away from the office...will return July 1

Mt 5:38-42 An Eye for an Eye...

I remember when I was a kid actually listening to this reading about an "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." (See Lv 24:19-21) My siblings and I were grossed out by the idea of cutting out an eye.  The teeth we could understand, our teeth when loose were sometimes tied by string to a door knob so they'd fall out sooner. 

It was one of our uncles who finally sat us down and told us that we had misinterpreted what we were hearing.  The idea of was that there should be just compensation for a loss.  If someone steals something then they work it off, or replace the item with something similar of equal value.  If someone wrongfully harms your reputation, then they try to make up for it through honesty and admitting that they had messed-up to those whom they had originally deceived.

Jesus give us this same line from Leviticus today, but adds to it a challenging message of patience, charity and forgiveness: 
"When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand him your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go with him for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow"

Lk 7: 36-8:3 God so loves us

Have you ever thought about what it would have taken for this woman to enter into the house of this politician and come before an honored guest to wash his feet with her hair and perfumed oil?  A group was discussion this very story and the awe for this woman was great because she had to have been prominent herself, or had connections to be able to bribe her way into the house.  That fact that she was known as a sinner has the implication that perhaps her sin was great and that it was permissible given her position in society.  These are just speculation. 

She kisses the feet of the lord.  She has shown hospitality to a man who is not really welcome as a guest, and one who the host has insulted by not offering the customary foot washing as required by the rules of good hospitality.  She has done all these things with such great love, not simply out of requirement. 

Jesus puts a story of two debtors to Simon Peter, one who owes more than another, and yet both debts are forgiven, who would love more the one forgiving the debt.  Peter answers, the one who had more to be forgiven.  It is amazing the number of people who come to church seeing God who have spent their whole lives apart from him, and how wonderfully he is to forgive their sins as much as one who has always lived a good and righteous life.   We should be happy for each other that we are all called to the Banquet.  We are all challenged to remember that we are all loved equally by our Heavenly Father.  We are challenged to help each other, and not to feel jealous of each other, or be judging if someone is greatly thankful to the Lord for his goodness; it is just their way of acknowledging the gift they have been given.  We have all been given gifts, we just need to look and bring them with us to the foot of Christ and honor and adore him through our gifts.

Mt 5:33-37 Happy Feast of St. Barnabas

We are told of the Apostle Barnabas that he was given the name Barnabas when he have everything to the community in Jerusalem and followed Christ.  Barnabas comes from the Aramaic meaning "Son of the Prophet", but could have also meant, "Son of Consolation or Encouragement." 

In today's first reading St. Paul tells us that Barnabas went to Antioch and when arriving, he "say the grace of God" in the people and encouraged them to be steadfast in their faith to the Lord.  He encouraged them as he encourages us. It is because of his love and teaching this community that he was set apart by the Holy Spirit for special purpose. 

In today's Gospel we are encouraged to speak with a clear tongue and let our words be decisive, a yes to mean yes, and a no to mean no.  Barnabas stayed focused on what he mission and purpose was.  We are encouraged in today's Gospel to stay focused as well and not get clouded with  sophistry and pressures, but to remain simple and be direct in our wants, needs, advice and teachings of the Way.

Mt 5:27-32 Tear, throw away, cut it off

Jesus uses very harsh poignant language in today's reading.  To go against one's very nature is so incredibly hurtful.  In marriage the idea is that two become one.  To commit adultery is to go against one's self, to harm one's self.  True, there is the aspect of marriage of adultery, but one can also look at it as not being true to one's self, which is what calls us to live rightly in communion with God. 

There is a song called Trading My Sorrows by Darrel Evans that  reminds us that we ought to hear the Lord, not in the great sounds of the world around us or the rushing of the wind, but in that still small voice, where the Lord encourages us to be true to ourselves and him by turning toward him, and saying "Yes Lord."  When we do we trade our sorrows and shame for love and forgiveness.  We are not abandoned but lifted up.  The Lord reminds us not to commit adultery, so we must strive not be adulterous toward God by placing things before him, or before our commitment to doing right by ourselves, or others.  At the end of our lives, we don't answer to other people.  No, we meet God alone and have to answer for own words, actions, behavior.  How can we do this if we are pretending to be someone that we're not?  We must be ourselves, the people God intended.  There is great hope in this, and peace.  In being true to ourselves, it will lead us to a deeper connection and unity with the Lord, for it is only in him that we find ourselves.

Mt 5:20-26 I Give You a New Commandment

"Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift."

How many of us come to church with a grievance, anger, or annoyance with someone else?  This is such a hard thing to wrap our minds around.  If we come to the church and we have something on our mind keeping us from fully being present to Christ, we should leave our gift at the altar and go be reconciled?  A friend asked whether this meant that we should leave church, or even not receive communion. 

Perhaps this is simply a reminder that we need to put ourselves in order, as it were, to be prepared to be in full communion with God, and that things that creep into our mind will keep us from doing that.  Should we stop receiving communion until we have seen a priest?  It depends, always best to talk to a priest, however, if we are plagued with venial sins, then the Eucharist acts as something to sustain us until we can absolved of our sins through the sacrament of reconciliation. 

The advice that Jesus gives is pretty important too.  He says that we should go and become reconciled with our brother.  When we do this, there is great love that is shared.  Where there is love, there is God, for God is love, and where to or more are gathered in his name, God is there.  So, in a sense, when we reconcile ourselves with others we are living in the present moment with them and with God, in full communion, which is the point of going to the altar to offer our gift, which in both cases is the gift of ourselves.

Mt 5:17-19 Teach me, O God!

I had an interesting experience with a man recently who assured me that I didn't need to follow what the Church teaches or understand fully who we receive in the Blessed Eucharist, as long as I believe in Jesus: that trough His Divine Mercy I shall be saved.    He apparently has been telling others who have no religious affiliation this same message and encouraging them to come to mass and receive the Eucharist.  It made me unsure of myself and wonder if the Church had changed part of what it teaches.  What to do in a situation like this?  I sought a priest.  It is what we ought to do in situations like this unless we are sure of ourselves. 

Today's readings, both the first reading, which is about Elijah showing the people that God is Lord of all; that the pagan god Baal was nothing; and the blessing of the stones representing  the people of the twelve tribes whom he called Israel as part of his altar in order to reconsecrate them to God, and the Gospel reading, we visualize very clearly how God choses particular anointed ones to speak to and lead the people to Truth. In the first reading it was Elijah, and in the Gospel it is Jesus.  We are not all prophets, and when we speak, we ought to be careful if we are instructing. 

Jesus said, "I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law..."  We must be careful when we teach and know what it is our Church teaches.  Our priests study so long to be good servants of God so they can serve us in this regard.  Our Deacon and catechists likewise are trained and continue their own educations in our shared faith order to teach it. 

It is good for all of us to read about our faith, to discern it, and share it.  Together we are the Body of Christ.  Together we teach each other and keep each other faithful.  May we always have the courage to seek out those who have been appointed when we have questions about our faith so that we may continue to grow and be challenged in it, growing ever closer to our Father.  Amen.

Mt 5:13-16 Salt of the Earth

What if in life we took for granted those good things that we do for others?  Would we not care if we did them any more?  Would our acts of charity become meaningless?  Would the love within us dry up?  Would that goodness in us lose its flavor? 

In the US we have been conditioned to use salt alternatives, like mixtures of lemon peel and herbs to flavor our foods.  Recently a friend hosted a Persian meal at his home.  The rice was incredible.  His wife had spent six hours or more making it.  I'm accustomed to using just steamed rice.  The Persian rice was rinsed, soaked for four hours, par boiled, rinsed again, cooked slowly with salt and oil.  The salt was "poured in" as she described in a way that she was not originally accustomed to--it took her twenty years to cook this rice.  Then the heat was reduced and slow cooked until the rice was tender and a hard shell had formed at the bottom.  It was then turned over onto a serving platter so that the hard shell was now on top and the soft rice underneath.  Then toasted pomegranate seeds were sprinkled over the dish.  The flavor of the rice was amazing. 

