SAINTS PETER AND PAUL

29 JUNE 2025

 

          The Solemnity we celebrate is about an “odd couple.”  Peter and Paul were very different from one another.  More than likely, Simon had no formal education.  He probably spent his teenage years working in his father’s fishing business on the Sea of Galilee.  His first encounter with Jesus occurred after a fruitless night of fishing.  He must have been impressed with this preacher, because he loaned his boat to Jesus, so that he could preach to a crowd on the shore.  In spite of his objections as a professional fisherman, he followed the instructions of Jesus and put out his boat to fish again.  To his amazement, he hauled in such an incredible load of fish that he abandoned his occupation and became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth.  During his three years as a follower of Jesus, he came to believe that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the Son of God.  Jesus included him with James and John in the most important events of his ministry.  Jesus rewarded his faith by changing his name to Peter, which means “Rock.”  He promised to establish his Church on the rock of Peter’s faith.  In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter preferred to be in the company of Jews who believed in Jesus Christ.

            In contrast, Saul of Tarsus had a formal education.  Schooled by the Rabbi, Gamaliel, he became a dedicated Pharisee familiar with all the aspects of the Law of Moses.  Saul had never met Jesus of Nazareth.  But, he encountered the risen Lord on the road to Damascus.  Blinded by that encounter, he was led to the house of Ananias, where he was baptized and became a disciple of Jesus Christ.  He spent three years in Arabia before returning to Jerusalem to meet with Peter and the other disciples.  As Paul, he became the Apostle to the Gentiles, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ in his missionary journeys throughout the Mediterranean Sea. 

            These two giants of our faith not only were very different personalities, but they also disagreed with each other.  In the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke reports that Paul was not afraid to confront Peter on the issue of eating with Gentiles.  Their different personalities and roles built up the Body of Christ.  In iconography, Saint Peter is pictured holding a set of keys, symbolizing the authority given to him by Christ.  Saint Paul is pictured holding a sword, symbolizing the two-edged sword of the Word he preached.  Ultimately, both gave their lives over to Jesus Christ in Rome:  Peter by crucifixion and Paul by the sword.

            What both of them held in common was their sinfulness.  Instead of always being the rock, Peter often became a stumbling block in blurting out his unreflective thoughts.  He became a huge stumbling block when he denied knowing Jesus three times in the courtyard of the high priest.  Saint Paul participated in the execution of Saint Stephen, the first martyr.  He was on his way to Damascus to arrest and execute the disciples of Jesus Christ there.  Because they both gave over their sins to the Lord, his mercy allowed them to be more effective in their ministry.  Especially in the midst of their weaknesses, they knew that the Lord was working through them.

            These two giants of the faith give us great hope in this Jubilee of Hope.  We are part of a Church where there are many differences and arguments and personalities.  We are aware of our own sinfulness and the failings of the current leaders of our Church.  Just as the Holy Spirit worked through them, the Holy Spirit can work through us.  Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!

 

 

THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

22 JUNE 2025

 

          In writing to the Corinthians, Saint Paul hands on what he has received from the Lord.  In using those words, “to hand on,” he uses the root word in Latin, “traditor,” literally to pass on from hand to hand.  Our English word is “tradition.”  Saint Paul is giving to the Corinthians and to us the most sacred and important tradition which we have:  the celebration of the Eucharist.

            To understand this tradition, there are at least six key points for us to consider.  First, when we celebrate the Eucharist, we recall the dramatic events of the Last Supper, the night of the betrayal of Jesus by one of his closest friends.  Whenever we partake of the Eucharist, we participate in the Lord’s passion and death.  Second, the foundational elements of the Eucharist are bread and wine.  These elements recall Melchizedek’s offering in the first reading.  They are the everyday staples of the Mediterranean diet.  It is through these ordinary means that he sustains his presence among us.  Third, there is a thanksgiving performed by Jesus.  The Greek word for thanksgiving is eucharisteo, which gives rise to our common name for this sacrament, the Eucharist.  Fourth, the bread is symbolically broken.  This action sustains the memorial of Christ being broken for us on the cross.  Fifth, the whole celebration is a remembrance ritual.  In this ritual, Saint Paul says that the Corinthians are not just recalling some event which happened a long time ago.  Instead, the remembering is a participation in the singular event of the Last Supper and the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Finally, the elements of which they participate are identified as the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, signifying the new covenant which Jesus has forged with God.

