Second Sunday of Easter – Cycle A (April 27, 2014)

First reading: Acts 2: 42-47

“They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.  Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.  All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.  Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes.  They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.  And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

Second reading: 1 Pt. 1: 3-9

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.  In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
 

Gospel reading: Jn. 20: 19-31

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.”  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.  The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’  And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’

“Thomas, called Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’  But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.’

“Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them.  Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’  Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.’  Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’  Jesus said to him, ‘Have you come to believe because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.’

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.”

 

Introductory theme summary:

This being the Feast day for ‘The Divine Mercy,’ today’s readings need to be reflected on in light of that devotion; therefore the theme for today’s reflection will be the Mercy of God.

Reflection:

In the first reading we have a description of how the early Christians lived in response to God’s great mercy when they first entered into the new life of Salvation.  There are many remarkable qualities described in that reading: they shared all things in common, they sold their worldly possessions for the benefit of the community, the devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles, they devoted themselves to prayer and the breaking of the bread.  From this it is reasonable to deduce, the first response to the reception of God’s great mercy is one of holy devotion to all things heavenly.  Moreover, without such a response it is questionable whether God’s mercy has yet been received by that soul.

The second reading describes a second feature: the faith we receive, that will lead us to that promised salvation, is able to withstand the trials of this life.  More important than withstanding, those trials are actually an integral part of our formation for the eternal life that awaits us.  Rather than be discouraged by difficulty, we should recognize the refining benefits of suffering through faith remembering, the same merciful God who gave us salvation will be there for us every step of the way.

Finally, the gospel reading gives us the very familiar story of “Doubting Thomas.”  If ever there is a situation that reminds us of our dependence on God’s mercy it is falling into doubt.  If we examine the Lord’s instruction to Thomas we can gather that doubt is as much a choice as belief is.  Yet, the Lord was merciful with Thomas and forgave his unwillingness to believe.  How many of us reject the teachings of the Holy Spirit as they have come down to us through “tradition” due to our own unwillingness to believe?  Rather than conform ourselves to God’s will as it is communicated to us through legitimate authority, we prefer instead to conjure an understanding of God to a likeness that suits our sensibilities by our own authority.  Isn’t that just another form of idolatry?  When such is the case, is a good outcome even possible???

There is no substitute for humility, and no greater tool for developing it than subjecting one’s self to the rule of legitimate authority.  Remember, the proud will be humbled, and the humble will be exalted!!!

O Mercy of God!  Were we to return to the dignity you intended for us from the beginning there would still remain an abyss separating us from your dignity.  Woefully, rather than make such an attempt in appreciation for your salvation, we stoop to even greater depths by our unwillingness to repent as if to increase the abyss your mercy must descend to bring us back to you.  O Lord, thank you for giving us Sister M. Faustina to be a vessel of “Divine Mercy” for lessening the vastness of that abyss.

  

Easter Sunday – Cycle A (April 20, 2014)

First reading: Acts 10: 34a, 37-43

“Peter proceeded to speak and said: ‘You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.  He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.  They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.  This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.  He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.  To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
 

Second reading: Col. 3: 1-4

“Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, not of what is on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.”
 

Gospel reading: Jn. 20: 1-9

“On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb.  So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.’  So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.  They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.  When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.  Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.  For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.”

 

Introductory theme summary:

Clearly, the common theme for the readings on Easter Sunday is the resurrection, and not just the Lord’s but ours as well.  In the first reading we have a retelling of the circumstances surrounding the crucifixion to establish the significance of our Lord’s resurrection to His role in relationship with all humanity – to be the judge of both the living and the dead.  In the second reading we have a practical application for understanding our participation in the Lord’s resurrection during our present lives, while the gospel gives us an indication as to how difficult it was for the apostles to grasp the concept.
 

Reflection:

The difficulty in grasping the concept of the resurrection isn’t limited to the apostles.  There are many people today who still do not fully understand what the resurrection means to us in our present lives.  As implied by Paul’s preface, “If you were raised with Christ…” what follows, then, is a description for the reader of how we must live our present lives to show that we have indeed been raised with Christ – that being, abandoning worldly concerns to live only for heavenly ones.  To better understand the meaning for “living” as we are instructed, we need to better understand what it means to “die” with Christ so as to have our lives become hidden in Him.

Simply put, we are to crucify our flesh!  Paul says, “Now those who belong to Christ [Jesus] have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.”  (Gal. 5: 24)  Paul also says, “For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, (mentioned above) we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.  We know that our old self was crucified with him, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.  If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.”  (Rom. 6: 5-8)  When putting these passages together we arrive at a much clearer understanding of what is necessary to actually enter into the resurrection of Christ during our lifetime, which involves overcoming sin’s power to subject us.