The salt was what made the dish.  Too much would have ruined it.  To little and it would not have been memorable.  We are called to pop out our faith in the world just like the salt did in the Persian rice giving it that wonderful invigorating quality.  We are the salt of the earth.  We are the light of the world.  We cannot hide ourselves, but are called to be that element that brings forth the goodness of those things around us just as salt and light do to those things that it is placed around.  In this way, our deeds, our words, will glorify God. 

Mt 5: 1-12 Beatitudes

Have you ever had a week that was so busy, and just when you didn't think it could get any busier, it did?  Perhaps you have even had a week like that, then been thrown a curve ball, like being told your dad had cancer or Alzheimer's or your mom's surgery on her knee didn't go smoothly and they lost her for a few minutes.  It seems like life if filled with curve balls.  Just when we think we're in the clear and everything is going to go our way, they show up.  Why do we think that everything should go our way though?  Why do we think that if we've done what we ought, we should get what we should get rewarded?

Jesus gives us the Beatitudes...those blessing on the poor, meek, and lowly.  They are his challenge to us in a world that prizes star athletes and celebrities more than those who put food on our tables.  He is challenging us today to look again at our priorities and what we hold most dear.  "Blessed are they who are poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God."

This last week I had the blessed fortune of visiting a nursing home.  The patient was trying to be courteous to her nurses, but was suffering a collapsing vertebrate, associated pain in the legs, and a urinary tract infection, but she needed help trying to get into positions that could help her, and it was occurring frequently.  The nurses were trying to courteous and kind, but their patience was beginning to wane.  It was a tough situation.  The thing about it was that they were all trying their best to follow the teachings of the Beatitudes.  It is not easy for them, or for us, in our daily lives. Today let us reexamine ourselves to see where exactly our priorities lie, and if we are truly living as Jesus taught.

Luke 7:11-17 God has visited his people

In so many ways Jesus performed the same miracles as Elijah, so much so that at times, the people thought he was God and other times Elijah returned to his people.    Restoring life to the man who was dead is in line with all of the Gospel that Jesus preached.  He is the Good Shepherd and through him we enter into the Kingdom where he will give us new life.  It is echoed through Jesus' miracles of healing and bringing people back to life. 

In this particular Gospel reading Jesus tells this poor mother and widow not to weep.  He is uniting himself with her in her suffering.  He does that with each of us whether we have lost a loved one, are desperate for our children who may have addictions, are misguided, won't listen, etc.  He is with us in our suffering when we find out that we have an increased chance of Alzheimer's or been told we have cancer or diabetes.  The Lord knows our suffering.  His compassion and love are so great.  "Do not weep." He told the mother.  He is carrying her load with her, just as he carries it with us.  We go through the greatest trials in life, and yet make it through.  It is not because we are great and can do anything.  No, it is because we know that our God is amongst us, visiting us with his love and mercy. 

Luke 2:41-51 Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  We read today of the finding of Jesus in the Temple.  It is the last joyful mystery of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Why do we pray the Rosary?  We pray it to help us focus and mediate on our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Mary leads us to Jesus. 

A parent when they lose a child in a grocery store or a mall becomes this bastion of grief and anxiety and will stop at nothing until the child is found, hopefully safely.  The bond between parent and child is so strong.  Imagine that between mother and child, the child having been part of her for nine months, then the bond that is formed, especially as an infant.  A mother's love has no bounds.  Mary is left tormented and journeys backwards to the temple to find her son.  May she be our inspiration for searching for our Lord.  May we learned to love the Messiah as dearly. 

How calm and assuring he is when they meet.  He promises to be obedient to her.  This is one of the reasons that we believe that she has his ear when we ask her to intercede on our behalf to her son.  He so loves her just as he loves us, but he honors her especially as his mother.

Luke 15:3-7Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: I have found my lost sheep

How cool is it that Jesus will stop at nothing to find the lost, just like a shepherd will go into the mountains and dangerous terrain to find that one sheep who is lost and stuck on a ledge with no way to save himself. 

It is truly a time for celebration.  Not only because we are grouped together and united in Christ, but also because our own worries and anxiety for that one is now calmed because of the Lord.  We usually think about the lost sheep in relation to the Good Shepherd.  We sometimes tend to forget its relationship to the others.  When we have someone we know leave the Church, or be sucked into dangerous ruts in life, whether depression, drugs, alcoholism, or self destructive behaviors, don't we worry and become anxious for them?  Prayer is the key.  Prayer can change so many things.  Unconditional love, but a firmness of knowing when we can help and when we can't.  Sometimes things are too great for us alone, and we need to trust in God to intervene.  That is where our Lord comes to us or others as the Good Shepherd.  We need to remember that he is there, and if we need his help, we need only ask--be prepared for him to respond in ways that we don't expect.

Mark 12:28-34 Love God and Neighbor

Ubi caritas Deus ibi est.  God is here where there is love.  Do you believe?

The love of Christ joins us together.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2012) reminds us that “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him…for those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren.  And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

What good do we try to do united with God in love?  How is he calling us to be fashioned in the image of his son, today, in our own lives?  Yes, we should follow the commandments.  Jesus challenges us to go beyond them and let love completely rule us when he gives us his new commands: 

The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength. 

And

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

In the first reading today St. Paul is giving St. Timothy, his spiritual son and dear friend advice on leading his community.  Yesterday we were reminded by St. Paul that strength of God “comes in the form of power, love and self-control.”  Each of us knows the power of love.  We each know what we would do or are capable of for those we love.    How many of us have sacrificed time, sleep, or greater personal sacrifices for those we love? 

Paul shares with Timothy his sacrifices and sufferings.  In them is a great love for God and for others.  Because we are united in Christ we know that the Word must be shared for love of each other, to help each other to receive eternal salvation in the life of the world to come.  God is love.  Where to or more gather in his name, there is love.  In giving of ourselves, we give love to others, and in giving we receive.  In these two commands given to us by Jesus is the Way to Eternal Life.  In visiting with those in jail or homebound or talking with the homeless, love is the root of what they want:  that tender word; a holding of their hand; that look into their eye; that appreciation of who they are, not what they’ve done; that restored dignity. It is not difficult to share the Gospel of Christ.  St. Paul reminds us that this “word of God is not contained.”  How could love ever be contained?

(CCC 2011)  “The charity (or love) of Christ is the source of all our merits before God.  Grace by uniting us to Christ in active love, ensures the supernatural quality of our acts and consequently their merit before God and before men.  The saints have always had a lively awareness that their merits were pure grace.” Let us pray in the words of St. Terese of Lisieux,

“Father… I want to work for your love alone…In the evening of this life I shall appear before you with empty hands, for I do not ask you Lord, to count my works.  All our justice is blemished in your eyes.  I wish then, to be clothed in your own justice and to receive from your love the eternal possession of yourself.  Amen.”

Mark 12: 18-27 He is not God of the Dead, but the Living

It is easy to get caught-up in today's Gospel in the passage about the woman and her multiple husbands who die leaving her childless, and the Sadducees asking, whose wife is she?  Perhaps we have all wondered about heaven and the way it is portrayed, wondering the same thing.

Jesus cautions us to not become misled: that we know the scriptures and we know the power of God.  "Our God is not God of the Dead, but the Living."  May we take comfort in that.  Wherever we go and have breath, our God is with us.  Jesus tells us elsewhere, "I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die." 