            This is exactly what we will do in a few minutes, depending on how long I go on and on.  We will take gifts of bread and wine, along with the gift of our sacrificial tithe.  In the name of this assembly, I will pray the Eucharistic Prayer, giving thanks, praising and thanking the Father for the sacrifice of Jesus made present in our liturgical remembering (in Greek, anamnesis).  Then, we will pray the Lord’s Prayer, exchange a sign of peace to signify our intention to be reconciled with one another, and I will break the consecrate Host, during the singing of the Lamb of God.  Finally, we will give the real presence of the Lord in the form of bread and wine, as we come forward singing the Lord’s praises as members of this Eucharistic Assembly.

            We recognize these four actions in the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish in Saint Luke’s Gospel.  After the Twelve complained that it was impossible to feed a crowd of five thousand people with so little, Jesus takes the bread and fish, gives thanks to the Father for his faithfulness, breaks, and then feeds the entire crowd.  In feeding this crowd, Jesus is instituting a new exodus.  In the exodus from Egypt in the wilderness of Sinai, God fed the people with manna.  Manna was not to be kept, except on the Sabbath.  In this New Exodus, the leftover fragments are to be picked up and placed into twelve wicker baskets.  We, who are the Church built on the foundation of the twelve apostles, continue to be fed and connected through the Eucharist with the Paschal Mystery until the end of time. 

            Saint Augustine reminds us that we who are fed on the Body of Christ become the Body of Christ.  On this Solemnity of Corpus Christi, we give thanks for this greatest Mystery given to us.  We are also reminded of Abram’s response to the blessing of Melchizedek.  In gratitude, Abram gave a tithe of ten percent of his wealth to Melchizedek.  In his gift to us, Jesus Christ gives his entire self out of love.  We, the Body of Christ, can also give generously of ourselves in gratitude to those who need our assistance, nourished by the Lord’s self-giving gift on the cross.

 

THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

15 JUNE 2025

 

          Today’s Gospel speaks of a tender moment between Jesus and his disciples.  Jesus and his disciples know that things are tense for them in Jerusalem.  The authorities want to put an end to the work of Jesus, most likely in a violent manner.  This causes a shadow of worry to hang over the disciples.  They have so much more to learn, so much that they do not understand.  They want their relationship with Jesus to continue.

            Jesus acknowledges their concern and says, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”  He too wants the relationship to continue.  Over the three years they have traveled together, he has grown close to them because of who he is.  He is the Second Person of the Trinity.  He is God.  God is love.  Love is being in relationship.  As the Second Person of the Trinity, he promises to send the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will come as the Spirit of Truth and will guide them to all truth.  The Holy Spirit will connect them with the Father, with whom Jesus and the Holy Spirit have an intimate bond.  His words fulfill the Book of Proverbs.  The wisdom of God is Trinitarian:  One God in three distinct Persons, an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.       

            Throughout the course of ninety days, we have entered more deeply into the saving action of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  We spent forty days preparing to renew our baptismal promises, knowing that we have failed to live them many times.  We spent three days in the Sacred Paschal Triduum celebrating the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Then we spent forty days rejoicing in the victory of the resurrection, culminating in the Mystery of the Ascension.  We completed the Easter Season last Sunday with the Feast of Pentecost, assuring us that the same Holy Spirit given to the original disciples is given to us.

            Today we reflect more deeply on the Mystery of the Trinity.  We attribute to the Father the work of Creation, to the Son the work of redemption, and to the Holy Spirit the work of sanctification.  But in making those distinctions, we become more aware that the Trinitarian God has been involved in all of those works.  As Saint Paul reminds us, we have been justified by faith and given the gift of peace.  Because of the action of the three Persons in One God, our faith allows us to boast in hope of the glory of God.

