Word of the day

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
Acts 5:27-33

When the court officers had brought the Apostles in
and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,
the high priest questioned them,
“We gave you strict orders did we not,
to stop teaching in that name.
Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,
“We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,
though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

When they heard this,
they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 3:31-36

The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him.

What was the  journey this Peter took to arrive at this point, at this courage, at this boldness, to expose himself in this way? Because he could have arrived at a compromise with the priests, saying, “Calm down, we will take on a softer tone, we won’t accuse you in public, we will leave you in peace”, so as to arrive at a compromise. (…) No! Peter said, “No compromise, you are guilty” (see v. 30), and he said it courageously.

How did Peter reach this point? Because (…) as he is very generous and also very weak. What is the secret, what is the strength that Peter received in order to get here? There is a verse that will help us understand this. Before the Passion, Jesus said to the Apostles, “Satan has desired to sift you like wheat” (Lk 22:31). (…) And to Peter He says, “but I have prayed for your so that your faith may not fail” (v. 32). This is Peter’s secret: Jesus’s prayer. Jesus prays for Peter, so that his faith will not fail him and that he may - Jesus says - confirm his brothers in faith. Jesus prays for Peter.

And what Jesus did for Peter, He does for all of us. Jesus prays for us all. He prays before the Father. We are used to praying to Jesus so that He might give us one grace or another, that He might help us, but we are not accustomed to contemplating Jesus who shows the Father His wounds, Jesus the intercessor, the mediator, Jesus who prays for us. And Peter was able to progress on this path from a coward to a courageous person with the gift of the Holy Spirit, thanks to Jesus’s prayer. (Santa Marta, 23 April 2020)