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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 28.04.2022

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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 28.04.2022

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ACTS 5: 27 – 33

In those days: When the officers had brought the apostles, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.” When they heard this they were enraged and wanted to kill them.

The Word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 34: 2, 9, 17 – 20 (R.) 7a

R/. The lowly one called, and the Lord heard him.
Or:
Alleluia

I will bless the Lord at all times,
praise of him is always in my mouth.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed the man who seeks refuge in him. R/.

The Lord turns his face against the wicked
to destroy their remembrance from the earth.
When the just cry out, the Lord hears,
and rescues them in all their distress. R/.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted;
those whose spirit is crushed he will save.
Many are the trials of the just man,
but from them all the Lord will rescue him. R/.

ALLELUIA
John 20: 29

Alleluia.
You believed, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. Alleluia

GOSPEL
JOHN 3: 31 – 36

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony; he who receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for it is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
[28/04, 10:24] Tk: REFLECTION: No Rationing of the Spirit
April 28, 2022

He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. (John 3:34)

At wartime, when soldiers have a scarce amount of food, they have to ration it. They only eat small measured portions each day so that the food will last as long as possible. If they do not, they may run out and starve.

What if this were the case with God and His grace? What if the Holy Spirit were to say to us, “Now I’m only going to help you to a limited degree. Once you use up the grace I’m offering you, you’re on your own.” Ouch! That would be problematic.

Of course the good news is that God acts in the completely opposite way with us. He commits to a full outpouring of the Holy Spirit and offers all the grace we could ever need or want. The problem is that we often “ration” His grace anyway. We don’t do this because we believe God is limited. Rather, we often do it because we are afraid to let God unleash His almighty power in our lives.

Reflect, today, upon what your life would look like if you let God do whatever He wanted with you. What would change? How would your daily life, your relationships, your words, your actions and your future be different? Intellectually speaking, we know it’s right to fully embrace the will of God in all things. But when it actually comes to doing it, there is often much hesitancy. It may be fear of the unknown. Or it may be that we do not fully want to change. Whatever the case may be, God is offering you an unlimited amount of grace by the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It’s up to you to decide if you will ration or not.

PRAYER:
Lord of superabundance, I do want to let You do whatever You want in my life. I want to be fully immersed in Your grace. Help me to say “Yes” to You no matter what that leads to and help me to trust in this glorious “Yes” You are calling me to make. Jesus, I trust in You.

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