joy – lectiodiv.com

“Behold, your mother.” | Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

From the Gospel acclamation: “O joyful Virgin, who gave birth to the Lord; O blessed Mother of the Church, who nurture in us the Spirit of your Son Jesus Christ!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 19:25-34)

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

At the crucifixion of Jesus, only a few stood by him at the cross. Among the ones present, John and Mary stand out because Jesus speaks to each of them. By the fullness of her participation in the suffering and death of Jesus and the role Jesus assigns her from the cross, Mary becomes not only the mother of Jesus but Our Mother, the Mother of the Church. Jesus says to Mary, “Woman, behold your son.” From that moment on, John takes Mary into his home. Through that exchange, Jesus invites us to go to Mary, our spiritual mother, to guide us to her Son and who intercedes for us to him. As Jesus is pierced by a lance, blood and water flow out of him immediately. Since the dawn of the Church, the blood and water flowing from Jesus’ side have been seen as symbols of the sacraments of the Eucharist and Baptism. From the cross, Jesus poured out his mercy on us to the last. We have his real presence in the sacraments to see us through this life and the intercessory aid of Mary, our spiritual mother, to care for us and guide us.

God, help me recall throughout the day the scene at the foot of the cross. I have the last words of Jesus to John to ponder: “Behold, your mother.” As Jesus entrusts the care of Mary to John, he invites all believers to do the same. John takes Mary into her home from that time on; let John’s response to Jesus be mine. Mary becomes John’s spiritual mother, and by the same response to Jesus, Mary becomes my mother and I become part of a new spiritual family. Give me the grace, Lord, to have no hesitation to ask for Mary’s intercession every day and especially in times of suffering and anguish. Help me, Lord, remember Mary’s role in bringing me to your Son: “Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Receive the Holy Spirit.” | Pentecost Sunday

From the Gospel acclamation: “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 20:19-23)

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

The Gospel reading for Pentecost takes place just after the resurrection of Jesus. Earlier in John’s Gospel, Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene and then to the disciples in the upper room. He wishes them peace, showing them his hands and his side so that they know it is him and not a ghost. The disciples rejoice when they see the Lord and Jesus says to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” While Luke describes the descent of the Holy Spirit as a strong driving wind and tongues of fire, John describes the quiet outpouring of the Holy Spirit as Jesus breathes on them. The result is the same: filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples go out to proclaim the Gospel to every nation on earth.

Father in heaven, help me understand that the accounts of Pentecost are not frozen in time as musty historical accounts of the disciples who lived long ago but relate to me today in the reality of the risen Christ in the Eucharist and in the invisible presence of the Holy Spirit. Through the saving work of Jesus your Son, he sent the Advocate as he promised, infusing the disciples with the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit. The same spirit of Truth lives today in the Father, in the Son, and in the love between them, the Holy Spirit. “Come, Holy Spirit, come! / And from your celestial home / Shed a ray of light divine! / Come, Father of the poor! / Come, source of all our store! / Come, within our bosoms shine.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“And we know that his testimony is true.” | Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his searching glance is on mankind. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 21:20-25)

Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”

Today’s Gospel begins where yesterday’s left off, after Jesus says to Peter, “Follow me.” Peter’s question, “Lord, what about him?” concerns John, who follows close behind them. Jesus’ response to Peter tells us that he knows what will happen to each of the disciples because they follow him; more than that, he suggests that each disciple has a unique role as individual persons in spreading the Gospel. “What concern is it of yours?” Jesus asks, as if to say, “Don’t have any concern at all about the way that I call others to serve me. “You, Peter, follow me.” John himself as a witness confirms the conversation that had taken place between Jesus and Peter. “It is this disciple who testifies to these things
and has written them,” he says, “and we know that his testimony is true.” As with Peter and John, in what personal way does Jesus invite you to follow him?

