The Unity of Love:
The Seventh Sunday of Easter 2024
May 12, 2024
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Acts 1:15-26; Psalm 103; 1 John 4:11-16; John 17:11-19
The Acts of the Apostles tell us how the Holy Spirit filled the vacancy on the Twelve Tribes of Jacob by selecting Matthias as a man who was with Jesus from the very beginning. The unity among this deliberative body upon which the church would be built was restored. Unity is a primary value and virtue of the church, and the Gospel makes that clear by appealing to the unity of believers. Jesus prayed that we may be one just as he is one with the Father. How would we assess our unity as a community?
We know that within our nations we have political divisions and culture wars, and some among us decide to firm up positions at the expense of taking the other position down and crushing it. That’s the goal and hope, though not the reality. We are passionate about our political parties and the conclusions we have reached, and once we have decided upon an idea, we adhere to our absolute rightness and someone else’s wrongness. We get most of our ideas from sound bites and headlines without digging down deeper into underlying causes of contemporary issues. We exist in a culture of superficiality of texts and tweets, and yet, we know, it is not the way for peace, serenity, or solving problems.
We also note there are distinct ways of thinking about the church. For many, Pope Francis is a relief. He is a Pope of Vatican II, and he is the Pope that introduced Jesuit and Ignatian Spirituality to the church. He is the one who is courageous to pray for peace, for the poor and the vulnerable, including the environment, and for hospitality for those who love God and feel excluded. For a small but very vocal group, he is a demon, the anti-Christ, the destroyer of the faith, if you entertain yourself by reading comments at the end of articles about how the church operates in the world today. Hold whatever positions you have, but I have a question: what does unity look like today? How am I contributing to the church’s unity?
If we are a people who value unity as Jesus asks, then I have to assess how I can think and feel with the church when I don’t understand it. If I am disinclined to like Pope Francis, do I even try to understand his thinking? Or am I smarter than the Pope and I’m waiting for him to follow my position or leave his ministry altogether? Do I try to pray for him with genuine affection? Do I do the hard work of trying to understand the church’s goals about the Synod, or do I dismiss it as irrelevant and misguided and a short-term project that is soon to die out?
What does Jesus want from us and how does his unity look like? Do I do my best to love the leader of our church, or the local pastor, or the people in the pews? It comes down to the fundamental attitudes I choose to adopt. Am I living in a culture of superficiality, or will I make the difficult commitment to try to love more authentically? Last week, we heard the command of Jesus to love one another. This was not an invitation, and it was not a subtle suggestion. If we are to be an authentic disciple, we are to choose to love, a daily choice, to choose to learn, a choice to build up and to encourage, a choice to put on the best face each day, a choice to give the best positive regard as possible, a choice to grow in wisdom and understanding, a choice to stand by in steadfast support, a choice to grow in compassion and affection.
The sign of a Christian is our growing ability to love in freedom. When we receive the love of Christ, we naturally grow in love and appreciation. As we love one another, we find our joy becomes complete. It is always the right time to step back and assess where our growing edges need to be softened. Let us show one another, and Pope Francis, our affection by praying for one another as we await Christ’s sending the Holy Spirit into our hearts and minds, to guide us, to shape us, to increase our charity. Our world belongs to the Holy Spirit. May our hearts and minds rise up to the Spirit’s so that we mingle in this unitive joy. May the Spirit teach us just how superabundant this love is, and what power love can accomplish. Love is the most powerful and still the most unknown energy of the world.
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Acts 19) Paul went through the interior of Greece and down to Ephesus to introduce the believers to the Holy Spirit. The community was baptized into the Body of Christ.
Tuesday: (Acts 20) The presbyters at Ephesus summoned Paul, who told them that he was going to an uncertain fate in Jerusalem. Paul recounts the ways he served the Lord with humility, tears, and trials, but imprisonment and hardships await him.
Wednesday: (Acts 20) Paul prays for the whole flock and he prays for them because he knows adversaries will take advantage of Paul’s absence. When Paul finished speaking, the people wept loudly and threw their arms around him and kissed him.
Thursday: (Acts 22) Paul is brought to trial. The Pharisees and Sadducees are sharply divided; armed forces rescue Paul from their midst. The Lord tells Paul he must go to Rome and be faithful there the same way he was faithful in Jerusalem.
Friday (Acts 25) King Agrippa hears Paul’s case and determines that Paul is to be tried in Jerusalem, but Paul, as a Roman citizen, appeals for the Emperor’s decision.
