PENTECOST

9 JUNE 2019

          During these past ninety days, we reflected in very particular ways on the central Mystery of our faith.  During the forty days of Lent, we embraced the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to acknowledge that we have not always lived our Baptismal promises and prepare for the Sacred Paschal Triduum.  During those three intense days, we focused on the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Lord.  For the past fifty days, we have been celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection, listening to him speak to us in the Word and realizing his risen presence in the Sacramental Life of the Church, especially in this Eucharist.

            Today, we bring to completion these intense days of reflecting on our faith.  On this Solemnity of Pentecost, Saint Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles how the Holy Spirit literally blew the Apostles out of their comfort zone to share the Good News of the Paschal Mystery with everyone.  The Holy Spirit reverses the confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel.  In doing so, the Holy Spirit enables them to speak clearly and effectively to the diverse crowd of pilgrims who had gathered in Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Pentecost.

            That same Holy Spirit is given to us and blows us out of our comfort zones to proclaim the truth and the power of the Paschal Mystery.  We cannot accomplish the mission on our own without the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit strengthens us in three ways.  The Spirit strengthens our relationship with Jesus Christ.  The Spirit strengthens our passion to defend the faith we have celebrated.  The Spirit strengthens us to spread the faith as effectively as possible.  The Holy Spirit gives us the same gifts given to the Apostles.  They are the gifts that we drill into the memories of our eighth graders when Bishop Rhoades quizzes them at Confirmation Mass. 

We need the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, if we intend to understand the faith that helps us grow in a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.  As we implement our Strategic Plan in the fall, be sure to check out the many offerings designed to help our adult understanding of the faith.  We are also looking for sponsors in the RCIA this August.  The gifts of fortitude and courage will help us to defend the faith, especially when others challenge us or question what we are doing.  If we accept the gift of piety and fear of the Lord, we will know the strength to spread the faith, more by our actions than by our words.  Piety is a gift that helps us express our faith in healthy ways.  Fear of the Lord does not make us afraid of the Lord, but more rooted in the awe-filled sense of wonder at his presence in our lives.

In his Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul distinguishes between those who are in the flesh and those who are in the spirit.  In using these terms, he outlines two ways in which people relate to God and to the world.  Those in the flesh are earthbound.  They can only think of success in terms of what we can conceive in our world.  Those in the flesh are driven to be successful in business or power or fame or wealth.  They cannot see any reality beyond these.  Those in the spirit are immersed in the person of Jesus Christ.  They too value the measures of success in this world.  But they also understand that these values are not permanent and cannot last beyond the grave.  They understand that being immersed in Jesus Christ will last forever.

We were introduced into living in the spirit when we were baptized.  That is why we have been sprinkling the assembly every Sunday since Easter.  As people living in the spirit, we accept the gifts of the Holy Spirit to strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ, to defend our faith, and to do everything we can to spread it.  We are cooperating with the Holy Spirit in bringing unity and peace and respect, instead of hatred, division, and fear.

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD

2 JUNE 2019

          When we entered into this Liturgical Year on the First Sunday of Advent, we began hearing from the Gospel according to Luke.  We were told to wait.  The Angel had announced to a young virgin that she would be the mother of God.  As Mary accepted this invitation and became the Handmaid of the Lord, we waited for four weeks to hear the angels announce that the Lord had been born in Bethlehem.  Today, we hear from Luke’s second volume, the Acts of the Apostles.  He tells us that it has been 40 days since the two men dressed in white had told the women at the tomb that the Lord had been raised from the dead.  During those 40 days, the risen Lord had revealed the Paschal Mystery to his disciples.  They began to understand that Christ had to suffer and be raised from the dead on the third day.  They realized that the promised kingdom of God had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.  They embraced his message that they must preach repentance, if the kingdom would become a reality in their lives.

