What Are We To Do With These Men?

April 18, 2009

Saturday within the Octave of Easter

Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, "Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:19-20

He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15-16

Piety

The Angelus

V. The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:

R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord:

R. Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

V. And the Word was made Flesh:

R. And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Study

We can be inspired by Jesus' work with the disciples.

The humanity of the disciples shows through so strongly when they are still walking around with Jesus, preaching and serving and healing. In the Gospels, they just don’t seem to fully understand what they are being asked to do with the two cardinal requests from Jesus: “Repent” and “Follow me.” James fights over sitting next to Jesus in heaven. Peter denies Christ to save his own skin (or neck). Judas betrays the Lord and turns Jesus over to the Sanhedrin. They fall asleep in Gethsemane. They all run away. So at the foot of the cross, the only one who is left is John.

However, the resurrection changed everything. As the disciples encountered Jesus after Easter, they were compelled to “repent” and to “follow.” They became instruments of the Lord’s peace.

When we see them in Acts, they cannot not (double negative alert) fulfill the commandment in Mark 16. As they tell the authorities, “It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard in our lives.”

Action

Today, on the second day of the Cursillo, the candidates have been exposed to talks, discussions, sacraments, and liturgies which help them to know Jesus. May the witness of the team guide them toward the work of the Risen Christ in conjunction with the Holy Spirit who will inspire their education and change. Please support these the men to “go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel.”