Wednesday of the 6th week of Eastertide
First Reading — Acts 17:15,22–18:1
I proclaim the God you already worship without knowing it
Paul’s escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could.
So Paul stood before the whole Council of the Areopagus and made this speech:
‘Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it.
‘Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in need of anything; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone.
From one single stock he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed how long each nation should flourish and what the boundaries of its territory should be. And he did this so that all nations might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him.
Yet in fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said:
“We are all his children.”
‘Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man.
‘God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but now he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness, and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead.’
At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, ‘We would like to hear you talk about this again.’ After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides.
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 148:1–2,11–14
Praise the Lord from the heavens,
praise him in the heights.
Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his host.
All earth’s kings and peoples,
earth’s princes and rulers,
young men and maidens,
old men together with children.
Let them praise the name of the Lord
for he alone is exalted.
The splendour of his name
reaches beyond heaven and earth.
He exalts the strength of his people.
He is the praise of all his saints,
of the sons of Israel,
of the people to whom he comes close.
Gospel — John 16:12–15
The Spirit of truth will lead you to the complete truth
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.’
Reflection
Paul’s speech in Athens reveals something profoundly human: people often search for God long before they can name Him clearly.
The altar “To An Unknown God” becomes Paul’s starting point. He does not begin by mocking their ignorance. He begins by recognising their longing. Beneath philosophy, ritual, and intellectual pursuit sits a deeper hunger—the human desire to reach beyond itself toward meaning, truth, and transcendence.
The Catechism teaches that the desire for God is written into the human heart because humanity is created by and for Him (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 27). This means spiritual searching is not accidental. It reflects something deeply embedded within the person.
But Paul also moves beyond vague spirituality. God is not merely an idea to contemplate. He calls for repentance, relationship, and response. Some listeners mock him. Others remain curious. A few believe.
That pattern continues today.
Truth rarely produces universal applause. Some reject it immediately. Others hesitate. Others slowly allow themselves to be changed by it.
Then the Gospel reveals why this process often unfolds gradually.
“I still have many things to say to you, but they would be too much for you now.”
There is extraordinary patience in these words. Christ understands human limitation. The Spirit leads people toward truth progressively, not violently. Spiritual maturity is not instant mastery—it is sustained formation.
This is difficult because modern culture rewards immediacy. We want quick certainty, quick answers, quick transformation. But God often works more slowly than our impatience prefers.
The Holy Spirit teaches by deepening capacity.
Not every truth can be carried immediately.
Not every lesson arrives all at once.
Not every question is resolved on demand.
And perhaps humility begins there: accepting that being led is different from being in control.
The Spirit of truth does not shame sincere seekers.
He walks with them until they can see more clearly.
One line to carry today:
God is often nearer to the searching heart than the searching heart realises.
No comments:
Post a Comment