“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.” Saint Augustine

 

We call this cafeteria Faith. The Gospels are the revealed Word of God, not the word of man. Men were inspired by the Spirit to recall and write down the words and deeds of Jesus. To reject what we don’t like is to make ourselves the validator of God’s Word. Or to interpret the word to fit our personal thinking pattern is to negate the power of the Word. What we are called to do is to hear, believe and act on the Word of God, because it is the Word of God. The Word of God cannot contradict itself, because it is truth. In accepting his word, we are accepting the Author of the Word, God himself. What we don't understand, we ask the Spirit to enable us to comprehend what God wants us to know. 

 

 "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses." Pope Saint Paul VI

This is another way of saying that we teach more effectively by our lives than by our words. We profess that we are disciples of Jesus Christ. Does our life indicate this to others? The early Church was effective in converting many not only by its teaching on love, but more by its witness of love for one another in action. We may wear a cross around our neck, but what people see and hear sometimes are the words that come out of our mouths and the deeds we do.  We appear no different than the ordinary, secular non-believer. Is this what Jesus is asking of those who follow him? When he says, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect," he wants us to let our light of faith, hope and love shine as a witness to others. 

 FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI: GOSPEL REFLECTIONS B

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" 

The Passover was the most sacred event in the life of the Chosen people, since it marked the deliverance of God’s people from their bondage in Egypt. But it was a past event that was celebrated each year. For the covenanted Israelites the Passover Meal was a way of making present what God had and was doing in their lives this year.

Though the Passover lamb was sacrificed at the temple, each family was to eat the traditional Passover meal at home as a renewal of their covenant with God.

He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there."

How did Jesus know? This is another example of the exercise of the gift of Word of Knowledge by Jesus in his humanity. Recall the time that Jesus told Peter to go fishing and the first fish he caught he would find in its mouth the coin sufficient to pay the temple tax. Or the time Jesus told the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well that she had been married five times and the man she was living with was not her husband. This same gift has been given to each of us. We need to be open and act on the lead of the Holy Spirit

The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover. While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body."

In recalling this event the Gospel writer is also alluding to the feeding of the crowd through the multiplication of bread. There Jesus did the same gestures: took, blessed, broke and gave it.

In the midst of the traditional Passover Meal Jesus establishes the new covenant. He fulfills the promise he made in John 6. That promise was to give his Body to us for food and his Blood for drink.

Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.

In the Old Testament, the various covenants that God made with his people were sealed by the sign of blood. The night of the first Passover, the people took the blood of the slain lamb and smeared it on their doorposts. As a result the angel of death passed over their homes and spared the first-born within.

Jesus is anticipating his sacrifice on the cross the next day in which he will shed his blood for the salvation of the world. He is the new Passover Lamb who gave his life that we may have life to the fullest.

Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." 

Recall that Jesus refused to drink the wine on the soaked hyssop when it was offered to him on the cross.   

Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives

With what attitude do we approach the Eucharist?

Do I recognize in faith that in our celebrating the Eucharist we too are making present today what Jesus did at the Last Supper and on Calvary?  Is there a sense of awe and wonder or a sense of déjà vu?

What is God asking us to do this week to respond to this gift of His Body and Blood? 

 

"God, in His promises to hear our prayers, is desirous to bestow Himself upon us; if you find anything better than Him, ask it but if you ask anything beneath Him, you put an affront upon Him and hurt yourself, by preferring to Him, a creature which He created.” St Augustine of Canterbury

How often do we doubt God’s desire to hear and answer our prayers! How often do we turn to other things rather than to God! We don’t trust that God desires the best for us, when he seems not to answer our prayer for what we ask. Even in denying our request or delaying its response, God wants the best for us, because of his love for us. Jesus prayed that the Father would take away the cup of suffering, but submitted to the ultimate will of God. Out of love for us, the Father accepted the life of his beloved Son to save our lives. Ask and trust.

"Pentecost is not over. In fact, it is continually going on in every time and in every place, because the Holy Spirit desired to give Himself to all men...and all who want Him can always receive Him, so we do not have to envy the Apostles and the first believers; we only have to dispose ourselves like them to receive Him well...and He will come to us as He did to them." Blessed Elena Guerra

What does she mean to dispose ourselves? On the Day of Pentecost, Peter responded to those who asked what must they do: "Do penance; and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your sons, and for all who are far away; for whomever the Lord our God will have called." (Acts 2:38-39) Peter was elaborating on what Jesus taught. "Therefore, if you, being evil, how much more will your Father give, from heaven, the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" (Lk11:13) We have received the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation. We need to ask God to stir into flame this gift in a fresh new way, so that we can more faithfully follow the lead of the Spirit in our lives.

