Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Saturday of the seventh week of Easter, May 23rd, 2026

Delivered by Fiona from the Parish of Mary Queen of Rosary in the Archdiocese of Makassar, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 28: 16-20.30-31; Rs psalm 11: 4.5.7; John 21: 20-25.THE NECESSARY INTERVENTION Our meditation today has the theme: The NecessaryIntervention. There is a 7 years old boy who was playing with his new bicycle.He enjoyed going with his bicycle through the small aisles near his house,before returning home. When he was about to enter the yard he lost his balanceand fell into the ditch. He managed to get out from the ditch but he could notlift his own bicycle out from there. He did not cry and tried to bear the pain. He was justspeechless and continued to look at his bicycle down there bathed in mud. Hedid not want to shout to his father who was at the side of the house and wasworking on something because he was afraid of being scolded. When the fathernoticed that his child was having a problem, he came in haste to him. The boybegan to cry when his father approached him. Then the father took the bicycleout  from the ditch. What the father did was an example of giving a hand oran intervention at the right or appropriate moment. His son really was in needof help, and at that moment he came to help. For the apostle Peter, it is clearthat he was rebuked by Jesus because he interfered in the affair of thedisciple who was loved by the Lord and Jesus' own affair as well. According toJesus, Peter should just take care first his own business, before he could giveattention to another one's business. In other words, the apostle Peter was notin a right moment to intervene. This also happened with the Roman authority andthe Jewish leaders who were in conflict of interests over the hardships andsufferings of the apostle Paul while he was undergoing the trial in Rome. Our interference in the interests of others isbasically inevitable. That's part of paying attention to others' lives. But inorder to make an intervention positive and also as a form of service, we shouldbe able to avoid the two extremes that make one's interference wrong and bringbad consequences both for ourselves and others. The first extreme is an unnecessary intervention. Itis an overacting interference which is done out place and time. A person who isso distress and sad, but we with or without intention involve him in theconversation or discussion on the issues that make him more difficult andoverburdened with the problem he is facing at the moment. And the secondextreme is to do nothing or not doing intervention at all. A friend was verysorry for not being able to help his friend, when in fact he could do the help.In consequence, his poor friend suffered a more severe accident. We, therefore,by avoiding these two extremes, we have one choice remains, namely, thenecessary intervention. And what is it? It is an intervention at the right timeand place according to needs or interests of others.Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... Listen to our prayers that we invoke toYou, O Lord, and grant that we may always give attention to one another'sproblem so that we can improve the quality of our lives for our betterrelationship and cooperation among us. Hail Mary, full of grace... In the nameof the Father ...