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Word of the day

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Date21/04/2018

Reading of the day

ACTS 9:31-42

The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria
was at peace.
She was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit she grew in numbers.

As Peter was passing through every region,
he went down to the holy ones living in Lydda.
There he found a man named Aeneas,
who had been confined to bed for eight years, for he was paralyzed.
Peter said to him,
"Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed."
He got up at once.
And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him,
and they turned to the Lord.

Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha
(which translated is Dorcas).
She was completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving.
Now during those days she fell sick and died,
so after washing her, they laid her out in a room upstairs.
Since Lydda was near Joppa,
the disciples, hearing that Peter was there,
sent two men to him with the request,
"Please come to us without delay."
So Peter got up and went with them.
When he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs
where all the widows came to him weeping
and showing him the tunics and cloaks
that Dorcas had made while she was with them.
Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed.
Then he turned to her body and said, "Tabitha, rise up."
She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up.
He gave her his hand and raised her up,
and when he had called the holy ones and the widows,
he presented her alive.
This became known all over Joppa,
and many came to believe in the Lord.

Gospel of the day

JN 6:60-69

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,
"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, "Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father."

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer walked with him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Words of the Holy Father

Jesus' words always put us in crisis, for example before the spirit of the world, before worldliness. (...) In the face of these defections, Jesus does not give up and attenuate his words (...) and says to the Twelve: "Do you want to leave too? (v. 67). At this point Peter makes his confession of faith in the name of the other Apostles: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life" (v. 68). It does not say where are we going to go? "but "to whom will we go? (...) We need Jesus, to be with Him, to nourish ourselves at His table, at His words of eternal life! To believe in Jesus means to make him the center, the meaning of our life. Christ is not an accessory element (...). To be bound to him, in a true relationship of faith and love, does not mean to be chained, but deeply free, always on the way. Each of us may ask ourselves: Who is Jesus for me? (...) Is it really that person who loves me who has given his life for me and walks with me? (...) Do you try to know him in his word? (...) Because the more we are with Him, the greater the desire to remain with Him. (Angelus, 23 August 2015)