Fifth Sunday in Easter
Deacon Robert Banet
That St. Paul can really set you to thinking.
What do you mean?
I mean when he talked about the fierce wolves coming in.
Oh? Tell me about it.
Well, he says that when he leaves, fierce wolves would come in and speak perverse things.
Fierce wolves? What did he mean?
He meant preachers and teachers who would come in and try to wean them away from the true faith.
Where would they come from?
He said they could come from among themselves.
What! How could that be? They were all fervent converts, weren’t they?
I guess they were not on the right track.
Hard to believe that those early Christians would falter. After all, they had the very apostles of Christ to teach them.
Some of them were great sinners.
Oh? That’s surprising.
Yes. St. Paul even had to turn a couple of them over to Satan.
What!
Yes. He said Alexander was a blasphemer and he would turn him over to Satan so that he would be taught not to blaspheme.
Oh, I see. He was not consigning Alexander to Hell but just trying to bring him back.
Where could I read about Alexander?
Look at the first letter of St. Paul to Timothy. It’s in the first chapter.
Do I have to read the whole chapter?
Oh, Charlie, you’re a riot!