Mass was offered this morning for the repose of the soul of Robert Tait (+), may he rest in the peace of Christ. I have been advising people to read through the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter period. It's easy to see why. Aside from its constant presence in our first readings at Mass, it provides us with a picture of the infancy of the Church. Our infancy, our early society. We should be able to see familiars there, brothers and sisters, kneeling before the altar at the 'breaking of the bread,' just as we saw yesterday through the lens of history our brothers and sisters in Elizabethan England, kneeling before the altar in prisons and in hidden rooms and barns, some of them dying horrible deaths for the sake of that holy Mass that we still share with them today. The Eucharist unites the Church of every age, as well as of every place.
Oh dear, I've gone off on a tangent again. I was going to look at the first reading for today's Mass. Remember the story of Stephen, stoned to death for preaching the Gospel before the council? Well, they were not happy with his death, oh, no. Now begin the pogroms that scattered the Christians away from Jerusalem and towards places like Cyprus, Caesarea-on-the-Sea and Antioch-of-Syria (the latter is where we were first called 'Christians' by the pagans Greeks); in those places, the Church began to grow, and apostles like Saint Barnabas were dispatched to Antioch, etc. to assist with the mission. This is also where the story of Saint Paul gathers steam; Saint Luke told us that Saul had assisted in the murder of Saint Stephen, and here we discover Paul, recently converted to Christianity, being recruited by Barnabas for the Antiochian mission. It's a great history: our history. Here's the first reading in full:
"Meanwhile, those who had been dispersed owing to the persecution that was raised over Stephen had travelled as far away as Phoenice and Cyprus and Antioch, without preaching the word to anyone except the Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they found their way to Antioch, spoke to the Greeks as well, preaching the Lord Jesus to them. And the Lord’s power went with them, so that a great number learned to believe, and turned to the Lord. The story of this came to the ears of the Church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas on a mission to Antioch. When he came there and saw what grace God was bestowing on them, he was full of joy, and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with steady purpose of heart, like the good man he was, full of the Holy Spirit, full of faith; a great multitude was thus won over to the Lord. He went on to Tarsus, to look for Saul, and when he found him, brought him back to Antioch. For a whole year after this they were made welcome in the Church there, teaching a great multitude. And Antioch was the first place in which the disciples were called Christians." - Acts of the Apostles, 11: 19-26
photo credit: Teseum Saint Paul at Saint Peter's via photopin (license)
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