By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S.
In the Acts of the Apostles today,
the apostles chose seven men
filled with the Spirit and wisdom.
See how far the apostles have come.
In the Gospel today,
the same apostles wonder,
We do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?
and
Show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.
These same apostles,
who did not understand what Jesus was talking about,
were not yet filled with the Spirit and wisdom.
But once they got it,
they really got it.
Once they were filled with the Spirit and wisdom,
they understood that they had been called
to the ministry of the word.
they understood the way they were to follow
and the Father whom they had indeed seen
in the words and deeds of the Son.
In the waters of baptism,
in the anointing with chrism,
in the breaking of the bread
and the sharing of the one cup,
we have been shown the way,
and we have seen the Father.
We have been built into a spiritual home
and we have become a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We have, by the grace of God,
become a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people of [God’s] own,
so that [we] may announce the praises of him
who called [us] out of darkness into his wonderful light.
As we stay locked up and socially distanced,
during these difficult times,
we must remember who we are
and whose we are.
We must give thanks to one who is
the way, the truth and the life.
We must have faith that this too will pass
as we cry out with one voice,
Lord, let your mercy be on us,
as we place our trust in you!
Then, one day, in the not too distant future,
when we are able to get out and about,
we, too, will be filled with the Spirit and wisdom
and we will do our part to make sure that
the word of God continues to spread
and that Reign of God continues to grow.
To view all of the readings for today, click here.
Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S., is the director of advanced formation for the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. He also directs Precious Blood Parish Missions (pbparishmissions.org).