Catholic Matters for May 6, 2012

SUNDAY READINGS - Fifth Sunday of Easter FIRST READING: Acts 9: 26-31. When Saul had come to Jerusalem he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists; but they were seeking to kill him. And when the brethren knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him off to Tarsus. So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied. EXPLANATION: Saul, who later changed his name to Paul, was born of Jewish parents in Tarsus in Cicilia. He came to Jerusalem as a youth to study the Law (of Moses) and become a rabbi. He had qualified as a rabbi about the year that Jesus was crucified. He took a firm stand against the young Christian Church, looking on it as an heretical sect which had to be crushed. Having harassed the Christians in Jerusalem, he set out for Damascus to arrest and bring to Jerusalem any Christians he found there. On the road to Damascus he was converted by a vision of the risen Christ. Having spent some time in Damascus preaching to the Jews of the city that Jesus was the Son of God, he paid his first visit to Jerusalem, This visit is the subject of today's reading. join the disciples: Saul wanted to join with the Christians of Jerusalem at their prayers and meetings, but, remembering too well his past conduct in the city they did not trust him, for they thought he had not become a disciple of Christ, but was there to spy on them. Barnabas...Apostles: Barnabas, a man of standing in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 4: 32-37). was convinced that Saul had become a sincere Christian. He, therefore, introduced him to the Apostles telling them about Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus when "the Lord spoke to him," and about his great work for the spread of the Christian faith in Damascus. Barnabas could have had contacts with Damascus and heard of the conversion and work of Saul there, and could even have had confirmation of this from Saul himself. went...them: The result of Barnabas' intervention was that Saul was fully accepted by the Christians in Jerusalem. against the Hellenists: Jerusalem had many Jews who had been born outside of Palestine and spoke only Greek. These were called Hellenists. Paul was a native speaker of Greek, and was well qualified to argue about Christ with them, which he did. seeking...him: Not all of these Hellenists were willing to accept Christ. Some, unable to answer his arguments, were planning to put him to death. They probably knew his past history and looked on him as a traitor, and traitors, they thought, deserved death. The other Apostles had not been Pharisees or rabbis, and so were not as guilty, in their eyes, as Saul. Caesarea...Tarsus: To save him from death by stoning, the death Stephen suffered a few years previously (Acts 6 and 7), the Christians of Jerusalem saw him safely to the port of Caesarea in Palestine, from whence he went by ship to Tarsus, his native town. church...built up: The open persecution of the Christians during the first years seems to have ceased. The leaders of the Jews may have grown tired of arrests and trials, or perhaps they had paid heed to the wise words of one of their members, Gamaliel, who said at one of their trial sessions: "If this enterprise (Christianity) is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them (the Christians) but you might find yourself fighting against God" (Acts 5: 39). Whatever the reason, the Christians in Jerusalem were allowed to live in peace. Their numbers increased daily, not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judea, Samaria and Galilee, that is, in all of Palestine. walking...Lord: This is living the full Christian life, giving offense to neither God nor man. comfort...Spirit: The visible effects of the descent of the Holy Spirit in baptism on the converted were there to strengthen and encourage the Christians and to attract other converts. Hence the great growth of the Church. APPLICATION: Although the verses of today's reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, begin with Saul and his first visit to Jerusalem, the point of interest for us is the growth, and marvelous spread of the Christian faith among the Jews of Palestine. "The Church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up." If we were dealing with human achievement and human endeavor only, we would have an incredible story in those few words. During his public life of over two years Christ had traveled around Palestine. He had worked many miracles, but evidently these were soon forgotten. He had stated that he was the promised Messiah, but very few, if any, believed him. On many occasions he had referred to his sonship with the Father, but even his disciples did not grasp that. The leaders of the Jews were against him from the very beginning, and the people followed their leaders. Like their leaders, the Jews of that day were looking not for a spiritual kingdom after death, but a prosperous, wealthy kingdom here on earth in their own lifetime. So, with the few exceptions, all his calls to repentance and to love of God and neighbor fell on deaf ears. His death at the hands of his enemies was the last straw---that proved the absurdity of his claims to be the Messiah and the Son of God. Yet what do we find a few years later, after the apparent failure of Calvary? Thousands of those same Jews who ignored or derided Jesus while he was amongst them, were becoming his fervent followers and ardent admirers. They were spreading his teaching among their neighbors. There is no natural explanation for such a change of attitude in a whole people. There is, of course, a supernatural explanation for this change of mind: the resurrection. This fact alone explains the change of outlook on the part of thousands of Jews: this alone explains the fearless courage of the Apostles---the one-time timid group who huddled in an upper-room behind locked doors "for fear of the Jews." Now they were confronting the very Sanhedrin in their stronghold, preaching the risen Christ in the streets of Jerusalem and throughout the land of Palestine. Their power of working miracles, and the visible assistance of the Holy Spirit was moving not only the ordinary laity but many of the priests and leaders in Jerusalem itself, to accept Christ and Christianity (see Acts 6: 7). This fact. the resurrection of Christ, is the very foundation stone of our Christian religion. If it had not happened, no Jew would have been converted in Palestine, no Apostle would have the foolhardiness to preach of one who had failed. The Church which Christ promised would have been stillborn and would never have survived. But it did exist and it spread. It is still in existence and will be, as long as men are on earth who must be directed to heaven. The resurrection of Christ is not only the solid basis of our faith, it is also the guarantee for us that we too shall rise, in glorified bodies like his, one day. That day will be our real birthday, the day we are born to unending life. Let us thank God for his love and mercy; he could have ignored us and left us to our fate, but his infinite love did not let him do so. His goodness moved him to share his eternal happiness. That we shall do, if we do what is asked of us while we are here below. When the crosses of life come our way (and who can avoid them?), let us grasp them firmly. We want, and we hope, to be like the risen Christ hereafter; we shall if we, like him, carry our cross cheerfully whenever he asks us to do so. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECOND READING: 1 John 3:18-24. Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandments that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as be has commanded us. All who keep his commandments abide in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he had given us. EXPLANATION: See second Sunday of Easter for an explanation of the first Epistle of John. In today's seven verses, the Beloved Disciple is urging his readers, and all Christians, to believe firmly in Jesus Christ the Son of God, and to love their neighbor with a practical love, a love which will help him in his corporal and spiritual needs. not...in deed: Our love of God and neighbor must prove itself by good deeds. Actions, not declarations, are needed. we...truth: Our charity---love of God and neighbor---alone will prove to us that we have the true faith of Christ, that we are children of God. reassure our hearts: "hearts" stand for conscience here. If a Christian has doubts about the sincerity of his faith, his practice of true charity should reassure him. He may have some defects but: God...hearts: God's mercy and love are infinite; where one has true charity, his smaller offenses will be generously forgiven---"charity covers a multitude of sins." he knows everything: Because of his infinite knowledge God is certainly better able to examine our consciences than we ourselves are. confidence before God: The Christian whose conscience tells him that he is living in true faith and charity, can feel assured that God will answer all his lawful requests for divine grace and help. keep his commandments: To keep God's commandments is to please God and when God is pleased with us he will, like a kind Father, help us on our way to heaven. believe...name: This means: to accept Jesus for what he is, not the Messiah only, but the true Son of God himself. This has been the foundation-stone of the Christian religion from its very beginning. love one another: Fraternal charity for all our fellowman was the command of Christ and the proof of the sincerity of Christians: "By this will all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another" (Jn. 13: 35). abide in him: All who keep Christ's commandments are assured of continued communion with God. by the Spirit: The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity, dwells in the Christian who is loyal and true to God. The effects of the presence of the Holy Spirit were especially noticeable in the early Church. Wherever the Holy Spirit is there also are the Father and the Son. APPLICATION: The sincere, active faith and charity which St. John demanded of the first and second generation of Christians in Asia Minor is still demanded of all of us today. Nineteen centuries have elapsed since John wrote that letter, but the essence of the Christian faith has not changed in all those years. If anything, the need today for a living faith, that is, a faith lived daily, and an active charity, is greater than it was in the first century after Christ. The opponents of the Christian faith (the unbelievers, the Agnostics and the humanists) are more numerous in our world today than they were then in Asia Minor. What these opponents of our faith need is not rhetoric or apologetics or logical argument but the living example of sincere Christians. There is far too much counterfeit Christianity---a nominal adherence to Christ---while he and everything he taught are denied in practice. Perhaps, therefore, unbelievers and others have some excuse today for despising the Christian religion. But what they are despising is the counterfeit, the false currency, which is being passed around as Christianity. Some of them, it is true, may not accept the real faith if it is put before them in the lives of true Christians, but many will, and we have, therefore, a grave obligation to put it before them. Instead of denouncing atheistic communism, humanism and all the other substitutes for the truth which men have invented, let us show them the truth by living it to the full. Let us convince them that the future life which God has planned for us, and made available to us through his divine Son Jesus, is a fact of which we are certain and for which we are ready to sacrifice every earthly power, pleasure and gain. If we are true Christians we must desire and hope that all our fellowmen will become obedient to God, for this is God's desire. That is why his divine Son became man. But, as St. John tells us today, it is not enough to desire and hope for this blessing for all our neighbors, we must show our true desire "in deed and in truth." This we shall do if we ourselves live up to the teaching of our Christian faith. There are many historical explanations for the loss of the true faith in many of the once Christian nations of the Western world, but the basic cause is the lack of a living, active faith and charity in those who by their position, education and influence, were the leaders of the people. The "isms" of today, the substitutes for true religion, would never take root in a truly Christian soil; they took root and they spread where Christianity was but a name, or worse still a veneer which covered injustice and corruption. We Christians owe a debt of reparation to all lapsed Christians. We have a grave obligation to bring our brothers who have been led astray by lax and false Christians, back on the true road to heaven. Let us begin today to put our own house in order. Let us see to it that our conscience is right with God and resolve to keep it so. Then we can hope to exercise a quiet but effective influence on our neighbors who have wandered off the highway. Christ told his followers to let their light (of faith and good works) shine before men. If we have not been doing so let us begin today. There are millions groping in the darkness of spiritual despair; we can light their way to God. In God's name let us do so! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GOSPEL: John 15: 1-8. Jesus said to his disciples, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my, disciples." EXPLANATION: Today's excerpt from St. John's gospel is part of the long discourse our Lord delivered to the Apostles at the Last Supper. It was in the form of a farewell address delivered on the eve of his death. Its purpose was to console and strengthen them to face the ordeals of the coming days. He told them not to be troubled, but to trust in God. Where he was going they would follow him later. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is in the Father and the Father is in him, "if you knew me you would know the Father too." His death will not be the end; he will still live, and they too shall live. His life is not being taken from him, he is laying it down in obedience to his Father. Keeping his commandments will be the proof that they love him : "and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father" (Jn. 14). Christ goes on (in chapter 15) to describe the intimate union that must exist between him and his followers, under the image of a vine and its branches. His Father is the vinedresser who will encourage the good and cut off the useless branches. The fruit produced by the vine and branches, by Christ and his followers, will be to God's eternal glory. I am...vine: The image of a vine or a vineyard to represent the Chosen People of God was often used in the Old Testament (Is. 5: 1-7; Jer. 2: 21; Ez. 15, Ps. 80: 9-16). Here Christ says that he and his followers will form the new Chosen People. He is the true vine, the vine that will bear fruit; the Old Testament was only a shadow, a type of what was to come. Father...vinedresser: Christ frequently stresses that he is only the instrument used by his Father. His success as a vine depends on his Father who planted the good vine and cares for it. takes away: Useless branches are lopped off, the fruit-bearing branches are pruned so that they will produce more fruit. clean...spoken: The revelation of God, which he has already given to them, has pruned them, that is, cleansed them from useless growths. abide in me: As branches, they will wither and die unless they remain attached, that is, united with, the vine. apart...nothing: No purely human act can have any salutary value, any value for eternal life, but if it is done under the influence of grace, then it can and is effective. Christ, by his incarnation, death and resurrection, opened the channels of divine grace for man. Because of the foreseen merits of Christ, the effects of the incarnation were retroactive and grace was obtainable before he came. cast...withers: If they persevere in this sinful attitude Christ's followers who fail in their duty will be cut off from the life-giving vine and must of necessity wither and die (spiritually). ask...will: The follower of Christ, who is in intimate union with him, will have every request he makes in prayer granted. Such a Christian's prayer will always be according to the will of God. my Father is glorified: The followers of Christ will add to God's external glory by the good works they do and the fruit they produce. They will produce such fruits only because they are united to the vine who is Christ. They are his true disciples. Through him they glorify the Father. APPLICATION: The words of consolation and encouragement which our Lord spoke to his Apostles on Holy Thursday night were intended to console and encourage all his followers for all time. They encourage and console us today, and we need encouragement to persevere on the road to heaven. Living a truly Christian life is never easy. We have always the attraction of the world, and the temptations by the agents of evil, to make that life less easy still. But in our own day these difficulties have increased a hundredfold. The attractions of this world have been multiplied by the increased comforts, pleasures and means of self-indulgence which science and technology have put within our reach. Human nature, always inclined to choose the easiest way out, has been given so many means of escape from the strain of self-control that even for a fervent Christian it is frequently very difficult to avoid these worldly allurements. Having the ordinary comforts of life and the possession of some of this world's goods, is not wrong or anti-Christian, but the natural temptation is to get more and more of these comforts and riches, and the point is soon reached where this becomes the only purpose in life. When this sad stage is arrived at God and our future life are forgotten; this world becomes our idol and our prison. The temptations which the agents of evil put in Christ's way are also multiplied today. The communications media are now very technically improved and perfected and can be, and sometimes are, a means for good. Unfortunately more frequently they are the channels of bad example. The evil deeds of men have more "news value" than their good deeds. And it is so much easier to follow the bad example! Permissiveness, rejection of authority, glorification of unlawful sexual indulgence, drug addiction, and other such crimes are placed before the minds and the eyes of the youth of today, and are unfortunately copied by far too many. It is indeed hard to swim against the current; it is so much more pleasant to allow oneself to be carried along without effort by the rushing tide. But when there are rocks and shoals ahead, the thoughtless and ease-seeking swimmer will end in grief. Our Lord has warned us today, as he warned his first followers, to abide in him, to remain closely united with him, as is the branch to the vine, if we hope to bear fruit worthy of heaven. He promises us that if we remain closely united to him, that is, if we strive daily to keep his commandments, he will be ever ready to answer our requests, and to heed all our prayers. The sincere prayer today of every man who is trying to lead a Christian life is for the grace to overcome the allurements of the world, the flesh and the devil. Let us take courage, then. Christ has promised to remain beside us during life if only we stay close to him. While we remain healthy branches of the vine, Christ, we will be on the road to heaven. Our daily tasks, our work as well as our prayer, our recreations as well as our rest, our joys as well as our sorrows, will give glory to God and prove that we are worthy to be called disciples of Christ.-b189 Click to return to