It's All About Him

It's hard to keep track of things in our post-modern, post-Christian world. First, there are far too many things to track. And second, the sheer speed at which they fly by us makes them mostly untrackable. Nevertheless, most of us still try. Perhaps it's because we're like dogs who bark at every car that passes or can't help but run after every squirrel. It's easy to lose our bearings.

The world we've created is one that is always moving. We move up, move in, move forward, and move on. We are a restless, anxious, and hungry people. And while our civilizations have never been more advanced, our souls have reverted to hunting and gathering the scraps they can find as they wander.

If we stop taking the bait and stand still long enough to let all the crazy whizz by, however, it is possible to focus our attention -- and our lives -- on the things that stay put. There aren't many of those; frankly, there never were. But when everything else is spinning, drifting, or otherwise in flux, there are a few things that don't move along with the music. When we find them, and see where we are with respect to them, we will never be lost.

The world and our life in it is more than what humankind has created or destroyed. That's because the Creator made it for us, but not about us. All that is, is about him. That extends even to our own existence. We were made by him and for him; we are his, whether we believe in him or not; whether we like it or not.

The beautiful thing about the body of Christ (and there are countless beautiful things!) is that his presence is hidden everywhere. No matter where we go, or what road we take, Jesus is there. His risen body, his flesh and blood, is with us in every tabernacle, at every Mass, in every disciple. He does not change. He does not move. Rather, he remains with us to change us, and to move us along the path to eternal life.

It's all about Jesus. All human history and all human destiny centers on him. His body is the new "tent of meeting," the place in which God lives not just above, but among his people. We can run as far as our legs and wills can take us from him, but he will be there nonetheless. His arms are open to us regardless. He is always ready to embrace.

And that is what our parishes must be: the body of Christ with open arms; his abiding presence in the world. We must be Jesus, always and everywhere. And to stand in the world as the body of Christ, we must constantly renew our connection to that body through the sacraments. We must be still, while everything whirls around us. We must make Jesus the fulcrum of the decisions we make. He must be both our inspiration and our aspiration. We must build our lives on his life in us. We must choose to place him at the center of all we do, but also of all we are.

The world will never find Jesus if those who belong to Christ keep him on the periphery of our lives. Even worse, we ourselves will risk losing sight of him. There is no substitute for God. When life isn't about Jesus, it is about something or someone else -- and that is always something or someone less. Eucharistic adoration can help us. Do you know where to find Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament? I hope so. And I also hope that when you lose yourself in this whizzing, whilrling world, you run straight to him in the Holy Eucharist. Stop. Breathe. Bow down in worship. Open your heart to him. For when your life is centered on him, everything else falls into its proper place.

The Dangerous Saint Justin

The Church recalls the witness of St. Justin, one of the earliest martyrs. He was brutally killed in the year 165 AD, unwilling to offer worship to the emperor and gods of Rome. Fidelity to Christ was more important to him than even his own life.

Saint Justin was a man of prodigious intellectual gifts that he placed at the service of the Church’s mission. The Church, faced with the opposition of the Roman state, had to struggle to survive. Professing the Christian faith was considered to be treason, punishable by death. Further, Christians were cultural outsiders, the elites of Roman culture had their own gods and values, and to many of the Romans, Christian faith just seemed odd, if not unintelligible. Justin took it upon himself to make the case for the Christian faith, presenting reasoned arguments as to the “what and why” concerning the beliefs and practices of the Church.

This made Justin a dangerous man to those invested in Roman system of power and privilege. For those who opposed the Church, there was no god but Caesar and no way of life other than the Roman way, a way of life that valued wealth, pleasure, power, and honors above anything else.

We might not experience the Church as being dangerously subversive, but for Justin, the Church was considered to be a threat, and was dealt with as such. Christians were persecuted. Their property was seized. Their institutions were closed. Their worship was ridiculed. Bishops and priests were arrested. And men and women like Justin, who presented Christian beliefs as credible, and the Christian way of life as worthwhile, were considered public enemies.

The Church’s way of life necessitated risk and sacrifices, and because men and women like Justin were willing to take the risk and make the sacrifices, the Church not only survived, it flourished and grew.

