Thursday, May 21, 2026

 

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 22:30.23:6-11; John 17:20-26)

From its earliest days the Church has been plagued by disunity.  In several places the New Testament tells of unauthorized preachers spreading discord.  There are thousands of sects today.  Recently two large groups have strained relations with the Bishop of Rome to the extent that both may splinter.

One group claims that the Second Vatican Council was in error.  It specifies, contrary to the Council’s teaching, that people may not follow their consciences in choosing a religion and that seeking reunion with break-off churches and communities undermines the pope’s authority.  The other group seeks to liberalize the Church’s teachings on sexual morality. 

In today’s gospel Jesus prays for unity among all who believe in him.  He realizes the difficulty of keeping human minds and hearts united endowed as they are with free will and a gamut of emotions. Accordingly, Pope Leo recognizes that true unity comes from full union with Christ.  The Church must ever strive to attain the love Jesus had for his disciples.  It does so by rooting itself in his teaching and seeking reunion based on its truths.

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 20:28-38; John 17:11b-19)

Passing a large Evangelical church, the deacon commented over its recent history.  He said that a few years ago after a disagreement with the pastor, a member formed his own church.  The two Christian churches were among several others in the village of no more than a thousand people.  

The proliferation of separate churches is a common phenomenon.  It is said that there are more than forty thousand Christian denominations world-wide.   This development betrays Jesus’ prayer for unity among his followers in today’s gospel. 

Jesus prays that his disciples may not be given to the ways of the world.  He wants them to avoid egotism which results in division.  In contrast, they are to practice humility which respects the authority established in his apostles.  As the first reading attests, church unity has proven to be a daunting challenge.  Since in its early days, the Church has contended with people who “pervert the truth” to gather their own followers.

Given this reality, it is remarkable that the Catholic Church encompasses a seventh of the world’s population.  It also maintains the faith of the apostles.  But these facts cannot be taken as reasons for complacency.  We must strive to control our rebellious tendencies.  We too may become so dissatisfied that we want to form another sect.  We also should work for reconciliation with other Christian communities.  This means understanding our Catholic system of thought so that we might share it with others.  It also involves prayer for unity and penance for past offenses.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter

(Acts 15:7-21; John 15: 9-11)

What if the Catholic Church, in order to foster unity with Protestant communities of faith, relaxed the requirement of attending Sunday Eucharist?  Surely many would oppose the change as an aberration to a Catholic custom that has been practiced almost since the beginning.  Others would say that there is no Scriptural mandate to assist in the Sunday Eucharist and therefore the Church precept is alterable. This question is similar to what the primitive Church confronts in today’s first reading from the Book of Acts.

It is hard to understate the importance of this meeting of the primitive Church.  The leaders are to decide the direction of the Church in the future.  Will it continue to be primarily a movement within Judaism, or will it allow Gentiles to be Gentiles while finding their salvation in the Lord Jesus?  The decision seems to boil down to what James will say.  Peter has already been convinced of the need to let Gentiles eat pork.  Paul and Barnabas, of course, have no objections to the idea.  Opposed to the change are the so-called “Judaizers” who see Christianity as a renewal of Israel with its necessity of keeping the Law.  James’ speaking in favor of the change with only a few restrictions clinches the argument. 

It probably is not a good idea to abandon the Sunday Eucharist obligation.  But Catholics should be open to similar non-essential changes in order to accommodate Christian unity.  We should not emphasize our differences from others.  Rather we should seek commonalities so that Christ may be one without diluting all that he is and all that he tells us. 

Monday, January 25, 2016

Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul

(Acts 22:3-16; Mark 16:15-18)

Fifty years ago with the declarations of Vatican II the movement toward Church unity was gathering steam.  Only a few theological issues seemed to stand in the way.  Now, however, the movement is stymied with the ordaining of women and the blessing of homosexual unions by some Christian communities.  Reunification seems as unlikely as reaching the end of a rainbow.  Today’s Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul ends a week in which many Christians have prayed for that vanishing goal.

St. Paul himself is a symbol of unity.  His Letter to the Romans inspired Martin Luther to fire the first salvo of the Reformation.  For Catholics Paul represents the celibate priest who gives of himself untiringly.  His conversion is also representative of the change of heart that Christians of different persuasions must make.  They must let go of simplistic assertions causing division to seek deeper truths effecting unity. 

Let us not abandon the quest for Christian unity.  We want to pray for it.  Equally important, we need to collaborate with separated sisters and brothers on its behalf.  We should especially unite on social projects.  Very critically, we must not let petty desires for prominence inhibit the movement.  The credibility of the gospel depends in part on our efforts.

Homilette for April 1, 2008

Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter

(Acts 4:32-37)

Once a man was going to give a substantial piece of real estate to a church association. Perhaps he had in mind the first reading today where Joseph Barnabas sells his property and gives the entire proceeds to the Jerusalem church community. However, the man’s wife was opposed to giving away the land. She objected that they had children who some day might need extra resources to get by.

Often, it seems, genuine impediments arise in the quest for Church unity. The man wanting to give property to the church association was probably well-intentioned. However, for the sake of his wife’s peace he might have found a more congenial way to lend support. In the early church community of Jerusalem as well impediments to unity creep in. The reading today certainly highlights both generosity and unity as a hallmark of the Christian community following Jesus’ resurrection. But the very next chapter in the book relates how another man similarly sells his property, pretends to give the whole payment to the community, but actually retains part for himself.

Church unity is both a reality to be witnessed and an ideal to be achieved. We are one when we gather together for Mass on Sunday and when we take up a collection for disaster victims. But, of course, not everybody in the community attends Sunday Mass or contributes to relief efforts. We have to try to understand their reasons for lagging support, pray that they may be reconciled with us, and perhaps remind them of how Jesus’ resurrection impels all of his followers to stand together.