스크랩 May 3, 2011 Feast of Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles

[이 안드레아]

2011년 5월 3일 화요일 성 필립보와 성 야고보 사도 축일

제1독서

코린토 1서. 15,1-8
1 형제 여러분, 내가 이미 전한 복음을 여러분에게 상기시키고자 합니다. 여러분은 이 복음을 받아들여 그 안에 굳건히 서 있습니다. 2 내가 여러분에게 전한 이 복음 말씀을 굳게 지킨다면, 또 여러분이 헛되이 믿게 된 것이 아니라면, 여러분은 이 복음으로 구원을 받습니다.
3 나도 전해 받았고 여러분에게 무엇보다 먼저 전해 준 복음은 이렇습니다. 곧 그리스도께서는 성경 말씀대로 우리의 죄 때문에 돌아가시고 4 묻히셨으며, 성경 말씀대로 사흗날에 되살아나시어, 5 케파에게, 또 이어서 열두 사도에게 나타나셨습니다. 6 그다음에는 한 번에 오백 명이 넘는 형제들에게 나타나셨는데, 그 가운데 더러는 이미 세상을 떠났지만 대부분은 아직도 살아 있습니다. 7 그다음에는 야고보에게, 또 이어서 다른 모든 사도에게 나타나셨습니다. 8 맨 마지막으로는 칠삭둥이 같은 나에게도 나타나셨습니다.

복음

요한. 14,6-14
그때에 6 예수님께서 토마스에게 말씀하셨다.
“나는 길이요 진리요 생명이다. 나를 통하지 않고서는 아무도 아버지께 갈 수 없다. 7 너희가 나를 알게 되었으니 내 아버지도 알게 될 것이다. 이제부터 너희는 그분을 아는 것이고, 또 그분을 이미 뵌 것이다.”
8 필립보가 예수님께, “주님, 저희가 아버지를 뵙게 해 주십시오. 저희에게는 그것으로 충분하겠습니다.” 하자, 9 예수님께서 그에게 말씀하셨다.
“필립보야, 내가 이토록 오랫동안 너희와 함께 지냈는데도, 너는 나를 모른다는 말이냐? 나를 본 사람은 곧 아버지를 뵌 것이다. 그런데 너는 어찌하여 ‘저희가 아버지를 뵙게 해 주십시오.’ 하느냐? 10 내가 아버지 안에 있고 아버지께서 내 안에 계시다는 것을 너는 믿지 않느냐? 내가 너희에게 하는 말은 나 스스로 하는 말이 아니다. 내 안에 머무르시는 아버지께서 당신의 일을 하시는 것이다. 11 내가 아버지 안에 있고 아버지께서 내 안에 계시다고 한 말을 믿어라. 믿지 못하겠거든 이 일들을 보아서라도 믿어라.
12 내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말한다. 나를 믿는 사람은 내가 하는 일을 할 뿐만 아니라, 그보다 더 큰 일도 하게 될 것이다. 내가 아버지께 가기 때문이다. 13 너희가 내 이름으로 청하는 것은 무엇이든지 내가 다 이루어 주겠다. 그리하여 아버지께서 아들을 통하여 영광스럽게 되시도록 하겠다. 14 너희가 내 이름으로 청하면 내가 다 이루어 주겠다.”

http://www.usccb.org/nab/

May 3, 2011

Feast of Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles

Reading 1

1 Cor 15:1-8

I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers and sisters at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 19:2-3, 4-5

R. (5) Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day;
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 14:6-14

Jesus said to Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said to him,
“Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” 

http://www.staygreat.com/ 

http://www.franciscanretreats.net/  

“I am the way and the truth and the life.”

My Commentary on the Scriptures reminds us that “life” has been a constant thread throughout the Gospel, and the granting of eternal life is the root mission of Jesus. Jesus came to bring us abundant life. Life is being or existence. Here on earth, it is only for a time. And we would like it to be a happy time, a fruitful time, a time during which we can love and be loved and make a difference through our being or existence.

