READING OF THE DAY First reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles ACTS 6:1-7
As the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
Second reading from the first letter of Saint Peter 1 PT 2:4-9
Beloved: Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in Scripture: Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame. Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and A stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall. They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny.
You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY A reading from the Gospel of John 14:1-12
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, AI am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER Jesus’ words, are very beautiful. As He takes His leave, Jesus speaks to his disciples from his heart. He knows they are sad, for they realize that things are not going well. So Jesus tells them: 'Let not your hearts be troubled'. And He speaks like a friend, even with the attitude of a shepherd. 'Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.' And what does He start talking about? About heaven, our true homeland. 'Have faith in me also. I remain faithful.' It's as if He were saying, 'I'm going to prepare a place for you. In my Father's house there are many rooms.' And there Jesus goes to prepare a place for us. (Santa Marta, 26 April 2013)
FAUSTI - Jesus considers that the disciples are troubled and afraid. He wants to tranquilize and reassure them. Turmoil is time of testing, an opportunity for growing in faith, but also a tempting of falling into distrust. The heart of the disciples, contended by opposing feelings, is becoming a new heart, of the new covenant, capable of loving as it is loved. "Do not be afraid! Be strong and you will see the salvation that the Lord operates for you today!"(Ex 14:13). Faith is the greatest anxiolytic, just as distrust is the most powerful anxiety generator. Jesus puts faith in God on an equal level with faith in Him: he who believes in Him, believes in Him who sent Him. He and the Father are one. To believe in Him as the Son is to believe in God as the Father. On closer examination, every temptation always concerns faith, the only strength to overcome the inevitable agitation. "In conversion and calm lies your salvation, in confident abandonment lies your strength" (Is 30:15). "In the house of my Father" So Jesus had called the Temple, which He identified to His Body. The house of the Father is the Son, in which God is adored in Spirit and Truth. Jesus, like the sanctuary made by human hands, will be destroyed, but in this way He will become the new and definitive sanctuary. In the house of the Father, that is, in the Son, there are many dwellings: one for each brother, none excluded. To whoever welcomes Him, He gives the possibility of becoming a child of God. Jesus is the Temple in which every man meets God and finds the face of which he is image and likeness. Jesus' departure prepares this place for us: He shows us where it is and gives it to us. His Cross is in fact the fulfillment of love, the coming of Glory: it brings heaven and earth into communication and introduces us as children into the Father's house. His coming among us is now that of Love. The purpose of His going away from us is that we too are where He is. He is in the Father as the Father is in Him: reciprocal love makes one in the other, each one dwelling place of the other. Before Jesus leaves and gives us His love, we cannot be where He is. The way back to the Father, from whom we had escaped, is love accomplished. To be "where" He is, we must follow the command to love "as" He loved us (13:34). This and no other is the way. Jesus' leaving is not the end, but the fulfilment of the gift of Himself. Thomas will have difficulty believing that Jesus has risen, precisely because he ignores that love is the way to life. But in order to know this he must first put his finger in the place of the nails and his hand in the open side. Only then will he see the hidden mystery and will be able to say . "my Lord and my God!" "I am the way, the truth and the life." "I Am" so dear to John, is here specified by three nouns. Jesus, as the beloved Son who loves the Father and the brothers, is the "Way" of salvation, because He reveals to us the "Truth" of God and man; and He is the "Life" because He gives us Love, the life of God Himself. He, in fact, Life of all that exists, possesses and communicates life as the Father. Nobody comes to the Father" One would expect . "Nobody goes to the Father" Jesus says "comes" because He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Jesus is the way to know the truth: His cross is the only "news of God" of that God who is the whole and only Love. Jesus is the way to see the Face of the Father, for the hour has come when He reveals perfect love:(13,1). Philip, called directly by Jesus to follow Him ( 1,43-6) and questioned by Him on the bread (6,5), is the one who welcomed and expressed the desire of the Greeks who want to see the Lord (12,21).
