| 19-4-2010 Monday of the Third Week of Easter |
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19-4-2010 MONDAY of the Third Week of Easter Yr. II MEDITATION based on the readings for today’s Mass. These readings can be found in your bible or daily missal. FIRST READING. From the Acts of the Apostles chapter 6: verses 8-15. “Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people.” Those who came to debate with him “found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said.” Stephen was arrested “and false witnesses brought against him”. “The members of the Sanhedrin all looked intently at Stephen, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.” Jesus and Stephen were both convicted because of lying witnesses. A lie can begin with something small. Then we can rationalise that it was more a matter of expediency, something that will avoid trouble. The next lie is easier, then the next. We can be trapped in our web of lies. Out of our trap, we can cry to Jesus to rescue us. We make the decision to no longer be a person of lies but a person of truth. Once that decision is made, Jesus can act. The journey to truth can begin. No amount of lies is greater than the power of God. RESPONSE TO THE PSALM: “Blessed are they who walk in the way of the Lord” PSALM: 118(119): 23-24. 26-27. 29-30. “I have chosen the way of truth with your decrees before me” GOSPEL: of St. John Chapter 6. Verses 22-29. “After Jesus had fed the five thousand, his disciples saw him walking on the water.” The crowds knew Jesus had not gone in the boat with the disciples. Some of the people commandeered other boats and “crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus”. “When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’.” Jesus told them - you are looking for me “because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.” They asked “What must we do if we are to do the works God wants?” Jesus said “This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.” Everything then depends on our belief in Jesus. This is called faith. How do we receive the gift of faith? By asking Jesus to give it to you.
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