The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to accept the Truth revealed to us through the Holy Spirit about our role in witnessing to the Way and the Life to which we are invited as Jesus' friends.
The reading from the Acts of the Apostles shares why Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
* [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. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 148 offers praise for God’s Universal Glory.
* [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’ Last Supper Discourse turns to His departure and the coming of the Advocate.
* [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.)
Nancy Shirley comments that it only takes a few minutes of reading the newspaper or viewing the news on the television to be overwhelmed by the hate and violence permeating our world!
It is so important to me for both my mental and spiritual well-being to remember the message of this gospel – we are NOT alone. This time on this earth is just a speck. There is so much more! Just as the Holy Spirit was there to support the disciples, it is there for each of us as we navigate this crazy world with our freedom of choice. As I lean into the Holy Spirit and allow myself to feel it and continue to pray and praise God, it provides comfort in my fears of the surrounding instability. Further, it enables me to maintain a focus on what is most important. For sure it is not the collection of things, wealth, or accolades. Rather staying open to the Holy Spirit, praying, and being aware of the miracles and wonders that God gives us everyday will focus me where I need to me and rescue me from being overwhelmed on a daily level. (Shirley, 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 John 16:12-15 comments that just as God gave us five physical senses, he has given us something like a spiritual sense, since we are made in his image and likeness. We can recognize his voice and hear him speaking to us because he speaks to our hearts (Catechism, 2562–63). In a way, he has “wired” us internally to communicate with him.
Today in prayer, listen for the voice of the Spirit. If you are reading Scripture, take a moment afterward to be silent. What is the passage stirring up in your heart? Or sit quietly in front of the tabernacle or with a crucifix or icon. As you focus on the Lord and allow the concerns of your busy day to fade, take note of your thoughts or feelings. See if the Spirit wants to communicate something to you through them.
As you take the time each day to listen to God’s voice, you’ll get better and better at recognizing when he is speaking to you. And the more you listen, the more you will hear!
“Holy Spirit, help me to quiet my heart and listen to you!” (Meditation on John 16:12-15, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on how Paul used Stoic philosophy to attract the interest of the philosophers in Athens and how the idea of resurrection from the dead, and return to a body that the soul, in Greek thought, struggles to escape, caused the scholars to dismiss his presentation. A later author, pseudo Dionysius, acknowledges God is a mystery beyond our understanding and our understanding is so insignificant. Friar Jude reminds us of the essential role of the Spirit to reveal God, a mystery that cannot be expressed in simple words.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces researcher Brené Brown who shares her sense of spiritual homesickness. She shares her regular longing for the home of her own soul.
Through my thirties and forties, I would occasionally succumb to the yearning, drop everything, and run as fast as I could to visit the home within me. The door to my internal spiritual home would be one simple experience, one encounter with a thin place—maybe sitting in my car listening to Loretta Lynn sing “How Great Thou Art,” or an afternoon swim with God in Lake Travis, or one night praying the Daily Examen. But then, after that visit, I would leave and go back to my first-half-of-life world. I’d describe this first-half-of-life spirituality as the ebb and flow of [the Greek words] nostos and alga, homecoming and pain.
Over the past two years, I’ve found that I’m more spiritually homesick than not. Spiritual homesickness has become an almost daily dulling grief. It’s not depression or exhaustion. It’s an uncomfortable knowing that I’m coming to the end of one thing and the beginning of the next. I’m leaving and arriving. There’s fear, but there’s also joyful anticipation. (Rohr, n.d.)
We have a complicated relationship with truth as we express gratitude for the Spirit that guides us through false notions and consoles the sorrow we feel for the missteps that the Truth reveals on our journey.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 17 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/17?15
John, CHAPTER 16 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/16?12
Meditation on John 16:12-15. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/05/08/950953/
Psalms, PSALM 148 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/148?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). A Constant Longing. CAC Daily Meditations. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-constant-longing/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture net. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=may8
Shirley, N. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. Creighton University's Online Ministries. Retrieved May 8, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/050824.html
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