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30 as you stretch out your hand to heal and as signs and wonders are accomplished through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

31 When they had finished their prayer, the place where they were gathered together shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed the word of God fearlessly.

32 Life of the First Community—II.[a] The entire community of believers was united in heart and soul. No one claimed any of his possessions as his own, for everything was held in common.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 4:32 These verses present a view of the early Church. Luke stresses the internal bonds of the community at the moment of persecution. The picture he paints shows the voluntary sharing of material possessions, an activity connected with Jesus’ teaching on detachment and fraternal love (see Lk 8:3; 12:33; 16:9-13). The text does not say that all sold their property—only that they were prepared to do so if a member of the community was in need. The comportment of Barnabas and then that of Ananias and Sapphira demonstrate the right use of property in the Church.