May 17, 2020 Sixth Sunday of Easter
2020년 5월 17일 부활 제6주일(청소년 주일·생명의 날)
제1독서
사도행전. 8,5-8.14-17
그 무렵 5 필리포스는 사마리아의 고을로 내려가
그곳 사람들에게 그리스도를 선포하였다.
6 군중은 필리포스의 말을 듣고 또 그가 일으키는 표징들을 보고,
모두 한마음으로 그가 하는 말에 귀를 기울였다.
7 사실 많은 사람에게 붙어 있던 더러운 영들이 큰 소리를 지르며 나갔고,
또 많은 중풍 병자와 불구자가 나았다.
8 그리하여 그 고을에 큰 기쁨이 넘쳤다.
14 예루살렘에 있는 사도들은 사마리아 사람들이
하느님의 말씀을 받아들였다는 소식을 듣고, 베드로와 요한을 그들에게 보냈다.
15 베드로와 요한은 내려가서 그들이 성령을 받도록 기도하였다.
16 그들이 주 예수님의 이름으로 세례를 받았을 뿐,
그들 가운데 아직 아무에게도 성령께서 내리지 않으셨기 때문이다.
17 그때에 사도들이 그들에게 안수하자 그들이 성령을 받았다.
제2독서
베드로 1서. 3,15-18<또는 4,13-16>
사랑하는 여러분, 15 여러분의 마음속에
그리스도를 주님으로 거룩히 모시십시오.
여러분이 지닌 희망에 관하여 누가 물어도 대답할 수 있도록
언제나 준비해 두십시오.
16 그러나 바른 양심을 가지고 온유하고 공손하게 대답하십시오.
그러면 그리스도 안에서 이루어지는 여러분의 선한 처신을 비방하는 자들이,
여러분을 중상하는 바로 그 일로 부끄러운 일을 당할 것입니다.
17 하느님의 뜻이라면, 선을 행하다가 고난을 겪는 것이
악을 행하다가 고난을 겪는 것보다 낫습니다.
18 사실 그리스도께서도 죄 때문에 단 한 번 고난을 겪으셨습니다.
여러분을 하느님께 이끌어 주시려고,
의로우신 분께서 불의한 자들을 위하여 고난을 겪으신 것입니다.
그러나 육으로는 살해되셨지만 영으로는 다시 생명을 받으셨습니다.
.
복음
요한. 14,15-21<또는 17,1-11ㄴ>
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
15 “너희가 나를 사랑하면 내 계명을 지킬 것이다.
16 그리고 내가 아버지께 청하면, 아버지께서는 다른 보호자를 너희에게 보내시어,
영원히 너희와 함께 있도록 하실 것이다.
17 그분은 진리의 영이시다.
세상은 그분을 보지도 못하고 알지도 못하기 때문에 그분을 받아들이지 못하지만,
너희는 그분을 알고 있다.
그분께서 너희와 함께 머무르시고 너희 안에 계시기 때문이다.
18 나는 너희를 고아로 버려두지 않고 너희에게 다시 오겠다.
19 이제 조금만 있으면, 세상은 나를 보지 못하겠지만 너희는 나를 보게 될 것이다.
내가 살아 있고 너희도 살아 있을 것이기 때문이다.
20 그날, 너희는 내가 아버지 안에 있고
또 너희가 내 안에 있으며 내가 너희 안에 있음을 깨닫게 될 것이다.
21 내 계명을 받아 지키는 이야말로 나를 사랑하는 사람이다.
나를 사랑하는 사람은 내 아버지께 사랑을 받을 것이다.
그리고 나도 그를 사랑하고 그에게 나 자신을 드러내 보일 것이다.”
May 17, 2020
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17
Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed or crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.
Now when the apostles in Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God,
they sent them Peter and John,
who went down and prayed for them,
that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
for it had not yet fallen upon any of them;
they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they laid hands on them
and they received the Holy Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2
Beloved:
Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.
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,
keeping your conscience clear,
so that, when you are maligned,
those who defame your good conduct in Christ
may themselves be put to shame.
For it is better to suffer for doing good,
if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered for sins once,
the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous,
that he might lead you to God.
