Do we sometimes feel like we are guided by a higher authority that contradicts the laws of our secular world? With the way our world is becoming more secular, perhaps we can really relate to our first reading today. The apostles profess before the Sanhedrin that they are following a higher authority that dictates their consciences and influences their actions, an authority that is sometimes in conflict with civil authority.The Sanhedrin issued an edict that the apostles refrain from preaching the Gospel, but Peter and his companions declare that they must obey God and not man. We see situations like this in our modern world like this. We Catholics in modern America live in a land where capital punishment is practiced and condoned by our secular society. Even though the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, some individual states still allow abortion. You might remember that our own Diocese sued the federal government several years ago, along with other Catholic Dioceses and Catholic institutions to protest that provisions in insurance plans that we were forced to follow that violate the Gospel of Life. By refusing to obey the authorities, Peter and his companions have put their lives in danger. Even though they had just seen their Lord crucified, they felt compelled to speak out and to follow their conscience. They knew that God had raised up Jesus, but that human beings had killed him. May the example of these apostles increase our faith and perseverance.
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