Today is May 24, Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles offers a vivid snapshot of the life of the early Church: “As they traveled from city to city, they handed on to the people for observance the decisions reached by the apostles and presbyters in Jerusalem. Day after day, the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number” (Acts 16:4-5).
I love passages like this because they capture the incredible dynamism of the early Church. There’s a sense of movement, energy and purpose. The apostles and disciples are teaching, evangelizing, forming communities — and the Church is growing! People are encountering the Christian message, recognizing its truth and responding with their whole lives. They’re saying, “This is different. I want to be a part of this.”
What we see in these early chapters of Acts is not a stagnant institution, but a missionary Church on fire with the Gospel.
That same fire, that same missionary spirit, is something we desperately need to reclaim today.
‘Do not be afraid’
I think we’re starting to hear echoes of this in the early words of Pope Leo XIV. In his very first address as pope, he said:
“I thank my brother cardinals who have chosen me to be the successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a Church united — ever pursuing peace and justice, ever seeking to act as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ in order to proclaim the Gospel without fear.”
Proclaim the Gospel without fear. That’s the heart of it.
Pope Leo is not speaking as a bureaucrat. He’s speaking as a missionary — because he was one. He served as a missionary in Peru, ministered as a bishop there and led the Augustinian order globally as its prior general. His whole life has been marked by a deep missionary sensibility. And now, as pope, he’s calling the Church back to that missionary identity.
It reminds me of the words of St. John Paul II: “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid to proclaim the Gospel again. Do not be afraid to speak the name of Jesus. Do not be afraid to live your faith publicly, boldly, joyfully.
So today, let that be our prayer — that we would be filled with apostolic zeal. That we would recover the joy and confidence of the early Church and bring that dynamism to our own parishes, families and communities.
Let us pray,
Almighty and eternal God, who through the regenerating power of Baptism have been pleased to confer on us heavenly life, grant, we pray, that those you render capable of immortality by justifying them may by your guidance attain the fullness of glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
