www.clerus.org\/bibliaclerusonline\/en\/9axiymn.htm<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe readings of this the sixth Sunday of Easter allows\u00a0us to ponder a number of considerations about being a Christian and\u00a0living the <\/span><\/span>\u2018Christian\u00a0life\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>which we, along with the disciples of the Risen One, are called to\u2018<\/span><\/span>be\u2019<\/em><\/span><\/span>.(Cfr. Jn 14:16)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
Firstly, the\u00a0reading from the Act of the Apostles advises us to \u2018<\/span><\/span>give\u00a0heed to what was said<\/em><\/span><\/span>\u2019\u00a0(Acts 8:6), to the words that the Church announces, as this is the\u00a0first essential step in becoming part of Christ\u2019s <\/span><\/span>mystical\u00a0body<\/em><\/span><\/span>.\u00a0It is an action that implies, as was then specified, not only\u00a0\u2018<\/span><\/span>hearing\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>but more importantly seeing the \u2018<\/span><\/span>signs\u2019<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\nthat makes the content of the Christian message self-evident (Cfr\u00a0Acts 8:6). There is a \u2018<\/span><\/span>door\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>that you cross only once through Baptism, however, it must be carried\u00a0through into our everyday lives in order to rediscover what it truly\u00a0means to be a <\/span><\/span>disciple<\/em><\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span>Peter and John,\u00a0as we have already heard, decided to head for Samaria to lay their <\/span>hands on Philip\u2019s disciples so that they would receive the Holy <\/span>Spirit (Cfr Acts 8:17) and therefore, as the prophet Isaiah invites <\/span>us in the words of today\u2019s entrance antiphon (Cfr Is 48:20), <\/span>have the strength to \u2018<\/span><\/span>proclaim\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>Christ\u2019s message \u2018<\/span><\/span><\/span>to <\/em><\/span><\/span>the end of the earth\u2019<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
The words of the\u00a0Prophet also introduces another essential element as to how a person\u00a0can be recognised as living a \u2018Christian life\u2019. The\u00a0Apostle Peter indicates it when he affirms that we must \u2018<\/span><\/span>always\u00a0be prepared to \u2026account for the hope\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>(1 Pt 3:15) that is in us \u2018<\/span><\/span>with\u00a0gentleness and reverence\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>(1 Pt 3:16). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
At this point,\u00a0the use of terms like \u2018<\/span><\/span>must\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>and \u2018<\/span><\/span>duty\u2019<\/em><\/span><\/span>,\u00a0used up to this moment, requires an explanation. Christianity isn\u2019t\u00a0an application of a moral obligation! Christianity is, rather, the\u00a0communion of those that are in love with Christ. It is by remaining\u00a0in His love, <\/span><\/span>\u2018observing\u00a0His commandments<\/em><\/span><\/span>\u2019,\u00a0(cfr Jn 14:21) that believers perform acts which otherwise would,\u00a0humanly speaking, be inexplicable. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
We <\/span><\/span>understand today\u2019s Gospel reading very well when we know that a\u00a0Christian isn\u2019t a man who strives to follow devoted practices\u00a0or precepts as, if one loves, it comes naturally to live as Jesus has\u00a0indicated. Rediscovering our own Baptism, through the guidance of\u00a0the Spirit of truth, means therefore to search to know Christ\u2019s
\nlife better every day through reading the Scriptures, prayer,\u00a0receiving the sacraments, and contributing to life within our\u00a0community and then it will be easier to fall in love with Him!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
From what has\u00a0been proposed so far, there is nothing that emerges that anyone can\u00a0say prohibits us from living a \u2018<\/span><\/span>life\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>that is real, not even the fact that we can not yet see Jesus in the\u00a0flesh. It is then that we can finally understand St John\u2019s\u00a0Gospel: \u2018<\/span><\/span>Yet\u00a0a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see\u00a0me<\/em><\/span><\/span>\u2019.\u00a0(Jn 14:19) The alternative between \u2018<\/span><\/span>you\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>and the \u2018<\/span><\/span>world\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/span>doesn\u2019t correspond to a moral or ethnic division but an\u00a0alternative that dwells in the hart of every one of us!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
If we, therefore,\u00a0follow the world and its mentality, we will never see the Risen One.\u00a0However, if we start to trust ourselves to the Church, our mother, to\u00a0listen to that what she suggests and teaches us, then we will\u00a0discover that in truth one can see the Lord. We will discover that\u00a0He has an exceptional, Real Presence that we will find fascinating\u00a0and irresistible because He is the only true motor for the \u2018Christian\u00a0life.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sixth Sunday of Easter Year A Citations\u00a0of Act 8, 5-8.14-17: www.clerus.org\/bibliaclerusonline\/en\/9ahx00h.htm www.clerus.org\/bibliaclerusonline\/en\/9avu0hh.htm 1P\u00a03,15-18 : www.clerus.org\/bibliaclerusonline\/en\/9axgcxc.htm www.clerus.org\/bibliaclerusonline\/en\/9a10a2c.htm Jn 14,15-21 : www.clerus.org\/bibliaclerusonline\/en\/9axiymn.htm The readings of this the sixth Sunday of Easter allows\u00a0us to ponder a number of considerations about being a Christian…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1121,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9791],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7875"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7875"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7879,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7875\/revisions\/7879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cancaonova.com\/catholicismanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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