Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 1, 2018)

Today’s Gospel offers us two examples of Jesus reaching out to the poverty of human beings and giving them the richness of life.

Both Jairus and the woman sufferings from a blood-flow come to Jesus with great hope and faith and humble themselves before him on their knees. Jesus receives each of them with great gentleness. When he speaks to the woman, he calls her “daughter” and publicly recognizes her as cured by her faith and now restored to cleanness in the community.

Then, Jesus comes to the home of Jairus and takes him and his wife out of the din of the mourners into their daughter’s room. There, Jesus speaks gently to the young woman, takes her by the hand as she is restored to life, and instructs her parents to give her something to eat.

Both the unclean woman and the young girl now share in the richness of life that Jesus gives.

While you and I realize that our God has made us in his image, we also recognize our poverty when left on our own. We have come to know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ: though he was rich, he became poor like us, so that by his poverty we might become rich. By Baptism, we were washed clean and restored to the fullness of God’s life and love. By God’s favor, we have that richness within us.

Each day we share more fully in God’s life here in the Eucharist. Jesus takes us by the hand and walks with us as we journey with him to our Father’s home. He invites us to take the hand of others and share this richness of life together, as sisters and brothers.

Whenever we find ourselves tempted to dwell on our poverty as human beings, Jesus invites us to kneel before him and ask him to touch us with his mercy and love. Jesus will remind us of the riches of healing and redemption that are ours. Then he will take us by the hand and enable us to walk with him as his enriched brothers and sisters.

NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST (June 24, 2018)

Francis de Sales wrote: "I have often wondered who is the most mortified of the saints that I know, and after some reflection I have come to the conclusion that it was St. John the Baptist. He went into the desert when he was five years old and knew that our Savior came to earth in a place quite close by, perhaps only one of two days' journey. How his heart, touched with love of his Savior from the time he was in his mother's womb, must have longed to enjoy Christ's presence. Yet, he spends twenty-five years in the desert without coming to see our Lord even once; and leaving the desert he catechized without visiting him but waiting until Our Lord comes to seek him out. Then, after he has baptized Jesus, he does not follow him but stays behind to do his appointed task. How truly mortified was John's spirit! To be so near his Savior and not see him, to have him so close and not enjoy his presence! Is this not a completely detached spirit, detached even from God himself so as to do God's will and to serve God, as it were to leave God for God, and not to cling to God in order to love him better? The example of this great saint overwhelms me with its grandeur." (Stopp, Selected Letters, Page 74)

"How truly mortified was John the Baptist's spirit." What does Francis de Sales mean? The American Heritage Dictionary defines mortify as "to discipline by self-denial or self-inflicted privation." John did, indeed, discipline himself: he denied himself many things in order to be faithful to his understanding of who God wanted him to be: a light to the nations, a light to highlight the coming of Jesus.

Think about it: John spends thirty years in the desert preparing to announce Christ's coming. Despite growing up in the same general area, John meets Christ only once - when he baptized him at the Jordan River - only to remain behind as Jesus recruited others to be his apostles and disciples! John never sees his cousin again before dying in prison at the hands of one of King Herod's executioners.

John was faithful to the role God wanted him to play in the plan of salvation: John played that role supremely well. Listen to what Jesus himself said: "I tell you the truth: among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." (Matthew 11:11) "Yet," Jesus continues, "Anyone who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." John shows us that being faithful to God's will often requires that we deprive ourselves of the desire to "have it all" and to dedicate ourselves to discerning - and embracing - our unique roles in God's plan of salvation.

In ways unique to our states and stages of life, God calls us, too, to be "a light to the nations." Are we prepared to practice the discipline that being that light may require? Are we prepared to follow Christ by staying right where we are?

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (June 17, 2018)

Today’s readings help us to keep things in perspective. Make no mistake – we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. While we are charged with a tremendous duty - advancing the kingdom of God - the most effective means to accomplishing this great calling is to pay attention to detail – that is, buy doing little things with great love.