Central to Justin’s witness was that the Church was a public reality, not a private club. The Church existed to engage and create public culture. The purpose of the Church was to be seen and heard, as it had a message and a mission that was for everyone, not just for a privileged few.

Justin’s witness that the Church was a public reality grated on those who believed that Roman power was absolute and could have no rivals. For these opponents of the Church, the Roman way was the only way.

Justin believed that Jesus Christ is the way, and he would die rather than deny his faith in Jesus Christ. For this reason, above all, the Church remembers him and recalls his courage.

The Church suffers persecution in every age of her life. For us, we have the privilege of practicing the Church’s faith in relative freedom, but many Christians struggle and many Christians will, like Saint Justin, suffer and die because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

On this day that we are asked to remember Saint Justin, let us also remember the many Christians today who will suffer and die for the faith they profess and the way of life they practice.

Gospel reflection for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Life offered in abundance

An energetic forty-something year-old recently shared with me a sincere spiritual revelation:

“Until very recently, I thought of Mass like a simple festive meal. However, entering church one day, I came across someone praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament, to which, I confess I had been quite indifferent until then.

In that moment, I was completely overwhelmed by their discretion, silence, and profound meditation.”

This young man experienced complete spiritual renewal not through theoretical discourse but through an encounter with another person inhabited by Christ.

His true Presence in the heart of another person is so unmistakable and powerful that it radiates through them, touching others. It is a manifestation of the abundance of Jesus’ love which he wanted to extend to all humanity.

This Sunday’s gospel reading reveals to us the secret of this love. Mark describes it in such succinct style, making Jesus’ acts and words stand out with even greater luminosity.

Bible specialists agree that Mark “offers us a unique connection to Jesus and the atmosphere of Galilee. He brings together all the actors of the early church.” He resonates with the energy of the first days of evangelization.

On the surface, this Sunday’s story could be read simply as a meal for which, since it’s Passover, Jesus wants to make more of an occasion by organizing a room.

And don’t we share this concern for presentation and ceremony in contemporary society? It would be easy to read over this event too quickly and neglect the grace it contains.

Christ asks: “Where is the guest room where I can eat Passover with my disciples? Prepare it for us there.” The “I” and “us” underline this fundamental uniting moment.

Everything here is specific and draws anew in the gift of Christ’s sacrifice for all mankind. Jesus says to his friends again: “This is my body, this is my blood.” From that moment on, everywhere the Eucharist is celebrated, there stands the temple of his Body.

Forging the new alliance with his body and his blood, Christ gives himself to us to receive him and commune with God through him.

So, if Mark, in his Gospel, doesn’t seem to identify the meal which culminates with the Eucharist so clearly as the others, it is perhaps to guide us to a precious lesson: Christ’s power is in his transformation of the ordinary.

This returns us to the earlier realization related by my fellow believer who, until then, saw only the ordinariness of Mass. Conversion waits for us in the most unexpected places.

It is through Christ that holiness enters our lives. Because he is Life, he offers it abundantly. We would need the simplicity of saints to grasp the ungraspable power of the sacrament of love.

Edith Stein, who became Sister Thérèse Bénédicte, saw in the host “a disk of whiteness kneaded with sheer silence, the divine Heart which beats so mysteriously for all humanity.” Adding with humility, “In this mystery, your heart penetrates mine. Your soul too unites with mine. I am no longer that which I was before.”

May this festive Sunday show us how much it pleases God to nourish ourselves with his energizing Presence, and to speak to us with his commanding Word. May we wake up and see clearly! This is not an ordinary meal. He who gave himself to save the world is present among us. He stirs within us the hunger which only He can satisfy. He transforms the darkness within us, bathing us in his light and true Presence.

This Sunday’s feast gives us a moment to contemplate just how thoroughly Christ gives himself to us

He makes himself a humble meal that lovingly heals our memory, wounded by life’s frantic pace.

While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, gave it to them, and said,
“Take it; this is my body.” —Mark 14:22

The Church’s annual celebration of Corpus Christi—the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ—is a uniquely Catholic celebration. Inspired by the devotion of St. Julian of Cornillon and Blessed Eva of Liège, this feast was added to the Church’s calendar in 1264.

