Monday 4th Week of Easter
St. Mary’s Seminary and University Board Meeting
May 12, 2025
In today’s Scripture readings, we find two kinds of obstacles to the Church’s mission of evangelization – those that come from within the Church and those that come from outside the Church.
An internal hindrance is on display in the Acts of the Apostles. Peter, upon his return to Jerusalem, was confronted for eating with uncircumcised believers, that is to say, Gentiles. There was lingering fear that fraternizing with those who did not follow the Mosaic law would entangle the Church in what was unclean in God’s eyes. It took a vision from God to show Peter that such fears were groundless. With that Peter entered Cornelius’ house and began instruct him. As he did so, the Spirit descended upon that house, like a Pentecost in miniature . . . . All this shows us how momentous was the decision of the early church to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, how they had to learn not to impede the Holy Spirit. This should serve as a warning lest we impede the Church’s mission in our day, whether by fear or lack of zeal or by an unwillingness to be with those whose language and culture are very different than our own.
The Gospel speaks of external hindrances to the mission of Christ. Here the thief and the robber are set in opposition to the Good Shepherd. The thief, who climbs into the sheepfold rather than entering through the gate, stands for those outside the Church who would exploit and rob Christians of their faith – often by lies and deception and by dangling empty promises of happiness. We have only to think of how easily people are mislead by what they see online. Or what secular culture offers in place of the Gospel. Nor can we discount the role of the evil one in undermining the faith of many. When believers are robbed of their faith, they do not become happy. In many instances, they become lonely and anxious. We are seeing this sad reality in our country in epidemic proportions. By contrast, the Good Shepherd knows us, loves us, and brings us to good pasture. His Father, the gatekeeper, opens the gate who is Christ and we are led in to share in divine life and love, and the peace the world cannot give. As shepherds and as faithful Catholics, we must support and encourage one another in following the Good Shepherd who is the way, the truth, and life, and in shunning any and every influence who would rob us of the divine life that Christ won for us by his Cross and Resurrection.