            Today they listen to that same risen Lord, as he tells them that he will depart from them and return to the right hand of the Father.  Using the language of the Letter to the Hebrews, he will enter heaven, the sanctuary not made by human hands.  Unlike the high priest who entered the sanctuary of the Temple to offer sacrifice for the sins of his people, Jesus has been both the priest and the sacrifice.  His gift of total self-love will never need to be repeated.  Instead of sending them on their mission immediately, he tells them to stay in Jerusalem and wait.  Then those two men dressed in white repeat the Lord’s message.  They must stop looking up to the sky and wait in Jerusalem.

            We celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension, because it is integral to our understanding of the Paschal Mystery.  The Ascension heralds a new era.  The era of the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth has come to an end.  Now a new era is about to begin.  As the disciples wait in Jerusalem, they have no idea of how long that wait will last.  But because we have read the story of the new era of the Church from Luke’s second volume, we know that their waiting ended when the Holy Spirit broke through the doors, just as the risen Lord had broken through the doors of their locked room on the day of the Resurrection.  They could not begin their work of preaching the Kingdom of God until they had received the Holy Spirit.  Filled with the Holy
Spirit, those first disciples continued the work of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Messiah.

            We are waiting to celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit next Sunday on the Solemnity of Pentecost.  With the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are given the same mission of proclaiming the kingdom of God and embracing the need for our own conversion – our own turning more completely to that kingdom already in our midst.  The Ascension reminds us that the risen Lord is not absent, but more present than we can ever imagine.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he is present in the Sacramental life of the Church, especially in this Eucharist under the forms of bread and wine.  He is present in our darkest hours, when we face those dark holes of loss and pain and death.  He is present whenever two or more gather in his name.

            We are also waiting for him to come again in glory.  We have no idea how long it will take until he comes again.  But we know that in the meantime, we cannot stand around and look up into the sky.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we reflect his presence in the way we treat each other with love and respect.  Nourished by the Eucharist, we can obey his command to love as he has loved us, to wash each other’s feet, and to give ourselves in loving service.  We are part of this era of the Church, and the Mystery is entrusted to us.

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

26 MAY 2019

          For the third Sunday, we hear from the farewell discourse which Jesus gives at the Last Supper.  Unlike Saints Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Saint John does not give an account of the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper.  His theology of the Eucharist is found in an earlier chapter.  Instead, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples as a way of showing how they should love one another.  He gives this farewell discourse to prepare his disciples for his betrayal by Judas, his mock trial before Pontius Pilate, his horrible death on Calvary, his burial, and his resurrection from the dead on the third day.  

            He speaks of his complete trust in the Father and urges them to imitate that trust, so that their hearts need not be troubled.  He promises to give them two gifts.  The first gift will be the Holy Spirit.  Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the “Advocate.”  In the ancient world, advocates were legal scholars who protected the rights of their clients.  They also served as “cheerleaders,” encouraging their clients to continue without getting discouraged.  The second gift will be the gift of peace.  The prophets of the Old Testament promised that peace would be the hallmark of the Messianic Age.  The peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of conflict or troubles.  The situation following the Last Supper will be less than peaceful as soon as Judas hands him over to be executed.  They will better understand the gift of peace when the risen Lord will break through the locked doors of the upper room.  The gift of peace will replace their sense of grief and guilt caused by their running away from the Lord in his darkest hour.

            These same two gifts, given to the disciples at the Last Supper, are given to us.  As we prepare to celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we are very much aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit now.  It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that the risen Lord is made present in the Sacramental life of the Church, especially as we receive the Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist under the forms of bread and wine.  It is also the Holy Spirit guiding the current successors of the Apostles:  Pope Francis and the Bishops in union with him.

            We have also received the gift of peace.  Paul and Barnabas exhibit that gift as they face the first huge controversy in the Church.  They have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit when so many Gentiles responded to their preaching and came to believe in the crucified Messiah, Jesus Christ.  And yet, some very well meaning Jewish Christians could not imagine believing in this Messiah without following the Law of Moses that had always been so central to their lives of faith.  Saint Luke puts the dispute very diplomatically:  “there arose no little dissension and debate.”  In other words, the two sides are fighting like cats and dogs. 

