Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus back to his Father in heaven, and the beginning of a new mission for His Church here on earth. To spread the Gospel message to all peoples.

Jesus told his disciples plainly that he would be ascending back to the Father, yet he also told them that they would not be left alone, but instead that the promise of the Father would be with them. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, would be with them always to guide and protect them, and to make their mission possible. The same is true for us, we are not left alone at all, The Holy Spirit guides us, and we have the true physical presence of Jesus still with us in the Eucharist. In each case we have help from heaven to guide us on our way, and to sustain us with the true bread which came down from heaven – Jesus himself.

Yet there was a time of ‘in between” or uncertainty that had to be dealt with by the Apostles. This is something that we sometimes deal with as well. When Jesus ascended bodily back to heaven, the disciples were instructed to return to Jerusalem and to wait there. This could not have been an easy message to accept since that was the very place where those who had crucified Jesus were still very much in authority and were actively looking for anyone who followed Jesus and whom they considered a threat. Yet they had to return there to this great uncertainty and wait. It would be ten days before they would receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and at which time all doubts would be dispelled and replaced by boldness of spirit and the wisdom of God placed upon their lips. In some respects, ten days may not seem like much, but for anyone waiting for something important to take place, such as a promise to be fulfilled, or an important word given, it can seem like an eternity.

It was during this time that the Apostles stayed together while they waited. They were in hiding, but they spent that desperate time in reflection, in contemplation, and in prayer. How often have we retreated into our own hiding when faced with uncertainty in our lives, how often has it taken such an event to make us realize our desperate need for God’s closeness and protection. It should not come to that, and yet it so often does, because outside of that we become too caught up in daily distractions. Such times are powerful reminders to us, that we too need to rely on God’s love, wisdom, and protection to deal with life’s challenges. We too need to wait and receive God’s strengthening Spirit that will sustain us and allow us to navigate anything that comes our way. God is faithful always, and just as He sent us his Son to teach us, and to save us, He will also send us what we need to not only make our way through this life, but to do so in such a way as to complete our own mission of spreading His word to all, in our speech, and in how we live.

Sixth Sunday of Easter

I don’t know who coined the phrase “go with your gut”, but I have always been an advocate of it. I always interpreted its meaning as paying attention to an influence outside our own minds. To me this means the Spirit speaking to us. It certainly isn’t a literal acquiescence to listening to our stomachs, mine would simply provide continual guidance to the refrigerator. The real meaning here is to pay attention to the influence of the Spirit, that divine spark within us that is there to keep us out of trouble if we will simply listen a bit. To do so has become something of an art, because it requires tuning out so much more noise these days than what used to exist. It means being spiritually aware enough to know to even make this an effort. Lastly, it means using that same awareness to be willing to submit ourselves to the will that is its essence – God.

Jesus told his apostles plainly, that whoever truly loves Him, keeps his word, and that this word was ultimately that of the Father who sent Him. Yet he was also going to leave them help, just as he has provided us with help, by sending the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to guide us, so that we are not left alone. The Spirit guides us and teaches us, and the fruits of that guidance and teaching are the inner peace that Jesus bestows on us, just as He did for His Apostles when He left them with these gifts. The incredible beauty of these gifts having been bestowed upon us is that if we accept them and trust in them, we need no longer be troubled or afraid. We could use a bit more of that in this world that seems so filled with uncertainty at times. The uncertainty that I speak of is not just the events that sometimes cause us fear, but perhaps more importantly the uncertainty that is generated by doubts due to errant ideas and teachings being purveyed by many and causing us to sometimes question what we innately know to be right. This is really where the gift of the Advocate touches our lives the most, if we know the Spirits voice through practice and prayer, we will find that our doubts are dispelled, and our path is seen with clarity and peace of mind.

We need to spend time in prayer and reflection to gain intimacy with the Spirit, let ourselves be comforted, and come to know Jesus’ gift so that it is part of us every day of our lives. To me this means regaining the peace that I knew as a child, when my biggest concerns were how I would spend my day seeing God’s creations in nature, and with few other distractions. Perhaps you have your own recollection of when you found yourself to be most at peace and with deep intimacy with God, seek to go back to that. Ask God for guidance and don’t question what is revealed, simply rejoice in how He guides you.

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Our Lord gave us exactly one new commandment, but as it turns out, it’s a doozy. Or so it would seem, because we tend to make it that way. Jesus told us to love one another, as He had loved us, in other words, unselfishly. That really doesn’t seem so hard when we hear it, but when we try to put it into practice on a consistent basis, we seem to be in over our heads at times.

