#Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 24

[grandsouldream]

Readings for 13 APRIL

13/4/2023

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

23rd October >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Wednesday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time 

or

Saint John of Capistrano, Priest.

Wednesday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II))

First Reading Ephesians 3:2-12 The pagans now share the same inheritance.

You have probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for you, and that it was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the mystery, as I have just described it very shortly. If you read my word you will have some idea of the depths that I see in the mystery of Christ. This that has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was unknown to any men in past generations; it means that pagans now share the same inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel. I have been made the servant of that gospel by a gift of grace from God who gave it to me by his own power. I, who am less than the least of all the saints have been entrusted with this special grace, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ but also of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed. Through all the ages, this has been kept hidden in God, the creator of everything. Why? So that the Sovereignties and Powers should learn only now, through the Church, how comprehensive God’s wisdom really is, exactly according to the plan which he had had from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is why we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Isaiah 12 The rejoicing of a redeemed people.

R/ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Truly, God is my salvation, I trust, I shall not fear. For the Lord is my strength, my song, he became my saviour. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

R/ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name! Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples! Declare the greatness of his name.

R/ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Sing a psalm to the Lord for he has done glorious deeds; make them known to all the earth! People of Zion, sing and shout for joy, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

R/ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Gospel Acclamation John 10:27

Alleluia, alleluia! The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord, I know them and they follow me. Alleluia!

Or: Matthew 24:42,44

Alleluia, alleluia! Stay awake and stand ready, because you do not know the hour when the Son of Man is coming. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 12:39-48 The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’ Peter said, ‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’ The Lord replied, ‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the servant who says to himself, “My master is taking his time coming,” and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful. The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

--------------------------------------

Saint John of Capistrano, Priest 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Wednesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading 2 Corinthians 5:14-20 We do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh.

The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them. From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-8,11

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you. I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.’ O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; it is you yourself who are my prize.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even at night directs my heart. I keep the Lord ever in my sight: since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand happiness for ever.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation John 8:12

Alleluia, alleluia! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; anyone who follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 9:57-62 'I will follow you wherever you go'.

As Jesus and his disciples travelled along they met a man on the road who said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus answered, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ Another to whom he said, ‘Follow me’, replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But he answered, ‘Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say goodbye to my people at home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

19th March >> Fr. Martin's Reflections / Homilies on Today's Mass Readings (Inc. Matthew 1:16, 18, 21-24/Luke 2:41–51a) for the Feast of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary: ‘He did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do’.

Feast of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Gospel (Except USA) Matthew 1:16,18-21,24 How Jesus Christ came to be born.

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.

Or

Gospel (Except USA) Luke 2:41-51a Mary stored up all these things in her heart.

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’

‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.

He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.

Gospel (USA) Matthew 1:16, 18–21, 24a Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Or

Gospel (USA) Luke 2:41–51a Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.

Reflections (11)

(i) Feast of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The gospel reading for the feast of Saint Joseph is the story of the birth of Jesus, according to Matthew. It is a little less familiar to us than the story of the birth of Jesus as we find it in Luke’s gospel and which we read on Christmas night. The gospel reading portrays Joseph at a moment of crisis. It could be termed a crisis of intimacy. Joseph tends to be depicted in religious art as an elderly man, more like Jesus’ grandfather than father. In reality, at the time of Jesus’ birth, he must have been a vigorous young man, perhaps still in his teens. The gospel reading describes him as betrothed to Mary. Betrothal is more than what we refer to as an ‘engagement’. As betrothed, he and Mary were legally husband and wife, but they would only live together as husband and wife after their marriage ceremony. The future happiness of this young man is suddenly clouded by an event of which he can make little sense, Mary’s pregnancy. What is he to do in this unexpected and confusing situation? The Jewish Law would have required him to take a course of action that went against all his natural feelings for Mary. In that moment of personal crisis, according to the gospel reading, Joseph experienced God as Emmanuel, God with him. God communicated with Joseph at this difficult time in his life and Joseph was open to hearing God’s word to him, a word that directed him beyond what the Law required, prompting him to marry his betrothed, to take her home as his wife. The story of Joseph reminds us that God continues to communicate with us in the challenging situations of our own lives, including crises of intimacy. There is no personal dilemma that need cut us off from God. God speaks a word of love and wisdom to us even in the most unpromising moments of our life’s journey. Jesus reveals God to be Emmanuel, God with us, and God is with us, guiding us and supporting us, especially in our own difficult family experiences. The gospel reading also suggests that Joseph was not only open to God’s presence but revealed God’s presence to Mary, showing her great care and sensitivity in a disturbing and unsettling moment. Joseph inspires us not only to be open to God’s presence in difficult family moments, but to reveal God’s loving and tender presence to each other, to look out for one another, when events come along that are disruptive and disturbing. Joseph’s care the vulnerable, for the pregnant Mary, and later for Mary and his young son when faced with exile, might prompt us to ask his intercession for all who have been rendered vulnerable today by war.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of Saint Joseph

It is strange how Christian art has tended to portray Joseph as an old man, more like Jesus’ grandfather, than his father. One striking exception to this is a painting of Joseph by the Spanish artist, El Greco. He depicts Joseph as a vigorous young man, with Jesus clinging to his legs. In that painting Joseph is portrayed as a strong figure, trustworthy and protective. This is much closer to the portrayal of Joseph in the gospels than the usual elderly depiction of him. The gospel reading this morning suggests that although Joseph, the young father, was protective of his young son, he also struggled to understand him at times. Having anxiously searched for Jesus with Mary, Joseph finally finds him in temple, only to be told that by Jesus that he must be busy with his Father’s affairs. Joseph was beginning to learn that there was someone else in his young son’s life whom he called ‘Father’, and to whom he had a stronger allegiance that he had to his earthly parents. Joseph discovered early on that he would have to let his son go to a greater purpose than what he wanted for him. As such, Joseph could serve as an inspiration, a reference point, for all parents who have to work through that difficult task of learning to let go of their offspring.

And/Or

(iii) Feast of Saint Joseph

This morning’s gospel reading gives us a mini portrait of Joseph. We are told that every year Joseph and Mary used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. Joseph, along with Mary, was a devout Jew. The Temple in Jerusalem had an important place in his life. It was the place where God was believed to be present in a special way. Like many faithful Jews, Jesus went up to the Temple in Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts, such as the Feast of Passover. On this occasion when Jesus was twelve years old, little did Joseph know that Jesus would be crucified by the Romans on the feast of Passover about twenty years into the future.  In bringing his son with him to Jerusalem for the great feasts, Joseph was initiating his son into his own Jewish faith, passing on to his son his own religious traditions, beliefs and practices. Joseph was called by God to be a human father to Jesus, to be the best father possible for Jesus. This was a great privilege, but the gospel reading suggests that it was also a very particular challenge, one that made great demands on him. That challenge for Joseph is captured in the exchange between Mary and Jesus. Mary says to her son, ‘see how worried your father and I have been, looking for you’. Jesus replies to her, ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ Jesus spoke as one who had another Father than Joseph, a heavenly Father and it was the affairs of his heavenly Father that had to take priority over the concerns of his earthly father. This must have been very difficult for Joseph to come to terms with. He had the responsibility of overseeing the upbringing of Jesus and, yet, he had to learn that his son did not belong to himself or to Mary but was subject to a higher authority than theirs. The gospel reading said, ‘they did not understand what he meant’. Joseph is portrayed in the gospel reading as faithful to his calling to care for Jesus, without fully understanding what was going on in the life of his son. Joseph can be an inspiration to all of us, who are also called to be faithful to the Lord without always fully understanding the Lord to whom we seek to be faithful. Like Joseph we are called to give our heart to the Lord, even though our reason may never fully understand him. 

And/Or

(iv) Feast of Saint Joseph

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph. We know relatively little about Joseph. In the gospel of Matthew, when Jesus preached for the first time in his home town of Nazareth, those who knew him asked, ‘Is not this the carpenter’s son?’ Jesus was known to them as the son of the carpenter, the son of Joseph. Joseph had a skill which not everybody in Nazareth had; he could make useful things from wood. He used his skill to provide for his family, including his son Jesus. Jesus would go on to provide for many people in the course of his public ministry. He gave everything he had, including his very life, for God’s people, for all of us. Yet, before Jesus could provide for others, he needed to be provided for, and Joseph played a key role in providing for him. With Mary, Joseph made it possible for Jesus to get to the point where he could leave home a fully formed adult and begin in earnest the work that God gave him to do. Jesus was able to do his work in Galilee and Judea because Joseph did his work in Nazareth. Joseph’s work might seem insignificant compared to the work Jesus went on to do and still does as risen Lord. Yet, Joseph’s work was just as important because without Joseph’s work, Jesus would not have gone on to do the work of God. Joseph teaches us the importance of doing what we have to do as well as possible, even if what we are doing seems of little significance in the greater scheme of things. We are all interdependent. If we do what we have to do as well as we can, we make it easier for everyone else to do what they are called to do. Everything we do has greater significance that we realize. We all have vital roles to play within God’s greater purpose. We are all called to do God’s work, at every stage of our lives, each of us in our own particular way.