If we live in Christ, in the Way, which is the path to eternal life, we shall never have to die.  How difficult is it?  When we focus on the temporal world, like wondering whose wife the woman will be when she gets to heaven, that is focusing on the world around us.  We are given St. Paul as an example to us to live in Christ, to be fully alive and focused on the next world.  This does not mean that he lived in the next world only, no, but that he was grounded in the next and it helped him get through the tough times in this world when he was persecuted, had to travel, worked long days, had to give talks in front of strangers, had to mediate in disagreements between friends, had disagreements with the administration of the church, etc.  He kept his focus on our living God, encouraging us all to do the same.  He wrote:

"For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God."

"He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the Gospel.."(2 Tim 1:6-12)

Luke 1: 39-56 Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

So many of us are familiar with Mary's visit to Elizabeth's home before their children were born.  One could think about how miraculous it was that John first recognized the Christ Child even before his birth and Elizabeth was pointed toward him by her son, as was John's role. 

We could also contemplate Mary as the Theotokos, the God-bearer, chosen by the Father before time, as the passage in Genesis foreshadows Mary and Christ (Gn 3:15). 

Perhaps the greatest lesson that can be learned are those of love, humility, faith, and trust that Mary shows in aligning herself with God's will.  These virtues are contained in Mary's Magnificat which she proclaims within today's Gospel.  These virtues are not for women only, but have been attained by male and female saints alike in their following of Christ.  Our Lady is our example in the New Covenant.  Let us pray today that not our will, but your will be done, O Lord.  Amen.

Mark 12: 1-12 Memorial Day

Today's Gospel is a story we have heard countless times and is even alluded to within the passage that the Master is the God the Father, who sends his servants, the prophets, that are run off.  Then he sends his only son to the tenants, who then kill him, as did truly would through his Crucifixion. 

The question then becomes, which characters in the story are we?  Are we servants who come to the tenants on the Lords behalf?  Are we the tenants trying to live ordinary lives, worried about day to day living and thinking of ways to acquire wealth to live comfortably? 

In reading a newsletter with an article by Fr. John Hampsch I chucked because we sometimes get into thoughts, like, if this was my last day, what would I do, or what is on my bucket list that I can accomplish now?  We focus so much on the doing.  Fr. Hampsch pointed out, that we ought to be looking at instead, how will God see us on the day we die?  In thinking about that, how tricky since none of us knows the day nor hour of our death except the Father in Heaven. How then can we put forth our best selves so that we'd be prepared at a moment's notice to meet the father? 

Perhaps the answer lies in today's parable.  If we are those to whom the master sends his servants and his son, wouldn't it be wise then, to be good stewards, to be hospitable to others, to live honestly, to act justly? 

Today in thinking of those Veterans who fought for our rights, our freedoms, I think of my grandfather and Godfather who fought in WWII.  They had horrible tales, the worst of which were never shared, but they also had tales of hope and hospitality from strangers in both Europe and in the Philippines.  We are all called to be good stewards in our different vocations in life.  May we rise to the expectation set by Our Father.

Luke 9:11 B-17 Feast of Corpus Christi

When the Body of Christ is presented to us, we respond, "Amen," meaning, 'I belive.'
When the Blood of Christ is presented to us, we respond, "Amen," I believe. 

The bread and wine we receive at mass is not a symbol, but rather the Lord God himself through the thin veil of bread and wine.  

We can learn much from the children who come to the Banquet of the Lord for their First communions.  Let us be like the children who believe in absolute faith and trust.  Amen.

Mk 11:27-33 By Whose Authority Do You Do These Things

In our first reading St. Jude tells us,
"Build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit.
Keep yourselves in the love of God
and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
that leads to eternal life.
On those who waver, have mercy;
save others by snatching them out of the fire;
on others have mercy with fear..."

As we walk in faith, in prayer for help from the Holy Spirit, in Love with the Lord, and follow the precepts of the Christian life, we show mercy and love to others.  In the Gospel today the scribes and Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus in his teachings of love and mercy: those ways of healing.  They ask him by whose authority he does these things.  He tells them that he will give the answer if they can answer whether John's baptism was heavenly or divine.  In the end, they understand that Jesus' works come from the Father in Heaven, but cannot admit it.

Jesus' words and actions lead to eternal life.  He has given us the Spirit as our advocate to guide us toward that life.  May we always show love and mercy to others even in difficult times, and seek understanding and have compassion across cultures, seeking always to find Christ in others. 

Mk 11: 11-26 Have Faith in God

Today is a long Gospel reading.  Jesus is at the temple, looks around then leaves.  He curses the fig tree outside Bethany, then returns the next day to Jerusalem, to the temple where he drives people out and overturns tables.  The following morning as Jesus and the twelve return to Bethany the disciples notice the fig tree that Jesus cursed had withered.  Jesus uses the withered tree as a teaching lesson in faith for the disciples; teaching that what we ask for in prayer will be given; teaching the importance of forgiveness of sins of others so that our sins may be forgiven by the Father.

There can be much written of, but those last three thoughts:
-have faith
-pray for what you need, believing it is possible
-forgive, that you may forgiven

These are ultimately what Jesus preaches again and again.  Do we not hear these same ideas when we pray the Our Father?  In it we profess our faith, our belief in God in the Father.  We petition him for what we need, our daily spiritual bread.  We pray that we may forgive others, and that God will forgive us.

When we say the Lord's Prayer today, let us think more clearly on the meaning of each of the words that we are saying, and not as something that we have simply memorized.  Let us reflect on the meaning of each word.  Amen.

Mark 10:46-52 Your Faith Has Saved You

In Today’s Gospel we hear Bartimeus begging for mercy from Jesus Christ.  Bartimeus know that Jesus could offer more than what he could receive through ordinary begging of alms.  He is not only one man, but represents us all who beg for the Lord’s mercy.  In this misery of life we are told like Bartimeus, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”  How extraordinary that love of God that he hears us and calls to us first have courage, then to get up and meet him because he is calling to us too. 

In the story today, Jesus asks Bartimeus, “What do you want me to do for you?”  It is the same question that Jesus asked James and John when they asked him for a favor.  To Bartimeus comes a more positive answer when he asks to see.  “Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”  Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.”

Because Jesus hears Bartimeus and calls out to him, we know that we too are permitted to beg mercy and petition the Lord.  We desire that salvation that following Jesus leads us.  “Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk
so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (1 PT 2:2)  We need that rich nourishment that will help us grow in our faith.  To Bartimeus he gives this with sight in this world, but also the sight to see the Messiah in his glory through this miraculous gift of mercy. 

In this year of Mercy we are reminded that his gifts of life and healing are for all.  Do we hear the cry of the poor in our busy world? How do we hear the cry of the poor? Sometimes we are so blinded by what we see, that we can’t see, can we?   

St. Philip Neri’s feast is today.  He was known for his devotion to listening to the poor and burdened at all hours, day or night.  To help others, to help them not sin, this is how he heeded to Lord’s call to serve. He did it with joy and laughter.  He was known for his sense of humor and beloved by all for it.  His suffering and burdens were not difficult, but light because he was given the sight of seeing salvation.  He shared with this love, and mercy to make those whose lives he served less burdensome and joyful.  He recognize Jesus in others.  Let us pray for sight that we too may spread God’s loving mercy to others in need, recognizing Jesus in everyone we encounter.  We ask this through Christ out Lord. Amen.

Mark 10:32-45 The Son of Man Came to Serve

In our low points in life we may be tempted to ask ourselves what the point of life is--we are born, get old and die.  So, we may be temped to ask ourselves, why do anything?  On the other hand, he may also be tempted to throw ourselves into work and focus on that to provide for our families, as we should, but are sometimes tempted to prefer spending more time at work when given the opportunity, away from those we love.  Presented are two extremes: hopelessness and love of busy work. 

