.  They had their fill, filled twelve baskets of leftovers, and said, “This is the Prophet.”  Jesus knew they were going to make him king, so he withdrew.
    Reflect
        Miracle of the Bread and Fish/ Lanfranco
      • Creighton:  The Apostles didn't allow their suffering to weaken their faith, but instead they became stronger.  May we too work through adversity, temptations, and suffering and grow stronger in faith. / Jesus provided all the bread and fish the people wanted from five loaves and two fish.   May I maximize the use of what God has given me to benefit others.  
      • One Bread One Body:  If you follow Jesus, deny yourself, and take up the cross, your life may seem a joke, an absurdity, but Jesus will multiply it.  One day with him is better than a thousand elsewhere; it's better to suffer with him than live without him.  May I live and give all for Jesus.
      • Passionist:  The religious leaders ordered the apostles to stop speaking in Jesus' name, but they didn't stop.  Obedience is essential for any ordered society, but disobedience can be a virtue (e.g., Jesus healing on the Sabbath, martyrs' refusal to worship the emperor, helping slaves escape, hiding Jews from Nazis, Boston Tea Party...)  We admire the apostles not only for their courage to lead in the early Church and for their preaching but also because they courageously discerned when to disobey and risk the consequences.  We're called to protest injustice with means other than force:  dialogue, boycotts, disobedience....  We want to be good citizens, but some situations call for mature disobedience like the apostles'.
      • DailyScripture.net:  Jesus satisfied crowd's hunger from 5 loaves and 2 fish.  It's the only miracle in all 4 gospels; it evoked God's provision of manna to Israel and foreshadowed the heavenly bread he offers us.  Jesus' signs signified that God sent him as the anointed Prophet-King.  Ignatius of Antioch:  the Eucharist is the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ."  When God gives, he gives abundantly so we may share with others, especially those who lack.  Do I trust God to multiply the little I have for others' good?

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