This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
From the beginning, the story of the Christian Church has been an interplay between the operation of the Holy Spirit for the transformation of the souls of believers, and persecution in various forms from those who do not want to center their lives on Christ.
In today’s first reading, that full duality plays out: A severe persecution of the Church breaks out in Jerusalem; as the disciples scatter throughout the countryside, rather than hunkering down and slowly disappearing, they bring many more to believe in Christ.
In our Christian effort to create in the world a just society in line with the principles of the Gospel, we often can become so idealistic that we forget that this duality of conversion and persecution is willed by God; it is His plan for history. We should not shy away from the persecution side of the equation, because the other side of that coin is the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit in bringing souls to Himself, as He has for all ages of the Church.
Jesus did not come with the objective of winning every single heart on earth to Himself, but rather those who would freely accept Him.
But in today’s gospel, He makes a beautiful pledge to those who do accept Him:
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Tell Jesus that you accept Him with your whole heart, unconditionally, and ask Him to work through you the transformation in souls that He worked through the apostles, in the midst of glorious conversions and of persecutions.
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