One Thing I Seek: To Dwell In The House Of the LORD.

Friday of the Second Week of Easter
Reading I
Acts 5:34-42
A Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel,
a teacher of the law, respected by all the people,
stood up, ordered the Apostles
to be put outside for a short time,
and said to the Sanhedrin,
“Fellow children of Israel,
be careful what you are about to do to these men.
Some time ago, Theudas appeared,
claiming to be someone important,
and about four hundred men joined him,
but he was killed,
and all those who were loyal to him
were disbanded and came to nothing.
After him came Judas the Galilean
at the time of the census.
He also drew people after him,
but he too perished
and all who were loyal to him were scattered.
So now I tell you,
have nothing to do with these men,
and let them go.
For if this endeavor or this activity
is of human origin, it will destroy itself.
But if it comes from God,
you will not be able to destroy them;
you may even find yourselves
fighting against God.”
They were persuaded by him.
After recalling the Apostles, they had them flogged,
ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus,
and dismissed them.
So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
And all day long,
both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching
and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.
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Responsorial
Psalm 27
R. One thing I seek:
to dwell in the house of the Lord.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. One thing I seek:
to dwell in the house of the Lord.
One thing I ask of the LORD
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. One thing I seek:
to dwell in the house of the Lord.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. One thing I seek:
to dwell in the house of the Lord.
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Gospel
John 6:1-15
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs
he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes
and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
“Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
“Two hundred days’ wages worth of food
would not be enough for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
“There is a boy here
who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets
with fragments from the five barley loaves
that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
“This is truly the Prophet,
the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew
that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
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Sts. Marian and James
(d. 259)

Often, it’s hard to find much detail from the lives of saints of the early Church. What we know about the third-century martyrs we honor today is likewise minimal. But we do know that they lived and died for the faith. Almost 2,000 years later, that is enough reason to honor them.

Born in North Africa, Marian was a lector or reader; James was a deacon. For their devotion to the faith they suffered during the persecution of Valerian.

Prior to their persecution Marian and James were visited by two bishops who encouraged them in the faith not long before they themselves were martyred. A short time later, Marian and James were arrested and interrogated. The two readily confessed their faith and, for that, were tortured. While in prison they are said to have experienced visions, including one of the two bishops who had visited them earlier.

On the last day of their lives, Marian and James joined other Christians facing martyrdom. They were blindfolded and then put to death. Their bodies were thrown into the water. The year was 259.

Saint of the Day
American Catholic.org