St. Peter today tells us in our first reading (1 Pt 1:18-25) that Jesus has come to ransom us from our "futile works."  As humans we get so caught up in what we are doing and our routines, bad ways of thinking, and we miss the bigger picture.  James and John in today's Gospel enjoy what they do with and for the Lord.  They are caught-up in it.  They want to be rewarded for it, so they ask Jesus, the Son of Man, if they can sit at his right and left when he comes into his Kingdom.  They still don't get that Jesus is King of the Eternal Kingdom, not some temporal realm.  They were missing the big picture.  They were just like us. 

Jesus gently admonishes them.  The key to seeing the bigger picture, for holding the Kingdom in our vision and not this temporal world, is by focusing our attention on loving those in need, serving those who need to be served. 

Mark 10: 28-31 The first will be last, and the last will be first

In today's Gospel follows the story of the young man who has been faithful to the law of Moses, and yet Jesus calls him to give up everything of this world and follow him.  Today Peter says that he and the other apostles have done just that: followed the Law and given up everything to follow Jesus.  It is almost as if, he is asking "Where is my reward?" 

Jesus reassures Peter and us that he has done right, and that everything will be given back to him in the life to come, but that he should be prepared for persecutions and tribulations in this life before he can reach the next.  Within Jesus' words is an echo from Job when trials and persecutions afflict Job, then he family is lost, and finally he is afflicted in body, yet Job remains faithful and is rewarded abundantly with great riches, wife and more children, and life.  Is Jesus perhaps trying to make this correlation for Peter?  That suffering in this world and becoming detached to temporal things will lead us to ever greater joy and the richness of the life to come?  Perhaps. 

St. Augustine wrote about the two Cities, the temporal city and the City of God existing with each other, how we can belong to both: living in this world yet simultaneously living in God's kingdom.  Our priests and other religious are called to live that way, and thus are our living example.  We find our greatest saints, both lay or religious are that same way, so we know it is possible.  How can we strive to find that balance in our lives starting fresh today?

Mark 10: 17-27 All things are possible for God

In today's Gospel we encounter the young man seeking Jesus, the Master, "What must I do to inherit eternal life."  We may all seek the answer to that same question.  When we reflect on that question though, don't we realize that we have placed the burden on our selves alone, "What must I do?" as if salvation and the act for it are found within us, as if we have that extraordinary power of God and can do this.  It reminds me a little of an RCIA candidate that I worked with years ago.  She'd worked for a municipality and believed in the black box: if you put something into one side, you get something out the other side.  She didn't understand how that box worked, and wanted to have it for herself so that she could become Catholic immediately without having to go through the process of initiation. 

It brings us back to the question of faith.  Is faith something that we create ourselves?  No.  It is that impuse within us set by God that draws us closer to him and yearn for him.  The young man in today's Gospel say the goodness in Christ, but as Christ willingly admits, that goodness comes from God and is merely reflected in Christ because of his faith and relationship with the Father. 

This story is a great story because it illustrates that we can live a good life being devoted to the Lord, but still harbor those things within us that keep us temporality bound.  Perhaps it really is more possibly for a camel to pass through the eye of a tiny needle than for the rich man to pass into Eternal Life, but thankfully Jesus Christ reminds us that "all things are possible for God."  He sent his only begotten son (an incredible and seemingly unlikely thing) to suffer and die, to descend into hell the be raised (wait, that was only possible for God!), and ascend into Heaven so that we all may be united with him in his glory within the Kingdom.  Jesus in these few words of faith and omnipotence of God brings us right back to the Passion and Resurrection.  Alleluia!  Praise be to God!

Jn 16: 12-15 Holy Trinity Sunday

In catechism class recently we were discussing the Holy Spirit with a group of 2nd and 3rd graders.  We asked, "Can you see the Holy Spirit?"  They answered, "No."  "Can you feel the Holy Spirit?"  The kids took a little longer, and all but one child said no: one child said yes.  "Can you hear the Holy Spirit?"  There was a resounding "YES!"

How do we know that they Holy Spirit is with us?  The kids said that we had symbols to remind us where the Holy Spirit is.  They had been listening to Start a Fire by the band, Unspoken.  They said that the fire symbolized that excitement and energy that made them want to do good.  The wind shakes the trees and makes them move, so it was similar to the way the Spirit moves us.  When asked about the dove, they said it was how the Spirit brings us peace.  They were stuck on other symbols of the holy spirit, then someone shouted out, a heart...the Holy Spirit is love. 

In today's Gospel we hear of Jesus telling us that the Holy Spirit is the advocate that the Father will send, and like him, the Spirit speaks not his own words, but the Father's.  They are united as described by Christ's words.  They work for a common cause within our lives and within our hearts to lead us to Heaven to be united with them.  May the blessed Trinity guide us always and be with us to the end of our days.  Amen. 

Mt. 10: 13-16 Let the little ones come to me

Today's Gospel reminds me of an incident I experienced in a church a number of years ago.  There was a family with little children including a baby.  During mass the parents tried to keep the children quiet, then the baby started to cry.  They church had no crying room.  After mass an older parishioner told the family they weren't wanted at the church, that they should not come back.  To see the look on the parents' faces was heart breaking.  They had come because they had that strong desire to adore and honor the Lord and receive him in Holy Communion.  This was their faith.  This was the faith that they had their children baptized into.  It is a shame that the family was rejected the same way the parents and their children were rejected by the disciples.  But in both cases, there was a happy ending.

Jesus rebuked the disciples and freely opened his arms wide to the little ones.  God so loves us not matter how old we are, or difficulties, or infirmities.  In the case of the family, the parish priest took notice and in the manner of Christ, wrapped his vestment covered arms around the parents in a warm embrace and asked them to continue to come, that the person was in error, that they were wanted.  He befriended them.  As the children grew they became some of the first altar servers at the parish. 

The point?  Everyone has their place.  Everyone is needed.  Those little children who hang around their parents knees at the church, they need to be welcomed by us, not rejected.  It is they who reteach us what it is to live in innocence. 

Mark 10:1-12 Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?

Divorce is such a tricky topic in our times and in Jesus' own.  All too often we hear of couple breaking up because of adultery, lack of faith in each other, or they have just grown distant.  My mom's reason, she simply didn't love my father after sixteen years.  Life is difficult.  There are no clear cut paths.  In so many ways, this is why we are called to love deeply and forgive.

Jesus is pretty harsh today.  The Pharisees are trying to trick him into stating something against the Mosaic Law, but Jesus handles it perfectly saying that it is because we are human that Moses permitted divorce.  Jesus goes on though saying that what God has joined together, no one can undo.  If we think about this in relation to those we love, we can see the truth in it.  Whether we love friends or family, there is that deep emotional bond of love that allows us to be separate and to come together again as if no time has passed.  It is because God has joined us together. 

Mark 9:41-50 It is better to enter into Heaven with one hand...

In today's Gospel we are cautioned about leading the innocent away from Christ, and are instead encouraged to have peach with others, and to nourish each other and ourselves. 

Today we hear the we will be "salted with fire".  It is a curious turn of phrase.  These are two elements important to human life.  Because our bodies do not produce it, animals including us consume salt for life and good health.  Fire was considered since ancient times a gift from the gods, one of the most ancient and primal elements necessarily for humans.  Fire has certain properties.  It grows in intensity, and has widespread, practical life applications.  Fire is also one of those things that seems eternal. 

When we think of these things together we realize that not only is the fire a symbol of the Spirit of God within us, spreading to others his Word, but it is sprinkled with salt, that which keeps it living and strong and perpetually fresh.  Let us nourish that fire in our soul and continue to sprinkle it with salt through learning more about God, from sharing, and challenging our selves in our faith from time to time to keep our spirituality fresh.

Mark 9: 38-40 He drives out demons in your name

Do you recall Charles Colton's famous quote, "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery"?  In today's Gospel the Apostles are appalled that someone who was not in their eyes 'authorized' is driving out demons in Jesus' name. 

