Thursday, April 30, 2020

Let's Get Ready for Sunday - Fourth Sunday of Easter 2020

Our readings this Sunday are from Acts of the Apostles, First Peter, and the Gospel from John.

The first reading, Acts 2:14a, 36-41, shows us the new Peter, a Peter emboldened by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The same Peter who denied knowing Jesus three times in the hours before Christ's crucifixion is now standing and loudly calling out his fellow Jews for what happened.  Peter proclaims to them that Jesus is Lord and Messiah, the very person for whom the nation of Israel had been waiting!  The message strikes to their hearts and 3,000 repent and are baptized, receiving the same Holy Spirit who transformed Peter from hiding in the shadows to boldly proclaiming the truth about Jesus.

In our second reading, 1 Peter 2:20b-25, we hear directly from Peter about Jesus.  The message isn't easy to hear, but it is timely as often the living Word of God is.  Peter tells us about Jesus' suffering for us and how he was a model for our own suffering.  Jesus' suffered and sacrificed for us out of love.  We are told to do the same.  As we are asked to sacrifice a little longer by participating in Mass via livestream broadcasts rather than gather at churches where we might put people at risk, Peter's message is as important now as it was when he shared this with his contemporaries.

Finally, in our Gospel, Jn 10:1-10, Jesus gives us a glimpse of his commitment to us by his "figure of speech" describing himself as the gate to a sheepfold.  He tells us how sheep know their shepherds voice and follow him in and out of the sheepfold, an open-air circular pen with a single narrow opening.  Shepherds would lay at night in front of the opening acting as a gate, keeping their sheep safely inside while preventing anyone or anything from entering.  Jesus tells us he is the gate, committed to us so we "might have life and have it more abundantly."

Join us Sunday at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament via livestream at https://livestream.com/accounts/19963606/events/9101869.


In the peace of Christ,

Deacon Mike

Thursday, Third Week of Easter 2020

In our Gospel today (Jn. 6:44-51) Jesus tells us we come to know him through grace provided by his Father.  We can do several things with this grace; we can reject it, and not see Jesus for who he is; we can accept it with conditions, abiding by the teachings of Jesus on our own terms; or we can accept the grace unreservedly, giving ourselves completely to Jesus.

But what is the purpose of being drawn to Jesus?  The purpose is to be raised up into eternal life on the last day.  This is what Jesus wants for us; to know him, to love him, to be fed by him, to live our lives in communion with him, so we may spend all eternity with him.  

Let us continually ask for the grace to know Jesus, and for the grace to accept that grace unconditionally.

In the peace of Christ,

Dcn. Mike

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena - April 29, 2020

On the memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, we read in our Gospel (Mt. 11:25-30) Jesus praising his Father for giving insight to the childlike, keeping the deeper meaning of the deeds performed by Jesus from the learned and wise.  Jesus is more fully revealed to those who are humble, while those who think they know it all, like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus time, often miss the the point.  It isn't because the followers are less intelligent, but have received the graces from the Father, as Jesus tells us, to be willing to accept the mystery of Christ.

How often do we pray for intellect when studying the Word of God?  How much more effective might our efforts be if we pray for the grace of humility and a childlike openness to the Word?

In the peace of Christ,

Dcn. Mike

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter 2020

In our Gospel today (Jn 6:30-35) the crowd, that was part of the 5,000 fed with five barley loaves and two fish (cf. Jn 6:23), challenges Jesus, asking for a sign of his greatness that they might believe.  What they think they hear is Jesus saying he is a prophet greater than Moses, so they demand Jesus to do something greater than providing manna from heaven.  What they are not hearing, what they are not seeing, is the deeper sense of Jesus, the Son of the Father.   

Jesus says, "For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."   The crowd asks for this bread as if it were like the manna their ancestors lived off of in the desert.  What Jesus offers is even greater when he tells them, "I am the bread of life."

During a crisis, be it personal or global as we are now experiencing, it is natural to pray for the temporal just as the crowd was asking for a sign.  We shouldn't lose sight of the fact Jesus, and his love for us, offers that and much more.

In the peace of Christ,

Dcn. Mike

Friday, April 17, 2020

Friday within the Octave of Easter 2020

In our Gospel today (Jn 21:1-14) we hear of several apostles and disciples spending the night fishing. We don't know if this was just something to do to fill idle time or possibly a return to their old way of life following the death of Jesus, even though they had multiple encounters with the resurrected Christ. But we do know that on their own they caught nothing. Only until they heard Jesus and did as he instructed were their efforts fruitful. When things aren't going the way we hoped it is tempting to fall back into old familiar ways, return to old relationships that might not be what is best for us. It is during these times when we need to continue to pray, listen, and respond to what Jesus is calling us to do.

In the peace of Christ,

Deacon Mike

Monday, April 6, 2020

Monday of Holy Week - 2020

In our Gospel today (Jn 12:1-11) we have the story of Jesus dining with Lazarus, served by Martha while her sister Mary anoints Jesus's feet with a costly perfumed oil. It is such a simple scene, yet it represents many aspects of the loving relationship Jesus wants with us.

Mary anoints Jesus' feet, which foreshadows Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper out of love for them. Martha prepares and serves the meal to Jesus, symbolic of our call to feed the hungry, and in doing so, feed Jesus. Finally, we have Lazarus joining Jesus at the banquet, this after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. This is reflective of our own eternal life after earthly death because of the sacrifice Jesus made for us out of love for us. During these days of Holy Week let us spend time reflecting on our relationship with Jesus.

In the peace of Christ,

Deacon Mike

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Wednesday - Fifth Week of Lent 2020

In our Gospel reading today (Jn 8:31-42) Jesus tells Jews that believe in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Much later in John's Gospel we hear Jesus say, "I am the way and the truth and the life" (cf. Jn 14:6). Our popular culture would have us believe there is no real truth, that the truth is subjective, it is a matter of perspective. Maybe this is a defense mechanism because, to steal a line from a movie, "We can't handle the truth!" Yet, to be set free from the slavery of sin we must know the truth - Jesus - for it is the truth - Jesus - that/who will set us free. We too must remain in his word, must be his disciples, for with his grace we can handle the truth!

In the peace of Christ,

Deacon Mike