Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter
In a little more than a week we will celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, when the disciples receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church in continuing the work of Christ. This feast is the conclusion of the fifty days of the Easter season. For now, we continue to celebrate the great mystery of Easter. In one way, though, as we move through the Easter season, we reflect upon the effects of Pentecost. As you may have noticed, we’ve been moving through the Acts of the Apostles, which chronicles the earliest work of the Church in Christ’s earthly absence. In Acts, the resemblance of the apostles to Christ is striking – they preach with eloquence, perform miracles, and even lay down their lives – what a contrast to their confusion, fear and thick-headedness in the gospels!
Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter
“God is king of all the earth.” (Ps 47:8a) I have attended several graduation ceremonies, masses, and awards presentations the last couple of weeks–it’s that time of year. We talk to graduates about milestones, journeys, accomplishments, dreams, and goals. This week, I was struck by a comment from a local Catholic school principal who briefly reminded his 8th graders of their conversations over the last couple of years about ‘the ultimate goal’. That is, everything we do–every decision, deed, relationship–orients around the goal of union with Christ. We are called to be saints; we are called to be united with God in the heavenly kingdom. What a great prompt for me to reflect on in my own life. Not only is this a powerful message for the students who are endeavoring into their next adventure in life, but an important reminder for all of us to consider. Is God the king of my life?
The Ascension of the Lord
Scripture Readings
Unchurched as a kid, I had very little idea how to read the Red Letter Bible that my Methodist grandmother gave me when I was around 10 years of age. But, for whatever reason, I was curious. Given my ignorance, I was grateful that my Red Letter Bible meant that I didn’t have to try to figure out what Jesus said.
Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Tomorrow, we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord, and then Sunday, June 5 is Pentecost! Jesus’ ascension into heaven makes it possible for us to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As we look forward to Pentecost with eager anticipation, I’m mindful, too, that everyday can be a mini-Pentecost as we earnestly desire more of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Church helps us with this mindfulness in the daily readings in this latter part of the Easter season. Our texts help to build the excitement of Pentecost and inspire us to be more fervent in our desire to grow as disciples of Jesus, which is only possible as we become more and more Spirit-filled.
Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Temptation is not necessarily something we talk a whole lot about. And yet, there is much discussion of temptation in the New Testament. Now that we're back in Ordinary time, we will be focusing on the Letter of St. James for a little while, and his letter is great for practical information on how to live the Christian life. In today's first reading from James, one of the bits of advice we encounter is to persevere in temptation. He makes it clear that God is not the one tempting us, so we should not blame God when we are tempted to sin.
Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Elizabethan England was dangerous for Catholics. The persecuted church went underground and priests (mostly Jesuits) were smuggled onto the island, protected by the old aristocracy. These great “safe houses” were headed by widows who found much solace in the “old religion.” These prominent women secretly kept the Catholic Church alive for common folks hungry for the sacraments.
Saturday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Today’s readings discuss both the joys and the challenges that Jesus and the early church experienced as the Good News was proclaimed. St. Paul travels to many areas where the church is growing in numbers as the Spirit directs his journey. Jesus warns that living as His disciple will not always be easy but will involve persecution and hatred because we are His. These joys and challenges continue to be lived out in our daily walk as we follow Christ. Our dependence on the Spirit of Christ is essential for us to help grow the faith.
Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Some years ago as my husband and I were entering the parents-of-teens stage of life, I recall these words of advice being passed on to us: “choose your battles wisely.” There were going to be things that our teenagers would say and do that we wouldn’t be happy about, that would probably annoy us, that we might not approve of, and it would be wise to decide which of those things were most important to address, take issue with, argue about, have consequences for, and which to let go of. Actually, I’ve found that advice to be useful in other relationships as well, including marriage. Life – and love – is challenging enough without placing unnecessary burdens on each other.
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
In this 5th week of Easter, we are continuing to follow the adventures of the early Church and to muse on some of the conflicts and problems that they encountered in trying to figure out how to be Christians. This task became particularly difficult when it came to negotiating the acceptance of the Gentiles into this new faith. After all, although faith in Jesus was new, it was really a fulfillment of a very old faith – the Jewish faith, and the Gentiles as a group didn’t belong to the Jewish faith in any proper sense (although there were individuals who converted to Judaism).
