Second Sunday of Easter - Divine Mercy Sunday

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Devoted to the Cause”

Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy), Year A

Webster’s Dictionary defines “Devote” as: “to commit by a solemn act 1) as devoted oneself to serving God or 2) to give over or direct (as time, money, or effort) to a cause, enterprise, or activity”.

In the midst of a global crisis, a worldwide pandemic, it is easy to see not only who is devoted to a cause but also the cause to which they are committed. On the one hand, there are those who risk their own personal safety (and that of their family) by doing what their vocation calls them to do – protect the lives and safety of others or place themselves at the service of others. We know who they are: the medical professionals, police officers and fire and rescue personnel. There are the field workers who continue to work the fields harvesting our food supply. They are truck drivers who bring these items to market. They are the ones who work in grocery stores and warehouses stacking shelves and moving inventory to keep us fed; restaurant and fast-food employees who leave home and venture out to their places of employment to prepare food for so many people. They are people who are devoted... committed to keep us safe, fed and help give others a sense of normalcy while placing their own lives at risk. Then, on the other hand, are those who ignore the health warnings put out by the medical and governmental authorities. Their behavior puts others at risk. They engage in their own self-serving behavior and disregard and disrespect the personal safety of others, to the point, in some localities, of protesting reasonable and professionally necessary precautions that safeguard the health and well-being of their neighbors. “By their fruit you will know them” St. Matthew noted. Mt 7:16

Our First reading today expresses the primary and central activity of the early “Believers” following Christ’s death and resurrection…. as being “devoted...to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to prayer”.

This has been a unique time for Christians, especially us Catholics who hold the Eucharist as the foundational reality of our faith. We gather to hear the Word of God and celebrate Christ’s presence in a real and sacramental way in the Eucharist. The coronavirus has temporarily suspended this two thousand year practice. To say the least, the last half of Lent, Holy Week and Easter have been extremely challenging. Perhaps, more so than ever, we have faced a different desert experience. What has helped me on my Lenten journey is the sacrifice and selflessness of those professionals whose concern has been for the lives and safety of others. They make God smile and they give many others a ray of hope in the goodness of humanity.

We emerge from Easter a little frazzled and dazed yet, as undoubtedly was the case that first Easter, we face the future with renewed hope knowing that our lives will never be the same.

We know that as Christianity took root during those early days, many people experienced deep and profound changes in the way they lived their lives as they began to care for and respond to the needs of their neighbors all because of the life and teachings of Christ and the work of the Apostles.  

The changes people made were remarkable. We read some of them in the Acts of the Apostles that chronicles the early days of our church and how the community of believers came together initially to be nourished by Word and Sacrament. But it soon grew into much more than that. We read today that….

Awe came upon everyone.

Wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

All who believed were together and held things in common.

They would sell their property and possessions and divide                                                                                                                              them among all according to each ones need.

Every day they devoted themselves

 to meeting together in the temple area

...and to the breaking of the bread in their homes.

They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart.

Praising God and enjoying favor with all people.

And every day the Lord added to their number

those who were being saved…..

People remain devoted to many causes today. Some are devoted to do good for others. Some are devoted to themselves. It is an individual choice!

As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, we pray that the Father of mercies, the God of all consolation will be with us in mind, heart and spirit and with those who are devoted to serving others.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Easter_A - This IS The Day!_041220

Deacon Tom Writes,

“This Is The Day!”

The Resurrection of the Lord - The Mass of Easter Day, Year A

The Responsorial Psalm for the morning Mass of the Resurrection is taken from Psalm 118 encouraging us to embrace the moment, to live in the present, to let our hearts sing out  “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad”. I can’t think of a better attitude than this to embrace throughout the day, especially given the negativity that surrounds us. Being grateful for being alive and sharing in the wonders of family and friends might be a struggle for some of us because of the problems that we are facing – uncertainty because of serious medical issues or the lack of resources to pay for them, uncertainty about staying employed or finding a new job, uncertainty about the future for our children or grandchildren, uncertainty about the future prospects for peace in our world. Being grateful for this moment, what we call the ‘the eternal present now’ through which God continues to unfold creation is challenging at times since we often get swept up in the demands of this world. Finding reasons to rejoice in the Lord when there is so much change and so little security is, well, an act of faith to say the least.

