Some of those first followers of Jesus objected to his teaching on the Eucharist. “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” I suspect that if you ran the teachings of the Church by people nowadays the one that people would object to would be about the Church itself. “I believe in one, holy, Catholic… Read More »

The conversion of St. Paul was a major turning point in the life of the early Church. It was so important that the story is told three times in the Acts of the Apostles. The fascinating thing about the story was what prompted his conversion. It was not the blinding vision or the heavenly voice.… Read More »

The scripture readings assigned for the fifty days of Easter are geared to help us understand what Resurrection life is all about. In this, the third week of Easter, the gospel each day is taken from John 6 — the “Bread of Life” discourse. Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from… Read More »

“There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered.” You can only imagine how those first followers of Jesus experienced this persecution. They no doubt thought it was a terrible tragedy. They were probably crying out to God about why this was happening to them — weren’t they following… Read More »

The martyrdom of St. Stephen is a story of violence. Unfortunately, as Stephen’s speech reminded his listeners the violence did not begin with him. “Your ancestors … put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one.” Nor did the violence end with him. There was ongoing violence against the Christians for centuries.… Read More »

In the Book of Acts, The people accuse the Deacon Stephen of wanting to “change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” Religious people tend to hold very tightly onto their traditions and when someone proposes changing them they are viewed as a threat. We are seeing something analogous to that in the reaction… Read More »

In the play My Fair Lady the heroine sings: “Don’t talk of love Lasting through time Make me no undying vow Show me now.” Something similar seems to be going on in the post-Resurrection encounter between Peter and Jesus at the Sea of Tiberius. “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered… Read More »

The first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles described an ideal community where everyone lived in peace and love. That did not last. Soon there were complaints and rivalry. The situation as analyzed by the apostles is instructive. “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table.”… Read More »

St. Paul ordinarily insists on the special revelation he received on the road to Damascus as validating his ministry. We should note that the Apostle did not consider himself as a “lone ranger” but as part of a larger picture of God’s action in history. He wrote to the Corinthians: “I handed on to you… Read More »

“We must obey God rather than men.” These words from Peter and the apostles in the Book of Acts reminded me of the Letter from the Birmingham Jail written by Dr. King in 1963. He was responding to an open letter from white clergy of the city condemning the direction action promoting civil rights organized… Read More »