In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles God tells Paul: “Do not be afraid.” This phrase is found often in the Scripture and even in the hymn “Be Not Afraid” that we hear often at Sunday Eucharist and Funeral masses. In this exhortation God calls us to...
In today’s Gospel Jesus calls his disciples to live in the joy of his love and he reminds them that he was the one who chose them. He was the one who broke into their lives interrupting the sadness they had constructed with their lifestyle. The choosing, the...
St. Paul was an excellent evangelizer. He arrives in Athens and would have been identified by the locals as an immigrant, foreigner, outsider, tourist, and Jew. When he arrived in Athens, he took time to walk through the city and get to know the local culture. Greek...
“But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you....
Christianity roots are in Judaism. Jesus and all the apostles, including St. Paul, were all Jewish. As good Jews they would make the yearly pilgrimage to the Jerusalem Temple for the Feast of Passover and would attend the weekly service in the synagogues in Nazareth...
