Elija Mission

Having concluded our journey through the Acts of the Apostles, in which we have accompanied these tireless witnesses of the Gospel on their missionary journeys, with all their sufferings but also with their joy at the spread of the faith, we now wish to focus our attention on the Holy Spirit, in keeping with the liturgical season.

For it was He who guided the mission of the apostles, who had to wait for His coming before beginning their ministry among all peoples. With today’s meditation we enter into the imminent preparation for Pentecost.

As a guiding star for the following meditations, I turn to the Pentecost Sequence, which is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful prayers of the Church:

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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:

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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).

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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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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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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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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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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 Bithyn′ia, 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 Macedo′nia was standing beseeching him and saying, “Come over to Macedo′nia and help us.” And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedo′nia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

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On the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed. Then they passed through Pisid′ia, and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia; and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled. And when they arrived, they gathered the church together and declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they remained no little time with the disciples.

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Now at Lystra there was a man sitting, who could not use his feet; he was a cripple from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking; and Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and walked. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!”  Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, because he was the chief speaker, they called Hermes. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the people.

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