Universal Love

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to reconsider if the scope of our mission as followers of Christ is truly “catholic”.

Universal Love

In the Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Paul responds to Accusations before Gallio and  Returns to Syrian Antioch.

* [18:12] When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia: Gallio’s proconsulship in Achaia is dated to A.D. 51–52 from an inscription discovered at Delphi. This has become an important date in establishing a chronology of the life and missionary work of Paul.

* [18:13] Contrary to the law: Gallio (Acts 18:15) understands this to be a problem of Jewish, not Roman, law.

* [18:18] He had his hair cut because he had taken a vow: a reference to a Nazirite vow (see Nm 6:1–21, especially, 6:18) taken by Paul (see also Acts 21:23–27). (Acts, ACTS OF THE APOSTLES | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 47 acknowledges the universal rule of Israel’s God.

* [Psalm 47] A hymn calling on the nations to acknowledge the universal rule of Israel’s God (Ps 47:2–5) who is enthroned as king over Israel and the nations (Ps 47:6–9). (Psalms, PSALM 47 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus restates His teaching on departure and return.

* [16:4b–33] A duplicate of Jn 14:1–31 on departure and return. (John, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)

Greg Dyche understands “in the name of” to mean “for the sake of the mission”. Jesus seems eager to further the mission, so if we ask for something in His name, God is going to answer.

The answer won’t always be what I think the mission needs or when I think the mission needs it, but God will answer for the sake of the mission. God has already given His Son for the sake of the mission, what else would he hold back?

I believe in the mission. I believe I am a part of the mission. If you’re reading this, we are on the mission together. That idea makes me a little happier. We aren’t alone, no matter how it feels at times. Let’s pray together, in the name of Jesus, that we can love others. And let’s do it together. (Dyche, 2026)

Don Schwager quotes “Alleluia will be our whole joy,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"I trust I will not weary you if I mention what you know already: that we say ALLELUIA daily and that we take delight in it daily. For you know that ALLELUIA means "Praise God" and by this expression we, agreeing in speech and thought, exhort one another to praise God. Only the one who displeases God in no respect praises God in security. Furthermore, in this time of journeying we say ALLELUIA for solace on our way. ALLELUIA is the song of the traveler for us; but we are advancing through a laborious path to a peaceful country where all our activities will be laid aside and nothing will remain for us except the ALLELUIA. Let us sing now, not for the delights of peace, but for comfort in our labor. Sing as travelers are accustomed to sing; comfort your labor by singing; do not love inactivity; keep singing and keep progressing. ...If you are advancing; progress in well-doing, progress in good faith, progress in good deeds. Keep singing and keep advancing. While we are here let us sing ALLELUIA though we are still beset with cares, so that in the future we may sing it there (in heaven) in tranquility. After the labors of this world there will be unceasing repetition of ALLELUIA. ..There ALLELUIA will be our food; ALLELUIA will be our drink; ALLELUIA will be our peaceful action; ALLELUIA will be our whole joy." [excerpts from Sermon 255 (1); Sermon 256 (1 and 3); Sermon 252 (9)] (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 16:20-23 comments about our joy to know that we belong to Christ and that we have access to him at any time! That includes both the challenging times as well as the happy times. We can hear his assurance that he is with us when we are feeling burdened, and we can feel him rejoicing with us in the good times. Every day we can taste the sweetness of knowing that we are precious to him.

So let your heart rejoice! Jesus has promised that you will see him—that you can see him—right here and right now. And ask the Spirit to help you keep your eyes open for his presence within you and his work in the world and in the people around you.

