'Tis the Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter (Latin: Pascha, meaning "Passover"): Pascha-link & Wikipedia-link Paschaltide.
Mass Readings—Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
The Acts of the Apostles, chapter twelve, verse twenty-four thru chapter thirteen, verse five(a);
Psalm Sixty-seven (R/. four; or, "Alleluia"), verses two & three, five, & six & eight;
The Gospel according to John, chapter twelve, verses forty-four thru fifty.
Commentary: Easter Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus makes it clear once again that he and the Father are one. God is not a force or an energy or a spiritual presence occupying the deep background of your life; he’s not something that you can tap into when you feel like it. Nor is God a distant supreme being who organized the universe long ago and now leaves it to its own devices.Video reflection by Jem Sullivan, Ph.D. (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops): Easter Reflection.
Rather, God is the Lord. He is the commander, the ruler, the governor, the one who makes a demand and who then involves himself intimately in the affairs of the world.
More to it, this Lord is one. This is, as argued by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), a subversive statement, for it undermines anyone or anything else’s claim to be absolute. No country, no president, no prime minister, no culture, no book, no person or political party is absolute—only God. The unity of God, for Jews and Christians, is not simply a theoretical claim; it is an enormously important existential claim. Jesus and the Father are one God, who is the Lord of all creation.
Video reflection by Doctor John Bergsma (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology): Easter Reflection.
Video reflection by Doctor Tim Gray (Augustine Institute/Formed.org): Easter Reflection.
Papal Quote o' the Day
"‘Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (Mt 6:21). To know a man’s heart, to see what state he is in, necessarily involves finding out the treasure with which the heart is concerned, the treasure that liberates & fulfills it or the treasure that destroys & enslaves it…"Bonus! Papal Quote o' the Day
—Pope Francis, S.J. (b. 1936, r. 2013-present)
"Here is a model image of what the sentiments of the evangelizer should be: A person who suffers with those who suffer, rejoices with those who rejoice, & gives self to all so that others may share an immense joy."Mother Teresa Quote o' the Day
—Pope St. John Paul II the Great (1920-2005, r. 1978-2005; feast: 22 October)
"I am often asked, 'After Mother Teresa, who?' That will be no trouble. God will find someone who is more humble, more obedient, more faithful, somewith a deeper faith, & He will do still greater things through her."Saint Quote o' the Day
—St. Teresa of Calcutta, M.C. (1910-1997, feast: 5 September)
"You wish to reform the world? Reform yourself, otherwise your efforts will be in vain."Archbishop Sheen Quote o' the Day
—St. Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (1491-1556, feast: 31 July)
"There is a spiritual thirst, as we read in one of the psalms: 'I thirst for the living God, when will I appear before Him?' As He says 'I thirst,' our Lord is thirsting for return to His Father. The night before, at the Last Supper, He prayed to His Father & asked for the glory that was His before the foundations of the world were laid. He told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them. Now He has this thirst, to return again to His Father. Applying that spiritual thirst of our Lord to ourselves, what is it that we have if we love the Lord? We have a thirst for holiness. We want to be saints. We want to be happy, to be at peace on the inside, to be one with the Father. What is sanctity? Sanctity is Christ living in me so that His mind possesses my mind & I am governed by His truth. That's sanctity. He's in my will, & all things that are pleasing to Him I do. He's in my body, so that my body becomes a tabernacle. Sanctity is not only Christ in me, it's making Christ known to others. It's being loveable. It's making Christ loveable. When others see us, they see Christ."
—Ven. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979)
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