THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS: THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT LONG TO SEE YOUR FACE LORD

Among the marvels of our modern and very rapid communication technology, one of the most outstanding is the ever-increasing ability to not simply speak with someone, but to actually see the person we’re speaking with.  The advent of “Skype” and other similar technology has transformed our communication possibilities.  Grateful as we are to be able to speak with someone, we are all the more grateful to see the face of the person on the other end.

On this Solemnity of All Saints, the Church calls us to open our eyes, to see with the imagination of our faith the “great multitude,” the saints who already stand in the presence of God, who behold him face to face, who “see him as he is.”   The deepest longing, the deepest desire of their hearts has already been fulfilled. 

As we look into our own hearts, as we look at the world around us, we must acknowledge that the desire to see God “face to face,” waxes and wanes.  As we come and go in the midst of daily life, we can all too easily lose even our awareness of the place of God in our lives, much less experience an intense desire to behold him as he is. Perhaps we are aware of individuals who, for whatever reason, seem to have no such desire at all.  How can this desire be more kindled in our hearts?  How might we help awaken it in those for whom it remains nearly extinguished?

To answer those questions, we might turn to the saints.  How is that those we call “saints” have lived and died with this great longing, this great desire?  One answer to that question may be found in the Beatitudes.  Those who have discovered the blessedness of being poor in spirit, of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, of showing mercy and even of experiencing persecution because of the name of Jesus—they are the ones whose desire for God has also grown.

As we look to the saints today, we ask ourselves:  are we among the people that longs to see the face of God?  Has our desire for this grown, or has it grown cold?  On this blessed day, the “great multitude” who stand before the face of God, stand ready to help us by their prayers.  May we sense their overflowing desire that we, too, one day might be where they are.  May we entrust ourselves to their loving intercession today and ask for the grace of desire, of longing, to see the face of God.

Twenty First Sunday of The Year: Lord To Whom Shall We Go?

When a person makes serious error of judgement, you hear him say “I did not have a choice”. Do we really have choices in life? Israel Zangwill, a Jewish scholar, once said of his people “We are not the chosen people, we are the choosing people.” We always have one major option in life, to choose between options, and we are always confronted with the challenge of making choices. This has been the experience of human life from the cradle of creation. Eve and Adam had this challenge; Eve chose to listen and obey the serpent, and Adam preferred Eve his wife (the gift from God) to God himself. (Gen 3, 1 – 8). Abraham chose to sacrifice his only son to disobeying God (Gen. 22). Mattathias and his seven sons chose to fight than profane the culture of their land or to accept the offer of riches from a pagan and corrupt ruler (1Mac 2, 15 – 28). Maria Goretti chose death to sexual misconduct with Alessandro. Gandhi of India chose non-violence approach to secure the political independence of his people. There are very few situations in which we have no options. One example is who will be our biological parents. Apart from this, we always have options, and we always have a choice.

Today is a day of making an important choice. For five Sundays we have been reading chapter six of the Gospel according to John. The teaching of Jesus Christ from the first verse of this chapter is like a young man falling in love with a young woman but has difficulty describing what he feels and what he can offer. Jesus started by feeding the multitude so that nobody may go hungry (17^th Sunday). In doing this, he drew our attention to another kind of hunger that ordinary food and drink cannot satisfy, it is hunger for love and acceptance; hence he tells us not to work for the food that does not last but work for the real bread of God, and he is that bread (18^th Sunday). He is gradually telling us, his “soul mate,” what he can offer. On the nineteenth Sunday, this bread becomes his flesh and the wine becomes his blood that anyone who eats and drinks it will live forever (19^th Sunday). His offer is not going to be temporary thing. It is a profound expression of love whereby the two persons involved not only know each other and be there for each other but live in each other as the food and drink we take diffuse into our bodies and become part of us. The 20^th Sunday is about total self-offering of Jesus Christ to us; he says “take and eat.” This time it is no longer the forbidden fruit that kills but the bread that give everlasting life. All the while, we have been having mix feelings as we listened to this lover-God playing all the verbal romance. Today, he wants to conclude by leaving us with two options: either to accept his offer and stick around with him or go our ways. Joshua, the patron of the military and the finest field commander in the Jewish history lying down on his bed, an old man, and looking back to the past, he did not want to be remembered as the bravest field commander who brought his people to the Promised Land but as a prophet who brought his people to choose God again. Hence he says “choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…” We can now understand why Zangwill says “we are not the chosen people; we are choosing people.”

