Thursday, May 28, 2020

Feast of Pentecost_A - Lord, Send Out Your Spirit and Renew the Face of the Earth_053120



Deacon Tom Writes.
Lord, Send Out Your Spirit
and Renew the Face of the Earth



On this Feast of Pentecost, we not only celebrate the birthday of our church but also our ability to reunite with our brothers and sisters in receiving the Eucharist in many churches throughout the country. Thus, we have abundant cause for joy. We pray to receive a special gift from God, the Holy Spirit for which we are grateful. And to express our gratitude for this chance to receive the Eucharist.

 We pray for the Spirit of God to come into our lives and enliven our hearts so we may be able to know God’s presence at work in our lives and in our world, renewing us and filling us with His love.

This Pentecost we pray for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and awaken in us a desire to know God and to do His Will. But we need not ask…. Jesus told us that He would send…“The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name -- will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you.”    JN 14:26. This is the nature of Christian discipleship … that we grow daily in the knowledge and love of God and of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is the Holy Spirit who breathes into us the knowledge of God’s love for us so that we, in turn, can love others as Jesus taught us.  For indeed…“we have been given the manifestation of the spirit for some benefit”…. and that benefit is so that we can realize God’s abundant love for us and lead us to make visible that love by our witness and service to one another.

Jesus sends his disciples into this world that still hungers for love, peace and forgiveness. These are gifts of the Spirit that transform our lives and conforms them so that we become Christ-like in every way.  Too difficult?  Yes, for us, but not for Christ to accomplish in us.  That is the power of Pentecost for the disciples of Christ today.  As Christ sent his first disciples into the world to dispel the darkness and give it hope, he now sends us so we can continue to be people of hope…. who forgive and love one another. We, like those who have gone before us, have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit and, so empowered, are sent into the world to be witnesses of God’s love and to cooperated with the Holy Spirit so that together we can renew the face of the earth. 

Enjoy the day~
Deacon Tom

Thursday, May 21, 2020

The Ascension of the Lord_A - Go, Make Disciples!_052420


Deacon Tom Writes,
Go, Make Disciples!


(Note – Most Dioceses in the U.S. transfer the Feast of the Ascension from Thursday to the following Sunday. With that in mind, my reflection today is for The Ascension of the Lord.)

It’s hard to believe that three months ago we had just begun Lent. Now, as the Easter season draws to a close, we have some perspective to reflect on where our spiritual journey has taken us over that brief but spiritually significant time span. This was not in any way an ordinary Lenten nor Easter Season, to say the least. The global Covid 19 pandemic has altered Lenten customs of Christians around the world. In a similar way, our Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters have had to endure similar challenges during Ramadan and Passover. All peoples have experienced a departure from the norm in one-way or another. Yet, we are united in our suffering. No one has escaped the worry and fear that this terrible sickness has strewn about humanity. In a world more divided than ever, how ironic that such a terrible disease can unite us in a common cause to find a vaccine to protect us. In the midst of such overwhelming conditions, many have responded compassionately to those who are suffering because of the loss of loved ones, the terrible isolation from family and friends, economic loss and worry and the emotional stress caused by the uncertainty of what the future holds. What a tribute to the inherent goodness of so many people!
           
Our Lenten journey has undoubtedly been different in 2020 than in past years. Yet, I suspect we may still have been able to gain new insight into God’s incredible love for us even in this crisis. Perhaps we have a better sense now of what God is asking of us than we did back on Ash Wednesday. We may see people in a different light, such as the delivery person or mail carrier or food delivery staff that have kept us connected to family and friends and provided us with food and the daily necessities to which we have grown accustomed. Aren’t we appreciative more so now than in the past that those who pick up our trash and recycling have continued their efforts even though they put themselves and families at risk by doing so? Many did so out of sheer necessity, of course, but many others out of profound dedication to their professions to serve others... police, firefighters, medical professionals, service workers... more than we will ever know.

As we transition from Easter to Ordinary Time in our Liturgical year, we may not be too eager to resume our “normal” activities. We may, in fact, continue to self-isolate and restrict our movement allowing us an “extended” Easter mindset during which we can still work on our interior lives. With more quiet time we can look inward and change some of those habits and behaviors we need to change: our judging and criticizing attitudes, our negative thinking, our inertia for self- reflection, or our sense of superiority, and our propensity to put others down in order to fuel our own ego? Have we succeeded in elimination gossip from our lives?

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 a lot of progress in the spiritual realm. And yet, that’s, at most, all the time that the Apostles’ had to grasp Our Lord’s revolutionary way of thinking about loving, forgiving, and serving one another… friend and enemy alike. The Apostles 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 the Word throughout the world.

Imagine if we were the one who Jesus told, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” What would we do? How would we begin?

Well, the strange thing is, this command Jesus gave his hand picked “go-to” guys was meant for you and me also. Yes, we who hear the Word of God today are chosen to carry the message in our times. Jesus is telling us to go into the world and proclaim the Good News to everyone we meet along the way.

