Hello saints,
This first post will cover the first two chapters of the book of Acts. I am not going to include the text of these first two chapters in the post, but I strongly suggest reading them before you read this. What I have to say in this post will be general and address everyone, but when you read the chapters for yourself, listen to what the Lord has to say to you specifically. Nothing, I repeat NOTHING, can replace the Word of God and what he has to say to you specifically.
We already covered the Ascension pretty thoroughly so I will not be touching on that in this post. Any verses that I cite or include in the posts have come from the Duoay-Rheims translation of the Bible. You can find this Bible in its entirety here: http://www.drbo.org/index.htm .
Without further ado…
1 The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, of all things which Jesus began to do and to teach,
The author of Acts is St. Luke and the former treatise, or first book, is a reference to his Gospel. He is dedicating this book (as he did his Gospel) to Theophilus. Theophilus may have been an actual person, or it may be a fictitious person symbolizing the “beloved of God” which is what the name means.
8 But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.
This was the verse was that was the theme of last years World Youth Day in Sydney. Pope Benedict the XVI gave an awesome homily there on this verse and what the holy Spirit means to us as youth. I was going to cite some of this homily but it is just so awesome that I found myself copy and pasting pretty much the entire thing. So I urge you, please read this: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20080720_xxiii-wyd_en.html .
After Jesus ascends they go back to Jerusalem and pray in the upper room with Mary the mother of Jesus and some of the other women. I can’t help but wonder here the role that Mary played while they prayed. The example that she was for them, of her humility and purity. She knew Jesus so well and intimately that I can just imagine her sharing stories with the group and giving them insights about her son that only she could do. She truly “mothered” our church from day one and still continues to do so. What a beautiful gift God as given us in his blessed mother.
In the midst of all their praying Peter declares that the spot Judas has left void need be filled. They cast lots between two individuals and let divine intervention decide who will replace him. “the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. “ The 12 apostles serve as a sort of governmental role to the early church. Appointing the new apostle, dividing the goods that were sold, etc.
Chapter 2 starts off with the descending of the holy Spirit in the upper room at Pentecost. A sound from heaven came like a wind and tongues as it were of fire sat upon them. All I can say is… wow. Can you imagine all of us sitting in the basement of STMUP praying, and all of a sudden a mighty sound from heaven comes and shakes the room, fire falls from the fire sky and sits upon our heads and we all start talking in different languages! It would be insanity! Yet in the Pope’s homily he says he is praying for this! He says,
“I pray that this great assembly, which unites young people “from every nation under heaven” (cf. Acts 2:5), will be a new Upper Room. May the fire of God’s love descend to fill your hearts, unite you ever more fully to the Lord and his Church, and send you forth, a new generation of apostles, to bring the world to Christ!”
A new upper room! Now probably it won’t be like what the apostles experienced with tongues of fire, etc. But he is asking (praying rather) that the holy Spirit descend again upon us, the youth, just as powerfully as it did the apostles on Pentecost! That we may be sent forth, as a new generation (an army of saints!), to bring the world back to Christ!
It is also important to recognize that it was only after many days of intense prayer that the holy Spirit was poured out upon the world. This is a good example for us. If we want to see radical changes in our lives like those of the apostles, it starts with prayer. I think the Pope says it best in his homily,
“Yet this power, the grace of the Spirit, is not something we can merit or achieve, but only receive as pure gift. God’s love can only unleash its power when it is allowed to change us from within. We have to let it break through the hard crust of our indifference, our spiritual weariness, our blind conformity to the spirit of this age. Only then can we let it ignite our imagination and shape our deepest desires. That is why prayer is so important: daily prayer, private prayer in the quiet of our hearts and before the Blessed Sacrament, and liturgical prayer in the heart of the Church. Prayer is pure receptivity to God’s grace, love in action, communion with the Spirit who dwells within us, leading us, through Jesus, in the Church, to our heavenly Father. In the power of his Spirit, Jesus is always present in our hearts, quietly waiting for us to be still with him, to hear his voice, to abide in his love, and to receive “power from on high”, enabling us to be salt and light for our world.