We could say that, in a sense, every celebration of the Mass is a celebration of Corpus Christi, but on this day we are invited to reflect on the gift of Christ’s abiding presence in the Eucharist in a particular way. And, in the readings assigned to this feast this year, the Church asks us to pause and consider the sacrifice and self-gift that are embodied in the Eucharist.

The images of sacrifice that are included in the First and Second Readings for this feast help us understand how significant the offering and sharing of Jesus’ Body and Blood really is.

In the Eucharist, we have both sacrifice and gift as his handing over of his body and blood—all that he is—at the Last Supper was an anticipation of the total offering of himself that took place on that Good Friday.

Jesus loves us so much that he holds nothing back from us. He gives all of himself to us. His love becomes the source of our life. And, just as mothers give of their very selves to nourish their children, Jesus does the same for us.

As we adore and give thanks for the gift of the Eucharist on this Corpus Christi, we are also invited to consider how we are using the gift we have received. Are we open to the life—his life—that Jesus offers us in the sacrament of his Body and Blood and are we willing to offer the gift of our selves for the sake of others in remembrance of him?

How have you experienced Christ’s saving love in the Eucharist?

Who has made sacrifices and given of themselves for you?

How is Jesus inviting you to give of yourself for the sake of others?

Words of Wisdom: “Today’s Solemnity reminds us that in our fragmented lives, the Lord comes to meet us with a loving ‘fragility,’ which is the Eucharist. In the Bread of Life, the Lord comes to us, making himself a humble meal that lovingly heals our memory, wounded by life’s frantic pace. The Eucharist is the memorial of God’s love.”—Pope Francis

Deacon Tom's Homily Thursday May 31st, The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

[Zephaniah 3:14-18 and Luke 1:39-56]

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… “. Today two nouns point us to Jesus. Mary’s soul and her spirit proclaim and rejoice in God our Savior. But what is the significance of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth before the birth of Jesus?

When Elizabeth greeted Mary and recognized the Messiah in Mary's womb they were filled with the Holy Spirit and with a joyful anticipation of the fulfillment of God's promise to give a Savior. What a marvelous wonder for God to fill not only Elizabeth's heart with his Holy Spirit but the child in her womb as well. John the Baptist, even before the birth of the Messiah, pointed to his coming and leaped for joy in the womb of his mother as the Holy Spirit revealed to him the presence of the King to be born. The Lord also wants to fill each of us with his Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God's gift to us to enable us to know and experience the indwelling presence of God and the power of his kingdom. The Holy Spirit is the way in which God reigns within each of us. So, let’s ask ourselves: do we live in the joy and knowledge of God's indwelling presence with us through his Holy Spirit?

Much has been made over the "recognition" of Jesus in the womb by his cousin John in his own mother's womb. But I think the main thrust of the event is held in Elizabeth's words, "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." That is what a true disciple would believe, and that is how Mary is portrayed in the Gospel.

Mary's 'Magnificat' remains as relevant as ever to all mothers, especially to the mothers of the disappeared. The second Sunday of May is dedicated to all mothers and on that day, people honor and pay tribute to moms for carrying us for nine months, for giving birth to us, for nurturing us and sharing in the process of creation. But despite the gratifying joy of motherhood, mothers also experience life’s changes of poverty, social injustice, gender discrimination and human rights violations. There can be no greater pain for a mother to bury her own child. There is no more excruciating pain than for a mother not to know the whereabouts of the child she brought up for years. Today we are reminded of the courage shown by the Blessed Mother in her Magnificat where she speaks of thrones collapsing and mighty lords humbled and of the poor and the oppressed being emancipated. Contrary to the general perception of a passive Mary, the Magnificat is the most revolutionary hymn ever sung.

In 1977 Argentina’s military junta banned the Magnificat when the text was written on posters at the height of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo’s protests. Inspiring Guatemala’s poor, the Magnificat’s preferential love for the poor so threatened the powers-that-be that its public recitation was banned in the 1980s.

And if you’ve been watching the news, there are now reports of nearly 1500 unaccompanied minors unaccounted for after they left the United States federal shelter system. Our Justice Department policy says all immigrants caught crossing the border will be prosecuted with a misdemeanor, including families seeking asylum. Since then, hundreds of families have been separated, with parents put into criminal custody, while their children are treated as unaccompanied minors. Those children are then released to adult sponsors. However, 1475 minors have been identified as missing.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is a model of virtue not only for her humility and obedience to the will of God but for her courage to solidify the preferential option for the poor and to emancipate them from the bondage of wretchedness and powerlessness. The Magnificat remains as relevant as ever to all mothers, especially to the mothers of the disappeared and to all other victims of transgressions of human rights.

