Cycle A

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

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Today’s readings remind us that no matter how in the dark, surrounded, or outnumbered we feel in the face of evil, death, and sin, the Father will stand with us if we stand with him and his Son.

In today’s First Reading Jeremiah describes his former friends conspiring against him, but also his confidence that with the Lord at his side all their scheming would fail. Jeremiah had most of the ruling class of Israel against him as the Lord’s prophet because they didn’t like what the Lord was trying to tell them. Imagine when your friends and countrymen seek your downfall more than your companionship, even when you have their best interest in mind. They have their eyes on Jeremiah, waiting for him to slip up, and that is their mistake. If they’d kept their eyes on the Lord, as Jeremiah did, they would have been spared their fate. Instead they suffered death or exile at the hands of the Babylonians, and Jeremiah was vindicated.

In today’s Second Reading Paul reminds us that even though sin had a head start and plenty of time to spread it was nothing compared to the grace that would flow from one man standing up to it: Our Lord. Because of Adam, the “one man” mentioned at the start of today’s Second Reading, sin and death entered the world and spread to everyone, everywhere, throughout human history. The dire effects of that Original Sin still rage unchecked in many ways, and no one has a problem seeing the evil that plagues the world even today. It became so bad that it was not even recognized as sin at one point, until the Lord, through Moses, shared the Law (built upon the Ten Commandments) to show mankind how they could turn from sin and back to God and tell good from evil again. Even with the Law as a blueprint for life death still ravaged the world due to sin. Adam could have never made amends for the evil and death he’d caused. Yet the Father did not leave him, or us, to our fate. He sent his Son, who wiped away the sins of the world in Baptism and brought the grace of God to us again.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord reminds the Apostles that they only need to stand with him and not be afraid. If we stand with Christ bodily death should not frighten us, because, like him, eternal life awaits us. The only fear we should have is spiritual death: a life separated from him and separated from the Father, which makes life a living death from here to eternity. Trust in Our Lord should embolden us, more than evil and disbelief in the world should intimidate us. We all have moments where we question whether the Lord really knows what is going on or truly cares about what will happen to us. His son is the response to those doubts. He came to show us how precious we are in his eyes and in the eyes of Our Heavenly Father. He’s also our lifeline to the Father. St. Paul reminds us today that the grace we need comes through him, and that grace not only sustains us in communion with him, but with the Father as well.

We stand with the Father by standing with Christ, just as we fall if we don’t.

Readings: Jeremiah 20:10–13; Psalm 69:8–10, 14, 17, 33–35; Romans 5:12–15; Matthew 10:26–33.

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cycle A

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As today’s First Reading reminds us, the Lord didn’t choose us to be his People because we were numerous or talented; he chose us because he loved us. Salvation history is a history of God loving his Beloved and wooing her back when she strayed, not with flower and candies, but with loyalty, dedication, and sacrifice. We have all strayed, but that has not diminished the love Our Lord has for us one bit.

All he expects in return, as John reminds us in today’s Second Reading, is that we love one another. Love, like a flame, is meant to ignite hearts and spread, and that is what Our Lord ardently desires: not only that our hearts are aflame out of love for him, but that we spread his love as well after making it our own. The Holy Spirit ignites our hearts with the love of God, beyond any selfish or limited love.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord invites us once again to take up the burdens of love and remind ourselves that the secret to shouldering those burdens is to be, like him, meek and humble of heart. Meekness and humility of heart are what show the dividing line between a selfless love and a selfish one. When we contemplate the Lord’s Passion, and the meekness and humility of heart with which he faced it, we should have no fear about shouldering our own crosses out of love.

Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, inflame our hearts with love for you.

Readings: Deuteronomy 7:6–11; Psalm 103:1–4, 8, 10; 1 John 4:7–16; Matthew 11:25–30. See also Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Cycle C and Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

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7th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

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On the Seventh Sunday of Easter we are in prayerful expectation of the coming the Holy Spirit next Sunday at Pentecost, just as the first disciples were. The Easter season concludes in a week with Pentecost. How are we preparing for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

In today’s First Reading, just after the Ascension, the disciples gather, wait, and pray. The angels had to give them a little nudge to see that it was over (see the First Reading for Ascension Thursday), but they’ve taken the hint and come down from the mountain. However, it is not a John 21 moment; they haven’t returned to their day to day affairs as if nothing had happened. Our Lord had promised they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit if they wait, so they don’t just fill their time with mundane little chores; they gather and pray. We are gathered in prayer today, just as we should pray this whole week, awaiting the Holy Spirit.