 

“Any mental picture of your life that focuses on past sins is lie and thus comes from the Devil. Jesus loves you and has forgiven you your sins, so there is no room for having a downcast spirit. Whatever persuades you otherwise is truly a waste of time. It is also something that offends the heart of our very tender lover. On the other hand, if the mental picture of your life consists in what you can be or could be, then it comes from God.” Padre Pio

 

How much time we waste listening to the lies of Satan, who seeks to entrap us, keep us in bondage and ultimately destroy us. The sins of our past are one of his favorite devises of bondage. He sows the seed of doubt as to our sincerity in confession or as to God’s forgiveness. God tells us that when he forgives, he casts our sins into the depth of the seas. Whom will we believe, the One who loved us by laying down his life that we may live eternally, or the one who heaps one lie after the other to confuse us.?

 

Those who neglect silence bring only a distracted heart and a preoccupied mind to their prayer and, instead of deriving new strength from it, they only offer God a heart full of trifles. Intimate conversation with God is easily stifled if you do not first put an end to exterior chatter; yet, if you love silence and keep it well, your heart will be a temple where God will dwell and become known to you there. St Julia Billart

 

Sometimes we feel that this silence can be achieved only by the consecrated religious. But that is not true. We have many examples of ordinary lay people who experience the prayer of silence. Without silence we cannot hear the still voice of God within us. Elijah the prophet heard the earthquake, saw the fire, felt the strong wind. But his attention was caught by the whisper within him. Silence doesn’t come easy to us. It is a grace from God. “Be still and know that I am God.” In silence our focus is totally on God and not on ourselves. Enter into this silence, if we wish to find God.

 

Most Holy Sacred Heart of Jesus, help my heart to persevere in all that is holy. Make me strong in perseverance where I am weak. Never let me become discouraged in pursuing personal holiness. Amen.”

St. Rita of Cascia

 

Personal holiness should be the desire and aim of every disciple of Jesus. God gave us the initial seed of holiness, when in baptism, he gave us a share in his own Divine Life. He renews this grace in the various Sacraments. We are called to nurture this grace by growing in love and avoiding anything that would separate us from God. His life in us is our inheritance. Not to die in union with God is to experience the ultimate failure of existence. Nothing should be more important to us than seeking holiness.

 Eighth Sunday of the Year: Gospel B

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to him and objected, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 

· This is another in a series of controversy stories in the earlier part of Mark’s Gospel. The people are not identified.

· Fasting was understood as total abstention from food and drink usually from sun up to sun down. The Day of Atonement was the only annual national fast prescribed in the OT, even though people chose to fast at other times as well. The Pharisees fasted twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays.

Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. 

· What do you think Jesus is saying? Do you think he is referring to his time on earth as a time of celebration like a wedding feast?

· Notice he indicates the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Do you see in this the possibility of his violent death in the future?

· Do you think there is any relationship between the fasting after the bridegroom leaves to his anticipated future coming again? What will be the purpose of that fasting?

· We know that many of the early Christians fasted after the resurrection on Wednesdays and Fridays.

No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. 

· A patch made of cloth that is not pre-washed will shrink and pull away from the original garment.

Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins." 

· How open am I to the “new” Jesus may be wanting to do in my life? Where is he stretching me spiritually?  How will I respond?

 

Blessed Franz Jägerstätter 1907-1943

Just as the man who thinks only of this world does everything possible to make life here easier and better, so must we, too, who believe in the eternal Kingdom, risk everything in order to receive a great reward there. Just as those who believe in National Socialism tell themselves that their struggle is for survival, so must we, too, convince ourselves that our struggle is for the eternal Kingdom. But with this difference: we need no rifles or pistols for our battle, but instead, spiritual weapons - and the foremost among these is prayer. Through prayer, we continually implore new grace from God, since without God's help and grace it would be impossible for us to preserve the Faith and be true to His commandments. Let us love our enemies, bless those who curse us, pray for Those who persecute us. For love will conquer and will endure for all eternity. And happy are they who live and die in God's love. - Blessed Franz, writing from prison

Do we live our lives with the same conviction that our struggle is for the eternal kingdom of God? Or do we live our lives for an earthly kingdom. The latter will end in death. The former will never end. A wide road leads to the earthly kingdom. A narrow road leads to the kingdom of God. Which do we choose to travel?