Jesus knows this and in today’s Gospel he tells us how to accomplish it. We come to the realization that he is the way to this happy and meaningful life. He has come to give us directions on how to choose this life for ourselves. And if we do it, we are, as they say, winners. Since I discovered and embraced this truth, my life has been happy and fruitful beyond my every hope. There was a time in my life when I didn’t even dream my adult life could be as happy as it is right now. And it continues to get better! I’m certainly no saint, but I do try and that is all God wants us to do. 

 http://www.evangeli.net/gospel/gospel.html

 http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

Today is the feast of Sts Phillip and James. Both were two of the original apostles hand picked by Jesus to be with Him and to carry on after He was gone.  At the American Catholic.org web site, there is an interesting comment about these apostles:

As in the case of the other apostles, we see in James and Philip human men who became foundation stones of the Church, and we are reminded again that holiness and its consequent apostolate are entirely the gift of God, not a matter of human achieving. All power is God’s power, even the power of human freedom to accept his gifts. “You will be clothed with power from on high,” Jesus told Philip and the others. Their first commission had been to expel unclean spirits, heal diseases, announce the kingdom. They learned, gradually, that these externals were sacraments of an even greater miracle inside their persons?the divine power to love like God.

As we continue in this season of Easter, we are reminded of the incredible gifts from God to each of us. Frequently, I am so moved when I stop and think of the blessings that have been bestowed on me ? I know it is not because of any worthiness ? just a pure gift ? true grace.  The most important aspect for me, and where some of my choice is evident, is to have an open heart and to accept both humbly and gratefully these gifts. During this season, we are again able to say Alleluia allowing us to give glory to God and thanks for these many gifts. 

In the first reading, Paul reminds us that we are Easter people and are saved because of the greatest gift of all ? Christ died for our sins.  Paul references the various appearances of Christ ? while we did not witness those appearances, we are privy to “see” him when we take the time to do so.   We need only open the eyes of our hearts to see Christ in the everyday occurrences of our lives.  We can experience His presence when we are not blinded by the trappings of this world and see beyond them.  Those that surround us, both through their kindnesses and needs, remind us of the living Christ. 

Our responsorial psalm is a declaration of the impending Goods News and our challenge to continue giving this message.  We can respond with a simple Alleluia ? a means to give glory and praise through the uttering of one word.  It is such a powerful word ? I can often feel the presence of the Holy Spirit as I sing this word in church.  It resounds with such power and grace ? the very word affirms our blessing.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I love these words ? the message is quite clear.  Jesus is our Savior ? our connection to God.  It is through him that we are saved for all eternity.  I wonder how Jesus has the patience to deal with the questions and doubts always being expressed by the early disciples. (Of course, we are no different these days ? we our doubts and lingering questions). Miracle after miracle has been shown ? Christ is there in front of them ? living proof.  Yet, always one more condition ? one more proof and that will be enough for us.  We will ever have enough proof. Yet Jesus never turns from us, willing to help us understand what is beyond our simple minds. However, is not faith the acceptance without specific proof ? we believe what we cannot fully understand or see? 

http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/ 

Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied"

What’s the greatest thing we can aim for in this life? ? to know God. What is the best thing we can possess in this life, bringing more joy, contentment, life and happiness, than anything else? ? knowledge of God. Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). One of the greatest truths of the Christian faith is that we can know the living God. Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally. The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the personal knowledge of God as our Father.

Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect love of God ? a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the point of laying down his life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is the revelation of God ? a God who loves us unconditionally ? without reservation, unselfishly ? for our sake and not his, and perfectly ? without neglecting or forgetting us even for a brief moment. Jesus promises that God the Father will hear our prayers when we pray in his name. That is why Jesus taught his followers to pray with confidence, Our Father who art in heaven ..give us this day our daily bread (Matthew 6:9,11; Luke 11:2-3).  Do you pray to your Father in heaven with joy and confidence in his love and care for you?

"Lord Jesus, you fill us with the joy of your saving presence and you give us the hope of everlasting life with God our Father in Heaven. Show me the Father that I may know and glorify him always."

