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Acts: 16:22-34

The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas,
and the magistrates had them stripped
and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
After inflicting many blows on them,
they threw them into prison
and instructed the jailer to guard them securely.
When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell
and secured their feet to a stake.

About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,
there was suddenly such a severe earthquake
that the foundations of the jail shook;
all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose.
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open,
he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,
thinking that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted out in a loud voice,
“Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.”
He asked for a light and rushed in and,
trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and said,
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you and your household will be saved.”
So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds;
then he and all his family were baptized at once.
He brought them up into his house and provided a meal
and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God.

The Word of the Lord.

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There’s an old Swedish proverb: “Those who wish to sing always find a song.”  

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In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Silas have been humiliated, stripped in public, and beaten with rods. 

Now they’re imprisoned and chained to the ground deep inside the bowels of the earth, facing the imminent possibility of death. Why are they singing songs to God at midnight?

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Paul and Silas have discovered a higher freedom, one that cannot be chained – the freedom of knowing Jesus Christ. 

This is a great, almost original, Pauline insight – that in the midst of suffering, there is always the consolation of the Spirit; there is grace; there is a reason to sing.

“Those who wish to sing always find a song.” 

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While we may never know the darkness of imprisonment, we’ve all endured various trials – dryness in prayer, periods of grief, sickness, anxiety, isolation, or frustration. 

But Paul and Silas remind us, there is always a reason to rejoice, a reason to sing.

As Paul later writes, “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? … No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.”

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Those who wish to sing always find a song. 

As Christians, our tune is always one of victory.

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Image credits: (1) QuoteFancy (2) FreePik (3) QuoteFancy

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Acts: 16: 11-15

We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace,
and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi,
a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We spent some time in that city.
On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river
where we thought there would be a place of prayer.
We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.
One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.
After she and her household had been baptized,
she offered us an invitation,
“If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home,” and she prevailed on us.

The Word of the Lord.

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When we think of Europe, it’s easy to presume it’s always been Christian. 

Europe is home to some of the greatest and oldest cathedrals in the world, including Saint Peter’s in Rome; Chartres in France; Westminster Abbey in London; and Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

But Europe’s Christian faith comes from humble beginnings. In fact, the first Masses were likely celebrated in homes, not in sprawling cathedrals.

So, when did Christianity begin in Europe? Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives us a likely answer.

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Saint Paul is traveling with some of his companions throughout Greece, where they encounter a group of women, including someone named Lydia.

We don’t know much about her, other than the fact that she traded fine purple linen – a sign she came from some wealth – and she made Paul an offer he couldn’t refuse:

“If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she says, “then come and stay at my home.”

Paul accepted the invitation, and baptized her entire household. Lydia allowed Paul to stay with her for as long as he needed, likely several weeks, even months.

Scholars believe that Paul not only stayed in Lydia’s home, but he also celebrated Mass there. That’s where some of the first Christians came to believe – in a tiny home in Greece.

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So, what can Lydia’s story say to us today?

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God’s will often starts with humble beginnings. Think of Christ lying in a manger. Who would’ve thought that child would redeem the world?

Or the calling of the Twelve Apostles. Who would’ve imagined the Church would grow from twelve ordinary men to nearly 1.4 billion believers? 

Or a simple Mass celebrated in Lydia’s home. That was, perhaps, the first seed of Christianity planted in Europe.

Never underestimate the power of one. God can use it to transform the world.

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Image credits: (1) Pinterest, Simon Sinek (2) Home Sanctuary, TypePad (3) Shawn Bolz on X

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Gospel: John 14: 23-29

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Recently, I ran across a comic strip that showed a family preparing to go to church on Sunday.

In the first frame, the children were arguing with their mother about what to wear; nothing seemed to match or fit perfectly. 

Then the children were fighting about use of the bathroom… Then there was a food fight at breakfast… Then they argued over seats in the car.

The final frame showed the family kneeling piously in a church pew praying for peace in the Middle East.

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There’s something both ironic and true about that.

We’re constantly reminded of the need to pray for world peace – in the Middle East, in Ukraine, in South Sudan – yet how often is that “peace” elusive in our own lives and even in our own families?

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In today’s Gospel, Jesus urges his disciples not to be “troubled,” rather to be at peace. This account takes place during the Last Supper discourse, the night before his crucifixion and death.

“Peace I leave with you,” he says. “My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.”

Worldly peace often implies the absence of something. 

It’s not the fruit of love; rather, it’s the absence of war. It’s the absence of noise in the house after the kids go to sleep. The absence of looking at emails while we lounge at the beach. The absence of thought while we’re lost in a book.

That type of peace never lasts; it fades. Eventually, war breaks out; the silence is disrupted by a stir in the house; a vacation ends; we finish a book. Life resumes. Yet this is the only type of peace some people know.

Christ’s peace is different. It’s like an anchor in the soul; it’s the sense that all is well, even in the midst of trial or tribulation. 

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Interestingly, the first time this word “peace” is used in John’s Gospel comes from Christ’s parting words to his disciples during this Last Supper discourse.

The Lord has been betrayed; Satan has entered Judas’ heart, causing him to flee into the night. The crucifixion clock is ticking.

It’s there – under those circumstances – that Jesus opens his heart, extending his peace. The Lord will offer this same peace to his disciples after his death and resurrection while they’re cowering behind closed doors in Jerusalem.

With news of the crucifixion fresh in their hearts, and fearing for their own lives, Jesus will appear to them, saying, “Peace be with you.” 

Not worldly peace, but divine peace.

In Hebrew, this word “peace” is translated as shalom. Shalom means, “harmony; wholeness; stillness.” It implies that something or someone has been broken, then pieced back together. 

In the Old Testament, “shalom” is often used in reference to the cohesiveness of the community or family unit, even while under duress. 

Meaning, divine peace is something that we can experience not in spite of, but even during, difficult or frustrating moments in life like a family getting ready for church.

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So, how do we receive it?

If only we could go on Amazon and hit, “Buy now with one click.”

But faith doesn’t work that way.

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In order to experience Christ’s peace, first we must love him. As he says in today’s Gospel, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

Love by its very nature is curious. It always seeks to know more about its Beloved. If we love Jesus, then we will study his Word, spend time with him in prayer, even when life is difficult or busy, and receive him often in the Eucharist.

Secondly, we keep his commandments. “And my commandment is this,” he says, “love one another.” Love your family – and yes, your siblings; love your neighbors; even love your enemies. Do good to them. Be kind. Generous. Merciful. Forgiving. 

Then Christ’s peace will be with you.

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We often pray for peace in places like Ukraine and the Middle East. While it seems elusive in those faraway lands, it can take root in any human heart that bears love for Christ and seeks to put his teachings into practice.

So, let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

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Image credits: (1) The Abundant Life Center (2) Vecteezy (3) Peaceful Hub, The Lotus Room, Facebook