Fr. Michael Carlini sx
Paul, the imitator of Christ
The first reading presents the account of Paul's first journey to Jerusalem that Luke poses, for theological reasons, immediately after the conversion of Damascus (though it most likely occurred three years later , as hinted in Gal 1:17), to emphasize his 'apostolic' equality with the Group of the Twelve.
Paul, however, was not welcomed as an "apostle", but as a potential enemy and, after a plot against him, he had to flee Jerusalem (cf. Gal 1:18-21), thus embodying in his life the imitation of that Lord Jesus who called him to the apostolic ministry.
Saul started his religious activity by opposing the Christians, whom he considered as heretics. He was moved by his own ideology and zeal, until the Lord appeared to him and told him to change all his plans and visions; from that moment, Paul was no longer the one deciding what to do with his life but allowed the Spirit to be in control. He accepted to step down from protagonist to disciple: “to the glory of the Father”, not that of his own (Sunday’s gospel, v. 8).
The bishops of one country wrote that “the mission is not the work of lone navigators” who might consider themselves as heroes, the new saviours of their place. Community is the first form of mission, continues the same document; the mission originates from the Trinity and belongs to God, to whom the disciple must be united.
Paul’s mission was not always a bed of roses: he faced opposition by the Hellenists, who were speaking his own language, who belonged to his own culture. It had already happened to Jesus: “He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him” (Jn 1:11).
Providential was the intervention of Barnabas, who played the key role to introduce St Paul to the Apostles, by relating to them about his conversion and how he boldly evangelized in Damascus. Paul could then begin to catechize successfully the Greeks in Jerusalem, but eventually they planned to kill him and therefore some members of the community convinced him to flee from there and return to Tarsus.
You are connected
In the gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples about the need to be in union with the him: “I am the vine, you are the branches”. The verb “to remain” is repeated 7 times in Sunday’s passage of John 15. Just as the Son is one with the Father (first part of the gospel), we also are to be one with the Lord (second part). Whenever we are linked to God, we “bear much fruit”, an expression that appears 6 times in Jesus’ allegory. All of us aspire to see abundant fruits, as a result of our commitment to evangelization. In this season here we are all happy to see the mango trees loaded with ripe fruits and love to listen to the jingle of the sellers along our streets: “Mando de, mango de!”.
And yet if we want to be fruitful, we need to be connected to God. One might have the most recent smartphone, with all the ‘aps’, but to be really operative, it has to be connected to a Wi-Fi. The same applies to spiritual life: only when we abide in God can we receive his living sap. Today, more than ever, when looking for a job, it seems necessary to be connected to somebody important who can recommend us. One may have completed his/her studies, even graduated, and posses the knowledge and skills required to apply for a particular occupation. But these seem not to be enough; an interview is not always based on merits. Those who happen to be connected to the right person, get the job. It also occurs in our ministry: our personal talents and skills might be numerous, but at times they are like secondary branches, that eventually need to be pruned, for the vine to produce fruit of good quality. It is always important to remember that we have to be connected to the main vine, who is the Lord. He will bless our evangelizing actions and words with his life-giving blessing.
To Armstrong be the glory
The whole world knows that Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the moon (July 1961). Edwin Aldrin followed about 20 minutes later. The third astronaut on board of the Apollo 11 was Michael Collins. He passed away this week, aged 90. He saw his two companions walking on the moon, but had to stay behind in lunar orbit as command module pilot, at just 60 miles of distance. He accomplished his mission without lifting personally the winners’ trophy. He was happy that, through his discreet but professional back up, his two colleagues could make history: human beings walking on the moon.
Christ is happy when we bear fruit for the kingdom in our ministry; at the same time he reminds us that we are not the protagonists and the end of our pastoral work: the centre has to be God. We draw people to the Lord, not to ourselves: “It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit” (Jn 15:8).
by Fr. Michael Carlini
Paul, the imitator of Christ
The first reading presents the account of Paul's first journey to Jerusalem that Luke poses, for theological reasons, immediately after the conversion of Damascus (though it most likely occurred three years later , as hinted in Gal 1:17), to emphasize his 'apostolic' equality with the Group of the Twelve.
Paul, however, was not welcomed as an "apostle", but as a potential enemy and, after a plot against him, he had to flee Jerusalem (cf. Gal 1:18-21), thus embodying in his life the imitation of that Lord Jesus who called him to the apostolic ministry.
Saul started his religious activity by opposing the Christians, whom he considered as heretics. He was moved by his own ideology and zeal, until the Lord appeared to him and told him to change all his plans and visions; from that moment, Paul was no longer the one deciding what to do with his life but allowed the Spirit to be in control. He accepted to step down from protagonist to disciple: “to the glory of the Father”, not that of his own (Sunday’s gospel, v. 8).
The bishops of one country wrote that “the mission is not the work of lone navigators” who might consider themselves as heroes, the new saviours of their place. Community is the first form of mission, continues the same document; the mission originates from the Trinity and belongs to God, to whom the disciple must be united.
Paul’s mission was not always a bed of roses: he faced opposition by the Hellenists, who were speaking his own language, who belonged to his own culture. It had already happened to Jesus: “He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him” (Jn 1:11).
Providential was the intervention of Barnabas, who played the key role to introduce St Paul to the Apostles, by relating to them about his conversion and how he boldly evangelized in Damascus. Paul could then begin to catechize successfully the Greeks in Jerusalem, but eventually they planned to kill him and therefore some members of the community convinced him to flee from there and return to Tarsus.
You are connected
In the gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples about the need to be in union with the him: “I am the vine, you are the branches”. The verb “to remain” is repeated 7 times in Sunday’s passage of John 15. Just as the Son is one with the Father (first part of the gospel), we also are to be one with the Lord (second part). Whenever we are linked to God, we “bear much fruit”, an expression that appears 6 times in Jesus’ allegory. All of us aspire to see abundant fruits, as a result of our commitment to evangelization. In this season here we are all happy to see the mango trees loaded with ripe fruits and love to listen to the jingle of the sellers along our streets: “Mando de, mango de!”.
And yet if we want to be fruitful, we need to be connected to God. One might have the most recent smartphone, with all the ‘aps’, but to be really operative, it has to be connected to a Wi-Fi. The same applies to spiritual life: only when we abide in God can we receive his living sap. Today, more than ever, when looking for a job, it seems necessary to be connected to somebody important who can recommend us. One may have completed his/her studies, even graduated, and posses the knowledge and skills required to apply for a particular occupation. But these seem not to be enough; an interview is not always based on merits. Those who happen to be connected to the right person, get the job. It also occurs in our ministry: our personal talents and skills might be numerous, but at times they are like secondary branches, that eventually need to be pruned, for the vine to produce fruit of good quality. It is always important to remember that we have to be connected to the main vine, who is the Lord. He will bless our evangelizing actions and words with his life-giving blessing.
To Armstrong be the glory
The whole world knows that Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the moon (July 1961). Edwin Aldrin followed about 20 minutes later. The third astronaut on board of the Apollo 11 was Michael Collins. He passed away this week, aged 90. He saw his two companions walking on the moon, but had to stay behind in lunar orbit as command module pilot, at just 60 miles of distance. He accomplished his mission without lifting personally the winners’ trophy. He was happy that, through his discreet but professional back up, his two colleagues could make history: human beings walking on the moon.
Christ is happy when we bear fruit for the kingdom in our ministry; at the same time he reminds us that we are not the protagonists and the end of our pastoral work: the centre has to be God. We draw people to the Lord, not to ourselves: “It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit” (Jn 15:8).
by Fr. Michael Carlini