Thursday, May 8, 2014
Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20, John 6:44-51
Link to Readings --> http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/050814.cfm
THE RESURRECTION DESERT
"Head south toward the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route." -Acts 8:26
We've just spent forty days fasting in the Lenten desert, in imitation of Jesus' forty-day desert fast (Mt 4:1-2). Now Jesus is risen, and we celebrate the season of Easter, a fifty-day Sunday of feasting and rejoicing. Yet, like Philip, some of you may find yourselves in the desert after Easter Sunday (Acts 8:26). You may have lost a loved one (Acts 8:2), suffered persecution for your Easter faith (Acts 8:3), or are simply returning to your normal life after the spiritual high of Easter (Acts 8:27).
If you are in the Easter desert, you are not alone. Others, such as the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:27), are also in the Easter desert. In the Easter desert can be found:
* spiritual hunger (Acts 8:31),
* refreshing water which appears at just the right time, even in the midst of the arid surroundings (Acts 8:36),
* the precise, powerful guidance of the Spirit (Acts 8:29),
* the seeds of international evangelization (Acts 8:27, 39),
* conversion (Acts 8:38), and
* rejoicing (Acts 8:39).
If you are still in the desert, ask not so much to be taken out of the desert; rather, ask for "ears open to obedience" (Ps 40:7; see also Is 50:4). Your emptiness and suffering might be exactly what the Spirit uses to bring Easter joy to the world. After the Lord's purpose is completed, the Spirit can quickly carry you out of the desert to the refreshment you need (see Acts 8:39-40).
Prayer: Father, use me to spread Your Word to the whole world.
Promise: "If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world." -Jn 6:51
Praise: By choosing to spend time volunteering to prepare the One Bread, One Body subscriptions for mailing, Cynthia is living Jesus' command to preach the Gospel to the four corners of the earth (see Mt 28:19-20).
(This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
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Rescript: In accord with the "Code of Canon Law", I hereby grant my permission to publish "One Bread, One Body" covering the period from April 1, 2014 through May 31, 2014
?Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 30, 2013
The rescript is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted ecclesial permission agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.
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