After the crippled man had been cured, while Peter and John were still speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees confronted them, disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They laid hands on Peter and John and put them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. But many of those who heard the word came to believe and the number of men grew to about five thousand. On the next day, their leaders, elders, and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest,Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly class.They brought them into their presence and questioned them, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered them, "Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved."
REFLECTION
filled with the Holy Spirit
Benedict XVI in his 2012 audience taught that the Holy Spirit assists in our weaknesses, acting as an interpreter that translates our “groanings” to God. The Holy Spirit is the “heart of prayer, allowing us to have a personal encounter with God.
When we were baptized into Christ we were transformed into the likeness of the Son of God. We were anointed with the sacred chrism which signifies the Holy Spirit. Isaiah prophesied “ the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor.” (From the Jerusalem Catechesis)
This holy chrism is a gift from God through which we receive the Holy Spirit. Therefore, our souls are sanctified by the holy and life giving Spirit. We have the power to perform good deeds, to love and will good, and to announce the good news of Jesus Christ the Nazorean.
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