FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

3 MAY 2026

 

            Throughout his public ministry, Jesus explained to his disciples his mission as the Messiah.  His mission was not to free his people from Roman occupation.  Instead, his mission would be to suffer on the cross to defeat the power of sin and death.  In this final discourse at the Last Supper, he tells them that their hearts need not be troubled.  He insists that they know the way.  Either because they had not been listening, or because they could never conceive of a crucified Messiah, they do not know the way to the Father.  Thomas is the only disciple with the courage to say that they do not know the way.  Very soon, they will be horrified to know that his painful and horrible death is the way to the Father.  Only after he had been raised from the dead would they understand what he is talking about.  Sustained by his forgiveness for abandoning him in his darkest hour, they cooperated with the gift of the Holy Spirit to become his Church and spread the Good News of Salvation to all who would listen.

            They would no longer need to go to the temple to encounter the presence of God.  Instead, to use the image of today’s second reading, they would become living stones, built up through the power of the Holy Spirit into a spiritual house.  As living stones, they would eventually understand what Jesus is talking about when he tells them that they would do greater ones than the works of Jesus himself.  You and I benefit from that promise, because the works of Jesus have gone far beyond the geographical limits of the Holy Land to reach South Bend!  Like those first disciples, we have become living stones through the waters of Baptism.  We are being built into a spiritual house.  As living stones, we trust that death will not destroy us either.  We trust that through encountering the Lord in the Sacramental life of the Church, and through our daily dying and our final deaths, we will be joined with him in his eternal dwelling place.

            We know that we are living stones in a fallen world, affecting even those who have become living stones through Baptism.  We can see this reality in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles.  Both the Hellenists and the Hebrews are living stones being formed into a spiritual house.  But there are tensions and divisions.  The Hellenists complain that they are not being treated as equals.  Their widows are being neglected in the daily distribution of the goods of the community.  The twelve do not tell them to shut and deal with it.  Instead, they listen to their complaints and agree that something must be done.  After discussion and prayer, they choose seven men and lay hands on them to commission them.  These seven men are the first deacons.  They accept the mission of overseeing the distribution of the goods, so that the Apostles can continue to devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

            We are blessed as a parish to enjoy the presence of a descendant of one of these original deacons.  The Bishop, a successor of the Apostles, laid hands on him, ordained him a deacon.  When it became clear that there are not enough diocesan priests to serve this parish, Bishop Rhoades discussed the issue with his advisors and prayed.  Instead of closing our parish or merging it with another parish, he called one of the retired priests of the Diocese and asked him to be the priest at Saint Augustine.  That old priest could not say “no,” because too many people had not been able to say no to him in his former parish.  Bishop Rhoades then appointed Deacon Mel to be the administrator of the parish.  The old priest now has the freedom to devote himself to prayer and to the ministry of the word.  The deacon is the administrator, handling all the issues that drove the old priest crazy in his former parish!

            We believe that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in him.  We trust the way he shows us how to return to the Father.  As living stones, we walk together in our journey of faith.

 

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

12 APRIL 2026

 

          In Saint John’s Gospel, Thomas the Apostle is known as “Didymus,” or the twin.  Over the centuries, he is better known as “Doubting Thomas,” which is unfair.  In the Gospel, Jesus announced that he was going to Bethany to tend to his friend, Lazarus.  Thomas said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”  By stating this, Thomas was realistic.  He was aware of what was going to happen and was open to moving forward, despite the cost.  At the Last Supper, Jesus told his Apostles that their hearts should not be troubled, because they knew where he was going.  None of them knew that.  But only Thomas had the courage to ask Jesus what he was talking about.  We have no idea why Thomas was not with the others in that locked room on the day of the Resurrection.  We presume that he had run away, like most of them had.  When the others tell him that they had seen the risen Lord, he refuses to believe them.  He insists that he will not believe unless he sees the mark of the nails in his hands and puts his finger into the nail marks and puts his hand into his side.  To be fair, the other ten had refused to believe Mary Magdalene when she told them that she had seen the risen Lord.  They believed only when the risen Christ walked through the locked doors and showed them his hands and feet.

