Courage to continue

The text from the Acts of the Apostles in the Roman Catholic Lectionary today tells of the travel of  Paul to Ephesus where he encounters some disciples who have not been fully informed of the great intention of Jesus to not only forgive our sins as we are welcomed into His company, but also to live daily within us so that we might continue His mission to all the nations as we are claimed for this work by Him in Baptism and empowered with courage, among the many gifts, to scatter His enemies and be the father of orphans and the defender of widows as praised by the psalmist today. Friar Jude Winkler comments that in the spread of the Good News throughout the Roman Empire by the Apostles, deep catechesis of all that was known and all that was being understood through living with the risen Jesus was not always possible. Ed Morse compares the beginning of life in faith to the graduation of young people to the next level of their career or education. They have struggled to achieve yet we know that time, patience and perseverance will enrich those who continue to struggle with the material which life brings. Our decision that we know enough or that we have seen all that we need to see is shown in practical events of life to be quite short sighted and foolish. In our experience of the Presence of God and the transcendental nature of our relationship with Jesus through the Spirit as we move from the temporal and finite to a Life which is eternal and infinite how can we ever know enough? The Gospel of John, Friar Jude reminds us is the proclamation of the glory of God as the Love which conquers all emanating from a throne which is a cross and companions who are widows, orphans and the marginalized. Take courage and take teaching!