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales made the following exhortation:

“Put your hand to strong things, by training yourself in prayer and meditation, receiving the sacraments, bringing souls to love God, infusing good inspirations into their hearts and, in fine, by performing big, important works according to your vocation. But never forget…those little, humble virtues that grow like flowers at the foot of the cross: helping the poor, visiting the sick, taking care of your family, with all the responsibilities that accompany such things and with all the useful diligence which prompts you to not stand idle.”

“Great opportunities to serve God rarely present themselves, but little ones are frequent…you will profit greatly in God’s sight by doing all these things because God wishes you to do the.” (III, 35, pp. 214 – 215)

God gives us a rich abundance of means proper for our salvation. By a wondrous infusion of God’s grace into our minds, hearts, attitudes and actions the Spirit makes our works become God’s work. Our good works - like planting miniscule mustard seeds here or like scattering small seeds there - have vigor and virtue enough to produce a great good because they proceed from the Spirit of Jesus.

As it turns out, little things do really mean a lot in the eyes of God. In fact, they mean everything!

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (June 10, 2018)

In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales does not equate happiness with self-centeredness, self-absorption or self-obsession. However, Francis does equate happiness with what he calls self-possession. The Gentleman Saint writes:

“It is man’s great happiness to possess his own soul, and the more perfect our patience the more completely do we possess our souls.”

What happiness it is to know and accept yourself for who you are in the sight of God! What delight it is to be comfortable – without being complacent – in your own skin! What joy it is to be essentially at home – to be at peace – with the person that God made you to be! Why, it’s the next best thing to Paradise.

Tragically enough, the ability to be at home with ourselves became the first – and the most fundamental – casualty of The Fall. No sooner had Adam and Eve eaten from the fruit of the tree of knowledge than their natural state – their nakedness, their transparency – became a reproach. They were embarrassed – they were ashamed – of who they were. Literally, they were no longer comfortable in their own skin. Suddenly sullied by self-alienation and self-loathing, Paradise was lost…and life became a burden.

As we know all-too-well, so much of the misery, sin and sadness that plagues the human family to this very day comes from either (1) the inability to be who we really are, or (2) the fruitless attempt to become someone we’re not.

In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales exclaimed:

“God has signified to us in so many ways and by so many means that he wills all of us to be saved that no one should be ignorant of this fact. For this purpose through Creation God made us ‘in his own image and likeness’, whereas through the Incarnation God has made himself in our image and likeness.”

The redemptive grace of the Incarnation makes it possible for us to experience once again the happiness that comes from possessing our own souls. The restorative power of the Incarnation makes it possible for us to experience once again the joy of being essentially at home with who we are in the sight of God. Wounded as we are by sin, our practice of devotion – our quest to possess our own souls – no longer comes effortlessly as it originally did in Paradise. It requires perpetual practice; it demands tremendous patience.

That said, God not only promises us the joy and peace born of this heavenly self-acceptance; God also shows us how to achieve it on this earth in the person of his Son.

Jesus embodies the power of self-possession. Jesus exhibits the joy of self-acceptance. Jesus exudes the peace of self-direction. Who better than Jesus shows us what it looks like to be comfortable in one’s own skin? Who better than Jesus demonstrates what it looks like to invite - and to empower - others to do the same?

Not unlike what he did with our first parents, The Evil One hits us where it hurts. Sometimes Satan tempts us to believe that we can’t possibly be happy by being who we are. Other times, Satan tempts us to believe that we’d be happier if we were someone else – perhaps anybody else – other than who we are. In very deep, dark places within our minds and hearts, each and every one of us is tempted to ask this question:

Sinner as I am, weak as I am, wounded as I am and imperfect as I am, why should I believe that God wants me to be comfortable – at home - in my own skin?

Body and Blood Of Jesus Christ (June 3, 2018)

Today the Church celebrates the fulfillment of God’s great desire to be one with his people –to establish an everlasting covenant with us – a covenant which guarantees our forgiveness and reconciliation.

Jesus’ body is broken and his blood poured out for us on the Cross. Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice himself so that we can be reconciled to God and to one another completes his Father’s loving plan – a new covenant is made permanent.

