9 April 2021 - Friday in the Octave of Easter - Acts 4:1-12

We have been hearing readings from the beginning chapters of the Acts of the Apostles in our first readings during the Octave of Easter.  Yesterday, in Acts, we heard how the healing of a lame man gave Peter and John the opportunity to address the crowds about their need for repentance and to give witness to their faith.  Peter and John brought the reality of the risen Christ into the lives of the people, of how our faith in Jesus can work miracles in our lives.   Not only did Peter and John attract the attention and interest of the crowds, but they also attracted the attention of the Sadducees, the head of the Temple guards, and the chief priests of the Temple in a negative way, which we hear about in our first reading today.  Even though the authorities take Peter and John into custody, this gives Peter and John the opportunity to address the elders and to proclaim the message that the name of Jesus is the only name that truly saves.

 I am currently reading a book that Bishop Kopacz gave me called Finding Christ in the Crisis: What the Pandemic Can Teach Us. Yes, we can all admit that the pandemic has been a difficult reality for all of us in different ways. Some people have gotten very sick and died in the pandemic.  Some people have lost their jobs.  Some families are under great financial stress.  Others who have kept their jobs are struggling to make sense of a new reality for them at work and for many of them, an increased workload.  Many of us have not been able to take breaks and to go on vacation and to travel like we normally would.  I still have not been able to travel or hike like I normally would, and to be honest, the last real break I got was when I went to Spain for the retreat of the Ignatian spiritual exercises which was in the summer of 2019.  I have had to postpone trips, conferences, and pilgrimages during the pandemic, which has been unfortunate.  But, perhaps we need to look at the blessings of the pandemic.  As we saw Peter and John see a real life situation as an opportunity to evangelize, maybe we can look at the pandemic to see how we have taken our faith for granted and how we can evangelize to others.  On a parish level, perhaps the pandemic is allowing us to really examine the way we do ministry.  As always, let us look at the way God is calling out to us in the reality of our lives.