FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER –   2018

«  Starting with the 5th Sunday of Easter the church, through her liturgy, prepares us for the approaching celebration of the Ascension of the Lord.

«  The Gospels are taken from the discourses of Jesus at the Last Supper.

«  Today the Gospel reminds us, that Jesus has told us, that with him we can do anything and, that without him we can do nothing.     

 FIRST READING  – Acts  9: 26-31

-          In the Acts Luke narrates some events of the first  communities.   

-          He is not interested in giving us information about historical deeds, which were already known by the communities.  

-          Luke wants to invite his addressees to look these events and, reinterpret them in the light of faith  and,  discover in them the presence of the Holy Spirit, who impels the church to live as Jesus lived. 

-          Perhaps it would help all our communities, parishes and groups within them, to look our communal history and discover in them the living presence of the Spirit, who is leading us through the events, which sometimes may seem to us unrelated to our faith and with one another.   

-          And not only could the communities as such, but each one of us do the same with our life as followers of Jesus and, members of an ecclesial community. 

«  In past Sundays we have heard Peter speaking of Jesus to the Jews.  

«  Today Luke introduces to us Paul who has come back from Jerusalem.  

«  As much as he wanted to be part of the community of believers, they were afraid.

«  But there is a disciple who allows the Spirit of Jesus to lead him and, tries to make real in his life the precept of “love one another as I have loved you.” And he trusts in Paul whom he met in Damascus. 

«  Paul continues to be the man full of passion for the cause of God. He used to persecute the new sect called the “way” because, in his heart, he believed that this group offended YHWH, the God of Israel, the only true God.   Now his passion is oriented to make known Jesus, to be his witness.  

«  He already begins to suffer the mistrust of his Christian brothers and also his Jewish brothers.  

«  The former do not trust in him, the others want to kill him.     

«  Today’s reading ends with some words which are the summary that Luke presents  of the Church: 

o   She is in peace and this helps her 

o   To progress and grow in numbers  

o   What is the progress which Luke describes? The church progresses in the fear of the Lord, that is to say, in the loving faithfulness to her Lord, as we have heard in the reading for this Sunday. The little church, which is being born and developing, tries to live the commandment of the Lord “love one another as I have loved you.”   

o   As a consequence of all of this the Church enjoys the consolation of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Spirit whom he has sent to his Church. 

o   This consolation comes from the certainty to be, as a church, immersed in the loving presence of the Spirit thus, although as in a shadow, immersed in the life of the Trinity within the continuous exchange of love among the three Divine Persons.   

Responsorial Psalm. Ps 22:26-27. 28. 30. 31-32

 R. Alleluia.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the LORD.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
"May your hearts live forever!"
 R. Alleluia.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
all the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
 R. Alleluia.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust.
 R. Alleluia.
And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
 R. Alleluia.

SECOND READING : 1 Jn 3:18-24

      John invites his community to truly love and, not only speak of love.  

      The love we have   assures us that we are dedicated to the truth. Let us remember that Scriptures speaks of God saying that God is love, God is Truth.  

      The consolation we have when our conscience accuses us, is that God knows us; all that is ours is known to Him. 

      And on the other hand, if our conscience does not accuse us, we can be sure to obtain whatever we ask for.  

      What does that mean? Is it something magical?    

      No, the answer is given to us in the next verse; it is because we keep his commandments.   

      Then this means that what is given to us is given as a reward for our faithfulness to the commandments?  

      No. If we are faithful in keeping his commandments this means that we have allowed the Spirit of the Lord to enter into our heart, it is the Holy Spirit that makes us like Jesus. We have the same feelings of Jesus, thus we ask only what Jesus would also ask.  

GOSPEL  JOHN 15: 1-8

Ø  The theme of the vineyard reminds us that in the Old Testament Israel is called the “vineyard of the Lord.”    

Ø  Jesus says that He is the vine; he is the fullness of what Israel was called to be “the vine, the vineyard.”    

Ø  John describes God as the vine grower who takes good care of the vine: he takes away what is dead, prunes what is alive so that it may have abundant life.  

Ø  Jesus invites his own to live in Him, as He lives in us.  

Ø  He says that if we are not united to Him we will not give fruit.    

Ø   When we become disciples of Jesus and we give fruit, we glorify the Father. The image of the vine should fill us with so much trust in the Lord, whom we contemplated last week as the Good Shepherd.

Ø  José A. Pagola says: The church will not be able to fulfill his mission in the world today, if those who called themselves Christians do not become disciples of Jesus, encouraged by his spirit and his passion for a more human world.   

Ø  All the Gospels during the Easter Season remind and invite us to enter into the intimacy of the Lord, and to find our joy in this same intimacy with Him.  

CLARETIAN CORNER  

The presence of God was continuous and without becoming tired and without doing anything from my part, being clearly everything  grace of God: and not even in the conversations I was distracted from my purpose, because if they did not speak directly to me , I did not hear  

God gave me such an attractive virtue, and a sobriety in all my works, and in the relationship with people that I stole the hearts for God and  all that treated me  had  much love for me.  God might have done it because he wanted to steal many hearts for himself by means of this sinner, as in the past God said to Thais the sinner. María Antonia París, Foundress. Memories and Notes (First series)   7-8.   

The first thing I did on arriving in Puerto Principe was to lead the local clergy in the Spiritual Exercises. So as not to leave the parishes unattended, I gave the Exercises in two different shifts. I rented a house big enough for all of us to live in. Then I organized one group of 20 and another of 19. We ate together and lived under the same roof day and night. Our schedule included lectures, meditations, recitation of the Divine Office, and the talks I gave. Everyone made a general confession, drew up a plan of life, and everything was put in order Antonio María Claret, founder. Autobiography 525.      

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiografía.

PAGOLA, JOSE A. Following in the Footsteps of Jesus. Meditations on the Gospels for Year B. Miami 2011

PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiografía en Escritos, con Comentarios por   Juan Manuel Lozano.

RAVASI, Gianfranco. Según las Escrituras. Año B. Ediciones San Pablo. Bogotá 2005.