Sixth Sunday of Easter

Laudato Si Week (May 16-24) marks the 5th anniversary of the Pope's Encyclical Letter Laudato Si Praised be to you, my Lord.

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 3:1-6 Summoning the Community for Counsel
Mass: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; Resp Ps 66; 1 Pt 3:15-18; Jn 14:15-21

Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.

MARY, HOUSE OF GOLD,

PRAY FOR US.

Buona domenica and Happy Easter! It continues to rain here. Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever (Dn 3:68).

We can begin with a prayer from Pope Francis in today's Regina Caeli Address, most fitting for Mary's Month of May:

May the Virgin Mary, model of the Church, who knows how to listen to the Word of God and to welcome the gift of the Holy Spirit, help us to live the Gospel with joy, knowing that we are sustained by the Spirit, the divine fire that warms our hearts and illuminates our steps.

We are gifted with yet another day of richness in the Word proclaimed. Philip is busy in Samaria performing signs and wonders: "Unclean spirits crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed or crippled people were cured" (Act 8:7). Alleluia, "there was great joy in that city" (Acts 8:8). Peter tells us to "sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts" (1 Pt 3:15). Jesus says: If you love me, you will keep my commandments (Jn 14:15). With Jesus in our hearts, then, we go about this Sunday and every day this week, growing more and more in our love for Jesus. May we open our hearts fully to receive the Lord's unconditional love, mercy, and compassion. Then we go about sharing that love, mercy, and compassion with our brothers and sisters, all of them, from the least to the greatest. Keeping God's commandments, we remember the greatest and the first, that is, to "love the Lord God with your whole heart, your whole soul and all your strength" (Mt 22:37), and the second, to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt 22:39). If you are looking for ways to go about this, you might look ahead to Chapter 4 of the Holy Rule which we begin on Tuesday. There, Saint Benedict lists the "Tools for Good Works". To warm up, why not try these today: "Do not grumble" (RB 4:39), or "pray for your enemies out of love for Christ" (RB 4:72).

We go forth so there will be "great joy" wherever we find ourselves. Keep going.

We pray with the Holy Father:

Today our prayer is for all those persons who clean hospitals, the streets, who empty dumpsters, who go to each house to remove trash. It's a work that no one sees, but it is a job that is necessary to survive. May the Lord bless them and help them.

Today's photo: How about this rhododendron with wet and shiny leaves as background. 

© Gertrude Feick 2020