 What Jesus told the Apostles on Easter Sunday, he intends for us as well. "As the Father sent me, so I send you." Easter reminds us of our Baptismal commitment as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Pentecost reminds us of our Confirmation commitment to be disciple/witnesses of the Lord Jesus to the ends of the earth. As Jesus poured forth his Spirit on the Apostles at Pentecost, so he poured out his Spirit upon us at our Confirmation. Having been filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles began to witness about the risen Jesus they had encountered with signs and wonders confirming their witness. We, too, have received the same gifts of the Spirit, so that as Jesus' witnesses we can share who Jesus is to us to others. As St. Peter reminds us, "Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence." (1 Pet 3:15-16) Are we active or passive disciple/witnesses?

 

Spirit is Lord

In the Nicene Creed we proclaim the Father as the Lord of all creation; Jesus as the one Lord whom we worship; the Spirit as the Lord and Giver of life. Each is Lord in their own right.  In acknowledging the Spirit as Lord we are affirming he is God, worthy of all worship like the Father and the Son.

Our response to the Spirit as Lord is to discern and obey his promptings as the Apostles did. Do not resist nor stifle the Spirit. As temples of the Holy Spirit we are called to grow in holiness of life as well as to respect the presence of God in others. To say it in another way, we are called not to grieve the Holy Spirit, whom we received in Baptism. Sin grieves the Spirit.  The Spirit seeks to transform us into the new creation we began to be in Baptism and to be finalize at the time of our death. Through our yes to the Holy Spirit, we will reach our destiny, willed by God, to be with him forever in glory.

 

 

Spirit: intercessor

St Paul reveals to us in Hebrews 7:25 that Jesus is our intercessor before the throne of the Father.  “And for this reason, he is able, continuously, to save those who approach God through him, since he is ever alive to make intercession on our behalf.” At the same time Paul tells us in Romans 8:26-27 that Spirit also intercedes for us. “And similarly, the Spirit also helps our weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself asks on our behalf with ineffable sighing. And he who examines hearts knows what the Spirit seeks, because he asks on behalf of the saints in accordance with God.” Mary and the Saints intercede for us.

What a comfort to know that we have such powerful intercessors who are more concern about our sharing in God’s divine life eternally than we may be at times. That does not relieve us of cooperating with the grace given us, but should stir us to live a life worthy of our calling in gratitude for their intercession.

 

Homily Solemnity of Pentecost Year B

 

Reading 1: This is a feast of Transition. The transition from the active ministry of Jesus on earth to the active ministry of the Holy Spirit, continuing the work of Jesus. Last Sunday we recall Jesus telling the Apostles that they were soon to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit comes he will fill them with power so that they could witness the Good News of Salvation to the whole world.

 

While waiting for the fulfillment of Jesus’ words, the Apostles along with Mary and others spent the time in prayer and in reflecting on their many memories and teachings of Jesus. They recalled that the first message of Jesus was a call for repentance. Looking back, they could see where they needed to repent of their many sins. They also recalled how often Jesus insisted that to be his disciple, they had to totally surrender their lives to him. This they did. And they recalled both at the Last Supper and before Jesus ascended, he reminded they to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

 

Faithful to the words of Jesus, on the Day of Pentecost, a Jewish feast day, they received the promised gift of the Spirit. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to manifest various gifts of the Spirit, while praising God.

 

This gift of the Holy Spirit was not just for them.  The power of the Spirit was given to them to witness to the whole world that risen Jesus is both Lord and Messiah. This is what they did. A crowd of people had heard the mighty sound of wind when the Spirit came. When the Apostles went outside, still praising God in various tongues, the people thought they were drunk. For each heard them in their own native language, proclaiming the mighty deeds of God. Peter then gave his first witness about Jesus.

 

Such is the plan of God for each of us, to be filed with the Holy Spirit, to be filled with power so that we can witness about Jesus. Luke proclaims this in a number of places to make sure we understand the plan of God for each of us and one of the purposes of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

 

When we were baptized in water, we received the Spirit, who dwelt in us. We became temples of the Holy Spirit, sharing God’s divine life. We became disciples of Jesus and members of the community of believers, the Church. The Spirit has been given to us for our sanctification, that we may grow in our union with God in holiness of life.  When we were confirmed we received a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit so that we could be public witnesses for Christ. We received the same gifts that Jesus received when he was anointed by the Spirt after his baptism in the Jordan, the same gifts the Apostles and others received on the Day of Pentecost. As Easter is the reminder of our baptism, Pentecost is a reminder of our Confirmation.