Today’s Gospel account reminds us that Jesus gave us a continuing memorial of his loving sacrifice – a way for us today to share in his saving death and resurrection. Each time we come together to celebrate Eucharist, we break bread and share a cup that signifies the Body of Jesus broken and his Blood poured out for us.

The Blood of Christ reminds us of an earlier covenant between God and his people. Like Israel of old, Jesus’ Blood forms us into a new people of God – the Church. During each Eucharist we proclaim, as they did, “All that God has said, we will do.”

As we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus, we enter into a deeper communion with Jesus and with one another. We become the Body of Christ present in our world. Like Jesus, we must become willing to do our Father’s will, opening ourselves to accepting a share of the sufferings that may entail.

We are never alone in our efforts, because sharing in Eucharist makes us a covenant community. Our oneness in Eucharist must lead us to oneness in daily living.

Today’s feast is a strong reminder of the realities of our Christian life:

• Our God desires to be intimately one with us and the Eucharist is the place where that happens most clearly. As we eat Jesus’ Body and drink his Blood, he becomes one with us and we with him.
• Our sharing in Eucharist also draws us into deeper communion with all the members of the Church. We become more fully the Body of Christ.
• As the Body of Christ in our world, we continue the mission of Jesus to announce the good news of God’s love to all our brothers and sisters, especially those who need to hear that God loves them.

As we give thanks today for the great gift of the Body and Blood of Jesus in Eucharist, let us re-dedicate ourselves to living out our oneness in Jesus as we go about the daily tasks of living this week.

The Most Holy Trinity (May 27, 2018)

Ask yourself, as Moses did: “Did anything so great ever happen before?” We hear Moses remind the Israelites that our God has revealed the Divine Presence in many wonderful ways: from creation through the great signs of divine power done for God’s people during the Exodus. God lovingly gave the chosen people commandments by which to live and the promise of a land where they would live long and prosperous lives.

Our Triune God continued to love his people. The Father sent the Son, Jesus, to dwell among us. And Jesus died and rose to save us from our sins. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit as God’s abiding Presence in us and among us. God sought us out in love and made us adopted children, brothers and sisters of Jesus. We have “received the Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” In prayer, Jesus taught us to approach God and call him “Father.”

As adopted children, co-heirs with Jesus, we have the right to inherit the promised reign of God. The Spirit of God is always with us, enabling us to bear our sufferings with Jesus, so that we may also be glorified with Jesus.

St. Francis de Sales describes for us our promised eternal inheritance.

“We will see face to face and very clearly the Divine Majesty, the essence of God, and the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. There we will understand and participate in those adorable conversations and divine colloquies which take place between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” ( Sermons for Lent, 1622, p. 63)

Ask yourself again: “Has anything so great ever happened before?” De Sales encourages us:

“Note well how ardently God desires us to be His, since to this end He has made Himself entirely ours. He gives us both His death and His life; His life so that we may be freed from eternal death; His death so that we can enjoy eternal life. Let us live in peace, then, and serve God so as to be His in this mortal life and still more so in life eternal.” ( Treatise on the Love of God, 3. 5)

All praise and honor to you: Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

Pentecost (May 20, 2018)

Jesus breathes new life into his disciples. Jesus announces that mutual forgiveness will be the mark by which his community will be recognized. And as God has forgiven them in Jesus, Jesus tells them to forgive one another as a sign of the new life they share.

(St. Luke’s account of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles describes the coming of the Spirit in a much more dramatic fashion than John. As the Spirit descends on the disciples as tongues of fire, the disciples begin to make bold proclamation of the Good News in an astounding way. In John, Pentecost takes on the form of a more intimate conversation and communication.)

The very same Spirit is given to each of us at our Baptism. The Spirit’s presence has been strengthened in us through Confirmation. (In some Christian traditions – mostly in the East - Baptism and Confirmation as essentially administered/celebrated back-to-back at the same time.) We are one in the Body of Christ because we all share the one Holy Spirit.

