6 May
Mon 		6th Week of Easter
Acts 16:11-15
Ps. 149:1-2,3-4,5-6a,9b
Jn. 15:26-16:4a
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Jesus has good news and bad news for His disciples as He speaks to them during the Last Supper on the eve of His suffering and death. The good news is that, after Jesus has left them, they will be filled with the Spirit, the Spirit of His Father and of Jesus Himself. Speaking in the name of that Spirit they will bear witness to Jesus and continue His work of proclaiming the Kingdom, a message directed to people in every corner of the world.

The bad news is that there will be many who will not want to hear that message, who will prefer darkness to light. Not only will not want to hear the message, they will physically attack and abuse the messengers. And they will believe they are doing a good thing in doing so. The history of the Church has only confirmed this warning of Jesus and it is still true in our own time. We should, then, not be surprised at the opposition that we meet when we try to live our Christian life openly and with integrity. We should, however, be aware also that at times we are justly criticised for our failure to give witness to what we stand for.


Lord, fill me with Your Spirit and give me the strength and courage at all times to give genuine witness to Your Word.

DAILY OFFERING
Eternal Father, I offer You everything I do this day; my thoughts, words, joys and sufferings. Grant that, vivified by the Holy Spirit and united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my life this day may be of service to You and to others. I also pray that all those preparing for marriage discover in Sacrament the source of Christ's grace for living a fithful and fruitful love. Amen.

PRAYING WITH THE CHURCH
INTENTION
That Christians may live their faith coherently and so be credible witnesses of the hope of the Gospel
Elaboration

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P R A Y I N G    W I T H    T H E    C H U R C H    

INTENTION : That Christians may live their faith coherently and so be credible witnesses of the hope of the Gospel

That we may live a "coherent faith" that is a faith which produces the testimony of good works is the ecumenical intention of the Holy Father. In the Joint Declaration on the doctrine of justification signed between the Catholic Church and the World Lutheran Federation in 1999 it is stated that "only through grace, by means of faith in Christ and his salvific work, and not through any merit of ours, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit which renews our hearts, enabling us to perform and leading us to good works".

It has to be understood that no human effort is capable of buying salvation. It is fundamentally a gift of God for which we have a duty to respond and co-operate through "faith-in-action" or "practised faith".

Hence, the strengthening of one's inner faith through prayer and the sacraments will assist in the growth of charity which leads us to live the new commandment of love more fervently. Now is the time to look at charity in a new way. It is not a matter of doing the same thing in the same way. It is a time to seek and find new expressions of love for every human being. Then we become "credible witnesses of evangelical hope"



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