4/30/2014 – Wednesday of 2nd week in Easter – Act 5:17-26

      We hear a very vivid account from the Acts of the Apostles today, about how the Angel of the Lord help the Apostles escape from prison in order the them to proclaim the Good News of Jesus in the Temple area.  Indeed, the Lord can call us to proclaim his message in the very different circumstances, especially as they are based upon the realities we face in our lives. 

       Today, we celebrate the feast day of Pope Pius V, who was pope in the late 16^th century for 6 six years. He was born to a very poor family and worked as a shepherd until the age of 14, at which time he entered the Dominicans.  As pope, Pius saw his main objective as the continuation of the massive program of reform for the Church, in particular the full implementation of the decrees of the Council of Trent that occurred after the Protestant Reformation.  While pope, he published the Roman Catechism, the revised Roman Breviary, and the Roman Missal.  He declared Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church, commanded a new edition of the works of Thomas Aquinas, and created a commission to revise the Vulgate.  The decrees of the Council of Trent were published throughout all Catholic lands, with Pope Pius insisting on their strict adherence.

      We practice our Catholic faith in the realities we face as followers of Christ. The realities of the Early Church and the realities that Pope Pius V faced posed there own challenges and particularities.  Today, we are faced with the challenges of globalization and secularism.   Pope Francis and Pope Benedict challenge us the faithful to evangelize and announce the Gospel with great enthusiasm and joy.  May we face the challenge of facing of proclaiming the Good News of Christ in the context of the reality we face.