Tuesday of the
Sixth Week of Easter
(Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11)
A hospital patient had the fortune of being placed side
by side with a charismatic priest. The
man was encouraged to speak about his life.
In the process, he discovered how God was directing him to make much
needed changes. Similarly, the jailer in
today’s first reading is blessed to have had Paul and Silas for captives the
night the earthquake shook the prison doors open.
The jailer then prepares to kill himself. It may be that he
feels disgraced in losing prisoners. It is
also possible that he recognizes that the days of jailers from whom prisoners
escape are numbered. In any case Paul
saves the sensitive man from suicide. The
act of graciousness impresses the man so much that he accepts Paul and Silas’ faith
as well as their presence in his home.
Every once in a while we too meet a truly holy
person. He or she is not necessarily a priest
or a sister; nevertheless, the holy one speaks about God with both simplicity
and conviction. We do well to heed what is
said and to thank God for the sign of His presence.