Put to death in the flesh,
he was brought to life in the Spirit.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«I too shall love him and show myself clearly to him»
Fr. Julio César RAMOS González SDB
(Mendoza, Argentina)
Today, Jesus —as He previously did with his disciples— is leaving us. He is going back to the Father to be glorified. This seemed to sadden his disciples who were always looking at him with that physical, human gaze, that only believes in, accepts and clings to whatever can be seen and touched. This feeling of his followers, that can also be appreciated in many of today's Christians, makes our Lord to avow that «I will not leave you orphans» (Jn 14:18), for He will ask the Father to send us «another Paraclete» (Helper, Intercessor: Jn 14:16), «the Spirit of truth» (Jn 14:17); furthermore, even if the world will not “see” him, «you will see me because I live and you will also live» (Jn 14:19). Thus, trusting and understanding these words of Jesus will, in the true disciple, kindle that kind of love, that will be clearly shown through “keeping his commandments” and “observing them” (cf. Jn 14:21). Even more so: whoever lives this way, will also be loved by the Father, and He —the Son— shall love his steadfast disciple and will show himself clearly to him (cf. Jn 14:21).
How many words of fostering, trust and promise reach out this Sunday to us! In the midst of our daily worries —when our Heart is overwhelmed by the shadows of doubt, of despair and of weariness for all those things that seem to have no solution at all or that have reached a blind alley— Jesus urges us on to feel that He is always present and to realize that He is alive and loves us, while, at the same time, He guarantees to whoever firmly decides to live and abide by His commandments, to show himself in the plenitude of the new and resurrected life.
Today, He appears alive and present before us, in the teachings of the Scriptures that we listen to, and in the Eucharist that we shall receive. —Make your response to be that of a new life that surrenders to the appalling reality of his commandments, in particular that of loving.
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
In the midst of this world-wide pandemic do you have hope?
I am not writing about optimism that “things will get back to normal,” or that it is “safe to go back to work” or that “everything will be alright, just as it always has been.” No, I am not speaking about that denial of reality, that refusal to see or understand the scope of suffering all around us. That is clearly not hope. HOPE is clear eyed. It sees reality in some measure that God sees reality. It doesn’t appear to be in great supply on the airwaves just now – at least in the U.S.
“Always be ready to give an explanation for your hope” says Saint Peter in the second reading from the first letter attributed to his preaching and teaching. Be prepared to testify about your hope. Can you do that today? I ask myself this question almost daily. Can I give an explanation for my hope? Do I have any hope to explain?
In the suffering of the multitude of the sick, the bewilderment of those who may not attend Church, the fear of those put out of work, the anger of those who feel that they have lost control over their own lives, in the confusion of students from graduate school to first grade trying to understand how to learn in a new environment, and in the anxiety of university administrators who can’t even imagine where the money needed to continue their good work will come from . . . in the middle of all this, I am to be ready to give a reason for my HOPE?
I think maybe I need a bit of conversation with St. Peter on this lovely Sunday in May.
Me: Peter, I need a bit more information about this HOPE we are supposed to give an account of. Would you be so kind as give me some insight into why you tell the Church we must be prepared to give a reason for our hope – and we are to do it with gentleness and reverence. Have you paid any attention to what is happening here in this corner of God’s Kingdom this whole Paschal Cycle of 2020? Which galaxy are you visiting these days?
Peter: Eileen, that word was written while I dwelt on Orion’s Arm in the Milky Way, right where you are by the way. And believe me that even in my own time I saw a pandemic or two, wars of human annihilation, terrible leadership in both ecclesial and civil settings, ignorance, greed, violence and oppression . . . and, if you remember your early church history, I was crucified upside down. In ways you can’t imagine I had multiple reason to despair. Now by reminding you of this I may not be following my own invitation to gentleness and reverence, but I do want you to know that the world might even have expected me to fail in hope.
But I invite you to remember what happened for me on the seashore shortly after the Resurrection – I encountered my best friend alive after he had been crucified for telling the truth about God and God’s implacable love. . . And incidentally it was the best friend that I had vehemently denied even knowing two days before, just after he had demonstrated his love for me by washing my feet. I FAILED HIM, Eileen, in a way so complete and so total that in a less God-centered human I might have destroyed His hope. But His hope was, and remains, every bit as total and intact as his love.
