Friday of the 4th week of Easter, May 13, 2022
Acts 13:26-33; Ps 2: 6-11ab; Jn 14:1-6
I always enjoy reading the books of the Bible either written by or attributed to St. Paul. He was so passionate about what he was saying you could almost feel being there in his presence. In the reading from Acts, Paul explains to the Jews the entire kerygma of Jesus in about five sentences. What an amazing witness to Christ’s divinity. Paul knew Judaism so well that he could quote scriptures so pertinent to those he was speaking to in terms they would understand. Here he uses Psalm 2, a psalm the Jews would know by heart. “You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.” In today’s words, we would call this a slam dunk, with an exclamation point at the end! There is no way the Jews in the synagogue could refute what he was saying. The salvation they have been waiting for was finally here. If only they would listen.
Jesus also lays it out for His disciples. “I am the way, the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Another slam dunk, how can we refute that? The question remains, and one that we each need to answer is, how do we make that happen? To start with, we need to accept Jesus as our Messiah, the one who was sent from the Father. And then, do everything we possibly can to follow His lead. We do this by participating in and receiving the sacraments of the Church. Those things that the Church says, allow us to receive the graces Jesus gives us through our human experience. It is the way that we allow the Holy Spirit to be a material participant in our lives, and we can be a material participant in Jesus’ life. It is the way through which we can go to the Father through Jesus Christ.
The greatest of these sacraments is the Eucharist. We call it the heart and summit of the Church’s life. It is where we receive Jesus, His body, and His blood, so we can be one with Him and receive the eternal life promised to us.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has much to say about each of the sacraments, how they prepare us, and allow us to receive God’s graces. I would encourage you to spend some time reading them again, even if you have read them before. And then, participate in them, fully. For Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light; no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.
Saint James Catholic Church 