Friday of the 6th Week of Easter
It’s never been easy being a Christian, from the very beginning. Jesus, himself, suffered a brutal death on the cross. Today, in the first reading, we see some of the trials that Paul went through during his ministry. He’s in Corinth and the Jews there want him arrested. They think he's violated the Mosaic law.
The Roman tribunal wants no part of it, because he hasn’t violated any civil law. Like Pontius Pilate when he was asked to execute Jesus, this tribunal doesn't want Paul's blood on his hands. The Jews even beat a synagogue official, right in front of the tribunal. He wasn’t impressed.
Luke tells us that Paul stayed there for “quite some time” and then left for Syria. At the beginning of the reading, God promised Paul that no one would harm him while he was in Corinth, and He kept his word.
Of course, later in life Paul would be arrested and imprisoned. And he eventually died a martyr’s death.
[pause]
In the today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. He compares their suffering to a woman in labor. They will endure pain, but the reward will be so great that they will forget all about it. They will rejoice and no one will be able to take their joy away from them.
It's too bad that so many people today seem to have forgotten Christ's words. Forget about dying a martyr's death. A lot of so-called Christians think it's too much of a sacrifice to come to mass once a week. They honestly think that if they show up on Easter and Christmas, they are in God's good graces.
Yesterday was the feast of the Ascension. It used to be a Holy Day of obligation. But here in St. Louis, as in most dioceses of the United States, several years ago, it was moved to this coming Sunday. Believe it or not, some people haven't even noticed the change. I think the only people who were really upset were school kids and teachers because they don't get the day off anymore.
Many of us have turned into minimalist Catholics. How much do we have to do to get into heaven? Shouldn't the real question be, "What's the most I can do to repay God for sending His son to die on a cross so that my sins could be forgiven?"
We have no idea what God has in store for us when we get to heaven. All we know is that Jesus says that our "hearts will rejoice" and no one will take our joy away from us.
The Roman tribunal wants no part of it, because he hasn’t violated any civil law. Like Pontius Pilate when he was asked to execute Jesus, this tribunal doesn't want Paul's blood on his hands. The Jews even beat a synagogue official, right in front of the tribunal. He wasn’t impressed.
Luke tells us that Paul stayed there for “quite some time” and then left for Syria. At the beginning of the reading, God promised Paul that no one would harm him while he was in Corinth, and He kept his word.
Of course, later in life Paul would be arrested and imprisoned. And he eventually died a martyr’s death.
[pause]
In the today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. He compares their suffering to a woman in labor. They will endure pain, but the reward will be so great that they will forget all about it. They will rejoice and no one will be able to take their joy away from them.
It's too bad that so many people today seem to have forgotten Christ's words. Forget about dying a martyr's death. A lot of so-called Christians think it's too much of a sacrifice to come to mass once a week. They honestly think that if they show up on Easter and Christmas, they are in God's good graces.
Yesterday was the feast of the Ascension. It used to be a Holy Day of obligation. But here in St. Louis, as in most dioceses of the United States, several years ago, it was moved to this coming Sunday. Believe it or not, some people haven't even noticed the change. I think the only people who were really upset were school kids and teachers because they don't get the day off anymore.
Many of us have turned into minimalist Catholics. How much do we have to do to get into heaven? Shouldn't the real question be, "What's the most I can do to repay God for sending His son to die on a cross so that my sins could be forgiven?"
We have no idea what God has in store for us when we get to heaven. All we know is that Jesus says that our "hearts will rejoice" and no one will take our joy away from us.
posted by Mike at 10:55 AM
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