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Don’t let the title of this reflection frighten you! I’ve not gone off the deep end into some sort of horror genre today. Rather, I think the world of arboriculture and its “4 D’s” can give us some understanding of pruning that we can apply to our spiritual lives. Just as trees, bushes, and plants need to be pruned from time to time in order to thrive, so also do we need to submit to God’s pruning in our lives. Jesus tells us that God prunes us so that we might become more fruitful. Let us pray it be so today, as we submit to our Heavenly Father, the loving and attentive Vine Grower.
Tuesday of Fifth Week of Easter
In today's Gospel reading from John, Jesus addresses His disciples with the words, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (14:27). Jesus’ next comment, however, seems a little confusing at first glance: “Not as the world gives do I give it to you” (14:27). What does Jesus mean by this? For starters, Jesus’ peace might not always feel like what we think of as peace at all. Remember, Jesus was crucified, and He had to die on the cross before He could experience the Easter resurrection. In today’s first reading from Acts, we catch a glimpse of what following Jesus sometimes entails: “They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city” (Acts 14:19). In this instance St. Paul survived stoning, but he eventually dies by beheading in Rome.
Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter
At the turn of the last century a missionary society of priests and brothers, who labored on isolated islands in the south Pacific, sent their yearly report to their superiors. In part it read, “We have made some progress. Small steps, really. On Fridays the cannibals only eat fishermen.”
Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
“Do not let your hearts be troubled… I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (Jn 14:1,6)
Read Jesus’ words again… “Do not let your hearts be troubled… I am the way, the truth, and the life…” and again… and again… let it sink into your soul as you breathe in the comfort and the ease Jesus offers and breathe out tension, stress, fear, and anxiety. Throughout scripture, a variation of the phrase “do not be afraid” appears frequently in both the Old and New Testament. Today, in John’s Gospel it is paired with the reassurance that Jesus is preparing a place for us and that we know the way. Jesus is the way.
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter
In today’s first reading from Acts, St. Paul goes through salvation history for his audience, showing how Jesus is the culmination of this saving history. The context for this passage is a Jewish synagogue. The synagogue in which St. Paul and his companions find themselves is composed of Jews and Gentiles who have either converted to Judaism or at least follow Judaism to some degree. After being invited to exhort the congregation, St. Paul shows how God has saved His people and how God’s relationship with His people has developed over time. He begins with the exodus and wandering in the wilderness, their conquest of the land of Canaan, up to the kingdom of Israel, first under Saul, and then under king David. Then St. Paul explains how Jesus came from David’s line, and that this Jesus is Israel’s savior, as John the Baptist preached.
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Lately, I’ve been sensing a call to fast. This nudge from the Lord has grown stronger and stronger. That might sound strange, when we’ve just finished Lent and are living in the celebration of the Easter season. But, as Fr. Denis Robinson, OSB says, Lent should simply be an amplified version of our ordinary lives lived throughout the year. Lent isn’t the only season for fasting. I think the Lord is inviting me to a deeper level in my relationship with him through this particular discipline. Perhaps this invitation extends to you, too.
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
The Gospel reading for today from St. John’s Gospel is a powerful one. We find a man who is physically unable to immerse himself in the healing waters of the pool of Bethesda. He tells his problem to Jesus, and Jesus heals the man without even using water from the pool.
Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
In our reading from Acts, Peter has an earth shaking mystical experience. “Followers of the Way” (Christians) are no longer required to adhere to the 613 laws of Torah. Easter changed all that. “Who am I to hinder God?” Peter asks. Another way to put it, “God's thoughts are not our thoughts,” “God's ways are not our ways.” Peter's giant leap cannot be overstated.
Saturday of the Third Week of Easter
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be in the middle of Jesus’ ministry as He was sharing His message. In some ways, it seems like it would be easy to follow Jesus and His teachings when you are able to witness all that He does and says. Today’s gospel indicates that following Jesus was not always easy even for those who had ready access to Him, and many disciples left Jesus to return to their former ways. As I reflect on today’s reading, I place myself in the scene and I imagine Jesus asking me, “Do you also want to leave?” I realize that Jesus and my faith are the foundation of who I am. “Master, to whom shall I go?”
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
Do you have a dramatic conversion story? I don’t. And there have probably been times in my life when I was a little jealous of those who do. I was born into a Catholic family, was raised Catholic, and have remained Catholic. Not that I haven’t had moments of conversion and periods of doubt. But I didn’t have the kind of experience we hear about in today’s reading from Acts when Saul (later named Paul) on the road to Damascus was knocked down and blinded while hearing the voice of Jesus.