            Today, the risen Christ walks through the locked doors again.  Instead of yelling at his closest friends for abandoning him in his greatest hour of need, he gives them peace and mercy.  When Thomas sees the same proof that they others had seen on the previous Sunday, he beholds the flesh of Jesus, branded with the marks of crucifixion and gasps: “My Lord and my God!”  The Prologue of the Gospel tells us that the Divine Logos, the Word, became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  With these words, Thomas brings the Prologue of John’s Gospel to its conclusion.  With his profession of faith, he recognizes that flesh as God himself.

            Jesus tells Thomas that he has come to believe because he has seen him, like the other ten.  But he calls those who have not seen him “blessed,” because they have believed without seeing.  The early Christians in the Acts of the Apostles are blessed, because without seeing the risen Lord, they believe and devote themselves to the communal life and trust the teachings and eye witness accounts of the Apostles.  Not only do they believe in the presence of the risen Lord in their community, they also hold all things in common and divide property and possessions among all according to each one’s need.  They meet together in the temple area and celebrate the Eucharist (breaking bread) in their homes.

            We too are blessed, because we believe what the Apostles said about their physical encounters with the risen Lord.  Like those earliest Christians, we join together in the communal life of this parish.  Every Sunday, we hear the teaching of the apostles and believe that the entire Word of God that has found its culmination in Jesus Christ, risen from the dead.  We too are conscious of the needs of others and share our possessions through our soup kitchen and our Saint Vincent de Paul Society.  We may not meet in the temple area, but we meet each other on a regular basis in the parish hall and in other parish activities.  At the heart of everything we do as a parish, we celebrate the Eucharist and recognize the risen Lord in the breaking of bread.

            Every Sunday during these 50 Days of Easter, we will hear about the growth of the Church from the Acts of the Apostles.  We will hear their difficulties and failures, as well as their triumphs and successes.  We will hear the many ways in which they are blessed and continue to believe without having seen the risen Christ.  We too are blessed and continue to believe.  As a parish, we are not perfect.  We rely on the Lord’s mercy when we fail.  But we are convinced that we have received the mercy and peace that the world cannot give.

 

EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD

5 APRIL 2026

 

          Saint Paul uses the example of the Jewish Passover Meal to describe what happens at Easter.  To prepare for the Passover Feast, all Jewish homes must be cleared of any yeast.  In Egypt, Moses had instructed his people to kill a lamb and spread its blood on the lintels of their doors.  The angel of death would pass over the homes of the those marked by that blood.  Then, Moses instructed the people to leave in haste on the next day.  Because yeast takes a while to ferment, they must make unleavened bread in preparation for the journey.  I know this from my own baking.  To prepare to bake a loaf of sourdough bread, I have to feed the starter which contains living yeast.  If I forget to feed the starter, the living yeast loses its power to rise the dough.  For Jewish people, the unleavened bread came to symbolize the haste in which their ancestors had escaped Egyptian slavery.  At every Passover meal, they eat unleavened bread as a sign that they must trust in God’s love as they continue their journey through life.

            That is what Saint Paul tells the Corinthians.  Our Paschal Lamb has been sacrificed in his death on the cross.  His blood has freed us from the power of sin and death.  For that reason, we must throw out the old yeast of malice and wickedness.  We need to celebrate this Feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  The Lord invites us to trust that this great Feast of Easter has the power to transform us more completely into the Body of Christ.

            During these days of the Sacred Paschal Triduum, we have seen much of the unleavened bread of malice and wickedness.  The crowds who acclaimed Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and Son of David on Palm Sunday shouted that he be crucified on Good Friday.  One of the closest followers of Jesus betrayed him with a kiss, after he had washed his feet as a sign of humble and loving service.  Most of his disciples ran away, and Peter denied knowing him three times out of fear.  Witnesses came forward with false testimony to convict him in the presence of the religious leaders. Those leaders condemned him out of jealousy.  The Roman governor knew that he was innocent, but condemned him to death to appease Caesar and the boisterous crowds.  The soldiers inflicted horrible physical pain and mocked him.  As he was executed in a most cruel way, those who passed by and one of the criminals made fun of him and challenged him to prove that he was the Son of God by coming down from the cross.  His dead and beaten body was taken down from the cross and buried in haste.  Lots of wickedness and malice!

