May 18, 2014 – Fifth Sunday of Easter – Lectionary: 52

Reading 1 – Acts 6: 1-7

As the number of disciples continued to grow,
the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews
because their widows
were being neglected in the daily distribution.
So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said,
“It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.
Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men,
filled with the Spirit and wisdom,
whom we shall appoint to this task,
whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer
and to the ministry of the word.”
The proposal was acceptable to the whole community,
so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit,
also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas,
and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
They presented these men to the apostles
who prayed and laid hands on them.
The word of God continued to spread,
and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly;
even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 33: 1-2, 4-5, 18-19

R: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you – Alleluia.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
R: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you – Alleluia.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you – Alleluia.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R: Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you – Alleluia.

Reading 2 – 1 Peter 2: 4-9

Beloved:
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings
but chosen and precious in the sight of God,
and, like living stones,
let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For it says in Scripture:
Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone, chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.
Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone, and
A stone that will make people stumble,
and a rock that will make them fall.
They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny.

You are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people of his own,
so that you may announce the praises” of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Gospel – John 14: 1-12

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, AI am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.”

Listen to the Scriptures: Click on the link below:

http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/14_05_18.mp3

For the church: that we may recognize that God has chosen us, called us to serve as a royal priesthood, and is making us a holy nation, let us pray to the Lord.

For a deepening of our relationship with Jesus: that Christ may be our way, our truth, and our life in all areas of our lives, let us pray to the Lord.

For the grace of faith: that through our reliance upon God, we may continue the works of Christ and be instruments through which God’s love and blessings are shown, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are struggling to understand Christ: that the Spirit will lead them to recognize the works of God in their lives and in the world around them so that they may be grasped by the Word of Life, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who serve the poor, widows, orphans and the forgotten of our society: that God will renew their hearts and strengthen their spirits to continue to reach out to those in need, let us pray to the Lord.

For all Deacons: that they may serve those who are in need in body, mind or spirit generously and faithfully follow Christ who came to serve, let us pray to the Lord.

For a new springtime of deeds of faith: that we may be open to doing the works of Christ and helping others experience God’s love, let us pray to the Lord.

For Pope Francis: that God will guide his pilgrimage to the Holy Land and that his efforts may help promote peace and understanding, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are burdened by worry and anxiety: that they may find in Christ hope, freedom, and peace, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are recovering from storms, floods, wildfires or landslides: that God will strengthen them, renew their spirits, and help them rebuild their lives and homes, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are struggling with addictions: that Christ may be their way to freedom and wholeness, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are grieving: that they may find consolation in their time of loss and hope through God’s love, let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are suffering in human trafficking: that God will free them, heal them in body, mind and spirit, and restore them to those who care for them, let us pray to the Lord.

For peace and an end to terrorism: that God will protect the innocent, open minds and hearts to new ways of resolving conflict, and heal the pain caused by violence, let us pray to the Lord.

5th Sunday of Easter – A

Theme: All of the baptized share in the mission of the Church and are accountable for it. It is not the burden nor the privilege of ordained priests, clerics, nor those bound by religious vows to see to the health, progress and achievements of the Church

The Second Vatican Council documents repeat many times the central theme of those deliberations – there is to be fraternal cooperation among bishops, priests and people in the shared responsibility for the Christian enterprise. All secular activities, says the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, should be united in Christ. It is only when we see our daily round as part of God’s plan for us, as an absolutely essential part of our service of love to Him and our neighbors, that we can break out of the circle of monotony, entrapment, boredom, bitterness and resentment that we sometimes experience, and give every act we perform a meaning far beyond the meaning of the act itself – a meaning that is not only for now, but eternity.

Point 1: The members of the Church are not to be passive, or to attend Church services out of habit. Nor should they believe that the fidelity to beliefs and practices are sufficient to fulfill the members’ obligations. Our gifts and talents are to be offered freely to the Church not in a subservient sense. Rather as adult, mature Christians, we should take an active role in the institutional life of the Church, sharing responsibility for its place in the world, sharing in its responsibility for the world.

Point 2: It is important that Christians realize that the Church is not a ready-made essence. This assumption in the past has made for lethargy and apathy on the part of many people. Yet the Church is constantly being changed by the way in which the members of the body externalize their experience. The Church is promised its existence until the end of time, but its relevance to the needs of the times is determined by the sensitivity of its leaders and its people.

