Reflections on the Sunday Readings

  “There is a story from the Second World War of a young girl who fled into hiding during the Nazi occupation of Warsaw. She found shelter in a cave outside the city. Alone, cut off from everything she knew, she lived there until the end of her life.    Before she died, she scratched words into the wall of that cave: “I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining.   I believe in love, even when I do not feel it.   I believe in God, even when He is silent.” That is not certainty. That is trust. 1 In the opening of the gospel this weekend, Jesus asks of his disciples (and that includes us)  “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.”   Not always the easiest of things to do, right?     Even the apostles in the gospel this weekend want details on how everything Jesus is saying is going to unfold.   Thomas, who often desires assurances, wants Jesus to be specific concerning how can the...

Our readings this weekend give us hints of the coming feast of Pentecost.  We see apostle Philip going down to Samaria and through his work and the miracles that he performs the people begin to believe in this Christ that he has come to preach about. They want to be more in union with Christ and so, they ask for the sacrament of baptism.   Their desire for this is contagious and spreads to all the areas around Samaria.  When the church in Jerusalem hears of their enthusiasm and acceptance of Christ, they send Peter and John to them to lay hands upon them so that the Holy Spirit of God, the gift of the Father through the prophecy of Christ, could come down upon them.  Once they received this Spirit, they were empowered then to live out their lives as followers of Christ.  Reflecting on this reading we might ponder, is this the same enthusiasm we experience in sharing our faith with others?                ...