Peter’s first words (God‘s words rather), his first homily on the birthday of the church, converted were 3,000 souls! How great and mighty is God! Peter tells the converted to “Do penance and be baptized”. I think this is important for us to remember. He lets them know that they are at fault for Jesus death, and therefore must repent. We also, through our sins, are guilty of this and need to repent. Luke tells us that the people were filled with fear. We usually think of fear as something for the weak and we should not desire to have it. But this sort of fear is perfectly healthy, and absolutely necessary for our spiritual growth. To often do we remember the God who loves us and has mercy on us, and forget the God who is a just judge and the awful despair that is hell. I once read that the devil wants us to think of God's mercy before we sin, and his just punishment after we sin. Rather his just punishment before we sin, and his mercy after we sin. Let us not fall into that trap, and be always penitent.
I am going to end this post by asking you one more time to read what the Pope has to say to us young people in his homily at World Youth Day and one final quote.
"Dear young people, let me now ask you a question. What will you leave to the next generation? Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure? Are you living your lives in a way that opens up space for the Spirit in the midst of a world that wants to forget God, or even rejects him in the name of a falsely-conceived freedom? How are you using the gifts you have been given, the “power” which the Holy Spirit is even now prepared to release within you? What legacy will you leave to young people yet to come? What difference will you make?"
God bless,
Sean
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11 comments:
I had a lot of things running through my mind reading this.
First, it blows my mind to think about the early church. I mean, imagine CSA trying to start/talk up/live a completely new religion that no one heard about before. What an awesome and overwhelming task they must have had, especially considering the opposition they faced. And yet, when you think about it, we are doing the SAME things. We are called to start and sustain a spiritual revolution, and our task is no less daunting. BUT like the disciples, we have God batting for us. How cool is that?
Another thing I thought of when reading Acts 1:4 was that so many times we think we're supposed to ACT. Especially in the discernment processes I've been going through I feel like if I'm not actively doing something (i.e. e-mailing someone, talking to someone, going somewhere) that I'm not doing anything. But in this verse, Jesus doesn't say "Hurry up and go! We've got a Gospel to spread!" He says for them to wait. Action is definitely important, but I think waiting is also important. All things will happen in God's time, and before we go rushing off and forgetting our Holy Spirit at home, we should wait for God and make sure that we have everything we need from Him before starting off on our journey.
Finally, I agree with Jen that I like the idea of the Holy Spirit chipping away at the "crust" we've formed around our hearts. Sometimes I feel like God gives me every reason to trust Him, and yet when I look back on things I've finished I wonder why I didn't just let Him do it. I need to break down the walls of my heart, the crust of fear that keeps the Spirit out, and let God in. He's like water. You only need to open the door a crack for Him to flood in. The Apostles were flawed and doubtful, and He worked extraordinary things through them. He can do it again with us.
Peace, friends! Sheila
I don't really have much to add, but I really liked, "Are you building your lives on firm foundations, building something that will endure?" I know my answer, like most of you fellow saints, is a resounding "YES!"
Also, when talking about why prayer is important, as if there aren't enough reasons listed, I would just like to add that prayer is personal communication with God. You need to use it to build your relationship up with Him. It's impossible to have a strong relationship with someone you barely ever talk to, and so this works the same way with God.
When I was reading Acts, I was struck with ch. 1, verse 7: "He answered them, 'It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.'" This goes along with what Sheila and Jen were saying a little bit, about how we just need to trust God and have the Holy Spirit "chip away" at our hearts to make them softer and more loving, more like His. We simply have to trust that He does take care of us, and He loves us deeply.
- Casey
Brothers and sisters,
Yup. Even though its off-the-usual-topic, that’s where I’m starting out with this week. I think some of you know about how I struggle with common topics of apologetics…I know Jason is into apologetics, but I don’t know if any of you are. I’m not so sure as to why, but Acts 1: 14 stuck out like a sore thumb to me while reading. “All those devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” Many Protestants believe that Mary was indeed a virgin when she conceived Jesus, but after that, she had more children by Joseph. Other places that this comes up are: Matt 13:55-56 “Is [Jesus] not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother’s name Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not his sisters all with us?” and (its weak, but) Matt 1:25 “[Joseph] had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.” My NAB Bible makes a note of this last verse: “until she bore a son:” the evangelist is concerned to emphasize that Joseph was not responsible for the conception of Jesus. The Greek word translated “until” does not imply normal marital conduct after Jesus’ birth, nor does it exclude it.”
