Saturday of the Sixth Week in 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
As our youngest is about to graduate from college, I’m aware of the mix of sadness and joy. There’s a bit of sadness, even a tinge of grief, as our last one enters adulthood more fully, soon to start his adult life in a different state further from home. And of course there’s joy. There's joy at what he’s accomplished, and that he has had this wonderful opportunity, and joy that he is able to move on to greater independence – that’s been the goal all along. Yet, we will miss him, just as part of me misses those younger years for all of my children, even while being grateful for the adults they’ve become.
Feast of St. Matthias, Apostle
Happiness, pleasure and joy are terms that are often used interchangeably, but on deeper reflection I believe that they do not mean the same thing. We can be happy when we get a job promotion, experience pleasure as we enjoy a delicious meal, but joy seems to denote a much deeper quality of being. In today’s gospel, Jesus tells His disciples (and us) that He wants to give us joy and He wants us to experience this joy in its fullness (completely). What is this “joy” that Jesus is offering us, and how can we experience this joy in the midst of the many challenges, pains and sorrows of our daily living?
Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
We meet Jesus and the disciples today in a threshold moment. They are at the edge of something new, anticipating change. Jesus is preparing them for his death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. He knows their sorrow as they anticipate loss, a loss many do not understand. Jesus also knows the gift of the Holy Spirit that will come upon them. He knows how difficult it will be to move through this threshold moment in their lives. Transition is always hard. There is grief as we lose what was.
Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
The two readings offered today technically don’t have an intentional connection. We are following through the adventures (misadventures in this case?) of Paul and Silas and continue to listen to Jesus’ last supper discourse in the Gospel of John. If you’re like me, the end of this Gospel is somewhat obscure, as it relates to a kind of legal justice. But what drew my attention was that Jesus is actually consoling the disciples in their grief with promise of when “the Advocate” comes. This is the title Jesus gives to the Spirit in this part of John. Advocate: helper, intercessor. And as I read Acts, it seems a wonderful example of what happens when the Spirit comes. The “helper” is first present with Paul and Silas, who despite being in an abject condition, having been beaten and now imprisoned, they pray and sing. The psalm 138 expresses both “I will sing your praise…” and “when I called you answered me, you built up strength within me.” So the Spirit is there with them in prison and then manifests itself in an earthquake that might have allowed them to escape. But they continue to pray and reassure their jailer not to despair because he’s failed in his task to keep these “criminals” secure. The Holy Spirit has broken the chains that bind and makes the jailer into someone who tends their wounds. We see in all this that the Holy Spirit turns the world upside down for good and for communion. So when we are grieving the state of the world and feel God is distant, let us recall that the Helper, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit is still at work. Expect a miracle!
—Sr. Laura M. Leming, FMI, PhD (Marianist Sister)
Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter
Early Christians, particularly Jewish believers in Jesus as the Messiah, faced increasing hostility and exclusion from synagogues, especially in the late 1st century (c. 90s AD). Known as aposynagōgos (put out of the synagogue), this separation was driven by theological disputes, especially the confession of Jesus’ messiahship, and the rise of the birkatha-minim, against heretics.
Many scholars believe the exclusion reflects the period after the destruction of the Temple (post-70 AD), as Judaism redefined itself and “Christianity” separated from it. In fact the term “Christianity” itself did not become common until towards the last decade of the first century. The first Gospel, Mark, was composed after 70.
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
Our gospel message today encompasses the whole point of salvation history. Jesus calls us his friends. The entirety of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the word of the Father, is summed up in the great commandment: “love one another” (Jn 15:17). Yet, we are reminded daily of just how difficult we make it to live out this calling. Friendship is an opportunity to freely choose to love someone else and care for who they are. True friendship is typically grounded in a concern on the part of each person for the best of the other, for the other’s sake; it is the embodiment of the commandment to love one another.
Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter
One of the special graces of the Easter season is that we hear more from the incredible Gospel according to John than at any other time of the liturgical year. The other Gospel writers each have their own year but John comes to us during Eastertime every year.
Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
We live in a time of deep division, of dissension, but that’s not new. Right now if feels heightened and more. The dissension is not just among leaders, but also often in our own lives and local communities. So much is at stake; how are we to move forward?