Each of us has special gifts that have been given to us as a way of manifesting the Spirit’s presence in us. Our gifts are given not solely for our own good, although that’s a good place to start! Ultimately, our gifts of the Spirit are meant for the good of others. When we use our gifts for others, we witness to our oneness in Christ. No one’s gift or ministry or work is more important than anyone else’s - all are needed for the unity of the community of the Church.

Each of us is important because we bring a gift or talent or way of working that no one else can bring to the group. We all lose something when an individual person’s gifts are not welcomed or used in the community. We need one another in order to experience the full wonder of God’s love for us.

“Come, Holy Spirit, come!” This is a bold request on our part. Are we really open to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that God wants to give us? Are we willing to use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in order to be drawn more deeply into the Mystery of God’s love? Can we find new ways to use these gifts in our efforts to love one another during the day?

May this feast of Pentecost be a rebirthing in each of us of all the spiritual gifts that help us stay centered in the Holy Spirit.

Seventh Sunday of Easter (May 13, 2018)

We have just heard Jesus’ prayer for us:

“Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.”

Jesus died and rose to make this prayer for us possible. Jesus lived, died and rose for us to make life possible. This is the great mystery of God’s great love for us.

You and I have been baptized into the mystery of God’s love. We now share the very life and love of God. God’s life within us draws us into unity, not just with God, but with one another. And our unity in love allows God’s love to overflow and bear witness to the world around us.

Jesus tells us that he sends us into the world just as He was sent into the world by his Father. With Jesus as our example, compansion and guide, as we express our love for one another in daily life, God is working through us to transform the division and strife of our world into unity and peace.

It’s hard not to be stirred by Jesus’ words. The challenge is: do we believe them enough to live by them? Will I, will we, choose to love today in a way that allows God’s love in us to overflow to others? Will we, will I, accept the responsibility to be God’s loving presence today in our little corner of the world? Being ‘one’ – that ism being instruments of unity and peace - can only happen if you and I are willing each day to do our share of loving as Jesus has loved us.

We heard Jesus give us a promise in the Gospel: to the extent that we strive to live together in the name of the Father and of His Son (and enlivened, of course, by the Spirit) then our joy will be complete! Let us ask him to strengthen us in our efforts today to be a living witness of God’s great love through our attempts to be ‘one’ with one another.

May God be praised in us!

Ascension of the Lord (May 10 and/or 13, 2018)

Today we celebrate the conclusion of Jesus’ mission from his Father. We see Jesus stand before his chosen eleven as the Christ, Lord of the universe. With full authority for the salvation of the world, Jesus sends the Eleven forth to make disciples of all the nations. They are to baptize in the name of the Trinity, and teach all they have been commanded by Jesus.

Then Jesus returns to his Father, leaving the earth in his bodily form. His leaving emphasizes the importance that faith will play in their mission. They are to put their trust in the Spirit he will leave with them, and they are to act on all they have been taught to believe. They will have doubts and fears as they go, so they are to remember his final words to them: “I am with you always.” Jesus’ abiding presence with them through the Spirit will give them strength and courage when they need it to continue their efforts.

Over the past few weeks, you and I have been renewed in our faith by our celebration of Jesus’ death and rising. Today, as we celebrate his return to his Father, Jesus speaks to us, his disciples, with the full authority of the Christ: I send you forth to make even more disciples. Announce the truth of what I have taught you by living it every day. When you feel the insecurities of the journey, recall my promise to you: “I am with you always.” My Spirit will provide the strength you need to continue on.

As we carry out our mission each day, we are not to waste time trying to judge our success or failure. Jesus asks us to place our faith in him and give the best effort we can each day. St. Francis de Sales reminds us to begin each day anew, trying to be faithful today to letting Jesus live in us and love through us.

As we celebrate Jesus’ return to his Father, let us renew our faith in all that Jesus has taught us. With confidence, let us set about living today with grace and enthusiasm. Remember: Jesus is with us always!

Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 6, 2018)

Today’s Scripture readings call us to embrace the great reality: God is love.

God has loved us eternally. Even when the human family chose to reject God’s love and sinned, God’s eternal love for us sent his Son Jesus among us as expiation for our sins. God’s love does not change; God doesn’t love us because we love him.