Today, we, the Church live in changing world, changing time and culture. Yes we have encountered pride, anger, frustration, sicknesses, family crises, worship of money, abuse of drugs and sex, silliness, pettiness, cowardice, injustices, faith denials, and betrayals, lost of jobs and loved ones, abuse of power here and there. And sometimes many voices that are contradictory to our faith. What will be our choice? To whom shall we go to when difficulties besiege us and the Word of God does not make much sense to us? What will be our choice when our husbands or wives become “unbearable” or the boss in the office makes our job so difficult? What do we do when we experience scandals in the Church and from people we trusted? Whom shall we go to when our parents abuse us, and the society does not care; when the adults around us have no good example to show us and those we consider friends desert us? Whom shall we go to when we feel lonely, unloved, not cared for, not accepted, hated, falsely accused and unjustly detained? Shall we give up in life and commit suicide instead of being patient and keep trying?

In such moments we do not only want to remember that Christ still loves us, but we also need the wisdom in the words of Joshua: “as for me and my household we will serve the Lord,” or the word of Peter, “Master to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe.” Jesus Christ is offering us everything about him. He is ready to die to prove how much he is committed in loving us. The Eucharist is the proof of love that becomes us. It is the sacrament that does not just make Jesus, The Christ, present among us but also lives in us. However, it takes two to make friendship and love happen. We should remember that we become like what we choose. God chose us out of his love but he cannot force us to choose him too. We can only be truly chosen people when we choose Jesus Christ. If we choose him we choose peace instead of violence; love instead of hatred; humility instead of pride; truth instead of falsehood; self-sacrifice instead of selfishness; we choose forgiveness instead of bitterness and revenge; gentleness instead of arrogance; fidelity instead of cheating. The Eucharist is the sacrament of love relationship. This is a mystery. Paul says in the second reading “This is the great mystery; it applies to Christ and the Church.”

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: August 15

For those of us who are Catholics, this celebration of Mary in heaven is so very natural.  For those of us who are not Catholics, it might seem uncomfortable.  There is always the question: "Aren't you raising Mary to the same level as Jesus?"  Please bear with me, as I try to reflect upon what this feast can mean for all of us who believe in the saving power of Jesus' death, resurrection and gift of the Spirit, especially if I do so from my Roman Catholic enthusiasm and affection for Mary.

I think it has always been a mis-reading of the Catholic devotion to Mary, to see it as worship of Mary.  I think one of the riches of the Christian spirit is to find every human, natural, tangible, emotional means available to support our faith.  Down through history, as the form of the celebration of the Eucharist became more and more "distant" or "transcendent," I think the people used a variety of devotions to  achieve an intimacy with our Lord.  I believe that the Spirit keeps finding ways to inspire us with desires for intimacy with our God.

One of the very real human scenes that is wonderful to imagine is that time in the life of the early community, when Mary died.  I have buried a number of very close relatives and I have a deep sense of what it is to say farewell to a loved one.  Just imagine what a special person Mary was.  Not only did she receive the extraordinary gift of conceiving and giving birth to Jesus, she raised him, and followed his public life.  And, she was there at the foot of the cross, experienced him as alive in a new way, and was there on the day of Pentecost.  Imagine the words exchanged between Mary and whatever disciples were around her as she approached her death.  I remember vividly how my family caressed the body of my father and grandmother when they died.  I can only imagine the very special devotion her friends and care givers had for her very special body at the time of her death.

As we reflect upon the meaning of the resurrection for us - as we do every time we celebrate a funeral - we are caught in the mystery of what happens to us after we die, after there is no more life in the body, when we pass into eternity and time is irrelevant.  How does Christ's victory over sin and death touch and transform our mortal bodies?  Part of why we pray for those who have died is to pray for God's mercy on our loved ones, in the faith-filled hope that God will forgive their sins and that "the angels will carry them to paradise." I imagine that it was easy for believers down through the centuries to be certain that Mary, of all people on this earth, the one "full of grace," would be the first to be carried home to the loving embrace of God. "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians." [Catechism of the Catholic Church, #966]

 May Mary pray for us as we journey to eternity!

Hail, Mary, full of grace!  The Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.

