Memory of the Church

Memorial of Saint Paul VI (+1978), pope.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Acts 18,1-8

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, where he met a Jew called Aquila whose family came from Pontus. He and his wife Priscilla had recently left Italy because an edict of Claudius had expelled all the Jews from Rome. Paul went to visit them, and when he found they were tentmakers, of the same trade as himself, he lodged with them, and they worked together. Every Sabbath he used to hold debates in the synagogues, trying to convert Jews as well as Greeks. After Silas and Timothy had arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted all his time to preaching, declaring to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. When they turned against him and started to insult him, he took his cloak and shook it out in front of them, saying, 'Your blood be on your own heads; from now on I will go to the gentiles with a clear conscience.' Then he left the synagogue and moved to the house next door that belonged to a worshipper of God called Justus. Crispus, president of the synagogue, and his whole household, all became believers in the Lord. Many Corinthians when they heard this became believers and were baptised.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Corinth was a cosmopolite Greek city and it was famous for its harbour. Once in the city, Paul goes straight to the crowded areas of the harbour. There he meets Aquila and Priscilla, a Jewish-Christian couple who had been cast out from Rome due to an edict issued by the emperor Claudius against the Jews. The Roman administration did not make any distinction between the Jews and the Jews converted to Christianity. Paul stays with this family and works with them to earn his living. On Saturday, as usual, Paul went to the synagogue and explained to all that Jesus was the Messiah. The note of the Autor of the Acts about Paul's action is significant: "He was occupied with proclaiming the Word." It is an indication that should question today's Christian communities and urge them to rediscover the urgency of communicating the Gospel anew. The missionary perspective should find again the primacy of the Word in the lives of believers. This was the urgency felt by Paul who devoted totally himself, soul and body, to the Gospel. And there was no lack of fruits: even Crispus, the head of the synagogue, converted. Corinth then became home to a large community composed of merchants, sailors, slaves and freed men and women, in essence, a community of people from the harbour. The community was lively and dynamic, but also complex, with some problems that came from trying to live together. And yet, with all their limits, those Christians were a sign of hope not only for the people of the harbour, but also for the entire city of Corinth. This is what is asked of our communities, which today are often a small minority in our complex and pluralistic cities: to be a house of peace and love who humanize the entire city.