Jesus reminds us of this wonderful news in the gospel today: “You are slaves no longer. I call you friends because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.” Through of our baptism into Jesus’ saving death and resurrection, you and I share in the life and love of God. Jesus has made it possible for us to love one another as he has loved us. Through the grace of faith, you and I are begotten of God and know God. God gives us the ability to love and he desires us to use that ability for the good of one another.

God makes his enduring love surprisingly evident in today’s first reading. When Peter enters the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, the Holy Spirit is poured out on this pagan family even before they are baptized. Peter is shocked that non-Jews are speaking in tongues, but he accepts the wonder of God’s love working in these foreigners and baptizes them in the name of Jesus. Peter is forced to acknowledge that God shows no partiality in loving. That will become the practice of the Church community.

We are to love all as Jesus has loved all. There can be no strangers or aliens in our community. We must be open to the many ways that God’s love will manifest itself among us. Sometimes the working of God’s love will surprise us, as it did Peter. Since God’s love is always present among us, we may experience it through the least likely people and situations.

You and I are often the unsuspecting channel of God’s love for people who least expect it from us. When we learn to accept the great mystery of God’s eternal love for each of us, when we make the time each day to allow God’s love to reach deeply within us, when we decide to expect to find God’s love in each person we meet during the day, then we will find ourselves experiencing the great transformation that Jesus has come to make in us. We will learn to treasure being Jesus’ friend and try to be friend to everyone we meet. We will be mindful of St. John’s words: “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us.” It is not that others have loved me first; rather, I have loved them. This is how Jesus has loved us. It is the way that he asks us to love one another.

May our God be praised in our efforts to love!

Fifth Sunday of Easter (April 29, 2018)

Today, Jesus is telling us that a personal, intimate relationship with him is essential if we are to bear fruit as his disciples.

As branches need a vine in order to bear fruit, we need Jesus. Jesus is very clear: “Without me, you can do nothing.” The opposite is also true: with Jesus, we can do everything. Jesus reveals his great desire for us: “Remain in me, as I remain in you.” Our efforts to remain in Jesus each day give glory to our Father.

One of the ways we remain in Jesus as he remains in us is that we love in our deeds, and not merely talk about loving. St. Francis de Sales offers us some practical advice about how to do this each day. He encourages us to begin our day by being conscious of God’s presence and love:

My God, I know that you are here with me.
You are loving me today.
Help me to be conscious you are with me
in everything I say and do today.

Then, as we begin each new activity of our day, he encourages us to be conscious again of God’s presence and ask for the help of his grace so that we might do this activity in a way that is pleasing to God.

All of the activities of our day are part of God’s plan for our salvation. God graces them, making them holy activities, no matter how ordinary they may seem to us. Eating a meal, shopping for food, listening in class, working at a job, meeting with friends, washing clothes and pots and pans – each of these activities can be holy when I choose to do them as God’s will for me right now, and I ask God for the grace to do them in a loving way.

When we make this short prayer at the beginning of each of our activities and trust in God’s presence and love with us, we are better able to accept any difficulties we may meet in an activity and possibly see them as God’s way of pruning us so that we can bear more fruit.

De Sales’ advice helps us to remember that we are branches on Jesus, the vine, as we go about the tasks of daily living. It also helps us to do our actions and speak our words in a way that is loving.

Let us pray that his advice may help each of us to deepen our friendship with Jesus and to love one another more as Jesus has loved us.

Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 22, 2018)

In today's Gospel, Jesus is telling us about himself and his relationship with his disciples. "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

You and I know what a good shepherd Jesus is. He loves us so much that he willingly died on the cross for all his sheep down through the ages. All of his sheep are sinners and his loving death has freed us from our sins, and his resurrection has given us a share in his new life.

Jesus tells us more: "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father." Because Jesus has loved us and called us to be his disciples, he has invited us into a special intimacy with him: the same intimacy he shares with his Father -- a divine intimacy.

How can anyone pass up that invitation?

The more we open ourselves and respond to Jesus’ invitation, the more we realize how life changing our response is. And we are not alone. All disciples around us and in our world are making the same effort we are, allowing that divine intimacy to transform the way we live our daily lives. Our efforts support the working of grace in all.

