Lectionary: 288
Reading 1
Acts 15:7-21
After much debate had taken place,
Peter got up and said to the Apostles and the presbyters,
“My brothers, you are well aware that from early days
God made his choice among you that through my mouth
the Gentiles would hear the word of the Gospel and believe.
And God, who knows the heart,
bore witness by granting them the Holy Spirit
just as he did us.
He made no distinction between us and them,
for by faith he purified their hearts.
Why, then, are you now putting God to the test
by placing on the shoulders of the disciples
a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
On the contrary, we believe that we are saved
through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.”
The whole assembly fell silent,
and they listened
while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders
God had worked among the Gentiles through them.
After they had fallen silent, James responded,
“My brothers, listen to me.
Symeon has described how God first concerned himself
with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
The words of the prophets agree with this, as is written:
After this I shall return
and rebuild the fallen hut of David;
from its ruins I shall rebuild it
and raise it up again,
so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord,
even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked.
Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,
known from of old.
It is my judgment, therefore,
that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,
but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols,
unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.
For Moses, for generations now,
has had those who proclaim him in every town,
as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 10
R. (3) Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
John 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep know my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
John 15:9-11
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.
“I have told you this so that
my joy might be in you and
your joy might be complete.”
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
The Good Fruit of Obedience
“If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” John 15:10
When Jesus spoke the line above, He followed it by saying, “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.” These two lines, taken side by side, provide a helpful unity of Jesus’ teaching regarding holy obedience to Him.
First, Jesus speaks of the necessity of keeping His commandments. To some, such a statement, when taken by itself, can seem burdensome, dictatorial, oppressive and confining. But is it? The answer is found clearly as we read on.
The next thing Jesus teaches is that the effect of keeping His commandments is that we “remain in His love.” He further explains that He is not asking us to do anything that He Himself was not willing to do. He was obedient to the will of the Father, keeping the commandments of the Father to perfection. Therefore, we should hear His command as a dictate flowing from His own freely lived choice to be obedient. As the Incarnate Son of God, He perfectly obeyed the Father in His human nature. The result was that He remained perfectly filled with the love of the Father. But that’s not all. Joy is also experienced in a “complete” way when we imitate Jesus’ perfect obedience.
In light of the teaching from our Lord, how do you view holy obedience to the will of God? Take, for example, each of the Ten Commandments. Do you struggle with unwavering obedience to them? Do you experience them as oppressive and imposed limitations rather than what they truly are? When understood correctly, the Ten Commandments, and every other dictate of the will of God, are exactly what we need and, even more so, exactly what we deeply desire in life. We want interior order rather than chaos. We want integrity rather than fragility. We want joy rather than sadness. And we want unity with the love of God rather than the loss of God. The path to the life we so deeply desire is obedience to the commands of the will of God in all things.
Reflect, today, upon your immediate interior reaction to holy obedience. If you do find yourself resistant in any way to this teaching of Jesus, then that is a good sign that you need this teaching more than you may know. Try to look at obedience in the light of truth. Try to see that, deep down, your soul yearns for obedience and the interior order it brings. Examine, especially, any areas of obedience you struggle with and firmly recommit yourself to unwavering obedience to each and every command of our Lord.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
MEETING(S) OF THE MINDS
“After much discussion, Peter took the floor.” —Acts 15:7
This meeting of the leaders of the early church in Jerusalem was one of the most important in history. This is not because they ruled against the necessity of circumcision for Gentile Christians but because they removed an obstacle to world evangelization. The result of the meeting was that “Paul and Barnabas continued in Antioch, along with many others, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord” (Acts 15:35).
Furthering evangelization is the criterion by which we judge the value of any meeting. Does the meeting of your church’s parish council result in more powerful evangelization? Are people sent out to evangelize from your Sunday Masses? Do your family gatherings proclaim the Good News of Jesus? Why do you have prayer meetings, socials, business meetings, fellowships, and committee meetings? All meetings must have an evangelistic dimension or there’s no reason for their existence. Pope St. Paul VI asserted that the Church “exists in order to evangelize” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14).
Jesus did not say: “Go, make buildings, churches, schools, and activities.” He said: “Go...make disciples” (Mt 28:19).
Prayer: Jesus, may I win over to You as many as possible, no matter what it takes (1 Cor 9:19).
Promise: “As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you.” —Jn 15:9
Praise: St. Athanasius defended the Truth against Arianism and was martyred after several exiles.
Reflection 3
By Fr. Martin Hogan
In the short gospel reading this morning there is a strong emphasis on love, God the Father’s love for Jesus, Jesus’ love for all of us, and his call on us to remain in his love. The call to remain in Jesus’ love suggests that we already find ourselves within his love and our task is to remain there. In other words, the Lord’s love for us is a given; we don’t have to look for it or work for it. We are born into the Lord’s love; we are baptized into his love. We only have to remain there. The call to remain in the Lord’s love suggests that we can remove ourselves from his love. The Lord does not remove his love from us, but we can fall out of his love, as it were. In the gospel reading Jesus indicates that the way to stay, to remain, in his love is by keeping his commandments. Elsewhere in John’s gospel Jesus reduces his commandments to one commandment, the commandment to love one another as he has loved us. It is by striving to love one another in the same selfless and generous way that the Lord loves us that we remain in his love. We remain in the love of Jesus by sharing the love we have received from him with others. This is our calling. According to the gospel reading, it is the path that leads to true happiness, a sharing in Jesus’ own joy. ‘I have told you this so that my joy may be in you’.
Prayers
My obedient Lord, You obeyed the will of Your Father in Heaven to perfection. Through this obedience, You not only experienced the full love and joy of the Father in Your human nature, You also set for us a perfect example and model for holiness. Help me to see the areas of my life in which I need to be more obedient, so that I, too, will share in Your holy life and that of the Father’s. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, may I always grow in the joy and hope which your promises give me. Inflame my heart with love for you and your ways and with charity and compassion for my neighbour. May there be nothing in my life which keeps me from your love.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 122: If You Could Choose
If you could choose between all the wealth in the world or an intimate and loving relationship with Jesus, which would you choose? Do not answer that too quickly. We may know that choosing Jesus is the right answer, but would you choose Him? Imagine the power and worldly “freedom” you would enjoy if you had unlimited earthly wealth. And yet, the truth is that all the wealth in the world cannot produce one bit of happiness. It may make life easier in some ways, but far more complicated and burdensome in others. Many holy men and women have chosen a life of complete poverty because they discovered the riches produced by an authentic and transforming relationship with Jesus and they wanted nothing to get in the way. He offers this wealth to all of us. But most do not accept. Will you? (See Diary #587)
Do you understand the riches bestowed upon you if you choose to allow the abundant love of Jesus to flood your soul? Do you believe that this relationship is worth abandoning all else so as to attain it? Is your one desire in life the burning love of Jesus? If it is, this love will utterly transform you and the love from that relationship will flow forth from you, affecting every action you do and every other relationship you have. Choose our Lord as your most intimate lover and make Him the true center of your life.
Lord, I am aware of the fact that I can never fully grasp the depths of Your perfect love for me. Nonetheless, I choose Your love this day and I desire to make You the center of my life. Come fill my heart with such a burning love that I come to realize that You are all I need in life. For in coming to know You, my Lord, I come to love You and all your creatures. Jesus, I trust in You.
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