by Fr. Jim Scullion OFM | May 1, 2023 | Friar Reflection
Why would you do such a thing? This question was put to Peter in today’s first reading. What did Peter do? “You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.” (Acts 11:3). Some Jewish Christians (“circumcised believers”) were aghast that Peter would...
by Fr. Jim Scullion OFM | Apr 26, 2023 | Friar Reflection
In today’s Gospel Jesus declares: “I am the bread of life.” Bread and water were essential to life and survival in Jesus’ time. If you didn’t have bread you died of hunger and if you didn’t have water you died of thirst. Jesus uses water and bread to describe...
by Fr. Jim Scullion OFM | Apr 20, 2023 | Friar Reflection
Today’s first reading from Acts teaches that God’s authority comes first before human authorities, be they political or religious. When Peter is ordered by the Jewish religious authorities, the Sanhedrin, to stop teaching in the name of Jesus, he responds: “We must...
by Fr. Jim Scullion OFM | Apr 18, 2023 | Friar Reflection
Luke, in today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, gives us a summary description of the life of the first Christian community in Jerusalem: “The community of believers was of one heart and mind…” Luke emphasizes the unanimity of this community (“one heart...
by Fr. Jim Scullion OFM | Apr 13, 2023 | Friar Reflection
In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles Peter addresses the Jewish people in the Temple area after the healing of a crippled man. His message is summarized well in the work The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. In this work he writes: “Man...
