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1. Sunday Readings: Seventh Sunday of Easter 2006
   
2. The Vatican Today: A News Feature
   
3. Health News: XanGo Juice from Mangosteen
   
4. Our Engine: SiteBuild It

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Sunday Readings

May 28, 2006
Ascension 2006

First Reading: Acts 1:1-11

In the first book, Theophilus,
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.

While meeting with them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for "the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

When they had gathered together they asked him,
"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He answered them,
"It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth."

When he had said this, as they were looking on,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said,
"Men of Galilee,
why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will return in the same way
as you have seen him going into heaven."

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Second Reading:

Brothers and sisters:
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe,
in accord with the exercise of his great might,
which he worked in Christ,
raising him from the dead

and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion,
and every name that is named
not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things beneath his feet
and gave him as head over all things to the church,
which is his body,
the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

or

Eph 4:1-13 or 4:1-7, 11-13

Brothers and sisters,
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy
of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Therefore, it says:
He ascended on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.
What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended
into the lower regions of the earth?
The one who descended is also the one who ascended
far above all the heavens,
that he might fill all things.

And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith

and knowledge of the Son of God,
to mature to manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

or

4:1-7, 11-13

Brothers and sisters,
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the calling
you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God,
to mature to manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

Gospel: Mk 16:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

May 28, 2006
Seventh Sunday of Easter 2006

Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers
-- there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons
in the one place.
He said, "My brothers,
the Scripture had to be fulfilled
which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand
through the mouth of David, concerning Judas,
who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus.
He was numbered among us
and was allotted a share in this ministry.

"For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
May another take his office.

"Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men
who accompanied us the whole time
the Lord Jesus came and went among us,
beginning from the baptism of John
until the day on which he was taken up from us,
become with us a witness to his resurrection."
So they proposed two, Judas called Barsabbas,
who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.
Then they prayed,
"You, Lord, who know the hearts of all,
show which one of these two you have chosen
to take the place in this apostolic ministry
from which Judas turned away to go to his own place."
Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias,
and he was counted with the eleven apostles.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20

R. (19a) The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

R. The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.

R. The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Bless the LORD, all you his angels,
you mighty in strength, who do his bidding.

R. The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Second Reading: 1 Jn 4:11-16

Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.

Gospel: Jn 17:11b-19

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
"Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,
and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you.

I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the evil one.

They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth."

From the Vatican

Pope Benedict in Poland: in John Paul's Footsteps

May. 23 (CWNews.com) - On Ascension Thursday, May 25, Pope Benedict XVI will begin the 2nd foreign trip of his pontificate: a voyage to Poland, where each site the Pontiff visits will evoke memories of his predecessor, John Paul II.

The first stop on the Pope's itinerary will be Warsaw, the country's capital. Born in the south of Poland, in Wadowice, Karol Wojtyla never spent any lengthy period of time in Warsaw. But as Pope he visited the city five times, and his first trip there is firmly engraved in the memory of those who witnessed his historic appearance.

On June 2, 1979, Pope John Paul celebrated Mass in Warsaw's Victory Square, and told the massive congregation of 300,000 people that no power could exclude Christ from the history of man-- an unmistakable reference to the Communist regime then still in power. The tumultuous response from the Polish faithful is seen by many observers as a historical turning point: the beginning of the end of the Soviet empire. Now Pope Benedict will celebrate Mass in the same central Warsaw square, on the 2nd stay of his stay in Poland.

On May 26, Pope Benedict will leave Warsaw to visit the famous Marian shrine at Jasna Gora, the spiritual heart of Poland. Here too Pope John Paul made a memorable stop during his June 1979 voyage, praying before the Black Madonna. This year the shrine at Czestochowa is the focus of national attention for another reason, as Poland observes the 350th anniversary of the consecration of the Polish people to the Virgin, during the Sweden invasion of 1656.

As he ends his 2nd day in Poland, Pope Benedict will reach the archbishop's palace in Krakow, which was the residence of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla from 1958 to 1972. On his last trip to his native land, in August 2002, Pope John Paul stayed there, and was memorably serenaded by young people who sang traditional Polish tunes outside the building until finally the Polish Pontiff emerged to greet them and, finally, gently persuade them to let him sleep.

Pope Benedict will remain in Krakow and its environs for two days, May 27 and 28, retracing some of the steps that the young Karol Wojtyla took as a child living with his father, then later as a student and professor, a clandestine seminarian, a parish priest and eventually the archbishop. It was in Krakow's Wawel cathedral that the late Pontiff celebrated his first Mass after ordination, and where he was consecrated a bishop on September 28, 1958. The cathedral houses the tomb of St. Stanislas, the 11th-century bishop, martyr, and patron saint of Poland; Pope Benedict will stop to pray there in the evening on May 27.

