The Second Reading is usually from the Letters written by some of the apostle - most notably, St Paul. During Easter-time, we read from the Book of the Apocalypse. 

The Letters were written to the early Christian communities who were working out what it meant to be Christian. The Letters give advice about how the communities should live - how to deal with different issues as they arose  - and to work out what made the communities different from the people around them. 

St Paul wrote letters to the communities he and others had founded and you find references to the friends he made there. His letters contain a mixture of teaching and personal thought - and he is not above having a good moan at times.

As we read the Letters, it is tempting to see ourselves as much more “advanced” - but, as with the Old Testament and Psalms, there are more similarities than we might at first think. Obviously, the writers were working within society as they knew it - where slavery and the dependent role of women were taken for granted. This can sometimes cause problems for modern readers - but we can still find much that helps us to grow as followers of Jesus Christ - which is why the Church offers us a series of extracts from the Letters. Each Letter is read over a period of weeks - though time prevents us from hearing the whole thing.

Take Time Out

Find out which Letter is being read at the moment - and spend some time reading through it - including the bits that have had to be left out.

Try to find out more about the community it was written to - this is often explained at the beginning of the Letter itself.

Another good source of information about this is “Alive in the Spirit Today” - supposedly a book for young people - but worthy of a read by older ones too. It is by Albert Hari and Charles Singer, published in this country by Matthew James Publishing/ Novalis.

© Wellspring 2005