The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord: The Glorious Transformation

Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.
You will do well to be attentive to it,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place,
until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  2Pt 1:19

Today is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.  I am struck at the juxtaposition of the glorious and the intimate in the readings today – and how that mix leads to change for mission.  The readings have many majestic images of kingship and glory.  However, they also offer intimate images of relationship in the giving of authority, advice, and explicit recognition that Jesus is beloved.  We can meditate on these knowing that we now carry that mantle of beloved.  In my hurried days I know I too often read the readings searching for the “to do” and don’t spend sufficient time just dwelling on the majestic images and revealing in the intimate love expressed in the scriptures.  Today, I want to commit to coming back to these images throughout the day – to be attentive to them.    

As I write this message, the daily readings have been taking us through the Exodus story.  Perhaps that is why the verse about Moses and Elijah telling Jesus about his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem stuck out in my reading this time.  The glorious transformation, the miraculous visit and the intimate affirmation by God all direct Jesus to his mission.  To stay and build tents, as Peter suggests, would distract from that mission.  We are beloved by a mighty God and called to continue the Exodus.  Wisdom, strength and all we need for our call is available to us.  Love, support, and forgiveness are readily available just as we are called to offer that love, support, and forgiveness to others.  Being attentive to this prophetic message, dwelling on it in the backdrop of our day, brings hope and direction. 

Today may we be attentive to the amazing glory and intimate love expressed in the scriptures.  May we pray for one another and recognize in one another the transformation for mission that God accomplishes through us, his Beloved.   

Seventeenth Sunday of the Year

The Book of Kings, from which we hear in today’s First Reading, is a celebration of God’s wonderful working through the holy leaders of the people.  Elisha has just done such a deed.  A group of prophets was sitting around and Elisha asks a servant to gather some herbs for a soup.  The servant picks an unknown grain and puts it in the pot.  When it is tasted, they all cry, "death is in the pot."  Elisha throws some different weed in and all is tasty once more.

What we hear today follows this story.  There is a famine in the land and little to eat.  The prophets are offered twenty loaves of bread from the new harvest.  Elisha says, give it to the people and after a small dispute the bread is given to the people.  After the people had eaten, there was some left over.

The writer of John’s Gospel knows well the story of Elisha and presents Jesus here at the beginning of this chapter six, from which we will be reading for the near future.  This story is similar to the Gospel we heard last Sunday from Mark.  Jesus crosses the lake with His disciples and a large crowd follows them.  Jesus sees them and then asks Philip about how are all these people to be fed.

This is one more example of John’s setting up a tension with an apparently impossible situation.  One other place, they had no wine.  Jesus, seeking a drink, was told He had no bucket.  Now there is no bread.  Wait!  There is a lad, who has five loaves and two fish, “but what good are these for so many.”  It is near the Feast of Passover and Jesus is about to do something great with something so small, which involves taking bread, giving thanks and giving it to all who believed.  He then took the two fish and did the same with them.  As with Elisha, there were leftovers which filled twelve baskets.    

  

Each of us is an apparently impossible reality.  We are the person who had so little considering the immensity of the need.  There are few tasks which we accomplish without wishing we had done more or better.  The more loving we are, the more we wish we could do.  Raising a family, teaching a class, serving the sick and needy and labouring for peace and justice in this world, are all full of deep wishing and hopes.  What are you and I among such great tasks of life?  

Seeing this great sign, moves the people to want to make Jesus king.  He slips away from them and goes off to be by Himself.  He has given them and us a sign that we are to become, ourselves, signs and sacraments of His loving presence.  The rest of this chapter is full of arguments about just what does all this mean.  We enter into that argument often when we are dominated by the question about what good are we among so much to be done. 

If He allowed them to make Him king, then He would do everything.  Jesus’ making them and us, His body enters us into His labour of reclaiming this world as His Kingdom.  The Eucharistic Presence of Jesus depends, in a large part, upon the faith of the celebrating community.  The reality of that Presence depends on our living with and through the apparently impossible task of being so much with what seems so little.  Jesus gave thanks for the “little” and gave many so much through it that there was an abundance when all had eaten.  While it is a great act of faith to believe in Jesus’ presence in what seems so little, so fragile, it is a greater act of faith and humility to believe that each of us is ordained by Baptism and the Eucharist, to continue His presence in the midst of so great a labour.  We are sent to bring about His Kingdom.  What are you among so many?  To what do you say “Amen” when receiving the Eucharist, His sending you, and His going with you.  With the Eucharist, He makes company with us, literally, “bread-withing.”  Go in peace to love and serve the Lord with the little you are and the much He makes of you.  

