Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 25, 2022)

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 25, 2022)

Today’s Scripture readings are a bold reminder to us: if we are women and men of faith, then we must be actively concerned about our brothers and sisters, especially the poor and less fortunate among us.

A landowner in ancient Israel was seen as God’s tenant and was expected to “pay rent” by giving alms to the poor. The rich man in today’s parable ignored the poor beggar Lazarus sitting at his own gate, so in the next life, he finds that he is in torment as Lazarus was in this life.

The dialogue between the rich man and Abraham is instructive. Abraham makes it very clear that our decisions about how we are going to live in this life affect the life-to-come. They influence how we will live in eternity.

Abraham also makes it clear that we have been given all the knowledge we need in order to enjoy eternal life with God. The Scriptures, and especially the teaching of Jesus and the celebration of Eucharist, indicate how we are to live a life that pleases God, our creator.

Pope Benedict wrote some powerful words in his Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist: “Our communities, when they celebrate the Eucharist, must become ever more conscious that the sacrifice of Christ is for all, and that the Eucharist thus compels all who believe in him to become ‘bread that is broken’ for others, and to work for the building of a more just and fraternal world.

Keeping in mind the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, we need to realize that Christ continues today to exhort his disciples to become personally engaged: ‘You yourselves, give them something to eat.’ (Mt. 14.16) Each of us is truly called, together with Jesus, to be bread broken for the life of the world.”

As we take a look at the way we live and decide how we will live better in our world today, we may learn from God’s word today to be more care-full about our brothers and sisters. They are our God-given ticket to eternal union with him.

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 18, 2022)

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 18, 2022)

We heard the Lord speak very clearly through the prophet Amos in today’s first reading: God cares for the needy and the poor.

He will not forget any injustices we may do to them. Each person is God’s child; he asks to look at each person as a brother or sister. That is how he wants us to live together.

We heard St. Paul urge us to pray for civil authorities. We are to pray that they will be good leaders, concerned for the good of each person. This helps us to live together peacefully and productively. Leaders are to promote the common good, respecting the rights of all, especially the less influential, and encouraging everyone to care for one another.

Our prayers are very needed today.

You and I know just how enterprising the worldly can be in protecting themselves and their fortunes. Jesus is encouraging us to be just as enterprising about living by Gospel values in our daily lives. It’s so easy to buy into the greed we see all around us. Jesus warns us: you can’t serve two masters.

This weekend has offered us an opportunity to reflect on gospel values in married life and in our community living. It is our hope and prayer that you will choose to listen for the voice of God in each other and in the Church and choose to serve our God who is loving and compassionate to all of us. If each of us will take the time to listen in prayer each day, we will have the strength and courage we will need to be enterprising in gospel ways - ways that will reflect the love and compassion of God to each of our brothers and sisters.

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 11, 2022)

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 11, 2022)

Today, we have had the opportunity to listen to a whole chapter of Luke’s Gospel. It contains the core of the Good News - the merciful forgiveness of our God.

Jesus is eating with sinners, an obvious problem for the religious leaders. Jesus’ actions are a parable in themselves, showing how much God loves sinners. God’s joy in the repentance of one sinner is so very clear. Then Jesus tells the story of the two sons.

The younger son is the obvious sinner and humbly receives the generous forgiveness of his father. But it is clear by the end of the story that the elder son is in an even worse state - not only is he unable to forgive his brother but he has estranged himself from his merciful father as well.

When we take the time to be honest before God, all of us realize that we are like the younger son, sinners in need of God’s merciful love. But we might ask ourselves if we don’t, at times, react as the elder son did, resentful that God also forgives the “greater sinners” around us. It’s so easy to fall into certain self-righteousness. Here we are trying to “be good” and others don’t seem to be struggling as we are. Very subtly, we begin to look down on others as if we are better than they are.

Humility is the recognition that I am unworthy of the great love God has for me. All of us are. Each of us has received God’s generous mercy again and again in our lives. Our only proper response is gratefulness and joy.

The Gospel story leaves the elder son’s response hanging. Will he recognize the younger sinner as his brother and welcome him home as his father has already done?

How would you or I respond? That’s the question for us in today’s Gospel. Will we be so grateful for our own experience of God’s amazing mercy that we will rejoice when any brother or sister returns home?

As the father reminds us: “We have to celebrate! This brother or sister of yours was dead and has come back to life; was lost and is now found.”

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 4, 2022)

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 4, 2022)

How many of you felt a little uneasy as you listened to today’s Gospel? I would hope that most of us were a little uneasy as we heard Jesus’ challenging words to anyone who chooses to follow him as a disciple.

From the very beginning, Jesus tells us that he is not offering us an easy way of life. He is asking us to be like him - focused on doing the will of the Father no matter the cost. We know that this focus took him away from his family, cost him a lack of material comforts, and eventually brought him to the cross. If we choose to follow him and focus our lives on doing the Father’s will, then we too may have to make choices in our relationships.

We may have to renounce some material comforts, and certainly, we will have to carry our own crosses in this life. Jesus is telling us that we must sit down and calculate our willingness to make these choices and our courage to follow them through.

It’s very easy to listen only to the challenge in Jesus’ words, and forget that he spoke them out of love for us and for his Father. He has told us often that he will never ask us to do anything on our own. He will always be with us and provide the grace we will need to meet the challenges. Any challenge will be only a bump on our road to eternal union with God.

That is why we heard Solomon’s prayer for wisdom in today’s first reading. His prayer must become ours. The Holy Spirit gifts us with wisdom that will enable us to see the events of life from God’s perspective. Wisdom enables us to trust that everything that happens to us is in some way part of God’s plan for our salvation. He will give us whatever we need to be faithful.

We pray this morning and every morning for the wisdom and the courage we need to answer Jesus’ challenging call to discipleship. May we learn to depend on grace for the strength we need to live out our response.

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 28, 2022)

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 28, 2022)

 Today’s Scripture readings encourage us to ask ourselves: am I humble, a virtue that finds favor with God?

 As we know, Saint Francis de Sales considered humility the acceptance of who I am in the eyes of God. I would imagine none of us has to be reminded that we are sinners. We’re often all too conscious of that fact.

 We don’t always remember that Jesus came to earth to tell us sinners that our Father loves us. Jesus chose to die on the cross to save us from our sins and he rose to share his new life with us. Through our baptism, Jesus has made us his brothers and sisters - adopted children of his Father. We are now “graced sinners,” loved by our God. When I am thankful that I am a “graced sinner” in the eyes of God, then I am practicing true humility.

 All that we are and all that we have is gift -- a gift of God’s love for us. When we accept that fact, then we can follow the advice Sirach offered us: “Conduct your affairs with humility.” That will mean recognizing our own dignity as we go about our day. It will also help us to realize that the same dignity is God’s gift to every person we meet.

 God is choosing to live and work in me; God is also choosing to live and work in you. As I respect and honor God’s presence in me, so I must try to respect and honor God’s presence in you. This is the kind of humility we are asked to live today.

 Remembering that I am a sinner will keep me aware of my limitations; remembering that I am graced will help me to trust in God’s providence for me. Remembering that I am a sinner will keep me from judging others; remembering that I am graced will move me to reach out to others who are suffering. Remembering that I am a sinner will lead me to call on God’s mercy frequently; remembering that I am graced will lead me to be thankful often during the day.

 Let us be humble before the Lord and with one another today. Sirach assures us that we will find favor with God.

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 21, 2022)

During the last month, Jesus has been reminding us that being his disciple isn’t easy.

It takes courage and commitment. It isn’t enough to eat and drink with Jesus on Sunday and listen to his words. Discipleship is a daily way of living. We must make an effort to live what we have heard from Jesus. And, as Jesus nourishes us, we must be willing to nourish each other.

Today’s second reading offers us a very needed reminder as we struggle each day to be a disciple. Our God created each of us because God is love. Everything that we experience in our life is part of God’s loving providence for us – even the difficulties and trials.

The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews encourages us not to forget this basic truth. As we heard, the writer compares God’s care for us to a parent’s care. A loving parent disciplines a son or daughter for loving reasons – to help the child grow as a person. Our loving God treats us in the same way.

