Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
April showers… I’m sure all know the saying. As spring begins to surface I always get anxious to get out into the garden and begin preparing and planting vegetables. Amidst this excitement, I always have to give myself a reality check and make sure that everything is timed correctly. Compost needs to be laid out early enough that it can settle and be completely broken down. Tomatoes can’t go in too early or they won’t survive the chilly nights. Planting needs to be spaced out so that veggies are come to harvest at different times. On top of all this, one of the biggest reality checks is waiting to fill the rain barrels so that in the drier summer months we have a good supply of rain water to nourish the plants. Fill the barrels too early and the pipes could freeze, start them too late and we’ll be playing catch up once planting does happen.
Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
Losing someone you love is difficult at best even if it might have been expected. Everyone grieves differently and that is okay. Occasionally, in both the person dying and in their family there is a level of what almost seems unusual acceptance. Faith often is the reason for their peace. I have seen dying patients look up as if they were seeing heaven and reach their open arms to the heavens. It is as if, like Stephen, these people could see Christ welcoming them home. For those left behind there is still a process of letting go. We may not feel it, but these times are when the Lord is trying even harder to remind us of his desire to feed us and lead us to from death to new life.
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
Today we hear the story of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. We also hear Jesus calling himself the “bread of life,” as he references the life-sustaining bread given by God to the Israelites in the desert. The writer of the Acts of the Apostles is commonly thought to be the writer of the Gospel of Luke. Acts is like “Chapter 2” of the two-part series. The writer does something remarkable with the story of Stephen. As Stephen is being stoned, the writer quotes him saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He also quotes Stephen saying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Anyone who has read or heard the Passion narratives knows what the writer is doing: he is comparing what Stephen is undergoing to what Christ underwent. Furthermore, when Christ calls out to God the Father, Stephen cries out to God himself.
Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr
When reading many of the gospel passages, I often wonder what it would be like to be present for the many signs and miracles that Jesus performed during his ministry. And yet if we believe that Christ is risen and alive with us today, we should have the same opportunity to witness His power among us. God’s love and power is not any less alive than it was when Jesus walked the earth almost 2000 years ago. If we look, we can find Christ in many parts of our lives, and if we allow Him to work in us and through us, then His miracles can continue to occur.
Third Sunday of Easter
Early March, news shocked the Christian world that in a militant attack on a convent in Aden, Yemen, four nuns (Sr. Anselm, Sr. Reginette, Sr. Judith, Sr. Marguerite) from Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity were among the 16 people who were killed. The four sisters, two from India and two from Africa worked in a nursing home attached to their convent. It was also reported that a Salesian priest from India, Fr. Thomas Uzannalil was handcuffed and kidnapped. To date, there is no news about him. Around Holy Week, there were rumors that Fr. Thomas was to be brutally crucified on Good Friday. Thank God that this was only a rumor, but not having any information about him is worrisome. As I read today’s readings, particularly the first and second reading, I could not help but think about Fr. Thomas and the sisters. I find it amazing that people choose to be in places of conflict and preach the “good news” of Jesus Christ. I almost feel guilty that my life is so secure.
Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
I get the impression that the events of today’s gospel, Christ walking on water, weren’t shared openly until later in Christ’s ministry, if not after his death and resurrection. I have no concrete scriptural evidence for this, but the precedent exists. All throughout Mark there is the Messianic secret and after the transfiguration the apostles are sworn to secrecy. But why this passage?
Friday of the Second Week of Easter
In the past month, I’ve found myself reflecting deeply on the nature of the church and what it means to be church. The ongoing political climate, a polarized country and church, the division between progressives and traditionalists makes me ask the questions: what does it mean to be in a church that is so patently fallible and yet which claims to be Christ’s body, and an eternal institution? Good and evil, divine and human, fallible and infallible, are all intermixed: how can this be?
Memorial of Saint John Baptist de la Salle, Priest
Throughout the Gospels, the apostles are often presented as somewhat slow, struggling to really understand the message that Jesus is teaching them. But in today's first reading we see a whole new depiction of these men of God. They suddenly become determined, convicted, focused and unrelenting. They finally get it.
Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
I met someone recently who could speak to me only in metaphor. The imagery they conveyed described how they were locked in prison and needed help to get out. Through our discussion the jailer seemed to be his own sin. It was like this person realized that their own actions led them to a tomb of their own making. What became clear was how desperately the person wanted the Lord to roll the stone away so that they could be set free. The desire of this persons heart was to be unshackled so that they could proclaim the gospel.
Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter
Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles can leave us wondering, “What happened?” The passage describes an idyllic, utopian community of believers that are single-minded in their wholehearted love for the Lord and His people. They care for the needs of those around them and trust the Apostles to distribute their earthly goods as justly as possible. Today, we look around at Christianity and we see divided hearts and minds among the thousands of different denominations. We hear suspicious accusations cast upon our leaders in the Church as well as upon the needy. We are compelled to ask, “What in the world happened?”
Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Today is the Solemnity of the Annuciation of the Lord. There is a sermon written by Saint Sophronius, bishop of Jerusalem in the 7th century, (more well known in the Eastern Church) wrote a sermon praising and acknowledging in a most sublime way, the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in God’s plan of salvation for all of humanity. Time and again, Sophonius declares, “Truly, you are blessed among women.” In some way it is my hope that we spend time this day, deeply contemplating just what Mary, the Mother of our Savior, has done—and continues to do—for each and every one of us.
Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy)
Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. It was at the canonization of Sr Faustina in 2000 that Pope John Paul announced that the Sunday after Easter would be celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. God’s mercy is always a marvelous grace to celebrate, yet particularly, during the Jubilee of Mercy. It is said that Pope Francis too has great devotion to Divine Mercy.
Saturday in the Octave of Easter
The movement in today’s gospel is fascinating. Through it Mark captures important truths about salvation history, discipleship, and evangelization in this one short passage.
Friday in the Octave of Easter
During the Easter Season, we do not read the first scripture lesson from the Old Testament as is customary the rest of the year, but we read from the Acts of the Apostles. This is partly to emphasize that Jesus’ resurrection has brought about something new. God is doing a new thing in the midst of the old and we emphasize this by reading only from the New Testament. But there is another, perhaps more significant reason to bring in readings from the Acts of the Apostles: we cannot fully realize the meaning and importance of the resurrection without understanding its aftermath.
Thursday in the Octave of Easter
In today’s first reading people cling to Peter and John in because of their recent healing of a crippled man. It is Peter who stresses that the healing of this man was an act of God, not of Peter or John. I often find myself relating to Peter’s befuddlement and his critical eye toward God’s all-powerful grace that we find in the Gospel narrative. Therefore, I find a lot of hope in this reading from Acts that shows Peter evangelizing despite the fact that he recently denied Christ three times in the Passion. Hope rests in the fact that we can turn our doubts into faith, help others recognize that faith as a gift from God, and rejoice in the mercy and love of God.
Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
I love backpacking because it allows one to journey and explore. The walking is not so much about getting from one place to another, as it is about the experience of the getting there. Sometimes we know the trail and feel like we are in familiar territory. Other times we have to discover the best way, especially when there are multiple paths to get to one's ultimate destination. consider how even when one has a good sense of the road traveled the journey is not always predicable.
Tuesday in the Octave of Easter
In the first reading, Peter is on fire with the Holy Spirit. His preaching in the Spirit brings 3000 people into the Church in a single day! We only have the highlights, but what strikes me today is his saying, “The promise is made to you… and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” In those days where it took months to get a message across the Roman Empire, every city and region had their own religious traditions; to adopt the traditions of some other area was to loose your cultural identity and independence. But Peter here is saying that Jesus matters to all people, near and far. The promise extends to the whole world.
Monday in the Octave of Easter
Recently I have been preparing to go on a pilgrimage walking part of the Camino de Santiago. (To know more about this please visit : http://www.caminosantiagodecompostela.com). Not only have I been taking long hikes/ walks, but I have been trying to figure out all the things that I need to take such as poles, backpack etc.
Each of us is on a pilgrimage as we journey to our final destination- heaven. The scripture readings today remind us that as we walk on our way, not only does Jesus meet us, but He gives us His Spirit and sends us forth to share the Good News with others. Jesus supplies us with all we need, and He accompanies us along the way. Jesus is the perfect traveling partner to make the journey home to Him.
The Resurrection of the Lord
When Pope Francis visited the United States, addressing the crowds at the Festival of Families in Philadelphia, he told the story of a child who asked him a question. “What did God do before God created the world?” the child wanted to know. The Pope admitted that this was a difficult question for him to answer. And then he said, “I told him what I’m saying now to you. Before creating the world, God loved, because God is love.” Today, as we celebrate Easter, I want to think of Easter as the triumph of God’s love. If any of us wanted to know what God’s love is like, the cross and the empty tomb tell us the story.
Holy Saturday
At daybreak on the first day of the week the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
These women ventured out at daybreak, which means they prepared in darkness. That darkness is the pregnant pause we call Holy Saturday. As you read this, Mass has not been celebrated since Holy Thursday. No one but the dying will receive communion between Good Friday and Easter Vigil. The Eucharist, which the Catechism calls the source and summit of our faith, has become virtually inaccessible. The poignancy of this should not be lost on us.