            Today, Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and destroyed the old yeast of malice and wickedness.  Mary Magdalene will encounter him later in the day.  The risen Christ will break through the locked doors of the apostles and present the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  He will grant mercy to all who fled in fear and forgive the denials of Peter and heal the unbelief of Thomas.  He will send his disciples out to announce the Good News that God’s love is eternal and stronger than death.  Transformed by the power of the resurrection, they will imitate Peter’s actions in today’s first reading and welcome pagans like Cornelius as brothers and sisters in the risen Christ.  They will no longer lock themselves in fear.  Instead, they will proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ, even though it will cost them their lives.

            In just a few moments, we will be invited to renew our baptismal promises.  In doing so, we will throw out the old yeast of malice and wickedness.  We will be invited to be transformed by the resurrection and proclaim it with sincerity and truth.  Christ is risen!  His resurrection has the power to change our lives to walk confidently together on our journey of faith.  There is still plenty of the unleavened bread of malice and wickedness in our world.  The Resurrection does not change that.  But it changes us, giving us the peace and love the world cannot give.

 

GOOD FRIDAY

3 APRIL 2026

 

          In conducting the trial against Jesus, Pontius Pilate asks the question, “What is truth?”  He knows the truth about this peasant from Nazareth.  He knows that Jesus is innocent.  But he is afraid to act on that truth.  He could care less about the charges brought by the religious leaders that Jesus had made himself the Son of God.  However, he is terrified when the crowd accuses Jesus of making himself a king.  Pilate wants to remain in Caesar’s good graces.  For that reason, Pilate hands him over to be crucified to protect his status as a provincial Roman governor.  He even has the inscription written over the cross, “the king of the Jews.”

            In Pilate’s world, Jesus is on trial.  However, the truth is that Pilate is on trial.  He does not understand what Jesus means when he tells him that his kingdom is not of this world.  The first chapter of Saint John’s Gospel tell us that Jesus was present at the creation of the world, that he emptied himself of the privileges of divinity, and that he took on human flesh.  We know from reading the Gospels that the kingdom of Jesus is not at all like the kingdom of Pontius Pilate.  His kingdom is a kingdom of peace and justice, of love and mercy, and of compassion and kindness.  That is not Pilate’s kingdom:  one of power, cruelty, and violence against enemies.

            We live in a world which makes it difficult to know truth from fiction.  We have trouble discerning truth from our own world of alternative facts, misinformation, spin, propaganda, and fake news.  Our world says that truth is subjective, that truth is relative, that we can make up our own truth, and that there is no such thing as absolute truth.  Good Friday reveals the ultimate truth to us.  Jesus Christ, true God and true human, willingly accepted the unjust sentence of death to free us from the power of sin and death.  Jesus became the ultimate suffering servant of the Prophet Isaiah to demonstrate the truth that his righteous suffering has redeemed us, and that his life of humble service is a model for all of us seeking the truth.

            At the wedding feast of Cana, Jesus worked the first of his miracles, or signs.  He changed the ordinary water of human love into the divine wine of God’s love.  In the Gospel today, a soldier pierces his side with a spear.  Blood and water poured out, prefiguring the waters of baptism and the Blood of the Eucharist.  As Eve was formed from the side of Adam, the Church is formed from the pierced side of Jesus Christ.  The Mother of God is at the cross, not wailing in agony, but standing in a grieving faith.  The dying Jesus entrusts the beloved disciple to the care of his mother.  Since that disciple is never named in Saint John’s Gospel, you and I are the beloved disciple.  We are entrusted to the care of the Mother of God.  We are strengthened by the Sacramental life of the Church to remain faithful disciples, no matter what.

            Peter is also put on trial in today’s Gospel.  He is convicted of cowardice when he protects himself three times by denying that he is a disciple.  Peter passionately regrets this failure and accepts the forgiveness of the risen Christ.  We too can be convicted of denying the truth that we are disciples of Jesus Christ when we respond to challenges to our faith with fear.  We can be convicted when we regard the crosses we encounter in our lives as failures and punishments from God.  But the Mother of God encourages us, as beloved disciples, to stand by the cross of Jesus Christ as our victory, not our defeat or humiliation.  After we pray the Intercessions, we will be invited to come forward to venerate the cross.  We bring our own crosses, our own failures, and our own denials as we reverence the cross of Jesus Christ.  By dying on the cross, Jesus Christ has won the victory over sin and death.  By carrying our crosses with him, we can share in that victory, sealed for us at Easter.