Staying focused on the present is a “Eucharistic”, that is a “thankful, appreciative” mindset that we should take with us as we leave church after Mass. The reality of our encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist should enable us to recognize that God is in, around and with us every moment of our lives. If we really believe this, our lives will change. We will find the joy and happiness God intends for us to have in each “present moment” that passes. This does not mean that we live in a bubble and that we go unscathed through life. This would be delusional thinking... there is nothing that can prevent us from experiencing the hurts and disappointments that life scatters along the way. But, what it does mean is that we are able to cope with the failures, disappointments, and sorrows that we suffer along the way and rise above them.

“This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad”. As we celebrate this great mystery of Christ’s rising from the dead, let this joyous refrain echo in our minds and in our hearts as we seek to keep His spirit alive within us and do our best to share our joy with all those we meet along the way.

May you and your loved ones enjoy a most Blessed Easter Season!

Deacon Tom

A Merciful and Gracious God

Deacon Tom Writes,

“A Merciful and Gracious God”

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

In today’s reading from the Book of Exodus, God joins Moses on Mount Sinai and reveals some things about Himself. For instance, God tells Moses that He is “Lord”, that He is “a merciful and gracious God”, and that He is,  “…slow to anger and rich in kindness and mercy”. What an encounter on a mountaintop in the middle of the desert! And how does Moses respond? He petitions God to “come along in our company”. In other words, Moses wants God to be an abiding presence in the community and a source of pardon, peace, and forgiveness in the midst of His stiff-neck travelling companions.

This ancient text invites us to reflect on our own experience of God. For instance, do we see God as Our Lord? Do we acknowledge Him as a presence or a reality in our life? Do we feel as comfortable with God as we do a close friend, a trusted confidant, and life companion who always has our best interest at heart? Have we any personal experience that affirms that God is “merciful and gracious”? Can we speak first-hand about God’s pardon and forgiveness? If we are having trouble recalling any personal encounter with God, perhaps it’s time to offer up this prayer, “do come along in my company” personalizing that request Moses made of God during his encounter with the Almighty.

Just like the Israelites wandering in the desert, we too may be going through our own desert experience. The severity and the magnitude of the problems we face today have driven many people to despair. There are those who genuinely believe that a “merciful and gracious God” could not sit idly by and watch the wars, the natural disasters, the greed and violence go on. Their choice is to cut God out of their lives and strike out on their own. This isn’t a phenomenon new to our times; Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19^th century German philosopher, thought that God was the culprit for all of humanities problems giving rise to the expression  “God is dead”. But, the Christian reality is that God isn’t to blame for the conditions from which we suffer, but rather He is our help in times of need, just as Moses discovered way back when.  In the midst of crisis and uncertainty, when the Israelites were lost, hungry, homeless and afraid, God reached out to them and offered to be their companion on the journey that we know as Salvation History. God is anything but dead, and He has never abandoned us. God is with us on our life’s journey if we just ask Him to, “come along in our company.”

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image credit:  http://aacciaio.hubpages.com/hub/The-Holy-Trinity-in-Christianity

Let The Fire Fall

Deacon Tom Writes,

Let the Fire Fall

Pentecost Sunday, Year A

                     

Today marks the Feast of Pentecost that celebrates the Holy Spirit’s presence in our church. In fact, Pentecost is considered the "birthday of the church”. The term "Pentecost" comes from the Greek word meaning "the 50th day". It is the day Christianity commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection.

Pentecost is not just a Christian feast. It is derived from a Hebrew celebration known as, Shavuot, which was held 50 days after Passover and was associated with the first harvest of grain in the spring, in other words, it is a sign of life, a sign or hope, a sign of renewal, ideas and expressions that perhaps have taken on greater significance given the state of worldly affairs. 

Pentecost continues to be very important in our Catholic tradition because of its identification with the Trinity where God is the Father who created all things; Jesus is the Redeemer of mankind; the Holy Spirit sanctifies all that the Father has brought into being and all that Jesus has redeemed.

