EVANGELIO DEL DÍA

sábado, 17 de abril de 2010

"The boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading"

DAILY GOSPEL: 18/04/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Saturday of the Second week of Easter

Acts of the Apostles 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.

Psalms 33(32):1-2.4-5.18-19.
Rejoice, you just, in the LORD; praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp; on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise.
For the LORD'S word is true; all his works are trustworthy.
The LORD loves justice and right and fills the earth with goodness.
But the LORD'S eyes are upon the reverent, upon those who hope for his gracious help,
Delivering them from death, keeping them alive in times of famine.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:16-21.
When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea,
embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid.
But he said to them, "It is I. Do not be afraid."
They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading. 
Jn 6,16-21
Commentary of the day 
Saint Peter Chrysologus (c.406-450) Bishop of Ravenna, Doctor of the Church
Sermon 50, 1.2.3 ; PL 52, 339-340
"The boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading"
Christ got into the boat: for was it not he who uncovered the sea's bed after dividing its waters, so that the people of Israel could pass through dry-shod as though through a valley? (Ex 14,29). And was it not he who made the waves of the sea firm beneath Peter's feet so that the water could provide a solid, stable path for his feet? (Mt 14,29).

       He got into the boat. Christ got into the boat of his Church that he might pass through the sea of this world until the end of time, leading those who believe in him to their heavenly homeland with a peaceful crossing and making into citizens of his Kingdom those with whom he communicates in his humanity. It is true that Christ has no need of the boat, but the boat has need of Christ. Indeed, if it were not for this pilot from heaven, the Church's boat, tossed about by the waves, would never reach its harbor.

                    

Saturday, 17 April 2010

St Anicetus, Pope and Martyr (+ 173)

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SAINT ANICETUS
Pope, Martyr
(+ 173)
        St. Anicetus succeeded St. Pius, and sat about eight years, from 165 to 173. If he did not shed his blood for the Faith, he at least purchased the title of martyr by great sufferings and dangers. He received a visit from St. Polycarp, and tolerated the custom of the Asiatics in celebrating Easter on the 14th day of the first moon after the vernal equinox, with the Jews. His vigilance protected his flock from the wiles of the heretics Valentine and Marcion, who sought to corrupt the faith in the capital of the world.
        The first thirty-six bishops at Rome, down to Liberius, and, this one excepted, all the popes to Symmachus, the fifty-second, in 498, are honored among the Saints; and out of two hundred and forty-eight popes, from St. Peter to Clement XIII. seventy-eight are named in the Roman Martyrology. In the primitive ages, the spirit of fervor and perfect sanctity, which is nowadays so rarely to be found, was conspicuous in most of the faithful, and especially in their pastors. The whole tenor of their lives breathed it in such a manner as to render them the miracles of the world, angels on earth, living copies of their divine Redeemer, the odor of whose virtues and holy law and religion they spread on every side.


Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

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