So my question, saints, is what the heck is this all about?! My Catholic Bible is saying that Mary may have had sex with Joseph after Jesus came into the world, and I thought we as Catholics believed that she was always virgin…
I have to be honest that I’ve never quite had a connection with Mary…I mean, I definitely regard her as Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, and I believe she does deserve lavish honor, but my faith has always been about Christ, where I believe it should be. I don’t pray to Mary, but I guess you could say I think of her as an extraordinary example of faith and think of her example often like I do with the saints (although I hold her a little higher lol).
But what would it matter if she did have other children? I think we tend to leave Joseph out of the picture a lot….he was after all Mary’s husband. Why is her being a perpetual virgin something central to our Catholic faith?
Alright, stepping away from my questions about apologetics…..
I absolutely love Acts. Reading about the very beginning of the Church, the one STILL instituted TODAY, is so fascinating to me. I love to read about the original apostolic ministry and the core foundations of faith which they laid out on the birthday of the Church, the day when God sort-of “reversed” Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) in order that the scattered peoples would be able to be united once again in language to hear the Good News. For any of you who know something about the Gift of Tongues—I think its so cool that sometimes a person will actually be speaking a real language, but not know it until someone who speaks that language recognizes it. Example: my tongues-language could, for this example, be Polish. I don’t know Polish consciously, but someone who speaks Polish could hear me speaking in tongues and know exactly what I’m saying. THAT, to me, is a miracle of God…a type of witnessing/evangelizing that truly is in His care.
Upon my little research about Jesus’ maybe-siblings, someone who is a convert had written that the Catholic Church is the only one which has actually remained faithful to the Scriptures. Mainly, her points were on topics like children, birth control, divorce, and remarriage. She was astonished to discover in her research for a church to “settle into” with her family that Catholics are the only ones who still stand for what the Bible and the original Christians taught. Be proud of that, saints! Be proud of our faithful ancestors and for remaining faithful to the Gospel as we are reminded each Lenten season!
Oh, I forgot where I was going with that ending lol. Reading Acts 2:42-47 spoke to me as a detail of those living in the religious life today. And along with that woman’s perspective, it is SO cool to me that we still live out exactly what the founders of our faith did!
Great comments by all of you! I just wanted to start off by reflecting on something that Mary said. I remember her saying in an email about having the desire to be a part of something BIG in our lives and that this is it. That's what came to my mind after reading these two chapters. Just thinking about how quick the Holy Spirit worked through Peter and those in the Upper Room once the Spirit descended upon them. And how in his first discourse 3,000 people were converted. That just blows my mind. Imagine the superduper power of the Holy Spirit working through the superpowers that God has given us and just think of what can be done. That's a lot of power that could potentially do a lot of good if we would just let God do it. That' the tough part though, allowing God to break through the "crust" that you guys were talking about and letting that change occur. I just wanted to leave you all with a story that Father Fred from Saint Vincent's told Josh and I while we stayed at Saint Vincent's for the weekend after the last F.O.P. I'll just give you the gist of what he said to us and put a little of my own twist on it lol. Hopefully this story will inspire you all to let the power of the Holy Spirit break through that "crust" and allow God to work great things through us all. I know this story helped me when he told me it.
A married couple in Indiana were having a bit of a problem with their car situation. You see, the wife just lost her car and her husband was the only one with a car that ran. One day the husband thought he would surprise his wife so he stopped at a used car sale and bought his wife a car. When he brought it home to his wife she was happy that she had a car now but she couldn't help but think how big of a clunker it was. The next night the wife went out to the grocery store. On this particular night the grocery store wasn't busy at all and there was only one car in the parking lot along with hers. As she walked back to her car a man tried to mug her but she wrestled her way out of his grip and jumped in her car and tried to escape. The man then jumped into his car and began to chase her down. The woman grasped the wheel firmly with her sweaty palms as the man speeded after her. She saw that the man wasn't going to give up on her so she began to panic and didn't know what to do. With her hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel of her rusty old car she proclaimed to God, "Please save me Lord! I need a miracle!" At that moment she pushed the petal to the metal and with an amazing jolt her car roared and shot like a bullet leaving the criminal in the dust. When she got home she told her husband about everything that happened...the mugging, the chase, the escape. She said, "Honey, you wouldn't believe it, I asked God for a miracle and I pressed down on the pedal and that rusty old car that you bought me sped away like a race car!". Her husband replied "Oh I forgot to tell you, the car I bought you used to be a puruit vehicle for the police." He went outside with her and opened the hood of the car and to her amazement there was a GIANT supercharged big block v-8 hemi engine sitting in the hood of this old run down car".
