Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Acts: 22:30, 23:6-11

Wishing to determine the truth
about why Paul was being accused by the Jews,
the commander freed him
and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.
Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.

Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,
so he called out before the Sanhedrin,
“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;
I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
When he said this,
a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,
and the group became divided.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection
or angels or spirits,
while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.
A great uproar occurred,
and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party
stood up and sharply argued,
“We find nothing wrong with this man.
Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
The dispute was so serious that the commander,
afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them,
ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midst
and take him into the compound.
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage.
For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,
so you must also bear witness in Rome.”

The Word of the Lord.

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Saint Paul has just been put on trial, severely lashed, and thrown back into prison. Half-dead, he prays from his cell, “God, what is your will for me?”

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Anyone would’ve hoped for an open door or relief from pain and suffering.

But mysteriously, the Lord appears to Paul, saying, “Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.”

That will be Paul’s next – and final – stop. 

After faithfully proclaiming the Gospel, he will be put to death, just like his Lord.

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What this passage tells us is as haunting as what it does not tell us. 

It does not tell us why God allowed Paul to suffer, other than the fact that he “bears witness”; nor does it explain away our own suffering.

But it does tell us that the Lord appeared to Paul; that Paul did God’s will; and through it all, Jesus was with him.

“Take courage,” the Lord says. “I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

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What can Paul’s life and ministry say to us? 

That, at times, God allows pain and suffering to enter into our lives. But not without grace. 

As Paul himself writes, “No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.”

Paul bore his cross faithfully. His way out – his reward – was the resurrection. And for him that promise of eternal life was more than enough.

May Paul pray for us that we, too, would accept the Lord’s will even when suffering is involved, because it leads to life in abundance.

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Image credits: (1) National Catholic Register (2) Saint Paul in Prison, Amazon.com (3) Pinterest

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Acts: 20: 28-38

At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus:
“Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock
of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,
in which you tend the Church of God
that he acquired with his own Blood.
I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,
and they will not spare the flock.
And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth
to draw the disciples away after them.
So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day,
I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears.
And now I commend you to God
and to that gracious word of his that can build you up
and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.
I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
You know well that these very hands
have served my needs and my companions.
In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort
we must help the weak,
and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

When he had finished speaking
he knelt down and prayed with them all.
They were all weeping loudly
as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him,
for they were deeply distressed that he had said
that they would never see his face again.
Then they escorted him to the ship.

The Word of the Lord.

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“They threw their arms around Paul and kissed him…They were deeply distressed, because they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.”

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For the last three years, Paul has been living in a Christian community, which he helped to establish. Now the time of his departure is at hand; the Spirit has revealed to him in prayer that he must leave for Jerusalem.

“What will happen to me there,” he says, “I do not know.”

While this community was heartbroken by Paul’s departure, it was a blessing in disguise – at least for us Christians today.

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Paul was always a man on the go. He’d establish one Christian community, stay there for a while, then depart for another. Because of his absence, he’d write pastoral letters to encourage these new Christians.

Those letters, along with the Acts of the Apostles, form almost half of the New Testament. 

So, what do Paul’s words reveal about the early Church? And what was some of his parting advice? 

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From the beginning, there was a handing on of authority. The power which the Apostles received was also given to Paul. Then he appointed presbyters – priests – who became his successors by prayer and the laying on of hands.

Then he warned these communities that “savage wolves” – false preachers – would come among them. Sadly, we still encounter false witnesses occasionally in the Church today. But Paul exhorted them to remain faithful to the Gospel they received.

Finally, he lived a life of surrender – freely accepting whatever happened to him: rejection, imprisonment, even death.

Everything Paul did was for the glory of God.

May his courageous spirit, which inspired these early Christians, also inspire us to continue God’s work today.

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Image credits: (1) SlidePlayer (2) St. Paul, Bartolomeo Montagna, Public Domain (3) DailyVerses.net

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Gospel: John 17: 1-11

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
“Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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One of the most popular Catholic Saints is Francis of Assisi.

He left a life of riches behind and devoted himself entirely to the Lord. He had a unique love of nature, a kindred spirit, and spent his life, “rebuilding the Church.”

Perhaps his most important contribution to the life of the Church was establishing the Franciscans, a religious order of both men and women that continues doing Christ’s work around the world today.

At the age of 45, while lying on his deathbed, Francis turned to his brothers – the first Franciscans – and said to them, “I have done what was mine to do. Now you must do what is yours to do.”

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Francis aligned himself with the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. 

We continue with the “Farewell Discourse,” when Jesus leaves his parting words to his friends. Like Francis, Jesus was at peace knowing that he has done what was his to do.

As he says, “Father, I glorified you on earth by accomplishing everything you gave me to do.”

That’s something I hope – perhaps we all hope – to say when the sun sets on our earthly life. “Father, I’ve accomplished everything you gave me to do.”

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How do we know what is “ours” to do? How did Francis know? How did Jesus know?

First, they prayed. Their hearts were open to the voice of the Spirit.

Secondly, they were disciplined. 

It isn’t always easy to do what God asks of us – consider Jesus carrying his cross, or Francis leaving a life of wealth behind. But with prayer and discipline, we can do everything that God has given us to do, even today.

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Image credits: (1) Bethel Assembly Church in Foston, MN (2) Francis of Assisi, Biography (3) Bible