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….to go out and preach the gospel, and when necessary, use words. Could there possibly be any time more appropriate to give witness to our faith by our actions than now?

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Image: Mural from the Church of the Ascension, NYC


[1] Evangelii Nuntiandi, 13

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Sixth Sunday of Easter_A - Our Reason To Be Hopeful_051720

Deacon Tom Writes
“Our Reason To Be Hopeful”


Hope is such an enduring quality. We cling to hope in troubling times as if it was life preserver and we were adrift in a stormy sea. Hope is what keeps people of faith going when the world is falling apart. You see and hear it in media reports on the faces and in the voices of people who have lost loved ones during the current pandemic or whose homes have been destroyed by floods or wildfires. They inevitably talk about rebuilding not just their homes but also their lives. Hope is what gives them the courage to face a new day.

Hope fuels our dreams also. We hope to get into the college of our choice; we hope to get that perfect job or that promotion. We hope that one day we will meet the love of our life; we hope that a bad situation will be favorably resolved. We hope others will change their ways… or better yet, that we will change ours! No matter what we hope for, we are not likely to give up hope without a fight.

In today’s scripture, Peter advises us, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” Peter wants us to pay close attention to those things in which we place our hope…. and to be able to tell others why we hope in them. Key to Peter’s advice, however, is that the focal point for Christian hope is Christ. He is the fulfillment of all our hopes. Peter wants us to put our hope in noble things, “...treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.” (Mt 6:20)

Yes, we hope for that new job, good things for our children, a good resolution to an illness or bad relationship…but our Christian hope seeks the ultimate goodness that comes from having Christ…. “as Lord in our hearts” (1 Pt 3:15) as Peter says so well. With Christ as Lord of our hearts, our hope will turn to treasures, relationships, and loves that will last forever and provide us ample opportunity to share the reason for our hope with everyone.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Fifth Sunday of Easter_A - All Is Well_051020


Deacon Tom Writes,
All Is Well


The first lesson we hear in today’s readings gives us profound insight into a distinguishing characteristic of the calling we have received. The Apostles find themselves in a crisis. The material needs of some of the members of the fledging community are being ignored. It just so happens (doesn’t it always seem to be the case!) the needs being overlooked are those of a minority group composed of Greek widows. At that time, you may recall, widows were outcasts; they had no standing in the community, and were left on their own to fend for themselves and their children. This was a horrible situation, of course. We read today that this did not sit well with the Apostles. They knew they had to respond in a way that was consistent with the teachings Jesus had left them. Their logical solution...get some help. And thus we read that after some discernment, the Apostles chose the first six deacons upon whom they imposed the laying on of hands. The word deacon is derived from the Greek word diakonos, which literally means through the dust” and is often translated as  “servant” or “waiter”. This ministry arose out of need to provide for both the spiritual and material needs of the community. Overcoming our worries about our temporal needs provides much comfort for our anxious and troubled hearts.

In the gospel, Jesus aims at soothing a much deeper worry that troubles our hearts that comes with the death of a loved one. I find this particular passage we hear today utterly amazing. This is part of the “Last Discourse” of Jesus we find in Chapter 14 of John’s gospel. Take some time to read it and reflect on it with this thought in mind: Jesus knows he is about to die. His own words to his disciples that he was going to Jerusalem where he would, "suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised”  (LK 9:22) were coming to fruition soon. Yet, with this unimaginable, overwhelming burden plaguing his own spirit, Jesus comforts his disciples. He tells them “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” These are powerful words from a man on death row whose concern is not about his own bleak situation, but about the well- being of his followers. Jesus’ hope is that his words put our troubled hearts at rest. We do not have to worry or be concerned about what will happen to him...or us when we face the most significant worry of our lives... what lies in store when we die.

There is no taking away the heartache we experience when someone we love dies. These words today are a comfort to east this grief by teaching us that God’s plan is to bring us home. Home, such a comforting word, symbolizes where we are all headed when this earthly life is over. In this Holy Thursday – Good Friday experience Jesus teaches us to follow His example. From his washing the feet of his disciples as an humble act of service to his placing his trust in and surrender to the divine Will of his Father, to his death upon the Cross, Jesus, the consummate teacher, gives us the best example possible on how to live life to the fullest, as we read last Sunday. In his last gathering with his friends he teaches us how we are to approach death: by placing our trust in God and living each day with the certainty that we are all on a journey and our final destination is our heavenly home.

So, “Do not let your hearts be troubled”. All Is Well! Even during this awful Corvid 19 pandemic. We see people literally following Jesus’ example: healing the sick, caring for the well being of others, being compassionate and sympathetic to those who have been affected by this virus. We continue to pray for those who are working in so many ways to help us all through this crisis and ask God to bless the work of their hands.

Lastly, Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers who are shining examples of self-sacrifice, love and humility to their families and friends. God Bless them with much joy and happiness.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom