Word to the Wise
Saturday, May 27, 2017 - 6th Week of Easter - Sat
[Acts 18:23-28 and John 16:23b-28]SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2017. SATURDAY IN THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER [Acts 18:23-28 and John 16:23b-28] "For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." [John] One of the overarching themes of the Gospel According to John is the "coming and going" of Jesus. He has come from the Father and is now returning to the Father. The next step is the coming of the Spirit to "remain" with us until the end of time. Eternal life in this gospel begins with faith in Jesus as the one whom God has sent. Sin in this gospel is refusal to believe. The offer of a personal relationship with Jesus is something that many Catholics feel a bit uncomfortable about. We let the sacraments suffice for that in some way. Yet the very faith that brings us to a sacramental encounter with Christ is the door to a personal encounter in prayer. The Gospel According to John is one long invitation to a personal encounter that the sacraments are a physical expression of. Can we accept that personal invitation? AMEN