SOME AWE

“Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus which would empower him to arrest and bring to Jerusalem anyone he might find, man or woman, living according to the new way.” —Acts 9:1-2

As Saul was cruising on the road to Damascus, he was likely thinking of his return trip when he would be moving a chain gang of Christians on that same Damascus road. Saul reacted to being an accomplice to the murder of Stephen by violently trying to justify his murderous sinfulness. He had been such a zealous anti-Christian that he later rated himself as the foremost sinner in the world (1 Tm 1:15), “a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man filled with arrogance” (1 Tm 1:13). Saul’s conversion proved that the Lord can, does, and will convert anybody.

Therefore:

There is hope for you by God’s mercy, no matter what you have done.

Pray expectantly for the most evil people in the world to be converted, particularly your enemies.

There is hope for your marriage and family, no matter what has happened.

Be another Ananias, courageously bringing new life in the Spirit to extremely dangerous people (Acts 9:10ff).

Be awed by the Lord’s love, power, and mercy in converting Saul.

Saul’s conversion is awesome. Be awed into hope and joy.

PRAYER:               Father, send the Holy Spirit to give me a new perspective on those whom I have considered the most lost.

PROMISE:            “The man who feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.” –Jn 6:56

PRAISE:               

(see Mt 13:55) St. Joseph, you instructed the young Jesus in a dignified trade; pray for us who labor.

THE BIRTHPLACE OF WORLD EVANGELIZATION
“The Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away.” —Acts 8:39
Jesus’ last words before He ascended into heaven were: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you; then you are to be My witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, even to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Philip, the deacon and evangelist (see Acts 21:8), may have been the first person to fulfill the promise and command of Jesus to be His witness to the ends of the earth.

Philip was instrumental in reaching Ethiopia with the Gospel. He did this by converting the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:35). Philip qualified for this international harvest of souls because he had first preached in Samaria (Acts 8:5). Prior to this he served the Lord and His Church as a deacon in Judea and Jerusalem. First of all, Philip was a family man. He shared the Gospel of Jesus with his four daughters, who became prophetesses in the early Church (see Acts 21:9). Philip was an evangelist because he first served as a deacon. He was a deacon and evangelist because he first evangelized as a husband and father.

International evangelization begins at home. The family is the birthplace of world mission. If we are faithful in first things, the Lord will entrust us with later missions. “Bloom where you’re planted.” Then plant the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

PRAYER: Father, make my family a “domestic church” (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1655ff, 1666).
PROMISE: “No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him; I will raise him up on the last day.” –Jn 6:44
PRAISE: Pope St. Pius V was elected shortly after the close of the Council of Trent. He took on the enormous challenge of implementing the decrees of the council, many responding to the Protestant Reformation. In his humble way, he continued to wear his Dominican habit while Pope.

BREAD THAT IS BROKEN
“God’s bread comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” —John 6:33
Did you ever fall in love with someone and wonder if they really loved you? You might wonder: Does she really love me for who I am, or only for what I can do for her? Will he love me when I grow old? Will she still love me when the attraction fades away? If you aren’t at your best, and your beloved nevertheless loves you even more, then your heart is filled with joy.

Jesus, “Who dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Tm 6:16), came down from heaven (Jn 6:33). If He desired, He could captivate all humanity with His blinding glory. The Jews asked Him to do so when they requested a glorious sign to prove His worth (Jn 6:30). Yet Jesus “humbled Himself” (Phil 2:8) and took on the form of bread and wine in the Eucharist. Like the lover mentioned above, the Eucharistic Jesus no longer has to wonder who loves Him and who doesn’t. He, Who is King of glory (Ps 24:8), is offered at every Mass in a host which doesn’t look much different than a potato chip. From this vantage point, Jesus can easily see who truly loves Him when He is presented in Eucharistic humility. This love surely brings joy to His heart.

Jesus can also easily see who ignores Him, overlooks Him, and snubs Him. When we refer to the “breaking of the bread,” we could also be speaking of the broken-hearted Eucharistic Jesus, Who daily offers Himself to all, and is daily rejected or ignored by so many. The Eucharist is a real proving ground of our love for Jesus. Jesus asks each of us: “Do you love Me?” (Jn 21:15) Let us make a return of love to Jesus by receiving Him in the Eucharist as often as possible (Ps 116:12-13).

PRAYER: Eucharistic Jesus, make me love Thee more and more.
PROMISE: “No one who comes to Me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in Me shall ever thirst.” –Jn 6:35
PRAISE: Join in some of the virtual praise and worship open to you, for example, CJM Music-Jo Boyce, The Kenelm Trust-the Soli and Alton team and One Life Music.

THE FACE OF PEACE

“The members of the Sanhedrin who sat there stared at him intently. Throughout, Stephen’s face seemed like that of an angel.” —Acts 6:15

If a large number of people were debating with you, what would be the expression on your face and the reactions in your heart? What if, after your opponents lost the debate, “they persuaded some of the men to make the charge that they had heard” you “speaking blasphemies” (Acts 6:11)? When others lie about you and falsely accuse you, how do you look; how do you act? If these liars were believed and you were accosted, seized, and brought to court, how would you react, especially when more liars accused you of blasphemy? Stephen, the victim of all these crimes, took it quite well. His “face seemed like that of an angel” (Acts 6:15).

Stephen was profoundly peaceful because he had his eyes fixed on Jesus (see Acts 7:55-56), “Who inspires and perfects our faith” (Heb 12:2). Like Jesus at the time of His death, Stephen entrusted His life to the Lord (Acts 7:59; cf Lk 23:46). Like Jesus at the time of His death, Stephen also forgave his murderers (Acts 7:60; cf Lk 23:34). Stephen had such amazing peace under such evil conditions because he was immersed into, preoccupied with, and baptized into Jesus. His attention was entirely on Jesus. Stephen was like Jesus and lived through Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus, and for Jesus. Stephen had peace in Jesus (Jn 16:33).

When we began the Easter season, we renewed our baptismal promises. Baptized into the risen Jesus, we have peace beyond understanding (Phil 4:7).

PRAYER:               Father, transform me completely through the risen Christ.

PROMISE:            “You should not be working for perishable food but for food that remains unto life eternal, food which the Son of Man will give you.” –Jn 6:27

PRAISE:               What can you do this help the NHS or your community?

THE CHURCH IS FROM GOD

“If their purpose or activity is human in its origins, it will destroy itself. If, on the other hand, it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them.” —Acts 5:38-39

The apostles had been arrested for teaching the people of Jerusalem about Jesus. They were brought to trial before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish “Supreme Court.” The apostles stood their ground and declared they would continue teaching about Jesus, and would obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). “When the Sanhedrin heard this, they were stung to fury and wanted to kill them. Then a member of the Sanhedrin stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law highly regarded by all the people. He had the accused ordered out of court for a few minutes, and then said to the assembly, ‘…Have nothing to do with these men. Let them alone. If their purpose or activity is human in its origins, it will destroy itself. If, on the other hand, it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them without fighting God Himself’ ” (Acts 5:33-35, 38-39).

We who live in the twenty-first century should stop and think about the origins of Christianity. We are asked to give our lives to a Man condemned to death, the equivalent of being put to death today in the electric chair. His main followers were a group of uneducated fishermen. Yet we moderners still continue to follow this Man two thousand years later. This is a great testament to the truth that Jesus is God and His Church is led by the Holy Spirit.

Gamaliel’s words echo strongly today, just as they did to the Sanhedrin. Gamaliel and St. Luke are telling us that the Church comes from God. Pour your heart and your life into God’s Church.

PRAYER:               “Lord, remember Your church throughout the world; make us grow in love together with” our Pope, bishops, and clergy.

PROMISE:            “I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living.” –Ps 27:13

PRAISE:                 St. Fidelis, a priest and martyr, prayed that he be completely faithful to God and not give in to lukewarmness or apathy.