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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 05.05.2022

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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 05.05.2022

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ACTS 8: 26 – 40

In those days: An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert road. And he rose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a minister of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this: “As a sheep led to the slaughter or a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken up from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “Please, about whom does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news of Jesus. And as they went along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What is to prevent my being baptised?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptised him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught up Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing on he preached the gospel to all the towns till he came to Caesarea.

The Word of the Lord

RESPONSORIAL PSALM 
Psalm 66: 8 – 9, 16 – 17, 20 (R.) 1

R/. Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
Or:
Alleluia.

O peoples, bless our God;
let the voice of his praise resound,
of the God who gave life to our souls
and kept our feet from stumbling. R/.

Come and hear, all who fear God;
I will tell what he did for my soul.
To him I cried aloud,
with exaltation ready on my tongue. R/.

Blest be God, who did not reject my prayer,
nor withhold from me his merciful love. R/.

ALLELUIA
John 6: 51

Alleluia.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven, says the Lord; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL
JOHN 6: 44 – 51

At that time: Jesus said to the crowds, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
REFLECTION: Drawn to Jesus
May 5, 2022

Jesus said to the crowds: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.” (John 6:44)

This Scripture passage reveals to us a wonderful spiritual principle we need to understand and live if we are to grow close to God. It’s the principle of being drawn to Jesus by the Father.

First of all, it’s important to understand the first part of what Jesus says: “No one can come to me unless…” This tells us that coming to Jesus in faith, growing in that faith, and growing in our love of God is not something we can do on our own. Coming to faith is a response to God’s action in our life.

This is important to understand if we wish to establish an authentic relationship with Christ because it reveals to us the fact that we have to let God take the first step in that relationship. When we let Him do this, it’s our responsibility to then respond.

Of course this does not mean we just sit back in a passive way waiting for God to reach out. God is constantly reaching out, constantly speaking and constantly drawing us to Himself. So our first responsibility is to tune into His gentle “wooing.” This comes in the form of gentle promptings of grace inviting us to turn more completely to Him and to surrender more fully each and every day.

In our busy world, it’s so very easy to let ourselves become distracted by the many competing voices. It’s easy to hear the pulling, and even pushing, of the world and all its enticements. The world has become quite good at penetrating our short attention spans and offering quick satisfactions that ultimately leave us empty.

But God’s voice and His invitation are quite different. They are found in interior silence. However, we need not be in a monastery in order to achieve this interior silence. Rather, it’s achieved by faithful periods of prayer each day, and a formed habit of turning to God in all things. It’s achieved when we respond to God’s calling, and then do it again, and again, and so forth. This builds a habit of being drawn, hearing, responding and being drawn in even closer so as to respond again.

Reflect, today, upon how well you listen to God. Try to find at least a few minutes (or more) of silence today. Close your eyes and listen. Listen to God speaking to you. When He draws you, respond to Him with much generosity. This is the best choice you can make each day!

PRAYER:
Lord of sustaining silence, please draw me in, draw me close and help me to recognize Your voice. As I hear You calling, help me to respond to You with much generosity. My life is Yours, dear Lord. Help me to desire You all the more. Jesus, I trust in You.https://masvingomirror.com/

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