            However, they argue with respect for one another.  They listen to each other’s concerns. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Apostles agree that Gentiles are not required to follow the Mosaic Law.  They also urge the Gentile Christians to be charitable.  Their Jewish brothers and sisters have always found meat which is not kosher and unlawful marriages offensive.  Out of charity and concern, they need to avoid these things.

            There is “no little dissension and debate” today in our Church.  There is nothing wrong with having deeply held beliefs.  But, we must respect those with whom we disagree.  We must listen to their legitimate concerns.  We must listen carefully to the authoritative teaching of the current successors of the Apostles and trust that the Holy Spirit continues to work through them and their ministry to the Church.  We cannot base our opinions on hateful blogs.  Open to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and graced with the gift of peace that the world cannot give, we continue to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord during this Easter Season.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

19 MAY 2019

          In his account of the Last Supper, Saint John presents an incredible irony.  One of his closest followers leaves the room to betray him to those who will condemn him to death.   And yet, at that dark moment, Jesus says five times that he is being glorified.  He will be lifted up on the cross to die a painful and shameful death.  He will be lifted up from the dead, give the Holy Spirit to his disciples, and be lifted back to the right hand of the Father, where he had dwelt before his Incarnation.  This process of being glorified will reveal the Mystery of Jesus and clarify his identity as Son of God and Son of Man.  It will also reveal his purpose:  to give his life totally out of love for us.

            At that meal, Jesus had showed his disciples a symbol of how he wants us to love.  Like a humble servant, he knelt and washed their feet.  In giving his life on the cross, he shows us what his new commandment looks like.  We share in his glory when we commit ourselves to loving each other as he has loved us.  It is the glory of a humble servant, and not the glory of someone bringing attention and acclaim to himself.

            As we continue to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection, this Eucharist strengthens us to live his command in our daily lives.  As disciples, we are called to be faithful stewards.  Stewardship of service is a structured way of loving as Jesus has loved us.  Please read the materials we send as an invitation to give humble service to the parish.  If you made a commitment to serve in a specific way last year, you can either renew that commitment or change it.  If you have not been able to make a commitment, please take a hard look at the needs of the parish and make a commitment to use your gifts to serve one of those needs for one year. 

            You would expect me to say these things.   Please listen to Christian Davey, as he tells his story of becoming more involved in the life of the parish.  His service may not have brought glory and honor to himself, but he has shared the Lord’s glory in the ways he has served.

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

12 MAY 2019

          The artwork in our church provides a picture of today’s Gospel.  The Good Shepherd is seated at the top of our triumphal arch.  He stretches out his hands to welcome the sheep coming to him from Bethlehem and Jerusalem.  It is obvious that he knows each of the sheep by name and that each of them knows and trusts him, especially the sheep resting on his lap.  He has also chosen human shepherds to tend his flock:  the image on the right keeping the sheep from the wolf and the thicket; and the image on the left allowing the repentant and forgiven Simon Peter to tend his flock with love and care.

            As part of their preparation for First Holy Communion, our second graders spent an entire Saturday at the parish on a retreat.  They went through several stations, all designed to help them understand better the Sacrament that they are receiving today.  Margaret Derbiszewski and I did our session on the Liturgy of the Word.  I read the Gospel of the Good Shepherd, and Margaret explained the close relationship between shepherds and sheep that she observed in her native Poland.  We acted out a day in the life of sheep and shepherds.  Each child had a role:  some dressed as shepherds, others as sheep, while others dressed as thieves or wolves.  The chief shepherd lay down at the entrance to the sheepfold to demonstrate how good shepherds lay down their lives for their sheep.  If a thief or a wolf tried to sneak in, the shepherd would wake up and drive them away.  We ended by talking about the mystery that Jesus, the Good Shepherd has laid down his life for us and has become the Lamb of God, who has won the victory over the thieves of sin and death.  We connected that Lamb of God with the Eucharist for which they have been hungering and thirsting for a long time.