It calls to mind an image of one who is trying to become Christ-like, and therefore has radically changed their life to be as much as they can like Him.  It is what we are all called to strive to do.  It is difficult, but Jesus reminds us, that these people who do this, who try to imitate him, they cannot be against him:  if they were against him, they would not be trying to imitate him.  How do we start to try to imitate Christ, and why should we?

St. Paul says, "Put off the old man who is corrupted according to the desire of error, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind: and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth." (Eph 4:22-24)  As Dietrich von Hildebrand explains we must desire to be this new man or woman in Christ.  It has been interesting speaking with young adults recently who attest how easy it is to become complacent in their faith and with the things of life, that they are suddenly realizing that they need to keep challenging themselves to grow spiritually and to become better people--this challenging the way they think, pushing themselves to help others by taking their own selves out of their comfort zones, by working to be more forgiving and compassionate, these are the ways to put on their new selves, to live in imitation of Christ, to be Christ-like. 

Mark 9:30-37 The Last Shall Be First

What does Jesus mean by “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”   I know some good people who sit at the back of the churches because of this reading, but they've often shortened the phrase to: the last shall be first and the first last, omitting the part about being a servant to all.

I was recently speaking with a friend who openly admitted that the was the jealous type.  So am I.  I think it is common to jealously guard our friends, families, our positions, what we've done, etc.   Our natures tend to be like that.  It is what we see from the Apostles in today's readings, they each believe that they have put in the time and effort and deserve to be considered the 'greatest' one of the group. How many times have we been like that?  Haven't we all done a good job at something and desired someone to say, "Hey, you did a great job." 

Jesus indicates that we should let it go and not let our personal jealousy that leads to pride get in the way of doing our work.  It is echoes in the first reading from the letter of St. James: 
Adulterers!
Do you not know that to be a lover of the world means enmity with God?
Therefore, whoever wants to be a lover of the world
makes himself an enemy of God.
Or do you suppose that the Scripture speaks without meaning when it says,
The spirit that he has made to dwell in us tends toward jealousy?
But he bestows a greater grace; therefore, it says:
God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.

James is talking not necessarily about the physical relationship between people who are not married, but more metaphorically about our "marriage covenant" as it is between us and God, as his people for whom he sent his only son for our salvation.  Should we turn away from him for the pleasures of the earth, for our innate jealousies and pride instead of accepting the grace that he gives us so that we can be united with him, then we become his enemies.  Therefore, Jesus reminds us today, that we need to be humbled, that we need to serve others to preserve those graces, continue that abundant love of God, and letting it flow.  Hard to do?  Maybe.  However, it is readily seen in caregivers, and families who are at hospitals with loved ones.  This is merely one example.  There are so many more.  We need merely open our eyes to it. 

Mark 9:14-29 The Power of Prayer

In today's Gospel Jesus teaches us three very important things:

1) Evil is real.

2) Prayer is important.

3) Prayer overcomes evil. 

Evil is not cut and dry.  It permeates everything, is sweet and seductive.  We are overcome with it in ways that we can't believe by the time that we notice we have fallen into its trap.  Prayer is the solution.  In prayer we place God before all things.  We praise and glorify God.  We ask to be protected by evil.

It is not easy to pray.  That is one of the tricks of evil, to make it difficult.  In those times what a Godsend that we have the Lord's Prayer and others to help us through those dry times where prayer doesn't come easily.  I have a friend who I think must struggle with prayer because every time he goes somewhere in the car, he prayers a Hail Mary.  Group prayers such as the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet are another way to combat fatigue in prayer as well as to encourage and strengthen. 

Prayer overcomes evil.  Each of us are victim to that internal struggle of good versus evil.  God is helping us win.

John 17:11B-19 Consecrated in Truth

These words that Jesus speaks today remind us of our priests who speak to God the Father upon the altar, and thus are known as Jesus' "high priestly prayer" as he speaks to the Father on our behalf, offering us up with himself, so that we may be in union with him and the Father.  It is what our dear priests do at every mass during when they call down God and lift us and our prayers up during the sacrifice of the mass. 

“Holy Father, keep them in your name" is a line that marks us as a people of God, set aside and anointed.  Jesus asks that we be consecrated in the truth by the Father.  "Your word is truth." he acknowledges.  Through God's word we are made holy.  Through Christ, the Word, we are made holy.  Let us rejoice and be glad! 

John 17: 1-11A

"I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them."

Praying for others is so important.  Jesus prayed for us.  We are to pray for each other.  Sometimes it is difficult.  Sometimes we make lists, or incorporate those we are praying for into Rosaries or litanies or novenas.  These are good things.  Let us not forget to ask the intercession of our Blessed Mother too.  Recently in my emails I received a missive about how there is a famous exorcist who said that the devil once told him that people saying the Hail Mary was like driving a spike through his head because the focus of the Rosary is Christ and our redemption and salvation from hell.  Something to think about if we tend to say that we'll pray for others, then forget. 

John 14:6-14 ..so that the Father may be glorified..

There is something really beautiful in everything that Christ does, and that is that he continuously tells us, it is not for him or his sake that he asks us to do things, but for our Father in Heaven.  Jesus is so willing to give completely of himself.  It reminds me of when he told the Apostles that, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down his life for his friends." (Jn 1513)  Jesus lets us know that his words and works are from the Father.  This is how he is in the Father and the Father in him.  Thus they become one. 

"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father."

Jesus promised to send the Advocate and with the help of this Holy Spirit send by the Father in Christ Jesus' name, we will have great power to do His will.   It is an incredible amazing thing.  Hard to be true, yet it is.  How does it relate to our own life?

A brother who has sought God in nearly every religion throughout his life looks at my faith and asks, how can you believe?  Why can't I quite turn the question around and ask, why don't you believe? In today's reading Philip asks Jesus to explicitly show everyone the Father as proof.  Thomas the Apstle is with them.  Philip and Thomas portray those doubts and uncertainties we all have.  This is why Jesus has already challenged Thomas to put his fingers into the wound marks.  Now he explains explicity how he and the Father are one, how what he does glorifies the Father, and how we are to be united with him in following him in his works to also glorify the Father: to give our whole selves to God.  Christ died for our sins, that he could raise us up with himself for the honor and glory of God.  Alleluia!

John 15:26-16:4 A Feast of St. Athanasius

Can we testify to the Lord?  Are we willing to share our faith with others through word and deed?  In working with Confirmanti on their Confirmation retreat they were asked, "What comes next?  Are you going to keep practicing your faith, or are you going to stop attending church and do other things?"  The kids were kind of shocked by the question.  They had the choice??  Then they started wondering what the catch was.  They were in charge of their faith, not their parents.  They were beginning to understand. 

As newly confirmed people, how did they plan on nurturing their faith?  This took more discussion and self reflection.  What did they need to continue to grow spiritually?  How could they grow spiritually?  In the course of discussion forgiveness came-up.  Different types of situations needed deeper forgiveness, some situations, like murder, they were unsure that they could ever forgive.  St. Paul was mentioned and the great forgiveness that Ananias had only through the help of the Holy Spirit in order to forgive Paul and to heal him.  The Holy Spirit, our Advocate, our Helper, is needed daily in inspiring us to love and forgive and heal.  Wow, sounds like Christ.  The Spirit is here to help us carry on Christ's work. 

In their written reflections, how did they decide they could be nourished in their faith?  By continuing to receive Christ in the Eucharist and Gospels at mass; through sharing their faith with others, especially their younger siblings and to those random strangers who asked them questions about their faith, they would try their best; they would continue to honor their parents and families with love; they would try to live their lives as good people and in doing so, hopefully the Spirit would walk with them and they could be a light to others.  They are a great group of kids.  Our kids are the future of our church.  May God bless them and guide them on right paths. Amen.

John 14:23-29 The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you

Jesus is preparing to depart.  He tells them, "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you."

