Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Tuesday of the Octave of Easter

(Acts 2:36-41; John 20:11-18)

Magdi Allam, an Egyptian-born, Italian journalist, was baptized by Pope Benedict in the Easter Vigil service five years ago.  Recently he announced that he is leaving Catholicism.  Unfortunately, a significant percentage of Catholics who enter the Church through the RICA similarly exit.  This reality suggests the need of a strong culture of faith to support perseverance.  It also indicates how in the reading from Acts today the apostles enjoy such phenomenal success in preaching to Jews but eventually fail in converting the nation.

According to John’s gospel even Jesus has many followers who eventually leave him (see John 6:60).  People leave for different reasons as the parable of the sower in the synoptic gospels accounts: some because they do not understand what faith means, others because they are seduced by worldly concerns, and still others because they do not nourish their faith with prayer.  Faith in Jesus is appealing to all because it promises eternal life, but it requires attention and devotion on the part of adherents.

Perhaps we should leave these concerns aside for now.  After all, Easter is the time to rejoice for the blessing of knowing that our lives have eternal destinies when we link them to Jesus.’  His graces abound in the Church community as well as, in northern climes at least, in nature at this time of year.

Homilette for April 11, 2008

Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, bishop and martyr

(Acts 9:1-10)

With the jubilee year of St. Paul fast approaching, we can reflect for a few minutes on his conversion. Of course, the reading from Acts today tells its story. But today’s reading is just one of four accounts the New Testament gives of the event. Paul himself writes about it in the Letter to the Galatians which must be considered the most reliable source. The two other accounts are taken from speeches of Paul also recorded in Acts. One interesting note is that none of the four accounts mentions that Paul was knocked off a horse on the way to Damascus. That detail probably comes from a painter’s depiction of the conversion. A more curious element is the light which supposedly blinded Paul.

Did Paul actually see a light or is this reference a metaphor meaning that Paul came to know the truth? In Galatians Paul does not tell of any light. He only says that God revealed His Son to him. This reference indicates a vision of the resurrected Jesus which Paul twice claims he had in his first letter to the Corinthians. Perhaps Jesus appeared to Paul wrapped in light. Matthew describes Jesus in this way when he describes the Transfiguration which is traditionally interpreted as a glimpse of Jesus’ future resurrection.

At the Easter Vigil services this year Pope Benedict baptized Magdi Allam, a 55 year-old Italian journalist who was raised a Muslim. In a letter to the newspaper of which he is deputy director, Mr. Allam wrote of his conversion as “finally (seeing) the light.” The journalist went on to say that he received death threats for turning to Christ just as Paul did. Reading the letter, we get the idea that significant forces within Islam are intent on terrorizing people into accepting what they cannot in conscience believe. Paul, of course, never evangelized in this way although in history other men did so in the name of Christ. As Christians seeing the light have apologized for the sin of fanaticism among ancestors, we can pray that the light of respect and peace penetrate the consciousness of all Muslim brothers and sisters.