“Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” ~Mark 14:22

An old tradition in the Catholic faith is to pray for a “happy” death.  I have been blessed to hear many stories of the passing of loved ones who went peacefully, happily. My own father died while my mother, my brothers, my sister, and I along with our spouses were praying the Our Father with him. A happy death is not uncommon yet there is something wonderful about this message from Mark’s gospel. Jesus knew the pain and suffering ahead of him and still chose to walk out of the room and to the Mount of Olives where he would be betrayed, singing a hymn.

This Sunday we celebrate Corpus Christi, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. It is important to remember that this food and drink we now are blessed with each time we come to Mass, is the result of a love offering. Jesus celebrated what was his last supper, so that we may have his body and blood for our spiritual feast. Christ sang hymns as he was about to enter into his arrest, humiliating trial, painful scourging, and crucifixion.  No matter which biblical account you read, it is hard to imagine his pain and suffering.

I am not sure if anyone knows what hymn our Lord was singing as he went out to the Mount of Olives, but our Psalm this Sunday says; “I will take the cup of Salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” It is very fitting that when we come forward to receive the Body of Christ, we do so with the understanding of not only Christs’ sacrifice, but also his joyful self-surrender that allows us to sing this psalm this Sunday.

As we take this bread of salvation this Sunday may we remember the sacrifice that allows us to receive, and may we be joyful in our lives as we follow Christ.

Peace be with you,

Deacon Jeff Willard

As a student I found that I learned best when ideas were presented in a story format. I could retain the information through stories because they created for me a visual image of the lesson. One of my favorite ones is the experiment with fleas in a glass jar. The fleas jump out the top as fleas often do. When a lid was placed on the jar they could no longer jump out and after a period of time the lid could be removed and they still would not jump out. (I bet you are itching to find out what this has to do with our readings today.)

Paul tells the Romans that “you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but a Spirit of adoption, through who we cry, “Abba, Father!”

The usual pattern for us is that we continue to fall back into slavery to sin although God sent His Son to remove the lid. We are slaves to sin because we fail to recognize the freedom that we have through Christ. Often I have people tell me that they don’t “feel” that God listens to them. They pray and seek God’s wisdom and direction yet things do not seem to be going in a direction that leads them to believe he cares.

We must understand that faith is not based on “feelings”. Feelings are real and important, but we cannot depend on emotions to define God’s presence in our lives. In the book, His Way; Father Ken Roberts says; “prayer that does not change us is not really prayer at all, no matter how good it feels”.

Paul gives us a big hint for our prayer when he introduces us to the idea of calling God, Abba. This very earthy word that means, papa. Calling God papa, or father, serves many purposes not the least of them being a realization that we are under the care of God.

Our prayers ought to change us even when we do not see our circumstances changing. Calling on our papa relaxes us and allows us to know that we are not always in control of what is going on around us, but with God’s help, we are responsible for how we act in our surroundings. We are to pray that no matter what is going on, we can rise above our situation.

Once in a while, when behaviorist watch the flea jar, a flea or two will figure it out and jump out when the lid is removed. May we all keep jumping (praying) no matter how many times we “feel” that it is of no use. Our papa has set us free; we are no longer slaves to sin.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Jeff Willard

Veni Sancte Spiritus

Whenever I hear this haunting hymn, Come, O Holy Spirit, Come, I can’t help but feel settled and at peace.  Line after line, verse after verse the spirit builds and seems to enter my core bringing with it healing and comfort. “Heal our wounds, our strength renew; On our dryness pour your dew”.

On this great feast of Pentecost we celebrate Christ sending to us the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete to guard and direct us. We were promised that we would not be abandoned, and sure enough, God has provided!

In John’s gospel Jesus tells his disciples; “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now”. Imagine if a friend were to text you some tidbit of news and then say, “I can’t tell you any more right now because you couldn’t bear it”. Would it drive you mad with anticipation? Would you immediately text back begging for the rest of the scoop? The disciples were left to watch and pray as they waited for the Spirit to come to enlighten them. Such patience this must have required.

Brothers and sisters, we have been given at baptism a portion of the Spirit and have received the fullness at confirmation! Our wait is over! Now, filled with the Holy Spirit we ought not to walk in fear, we are to walk as Children of the Light. The Spirit emboldens us to seek that which is right and to follow Christ through living a life of freedom, led by the Spirit and Truth that we have been gifted with.

On this great feast let us not only acknowledge the Holy Spirit within us, but let us awaken ourselves to this advocate we share.  As the song says; “Where you are not, we have naught, nothing good in deed or thought.”

We are the temples of the Holy Spirit; let us pray for the courage to open the doors and windows of the temple to shine the Spirit on all we encounter.

Peace be with you,
Deacon Jeff Willard

A Commentary by Leo the Great shared by SJV Adult Formation Ministry in today’s Liturgy of the Word.

The sacred work of our salvation was of such value in the sight of the Creator of the universe that he counted it worth the shedding of his own blood.