            Boys and girls, you became sheep of the Lord’s flock when your parents carried you to the waters of baptism.  Along with your godparents, they made promises for you.  In your name, they promised to resist the lies and wickedness of the Devil.  They promised to teach you to believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  They clothed you with a white garment to show that you had put on Christ.  They promised to help you keep that garment unstained until the Lord comes.  In just a few minutes, you will walk on your own two feet to the Baptismal Font wearing those white garments that speak of your Baptism.  You will renew those promises on your own, bless yourselves with holy water, and bring up gifts of bread and wine.  Then, for the first time, you will be fed with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

            This is a perfect Sunday for these young people to receive their First Communion.  In their eagerness and uncomplicated faith, they remind the rest of us that the Sunday Eucharist is an incredible gift we can sometimes take for granted.  Or they might also remind us that we need to put the celebration of this gift as a higher priority in our busy lives.  The lamb on the front of our Altar reminds us of the Mystery expressed in the second reading from the Book of Revelation.  Jesus Christ is that Lamb that was slain.  The victory of that vulnerable Lamb has destroyed the power of sin and death. 

Like those countless men and women whose robes were washed white by the blood of the Lamb, we draw strength by participating in the Eucharist to continue to be human shepherds for these children.  That is what Paul and Barnabas are doing with such energy and enthusiasm in the Acts of the Apostles.  That is our task today.  We teach our children by word and example the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ.  In doing that, we commit ourselves to living the faith that these children so beautifully express today.

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER    

5 MAY 2019

          The images on our Triumphal Arch make preaching easy this Sunday.  On the right, we see the charcoal fire burning, with black smoke.  It is at that fire by which Peter is warming himself in the courtyard of the high priest’s house.  As Jesus, his master and teacher, is being unfairly accused, Peter is gripped by fear.  Instead of standing with Jesus, as Peter had bragged at the Last Supper, he denies knowing him three times.  Near that charcoal fire is the cock crowing, which reminds Peter that Jesus is aware of his triple denial.  Convicted by that cock crowing, Peter realizes the depth of his sin and immediately regrets his actions.

            On the left side of the Triumphal Arch, we see another charcoal fire burning with white smoke.  This charcoal fire is set on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, where we can see a fishing boat on the lake.  It is from this shore that a stranger had instructed the fisherman in that boat to cast their nets on the right side after they had caught nothing at all during the night, the prime time for fishing.  From those barren waters comes a net so full of fish that they have trouble hauling it into shore.  Prompted by the Beloved Disciple, who had believed in the resurrection at the empty tomb, they recognize the stranger as the risen Christ.  Just as he had fed thousands of people on the shore of that lake with five loaves and two fish, he now feeds them with bread and fish.  In this event, the disciples begin to understand the implications of Jesus Christ being raised from the dead.  They begin to understand that raising a man from the dead is similar to raising a net full of fish at dawn from the same sea that had been barren in the darkness of the night.  They begin to understand that God never gives up on us.  In particular, Simon Peter understands that sincere repentance brings a mercy and a second chance he does not deserve.

            The risen Christ asks Peter three times if he loves him.  He does not repeat this question to rub Peter’s sin into his face.  Instead, he repeats the question to confront the damage done by that sin and heal it.  We see the response of Jesus on the left side of the Triumphal Arch, under the image of that breakfast.  Jesus does not say to Peter, “You really blew it, Peter!  I am taking your keys away from you and giving them to the Beloved Disciple.  I’ve always liked him better than you anyway!”  Instead, he tells the fisherman that he is to be a good shepherd and to tend his lambs and feed his sheep.  Peter and his successors, all of them flawed sinners, are given the care of the flock tended by the Good Shepherd, who sits at the top of our Triumphal Arch.

            Just as the Lord fed those disciples on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, so he feeds us now with bread that will be transformed into his body and wine transformed into his blood.  The Lamb, pictured on the front of our Altar, reminds us of the truth that Saint John proclaims in the reading from the Book of Revelation.  Because of the victory won by that Lamb that was slain, we are reconciled with the Father.  We join all of creation, in heaven and on earth, in praising the victory of the Lamb and renewing our faith in the power of the resurrection.

