So often the first or second reading does not form the core of a Sunday homily. In the US Catholic Bishop’s document “Fulfilled in Your Hearing, ” they are clear that the purpose of a homily to cast the light of the gospel into the lives of the listeners – and so, and rightly so, the gospel takes a preeminent place in the hearts and minds of Sunday worship. And yet there is beauty, truth and goodness in the other readings which, especially when from Acts of the Apostles or the Epistles, are the voice of a pastor speaking to a community of faith. Sometimes the words are comforting and sometimes challenging: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” How are we as Christians to understand this? Please take about 10 minutes and listen to a Sunday Sermon from Bishop Robert Barron unpack this one simple, challenging verse from Acts 4:12.
After having graduated from the US Naval Academy – the first cauldron of forming leaders for the Navy and Marine Corp – and after finishing nuclear power training and submarine school, I reported as a bright shiny Ensign to my first submarine! I was ready to be a deep-diving, backing down full at crush depth, denizen of the deep – “Run Silent, Run Deep” and “Hunt for Red October” all rolled into one.
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