May 20

[media presentation below]

GospelThink

Wednesday, May 20, Easter Weekday

JOHN 17:11b-19

I pray that you should be consecrated in truth.

Prayerthoughts
a. The Lord prays that we be “one.” As I go about my life, do I have a tendency to be divisive in the way I think and talk with others? What can I do better?

b. The Lord again makes a distinction between the world and what He teaches. What does the “world” consist of in today’s understanding. What is good about it and what is bad?

c. The Lord prays that I be kept from the evil one. What are the tendencies toward evil in my life? What can I do about them?

d. The Lord prays that we, and therefore I, be consecrated in the truth of His Word. Do I read the Gospels with the thought of wanting to know His truth in my life?

e. The Lord says that he sends His disciples into the world. I am sent into the world in the sense that the people around me should know that I am a Christian. In general, is that thought getting through to people? Go through yesterday and grade how well I did.

f. Jesus wants me to be consecrated in truth. In general, am I a truthful person?

g. My prayerthoughts…

Today, I will read Acts of the Apostles 20:28-38 and write an important thought from it.

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Some Thoughts on the Liturgy

KEEPING OURSELVES IN JESUS’S NAME

+ Today’s Gospel is taken from what Scripture scholars call Jesus’ high priestly prayer to his Father

- Jesus prays for his apostles and by extension, all of us, saying:

I do not ask that you take them out of the world.

- it is quite a significant statement because for John who is recording Jesus’s words here, the world is not good at all, and in fact, evil

- therefore, we are called to remain in the world, but all of us are called to be holy as well

- Jesus again:

Keep them in your name.

- in terms of spirituality, we are all to remain in God’s name, that is, all of us are called to be holy, even as we stay in the world

+ And, if a person is going to do this well, if a person is to stay in the world and at the same time develop a deeper spiritual life, I believe that there are certain things that have to be done

- every liturgy of the Word—that is the readings of the Mass—suggest something to be done to remain in Jesus’ name

- there are actually several things to help us, but today’s readings might suggest these:

- if you are going to remain in Jesus’ name while we are in this world,

- 1 – from the reading from Acts, we must work hard to “help the weak” as Luke writes

- and the way that you do that, according to Luke, is to remember one of the principal doctrines that Jesus gave us: “It is more blessed to give than to receive”

- we have to learn to give of ourselves to others

- really one of the more difficult virtues to develop well in life

- 2 – a second way to develop a spiritual life for all of us comes from John’s Gospel again and might be phrased: you must have the truth

- Jesus prays about that on behalf of his Apostles and us in the high priestly prayer in the Gospel:

Consecrate them in the truth--your word is truth.

- the “word” is, of course, Scripture,

- the Scriptures must be read and assimilated and acted upon

+ So, while we develop a spiritual life, Jesus prays that we not be taken out of the world

- and we set about developing the spiritual life by giving of ourselves and reading closely the Lord’s word in Scripture.

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Song: "Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else" – Benson Boone

Our Dating Pattern

LUKE 1:26-34

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, ro a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled ar what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor wirh God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be grear and will be called Son of the Most Hight, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”

SONG

“Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else”: a song whose story is told for all practical purposes by its title. The man in the relationship is waiting for his current fiancee, meets an old flame, realizes that she is the one that he currently likes, and promptly breaks up with the one he is waiting for.

The familiar story of the Annunciation in Luke’s Gospel has many facets to it. One of them perhaps is the fact that Mary did not “have a man” yet for marriage. She was “betrothed” to Joseph which meant that there was still an opportunity for some other man to come into her life.

It is not unlike the situation of “dating” in the modern day where we choose who we want for marriage. Young people are in the process of figuring out who they want to be with for the rest of their lives. The whole process is one of the complications of the eventual setting up of a family.

Thus, the situation in Benson Boone’s song can easily be pictured. The man in that situation had not made up his mind yet about who to marry. Not to mention either of the women in the situation, although to a lesser degree. It is the man who is in the situation of having to choose. And he hasn’t made a choice yet.

In modern life, the situation brings about many so-called “break-ups” of relationships. For Christian people, such a “break-up” calls for truly Christian virtues. There must be good communication between the two, the two have to agree that their relationship may be temporary, and there must be no “act of commitment” on either person’s part. That is, both of the couple must see that their relationship is only in the process of “growing”.

That is not easy to do, and often there will be hurt feelings in the process. Such is the situation of the song. The man in the relationship makes the decision that someone in his past is more acceptable at that moment, and he probably doesn’t bring about the “break-up” in a truly Christian way. It certainly would have hurt the lady who was late in coming to the meal.

It has been said that growing up in our world may be the most difficult time in a person’s life. If it is true, one reason for it is our dating patterns.

Prayer

Good and gracious God, one of the first moments of choice in our lives is whether to marry or not to marry and if we choose to do so, who we will marry. Give us the grace to choose our future partner well and to always be Christian in our approach. Be with us, we pray

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: The dating pattern in countries where we choose our spouse can be very difficult.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. What does the song "Sorry I’m Here For Someone Else" teach young people?

2. Do you agree with analysis of Joseph and Mary’s “dating”?

3. It has been said that “growing up” will be a lot easier if the choice for a future partner was made for the young person. Do you agree?

4. How old should a person be before they get married? Why?

5. Do most young people realize just what a permanent commitment to marriage really is? Yes or no and why?

6. What are the reasons for marriage breakdown?