"Living stones making a spiritual house"
5th Sunday of Easter
Cobh
3 May 2026
My friends,
For those who walk in a spirit of faith with the seasons of the Church usually get a new spring in their step in these Easter weeks. It is felt especially in the combination of readings offered for reflection and prayer. Today is a very good example.
Reading from the Acts of Apostles we get a real sense of energy and purpose in living out the faith. You get a sense that things mattered between Gentiles and Jews, Hellenists and Hebrews, to the point of disagreement – a healthy tension! It led to the election of Stephen and six others to dedicate themselves to the service of the poor. It was a discernment and decision to which we owe the origins of the permanent diaconate in the life of the Church.
In recent times and indeed currently, the Church Universal continues to debate the question of women being invited and permitted to take on this role. The reluctance to do so, I believe, comes out of fear of the division it may bring to the Church, if introduced. It will, I imagine, take some time before it is resolved. What we can take from this episode in the life of the early Church is that difference and division are part of life for communities of faith. The way forward is always in seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit – seeking strenuously to preserve the unity of the community. We know only too well that once a separation has taken place, healing is always so difficult.
How often have we heard the consoling opening lines of the gospel, mostly in the funeral context,
“Do not let your hearts be troubled
Trust in God still and trust in me”
Again, it would be the questioning of Thomas, Apostle that enables Jesus’ declaration,
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”
While these words from Jesus offer us consolation on the occasion of the death of a loved one, they are equally powerful words of inspiration to live with hope, purpose and joy in the love of Jesus Our Lord and Saviour. But we must not take it for granted, we cannot be passive – we actively need to turn to him in prayer each day. Bringing our need – asking forgiveness and giving thanks. These are simple expressions of love and trust - it requires only that we be humble of heart.
Too many hold back from prayer because they want to first figure God out in their minds. God is beyond our minds but is experienced by way of the heart – a loving heart.
This same spiritual insight is expressed a little differently in the segment from the first letter of Peter when he speaks of Jesus,
“The Lord is the living stone … chosen by God
and precious to him; set yourselves close to
him so that you too … may be living stones
making a spiritual house.”
As a parish, as a community at prayer in the service of our discipleship of Christ Jesus, we are truly blessed. In Christ Jesus we rest on him as a foundation of our shared faith, knowing that as we walk life’s journey, we will share through one another the blessing we yearn for.
