Thursday, May 11, 2017

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

(Acts 13:13-25; John 13:16-20)

The man is an active Catholic working with you in his parish.  He has a small, successful business and is married with a family.  He would hardly have dreamt being so blessed fifteen years ago.  Then he was in jail reeling from a troubled childhood.  In time he met the Lord largely, as he tells the story, through the prison chaplain.  The encounter turned his life around.  His story parallels that of St. Paul preaching in a synagogue in the first reading today.

Capture the irony.  Just a few years before Paul would have been in a similar synagogue ferreting out Jews having inclinations toward Jesus whom Christians believed was the Christ or Messiah.  Now he preaches quite openly that indeed Jesus is the savior of the people.  His turnabout came through a sensed encounter with Jesus risen from the dead.

Many today have experiences such as Paul’s.  The Church sponsors activities such as “Cursillo” and “Christ Renews His Parish” so that participants may know Christ in ways beyond the intellect.  Many others have a relationship with Christ without such a felt experience.  They know him to be real and influential although they would never admit to hearing him speak to them.  In any case we should treat Jesus as he is preached by Paul – a friend who comes to save us from our folly and all its effects.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

(Acts 12:24-13:5a; John 12:44-50)

In today’s gospel Jesus states once again that he is the light of the world.  He means that he enables people to distinguish good from bad.  He can do this unfailingly because he is both God and human.  As he says, “’…whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.’”   Jesus’ reference to himself as light corresponds to what scientists have learned about light many centuries later.  Both have a dual nature.

Light acts as both matter and energy.  It travels as waves of energy, but it can be broken down into tiny particles which scientists call photons.  Its dual nature allows light to increase its energy for work.  Laser technology is the harnessing of amplified light energy to perform different tasks like minimally invasive surgeries.

We should keep ourselves close to Christ.  As human he knows our needs.  As God, he can help us in any situation.  His light will keep us out of trouble.  Even more importantly, it will guide us to our eternal destiny.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

(Acts 11:19-26; John 10:22-33)

In 1947 Archbishop Joseph Ritter of St. Louis ordered all Catholic schools of the city to accept African-Americans.  Many white Catholic parents opposed the order and threatened to sue the Church.  The archbishop responded by declaring that any Catholic who took part in the lawsuit would be excommunicated.  He understood better than most that the Church is an assembly for all people of faith.  The first reading today shows the Church integrating different peoples at an early stage of its development.

Although there are prior instances of gentiles accepting Christ in the Book of Acts, the passage read today presents a new picture.  It indicates that many non-Jewish Greeks participate in the Christian community in Antioch.  As the members of the community were known as “Christians,” its mixed nature tells what Christianity is about.  The new religious movement intends to unite all people in mutual love.

We can be grateful to be part of a Church that resists the tendency to tolerate racism.  Unfortunately, the Church’s record is not perfect in this regard.  But still we can be certain that Christ died for all people and calls all kinds of people together in his Church.  The more we promote racial integration, the truer we are to Christ.

Monday, May 8, 2017

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

(Acts 11:1-18; John 10:11-18)

When Fr. Stanley Rother received a message threatening his life, he refused to leave his mission.  “The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger,” he said.  Fr. Rother was a priest from Oklahoma working among indigenous people in Guatemala.  Eventually he did leave, but he could not stay away long.  Urged by the words of today’s gospel, he returned to the people he had come to love.  Not long afterwards, he was assassinated.  As Pope Francis has declared him a legitimate martyr, Rother will be beatified this September.

Jesus, the Son of God, will lay down his life for all humans.  His death will be neither suicidal nor resisted.  Rather it will manifest sacrificial love for the good of sinners.  Jesus makes them holy – the first meaning of sacrifice – by acting as their representative.  On their behalf he perfectly obeys the Father’s will that he immerse himself in the world.  It is the world under the spell of the evil one who has him crucified.  God in the end will raise him and those who join themselves to him from the dead.

We join ourselves to Jesus in Baptism and live this union in our relationships with others.  Mothers exhibit Jesus’ sacrificial love when they care for a sick child through the night.  Children reflect his love when they take their feeble parents to see the doctor.  All of us show Jesus’ love when we care about and support one another.

Friday, May 5, 2017

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

(Acts 9:1-20; John 6:52-59)

Many people today are concerned about quality of life.  The elderly worry about having good health in retirement.  For them quality of life is not to have to live with chronic pain and, even more critical, not to lose their minds.  Meanwhile, young people consider quality of life in economic terms.  For them to have a high quality of life means to have the money to buy season tickets to their favorite sports team’s home games and to take a cruise every other year.  In today’s gospel Jesus has an alternative conception of quality of life to consider.

Of course, Jesus does not use the term quality of life at all.  Rather he speaks of as having his life within.  His life is much more than biological life, which bread and wine by themselves can sustain.  No, he means eternal life or life in abundance which comes from participating in God’s love.  It is a life of gratitude because one is assured of God loves for her or him.  The Eucharist, Jesus’ gift of his body and blood, depicts this perfectly.  Derived from the Greek language, the word means to be thankful. 

We are a Eucharistic people -- a people who continually give thanks to God.  Yet we strive to become ever more so.  We see the efforts people make for us and thank them.  We recognize how we have benefitted from the work of people in times past and feel a sense of gratitude for them as well.  Even if our quality of life is not that great in the eyes of others, we know differently.  Sick or well, poor or rich, we enjoy a high quality of life because we know of God’s love for us and are thankful for it.