 

Gospel: We have heard this Gospel passage the second Sunday of Easter. In John’s theology the Paschal Mystery includes the Incarnation of Jesus, his life, death and resurrection, his Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit. So when John narrates the Easter event, he connects it with the coming of the Spirit.

 

There are three main points in today’s Gospel. First, Jesus said: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  Notice Jesus doesn’t chide them for their unfaithfulness, when he needed them. Instead, he tells what is now expected of them. The Father had sent Jesus to proclaim the Good News of salvation with signs and wonders as his credentials.  Jesus would be ascending to the Father, but his mission is to be continued.  Jesus has prepared them for this task over the past three years. Now they were to take up his mantle.

 

But Jesus, in his humanity, was anointed with the Holy Spirit, so that his message may be confirmed with signs and wonders in the power of the Holy Spirit. For the Apostles to fulfill their new mission, they needed the same anointing. So Jesus breathed on them, imparting the gift of the Spirit upon them.  It wasn’t until the Day of Pentecost that they would receive the stirring of the Holy Spirit, a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit, who would transform them.

 

The third point was that as Jesus had the power to forgive sins, he empowers them to forgive the sins of others in his name and through the power of the Holy Spirit.  God would forgive but they were to be external, visible instruments by which this happens.

 

Reading 2: Paul tells us that we are to live by the Spirit; we are to be guided by the Spirit.  As Jesus was guided by the Spirit, so are we. Jesus was guided by the Spirit in the works that God had given him to do. Jesus was sinless. We are struggling sinners. One of the reasons we are given the Holy Spirit is to help us in time of temptation.  We are weak and vulnerable. We struggle with a variety of sinful actions: immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, envy, etc. On our own we will probably fall. But if we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, who calls us to keep our eyes on the Father, we can overcome these temptations.  When we do, we will bear the fruits of the Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of promise. Just as Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Anointed One, so the Spirit is the Anointing One. We read in Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me.”  The promise was affirmed by the prophet Joel 2:28 “And after this, it will happen that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your elders will dream dreams, and your youths will see visions.”

The coming of the Spirit of promise was revealed by Jesus to the Apostles at the Last Supper.  Before he ascended Jesus instructed them to wait for the promise of the Father. On Pentecost that promise was fulfilled as they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  That same promise and gift, the Spirit, was given us when we were baptized and anointed with the Oil of Chrism. Later, when we were confirmed we were anointed with the same Oil of Chrism to be witnesses of Jesus to the world. What kind of disciple/witness have we been over the years? As we prepare for Pentecost, we need to ask for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of promise, so that we can fulfill our call. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

 Feast of Pentecost: Gospel 

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." 

· That Jesus appeared on the first day of the week is one of the basis for our celebration of the Lord’s Day on Sunday, the first day, in contrast to the Jewish Sabbath which is the seventh day.

· The theology in the Gospel of John the Evangelist has a different focus than the other three Gospels. For him it is important to connect the central mysteries of the Paschal Mystery. These are: institution of the Eucharist (the Last Supper/Holy Thursday), the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus (Good Friday/Easter), the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

·    That the doors were closed and yet Jesus appeared in bodily form shows that the resurrected body is different from the ordinary human body. It has the same qualities but not limited by space and time.

· Why do you think Jesus initiates his Easter appearance to the Apostles with the greeting of Peace and ends with the forgiveness of sins? If you had denied the Lord, fled in fear, abandoned him at the time of his greatest need for support, would you be initially excited at his return or would you be expecting a strong reprimand or rejection? Anticipating this fear, Jesus reassures them of his forgiveness and love. How often have we experienced the same fear but received instead Jesus’ loving mercy and forgiveness?

·    Peace comes as a result of something else: relationship with Jesus. The greater the relationship, the greater is the peace. What is your relationship with Jesus at this point? What was it a year ago?

             The peace Jesus gives them is the grace of repentance and salvation.            

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. 

· They probably thought they were seeing a ghost. Jesus had to reassure them that he was truly risen and alive. How often has God had to reassure us on our journey?

· It was his suffering and death that has freed them of their sins and has brought them true reconciliation and peace with God.

· Though risen, the marks on his body remain visible so that they know it is the same Jesus.  He will carry these brand marks into heaven to be with him forever.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 

· Look up the Great Commission in Mt 28:18-20, or Mk 16:15-18.

· What Jesus said to the Apostles, he says to each of us. How have we fulfilled this in our lives so far?

· Have we personalized and accepted this commission of Jesus?

