May 12: The Easter Journey Continues / La Peregrinación Pascual

You may already be aware of this, but it bears repeating: at the Easter season Sunday Masses, the first reading in the liturgy is always taken from the New Testament’s Acts of the Apostles. The same is true for the Easter season Weekday Masses. For example, the Weekday Mass for today offers us Acts 11, 1-18. It is there that we see Saint Peter learning how to be a “pastor” from actual practice, on the run, as it were.

The “Rock,” on whom Jesus built the Church, goes out from Jerusalem to the coastal town of Caesarea to tend the People of God and he finds himself addressing a Gentile household. In a surprising turn, he discovers that their Baptism is not their first time to receive the Holy Spirit – for he sees that they are already clearly guided by the Spirit. Like Jesus, St. Peter himself is an observant Jew who follows the laws and rituals of his people, but he cannot refuse Baptism to people he recognizes as “chosen by God.” So without hesitating, he Baptizes them!

Saint Peter is showing here courageous leadership, pointing the way forward for the Church of future centuries. His courage really comes to the fore, though, when he is challenged by other members of the Church for his daring initiative. He patiently explains why it was necessary and right. His leadership is not dictatorial, but a blend of inspiration and dialogue. On the question of how Gentiles could belong to the Church, St. Peter has decisively opened the door.

Would it be too bold for us to pray that the ministry of our new Holy Father, Leo XIV, might capture the same flavor of openness and encouragement that we witness in the first Pope, St. Peter?

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El Señor Jesus, nuestro Buen Pastor, nos ha dicho: “He venido para que tengan vida – y vida abundante.” (Juan 10, 11-18) Él es la puerta para todos.

En los Hechos de los Apóstoles (11, 1-18), San Pedro defiende su acción de Bautizar al pagano Cornelio diciendo que, fiel al ejemplo de Jesus, él también necesita abrir a la puerta a los paganos, que son llamados a aceptar el Evangelio. Y el Espíritu Santo también desciende sobre ellos. ¿Está la Iglesia abierta a aceptar a todos? ¿Estamos nosotros abiertos a aceptar a todos?¿Qué hacemos para que esto llegue a ser una realidad? Así pues, está claro que Jesús había venido para traer vida a todos.