Second Week of Easter, Saturday – Acts 6:1-7; John 6:16-21

More than just leading to the break-up of debate and discussion, we are threatened by a conflict immersed in worldliness. Ambition, inclinations, attachment to place and things, money, self-interest . . . As in the Acts of the Apostles. Neglect of our “widows”. One gets more, another gets less.

Dispute and conflict do not have to destroy a community. It’s often creative. It allows the discovery of new tasks and possibilities, but only when close to God and to each other. It’s the Evil One who manipulates division into destruction.

Saint Peter in this first situation of conflict gives two important pointers. Take care of what belongs to you and do it better. Discover your vocation, your place, and commit to it fully. And don’t demand from others what does not belong to them. Sometimes it may seem that you are walking on rough waters, but it is the only way for the boat to reach the shore.

How are we handling dispute in the Church today? Is Satan managing to manipulate the differences? Are those who have authority taking care of what belongs to them, and striving to do better? Do the leaders of the People of God have full and focused commitment to their vocation as servants of the God’s people? And finally, and certainly not least, are those with authority demanding of the faithful what they do they do not have?

Blessed Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, Patron of the Church, pray for us.