Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter

May 30, 2020

Deacon Anthony J. Cincotta

Assistant director for Retreat Ministry

Acts of the Apostles 28:16-20, 30-31

Psalm 11

John 21:20-25

Tomorrow is Pentecost Sunday.  The Easter Season has come to an end.  Today’s readings  conclude the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of Saint John.  There is a fitting focus on two prominent figures in the New Testament, Peter and Paul. 

The theme of the readings of the day is discipleship.  Jesus’s directive to follow Him is clear and straightforward.  The manner in which one’s discipleship is lived out is unique to each person and may vary within the lifetime of an individual.  The lives of Peter and Paul bear this out. 

In the Gospel narrative, Peter had just delivered a three-fold proclamation of His love and devotion in response to Jesus’ three-fold inquiry and missioning.  Perhaps unsettled by this dramatic exchange, Peter wonders about the disciple, John, who is usually quietly in the background but with seemingly a close connection to the person of Jesus.  Jesus thereupon directs Peter to mind his own business and to get on with his own life, his own discipleship.  A lively exchange, indeed.

Our first reading from Acts presents a dramatic shift in the manner of Paul’s discipleship.  Here was a person who had traveled extensively, having undertaken three great missionary journeys, now settled into the confining existence of house arrest.  Circumstances may change, but the call to discipleship is constant and adaptable.

The “application” to one’s own discipleship is pretty obvious.  The call by Jesus can be gradual, as in the case of Peter, or dramatic, as in the case of Paul.  Peter and John and Paul were persons with different personalities, different strengths, and different weaknesses.  Jesus sends out as disciple’s unique individuals, namely, us.  It is necessary to rejoice in and to utilize our uniqueness in order to be authentic persons, in order to be authentic disciples.  Don’t you think?

Question of the Day:  How will you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you as a disciple of Jesus, our Risen Lord.

Prayer:  Lord, be always with me.  Direct and guide my whole life according to Your holy will.  Amen.

Please continue to pray for the victims of the Coronavirus and for all who are affected by this unprecedented pandemic.

Prosit