St. Rita of Cascia, religious 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Acts 18:9-18

 One night, in a vision, the Lord said to Paul,

“Do not be afraid, but continue speaking and do not be silent, for many people in this city are mine. I am with you, so no one will harm you.” So Paul stayed a year and a half in that place, teaching the word of God among them.  When Gallio was governor of Achaia, the Jews made a unit­ed attack on Paul and brought him before the court.

And they accused him, “This man tries to per­suade us to worship God in ways that are against the Law.”  Paul was about to speak in his own defense when Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of a misdeed or vicious crime, I would have to consider your com­­plaint. But since this is a quarrel about teach­ings and divine names that are proper to your own law, see to it your­selves: I refuse to judge such matters.” And he sent them out of the court.

 Then the people seized Sosthenes, a leading man of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal; but Gallio paid no attention to it.  Paul stayed on with the disciples in Corinth for many days; he then left them and sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila for Syria. And as he was no longer under a vow he had taken, he shaved his head before sailing from Cenchreae.

 

Ps 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

God is king of all the earth.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

John 16:20-23

Truly, I say to you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. A woman in childbirth is in distress because her time is at hand. But after the child is born, she no longer remembers her suffering because of such great joy: a human being is born into the world.

You feel sorrowful now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice. And no one will take your joy from you. When that day comes you will not ask me anything. Truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my Name, he will give you.

Gospel Reflection：

Success and failure, joy and sorrow, victory and defeat – these aren’t only experiences one goes through in life, they are experiences one goes through as he seeks to live his faith authentically and as he witnesses to it.

The disciples and the early Christian church didn’t always succeed in what they had set out to accomplish; but neither did they always fail. For every person who did not believe the Good News, there were more who believed and were baptized.

But the apostles just kept going, trusting that in the end, it wasn’t their work they were doing, it was God’s work. And in his own time, he will see to its completion. They are but instruments, they are but messengers; he and he alone is the message, and it is his will alone that in the end will be fulfilled.

Because of this, they experienced neither pride when they succeeded, nor despair when they failed. All things were in God’s hands.