The Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 26, 2019
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Psalm
67; Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29
In this Last Supper Discourse by
Jesus, he tells us that he is going away, and he does not want us to worry. He
promises that God will not leave us on our own, sending us one who will provide
us comfort and guidance. Jesus knows the world can be vicious and that many are
opposed to his message. In fact, he is a victim of the anger of hard-hearted
people who seek to preserve their own way of life that the way of Jesus
threatens. He knows the words of our faith has a dangerous component because it
keeps a check and balance on the status quo and always seeks to support the
most vulnerable among us. Jesus realizes that we will need guidance and
encouragement to be faithful to the Gospel because living it out places us at
great risk. The gift of the Holy Spirit has the power to conduct us wisely
through our greatest challenges.
We see the power of the Holy
Spirit in the First Reading as the Apostles gather to solve a dispute that had
been ripping apart the community. The inclusion of the Gentiles into the Jewish
community that followed the Way of Jesus upset the Jews so much because it
redefined Jewish identity. After centuries of knowing that they were God’s
chosen people, the idea that Gentiles could be included into the faith without
keeping the Law or becoming circumcised was too much for the community to
handle. Great opposition rose up against Paul and these new converts who perverted
the Jewish identity, and it was splitting apart one’s fundamental system of
belief. Paul was undeterred because he knew Jesus Christ wanted the Gentiles to
be included as believers and beneficiaries of salvation. The Apostles
understood the great challenge and took the matter into prayer. The Holy Spirit
helped the community discern how to proceed and this is the result of the
proceedings:
It is the decision of the Holy
Spirit, and of us, not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of
strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage.
Despite the great risk and the
threat of rupture of the community, the Apostles and elders issued this very bold
statement that we just heard. It opened wide the doors to the faith for the Gentiles
with minimal burdens placed upon them. Also, the Apostles apologized for the
way their Jewish brethren upset them with their teachings and disturbed their
peace of mind. The breath of fresh air these statements brought away to the Christians
was unprecedented in any religion and it ushered it the most remarkable
openness that we have ever seen. It reveals the power of the Holy Spirit when
we prayerfully seek guidance as a community, and it is important for us to
realize this same Spirit is still with us, guiding us through difficult challenges.
Many of us pray to the Holy
Spirit for our personal challenges, when we are grieving the death of a loved
one, when we hope for reconciliation among our children, when we strive to be
heard and understood, and when we need courage to speak up for ourselves in
situations of power imbalances. The Spirit advocates for us and gives us
courage, but our challenge is to trust in the Spirit in communal discernment. We
have many issues facing our church; we have many challenges in society that are
not easily solved; we have many family issues to face as well. Typically, in
our prayer, we go privately to our rooms and ask for guidance, but we now need
to come together as a community, society, or family to discern what the Holy Spirit
is saying to us. Deliberating with others takes time and patience and the
decisions we arrive at must be challenged by more prayer. It takes openness of
heart and courage.
I imagine the Apostles and elders
were surprised at their decision to admit Gentiles without undue burden, but
once it was confirmed by the Spirit, they rejoiced at the magnitude of their
discernment. Likewise, we can be surprised by the results of our communal
discernment and we have strength in praying through these issues together. I
would suspect that we would end up with similar criteria that the Spirit once gave
– that we place no undue burdens upon anyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord
and need to be treated with mercy, and that we celebrate those who continue to
seek God as our brothers and sisters.
Scripture for Daily Mass
First
Reading:
Monday:
(Acts 16) Paul and Barnabas set sail for Philippi, a leading city of Macedonia,
and a Romany colony. Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, listens to their
preaching and opens her heart to them. She is baptized and invites them to stay
with her.
Tuesday:
(Acts 16) Paul is brought to the Areopagus in Athens and tells them of the
Unknown God he and Barnabas worship.
Wednesday:
(Acts 17) At the Areopagus, Paul declares that this unknown God is the same one
Christians worship and has brought about salvation, including the resurrection
of the dead. This concept unsettles some who find it a difficult teaching to
accept.
Thursday:
(Acts 15) Paul travels to Corinth and meets the Jews, Aquila and Priscilla, who
were forced to leave Rome because of Cladius’ dispersion edict. He learns the
tent-making trade and preaches to Jews who reject him. He encounters Titus
Justus and Crispus, a synagogue leader, who comes to believe. The entire
congregation believes the news of Jesus Christ.
