“Our bliss lies not in the deeds we do, but in the greatness of love” (John Tauler).
The mystics constantly remind us of the essence of our faith. Of course, it is not a question of devaluing good works, because they accompany us:
I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” (Rev 14:13).
After the series in which we meditated intensely on the Gospel of John, which ended with the accounts of the Resurrection, it is appropriate to continue with the Acts of the Apostles, which begins with the Ascension. In this new series we will hear and learn how the early Church carried out her mission, so that our zeal to proclaim the message of salvation to people today will never wane.
As I indicated at the beginning of the series on the Gospel of John, if you would prefer to listen to a meditation on the reading or the Gospel of the day, you will find the link at the end of the text.
The Gospel of John ends with these words: “There are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (Jn 21:25). The first verses of the Acts of the Apostles partly explain these words, for it is written that Jesus appeared to His disciples for forty days before He ascended into heaven to instruct them and prepare them for their mission:
