Seventh Week

7th Week of Easter, Wednesday (2)

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In today’s First Reading Paul, bidding farewell to the presbyters of Ephesus, charges them with watching over the Lord’s flock and themselves. Our Lord in today’s Gospel prays that his disciples share a profound unity, a unity reflecting the profound unity of the Most Holy Trinity.  Paul encourages the presbyters to remember that it is better to give than to receive; the “wolves” who will menace the flock are looking after their own interests, not the poor sheep who falls into their clutches.

However, as Paul warns, the unity of the Church is threatened by internal factors as well; some teaching perverse doctrines will lure people away. It is due to both these types of threats that Our Lord entrusted the apostles and their successors with watching over the unity of the flock.  They are expected to preside over the Church in a spirit of service and of charity. The wounds and obstacles to Christian unity even today are caused by false teachers and people pursuing their own interests at the expense of the Church’s.

Let’s pray today for shepherds who know how to drive off the wolves and false teachers. Let’s also pray for reconciliation and unity among all Christians so that we can be one as Our Lord has prayed for in today’s Gospel.

Readings: Acts 20:28–38; Psalm 68:29–30, 33–36b; John 17:11b–19. See also 7th Week of Easter, Wednesday and 7th Week of Easter, Sunday.

7th Week of Easter, Tuesday (2)

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In today’s readings we see two farewells to beloved friends: Paul bids farewell to the presbyters of Ephesus, knowing he’ll never see them again, and Our Lord’s prolonged Last Supper farewell turns to a prayer for those whom he is leaving behind before his “glorification,” which in St. John’s language is his crucifixion and resurrection.

In today’s First Reading we recall the first part of Paul’s farewell; by assuring them he was not responsible for the blood of any of them he was saying that he had held back from nothing in their regard that was a part of God’s plan. He helped them on the path to salvation, but now the Holy Spirit was prompting him to take up an arduous mission that required leaving them behind. Our Lord, addressing his Father, also declares that he had fulfilled his mission in regard to his disciples, those who believed in him, and was preparing for what would consolidate that work: his sacrifice on the Cross, a journey to death, but also to Resurrection, that would also leave them behind.

Our Lord has done this not just for the disciples of his time, but for us. Paul too set something into motion, prompted by the Holy Spirit, that benefits us even today. What’s our response?

Readings: Acts 20:17–27; Psalm 68:10–11, 20–21; John 17:1–11a. See also 7th Week of Easter, Tuesday.

7th Week of Easter, Monday (2)

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In today’s First Reading Paul decides to go to Ephesus while Apollos is with the faithful in Corinth. Paul’s visit today to Ephesus reminds us of the path every believer takes in the spiritual life: repentance for sins, baptism, and a life in the Spirit. This reading is an apt selection for the week that awaits us before Pentecost, because we too hope for an outpouring of the Spirit as the fruit of living a good sacramental and moral life.

Life in the Spirit is not just receiving special charisms, such as prophecies and tongues, although some do. Life in the Spirit means relying on the Spirit, who gives us life and courage to face the world’s trials. The Spirit convinces us of the truth of Our Lord’s promise in today’s Gospel: Christ has conquered the world., therefore there’s no need to fear. Paul asks the Ephesians today if they have received the Spirit; the sacraments are what confer the Spirit upon us, especially Baptism and Confirmation, just as the Eucharist nourishes us on Christ’s Body and Blood. Together these three sacraments fully initiate us into a life in the Spirit: a Christian life.

Life in the Spirit is not just something we receive; it is a commitment and a labor of love. Let’s welcome the Spirit into our lives in order to have the love of God poured into our hearts.

Readings: Acts 19:1–8; Psalm 68:2–3b, 4–5a, 5c–7b; John 16:29–33. See also 7th Week of Easter, Monday.

7th Week of Easter, Saturday

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Today’s readings bring us to the last words of the Acts of the Apostles and of the Gospel of John. The Easter season concludes tomorrow with Pentecost, and the readings prepare us for the next chapter of salvation history: our chapter. When Peter grows suspicious about the beloved disciple in today’s Gospel Our Lord gives him some sound advice: don’t worry about others, focus on following Christ. Peter’s concern is not the considerateness of a charitable outlook that seeks to identify a need someone has and to address it; rather, it’s one of those suspicious glances that can lead to rash judgments about others, unwarranted comparisons that can lead to discouragement or a superiority complex depending on how we (or they) measure up, and gossip.

Rumors had been flying about Jesus’ words to Peter about the beloved disciple and they’d caused such a stir that the author of the Gospel of John had to clarify what Jesus meant. We have to also be on guard against hanging around the rumor mill searching for some tidbit to satisfy our curiosity or to pride ourselves on being “in the know.” Some details about the lives of others are on a need to know basis and Our Lord will tell us if we need to know. We should concentrate on following him, not on how someone else is doing it (or not doing it).

Let’s ask Our Lord today to help close any rumor mills that cross our path, and to focus on following him. Let’s also ask for a prayerful attitude that praises God when we see him blessing others and entreats God’s help when we see others in spiritual difficulty.

Readings: Acts 28:16–20, 30–31; Psalm 11:4–5, 7; John 21:20–25.

7th Week of Easter, Friday

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord reminds us that he wants unconditional love from us, but also realizes our weakness and failings. It is not reflected in the English translations of this passage, but in the three times Jesus asks Peter “do you love me?”, the Greek shows us Jesus is inviting Peter to profess the greatest love a man can have, and, gently, Peter responds that he is not up to that after everything that has happened between them. It passes from an invitation to ἀγαπάω (a deep and unconditional love) to φιλέω (a brotherly love or an openness to friendship).

In the first invitation Jesus asks Peter if his love is deep and unconditional, and Peter responds that he has a brotherly love for Jesus. In the second invitation, Jesus asks Peter the same thing and Peter responds the same way: not a deep and unconditional love, but a brotherly love. Finally, in the third invitation, Jesus asks Peter whether his love for him is brotherly, and Peter, hurt that he keeps asking, responds in kind. With this invitation Jesus has brought it down to Peter’s level and Peter has had an opportunity to really explore and state his level of love for Jesus after having said before the Passion that his love was until death and then denied Jesus three times (see Luke 22:33–34 and John 18:15–27).

Jesus asks us for complete and unconditional love, but when we are weak, the love we can muster is enough, if it is from the heart. As Jesus extended the invitation to Peter, who knows whether he was asking him if Peter was still so confident that His love for Our Lord was total. But in the love Peter offered, he was firm. Our love will always be imperfect, but it must be firm, and Our Lord will always ask us, “do you love me” in those trying moments so that we have a new opportunity to tell Him we love Him. Let’s keep trying to grow in our love for him.

Readings: Acts 25:13b–21; Psalm 103:1–2, 11–12, 19–20b; John 21:15–19.