Homily: Fifth Thursday of Easter

Fifth Thursday of Easter (Acts: 15:7-21) “Following the Spirit’s Lead”

Church councils are a hot topic in the Catholic community right now. Pope Francis is having a synod on synods. Both an ecumenical council and a synod are gatherings of Bishops. An ecumenical council is a meeting of the world’s bishops whereas a synod is a meeting of the bishops of a region or a gathering of bishops regarding a certain issue in the church.

The last ecumenical council was in the 1960’s and was called Vatican II. Synods have taken place every few years since that time. A few years ago, there was a synod on youth within the church. Representatives were chosen from every country and gathered in Rome. Bishops could vote. Everyone else is an observer.

It has just been announced that at the synod on synods there will be a group of laity, half of whom are women who will be voting on different proposals. This is a stunning development, but it shows the commitment of Pope Francis to share power in the church. All of us should be very interested in how this unfolds.

We read about the first council in church history in Acts today. What may strike us is that we do not know exactly who was at this council. We hear about the Apostles being present and the presbyters. It doesn’t sound like there was an exact methodology for determining who went to such gatherings.

Local church leadership was pretty fluid as well. We read how the early Christians operated out of house churches. Sometimes these homes would be owned by women. We can surmise that this meant they had leadership roles.

The church, as the old expression goes, “was making things up as they went along.” There was no manual that the Apostles were following. Christ did not give a blueprint for church organization to his followers.

The apostles relied on the guidance of the Spirit. When they needed to make a decision that tried to discern prayerfully what direction to move in.

Reflection Questions:

1.    How do I feel about the church moving towards a more inclusive leadership? Is it a manifestation of the Spirit?

2.   Am I bothered that Jesus did not give us more guidance in how our Christian community should operate? What might the church of today learn from the early church?

 Dear Parishioners,

           Tomorrow we will be having an 8th grade recognition Mass. This is a big moment for our Seton graduates. They will be moving on to High School next fall. This is another sign that the academic year is ending.

          Our young people face a lot of challenges. This year Fr. Matthew and I have toured the classroom once a month and talked about the ten commandments. Our children need guidance. They need to know that God loves them enough to offer them a purpose for their life. This is what we have tried to convey.

          I would ask everyone to pray for all who are graduating this spring. There are many challenges that lie ahead of them.

          May Our Lady pray for us,

          Fr. Mark