The Earliest Christian Community in Jerusalem

The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.
With great power, the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.

Our reading, taken from Acts  4: 32-35 describes how the Christian community in Jerusalem was living.  This is the only community of believers described as getting together and pooling their resources. This pooling of resources did not apparently work out so well because the community did not maintain the practice.  But the important part of this bit of history is that it shows that the apostles were in charge as the people would lay their gifts at their feet.  So we have in effect the first appearance of a magisterium, the Apostles who ministered to the community and the ordinary folk who accorded them respect and looked to them for leadership.  So, even at this early time, we had the makings of an organized body of believers. Later on, we will see that one of the apostles, Peter, will be accorded the respect given to the one who holds the keys to the kingdom just as Jesus appointed him to do.  

It had to be an exciting time for the early followers of Christianity.  It was a novel way of living, taking care not only of one's self but taking care of the poor who never were thought of by the rest of society.  This is what we are called to do.  We are called to be united in one faith, the Catholic faith, and we are called to break bread with one another and raise the dignity of our fellow believers higher than they normally would be. We do this out of love for the one that loved us so much that He died and rose up again, defeating death.  There is no one in the world that Jesus did not die for.  No one.  Each of us has that dignity, that mark of favor from God who looks to see the likeness of Christ within us. 

During this Eastertime, may I ask you to remember the poor souls in Purgatory?  If you need information about Purgatory, there is a link at the right that will help you.  You can, of course, use the comment section to ask any question and I will be happy to respond.  I know that not everyone believes that a place such as Purgatory exists.  I know it does and just disbelieving in something that is true does not make it any less true.  God Bless - 

 CHRIST IS RISEN, CHRIST IS TRULY RISEN!