From the day of his birth until his passion and death this work was carried out in conditions of self-abasement; and although he showed many signs of his divinity even when he bore the form of a slave, yet, strictly speaking, the events of that time were concerned with proving the reality of the humanity he had assumed.

But he was innocent of any sin, and so when death launched its attack upon him he burst its bonds and robbed it of its power. After his passion weakness was turned into strength, mortality into eternal life, and disgrace into glory.

Of all this our Lord Jesus Christ gave ample proof in the sight of many, until at last he entered heaven in triumph, bearing with him the trophy of his victory over death.

And so while at Easter it was the Lord’s resurrection which was the cause of our joy, our present rejoicing is on account of his ascension into heaven. With all due solemnity we are commemorating that day on which our poor human nature was carried up in Christ above all the hosts of heaven, above all the ranks of angels, beyond the highest heavenly powers to the very throne of God the Father.

It is upon this ordered structure of divine acts that we have been firmly established, so that the grace of God may show itself still more marvelous when, in spite of the withdrawal from our sight of everything that is rightly felt to command our reverence, faith does not fail, hope is not shaken, charity does not grow cold.

For such is the power of great minds, such is the light of truly believing souls, that they put unhesitating faith in what is not seen with the bodily eye; they fix their desires on what is beyond sight.

Such fidelity could never be born in our hearts, nor could anyone be justified by faith, if our salvation lay only in what was visible.

This is why Christ said to the man who seemed doubtful about his resurrection unless he could see and touch the marks of his passion in his very flesh: “You believe because you see me; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

It was in order that we might be capable of such blessedness that on the fortieth day after his resurrection, after he had made careful provision for everything concerning the preaching of the gospel and the mysteries of the new covenant, our Lord Jesus Christ was taken up to heaven before the eyes of his disciples, and so his bodily presence among them came to an end. 

From that time onward he was to remain at the Father’s right hand until the completion of the period ordained by God for the Church’s children to increase and multiply, after which, in the same body with which he ascended, he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

And so our Redeemer’s visible presence has passed into the sacraments. Our faith is nobler and stronger because sight has been replaced by a doctrine whose authority is accepted by believing hearts, enlightened from on high.

Sermon 74, 1-2: CCL 138A, 455-57

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Leo the Great (c. 400-61) was elected pope in 440. At a time of general disorder he did much to strengthen the influence of the Roman see. Leo’s teaching is clear and forceful. His Tome was accepted as a statement of Christological orthodoxy at the Council of Chalcedon (451). One hundred and for-ty-three of his letters and ninety-six sermons have survived. The latter, which cover the whole of the liturgical year, have been published in a critical edition.

Journey with the Fathers
Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels – Year B, pp. 58-59.

Many years ago I was reminiscing with a married couple who are close friends about how our relationship began. I recalled that they had invited me to dinner after Mass one Sunday at our parish. Their version: I had stopped to talk to them and said we ought to get together. Laughing over our contrasting memories, my friends and I decided to leave the origins of our friendship ambiguous. Who chose whom? Does it really matter?

In today’s Gospel, it does matter who’s doing the choosing! At the Last Supper Jesus shares some intimate sentiments with his disciples. “I have called you friends,” he insists, “it was I who chose you.” Those words–which any one of us would welcome coming from someone famous, attractive or interesting–come from the Word made Flesh, God-with-us. In a few simple sentences Jesus confers on his followers a wondrous dignity. As friends of Jesus they are invited into an intimacy with God! That intimacy can be ours as well.

In prayer we relate to God with the intimate friendship described by Jesus. We come to prayer with all the confidence that good friends bring to a relationship. God offers us the patient, supportive listening of an understanding friend. In the peace that flows from such prayer comes the fruitful response Jesus asks of us in today’s Gospel.

Sunday reflection by Father Greg Friedman, from St. Anthony Messenger Press, find it on the web at Franciscanmedia.org. Shared with permission.

Imagine yourself in the early Jerusalem Christian community gathered for Sunday Eucharist, and in walks Saul, well-known for his persecution of the Church. What would your reaction be? 

Saul’s friends must have had a hard time convincing the community that Saul was on their side. Barnabas was his “guardian angel”–nicknamed the “son of encouragement” according to an earlier story in Acts. Not a bad friend to have if you’re Saul and badly in need of credibility.

Barnabas must have been convincing since the story says Saul was soon “moving freely” about Jerusalem and preaching boldly. In fact, enemies of the Christian community were soon plotting to kill Saul. His zeal made him controversial no matter whose side he was on!

In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the comparison of vine and branches to describe our unity with him. In a community, the unity we share with Christ must also mean we are united with each other. The story about Saul and the Jerusalem community reminds us how important it is to affirm one another within our contemporary parish settings. We must welcome and integrate those who are new to the community. We may need to support our more zealous and outspoken members when they witness boldly. In all things we strive to keep Jesus’ command: to love one another as he has loved us.