“Lord Jesus, I rejoice in your presence!” (Meditation on John 16:20-23, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments Paul remained a long time in Corinth. The Spirit often speaks in dreams and we must discern carefully. Paul stayed there over a year. Gallio, proconsul of Achaia, was the brother of Seneca and the trial occurred around 51 CE. In Acts and Luke, Rome tries not to condemn Christians who are people who respect the Law. Paul makes a vow and in the tradition of Nazarites he shaves his head. In New Testament times it was a temporary vow and the head was shaved and hair still belongs to God. In Acts, Paul still follows some Jewish customs. In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaks about suffering for Jesus and His disciples. They have pain like the woman in labour and they will give birth to something wonderful. Friar Jude reminds us that followers of Jesus must die to self and serve others. We are invited into the Love of the Cross by God.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Matthew Fox who traces the universal nature of Julian’s message of mystical hope and divine love. When she celebrates the beauty of being human, she again makes explicit that she is talking about all and not some sectarian group. “God made us so rich and noble in our essence that all we can do is strive to enact his will and honor him in all things. “In God’s sight, all humanity is one person, and all people are a single humanity.”… [1] For Julian, the traditional teaching of the church as the mystical body of Christ is extended to the entire human race.

When she celebrates the beauty of being human, she again makes explicit that she is talking about all and not some sectarian group. “God made us so rich and noble in our essence that all we can do is strive to enact his will and honor him in all things. When I say ‘we,’ I mean all true spiritual seekers.” [2] When she says “all,” she means all. This would include, in our time, all versions of Christians and all Jews, all Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, Muslims, goddess worshippers, those of indigenous religions, and those of no religions, whether agnostic or atheist. That is how ecumenical she is—and in the fourteenth century, no less. (Rohr, n.d.)

We contemplate the universal love of God and invoke the Spirit to inspire our actions to be disciples of love, compassion, and care for all people, the Mystical Body of Christ, we encounter.

References

Acts, ACTS OF THE APOSTLES | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved May 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/18?9 

Dyche, G. (2026, May 15). Daily Reflection May 15, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved May 15, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-may-15-2026 

John, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 15, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/16 

Meditation on John 16:20-23. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved May 15, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/05/15/1568198/ 

Psalms, PSALM 47 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/16?20 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 15, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/god-dwells-in-all/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 15, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Chosen for Love and Hope

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, in communities who will celebrate the Ascension on Sunday May 17, share the essential action of the Spirit in the growth of the Mission of the Church.

Chosen for Mission

The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents the Choice of Judas’s Successor.

* [1:1–26] This introductory material (Acts 1:1–2) connects Acts with the Gospel of Luke, shows that the apostles were instructed by the risen Jesus (Acts 1:3–5), points out that the parousia or second coming in glory of Jesus will occur as certainly as his ascension occurred (Acts 1:6–11), and lists the members of the Twelve, stressing their role as a body of divinely mandated witnesses to his life, teaching, and resurrection (Acts 1:12–26).

* [1:26] The need to replace Judas was probably dictated by the symbolism of the number twelve, recalling the twelve tribes of Israel. This symbolism also indicates that for Luke (see Lk 22:30) the Christian church is a reconstituted Israel. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 113 is a hymn exhorting the congregation to praise God’s name.

* [Psalm 113] A hymn exhorting the congregation to praise God’s name, i.e., the way in which God is present in the world; the name is mentioned three times in Ps 113:1–3. The divine name is especially honored in the Temple (Ps 113:1) but its recognition is not limited by time (Ps 113:2) and space (Ps 113:3), for God is everywhere active (Ps 113:4–5) especially in rescuing the lowly faithful (Ps 113:7–9). (Psalms, PSALM 113 | USCCB, n.d.)

The passage from the Gospel of John resembles a parable where Israel is spoken of as a vineyard and love is described in terms of Greek words “agapaō and phileō”.

* [15:1–17] Like Jn 10:1–5, this passage resembles a parable. Israel is spoken of as a vineyard at Is 5:1–7; Mt 21:33–46 and as a vine at Ps 80:9–17; Jer 2:21; Ez 15:2; 17:5–10; 19:10; Hos 10:1. The identification of the vine as the Son of Man in Ps 80:15 and Wisdom’s description of herself as a vine in Sir 24:17 are further background for portrayal of Jesus by this figure. There may be secondary eucharistic symbolism here; cf. Mk 14:25, “the fruit of the vine.”

* [15:2] Takes away, prunes: in Greek there is a play on two related verbs.

* [15:6] Branches were cut off and dried on the wall of the vineyard for later use as fuel.

