*****
"The death and passion of our Lord is the sweetest and the most compelling motive that can animate our hearts in this mortal life…The children of the cross glory in this, their wondrous paradox which many do not understand: out of death, which devours all things, has come the food of our consolation. Out of death, strong above all things, has issued the all-sweet honey of our love." (Treatise on the Love of God, Book 12, Chapter 13)
The above quote from St. Francis de Sales is the central mystery of our faith. Jesus, allowing himself to be consumed with passion for righteousness and swallowed by death has in turn, conquered death once and for all with the power that is the promise of eternal life.
Christ's pathway of passion, death and resurrection was personal. It was unique. It had been fashioned by the Father from all eternity. Jesus was faithful to God's vision for him; Jesus embraced his vocation as the humble, gentle Messiah; Jesus suffered the pain of death; Jesus experienced the power of rising again.
From all eternity God has fashioned a personal path for each one of us. Each one of us has a unique role to play in the Father's never-ending revelation of divine life, divine love, divine justice, divine peace and divine reconciliation. Still, the way to resurrection is the way of the cross - the way of giving up, the way of letting go, the way of surrendering any and all things, thoughts, attitudes and actions that prevent us from embodying the passion of Christ - the passion for all that is righteous and true.
Francis de Sales offers this image in Book 9 of his Treatise on the Love of God:
"God commanded the prophet Isaiah to strip himself completely naked: this, the prophet did, and went about and preached in this way for three whole days (or, as some say, for three whole years). Then, when the time set for him by God had passed he put his clothes back on again. So, too, we must strip ourselves of all affections, little and great, and make a frequent examination of our heart to see if it is truly ready to divest itself of all its garments, as Isaiah did. Then, at the proper time we must take up again the affections suitable to the service of charity, so that we may die naked on the cross with our divine Savior and afterwards rise again with him as new people."
Be certain of one thing - the daily dying to self that is part of living a passionate life is not about dying, stripping and letting go for its own sake. No, it is all of what we may be purified in order that we might live more faithfully and effectively lives of divine passion and compassion. God does not desire that we die to self out of self-deprecation, but that we die to self in order that, paradoxically, we may actually be more of whom God calls us to be.
“Love is as strong as death to enable us to forsake all things,” wrote St. Francis de Sales. “It is as magnificent as the resurrection to adorn us with glory and honor.”
This glory and honor is not just reserved for heaven. To the extent that we die a little each day and experience the fidelity of God's love in the midst of all adversity, trials, struggles and “letting go,” we can experience something of the resurrection every day.
And what better day is there for us to begin this journey?
*****
“Do not be afraid...”
“Terrible thing, to live in fear. Brooks Hatlen knew it. Knew it all too well. All I want is to be back where things make sense. Where I won't have to be afraid all the time…” (Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd Redding in The Shawshank Redemption.)
In a letter he wrote to Jane de Chantal on the 6th of August 1606, Francis de Sales gave the following counsel:
“St. Peter, seeing that the storm was raging, was afraid. As soon as he was frightened, he began to sink and to drown, leading him to cry out: ‘O Lord, save me.’ Our Lord caught hold of his hand and said to him: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ Look at this holy apostle; he walks dry foot on the water, the waves and the winds could not make him sink, but fear of the wind and waves will make him perish unless his master saves him. Fear is a greater evil than the evil itself. O daughter of little faith, what do you fear? No, do not be afraid; you are walking on the sea, surrounded by wind and water, but you are with Jesus: so what is there to fear?” (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 125)
What is there to fear? Great question! Perhaps that question is the first step to not being afraid. Perhaps that question is also the first step to avoid living in fear: to name what it is that you are tempted to fear.
*****
“You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…”
In today’s selection from the Acts of the Apostles we hear St. Peter speaking of the gift – singular – of the Holy Spirit! Generally speaking, we are used to speaking of the gifts – plural – of the Holy Spirit. Sounds strange to us, but not to St. Francis de Sales! In his Treatise on the Love of God, he wrote:
“The glorious St. Paul speaks thus, ‘But the fruit of the spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, constancy and chastity.’ Theotimus, see how this divine Apostle enumerates these twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit but sets them down as only one fruit. He does not say ‘The fruits of the Spirit are charity, joy’ but ‘the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy…’ The meaning of this manner of expression is this: ‘The charity of God is poured forth into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.’ Charity is truly the sole fruit of the Holy Spirit, but this one fruit has an infinite number of excellent properties…” (TLG, Book XI, Chapter 19, p. 251)
In the big scheme of things, it is fair to say that the fundamental gift (singular) of the Holy Spirit is love - pure and simple. As Francis de Sales reminds us, however, this single gift has an “infinite number of excellent properties.”
