Month: May 2016

7th Week of Easter, Wednesday (2)

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In today’s First Reading Paul, bidding farewell to the presbyters of Ephesus, charges them with watching over the Lord’s flock and themselves. Our Lord in today’s Gospel prays that his disciples share a profound unity, a unity reflecting the profound unity of the Most Holy Trinity.  Paul encourages the presbyters to remember that it is better to give than to receive; the “wolves” who will menace the flock are looking after their own interests, not the poor sheep who falls into their clutches.

However, as Paul warns, the unity of the Church is threatened by internal factors as well; some teaching perverse doctrines will lure people away. It is due to both these types of threats that Our Lord entrusted the apostles and their successors with watching over the unity of the flock.  They are expected to preside over the Church in a spirit of service and of charity. The wounds and obstacles to Christian unity even today are caused by false teachers and people pursuing their own interests at the expense of the Church’s.

Let’s pray today for shepherds who know how to drive off the wolves and false teachers. Let’s also pray for reconciliation and unity among all Christians so that we can be one as Our Lord has prayed for in today’s Gospel.

Readings: Acts 20:28–38; Psalm 68:29–30, 33–36b; John 17:11b–19. See also 7th Week of Easter, Wednesday and 7th Week of Easter, Sunday.

7th Week of Easter, Tuesday (2)

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In today’s readings we see two farewells to beloved friends: Paul bids farewell to the presbyters of Ephesus, knowing he’ll never see them again, and Our Lord’s prolonged Last Supper farewell turns to a prayer for those whom he is leaving behind before his “glorification,” which in St. John’s language is his crucifixion and resurrection.

In today’s First Reading we recall the first part of Paul’s farewell; by assuring them he was not responsible for the blood of any of them he was saying that he had held back from nothing in their regard that was a part of God’s plan. He helped them on the path to salvation, but now the Holy Spirit was prompting him to take up an arduous mission that required leaving them behind. Our Lord, addressing his Father, also declares that he had fulfilled his mission in regard to his disciples, those who believed in him, and was preparing for what would consolidate that work: his sacrifice on the Cross, a journey to death, but also to Resurrection, that would also leave them behind.

Our Lord has done this not just for the disciples of his time, but for us. Paul too set something into motion, prompted by the Holy Spirit, that benefits us even today. What’s our response?

Readings: Acts 20:17–27; Psalm 68:10–11, 20–21; John 17:1–11a. See also 7th Week of Easter, Tuesday.

7th Week of Easter, Monday (2)

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In today’s First Reading Paul decides to go to Ephesus while Apollos is with the faithful in Corinth. Paul’s visit today to Ephesus reminds us of the path every believer takes in the spiritual life: repentance for sins, baptism, and a life in the Spirit. This reading is an apt selection for the week that awaits us before Pentecost, because we too hope for an outpouring of the Spirit as the fruit of living a good sacramental and moral life.

Life in the Spirit is not just receiving special charisms, such as prophecies and tongues, although some do. Life in the Spirit means relying on the Spirit, who gives us life and courage to face the world’s trials. The Spirit convinces us of the truth of Our Lord’s promise in today’s Gospel: Christ has conquered the world., therefore there’s no need to fear. Paul asks the Ephesians today if they have received the Spirit; the sacraments are what confer the Spirit upon us, especially Baptism and Confirmation, just as the Eucharist nourishes us on Christ’s Body and Blood. Together these three sacraments fully initiate us into a life in the Spirit: a Christian life.

Life in the Spirit is not just something we receive; it is a commitment and a labor of love. Let’s welcome the Spirit into our lives in order to have the love of God poured into our hearts.

Readings: Acts 19:1–8; Psalm 68:2–3b, 4–5a, 5c–7b; John 16:29–33. See also 7th Week of Easter, Monday.

7th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

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In today’s First Reading St. Stephen, the first martyr, is speaking in a language that his persecutors understand. It is a message that comes with the power of the Holy Spirit, who’s coming on Pentecost to energize the budding Church for her mission that we’ll celebrate in a special way next week. He bears Our Lord’s own words: “Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Those words brought death to Jesus as well, because they were a testimony that Our Lord was the Messiah. Stephen’s testimony went to martyrdom, and that martyrdom bore fruit: Saul became the great apostle St. Paul.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord prays for those who will believe in him through the words of his disciples. Like St. Stephen, we must bear the word of Jesus so that others can believe. It means giving witness, it means taking the blows of ridicule, misunderstanding, contempt. We may not suffer a physical martyrdom, but there may be a concerted character assassination, ridicule, and scorn. Through Jesus’ word, he prays that we will be united as he is united to his heavenly Father. Through Jesus’ word, he prays that we will share the same glory that his heavenly Father has given him, and through that unity and glory he prays that the world will know that he was sent by his heavenly Father and that the heavenly Father loves them as much as he loves Jesus.

In today’s Second Reading John reminds us that Jesus’ Word is above all an invitation to enjoy eternal life. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”—the Church, that bride described by St. John—in the power of the Holy Spirit extends that invitation that Christ may come into her life and the life of all believers. Let the hearer say, “Come.”—he wants that invitation to be repeated on our lips as well. He wants Christ to come into our lives, and to come into the lives of those to whom we give witness. That invitation is to satisfy a deep need in man that mankind can satisfy in no other way: “Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.” That life-giving water is grace, the love and life of God, which unites us to God and to each other and lets the glory of God shine within us.

St. Irenaeus described the glory of God as being man truly living his life: Gloria Dei vivens homo. Man glorifies God by living his life in truth and love to the maximum degree, bolstered by the grace and love of God. Not just passing things, so many toys that are new, then boring, then discarded—money, career, pleasure, power. Not just surviving in an evil and troubled world. Living the Gospel in all its fullness. Because eternal life started in our hearts the day of our baptism and wants to grow, to take hold of us and transform us. That growth is made possible by Christ in the power of his Spirit. His word must become our word. His Spirit must become our Spirit, and through faith and prayer and sacrifice we make his words our own, and his Spirit fills us and transforms us.

Let’s not be afraid to let Christ’s word shape our lives, to let his Spirit transform us. It is a Spirit of love, unity and forgiveness. When love is not there, when unity is not there, when forgiveness is not there, true life is stifled. Let’s ask Jesus to “Come” just as the Holy Spirit and the Church do in today’s Second Reading. Speak to Our Lord heart to heart. Ask him to fill your heart with his Spirit, and offer to him one thing in your life, something big, something small to show your welcome to his Spirit and grace. One act of charity, one act of forgiveness.

You’ll be surprised how quickly something comes to mind, and how your reaction will be, but that something will point out the direction that Christ’s word and his Spirit wants to take you. Make amends with that someone in your life who hurt you, or ask for forgiveness for hurting someone. Visit with someone in your family or an old friend that you haven’t spoken with in a long time. Help the poor or the sick. By doing this, Jesus’ words will come true in your life: “By this they will know that you are my disciples: by your love for one another.”

Readings: Acts 7:55–60; Psalm 97:1–2, 6–7, 9; Revelation 22:12–14, 16–17, 20; John 17:20–26. See also 7th Week of Easter, Thursday, St. Stephen, First Martyr, and 3rd Week of Easter, Tuesday (2).

6th Week of Easter, Saturday (2)

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In today’s First Reading Apollos teaches us that the truth is something very powerful, and the tools Our Lord has given us for evangelization can have a great influence if we use them well. Apollos did not have all the truths at his disposal or all the means of sanctification; he was not sacramentally baptized, just gifted with a Jewish upbringing, knowledgeable about Sacred Scripture, catechized, a good public speaker, and good at reasoning things out for himself and for others. He didn’t consider himself an armchair catechumen or a neophyte; he went out and tried to share the Word of God.

In comparison with Apollos we have a veritable arsenal at our disposal: a sacramental life, catechesis, the whole canon of Scripture, the teachings and inspiration of so many holy men and women down throughout the centuries, and, for some, a society founded on Christian principles and culture. As Christians it’s not just about what we have, but the fire with which we use it. Everyone can agree that today, even though there is an arsenal at our disposal, there are not enough Christians truly on fire for sharing the Word of God.

We need to stoke that fire. Easter reminds us that we can breathe new life into the deadest situations. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit made the fire of the first apostles flare up into an impulse for evangelization that swept across Asia Minor and into Europe. Let’s ask the Spirit to kindle in us that fire as well.

Readings: Acts 18:23–28; Psalm 47:2–3, 8–10; John 16:23b–28. See also 6th Week of Easter, Saturday.