It is difficult to say good-bye to family and friends when they have come for a long visit and have to depart for their own homes.  It is even more difficult when someone dies and we long and yearn for one more touch, one more word.  It is these combined that Jesus prepares us.  We should not despair not become despondent though, for the Father will send us the Advocate in Christ Jesus' name.  It is the same Advocate whom the Father sent at Christ's baptism to help him in his ministry and prepare for his death and Resurrection into glory: It is the third person in our Triune God, the Holy Spirit. 

It is suggested that we rejoice for Christ as he returns to his home in heaven and paves the way for us to follow.  We should not live in this world, but be always ready for the next.  Our greatest joys and triumphs here in this world are pale in comparison as to what will come, and although they are joyful, it their shadow form, dont' they resemble suffering when compared to the joy of heaven?  We have much to look forward to.  We have much to prepare for.

In working with Confirmanti we asked them to reflect on what comes next for them after they receive their Sacrament of Confirmation.  They were uncertain and thought they may a little lost.  They are where the Apostles were as Jesus was preparing to depart.  However, they are hopeful because they know the Spirit will descend upon them and direct them as it does all of us to continue to share the Good News.

John 15: 18-21 If you belonged to the world...

"Religion causes war and hatred.  We should just get rid of it altogether. Ban it, outlaw it, make it illegal."  This is what I often hear from people who blame religion for wars.  Isn't it true though that there are other reasons like money, control of oil pipelines, trade routes, overpopulation, need for food, etc.?   

"How stupid can you be?  You're just being brainwashed.  These things that you're believing aren't true.  Who says there is a god?  Some guy who died thousands of years ago...and the joke is on you."  This is an example of something said by one co-worker to another, who was actually trying to keep her religion a secret until the instigator asked everyone in the office what religions they practiced. 

Persecutions happen every day, everywhere, to everyone.  Religious persecutions are sometimes the worst.  Even today there are groups who would deny the Holocaust.  More recently John Kerry, representing the US State Department (on March 17, 2016), condemned the genocide of Christians and other religious entities (Yazidis and Shi'a Muslims, etc.) by Daesch in Syria and other places. The work force can also contain its own form of religious persecutions, even if the religious faithful is not outward about their faith, it is still felt. 

Our faith no matter what religion we are is a part of us as unique individuals.  It colors our world.  It is our hope in our faith that drives us to God, and the life of the world to come.  Our world religious have coexisted for a very long time together.  Listening to each other we find that collectively they promote a moral way of life, a path to peace, a path to heaven.  We are reminded in the Gospel today:

"If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you."

No matter how terrible the news on tv or the internet, let us try to remember we are ambassadors of Christ.  May we pray for our enemies, and be slow to anger.  May our gaze be always cast to our hearts to that divine tabernacle of our souls where God beckons us to sit at his knee during our persecutions, and let his love and compassion be our comfort.  Let us also take our persecutions and offer them as a sacrifice for those in need so that we may better imitate Christ. (Lk 14:27 & 1Peter 2:19-22)

John 15:12-17 Love one another as I have loved you

"There is no greater love than this, to lay down one's life for a friend." 

There are so many images that come to mind when I reflect upon this one sentence.  I think of the stories that we read about people acting as heroes to save another's life, even at risk to their own.  Whether it is Wesley Autrey or Christopher Knafelc who jumped onto tracks to save someone; or Arthur Bloom who uses music to help injured soldiers readjust and take back their lives; and there are so many thousands of examples of men, women, and children who go out of their way to save others at personal sacrifice.  They have laid down their lives for loved ones and friends. It is profound to think about these people that we see in the news, and then to read today's Gospel reading.

Jesus laid down his life for us at great personal sacrifice because he loved us, because it was the right thing to do, because it was the Father's will.  Jesus loves us.  He asks us to follow his commands to love God and love each other, and in doing so, we are his friends and have all the love, mercy and compassion that go with that.  If  we can do nothing else in our day, let us at least smile at a stranger.

"This I command you: love one another."

John 15: 9-11 Keep in my love

As a communication tool the social media isn’t bad, but it also highlights that human need for love and acceptance.  It is what many of us in this life are searching for.  Our families and friends hold that key to love and acceptance, yes.  However, our relationships prepare us for that great relationship between us and our God, who is love, compassion and mercy.  Jesus reminds us, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you.”  That love is so complete and encompassing.  If we think of those greatest joys and times that we were filled with deep love for others around us…how they would pale in comparison and almost seem like suffering to what we receive from our Heavenly Father through Christ. 

How do we remain in Christ’s love?  He tells us, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” What are his commands?  Put simply, love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.  Secondly, love your neighbor as God has loved you. 

John 15:1-8 I am the true vine.

It is still spring. In the winter the fruit trees and grapes were trimmed.  Now they are laden with young fresh fruit that will hopefully grow and mature into sweet fruit when fully ripened.  Even from now until then there are so many things that can happen.  If there is a shortage of water, the fruit will wither.  Without netting the birds will come down and eat parts of it destroying the fruit by causing it to rot on the vine or tree.  There are so many things. 

In today's Gospel Jesus reminds us that he is the true vine.  His Father is the vine grower who prunes us so that we as the branches may produce more abundant fruit.  As the vine, Jesus provides us with the nutrients, that nourishment that we need, and the life giving water that pours forth into the fruit that we produce.  The Father will protect us just as a good vine grower does, walking beside us, sitting with us, talking to us as we grow, and watching how our fruit takes shape to benefit others because of his tender care, and yet we too are strengthened by him.  God is good!  All the time!

John 14:27-31 If you loved me...

At a scripture study group last night we were discussing this coming Sunday's Gospel.  A couple of lines from today's reading and Sunday's overlap.  The one that really struck most of us was this: 

"If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I."

 It is powerful on so many levels.  We think we love, but is there an even greater love that we have not yet experienced?  How is the Father greater than the Son?  Why should we rejoice when someone we love goes away from us? 

How would you answer these questions?  We came up with several ways to understand them better, usually with comparisons or scenarios from our own lives.  More than anything, we agreed that if in God there is a greater kind of love and joy that we can only tangibly grasp, than we can't wait.

Mark 16:15-20 Feast of St. Mark

As Author of the 2^nd Gospel, he sas sometimes called John, or John Mark.  His mother, Mary, owned a house in Jerusalem.  Some scholars believe that was the place where the dinner of Holy Thursday took place, when Christ initiated the Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Spirit descended upon them.  It was this house where Mark lived that was described in Acts of the Apostles that the Christians assembled during the persecutions of Herod Agrippa.  It was to his house that Peter came when he was miraculously released from prison.

It is believed that Peter himself baptized Mark, whom he referred to as his spiritual son.  Mark was Paul’s companion when Paul went to Antioch and Perga on Paul’s first missionary voyage. It is believed that Mark was the cousin of Barnabas, with whom he travelled to Cypress to preach while Paul and Silas went on Paul’s 2^nd missionary journey.  When Paul was imprisoned in Rome, it was Mark, Paul writes in the letter to the Colossians, who was his companion and comfort.  In letters from Peter, he tacked into them a hello from Mark to the Jewish Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.  Mark was that well known throughout the area.

In Christian literature and art, St. Mark is often depicted as a lion, or esp. a winged lion, also the symbol of the city of Venice.  In his Gospels, Mark aimed to show the divinity of Christ in a way similar to how Peter argued.  Today we read from the Gospel of Mark.  We hear the gloriousness of Christ:

"In my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

"The Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

Mark encourages us to faith as strong and powerful as a lion.  Truly he tells us, Jesus is the Christ, God made manifest. Praise be to God, Alleluia!

John 13:13-33A, 34-35 Love One Another

This is our last week of the Easter season.  We are reminded again what the season is about, just like our Creed professes:  The triumphal resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ after his crucifixion, death and descent into hell, whereupon he rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven. 

Jesus is glorified in all this.  Before he departs upon his journey to the cross (where the story is taken just as Judas departs to fetch the soldiers), he reiterates his new command:  Love one another.