It reminds me of so many other seemingly simple life concepts that also seem to elude us. “Take it one day at a time”, “Treat everyone the way you want to be treated”, “Don’t worry, be happy”, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew”, etc. All simple phrases that we have heard our whole lives, and that are actually pretty good advice, and that we also pretty much never do. Simple wisdom always proves to be anything but for many of us. Why? I suspect it has a lot to do with our own hubris. (finally, I found an occasion to use that word – been wanting to for months). Hubris basically means our own lack of humility that can lead us to ignore good council, or even God’s laws and commands. The word has a long history, it comes from the Greeks who apparently also ignored the laws and commands of their various deities because they too, were a bit too full of themselves at times – in other words, this is anything but a new problem.

Loving one another unselfishly is something that requires us to be inconvenienced at times. Simply saying it and having those warm fuzzy hallmark moment thoughts is actually quite useless. This simply gives us momentary joy, which in itself is a selfish act because it again is all about us. Acting on Jesus’ command to love one another requires effort and organization. What time am I willing to carve out for this? What resources am I willing to part with to pursue this? How am I going to get my mindset adjusted to allow me to be successful at this? These are all questions we need to contemplate if we are serious about following Jesus’ command. Loving one another means a mental effort in the way we see things and react to others, but it is also putting into action our convictions. It does no one else any good if we just wish them well. Saint James made it pretty plain to us that faith without works is quite dead, and so it is with claiming to love others without demonstrating that love. It may be something as simple as taking the time to listen to someone who is having a bad day and needs to vent, or it could be putting our skills and resources to use to help someone rebuild their life, and all the other opportunities in between. Meditate on this, think about how you can change your little corner of the world by truly loving those around you. It is through these small changes that great things happen.

Fourth Sunday of Easter

I suspect that nearly every generation of humanity has at some point questioned whether they were going to be, or are, the ones to experience the “time of great distress” that John mentions in our second reading from the book of Revelations. It’s a natural human reaction to the problems we face, socially, politically, morally, and spiritually that always seem uniquely daunting to us. Yet through the centuries and even millennia, we have found that time and the challenges humanity faces simply move on and in most cases fade into historical obsolescence.

The thing is, there is a constant in all this that we need to always keep in the forefront of our minds, and that often proves difficult because it requires us to give up our illusion of control and influence. I am speaking of the care and shepherding we receive and are blessed with from Jesus Christ. We are indeed his sheep, and that term is unbelievably appropriate since they tend to constantly go in all sorts of different directions that make no sense – UNLESS they hear the voice of their shepherd. They know and trust that voice because they have been kept safe by it their whole lives. This is where we want to be ourselves, to be so familiar with the call of our Shepherd, that we instinctively follow and obey His voice since we know at the most intimate level that it will never steer us wrong. This comes only through a deep relationship, which He calls us to, as to every other good thing He provides us. If we but follow Him, no one can take us from His hand.

Third Sunday of Easter

I don’t think that the significance of his being asked three times by our Lord – “Do you love me?” was lost on Simon Peter. He knew full well the number of times that he stumbled in denying to be one of Jesus’ followers as our Lord had predicted – “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times”. This might in part explain some of Peters agitation at being asked like this. Yet it was important to have this discourse, because also contained within it was our Lords command that Peter (and in turn his successors) tend and feed His flock. This has been the responsibility of the Pope(s) since that time. It’s a bit ironic, that as I began writing this, I had just learned of the passing of Pope Francis, and I could not help but think of the way that in his papacy, he spent so much of his time focusing on drawing all of Jesus’ flock to His Church so that they could be cared for. This need is as important now as it was in Peters time when there were also many who were castoff members of society, but our Lord made it clear He wanted them all, and would sort out any issues himself.

The tending and feeding of God’s flock is something that can only begin with the inclusion of every soul we can possibly draw in. It does not matter what other ideologies they subscribe to, it doesn’t matter if they yet fully understand Catholic teaching, or have had a religious upbringing, or of what kind. It does not matter what they look like, where they came from, or how they sound. It does not matter to whom they feel they are attracted or how they see themselves. What DOES matter is that we do not hinder their ability to come to the Catholic (remember that means universal) Church so that they can learn and ponder God’s message and receive healing from the Sacraments like all the rest of us who are likely just as broken in one respect or another.

Jesus revealed himself to Peter, Thomas, and Nathaniel on the beach that morning after a night of unsuccessful fishing, and then causing so many fish to fill their nets after they lowered them at His command, it was reminiscent of how He had called Peter to himself initially. He repeated the call so that Peter, like the rest of us, could see how much He wanted to draw him back to himself regardless of his having stumbled, just as he still wants all of us even when we stumble. Peter learned in a vision that all were seen as acceptable to be redeemed by God, and the message and understanding is just as important for all who call themselves His followers today. May we prayerfully ponder, and never forget to make His Church a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved, and forgiven.

