Third Sunday of Easter - 2020

Link to Catholic Productions commentary on Third Sunday

Link to VOICES post on the  Third Sunday

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Special Series Index

This special series of posts focuses on  Baptism In the Holy Spirit  and guides one, through a process of prayer, to seek this experience   or to renew of one’s  personal experience of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
Part One	Part Two	Part Three	Part Four	Part Five	Part Six
Part Seven	Part Eight	Part Nine	Part Ten	Part Eleven	Part Twelve
Part Thirteen	HOME

This is a special series of posts follows a journey in prayer through the days of Lent and Holy Week using the Ignatian Approach to Contemplation
Part One	Part Two	Part Three	Part Four	Part Five	Part Six
Part Seven	Part Eight	Part Nine	Part Ten	Part Eleven	HolyWeek 1
HolyWeek 2	HolyWeek 3	HolyWeek 4	HolyWeek 5	HOME

This is a special series of posts on how to focus and  Praying on a Passage of Scripture
Part One	Part Two	Part Three	Part Four	Part Five	Part Six
Part Seven	Part Eight	HOME

This is a special series of posts on the on-going  Practice of Prayer
Part One	Part Two	Part Three	Part Four	Part Five	Part Six
HOME

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Second Sunday of Easter - 2020

The Church celebrates Easter Sunday day for a whole week. For the liturgy of the Word, the Gospel texts are taken from all four gospel writers and their accounts of resurrection of Jesus. Following the close of this day, the Easter season will continue for fifty days – ending with the celebration of the Ascension and Pentecost. As a preparation for Pentecost, the first reading of the liturgy of the word will be taken from the book of the Acts of Apostles and continue reading through the whole book. Acts of Apostles is the second part of Luke’s gospel. It takes us through the unfolding history of the first generation of the Church. This is our story – it is who we are – where we came from – how we got here and why we have gathered in this way to celebrate the sacred mysteries. There are also a couple other things that make this weekend special. It is Divine Mercy Sunday, established by pope John Paul ll on this day in the year 2000. And on this very Sunday, Pope John XXlll and Pope John Paul ll were canonized, Saints of the Church. I find all this quite significant for us at this time in the history of the Church. It is not uncommon to hear it suggested that the Church is in decline and no longer relevant; that perhaps the Church might even disappear, braking into fragmented pieces, replaced by rational thought and technology. It is because we are surrounded by such a cloud of doubt, that this time in Church is so important for us, and why we must make reading the Acts of the Apostles a central part of our personal faith life, just as the Church makes it so in the liturgy of the Word. When we turn to Acts and the story of Pentecost, we quickly see that our Church was not made up by the design of a group of people, a work of human enterprise. It comes from God and is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ followers were not great revolutionaries, rather they were a group of frightened and confused and very ordinary people. Then comes Pentecost Day and all is changed in a dramatic moment. On that very first day, Pentecost day, Acts shows us clearly, that the Church comes under attack. The joyful and exuberant faith of these Spirit-filled people is written off as nothing more than a product of too much alcohol, they are a bunch of drunks. From that first day up to today, the Church is constantly attacked and discredited. This is our constant history. Acts also shows us how the members of this new Church will be, “a-work-in-progress”, made up of frail humans being, sinners now saved, learning and growing under the constant presence of the Holy Spirit. So here we are today, the latest additions to this long history. I strongly encourage you to take up your scriptures and read and study the book of the Acts of the Apostles. May these Easter days be as powerful days of healing and building of your faith as they were for that first generation of believers, we celebrate through these Easter days.

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Wednesday of Easter Week - 2020

From Easter onward we now become evangelists. In order to evangelize, one must "know" and "understand" the Message they are proclaiming. Here, knowing flows directly from a personal experience of the Message encounter in prayer. Understanding of the Message is rooted in the heart, as one is deeply moved and their life is transformed by what they hear. It is good and necessary to study scripture from an academic perspective, drawing on the rich resource of knowledge handed on through knowledgeable and dedicated scholars. But when one is taught by the Spirit in prayer, not only do they know about the Lord, they "know" the Lord as one whom they have met personally. There is a beautiful and inspiring example of this in the gospel story of the two disciples encountering the risen Lord on the Road to Emmaus.     They know Jesus as the holy man of God from Galilee. They have heard him teach, saw his works of power and are deeply impressed. They number themselves among his followers. Their expectation about Jesus, like the others, has been crushed by his Crucifixion. They even have heard reports that he may still be alive. Yet, it is not until they encounter him personally, that their faith becomes a true work of grace, not a product of man's doing. “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” Only Grace can set our hearts burning within us, when the Spirit opens the scriptures. "...... Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures ......" It is from this experience of grace that the true evangelist springs forth. What do I hear? In the account of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, there is a particular sequence of events that serves as a helpful model for our prayer experience. 1. They are reviewing the events leading up to Jesus Crucifixion. We have a passage of scripture that we are pondering for our prayer. So we: ... retell the event in our own words, as if recounting it to someone else. ... who do I see, who stands out to me, who draws my attention, why? ... what are they doing, what are they saying, is it anything like what I would do? ... what impresses me, what repulses me, what puzzles me about the event? ... of the dialogue, describe what I hear in my own words ... what do I agree with, what do I disagree with? 2. Jesus enters into their discussion, things change. ... here I invite the Lord to enter my prayer, to speak to me, to guide and direct the course of what will follow in this prayer. ... now I speak to the Lord ... I redirect, what I have been considering, to the Lord, telling him how I see things, what moves me, what stumps me about this text. 3. Now Jesus speaks, they listen! ... am I listening or am I still trying to figure things out? (Be quiet myself) ... what new thoughts are emerging ... no mater how unusual? ... back to quiet, to listening. 4. "Were not our hearts ..." ... rather than answers, I look to my heart ... what is moving, changing the way I feel? ... what is uplifting, encouraging, inspiring, drawing me to it? ... do I feel encouraged to meet what challenges? 5. They urged Jesus, "stay with us ..." ... when a certain text stands out, we should stay with it, returning to the text as often as it continues to speak to us; even if we have been following a set outline of texts. 6. “They recounted what has happened … and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” When Grace is at work, positive feelings remain with you, continuing to speak to our hearts, especially in places and at times when Grace is near, especially during the Eucharist. As we share what has been told to us, we see how others are moved by what we say.

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