This is not easy.  It involves genuine forgiveness and unconditional love.  It is attainable through practice and sacrifice.  To be his disciples, we are called to do this, to love one another as he has loved us.

John 14:7-14 Whomever has seen me has seen the Father.

In today's Gospel, there is a line, "Show us the Father."  It reminds me of when people say, "Show me the money!"  There is so much doubt and perhaps annoyance in it.  Jesus is challenging Philip and us to look at the entire situation differently than originally perceived.  Philip followed Jesus for a long time, Jesus tells us, but still Jesus is shaking his head at him and asking how Philip could still not know him. 

We live sometimes in the moment, that words spoken seem more important than the actions or rhythmic pattern of one's life, but Jesus is arresting Philip's attention, and basically saying, hey, look deeper into what you know is true, not because I said it, but because I have said it and lived it;  You know that it isn't me, but the one who sent me who is beckoning to you to come follow me to him. 

"The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own."  Just as when we proclaim Jesus's words, we are in him and him in us because through our imitation of him, we have become an extention of him, so too are his word's the Father's and so the Father is in him and he in the Father because he is an extention of the Father.  So really, when we do good works, and proclaim the Kingdom, we are an extention of the Father through Christ, and we know the Father is with us.  This is what Jesus explains to Philip.  Jesus says that he will help Philip with anything because of that, just as he will help us.     

John 14:1-16 I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life

A friend became a Benedictine monk.  He was given the comfort and assurance of knowing that he would always have a place at the monastery and that when the time comes for him to die, he will be buried in its cemetery, and that his soul will be perpetually prayed for.  It took a leap of faith for him to leave the comforts of the world, but at the same time he finds great comfort of knowing just as much comfort if not greater peace of mind comes to him for he knows that the monks are following God's Way as much as they can; and that he was called, and given a dwelling within the monastery mimics what will come in the eternal life when Jesus says, "I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be."

There is a place in heaven for everyone.  We are each called in our different vocations in our lives to the Father.  Because we are not like St. Teresa or a mystic like Padre Pio doesn't condemn us, just makes us called in a different way.  God loves you.  He calls us to himself through Christ.

John 13:16-20 Jesus Christ, You Are the Faithful Witness

Although this is how the truth of something is today in our world ascertained for the courts by attorneys seeking the truth, it is not unlike today’s story of St. Paul seeking the truth and presenting it to those assembled at the temple.  Paul had formerly been a Pharisee, which meant that he was an expert in the law, and knew how to draw truth out of statements and testimonies to present to the people for their edification.  In today’s story he calls forth the great leaders of the Jewish people and their prophets, especially John the Baptist who was still in recent memory, to give testimony that “God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.”  The truth of Christ has spread to all the known world, and Paul, the apostle whom Christ personally called after the others, gives testimony to this Truth.

In today’s Gospel Jesus promises to show us the truth that he is “I Am” through events that would fulfill the scripture about him.  He is leading us to know that he is not only the Way to salvation, but the Truth.  He is unified with the Father in this.  He assures us that those of us who accept him, accept our Father in Heaven for he says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”  We are not to try to corrupt the Truth, for the Truth cannot be corrupted.  Christ Jesus is the faithful witness to that.  We are each called to share in that communion as witnesses today throughout words and our actions, which mark us as Christians, and our fidelity to the Truth.

John 12:44-50 I am the Light of the World

Today's reading is a small section of a larger portion of what Jesus is saying.  Isolated like this, we start to ask ourselves, when are the times that I might not obey the Lord, even though I have heard his message?  Do I still fight with my spouse?  Do I not perform my best at work because I hate my job?  Do I waste my time in my retirement?  These are questions that we should ask ourselves.  Every one of us is human.  Jesus understands that because although he is divine, he is also fully human.  Let us use his words today as a challenge to stay on the path that leads to salvation through him.  Let us allow ourselves to see Christ as the Light we need in this often dark, cold, and self-centered world.  Let us ask ourselves too, what can I do today to bring a little of his light to those around me?

John 10: 22-30 You Do Not Believe Because You're Not My Sheep

In today's reading we hear that it was winter and the Feast of the Dedication, that is Hanukkah.  This Jewish feast day is also known as the Festival of Lights.  The story behind it comes from the Book of Maccabees where the tale of how Judah Maccabee raised a fierce and army loyal to God (the army would also be known as the Maccabees) against the Greco-Syrian king who banned Jewish religious practices and defiled the Temple of Jerusalem.  When the Maccabees were victorious over the oppression, the Temple was cleansed, purified, and re-Dedicated to God.  When they rededicated the temple, there was only enough oil for the sanctuary lamp for one night, the rest having been defiled.  Through a miracle the oil lasted for eight days.  That is why Hanukkah lasts eight days with one candle being lit each night.  As a Jew Jesus would have participated in the Feast of the Dedication. 

As a Christian follower, we can ask ourselves what is the parallel between the Jewish celebration and our own this Easter season.  Very clearly the authorities and other leaders are demanding to know if Jesus is the Messiah.  It could not have been easy for Jesus' followers.  However, their courage and stamina against the hardships caused by people who doubted Jesus and were not his followers is an echo of that of the Maccabees.  What was true for the followers of Christ then is true now as we wage battle against threats against Christians whether we are in Syria, Pakistan, or laws against what we believe in other countries around the world.  What Christian has not been persecuted for our faith?  We stand firm and courageous because Christ is our savior and we are his flock.  Like the eternal light of the sanctuary lamp, Christ stands with us incarnate in human history as a Light to the World: God made manifest.  The Light of the World came to give us the light of life. 

John 10:1-10 You must enter through the gate

It is amazing that all it takes if faith in Christ to enter through the gates of Heaven.  God has blessed those who are faithful, and makes them holy, and so they can enter through the gate.  Jesus gives us a parable about entering into the sheepfold through the gate.  Those who try to climb over are like robbers.  They have not had the needed conversion of heart and soul that comes through Christ: the repentance and salvation that he preached, that the Church preaches now at his command. 

There is a story, The Dangerous Journey, a retelling of Pilgrim's Progress written for children, that emphasizes how difficult the life of a Christian, the temptations and challenges that befall us on our path.  The main character, Christian, has several friends on his journey that help him.  Toward the end of his journey he comes across a fellow sojourner who has crossed the field and climbed a fence and walks with Christian the rest of the way to the castle.  When they reach it, the man is not allowed in because he came as a deceptive untrustworthy stranger across the field and over the wall.  Christian's heart has been true though and though he's been tempted and strayed from the path, he was always found the right path again that led him to Kingdom, to the gate, to the place of his salvation.  And it is his example that will lead the other members of his family.  Jesus is trying to impart this to us.  Life can and will be difficult, but the only way to the Kingdom is through him.  He is our shepherd, and so too are those he has appointed in his place: our pope, our cardinals, our bishops, our priests, and our deacons.  Theirs is to help us follow the course so that we come to the gate not as strangers, but as friends and brothers and sisters of Christ. 

John 10:27-30 No One Can Take Away My Sheep from Me

Today's Gospel is short and succinct.   No one can take away from God those who belong to God.  Christ Jesus also reiterates to relationship between the Father and the Son, they are one, just as the Holy Spirit and the Father are one, and the Holy Spirit and the Son are one.  These are two powerful thoughts in today's reading.  They should be reflected upon.

A young man preparing for Confirmation was speaking with me and asked, "If God loves us so much, why do we suffer?"  He pulled out the example from the book of Job, where God and the Devil are speaking, and God allows the Devil to harm first the prosperity of Job, then Job's family, then Job himself.  "Is there a point that God was trying to make?" I asked.  The young man was quiet for a few minutes.  "Well, he was proving that no matter what those who love Him won't lose faith in him, no matter how bad things get."  "Okay, If that is the case, what reward does God promise those who remain in him?"  "God rewards them abundantly and even more than they had before, either in this life or the next."  "Can you think of Saints who went through something similar?"  "Oh yeah," the young man said, "They are our modern day Jobs.  They definitely get rewards in Heaven.  I see your point." 

