“Who shall not return love to Him who thus loves us?
Who of the redeemed shall not love Him,
and choose in that Heart
his eternal abode?”
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES: “Conclusion of the Acts of the Apostles”
Shortly after Paul was taken to Caesarea, the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and the lawyer Tertullus to bring their charges against him before the procurator Felix (Acts 24:1). However, Paul defended himself, and Felix found no grounds for condemning him, so he postponed the case (v. 22). So Paul remained in Caesarea for two years, under guard but with certain liberties. Felix’s successor, Porcius Festus, left Paul in prison to please the Jews (v. 27).
As soon as he took office, Festus had to face the accusations of the chief priests and the leaders of the Jews against Paul (Acts 25:1-2). They asked him to transfer him from Caesarea to Jerusalem, ‘planning an ambush to kill him on the way’ (v. 3). But Festus refused and replied that they should go down to Caesarea (vv. 4-5). When they arrived and presented their accusations, Festus asked Paul if he wanted to go up to Jerusalem to be tried there (v. 9), to which Paul replied:
“THE LORD’S ‘KAIRÓS’”
‘Who, if not us? When, if not now?’ (Saint Joan of Arc).
These words were spoken by Saint Joan of Arc, and were probably addressed to the army entrusted to her by King Charles VII to fulfil God’s command to liberate France from English occupation.
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES: “Paul, prisoner of Christ”
After the series of the last three meditations, in which we addressed the crisis of the Church’s mission in the light of the witness of the apostles, we will now turn to the last chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. We will do so with a slightly different outline than in the last few weeks, since the last chapters speak for themselves. I can only strongly recommend to everyone to take the time to read them in their entirety. They are very rich in the sense that they narrate the following missionary journeys of St. Paul and all that happened in them. However, in the following meditations I will limit myself to summarising the events, emphasising one or the other key point.
After leaving Athens, Paul spent a very fruitful time in Corinth (Acts 18). There he was comforted by the Lord through a vision, who told him not to be afraid and that no one could harm him (vv. 9-10). Paul stayed one year and six months in Corinth (v. 11).
“I AM WAITING FOR YOU IN ETERNITY”
‘I am waiting for you in eternity ’ (Inner Word).
Could we hear a more beautiful expression of our Father’s love for us? How wonderful it is for us on the human level when someone waits for us simply out of love, not because He wants something from us, but because He is pleased to have us near. It is also a delight when He expressly manifests it to us.
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:
“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.
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.
“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.
“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)