Me (not listening to him very well): But Peter, hope has been leached out of our American culture. We don’t think we need hope – because we can do everything for ourselves. And then something like this happens and in our cultural cynicism we are scared to even mention God or real hope without seeming like a fool. Oh, your successor today is good at reminding us, but (waking up a bit) I am not sure how many of us are listening.
Peter: Eileen, don’t you see that the HOPE that I am talking about in that letter is grounded in the experience of encountering Jesus face-to-face? When you look into His eyes then you cannot lose hope. There you see His love tenderly dawning on you. I witness to you that Jesus’ gaze penetrates your soul and tells you that YOU are HIS HOPE, just as HE is YOUR HOPE. When you know how that implacable love is counting on you to give a reason for your hope, . . . well, you become hope itself. And that gaze remains in the Person of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate in your heart.
You have every reason for your HOPE. You are a tree planted close to the spring that wells up from the deepest water course of all – God’s BEING. You are alive and a companion in the life and work of Jesus – always have a reason for your HOPE that God’s life, God’s way, God’s truth wins, both here and now and forever. You do have to be willing to engage the challenge to be both a sign and a voice (in gentleness and reverence, remember) of the victory. Hope is really a verb – as love is – you ACT HOPE.
Me: Thanks, Peter. I guess if you could claim HOPE in the darkness of the “early days” of announcing Jesus’ Good News I can recount the reasons for my hope as well. Every day I am reminded of God’s mercy. . . . I have more than a bit to learn about the “gentleness and reverence” thing, however, so I’ll be back another day to discuss that with you.
Peter: I’ll be here any day to share in your hope as you share in mine, friend.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
the world reads your heart
"Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts." —1 Peter 3:15, RNAB
Moments after I heard the above passage from the second reading proclaimed at Mass, the priest announced the Gospel reading, and everyone traced the sign of the cross on their hearts, as well as their foreheads and lips. Everyone at Mass was asking the Lord to sanctify their hearts to receive the Gospel and act upon it.
When we have a sanctified heart to enthrone Christ as Lord (1 Pt 3:15), our lives cannot help but reflect the joy of the Lord regardless of our life's circumstances. We will speak out of the abundance of our heart (Lk 6:45), a heart full of love for Jesus (Jn 14:21). The love of God has been poured out in our sanctified hearts through the Holy Spirit (Rm 5:5). In Jesus, we have been given a new heart to love God (Ez 36:26). No one can take this joy from our heart (Jn 16:22).
Has anyone asked you lately the reason for your hope and joy? Why would anyone ask us this? (1 Pt 3:15) It's because our life in Christ and our love for Him cannot be kept inside our joyful heart. His love always grows in a sanctified heart, which cannot contain it. His outpoured, overflowing love runs over, leaps up within us, and flows out from us (Jn 7:38; 4:14) to refresh a world that's parched, lifeless, and without the water of the Holy Spirit (see Ps 63:2).
Sanctify Jesus as Lord in your heart (1 Pt 3:15). Then people won't be able to refrain from asking you the reason for this hope of yours. Speak of your love for Jesus out of the abundance of God's love in your heart (Lk 6:45). Refresh the hearts of a hurting world in Christ (Phlm 20).
Prayer: Father, sanctify my heart. Refine it of impurity (Mal 3:3).
Promise: "The rejoicing in that town rose to fever pitch." —Acts 8:8
Praise: Lord Jesus, you are no "imposter" (see Mt 27:63). We praise You for obediently fulfilling Your messianic mission.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
The Counselor will be with you for ever
What makes us both fully human and truly like God? Is it not unconditional love which is unselfish, undying, and wholly directed to the good of others? The love of God unites us in an unbreakable bond of fidelity, friendship, and community with others. Jesus loved his own until the very end of his passion and death on the cross (John 13:1).
The nature of love
From the very beginning of creation God said: it is not good that man should be alone (Genesis 2:18). We were created in love for love - to be a community of loving persons, just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are inseparably united in a community of unbreakable love.
