Saturday, June 1, 2013
Paul Ends His Speech and Imprisonment
Dear Friends,
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (22:17-30):
[Paul said,] “After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry, leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ But I replied, ‘Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself stood by giving my approval and keeping guard over the cloaks of his murderers.’ Then he said to me, ‘Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
They listened to him until he said this, but then they raised their voices and shouted, “Take such a one as this away from the earth. It is not right that he should live.” And as they were yelling and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the cohort commander ordered him to be brought into the compound and gave instruction that he be interrogated under the lash to determine the reason why they were making such an outcry against him. But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion on duty, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been tried?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the cohort commander and reported it, saying, “What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen.” Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered. The commander replied, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” Paul said, “But I was born one.”
At once those who were going to interrogate him backed away from him, and the commander became alarmed when he realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had had him bound. The next day, wishing to determine the truth about why he was being accused by the Jews, he freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.
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We had a beautiful day yesterday for the Feast of Our Lady’s Visitation of her cousin Elizabeth. Our Blessed Mother was very kind indeed.
Below you will find the message of Our Dear Mother Mary given to Father Melvin. She spoke to him these words,
“I greet you My son Melvin and all My sons and daughters who celebrated My Feast yesterday. It was My joy to go and visit My cousin and to help her during her time of pregnancy. Another great follower of My Son Jesus is Saint Paul. He was not afraid to speak about His Savior and to call the people to believe in Him, to be baptized and to become members of His Church. The Jews however in Jerusalem did not accept what Saint Paul told them and they wanted to have him killed. The soldiers saved him from that. Because of the opposition of the Jews, My Son Jesus told him to leave Jerusalem and to go far away to work among the Gentiles. Now he was back in Jerusalem and he was taken to prison. Because he was a Roman citizen, he was taken to Rome and there he worked hard to teach the people about the Savior of the world.
“I call you all, My sons and daughters, to follow what Saint Paul taught and much of it is written in the Bible in the form of letters. Read these letters of Saint Paul and accept what is in them. I am praying these days for an increase of faith among the Church members. Never stop praying every day and please go to church every Sunday and receive the Holy Eucharist. I love you all and I bless you.”
Father Melvin