And/Or

(v) Feast of Saint Joseph

Joseph does not appear in the gospels during the public ministry of Jesus. His presence in the gospels is confined to the first two chapters of Matthew and of Luke which concern the birth and early childhood of Jesus. Yet Joseph is referred to during Jesus’ public ministry in relation to Jesus. Later on in Matthew’s gospel the people of Nazareth ask of Joseph, ‘is not this the carpenter’s son?’ Apart from that detail about Jesus being a carpenter we know very little else about him. However, this morning’s gospel reading from Matthew describes Joseph as a ‘man of honour’, or a ‘just or righteous man’. He is just in that he lives as God commands him to live; he does the will of God and, so, is a good and compassionate man. When he hears God call him to take Mary home with his wife, he does so, in spite of his earlier confusion as to how best to deal with Mary’s expected pregnancy. He is portrayed as someone who seeks God’s will in the complex situations of life. He does not always know how best to act but he leaves himself open to God’s guidance and direction and faithfully responds to God’s promptings. He lives that call of Jesus that is to be found later in Matthew’s gospel, ‘Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness’.

And/Or

(vi) Feast of Saint Joseph

There is a wonderful painting of Saint Joseph by the Spanish artist El Greco. In it Joseph is a vibrant young man and the child Jesus is holding on to one of his legs. The sense we get from that painting is of Joseph as a strong, warm, noble presence in the life of the child Jesus. He had a very important role to play in the life of his young son. He may well have died before Jesus began his public ministry because he only appears as a character in the gospels in the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke, when Jesus is a child. Joseph reminds us that the Lord often asks us to play some important role in the life of another for a period of time. Jesus moved on from Joseph because he had to be busy with his Father’s affairs, his heavenly Father’s affairs. Having played his vital role in the life of his son, Joseph had to let him go. When we have played the role in the life of another that only we can play, very often we too are then asked to let them go, and that can be painful as it must have been for Joseph. It is very often there that love meets the cross.

And/Or

(vii) Feast of Saint Joseph

Joseph is often depicted as an old man in Christian art and sculpture. Yet, he was obviously a very young man at the time of Jesus’ birth, as young as Jesus’ mother Mary, the woman to whom Joseph was married. It can’t have been easy being the father of such a special child. This morning’s gospel reading portrays something of the struggle that being the parent of Jesus entailed. When Jesus’ parents eventually found him in the Temple after much anxious searching, Mary said to her young son, ‘See how worried your father and I have been?’ In reply Jesus said, ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs’. When Mary referred to ‘your father’ she meant Joseph; when Jesus said ‘my Father’ he meant God. Luke suggests that because Jesus belonged to God from an early age, his parents had to learn to let him go much sooner than would have been the norm. Joseph had to learn that his son had another Father, a heavenly Father, to whom he was totally dedicated. Yet, Joseph remained a full father to his son in the earthly sense, fulfilling all the roles that would be expected of a father in that culture. Very early into his son’s life, Joseph had to learn to love his son while leaving him free for whatever God was asking of him. In that sense, we can all look to Joseph as someone who embodies a love that is generous without being possessive, faithful without being controlling.

And/Or

(viii) Solemnity of Saint Joseph

Saint Joseph has a somewhat low profile in the gospel story. He doesn’t feature at all during the public ministry of Jesus. He is present in the gospel story only in the context of the childhood of Jesus. This may suggest that Joseph had died before Jesus began his public ministry at the age of thirty or so. Yet, Joseph must have been a hugely significant figure in the early years of Jesus. In the Jewish culture of Jesus’ time, it was the father who passed on the religious traditions to the children. It was the father who taught the children how to live in accordance with God’s will as revealed in the Scriptures. This role of the father is reflected in the earliest document of the New Testament, the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. There Paul compares his role in the church of Thessalonica to that of a father in a family, ‘we dealt with each of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God’. It was above all from Joseph that Jesus would have received instruction in his Jewish faith. Through Joseph, he came to know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus, of course, was no ordinary child. He had a unique relationship with the God of Israel; he understood himself to be the son of Israel’s God. This must have complicated Joseph’s task of bringing up his son in the practice of the Jewish faith. This is evident in today’s gospel reading from Luke. When his parents eventually find the boy Jesus in the Temple, his mother says to him, ‘See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you’. Jesus replied, ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ By ‘your father’ Mary meant Joseph. By ‘my Father’ Jesus meant God. The gospel reading suggests that from an early age Jesus’ heavenly Father had a greater influence on him than his earthly father. This must have left Joseph confused and disturbed at times. According to today’s gospel reading, Jesus’ parents ‘did not understand what he meant’ when he spoke about being busy with his Father’s affairs. Joseph struggled to discern God’s will for his son. He came to see that what he wanted for his son was not necessarily what God wanted for him. He had to learn to let go of his son to God’s greater purpose for him. We can all identify with Joseph’s struggle in this regard. We too sometimes struggle to surrender to God’s purpose for our lives and for the lives of those who are close to us. God’s way of working in our own lives and in the lives of others can seem a mystery to us and, sometimes, like Joseph, we have to learn to let go to a mystery we do not fully understand.

And/Or

(ix) Feast of Saint Joseph

The image of the twelve-year old Jesus sitting among the doctors of the law in the Temple, which we find in today’s gospel reading, is a striking one. It doesn’t say that Jesus was teaching these doctors of the law. Rather, he was listening to them and asking they questions. He was receptive to what they were saying. No doubt Jesus was also receptive to what Joseph said to him. In the Jewish family, the father was the one responsible for passing on the religious tradition to the children. Joseph may not have been a doctor of the law, but he was a teacher within his own home. Yet, the gospel reading suggests that at twelve years of age, Jesus was moving on from receiving the wisdom of his superiors to taking his own path in life. Having travelled with his family from Nazareth to Jerusalem, for the feast of Passover, he decided not to travel back with them, apparently without informing any member of his extended family. Mary and Joseph ended up searching for him everywhere. Eventually, they decided to head back to Jerusalem where they did eventually find him in the Temple. Their disappointment in Jesus and the distress he caused them is very evident in the question Mary put to him. Yet, his answer to their question caused them a different kind of distress. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ They didn’t understand what he meant. By, ‘my Father’s affairs’, the boy Jesus was not referring to his father Joseph, but to his heavenly Father, God. If Jesus was learning from the doctors of the law, Joseph had his own lesson to learn from his young son. He was beginning to realize that his influence on his son would have to take second place to God’s influence. He and his wife, Mary would have to learn to let Jesus go to God’s purpose for his life. We can learn from Joseph that gentle art of letting go, of surrendering those we cherish to God’s purpose for their lives, even though it may leave us with a great sense of loss. Joseph learnt to allow God to be God in his own life and in the life of his Son. We pray for something of that same generosity of spirit that Joseph clearly had.

And/Or

(x) Feast of Saint Joseph

In the first reading, Saint Paul refers to Abraham as ‘the father of all of us’. For Paul, Abraham was the father of all believers because he was a man of faith who trusted in God’s word of promise. Just as the Jewish people look back to Abraham as their father in faith, so too can we who believe in Jesus. Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph. As a man of faith, deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition, he certainly would have looked to Abraham as his father in faith. Joseph was unique among the spiritual children of Abraham in being the father of Jesus whose relationship with God was of a different order to Abraham’s relationship with God. According to the gospels, Jesus was known as ‘the carpenter’s son’. There are many titles for Jesus in the gospels and in the rest of the New Testament, but the title, ‘the carpenter’s son’, is, perhaps, the most human. Joseph provided for Mary and his son Jesus by working as a carpenter. He helped to provide a stable home for Jesus where Jesus could grow in ‘wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and people’, according to the gospels. Joseph seems to have died before Jesus began his public ministry because he never features in the story of Jesus’ public, adult, life in the gospels. By the time Jesus began his public ministry, Joseph’s work was done. Mary, we know, lived on at least until the feast of Pentecost at which the Holy Spirit came down upon her and the disciples. Joseph reminds us that the Lord has some work for all of us to do. Very often, our work, like Joseph’s, consists in creating a space for God to work in the life of someone else. That work will often involve a letting go of others, a letting be. That is what we find Joseph being called to do in today’s gospel reading. He had to let Jesus go to God the Father’s work in the life of his young son. ‘I must be busy with my Father’s affairs’, Jesus said, meaning God, not Joseph.

And/Or

(xi) Feast of Saint Joseph

On the 8th December, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter called “With a Father’s Heart”, in which he recalls the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark the occasion of this Apostolic Letter, Pope Francis proclaimed a “Year of Saint Joseph” from 8th December 2020, to 8 December 2021. In his Apostolic Letter, the Pope describes Saint Joseph in a number of very striking ways - as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows. He wrote the letter against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, although far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, the Pope says, they resemble Saint Joseph, whom he describes as “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,” and, yet, played “an incomparable role in the history of salvation.” It is true that Joseph is a discreet presence in the gospel story. He doesn’t feature at all during the public ministry of Jesus, suggesting that he may have died before Jesus began his public ministry. However, he was there during the crucial formation years of Jesus’ life. Like any parent, he worried about his young son growing up. In today’s gospel reading, we find Joseph and Mary worried when they discovered their son was lost. When they finally found him, the young Jesus said to them, ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ When Jesus said, ‘my Father’, he was referring to God not Joseph. Joseph had to learn to let go of his son Jesus to God his heavenly Father’s plan for his life, even though that often left him confused, as in today’s gospel reading, ‘they did not understand what he meant’. Joseph had an important role to play in Jesus’ life, but he had to let him go to God from Jesus’ early years. Joseph’s life reminds us that we all have some role to play in God’s greater purpose. There is something we can do, no one else can do. We are often called to be a Joseph figure for others, being there for them but knowing when to let them go to God’s purpose for their lives.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[troybeecham]

Today, the Church remembers St. Bartholomew, Apostle.

Ora pro nobis.

Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus from ancient Judea. He has often been identified with Nathanael or Nathaniel, who appears in the Gospel of John as being introduced to Jesus by Philip (who would also become an apostle), Jesus saying, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit” [Jn 1:43-51]. Bartholomew is listed among the Twelve Apostles of Jesus in the three synoptic gospels: Matthew,[10:1–4] Mark,[3:13–19] and Luke,[6:12–16] and also appears as one of the witnesses of the Ascension of Jesus [Acts 1:4,12,13]; on each occasion, he is named in the company of Philip.

Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History (5:10) states that after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Other traditions record him as serving as a missionary in Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia, and Lycaonia. Popular traditions and legends say that Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India, then went to Greater Armenia

Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India. These are of Eusebius of Caesarea (early 4th century AD) and of Saint Jerome (late 4th century AD). Both of these refer to this tradition while speaking of the reported visit of Pantaenus to India in the 2nd century AD. The studies of Fr A.C. Perumalil SJ and Moraes hold that the Bombay region on the Konkan coast, a region which may have been known as the ancient city Kalyan, was the field of Saint Bartholomew's missionary activities. Another unofficial book entitled 'Martyrdom of Bartholomew' says that he was martyred in India. In these texts, two kings named Polyamus and Astriyagis has been described. Circa AD 55 the king named Pulaimi ruled near Kalyan, who in Latin language is called as Polyamus and King Aristakarman, who succeeded Pulaimi, might have a Latin name of Astriyais. According to the texts, on king's command, Bartholomew was killed by beheading. It is also argued that the saint was flayed alive and hanged upside down. He is believed to have been killed there on August 24. He was only 50 years old.

Along with his fellow apostle Jude "Thaddeus", Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century AD. Thus, both saints are considered the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

According to this tradition, the Apostle Bartholomew was executed in Albanopolis in Armenia. According to a popular hagiography, the apostle was flayed alive and beheaded. According to other accounts he was crucified upside down (head downward) like St. Peter. He is said to have been martyred for having converted Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity. Enraged by the monarch’s conversion, and fearing a Roman backlash, king Polymius’s brother, prince Astyages, ordered Bartholomew’s torture and execution, which Bartholomew courageously endured.

However, there are no records of any Armenian King of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia with the name Polymius. Current scholarship agrees that while he may have been an early part of the mission to Armenia, Bartholomew died in Kalyan in India, where there was an official named Polymius.

Almighty and everlasting God, who gave to your Apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach your Word: Grant that your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Amen.

[allaboutjoseph]

Prayers - Via Gaudii (Way of Joy) - 1st Station

Via Gaudii or Way of Joy (Christmas)

Via Crucis or Way of Sorrow or Stations of the Cross (Lent)

Via Lucis or Way of Light (Easter)

The Via Gaudii is a prayerful reflection on the events of the incarnation and early life of our Lord Jesus Christ, based on the first chapters of the Gospels according to Saint Matthew and Saint Luke. The fourteen stations cover the events from the Betrothal of Joseph and Mary to the return of the Holy Family to Nazareth. A Chaplet was later developed that would guide the faithful in praying the Via Gaudii.

OPENING PRAYER

O God, our Heavenly Father accompany us to the story of the birth and the childhood of our Lord Jesus Christ. May We recognize in every Station your saving plan and learn to appreciate the significance of our participation in the fulfillment of your promise. Let the joy in our hearts lead us to seek and adore the Child Jesus. Amen.

THE FIRST STATION: THE BETROTHAL OF ST. JOSEPH AND THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

V: We adore You, O Christ and we bless You! R: Because by Your Holy Birth, You have lived with us!

READING (Matthew 1:18) This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph.

REFLECTION The Betrothal of Joseph and Mary strengthens their commitment and love for one another. This is an expression of oneness as man and wife as it is written in the Book of Genesis: “…and the two of them become one body.” (Gn. 2:24). That is why those who plan to settle down and desire to have a family are encouraged to do what Joseph and Mary did- to seek God’s blessing and recognition from their community in their union.

PRAYER O God, our loving Father, You blessed the initial union leading to the marriage of Joseph and Mary you prepared the family where Jesus would become a member. May we also be like Joseph and Mary who were blessed with your grace so that we may be able to live our responsibility as parents in our family that you also entrusted to us. Amen.

Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory Be …

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Saturday, June 29, 2024

june 16_june 29

SAINT TIKHON, BISHOP OF AMAPHUNTUM (Cyprus,425)

Saint Tikhon, Bishop of Amathus, was born in the city Amathus on the island of Cyprus. His parents raised their son in Christian piety, and taught him the reading of sacred books. It is said that the gift of wonderworking appeared in Saint Tikhon at quite a young age.

His father was the owner of a bakery, and whenever he left his son alone in the shop, the holy youth would give free bread to those in need. Learning of this, his father became angry, but the son said that he had read in the Scriptures, that in giving to God one receives back a hundredfold. “I" said the youth, “gave to God the bread which was taken,” and he persuaded his father to go to the place where the grain was stored. With astonishment, the father saw that the granary, formerly empty, was now overflowing with wheat. From that time the father did not hinder his son from distributing bread to the poor.

A certain gardener brought the dried prunings of vines from the vineyard. Saint Tikhon gathered them, planted them in his garden and besought the Lord that these branches might take root and yield fruit for the health of people. The Lord did so through the faith of the holy youth. The branches took root, and their fruit had a particular and very pleasant taste. It was used during the lifetime of the saint and after his death for making wine for the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist.

They accepted the pious youth into the church clergy, made him a reader. Later, Mnemonios, the Bishop of Amathus ordained him a deacon. After the death of Bishop Mnemonios, Saint Tikhon by universal agreement was chosen as Bishop of Amathus. Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus (May 12), presided at the service.

Saint Tikhon labored zealously to eradicate the remnants of paganism on Cyprus; he destroyed a pagan temple and spread the Christian Faith. The holy bishop was generous, his doors were open to all, and he listened to and lovingly fulfilled the request of each person who came to him. Fearing neither threats nor tortures, he firmly and fearlessly confessed his faith before pagans.

In the service to Saint Tikhon it is stated that he foresaw the time of his death, which occurred in the year 425.

The name of Saint Tikhon of Amathus was greatly honored in Russia. Temples dedicated to the saint were constructed at Moscow, at Nizhni Novgorod, at Kazan and other cities. But he was particularly venerated in the Voronezh diocese, where there were three archpastors in succession sharing the name with the holy hierarch of Amathus: Saint Tikhon I (Sokolov) (+ 1783, August 13), Tikhon II (Yakubovsky, until 1785) and Tikhon III (Malinin, until 1788).

ST MARK OF APOLLONIAS, NEPHEW OF THE APOSTLE BARNABAS

This Mark is usually identified with Mark the cousin of the Apostle Barnabas. According to Hippolytus, in his work On the Seventy Apostles, Mark the cousin of Barnabas (Col 4:10; Phlm. 24) is distinct from John Mark the Bishop of Byblos (Acts 12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37) and Mark the Evangelist (2 Tim. 4:11). They all belonged to the Seventy Apostles of Christ (ranked #56, #65, and #14, respectively), who were sent out by Jesus to saturate Judea with the gospel not long before His crucifixion (Luke 10:1). Hippolytus says that Mark the cousin of Barnabas was a leader of the apostolic Church and the Bishop of Apollonia. (There are various possible sites for this place, including some in Greece, some in Italy, one in Thrace, one in Bithynia and one in Cyrenaica.)

Ancient sources in fact consistently distinguish the apparent three Marks of the New Testament. Medieval sources, on the other hand, increasingly regarded all New Testament references to Mark as Mark the Evangelist, and many modern scholars have agreed in seeing a single Mark. The very fact that various writings could refer simply to Mark without further qualification has been seen as pointing to a single Mark.

Mark the cousin of Barnabas is mentioned by Paul as a "fellow worker" in the closings of three Pauline epistles. In antiquity he was regarded as a distinct Mark, Bishop of Apollonia. If, on the other hand, the Marks are to be identified, the fact that these epistles were written after the departure of John Mark with Barnabas in Acts must suppose some later reconciliation. But a majority of scholars, noting the close association of the Marks with Paul and Barnabas, indeed regard them as likely the same person.

Mark the Evangelist, however, is known only from the patristic tradition, which associates him only with Peter and makes no mention of Paul. Jerome alone suggests that the Mark of whom Paul speaks may be the Evangelist. But modern scholars have noted that as Peter fled to the house of John Mark's mother, the two men may have had a longstanding association.

According to the Synaxarion of Constantinople, Bishop Mark of Apollonia suffered a martyric death by being hanged upside down, tying boulders to his hands, and leaving him to hang there in the void.