Saturday (Acts 28) When Paul entered Rome, he was allowed to live by himself. He called together the leaders of the Jews to let them know the charges brought against them. He told them his story. He remained for two years in his lodgings and received all who came to him without hindrance as he proclaimed the Kingdom of God.
Gospel:
Monday: (John 16) The disciples realize Jesus is returning to the Father and that he is strengthening them for the time when he will not longer be physically with them.
Tuesday: (John 17) Jesus raises his eyes to heaven and realizes it is time to glorify the Father through his death so he may give eternal life to all that we given to him. He revealed God’s name to them and now it is time to see the glory of God revealed.
Wednesday (John 17) Jesus prays for the safety of those given to him. He wants them to be safe as they testify to God’s steadfastness in a harsh world. He prays for unity, “so that they may be one just as we, Father, are one.”
Thursday (John 17) Jesus consecrates them to the truth and wards off the Evil One. He also prays for those given to him through the testimony of others. The love Jesus and the Father share is available to future disciples.
Friday (John 21) After the Farewell Discourse ends, Jesus appears at the seashore with Simon Peter who professes his three-fold love of Jesus. Jesus forgives him and asks him to care for his people even though the authorities of this world will eventually have their day with him.
Saturday (John 21) Peter turns to Jesus and asks about the Beloved Disciple. Jesus retorts, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?” This disciple is the one who wrote the testimony about Jesus and can attest to its truth.
Saints of the Week
May 12: Nereus and Achilleus, martyrs (early second century), were Roman Imperial soldiers who converted to Christianity. They left the army and were martyred when they refused to sacrifice to idols during Emperor Trajan's reign.
May 12: Pancras, martyr, (d. 304)was a Syrian orphan who was brought to Rome by his uncle. Both soon after converted to Christianity. Pancras was beheaded at age 14 during the Diocletian persecution and buried on the Via Aurelia. A cemetery was named after him, but his remains were sent to Northumbria in England where six churches are dedicated to him.
May 13: Our Lady of Fatima is a name given to Mary after she appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal between May 13 and October 13, 1917. During her appearances, Mary stressed the importance of repentance, ongoing conversion, and dedicated to the heart of Mary through praying the Rosary.
May 14: Matthias, Apostle (first century) was chosen after the resurrection to replace Judas who committed suicide. In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter, quoting a psalm, told 120 people who gathered that they were to choose a new apostle - someone who had been with them from the baptism of Jesus until the resurrection. Two names were put forward and the assembly cast lots. Matthias was chosen.
May 15: Isidore (1070-1130), was born in Madrid to a family of farm laborers. With his wife, he worked on an estate and became known for his piety and generosity. His remains are the cause of several miracles most notably the cure of King Philip III who became his sponsor for canonization.
May 16: Andrew Bobola, S.J., priest martyr (1591-1657), is called the Martyr of Poland because of his excruciatingly painful death. He worked during a plague to care for the sick, but he became "wanted" by the Cossacks during a time when anti-Catholic and anti-Jesuit sentiment was high. His preaching converted whole villages back to Catholicism and he was hunted down because he was termed a "soul-hunter."
May 18: John I, pope and martyr (d. 526), was a Tuscan who became pope under the rule of Theodoric the Goth, an Arian. Theodoric opposed Emperor Justin I in Constantinople who persecuted Arians. John was sent to Justin to end the persecutions. He returned to great glory, but Theodoric was not satisfied, though Justin met all his demands. John was imprisoned and soon died because of ill treatment.
This Week in Jesuit History
- May 12,1981. A letter of this date, from Secretary of State, Cardinal Casaroli, speaks positively of Teilhard de Chardin in celebration of the centenary of his birth (May 1,1881).
- May 13, 1572. Election of Gregory XIII to succeed St Pius V. To him the Society owes the foundation of the Roman and German Colleges.
- May 14, 1978. Letter of Pedro Arrupe to the whole Society on Inculturation.
- May 15, 1815. Readmission of the Society into Spain by Ferdinand VII. The members of the Society were again exiled on July 31, 1820.
- May 16, 1988. In Paraguay, Pope John Paul II canonizes Roque Gonzalez, Alfonso Rodriguez, and Juan del Castillo.
- May 17, 1572. Pope Gregory XIII exempted the Society from choir and approved simple vows after two years of novitiate and ordination before solemn profession. In these matters he reversed a decree of St Pius V.
- May 18, 1769. The election of Cardinal Lorenzo Ganganelli as Pope Clement XIV. He was the pope who suppressed the Society.
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