Sixth Sunday of Easter - 2021

Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. During the supper, Jesus said to the disciples: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15.9) Take a few moments and consider how this word of Jesus, "... abide ..."  is reflected in your faith life. Am I abiding in Jesus love? Using these different meanings of the word abide, just how close, deep is my union in the love of Jesus? 1. to remain; continue; stay 2. to have one's abode; dwell; reside: 3. to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship, etc.; to last. 4. to put up with; tolerate; stand: 5. to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding or submitting: 6. to wait for; await: 7. to accept without opposition or question: 8. to pay the price or penalty of; suffer for. 9. abide by,     a. to act in accord with.     b. to submit to; agree to:     c. to remain steadfast or faithful to; keep:   Dr. Brant Pitre's commentary for today's 2nd Reading. . . "Was it necessary for Jesus to be crucified in order to save us?" ... LINK ...

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Fifth Sunday of Easter - 2021

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. One of the fruits that we experience as a result of our remaining in union with Jesus is the consolation we feel deep within our souls. Let us look for a moment at this notion of consolation. St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, developed a special approach to prayer in the form of a thirty-day retreat, called the Spiritual Exercises. In this time of carefully constructed prayer, those who were considering becoming Jesuits would finalize their decision. The key to this decision making through prayer was what Ignatius called the experience of the Consolation of the Holy Spirit. The person praying would make their decision, then that person would look for confirmation that their decision was the right and true decision, pleasing to God. Confirmation of their decision would be given by God through this Consolation caused by the Holy Spirit. St. Ignatius describes consolation this way.  I call it consolation when an interior movement is aroused in the soul, by which it is inflamed with love of its Creator and Lord, and as a consequence, can love no creature on the face of the earth for its own sake, but only in the Creator of them all ….. I call consolation every increase of faith, hope, and love, and all interior joy that invites and attracts to what is heavenly and to the salvation of one’s soul by filling it with peace and quiet in its Creator and Lord. As these effects were being experienced, the one praying knew for certain their choice was God’s choice for them. Even though we are not thinking about joining the Jesuits, that does not mean we cannot experience the benefits of this way of prayer. We all must make important decisions in our lives and we want them to be the right decision; in harmony with God’s will. So, we too can go to God and ask for guidance; and here, Ignatius’ way of praying for guidance can be most helpful. The key here is listening for God’s Voice with our hearts. We have already worked out our decision in our heads; the pros, the cons etc.; now it is the heart’s turn to way in. Our hearts tell us by a deep and certain peace, by a strong conviction, a calm, consoling belief that the Spirit is with us, confirming our decision. With that we can now act. The final test will be in the fruits of our decision. Only good vines produce good fruit. The fruits of the Spirit are our final discernment. That brings us to today’s gospel and Jesus’ example to the vines and their fruit: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.” In his rules for discernment, St. Ignatius points out that when we get off the track of the good decisions we make in service of the Lord the Spirit withdraws the consolation we are enjoying, prunes it so that we see and understand our mistakes and correct them.  It is in knowing Jesus, knowing the gospels, knowing the works and fruits of the Spirit describe in the scriptures that we learn to recognize the Voice of consolation speaking in our hearts: the VOICE of charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. It is by these fruits that we are able to hear the Spirit’s Voice of Consolation. More on Praying Scripture . . . LINK . . .

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Video Commentary on this Sunday's Readings 2nd.Reading:  . . . LINK . . . Gospel: . . . LINK . . .

Good Shepherd Sunday - 2021

FROM THE OFFICE OF READINGS - SECOND READING From a homily on the Gospels by Saint Gregory the Great, pope (c. 540 - 604) Christ the Good Shepherd: I am the good shepherd. I know my own – by which I mean, I love them – and my own know me. In plain words: those who love me are willing to follow me, for anyone who does not love the truth has not yet come to know it. My dear brethren, you have heard the test we pastors have to undergo. Turn now to consider how these words of our Lord imply a test for yourselves also. Ask yourselves whether you belong to his flock, whether you know him, whether the light of his truth shines in your minds. I assure you that it is not by faith that you will come to know him, but by love; not by mere conviction, but by action. John the evangelist is my authority for this statement. He tells us that anyone who claims to know God without keeping his commandments is a liar. Consequently, the Lord immediately adds: As the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. Clearly he means that laying down his life for his sheep gives evidence of his knowledge of the Father and the Father’s knowledge of him. In other words, by the love with which he dies for his sheep he shows how greatly he loves his Father.  Again he says: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them; they follow me, and I give them eternal life. Shortly before this he had declared: If anyone enters the sheepfold through me he shall be saved; he shall go freely in and out and shall find good pasture.  1.       He will enter into a life of faith; 2.       from faith he will go out to vision, 3.       from belief to contemplation, and will graze in the good pastures of everlasting life.  So our Lord’s sheep will finally reach their grazing ground where all who follow him in simplicity of heart will feed on the green pastures of eternity. These pastures are the spiritual joys of heaven. There the elect look upon the face of God with unclouded vision and feast at the banquet of life for ever more.  Beloved brothers, let us set out for these pastures where we shall keep joyful festival with so many of our fellow citizens. May the thought of their happiness urge us on! Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith, and long eagerly for what heaven has in store for us. To love thus is to be already on our way. No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that heavenly feast. Anyone who is determined to reach his destination is not deterred by the roughness of the road that leads to it. Nor must we allow the charm of success to seduce us, or we shall be like a foolish traveler who is so distracted by the pleasant meadows through which he is passing that he forgets where he is going. +  +  +  +  +  + "No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that heavenly feast." Throughout the long history of the Church many obstacles have beset the faithful as we now face our own trials brought on by this pandemic of Covid-19. May we be encouraged by the image this Sunday reveals to us, the image of us in the arms of the Good Shepherd.

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Third Sunday of Easter - 2021

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter We are continuing in our Easter celebrations – listening and looking at the gospel accounts of the First Easter. These stories are full of drama and excitement as we watch the people go through a myriad of emotions – from despair, to confusion, to wonder, to illation – and there is a gentle humor in them as well. My favorite Easter story is today's – Luke’s account of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Have you ever wondered how you would react if you found yourself in the middle these stories? But you are in the middle of this story – the road to Emmaus – as it continues to unfold for us today. Here, let me show you what I mean: o   Two friends of Jesus plodding down the road of life as it continues to unfold. o   Jesus joins them but they don’t recognize his presence o   They are full of questions about faith in Jesus – is he here, is he gone? o   Jesus takes up the scriptures and begins to teach them. o   Then he breaks bread and distributes it to each of them. o   They recognize his presence and believe. Dear friends, is this not us, right here, right now? Are we not having essentially the same experience? o   Are we not plodding down the road of our lives – moving along to the next place to get to? o   Are we not full of questions about faith, about Jesus – is my religion dead as many say it is? o   Does Jesus not joined us here at table, even though we don’t recognize his presence? o   Does Jesus not take up the scriptures and begin to teach us and answer our questions? o   Does he not break bread and distribute it to each of us? o   Is this not just as real for us now as it was for them? What the disciples experienced was the Eucharist at its first beginnings and as it continues now for us today. The Vatican II document on the liturgy states clearly that when the gospel is proclaimed at Mass, it is Jesus who proclaims and teaches us. It is Jesus who breaks the bread of the Eucharist in the hands of the priest. Constitution On the Sacred Liturgy # 7 Now the question we must ask – o   Are our hearts burning within us as he speaks to us in the liturgy and opens the Scriptures to us? o   Do we now recognize his true presence in the breaking of bread?”

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