Source: Orthodox Christianity then and Now

ROMANS 1:7-12

7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established- 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

MATTHEW 5:42-48

42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. 43 You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

[nijjhar]

Luke 14v15-24:- Christ Jesus came among his own clever greedy Chosen Peo... Luke 14v15-24:- Christ Jesus came among his own clever greedy Chosen People but they killed Him. https://youtu.be/pZ17SgQ3eS0 Holy Gospel of our Supernatural Father Elohim, Allah, Parbrahm, etc., delivered by the First Anointed Christ, which in Punjabi we call Satguru Jesus of the highest living God Elohim that dwells within His Most Beautiful Living Temple of God created by the greatest artist demiurge Potter, the Lord of the Nature Yahweh, Brahma, Khudah, etc. and it is called Harmandir or “Emmanuel” according to Saint Luke 14,15-24. One of those at table with Jesus said to him, "Blessed is the one who will dine in the Royal Kingdom of God. The Samaritan Woman at well was very lucky to Dine with Christ Jesus." He replied to him, "A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. Many are called but a very few are chosen. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, the Chosen People 'Come, everything is now ready.' But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves for they loved Darkness to fleece the people. The first once-born said to him, 'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another twice-born clever greedy person said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another twice-born sealed to serve God said, 'I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.' “Moh” of the world. The servant Angel went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant Angel John, the Baptist, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.' The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.' The master then ordered the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner but the Husbandmen of the Winepress killed him and his Christianity of Heart.'" My ebook by Kindle. ASIN: B01AVLC9WO Private Bitter Gospel Truth videos:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/nobility.htm www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/Rest.htm Any helper to finish my Books:- ONE GOD ONE FAITH:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/bookfin.pdf and in Punjabi KAKHH OHLAE LAKHH:-  www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/pdbook.pdf Very informative Channel:- Punjab Siyan. John's baptism:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/johnsig.pdf Trinity:- www.gnosticgospel.co.uk/trinity.pdf

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We ought to thank God always concerning you, brothers, even as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly and the love of each one of you all to one another is increasing, 4 So that we ourselves boast in you among the churches of God concerning your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions which you bear, 5 A plain indication of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which also you suffer; 6 Since it is just with God to repay with affliction those afflicting you, 7 And to you who are being afflicted, rest with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of His power, in flaming fire, 8 Rendering vengeance to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His strength 10 When He comes to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at in all those who have believed (because our testimony to you was believed) in that day. 11 For which also we pray always concerning you, that our God may count you worthy of your calling and may fulfill in power your every good intention for goodness and your work of faith, 12 So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. — 2 Thessalonians 1 | Recovery Version (REC) The Recovery Version of the Holy Bible © 2009 Living Stream Ministry. All rights reserved. Cross References: Exodus 3:2; Exodus 19:18; Exodus 23:22; Psalm 79:6; Ecclesiastes 3:17; Isaiah 1:28; Isaiah 2:10-11; Isaiah 2:19; Isaiah 24:15; Isaiah 49:3; Isaiah 66:5; Matthew 16:27-28; Luke 20:35; Acts 15:22; Acts 16:1; Romans 1:7-8; Romans 2:5; 1 Corinthians 7:17; 2 Corinthians 7:4; 2 Corinthians 10:15; Colossians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:3

[calvinistwoman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_wfnir1hQ4

(The following is an audio transcript from the above video featuring John Piper)

Is the Calvinist-Arminian debate overblown? It’s a question today from a young man, a listener to the podcast who writes us this: “Pastor John, hello! I’ve argued about predestination and free will with fellow believers for years. I’m a five-point Calvinist. But lately these conversations have grown tiresome to me. No amount of debate seems to settle all the questions. And I recently read a letter by C.S. Lewis where he called the Calvinist-Arminian debate pretty much pointless because it only answers questions about this life, answers meaningless in eternity.

“He wrote, ‘Both the statement that our final destination is already settled [Calvinism] and the view that it still may be either heaven or hell [Arminianism], seem to me to imply the ultimate reality of time, which I don’t believe in. The controversy is one I can’t join on either side, for I think that in the real (timeless) world it is meaningless’ (Collected Letters, 2:703). I think Lewis raises a fair question: Is this whole debate time-bound? And even within time, I find myself more and more asking, What is the real-life fallout? Is the practical and spiritual value of Calvinism for this life significantly better? If so, how?”

Oh, Lewis, Lewis, Lewis! My friend! My mentor! Let’s start here. There is a huge difference between saying, on the one hand, that fruitless debates have grown tiresome — which I can totally understand and would not encourage — and saying, on the other hand, that I’m not seeing the real-life fallout or the practical spiritual value of Calvinism in this life. Those are radically different sentences and the last one is tragic — tragic. And I hope such a theological, personal malaise doesn’t fall on me, and I hope it can be lifted from our young friend.

Philosophy and Exegesis

So, first let me say a word about Lewis — bless his heart and rest his soul in heaven — and then about Calvinism and time. That’s the issue that he raised: time. And as I go along, I will try to show for our friend the preciousness of these things.

I have read more of C.S. Lewis than any other author on the planet except Jonathan Edwards. I love C.S. Lewis. He has made a great difference in my life. But one thing you will look for in vain in all the writings of C.S. Lewis: careful, serious biblical exposition. We have no idea how he did it (I presume he did it); we have to guess how C.S. Lewis read his Bible because he does not show us, which means he comes at biblical-theological questions more philosophically than he does exegetically.

This is certainly the case when it comes to Calvinism versus Arminianism. As far as I can tell, he simply sweeps aside dozens of specific, clear biblical sentences with the philosophical wand of timelessness. Nobody who reads the Bible carefully, and seeks to submit to the Bible’s own logic — not an alien philosophical presupposition — will be content with Lewis’s way of handling the issue of Calvinism and Arminianism. It cannot satisfy if you’re a Bible-saturated person who takes sentences — real, live, meaning-carrying sentences — seriously when you read the Bible.

Let’s just pretend that I’m now talking to C.S. Lewis about the five points of Calvinism. Here’s what I would say to Lewis. Four of them, Mr. Lewis, do not address the time issue at all. And the fifth one addresses the time issue because God made it address the time issue. God put the pre- in predestination. Man didn’t decide to do that; God did that, and he had good reasons for doing it — not to be swept away by the wand of timelessness. So let me take them one at a time.

1. Dead in Total Depravity

The issue is: At the point of my conversion, was I dead? Was I dead? Was I utterly incapable of seeing or savoring Jesus Christ as my supreme treasure? Answer: yes, I was. I was dead, blind, spiritually incapable of believing on Jesus. First Corinthians 2:14: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.” No way. I’m stiff-arming them totally in my deadness and fallenness and blindness. They are folly to me. I’m not able to understand them. They are spiritually discerned, and I don’t have the Holy Spirit. I hate God, and I love myself, and I am in bondage.

The question is not one of time. And the answer makes all the difference in the world about whether you praise yourself or praise your God in speechless wonder that you are now a lover of Jesus — that you can see the light of the glory of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). John Piper now sees the light of the glory of the gospel.

How did that happen? If you think you were only partially incapable of faith, and just needed a little divine nudge, your amazement, your humility, your worship, your reverence will be hindered. How dead and how helpless were you when God saved you? Come on, Lewis. Come on. Talk about 1 Corinthians 2:14, talk about Romans 8:7, talk about Ephesians 2:4–5, talk about 2 Corinthians 4:4. Don’t give me your philosophical wand of timelessness. Talk to me about the deadness of the human soul.

2. Awakened by Irresistible Grace

The question, Mr. Lewis, is, What happened on that bus ride that you described in Surprised by Joy — the one that you began as an unbeliever, and to your own amazement, you ended as a believer? What happened?

The Bible is not silent about what happened. It is not left to your philosophical speculation. It goes like this: “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

God did a creative miracle in your life, Mr. Lewis — just as much as when he called the universe out of nothing. He took out the heart of stone and put in the heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). He raised you from the dead and seated you in the heavenly places with Christ (Ephesians 2:4–6). He opened your eyes to give heed to the truth, and in the very moment when you passed from death to life, God was decisive — not you. You did not impart life to your dead self. This is not an issue of time, Mr. Lewis; this is an issue of worship. To whom will you give glory for your decisive passage from unbelieving death to believing life?

3. Purchased by Limited Atonement

Here the question is not time. The question is whether the new-covenant miracle that happens to every Christian when their dead heart — our dead heart — is replaced with a new heart was definitely purchased for them by the death of Christ, but was not so purchased for everyone. That’s the issue. Everyone would have a new heart if it was purchased the same way for all.

Jesus called his blood the “blood of the covenant” (Matthew 26:28). Jesus called it “the new covenant” (Luke 22:20). And what the new covenant promised was that the old, unbelieving, rebellious hearts of C.S. Lewis and John Piper would be sovereignly replaced by God with a new, soft, believing heart, and that the law of God would be written on that heart so that we do from the heart what we’re called to do, like believe and obey. We don’t write it. He wrote it.

This was all secured when we were purchased by the blood of the new covenant. When Christ died, he secured a perfect, complete redemption, including the undeserved mercy of our conversion and faith. This is not a question of time; this is a question of what Christ achieved for his people on the cross. Did he lay down his life for the sheep (John 10:11)? Did he ransom the children of God (John 11:52)? Did he ransom for himself a people scattered among the peoples (Revelation 5:9–10)? Or didn’t he? That’s the issue.

4. Secure in the Perseverance of the Saints

This is not a question of timelessness or time. This is a question about whether you and I will wake up a believer tomorrow morning. Will I? And I cannot imagine for our young friend who wrote in this question anything more immediately relevant to me when I go to bed at night or think about it all day long, than the answer to the question, Will I wake up a believer, heaven-bound, tomorrow morning, or won’t I?

Jude is so blown away by the glory of God’s sovereign keeping that the greatest doxology in the Bible is crafted to extol this work of God’s sovereignty over our fickle, so-called “free will.” If God left me to my fickle free will, I’d be out of here. “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it — prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it” — chain it, bind it, keep me.

Here’s what Jude says: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless . . .” He’s going to keep you and present you blameless because he is sovereign. If he doesn’t do it, it isn’t going to happen. And then he says, “. . . to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24–25).

That’s how amazed Jude was that God would not let him go. God wouldn’t let him fall into unbelief. God would not let his vaunted free will have the last word. This is not a matter of time; this is a matter of sweet assurance that tomorrow morning I will wake up with a heart for God.

5. Awestruck by Unconditional Election

Here we meet time. Ephesians 1:4–6:

He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.