Friday
(Acts 18) While in Corinth, Paul receives a vision from the Lord urging him to
go on speaking as no harm will come to him. Others are harmed, but Paul escapes
injury.
Saturday
(Acts 18) Paul travels to Antioch in Syria. Priscilla and Aquila meet Apollos,
a Jewish Christian, who is preaching the way of Jesus, but of the baptism by
the Holy Spirit he is not informed. They take him aside and teach him the
correct doctrine. He then vigorously refutes the Jews in public, establishing
from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.
Gospel:
Monday:
(John 15) Jesus tells his friends that the Advocate will come and testify to
him. Meanwhile, they will be expelled from the synagogues and harmed – even
unto death.
Tuesday:
(John 16) The Advocate, the Spirit of truth, will guide his friends to all
truth. Jesus confuses them by saying, “a little while and you will no longer
see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.”
Wednesday
(John 16) The Spirit of truth will guide you and will declare to you the things
that are coming. The Spirit will glorify. Everything the Father has is mine.
Thursday
(John 15) Remaining close to Jesus will allow us to share complete joy with one
another.
Friday
(John 16) As they debate, he tells them their mourning will become joy – just
like a woman who is groaning in labor pains.
Saturday
(John 16) As Jesus tells them again that he is part of the Father, he instructs
them to ask for anything in his name and God will grant it because Jesus is
leaving the world and is going back to the Father. The Father loves them
because they have loved him. The Father will reward them for their generosity.
Saints of the Week
May 26: Philip Neri, priest (1515-1595), is known as the "Apostle of
Rome." A Florentine who was educated by the Dominicans, he re-evangelized
Roe by establishing confraternities of laymen to minister to pilgrims and the
sick in hospitals. He founded the Oratorians when he gathered a sufficient
following because of his spiritual wisdom.
May 27: Augustine of Canterbury, bishop (d. 604) was sent to England with
40 monks from St. Andrew's monastery to evangelize the pagans. They were
well-received. Augustine was made bishop, established a hierarchy, and changed
many pagans feasts to religious ones. Wales did not accept the mission; Scotland
took St. Andrew's cross as their national symbol. Augustine began a Benedictine
monastery at Canterbury and was Canterbury's first archbishop.
May 31: Visitation of the Virgin Mary commemorates the visit of Mary in her
early pregnancy to Mary, who is reported to be her elder cousin. Luke writes
about the shared rejoicing of the two women - Mary's conception by the Holy
Spirit and Elizabeth's surprising pregnancy in her advanced years. Elizabeth
calls Mary blessed and Mary sings her song of praise to God, the Magnificat.
June 1: Justin, martyr (100-165), was a Samaritan philosopher who converted
to Christianity and explained doctrine through philosophical treatises. His
debating opponent reported him to the Roman authorities who tried him and when
he refused to sacrifice to the gods, was condemned to death.
This Week in Jesuit History
·
May
26, 1673. Ching Wei‑San (Emmanuel de Sigueira) dies, the first Chinese Jesuit
priest.
·
May
27, 1555. The Viceroy of India sent an embassy to Claudius, Emperor of Ethiopia,
hoping to win him and his subjects over to Catholic unity. Nothing came of this
venture, but Fr. Goncalvo de Silveira, who would become the Society's first
martyr on the Africa soil, remained in the country.
·
May
28, 1962. The death of Bernard Hubbard famous Alaskan missionary. He was the
author of the book Mush, You Malemutes!
and wrote a number of articles on the Alaska mission.
·
May
29,1991. Pope John Paul II announces that Paulo Dezza, SJ is to become a
Cardinal, as well as Jan Korec, in Slovakia.
·
May
30, 1849. Vincent Gioberti's book Il Gesuita
Moderno was put on the Index. Gioberti had applied to be admitted into the
Society, and on being refused became its bitter enemy and calumniator.
·
May
31, 1900. The new novitiate of the Buffalo Mission, St Stanislaus, in South
Brooklyn, Ohio, near Cleveland, is blessed.
·
Jun
1, 1527. Ignatius was thrown into prison after having been accused of having
advised two noblewomen to undertake a pilgrimage, on foot, to Compostella.
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