Reading 1
Acts 20:17-27
From Miletus Paul had the presbyters
of the Church at Ephesus summoned.
When they came to him, he addressed them,
“You know how I lived among you
the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with all humility
and with the tears and trials that came to me
because of the plots of the Jews,
and I did not at all shrink from telling you
what was for your benefit,
or from teaching you in public or in your homes.
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.
“But now I know that none of you
to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels
will ever see my face again.
And so I solemnly declare to you this day
that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,
for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.”
68:10-11, 20-21
Responsorial Psalm R. (33a)
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Jn 17:1-11a
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.
“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”
Meditation: Acts 20:17-27
“But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.” (Acts 20:22)
Every Sunday at Mass we affirm our belief in the Holy Spirit when we pray the Creed: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets.” Such powerful words—and so often spoken quickly and without much reflection. What would it be like if we were all aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit and his promptings in our daily lives?
In Scripture, we see the Holy Spirit affecting the lives and decisions of so many people—even Jesus himself! Paul was compelled by the conviction of the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem. Mary was compelled to say “yes” to the angel and become the Mother of God. Peter was compelled to visit Cornelius’ house and baptize the first Gentiles into the church. Even Jesus was compelled by the Spirit to go into the desert to fast and pray.
The Holy Spirit wants to play an active role in our lives, just as he did in the lives of these early believers. He wants to counsel us and give us just the right words to say to someone who is hurting. He wants to console us when we are feeling unworthy or hopeless. He wants to help us see our sin, and then lead us into the freedom of his mercy. He wants to convince us of God’s passionate love for us so that we can walk through our days with our heads held high.
So how can we hear the Spirit? The obvious answers include prayer, fasting, and Scripture. But we should also be looking out for those times when a new, unexpected sense arises in our hearts: spontaneous thoughts of love or mercy, or maybe a new insight into a Scripture passage or a possible new direction in our lives. Follow these senses. Test them out, and see if they bring you joy, hope, or peace. If so, you can be sure that the Holy Spirit is behind them. The more you practice, the clearer his voice will become.
“Come, Holy Spirit! I surrender. Take my hand and lead me.”
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