Paul’s aim here is to inflame the praise of the glory of the grace of God. That’s his purpose. That’s the goal of Ephesians 1:4–6. The sovereign saving grace of God that is based not on our so-called “free will,” but on “the purpose of his will.” Paul intends to put God’s saving grace outside our control so that, when all history is said and done, the song of the ages will be to the praise of the glory of God’s free, invincible grace, so that no human might boast except in the Lord.

And I would just say in closing that if these five realities are not humbling, emboldening, stabilizing, worship-inflaming, sacrifice-empowering, joy-igniting, what we ought to do is not ignore them, but get on our knees and cry out for the eyes of our heart to be opened.

[firstpresfp]

3rd Sunday of Easter 4/26/20

Saint Peter, Preaching the gospel in the Catacombs, Jan Styka, 1902

Prelude

Abide With Me (1, 2, 4, 5)

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;  The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day; Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away; Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless; Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness. Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory? I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Opening Prayer

We enter Your presence with praise, O God. We come before You with thanksgiving because we have much for which we should be thankful. Life in Christ saves us, redeems us and re-makes us. We offer You our thanks and praise as we seek Your guidance and strength.  Hear us as we pray in the name of Your beloved Son, Amen

Confession

The grace of God overflows for us through Christ Jesus who came into the world to save sinners. Trusting in God’s grace, let us confess our sin. 

Lord, we confess that we want to shy away from difficulties. Help us to grow through challenges, to learn what You want us to learn, and move forward to be better witnesses of Your love.

Assurance of Pardon

Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The old life has gone. A new life has begun! Know that you are forgiven and be at peace. Amen. 

Prayer before sharing the word of God 

Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of the Holy Spirit that as the Scriptures are read and Your word is proclaimed,  we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen.  Hear the Word of the Lord —

Scripture

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.

36 Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah,[a] this Jesus whom you crucified.”

The First Converts

37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers,[b] what should we do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40 And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Luke 24:13-35

The Walk to Emmaus

13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” 25 Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Message

 Easter Rising Crisis — Reverend Tom  Martin

Affirmation of Faith

This is the good news which we received, in which we stand and by which we are saved: That Christ died for our sake according to the Scriptures, That He was buried, that He was raised on the third day, And that He appeared first to the women, Then to Peter and the Twelve, And then to many faithful witnesses.

We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He is our Lord and our God. Amen.  

Prayers of the People 

Lord, You offer freedom and hope. You break chains that try to bind us and open our eyes to new possibilities. Help us to care for our neighbors, to cross any lines of hostility and find reconciliation and peace. We pray that what we do will be worthy of Your covenant that Christ sealed on the cross. Kindle us anew with the flame of Your desires. Make us brave to speak when we should speak and be quiet when that is the best way to proclaim what new life in You means.  Refresh us with Your Spirit and resolve all the sick and hurting needs we pray for. . .

Think of joys and concerns at this time

Incline Thine ear to us and grant us Thy peace as we pray together. . . Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive our sins as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us. Deliver us from evil because Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. Amen. 

Response: Lord, in Your mercy: hear our prayer.

Hymn of Sending

O Christ Surround Me

God be the love to search and keep me God be the prayer to move my voice  God be the strength to now uphold me 

O Christ, surround me 

O Christ, surround me 

Walking behind to hem my journey  Going ahead to light my way And from beneath, above, and all ways 

O Christ, surround me 

O Christ, surround me 

Christ in the eyes of all who see me Christ in the ears who hear my voice Christ in the hearts of all who know me

O Christ, surround me

O Christ, surround me

Blessing and Charge

Go out into the world in peace. Have courage. Hold fast to what is good. Return to no one evil for evil. Strengthen the fainthearted. Support the weak. Help the suffering. Honor all persons and all creation. Love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. And may the love of God, the Light of Christ, and the power and communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! (Romans 12: 17-21)

This we pray through the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN. 

[pope-francis-quotes]

1st April >> (@ZenitEnglish By Deborah Castellano Lubov) #PopeFrancis #Pope Francis’ Full General Audience Address: Let God Purify Our Hearts & Experience Fullness of Joy(Full Text of General Audience). Praying We Are Preparing Well for Easter, Says That We Must Free Our Hearts From Our Deceits.

Let God purify our hearts and we will experience the fullness of joy and peace.

This point was at the heart of Pope Francis’ catechesis during his General Audience, this Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

As he continued his catecheses on the Beatitudes, he turned to the Sixth one, which promises that the pure of heart will see God.

“To see God,” Francis stressed, “means having a personal relationship with him.”

In order to do so, we must look deep within our hearts and make space for him, and purge from ourselves that which gets in the way of our holiness and unobstructed closeness and unity with the Lord.

In the midst of the coronavirus epidemic spreading worldwide, like the Holy Father’s morning Masses and Angelus, this too was made available to faithful via streaming and done privately in his apostolic library.

“To see God,” Francis reminded, “it’s no good to change one’s eyeglasses or point of observation, or to change theological authors that teach the way: it’s necessary to free the heart from its deceits!”

“This is the only way,” he underscored, noting: “This is a decisive maturation: when we realize that our worst enemy is often hidden in our heart.”

The “noblest battle,” Francis said, “is that against the interior deceits that generate our sins. Because sins change one’s interior vision, change the rating of things, make one see things that aren’t true, or at least that aren’t so true.”

Therefore, he reminded, it’s important to understand what “purity of heart” is.

“To do so, one must remember that for the Bible the heart doesn’t consist only of feelings, but is the most intimate place of the human being, the interior space where a person is himself — this, according to the biblical mentality.”

He reminded that in Matthew’s Gospel, he writes: “If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (6:23).

“This ‘light,’ he said, “is the gaze of the heart, the perspective, the synthesis, the point from which the reality is read…”

Asking what a “pure” heart means, the Pope responds: “He who is pure of heart lives in the Lord’s presence, keeping in the heart what is worthy of the relationship with Him; only thus does he have an intimate, “unified” life — linear, not torturous but simple.”

The Pope concluded his audience with various greetings and praying that we are preparing well for Easter.

The General Audience ended with the Pope giving his Apostolic Blessing.

Here is the Vatican-provided English summary of today’s General Audience, followed by the full Zenit translation of the Pope’s full address:

***

Speaker:

Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis on the Beatitudes, we now turn to the sixth Beatitude, which promises that the pure of heart will see God. To see God means having a personal relationship with him. This requires looking deep within our hearts and making space for him; as Saint Augustine put it: “You were more inward to me than my most inward part” (Confessions, III, 6, 11). Yet often our hearts are slow and foolish, like those of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who at first failed to recognize Jesus by their side. To see God, then, requires a process of purification, whereby our hearts are freed from the sin which blinds us to his presence. This entails renouncing evil and allowing the Holy Spirit to instruct and guide us. A further aspect to seeing God is recognizing him in creation, in the Church’s sacraments, and in our brothers and sisters, especially the poorest and most in need. If we let God purify our hearts he will lead us ultimately to the beatific vision where we will enjoy the fullness of joy and peace in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Speaker:

I greet the English-speaking faithful joining us through the media, as we continue on our Lenten journey towards Easter. Upon you and your families, I invoke the strength and peace that come from our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless you!

[Original text: English] [Vatican-provided text]

***

FULL GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS–

[Working Translation by ZENIT’s Virginia Forrester]

This morning’s General Audience was held at 9:30 am from the Library of the Apostolic Vatican Palace.

Taking up the series of catecheses on the Beatitudes, in his address in Italian the Pope focused his meditation on the sixth: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

After summarizing his catechesis in several languages, the Holy Father expressed special greetings to the faithful.

The General Audience ended with the recitation of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.

* * *

The Holy Father’s Catechesis

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

Today we read together the <eighth> Beatitude, which promises the vision of God and has, as condition, purity of heart.

A Psalm says: “My heart repeats your invitation: ‘Seek ye my face!’ Thy face, Lord, do I seek.’ Hide not thy face from me” (27:8-9).

This language manifests the thirst of a personal relationship with God, not mechanical, not somewhat nebulous, no: personal, which the Book of Job also expresses as sign of a sincere relationship. The Book of Job says thus: “I had heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees Thee” (Job 42:5). And I often think that this is the way of life, of our relations with God. We know God by hearsay, but with our experience we go forward, forward, forward and in the end we know Him directly, if we are faithful . . . And this is maturity of the Spirit.

How can one come to this intimacy, to know God with the eyes? We can think of the disciples of Emmaus, for instance, who had the Lord next to them, “but their eyes were kept from recognizing Him” (Luke 24:16). The Lord would open their eyes at the end of a journey that culminates with the breaking of the bread and that began with a reproach: “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! (Luke 24:25).” That is the reproach of the beginning. Here is the origin of their thirst: their foolish and slow heart. And when the heart is foolish and slow things are not seen. Things are seen as cloudy. Here is the wisdom of this Beatitude: to be able to contemplate, it’s necessary to enter within ourselves and make room for God because, as Saint Augustine says, “God is more intimate to me than myself” (“interior intimo meo,” Confessions, III, 6, 11). To see God it’s no good to change one’s eyeglasses or point of observation, or to change theological authors that teach the way: it’s necessary to free the heart from its deceits! This is the only way. This is a decisive maturation: when we realize that our worst enemy is often hidden in our heart.

The noblest battle is that against the interior deceits that generate our sins. Because sins change one’s interior vision, change the rating of things, make one see things that aren’t true, or at least that aren’t so true. Therefore, it’s important to understand what “purity of heart” is. To do so, one must remember that for the Bible the heart doesn’t consist only of feelings, but is the most intimate place of the human being, the interior space where a person is himself — this, according to the biblical mentality. The same Gospel of Matthew says: “If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (6:23). This “light” is the gaze of the heart, the perspective, the synthesis, the point from which the reality is read (Cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 143).