Father in heaven, in his searching for answers, Peter seems to look for something more from Jesus, questioning him. Today’s Gospel acclamation reminds me that constant guidance is available from the Holy Spirit. “I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord; he will guide you to all truth.” John testifies to the many things that Jesus did. Paul, in prison, received all who came to him and “without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Give me the gift of fortitude, Lord, to be strong in my faith and witness to you for the sake of your glory. The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” | Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. The Lord has established his throne in heaven.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 21:15-19)

Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

After his resurrection, Jesus meets the disciples by the sea and asks Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter responds, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Two more times he asks Peter the same question until the third time Peter becomes distressed. “Lord, you know everything,” Peter says, “you know that I love you.” For each response from Peter, Jesus says, “Feed my lambs,” “Tend my sheep,” and “Feed my sheep.” By doing this, he asks Peter to lead the Church, to care for those Jesus himself guarded and protected. Although Peter may not have understood what Jesus meant, he told him that he would “stretch out his hands” as he is crucified as a martyr, glorifying God by laying down his life for the Gospel. As disciples facing rejection, persecution, and martyrdom, how far are we willing to go to glorify God?

Father in heaven, guide me with your hand today as I freely choose to serve you and do your will. Describing the ultimate price Peter would pay as he led the Church for the sake of the Gospel, Jesus says to Peter, “Follow me.” This is not an invitation I would readily accept. Yet, Peter’s threefold confirmation of his love for Christ reveals the depth of his faith and trust in him, even in the face of suffering and death. Lord, give me the grace needed, when the time comes, to trust you completely. Let me be attentive to what Jesus told the disciples: “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Help me today hear and take up the invitation of Christ to follow him.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“So that they may all be one.” | Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.” O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 17:20-26)

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”

Jesus continues his prayer for the disciples, what has been called the “high priestly prayer.” The night before his crucifixion, he intercedes for the disciples, addressing God directly, as he prepares to leave his earthly ministry and return to the Father. The prayer is a petition to the Father for the disciples to be in union with the Father just as Jesus is in union with him. Jesus desires beyond what the mind can comprehend that we may go where he is going. The eternal gift that the Father made of his Son, Jesus wishes for the disciples and all who believe in him: “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” In this prayer, the unity that Jesus wishes for us is made possible as sharers in his divinity through the Eucharistic gift of his body and blood, soul and divinity.

God, help me understand through the events of the day and my relationship with others what it means to see Jesus’ wish fulfilled “that they may be brought to perfection as one.” Jesus prays, “Father, they are your gift to me.” As one among others who is a gift to Jesus, give me wisdom and understanding to fully recognize what this means. Open my heart and mind to receive whatever I need most for eternal life to fulfill Jesus’ wish so that where he is I may also be. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your mercy! Show me the path to life.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“So that they may be one just as we are one.” | Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, chant praise to the Lord who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens. Behold, his voice resounds, the voice of power: “Confess the power of God!” Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 17:11b-19)

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.”

In the presence of his disciples, Jesus lifts up his heart in prayer to his Father. Jesus acknowledges that he is departing from the world and returning to the Father so that they may share in his joy fully. The prayer is for the disciples who will be sent out into the world, not taken from it. God, whose word and being is truth, hears the prayer of his Son, who asks that the disciples be consecrated in truth as Jesus consecrates himself for them “so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” Just as the Father sent Jesus into the world, Jesus sends the disciples and all who believe in him to witness to his truth so that all may be one.

God of mercy, consecrate me in your truth. That is the prayer of Jesus your Son; in him is the way and the truth and the life. Protect me and guard me, Lord, as Jesus protected the disciples in your name. Let me be sent out into the world as a courageous witness to your truth. There will be trouble in the world, trials to face today and in days to come. Despite this, Lord, let me know the joy that comes from being in union with you and Jesus Christ your Son. Saint Isidore, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Remain in my love.” | Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

From the responsorial psalm: “He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor To seat them with princes, with the princes of his own people. The Lord will give him a seat with the leaders of his people.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 15:9-17)

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete.”

