Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter May 15, 2004 Scripture: Acts 16:1-10; John 15:18-21 Reflection: Never one to varnish the truth, John gives us today a Jesus who challenges our discipleship. “If you find that the world hates you, know it has hated me before you.” (John 15:18) Is my following of Christ up to that challenge? Archbishop Anthony Bloom meditates on it thus: “Unless we renounce ourselves to allow the Lord Christ to be our mind and our will and our heart, we shall never be either disciplined or disciples.” Am I a true disciple? Both readings today help me to look at the quality of my discipleship. Redemption is based on hard fact. The One sinned against is the Source of all being. Forgiveness can come, then, only through the suffering of a God-man. That suffering included the physical pain of the passion of Christ together with the loneliness of denial, rejection, hatred, and death. How willing am I to follow the example of Jesus in the acceptance of persecution? But I am not Jesus! If a man like Paul who had never met Jesus had the grace to suffer labors and trials, can I not be given the strength to endure? Jesus tells me, “I have chosen you out of the world.” Does not that awesome chosen-ness, lead me to trust his love? Suggested Action: Ask the Holy Spirit to identify a disappointment or frustration in your life today that will be an opportunity for self-renouncement. Sr. Sheila Reilly, IHM Scranton, Pennsylvania