The coming of the Holy Spirit into our world continues God’s presence among us. The Holy Spirit, our Advocate, our Helper, brings divine power to enable us to overcome our human weaknesses, our bigotries, our hatreds, our idolatries, rivalries, and jealousies. The Holy Spirit is our champion who awakens within us the divine qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, and faithfulness. We call these attributes the “fruits of the Holy Spirit”. It is through these gifts that we ourselves are transformed and are thus able to cooperate with God in bringing about the transformation of the world into the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of peace and justice, a kingdom where Christ will reign forever over a new heaven and a new earth that we have been created to share.

Today, more so than perhaps ever before, we pray that the Spirit of God, the Advocate, our Helper, friend, and companion be with us to enlighten our minds and strengthen our hearts so that we may be instruments of God’s peace. We pray that our world may see the dawning of a new day that ushers in the Kingdom of God in its fullness.

Come Holy Spirit

Fill the hearts of your faithful

And kindle in them the fire of Your Love.

Send forth your Spirit

And they shall be created.

And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit,

did instruct the hearts of the faithful,

grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolations,

Through Christ Our Lord,

Amen.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Go, Make Disciples!

Deacon Tom Writes

Go, Make Disciples!

The Ascension of the Lord, Year A

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

It’s hard to believe that three months ago we were just getting ready for the beginning of 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.

           

Were we able to hear God’s voice in the midst of our Lenten journey through the desert? Or gain a new insight about God’s incredible love for us during this Easter Season? Perhaps we have a better sense now of what God is asking of us than we have when we started out. How successful were we in changing some of those habits and behaviors we needed to change about ourselves - 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 you were the one who Jesus told to, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature”. What would you do? How would you begin?

Well, the strange thing is, this command Jesus gave His hand picked “go-to” guys was meant for you and I 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.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

Image: Mural from the Church of the Ascension, NYC 

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[1] Evangelii Nuntiandi, 13

Our Reason To Be Hopeful

Deacon Tom Writes

“Our Reason To Be Hopeful”

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A

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 our world falls apart. You see and hear it in media reports on the faces and in the voices of people who have lost their homes through floods or wild fires. They inevitably talk about rebuilding not just their homes but also their lives. Hope 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

All Is Well

Deacon Tom Writes,

“All Is Well”

Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A

The first lesson we hear in today’ 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 the 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 Himself, 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, and how we are to die: 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!

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Everything You Ever Wanted And More

Deacon Tom Writes,
"Everything You Ever Wanted... And More"

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A

The reason that Jesus came into this world, he tells us, is that we might have “abundant life”. That’s interesting, for who doesn’t want to get the most out of life or to have the greatest possible experiences during this lifetime? We all do! The trouble is that we all have a different idea about what such a life would look like and how we would go about pursuing it. There is a cataclysmic difference of opinion between what we would consider living an “abundant life” and the “abundant life” Jesus had in mind when he spoke these words.

We are living in the most prosperous country ever to have existed. We are living during the most unprecedented expansion of technological knowledge that gives instant access to information to anyone anywhere on our planet or traveling in space above it. We have diagnostic capabilities that are simply amazing, increasing both the quality and duration of our lives. We have countless forms of entertainment; we have access to products made around the word. Just key in a couple of digits, swipe your credit card, and products from around the world will be at your door tomorrow. We have all sorts of toys and gadgets that compete for our time. We have so much food that we throw a quarter of it away! We want for nothing…. Except…. this may not be the “abundant life” that Jesus came to give us.

The “abundant life” Jesus came to share with us has to do with satisfying the deepest desires of our hearts…our need to love and be loved in return; our need to be respected as people who are created in the image and likeness of God; our need for “human flourishing” which means that our purpose here in this life is to become all that God created us to be.  Because of that we possess an intrinsic dignity and worth that must be respected at all times. “Abundant life”, in Jesus’ eyes, envisions a just and peaceful world where we all can achieve the highest and most dignified status possible by the proper use of the gifts and talents God has given us and who one day will ask us to render an account of what we have done with those gifts and talents.