John Henry Newman (1801-1890) said: We love because it is our nature to love, and it is our nature because God the Holy Spirit has made it our nature. Jesus speaks to his disciples of the inseparable bound of love between himself and the Father, and of their love for humankind. In Jesus we see the fulness of God's love and how God's love is directed to our well-being. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him (1 John 4:9).
Knowing God's love
How do we know that God truly loves each one of us? In the cross we see the proof of God's love for each of us and the incredible price God was willing to pay to redeem us from slavery to sin, death, and Satan. Jesus gave up his life that we might have life - abundant, everlasting life with God - a life of love and unity with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit forever.
Through the cross Jesus opened a new way of relationship for us as the adopted sons and daughters of God - his beloved children (Romans 8:14-17). Jesus calls his disciples to walk in his way of love through obedience to the will of the Father. True love is more than sentiment, emotion, or good intention. As important as these may be they are not the proof of sincere love. True love for God is expressed in obedience and obedience is expressed in love.
Jesus' best gift for us
Jesus promised to give his followers the best of gifts, the Holy Spirit as their Counselor and Helper. How does the Holy Spirit help us as the counselor? Counselor is a legal term for one who defends someone against an adversary and who guides that person during the ordeal of trial. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and Helper who guides and strengthens us and brings us safely through the challenges and adversities we must face in this life.
The Holy Spirit is also the Giver of life - the abundant life which comes from God and which sustains us forever. The Holy Spirit also guides us in the way of truth, wisdom, and goodness. We can never stop learning because the Spirit leads us more and more into the knowledge of God's love, truth, and goodness. Jesus also promised his followers the gift of peace. Peace is more than the absence of conflict or trouble. Peace includes everything which makes for our highest good. Trust in God, faith in his promises, and obedience to his word lead us to peace and security in God's presence. That is why a Christian need not fear or be troubled by anything. The love of Christ brings immeasurable joy and consolation even in the midst of our trials and suffering. Paul the Apostle states,
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?... For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35,38-39).
Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with the knowledge of Christ's immense love and with his gift of peace.
"O God, you are the unsearchable abyss of peace, the ineffable sea of love, the fountain of blessings and the bestower of affection, who sends peace to those who receive it. Open to us this day the sea of your love and water us with abundant streams from the riches of your grace and from the most sweet springs of your kindness. Make us children of quietness and heirs of peace; enkindle in us the fire of your love; sow in us your fear; strengthen our weakness by your power; bind us closely to you and to each other in our firm and indissoluble bond of unity." (ancient prayer from Syrian Clementine liturgy)
Psalm 66:1-7,16,20
1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, "How terrible are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name." [Selah]
5 Come and see what God has done: he is terrible in his deeds among men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land; men passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might for ever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations -- let not the rebellious exalt themselves. [Selah]
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: There is no love without the Holy Spirit, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"How, then, did the apostles love, but in the Holy Spirit? And yet they are commanded to love him and keep his commandments before they have received him and, in fact, in order to receive him. And yet, without having that Spirit, they certainly could not love him and keep his commandments. We are therefore to understand that he who loves already has the Holy Spirit, and by what he has he becomes worthy of a fuller possession, that by having more he may love more. The disciples, therefore, already had that Holy Spirit whom the Lord promised, for without him they could not call him Lord. But they had him not as yet in the way promised by the Lord... He was yet to be given them in an ampler measure [at Pentecost]." (excerpt from TRACTATES on THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 74.1–2)
http://www.homilies.net/
6 Easter
Sixth Sunday of Easter - A Cycle - John 14:15-21
A sailboat got caught in heavy seas. A rogue wave flipped the boat over. The heavy keel righted the boat, but there was heavy damage. A SOS brought the Coast Guard (CG). The seas were so rough the CG ship could not rescue the crew. So, it placed itself as close as it could to the sailboat. The CG protected the sailboat from the brunt of the 10 foot waves. Finally they made port.
