Showing all posts in Biblical Meditations

Joan kept this secret between God and herself, hidden within her as she grew up over the following years. She spoke to no one about it—not to the local priest, nor to her parents or friends. Guided by her saints, she oriented her entire life toward this mission, and little by little, her saints revealed more and more of it to her.

Young Joan was well aware of France’s dire wartime situation, for the Hundred Years’ War between England and France did not spare her village. The political fragmentation of the country, the various warring factions, and the roaming, plundering bands were a constant threat, and there was no prospect of peace. Undoubtedly, this dire situation was the subject of anxious daily conversation among the residents of Domrémy and the surrounding area.

In the course of this war, the English had gradually brought large areas of France under their control. They allied themselves with the French Burgundians, so that the conquest of all of France—and thus its subjugation to the rule of the English king—became increasingly likely.

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According to the traditional calendar, the feast of Saint John Baptist de La Salle is celebrated on May 15, and we will dedicate today’s meditation to him. For this occasion, the following Gospel passage has been chosen:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.” (Mt 18:1–5)

Here the Lord presents us with two aspects regarding children. First, their simplicity and sincerity. That is the attitude with which we must approach our heavenly Father. In children who still retain their purity, we find a wonderful innocence that willingly receives what we offer them. By living such a relationship with our Father, we become receptive to God’s love, which can be transmitted to us directly. True greatness flows from this, for in the Kingdom of Heaven, the one who loves and serves others is great. If our heart is as open as a child’s, not only do we receive God’s love by the most direct path, but this love also becomes the motivation for action, since love drives us to carry out God’s works. Ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit—the love between the Father and the Son—Who impels us to do good and enlightens our hearts.

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The forty days during which the Risen Lord had instructed His disciples and led them even more deeply into their mission have come to an end. For the Lord, the hour has come to return to His Father in all His glory. He has completed the work He was commissioned to carry out on Earth and has laid the foundation for the message of salvation to be proclaimed throughout the world. Nothing is more important than the fulfillment of the mission the Lord entrusted to His apostles so that all people might come to know the Redeemer of all nations and follow Him. Jesus is the only way to the Father (Jn 14:6).

In recent days, the readings and the Gospel have spoken to us again and again of the Holy Spirit, who is absolutely indispensable for the authentic spread of the Gospel. Without Him, the fire of love would soon be extinguished, and the truth would be replaced by human fables and the deceptions of fallen angels. Today, on the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we hear the passage from the Acts of the Apostles that recounts this event:

Acts 1:1–12

In the first book, O Theoph′ilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. 

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Jn 16:12-15

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.  He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

While still on earth with His disciples, the Lord did not entrust everything to them, knowing that the Holy Spirit had to be sent to them first, both to allow them to understand things and to strengthen them to put them into practice.

This is how the Lord guides His Church through time, enabling it to discern His revelation through the Holy Spirit ever more clearly.

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Jn 16:5-11

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:  concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Today we hear again one of those statements of the Lord that the disciples had to learn to understand. Their hearts were full of grief, but none of them dared to ask where Jesus was going. Perhaps they were afraid of an answer that would deepen the pain in which they were already immersed.

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Jn 15:26-16:4

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: When the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me; and you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning. I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away.  They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.  And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them.

The Church teaches us that the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son. As today’s reading suggests, His task is to remind us of what Jesus said and did; that is, to bear witness to Him.

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Today’s Gospel invites us to reflect once again on the Holy Spirit.

Jn 14:15–21

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans[1]; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 

This other Advocate whom the Lord has sent is the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, enlightens and strengthens us, leads us on the path of sanctification, and inspires the Church to proclaim the Gospel in the right way.

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Now that we have considered the calling of a true shepherd—and St. Peter and his successors in particular—on three separate occasions, this text on the Holy Spirit fits in very well!

Acts 16:1-10

From there he went to Derbe, and then on to Lystra, where there was a disciple called Timothy, whose mother was Jewish and had become a believer; but his father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him, and Paul, who wanted to have him as a travelling companion, had him circumcised. This was on account of the Jews in the locality where everyone knew his father was a Greek. As they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to observe them. So the churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers. They travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, because they had been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia they tried to go into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas. One night Paul had a vision: a Macedonian appeared and kept urging him in these words, ‘Come across to Macedonia and help us.’ Once he had seen this vision we lost no time in arranging a passage to Macedonia, convinced that God had called us to bring them the good news. Read More

Regarding the Petrine office, we emphasized yesterday that when Jesus called Peter to his ministry of shepherding the sheep, He asked him about his love and then entrusted him with the task of feeding them (John 21:15–19).

We further considered that the Pope’s ministry consists, in particular, in authentically transmitting Christ’s teaching through the centuries until the day of His return at the end of time, for the Church has understood Peter’s calling as an appointment to a universal pastoral office. In this context, it must be emphasized how important it is that the Church remain protected from heresies and reject them, so that their poison does not penetrate the Body of Christ.

In what follows, I would like to highlight a few points that are indispensable for a true shepherd of the Church.

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Acts 14:19-28

Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and turned the people against them. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead. The disciples came crowding round him but, as they did so, he stood up and went back to the town. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. Having preached the good news in that town and made a considerable number of disciples, they went back through Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith, saying, ‘We must all experience many hardships before we enter the kingdom of God.’ In each of these churches they appointed elders, and with prayer and fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe. They passed through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. Then after proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia and from there sailed for Antioch, where they had originally been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On their arrival they assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the gentiles. They stayed there with the disciples for some time. Read More