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

· One of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is that of breath. As God in the first creation breathed the breath of life into Adam and Eve, so now in the second creation Jesus breathes the life of the Spirit into the Apostles.

· You have been confirmed and empowered with the same gift of the Holy Spirit. To what extent are we conscious of the presence and lead of the Spirit in our daily lives?

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

· Though God has forgiven our sins, do we still hold on to them by not forgiving ourselves? Do we still hold others in bondage by not asking their forgiveness and forgiving them?

· How do you apply this Gospel message to your life today?

 "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears." (John 16:12-13) Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The Advocate is the Spirit of truth. Jesus reveals the Truth. The Spirit gives us the deeper understanding of that truth. In reading the Scriptures we see the words, but the practical application of that word comes from the grace given to us by the Spirit. The Ethiopian Eunuch read the words of the prophet Isaiah but needed Philip, led by the Spirit, to give the proper understanding. God wants us to know the truth of his word. He doesn't leave us to our human abilities, but gives us the grace of the Spirit to leads us into the greater depth of this word. When we read the word of God, we should always ask the Holy Spirit to  reveal to us what we need to understand. Come, Holy Spirit, come. 

 In preparation for the Feast of Pentecost this Sunday, we will focus this week on titles of the Holy Spirit. He is the Advocate, who is always at our side to speak on our behalf. As Jesus, even when he is in heaven is with us, so Our Advocate is with us at all times to guide us on our journey to the Father. Many Christians are like the twelve disciples St. Paul came across in his ministry in Ephesus. They had never heard of the Holy Spirit, because they were baptized by John the Baptizer. Though baptized and confirmed many Catholics know of the Holy Spirit  vaguely, but do not know the Holy Spirit personally. What is needed is a stirring of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, given to them in baptism and confirmation, so that their witness of Jesus may be led and empowered by the Person of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

 

“I am the Life.” What does Jesus mean. He, as God, is life itself, as the I Am, who is, who was and who will be. He is the very source of all life, as Creator. “In him we live and move and have our being.” Through creation, Jesus gives us physical life, and sustains us in existence. Through his death and resurrection, he has given us a share in his own eternal life. On our part how are we taking care of the gift of human life? How are we responding to the shared gift of his Divine Life? Sin effects our physical life, but more especially our spiritual life. For this is God’s desire for us. “He has predestined us to adoption as sons (and daughters) through Jesus Christ, in himself, according to the purpose of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace, with which he has gifted us in his beloved Son.” (Ephesians 1:5-6) Do we desire the same?

 

Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

The second fruit of the Spirit is joy. The word ‘joy’ appears nearly 200 times in the Bible. Does that tell us something about our life? Joy is a condition of the heart.

 

In Greek, the word for joy is ‘chara.’ This describes a feeling of inner gladness, delight or rejoicing. This inner gladness leads to a cheerful heart and a cheerful heart leads to cheerful behavior.

 

 

As a result, Joy is from within, regardless of what is going on around you. Happiness can be a blurred emotion, dependent on a situation. Joyful people make a commitment to gratitude regardless of the circumstances. Happiness can come and go depending on circumstances and experiences. True joy endures since it is rooted in a relationship with God. For the source of our joy is Christ. John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be fulfilled.

 

It is the joy of the Lord within us that bears the fruit of joy.  Pope Francis said: “Christian joy is peace, peace that is deeply rooted, peace in the heart, the peace that only God can give.”

 

 

And where Jesus is, there is also the Holy Spirit. To have the Holy Spirit within us is to be “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8). When one is filled with the Holy Spirit, the joy of the Lord wells up and over flows in one’s life and actions. Paul said: Rejoice in the Lord, always. That is, rejoice in the presence of the Lord, in his grace of salvation and the grace of sanctification, in the promises of the Lord, in his many gifts. Do we have a reason to be joyful.

 

We need to recall the words of C.S. Lewis: I think we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to 'rejoice' as much as by anything else.

 

 

 

 

One of its attributes is joy can be found in the midst of adversity because of our faith in God. When the Apostles were flogged for preaching about Jesus, they rejoiced that they could suffer for the Lord. In spite of being falsely accused and imprisoned, Paul and Silas rejoiced in the Lord, singing the praises of the Lord.

 

Here are some quotes on joy or its absence.

How right was this agnostic who wrote, "I need to see you Christians depressed because in this way you confirm my thesis that God does not exist. It is when I see that you are happy that perplexes me!! Another atheist said: Christians don't have the look about them of a redeemed people. (Nietzsche) Pope Francis said: “a Christian who is discontented, a sad Christian, a dissatisfied, or worse still, resentful or rancorous Christian, is not credible.” Is this true of us? Are we witnesses of the presence of the Lord or the absence of the Lord?