The Holy Spirit plays the same relation to us. He takes the brunt of our troubles. He not only lives inside us but also He walks beside us. He brings us into port. (Unknown) Jesus in this Gospel told the apostles the extraordinary statement He would not leave them orphans. The setting was the Last Supper. He had announced His impending departure. The twelve were wiped out. The Christ had to lift His people off the floor and put them back on their soft cushions. He promised to continue His presence with them through a Helper. He would serve as their eternal Deus ex machina. The Helper would be the Holy Spirit.
Jesus in John's Gospel uses the Greek word menein forty times. It translates as abide or remain or stay. He remains with us through the Holy Spirit or Parakletos. Parakletos is a tough word to translate into English. A popular translation is Comforter. That term is traced to the fourteenth century English reformer, John Wycliff. (William Barclay) The word does a disservice to the Third Person of the Trinity. A comforter is understood as one who stands about waiting till we fall on our faces. Then he slips us chocolate with a sympathy card and tells us, "No problem." The Spirit will do that. But His role as Dutch uncle is but a small part of His assignment.
The Parakletos is one who will be right next to us on our journey as a companion, even a buddy. He will support us so that we seldom fall on our faces. He will be our Knight Protector. It is the Spirit who will lead the rescuing cavalry when we find ourselves surrounded by the bad guys. Much of our lives we looked for God in the momentous while He's been waiting in the moment. (Michael Yaconelli) Waiting patiently for us in the moment is the Holy Spirit.
Many college students I worked with said, "I just can't cope any longer." I told them that I found myself in similar situations often. But then I took ten, sipped a cup of hazelnut coffee, and prayed to the Parakletos. And, more often than not, what had been a stressful situation eased off and sometimes disappeared entirely. I told them I was falling back on that wonderful promise of Jesus, "I will not leave you orphans." In many areas, I am a Bible-belt fundamentalist. I hold Jesus to all His promises. I expect the Holy Spirit to deliver. He is a legal and healthy steroid. I am seldom disappointed.
But I did emphasize for the students that the Helper is not a party crasher. He waits for an invitation. Then He will come and ring our bell loudly with His elbow. His hands will be filled with gifts. They are outlined in the Scriptures. He leads us into truth (Jn 16:13.) He guarantees we are God's children (Rom 8:16). He helps us pray (Rom 8:26). He offers us hope (Rom 15:13). He empowers us to help other believers (1 Cor 12:4). He aids us to be another Christ (2 Cor 3:18). He gives us spiritual muscle (2 Cor 3:18). (Barclay) However, He expects that we will join our physical bulk, intellectual energy, and the gifts He has already given to us at Baptism and Confirmation to His new gifts.
The Parakletos is summed up well in these lyrical words. Eternally the Holy Spirit is love between the Father and the Son but historically the Holy Spirit is love between God and the world. (Daniel Durkin) The Church's historical record over two millennia shows that Jesus did not pull the legs of the apostles. He did not leave them orphans. Nor do people of faith accept that the promise has gone somewhere into limbo in the contemporary Church.
Moving about post-Christian Europe, I met many young Christians. They were working for the Gospel in almost hopeless situations. Yet, each of them assured me, "The Holy Spirit will think of something." None of them showed fear. They were serene. The Spirit had much to do with that serenity. They had not forgotten the promise of Jesus. They did not feel orphans. They are a "creative minority." (Benedict XVI) Their main advocate, the Holy Spirit, stands before them like an unconquerable mountain.
Frjoeshomilies.net
6 Easter
Sixth Easter: God Hears Seventy-six Trombones
A number of years ago I received the great blessing of being asked to join one of our Jesu Caritas Groups. Jesu Caritas is a priest support group usually made up of five to seven members and meeting once a month for prayer, reflection on the month and mutual support. We all need people to pray with and support us in our faith, particularly people who face similar challenges as we face. I remember that one of the priests once shared how sometimes our spiritual lives are broken, but most of the time our spiritual lives are just messy. Quite often, we go about things in the wrong way. Quite often we approach God on our terms instead of his. Quite often, we zigzag in our approach to our final union with Him. God sees you also as you are, trying your best, but, sometimes, a bit messy in your spirituality.