In order to be able to appreciate this truth, we must first be willing to accept as true that our God loves us with everlasting love. God’s great desire for us is that we be one with God, right now here on this earth and forever in eternity. When we learn to accept that God’s everlasting love is the reason we exist at all, then we can begin to appreciate God’s presence in our life.

In light of God’s providential care for us, Saint Francis de Sales encourages us to accept whatever comes to us as coming from the hand of our good God whose only purpose is to make us merit from these happenings so that God can reward us out of the abundance of divine love. Everything in our life contributes to our growth with God in holiness.

In order to live this way, we must learn through prayer to develop a great trust in God’s providential love for us. As we grow in our trust, we will be able to strengthen our drooping hands and our weak knees and walk more surely with our God on the path that God has lovingly set for us.

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 14, 2022)

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 14, 2022)

During the past several Sundays, the Church has presented us with some of the challenges we will face as disciples of Jesus.

 We will have to learn to let go of our possessions and even of our desire to possess them. Jesus calls us to be generous, sharing whatever we have with those who are in need.  Last Sunday, we were cautioned to be watchful and ready.  Jesus will come to us in ways that will surprise us.  And today, Jesus tells us that our efforts to be faithful disciples may cause dissension, even in our families.

All of us would like to believe that following Jesus would lead us to peace.  Jesus is telling us very clearly that that may not be the case.  We have only to look at Jesus’ life.  It wasn’t the case for him – and he is Lord and Master and could have done something about it.

Long before Jesus, the prophet Jeremiah suffered because of the message God gave him to deliver to his people.  Despite his suffering, Jeremiah continued to call the people to hear God’s word to them.

The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that we are part of a long tradition of witnesses to God’s faithfulness.  We are encouraged to persevere in running the race that lies before us, while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. As we heard: “For the sake of the joy that lay before him, Jesus endured the cross and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.”  Jesus’ example is meant to give us hope so that we will persevere.

Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus each day!  That becomes our way to keep focus as we go about our daily lives.  We ask Jesus to be with us as our strength.  We ask him to show us the way to our Father’s home through the ups and downs of life.

When we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, when we let him live in us, we can be sure that whatever fire we may have to enter in our life, we will always emerge more purified, like fire-tried gold.  Jesus is at our side.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 7, 2022)

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 7, 2022)

 Jesus has desired from all eternity to meet us here at this sacred meal.

 He invites us to sit down with him and listen as he tells us about our Father’s love for us and what our Father desires for us. He will also tell us how we can respond to our Father’s loving care for us.

 Jesus offers us the example of Abraham and Sarah, our ancestors in the faith, in today’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. He tells us that we have faith when we accept our God’s word as the truth, confident that what God says will become a reality.

 Both Abraham and Sarah did just that: They left their homeland for a new land that God promised. They accepted God’s word that they would have a child even though they were old. They were willing to sacrifice their son Isaac who was the only evidence they had of God’s promise of many descendants. And God gave Isaac back to them as a sign of the truth of God’s word to them and as a witness to their confident hope.

 Jesus offers their example to us as a reminder. He tells us not to be afraid. Our Father is pleased to give us the kingdom. He invites us to place our trust in our Father’s promise, to make our heart’s only desire the treasure we have been promised and given.

 The sign of our confident hope will be our willingness to be prepared each day: prepared to seek our Father’s will for us each day and do it lovingly; prepared to live with Jesus at our side each day, talking with him about our day and listening as he talks to us, often through the people and events of our day; prepared to care gently for each person we will meet today.

 Jesus tells us: much will be expected of the person entrusted with much. You and I have been given much by our God. Let us be worthy of the trust our God puts in us as his beloved children.

 Let us take what Jesus tells us at this meal and live it out today – and every day. He is here to strengthen us to do just that - for he gives us his Body to eat and his Blood to drink.

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 31, 2022)

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 31, 2022)

Today’s Scripture readings call us to do some reflecting on the way we live as a baptized follower of Jesus.

