Sunday, April 17, 2016: (FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER) Readings for today: Acts 13:14, 43-52 / Revelation 7:9, 14B-17 / John 10:27-30:
Readings from: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041716.cfm (Pics from elsewhere on the internet)
Reading 1 - A reading from the book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 13:14, 43-52):
Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga
and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered the synagogue and took their seats.
Many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them
and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.
On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered
to hear the word of the Lord.
When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy
and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.
Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,
“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,
but since you reject it
and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,
we now turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us,
I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
that you may be an instrument of salvation
to the ends of the earth.”
The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this
and glorified the word of the Lord.
All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,
and the word of the Lord continued to spread
through the whole region.
The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers
and the leading men of the city,
stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them from their territory.
So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them,
and went to Iconium.
The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm - (Psalm 100: "We are His people" by Marty Haugen and David Haas):
Video From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMmvXuhJ_bc
Lyrics From: http://www.theinterpretersfriend.org/songs/we-r-hs-ppl.html
Re: We are his people, the flock of the Lord.
1. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all you lands, all you lands. Serve the Lord now with gladness. Come before him singing for joy.
Re: We are his people, the flock of the Lord.
2. Know that the Lord is God! Know that the Lord is God! He made us; we are vhis, his people, the sheep of his flock.
Re: We are his people, the flock of the Lord.
3. Go, now within his gates giving thanks, giving thanks. Enter his courts singing praise. Give him thanks and bless his name!
Re: We are his people, the flock of the Lord.
4. Indeed, how good is the Lord. His mercy endures forever. For the Lord, he is faithful. He is faithful from age to age!
Re: We are his people, the flock of the Lord.
Reading 2 - A reading from the book of Revelation (Revelation 7:9, 14B-17):
I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
Then one of the elders said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
“For this reason they stand before God’s throne
and worship him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne
will shepherd them
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Alleluia:
From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rb47Pw_j-E
R. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
Gospel - A reading from the holy Gospel according to St. John (John 10:27-30):
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
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04/17/2016 - St. Benedict Joseph Labre - (Feast Day - April 17) - (d. 1783) - (Patron Saint of: Homeless):
From: http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1356&calendar=1
April 17
St. Benedict Joseph Labre
(d. 1783)
Benedict Joseph Labre was truly eccentric, one of God's special little ones. Born in France and the eldest of 18 children, he studied under his uncle, a parish priest. Because of poor health and a lack of suitable academic preparation he was unsuccessful in his attempts to enter the religious life. Then, at 16 years of age, a profound change took place. Benedict lost his desire to study and gave up all thoughts of the priesthood, much to the consternation of his relatives.
He became a pilgrim, traveling from one great shrine to another, living off alms. He wore the rags of a beggar and shared his food with the poor. Filled with the love of God and neighbor, Benedict had special devotion to the Blessed Mother and to the Blessed Sacrament. In Rome, where he lived in the Colosseum for a time, he was called "the poor man of the Forty Hours Devotion" and "the beggar of Rome." The people accepted his ragged appearance better than he did. His excuse to himself was that "our comfort is not in this world."
On the last day of his life, April 16, 1783, Benedict Joseph dragged himself to a church in Rome and prayed there for two hours before he collapsed, dying peacefully in a nearby house. Immediately after his death the people proclaimed him a saint.
He was officially proclaimed a saint by Pope Leo XIII at canonization ceremonies in 1881.
Comment:
In a modern inner city, one local character kneels for hours on the sidewalk and prays. Swathed in his entire wardrobe winter and summer, he greets passersby with a blessing. Where he sleeps no one knows, but he is surely a direct spiritual descendant of Benedict, the ragged man who slept in the ruins of Rome’s Colosseum. These days we ascribe such behavior to mental illness; Benedict’s contemporaries called him holy. Holiness is always a bit mad by earthly standards.
Patron Saint of:
Homeless
