Second Sunday of Easter

 

The Gospels tell us that Jesus appeared to the disciples on several occasions after they discovered that his tomb was empty. Part of the mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection is that he appeared to his disciples not as a spirit but in bodily form. The disciples were locked in the room out of fear.  He appears to the disciples despite the fact that the doors were locked.  Jesus appears to them saying, “Peace be with you.” 

Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In doing so, Jesus commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” During the meeting, Jesus also shows the integral connection between forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The story of Thomas illustrates our Christian experience today: We are called to believe without seeing.   Thomas was not there when Jesus appeared.  He needs to touch Jesus to believe.  Jesus gives Thomas exactly what he needs and tells him to touch his wounds. Jesus’ wounds tell us about who we are. 

In fact, all Christians after the first witnesses have been called to believe without seeing. Thomas’s doubt is hardly surprising; the news of Jesus’ appearance was incredible to the disciples who had seen him crucified and buried. Thomas’s human nature compelled him to want hard evidence that the Jesus who appeared to the disciples after his death was indeed the same Jesus who had been crucified. Thomas is given the opportunity to act on that desire. He is our witness that Jesus is really risen.

Our faith is based on the witness of the Church that has preceded us, beginning with Thomas and the first disciples. Through Baptism we receive the same Holy Spirit that Jesus brought to the first disciples. We are among those who are “blessed” because we believe without having seen.  Let us remember this Divine Mercy Sunday to share that love and compassion that Jesus showed to all people.

Easter Sunday

  

Jesus has risen, Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Today we celebrate Easter Sunday!  This morning I attended the Sunrise Service at Davenport Park in New Rochelle, NY.  It was a beautiful ecumenical experience.  As the minister delivered his reflection the sun became more brilliant and just as the invincible Son rose the sun did too.  Let us take time today to open our hearts to receive the light of Christ.  By doing this it becomes possible for us to witness to the love of Jesus' presence in our world.  Let us pray that the world may know the light of Christ through us.

Pictures of the Sunrise Service

Palm Sunday

 

Palm Sunday falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four Gospels. journey of Holy Week culminating in the celebration of Easter. 

The Scripture readings of this Sunday invite us to muster all the strength and faith that we possess to courageously carry our heavy burdens just as Jesus himself bore the weight of the cross for us and for our salvation. Jesus too felt the weight of the cross when he set his face toward Jerusalem.

Today Pope Francis presided over the Palm Sunday Liturgy in Rome.  In his homily he called on people not to ignore those experiencing great suffering and solitude.  "Today their numbers are legion. Entire peoples are exploited and abandoned; the poor live on our streets and we look the other way; migrants are no longer faces but numbers, prisoners are disowned; people written off as problems," he said.

As we begin Holy Week let us take time to reflect on the meaning of this week and let our hearts and minds be filled with the certitude of Jesus extreme love for us.

A Holy Week Prayer

Christ Jesus, your love is made visible through the mystery of your death and resurrection.  Make us one in you.  Transform us into people of mercy who reach out to embrace you in the suffering ones in our midst.  We ask this, as people reconciled to God through the blood of your cross.  Amen.

Fifth Sunday of Lent

 

Fifth Sunday of Lent

How is it the fifth Sunday of Lent already?  It seems rather impossible in so many ways.  The journey of Lent is just that a journey.  On Ash Wednesday we placed ashes on our foreheads as a sign of our faith.  The Lenten journey began on that day.  Since that day we have journeyed with Jesus.  We have heard in the Sunday Gospels the stories of Jesus’ Temptation, the Transfiguration, the Woman at the Well, the Man Born Blind, and the Raising of Lazarus.

In each of these stories we see both the humanity and divinity of Jesus. Each of the individuals in these stories were moved by their encounter with Jesus to become proclaimers of the word of God and were inspired by the spirit of God to bring Jesus to others.