Point 3: The touching words of Jesus in the Gospel are reassuring and comforting lest the burden of responsibility and accountability of the Christian seem overwhelming, especially in the confusing circumstances we face today. We are asked to trust in him, no matter how ambiguous the future looks. We are promised the tender care by which we will have a future dwelling-place. He predicts that to follow him is to reach the Father for the Father is seen to be in the Son and the Son in the Father. It is our knowing of Jesus which will keep our hope in the Church alive and our zeal for it aglow.

With God’s blessing, go and develop your skills and improve your personal and family and community lot; raise your voice and cast your vote in public affairs; involve yourselves in the community’s welfare; puzzle over the riddles of the universe. You are all called, in different ways, to the same vocation as members of the body of Christ. So go, artists and aristans, husbands and wives, machinists, carpenters, teachers, lawyers, policemen and politicians …. Go, be yourself, do your thing – so long as God goes with you.

Conclusion: There are no meaningless occupations in life, there are only people who fail to understand the meaning of their own vocation. We must understand that we can give witness in every activity, secular and religious, to the existence of God, the truth about Jesus and his Gospel, the reality of the soul, the hope of glory – in a word, each of us, in our own way, can demonstrate the relevance of Christ and his people to the world.

Reflect / share your thoughts on these basic facts of your vocation (all vocations) – which are three:

1.Dedication to our place in life right here and now.

2.Determination to discharge our tasks and obligations as well as we can.

3.The maintenance of a right, high-minded intentions in everything we do.

“Set yourselves close to him so that you too may be living stones making a spiritual house.” (1 Pet 2:5)

The Eden Project is an environmental center in Cornwall in South West England. Set in an abandoned china clay quarry, it consists of two biomes or huge transparent domes in which the plant life of tropical and subclimates is recreated in all its varied glory. The project aims to communicate with as large a number of people as possible, from the casual visitor to the scientific researcher. Its underlying hope is to help us both protect and further understand the natural world that surrounds us, looking at the links between nature and ourselves as well as those between plants and their habitats. All workers and visitors are considered to be friends of the project. This means everyone is treated with respect, but it also means that everyone is considered to be a contributor to the project. It is by no means easy to take into account the needs of all parties. The project proved such a major attraction in its first year that increased access was requested. But the needs of the huge number of visitors did not coincide with the need of the botanists who required time without interruption for care and research. Twice the number of people were employed than had been expected, and, again, it proved difficult to find the time to team build and ensure the care of the workers that the project’s vision demanded. Fortunately the inspiration and imagination of the project’s leaders, who like nothing so much as a challenge, means that the future still looks rosy!

Gospel Teaching

The time of the early Church was one of great ferment and growth. The speed of the development often clashed with the need to maintain the purity of vision. It is possible that the first letter of St. Peter is loosely based on a baptism homily, when a main concern of the preacher would be what it meant to belong to the Church. In baptism we are chosen by God, but what does this mean? It means that we are chosen to be like Jesus himself. He was rejected but was to be the cornerstone. Similarly, we may be rejected by the world, an all too common experience for the early Christians. But if we set ourselves close to Jesus, we shall be a holy priesthood of living stones. And our task as such will be to sing the praises of God who called us out of darkness into his own wonderful light. The readings from the Acts and St. John’s Gospel elaborate this choice still further. As the community expands, responsibilities have to be shared. The first deacons or servants of the community were selected to take on the practical concerns of pastoral care while the apostles dedicated themselves to prayer and to the service of the Word. The qualifications for this diaconate were summed up in the person of Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. We need the same qualities to be active Christians. We are then true followers of our Lord, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Application

The approaching feast of Pentecost is a time for reflecting on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and how they help us create community. The “project” of the Church remains at different stages in different places. In Africa, for example, there is at present a sense of liveliness and growth, lots of vocations combined with a vibrant search as to how to be Christian in an African culture. But in so many African countries there is also the challenge of poverty and the prevalence of disease, asking difficult questions not just of Africa but of the whole world. In Europe and the West there is a general shortage of vocations and a strong attack on religion from the secularist perspective. Yet though there may be a decrease in numbers attending regular Sunday Mass, there is an overall increase in lay participation in church life and a growth in lay communities. In all these cases we are asked to listen to the Spirit so that we may respond as a priestly people. It is the responsibility of the whole assembly, not just the leaders, to take the decisions that will enable us to be followers of Christ in our world today. The debate takes place between the Lord who leads us to the Father and the world in which we live. It is always a shared conversation, where we talk to each other about where the Spirit is leading us and how he is calling us to follow our Lord here and now.