RELIGION AND ART

FRIDAY WEEK 7 OF EASTER: NOT FEELING QUALIFIED First Reading Acts 25:13-21 'I ordered Paul to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar' King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus. Their visit lasted several days, and Festus put Paul’s case before the king. ‘There is a man here’ he said ‘whom Felix left behind in custody, and while I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the Jews laid information against him, demanding his condemnation. But I told them that Romans are not in the habit of surrendering any man, until the accused confronts his accusers and is given an opportunity to defend himself against the charge.  So they came here with me, and I wasted no time but took my seat on the tribunal the very next day and had the man brought in. When confronted with him, his accusers did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected; but they had some argument or other with him about their own religion and about a dead man call

THURSDAY SEVENTH WEEK IN EASTER:  COURAGE First Reading  Acts  Acts 22:30,23:6-11 'You have borne witness in Jerusalem:  now you must do the same in Rome'  Readings Lectures Reflections Since the tribune wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them.  Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’  As soon as he said this a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes from the Pharisees’ party

TUESDAY 7 TH WEEK OF EASTER: SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR First Reading Acts 20:28-38     I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, and its power   Paul addressed these words to the elders of the church of Ephesus:  ‘Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his own blood. I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock. Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them. So be on your guard, remembering how night and day for three years I never failed to keep you right, shedding tears over each one of you. And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace that has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance among all the sanctified.  ‘I have never asked anyone for money or clothes; you know for yoursel

READING FOR 31ST MAY 2022: THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH First Reading Zaphniah 3:14-18  The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud! Rejoice, exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has repealed your sentence; he has driven your enemies away. The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst; you have no more evil to fear. When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem: Zion, have no fear, do not let your hands fall limp. The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult with joy over you, he will renew you by his love; he will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival. Readings Lectures Responsrial Psalm:   Great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel Gospel Luke 1:39-56  The Almighty has done great things for me Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now a