Second Sunday of Easter

I’ve always found it difficult not to empathize with Thomas when I hear this Gospel. I also tend to go looking for proof before drawing any conclusions. That’s always been my way, and it certainly applies to my job which involves collecting facts and troubleshooting based on that information. Yet although this is an innate tendency, I have also learned over the years that it cannot quantify everything, and that in particular matters of faith are completely beyond this kind of thinking, hence the name “faith”. This does not mean that we accept things blindly, it simply means that the tools and practices we normally use to discern our physical world are simply inadequate to ponder our belief in matters of our spirit.

When Jesus revealed himself to His Apostles without Thomas present, they are overjoyed to see him after the initial shock, and in particular once he had shown himself to them more closely and demonstrated that they were not seeing a ghost (Luke 24:36-49). We sometimes tend to gloss over this, but it’s really the same response as Thomas’, simply on a smaller scale and without discussion. The reality is that as human beings we are saddled with a tendency to doubt until we see some semblance of relatable facts to satisfy the physically oriented side of our nature. This was still part of the thinking of Jesus’ disciples despite the fact that their hearts longed for what they were seeing to be true. This is the conflict within each one of us. Our hearts long for closeness with Jesus, but our physical nature often proves to be stumbling block.

When we are younger, I think most of us found it easier to accept things we did not, or could not completely quantify. As we grow older, we develop a mindset that does not allow that. The world tells us that this is wisdom, the reality is that it is simply baggage we acquire and that weighs us down. This is the conflict between worldly wisdom and the true wisdom that resides within us from the moment we are born as children of God.

True wisdom seems to be re-revealed as we acquire life experiences that are outside our ability to quantify on a human level, and that forces us to acknowledge and embrace our innate spiritual awareness. As we ponder our Lords resurrection and His promise kept, that He would rise and come back to us, let’s use both of our natures to ponder this. Jesus words are true and trustworthy always, we simply need to be open to them.

Easter Sunday

“ He is Risen” – each Easter growing up began with these words, which were as much of a proclamation, as a greeting to anyone we met. Looking back I can now better appreciate why it was that these words were spoken so boldly and with such conviction by those in my family, and those I encountered at Church that day. You see, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then as Saint Paul said in his letter to the people of Corinth, we are truly the most pitiable of people. Without the resurrection of Jesus, we would have no reason for hope.

Yet we do have that hope, because in fact, Jesus did indeed rise from the dead that first Easter Sunday, and He appeared over time to the Apostles, and many others. This is not a leap of faith; it is well documented fact. You see in those days, in particular in the Jewish culture, there was a sacredness of what was committed to the written word, and moreover to the oral tradition of passing along knowledge of events. Great trust was placed in these things, and that is especially true when corroborated by many witnesses. Our Lord appeared first to those he knew and who followed him, then to others (including 500 people who Saint Paul basically told the people of Corinth to go talk to, if for some reason they did not believe him). These were not isolated events at all.

Our Lord and his prophets told us that He would rise after three days, and so gave hope to His people, a hope that we should have every confidence in sharing in. I find that as I get older, and I accumulate and digest His message, and that of those who foretold His coming, I can see how perfectly this message of hope was disseminated over time and with such unwavering consistency that it leaves someone as hopelessly analytical as myself (there are times I can really relate to Saint Thomas) with a message so strong that I cannot see the position of doubting to be very credible.

As we celebrate today, I hope that each of us can take the time to ponder with love and trust Jesus words, and to focus with gratitude on His promise kept and the assurance and hope that it brings each of us. God Bless you all – He is Risen!

Palm Sunday

We begin this Holy Week with Palm Sunday, and the remembrance of our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem riding upon a colt, and the people placing their cloaks and branches of palm before him. This is the way of the entry of a king into the holy city.

The people shouted their acceptance as Jesus entered the city, saying “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord”. This statement was altogether true, as Jesus is indeed king, yet not the one that the people had been expecting. For generations, they had been told that their king would come to set things right, and to expel those who had come to occupy their holy city. They clung to this perception despite Jesus teachings, and the peaceful, loving, and forgiving acts that He performed. He did not come as a military leader, or conqueror. He came as the King of Peace whose only enemy was sin, who healed and forgave, and sought to instruct the people in a way of living that would draw them closer to the Father. He sought to forgive sins and thus heal the spirit as well as the body. He came as the suffering servant that has been foretold in prophecy, not as the warrior king and judge. As we begin this Holy Week, let’s spend some time in contemplation of Christ’s true message to all of us. The message of one who humbly accepted the suffering he was to endure, and ultimately His death, all for the sake of we who are unworthy, and yet loved so intensely by our God that He would take upon himself the suffering that was rightfully ours

Fifth Sunmday of Lent

I feel like sometimes we really gravitate toward labelling and condemning others, as well as ourselves when things fall short of the expectations we have set in our minds. It seems to be a very consistent human tendency, and one that I suspect is part of the continued impact of original sin. It tends to blind us to Gods mercy and love, and that is by the enemies design.

In our Gospel today we hear of the woman caught in the act of adultery, and this was indeed sinful behavior, yet I have always found it both interesting and disturbing that only the woman was brought before Jesus by those in authority, to be condemned as a sinner. I see this as another characteristic that has been inserted into humanity by the enemy, the tendency toward condemnation of the weakest and most vulnerable in society. The fuels of labelling, predation on the weak, and condemnation are an incredibly combustible mix that have caused untold destruction over time.

This antidote for all of this comes from one source alone, God. His infinite compassion, protection, and forgiveness are the only way to combat the destructiveness within. It requires us to meditate on His word, to come to some realization as to why Jesus treated the sinful behavior reported to him the way he did. He did not immediately lash out and condemn the woman, because he knew full well that to do so would require him to condemn at some level everyone there. He knew the human condition that led to this sin, but also the shame, self-reproach, and torment that came with that, and so had compassion. He knew that the woman was the easiest target ot be exploited by tthose in authority just so they could test Him, without ever caring that they would be destroying her in the process. Jesus knew full well that this was anything but the pursuit of righteousness and justice, and these were the very things that He came to instill.

As we make our way through the Lenten season, and we exercise our own examination of conscience and penance, let’s not forget that Jesus did not come to condemn us, but rather to save us. No matter what we have done, no matter how many times we have stumbled, He wants to forgive us. The major obstacle to that forgiveness that deep down we wish for is us. We are the ones who label ourselves and others, we are the ones that exploit weakness (others, and our own), and we are the ones who condemn those around us and ourselves. We need to instead focus on seeking healing through forgiveness, to go and receive reconciliation through the sacrament, and to then cling to God in an embrace of love and trust, as we then come back alive thanks to His saving power which crushes condemnation.

Fourth Sumday of Lent

Every time I hear the Gospel narrative of the prodigal son, I am struck by the nearness of both of the sons behaviors. I can see in myself the tendency to be sometimes callous if I am not careful, and to focus only on myself without realizing the impact to others. I can also see in myself the tendency toward vain self-righteous indignation sometimes when I am feeling sorry for myself. Both of these are two of humanities most common foibles, and both of the sons in this narrative display these things brilliantly.

The youngest son, who we always seem to focus on most, perhaps because his actions are so overtly self-centered and immoral demonstrates very clearly just how callous we can be. He asks for his share of his inheritance, which in the culture of the time was like saying to his father that he didn’t want to have to wait any longer for him to die, so just cough up the money now. I can’t even imagine how his father must have felt. Yet he complies with his sons wishes and gives him what he asks for – fathers do that, including our Father in Heaven. They give to us in the hope that we will be happy, and that perhaps we will be productive. Yet this is not always the case, sometimes, like the younger son in our narrative we squander their gifts to us, and go far astray from what they have taught us.

Yet, there is always hope in any fathers heart that his child will come back to him and be reconciled. He is always ready to greet them and welcome them home when they make even the slightest effort. He simply wants his child back and to bring him home. This is not predicated on judgement, because the humbling act of their returning is sufficient for the moment. The lessons to be imparted will come in time.

The other side of the coin to this is observed in the older son, who feels he has been cheated because he has seen how his brother the more overt transgressor has been greeted with compassion and merciful love. He thinks this compassionate response somehow cheapens what he has with his father. That he is somehow more deserving of reward. Yet he does not realize that the reward is already there, he has been in unity with his father that whole time and their love remains strong, which should be reward enough for anyone. The consistent closeness is the reward.

When we sin, and separate ourselves from our Father in Heaven, his desire and hope is that we come back to him, no matter what we have done. If we approach in humility and with true repentance, then we have learned, and He will welcome us home joyfully. If we are fortunate enough that we have never left His company, we should rejoice ourselves each and every day. Yet we should do this in such a way that we are careful not be too self-congratulating, but with humility and always with a vigilant eye toward any vanity on our part.

In this Lenten season, we have much to consider in our own self-examination so that we too can either rejoice in being able to return to the love of our Father, or be grateful that we have been able to remain with Him.