Monday of the
Fourth Week of Easter
(Acts 11:1-18; John 10:1-10)
In his newly released pastoral exhortation The Joy of Love Pope Francis addresses
the difficult issue of Catholics married outside the church. He urges dialogue between those Catholics and
their pastors or pastoral agents. Above
all, he wants them to be accepted into the community. He specifically says that he does not mean
that the Church’s ideal of marriage should be watered down. But he recognizes that Christ, the face of
God’s mercy, calls his sheep to him. This
is the message of both readings today.
In Acts Peter is being challenged by the other apostles
why he ate, presumably pork, in a non-Jewish household. He responds by explaining that the Holy
Spirit was at work developing the teaching of holiness. Peter was shown that those called by the Lord
pray and help others; they do not obsess over diet. In the gospel Jesus does the
challenging. He is accusing the
Pharisees of killing his sheep by their rigid interpretation of the Law. He will lead his people to salvation by
gently speaking to their needs. First,
he will resolve their immediate problems.
Then, he will address the deeper questions of human existence.
We often feel a need to draw lines separating ourselves
from others. Jesus warns us to be very
careful about this enterprise. More
preferably, we should assist those struggling to follow Jesus’ way. We want to welcome them into our community of
love where they may receive the direction they need.