The Eucharist we share nourishes our divine intimacy with Jesus and with one another. Our good shepherd gives us his body to eat and his blood to drink and he promises us eternal life.

As we allow the divine intimacy to grow within us, the words of St. John offer us encouragement. "Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God...We are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."

Let us keep our minds and hearts focused each day on the intimate invitation of Jesus and respond generously.

Third Sunday of Easter (April 15, 2018)

It’s hard for us to imagine what it must have been like to be in the room where the disciples had gathered and were now listening to the two who had just returned from Emmaus and were telling them about their experience of the risen Jesus. All of them had to have been excited and full of questions.

Then Jesus came and stood in their midst and spoke to them very gently: “Peace be with you.” It’s obvious that Jesus understood their amazement and confusion. He immediately wants to set their minds at ease: “See my hands and feet; it is I. Touch me; I’m not a ghost.” “Have you anything to eat?” And he eats the piece of fish they gave him. We’re told the disciples were incredulous with joy.

Then Jesus takes the time to explain to them all the Scriptures - from Moses and the prophets and psalms - that referred to him. All of this was to prepare them for their mission as witnesses to all these things.

Jesus wants to have a similar encounter with each of us in prayer. He wants us to know him as our crucified and risen Lord. He wants us to experience him as our Advocate with the Father – the One who forgives our sins and reconciles us with the Father. He wants to open our minds and hearts to the depths of God’s word in the Scriptures – words which invite us into the fullness of the mystery of God’s great love and mercy – words which are meant to transform us into his brothers and sisters.

Sometimes we find ourselves tempted to think that there must be one definitive experience of Jesus that will change us forever – an experience like the one in today’s Gospel. We search the books of spiritual writers, trying to find that “best” way to make this happen. And we often find ourselves frustrated – and feeling very imperfect: “I must be doing something wrong.”

Today’s Gospel is instructive. Jesus is the one who chooses the time and way he will reveal himself. The disciples were just there in the room; they didn’t have to do anything to prepare for Jesus’ coming among them. They were just thinking about him and their minds were filled with questions. Then Jesus is there, telling them: “Peace be with you.”

Our expectations for some definitive experience of Jesus may be blinding us to the experience that Jesus wants for us. He knows our desires – and our limitations. He may not want to overwhelm us at a particular moment. He does want us to be there in prayer with an open heart. He will fill us with his love in the way he knows we need it.

May our eagerness for an experience of Jesus in prayer always be tempered with confidence and trust in his loving care for us.

Second Sunday of Easter (April 8, 2018)

The heart of Thomas longed to see what the others had seen. He wanted to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. And we just heard Jesus respond to Thomas’ longing in today’s Gospel.

Jesus’ gift of peace entered the heart of Thomas and Thomas’ faith and love poured out in response: “My Lord and my God!” Then we heard Jesus speak to disciples down through the ages: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

There is a longing in the heart of every disciple to have the experience of Thomas – a deep encounter with Jesus. Our longing doesn’t come from unbelief or disbelief. It is a longing of love and faith that seeks even deeper union with Jesus.

This longing draws us to prayer, to the Scriptures, to the Eucharist. When we come with faith and an open heart, we express our longing for union. Jesus responds in love, giving us his body and blood and often a word to encourage us to long even more deeply.

We are truly blessed Even though we haven’t seen as Thomas did, we believe and seek to deepen our faith and love. As Jesus responded to the longing of Thomas, he will respond to our longing by drawing us closer to him each day. May we learn to echo Thomas’s cry of faith and love: “My Lord and my God!”

Easter Sunday (April 1, 2018)

My brothers and sisters, Jesus is risen from the dead! Alleluia! He has conquered sin and death! Let us rejoice!

The dying and rising of Jesus is the foundation of our faith, the reality on which our hope is built. We have been made new in baptism. Jesus has shared his risen life with us. We have become his brothers and sisters, children of the Father, gifted with the presence of the Holy Spirit.