However, what does a “pure” heart mean? He who is pure of heart lives in the Lord’s presence, keeping in the heart what is worthy of the relationship with Him; only thus does he have an intimate, “unified” life — linear, not torturous but simple. Hence, the purified heart is the result of a process that implies liberation and renunciation. The pure of heart is not born as such; he has lived an interior simplification, learning to renounce the evil in himself, something that in the Bible is called circumcision of the heart (Cf. Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Ezekiel 44:9; Jeremiah 4:4). This interior purification implies the recognition of that part of the heart that is under the influence of evil. — “You know, Father, I feel so, I think so, I see so, and this is awful”: to recognize the awful part, the part that is clouded by evil — to learn the art of allowing oneself always to be taught and led by the Holy Spirit. The way of the sick heart, of the sinful heart, of the heart that can’s see things well, because it is in sin; at the fullness of the heart’s light is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is He who guides this journey to fulfilment. See, through this journey of the heart, we come to “see God.”

In this Beatific Vision there is a future, eschatological dimension, as in all the Beatitudes: it’s the joy of the Kingdom of Heaven to which we are going. However there is also the other dimension: to see God means to understand the designs of Providence in what happens to us, to recognize His presence in the Sacraments, His presence in brothers, especially the poor and suffering, and to recognize Him where He manifests Himself (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2519).

This Beatitude is somewhat the fruit of the preceding ones: if we have felt the thirst of the good that dwells in us and are aware that we live of mercy, a journey of liberation begins, which lasts our whole life and leads us to Heaven. It’s a serious work, a work that the Holy Spirit does if we give Him the room to do it, if we are open to the action of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can say that it’s a work of God in us — in the trials and purifications of life – and this work of God and of the Holy Spirit leads to a great joy, to a true peace. We must not be afraid; let us open the doors of our heart to the Holy Spirit, so that He can purify us and lead us forward on this path to full joy.

[Original text: Italian]

In Italian

I greet warmly the Italian-speaking faithful. My thought goes, in particular, to the groups that long ago registered to be present today. Among them, the youngsters of the Profession of Faith of the Diocese of Milan, connected to this meeting through the means of social communication. Dear children, although your pilgrimage to Rome is only virtual, it seems as though I perceive your joyful and noisy presence, rendered concrete also by the many written messages you sent me: you sent me so many, and they are beautiful! They are beautiful, beautiful messages, Thank you so much. Thank you for this union with us. Pray for me, don’t forget. I thank you and I encourage you to live the faith always with enthusiasm and not lose hope in Jesus, the faithful Friend who fills your life with happiness, also in difficult moments.

Finally, I greet young people, the sick, the elderly and newlyweds. May the last part of the Lenten season we are living be able to foster an appropriate preparation for the celebration of Easter, leading each one to a more felt closeness to Christ. My Blessing to all.

[Original text: Italian]

1st APRIL 2020 12:44GENERAL AUDIENCE

[grandsouldream]

Readings for 12 APRIL

12/4/2023

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

23rd October >> Mass Readings (USA)

Wednesday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time 

or

Saint John of Capistrano, Priest.

Wednesday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: B(II))

First Reading Ephesians 3:2-12 The mystery of Christ has now been revealed and the Gentiles are coheirs in the promise.

Brothers and sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit, namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly earlier. When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. Of this I became a minister by the gift of God’s grace that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power. To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the Church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens. This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness of speech and confidence of access through faith in him.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6 The rejoicing of a redeemed people

R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation.

R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.

R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth. Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!

R/ You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 24:42a, 44

Alleluia, alleluia. Stay awake! For you do not know when the Son of Man will come. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 12:39-48 Much will be required of the person entrusted with much.

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Then Peter said, “Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

-----------------------------

Saint John of Capistrano, Priest 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Wednesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading 2 Corinthians 5:14-20 God has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

Brothers and sisters: The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 16:1b-2a and 5, 7-8, 11

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.” O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I bless the LORD who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the LORD ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever.

R/ You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Gospel Acclamation John 8:12

Alleluia, alleluia. I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 9:57-62 I will follow you wherever you go.

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” He said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

19th March >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 1:16,18-21, 24 for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary: ‘He did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do’.

Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Gospel (Except USA)

Matthew 1:16,18-21,24

How Jesus Christ came to be born.

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

   This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.

Or

Gospel (Except USA)

Luke 2:41-51a

Mary stored up all these things in her heart.

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

   Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’

   ‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.

   He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.

Gospel (USA)

Matthew 1:16, 18–21, 24a

Joseph did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

   Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

Or

Gospel (USA)

Luke 2:41–51a

Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.

Reflections (11)

(i) Solemnity of Saint Joseph

The gospel reading for the feast of Saint Joseph is the story of the birth of Jesus, according to Matthew. It is a little less familiar to us than the story of the birth of Jesus as we find it in Luke’s gospel and which we read on Christmas night. The gospel reading portrays Joseph at a moment of crisis. It could be termed a crisis of intimacy. Joseph tends to be depicted in religious art as an elderly man, more like Jesus’ grandfather than father. In reality, at the time of Jesus’ birth, he must have been a vigorous young man, perhaps still in his teens. The gospel reading describes him as betrothed to Mary. Betrothal is more than what we refer to as an ‘engagement’. As betrothed, he and Mary were legally husband and wife, but they would only live together as husband and wife after their marriage ceremony. The future happiness of this young man is suddenly clouded by an event of which he can make little sense, Mary’s pregnancy. What is he to do in this unexpected and confusing situation? The Jewish Law would have required him to take a course of action that went against all his natural feelings for Mary. In that moment of personal crisis, according to the gospel reading, Joseph experienced God as Emmanuel, God with him. God communicated with Joseph at this difficult time in his life and Joseph was open to hearing God’s word to him, a word that directed him beyond what the Law required, prompting him to marry his betrothed, to take her home as his wife. The story of Joseph reminds us that God continues to communicate with us in the challenging situations of our own lives, including crises of intimacy. There is no personal dilemma that need cut us off from God. God speaks a word of love and wisdom to us even in the most unpromising moments of our life’s journey. Jesus reveals God to be Emmanuel, God with us, and God is with us, guiding us and supporting us, especially in our own difficult family experiences. The gospel reading also suggests that Joseph was not only open to God’s presence but revealed God’s presence to Mary, showing her great care and sensitivity in a disturbing and unsettling moment. Joseph inspires us not only to be open to God’s presence in difficult family moments, but to reveal God’s loving and tender presence to each other, to look out for one another, when events come along that are disruptive and disturbing. Joseph’s care the vulnerable, for the pregnant Mary, and later for Mary and his young son when faced with exile, might prompt us to ask his intercession for all who have been rendered so vulnerable by the war in Ukraine.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of Saint Joseph

It is strange how Christian art has tended to portray Joseph as an old man, more like Jesus’ grandfather, than his father. One striking exception to this is a painting of Joseph by the Spanish artist, El Greco. He depicts Joseph as a vigorous young man, with Jesus clinging to his legs. In that painting Joseph is portrayed as a strong figure, trustworthy and protective. This is much closer to the portrayal of Joseph in the gospels than the usual elderly depiction of him. The gospel reading this morning suggests that although Joseph, the young father, was protective of his young son, he also struggled to understand him at times. Having anxiously searched for Jesus with Mary, Joseph finally finds him in temple, only to be told that by Jesus that he must be busy with his Father’s affairs. Joseph was beginning to learn that there was someone else in his young son’s life whom he called ‘Father’, and to whom he had a stronger allegiance that he had to his earthly parents. Joseph discovered early on that he would have to let his son go to a greater purpose than what he wanted for him. As such, Joseph could serve as an inspiration, a reference point, for all parents who have to work through that difficult task of learning to let go of their offspring.

 And/Or

(iii) Feast of Saint Joseph

This morning’s gospel reading gives us a mini portrait of Joseph. We are told that every year Joseph and Mary used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. Joseph, along with Mary, was a devout Jew. The Temple in Jerusalem had an important place in his life. It was the place where God was believed to be present in a special way. Like many faithful Jews, Jesus went up to the Temple in Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts, such as the Feast of Passover. On this occasion when Jesus was twelve years old, little did Joseph know that Jesus would be crucified by the Romans on the feast of Passover about twenty years into the future.  In bringing his son with him to Jerusalem for the great feasts, Joseph was initiating his son into his own Jewish faith, passing on to his son his own religious traditions, beliefs and practices. Joseph was called by God to be a human father to Jesus, to be the best father possible for Jesus. This was a great privilege, but the gospel reading suggests that it was also a very particular challenge, one that made great demands on him. That challenge for Joseph is captured in the exchange between Mary and Jesus. Mary says to her son, ‘see how worried your father and I have been, looking for you’. Jesus replies to her, ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ Jesus spoke as one who had another Father than Joseph, a heavenly Father and it was the affairs of his heavenly Father that had to take priority over the concerns of his earthly father. This must have been very difficult for Joseph to come to terms with. He had the responsibility of overseeing the upbringing of Jesus and, yet, he had to learn that his son did not belong to himself or to Mary but was subject to a higher authority than theirs. The gospel reading said, ‘they did not understand what he meant’. Joseph is portrayed in the gospel reading as faithful to his calling to care for Jesus, without fully understanding what was going on in the life of his son. Joseph can be an inspiration to all of us, who are also called to be faithful to the Lord without always fully understanding the Lord to whom we seek to be faithful. Like Joseph we are called to give our heart to the Lord, even though our reason may never fully understand him.  