From this we learn that the condition of achieving liberty from sin has been attained for us by Christ.  But, more importantly, by Christ offering Himself to us also through his sacrifice of the crucifixion, perpetuated by the institution of the Eucharist, He gives us the means for attaining that life for ourselves.  In conclusion; those who have applied their faith in the resurrected life of Christ offered to us through the perpetuation of the Eucharistic sacrifice, can themselves, by their reception of Christ in the Eucharist, overcome sin’s power to subject them.  This is the mark of those who have indeed entered into the resurrection of Christ.  And by that, they too will have their bodies resurrected.

THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR SIN!!!  There is only failing to remain in him;[1] or worse, the erring faith that denies the possibility of this understanding for becoming raised up!!!

Even if one has not yet entered into this participation in Christ’s resurrection, we must at least believe in it if at some point in our future we hope to attain it.  So, do not be discouraged!  Rather, become hopeful because our future is to shine like the stars in the night sky.[2]

Come, let us shine His light for the whole world to see!!!

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[1] 1 Jn. 3: 6  “No one who remains in him sins; no one who sins has seen him or known him.”

[2] Dan. 12: 3  “But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever.”

Psalm Sunday – Cycle A (April 13, 2014)

First reading: Is. 50: 4-7

“The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.  Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.  I gave my back to those who heat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.

The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.”

Second reading: Phil. 2: 6-11

“Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

Gospel reading: “THE PASSION ACCOUNT” Mt. 27: 11-54 (Short form)

Due to its length the text will not be provided.  Please refer to your own bible for the book, chapter and verses listed above.  Thank you.

 

Introductory theme summary:

The common theme of today’s readings is best characterized by the word forbearance.  In the first reading we have the foretelling of the Messiah who, though gifted with great oratory skills, will persevere without retaliation despite being subjected to horrible abuse.  In the second reading we have the clear declaration of Christ knowing His own divinity, yet choosing humility and accepting the condition and fate of lowliness even to the point of death.  And then, of course, we have the retelling of the supreme act of forbearance – undergoing a punishment in no way deserved, but choosing to accept it on our behalf. 


Reflection:

Forbearance!  The forgotten virtue!!  So much so that it has become the “Holy Grail” of Christianity!!!  How terrible it is for the essence of Christianity to become so overlooked and dispensed with that it would seem no longer a part of our understanding of practicing faith.  We must never forget, our Lord’s sacrifice is an example for us to follow as well as the means for accomplishing our salvation.  Yet how many of us are unwilling to refrain from claiming an entitlement; unwilling to exercise patient endurance and self-control; unwilling to abstain from the enforcement of a right according to justice?  As if this forgetfulness wasn’t bad enough, we actually use Christianity to justify these assertions.  In the end, rather than turning the other cheek we have right fighting against right, all in the name of religion.  How ridiculous!  Yet, that is precisely what our world has become. 

The question then begs; where does justice fit in, aren’t we supposed to practice justice?  It would be a mistake to interpret the practice of forbearance as a contradiction to the principal of justice.  We are always called to practice justice in all our affairs of life, and defend the justice of the weak and powerless whenever we are presented with such an opportunity.  Failing to respond to the need of justice in these situations are themselves sin.  It is on our own behalf that we must not seek our right in order to practice forbearance.  In the moment one seeks his/her own right the opportunity to practice forbearance has been missed. 

So why then?  What is so important about practicing forbearance?  There are two groups of Christians; those who respond completely to our Lord’s call “so be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48), and those who do not while sustaining their belief in Him.  Those who respond completely to this call are accepting the invitation to advance the cause of salvation by joining their sufferings to the Lord’s, and in doing so they take their place as members of Christ’s body hanging on the cross.  They succeed in becoming able to do so by the grace they receive through the Eucharist.  It becomes Christ who accomplishes all that they do by His indwelling presence within them.  It is only by this distinguishing characteristic that we can know we truly are children of God.[1]

So, come, let us show ourselves as true children of God and practice forbearance for the cause of salvation.

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[1] “But what I tell you is this: Love your enemies and pray for your persecutors; only so can you be children of your heavenly Father…”  (Mt.5: 44-45 REB) 

Fifth Sunday of Lent – Cycle A (April 6, 2014)

First reading: Ez. 37: 12-14

“Thus says the Lord God:  O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.  Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!  I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the Lord.  I have promised, and I will do it, says the Lord.”

 

Second reading: Rom. 8-11

“Brothers and sisters:  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.  But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.  Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.  But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.  If the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.”
 

Gospel reading: Jn. 11: 3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

“The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying, ‘Master, the one you love is ill.’  When Jesus heard this he said, ‘This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was.  Then after this he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go back to Judea.’

“When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been on the tomb for four days.  When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.  Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.’  Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise.’  Martha said, ‘I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.’  Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?’  She said to him, Yes, Lord.’  I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.

“He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, ‘Where have you laid him?’  They said to him, ‘Sir, come and see.’  And Jesus wept.  So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him.’  But some of them said, ‘Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?’

“So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.  Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’  Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, ‘Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.’  Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?’  So they took away the stone.  And Jesus raised his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you for hearing me.  I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.’  And when he had said this, he cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’  The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth.  So Jesus said to them, ‘Untie him and let him go.’ 

“Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.”

 

Introductory theme summary:

The common theme from today’s readings addresses the life that comes to us through the indwelling presence of God.  The first reading is God’s testimony that He was going to give us life as we now understand it from the Lord’s resurrection.  The second reading gives us a clearer understanding of the conditions for entering into that promise of life, while the gospel gives us a compelling story of how Jesus taught this to His contemporaries. 

 

Reflection:

“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”  Very compelling words from our Lord that makes completely clear the absolute necessity of belief in Jesus Christ for obtaining eternal life.  Hidden within these words, however, are actually two separate teachings.  Rather than saying the same thing twice in two different ways, Jesus is actually addressing two different groups of believers with an instruction relevant to their respective states of belief.

As expressed, believing in Jesus as the resurrection and the life is a common condition for all who hope to enter into eternal life.  Now, beginning with the second group of His believers, they receive the instruction, “Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”  Clearly everyone since the resurrection of our Lord has died at the end of his/her life so a literal understand of this passage would imply NO ONE has fulfilled that condition, which is simply not true.  The question then becomes what do these words actually mean?  To answer that we need to examine our Lord’s words by which He instituted the Eucharist.

Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you do not have life within you.” (Jn. 6: 53)  These words indicate there is only one means to receive that life, and that is through the Eucharist.  To help us understand what “the life” we receive through the Eucharist actually is we have the second reading, which stipulates for us to not be in the flesh.  This too cannot be taken literally, because we spend our life here on earth in physical bodies.  Rather, we need to understand what is meant by the expression “in the flesh.” 

Paul gives us a good outline as to what being in the flesh is, and more importantly, what actually qualifies as being in the spirit.  “Live by the spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.  For the flesh has desires against the spirit, and the spirit has desires against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.”  (Gal. 5: 16-17)  He continues: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.  (Gal. 5: 19-21)  He concludes; “In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”  (Gal. 5: 22-23)  According to Paul, following our physical impulses and emotions is living according to the flesh, whether those impulses or emotions result in the specific works of sin mentioned above or not; whereas being spiritual, i.e. living according to the spirit, requires a mastery over our physical impulses and emotions so as to be able to make them subject to our will; thereby enabling us to go against our desires for the purpose of avoiding sin. 

Therefore, those who convert to the life received through the Eucharist become able by that reception and conversion to not sin, and those who discover this life will actually live in a manner that will not be interrupted by death; thus, they will never die.   Without receiving and converting to that life, however, such a manner of living is not possible and as a consequence the life they live will end; thus, they will die.  This does not preclude all those who will die from entering into eternal life, however.

This brings us to the first group of His believers, who receive the instruction, “Even if he dies, will live.”  There are many faithful Christians in our world who do not believe as we Catholics do, and as a consequence of their disbelief do not receive the Eucharist, or do receive an erring manifestation of it, which results in their not receiving His life.  There are also many Catholics who do receive our Eucharist, but fail to make the necessary conversion to manifest the life that is eternal in their own lives.  As a result, they too will have to die despite visiting and drawing from the well of eternal life.  But for all who possess a genuine faith in the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ are assured they will live.

It seems the challenge is coming to believe that a mere human being could also be divine.  Those who struggle with this presume that the man Jesus Christ made himself out to be God, but the truth of the matter is quite the opposite.  Jesus existed as God before becoming man, and that is precisely how the belief is taught.  It is because God loved humanity so much that He chose to become human in order to take upon Himself our burden of sin and thereby save us from that condition.  There is no more profound a love than to subject Himself to the entirety of our condition in order to save us from it.  When you contrast this with our human unwillingness to humble ourselves, it becomes clear we have a truly loving God!!!

Come, let us receive His embrace and enter into an intimate union with the author of life, eternally!