Pope Francis has said that what took place most singularly in the Virgin Mary also takes place within us, spiritually, when we receive the word of God with a good and sincere heart and put it into practice. It is as if God takes flesh within us; he comes to dwell in us, for he dwells in all who love him and keeps his word. It is not easy to understand this, but really, it is easy to feel it in our hearts.

So today, just as Mary listened, obeyed and responded, let us also respond: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word”

Pope’s Morning Homily: Worldly Patterns Promise Everything & Give Nothing

During Morning Mass, Francis Says to Walk Toward Holiness, We Must ‘Be Free & Feel Free’

MAY 29, 2018 DEBORAH CASTELLANO LUBOV 

Do not remain attached to worldly ways of thinking and behavior. You know better. Hence, claim your freedom by embracing your call to holiness.

According to Vatican News, Pope Francis stressed this during his daily morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta as he reflected on the day’s reading from the First Letter of Peter which urges Christians to be holy in every aspect of their conduct.

In the homily, Francis discussed that call to holiness and the importance of moving away from our worldly way of thinking and behavior that formerly enslaved us.

“The call to holiness, which is the normal call, is our call to live as a Christian, namely living as a Christian is the same as saying ‘living as a saint’. Many times we think of holiness as something extraordinary, like having visions or lofty prayers … or some think that being holy means having a face like that in a cameo … no. Being holy is something else. It is to proceed along this path that the Lord tells us about holiness.”

“And what is it, to proceed along the path of holiness?” the Pope asked. “Peter says it,” he answered, “‘Put all your hope in that grace that will be given to you when Jesus Christ manifests Himself.'”

Walking towards holiness, the Pontiff said, means proceeding towards that grace, that encounter with Jesus Christ. Like walking towards the light, Francis highlighted that many times we don’t see the road well, because the light dazzles us.

“But we are not mistaken, noted the Pope, “because we see the light and we know the way”. When you walk with the light behind you, you can see the road well, but in reality there is shadow, not light, in front of you.”

The Pope urged Christians not to go back to their worldly patterns of behaving.

Stressing so many things enslave us, the Jesuit Pope stressed that for Christians to walk toward holiness, they need “to be free and to feel free.”

Do Not

It is for this reason, he said, that Peter urges us not to conform “to the desires of our former ignorance.” In his First Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul say: “Do not conform,” which means don’t get involved in worldly patterns of behavior.

“This is the correct translation of this advice – do not adopt the worldly patterns, – do not adopt those patterns of behavior, that worldly way of thinking, that way of thinking and judging that the world offers you because this deprives you of freedom.

To proceed towards holiness, the Pope stressed, one must be free: free to go forward, looking at the light, going forward. “When we return, as he says here, to the way of life we had before our encounter with Jesus Christ or when we return to those patterns of worldly behavior, we lose our freedom.”

“In moments of trials and tribulations, we always are tempted to look back, to look at the worldly patterns of behavior, at the patterns that we had before setting out the path towards salvation: without freedom. And without freedom one cannot be holy.”

“Freedom is the condition for moving forward while looking at the light ahead of us. Do not adopt the worldly patterns of behavior, walk forward, looking at the light that is the promise, in hope; this is the promise like the people of God in the desert: when they looked forward everything went fine; when they were nostalgic because they could no longer eat the good things they formerly had, they made mistakes and forgot that they had no freedom back there.”

Called Daily to Holiness

The Lord, the Pope reminded, calls us to holiness every day.

To know if we are on our way to this call, the Pope said there are two parameters. “First of all, if we look towards the light of the Lord in the hope of finding it and, then if when the trials come, we look ahead and do not lose our freedom by taking refuge in worldly patterns of behavior, which promise you everything and give you nothing.”

“You will be holy because I am holy: this is the Lord’s commandment.”

Pope Francis concluded, praying God to grant us the grace to understand correctly what the path of holiness is.