In today’s Second Reading Peter reminds us that the Holy Spirit will be with us, but the mission we have received will still be tough. Just before his Ascension Our Lord charged the Apostles with going out and baptizing the whole world (see the Gospel for Ascension Thursday). About two millennia have passed. Are we there yet? He promised to be with them always, and that the power of the Holy Spirit would come upon them. If you read the Acts of the Apostles you see he was good on his promises, yet every Apostle but one suffered martyrdom. If we suffer in the name of Christ we know that the “Spirit of glory and of God rests” upon us.

In today’s Gospel we’re reminded that even as we wait in prayerful expectation of the Holy Spirit we know that Our glorified Lord is praying for us too at his Father’s right hand. He may have vanished from the world’s sight at the conclusion of his earthly ministry, but now the Risen Lord has concluded his time with his faithful disciples on earth and ascended into Heaven until he returns one day in the future. All the glory Our Lord asks the Father for in today’s Gospel is now being given to him. He spent his time on earth glorifying the Father through doing his will. Now he can grant eternal life: to know God and to know whom he sent. Now he prays for us to take up the torch, lit by the Holy Spirit, and continue his work.

The disciples today teach us the merits and importance of patient and trusting prayer. Our prayer life at times can be very staccato: almost as soon as one petition or expectation escapes our lips in prayer we’re moving to the next one. Sometimes we just keep asking for immediate things, skeptical Our Lord will truly help. If you’ve never really striven to persevere in prayer for something, now is the time to start. Perseverant prayer is also realistic prayer. Sometimes we try to tie Our Lord’s hands by asking for something very specific in a very specific way. Specificity is okay, but it must be combined with openness to God’s will. In Our Lord’s most anguished prayer in Gethsemane he said, “not my will, by thine be done.”

We all have prayer intentions that are very important to us, faced with dire situations. When tempted by discouragement it’s important to remember all the little prayers Our Lord has answered throughout your life. Good weather on a day you plan to picnic. Good results on an exam. A clean bill of health at the doctor’s office when some ache or pain has worried you. Thanking Our Lord whenever things work out, even if you didn’t dedicate a lot of prayer time, helps to foster more trust that he wants what’s best for you. Remember: he knows what you need before you ask.

Readings: Acts 1:12–14; Psalm 27:1, 4, 7–8; 1 Peter 4:13–16; John 17:1–11a. See also Ascension of the Lord, Cycle A.

Ascension of the Lord, Cycle A

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Today we’re celebrating Christ going home to Heaven. His mission on earth is accomplished. The angels are cheering at his return. The souls that were waiting for many years, since the beginning of human history, for Jesus to come and re-open the way to Heaven are celebrating too from their new and eternal home.

We are also thanking Jesus for the first thing that he did, and now continues to do, as soon as he got back to Heaven. Jesus is now at His Father’s right hand forever, asking him to help us get to Heaven too, and everyone we love. Like Jesus promised at the Last Supper, he and the Father are sending the Holy Spirit to help us get home by bringing us grace. Christ has ascended and now the disciples are waiting for the “whoosh” of the Holy Spirit.

In today’s First Reading the disciples are still confused and have doubts, even though they’ve seen that Jesus has risen from the dead. They were expecting, like all of Israel expected, one big whoosh right away: they thought the Kingdom of Heaven was coming right now. They were waiting for one last bang and for everyone to be in Heaven and evil to be ended. They ask Jesus when it’s going to happen. Jesus answers: wait for the Holy Spirit to come, and they still didn’t get it, which is why the angels have to tell them to move on. When Jesus tells them it’s not for them to know the times or seasons, he’s teaching them what the whoosh of the Holy Spirit is like: unexpected and big. The disciples thought there’d be one big whoosh and everyone would be in Heaven. Jesus is telling them to hold on to and be ready for the whoosh.