A lot of times we don't realize the power of the Holy Spirit and we let ourselves become deceived and doubt that we can do anything great. This puts the rust on our car and keeps us from realizing the great things that God can do with us through the power of the Holy Spirit. But if we would just look under the hood and see what great power there is in God then we too can escape for the theif (the devil and his temptations) and shoot off into the freedom and glory of the Lord!
Saints,
Jacki brings up some really interesting stuff that get the wheels turning. Here is what I have tracked down about the questions she poses.
In regaurds to the word "until":
25 "Till she brought forth her firstborn son"... From these words Helvidius and other heretics most impiously inferred that the blessed Virgin Mary had other children besides Christ; but St. Jerome shews, by divers examples, that this expression of the Evangelist was a manner of speaking usual among the Hebrews, to denote by the word until, only what is done, without any regard to the future. Thus it is said, Genesis 8. 6 and 7, that Noe sent forth a raven, which went forth, and did not return till the waters were dried up on the earth. That is, did not return any more. Also Isaias 46. 4, God says: I am till you grow old. Who dare infer that God should then cease to be: Also in the first book of Machabees 5. 54, And they went up to mount Sion with joy and gladness, and offered holocausts, because not one of them was slain till they had returned in peace. That is, not one was slain before or after they had returned. God saith to his divine Son: Sit on my right hand till I make thy enemies thy footstool. Shall he sit no longer after his enemies are subdued? Yea and for all eternity. St. Jerome also proves by Scripture examples, that an only begotten son, was also called firstborn, or first begotten: because according to the law, the firstborn males were to be consecrated to God; Sanctify unto me, saith the Lord, every firstborn that openeth the womb among the children of Israel, etc. Ex. 13. 2.
That is a footnote from the Douay-Rheims bible.
That is kind of wordy, so read it a few times and chew on it (if you understood that right away, congrats God's has blessed you with an awesome brain!).
In regaurds to references to Jesus "brother's and sister's" throughout the bible:
Here is a link that sheds some light on that, http://www.catholic.com/library/Mary_Ever_Virgin.asp .
Also, there is a story in the Gospel where there is a large crowd outside of a house that Jesus is in and they are referred to as his "Mother, brother's, and sister's". The crowd they are referring to is rather large and would be silly to think that they all came straight from the womb of Mary. In the link above, it says that these could either be referring to step-siblings, had by Joseph, or to his cousins (since there is no word for that at the time). Also, when Jesus is on the cross he tells John "behold thy mother" and his mother "behold thy son". If Jesus had any other siblings at the time they would of have been entrusted with the care of Mary, not John, and this would of been a serious insult to them.
Jacki asks, "what would it matter if she did have other children?". We believe Mary has a role in the salvation of Men and is free from sin. In the link it says that Mary was "vowed to a life of virginity". If she had taken this vow, broken it by having sex and other children etc., this clearly would be sinful for her (only because of this vow she had taken). This is my own extrapolation, or connecting of the dots, if they don't make sense please refute them, and I will do a better job in finding the correct answer. I once heard an apologist say that if you are being challenged and questioned about your faith and don't know the answer, rest assured, the catholic church has one.
Something also to think about. Look at how these 3 verses speak so similairly: 2 Samuel 6:9
"And David was afraid of the Lord that day, saying: How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?"
Luke 1:43
"And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"
Revelation 11:19-12:1
"And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail. And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars:
Notice in both Samuel and Luke the language used to talk about the Ark and the blessed Mother are the same. And then in Revelation when John sees the temple of God opened up to him (where the Ark would of been kept)he sees a woman. People have taken this to mean the blessed Mother. The Ark contained the 10 commandments, the old law, the new ark contained the new law, or the fulfillment of the law. If Marys womb is to be the Ark of the Covennant, I don't think it would of contained anything other than Jesus. Again this is my own extrapolation and interpretation. If doesn't work for you, seek out your answers else where, because they DO exist.
I hope this was of some help to you guys.
Peace be with you all.