 

PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD

29 MARCH 2026

 

            In the beginning of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, people receive messages from God through dreams.  In a dream, Joseph is told that Mary, his betrothed, has conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Joseph responds by taking Mary as his wife and taking care of her and her child in Bethlehem.  The Magi are warned in a dream not to return to Herod.  They expose his lies by returning to their country by a different route.  Joseph is told in a dream that Herod wants to kill his child.  He responds by taking the child and his mother into exile in Egypt.  Finally, Joseph is told in a dream that it is safe to return to Galilee.  He obeys so that he and Mary can raise Jesus in the safety of Nazareth.           

            Today, the wife of Pontius Pilate is told in a dream that his prisoner from Nazareth is a righteous man.  She sends a message to her husband to have nothing to do with him.  But, Pilate ignores the message and condemns Jesus to death.  He pretends to have no guilt by washing his hands.  He goes against the truth, because he is afraid of the crowds and the religious leaders.

            The Lord continues to speak to us in a number of ways:  through the Word of God at Mass, through the words and examples of those who care enough for us that they speak the truth, in our everyday lives, and sometimes through dreams.  Today, the Lord invites us to listen to the central mystery of our faith by participating in the Sacred Paschal Triduum.  Lent ends on Thursday night when we begin the Triduum by celebrating the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 6:00.  Be with us as we observe the Passion of the Lord on Friday at 1:00.  Join us for the most incredible Liturgy of the Year as we begin the Easter Vigil on Saturday night at 9:00.  Be with us on Easter Sunday for the Mass of the Resurrection at 10:00.

            Participating in these Liturgies is a powerful way of allowing the Lord to speak to us and deepen our understanding of the Paschal Mystery, the central mystery of our faith.  When we come to the Sacred Paschal Triduum, we will better understand that hatred is replaced by love, that betrayal is forgiven by mercy, that cowardice gives way to courage, and that the risen life of Jesus Christ defeats the power of death.  Unlike Pontius Pilate, we can hear and walk away with a more profound desire to live the dying and rising of Jesus Christ in our lives.

 

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

22 MARCH 2026

 

          In the Gospel according to Saint John, Jesus works seven miracles, or “signs,” as they are called.  Each sign invites us to enter more deeply into the Mystery of Jesus Christ.  The first sign is at a wedding feast in Cana.  By changing water into wine, Jesus, the faithful bride groom, invites us, his bride the Church, to believe that he has the power to change the ordinary water of our human love into the divine goodness of God’s love.  Last Sunday, Jesus invited us to believe that he can heal our spiritual blindness, as he healed the man born blind.  Today, he reveals the greatest and last of the signs.  Lazarus is dead, with no hope of life after four days in the tomb.  Jesus does not deny the horror of death.  He even accepts the anger of both Martha and Mary, who complain that Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had been more prompt in coming.  Jesus expresses his horror of death when he becomes deeply troubled and weeps himself.

            When Jesus calls Lazarus to come out of the tomb, he invites us to believe that he can defeat the power of death.  His burial bands must be removed, because it is the same Lazarus who emerges from the tomb and will die again.  This final sign is also the reason that Jesus himself will be condemned to death.  But Jesus will emerge from his tomb without any need for his burial bands to be removed.  In being raised from the dead, Jesus is transformed.  He will never die again.  And he invites us to believe that we too can share in his resurrection and be transformed ourselves if we are willing to die with him.

            We hear this message as we begin these final two weeks of Lent.  We’ll accompany Jesus in the garden as he agonizes over his impending death and is betrayed by one of his best friends.  We will watch as he is unfairly condemned by both the Jewish authorities and Pontius Pilate.  We will walk the way of the cross and stand at the foot of the cruel instrument of death.  We will mark his three days in the tomb.  But then we will affirm the ultimate truth of this seventh sign and renew our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter.

