RELIGION AND ART

MONDAY THE 7TH WEEK OF EASTER DID YOU RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT First Reading  Acts 19:1-8 The moment Paul laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When he asked, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ they answered, ‘No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit.’ ‘Then how were you baptised?’ he asked. ‘With John’s baptism’ they replied. ‘John’s baptism’ said Paul ‘was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him – in other words, Jesus. ’ When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy. There were about twelve of these men.  Readings Lectures He began by going to the synagogue, where he s...

SIX SUNDAY OF EASTER    JESUS CHRIST THE ROOT OF DAVID THE BRIGHT STAR OF MORNING  First Reading Actsm7:55-60  The stoning of Stephen Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. ‘I can see heaven thrown open’ he said ‘and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and said aloud, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them’; and with these words he fell asleep. Readings Lectures Reflections Responsorial Psalm  The Lord is king, most high above all the earth Second Reading   Apocalypse 22:12-14,16-17,20  Come, Lord Jesus I, Joh...

SATURDAY SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER: JESUS IS CHRIST  First Reading Act 18:23-28  Apollos demonstrated from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ Paul came down to Antioch, where he spent a short time before continuing his journey through the Galatian country and then through Phrygia, encouraging all the followers. Readings Lectures  An Alexandrian Jew named Apollos now arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, with a sound knowledge of the scriptures, and yet, though he had been given instruction in the Way of the Lord and preached with great spiritual earnestness and was accurate in all the details he taught about Jesus, he had only experienced the baptism of John. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak boldly in the synagogue, they took an interest in him and gave him further instruction about the Way.  Reflections When Apollos thought of crossing over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote asking the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived there he...

FRIDAY SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER: DO NOT BE AFRAID I AM WITH YOU First Reading Acts 18:1-18  'I have many people on my side in this city' At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months. Readings Lectures Reflections But, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ‘We accuse this man’ they said ‘of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves – I have no intention of maki...

THURSDAY WEEK SIX OF EASTER:  WHEN THE SON OF MAN IS LIFTED UP   THEN YOU WILL KNOW THAT I AM HE First Read Acts 1:1-11  Jesus was lifted up while they looked on In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said ‘what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ Readings Lectures Reflections Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israe...

WEDNESDAY SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER:  GOD HAS APPOINTED A MAN TO BE THE JUDGE  First Reading Acts 17,15,22-18:1    I proclaim the God you already worship without knowing it Paul’s escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could.  So Paul stood before the whole Council of the Areopagus and made this speech:  ‘Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it. Readings Lectures Reflections ‘Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in nee...

TUESDAY WEEK SIX IN EASTER: A BELIEVER IN THE LORD JESUS First Reading Acts 16:22-34  Become a believer and you will be saved, and your household too   The crowd joined in and showed their hostility to Paul and Silas, so the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be flogged. They were given many lashes and then thrown into prison, and the gaoler was told to keep a close watch on them. So, following his instructions, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. Lectures Readings Reflections Late that night Paul and Silas were praying and singing God’s praises, while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains fell from all the prisoners. When the gaoler woke and saw the doors wide open he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide, presuming that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Don’t do yourself ...

MONDAY WEEK SIX IN EASTER: The Spirit of Truth will be my witness First Reading Acts 16:11-15  The Lord opened Lydia's heart to accept what Paul was saying Sailing from Troas we made a straight run for Samothrace; the next day for Neapolis, and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that particular district of Macedonia. After a few days in this city we went along the river outside the gates as it was the sabbath and this was a customary place for prayer.  We sat down and preached to the women who had come to the meeting. One of these women was called Lydia, a devout woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade. She listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptised she sent us an invitation: ‘If you really think me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said ‘come and stay with us’; and she would take no refusal. Responsorial Psalm:  The Lord takes delight in...

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER First Reading  Acts 15:1-2,22-29 It has been decided by the Spirit and by ourselves not to burden you with any burden beyond these essentials Some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and elders.  Then the apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; the whole church concurred with this. They chose Judas known as Barsabbas and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, and gave them this letter to take with them:...... Readings Lectures   Reflections Responsorial Psalm:   Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you Second Reading  Apocalypse 21:...

SATURDAY WEEK FIVE IN EASTER: JESUS CHRIST MY CHOICE First Reading Acts 16:1-10  'Come across to Macedonia and help us' From Cilicia Paul went to Derbe, and then on to Lystra. Here there was a disciple called Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess who had become a believer; but his father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy, and Paul, who wanted to have him as a travelling companion, had him circumcised. This was on account of the Jews in the locality where everyone knew his father was a Greek. Readings Lectures As they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to respect them.  So the churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers.  Reflections They travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia they thought to cross it i...