« Sunday, May 17 »
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 55
Is-Sitt Ħadd tal-Għid
Reading 1 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 8:5-8, 14-17
Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed or crippled people were cured. There was great joy in that city.Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Qari I mill-Ktieb tal-Atti tal-Appostli 8, 5-8.14-17
F’dak iż-żmien, Filippu niżel f’belt tas-Samarija u xandar lil Kristu lin-nies tagħha. Il-folol tan-nies b’fehma waħda kienu joqogħdu attenti għal dak li kien jgħidilhom Filippu, meta kienu jisimgħuh u jaraw il-mirakli li kien jagħmel. Kien hemm nies maħkuma mill-ispirti ħżiena, u dawn b’għajat kbir kienu joħorġu minn ħafna minnhom; u ħafna nies oħrajn, mifluġa jew zopop, kienu jitfejqu. U kien hemm ferħ kbir f’dik il-belt. L-appostli, li kienu Ġerusalemm, semgħu li s-Samarija laqgħet il-kelma ta’ Alla, u bagħtu hemm lil Pietru u lil Ġwanni. Dawn niżlu hemm u talbu biex dawk li emmnu jirċievu l-Ispirtu s-Santu; għax l-Ispirtu s-Santu kien għadu ma niżel fuq ħadd minnhom, imma kienu tgħammdu biss f’isem il-Mulej Ġesù. Imbagħad l-appostli qiegħdu idejhom fuqhom, u huma rċevew l-Ispirtu s-Santu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm PSALM 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
“Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Salm Responsorjali Salm 65 (66), 1-3a.4-5.6-7a.16.20
R/. (1): Għajtu bil-ferħ lil Alla, bnedmin tad-dinja kollha
Għajtu bil-ferħ lil Alla,
bnedmin tad-dinja kollha;
għannu s-sebħ ta’ ismu,
xandru s-sebħ u t-tifħir tiegħu.
Għidu lil Alla: “Kemm int tal-biża’ f’għemilek! R/.
L-art kollha tagħtik qima,
tgħannilek u tgħanni lil ismek”.
Ejjew, araw l-għemejjel ta’ Alla;
tal-biża’ f’għemilu fost il-bnedmin. R/.
Biddel il-baħar f’art niexfa,
għaddew bil-mixi minn nofs ix-xmara.
Għalhekk, nifirħu bih!
Hu jsaltan bil-kobor tiegħu għal dejjem. R/.
Ejjew, isimgħu, u ngħidilkom,
intom ilkoll li tibżgħu minn Alla,
ngħidilkom x’għamel miegħi.
Imbierek Alla, li ma warrabx it-talba tiegħi;
ma warrabx minn fuqi t-tjieba tiegħu! R/.
Reading 2 1 PETER 3:15-18
Beloved: Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation
to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence,
keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good,if that be the will of God, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh,he was brought to life in the Spirit.
Qari II mill-Ewwel Ittra ta’ San Pietru Appostlu 3, 15-18
Għeżież, lill-Mulej Kristu qaddsu f’qalbkom. Kunu dejjem lesti biex tagħtu tweġiba lil kull min jitlobkom il-għala tat-tama li għandkom. Imma wieġbu bil-ħlewwa u bir-rispett. Żommu safja l-kuxjenza tagħkom biex, meta jgħidu fuqkom, dawk stess li jkasbru l-imġiba tajba tagħkom fi Kristu jkollhom għalxiex jistħu. Jekk din tkun ir-rieda ta’ Alla, aħjar tbati għax tkun għamilt it-tajjeb milli għax tkun għamilt il-ħażin. Għax Kristu wkoll miet darba għal dejjem minħabba d-dnubiet; hu li kien ġust, miet għall-inġusti biex iressaqkom lejn Alla; kien mogħti l-mewt fil-ġisem, imma ħa l-ħajja fl-ispirtu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel JOHN 14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Evanġelju Qari skond San Ġwann 14, 15-21
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: “Jekk tħobbuni, ħarsu l-kmandamenti tiegħi. U jiena nitlob lill-Missier, u hu jagħtikom Difensur ieħor biex jibqa’ magħkom għal dejjem, l-Ispirtu tal-verità, li d-dinja ma tistax tirċevih, għax hija la tarah u lanqas tagħrfu. Iżda intom tagħrfuh, għaliex jgħammar magħkom, u huwa fikom. Ma nħallikomx iltiema. Nerġa’ niġi għandkom. Ftit ieħor, u d-dinja ma taranix aktar. Iżda intom għad tarawni, għax jiena ngħix, u intom ukoll għad tgħixu. F’dak il-jum intom tagħrfu li jiena f’Missieri, u intom fija u jiena fikom. Min iżomm il-kmandamenti tiegħi u jħarishom, dak hu li jħobbni; u min iħobb lili, iħobbu wkoll il-Missier, u jiena wkoll inħobbu u nurih lili nnifsi”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Gospel Commentary for 6th Sunday of Easter
