Acts 5:30-32
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him."
I have a good friend from seminary who routinely would ask a question to people. The question is, "what are you about?" a simple question, but yet profound. Over the course of four years with this friend I heard a wide range of responses, from jokes, to hobbies, and on and on. However, the responses always allowed people to share a part of themselves with others that they thought was important, that they thought needed to be shared with others to explain themselves. Today the court officials in the Sanhedrin ask a similar question to the Apostles, Peter speaking for the other Apostles gives the response to "What are you about." They are about Jesus who was killed on a cross, and risen from the dead by the power of the Father, and now we have the possibility of the forgiveness of our sins. This small and short statement is the summery of our faith, and what we need to be about. No matter our position in society, or our origins, or our past history. From encountering the risen Lord Jesus Christ we need to be like the Apostles and be about this new post Easter reality, this awareness of the Easter message needs to inform our entire being.
Get to know our seminarians! Today's reflection was written by:
Deacon Joshua Bertrand, Theology IV
Home parish: USF Catholic Student Center / Corpus Christi
Did you know...
I grew up in Kissimmee Florida. I graduated from the University of South Florida in 2012 with a B.A. in History. I'm currently studying Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.
Pray with us for the men and women discerning the priesthood and religious life. To pray for our seminarians by name or to find out more about the Diocese of St. Petersburg vocations office, click here.
