With one accord, the crowds paid
attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he
was doing. For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many
possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. There was
great joy in that city. Acts 8:6-8
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes
to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
John 6:35
Piety
What was
going through the minds of the 28 Ethiopian Christians as they walked along the
beach last week before they died? Now
they will never hunger again. Now they
will never thirst. May their last
thoughts and prayers about the ones they love be lifted up to the highest. Let our prayers be joined with theirs.
Study
Jesus was
serious when he said to pick up your cross daily and follow me.
The kinds of
persecution and martyrdom that Stephen experienced in the early church continued
as Saul emerges onto the scene. Two
thousand and fifteen years later, it has not disappeared.
Maybe thee
followers did not know what Jesus meant at the time. Yet once they saw what happened to Jesus,
their first reaction was to hide and go back to their old ways of life. If that succeeded, then there would be no
church, no Cursillo and no tripod.
Once they
were strengthened with the food that sustains life, they took the “be-not-afraid”
message to heart. Eventually, they left
the Upper Room and started healing the sick, freeing the possessed and preaching
the Good News. And there was “great joy.” Until the persecution continued.
Action
A recent
story on the National Catholic Register web site reported the reaction of Pope
Francis to the latest massacre of Christians:
Pope
Francis this evening sent a message of solidarity to Patriarch Matthias of
the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church following the release of a video showing
the killing of 28 Ethiopian Christians by Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists
in Libya.
"With
great distress and sadness I learn of the further shocking violence perpetrated
against innocent Christians in Libya," the Pope wrote, adding that
he was reaching out to Patriarch Matthias and his flock "in
heartfelt spiritual solidarity to assure you of my closeness in prayer at the
continuing martyrdom being so cruelly inflicted on Christians in Africa, the
Middle East and some parts of Asia."
"It
makes no difference whether the victims are Catholic, Copt, Orthodox or
Protestant," the Pope went on. "Their blood is one and the same in
their confession of Christ! The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is
a testimony which cries out to be heard by everyone who can still distinguish
between good and evil. All the more this cry must be heard by those who have
the destiny of peoples in their hands."
Pray that
persecution of any person anywhere because of their faith ends.
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