Fifth Sunday of Easter. Year A - Sunday, May 10, 2020

Fifth Sunday of Easter. Year A - Sunday, May 10, 2020

(Mother's Day)
Readings for 5th Sunday of Easter A
FIRST READING: Acts 6:1-7
Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19. "Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you."
SECOND READING: 1 Pet 2:4-9
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 14:6). Alleluia, alleluia! I am the way, the truth and the Life, says the Lord. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
GOSPEL: John 14:1-12

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock photo ID: 269645273.Door among many. By pathdoc
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Year A - Sunday, May 10, 2020 by clicking this link here https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/easter-5a-2020-episode-227/s-t1tDSZqIU3U   (EPISODE: 227)
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Prologue: (Fr Paul): Happy Mother's Day to all mums as we here in Australia celebrate Mother's Day. Different parts of the world celebrate mother's Day on different dates in the year, but whatever date it is celebrated; it is no coincidence that Christ used the image of an unconditionally loving parent to describe an essential characteristic of God's nature. What better example of unconditional love can be witnessed than the love of a Mother or a Father for their cherished child? Christ wants us to know and experience the deep and abiding love that God has for us, in calling us God's daughters and sons.  This weekend we pray for all Mother's that they may be blessed for their goodness, kindness and self-forgetting love. 

The road we choose to take must be one of faith. To travel the faith road, we must live lives which are "turned to God," – that is, dependent upon him for all that we do. Jesus has said that if we have faith in him, we have faith in the Father, for he and the Father are one. Jesus has promised us that with faith we will be able to do his works. The works of the Father through Jesus were to teach, heal, and comfort. They were the works of helping to discover the truth, life, and love. When we do these works, we can say with Jesus, "It is the Father who lives in me accomplishing his works."
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Fr Peter Dillon. Homily.

My 91-year-old aunt phoned me the other day to tell me that she had met up with her four daughters and 15 of her grandchildren. Before I could chide her for breaking the lock-down rules she told me that she had met with them on a Zoom conference. A new computer program that allows people to meet and have discussions with a number of people at once while staying safely in your own home. Besides shaming me by doing something I am yet to do, she actually understood how it worked. She said all I had to do was download the app and then follow the prompts. "It's all too easy," she said, adding that if I don't get with it I will get left behind.

 I have always had a great admiration for the older members of our community who are anxious to learn new things. Seniors who are seem to push beyond what must be comfortable and familiar to make sure that they are able to stay in contact with contemporary opportunities, recognizing that every era is someone's past and someone else's future.

I was reminded of what it must have felt like for those who heard for the first time about the innovations or otherwise of Vatican II when they must have thought the Church had gone mad. Why would we change something that had served us so well and given us such clear direction and comfort over many years?

They might be saying, "Don't take away those things that have given us security by trying to bring God closer to us. It's the same old God, let's not change the way we honour him" and still today they long for the 'good old days'.

There's a great danger of looking back with nostalgia to the 'Good Old Days', especially as we advance in years. We tend to think that the past was better than the present, and we can become fearful that the decline will continue in the future.

Certainly, there was much that was good in the past. We were in the prime of youth, and now the years have taken their toll. But we also tend to edit our memories and forget what was bad in the past.

Those who extol the Victorian Values of the Industrial Revolution -- the inventiveness of the entrepreneur -- overlook the human cost in the appalling conditions of labour. In contrast, working conditions are now far better, and medicine has made an enormous improvement in our health.

Today's first reading sparked off these thoughts. There's a great danger of idealizing the Infant Church. The Acts of the Apostles tells us that the Christian community was of one mind and heart and held everything in common. Certainly, there was the enthusiastic zeal which you would expect of any recently formed group. And this was fired by the Holy Spirit.

But as you read the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's letters, you soon realize that all was not sweetness and light. Some conservative Jewish converts tried to undermine Paul's mission to the pagans. And he had such a disagreement with Barnabas that they could no longer work together. Two incompatible saints!

Again, the Church in Corinth, which Paul himself had founded, was torn by feuding factions and caused him great sorrow. Everything was not peace and harmony among the Christians of Corinth, nor in their relationship with Paul.

In today's first reading we learn of another failure in the life of the early Church in Jerusalem. A very vulnerable section of its community -- poor Greek widows -- was being neglected. Converts from Judaism overlooked the widows in the daily distribution of food. That showed a serious lack of care and concern and undermined the unity of the community. Not surprisingly, there were complaints.

This incident should warn us against being starry-eyed about the first Christians. But more importantly, when the Church recognized its failure it immediately took steps to remedy the fault. And it used great imagination in finding a solution.

Seven deacons were given the special task of caring for the widows. That released others to concentrate on preaching. By allotting different tasks to different people, the life of the Church developed. What had started as a failure became an opportunity for growth.

That has been the pattern throughout the history of the Church. Certainly holiness is one of the essential marks of the Church, as providing us with the means to sanctity, and in fact producing great saints.

Nevertheless, the Church's members are all flawed. We are sinners and have blind spots about our faults. But under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, reformers have opened our eyes to our failures. This has led to the community developing imaginative solutions, sometimes new ministries.

This is much more than filling in the gaps; having to find new solutions to fresh problems provides an opportunity for positive development in the life of the Church. More people are enabled to use the variety of their talents in the service of God. We've seen that happen in our own day.

And we must expect this process to continue in the future. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church should recognize new needs and may find unexpected solutions. That's a sign of its vitality -- not by trying to recapture an idealized past, which never existed.

Although this can create unsettling uncertainty, we can be confident that the Holy Spirit will continue to guarantee that any development in the Church will be consistent with its nature, not a betrayal.

Today's first reading shows us that our very failures can become the springboard to future progress. Now that's encouraging, life-giving and very exciting!
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References:
Fr Peter Dillon

Prologue: Fr Paul W. Kelly

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed stock photo ID: 269645273. door among many. By Pathdoc.
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Fifth Sunday of Easter. Year A  (Sunday, May 10, 2020)  (EPISODE: 227 )
The Lord be with you.
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This weekend, we give thanks to God for all mothers...   on this mother's day weekend...   In Australia and the USA, that celebration is today.....   other nations have different dates...  and we give thanks for the care and love of mothers...   and pray that they receive joy, health and peace...  

Brothers and sisters, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Lord,s supper, let us recall our sins and acknowledge them in silence.
Lord Jesus, you raise us to new life: Lord, have mercy// //Lord Jesus, you forgive us our sins: Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you feed us with your body and blood: Lord, have mercy//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Let us pray in heartfelt thanksgiving to God, for all Mums on this Mother's Day weekend. That God bless them .  for their unconditional love and care. ………..(PAUSE)……. Lord hear us

For those who have passed into eternal life.....especially all dear-departed mothers, who have gone to their eternal rest and remain in cherished memory. That they now are enjoying the heavenly and eternal banquet feast of the Kingdom...... ………..(PAUSE)……. Lord hear us

Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
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PREFACE: Easter IV
Euch prayer III
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{May God's grace strengthen your love and hope and faith, and may God's love surprise you even in the trials and challenges of the week.}

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers. 

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993) . (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The ….Gloria,  copyright 2011 ccwatershed.org.  

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of  William John Kelly -     Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

- "Today I Arise" - For Patricia Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019. 

-Lenten Hymn: "Have Mercy," inspired by Psalm 50(51). Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2020
[ Production -  KER -  2020] 

May God bless and keep you. 
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