Psalm 19:2-5

2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.  In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

 http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html

 http://www.contemplative.com/weekday_readings.htm

I do not know whence the Spirit comes and wither the Spirit goes. So much of my deep, simple prayer is not - knowing. As I progress my prayer becomes more of an unknowing than a knowing. The truths of doctrine are still held and confessed. They are as an arch that holds up the bridge into God. But prayer is a matter of my clinging in love to the risen Christ in his fullness. A potential fullness of light is present but not completely grasped in my mind at any given moment. It is love that gives understanding. Ultimately we are illumined with truth but it is truth born of love. It is truth that is one with doctrine. Doctrine and truth born of love are identical because they both proceed from Christ and are the doors into the divine presence. Jesus is lifted up and when I gaze upon him as savior and totality of all reality, then I am saved from the plague of my disparateness, of my scattered self. Jesus knows; Jesus has seen. He bears witness. Our prayer is the reception of that witness and it is the gazing upon the One Lifted Up.

 http://goodnews.ie/calendar.php

Philip put words on the deepest and the universal human aspiration: to see God.  In ancient times Moses said to God (Exod 33:18ff), “Show me your glory, I pray.”  And God replied, “  "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The Lord’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.  But you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live."  And the Lord continued, "See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.” 

But now in a new age, Jesus says to Philip, “Whoever sees me sees the Father.”  Jesus is the face of God turned to us.  We see God in him, to the very limit of our seeing.  It was somehow appropriate that it should be to Philip, whose feast is celebrated today, that Jesus made this revelation.  In John’s gospel he was the first person to whom Jesus said, “Follow me!” and when we glimpse him in the gospels he is often bringing people to meet Jesus (Jn 1:44-46; 12:21-22).

James, the other apostle whose feast is today, was kin to Jesus.  He may well have been among the members of the family who didn’t believe in him (John 7:5, “his brothers spoke like this because they didn’t believe in him”).  But, if so, he changed radically: James appears in Acts as the leader of the Christians in Jerusalem. 

 http://www.presentationministries.com/

ONLY PENTECOST

"After I have been with You all this time, you still do not know Me?" ?ohn 14:9

Philip and James followed Jesus for years but abandoned Him in His hour of need (Mk 14:50). Even after seeing the risen Jesus on several occasions (see 1 Cor 15:7), they remained locked up because of the weakness of their faith (Jn 20:26). Eventually, they strongly believed in Jesus, became His witnesses even to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8), and did works far greater than Jesus did (Jn 14:12).

What years with Jesus and several resurrection appearances did not do was done by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Throughout this year, Lent, and Easter season, we may have been treading water. We may be going nowhere fast and have even less of a faith-commitment to the Lord than years ago. He has done great things for us, but we haven't responded in faith and love.

However, we have hope; Pentecost is soon to come. The Spirit will convict (Jn 16:8), free, and heal us. He will be stirred up in us and send us out from behind the locked doors of the upper room to all creation to be Jesus' witnesses. The glory and victory of Easter are still available for those who will repent, believe, and receive the Holy Spirit of Pentecost.

Prayer: Father, stir into flame the Spirit I received at Baptism and Confirm‎!ation (2 Tm 1:6).

Promise: "I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and in which you stand firm. You are being saved by it at this very moment." ?1 Cor 15:1-2

Praise: After receiving the Holy Spirit in the upper room, both St. Philip and St. James boldly followed the footsteps of Jesus, even to death as martyrs.

 http://www.judeop.org/daily_bread.htm

Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip?  Except that he was listed among the Twelve, we know little of this James, which is perhaps why he is paired in honor with Philip. There is more in the Gospels about Philip, including the exchange we hear in today’s Gospel ? one that reveals Philip’s persistent ignorance about the identity of Jesus, even at the Last Supper. Jesus’ response indicates some exasperation. My favorite story about Philip ? perhaps because it convinced me to accept baptism ? is in Acts 8 when he baptized the Ethiopian. It reveals that in Philip, as in all the apostles (save one), there was a mighty change after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The promised Holy Spirit works wonders in those she visits. Lord Jesus, give me the courage to pray for your Holy Spirit to visit me. Pbs

  http://www.judeop.org/dailyhomilette2.htm

 http://www.judeop.org/dailyreflections.htm

 http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/