Love Without Boundary

Catherine Booth, co-founder with her husband William Booth of the Salvation Army, was an electrifying preacher. Wherever she went, crowds of people went to hear her message of hope: princes and nobles, beggars and homeless people. One night, after preaching in a certain city, a certain well-placed lady invited Mrs. Booth to dinner. The lady’s words of welcome as she arrived were: “My dear Mrs. Booth, that meeting was dreadful.” “What do you mean, dear?” asked Mrs. Booth. “Oh, when you were speaking, I was looking at those people opposite to me. Their faces were so terrible, many of them. I don’t think I shall sleep tonight!” “Why, dear, don’t you know them?” Mrs. Booth asked. “Certainly not!” the hostess replied.      “Well, that is interesting,” Mrs. Booth said. “I did not bring them with me from London; they are your neighbours!”

The Golden Rule, “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27) is not just a Christian thing. Every conceivable religion and culture in the world has the Golden Rule in one form or another. Here is a sampling:

Judaism “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the law: all the rest is commentary.”

Islam: “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.”

Hinduism: “This is the sum of duty: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.”

Buddhism “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

Confucianism: “Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.”

If the Golden Rule was so well-known in ancient cultures why then did Jesus spend so much time teaching it as if it was a new thing? It is because Jesus brought a completely new understanding to the commandment. The Golden Rule is understood differently in different religions and cultures. And the key to its understanding lies in the question that the lawyer asks Jesus in the gospel, “Who is my neighbour?” (verse 29). Who is my neighbour that I have an obligation to love?

Among the Jews of Jesus’ time there were those who understood “neighbour” in a very limited sense. The Essenes of Qumran, for example, required new members to swear to love the children of light and hate the children of darkness. For them, your neighbour is the one who shares the same religious persuasion as yourself. Other groups, such as the Zealots, would understand neighbour to include only those who shared the same nationality and ethnicity with them. The average Jew would not regard the Samaritan as a neighbour. They are outsiders. The circle of neighbourly love does not include them. Jesus came into a world of “us” and “them,” “us” being the circle of those recognised as neighbours, and “them” being the rest of the world regarded as hostile strangers and enemies of the people.

The new thing in Jesus’ teaching of neighbourly love is his insistence that all humanity is one big neighbourhood. Thus he broke down the walls of division and the borders of prejudice and suspicion that humans erected between “us” and “them.” To bring home this point he tells the story of the Good Samaritan. This man regarded as ‘Enemy Number One’ by the Jewish establishment simply because he is Samaritan, is the one who finally proves himself to be neighbour to the Jewish man in need. Thus to the question “Who is my neighbour” Jesus’ answer is: Anyone and everyone without exception.

The lady who invited Mrs Booth to dinner understood her “neighbour” to be limited only to those on her social and economic level. Mrs Booth reminded her that her “neighbour” should include the ‘nobodies’ of society. Like this lady, we all need to be reminded that the Christian understanding of

 “neighbour” admits of no borders. The time has come for us to identify and tear down all the borders we have erected between those who belong to us (and are, therefore, deserving of our love and concern) and those who don’t (those others who can go to hell). Sometimes these walls of division are religious in nature, as in the case of religious intolerance, or in the mutual distrust and hatred between those who call themselves “conservatives” and those who call themselves “liberals.” Other times they are ethnic and racial, as in the bad blood between Blacks and Whites in places like South Africa, some parts of India and parts of the United State. They could also be social and economic, as in the divide between suburban neighbourhoods and the inner-city. We are challenged to dismantle these walls. This way we work with Jesus to realise his dream of the world as a neighbourhood without borders.

Fourteenth Sunday of the Year: My Grace is Enough for You!