Sunday reflection by Father Greg Friedman, from St. Anthony Messenger Press, find it on the web at Franciscanmedia.org. Shared with permission.

One of my seminary classmates has always reacted when the story of the Good Shepherd was read. “I don’t like being compared to sheep!” he says. “They’re dumb and smelly, too!” 

I grew up in the city so my experience with sheep is limited. But I do know that shepherding was an important part of the life for the people of Biblical times. It’s the relationship between shepherd and sheep that makes Jesus’ comparison work.

The shepherds of Jesus’ time herded their flocks through wilderness, ready to defend them from attack by wild animals. In a crowded sheepfold at night, shepherds of several flocks herded together could identify their own sheep—and vice versa! Jesus’ listeners would have understood the economic interdependence of shepherd and sheep—a truly good shepherd would value each and every individual in his flock.

The relationship Jesus offers us is one characterized by the dignity and worth he sees in each of us. He knows each of us by name with an intimacy he shares with us from the Father, whom Jesus knows with the intimacy of a Divine Son. And the bottom line: Jesus gives his life for us, his flock.

My classmate and I still chuckle about his reaction to being “herded together” in this Biblical image. But we both agree: We want to be counted among the Lord’s flock!

Sunday reflection by Father Greg Friedman, from St. Anthony Messenger Press, find it on the web at Franciscanmedia.org. Shared with permission.

When new employees join a company it’s common to have an orientation to bring new people “on board.” A new employee needs to understand both the past and the future history of the company. How can they connect with what’s gone before? How can they be part of the company’s mission for the future?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus conducts a kind of “Christian orientation” for his startled and frightened disciples–most of whom are encountering him for the first time as the risen Lord. He first reassures them that he–Jesus–is the one they knew before the crucifixion. But there have been a few changes! He’s not a ghost; he is truly alive. And he shares a meal with his friends to prove it.

But they have their doubts anyway –perhaps some of the same doubts shared by Luke’s communities years later: How could Jesus be the promised Messiah and have suffered the terrible death by crucifixion? And so Jesus patiently interprets the Hebrew Scriptures to explain his mission as God’s “Suffering Servant.”

But the past is only preparation for the future! The message of the Good News must be preached to the ends of the earth. The disciples are now his witnesses–commissioned to carry his message to the world. And so are we who gather at our Easter Eucharist with the risen Lord today!

Sunday reflection by Father Greg Friedman, from St. Anthony Messenger Press, find it on the web at Franciscanmedia.org. Shared with permission.

Divine Mercy Sunday

From a Homily by Pope Francis on March 17, 2013

It is not easy to entrust oneself to God’s mercy, because it is an abyss beyond our comprehension. But we must! “Oh, Father, if you knew my life, you would not say that to me!” “Why, what have you done?” “Oh, I am a great sinner!” “All the better! Go to Jesus: he likes you to tell him these things!” He forgets, he has a very special capacity for forgetting. He forgets, he kisses you, he embraces you and he simply says to you: “Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more” (Jn 8:11). That is the only advice he gives you. After a month, if we are in the same situation … Let us go back to the Lord. The Lord never tires of forgiving: never! It is we who tire of asking his forgiveness. Let us ask for the grace not to tire of asking forgiveness, because he never tires of forgiving. Let us ask for this grace.

Click here to read the complete Homily

 

 

Easter Homily by Bishop St. John Chrysostom shared by Fr. Richard Hinkley.

Let all pious men and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their due reward; let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of being too late; for the Lord is gracious and He receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him who comes on the eleventh hour as well as to him who has toiled since the first: yes, He has pity on the last and He serves the first; He rewards the one and praises the effort.

Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord. You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet. The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness. Let no one grieve over his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed; let no one weep over his sins, for pardon has shone from the grave; let no one fear death, for the death of our Saviour has set us free: He has destroyed it by enduring it, He has despoiled Hades by going down into its kingdom, He has angered it by allowing it to taste of his flesh.

When Isaias foresaw all this, he cried out: “O Hades, you have been angered by encountering Him in the nether world.” Hades is angered because frustrated, it is angered because it has been mocked, it is angered because it has been destroyed, it is angered because it has been reduced to naught, it is angered because it is now captive. It seized a body, and, lo! it encountered heaven; it seized the visible, and was overcome by the invisible.

O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen and you are abolished. Christ is risen and the demons are cast down. Christ is risen and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen and life is freed. Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

From an ancient homily on Holy Saturday shared by Fr. Richard Hinkley.

The Lord descends into hell

Something strange is happening — there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and Hell trembles with fear. He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, He who is both God and the Son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the Cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone, ‘My Lord be with you all.’ Christ answered him: ‘And with your spirit.’ He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in Hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I in you; together we form one person and cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the Cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in Paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in Hell. The sword that pierced Me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly Paradise. I will not restore you to that Paradise, but will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The Bridal Chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The Kingdom of Heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.