In today’s Second Reading St. Paul prays that we too receive this “whoosh” of the Holy Spirit when Christ arrives home. This “whoosh” will bestow on us wisdom and revelation, not just on the level of knowledge, but in our hearts as well. Paul describes well where Our Lord is headed today: to his Father’s right hand, where he’ll be put in charge of all things and be above all other powers. It also says he’s being given to us, the Church, as head over all things.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord prepares the disciples, and us, for Pentecost. He may be ascending soon, but the Holy Spirit is coming in force. In the Gospel today, and for the rest of this week [or ten days], we’re waiting for that first big whoosh of the Holy Spirit that came to the Church on Pentecost, which is what we’ll celebrate on [Pentecost] Sunday. Jesus tells the Apostles to go out and baptize the whole world. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit whooshed down on him. Whenever we receive the sacraments, whenever we pray, and whenever we love each other the same thing happens to us. The Holy Spirit also fulfills the promise Jesus made in the Gospel today: by the power of the Holy Spirit the bread and wine today in Mass will become the Eucharist – the Body and Blood of Christ – and Jesus will stay with us in the Eucharist “until the end of the age” when he will return with the last big whoosh that will bring us all home to Heaven.

The two men dressed in white in today’s First Reading are asking us the same thing today that they asked the Apostles, “why are you standing there?” Waiting for the whoosh doesn’t mean standing around and doing nothing. The Apostles were active as they waited. They didn’t know when the moment of grace, the whoosh, would come, but they knew they had to continue to do Our Lord’s will. He promised them power when the Holy Spirit came, but they were already at work. Sometimes we don’t want to do anything until we perceive a whoosh: a boost of grace, some insight into Our Lord’s will. We must remember that, in faith, we know the floodgate of grace is open and we are being soaked in it. He’s given us the sacraments, the Scriptures, and the help of the Church. We have plenty of grace to get to work.

Readings: Acts 1:1–11; Psalm 47:2–3, 6–9; Ephesians 1:17–23; Matthew 28:16–20.

6th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

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On the Sixth Sunday of Easter we’re reminded not only of all the reasons for our hope, but the need to share those reasons with others as well. The Easter season has two weeks to go, and just as Our Lord ascended and left his disciples to continue his work, we have to be ready for the return to Ordinary Time that should be no less characterized by hope.

In today’s First Reading Philip is one of the Christians scattered by the persecution that arose after the martyrdom of St. Stephen, but that did not deter him or the Apostles from evangelizing. Philip may have had to leave Jerusalem, but there was plenty of work in Samaria. Like Our Lord, he preached and performed signs, and people welcomed his message. He cast out unclean spirits and paved the way for his listeners to be baptized. The Apostles had remained in Jerusalem, despite the persecution, but when they heard of the work Philip had been doing in Samaria they knew they had something to give as well: the Holy Spirit. Even today we don’t just receive Baptism; we receive the Holy Spirit through the sacrament of Confirmation. Baptism expels evil from us and distances us from evil influences, and Confirmation strengthens us to go out and share the Gospel with others.

In today’s Second Reading St. Peter reminds us that we must always be ready to share the reasons for our hope with others. We have received new life in Christ. It’s our duty to give others the opportunity to receive new life in Christ as well. This doesn’t just mean giving reasons, but showing in our lifestyle that hope has transformed us and sustained us. It is thanks to hope that we sanctify Christ in our hearts. It is thanks to hope that we don’t shy away from explaining the reasons for our hope to everyone who asks, whether they’re curious or skeptical. It is not just what we explain, but how we explain it that lends credence to our message: gentleness and reverence. Brusque and jaded Christians undermine the main reason for our hope: the love of God. If we’re mistreated as a result we are consoled by the fact that we’re imitating Christ in suffering for the sake of good.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord prepares the disciples, and us, for Pentecost. He may be ascending soon, but the Holy Spirit is coming in force. The Lord after the Ascension is only within view of those who have faith. The world had its chance, but without faith it was only a matter of time before they lost sight of Our Lord. After Calvary, as far as they were concerned, Jesus was gone. The Risen Christ appeared to those who believed in him. The Holy Spirit didn’t just come to us at Pentecost. Today’s words, spoken in the Last Supper, reminded the first disciples, and us, that the Spirit is always with us. Thanks to the Spirit we are never alone and even now, through the Spirit, we maintain communion with the Father and the Son. The love of God is the greatest reason for our hope, and the greatest way we can reciprocate that love is to obey Christ out of love.

Readings: Acts 8:5–8, 14–17; Psalm 66:1–7, 16, 20; 1 Peter 3:15–18; John 14:15–21.