            Faith in the resurrection does not take away the pain and horror of death as we lose our loved ones to death and face it ourselves.  However, Saint Thomas Aquinas argues that there are four ways in which our belief in the resurrection helps us.  First, our faith in the resurrection can remove the sadness occasioned by the deaths of others.  In my years of officiating at funerals, I can see the difference in grieving.  Those who grieve with faith in the resurrection do so in hope.  While those who do not believe in the resurrection grieve in a desperate and hopeless way.  Second, faith in the resurrection removes the fear of death in each one of us.  None of us looks forward to death.  None of us can predict when death will happen.  Ultimately, we can face death without fear by being willing to share in Christ’s dying on a daily basis.  Third, faith in the resurrection makes us more diligent to perform good works.  If I am willing to die to my own selfishness by performing good works, I can more readily be assured of being transformed by Christ’s resurrection when I die.  Finally, faith in the resurrection draws us away from evil.  We know that God respects our human choices, even when we choose to turn away from doing good and embracing evil actions.  God’s justice will always prevail.

            Martha and Mary are thrilled to welcome their brother back from death to take his place in their family.  They are incredibly grateful to Jesus for giving him back to them.  But just as they do not understand his delay in coming back to Judea in their greatest time of need, they will not understand the words of Jesus that he is the resurrection and the life until after he has been raised from the dead himself.  The Lord will be with us in these final two weeks of Lent as we face the reality of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ and celebrate his resurrection.

 

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

1 MARCH 2026

 

          Last Sunday, Saint Matthew told us that Jesus had entered the desert for forty days and forty nights immediately after he had been baptized. At his baptism, a voice from heaven said that he is God’s beloved Son.  In the desert, the devil tested him.  As God’s beloved Son, hungry after 40 days of fasting, he refused use his divinity to serve his own needs by turning stones into bread.  As God’s beloved Son, he would not throw himself off the parapet of the temple to test the love of his Father.  As God’s beloved Son, he refused to worship Satan to receive power and glory.  Instead, he would submit himself to his Father’s will and become his Suffering Servant.

            Immediately prior to today’s Scripture passage, Jesus had asked his disciples about the local gossip.  “Who do people say that I am?” They gave several answers.  When Jesus asked, “who do you say that I am?”  Peter responded, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”  As the beloved Son of the living God, he is the promised Messiah.  But, his mission is not what most people had expected.  As Messiah, he would surrender his life on the cross to defeat the power of sin and death.  Peter reacted, “God forbid, Lord!  No such thing shall ever happen to you.”  Jesus gave the same response to Peter that he had given to the devil: “Get behind me, Satan.”  Then Jesus told his disciples that they must carry the cross, if they intend to be his disciples.  They must have been shaken.

            Today, Jesus takes his inner circle – Peter, James, and John – up a mountain, just as Moses had climbed Mount Sinai many centuries before to encounter God.  On the mountain, Jesus is transfigured.  To quote Madeleine L’Engle: “Suddenly they saw him the way he was, the way he really was all the time, although they had never seen it before, the glory which blinds the everyday eye and so becomes invisible.   This is how he was, radiant, brilliant, carrying joy like a flaming sun in his hands.  This is the way he was – is – from the beginning, and we cannot bear it.  So, he manned himself, came manifest to us; and there on the mountain they saw him, really saw his light.”  They also see Moses, the giver of the law, and Elijah, the greatest of the prophets.  Overwhelmed, Peter wants to build three tents, presumably to extend this incredible experience.  But Jesus is not just one more holy person in the line of Moses and Elijah.  He has come in his humanity and divinity to fulfill their missions.  The same voice at his baptism says from the bright cloud, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 

            The disciples will need to listen to Jesus as they follow him down the mountain on the way to Jerusalem.  In Jerusalem, they will not be able to stay awake as Jesus agonizes over what will happen to him.  The next day, Jesus will be stripped of his garments and crucified between two common criminals.  There will no bright cloud; only terrible darkness.  They will not see the truth of the transfiguration until Jesus will be raised from the dead three days later.

            We too need to listen to the Father’s beloved Son as we continue our journey with him through Lent.  We go forward together in faith into the unknown, even into suffering, trusting in the promise of the Father.  We fast, give alms, and pray to enter into a time of radical change where we allow the Trinity to transform us through our dying to self.  Like Peter, James, and John, all of us have had those transfiguring moments when we have experienced the Father’s overwhelming presence; when the path forward looks clear and secure.  But we must listen to the Father’s beloved Son, especially in the darkness and doubt and divisions of our present world and our complicated lives.  The Father will not abandon us.  The Father will lead us through the desert of Lent to the bright joy and wonder of the resurrection at Easter.