The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present the expansion of Christianity to the Gentile world and the promise of Jesus of life to the full in relationship with Christ.
In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Peter visits the house of the Gentile Cornelius.
* [11:1–18] The Jewish Christians of Jerusalem were scandalized to learn of Peter’s sojourn in the house of the Gentile Cornelius. Nonetheless, they had to accept the divine directions given to both Peter and Cornelius. They concluded that the setting aside of the legal barriers between Jew and Gentile was an exceptional ordinance of God to indicate that the apostolic kerygma was also to be directed to the Gentiles. Only in Acts 15 at the “Council” in Jerusalem does the evangelization of the Gentiles become the official position of the church leadership in Jerusalem.
* [11:3] You entered…: alternatively, this could be punctuated as a question.
* [11:12] These six brothers: companions from the Christian community of Joppa (see Acts 10:23). (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 42 forms a single lament of three sections.
* [Psalms 42–43] Ps 42–43 form a single lament of three sections, each section ending in an identical refrain (Ps 42:6, 12; 43:5). The psalmist is far from Jerusalem, and longs for the divine presence that Israel experienced in the Temple liturgy. Despite sadness, the psalmist hopes once again to join the worshiping crowds. (Psalms, PSALM 42 | USCCB, n.d.)
The Gospel of John declares full life with The Good Shepherd.
* [10:1–21] The good shepherd discourse continues the theme of attack on the Pharisees that ends Jn 9. The figure is allegorical: the hired hands are the Pharisees who excommunicated the cured blind man. It serves as a commentary on Jn 9. For the shepherd motif, used of Yahweh in the Old Testament, cf. Ex 34; Gn 48:15; 49:24; Mi 7:14; Ps 23:1–4; 80:1.
* [10:1] Sheepfold: a low stone wall open to the sky.
* [10:4] Recognize his voice: the Pharisees do not recognize Jesus, but the people of God, symbolized by the blind man, do.
* [10:6] Figure of speech: John uses a different word for illustrative speech than the “parable” of the synoptics, but the idea is similar.
* [10:7–10] In Jn 10:7–8, the figure is of a gate for the shepherd to come to the sheep; in Jn 10:9–10, the figure is of a gate for the sheep to come in and go out.
* [10:8] [Before me]: these words are omitted in many good early manuscripts and versions. (John, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)
David Crawford comments that that we need a greater level of familiarity with the voice of our Shepherd, the One who came “so that [we] might have life and have it more abundantly.”
Loving God, forgive us for our inattention. Thank you for being our gate to salvation. We want to be close to you. We want to hear you. Help us to listen constantly so that we recognize and follow your voice. Amen. (Crawford, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Green pastures and still waters,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God, 'How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in my mouth!'" (excerpt from Sermon 366,3,1) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 11:1-18 comments that the Catholic Church teaches, our oneness in Christ is something we share with everyone who has been baptized into the Lord, regardless of their faith tradition. But like Peter, we sometimes understand our unity more clearly when we see the Spirit working in a variety of ways among our brothers and sisters who come from different Christian backgrounds.
God wants to bring all his children together in Christ. Just as Peter discovered, his plan is always bigger and wider in scope than anything we can conceive on our own. Let’s widen our horizons today and thank God for the love and fellowship we can experience with Christians of every tradition. Let’s pray that together we can witness to the power of the Spirit working among us!
“Lord Jesus, help me to experience the unity that the Spirit brings whenever he moves among us.” (Meditation on Acts 11:1-18, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes the expansion of preaching the Gospel from Aramaic Jews, to Greek Jews, to God-fearers, and to Cornelius, a Gentile. A theme in Acts identifies the growth of the Church guided by the Spirit. Friar Jude reminds us of the role of the Sheep Gate that Jesus takes in John to protect the sheep from those who sound religious but may be seeking control and manipulation.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces novelist Sue Monk Kidd who describes why cultivating an image of the Sacred Feminine is so important, particularly for women raised within Christianity. Public theologian Christena Cleveland explores how an exclusively white, male image of God is limiting and even oppressive. She shares a mystical experience of encountering the unconditional love of the Sacred Black Feminine while on a mindfulness retreat.
I had never before experienced formidable strength in the form of Love and it undid me. I marveled that after an entire day of earnestly clearing my mind of fearful clutter, what lay beneath it all was not another to-do list from whitemalegod…. No, Love was underneath it all, just as I had hoped. That day, I discovered that at the heart of reality … flows wave after wave after wave of Love … for me….
This experience showed me that no matter what is going on around me and no matter how much fear tries to consume me, the Sacred Black Feminine is always available to guide me into Love. [2] (Rohr, n.d.)
We are invited to the fullness of life as the experience that accompanies our journey inspired by the Spirit as followers of Jesus.
References
Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/11?1
Crawford, D. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved May 12, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/051225.html
John, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/10?1
Meditation on Acts 11:1-18. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 12, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/05/12/1274068/
Psalms, PSALM 42 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved May 12, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/42?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 12, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/why-she-matters/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). I Came That They May Have Life Abundantly. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 12, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=may12
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