Scripture:
Acts 6:1-7
John 6:16-21
Reflection:
Beautiful gifts can arise from a crisis. This is easier said than done, of course. When we are sitting right in the eye of the hurricane of our crisis neither beauty nor gift seem to come from it. From the interethnic tensions of the first Christian communities, as we read in the book of Acts, what we know now as the Diaconate came about. Men, and even in some cases women, became responsible for the work of charity and justice within the Christian Community throughout the centuries. The Spirit of God, just as Jesus accompanied the disciples in the midst of the storm in today´s Gospel, through our conflict and crisis endowed the Church with a great service as it was and is the Diaconate.
The Christian Community is confronted with many current crises, the abuse of minors by priests, the omissions of our bishops, the abuse of influence and disorderedly conduct by high ranking Vatican Officials, the disillusionment of many Catholics who have given up on the Church and now make up one of the biggest religious groups in the US. Can beautiful gifts arise from any of these situations? As we sit in the eye of the hurricane that we face as Church, the past storms within our Church assures that Jesus is walking with us and that the Spirit will plant and harvest beautiful gifts for the Church and the world. Let us pray to receive the wisdom and courage to recognize Jesus as he accompanies us and the action of the Spirit as it bestows the Church with beautiful gifts in the midst of our crises.
Fr. Hugo Esparza-Pérez, C.P. is a Passionist of Holy Cross Province now working in Mexico with the Province of Cristo Rey.