Suffering is part of the human condition. Suffering is a key experience of Paul’s life. In today’s reading three times Paul asks the Lord Jesus to remove a particularly bothersome suffering – a “thorn in the flesh.” The actual “thorn” is  not certain; some surmise that Paul had a vision problem  hindering his ministry and so asks Jesus to remove it. Jesus’ reply to Paul is significant for Paul -- and for all believers.  Jesus does indeed hear Paul’s prayer and speaks directly to him, “”My grace is sufficient for you for power is made perfect in weakness.” Not the answer Paul expected or wanted! But Paul does hear Jesus and responds simply and humbly, “I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.” This encounter with Jesus becomes the foundation of Paul’s dealing with subsequent suffering. Paul is never hesitant to recount the sufferings he experiences; nor is he hesitant to witness to the power of Jesus experienced through them – “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” In the Letter to the Romans he catalogues suffering and concludes with an exhortation to persecuted Christians in Rome, “I am convinced that neither death nor life . .  .nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul’s lesson to believers is clear: we as disciples of Jesus should not expect that Jesus will shield us from suffering;   rather we should expect that  our weakness can become the occasion for experiencing the power of Jesus. I have always been scandalized by preachers – and there are many – who claim that following Jesus exempts believers from suffering and guarantees a long life full of health and material prosperity. These preachers belie the witness of Paul. And they belie the witness of Jesus himself! Today’s Gospel recounts Jesus’ experience returning home to his native place and teaching in the synagogue.  All his listeners ”took offense at him.”  The Gospels then recount Jesus’ progressive rejection, rejection leading to crucifixion and death – and to  eventual transformation and resurrection through the power of his most dear Father! Jesus is our savior and redeemer! His message is central to dealing with our suffering. Today’s readings ask us to reflect on whether we have  heeded Paul’s witness and brought our sufferings to Jesus – all our sufferings  -- trusting that in our personal weakness the power of Jesus can be manifested. Isn’t this the heart of the good news of the Gospel?

THE FEAST of ST THOMAS the APOSTLE: THE DOUBTING THOMAS

“Don’t be such a “Doubting Thomas”! I remember hearing that line as a child from adults or sometimes from other children parroting what they had heard adults say to them.

For a long time that phrase puzzled, even frightened me. It seemed to imply there was something inherently wrong, perhaps sinful, about not being certain about something. And when I finally connected its origin with St. Thomas, one of Jesus’ Apostles, I was even more confused. How can an Apostle be so wrong? Is it always wrong to doubt? Is it even possible not to have some doubt about lots of thing?

Despite the snickering of the other Apostles that I often picture, as the Resurrected but not yet Ascended Jesus approaches Thomas, I think Jesus shows understanding and compassion for Thomas’ doubt. Jesus does not condemn Thomas for not believing until he had seen and experienced the Risen Jesus for himself. Instead Jesus (and the author of John’s Gospel) teaches all of us generations and centuries later that we are blessed for believing without the benefit of physical confirmation.

Faith without doubt is certitude. Doubt without faith is cynicism. Although I have experienced moments of both certitude and cynicism in myself and others, I don’t think either extreme is often healthy or attractive. In my experience, doubt and faith can complement one another. Just because Thomas was not yet ready to believe his friends about seeing the Risen Jesus does not mean he lacked all faith. In fact, Thomas’s doubt probably led to a deepening of his faith after he experienced Jesus as Risen.

One other insight about Thomas is that he is the Apostle who insists on closely inspecting the wounds and suffering of Jesus. Thomas, perhaps more than anyone else, is able to face the heinous suffering of Jesus and take seriously the pain of the cross. Do we as Christians not have an obligation to take seriously the suffering of Jesus on the cross, the suffering of our world today, and be willing to follow Jesus despite that pain? We might be tempted not to inspect too closely the suffering of people today from war, poverty, disease, etc. But once we inspect these wounds ourselves, rather than doubt their severity we must face the truth and act accordingly.

For me Thomas is a saint and apostle who is down to earth, easy to relate to, and an inspiration for not turning away but for being willing to inspect and take seriously the pain and suffering of Jesus, the cross, and our world – no doubt about it!

Thirteenth Sunday of the Year: Faith Saves us!

Faith! When I read today’s Gospel, it made me think about how the people who followed Jesus at that time were lucky to see him in the flesh. I wonder at their faith in this man. I fear I might have been more like Thomas of another Gospel and doubted. Yet we read of the woman who knew she only had to touch his clothes and she might be made whole.  We hear Jesus say to the family of the young girl who they believed had died: “Do not be afraid. Just have faith.” 

Have faith. That letting go and believing. That letting go and letting God in. That letting go can be scary and freeing. While I might not have witnessed Jesus performing a miracle, I can still have faith that God can make me whole. I can have faith that though there is evil in the world, that “justice is undying.”  I can have faith when I see good in others, when I see people working to improve the lives of others who may feel forgotten. In those times and places, I can have faith that God is with all of us.

