Patience In Between

-

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Today's Readings:
[ Acts 1:6-14; Ps 68:1-10, 33-36; 1 Pet 4:12-14, 5:6-11; Jn 17:1-11 ] 

In today’s readings, the disciples stand in an uncomfortable place: between Christ’s Ascension and the coming of the Spirit. Jesus has gone from their sight, but Pentecost has not yet arrived. It is a season of waiting.

In Acts, the disciples ask the risen Christ whether this is the moment when the kingdom will finally come in fullness. Jesus redirects them away from certainty and toward trust: “It is not for you to know the times or periods”. Instead, they are called simply to remain faithful. So they return to Jerusalem and devote themselves to prayer together.

From a Franciscan perspective, St. Francis often embraced uncertainty, trusting that God’s providence was enough for the next step even when the whole road was hidden. We prefer answers, plans, and guarantees. Yet the Gospel reminds us that discipleship is not about controlling the future but remaining close to Christ in the present.

Jesus’ prayer in John’s Gospel is especially moving: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one”. Before his Passion, Jesus prays not for success, comfort, or worldly strength for his followers, but for faithfulness and unity. He entrusts them into the Father’s care.

Peter echoes this same theme. Trials will come, but believers are told to “humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God” and to cast “all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you”. The Christian life is not free from hardship, but neither are we abandoned within it.

Perhaps many of us today are living in an “in-between” season — waiting for clarity, healing, direction, or hope. The invitation of these readings is to pray, remain together, trust God’s care, and wait faithfully. Sometimes holiness begins not in dramatic action, but in patient faith.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Choosing Sight and Light

-
Image
Today's Readings: [ 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 ] The readings today invite us to reflect on how God sees and how we see . In the First Book of Samuel, the prophet Samuel assumes that Israel’s next king must surely be the strongest and most impressive of Jesse’s sons. But God corrects him with a lesson that echoes throughout Scripture: “The Lord does not see as mortals see.” Human beings are naturally drawn to outward appearance, status, and strength. God looks instead at the heart. And so the shepherd boy David—the youngest, the overlooked one—is chosen. Psalm 23 reminds us that the Lord is still the shepherd who guides His people. Even when we walk through dark valleys, when the way forward seems uncertain, we are not abandoned. The shepherd sees the path ahead even when we do not. In the Gospel, Jesus heals a man born blind. Yet the miracle reveals more than restored physical sight. The man who had been blind comes to see clearly who Jesus is, ...
Read more

St Patrick's Day - Green Beer Or Radical Love?

-
Image
Today's readings: [  2 Cor 12:14-16, 19; Ps 131; Mt 5:43-48 ] St. Patrick’s Day often brings images of green fields, shamrocks, and joyful celebration (green beer, anyone?). Yet beneath the cultural festivities lies the story of a man who lived the Gospel in a radical way: humility, trust in God, and love even for enemies. Today’s readings trace a quiet but powerful thread through those same virtues. In Psalm 131 , the psalmist says, “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.” It is a picture of profound humility—of a heart that does not strive for greatness but rests in God. Franciscan spirituality holds this posture at its core. St. Francis believed that true wisdom begins when we stop grasping for status or control and instead become small before God, trusting Him as a child trusts a loving parent. Paul echoes that same spirit in 2 Corinthians , insisting that he does not seek the possessions of the people he serves but the people themselves. L...
Read more

Bread That Endures

-
Image
Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 386 - Commemoration Today's readings: [ Wis 7:7, 11-14; Ps 119:33-40; Jn 6:26-35 ] There is a quiet theme running through today's readings: the difference between what satisfies for a moment and what truly gives life. In Wisdom, Solomon does not ask for power, wealth, or long life, but for understanding. And in receiving wisdom, he finds that all other goods fall into place—not as idols to cling to, but as gifts rightly ordered. This is echoed in the psalmist’s plea: “Teach me… give me understanding… turn my eyes from what is worthless.” There is a deep hunger here, not just for knowledge, but for a way of seeing the world as God sees it. Then in the Gospel, Christ names the tension plainly. The crowd seeks Him because they ate their fill. Their hunger was real—but shallow. Jesus invites them deeper: “Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.” And then He reveals the heart of it all:...
Read more