The first reading of todays Mass is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. St Paul has arrived in Athens, the intellectual capital of the Roman Empire. It is here in the market square or the Areopagus that Paul delivers one of his most famous sermons. He sees how religious the Athenians are with their many temples and altars, even one dedicated to the Unknown god. St Paul uses this fact to tell them the Good news of Jesus Christ. Their Unknown god is now made known to them. All is going well , the crowd seem impressed until St Paul speaks of the resurrection. The people laugh at him. We are told that only a few people came to believe in Jesus.
Our Faith rests on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is that which gives us hope. I also find it interesting that one of Paul's best sermons was something of a failure when it was first heard. Someone once told me what is the difference between a good sermon and a bad one? I said I don't know thinking that the answer might be 5 minutes. No , the difference is a good listener!
St Bernardino was a renowned preacher. He would pack the piazza of Italy. Crowds flocked to him. His favourite theme was simply Jesus and His Holy name.
As he grew older poor St. Bernardino lost his teeth. Preaching must have been a real ordeal, but the people still came. I think of the expression the singer and the song, well in Bernardino's case they were both attractive.
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