Ascension of the Lord (May 9/12, 2024)

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.

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!

Seventh Sunday of Easter (May 12, 2024)

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!

Sixth Sunday of Easter (May 5, 2024)

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 does not 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 28, 2024)

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.

Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 21, 2024)

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 14, 2024)

It is 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 did not 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 7, 2024)

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 does not 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 have not 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 (March 31, 2024)

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 30, 2024)

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 24, 2024)

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.