            Pope Francis has designated this Holy Year as a Year of hope, a virtue which we need desperately in our broken, fractured, and violent age.  Confronted with so much evil in the world and so many divisions, it is easy to give up and retreat into our safe places.  As Saint Paul says to the Romans, the wisdom of the Triune God allows us to boast of our afflictions.  No matter how heavy our crosses may become or how dark the way we must walk may appear, the wisdom of God remains in us a strong belief that our afflictions will produce endurance.  Saint Paul himself boasted of his afflictions, because they allowed him to endure so many obstacles in his travels.  His afflictions helped the persecuted Church in Rome to endure the persecutions and suffering with hope.  Saint Paul promises us that our endurance will produce proven character also.

            At the highest level of being, there is perfect love and absolute communion in three distinct and different Persons.  At our level of being, we know painfully well that we do not have perfect love and that our differences often cause divisions.  But, we cannot lose hope, which does not disappoint.  We have been created, redeemed, and sanctified so that we can eventually share the perfect love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in eternity. 

 

 

PENTECOST SUNDAY

8 JUNE 2025

 

            Today we hear two different versions of the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke presents the Holy Spirit given to the disciples of Jesus on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, celebrated fifty days after the Passover.  Faithful Jews would travel from all around the Mediterranean Sea to celebrate the giving of the Law through Moses on Mount Sinai.  They would recall the display of God’s might in the strong driving wind.  They would speak of the signs of God’s presence in the burning bush calling Moses to lead his people out of slavery.  They would remember God leading his people through the desert in a pillar of fire.

            Saint Luke places the giving of the Holy Spirit on the fiftieth day after the Passover of Jesus from death into resurrected life.  Luke connects the giving of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem with the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.  The disciples are in one place where a noise like a strong driving wind fills the entire house.  Tongues as of fire appear and come to rest on each of them.  They receive the gift of the Holy Spirit that fulfills all the expectations of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.  Instead of being unable to communicate at the Tower of Babel, they speak so that Jews of every nationality and language can understand them.  The gift of the Law had guided the twelve tribes of Israel in their passing in the desert from slavery into freedom. The gift of the Holy Spirit now guides all who have come to believe in the Lord’s passing from death into life.  It is the birthday of the Church, built on the witness of the twelve apostles. 

            In the Gospel, Saint John describes the giving of the Holy Spirit in a different way.  The disciples lock themselves in one place out of fear following the death of their friend and master.  On that first day of the week, the risen Lord has appeared to Mary Magdalene, who had come to the tomb in the darkness of that morning.  On that same day, he breaks through the locked doors in the darkness of the evening.  Instead of yelling at them for abandoning him in his darkest hour, he gives them the gift of peace.  Transformed in the resurrection, he shows them his hands and his side, bearing those same wounds of his crucified body.  When they recognize him, he gives them the gift of peace again.  Instead of a mighty wind, he breathes on them and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit.  He sends them out in the power of the Holy Spirit to give that same gift of peace and mercy to all whom they will encounter. 

            On this fiftieth day after we have celebrated the Passover over of Jesus Christ from death into life, we are given the same gift of the Holy Spirit.  As the Pentecost Sequence assures us, we too are connected with the Father of the poor to reach out to the poor.  In our labor, the Holy Spirit gives us rest in our labor, coolness in the heat, and solace in the midst of woe.  The Holy Spirit is truly our blessed light divine, healing our wounds, renewing our strength, and washing the stains of guilt away.  The Holy Spirit bends our stubborn hearts and wills, melts the frozen and warms the chill.  The Holy Spirit guides the steps that go astray.

            The Holy Spirit can accomplish these incredible actions through us if we are willing to surrender ourselves and be open to the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives.  Jesus fulfills the Law of Moses by giving his entire life for us and by commanding that we love God and neighbor as ourselves.  That law is both very simple and very demanding, requiring the gift of ourselves in the service of others.  We can love others as Christ has loved us.  In the process, Christ loves us in living his law.  Ask anyone who has ever participated in a twelve-step program.  Despite our weakness, our brokenness, and our attraction to sin, we can do this!  But we can do it only in surrendering to the power of the Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit.  Fill the hearts of the faithful.

 

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD

1 JUNE 2025

 

          Today we hear two accounts of the Ascension from Saint Luke.  In the second account we heard, Saint Luke brings his Gospel to its conclusion.  He has given his account of passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He has described the scene at the empty tomb when the two men dressed in white ask the women, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?”  He has told us of the two disciples who encountered the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus and how they have recognized him in the breaking of bread.  He has described the meals eaten by disciples with the risen Lord after his resurrection.  Now he leads his disciples out to Bethany, as Moses had led his people out of slavery and into freedom.  He is taken up to heaven away from their midst.  They return to Jerusalem with great joy.  Saint Luke’s Gospel account of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord and Savior, is now complete.

