5 May 2020 - Tuesday of the 4th week of Easter - Acts 11:19-26

      Our reading in Acts today tells about the aftermath resulting from the killing of Stephen.   We feel a lot of fear and apprehension as to the uncertainly we have in the world today with the pandemic.  In fact, in our meeting with the priests council today with the Diocese, we are still unsure as to when we are going to able to have public masses.  I know a lot of businesses and places of employment and schools are also wondering where we are head both in the short-term and the long-term.   But I am sure the disciples in the early Church wonder what would face them?  Ostracism?  Violence?  Persecution?  Imprisonment?  Death?  Despite their fear, these disciples went out and proclaimed the Good News.  First they went to the Jews alone, but then the Good News spread throughout the Gentile world.  God worked wonders through these disciples as the Good News inspired such a great number to follow the way of Jesus.  I think of how we here in the Catholic Church have had to be inventive and creative in the ways we reach out in this time of the pandemic.  Send out emails.  Having drive-in adoration.  Streaming our masses over the internet.  Those early disciples were creative and inventive, using the means of communication available to them in their day.  We need a lot of comfort and assurances on our journey right now, don’t we, with all the uncertainty and new circumstances that face us.  No matter how this unfolds, God is counting on us to bring his message to the world.  And he will never leave us alone.