St. Paul reminds us that we have been given a share in the life of Jesus by our baptism. We are called to focus our way of living our daily life in a new way - a way that is influenced by Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. As Jesus has told us: the only thing that gives our life here on earth ultimate value is remembering that life is a gift of God, and it is given to us to lead us to eternal life with God.

With that perspective in mind, we can appreciate the viewpoint of Qoheleth in today’s first reading: “All things in this life are vanity” - a mere breath, a vapor - transient and ultimately empty. All the hard work and worry we may put into accumulating things here on earth - what will it ultimately matter when we come to die? The Lord isn’t going to ask us: “How much did you make during your life?” He will ask us: “How much did you love?”

And our willingness to love flows from the new life given to us in baptism. Because we share the life of God, we are able to love as God loves. If we choose to live and love in this manner, then the way we live will be different from the way those live whose only concern is this world and all it has to offer.

In order to live and love as God does, we will have to learn to discipline our choices to follow the lead of grace. And grace will call us to rise above evil desires, passion, lust and uncleanness. Lying has no part in anyone who genuinely loves. Neither does prejudice nor discrimination. Love is about treating everyone with dignity and respect - as brothers and sisters who are the image of the Creator.

All of us can benefit from some prayerful reflection on today’s word from our God. May our reflection lead us to grow in knowledge and grace. May we be formed anew each day in the image of our Creator. Then our daily living will help us to grow rich in the sight of God and bring us ultimately to share his life forever.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 24, 2022)

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 24, 2022)

St. Paul asks us to reflect on the wonderful gift of redemption that is given to us as a result of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

We are sinners, but God’s love for us pardons all our sins and gives us new life in Jesus - a sharing in the very life of the risen Lord. Because of this sharing, we are able to approach God in prayer as Jesus did. We can call God “Father.”

In our thankfulness, we want to hold God’s name as holy and we desire, as Jesus did, that the Kingdom of God become present in us. Our requests must be simple:

• Give us the bread we need for today: food for our bodies and the bread that makes us one in Eucharist.

• Forgive our sins each day because we are willing to forgive the sins of one another.

• Keep us safe and strong in our faith until the end.

Jesus tells us more about our praying: “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.” Jesus never tells us what to ask for; all he tells us is that our Father will give us the Holy Spirit - His abiding presence in us and among us. What he is saying is that God will give us Himself; He is the only good we will need.

God’s one desire for each of us is that we be His children, trusting in his goodness. When we learn to pray with trust, then we will also learn to see the goodness of our God in whatever comes to us in our daily lives. The Spirit within us will give us the strength and courage we will need to handle the situations of our life journey.

Nothing will be too much for us to handle, because everything is coming to us from the hand of our Father whose only purpose for us is union with him, true happiness.

Jesus teaches us how to pray. How we pray really does make a difference in how we live. May each of us learn to ask our Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit and then trust that He is with us as we go about our day. He will give us everything we need - for we are his children whom He loves with everlasting love.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 17, 2022)

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 17, 2022)

Today’s Gospel story is so familiar to us that it’s easy to miss how extraordinary it is.

Jesus is going against all the cultural conventions of his day. He is a guest at the home of unmarried women - unmarried men didn’t do that. He allows a woman to serve him - notice that Abraham served the guests in today’s first reading. And Jesus is teaching Mary, a woman - in Jesus’ day, only men were disciples.

While the circumstances of this event are unconventional, so too is its message. Poor Martha is very busy about all the tasks of hospitality that is a very important virtue in the Middle East. I’m sure we can all identify with her when she’s upset that her sister isn’t helping her to be hospitable.

Jesus gently reminds her that her anxiety, her upsetment, has distracted her from what’s really important in hospitality - listening to her guest. Hospitality first and foremost concerns making the guest feel welcome - feel at home. It’s hard to do that if we don’t take the time to sit down with the guest and listen to whatever he or she has to say.

Today’s story of Abraham’s hospitality reminds us that God is present in every guest. We can reverence his presence by listening to one another. We might be surprised at times by what we hear!