            Saint Luke’s other account of the Ascension is what we heard as the first reading today.  It is the beginning of his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles.  He tells us that the risen Christ has been physically present to his apostles for forty days.  This symbolic number indicates that there has been a sufficient period of time to prepare those who had witnessed the Easter event for the mission of the Church.  He reminds them of the kingdom of God which he has established and tells them to wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Prompted by the Holy Spirit, the work of the Church will begin.  Then he is taken from their sight.

            The Ascension is an integral part of the Paschal Mystery, along with the death of Jesus Christ, his resurrection, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.  This Paschal Mystery is at the heart of everything we believe as Christians.  A mystery is a reality that we cannot fully understand.  That is why artistic representations of mystery can be helpful.  An interesting painting of the Ascension pictures the twelve apostles looking intently up to heaven.  There, the physical body of Jesus has disappeared in a cloud, symbolic of God’s mysterious presence.  However, the apostles can see the feet of Jesus, with the wounds of the nails of his crucifixion clearly present.  Although Jesus is taken up to heaven to reign in glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, he is present to us.  We are invited to walk with him on our feet to share his majesty and power and to go eventually to where he has gone.  That is why those same two men dressed in white ask a similar question, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?”  They are assuring the apostles that the Lord will be present to them, and that they should walk with him as they wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to begin the work of the Church.  They are the Body of Christ, sharing Christ’s power and glory.  But, that power is not like the power of the rulers of this earth.  The rulers of this world rely on force and other intimidating methods to secure their power.  It is the power of the crucified and risen Lord, supporting their efforts to exercise the power of love as humble servants.

            The risen Lord is present to us, who are his Body.  He is truly present to us in the Sacramental life of the Church.  He speaks to us in the Word we have just heard.  He feeds us with his Body and Blood in this Eucharist.  He sends us out of this Church to walk with him and reveal the presence of his kingdom in the humble ways we share in his power and glory.  Like those first apostles, we wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit next Sunday on the Solemnity of Pentecost.  If we are open to this new outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then we too can produce good fruits in a world that badly needs them.

 

 

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

25 MAY 2025

 

          Jesus is speaking to his disciples at the Last Supper.  He is trying to prepare them for his betrayal, death, and resurrection.  What we hear today is known as his “farewell discourse.”  In bidding farewell to them, he assures them that they will not be alone after his physical departure.  He tells them not to be troubled or afraid, because the Father will give the gift of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will be present to them.  Jesus leaves them with the gift of peace – not the peace the world gives, but the gift Jesus himself gives.

            The world thinks of peace in terms of an absence of conflict.  The peace that Jesus gives is much more profound and does not avoid conflict, pain, or suffering.  In fact, Jesus exhibits that peace when he is betrayed, faces an unjust trial, is crucified, and enters death.  His peace comes from his intimate relationship with his Father.  We can see that peace in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles.  The early Church faces its first great conflict, as it grows beyond its Jewish roots to include non-Jews.  For their entire lives, Jews were careful about avoiding certain foods.  According to the law of Moses, all males were circumcised.  To avoid contamination, they avoided all contact with non-Jews.  When the Jewish Christians hear that Paul and Barnabas have been baptizing gentiles, they insist that they must follow the Law of Moses.  In this huge controversy, the peace of Christ does not keep them from arguing among themselves.  Through the presence of the Holy Spirit, the gift of peace enables them to decide.  Gentile converts are not required to follow the Law of Moses.  However out of charity for the sensitivities of their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ, they should restrict their freedom by not buying meat at the market that had been sacrificed to idols, from any kind of blood, meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. 