I want to tell you about an old Broadway musical and movie. It was called The Music Man. The story takes place in rural America, a certain River City exactly, in the last decades of the nineteenth century. The musical begins with a group of salesmen on a train lamenting the success of a scam artist, a so-called Professor Harold Hill. Hill is a salesman who comes into a town and convinces the people that they have a problem and then he uses the perceived problem to sell his goods. So Hill goes to River City, and tells the people that they have a big problem, right there in River City. Their children are on the verge of moral corruption. A pool hall has been constructed. Pool halls were notorious in those days as places of corruption where bad language became the norm. Their children in River City were learning bad things. However, he, Professor Harold Hill, just happen to have a great solution to the problem. The children needed something to do. And he had just the thing. He suggested that a healthy release for the kids would be to form a band. In addition, it just so happened that he could supply the uniforms, music and instruments. He even offered to teach music to the children. He would make that offer, but usually after he was paid for the music, uniforms and instruments; he took off, headed out of town. However, Harold Hill came upon an unforeseen situation in River City. He fell in love, in love with the town librarian, a certain Marian. That is right, Marian the librarian. So he found himself saddled with having to teach music to the children, even though he really didn't know anything about music. In the final scene of the musical, the children gave their first performance for their parents. They were horrible. It was a complete cacophony. But the parents thought they were wonderful. To their parents they were a fantastic marching band playing Seventy-six Trombones in the Big Parade.
God is like those parents. God hears the cacophony of our lives, but also sees the determined effort. The results may be messy, but the Loving Father joins the parents and saying, "Wasn't that just wonderful."
So, your marriage and family did not turn out as you wished. So your career took a detour, two, or seven. So you did not get into that college you wanted. So we have made bad choices in the past that have left their impact on our lives now. We all have situations that might lead us to think we are broken, but we are not broken. We are just messy. We may not be as grand as the ideal, but when we play the spiritual instruments of our lives, do you know what God hears? God hears Seventy-six trombones, not a cacophony.
Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.
Always be ready to give an explanation
to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.
Those words come from the First Letter of Peter, our second reading. Peter was a buffoon who tried to walk out on water to Jesus but nearly drowned because he lost faith. Peter was a braggart who denied the Lord three times. But Peter wanted to better. He wanted to serve Jesus. Eventually, through God's grace, he conquered his fears; he controlled his emotions; he became the first Vicar of Christ.
We have a reason for hope. That reason is Jesus Christ. He loves us more than we can possibly imagine each of us. He is not concerned with whether we produce the perfect result. He is overjoyed simply in that we are trying to be the best people we can be.
We are at the end of this very strange school year. Normally this would be the graduating season, but big commencement ceremonies will probably not take place. Still, the young people preparing to move on to high school, or to college or to start their careers are full of enthusiasm. The basic attitude of most of our children, Teens and young adults is a mixture or happiness, excitement, and unlimited potential. It is all infectious. We see them and know that the world will progress as long as the young keep their enthusiasm for life. They give us hope. We cannot look at our young, from little children on up, and give up on life. Life is beautiful. Just look at these beautiful people about to take life by its horns. They know that they their dreams will come at the price of hard work, and they are ready for it.
But their enthusiasm for life will drain and our bright lights will become dark unless the young and unless we all, keep our focus on the reason for our hope, Jesus Christ.
How can we do this? With all the distractions in life, how do we keep our Christian focus? We do this by dedicating ourselves to truth. That is what the Gospel reading tells us.
Usually when we think about truth, we consider it as simply not telling a lie. Well, that is not sufficient. Truth is more than the opposite of saying something that is false. Truth is a way of life. Living the truth is not just avoiding telling lies, living the truth is avoiding living a lie. Living the truth gives us the ability to live an authentic life. Here is what I mean by all this. When we focus in on ourselves, we are living a lie. When we make self-gratification the goal of our lives, we are living a lie, the lie that we can make ourselves happy. When we focus on sacrificial love, we are living a genuine, true life. When we commit ourselves to the sacrificial love of the Lord, we are living the profound Truth that happiness comes from Him alone.
Today's readings speak about joy. There is the joy that new Christians in Samaria had after Philip baptized them. There is the joy that St. Peter tells us is the reason for our hope. There is the joy that Jesus says comes from the Love of the Father.