There is also a wider lesson in the story. Always wanting to be busy about serving and becoming anxious about it are traps for the disciple. In order for our serving to have its greatest benefit, we must first take time just to be with the Lord in prayer - listening to whatever he may have to say to us. Our effort to listen first keeps our service focused on sharing the Lord’s love in all we do.

Hospitality, a welcoming attitude, is a great virtue in a disciple. Taking the time just to be with a person allows the Lord’s love to touch them. May each of us learn a valuable lesson from listening to the Lord’s instruction to Martha today. May our welcoming attitude to all we meet today bring them a greater sense of being loved by our God, of being at home.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 10, 2022)

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 10, 2022)

In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells us that Jesus was first in the mind of God when he created the universe.

God decided to unite himself with creation in the person of Jesus. Everything has been created through Jesus and for Jesus. And Jesus has reconciled everything to God through his blood shed on the cross. Jesus is the image of the invisible God; because Jesus has shared our human life, every human person has dignity as an image of God.

That is why it is so important that we understand today’s Gospel parable. Jesus is telling us how we are to live as an image of God - loving God with our whole being and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

The parable we have just heard is meant to shock us into realizing the extent to which we are to love. Because we all share the dignity of image of God, we are to love as God loves. There is to be no limit to our love. “Neighbor” is a way of acting, and not a person located outside of us. “Neighbor,” then, is the way I treat anyone I meet - whether I know them or not, whether I like them or not, whether I consider them friend or foe.

Jesus’ point is made when the lawyer identifies the Samaritan as the “neighbor” in the parable – “The one who treated the injured stranger with compassion.” Like the lawyer in the Gospel, all of us ask: “What must I do to inherit everlasting life?”  Jesus tells us: “Go and do the same.”

The challenge is great. It calls us to be mindful each day that “I am the image of God, and I am called to love today as God loves.” The law of love is written on our hearts from our very creation as an image of God. The more my heart beats with the love of God, the more I will strive to be neighbor to everyone who crosses my path each day.

Each person I meet calls me to be the best person I can be - to image to them as the love of the God who loves them. That’s enough challenge for any of us. Trying to meet that challenge each day will assure us of our inheritance - everlasting life with our God. Let us be renewed at this Eucharist and go forth to be compassionate neighbor today.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 3, 2022)

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 3, 2022)

Imagine for a moment what those early disciples must have felt like as Jesus sends them out on their first mission to announce: “The reign of God is at hand.”

He sent them to prepare the towns and villages for his coming. They were to proclaim “peace” everywhere they went. And he gave them power to cure the sick.

Marvelous things must have happened on their journeys because they come back overjoyed with their experience: “Even the demons are subject to us in your name.”

Jesus shares their joy, but he warns them: don’t get so caught up in the power you have that you forget that you are disciples who have been created anew by placing your faith and trust in me. I am the source of your salvation; any power you have comes from me.

St. Paul learned that early in his ministry. We hear it echoed in his letter to the Galatians: “May I never boast of anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This kind of humility is key to the effectiveness of Jesus’ disciples.

Any good that we are able to do happens primarily through our cooperation with God’s grace. That is why we are urged to put our gifts at the service of the Church. Sharing our gifts for the good of one another enables us to grow, not only in our love, but in our humility.

Jesus sends us out into the world every day to announce by the way we live that the reign of God is here. We must try to bring Christ’s peace to everyone we meet and everything we do. We can do that best when we begin our day by remembering God’s presence in us and asking for the grace to live this day well as a faithful disciple.

We may often feel like lambs among wolves; Jesus told us we would. That’s all the more reason to stay focused on the presence and grace of God within us. He will give us what we need to be good news to the world around us. May we learn to boast in nothing but the cross of Jesus. From him comes the saving power of grace.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (June 26, 2022)

Today’s Scriptures are a strong reminder that following Jesus is a challenge.

We heard St. Paul tell us: Jesus has set you free to love. Live by the Spirit; don’t become slaves of the world again. Paul is echoing Jesus in today’s Gospel: if you want to follow me wherever I go, don’t seek security in this world. Once you set your hand to proclaiming the kingdom of God, don’t look back at what you have left behind.

