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WORD FOR MISSION Every week CIAM offers
to lay, religious people and priests an itinerary of reflections on the
Sunday Liturgy in a missionary prespective. These are elements for a
missionary meditation, individual or in community, on the Word of God ,
which constantly and surprisingly continues to enlighten, strengthen
and sustain the missionary journey of the Church, for the life of the
World
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The Spirit of Love, guarantee of the Mission
VI Sunday of Easter Year C – 13.05.2007
Acts 15:1-2,22-29 Psalm 66 Revelation 21:10-14,22-23 John 14:23-29
Reflections In his "farewell discourses" after the Last Supper, just before going our to face his Passion, Jesus foretells the Easter gifts that he would pour out upon the Apostles and the world at his Resurrection. In the first place, the gift of a new love (Gospel): a love that is 'total immersion' in the Holy Trinity, that comes to live, to take up its dwelling in the one who believes and loves (v.23); a love that becomes the source of the new life. Then there is the gift of peace: the peace that Jesus gives, a much different peace from what the world has to offer (v.27), a peace that it stronger than any disturbance, that give reassurance in every difficulty. And above all, there is the gift of the "Consoler, the Holy Spirit", as teacher and repository of the things that Jesus has taught (v.26). It is a promise that affects very closely the pilgrimage of the Church throughout history: Jesus could not have explained all the consequences and the application of his message, so he ensures the friendly presence of sure guide, even in the face of new problems, of unexpected events, of the development of human sciences... Just think of today's challenges: fundamentalism, bioethics, globalisation, dialogue between religions, ecology... and so on.
The new choices that the community of those who believe in Christ will have to make throughout the centuries, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, cannot be in contradiction with Jesus' message; indeed, they will be a development, a creative depth of understanding, an application that responds to the needs of the many different people, times and places. A storm arose immediately, and was a question of life or death for the Church, only about 20 years after Jesus had been on earth! The Acts of the Apostles (1st. Reading) tells of the quarrels and animated discussion between two groups: on the one side the converts from Judaism, who wanted to impose certain Jewish practices on pagan converts even before they were baptised; Paul and Barnabas, on the other side, saw in such impositions the risk of blocking the grace of Christ, and argued for the immediate admittance of pagans into the Christian community, without Judaic impositions. (vv.1-2).
Very wisely, the debate was taken up to the highest level: to the involvement and discernment of the Apostles in Jerusalem. Three tendencies emerged in the Council of Jerusalem: the open and direct line of Paul, the somewhat hesitant line of Peter, and the practical advice of James, Bishop of Jerusalem, who mediated between Paul and those who wanted to impose Jewish practices, with a reasoning based on pastoral criteria, with one or two transitory concessions (v.29), as can be seen from the first conciliar document of the Catholic Church (vv.23-29).
The presence of the Holy Spirit can be recognised in all this difficult process: in the quest for a stronger communion with the leaders of the Church, in the discussion thrown open to all in the search for a community decision, in the attention given to each speaker, especially Peter, in the choice of credible witnesses to be sent to the brothers in Antioch, and above all, in the clear affirmation of salvation offered to all through Christ, thus making access to the Gospel easier for pagans, with no extra obligations imposed. This decision is the result of a happy, though difficult, acting together: "The Holy Spirit and we have agreed..." (v.28). (*)
“The historical journey of the Church has not always been in a straight line, as the Council of Jerusalem shows. Some virtues are very important, such as the dynamism that stops the Church from falling into nostalgia, fidelity that stops the Church from going off-line, the patience that holds the Church back from frenzy, prophecy that lets the Church recognise and understand the signs of the times, tolerance and dialogue that hold of the sickness of integralism, hope that allows the Church to get over hesitation and uncertainty. But over all these, the Spirit must dominate, as the last and living guide of the Church” (G. Ravasi). The Conciliar method was tested, and remains valid for every age!
The Pope’s Words (*) "The Spirit of Jesus Christ is the power of forgiveness. He is the power of Divine Mercy. He makes it possible to start all over again, ever anew. The friendship of Jesus Christ is the friendship of the One who makes us people who forgive, the One who also forgives us, raises us ceaselessly from our weakness and in this very way educates us, instils in us an awareness of the inner duty of love, of the duty to respond with our faithfulness to his trust." Benedict XVI Homily on the second Sunday of Easter, 15.4.2007
In the steps of Missionaries - 13-31/5: Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, opened by Pope Benedict XVI in Aparecida (Brazil), with the theme: “Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ, so that our peoples may have Life in Him”. - 13/5: Anniversary of the Apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima (Portugal, 1917). - 14/5: St. Matthias, Apostle, called to make up the number of the Twelve (Acts 1:15-26). - 14/5: St. Teodora (Anna Teresa) Guérin (1798-1856), a religious, founder an missionary in France and in Indianapolis (USA). - 15/5: St. Isidore, farmer (Madrid, c. 1080-1130), husband of Bl. Maria de la Cabeza: he was an example of hard work and of trust in Providence. - 15/5: International Family Day, instituted by the United Nations in 1994. - 16/5: St. Simon Stock (+1265), an English hermit who joined the Carmelites, invigorating the devotion to Our Lady, and working to consolidate the Order; he died at Bordeaux in France. - 17/5: St. Paschal Baylón (1540-1592), a Spanish Franciscan; because of his special love for and teachings on the Holy Eucharist, Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him Patron of Eucharistic Congresses. - 17/5: Bl. Ivan Ziatyk (1899-1952), a Ukrainian Redemptorist priest; he was imprisoned, and condemned to forced labour in the gulag of Oserlag, near Irkutsk (Siberia), where he died.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Compiled by Fr. Romeo Ballan, mcci - former Director of CIAM, Rome Translated by Fr. J.M. Troy, mccj Website: www.ciam.org “The Word for Mission” ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ |
