Friday of the Third Week of Easter
This Easter season, my thoughts keep returning again and again to the women at the tomb who ask each other, “Where is Jesus?” This is such an important question. We find ourselves confronted by a world that is unjust, violent and depressing, so of course we seek Jesus, who has promised us salvation. But where is he to be found?
Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
In today’s reading from the Gospel of John, Jesus continues to emphasize what He has been explaining to the crowd and to His disciples in the Gospel readings this entire week: He is the Bread of Life. Those who followed Moses and who ate the manna in the wilderness all eventually died. Jesus informs His listeners that if they eat of the Bread of Life, i.e. if they eat Jesus, they will not die but have eternal life. Jesus explains that the bread of which He speaks is His flesh.
Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
One of the more haunting Catholic hymns is “I Am the Bread of Life” by Suzanne Toolan, RSM. Whenever this is sung at Mass, my mind transports me to the profound memory planning my Father’s funeral. I recall singing the songs to decide which ones I would choose. As I read through the lyrics for this song, tears streamed down my face. The tears were not only a product of dealing with my father’s death; they were also from the awe of encountering a song that connected so deeply with my experience and my faith.
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Because the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection occurred such a long ago, sometimes it can seem as though they have little to do with our lives today. So much has happened in the mean time, and our world is very different today. In this situation it is natural to become distracted or to lose hope. I find myself having similar thoughts during this Easter season. We have undergone Lent and celebrated at Easter. We are now back to our day to day reality. How can we stay on track during this time?
Monday of the Third Week of Easter
As we begin this Third Week of Easter, we are called to keep in mind the resurrected Lord and continue to live in the Easter joy – the knowledge of our salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As we have done all Easter season, we continue to follow the stories of the early apostles as contained in the biblical book called the Acts of the Apostles. This is the sequel to our gospel stories, providing us with some kind of sense of how Jesus’ disciples lived the Christian life after Jesus’ death and resurrection. This week Stephen will feature prominently in the narrative contained in Acts.
Third Sunday of Easter
In many ways, this sermon is a continuation of my homily last week. I had said last week that the time after Easter is the most dangerous time for Christians because people give up their spiritual discipline and slip back into their old way of life. On the other hand, I had suggested that somehow, we must find the motivation to keep Christ in focus. No other passage describes this better than that gospel reading about the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
Sandwiched in between two overtly Eucharistic sections of John’s Gospel – the story of the multiplication of the loaves and the Bread of Life discourse – is the story we have in today’s gospel reading of Jesus walking on water. I have found myself wondering on multiple occasions: why? Why would Jesus walk on water? What was He trying to communicate? Aren’t there many other things that would’ve been better uses of His time? Was this a kind of David Blane or Houdini act meant to marvel the disciples?
Friday of the Second Week of Easter
Last year, we visited the Cox Arboretum, which has a butterfly house open from late June to early September. My three-year-old Lucia and I were so mesmerized by the sight of so many different butterflies that we returned three or four times before the end of "butterfly season." In fact, it made such an impact on us that this year we decided to try planting our own butterfly garden with native Ohio plants. Now, to put this scenario in the appropriate context, you should know that up till now, my experience with growing plants has been limited to indoor plants, and I must admit that do not have much of a green thumb. So it is with a sense of improbability, perhaps even futility, that Lucia and I went to the prepared garden plot clutching packages of seeds and putting those seeds into the ground. Isn't it rather strange, when you think about it, that we should presume that the dried up remnants of last year's fruit would start growing again in a pile of mud?
Thursday of the Second Week of Easter
Easter continues, and so does the adventure story of the early Church. In today’s first reading we have an account of Peter and the Apostles being taken in for questioning before a court. Their answer to the court demonstrates the continuing commitment to Jesus and the gospel message: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). They continue by telling the court that they are witnesses to the resurrection. It is evident that knowing Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has fundamentally changed their lives. The bumbling Apostles of the gospels – often mistaken, often confused, often “weak in faith,” have become courageous leaders of the Church, finally unwilling to deny Jesus.
Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
During Easter Season many parishes call on their people to reaffirm their baptismal promises at the Sunday Eucharist. The questions we are asked are based on the Creed. In this profession of faith the question and answer format uses the basic response “I do.” Many of us say it in unison as if we have said it a thousand times before. At Easter Vigil, our elect are invited to make their profession of faith in front of the whole community beside the font. This year what struck me was the response of one of men who was about to be baptized. His answer to the questions was a strong, “I believe.” This young man’s response left few with dry eyes. His journey had brought him a long way and his words came from the heart. My eyes fill with tears just thinking about his passion for what is now our shared faith.
Feast of Saint Philip and Saint James, Apostles
I often hear people saying that they wonder why God doesn’t make his existence more obvious to people. Why is it that God often seems to be hidden from our sight? If God wants to be known, then why is it so hard for people to get to know God and to come to have faith? One of the themes in the gospel reading for today is that God has in fact done a great deal to reveal himself in the person of Jesus Christ.
