Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the Church, as well as by the Apostles and the presbyters, and they reported what God had done with them. But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law.”

We won’t always agree about what it means to be Christian or the direction the Church is taking or not taking. After all, we are human and our knowledge and actions are imperfect so it’s only natural to realize we’ll get into debates about faith. However, we should talk to each other respectfully and in light of the collective wisdom of the Church’s two thousand years of teachings and traditions. We should also trust that the Holy Spirit will guide the Church in her deliberations and lead her to make the right decisions at the right time. This doesn’t mean we’ll agree with everything. However, part of being faithful servants to God and His Church is trusting that believing will lead to understanding and that the Truth will win out in the end.

Do we dialogue with those who disagree with us or do we argue and alienate them? Do we recognize the possibility that we don’t have all the answers and need to listen to the lessons the Church has to teach us? Are our hearts open to both the traditions of the Church and the evolution of those traditions in accordance with the Scriptures and the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit?

O Lord, make our dialogues with each other fruitful and uniting.

Amen.