Wednesday, May 8, 2013

May 9, 2013 - Thursday Of The Sixth Week Of Easter



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Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter 
Lectionary: 294


Reading 1ACTS 18:1-8

Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus,
who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla
because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.
At the same time that the Jews were persecuting the Christians, they were being persecuted by the Romans.  Claudius, the Caesar or King of Rome had exiled the Jews from Rome.  This led to St. Paul meeting a couple of exiled Jews in Corinth, Aquila and his wife Priscilla.

He went to visit them and, because he practiced the same trade,
stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.
Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue,
attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks.
St. Paul went to visit them and since he was a tentmaker by trade as they were, he stayed at their home for some time. But every Saturday that is, every Sabbath, he would go to the Jewish synagogue and preach Christ to Jew and Greek alike.

When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia,
Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word,
testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.
When Sts. Silas and Timothy caught up with him, St. Paul began to teach the Gospel continually.  Especially trying to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.

When they opposed him and reviled him,
he shook out his garments and said to them,
“Your blood be on your heads!
I am clear of responsibility.
From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
But they rudely disagreed and he, in turn, rejected them and turned his full attention to the Gentiles.

So he left there and went to a house
belonging to a man named Titus Justus, a worshiper of God;
his house was next to a synagogue.
Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord
along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians
who heard believed and were baptized.
So, St. Paul left the Jews and went to stay with Gentiles.  Judging by these people's names, they end in "us", these are all Greeks who turned to the Christian faith by the teaching of St. Paul.  

Responsorial PsalmPS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4

R. (see 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
or:
R. Alleluia.


Praise the Lord, all of you!  For the Lord has done marvelous things.  Jesus is the salvation of God and He became flesh to bring us who are made of flesh into eternal life.

GospelJN 16:16-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
“A little while and you will no longer see me,
and again a little while later and you will see me.”
So some of his disciples said to one another,
“What does this mean that he is saying to us,
‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me,’
and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks?
We do not know what he means.”
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them,
“Are you discussing with one another what I said,
‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me’?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

Right before His passion and death on the Cross, during the Last Supper, Jesus was informing the Disciples and Apostles that He would leave them for a time.  But they didn't understand.  However, everything will fall into place very soon and then they will preach in His name throughout the world.

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