Memorial of Saint Athanasius, bishop and doctor of the Church
Alleluia, Christ is risen! We are now starting on our second week of Easter and continuing to follow the journey of the early Church as remembered in the Acts of the Apostles. Our passage for today again describes Peter and John, who, by now must be regarded as troublemakers in the eyes of many in the city. For the Christian community, however, the actions of Peter and John make sense because they are interpreted in light of the paschal mystery, i.e. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. They Christians feel empowered by their recollection of all that had happened; Jesus’ death has not ended their discipleship; rather, his resurrection has intensified their commitment to the gospel message. Hence the word that describes them is “boldness.” In the face of threats, they stay true to their lives as followers of Jesus.
Second Sunday of Easter
Easter is over! Many of us who gave up things for Lent are now perhaps enjoying these things again. I wonder, what did that first bite of chocolate, that first sip of coffee, that first gulp of beer, the fresh feel of game console feel like. PersonalIy, I consider the weeks after Lent to be the most dangerous time for Christians. Suddenly, the spiritual discipline that we got used to during Lent gets forgotten; prayer becomes more lax, and we get back to our old ways again. After Christ is risen and it is time to sit back and enjoy life again.
Thursday in the Octave of Easter
These words from today’s Psalm (Ps 118:15) illustrate the insuppressible good news of Jesus’ life death and resurrection. The good news of the resurrection bubbles forth from Jesus’ disciples out of their gut, almost uncontrollably; it is unable to be squelched or held down.
Friday in the Octave of Easter
My husband and I were overjoyed to have our daughter Gabriella baptized at the Easter Vigil last Saturday. The Vigil is so jam-packed with evidence of the goodness of God's salvation in Jesus Christ that we wanted Gabriella to enter the church on this most holy day of the year. There is something amazing, too, about being baptized along with so many others. Jesus once said that the Kingdom of God is like yeast that is mixed in with flour and then set to rise (Luke 13:20-21). The Church rises like that yeast, becomes bubbly and frothy and full of life, and that reality is so present when we witness something like all those baptisms and confirmations. At one point I was struck by the fact that these children and adults who were baptized that night too will, thank God, be helping to raise this baby in the faith. We help each other stumble toward the grace of God.
Thursday in the Octave of Easter
Alleluia! And happy Easter! Today we celebrate the fifth day in the Octave of Easter. Like all other days in the Octave, today is a solemnity, the highest feast of the Church. But of course, most of our country has already left Easter far behind. And most likely, we too have been back to work this week – the daily grind of everyday life.
Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
As the water rises all around us from the seven inches of rain we have received over the past eight days, we hear of many people who have floods in their houses. Some of these people, anticipated the water and took measures to deal with it before it even started; others are in turmoil because of the disruption. Many of us in the very least have had to spend time moving things around in order to avoid them being damaged by the water. It’s at times like these that many of us wish we had traveled lighter, that is with less stuff. For Peter and John, traveling light seemed to be a way of life. On the go with Jesus demanded that they traveled light in order to follow wherever he led. Perhaps, these days are as good as any to examine what we carry and how that may impede our ability to recognize resurrection all around us.
Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
I sometimes tend to think of Easter as a day or perhaps as a week long celebration (The Octave of Easter). Yet it is more than that. It is a season of the Church year, stretching from Easter Sunday until Pentacost Sunday. Yet, attending the Easter vigil mass this year brought to my attention the thought that each day of the year should involve a recognition and awareness of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. In fact, this is literally true, since each celebration of the mass is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
Monday in the Octave of Easter
Alleluia! Christ is risen, alleluia! For most people in the United States, Easter has come and gone. It is over in one day; even the Easter candy is now on sale. But for the Church, Easter Sunday is only the beginning of the Easter season. Today, Monday, is the second day in the octave of Easter. All of the days from Easter Sunday through to the following Sunday rank as solemnities, the highest holy days in the liturgical year of the Church.
Easter Sunday: Solemnity of the Resurrection of The Lord
Speculation! Speculation!! Speculation!!! Around every Easter time, people begin to speculate. For example, last weeks’ TIME magazine carried a cover article titled, What if there’s No Hell? In March this year, Bart Ehrman (the author of God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question -- Why We Suffer), published a new book entitled, Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are. In this book he claims that, "Christians intent on establishing what was right to believe did so by telling lies." So are we present today in this church on Easter Sunday because of a lie? Really? Can a lie sustain a way of life for two thousand years? For example, this year we have 23 people who came into the church at the vigil. I was in the confessional with some of these men, women and young people. A lie does not explain the personal transformation in them. A lie could not explain the burning in their hearts when they hear the name of Jesus. A lie could not explain the inexplicable love in their hearts. A lie could not account for the tears in their eyes. A lie cannot account for the steps they took to the altar. As a matter of fact, a lie does not account for us coming together today. This community, this gathering, our coming together, for me, is the greatest evidence of the resurrection of Christ.