Friday of the 4th week of Easter, April 26, 2024
Acts 13:26-33; Ps 2: 6-11ab; Jn 14:1-6
St. Paul explains beautifully the story of Jesus, or the Gospel message called the Kerygma of Jesus. In very simple terms, he explains how through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, we all have hope for salvation. I cannot think of a better way to explain our faith to others. Especially for St. Paul to the Jews in the Roman Empire. St. Paul just had this way of cutting to the chase and straightforwardly explaining the Kerygma. He was so passionate about what he was saying you could almost feel yourself being there in his presence. What an amazing witness to Christ’s divinity. St. 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.” There is no way the Jews in the synagogue could refute what he was saying. The salvation they had 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 straightforward statement of fact. However, 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. During this time of the Eucharistic Revival, I would encourage everyone to spend some time reading and studying about the Eucharist and what a gift it is to us. There are many ways to do this. You can start by finding your book, “The Catechism of the Catholic Church.” Open it up to Section Two, Article 3, The Sacrament of the Eucharist. Read through it and then read it again. You can also find many books on the Eucharist, several good ones are: “This is My Body,” by Bishop Barron, “The Jewish Roots of the Eucharist,” by Brent Petrie, or “Beautiful Eucharist,” published by Dynamic Catholic (a collection of short articles by various authors). All of them have much to say about how they prepare us and allow us to receive God’s graces through the Eucharist. I would encourage you to spend some time reading at least one of them, even if you have read them before. And then, participate fully when you receive the Eucharist. For Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light; no one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ.
Saint James Catholic Church 