Monday of The Seventh Week of Easter

Reading 1 acts 19:1-8

While Apollos was in Corinth,
Paul traveled through the interior of the country
and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples.
He said to them,
“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”
They answered him,
“We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
He said, “How were you baptized?”
They replied, “With the baptism of John.”
Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance,
telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him,
that is, in Jesus.”
When they heard this,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul laid his hands on them,
the Holy Spirit came upon them,
and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Altogether there were about twelve men.

He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly
with persuasive arguments about the Kingdom of God.

 

 

 

Paul the former Saul who had persecuting Christian for Rome now is baptizing followers of St. John the Baptist and administering the sacrament of Confirmation. Paul having had hands laid on him probably by St, Peter and also received Holy Orders now a Bishop.

 

The unbroken chain of Apostolic Succession continues.

 

We Catholics have been doing this for 2000 years, in just this same manner.

 

In the Gospel and then the Epistles we see the birth of all the Sacraments and Evangelism even under the Roman persecution. Passed on through Paul who is an important figure because of his conversion and the fact that he is documented in scripture administering Confirmation creating more soldiers in this spiritual battle -- the common Lay Catholic.