-->Now he boldly asks to see Father. His wish corresponds to that of Moses: "Show me your Glory!" (Ex 33.18). It is the deepest desire of every man :" My heart said of Thee, "Seek His Face". Your Face, Lord, I seek!" (Sl 27.8). His Face is our reality, because we are image and likeness of Him: to see Him is to become oneself . Hence the natural desire to see God. It is that openness to infinity which makes man go beyond himself: he is an animal desiring "too great to be enough for himself (B. Pascal). Every man desires to know the Father. In Him he finds that otherness of love that makes him be what he is. What the Gospel has told us up to now about Jesus has shown us the Face, His and the Father's. That is why "He who sees me sees the One Who sent me" (12:45). To know and see the Father is to believe that Jesus is in the Father. and the Father is in Him. There is talk of mutual immanence between Father and Son. For the beloved dwells in the one who loves him. Their mutual love makes them one dwelling place of the other. Every word of the Son is from the Father: He Himself is the Word that the Father addresses to us to enter into communion with us and to give Himself to us. His Word gives what it says because it is What He says. The Father's own work is to love and to give life. Every action of the Son is the same as the Father's: He communicates to us their mutual Love, Life of Both. Jesus tells us to believe not only "in" Him, but also "to" Him, as He says these Words, in which He reveals that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. If we adhere to Him, we too are in the Father and the Father is in us: God is the place where we are at home, children in the Son. Only Love is credible, worthy of trust, because it is visible in the facts. Jesus asks us to trust Him when He is doing and explaining the thing that most disturbs us: His leaving. The proof that His words are true will be the works that we will do when He will have returned to the Father. Certainly we will not do greater works than He who nourished the crowds and brought out of the tomb a dead man. However, just as the meaning is greater than the sign, so loving as He loved us is greater than feeding the living or raising the dead: it is passing from a life for death to the very life of God. Nothing you do is truly great. Only love is greater than everything, because without it everything is nothing. These greater works are "the much fruit" that the branches will bear while remaining united to the vine. To believe in concrete is to ask. Faith has the breath of prayer. The trust of a filial heart, which asks according to the wishes of the Father, truly obtains everything. It even obtains the Holy Spirit, the gift of God's life (Lk 11:13) visible from his fruit of love, joy and peace. The work of the Son is to glorify the Father by communicating His love to His brothers and sisters. Jesus, reiterating what was said before, guarantees that He continues to act on our favour. He goes away, but He gives us the possibility to ask and obtain in the future that He does through us what He did when He was among us: He will always love us, because we too can love each other.
READING OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaFirst reading from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
ACTS 6:1-7
As the number of disciples continued to grow,
the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews
because their widows
were being neglected in the daily distribution.
So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said,
“It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.
Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men,
filled with the Spirit and wisdom,
whom we shall appoint to this task,
whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer
and to the ministry of the word.”
The proposal was acceptable to the whole community,
so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit,
also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,
and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
They presented these men to the apostles
who prayed and laid hands on them.
The word of God continued to spread,
and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly;
even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
Second reading from the first letter of Saint Peter
1 PT 2:4-9
Beloved:
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For it says in Scripture:
Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone, chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.
Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone, and
A stone that will make people stumble,
and a rock that will make them fall.
They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny.
You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people of his own,
so that you may announce the praises” of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
A reading from the Gospel of John 14:1-12
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, AI am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.”
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaJesus’ words, are very beautiful. As He takes His leave, Jesus speaks to his disciples from his heart. He knows they are sad, for they realize that things are not going well. So Jesus tells them: 'Let not your hearts be troubled'. And He speaks like a friend, even with the attitude of a shepherd. 'Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.' And what does He start talking about? About heaven, our true homeland. 'Have faith in me also. I remain faithful.' It's as if He were saying, 'I'm going to prepare a place for you. In my Father's house there are many rooms.' And there Jesus goes to prepare a place for us. (Santa Marta, 26 April 2013)
FAUSTI - Jesus considers that the disciples are troubled and afraid. He wants to tranquilize and reassure them.
RispondiEliminaTurmoil is time of testing, an opportunity for growing in faith, but also a tempting of falling into distrust.
The heart of the disciples, contended by opposing feelings, is becoming a new heart, of the new covenant, capable of loving as it is loved.
"Do not be afraid! Be strong and you will see the salvation that the Lord operates for you today!"(Ex 14:13).
Faith is the greatest anxiolytic, just as distrust is the most powerful anxiety generator.
Jesus puts faith in God on an equal level with faith in Him: he who believes in Him, believes in Him who sent Him. He and the Father are one.
To believe in Him as the Son is to believe in God as the Father.
On closer examination, every temptation always concerns faith, the only strength to overcome the inevitable agitation. "In conversion and calm lies your salvation, in confident abandonment lies your strength" (Is 30:15).
"In the house of my Father" So Jesus had called the Temple, which He identified to His Body.
The house of the Father is the Son, in which God is adored in Spirit and Truth.
Jesus, like the sanctuary made by human hands, will be destroyed, but in this way He will become the new and definitive sanctuary. In the house of the Father, that is, in the Son, there are many dwellings: one for each brother, none excluded. To whoever welcomes Him, He gives the possibility of becoming a child of God.