We Christians are truly eternal optimists. We may be dying of cancer, we may be in difficult family situations, strained relationships, financially hurting, what have you, but no matter what the situation, we know that if we are true to Christ, He will always be the source of our joy.
Our lives may be messy at times, but as long as we are trying our best, God does not hear a cacophony. He hears Seventy-six trombones in the Big Parade.
Stmaryvalleybloom.org
* Available in Spanish - see Spanish Homilies
6 Easter
How Tremendous Are Your Deeds!
(May 17, 2020)
I offer this homily (and take off my hat) to any brothers who are celebrating Mass or live streaming during this crisis
Bottom line: For today it's enough to lift up our heads and say, "How tremendous are your deeds!" Yes! "He rules by his might forever."
Last Sunday we heard Jesus say: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God. Have faith also in me."
But why do we need faith? When all is said and done, don't we have to take care of our own problems? Aren't we the ones who have to defeat the coronavirus? As one of our politicians said: "The number is down because we brought the number down. God did not do that. Faith did not do that."
Bishop Robert Barron wrote an article why that governor may be expert on politics, his theology is weak. I encourage you to read the article or watch Bishop Barron's video. For my part I'd like to share a personal anecdote and then highlight key Scriptures from this Sunday.
Here's the anecdote: When I visited my brother last week, I was amazed my brother had baked a couple loaves of bread. I toasted a slice and put some butter on it. It was quite good. "Louie," I said, "how did you do it?"
My brother explained that our niece had bought him one of those bread making devices. He assembled the ingredients and folded them together. Now, suppose I were to ask my brother for a list of the ingredients and he were to say: "You need flour, oil, yeast, God, sugar and an oven." Well, I think you would see that God doesn't really belong on that list. He transcends all the ingredients and he makes them possible. God also inspired our niece in her act of care and gave my brother the intelligence and patience to carry out the project. God isn't one more ingredient. He's the source, the one who sustains all things and brings them to completion.
So regarding the coronavirus, God isn't someone we call upon when everything else fails. He is that, of course, but we need to recognize his role at every step and to call on him at all times. Our Psalm says to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!" Then it adds, "He rules by his might forever." We are right to see God at extraordinary moments: When matter emerges from nothing, when life emerges from matter, when human consciousness emerges from life. But the truth is that God is involved at every step of the process. He under-girds the whole show and is constantly pulling it forward. We can look at the night sky or at a beautiful flower or at a newborn child and say, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
Besides under-girding creation, God under-girds our lives. As Isaiah says, "You have accomplished all that we have done." (26:12) For sure we did it, but ultimately God gets the credit. When we read the Bible it's like pulling back the curtain and recognizing what's really going on.
Now, we can't ascribe literally everything to God. The fact is you and I turn away from God. We do horrible things to each other - and we bring God's judgment. We saw that last week with the sin of slavery and how Lincoln discerned God's judgment in the Civil War that came on us.
We're in a pretty bad situation today with the coronavirus and the worldwide devastation that has resulted. If we are really thinking, this pandemic should humble our pride. It's not some asteroid or tsunami. It's not some bug, heck, it's not even alive. Yet it has brought us down. We are fragile creatures thrown into a world with dangers on every side. And the dangers from the physical world are like nothing compared to the spiritual dangers that threaten us. It sometimes seems we are on our own in what is ultimately a losing battle. But that is not the case. God does not leave us orphans. We will see more next week as we celebrate Jesus' ascension to the Father's right hand.
For today it's enough to lift up our heads and say, "How tremendous are your deeds!" Yes! "He rules by his might forever." Amen.
Alexmcallister.co.uk
6 Easter
What wonderful soothing words Jesus speaks to his disciples: I will not leave you orphans. I won't let you down, I won't go away never to return. No, I will be with you. Thus, we move forward in our consideration of the Easter Mystery. We move from the contemplation of Christ's appearances after the resurrection over the last few Sundays to a meditation on the continued presence of Christ in the Church through the Holy Spirit.
