It is my Father’s will, says the Lord,
that whoever believes in the Son shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day. JN 6:40
ACTS 8:1-8 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
When we are persecuted or when we hear of Christians in certain countries who are singled out to be mistreated, persecuted, or worse we become alarmed and angry especially when the rest of the world is silent. What we fail to understand is that it is through the suffering and the persecution that infinite grace is at work and conversions take place. Tertullian was right when he said, 'The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.' Beginning with the shedding of Your Blood O Lord, the disciples, Apostles, and Christians who were martyred through the 2000-year history of the Church and died for Your Sake and the Gospel has only resulted in the increase of believers. Such is the power of the witness of those who lay down their lives in perfect peace and joy for they know in whom they have believed and placed all their hope and trust.
The greatest conversion of all is the conversion of Saul. We read in the words of St. Luke, that Saul who witnessed the stoning of Stephen and approved his murder was the most passionate opponent of the Church and its followers. With single-minded fanatical fervor, he sought the total destruction of the Church. So great was his hatred of Christians that he was determined to go from house to house and arrest men and women and imprison them.
But there is no power greater than that of the Holy Spirit. And the Way the Spirit operates is by disarming through love. The disciples were scattered as they fled the persecution and they carried the Gospel, the Good News of our salvation with them and they preached and lived it wherever they went. Rather than stamping out Christianity, the fire of the Holy Spirit was being kindled wherever the Gospel was preached.
Signs and wonders accompanied the preaching of the Gospel. Particular mention is made of Philip who went to a Samaritan town and we read:
The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result, there was great rejoicing in that town.
PSALM 65(66):1-7 ©
Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!
Because of the greatness of your strength
your enemies cringe before you.
Before you all the earth shall bow;
shall sing to you, sing to your name!’
Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the river dry-shod.
Let our joy then be in him;
he rules for ever by his might.
His eyes keep watch over the nations:
let rebels not rise against him.
The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result, there was great rejoicing in that town.
We are now entering an age of renewed persecution of the Church may we not cower in fear but continue boldly and unafraid to proclaim the Gospel even if it means death for the Church You founded is invincible - it is Your Body and will live forever.
PSALM 65(66):1-7 ©
Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!
Because of the greatness of your strength
your enemies cringe before you.
Before you all the earth shall bow;
shall sing to you, sing to your name!’
Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the river dry-shod.
Let our joy then be in him;
he rules for ever by his might.
His eyes keep watch over the nations:
let rebels not rise against him.
Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
JOHN 6:35-40 ©
JOHN 6:35-40 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
When we are tempted to think that perhaps if we lived during the time of Your public ministry we would have a greater, stronger faith we must recall Your words to the crowd:
But, as I have told you,
you can see me and still you do not believe.There is no guarantee, Lord, that this would be so with us. I believe that we are living in a much more favorable time when we can see the whole of salvation history and we have a panoramic view of the whole picture. Faith in any case is Your gift to us, especially those of us who are cradle Catholics.
We believe in the Holy Eucharist, we believe You are the Bread of Life. We believe that eating this Bread we receive eternal life. We believe that our faith in You, by the power of the Holy Spirit, has created a well of living fountain within us and we will never be thirsty again for we, O Lord, have You for our food and drink.
Thank You for Your assurance that the Father has entrusted all things to You and having done so, anyone who comes to You and believes that You came from heaven not to do Your will but the will of Your Father receives a share in Your resurrection and will be raised up on the last day.
Yes, it is my Father’s will
that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day.’
Yes, it is my Father’s will
that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day.’
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