Jesus is the Temple in which every man meets God and finds the face of which he is image and likeness. Jesus' departure prepares this place for us: He shows us where it is and gives it to us.
His Cross is in fact the fulfillment of love, the coming of Glory: it brings heaven and earth into communication and introduces us as children into the Father's house.
His coming among us is now that of Love.
The purpose of His going away from us is that we too are where He is.
He is in the Father as the Father is in Him: reciprocal love makes one in the other, each one dwelling place of the other.
Before Jesus leaves and gives us His love, we cannot be where He is.
The way back to the Father, from whom we had escaped, is love accomplished.
To be "where" He is, we must follow the command to love "as" He loved us (13:34).
This and no other is the way.
Jesus' leaving is not the end, but the fulfilment of the gift of Himself. Thomas will have difficulty believing that Jesus has risen, precisely because he ignores that love is the way to life. But in order to know this he must first put his finger in the place of the nails and his hand in the open side. Only then will he see the hidden mystery and will be able to say . "my Lord and my God!"
"I am the way, the truth and the life."
"I Am" so dear to John, is here specified by three nouns.
Jesus, as the beloved Son who loves the Father and the brothers, is the "Way" of salvation, because He reveals to us the "Truth" of God and man; and He is the "Life" because He gives us Love, the life of God Himself.
He, in fact, Life of all that exists, possesses and communicates life as the Father.
Nobody comes to the Father" One would expect . "Nobody goes to the Father" Jesus says "comes" because He is in the Father and the Father is in Him.
Jesus is the way to know the truth: His cross is the only "news of God" of that God who is the whole and only Love.
Jesus is the way to see the Face of the Father, for the hour has come when He reveals perfect love:(13,1).
Philip, called directly by Jesus to follow Him ( 1,43-6) and questioned by Him on the bread (6,5), is the one who welcomed and expressed the desire of the Greeks who want to see the Lord (12,21).
-->Now he boldly asks to see Father.
RispondiEliminaHis wish corresponds to that of Moses: "Show me your Glory!" (Ex 33.18).
It is the deepest desire of every man :" My heart said of Thee, "Seek His Face". Your Face, Lord, I seek!" (Sl 27.8).
His Face is our reality, because we are image and likeness of Him: to see Him is to become oneself . Hence the natural desire to see God.
It is that openness to infinity which makes man go beyond himself: he is an animal desiring "too great to be enough for himself (B. Pascal).
Every man desires to know the Father.
In Him he finds that otherness of love that makes him be what he is.
What the Gospel has told us up to now about Jesus has shown us the Face, His and the Father's. That is why "He who sees me sees the One Who sent me" (12:45).
To know and see the Father is to believe that Jesus is in the Father.
and the Father is in Him.
There is talk of mutual immanence between Father and Son. For the beloved dwells in the one who loves him.
Their mutual love makes them one dwelling place of the other. Every word of the Son is from the Father: He Himself is the Word that the Father addresses to us to enter into communion with us and to give Himself to us.
His Word gives what it says because it is What He says.
The Father's own work is to love and to give life. Every action of the Son is the same as the Father's: He communicates to us their mutual Love, Life of Both.
Jesus tells us to believe not only "in" Him, but also "to" Him, as He says these Words,
in which He reveals that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him.
If we adhere to Him, we too are in the Father and the Father is in us: God is the place where we are at home,
children in the Son.
Only Love is credible, worthy of trust, because it is visible in the facts.
Jesus asks us to trust Him when He is doing and explaining the thing that most disturbs us: His leaving. The proof that His words are true will be the works that we will do when He will have returned to the Father.
Certainly we will not do greater works than He who nourished the crowds and brought out of the tomb a dead man. However, just as the meaning is greater than the sign, so loving as He loved us is greater than feeding the living or raising the dead: it is passing from a life for death to the very life of God. Nothing you do is truly great.
Only love is greater than everything, because without it everything is nothing. These greater works are "the much fruit" that the branches will bear while remaining united to the vine.
To believe in concrete is to ask. Faith has the breath of prayer.
The trust of a filial heart, which asks according to the wishes of the Father, truly obtains everything.
It even obtains the Holy Spirit, the gift of God's life (Lk 11:13) visible from his fruit of love, joy and peace.
The work of the Son is to glorify the Father by communicating His love to His brothers and sisters.
Jesus, reiterating what was said before, guarantees that He continues to act on our favour.
He goes away, but He gives us the possibility to ask and obtain in the future that He does through us what He did when He was among us: He will always love us, because we too can love each other.