Mary Always Points to Jesus

Two thousand years ago, Mary had a baby. We can relate a few historical facts about both mother and child, but very few. Then there is the theologizing about Jesus and Mary that has taken place over the centuries—lots of words and ideas. Add to that the sentimental and devotional practices that surround both, and we have what very possibly could be a truly confusing mess. As the king in The King and I stated so well, “’tis a puzzlement.”

Mary Always Points to Jesus

In his apostolic exhortation Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Paul VIspeaks of the singular dignity of Mary as being “Mother of the Son of God, and therefore beloved daughter of the Father and Temple of the Holy Spirit” (p. 46). In this, she is “far greater than any other creature on earth or in heaven.” And yet, Mary herself claims her own nothingness in her Magnificat: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Mary’s greatness lies in her willingness to continue to bring Jesus to the world. She doesn't draw attention to herself, but to him. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes, “What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ” (487).

With these principles in mind, let’s look at a few of our beliefs and see what they tell us. 

A Few Marian Beliefs 

Mary as mediator. The Scriptures tell us that God chooses to shower his many gifts upon us through the mediation of others. We see this most clearly in the scriptural statements that Moses and the prophets mediated God’s word; and that the angels were often God’s messengers. We also see it clearly in creation, in the sacraments, and in the fact that our parents and teachers were highly instrumental in our coming to know Jesus.

In his first letter to Timothy, Saint Paul says that Jesus is the “one mediator” between God and us. Jesus is the one in the sense of primary, not the exclusive, mediator (I Tm 2:5). That is why, in the next few verses of that same letter, Paul urges us to pray for others. Prayer is a form of mediation. We are all mediators in our own way, but Christ is the mediator in whose role he allows us to share.

It stands to reason that Mary, the perfect disciple, would be a major mediator of her son’s gifts. The gifts are given by Jesus through Mary. We see this exemplified when Mary went to visit Elizabeth. It is Mary’s son, whom she carries in her womb and makes present to Elizabeth, who causes John the Baptist to leap for joy and Elizabeth to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Mary mediates their coming together, but it is Jesus who brings the gift of joy and the Spirit (cf. Lk 1:39-45). So the doctrine of Mary as mediator not only speaks of Mary’s loving care for us, her children, but also of the generosity of her son, Jesus, in sharing his role and gifts with us.

Mary as mother. One of Mary’s titles is Theotokos (God-bearer), which is often translated “Mother of God.” This is a doctrinal statement that Mary is the one who gave human birth (and human nature) to God the Son. Thus, we speak of her divine motherhood, not meaning that she existed before God and gave birth to the Trinity, but that she was the one who gave human birth to God the Son in time.

In saying her “yes” to God through the angel Gabriel, Mary consented to this role and thus conceived her child. But this doctrine of Mary’s motherhood was not the result of independent thinking about Mary. It emerged while various councils discussed the natures of Jesus and tried to clarify what it means to say that he is both human and divine. In effect, the doctrine speaks to the reality of Jesus as the God-man by emphasizing the role that Mary played in giving him human birth. Thus, Theotokos speaks of our understanding of Jesus and Mary’s involvement in his becoming human.

We also believe that Mary is our mother. This belief implies not only an awareness of the Incarnation—God sharing in our human nature and, thus, being our fellow human being—but also an appreciation of what Jesus did from the cross as he was dying. Saint John tells us that seeing his mother along with the disciple whom Jesus loved (presumably Saint John himself) Jesus said; “Woman, behold your Son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother” (Jn 26-27).

Jesus was seeing to it that his mother would be taken care of after his death, but there was a great deal more at stake here. By this statement, Jesus emptied himself of that very intimate relationship between himself and his mother, which he had known and relished all his life. In one last gesture of love, Jesus gave up his exclusive relationship with Mary and shared her with us. Jesus gave his mother to be our mother. Thus, calling Mary our mother not only speaks of Mary’s maternal love for each of us, but also of Jesus’ total self-sacrifice on our behalf.

Mary as the new Eve. Here we have an example of what might be called theology by analogy. It’s a technique often used by the early Church preachers and writers. Saint Irenaeus, for example, used it to communicate a truth about Mary and Jesus by contrasting their behavior with those who are considered historical figures in the Bible, Adam and Eve.