 

In contrast, Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.(George Bernanos)It is contagious. For people don’t want to be around depressed, grumpy people. But they do want to be around people who exhibit the joy of the Lord.

 

 

To go further, Henri Bersgon said: “Joy is the certain sign that life has achieved its goal.”  

 

The soul of one who loves God always swims in joy, always keeps holiday, and is always in the mood for singing. (John of the Cross)

 

This leads me to conclude with a story.

A Cloistered Carmelite Sister solved the problem of life in

 this way. Her name was Sister Catherine. She was preparing the midday meal for the sisters in her convent in Spain. She finished early. Nothing to do! So while waiting for the bell to announce the time of prayer, she took up four pots, put them on her head, and started a balancing skit in the small kitchen! She had hardly reached the door, when in came Mother Teresa of Jesus. Obviously, Mother Teresa could not help laughing seeing Sister Catherine doing this performance in the kitchen! "Gosh, Sister, what in the world are you doing?!" And then she remarked, "You are so lively! Even to heaven, you will be laughing...." To which Sister Catherine immediately answered ... "Why, Mother, is there any other way of going to heaven?!

 

Are we witnesses of joy or of hopelessness?

 Pope Benedict XVI “St Augustine says that ‘it was necessary for Jesus to say: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6) because once the way was known, the end remained to be known’, and the end is the Father. For Christians, for each one of us, hence, the way to the Father is to allow ourselves to be guided by Jesus, by his word of truth, and to receive the gift of his life. “Jesus came to reveal the truth. This truth flows from the love of the Father for us. In love he sent hi# Son to be our Redeemer. In love he sent the Advocate, the Spirit of truth, to sanctify, anoint, and empower us for mission. In love the Father will send the Glorified Lord to raise our bodies to glory, if we died in Christ.

 

Homily Feast of the Ascension Year B

 

Reading 1: What we celebrate today is a major feast of the Paschal Mystery, which is God’s plan of salvation for us. It is the Feast of Transition. What is the Paschal Mystery? It is the core of the Gospel message: the Incarnation, the life, the teaching, the suffering, the death and resurrection, the Ascension of the Lord and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

 

According to God’s plan the Son would become man, suffer, die, rise from the dead glorified and return to the Father, where he sits in glory at the right hand of the Father. He returned to the Father to prepare a place for us, to send the Holy Spirit and to intercede for us until he returns to judge the living and the dead.

 

In this reading he gives his final instructions to the Apostles, preparing them for the next great moment in the Paschal Mystery, namely the coming of the Holy Spirit, who would continue and complete the work of our salvation. Jesus came to save us, reconciling us to the Father as his sons and daughters. The Spirit comes to sanctify us and to empower us for mission.

 

The term “to be baptized with the Holy Spirit” implies those three graces: sanctification, empowerment and mission. To further elaborate the second grace, Jesus said: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Then he said that the mission is to be witnesses in the power of the Holy Spirit of the salvific plan of God.

 

We have been baptized in water and the Holy Spirit. We have received a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation. In both Baptism, where we became disciples empowered to be holy, and in Confirmation, where we became empowered witnesses of Jesus, we have been given all we need to fulfill our role as disciple witnesses.

 

The question to ask is to what extent am I consciously growing and seeking to grow in holiness as a disciple of Jesus? And the second question is to what extent am I consciously witnessing my faith to others in the power of the Holy Spirit?

 

Reading 2: The reality of the Ascension and its effects are reflected in this reading by Paul. He proclaimed that the Father raised Jesus from the dead and seated him at his right hand above all other creatures and put all things under him. But because the coming of the Spirit had occurred upon the people in Ephesus, Paul prays for a stirring up of the gifts of the Spirit in the lives of the Christian disciple/witnesses. What gifts specifically? Wisdom and revelation, knowledge and understanding! Why these gifts? So that they may be freer to move in the empowerment gifts which would confirm their witness, such as prophecy, healing, discernment, faith, word of knowledge, etc.

 

Gospel: We heard Luke’s account in the Acts of the Apostles of the Ascension of Jesus, preparing for the coming of the Holy Spirit. We heard Paul’s teaching on the Ascension and its on-going effects in the life of the disciple/witnesses. Now, in the Gospel we have Mark’s proclamation. Anticipating the coming of the Spirit, Jesus instructs the apostles to proclaim the gospel of salvation to all, namely to witness his saving message. 