In a world beset by tragedy and sometimes senseless acts, it can be hard to have faith. I have to remember that miracles may be small, but I believe they happen all around us, if we could only see. Our faith should propel us to not only believe but to also act. Let your faith shine. Let God in. Believe that justice is undying, that by doing what you can, where you are, you can make a difference in the world.  Have faith!

FEAST of JOHN the BAPTIST

A few weeks ago, I read about the life of a circus promoter.  “What interesting work that must be,” I thought, “always being immersed in the hubbub of the circus, with the animals and the acts, and getting a daily dose of watching the joy on children’s faces.”  Then I read on and discovered that he rarely got a chance to actually attend the circus, because he was always out in front, doing the legwork before the circus came to town.  By the time the circus arrived, he was already in the next town. 

How difficult it must be to promote something that you rarely get to enjoy.

That is the life of Saint John the Baptist.  As described in today’s Gospel, even the circumstances of his birth and circumcision showed that John was no ordinary person.  Had he desired it, he most likely could have garnered a large following for himself.  He could even have competed with Jesus for followers.  Instead, he promoted the coming of Jesus, preparing the way for Jesus’ triumphal entry into public ministry.  And then, when the time was right, he simply got out of the way and let Jesus speak for Himself.

How many of us struggle to make a difference in the world, when what most people really mean by “making a difference” is calling the shots?  John the Baptist was a great saint, but more than doing great deeds, he earned his reputation by experiencing the presence of the Messiah, and inviting others to share that excitement.   He pointed the way to Jesus.

This idea of pointing the way fascinates me.  It’s not about doing things, it’s about living in such a way that the things we do no matter how few or many, are done in a sacred way.  Saint John the Baptist’s entire life was a testament to sacred living: his ministry, his speech, even his ascetic life in the desert.  All of these worked together to do one thing – give him the credibility and passion to speak with authority about the coming of Jesus, the Christ – to promote the Messiah.

So when we feel we are in a spiritual rut, that our lives are just filled with mundane tasks, perhaps we could benefit by asking ourselves, “What is the most credible and authentic way that I can do that next task?”  Even something as mundane as taking out the garbage could be the beginning of a transformed life.  Though I have some ideas about how one could take out the garbage in a “sacred” way, I’ll leave it to you and the Lord to come up with some of your own ideas.

I’ll simply get out of His way and let Him speak for Himself.

Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus comes to us as an invitation to penetrate more deeply the mystery of the humanity of Christ, who out of great love laid down his life for us and poured out that wondrous love by opening his heart on the cross, bidding us to that fountain of precious blood and living water---the blood of the sacrificial lamb, and the water of the Spirit, baptism and Eucharist.  We want to drink deeply of the spring of eternal life.

The Creator of all who once opened the side of the first man to fashion Eve, now opens the side of Christ to give birth to the Church, his bride.  Adam was put into a deep sleep when his side was opened; now the author of life, who sleeps the sleep of death, has his side opened by divine decree that permitted the soldier, without incurring sin, to strike the heart of Christ so that scripture might be fulfilled, they shall look on him whom they have pierced.  

We gaze lovingly at his wounded heart, and are so moved that we desire too to have our hearts wounded by the fire of his love, a wound that heals our defective hearts, a wounded heart thirsting for the blood of the lamb who takes away the sins of the world.  The mystery of the Sacred Heart of Jesus  invites us to penetrate is the mystery of God’s human heart, allowing our hearts to thirst for him and be wounded, so that the more we love, the more we desire to love, the more our hearts suffer and are wounded, the more we find healing.  What was hidden and unseen by mortal eye, is now made visible in the open heart of Christ; what was inaccessible is now a fountain of eternal life.

