Today's Gospel Reading - April 22, 2012 with Reflection

1^ST READING  - Acts 3:13-15, 17-19

P S A L M - Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9

R: Lord, let your face shine on us.

1 [2] When I call, answer me, O my just God, you who relieve me when I am in distress; have pity on me, and hear my prayer! (R) 3 [4] Know that the Lord does wonders for his faithful one; the Lord will hear me when I call upon him. (R) 6 [7] O Lord, let the light of your countenance shine upon us! 7 [8] You put gladness into my heart. (R) 8 [9] As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep, for you alone, O Lord, bring security to my dwelling. (R)

2^ND READING - 1 John 2:1-5

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to us; make our hearts burn while you speak to us.

Luke 24:35-48

35 The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. 36 While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” 40 And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of baked fish; 43 he took it and ate it in front of them. 44 He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.”

1st READING 2nd READING

LI

SABBATH

TOUCH ME AND SEE! We Catholics live in a world of signs. Signs are basically material, ordinary things that point to spiritual and extraordinary realities. Andrew Greeley calls them all as part of the “Catholic imagination.” Objects such as statues, water, oil, bread, wine, candles, incense, and so many others, make up this rich world of sacramentality. They are accessible to touch, smell, taste and hearing. But they point to a whole new world distinct from and higher than the world we are used to. As a little boy, I looked forward to getting sick. Funny, but I did at times want to be sick because I got special attention from my grandmother. Apart from some special treats that she would get me from the neighborhood store, the most awaited one was her caring touch. She would gently rub my head with her gnarled hands and massage my body all over. In retrospect, I don’t know exactly at this point whether it was the Medicol (or Cortal) or the natural resiliency of a child that healed me fast enough, but I do know one thing. The healing process was hastened by the loving touch of someone who made me see not my sickness but the love that ultimately healed me of other things worse than a raging fever. Our loving and saving God touches us in both the natural and supernatural planes. This happened when He became one like us. This still happens when we partake of this whole complex of signs that the sacraments of salvation are. We get to the level of the supernatural by passing through the world of the natural. The Gospel passage today invites us to do what we often take for granted: to go and touch the Lord the way He wanted us to — approach the sacraments, be healed by His loving forgiveness in confession, reach out and touch Him bodily, sacramentally, spiritually and truly in the Holy Eucharist, hear His mystical Body, the Church, and rally behind Her teachings. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. “Touch and see!” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What is your form of connection to God? How do you feel and touch Him? Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us the sacraments that allow us to reach out and feel Your care and love for us. St. Adalbert of Prague, pray for us. Do you want to receive this in your email?  To get Bo Sanchez to send it to you personally, log-on to http://kerygmafamily.com. Lots of surprises await.