< <  

Sunday, May 5, 2024

  > >

Sixth Sunday of Easter


Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
1 John 4:7-10
Psalm 98:1-4
John 15:9-17

View Readings
Similar Reflections

who can’t teach you?

“As Peter entered, Cornelius went to meet him, dropped to his knees before him and bowed low.” —Acts 10:25

The Holy Spirit wants to teach us all things (Jn 14:26). For example, He wants to teach us how to be parents, wives, husbands, lay single people, and members of religious communities. The Spirit wants to teach us how to spend our money, eat, talk, think, work, love, live, and die. Because the Holy Spirit wants to teach us so much, the proper relationship with Him is to be teachable, that is, docile.

Most of the time the Spirit does not teach us directly but indirectly. He teaches us through people, such as parents, pastors, spouses, brothers, sisters, children, strangers, and even enemies. To be docile means to be able to learn from anyone through whom the Holy Spirit chooses to teach. For example, Cornelius, a powerful Roman centurion, was humbly submissive to the teaching of St. Peter, an uneducated Jewish fisherman (see Acts 10:25ff). The secretary of the treasury of the Ethiopian government asked the simple St. Philip to teach him from the Bible (Acts 8:27ff).

Who do you consider to be the last person in the world to teach you anything? If the Spirit so chooses, are you willing to be taught by him or her? If so, you are docile and ready to receive the Holy Spirit. If not, you are in danger of rejecting the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:  Father, teach me about being teachable.

Promise:  “Love, then, consists in this: not that we have loved God but that He has loved us and has sent His Son as an Offering for our sins.” —1 Jn 4:10

Praise:  King of all the ages, Your ways are perfect and true. Alleluia!

Reference:  (For a related teaching on Arrogance, listen to, download or order our CD 52-1 or DVD 52 on our website.)

Rescript:  "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from April 1, 2024, through May 31, 2024. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio June 22, 2023"

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.