And we are destined to share the fullness of divine life in eternity.

While we are here on this earth, we are to keep our eyes on the things above as we go about living our daily life in sincerity and truth. Because we are a new creation, we have the power to live a life that reflects God’s loving presence in our world. Like our brother Jesus, we are to live for the good of others. We are to make God’s compassion, mercy, healing and empowerment evident for all to see in the way you and I choose to live.

Today we are invited to put aside our past ways of living, and let the yeast of Jesus’ death and rising rise within us and change us.

As we look around us and see the signs of new life in the trees and the flowers, we can use them as a reminder of the newness we want to bring to our daily living: the greens of compassion and patience, the reds of zeal for justice and truth, the whites of simplicity, the yellows of hope and joy, the purples of forgiveness and healing.

As we renew our baptismal promises this morning, let us go deep within our heart to get in touch with the divine life flowing in us. Let us remember that we are beloved children of our God, brothers and sisters of Jesus who has died and risen for us. Let us resolve to be newness of life to all we meet today and tomorrow, and every day.

My brothers and sisters, Jesus our brother is risen! Let us rejoice and be glad!

Easter Vigil (March 31, 2018)

Tonight we join the whole Church in a most sacred celebration. We are celebrating our thankfulness for the whole history of God’s saving work among His people.

We began our celebration by accepting once again Jesus our Light. In the Easter Proclamation, we sang of our Father’s great care for us - his boundless, merciful love. We even rejoiced over Adam’s sin that gained for us so great a redeemer.

Our Scriptures recounted the wonders of God’s creating word. We joined God’s chosen people as they passed to safety through the waters of the sea. And we heard the words of the prophets who kept the hope of salvation alive among God’s people.

The Gospel has just announced the great mystery that brings us together tonight.

The waiting is over: salvation and redemption have come. Jesus, the One who was crucified for our sins, is risen. He is alive, among us.

St. Paul reminds us that we have been joined to Jesus’ death and resurrection through the waters of our baptism. As a result, we are slaves to sin no longer.

We have been made new, alive for God in Christ Jesus.

In a moment, we will renew our baptismal promises together -- a sign of our re-dedication to letting Jesus live in us more fully.

Then as our celebration continues, we will experience in sacrament the renewal of Jesus’ death for us: his body broken and his blood poured out for us. And we will receive his body and blood as food for our continuing journey with him.

At the end of our liturgy of thanksgiving, we will be sent forth as messengers of God’s continuing mercy and love for his people. May our celebration this evening renew us and give us strength for our mission.

Palm Sunday Passion of the Lord (March 25, 2018)

Today we begin the most sacred week of the Christian calendar.

We heard Isaiah’s Servant Song proclaimed to us. The Servant represents the sufferings of the exiled community of ancient Israel in Babylon. In the midst of their suffering, the Servant speaks a word of hope to the community: “The Lord God is my help; therefore I am not disgraced.”

In Mark’s account of the Passion, Jesus’ last words from the Cross are the opening words of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”? Jesus was identifying himself with the suffering people of every age. Jesus has taken upon himself the sufferings and sins of every person who will ever live.

In the midst of all his suffering, Jesus knew his Father’s love.

Perhaps his last cry in a loud voice indicated that he was identifying himself with the last words of Psalm 22: “You, O Lord, be not far from me; O my help, hasten to aid me.” Then Jesus breathed his last. We know that his Father heard the voice of his suffering Son – and has greatly exalted him.

Jesus wants each of us to know that he has shared in our sufferings – for he is our brother. He invites us to join our sufferings to His – for the salvation of the world.

Let us be with Jesus, our brother and Savior, during this Holy Week.

Fifth Sunday of Lent (March 18, 2018)

As we continue our Lenten journey, the prophet Jeremiah turns our attention to the new covenant God desires to establish with his people. “All, from least to greatest, will know the Lord. He will write the law on our hearts and forgive our evildoing and remember our sins no more.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus announces that the “hour” has come. When he is lifted up from the earth, he will draw all to himself. Jesus has chosen to strip himself of his divinity and become human like us so that we would know the great love God has for us.