Jesus reminds us that journeying with him will take us in one direction - to the cross. We must be willing to complete the journey with Jesus if we want to share in his glory.

Our problem as human beings is often our focus.  When we think of what we are by our baptism and profession of vows–members of the Body of Christ, sharers in the life and mission of Jesus, the presence of Jesus in our world –then we want to give ourselves to the work of the kingdom; we love and forgive and show compassion.

But too often we let our minds and hearts focus on other very natural desires –desires for security, for intimacy with family and friends, for acceptance by others –and, “looking back,” we take our hands from the plow and forget Jesus’ call to save the world with him.  We can help ourselves to focus more on Jesus and our call if we learn to consciously remember Jesus’ presence with us as we begin each new activity of our day. Just a momentary prayer can keep us focused.

Jesus is calling us to a love gentle enough to endure all things without violence, a love strong enough to stand against the whole world in loyalty to the work and ideals of the kingdom of God. We know that we cannot love this way by ourselves.

Jesus has promised to be with us at every moment of our life. His Spirit will prompt us in our efforts to love as Jesus loved. The challenge is great; even greater is the grace Jesus will give us to meet the challenge. Let us refocus ourselves today at this Eucharist.

Jesus is here; let us take him with us; let us journey with him. He desires to lead us back to our Father.

The Body and Blood of Christ (June 19, 2022)

Today’s second reading gives us the oldest written account of the origin of Eucharist.

St. Paul reminds us that Eucharist is intimately united with the death of Jesus. We heard him tell us: “Every time we eat this bread (Jesus’ body) and drink this cup (Jesus’ blood), we proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.” That means that each time we share in this Eucharistic meal, we express our willingness to share in the death of Jesus - a willingness to join him in giving ourselves for the sake of others.

Luke’s gospel reminds us that Jesus cared about feeding the many hungers of the people he served. He fed their bodies with bread, but he also fed their spirits with healing.

Do we always remember the grace and responsibility we accept when we eat and drink? The bread and cup we share are one - the body and blood of Jesus. Therefore, we who eat it must be one - forgetting ourselves completely and living for the happiness of others. Do we take care about that responsibility as we leave the Lord’s table and go about our daily living?

The Eucharist is the graced means given to us to fulfill our purpose in life - letting Jesus come alive in all we say and do. The Jesus whose body we eat and whose blood we drink is the same Jesus who is in us as we go about our day. Do we let the gentle, humble, compassionate, forgiving Jesus come alive in us in the circumstances of daily living, reaching out through us to touch others? Or do we tend to forget and let self-interest and self-gratification come alive instead?

We all give thanks each day for the gift of Eucharist we celebrate and receive. Perhaps today’s celebration can remind us once again in our humanness that the gift we receive in Eucharist - Jesus himself - is the Jesus we carry with us during the day.

May each of us learn more and more to share Jesus living in us with everyone we encounter today and every day. In this way, we continue Jesus’ work of feeding the hungers of our sisters and brothers.

Trinity Sunday (June 12, 2022)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals to us the intimate life of our God: three distinct persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), equal in majesty, undivided in splendor, yet one Lord, one God.

We hear Jesus telling us that the action of the three persons is one. Jesus is Wisdom incarnate - the Word of God become flesh, human like us. Whatever he speaks, he has heard from his Father, and whatever the Spirit will speak he has heard from Jesus. Together our God has created all that is, and together our God has willed and brought about our salvation.

As St. Paul tells us, “now that we have been justified by faith, we are at peace with God through Jesus.  Through him, we have gained access to the grace in which we now stand.” That grace is God’s gift of making us sharers in the very life of the Trinity. “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” The Spirit present in us is the source of our peace with God. He is also the source of our hope - our confident assurance of complete union with the Trinity in the fullness of life to come.

