Monday Reading 2nd Pentecost Holy Trinity

Acts 4:5-12
On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly class. They brought them into their presence and questioned them, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” Then Peter, filled with the holy Spirit, answered them, “Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. He is ‘the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.’ There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

John 15:1-8
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Prayer of the Faithful, vol. III
Safro – Opening Prayer (page 56)

Lord our God,
make us worthy of your dawn that does not pass away,
of your light that never dims, and of your eternal kingdom
with the saints, who have labored in your vineyard from
mourning until night.
To you be glory, nor and forever. Amen.

Saint of the Day: St. Onuphrius (Onofrio), died c.400
Hermit for 70 years in the desert near Thebes, Upper Egypt. He sought to imitate the solitude and privations of Saint John the Baptist, and lived on the fruits of a date tree and a palm tree that grew near his cell. His story gained popularity in the Middle Ages, especially among monks.

Meditation:
The Acts of the Apostles is the second volume of the corpus of writings attribut-ed to St. Luke the Evangelist; the first volume of his writings being his Gospel. Luke it is beleived by most biblical scholars today was most likely a non-Palestinian Jew, and a physician.
In Acts we are given a glimpse of the primitive Church as it evangelized Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. Luke especially shows us the leadership of Peter among the Apostles, and the untiring missionary work of Paul among the Gentiles. In Luke’s theoogy the Church first planted among the Jewish people is now a “catholic” Church, a universal gathering of all, no matter Jew, Samaritan, or Gentile, and its mission is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. This is highlighted in Luke’s record of Peter’s witness before the High Priests of the Jewish Sanhedrin:

“…in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; … . He is ‘the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.’ There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)