Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Peter 1:18-25; Mark 10:32-45)

Renaissance bishops were no less notorious than Renaissance popes for “lording it over their subjects.”  Church reform in the Council of Trent included bishops governing no more than one diocese and residing within that diocese.  In today’s gospel Jesus indicates serving the members of their diocese is essential as well for successors to the apostles.

Most bishops today render such care.  One bishop stood out among his peers for such service twenty-five years ago.  Bishop Kenneth Untener of Saginaw, Michigan, sold the bishop’s palace after his ordination.  He then stayed with pastors in rectories for extended visits to parishes.  When Untener discovered how dissatisfied parishioners were with rambling homilies, he resolved to give homiletic workshops.  Bishop Untener traveled throughout the country showing priests how to limit homilies to one point and four minutes. 

As Jesus wanted his disciples to care for the faithful, he wants all of us to serve one another.  This rule especially to those in positions of authority.  Whether we are baseball managers or baby-sitters, our principal concern should be modeling Jesus’ way of leadership.  We should be slow to criticize and quick with gratitude.  We should be patient and kind, never rude or demeaning.  Like Jesus, we should be ready to make sacrifices for the good of our charges.

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, priest

(I Peter 1:10-16; Mark 10:28-31)

Novelist Ann Lamott writes of Rosie, a young tennis player who is prone to cheating.  Rosie calls balls that hit the line “out” in order not to lose a point.  A man sees her doing this and tells her so.  But more than correcting her, he befriends Rosie and admits, “I did what you did....I cheated.”  The young player eventually recognizes her fault and overcompensates.  She starts calling balls that go beyond the line “in” so as not to appear dishonest.  But then Rosie summons the courage to call all the shots as she sees them.  One day during a match her friend sees Rosie calling shots correctly and begins to leave.  Rosie’s mother asks him if he doesn’t want to see Rosie win. The man answers, “’I already have.’”

In today’s first reading Peter calls the Christian community to the integrity which the man calls Rosie.  Christians are to give up “the desires of our former ignorance.”  In turn, they are to live in accord with the holiness of God.  Honesty needs to be implicit in everything they do.  For this reason, they are to “gird up the loins of (their) mind.” That is, they are to stand ready to do what is right and not what is self-serving.

Perhaps more than ever we are inclined to lie.  Social media have multiplied the desire to exaggerate if not to fabricate.  To initiate a message or image that “goes viral” fulfills the dreams of many even if it distorts reality.  In truth, however, it is just another example of the oldest sin, pride.  In line with our Christian vocation, we should take care not to exaggerate and never to lie. 

Monday, May 25, 2026

 Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

(Genesis 3:9-15.20; John 19:25-34)

Today’s readings present two paths for life’s journey.  Like in Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” the journeyer must choose one of them to follow.  The first is set by Eve.  She is enticed by the serpent’s promise that eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil will bring handsome benefits.  The second path is blazed by Mary, the mother of Jesus.  She stays close to her son not only to support him but also to receive his guidance.

Eve’s path is superficially fair and well-trodden.  However, it led to her downfall and, as “mother of all the living,” to our propensity toward evil.  Taking it, we would be ruined.  Mary’s path has had fewer takers and, consequently, is less worn.  Still, it is fairer because it brings us righteousness leading to eternal life.

Mary, as Mother of the Church, now gives us guidance and support.  She has shown us how to follow her son and prays that we might do so.

Sunday, May 24, 2026

PENTECOST SUNDAY

(Acts 2:1-11; I Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23)

Pentecost is the feast of the Holy Spirit. On this day we celebrate the coming of the Spirit upon Jesus’ disciples to proclaim him as Lord. This feast has never received much attention in the United States. For most people here, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day overshadow its importance. In other countries, however, Pentecost attracts the attention of both Catholics and non-Catholics. These nations have retained the custom of observing the day afterwards as a public holiday.

Perhaps the difficulty in celebrating Pentecost lies in the mysterious figure of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, God the Father and God the Son are presented as human figures, but the Spirit is portrayed through unusual images. He appears as a dove descending upon Jesus at his Baptism. He is the wind hovering over the waters in the creation story of Genesis and restraining the waves in the salvation story of Exodus. In the gospel passage today, the Spirit is described as the breath Jesus blows on his disciples.

Another difficulty faced when considering the Holy Spirit as God is defining his role in creation. If the Father is the Creator and the Son is the Redeemer, what does the Spirit do? To answer properly, we must clarify that the Son and the Spirit also share roles in creation. Furthermore, the Father and the Spirit carry out redemption together with the Son. Because God is one, the roles of the three Persons cannot be separated. Generally, the Spirit is associated with the sanctification of humanity, although the Father and the Son also participate in this work.  We call the Spirit “the Sanctifier,” the one who fills the soul with grace.

We can examine the Scripture readings today for additional ways of understanding the Holy Spirit.  In addition to describing how the Holy Spirit moves Jesus’ disciples to proclaim him to the world, the reading from the Acts of the Apostles presents the Spirit as the New Law. To understand how we must understand the context. The feast of Pentecost is of Jewish, not Christian. origin. The Jews celebrated God’s giving their ancestors the Law on the fiftieth day of their exodus from Egypt. Here God presents to the disciples of Jesus his Spirit as a law written upon the heart. God is fulfilling His promise to the prophet Jeremiah to write a new law on human hearts. This law works within us so that the love it commands becomes our way of life. (Yes, at times it seems difficult to live it out, but we have the witness of the saints that it is possible.)

Saint Paul writes about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the First Letter to the Corinthians. They are more numerous than the seven mentioned by the prophet Isaiah.  But all are necessary because the project of the Spirit is to build up the Church, the Body of Christ, throughout the world. Additionally, the Spirit forms us into that Body which the Spirit Himself animates.  In other words, the Spirit, who is love, acts through us, the members of Christ’s body. The importance of this truth may be seen in the final biblical passage today.

The Gospel shows how the Holy Spirit renews the face of the earth.  By empowering the apostles to forgive sins, the Spirit saves people from being lost in guilt. Forgiveness grants us a new opportunity to please God through our service. Furthermore, the Spirit of forgiveness is bestowed upon all of Jesus’ disciples, whether ordained or not.  He, the Spirit, enables us to forgive offenses committed against us. Without this aid to forgiveness, the world would have no future. It would be destroyed by revenge, growing ever more violent through the centuries with technology.

In short, the Holy Spirit is God’s gift of Himself to us. We are edified as He builds us into the Body of Christ. As members of Christ’s Body, we become participants of His divine nature and heirs of His eternal happiness.

 

Friday, May 22, 2026

 Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

 (Acts 25:13b-21; John 21:15-19)

 Many evangelical Protestants openly profess their love of Jesus.  But surely love of the Lord is as much a characteristic of true Catholics.  Mother St. Teresa of Kolkata used to describe herself by saying, “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.”

 Some will scoff at the idea that one can love another who has never been physically present.  They will ask, “How can we say that you love someone who died two thousand years ago?”  And they will dismiss as fanatical one who claims to love another who has millions of professed lovers.  But these objections do not faze believers.  They know that Jesus is alive and dwells within them spiritually. 

 We too can have a personal relationship with Jesus like Peter in today’s gospel.  By meditating on the words he left us and by caring for the poor, we sense his closeness.  Because he is God, the author of all life, he will assist us who hold him as our beloved.