It is all very well for us to believe in the death and resurrection of Christ, to believe that through his resurrection he brought about our salvation but that after the Ascension he left us to it and it is up to us to see if we can make the best of it. No, we have not been left orphans we have the Holy Spirit in our midst, leading, guiding and inspiring us.
'You know the Spirit because he is with you, he is in you' These are the words of Jesus in today's Gospel. They are words we should take seriously. Yet many of us feel as though we have no contact with the Holy Spirit, that he is something for others, they feel just like spiritual orphans. They were taught the catechism and received their first communion and confirmation at the appropriate time and in their youth felt very religious and holy. But now in adulthood things have become routine and listless. Yes, they receive the sacraments regularly but God seems far away.
It often appears to them as though there is another type of Christian, one who is alive in the Spirit, one who sees the hand of God in all things, is guided by him in all that they do and experiences the power and love of God in a deep life of prayer. But the feeling is that I am not this type of Christian because I feel more like a spiritual orphan.
See if these descriptions fit you: I feel listless in my prayer life; even though I rarely miss a Sunday it is a struggle to go to mass; although I was close to him once I now feel that God is far away; I try to pray regularly but nowadays I experience many distractions; I am often envious of other Catholics who seem to find faith easy; I feel sad and anxious that I may be falling away from the faith I once loved so much.
There is a name for this phenomenon: it is called the dark night of the soul. And you may be surprised because it generally implies that those who experience it are some way advanced on their personal spiritual journey.
St Teresa of Avila, the great mystical teacher is often quoted for saying to God, 'No wonder you have so few friends when you treat them so badly.' This is often what God appears to do. It is as if he has got us off to a good start in childhood and then when we reach adulthood he abandons us.
It is said that the other St Teresa, St Teresa of the Child Jesus, experienced not a glimmer of light from God once she entered her Carmel in Lisieux. She often prayed for a sign of God's presence but received absolutely nothing. We consider her to be one of the really great saints. Why? Because despite this lack of any evidence of God's love she continued doggedly to pray constantly and to turn her every action into a prayer. She is regarded as having reached the very heights of the spiritual life.
Why does the Lord say, 'I will not leave you orphans' and then appear so distant? I think the answer is put well in many old songs: absence makes the heart grow fonder.
He loves us deeply and he realises that at a very deep level of our being we love him. He wants to increase and develop the love we have for him. If he were to reveal himself to us too soon we would not grow, we would not be able to be heroic in expressing our love for him.
He does not leave us at all, of course. He has given us his Spirit, but his Spirit does not dominate our lives, he is there in a very gentle way prompting our actions, keeping us faithful, helping us to hang on in there even though God seems so far away.
God does this so that we can grow in love, so that it can be stretched to its limits. He gives us these difficulties so that we can overcome them and grow to our full stature in the spiritual life. He does it so that there can be no suggestion that he has won us over to himself by showing us his glory, so that it is certain that our love for him is a totally free act.
If you experience any of those things I mentioned, like listlessness in prayer, or feeling that God is distant, be reassured. Be reassured that you are living the life of the Spirit and that you are advanced on this journey and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. The path you are treading is a well worn one and there are many guides, but the best guide is the one within you, the Holy Spirit poured out on you in the Sacrament of Confirmation.
You may have read the book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera, it is set in Colombia in the last century. In it one of the main characters when he is twenty years of age falls in love with a beautiful woman. She is not of his class and moreover she is already engaged to a doctor. She dallies with him, rather flattered to have two men in love with her at the same time, but she is single minded and sticks to her commitment to marry her betrothed.
Our friend won't take no for an answer. He serenades her, writes to her constantly and calls on her with wonderful presents. In due course she is married, she lives the life of a married woman and has nothing to do with him. His letters remain unopened and his presents are returned. He persists in this behaviour for the whole of his life, but his love is unrequited. Even when her husband dies she denies him.
Until one day in her early eighties her eyes are opened to his virtues and she falls in love with him and they are married. Sixty years of unrequited love, during which his love endured and grew until it blossomed in old age. Sixty years of distance and seeming rejection. Time which would have been considered wasted by most people but with hindsight can only be regarded as truly heroic and without parallel.
Except of course if we find a parallel in our own lives.
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