What are the essential requirements to be a disciple of Christ? The Early Church needed to decide the answer to that question. The community leaders gathered at Jerusalem, deciding that circumcision should not be imposed on the non-Jewish converts to the Way of Jesus. They promulgated this decision to the wider Church. Antioch was a great center of Greek speaking followers of the Way of Jesus, both Jewish and Gentile converts alike. Besides Paul and Barnabas being sent to Antioch to represent the Church in Jerusalem, they also sent others from the Jerusalem community. Significantly, they announced their statement with these words: “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us…” They find it important to say that they are not only speaking in their own name, but also with the endorsement of the Holy Spirit in their decision. In the last few days in our first readings from Acts, as we heard of the decisions that were made by the Church and of the ways that the Holy Spirit accompanied the Church and her leaders. The leaders discerned how the Spirit was working with them as they made their decisions guided by the Spirit. Sometimes the Holy Spirit can lead us to decisions that we would not make on our own. In recent years, it seems like there has been a distrust and a rebellion against authority figures in our country. Perhaps that distrust has been warranted in some cases. Let us pray today and everyday for our Pope Leo XIV, Bishop Kopacz and the other Bishops, and all of our Church leaders. They certainly need our prayers, our love, and our support.
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