During this last full week of Lent, we have the opportunity to pause and reflect on what did we see or do differently.  What do we still want to do to make our life a place of the presence of God?  Let this Lenten journey continue to be filled with the hopeful anticipation of Easter.

Fourth Sunday of Lent

 

Today we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Lent.  It is called Laetare Sunday. We are mid-way through Lent and on this day, the Church expresses hope and joy in the midst of our Lenten fasts and penances. Laetare means rejoice and the theme comes from the entrance antiphon reflecting on Isaiah 66:10-11: "Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exalt and be satisfied at her consoling breast."

The priest wears pink or rose-colored vestments, symbolizing hope and the joy that awaits us at the resurrection. This Sunday, let us keep in our hearts, the joy that awaits us on Easter and find hope in the promise of the Resurrection!

This Monday, March 20^th, we celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Joseph. (Although his feast day is March 19^th, it has been transferred to Monday because the 19^th falls on a Sunday this year.) It is interesting to note that everything we know about the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus comes from Scripture; but Joseph does not utter a word. His silent obedience and trust in God's providence, makes him shine as a model for us in our everyday trials.

Saint Joseph is the patron saint of the Universal Church, of families, fathers, expectant mothers, travelers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers, working people, and of the dying because it is assumed that he died before Jesus' public life, with Jesus and Mary beside him.

Let us pray.

Saint Joseph, be with me today as I offer my requests to the Father. Let me recognize God's will as I open my hands to accept what God bestows in loving kindness.  With tenderness, God fills creation with life and love.  Open my eyes to the wonders that God works without ceasing.  Let me learn the true intention behind my request so that I may discover within myself the lowly one that God commends. Amen.

 

Pope Francis' 10th Anniversary

 

Today marks the 10^th anniversary of Pope Francis being elected as the head of the Roman Catholic Church.  I remember so clearly where I was when the announcement of the white smoke was broadcast on national television.  It was a most touching moment when he came out on the balcony, bowed his head, and asked for the prayers of the world. He celebrates this day with a Mass with cardinals in the chapel of the Vatican's Santa Marta hotel where he has lived since his election.

The Argentina-born Francis, 86, became the first Latin American pontiff on March 13, 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI who had become the first pope in six centuries to resign.  The years have certainly flown by for him.  During his reign he has traveled extensively some 250,000 miles and has touched the hearts of many.

The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has sought to project simplicity into the grand role and never took possession of the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors, saying he preferred to live in a community setting for his "psychological health".  A persistent knee ailment has forced Francis to alternate between a cane and a wheelchair,  but he continues to press on.

On this day when we celebrate Pope Francis and all he has done for the people of God let us pray…

O God, shepherd, and ruler of all the faithful, look favorably on your servant Francis, whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd.

Grant, we pray, that by word and example he may be of service to those over whom he presides so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care, he may come to everlasting life.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  (USCCB)

 

Second Sunday of Lent

 

Today’s Gospel is the beautiful story of the Transfiguration of Jesus – How God reveals himself to us.  Matthew tells us that Jesus took with him his three beloved disciples Peter, James, and John to a high Mountain, apart and in their presence, he was transfigured. When he was transfigured before them, his face shone like the sun and his garments became white as snow. Moses the greatest law giver and Elijah the greatest prophet of Israel come to the side of Jesus and talk to him about his passion and death. For Jesus this was a special moment as he took his friends with him to help them have a glimpse of his glory.  The disciples were with Jesus when they heard, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, listen to him.”

So now we are in Week 2 of our Lenten journey -- how is Lent going for you?  As Christians we are called to enter the encounter where we don’t have all the answers.  We are called to grow in our relationship with God.  Called to remember that Jesus is present in the midst of all that is going on.  God is always with us.

As we reflect on Jesus' transfiguration in today's Gospel, we see a glimpse of our own conversion. We are invited to an inner change that can transform our lives completely. The Gospel must be the focal point of our lives.  Finally, we need to pray and listen to what God says and remember that the very desire to pray be a gift from God.  The first step is to walk with the Lord.