This
weekend’s liturgy is quite unique. Most dioceses in the U.S. have transferred
the Feast of the Ascension to this weekend. Other dioceses, mostly in Northeast
will celebrate the Liturgy for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, having celebrated
Ascension Thursday several days ago. To accommodate readers in both areas, I
have prepared a reflection on the readings for each of these liturgies
beginning with the Ascension of the Lord followed by one for the Seventh Sunday
of Easter. I hope you find them spiritually nourishing.
Deacon Tom Writes
Go, Make Disciples
It’s
hard to believe that three months ago we were beginning the Lent. Now, as the
Easter season draws to a close, this may be a good time to reflect on where our
spiritual journey has taken us.
Were
we able to hear God’s voice in the midst of our trials and struggles we
encountered on our journey through the day-to-day events of our lives? Were we
able to gain a new insight about God’s incredible love for us during this
Easter Season; perhaps we have a better sense of what he is calling us to do as
we emerge into Ordinary Tine. How successful were we in changing some of those
habits and behaviors we needed to change about ourselves - our judging and
criticizing others, our negative thinking, our inertia for self- reflection and
sense of superiority, and our gossip?
Three
months is not a long time when you think about it, especially if we are trying
to measure such things as spiritual growth…. It just not a lot of time.
I
suspect that three years isn’t a lot of time either, to make much progress in
the spiritual realm. And yet, that’s, at most, all the time that the apostles’
had to grasp Jesus’ new way of thinking and His new emphasis on of loving,
forgiving, and serving one another, friend and foe alike. The disciples really
were, when you think about it, on the fast track. Once Jesus was gone, that was
it. It was all up to them to spread Jesus’ teachings throughout the world.
Imagine
if you were the one whom Jesus told to, “Go
into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” What would
you do? How would you begin?
Well,
guess what? You and I, yes, we are the ones Jesus is telling to go into the world
and proclaim the Good News. In his Apostolic Exhortation on Evangelization in
the Modern World[1], (or as they say in Rome,
Evangelii Nuntiandi- December 8, 1975 – the feast of the Immaculate
Conception), Pope Paul VI wrote:
“Those who sincerely accept the Good News, through the power of this
acceptance and of shared faith therefore gather together in Jesus' name in
order to seek together the kingdom, build it up and live it. They make up a
community which is in its turn evangelizing. The command to the Twelve to go
out and proclaim the Good News is also valid for all Christians, though in a
different way…. Moreover, the Good News of the kingdom which is coming and
which has begun is meant for all people of all times. Those who have received
the Good News and who have been gathered by it into the community of salvation
can and must communicate and spread it.”
My brothers and sisters, there is a saying that
goes, “Faith isn’t taught, it’s caught.”
Jesus’ work of salvation has been accomplished. What remains is our
participation in that work that calls us to spread the Good News, to be living
witnesses of the faith that we profess, to do as St. Francis was fond of
telling his followers…. “Go out and
preach the gospel, and when necessary, use words.”
Happy
Mothers’ Day!!!
Deacon Tom
Photo Credit: www.123rf.com/photo_31942799_ascension-of-christ
Deacon Tom Writes,
Sharing In Christ’s Joy
We
read in today’s gospel that Jesus wants to share His joy with us “Completely.” The joy that He wants to
share with us has its source in the words the Father gave Him. But living those
words, Jesus tells us, puts us at odds with the world, “I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not
belong to the world.” Jesus leaves little doubt about where our loyalties
lie for His disciples.
It
is natural for us to want to have as much joy in this life as we can get. How
we find that “joy” is the essence of our spiritual journey. How often we
confuse happiness with joy! Happiness depends upon our circumstances and the
events that happen to us. I am happy when something good happens to me such as
making a new friend, winning the lottery, or getting that new car or job, just
as I may be sad when I have a reversal of good fortune. Happiness doesn’t last.
We always need something else each tomorrow to renew our happiness. If we don’t
find that special something new to enthrall us, very often we end up down in
the dumps. Here in America it seems that happiness is available for a price. At
least that’s what Madison Avenue would have us believe. Isn’t that the message
that advertisers are selling…You will be happy if you drive this kind of car,
or if you wear this suit or go on this vacation…if you buy this or that?
Joy
is something else completely. It is
an interior state of being. Being joyful has nothing to do with my
circumstances or what is happening in my life. Joy has REAL staying power. As a
matter of fact, one can be full of joy while experiencing extreme hardships in
life. The Perfect Joy of St. Francis was in serving God completely by renouncing all but the necessities of life. Most of
us wouldn’t find the joy in that! I have encounter people with true joy in soup
kitchens, lying in a hospice bed, mourning the loss of a loved one…The Anawim,
God’s lowly, disenfranchised, poor, humble people who had nothing of this world’s
treasures or comforts seemed to have found the secret to the perfect joy Christ
intends for his disciples. Their joy rests completely in the awareness that God
loves them.
Today
we are invited to share Christ’s joy completely by listening to the “Word” and letting it take root in our
hearts, elevating our love and service to one another. Let us grow deeper in
our relationship with Christ so we can choose to live in that complete joy that only He can give and
which lasts forever over the happiness of the world that never satisfies and
always leaves us wanting for more.
Happy
Mothers’ Day!
Deacon
Tom
Image Credit:
www.123rf.com/photo_38788883_joy-written-in-the-sand
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