Jacki, definitely some good stuff going on. However, when it says in Acts 1:14 that he was with his brothers and in Matthew 13:55-56 that his brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, my interpretation was that they weren't actually his biological brothers. James, Simon, and Judas are names of 3 of the disciples, and maybe the Joseph referred to was Mary's husband, but since it wasn't Jesus' real father, he referred to him as a brother.
I mean, I consider you guys brothers and sisters to me, but obviously none of us came from the same mother or father. Jesus says in Matthew 12:49-50:
"Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Although also, in the same place, it says that Jesus' mother and brothers approached him and wanted to speak with him. If the disciples were already with him, then who are the brothers that are spoken of here? Crap. I was trying to prove a point and I think I ended up showing the opposite of what I wanted to say. Arrgh! Sean, help? Lol.
Aha! Gold.
Ok, so they have the same story that is found in Matthew 12:46-50 in Mark 3:31-35. My Bible has a note, but then directed me to Mark 6:3, where the footnote says,
"In Semitic usage, the terms 'brother' and 'sister' are applied not only to children of the same parents, but to nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers, and half-sisters. While one cannot suppose that the meaning of Greek word should be sought in the first place from Semitic usage, the Septuagint often translates the Hebrew by the Greek word adelphos, 'brother,' as in the cited passages, a fact that may argue for a similar breadth of meaning in some New Testament passages. For instance, there is no doubt that in verse 17, "brother" is used of Philip, who was actually the half-brother of Herod Antipas. On the other hand, Mark may have understood the terms literally; see also Mark 3:31-35, Matthew 12:46, 13:55-56, Luke 8:19, John 7:3-5. The question of meaning here would not have arisen but for the faith of the church in Mary's perpetual virginity."
That was a mouthful. But I definitely suggest looking up those other passages that my footnote discussed to see if the other meaning of brother fits here as well.
p.s. Jburd, awesome story. That really does help.
I'd like to add a little to the explanation of Mary's perpetual virginity. Imagine that you, as a female, were engaged and looking forward to building a life and family with your future husband. An angel appears to you and tells you that you will bear a son. What would you say? You certainly wouldn't be surprised or confused. The idea that you would have a son in the near future is a nice confirmation of your plans - you don't intend to be a virgin after your wedding night.
Mary was newly espoused to Joseph but not yet living with him, which indicates that it would have been unusual but not scandalous for her to become pregnant at that time, because the marriage contract itself was already completed. When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear a son, she was confused. That's kind of odd if she was ever intending to lose her virginity. Her objection is not, "It'll have to wait until Joseph takes me into his house, because I have not yet known a man," but "How shall this be done, because I know not man?" (Lk 1:34) That's an important distinction. Her confusion doesn’t make sense unless she had a vow of perpetual virginity.
The other pieces of positive evidence for Mary's lack of other children are first that she is referred to as "Mary, the mother of Jesus" and never the mother of anybody else, and second, Jesus' words from the cross in St. John's Gospel. This has been mentioned but I'll reiterate because for me, it is powerful to think about.
Jesus was perfectly sinless, loving, obedient to the Father, and all manner of holy qualities. In other words, he wasn't the malicious, backstabbing type! What kind of Jesus would deliver an extraordinary insult to a brother and Apostle without some unanswerable cause? If Mary had other children, Jesus had nothing to say on the cross concerning Mary's care, but in John 19:26-27, he bequeaths Mary's care to the beloved disciple. I just can't see Jesus doing that to a brother of his, but he did do it, ergo no brothers. Also, one inspiring interpretation of that passage is that each one of us is that beloved disciple, commanded by Christ to behold Mary as our mother and take her into our homes, just as all generations will call her Blessed. Hence, she is our Blessed Mother and we honor her as Jesus honored her, because he obeyed the fourth commandment to honor her and we imitate Christ.
As for why Mary's perpetual virginity is important, part of this has to do with the sacred Tradition of the Church. Either sacred Tradition is valid or it isn't, just as the parts of Church teaching that are dogmatically defined either are infallible or they aren't. Her perpetual virginity falls under the category of that sacred Tradition, as do a great many other things such as her Immaculate Conception (defined in the mid-1800s as essential to the faith, but widely believed throughout Christian history). You can't throw out Mary's perpetual virginity willy-nilly without calling sacred Tradition (i.e. some stuff central to Christianity like the Trinity itself!) into serious question.
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