At the death of Jesus, the earth shook and hard rocks were split.  The Sacred Heart enables our stony hearts to become flesh and beat with the heart of Christ, and to drink deeply of the living water that wells up to eternal life.  This is the will of God for you, your holiness (1 Thess 4:3).  If the wounded world is to become holy, it needs the prayers and works of saints who dwell in the heart of Christ.  This Sacred Heart invites us to such holiness.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Pope Francis said this last year, on Trinity Sunday :

"Today is the Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity. The light of Eastertide and of Pentecost renews in us every year the joy and amazement of faith: let us recognize that God is not something vague, our God is not a God “spray,” he is tangible; he is not abstract but has a name: “God is love”. His is not a sentimental, emotional kind of love but the love of the Father who is the origin of all life, the love of the Son who dies on the Cross and is raised, the love of the Spirit who renews human beings and the world. Thinking that God is love does us so much good, because it teaches us to love, to give ourselves to others as Jesus gave himself to us and walks with us. Jesus walks beside us on the road through life."

We can celebrate this great solemnity, not by thinking about or arguing about concepts about how the Trinity works, but by opening our hearts to a deeper relationship with our God, who is love. We can have a relationship with each of the Persons in the Trinity.

Certainly the God who made us can fill us with grateful love. All of creation can give glory to God for the wonders which surround us. As we reflect on the gift of life itself, we may be tempted to feel overwhelmed with life's struggles. Today we can celebrate a merciful and faithful Father who never forgets that we are his gift of life for the world and for all eternity. Today is a great day to speak to our Father and Creator and to give thanks and praise. A step beyond acknowledging the relationship and giving thanks is to rest in and enjoy our Father's embrace. There can be nothing more consoling and healing, however we want to imagine it and relish in it. This embrace allows us to surrender our doubts and fears, our small-scoped wants and needs, even our wounds, our judgments and our angers.

Jesus is God's love who has become one with us in our journey in the flesh on this earth. We can unpack and enjoy that today. We simply are not able to say that God doesn't understand what it is to be human. Being human, is one of the ways God is for us and with us. And, today we can celebrate the life, death and resurrection gift that Jesus continues to be for us. We can let ourselves long to know him better, to fall in love with our brother and savior. And we can ask him for the grace to be like him in laying down our lives for others. Being with him will draw us into being more deeply in love with his way of loving those most in need and it will certainly offer us the deepening desire and freedom to love the same way.

Jesus promised that he would not leave us orphans. As we celebrated last weekend, the Father and the Son sent us the Holy Spirit to gather us in this Trinity of love. We all know that we can orphan ourselves, by clinging to independence and the illusion of "freedom" and identifying ourselves with what we accomplish and what we possess. The spirit which is evil loves to divide and scatter us. But the Holy Spirit offers gifts to heal our wounds and bring us a peace the world's attractions can't give. Today we can celebrate the work of the Spirit within us and among us. Sometimes, it is a small movement, a simple awareness, a conviction which troubles us, or an inner peace we can count on. We can let the Spirit speak the words, the feelings, the deep desires we can't get out and express. We can let the Spirit help us discern small and great choices we make each day - the choices identified by mercy and reconciliation, care for those on the margins, and a deep peace which acknowledges that God is the Father of us all and that Jesus is Lord. We can let the Spirit transform us from mediocrity to being on fire, allowing our hearts to be part of the Spirit's work of renewing the face of the earth.

Trinity Sunday can be a day of celebration, of intimate conversation with our three-personed God, who is love. It can be a day of gifts which bring us closer to our origin, our salvation and our life together in community for others.

Solemnity of Pentecost: The Honourable Bird

A learned Japanese writer once said: “I think I understand about God the Father and the Son, but I can never understand the significance of the ‘Honourable Bird’.” The Holy Spirit has traditionally eluded the comprehension of scholars and preachers; a bird in flight resists capture. This bird-like Spirit flies higher than any aeroplane; it flies across the vast expanse of lands and oceans; it could go down the valleys, along creeks and above the highest mountains.  It brings blessings, healing, new life and hope.

It is difficult to contain or even describe ‘Spirit’. However, spirit-talk suggests life, movement and energy. We talk of creative energy in inspiration; an energy which has the power to break through barriers, break records, and go beyond the expected and the mediocre; the energy that breaks through the locked doors of convention and is not bound by any kind of restriction.

This divine energy is manifested in creation, when it brought life out of nothing. The Spirit is that Breath of Life that came from God and made humans living beings (Gn. 1, 1ff; 2, 18 – 26). The same divine energy, the Spirit, also showed his presence and power in the form of Pillar of Fire and Cloud to protect and guide the pilgrim people of God as the march to freedom across the desert (Ex 14).