The love of the Father is the same love Jesus commands the disciples to remain in. By keeping the Father’s commandments, Jesus remains in his love. Jesus tells this to the disciples so that their joy might be in them and be complete. No one who is commanded to feel joy experiences it; love isn’t love if it holds one captive. How is it Jesus can say, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love?” What seems a mystery is integral to how God made us. As Saint Augustine says, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Jesus’ commandment to love one another as he loves us is his invitation to rest our hearts in his.

God, free me today in realizing that in doing as you commanded, Jesus was able to say, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you. . . . This I command you: love one another.” Chosen by Christ as friend and doing what he commands, I am able to boldly ask you anything in his name. Grant me the grace, Lord, to remain in your love even to the point of dying to self in the commandment to love one another. Accomplish through your Son, what I can’t accomplish on my own. Saint Matthias, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.” | Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “The father of orphans and the defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. God gives a home to the forsaken; he leads forth prisoners to prosperity. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 16:29-33)

Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

The disciples believe they are coming to understand what Jesus is telling them about going back to the Father. Yet, they cannot see what Christ sees in the coming days of his passion, death, and resurrection. Because of associating with him, they will find themselves abandoning and denying him, isolating themselves, and ultimately being persecuted by religious leaders as his followers. Soon, they would have more trouble than they could handle alone—the trouble in the world that Jesus speaks of. In the midst of this, Jesus wishes them peace, not liberation from trouble but peace in the midst of the firing line. Is there unavoidable trouble today in your life where only Christ can give you peace and courage? That is his gift.

Father in heaven, even as the disciples believed they had their questions about Jesus answered, they were lost. Jesus redirected their gaze toward belief in him and in you. “But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.” When I am scattered to my own home—that is, isolated through rejection of you—grant me the peace and courage I need to pick up where I left off and try again. In his mercy, Jesus knows the answer to the trouble the world would assault the disciples with, and he knows the answer to my particular troubles. Grant me the grace, Lord, to hear and take to heart the words of Jesus to know his presence: “Take courage, I have conquered the world.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“So that they may be one just as we are one.” | Seventh Sunday of Easter—Ascension

From the responsorial psalm: “Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 17:11b-19)

Jesus prays to the Father as his disciples are nearby, overhearing his prayer. Known as the “high priestly prayer,” Jesus prepares to leave this world, a place as he says, that the disciples do not belong to any more than he belongs to. Yet, the prayer is for the disciples who will be sent out into the world, not taken from it. God, whose word and being is truth, hears the prayer of his Son, who asks that the disciples be consecrated in truth as Jesus consecrates himself for them “so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” Compare this to what Jesus would face as John describes in the next chapter, when he meets Pilate, who asks Jesus “What is truth?” in response to these words of Jesus: “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

God, help me hear your Son’s voice, testifying to the truth, even as I face the distortions of truth that the world offers daily. Give me the grace, Lord, to remain in you and in the truth and love whose source is your being. Protect me and guard me as Jesus protected the disciples so that none were lost. “This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,” John says, “that he has given us of his Spirit.” You loved us first, Father, and sent your Son so that we might love one another and remain in you. Lord, help me learn to remain in you and bring your love to perfection as you send me out into the world. Consecrate me in your truth so that I come to share completely in the joy of your Son.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Believe that I came from God.” | Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter

From the Gospel acclamation: “I came from the Father and have come into the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 16:23b-28)

“I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God.”

Jesus reveals to the disciples the unity of the Father and the Son. So that their joy may be complete, Jesus tells them, “Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” Jesus makes clear the love between the Father and the Son; clearer still will the Advocate make known to them the love among the persons of the Trinity. “On that day you will ask in my name,” Jesus says, “and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God.” From the Father Jesus came into the world, and from the world he returns to the right hand of the Father. In following him, Jesus invites us to be partakers in the divine nature of the Father.

Father in heaven, help me understand what it means to be in union with you through the saving grace of Jesus your Son and the Holy Spirit. Alone I can do nothing. Make clear to me today what your will is even in the midst of the trials of the world. True God and true man, Jesus returned to you from the world, giving to all who believe in him and ask anything in his name the way to eternal life. Spirit of truth, teach me your paths!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.