Friday in the Octave of Easter Acts 4:1-12 Psalm 118:1-2 and 4, 22-24, 25-27a John 21:1-14

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Acts 4: 1-12“…Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them,…all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed.’...”

Psalm 118:  1-2, and 4, 22-24, 25-27a “…The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.….”

John 21: 1-14 “…This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.”

Saint Benedict Joseph Labre. (d. 1783) was known for his insistence on staying out of the mainstream, choosing to live in complete poverty, even homeless at times.  He only kept what he needed for the day, and gave the rest to the others for whom he shared his time and space.  He is a very unique individual, with an unusual path towards sainthood, though clearly deserved.  Of  him it was said he held this uniqueness all through his life, starting in childhood.  He came from a large family, and although his family wanted him to become a priest, and sent him to study with an uncle who was a priest, Benedict Joseph thought he wanted to become a monk.  He tried the life of many orders and monasteries, but this was not the Lord’s will for him, and he was about doing the Lord’s will.  Read much more about him at this site: http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/stben.htm
 
Our Easter readings today come across with such vibrancy, and remind us of our connectedness across the ages as we look in on their trials of Faith and compare them to our own in our world today.  Peter and John from the reading in Acts are all charged up with a strong sense of mission and purpose.  You can almost feel Peter’s energy across all these years reaching up to motivate us today.  As the Spirit gave them courage; we too are encouraged to stand up for our Faith today.  These men are brought in and detained until the next day for questioning, basically for curing a man in Jesus’ Name who had been crippled.  Peter is so enthused that he has their attention that he boldly proclaims from which his power came, from Jesus Christ crucified, died, buried and risen from the dead.  Like then, we face challenges to our Faith today, and like them, we have access to that same Spirit to aid us in our stand.  Some of our challenges are universal across all counties and all people.  For me in our country today, the problem that causes me to carry the heaviest load is what seems to be a return to support for abortion on demand.  When things get so big, you know you can’t fix them, you resolutely resort to prayer, and then you pray some more

Especially in this Octave we celebrate Jesus conquering sin and death, and in the Gospel he is appearing to the Apostles for the third time since his Resurrection from the dead.  So, I’m reminded today of the One I am following, the One who conquered sin and death, and I’m reminded that that early Church, which was established by Jesus was put here to help me follow my Faith.  Like the apostles who were a little fuzzy the day Jesus showed up while they were fishing, we too get a little fuzzy from time to time.  Our Church is here to help clarify, shine light into the darkness, when the issues become bigger than us.  In our Psalm reading, we hear “the stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.”  Jesus was rejected too, and we know we can expect a similar treatment, but not alone.  So, I am consoled to stand firm with the Church on all the Pro-Life issues; because we know we are standing with Truth.  Somewhere deep inside of me, the Spirit still groans and gives life with each breath.