Word to the Wise
Thursday, May 20, 2021 - 7th Week of Easter - Thurs
[Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 and John 17:20-26]"I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as ou, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me." [John]
The long spiraling words of the Farewell Discourse come to an end today with Jesus praying not only for his present disciples but for his future ones! That's you and me! We believe because of the words spoken to us by disciples who came before us and have told us that Jesus is the one whom God has sent. He is the Son of God. We experience eternal life when we come to belief in him. He and his Father have given us their Spirit to guide us "to all truth." We are sent into "the world" to proclaim this. Everything else in our Catholic faith is rooted in these fundamental truths.
It can be very helpful to step back from the elaborate expressions of Catholic faith -sacraments/liturgy, theology, structures of organization, etc; - and remember that this is all about people believing that Jesus is the one whom God has sent. This is why we follow his teachings and live as he has commanded, i.e. to love one another as he has loved us. All that has come about as a result of Jesus becoming flesh and living among us is meant to help us to bear witness. We can become so fascinated with doing the "work of the Lord" that we forget "the Lord of the work." This Sunday we will celebrate the great enabler of our faith, the Holy Spirit and pray that it will continue to guide us into all truth. AMEN