While our sharing in divine life is very personal, it is also communal. Because we share the one Spirit, we are part of one another in the Body of Christ. Therefore, the love we have for God is the same love we must learn to have for one another. How we live with one another as Christians ought to reflect in a very real way the unity of Persons in our God. Our unity with one another is possible because we share the same love of God, which Paul told us “has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”

What a wonderful gift we have been given in our baptism! Each day, you and I can be the continuing revelation of God’s loving presence in our world. When we struggle each day to live as Jesus taught us to live, when we have confidence in Jesus’ promise to be with us each day, when we try to love one another as Jesus has loved us - we are giving witness to the reality of our triune God who has created us out of love, redeemed us by his love, and made us one with him in love.

Let’s recommit ourselves today to our baptismal mission as Church. May the way we live our faith continue to touch the hearts of those around us and turn them and us more fully toward our loving God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Pentecost Sunday (June 5, 2022)

We have just heard Jesus announce the new creation.

As God breathed life into Adam, so Jesus breathes new life into his disciples – the gift of the Holy Spirit. As they breathe in the Spirit, they are able to receive and give forgiveness.

St. Luke describes the coming of the Spirit in more dramatic fashion. As the Spirit descends as tongues of fire on the disciples, they begin to make bold proclamation of the Good News in an astounding way.

The same Spirit is given to each of us at our Baptism, and his presence has been strengthened in Confirmation. St. Paul points that that we are one in the Body of Christ because we all share the one 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 for our own good, but 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 each brings 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.

That’s why a welcoming attitude is so important in the Church community. It’s also why forgiveness is so important among us. We need one another in order to experience the full wonder of God’s love for us.

As we celebrate this feast of new life, our breathing can be a graced reminder. The Spirit is as close to each of us as our very breath, taken deeply into our lungs thousands of times every day, a constant life-giving force.

As we exhale, the Spirit’s power directs us outward to our mission - spreading the love, peace and forgiveness we have inhaled from the risen Lord Jesus.

May we breathe deeply today!

Seventh Sunday of Easter (May 29, 2022)

Seventh Sunday of Easter (May 29, 2022)

We have just heard Jesus’ prayer for us: Tthat they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me…and you love them even as you loved me.”

That is Jesus’ great desire for us and he died and rose to make that desire possible. That is the mystery of God’s great love for us. And we 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 our unity in love will testify that he and the Father are one, that he was sent into the world by his Father, and that we believers are one with God.

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? 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: if we accept the gift of God’s love and in turn love others generously, then he wants us to be with him and share his glory forever.

Jesus’ prayer challenges us today. Let us ask him to strengthen us in our efforts today to be a living witness of God’s great love.

May God be praised in us!

Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 22, 2022)

Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 22, 2022)

Today’s first reading recounts for us the first great debate in the Church.

After listening to all the parties and praying, the apostles and elders respond: “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us …” The Apostles depended on the Holy Spirit they had received from Jesus. The Holy Spirit sent by the Father in Jesus’ name will teach them everything and remind them of all that Jesus had told them. The Spirit did just that.

Through the centuries, the Church has followed the same path with new debates: listening, praying, and responding with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Along with the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives us the gift of his peace – a peace that is more profound than any peace the world might offer. Jesus’ peace brings us the assurance that nothing can separate us from his love. Jesus’ peace strengthens our faith and trust that we will be victorious over trials and suffering as Jesus was. Jesus’ peace enables us to live with optimism and grace.

Jesus tells us: “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” If we choose to abide in Jesus’ peace and seek opportunities to share that peace with one another, we will have no reason to be troubled or afraid.

Every breath we take is a reminder of the Holy Spirit within us and the gift of Jesus’ peace in our hearts.

Let us breathe deeply today – and be at peace.

Ascension of the Lord (May 26/May 29, 2022)

Ascension of the Lord (May 26/May 29, 2022)

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, he 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: “Know that 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.

You and I continue the mission of making disciples of the nations. We are asked to act on our belief. When we feel the insecurities of the journey, we need to recall Jesus’ promise: “I am with you always.” His Spirit will provide the strength we need to continue on. We are not to waste time trying to judge our success or failure as we go. Jesus asks only our faith in him and the best effort we can give today. How often St. Francis de Sales reminds us to begin each day anew and try to be faithful in letting Jesus live in us and love through us.

Let us renew our faith in all that Jesus has taught us and set about living it. Jesus will accompany us on our mission journey today and every day.