ACTS OF THE APOSTLES: “The witness of the apostles and the present crisis of mission” (III)

In addressing today the question of whether there are signs suggesting that Leo XIV is leading the Church back onto the right path, in accordance with Sacred Scripture and Tradition, I will focus primarily on the theme of mission, which we have discussed in the last two meditations.

We have a first speech by the new Pontiff related to the theme we are dealing with. This is the ‘address to ecumenical and interreligious delegations’ he gave on 19 May 2025. I will quote some important excerpts for the topic at hand:

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“THE MORAL VIRTUES”

‘It is not to be believed that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit can penetrate a person who does not practise virtue ’ (John Tauler).

Moral virtues are those which order our conduct in such a way that it is pleasing to God. All Christian virtues are of this type. The moral virtues are distinguished from the theological virtues mainly in that the immediate object of the former is not God Himself, but our moral behaviour and the fulfilment of the duties which the Divine Law imposes on us, whether these relate directly to God, to our neighbour or to ourselves. We speak of acquired Christian virtues when this supernatural ability to do good has become a good habit, so that we practise it with a certain ease.

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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES: “The witness of the apostles and the present crisis of mission” (II)

Before we continue to accompany St. Paul through the remaining chapters of the Acts of the Apostles and prepare ourselves for the approaching Solemnity of Pentecost, let us return to the theme we started yesterday and dwell on the consequences that result when we cease to consider Jesus Christ as the only Saviour of the world and no longer proclaim Him with the zeal of the apostles, as the Church had done throughout the centuries with great fidelity.

If we look at the present situation of the Church with regard to the mission entrusted to her, we have to note that certain circles, even up to the highest hierarchy, no longer feel committed to the missionary mandate of Jesus in the same way as the Church did from the beginning.

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“THE THOLOGICAL VIRTUES”

‘It is not to be believed that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit can penetrate a person who does not practise virtue ’ (John Tauler).

The indwelling of God in our soul has conditions. The first is that we live in a state of grace and remain vigilant not to lose it, and that we go immediately to the Throne of Grace should we fall, in order to be reconciled with our Father.

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 “LET GOD ACT AND SPEAK TO US”  

‘The best and most wonderful thing you can achieve in this life is to be silent and let God act and speak’ (Master Eckhart).

Silence has value and greatness in itself, as long as it is not the silence that can arise from anxiety and fear of man. By knowing how to be silent, by resisting the tendency to communicate and comment on everything, we learn to accept circumstances as they are, to ponder them more deeply and to face them with greater reflection. In this way, we escape the dynamism of a fast-paced world, which brings with it too much restlessness and a logic of ‘action-reaction’ in which we act hastily. As the apostle James advises: “Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (Jas 1:19)

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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES: “The witness of the apostles and the present crisis of mission” (I)

In the chapters of the Acts of the Apostles that we have gone through so far, we have clearly seen how the Holy Spirit, in co-operation with the apostles, brought the Gospel to both the Jewish and Gentile world. At the risk of their lives and under all kinds of persecution and mistreatment, the apostles did not cease to proclaim the Gospel wherever the Spirit of God led them. Initially they focused primarily on the Jews, but, thanks to divine guidance, it became increasingly clear to them that the Good News had to be spread to the whole world, in accordance with the command the Risen Lord had given to His disciples: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk 16:15-16).

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“ALL FOR THE LOVE OF GOD”

‘Whatever good we do, we must do for the love of God, and whatever evil we avoid, we must avoid for the love of God ’ (St. Francis of Assisi).

St. Francis gives us excellent advice for the spiritual life. Only when this is our motivation in both things will the good we do and the evil we avoid acquire the full splendour of truth. Then we will find it easier to see that it was God’s grace that sustained us and we will not focus so much on ourselves and our ‘performances’. It is not always easy, especially when we receive praise from others for the good we have done or when we indulge in being some kind of ‘benefactors of humanity’, which can be a subtle temptation.

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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES (Acts 17:16.22-31): “Paul in Athens”

Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So Paul, standing in the middle of the Are-opagus, said: Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything.

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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES (Acts 16:6-15): “Paul’s second missionary journey”

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.  And when they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.  And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing beseeching him and saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

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