Today’s Readings – Tuesday of week 6 of Easter - First Reading

Commentary on Acts 16:22-34

Today we have part of one of the most dramatic events in the story of the Acts.

Paul is still in Philippi. We might wonder at the sudden attack on Paul and Silas with which today’s reading opens. It is such a change from the positive welcome they had been receiving up to this. In fact, the first part of the story and also the sequel are omitted in the reading but they are needed if we are to appreciate today’s passage fully.

One day on their way to the river for prayer, Paul had incurred the anger of the owners of a slave girl who had fortune-telling gifts. The text says literally “with a Python spirit". The Python was the serpent or dragon that guarded the oracle at Delphi. It later came to designate a “sp … Continue

Yesterday’s Readings – Monday of week 6 of Easter - First Reading

Commentary on Acts 16:11-15

Following on his vision of the young Macedonian man, Paul and his companions decide to cross over from Troas and head towards the town of Philippi.

On the way they passed through Samothrace (a place made famous by the magnificent marble sc … Continue