            This same gift of peace is given to us.  It does not prevent arguments or pain or suffering.  However, that the gift of peace establishes a close relationship with the Father.  If we are open to the workings of the Holy Spirit, the gift of peace gets us through some very difficult situations.  Over the years, I have come to be grateful for that gift in my life.  When I was ordained, I had thought that the most difficult promise would be my promise to be a celibate for the rest of my life.  Instead, the most difficult promise has been the promise to respect and obey the Bishop and his successors.  Every time I have kept that promise, moving from one assignment to another has been terribly difficult.  When Bishop McManus moved me from being chaplain at Marian High School to being pastor of Saint Paul of the Cross in Columbia City, I was crushed.  I did not know what pastors did, and living in a small town was a challenge.  I knew it was not very smart to tell parishioners that I did not want to be there.  So, I pretended to be happy.  At the end of my first year, I helped to paint the rectory.  Up on a ladder painting the gable, I looked down to see all the men painting the rectory and doing the trim work.  The women and the kids were setting up tables for a homecooked meal, complete with a barrel of beer.  I accepted the gift of Christ’s peace and served the rest of my pastorate with gratitude and enthusiasm.

            The first reading gives a vision of the new heavens and new earth after the end of time.  The vision gives very precise information about the heavenly Jerusalem.  In the vision, there is no temple, which would have been the center of Jerusalem, where people would have recognized the dwelling of God in their midst.  There is no temple in the new and eternal city of Jerusalem, because inhabitants will see God face to face.  That vision is a promise that we will see God face to face, because we have a personal relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit now.  This is the peace which the world cannot give!

 

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

18 MAY 2025

 

          If you have gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the vision of a new heaven and a new earth in today’s reading from the Book of Revelation takes on new meaning.  The vision speaks of the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  The old city of Jerusalem is a remarkable place.  In the year 2000, I spent four months living and studying in the town of Bethany, now in the occupied West Bank.  We would study in the morning and be free to do whatever we wanted in the afternoon.  I spent almost every free afternoon going to the old city and exploring its wonders.

Its narrow streets take visitors through the different quarters of the city:  the Arab, the Jewish, the Christian, and the Armenian Quarters.  Each has its own character and its own food and drink.  The city can be traced back to the days of King David, where kings and prophets and priests lived and had their impact on the city.  Jesus himself was present in the Temple, now occupied by the Islamic Dome of the Rock.  Pilgrims can pray in a number of ancient churches, especially the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over Calvary and the empty tomb.  However, the city will be transformed at the end of the world.  In the new Jerusalem, people can walk through the Damascus Gate without having their pockets picked.  In the new Jerusalem, there will be more regular garbage collection.  In the New Jerusalem, Arab kids will not be throwing stones at armed Jewish soldiers. 

This image is proclaimed as good news by Paul and Barnabas in the Acts of the Apostles.  In their travels, they preach first in Jewish synagogues, where they are usually thrown out.  Then, they witness the faith to the Gentiles.  They strengthen, console, and uplift the members of the newly formed churches.  They promise that death is not the end for those who believe in Jesus Christ.  They promise transformation, just as the risen Christ was transformed.  They promise that death will not destroy all those positive qualities possessed by believers in life.  Like the new Jerusalem, there will be no more suffering, no more sin, no more conflict, and no more death.

At the Last Supper, Judas leaves the room to betray Jesus.  In that dark hour, Jesus proclaims to his disciples that the Son of Man is glorified NOW, and that God is glorified in him.  Jesus trusts that his Father will transform his horrific suffering and death into victory.  Knowing what will happen, Jesus gives a new commandment.  He commands that they love one another, as he has loved them.  He has spent three years revealing the presence of the Kingdom of God through miracles, teachings, and quality time together.  He has just washed their feet, as humble servants would wash feet.  He will give his life completely out of love for them. 

At this Memorial of the Last Supper, he gives the same command to us.  The command is simple.  He doesn’t tell us to participate at Mass every Sunday.  He doesn’t command us to work as a parish to bring in new members or to participate in parish ministries.  Of course, all of these are good and necessary.  As simple and straightforward as his command may be, it is demanding and difficult.  This command involves dying to ourselves.   It can involve suffering humiliation rather than attacking another.  It might involve listening to a political opponent and showing love and respect instead of biting his or her head off.  It might mean being kind to someone who has betrayed us.  It can involve giving a helping hand and a real, personal friendship to the homeless, migrants, non-Christians, the disoriented or those confused by mental illness, or to those who have been mocked or turned away by others.  If we can love as he has loved us, all will clearly know us as his disciples, just as many came to know Paul and Barnabas as his disciples.