Today, as temples of the Holy Spirit – as dwelling places of the Spirit’s gift of love – how many of the excellent properties associated with this one gift will we exhibit in our relationships with other people?
*****
“I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have, I give to you…”
This simple phrase spoken by Peter in today’s selection from the Acts of the Apostles serves as a simple shorthand for the Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” (Matthew 5: 3 – 11)
Being poor in spirit requires that we do three things. First, we need to acknowledge our poverty; we need to name that which we lack. Second, we need to acknowledge our wealth; we need to name that which we possess. Third, we need to be willing to share our possessions – be they little or great – with others. Taken together, these steps can help us to be generous people.
Peter named his poverty; he named what he lacked. However, he was just as quick to state that he willingly shared with others what he did possess. As the Acts of the Apostles clearly demonstrates, Peter was a generous person in his service to Jesus’ mission and to God’s people!
How about us? How comfortable are we with acknowledging what we don’t have? By the same token, how comfortable are we with acknowledging what we do have…and most importantly, how willing are we to share what we have with others?
Be it little, great or something in between!
*****
“The disciples recounted how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread…”
“Breaking bread…” Sharing food, sharing drink, sharing a meal. Something so simple, but it is in the context of such a common, ordinary, everyday human experience that the Risen Christ reveals himself!
Of course, “breaking bread” isn’t just about food and drink. It speaks of relationship; it speaks of intimacy; it speaks of welcoming another; it speaks of being home with another; it speaks of sharing who we are with another.
In the space of any given week how many times do we “break bread” with others? Have you ever stopped to think how the Risen Christ may be trying to reveal something of himself in the context of these common, ordinary and everyday human experiences in extraordinary ways?
*****
“Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples...”
Familiar with the term “one-hit wonder?”
“A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single. Some one-hit wonders are the result of novelty songs during fads. Examples include Rick Dees’ "Disco Duck", related to the disco craze of the 1970s; C. W. McCall's "Convoy", related to the CB radio craze of the 1970s; and Buckner & Garcia’s "Pac-Man Fever", related to the 1980s-era arcade game Pac-Man.”
“Some artists, such as the Big Bopper, had their careers cut short by death (in the Big Bopper's case, in a fatal plane crash that also killed two other musicians), while others, such as New Radicals and The La's, broke up immediately after their one hit. In the 1960s and early 1970s, session bands such as Edison Lighthouse or Alive N Kickin' producing just a single 45 record were common. More commonly, however, one-hit wonders are serious-minded musicians who struggled to continue their success after their popularity waned.”
“Because one-hit wonders are often popular for only a brief time, their hits often have nostalgic value and are featured on era-centric compilations and soundtracks to period films. One-hit wonders are normal in any era of pop music but are most common during reigns of entire genres that do not last for more than a few years, such as disco, new wave and grunge.” (Wikipedia)”
When it came to post-Resurrection appearances, Jesus was no one-hit wonder. Between the time of his Resurrection and his Ascension, Scripture records at least ten distinct appearances at different places, different times and to different people. Jesus spoke to, ate and drank with and embraced a wide swathe of people during these appearances - some small and intimate, others large and public.
Of course, our Catholic-Christian tradition contains countless accounts of how the Risen Jesus continues to reveal himself in the lives of ordinary people in everyday circumstances. Put another way, when it comes to post-Resurrection appearances, the hits keep coming.
How might the Risen Jesus reveal himself to you today? How might the Risen Jesus reveal himself to others through you today?
*****
“Perceiving them as uneducated, ordinary men, the leaders, elders and scribes were amazed [at] the companions of Jesus…”
Recall the words of Jesus in Chapter 11:25 of Matthew’s Gospel: “I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and the clever, and you have revealed them to children…”
William Barclay made the following observation about Jesus’ statement:
(April 15, 2017: Saturday of the Octave of Easter)“Jesus is speaking out of his own experience, the experience that the Rabbis and the wise men rejected him, and the simple people accepted him. The intellectuals had no use for him; the humble welcomed him. We must be careful to see clearly what Jesus meant here. He is very far from condemning intellectual power; what he is condemning is intellectual pride. As Plummer has it, ‘The heart – not the head – is the home of the Gospel.’ It is not cleverness which shuts out; it is pride. It is not stupidity which admits; it is humility. A man may be as wise as Solomon, but if he lacks the simplicity, the trust and the innocence of the childlike heart, he shuts himself out.” (Daily Study Bible, Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2, pp. 13 – 14)
Francis de Sales tells us that love of knowledge is a good thing. However, knowledge is only valuable to the extent that it empowers us to love. It’s not enough to know about God – we are invited to love God.
And to love one another!