 And/Or

(iv) Feast of Saint Joseph

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph. We know relatively little about Joseph. In the gospel of Matthew, when Jesus preached for the first time in his home town of Nazareth, those who knew him asked, ‘Is not this the carpenter’s son?’ Jesus was known to them as the son of the carpenter, the son of Joseph. Joseph had a skill which not everybody in Nazareth had; he could make useful things from wood. He used his skill to provide for his family, including his son Jesus. Jesus would go on to provide for many people in the course of his public ministry. He gave everything he had, including his very life, for God’s people, for all of us. Yet, before Jesus could provide for others, he needed to be provided for, and Joseph played a key role in providing for him. With Mary, Joseph made it possible for Jesus to get to the point where he could leave home a fully formed adult and begin in earnest the work that God gave him to do. Jesus was able to do his work in Galilee and Judea because Joseph did his work in Nazareth. Joseph’s work might seem insignificant compared to the work Jesus went on to do and still does as risen Lord. Yet, Joseph’s work was just as important because without Joseph’s work, Jesus would not have gone on to do the work of God. Joseph teaches us the importance of doing what we have to do as well as possible, even if what we are doing seems of little significance in the greater scheme of things. We are all interdependent. If we do what we have to do as well as we can, we make it easier for everyone else to do what they are called to do. Everything we do has greater significance that we realize. We all have vital roles to play within God’s greater purpose. We are all called to do God’s work, at every stage of our lives, each of us in our own particular way.

 And/Or

(v) Feast of Saint Joseph

Joseph does not appear in the gospels during the public ministry of Jesus. His presence in the gospels is confined to the first two chapters of Matthew and of Luke which concern the birth and early childhood of Jesus. Yet Joseph is referred to during Jesus’ public ministry in relation to Jesus. Later on in Matthew’s gospel the people of Nazareth ask of Joseph, ‘is not this the carpenter’s son?’ Apart from that detail about Jesus being a carpenter we know very little else about him. However, this morning’s gospel reading from Matthew describes Joseph as a ‘man of honour’, or a ‘just or righteous man’. He is just in that he lives as God commands him to live; he does the will of God and, so, is a good and compassionate man. When he hears God call him to take Mary home with his wife, he does so, in spite of his earlier confusion as to how best to deal with Mary’s expected pregnancy. He is portrayed as someone who seeks God’s will in the complex situations of life. He does not always know how best to act but he leaves himself open to God’s guidance and direction and faithfully responds to God’s promptings. He lives that call of Jesus that is to be found later in Matthew’s gospel, ‘Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness’.

 And/Or

(vi) Feast of Saint Joseph

There is a wonderful painting of Saint Joseph by the Spanish artist El Greco. In it Joseph is a vibrant young man and the child Jesus is holding on to one of his legs. The sense we get from that painting is of Joseph as a strong, warm, noble presence in the life of the child Jesus. He had a very important role to play in the life of his young son. He may well have died before Jesus began his public ministry because he only appears as a character in the gospels in the opening chapters of Matthew and Luke, when Jesus is a child. Joseph reminds us that the Lord often asks us to play some important role in the life of another for a period of time. Jesus moved on from Joseph because he had to be busy with his Father’s affairs, his heavenly Father’s affairs. Having played his vital role in the life of his son, Joseph had to let him go. When we have played the role in the life of another that only we can play, very often we too are then asked to let them go, and that can be painful as it must have been for Joseph. It is very often there that love meets the cross.

 And/Or

(vii) Feast of Saint Joseph

Joseph is often depicted as an old man in Christian art and sculpture. Yet, he was obviously a very young man at the time of Jesus’ birth, as young as Jesus’ mother Mary, the woman to whom Joseph was married. It can’t have been easy being the father of such a special child. This morning’s gospel reading portrays something of the struggle that being the parent of Jesus entailed. When Jesus’ parents eventually found him in the Temple after much anxious searching, Mary said to her young son, ‘See how worried your father and I have been?’ In reply Jesus said, ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs’. When Mary referred to ‘your father’ she meant Joseph; when Jesus said ‘my Father’ he meant God. Luke suggests that because Jesus belonged to God from an early age, his parents had to learn to let him go much sooner than would have been the norm. Joseph had to learn that his son had another Father, a heavenly Father, to whom he was totally dedicated. Yet, Joseph remained a full father to his son in the earthly sense, fulfilling all the roles that would be expected of a father in that culture. Very early into his son’s life, Joseph had to learn to love his son while leaving him free for whatever God was asking of him. In that sense, we can all look to Joseph as someone who embodies a love that is generous without being possessive, faithful without being controlling.

 And/Or

(viii) Solemnity of Saint Joseph

Saint Joseph has a somewhat low profile in the gospel story. He doesn’t feature at all during the public ministry of Jesus. He is present in the gospel story only in the context of the childhood of Jesus. This may suggest that Joseph had died before Jesus began his public ministry at the age of thirty or so. Yet, Joseph must have been a hugely significant figure in the early years of Jesus. In the Jewish culture of Jesus’ time, it was the father who passed on the religious traditions to the children. It was the father who taught the children how to live in accordance with God’s will as revealed in the Scriptures. This role of the father is reflected in the earliest document of the New Testament, the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. There Paul compares his role in the church of Thessalonica to that of a father in a family, ‘we dealt with each of you like a father with his children, urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God’. It was above all from Joseph that Jesus would have received instruction in his Jewish faith. Through Joseph, he came to know the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus, of course, was no ordinary child. He had a unique relationship with the God of Israel; he understood himself to be the son of Israel’s God. This must have complicated Joseph’s task of bringing up his son in the practice of the Jewish faith. This is evident in today’s gospel reading from Luke. When his parents eventually find the boy Jesus in the Temple, his mother says to him, ‘See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you’. Jesus replied, ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ By ‘your father’ Mary meant Joseph. By ‘my Father’ Jesus meant God. The gospel reading suggests that from an early age Jesus’ heavenly Father had a greater influence on him than his earthly father. This must have left Joseph confused and disturbed at times. According to today’s gospel reading, Jesus’ parents ‘did not understand what he meant’ when he spoke about being busy with his Father’s affairs. Joseph struggled to discern God’s will for his son. He came to see that what he wanted for his son was not necessarily what God wanted for him. He had to learn to let go of his son to God’s greater purpose for him. We can all identify with Joseph’s struggle in this regard. We too sometimes struggle to surrender to God’s purpose for our lives and for the lives of those who are close to us. God’s way of working in our own lives and in the lives of others can seem a mystery to us and, sometimes, like Joseph, we have to learn to let go to a mystery we do not fully understand.

 And/Or

(ix) Feast of Saint Joseph

The image of the twelve-year old Jesus sitting among the doctors of the law in the Temple, which we find in today’s gospel reading, is a striking one. It doesn’t say that Jesus was teaching these doctors of the law. Rather, he was listening to them and asking they questions. He was receptive to what they were saying. No doubt Jesus was also receptive to what Joseph said to him. In the Jewish family, the father was the one responsible for passing on the religious tradition to the children. Joseph may not have been a doctor of the law, but he was a teacher within his own home. Yet, the gospel reading suggests that at twelve years of age, Jesus was moving on from receiving the wisdom of his superiors to taking his own path in life. Having travelled with his family from Nazareth to Jerusalem, for the feast of Passover, he decided not to travel back with them, apparently without informing any member of his extended family. Mary and Joseph ended up searching for him everywhere. Eventually, they decided to head back to Jerusalem where they did eventually find him in the Temple. Their disappointment in Jesus and the distress he caused them is very evident in the question Mary put to him. Yet, his answer to their question caused them a different kind of distress. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ They didn’t understand what he meant. By, ‘my Father’s affairs’, the boy Jesus was not referring to his father Joseph, but to his heavenly Father, God. If Jesus was learning from the doctors of the law, Joseph had his own lesson to learn from his young son. He was beginning to realize that his influence on his son would have to take second place to God’s influence. He and his wife, Mary would have to learn to let Jesus go to God’s purpose for his life. We can learn from Joseph that gentle art of letting go, of surrendering those we cherish to God’s purpose for their lives, even though it may leave us with a great sense of loss. Joseph learnt to allow God to be God in his own life and in the life of his Son. We pray for something of that same generosity of spirit that Joseph clearly had.

 And/Or

(x) Feast of Saint Joseph

In the first reading, Saint Paul refers to Abraham as ‘the father of all of us’. For Paul, Abraham was the father of all believers because he was a man of faith who trusted in God’s word of promise. Just as the Jewish people look back to Abraham as their father in faith, so too can we who believe in Jesus. Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph. As a man of faith, deeply rooted in the Jewish tradition, he certainly would have looked to Abraham as his father in faith. Joseph was unique among the spiritual children of Abraham in being the father of Jesus whose relationship with God was of a different order to Abraham’s relationship with God. According to the gospels, Jesus was known as ‘the carpenter’s son’. There are many titles for Jesus in the gospels and in the rest of the New Testament, but the title, ‘the carpenter’s son’, is, perhaps, the most human. Joseph provided for Mary and his son Jesus by working as a carpenter. He helped to provide a stable home for Jesus where Jesus could grow in ‘wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and people’, according to the gospels. Joseph seems to have died before Jesus began his public ministry because he never features in the story of Jesus’ public, adult, life in the gospels. By the time Jesus began his public ministry, Joseph’s work was done. Mary, we know, lived on at least until the feast of Pentecost at which the Holy Spirit came down upon her and the disciples. Joseph reminds us that the Lord has some work for all of us to do. Very often, our work, like Joseph’s, consists in creating a space for God to work in the life of someone else. That work will often involve a letting go of others, a letting be. That is what we find Joseph being called to do in today’s gospel reading. He had to let Jesus go to God the Father’s work in the life of his young son. ‘I must be busy with my Father’s affairs’, Jesus said, meaning God, not Joseph.