God loves us, and loves us abundantly.

John 6:60-69 Looking into the heart of the betrayer

As an instructor it is easy to discern which students understand, which struggle, and which are tuned out.  Motivations can also easily be ascertained.  In today's readings Jesus looks at his disciples.  He knows which of them are faithful and which will betray him.  That had to be so difficult to persevere just for the sake of those who were faithful, simply because it was the right thing to do.

Sometimes we forget about Jesus' humanity and think of him as this great redeemer who came down from heaven.  He was fully human like the rest of us and divine.  In his humanity he felt sadness, despair, loneliness and so on.  How hard it must have been to face Judas knowing what would happen, always hoping that maybe he would change deep within his heart as was in his free will. 

Christ came to be in the world to save the world.  As Peter reminds us, Christ Jesus had the words of eternal life.  Are we open to the Father calling us closer to him in the salvation mystery?  Will we follow Christ?

John 6:52-59 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood shall live

As a child my siblings and I were always curious about vampire and zombie movies.  There was always something so very wrong with sub human creatures drinking human blood, or eating their brains that made us laugh.  We knew it was fiction.  As an adult I was briefly amused and annoyed when a friend learned that I was a Catholic and asked how could I be?--I was such a nice person, but did how could I partake in human sacrifice every Sunday and eat them?  It was a clear sign that our Church needs to do more in educating our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who belong to other churches. 

In today's Gospel the Jews are taken aback asking themselves, "How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?"  It is as shocking to them as it was to my friend.  What does Jesus mean?

Think back to the wedding feast at Cana.  That is a precursor to the Heavenly banquet.  We are to be nourished and sustained in our faith.  All we need to do is believe.  The Son came down from Heaven like the manna in the desert.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, " From the beginning Jesus associated his disciples  with his own life, revealed in the mystery of the kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings." (CCC 787)  In joining with him, we come into communion with him, an ecclesiological communion which mimics that of the Father and Holy Spirit to the Son.  We share in his resurrection.  His flesh is our flesh, his blood our blood.  We, the Church,  are his body and he is our head.  At the Last Supper he gave us himself through the grace of transubstantiation whereby the substance of the bread was changed to Him while the outer veil remained like bread, and the same with the wine, that substance became him, for us to consume, to be nourished, not just physically, but spiritually with the grace that is God, inebriated with his Divine love and mercy. 

John 6:44-51 Come to Me

In today's first reading, God the Father called this eunuch to himself, and God the Holy Spirit sought to impart the teachings of the Son so that that this man, through Philip, might come to be saved through him. 

Jesus reminds us in today’s Gospel, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him up on the last day…They shall all be taught by God.  Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me…Amen, Amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.”  Jesus further reminds us, “I am the bread of life…and the bread that I give is my Flesh for the life of the world.” 

St. Tomas a Kempis reminds us, “These are your words, O Christ, the everlasting Truth.  Because they are yours and true, they are all thankfully and faithfully received by me.  They are yours and you have pronounced them; and they are mine also because you have spoken them for my salvation.”  (Imitation of Christ: Book 3, Ch 1 On Receiving Holy Communion)  Our Lord is the bread of heaven, come to nourish us, heal us, and lead us out of the slavery of sin, to the freedom of salvation in him, Christ the Lord.  St. Paul reminds us, “Christ died for all: that those who live may live no longer in themselves, but for him, who died for all and is risen, alleluia.” (2 Corinthians 5:15)     

John 6:35-40 Trustful Surrender

There are times when life gets hard.  There are days when we just seem to have bad luck after bad luck.  Sometimes we just want to cry, but harden ourselves against the world by putting up walls.  Jesus reminds us today that we can trust in him.  He is from the Father, and the Father gives him all that he has promised, just like Christ gives us all that he has promised. 

He is offering us that opportunity to be nourished, caressed, comforted; we just need to trust and surrender ourselves to him to be healed.

John 6:30-35 I Am the Bread of Life

In the Gospel today the crowds test Jesus and ask for veracity that he is who he says that he is by giving them a sign.  This is not unusual.  Throughout the Old Testament prophets tested to make sure that it was truly God that was speaking to them.  In the New Testament even Mary asks for a sign from the angel to know for certain that her pregnancy and child were ordained from God.  In Mary's case she was told that her ancient cousin, Elizabeth, was expecting and in her sixth month, so that Mary could see if it was true for herself, and she did go, and learn the truth that this was indeed for both her and her cousin, a miracle wrought from God.

So today, the crowds press closer to Jesus awaiting that sign, that hope to be fulfilled.  He responds, "I am the bread of life."  He is here, the Word of God, to nourish us daily with that bread that is him, that takes away our sins and leads us to eternal life.  How exciting for them!  for us!--that the Lord has come and the wedding banquet is set and ready for us to partake in it.  This is the gift of salvation through the Resurrection that we continue to celebrate this Easter season.

John 6:22-29 St. Stephen and Witnessing the Faith

Religious faith is a confidence or trust in God.  It is part of our holy covenant with him that obliges us to obedience, loyalty and faithfulness because of his love for us.  In that covenant he makes us his holy peoples.  Our salvation through the cross and Resurrection of Christ brings us new life because of God’s enduring love and mercy for us.  We turn and can firmly say, Jesus I trust in you.

St. Stephen is a witness in our first reading to our shared faith.  He is our brother in Christ.  He bears witness to the Resurrection and faith in God.  Although the simpler path would be to deny God, to not incur the wrath of the Sanhedrin, Stephen upholds the Truth.

In the Gospel Jesus reminds us that we ought to “not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”  In other words, be nourished with heavenly food that sustains and nourishes you, and will lead you to everlasting life.  The only things we need to do is believe in him, that is Jesus Christ, whom the Father sends.

John 21:1-19 Do you love me?

In today's Gospel the Apostles are fishing, catching nothing.  Easter is a time of joy and new beginnings in the Light of the Resurrected Christ.  As the dawn breaks, they see Christ Jesus upon the shore.  Recall that he had summoned them to be fishers of men in a similar way before the crucifixion.  Again he calls them to be fishers of men, in a sense, by lowering their nets into the ride side of the boat.  Clement of Alexandria wrote about Jesus in a hymn in his Pedagogues III,

"...Fisher of men,

you, their Savior:

from the sea of evil

you pull the pure fish,

out of the hostile storm

you draw them to the life of blessedness..."

We are the fish, while Peter and the Apostles represent the Church in relation to Christ.  They bring us to the shore bathed in light where Jesus is waiting.  That Christ breaks the bread with them in that first breakfast of the Resurrection assures us that he will continue to nourish us. 

Why does he do this?  Love.  He asks Peter three times, "Do you love me?"  It is as if to undo those three times that Peter denied him.  At the same time, each time Peter says, I love you, it could be though of as saying it to each member of the Holy Trinity, with whom he is in communion with; and at the same time, he stands for us, as the rock on which our church is founded.  He answers for us, "Yes Lord, I love you."  My we continue loving the Lord with each moment of our lives.  Amen.

John 6:16-21

Sometimes we encounter great storms in our lives:  running late, missing the bus, being fired, death of a spouse or parent or child.  Perhaps we get so caught-up in that storm that we see nothing else.  Even in that, as today's Gospel reminds us, Jesus comes to us.  He comes across that angry stormy sea as if it were not there just to be near us.  Though it may be impossible to allow him into our hearts for everything that is going on, he is with us through the midst until we reach the stability of shore, and can walk with him side by side. 

May we not despair nor become despondent, but rather say within the recesses of our heart, "Jesus, I trust in you."