Reading today’s gospel suggests that we need to be doing more in pursuit of the “abundantly life” to which each of us has been called. In order to achieve this richer existence we should strive to rid ourselves of some of our worldly concerns such as our need to be in control of outcomes and others and place our trust in God’s divine plan; we need to overcome our selfish tendencies and resist our prideful attitudes; we need to develop a spirit of generosity and compassion. To grow firmly in the “abundant life” Jesus intended for us means that we need to better prepare ourselves to serve others and to find in them the face of Jesus who calls us to, “deny ourselves, pick up our crosses daily and follow him”. In doing so we become more fully engaged in that “abundant life” to which we have been called.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom 

Spread the Word

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Spread the Word”

Third Sunday of Easter, Year A

The only post-resurrection encounters with Jesus recorded in Luke’s gospel take place on Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is a busy day for Jesus. At dawn some of the woman came to the tomb to complete the burial ritual that was interrupted by the Passover feast. They found the stone rolled back and two men in dazzling white asked them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has been raised up.” So, they ran off, found Peter, and told him what they had seen and heard. Peter did not believe them and had to go check it out for himself. When he arrived at the tomb, he found it empty, just as the women had said (LK 24:1-10).

Luke continues with the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and while in route, they encounter a stranger who is totally unaware of the happenings over the past several days, meaning that Jesus had been put to death. This stranger calls these disciples to task admonishing them on how little they learned from the Prophets and He begins to relate to them all that scripture had to say about the Christ. He then reveals His true identity to them when He breaks bread with them. Then he suddenly disappears. LK 24:13-35

These disciples, their hearts on fire, rush back to Jerusalem and meet with Peter and the others and tell them what had just happened to them when, suddenly, Jesus comes into their presence. Jesus shows them His wounds and asks for something to eat. They gave Him some fish and again He reminds all there of what had been written about Him by the Prophets. He then opens their minds so they understand what was written about Him in the scriptures. He then instructs them to be “witnesses of these things” (LK 24: 36-48)

Jesus and the disciples then head out on the road that leads to Bethany and Jesus ascends into heaven (LK 24: 50-53).

Quite a day wouldn’t you say!!! And it’s all in Chapter 24 of St. Luke’s Gospel. In each encounter that day, Jesus continues to teach and feed His disciples with the Word of God and the Bread of Life. This is the work that Jesus invites us to do – share with others the Good News others have shared with us

During these next fifty days we have the opportunity to reflect on the precious gift we have received as beneficiaries of Jesus’ death and RESURRECTION. It would do us all some good to spend time over these next week reflecting on how grateful we are for what we have received and how good a job we are doing at spreading our joy at having received this Good News to others.

And don’t forget to bask in the joys of this Easter Season, for the gift of eternal life is quite a gift to ponder.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Devoted to the Cause

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Devoted to the Cause”

Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy), Year A

Webster’s Dictionary defines “Devote” as:  “to commit by a solemn act 1) as devoted oneself to serving God or 2) to give over or direct (as time, money, or effort) to a cause, enterprise, or activity”.

Our First reading today expresses the primary and central activity of the early “Believers” following Christ’s death and resurrection…. as being “devoted...to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to prayer”.

If all the activities of Holy Week, all the preparation – the cooking, cleaning and baking has given us a sense of exhaustion and left us a little frazzled and dazed, then now is the time to reflect on the events of that first Easter Sunday and how our lives will never be the same.  Many people experienced deep and profound changes in the way they lived their lives because they believed that Christ rose from the dead and that they would too! They gradually came to realized they would have to change the way they lived this life. And the changes they made came from what Jesus taught them while He was with them.

The changes people made were remarkable. We read some of them in the Acts of the Apostles that chronicles the early days of our church and how the community of believers came together initially to be nourished by sacrament and word. But it soon grew into much more than that. We read today that….

  

Awe came upon everyone.

Wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

All who believed were together and held things in common.

They would sell their property and possessions and divide                                                                                                                              them among all according to each ones need.

Every day they devoted themselves

 to meeting together in the temple area

...and to the breaking of the bread in their homes.

They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart.

Praising God and enjoying favor with all people.

And every day the Lord added to their number

those who were being saved…..

What a remarkable transformation was brought about in the lives of believers because of the life, death, and Resurrection of Our Lord. Can you imagine what would happen if we had the same faith as these early believers? Can you imagine if we had the faith the size of a mustard seed? Tell me Christ didn’t know the weakness of our human spirit! Perhaps it’s time for us to renew our devotion to Our Lord by a more fervently prayer life and sharing in the breaking of the bread.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom