The Book of Acts tells the story of Paul and Barnabas being sent out as missionaries from the community at Antioch because the Holy Spirit told them to go. It made me a little jealous — I wish the Holy Spirit would tell me what to do. On further reflection, I realize that I have… Read More »

God can transform everything, even negative things, for some good end. We see this most dramatically on the cross where God transformed death into life. The scattering of the early followers of Jesus due to persecution in Jerusalem reported by the Acts of Apostles was, no doubt, perceived by them as negative. But God used… Read More »

St. Luke describes the story of the early church in Acts as a series of outgoing ripples — from Jerusalem, to the doubtfully orthodox Jews of Samaria, to an African who converted to Judaism, to a non-Jew (a gentile.) St. Luke is careful to point out that it is St. Peter, the leader of the… Read More »

The image of the Good Shepherd is one of the most beloved for Christians. The favorite Psalm of most people is Psalm 23 which begins “The Lord is my Shepherd.” This is somewhat surprising when you consider that in the modern world you very seldom see a shepherd. I remember seeing a shepherd in Huitzila,… Read More »

The Bible tells us that Jesus was like us “in all things but sin.” We see his humanity so clearly at the end of John 6. St. John tells us that people stopped following Jesus after he told them “my flesh is true food, my blood is real drink.” You can hear the heartbreak in… Read More »

The conversion of St. Paul was a pivotal moment in the life of the early Church. It was so important that St. Luke tells it three times in the Book of Acts. However, the way Acts reports the story seems somewhat inaccurate to the actual event. In the Acts, Saul (St. Paul) has his encounter… Read More »

As St.Luke tells the story in Acts, the Jesus movement began to ripple out. After the martyrdom of St. Stephen the persecution of the followers of Jesus causes them to move away from Jerusalem. At first they spread the message in Samaria — among Jews who were not well regarded by the Jerusalem elite. The… Read More »

The Vatican on Friday published Pope Francis’ eagerly-awaited Apostolic Exhoratation on the family, called the Joy of Love drawing together almost three years of consultations with Catholics in countries around the world. One observation the Holy Father makes in the document is that receiving Holy Communion is not a reward for a job well done.… Read More »

ST. Luke tells the story of the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first martyr or protomartyr as the old Latins put it, to connect his death with that of Jesus. Like Our Lord Stephen commends himself into the hands of the Heavenly Father. Like Our Lord he forgives his enemies. The message is that the… Read More »

St. Luke describes the beginnings of the Church something like a rock dropped into a pond. The ripples from larger and larger circles. The first ripple is the conflict between the Greek and Hebrew speakers found in Acts 7. Out of that experience new models of leadership develop. St. Luke calls them the “deacons.” The… Read More »