* [15:13] For one’s friends: or: “those whom one loves.” In Jn 15:9–13a, the words for love are related to the Greek agapaō. In Jn 15:13b–15, the words for love are related to the Greek phileō. For John, the two roots seem synonymous and mean “to love”; cf. also Jn 21:15–17. The word philos is used here.

* [15:15] Slaves,friends: in the Old Testament, Moses (Dt 34:5), Joshua (Jos 24:29), and David (Ps 89:21) were called “servants” or “slaves of Yahweh”; only Abraham (Is 41:8; 2 Chr 20:7; cf. Jas 2:23) was called a “friend of God.” (John, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB, n.d.)

A Member of the Creighton University Community asks what does it mean to love our brothers and sisters near and far as God loves.

One way to live agape is through the virtue of solidarity. Solidarity calls us to “an active commitment to our neighbor and demands of us a shared responsibility for all of humanity. This duty is not limited to one’s own family, nation or state, but extends progressively to all…so no one can consider himself or herself extraneous or indifferent to the lot of another member of the human family.” -John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, no. 51

Further explained, “[Solidarity] is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good.” -Sollicitudo rei Socialis, no. 38.

Today is the feast day of Saint Matthias. How do we share in the “luck” of Saint Matthias who joined the apostles after casting lots? If we imagine ourselves in Matthias’ place, our spot opening up to join the apostles, just after Jesus’ crucifixion. What would our ministry be? How would we live our lives? What can we do today to bring our lives more into congruence with our call? (Member of Creighton University Community, 2026)

Don Schwager quotes Jesus ascends to heaven in his body - divine and human nature, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"You heard what came to our ears just now from the Gospel: 'Lifting up his hands, he blessed them. And it happened, while he was blessing them he withdrew from them, and was carried up to heaven.' Who was carried up to heaven? The Lord Christ was. Who is the Lord Christ? He is the Lord Jesus. What is this? Are you going to separate the human from the divine and make one person of God, another of the man, so that there is no longer a trinity of three but a quaternary of four? Just as you, a human being, are soul and body, so the Lord Christ is Word, soul and body. The Word did not depart from the Father. He both came to us and did not forsake the Father. He both took flesh in the womb and continued to govern the universe. What was lifted up into heaven, if not what had been taken from earth? That is to say, the very flesh, the very body, about which he was speaking when he said to the disciples, 'Feel, and see that a spirit does not have bones and flesh, as you can see that I have' (Luke 24:39). Let us believe this, brothers and sisters, and if we have difficulty in meeting the arguments of the philosophers, let us hold on to what was demonstrated in the Lord's case without any difficulty of faith. Let them chatter, but let us believe." (excerpt from Sermon 242,6)

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 15:9-17 comments that while Matthias had followed Jesus from the very beginning of his ministry, it wasn’t until years later that he received this deeper calling to become one of the Twelve. Clearly, Matthias’ vocation matured over time—to the point that in the end, he gave his life out of love for the One who had first chosen him.

What hope this brings! You may be tempted to think that your life is a matter of chance. Not so: God is too wise and too loving to leave you as a victim of circumstance. Just as he chose Matthias, he has chosen you to follow his Son. He has chosen you to be a disciple in the specific time and place in which you live: as a father or mother, a worker or student—as a disciple who shines the light of Christ into the world. That calling will continue to grow as you follow him, and he will give you all the grace you need to carry it out!

“Thank you, Jesus, for choosing me to be your own!”

Friar Jude Winkler comments that in the Acts of the Apostles, the choice of Matthais as the apostle to replace Judas is presented.  They choose someone who has been with them from the beginning. They pray and choose lots as they depend on the Spirit to guide the growth of the Church. This is a continuation of a Hebrew custom of how when the king used the Urim and Thummim, in a sacred ritual to discern the will of God. God would speak through the lots for the new Apostle. In the Gospel of John, during the Last Supper Discourse, Jesus implores His  followers to live a life of virtue and follow the main commandment and give their life for others. This is not a relationship of slaves but one of friends. Friar Jude comments that we live in dignity by loving, as Jesus, all the children of God.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Dr. Gloria Durka who explores Thomas Merton’s love of Julian’s positive theology.

