Beloved by God – 4th Sunday Easter Year A
Acts 2:14A, 36-41; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:20B-25; John 10:1-10
The first reading describes Peter preaching. After Peter preaches, 3,000 people accept Peter’s invitation to repent and be baptized. You may have recently heard in the news that conversions to the Catholic faith have dramatically increased not only in the US but also in other countries, especially countries where Catholicism has been declining, such as France, the UK, and Australia.
An explanation for these conversions is contained in the first reading from Acts. The 3,000 people who converted after hearing Peter preach converted because they “were cut to the heart” by the Holy Spirit, who not only inspired Peter to preach but also transformed the words Peter said into vehicles of God’s healing grace.
The 3,000 people who converted were not only pierced to the heart by the Holy Spirit through Peter’s words but also open to “repent and be baptized”. Prior to converting, these 3,000 people who listened to Peter were listening to Peter because they were longing for God, they were longing for a savior from beyond this world, but also in this world. This savior is Jesus.
Similarly, the recent increase in conversions to the Catholic faith is due to the Holy Spirit working through Catholics, including priests, as they preach. Like Peter, the people and priests the Holy Spirit has chosen to be messengers of Jesus are imperfect and sometimes not very effective at preaching, yet the Holy Spirit is working through them.
The working of the Holy Spirit, coupled with the desire of many people for something other than what this world can offer, has led to these conversions. As Saint Augustine wrote in his Confessions, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee, O Lord.” We were created by God to desire life that goes beyond this world. We were created by God to desire God and to desire eternal communion with our friends, family, and all who love God. This desire cannot be completely extinguished in us, and when it is not met by God, we become deeply frustrated, for no earthly good can possibly satisfy our hearts, which long, deep down, for God and communion with God.
Often our sins, which always result in us being frustrated and miserable, consist of seeking love in the wrong places, in the wrong way, from the wrong people, all in a desire to, quoting, Curt Thompson, “to be seen, soothed, safe, and secure.”[1]
Only God can satisfy our deep desire to be seen, to be known in every possible way and still loved, and loved unconditionally. Only God can satisfy our deep desire to be soothed, comforted, especially when we are in pain.
Our God took on flesh in the person of Jesus, and suffered in the flesh, so that he can be with us in a most intimate way and suffer with us as Emmanuel, as God with us.
Only in God will we feel safe and secure even in the midst of terrible trials as the holy martyrs show us, for when we recognize that this world is passing and the eternal, heavenly world is our true home, with God’s grace, all trials become bearable, for we are enduring them with the love of Jesus Christ in our hearts.
May God Bless You All – Father Peter
[1] Curt Thompson, The Soul of Desire, 110.
Catholic Evangelization 