            The Lord invites us to imitate the catch of fish and surrender whatever hinders us from living the new life of the risen Christ.  That is exactly what we see the apostles doing in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles.  Under the power of the Holy Spirit, they have let go of their old habits of being afraid and closing their minds to the truth of the message of Jesus Christ.  They now proudly and confidently proclaim the truth of the resurrection, even in the face of threats from the Sanhedrin, the same group that condemned Jesus to death.  We too can become transformed, if we face our failures and sins squarely, as Peter did.  Once we are truly repentant and aware of the damage we have done, we too can experience the Lord’s mercy and tend the sheep entrusted to our care with humility, grace, and gentleness.

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

28 APRIL 2019

          Beginning today, we will hear from the Book of Revelation every Sunday during the Easter Season.  Saint John tells us that he has been exiled by the current powers of the world to the penal island of Patmos.  John’s “crime” is that he has proclaimed that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead.  In contrast to the pagan priests who burn incense to nonexistent gods and to the emperor who has no power to save anyone, the risen Christ is both priest and king.  In his vision, the risen Christ tells him not to be afraid.  When the forces of this world collide with the Resurrection, the One who holds the keys to death and the netherworld will prevail.

            On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples of Jesus are also very afraid.  For three years, they had been followers of Jesus of Nazareth, accompanying him on his travels, hearing his teachings, and seeing his miracles.  Now he has been executed by the powers of the world.  With him dead, they have no one to lead them or give them direction.  Even though Mary Magdalene had told them that she had encountered him raised from the dead, they could not believe.  In the darkness of that evening (which is the eighth day of the week), Jesus breaks through their locked doors, as God had broken through the darkness and chaos on the first day of creation.  He shows them the evidence of the work he has done to make a new creation in the stains of his hands and the absolute love he has poured out from his side.  Instead of chiding them for running away at his darkest hour, he gives them the gift of peace, not just once, but twice.  Then, as the mighty wind had blown over the chaos on the first day of creation, he breathes on them and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit on this first day of recreation.  With the gift of the Holy Spirit, they become apostles, witnesses of the resurrection sent to proclaim it boldly.  That is exactly what they are doing in that first reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

            On this final day of the Octave of Easter, we are grateful to Thomas.  He helps us to be honest about our fears of living the Paschal Mystery.  Like him, we are very conscious of the reality of the wounds on the Body of Christ.  Like him, we know the pains of self-sacrificing love in the Lord’s passion.  You parents who bring your children to First Holy Communion understand that well.  You know the wounds of sacrificing your own well-being for the sake of your children.  We know the wounds of Christ when we are betrayed by close friends.  We know the wounds of Christ when we make sincere efforts to forgive those who have hurt us.  We know the wounds of Christ when we continue making the sacrifice of permanent commitments.

            Even though we do not experience the risen Christ in the same way that Thomas does, we are blessed when we connect our wounds and the wounds of the Church with the wounded hands and feet and side of Jesus Christ.  If we can renew our faith in the resurrection, we can be assured that those wounds can be healed by the resurrection.  When we open ourselves to Christ’s gift of peace, we can have the same confidence of John, exiled on the penal island of Patmos.  No matter what the powers of the world might throw against us, we have that peace which the world cannot give, that peace that connects us with the love of Jesus Christ.

            Boys and girls, when your parents carried you to the waters of Baptism, they promised that they would teach you how to resist the powers of Satan and to believe in God.  Now you walk on your own two feet and renew those promises yourself.  We are happy for you that you will be fed for the first time with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  We promise to support you and your parents.  As you continue to share in the Eucharist, we will help you in the lifelong process of growing in faith from being followers of Jesus Christ to being apostles:  witnesses of the resurrection not afraid to proclaim its power, as Peter and the others did after Pentecost.