Learning to remain hopeful amidst the darkness of suffering is a struggle in which all of us become engaged from time to time—and it can be a bitter trial. The optimism of Julian can help us as it did Thomas Merton. In his book Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Merton wrote the following:

I pray much to have a wise heart, and perhaps the rediscovery of Lady Julian of Norwich will help me. I took her book with me on a quiet walk among the cedars. She is a true theologian…. She first experienced, then thought, and the thoughtful deepening of experience worked it back into her life, deeper and deeper, until her whole life as a recluse at Norwich was simply a matter of getting completely saturated in the light she had received all at once…. Her life was lived in the belief in this “secret,” the “great deed” that the Lord will do on the Last Day, not a deed of destruction and revenge, but of mercy and of life, all partial expectations will be exploded and everything will be made right…. [1]

Julian’s writings are permeated with Christian hope. She experienced all of the aspects of hope in her own spiritual life: the rocklike dependability of God, the God who is always near, the God of the impossible, the God who is Father and Mother to us. (Rohr, n.d.)

We acknowledge the Wisdom of the Spirit in guiding our decisions that we hope to make in contemplation of the experience we have of the Love of God as motivation for our action in support of the people in our environment.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/1?15 

John, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15?9 

Meditation on John 15:9-17. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/05/14/1563865/ 

Member of Creighton University Community. (2026, May 14). Daily Reflection May 14, 2026 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-may-14-2026 

Psalms, PSALM 113 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/113?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Essential Joy. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/essential-joy/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Lord Jesus Was Taken up into Heaven. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/ 

Spirit of Truth

 The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to be open to the expansion of our ideas on how we understand and respond to the relationship of humanity to the Divine.

In A Spirit of Truth

The Reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes Paul in Athens and his Speech at the Areopagus.

* [17:22–31] In Paul’s appearance at the Areopagus he preaches his climactic speech to Gentiles in the cultural center of the ancient world. The speech is more theological than christological. Paul’s discourse appeals to the Greek world’s belief in divinity as responsible for the origin and existence of the universe. It contests the common belief in a multiplicity of gods supposedly exerting their powers through their images. It acknowledges that the attempt to find God is a constant human endeavor. It declares, further, that God is the judge of the human race, that the time of the judgment has been determined, and that it will be executed through a man whom God raised from the dead. The speech reflects sympathy with pagan religiosity, handles the subject of idol worship gently, and appeals for a new examination of divinity, not from the standpoint of creation but from the standpoint of judgment.

* [17:23] ‘To an Unknown God’: ancient authors such as Pausanias, Philostratus, and Tertullian speak of Athenian altars with no specific dedication as altars of “unknown gods” or “nameless altars.”

* [17:26] From one: many manuscripts read “from one blood.” Fixed…seasons: or “fixed limits to the epochs.”

* [17:28] ‘In him we live and move and have our being’: some scholars understand this saying to be based on an earlier saying of Epimenides of Knossos (6th century B.C.). ‘For we too are his offspring’: here Paul is quoting Aratus of Soli, a third-century B.C. poet from Cilicia. (Acts of the Apostles,CHAPTER 17 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 148 invites all beings to praise God.

* [Psalm 148] A hymn inviting the beings of heaven (Ps 148:1–6) and of earth (Ps 148:7–14) to praise God. The hymn does not distinguish between inanimate and animate (and rational) nature. (Psalms, PSALM 148 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus proclaims an interpretation of the role of the Spirit.

* [16:13] Declare to you the things that are coming: not a reference to new predictions about the future, but interpretation of what has already occurred or been said. (John, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB, n.d.)

Barbara Dilly comments that Jesus did not give us a list of detailed instructions for everything that was going to happen to each of us in every time and place. Rather, he gave us specific principles associated with love, trust, truth, and hope, from which to base our relationships with God and each other.