 

But in doing so, they are to be open to the very signs and wonders that he evidenced in his own ministry: deliverance, speaking in tongues, healing etc. This was to confirm what he told them at the Last Supper. “The man who has faith in me will do the things I did and far greater.” After the Ascension and Pentecost the Apostles and the disciples did what Jesus told them to do. Mark ends today’s Gospel with these words: “They went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

 

It was the gift of the Spirit that empowered them and missioned them and has continued to so even till today through those who believe.

 "I am the Truth." Jesus is the Truth for he is God. There is no lie in him. as such, he is also the source and revealer of all truth. Pope Francis gave this reflection on the word of Jesus. “Pilate cannot understand that the Truth is standing in front of him; he cannot see in Jesus the face of the truth that is the face of God. And yet Jesus is exactly this: the Truth that, in the fullness of time, ‘became flesh’ (cf. Jn 1:1, 14), and came to dwell among us so that we might know it. The truth is not grasped as a thing, the truth is encountered. It is not a possession, it is an encounter with a Person.” We cannot know, understand or accept the truth until we embrace the person of Jesus, as Lord and Savior. When Jesus revealed the mystery of the Eucharist, many rejected this truth. But Peter gave the answer that each of us need to hear. "Lord, to whom can we go. You have the words of everlasting life.  We have come to believe that you are the Holy One sent by God."  Jesus, as the Truth, is the revelation of his identity, which can only be embrace through faith.

 Feast of the Ascension B

Jesus said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.

· This commissioning was not just for the apostles but also for all those who are baptized and confirmed. What are we doing to proclaim the good news of God’s love to others?

 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 

· How conscious and grateful are we of the gift of baptism and what are we doing to deepen God’s life within us?

These signs will accompany those who believe: 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." 

· Some of these signs and wonders were the very ones that became credentials validating the word and ministry of Jesus. Jesus himself said that those who believe in him would do the works he did and greater ones. (Jn 14:12).

· Am I open to the Lord working through me in the gifts of the Spirit referred to by Jesus as part of the proclamation?

· What manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit have I seen already in my life?

So then 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.

· Do you think that what Jesus commanded and promised was only for the early Church or is meant to be the norm even today? How open are we for this to happen in our lives?

· Pray that the Holy Spirit, given to you in Baptism and Confirmation, will stir up once more his gifts within you, beginning with the gift of sharing your faith with others.

 "I am the Way." Others over the years have attempted to show us a way of life, by following them. These paths end up in ultimate disaster, because they offer a limited and imperfect life that is temporary. When Jesus says that he is the Way, he is telling us there is no other way to salvation except through his death and resurrection. He is revealing to us that he is the only way to the Father, for no one can go to or know the Father except through Jesus. As the way, we are called to follow Jesus. He is the narrow road that leads to the cross, where we die and rise with Jesus. As the Way, Jesus, the Good Shepherd leads, feeds, guides, protects us from those who wish to devour us. Following Jesus is not easy, but if we keep our eyes on the One who walks before us, he will guide us through the moments of difficulties and darkness into the light and life. What way do you choose to follow?

 "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life."  Jesus is the Truth and the way to the truth, revealed by the Father. There is no other way to this truth, except through belief in Jesus. He is the way that leads us to eternal life that God desires us to share with us. As the Way, the Truth and the Life, Jesus calls us to follow him. There are many who have come before and after Jesus, claiming that their message is what will lead us to happiness. Some have followed, only to realize that these "teachers" were only human like themselves. Only Jesus is both God and Man, the author of all truth and all life. To follow any other way, to believe in any other truth is not to have the eternal life that only God can promise and give. Only Jesus can say without any hesitation: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." With Joshua, the leader after Moses, our response to Jesus should be: "For me and my household, we will follow the Lord."

 "I am the resurrection and the life." If we wish to share in this resurrected life eternally, then we need to share in this life in the present moment. How? By heeding the word of Jesus. He told us that if we love one another the way he has loved us, God will dwell with us and in us. That means God's life will abide in and with us. He told and modeled for us how to be obedient to the will of the Father even in difficult circumstances. He told us to have faith in him, trusting in his plan for our life. He told us to be witnesses to others of  who he is and his marvelous deeds. By heeding his words, we will bear much fruit, the fruit of being one with him, which will yield the blessing of living with him in a resurrected life. What Jesus asks of us is not impossible (with the help of grace). What he promises us is the greatest of all gifts, eternal union with him.

