Meditation: Monday, May 13, 2002

[Joachim]

Title: Meditation: Monday, May 13, 2002

The Catholic Calendar for Monday, May 13, 2002     The Seventh Week of Easter Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:     Acts 19:1-8     Psalm 68:2-7     John 16:29-33 A reflection on today's Scripture. . . . "Take courage, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) One of the most difficult lessons Christians learn is that if they truly live and proclaim the Gospel without compromise, they will encounter troubles in this world. The basic reason for this is that the vast majority of the world's population is unregenerate, steeped in sin. And because of the wretched state of their minds and hearts, they have become blind to this truth. Hence, any who dare question their values and lifestyles will be seen and treated as enemies questioning their intelligence and threatening their freedoms. Jesus, in today's Gospel, prepares His disciples - those to whom He entrusted disseminating His message of salvation - to see Him taken from them to face death alone. But He reminds them that He will not be alone, for His Father will be with Him. Recall in last Monday's Gospel, Jesus told His disciples that they too will not face their difficulties alone. He will send His Holy Spirit to abide in them to remind them of God's truths, strengthen them in their sufferings and teach them to love sinners as does God. Christ ends by declaring that whatever befalls His followers, they need not fear; for in Him they will find peace. Their peace will come from knowing that by His cross He will have conquered both sin and death, those circumstances which bring suffering into this world. Such being the case, they should rejoice in their efforts to counter this through their life-giving message of salvation. The ultimate goal of this brief, strife-ridden earthly existence is eternal happiness with God.     Blessed Redeemer,          fill us with Your Spirit,          that we may journey through life               bearing our crosses bravely,          and confidently trusting               in Your abiding love for us.  Amen. - Marie L. Bocko, ocds  ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) YOU CAN HELP to evangelize the Word of God: Please recommend our website to your friends and Catholic webmasters. The meditations are in English & Spanish at http://www.borg.com/~joachim/DailyMeds.html (case sensitive). ARCHIVED Meditations: http://www.abcsoffaith.com/quiet/quietplace.html and at: http://www.mail-archive.com/dailymed%40saturn.nibcomp.com For ALL communications, including subscribe/unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (c)2002 The Way, The Truth, The Life. Permission granted to make reprints of the meditations or to post on any web page, except for profit. All scripture quotes are from the Douay-Rheims edition of the Catholic Bible. Full text from the New American Bible: http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/index.htm Lives of the Saints: http://www.christdesert.org/public_texts/martyrology/