I have learned through my faith traditions that we must listen to the Spirit of truth revealed to each of us in love, and hope. In this way, the Spirit frees us from an exhaustive and incomplete list of rules, practices, and traditions that are never open to reinterpretation in current times and places. That does not mean we are all left to our own devices. We do best when we identify with religious traditions that value scholarly inquiry into the works of the Spirit, inspired preaching, and a community of believers who study the Word of God with each other. We also do best when we listen to the lived lives of our brothers and sisters undergoing struggle and pain for the voice of the Spirit among us to guide us in ways of love, truth, and hope. I pray today for that Spirit to reveal itself even more strongly in our midst. (Dilly, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes The Spirit makes Christ known, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"He [the Holy Spirit] will make me clearly known by pouring love into the hearts of believers and making them spiritual and thus able to see that the Son whom they had known before only according to the flesh - and who they thought was only a man like themselves - was equal to the Father. Or at least, when his love filled them with boldness and cast out fear, they would proclaim Christ to men and women, and in this way they would spread Christ's fame throughout the whole world... For what they were going to do in the power of the Holy Spirit, this the Holy Spirit says he does himself." (excerpt from TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 100.1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 17:15, 22–18:1 comments that the Creator of all space and time is not far from you. Or as St. Augustine wrote, God is interior “intimo meo”—he is more inward than your innermost self. What’s more, the God who is present in you looks on you with love, mercy, and goodwill. His presence within you is not for condemnation, even though he knows the complete truth about you. Even when he sees your sins and weaknesses, he sees a child whom he loves and longs to heal and restore.

In the quiet of prayer today, know that your Father is with you. Believe that he loves you personally and with a joy-filled, sin-forgiving, transforming love. It’s this love that moved God to become man in Jesus Christ, that propelled Paul and all the apostles to preach to the nations, and that is now available to you today. It’s true; the One who created the galaxies knows you individually. He is filled with love for you. He wants nothing but good for you. So seek him today; he is not far from you!

“Father, I know you are here with me!” (Meditation on Acts 17:15, 22–18:1, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles Paul goes to Athens and to the Areopagus, a great place for debate of new ideas. Paul notes they worship an unknown god.  As Stoics, they accept a few of Paul's arguments but not rising from the dead. Stoics understand the soul as imprisoned in the body and some even use fasting to be less material, as a Stoic excess. In the Gospel of John, Jesus continues the Last Supper Discourse identifying the Spirit of truth to remind the community of the Jesus teaching and continue to reveal the truth. The Spirit will continue, as seen in the Acts of the Apostles, to guide in the Church. Friar Jude comments that we share Jesus' relationship with the Father through the Spirit in the Trinity.

Father Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces spiritual teacher and translator Mirabai Starr describes how Julian’s positive experience of God sustained her when things were not “well” in the world around her.

Julian unpacks this for us [in chapter 27]. In doing so she dispenses with the whole concept of sin and replaces it with love. “I believe that sin has no substance,” Julian writes, “not a particle of being.” While sin itself has no existential value, it has impact. It causes pain. It is the pain that has substance.

But mercy is swiftly forthcoming. It is immediately available. Inexorable! It is frankly rude of us to doubt that all will be well (and all will be well and every kind of thing shall be well). “When he said these gentle words,” Julian writes, speaking of God-the-Mother, “he showed me that he does not have one iota of blame for me, or for any other person. So, wouldn’t it be unkind of me to blame God for my transgressions since he does not blame me?” The merciful nature of God renders the whole blame game obsolete….

For those of us who do not subscribe to a belief in some perfect afterworld but, rather, are focused on making things better right here on Earth, this teaching may feel disconnected. But what Julian is saying, with heartbreaking compassion, is that we cannot know this now, from our limited, pain-drenched perspective. Yet eventually we will awaken to the truth that we are unconditionally adored by God. (Rohr, n.d.)

We contemplate the Truth revealed by the Spirit about the Love of God that is the force that inspires our action to strive for “all will be well” in our environment.

References

Acts of the Apostles,CHAPTER 17 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 13, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/17?15 

Dilly, B. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved May 13, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-may-13-2026 

John, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 13, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/16?12 

Meditation on Acts 17:15, 22–18:1. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved May 13, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/05/13/1563390/ 

Psalms, PSALM 148 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 13, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/148? 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Will All Be Well? Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 13, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/will-all-be-well/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Holy Spirit Will Guide You into All the Truth. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 13, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/