This divine energy is the Consuming Fire that ate up the sacrifice of Elijah, the prophet when he challenged the false prophets. The same Spirit lived in the prophets who spoke courageously against the social, moral and religious evils of their time. Mary, the virgin, was overshadowed by the power of God, the Holy Spirit, at the conception of Jesus (Lk. 1, 18 ff.). This “Honourable Bird” appeared again at the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan (Mt 3).

Now Fifty days after the death and resurrection of Jesus, a group of dispirited followers of Jesus had gathered and locked themselves in the upper room. There was more perspiration than inspiration in the room; there was fear and suspicion, and they listened attentively to every footstep on the stair-case; waiting for the executioners to knock at the door. They must have been praying that no one would discover their hiding place.

In contrast to their expectation, there came the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit; the Spirit takes this group of dispirited folk and fills them with new energy, enthusiasm and confidence. The presence of the Holy Spirit takes away fear, and makes the disciples open their lives to others. The Holy Spirit bears the fruits of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness and faithfulness (Gal.5:22).

One interesting thing about the Pentecost is that all those who receive the different gifts of the Holy Spirit spoke the same message that was understood by everyone who gathered in Jerusalem from various cultures and nations of the world. The message is LOVE. It has the same sound, texture, effect and power in every person, culture, race and country. When love becomes the language we all speak, the powerful breathe of God will energize everyone.

For the Jewish believers Pentecost was a harvest celebration. For the Christian community it is the celebration of God’s planting the Holy Spirit to bring about a spiritual harvest. Jesus breathes upon them and offers them the same breath or Spirit that brought about order from the chaos as recounted in the book of Genesis. He is telling them that as He was sent into the world to bring order into the lives of all, so they were as well, the incarnations of the Spirit who themselves are sent to bring order out of chaos. Whose chaos you order there will be ordered, and those whose way of living retains their chaos, theirs is retained (Jn. 20:23).

 No more sitting around and worrying or wondering who we are and what we are to do. Jesus did not give them any further instruction except to “Go”. This in itself was encouraging and energising. The “Honourable Bird” was now flying in and through them.

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord: What Goes Up, Must Come Down ( Acts 1:1-11; Eph 1:17-23; Mk. 10:15-20)

At some early point in our earthly lives we all learn an inescapable law:  “what goes up must come down.”  Perhaps it was our childhood playground that taught us this best - a thrilling pull in our bellies as the swing catapults toward the ground; a blast of wind in our face as we rush down the slide; or the exhilarating drop from the highest point of the teeter-totter.  

On today’s Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, it behooves us to remember this law.  In these final days of the Easter season, we contemporary disciples of Jesus stand beside his first disciples while they work to make sense of the new reality in their lives wherein Jesus has “left” them.  As described in  the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples are standing heavy-footed, bent-necked, slack-jawed, staring at the sky - perhaps a sense of despair in their hearts.

How many times have I felt abandoned by Jesus?

How many times have I looked heavenward asking, “What do you want me to do next?!”

We read on in Acts about two white-garmented messengers who ask the disciples, “Why are you standing there looking at the sky?”  They, like the white-washed messengers in the empty tomb, seem to be saying to me, “What are you doing looking here?  Don’t you remember what he told you about the Spirit?!”

The readings in the last weeks have been oozing with messages about the Spirit.  Jesus has been doing his darnedest to prepare us for his rising and for the falling of the Holy Spirit.  “What goes up must come down.”  

It is the Spirit that imbues us with the living Jesus beyond the cross, beyond the tomb, beyond the blank skies above the disciples’ heads at the Ascension.  The Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins proclaims in his poem “God’s Grandeur”:  “the Holy Ghost over the bent world broods with warm breast and with ah!  Bright wings.”  

Do we allow ourselves to receive this Spirit into our lives?  Jesus certainly asks us to use the Spirit as fuel to carry on with him the building of the Kingdom of God on earth.

In the Gospel reading today, Jesus gives us a police artist’s sketch to help us identify the perpetrators of his message of love and forgiveness.  They will be recognizable by their actions.  They will fight for justice and peace by driving out the demons of oppression and hatred.  They will learn new ways to proclaim ancient messages of hope so all might hear.  They will courageously handle and tend to the slippery and slithery sins of our society without being bitten by them.  They will ingest the bitter truths of our world without being destroyed by them.  They will extend healing hands to tend to the wounds of others.  Do I fit this description?

Spirit-laden, may we all work together to continue  the good work of Jesus.