 And/Or

(xi) Feast of Saint Joseph

On the 8th December, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter called “With a Father’s Heart”, in which he recalls the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To mark the occasion of this Apostolic Letter, Pope Francis proclaimed a “Year of Saint Joseph” from 8th December 2020, to 8 December 2021. In his Apostolic Letter, the Pope describes Saint Joseph in a number of very striking ways - as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father; a father who is creatively courageous, a working father, a father in the shadows. He wrote the letter against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of “ordinary” people who, although far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, the Pope says, they resemble Saint Joseph, whom he describes as “the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,” and, yet, played “an incomparable role in the history of salvation.” It is true that Joseph is a discreet presence in the gospel story. He doesn’t feature at all during the public ministry of Jesus, suggesting that he may have died before Jesus began his public ministry. However, he was there during the crucial formation years of Jesus’ life. Like any parent, he worried about his young son growing up. In today’s gospel reading, we find Joseph and Mary worried when they discovered their son was lost. When they finally found him, the young Jesus said to them, ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ When Jesus said, ‘my Father’, he was referring to God not Joseph. Joseph had to learn to let go of his son Jesus to God his heavenly Father’s plan for his life, even though that often left him confused, as in today’s gospel reading, ‘they did not understand what he meant’. Joseph had an important role to play in Jesus’ life, but he had to let him go to God from Jesus’ early years. Joseph’s life reminds us that we all have some role to play in God’s greater purpose. There is something we can do, no one else can do. We are often called to be a Joseph figure for others, being there for them but knowing when to let them go to God’s purpose for their lives.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[troybeecham]

Today the Church honors St. Luke the Evangelist.

Ora pro nobis.

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke, was a native of Syrian Antioch, a companion of the holy Apostle Paul (Phil.1:24, 2 Tim. 4:10-11), and a physician enlightened in the Greek medical arts. Orthodox tradition holds that after hearing about Jesus, Luke traveled to Israel and fervently accepted the preaching of salvation from the Lord Himself. As one of the Seventy Apostles, Saint Luke was sent by the Lord with the others to preach the Kingdom of Heaven during the Savior’s earthly life (Luke 10:1-3). According to Orthodox tradition, after the Resurrection, Saint Luke (and Cleopas) was one of the two disciples to whom the Lord Jesus Christ appeared on the road to Emmaus.

Saint Luke’s Gospel was written in the years AD 62-63 at Rome, under the guidance of the Apostle Paul. In the preliminary verses (1:1-3), Saint Luke precisely sets forth the purpose of his work. He proposes to record, in chronological order, everything known by Christians about Jesus Christ and His teachings. By doing this, he provided a firmer historical basis for Christian teaching (1:4). He carefully investigated the facts, and made generous use of the oral tradition of the Church and of what Mary herself had told him (2:19, 51). Luke explains his inspiration for writing in his introduction to the Gospel: "Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus" (Luke 1:1-3).

Luke is commonly thought to be the only non-Jewish New Testament writer. It is also possible that he was a Hellenized Jew, which would account for what seems is his approach to writing as if he is an outsider. His writings place the life of Christ and the development of the early Church in the larger context of the Roman Empire and society. On the other hand, his writings are focused on Jerusalem and on the Temple. His Gospel begins and ends in the Temple, and chapters nine through nineteen portray Jesus as journeying from Galilee to Jerusalem. Similarly, the Book of Acts describes the Church in Jerusalem (and worshipping in the Temple) and then describes the missionary journeys of Paul as excursions from and returns to Jerusalem.

In Saint Luke’s Gospel, the message of the salvation made possible by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the preaching of the Gospel, are of primary importance. Luke's gospel shows special sensitivity to evangelizing Gentiles. It is only in his gospel that we hear the parable of the Good Samaritan, that we hear Jesus praising the faith of Gentiles such as the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian (Lk.4:25-27), and that we hear the story of the one grateful leper who is a Samaritan (Lk.17:11-19).

Luke's unique perspective on Jesus can be seen in the six miracles and eighteen parables not found in the other gospels. In Luke's Gospel, we find an emphasis on the human love of Christ, on His compassion for sinners and for suffering and unhappy persons, for outcasts such as the Samaritans, tax collectors, lepers, shepherds (not a respected profession), and for the poor. He is the only one who tells the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man who ignored him. Only Luke records the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Luke also has a special connection with the women in Jesus' life, especially Mary. It is only in Luke's gospel that we hear the story of the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth including the Magnificat, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and prophetess Anna, and the story of Jesus' disappearance in Jerusalem at age 12. Only in Luke's gospel do we hear Mary 's Magnificat where she proclaims that God "has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:52-53) when she goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with St. John the Baptist.

Forgiveness and God's mercy to sinners is also of first importance to Luke. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the Prodigal Son welcomed back by the overjoyed father. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the forgiven woman disrupting the feast by washing Jesus' feet with her tears. Throughout Luke's gospel, Jesus takes the side of the sinner who wants to return to God's mercy. Reading Luke's gospel gives a good idea of his character as one who loved the poor, who wanted the door to God's kingdom opened to all, who respected women, and who saw hope in God's mercy for everyone.

Saint Luke also wrote the Acts of the Holy Apostles at Rome around 62-63 A.D. The Book of Acts, which was originally part of his Gospel, speaks about the works and the fruits of the holy Apostles after the Ascension of the Savior. At the center of the narrative is the Council of the holy Apostles at Jerusalem in the year AD 51, a Church event of great significance, which resulted in allowing Gentiles to become disciples of Jesus without (for men) having to undergo circumcision and living under the Judaic ritual laws. This momentous decision led to the proliferation of Gentile Christians and the beginning of missionary activity in the Gentile world (Acts 15:6-29). The theological focus of the Book of Acts is the coming of the Holy Spirit, Who will guide the Church "into all truth" (John 16:13) until the Second Coming of Christ.

We have to go to Acts to follow the trail of Luke's Christian ministry following the Council of Jerusalem. We know nothing about his conversion, but looking at the language of Acts we can see where he joined Saint Paul. The story of the Acts is written in the third person, as an historian recording facts, up until the sixteenth chapter. In Acts 16:8-9 we hear of Paul's company "So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' " Then suddenly in 16:10 "they" becomes "we": "When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them."

So Luke first joined Paul's company at Troas at about the year AD 51 and accompanied him into Macedonia where they traveled first to Samothrace, Neapolis, and finally Philippi. Luke then switches back to the third person which seems to indicate he was not thrown into prison with Paul and that when Paul left Philippi, Luke stayed behind to encourage the Church there.

Seven years passed before Paul returned to the area on his third missionary journey. In Acts 20:5, the switch to "we" tells us that Luke has left Philippi to rejoin Paul in Troas in AD 58 where they first met up. They traveled together through Miletus, Tyre, Caesarea, and then to Jerusalem. Luke is the loyal comrade who stays with Paul when he is imprisoned in Rome about the year AD 61: "Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers" (Philemon 24). And after everyone else deserts Paul in his final imprisonment and sufferings, it is Luke who remains with Paul to the end: "Only Luke is with me" (2 Timothy 4:11).

The reports of Luke's life after Paul's death are conflicting. Some early writers claim he was martyred, others say he lived a long life. Some say he preached in Greece, others in Gaul. The earliest tradition we have says that he died as a martyr at the age of 84 in Boeotia after settling in Greece to write his Gospel. Orthodox tradition holds that after the martyric death of the Apostles Peter and Paul, Saint Luke left Rome to preach in Achaia, Libya, Egypt and the Thebaid. He ended his life by suffering martyrdom in the city of Thebes.

Almighty God, who called Luke the Physician, whose praise is in the Gospel, to an Evangelist, and Physician of the soul: May it please thee that, by the wholesome medicines of the doctrine delivered by him, all the diseases of our souls may be healed; through the merits of thy Son our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

[allaboutjoseph]

Prayers - Via Gaudii (Way of Joy) - 12th Station

Via Gaudii or Way of Joy (Christmas) Via Crucis or Way of Sorrow or Stations of the Cross (Lent) Via Lucis or Way of Light (Easter)

The Via Gaudii is a prayerful reflection on the events of the incarnation and early life of our Lord Jesus Christ, based on the first chapters of the Gospels according to Saint Matthew and Saint Luke. The fourteen stations cover the events from the Betrothal of Joseph and Mary to the return of the Holy Family to Nazareth. A Chaplet was later developed that would guide the faithful in praying the Via Gaudii.

OPENING PRAYER

THE TWELFTH STATION: THE PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

V: We adore You, O Christ and we bless You! R: Because by Your Holy Birth, You have lived with us!

READING (Luke 2:22-24) When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,” and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.”

REFLECTION Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the temple to present Him to God. This is the act of thanksgiving that teaches us to do the same whenever we receive something from God. At times, we belittle the attitude and forget that everything we have is not a result of our own work but comes from God who entrusts His blessings to us.

PRAYER Lord Jesus Christ, may we learn to acknowledge you as the source of grace we receive in our daily life as well all that we have comes from you. Teach us to recognize you always as our God, and remind us that we cannot do anything without you. Lead us to the church where we can offer our prayers and petitions. Amen.

Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory Be …