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Today’s psalm response captures the intimacy and friendship that Jesus calls us to: “Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom”. In the Easter season the scriptures reveal Jesus’ intimate relationship with his Father that he shares with the disciples and all followers. He is repeatedly inviting us into this friendship with himself, and calls us to share from that caring love with all believers - in meeting the needs of the other and in the mission of sharing the good news of God’s love. The disciples are commissioned as friends to go out.
Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter
The readings for this day from Acts and John, coinciding with a popular May 4th greeting, inspire us of the enduring, empowering Holy Spirit (the "force" or advocate) promised by Jesus to guide believers through life's storms. In Acts 14:5-18 Paul and Barnabas rely on this “force” amid persecution, while John 14:21-26 highlights that loving God is proven through obedience and keeping the divine word, inviting the indwelling of the Father and the Son (which is the very “force,” if you will, of what we call the “Holy Spirit”).
Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Many an earnest Christian over time has realized that the Church (in whatever iteration) was compromised or corrupted or commercialized or otherwise bound to the contingencies of the present more than the commitments of the faith. In response, many of these Christians have sought to make a return to the early Church—that is, to a Church that is simpler, purer, and not focused on fitting into the world and its logics. Returning to the early Church, for these Christians, is about living out a true Christian faith rooted in the Bible. Such efforts are noble, to be sure. But do they make sense?
Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
I like to think I’m a fairly patient person, but that’s not always the case. Recently awaiting some medical test results, I found my patience waning. Today dealing with a computer problem I would not count patience as one of my virtues. I often lack patience with God in answering my heartfelt prayers. And I grow impatient with myself and the work God is doing within me. Maybe that’s at least partly why today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles spoke to me of the need for more patience.
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter
As a child, I can remember how much I enjoyed doing connect-the-dot pictures. You would go from point to point, but unless you stood back to look at the picture, you may not have a good idea what the picture might be. Today’s readings remind me about the importance of stepping back and recognizing the many points (or dots) that are part of our journey of faith. From the beginning of time until now, God has been creating a marvelous picture that reveals the story of God’s love for each of us.
Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Christ is the light of the world. In John’s gospel today, Christ says that he comes not to condemn the world, but to save it. The light of Christ scatters all darkness. In baptism, we are given the light of Christ, a tender flame atop a small candle. There are times in our lives when this light, this flame, feels especially tender. When the winds of life seem to threaten it. At those times, we shelter the light; we allow the community to be a shelter for us. No matter how much it feels like it flickers at times, this light of Christ in us does not go out. This tender flickering light is a gift we must never take for granted.
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Today’s first reading and Gospel seem to contrast with each other. In the first reading, we hear about the conversion of Gentiles, or non-Jewish people, who come to believe in the Good News, while in the Gospel, Jesus contends with the unbelief of the Jews who are listening to him preach. Despite this difference, both passages deal with change—especially in expectations of what the Messiah and the faith community should look like.
Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Today in Acts, in a startling vision, it is revealed to Peter that Jewish kosher laws are no longer required for followers of “the Way.” He is then summoned to Caesarea by “God-fearing” Roman centurion Cornelius. “God-fearers” were Gentiles attracted/drawn to Judaism and the Jewish God. Caesarea was the seat of the Roman governor, and a place filled with a wide variety of ethnicities, including some at odds with the Jews in both ritual and diet.
Feast of St. Mark, evangelist
Today is the Feast of St Mark the Evangelist. As we honor this Gospel writer and powerful man of God, what a great day it is to focus on our own evangelistic efforts! Let us ask God for the grace we need to be courageous, lionhearted witnesses to the wonderful Good News of Christ and to spread the warmth, light, and love of God wherever we go.
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
I generally support rational thinking and behavior that is based on logic and reason. I take it as a compliment to be referred to as a “rational person,” especially as opposed to irrational. I appreciate the predictability of math and science and recognize all the ways these disciplines have helped us as a civilization. And yet, today's readings remind me that we are sometimes called to set aside seemingly rational thinking to listen and respond with our hearts, with hearts of faith.