Now he is preparing himself to be the grain of wheat that will fall to the ground and die in order to produce much fruit. This will be the hour of our salvation. Because Jesus is obedient to his Father whom he loves dearly, he will suffer and die for the sins of the whole world. He will reconcile the whole human race with God. With his death and rising, Jesus will complete God’s new covenant. Through the grace of baptism, God’s law is now written on our hearts. We become God’s children once again, able to call God “Father.”

When we go within our hearts to listen to God’s word, we must not be surprised that we encounter a challenge. Jesus will challenge us to follow him wherever he goes, to do the will of his Father, as he did. Like Jesus, we may feel troubled at times with what we have to face each day. Like Jesus, we will come to understand that our Father is with us in everything we do.

We have nothing to fear. We heard Jesus tell us: “My Father will honor whoever serves me.” That is Jesus’ promise to us.

Let us be faithful to the new covenant Jesus has made with us. Let us listen to our heart; it is there that God speaks to us. Let us strive each day to do with love all that our God asks of us. Let us ask Jesus, who has died and risen for us, to draw us closer to him and one another each day.

Fourth Sunday of Lent (March 11, 2018)

Here we are at the mid-point of our Lenten journey.

During the past three weeks, we have been listening to the call of the prophets and Jesus himself: “Repent and believe the Good News.” Change your way of living.

Today, in the midst of these voices for change, we hear the Good News: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world” but to save it.

We heard St. Paul expand on John’s words: “God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in sin, brought us to life in Christ – by grace you have been saved.”

The wonder of God’s loving mercy shown to us in Jesus: the immeasurable riches of his grace, his kindness to us in Jesus.

Our salvation, our new life, is pure grace, freely given by the God who loves us. We have done nothing to deserve it; we can do nothing to merit it. It’s ours because God loves us. When we have the humble faith to accept this gracious gift of our God, then we can be made new, for we share in the life and love of God.

When we listen to the Good News and trust in God’s faithful word to us,

then we are open to confessing our sins and receiving the mercy of God.

When we understand what God is doing in us, we will find ourselves being led to gratefulness. And our gratefulness will show itself in the way we live with one another. We then choose to become part of the light that Jesus is bringing into our world. The good we do for one another is done in response to God’s graciousness.

It is good to be reminded that God has loved us so much.May today’s reminder be a source of encouragement as we continue our good works on our journey to our Father’s house.

Third Sunday of Lent (March 4, 2018)

The Temple was built as a house where God’s glory would dwell in the midst of his people. The buyers and sellers of offerings had compromise the sacredness of the Temple. Jesus’ zeal to restore its sacredness leads him to clear the Temple.

But this parable-in-action had a deeper meaning, as his disciples understood later.

When the Jews asked for a sign for why he had acted this way, Jesus responded: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews thought he was talking foolishly. Later on, the disciples understood that Jesus was talking about the temple of his own body. Jesus is the sacred place where God’s glory dwells in the midst of his people.

After the disciples experienced the tragic death of Jesus on the Cross and became witnesses to his resurrected body three days later, and the Holy Spirit had come upon them and filled their minds and hearts with light, they were able to look back at all they had experienced with Jesus in a new light. They began to understand that they were now part of the Body of Christ – the continuation of the sacred place where God’s glory remained in the midst of his people. As they preached Jesus Christ crucified and raised, they experienced the power and wisdom of God at work in Jesus’ name. Some people who heard them found a crucified Savior to be a stumbling block; others thought it utter foolishness. Still many others accepted it as saving grace.

You and I are among those who have accepted saving grace. We have been incorporated into the Body of Christ by our baptism. As Church community, we are to be the sacred dwelling place of God in our world. And each of us has been taught to reverence our body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Hearing the account of Jesus cleansing the Temple is a good Lenten reminder to us individually and as a community. Am I keeping the temple of my body sacred?

What kind of effort do I make to keep the community (both Oblate and Church) sacred? Is Jesus inviting me to a cleansing in some way?

Lord Jesus, you are the power and wisdom of God. Open each of us to the cleansing you want to do in your temple during this Lent.