 

Homily: Sixth Sunday of Easter Year B

 

Reading 1: What is the background?  Cornelius was a Gentile official. He had a vision in which he was told to send for a man name Peter and he would reveal God’s plan. He did. Peter shortly after this, while in prayer, had a vision. In this vision he saw clean and unclean animals. He heard a voice say: “Eat”. He answered “I have never eaten anything unclean.” The voice said: “There is nothing unclean, which I have made.”  When the men arrived sent by Cornelius, Peter went with them and entered into Cornelius’ house.  Being a faithful member of the Covenant, it was not acceptable to enter into a pagan’s house.

 

Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, began to share with Cornelius. Acting on the vision he had, Peter said: “God shows no partiality…Everyone who fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”  While Peter is proclaiming the good news of salvation to Cornelius, the Holy Spirit came upon him and his whole household. They began to speak in tongues, glorifying God. This was the same gift Peter had received on the Day of Pentecost.

 

Peter’s response was a conviction given to him by the Holy Spirit. “What should prevent these people from being baptized in the saving waters, since they have been baptized in the Holy Spirit.”  God shows no partiality. He calls whom he calls and is not limited to human laws and interpretations. Why? God is love and expresses his love to each person differently.

 

Gospel: Jesus is speaking to the disciples in the context of the Last Supper.  In John’s theology, Jesus gives his last will and testament to his disciples. He is about to embrace death by crucifixion. The first thing he taught them was the necessity of having a servant’s heart, so he washed their feet. He taught them about remaining in him and he in them, using the image of the vine and the branch. He taught them about the work of the Holy Spirit, who is to come upon them.

 

Then he reflected with them on the centrality of love as a mark of being his disciple.  Early in the Gospel, John said: “God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him may be saved.”  Here, Jesus underscores his own love for them. “As the Father loves me, so I also love you…No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  Later, Paul will say that “the love of God is poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” All of the ways God shows us his love confirms the message of Peter in the first reading: “God shows no partiality.”

 

The focus of Jesus in today’s Gospel is not God’s love for us. That is a given. The focus is our love for God.  First of all, am I really convinced at the very core of my being that I am loved by God? Am I convicted by Jesus’s death and resurrection of the depth of God’s love for me? If Jesus would ask me the same questions which he asked Peter after the resurrection, how would I respond? The question, asked three times to Peter: “Do you love me the way I love you?” Peter’s response: “Yes, I do love you, but my love is not yet perfected.”

 

Listen to Jesus in today’s Gospel. “Remain in my love.” If we love Jesus in response to his love, then we want to remain in his love and avoid the sin that would separate us from him. How do we remain in his love? “Keep my commandments and you will remain in my love.” This is another way of saying “choose to embrace my will for you in any given moment, just as I did the will of my Father, even to the death of the cross”.

 

As we know the two great commandments are the love of God and the love of others.  The command in the Old Testament was to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus raises the bar: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” His love for us was a sacrificial love. He laid down his life for us. Our love for others, following his example, is to be sacrificial. This love will have lasting effect in us.

 

When love is the expression of our relationship with God, what is a fruit of this love. Jesus said: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete.”  Who among us does not want joy in our lives? Jesus tells us it doesn’t come from satisfying ourselves but in loving others the way he has loved us. It is the joy, which Paul will later identify as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit when we are in union with God, doing his will.

 

Reading 2:  In his First Letter, John continues to teach about the necessity of love. He reminds us that God is love and has first loved us. How? He created us out of love. He redeemed us out of love. He adopted us as his sons and daughters out of love. He sustains us humanly and spiritually out of love.

 

St. Terese of Avila captured our response in this phrase. “Love can be responded to only by love.” Though our love for God in response to his love for us will always be limited, it is still our duty to respond with love. God doesn’t need our love, for he is perfect in himself. But God desires us to respond to his love with love so that we may come to the fulfillment of our being. We were loved into life. We will experience the fullness of life only when we live and die in love.

 

 "I am the resurrection of the life." Jesus never teaches about hope, but his message, if we receive it in faith, gives us hope. St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans gives us this understanding of hope. "For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance." As our Resurrection and Life, Jesus instills in us the hope that we too will rise from the dead and live with him eternally. We see death, we hope in eternal life. We endure suffering in the hope of being with God, where there is no more pain or death. It is this hope in Christ that enables us to choose to stay in the life of grace rather than separate ourselves from Christ through sin. Because of Jesus, our resurrection and life, with St. Paul we can exclaim: "Death, where is your victory? Death where is your sting?" We put our hope in Jesus.