Earlier that day, the new Pope will visit Wadowice, where young Karol Wojtyla was raised. Then he will travel to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, the shrine where his predecessor often prayed, looking for inspiration particularly during his years as archbishop. When he stops at the Divine Mercy shrine at Lagiewniki, Pope Benedict will rouse memories of his predecessor yet again. St. Faustina Kowalska, who spread the Divine Mercy devotion, was canonized in April 2000 by Pope John Paul, who consecrated the new basilica near Krakow on his last visit to Poland in 2002. In the last major step of his pilgrimage, Pope Benedict will visit the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. While the appearance of a German Pontiff will send a powerful message of reconciliation after the horrors of World War II, Polish observers will also recall that Pope John Paul II made the same trip to Auschwitz, to pray for Holocaust victims, in June 1979.

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Got Enough Da Vinci?

Please go to http://www.jesusdecoded.com and let your friends know.

The Web site will explain Catholic beliefs and include articles from theologians, media commentators, art experts and others that provide background and also rebut the speculation and inaccuracies about Christ and the origins of Christianity. Contributing to the Web site is the prelature of Opus Dei.

Also available is a booklet, The Authentic Jesus, which will address questions raised by The Da Vinci Code and other popular portrayals of Jesus. The booklet, produced by the USCCB Committee on Communications, presents authentic Catholic teaching about Jesus and his divinity, the New Testament, Gnosticism, women and the Church, and other important topics in a convenient question–and–answer format. The Authentic Jesus will be available for individual and bulk sale from USCCB Publishing. Also for sale from USCCB Publishing will be a bulletin insert based on the same material.

Jesus Decoded, a CCC documentary that brings authentic Catholic teaching about Jesus Christ into focus, will be available to NBC-TV stations for broadcast starting the third weekend of May. This first-time airing of the hour-long documentary will highlight clear and accurate information about the person of Jesus, his disciples, and the formation of the books in the canon (or list of books) of the New Testament. Shot on location in Israel, Turkey, and Italy for the CCC by NewGroup Media, Jesus Decoded offers a solid Catholic response to "Da Vinci Code believers," concentrating especially on the first three centuries of the development of the Church. The program includes interviews with international scholars versed in art, history, and Scripture that help separate Catholic truth from popular fiction. The documentary will be available for purchase on DVD from USCCB Publishing. Further information about the documentary is available at http://www.jesusdecoded.com.

The Catholic Communication Campaign is an activity of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that develops media programming, public service announcements, and other resources to promote Gospel values. Donations of Catholic parishioners make possible the work of the CCC. For more information, visit our website at: http://www.usccb.org/ccc.

USCCB Publishing can be contacted at 1-800-235-8722.

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References On Catholic Apologetics

I really encourage you to read at least the following:

• ¹What Catholics Really Believe-Setting the Record Straight: 52 Answers to Common Misconceptions About the Catholic Faith, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1992, by Karl Keating, director Catholic Answers, a lay-run apologetics and evangelization organization, and editor of the magazine, This Rock. He is also the author of the best-seller, Catholicism and Fundamentalism.

• ²Nuts & Bolts: A Practical Guide for Explaining and Defending the Catholic Faith, Basilica Press, San Diego, 1999, by Tim Staples, a former Assemblies of God youth pastor who converted to the Catholic Church.

• ³Catholic Source Book, Harcourt Religion Publishers, 2000, by Rev. Peter Klein. Rev Peter Klein is a priest of the Diocese of Winona in Minnesota.

• ⁴Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Huntington, Indiana, 1998, by Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas, editor. Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas is the author of eleven books and more than 500 articles. He is the founding editor of Catholic Answer and the administrator of St. John the Baptist Church of Bayonne, New Jersey. He likewise serves as adjunct professor of education at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

For more great information about our faith, please read Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia. This is an excellent addition to a Catholic family library. I refer to this book everytime I come across a questionable term. It is also a very good source of a summary of Catholic Doctines, without the deep and brooding terminologies.

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Cath Humor

Catholic Humor: Math
Little Tommy was having trouble in math, so his mother enrolled him in a Catholic school, thinking the discipline would help him. When Tommy came home with an A on his first report card, his mother was thrilled "Tommy, how did you do it!" "Well," he replied, "when I got to school and I saw the guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they were serious about math."

The Confession
A Catholic boy and a Jewish boy were talking and the Catholic boy said, "My priest knows more than your rabbi."

The Jewish boy said, "Of course he does, you tell him everything."

Baptism
After the Baptism of his baby brother in church, little Johnny sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "That priest said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you guys."

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