by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap, Pontifical Household Preacher
In the Gospel Jesus uses the term “paraclete” when speaking to the disciples about the Holy Spirit. In some contexts this term means “consoler,” in others “defender,” and sometimes it means both. In the Old Testament God is the great consoler of his people. This “God of consolation” (Romans 15:4), became “incarnate” in Jesus Christ, who is named the first consoler or Paraclete (cf. John 14:15).
The Holy Spirit, being the one who continues Christ’s work and brings the common work of the Trinity to completion, also had to be called “Consoler”: “The Consoler who will remain with you forever,” as Jesus says.
After Easter the whole Church had a living and powerful experience of the Spirit as consoler, defender, ally, in its internal and external difficulties, in the persecutions, in the trials, in everyday life. In the Acts of the Apostles we read: “The Church grew and walked in the fear of the Lord, full of the consolation (“paraclesis”) of the Holy Spirit” (9:31).
We must now draw a practical conclusion for our lives from this. We ourselves must become paracletes! If it is true that the Christian must be “another Christ,” it is just as true that he must be “another Paraclete.”
The Holy Spirit not only consoles us, but he also makes us capable in turn of consoling others. True consolation comes from God who is the “Father of all consolation.” This consolation comes to those who are suffering, but it does not stop with them; its final goal is reached when those who have experienced consolation in turn console their neighbors with the same consolation with which God has consoled them.
They must not be content to offer only platitudes (“Take heart, don’t worry -- you will see that everything will turn out fine!”), but to bring the authentic “consolation that comes from the Scriptures,” which is able to “keep hope alive” (cf. Romans 15:4). This is how we explain the miracles wrought by a simple word or gesture, offered in a climate of prayer, at the bedside of a sick person. It’s God who is consoling that person through you!
In a certain sense, the Holy Spirit needs us in order to be the Paraclete. He wants to console, defend, exhort; but he does not have a mouth, hands, eyes to “give a body” to his consolation. Or better, he has our hands, our eyes, our mouth.
If we stick to the letter of what Paul tells the Thessalonians -- “console each other” (1 Thessalonians 5:11) -- we must take him to be saying: “Be paracletes to each other. If we want to selfishly keep to ourselves the consolation that we receive from the Spirit and it does not pass from us to others, it will quickly disappear.” This is why a beautiful prayer, attributed to St. Francis, says: “Let me not so much seek to be consoled as to console; or to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.”
In light of what I have said it is not hard today to see who the paracletes are around us. They are the ones who care for the terminally ill, who care for those sick with AIDS, those who seek to alleviate the solitude of the elderly, the volunteers who spend their time visiting hospitals. They are the ones who dedicate themselves to children who are victims of various types of abuse, inside and outside the home.
Let us conclude this reflection with the first verses of the Pentecost sequence, which invoke the Holy Spirit as the “best consoler”:
“Holy Spirit, come and shine
On our souls with beams divine,
Issuing from Thy radiance bright.
Come, O Father of the poor,
Ever bounteous of Thy store,
Come, our heart’s unfailing light.
Come, Consoler, kindest, best,
Come, our bosom’s dearest guest,
Sweet refreshment, sweet repose.
Rest in labor, coolness sweet,
Tempering the burning heat,
Truest comfort of our woes.”
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
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