Tuesday, June 4, 2013
The Soldiers Take Paul to Caesarea
Dear Friends,
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (23:23-35):
Then [the commander] summoned two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready to go to Caesarea bynine o’clock tonight, along with seventy horsemen and two hundred auxiliaries. Provide mounts for Paul to ride and give him safe conduct to Felix the governor.” Then he wrote a letter with this content:
“Claudius Lysias to his excellency the governor Felix, greetings. This man, seized by the Jews and about to be murdered by them, I rescued after intervening with my troops when I learned that he was a Roman citizen. I wanted to learn the reason for their accusations against him so I brought him down to their Sanhedrin. I discovered that he was accused in matters of controversial questions of their law and not of any charge deserving death or imprisonment. Since it was brought to my attention that there will be a plot against the man, I am sending him to you at once, and have also notified his accusers to state their case against him before you.”
So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and escorted him by night to Antipatris. The next day they returned to the compound, leaving the horsemen to complete the journey with him. When they arrived in Caesarea they delivered the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him. When he had read it and asked to what province he belonged, and learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, “I shall hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that he be held in custody in Herod’s praetorium.
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We had a beautiful sunny day yesterday and it was warm in the afternoon.
Below you will find the message of Our Lord and Savior, the Son of God, given to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words,
“I bless you, My brother Melvin and all My brothers and sisters who accept Me as your Savior who suffered to redeem you. If you are My followers, then indeed I will give you the graces you need to walk with Me every day. Some days will be days of joy and peace, while other days will be days of suffering, both physically and spiritually. Look at Saint Paul. He did not do anything wrong, yet he suffered being taken from one place to another and he had to live in prison for a long time. Yet he accepted all this for love of Me and to join with Me in My suffering. You know at the end he suffered martyrdom in Rome and I welcomed him in Heaven, and now he lives with all the angels and saints. My Mother has a great love for Saint Paul for all that he suffered while on earth. He was a man of wisdom and that is why many of his letters are in the Bible. Read these and learn many things as he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Ask him to pray for you all. I love you all.”
Father Melvin