But, as we know, some aspects of an analogy do not follow logically (otherwise we would have an identity instead of an analogy). So the identification of Mary with Eve—and of Jesus with Adam—is not a perfect fit. For instance, Eve is seen as the physical mother of all mankind; Mary is our mother because she gave birth to Jesus, our brother, and was given to us by Jesus on the cross.

But Saint Irenaeus used this analogy to speak of how one virgin corrected the activity of another, how Mary’s faithful obedience counteracted Eve’s unfaithful disobedience. His thinking was based on Saint Paul’s statements in Rom 5:19 and I Cor 15:45 in which Saint Paul compared Jesus with Adam (cf. Against Heresies). Here we have a doctrine about Mary that clearly flows from our understanding of Jesus. 

Two Key Doctrines Related to the Church

When we look at the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary, we add yet another connection to our doctrines about Mary—the Church (us). These two doctrines are a little different from the previous ones in that they are not found directly in the Scriptures, but flow logically from what we find there.

On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX formally confirmed the faith of the people of God in Mary’s Immaculate Conception and defined as a doctrine the fact that Mary “in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin." Simply stated, this means that the disorder that we know as original sin never was a part of Mary and, as a result, she remained sinless her whole life. This, of course, did not mean that she was preserved from the effects of original sin for we know that she endured great suffering in her life.

It’s important to note that Pope Pius IX stated that it was “by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race” that this gift was granted to Mary. Mary did not earn it or deserve it, but it was granted to her as gift. It was God’s way of preparing her for her life’s mission as mother of Jesus, his Son. As the great Franciscan doctor John Duns Scotus argued: Potuit, decuit, ergo fecit (it was possible, it was fitting, therefore God did it). 

This doctrine not only says a great deal about Jesus and his role as savior of the human race, but also about what the Church teaches concerning the Sacrament of Baptism. The gift given to Mary is similar to the gift given to each of us at Baptism—the ability to overcome sin. While we may not be as successful in avoiding sin as was Mary, nevertheless she is our hope and our model as baptized Christians.

The notion of Mary being assumed into heaven body and soul—defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950—is a long-standing belief among the faithful dating back to the early centuries of the Church. It emphasizes the close relationship of Jesus with his mother in the life to come as well as here on earth, for death is not the end of love relationships, but their purification.

This glorified state, in which Mary presently participates to the full, will be ours after the resurrection of the dead. In this, Mary models what the Church desires and hopes to be. 

Simple Mother, Profound Model

Marian doctrine can seem a little dry and esoteric when wrapped in theological and historical terms. But it speaks about a very practical reality—the love of a mother and her divine son and their love for us. Perhaps we find ourselves lost in all that theological talk, but I hope this look helps us see the human being beneath that talk and discover the simple mother who is always leading us to her son and a profound model of what it means to be church.

Mary, Daughter of God

Mary knew Jesus better than anyone else. Like other mothers, she was the first to encounter and know her child through the intimacy of conception and gestation in her womb. She—more than his closest friends, more than his twelve chosen apostles—understood his thoughts, his expressions, his gestures, and his tendencies.

Her ability to follow him, to learn from him, to orient her life around his teachings and his truth, was augmented by her blessed maternity. It was in part this very motherhood that made Mary such an excellent “daughter” of God.

—from The Church Is Our Mother: Seven Ways She Inspires Us to Love

After abortion loss, Irish prelates look to pope’s vision of ‘pro-life’

NEW YORK - In the wake of Ireland’s decision to legalize abortion, two of Ireland’s leading prelates are encouraging the country’s Catholics to embrace a vision of supporting life that aligns with what Pope Francis has dubbed as “missionary discipleship.”

In a homily on the Feast of the Blessed Trinity at the National Marian Shrine in Knock, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh recalled Francis’s first Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), which has often been described as the blueprint for his papacy.

“Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: ‘We have always done it this way.’ It invites everyone to be bold and creative in the task of evangelization,” wrote Francis, in a passage cited by Martin on Sunday.

“The result of Friday’s referendum on the Eighth Amendment confirms that we are living in a new time and a changed culture for Ireland,” Martin said. “For the Church it is indeed a missionary time, a time for new evangelization.”

Friday’s closely watched referendum - where over 66 percent of voters cast ballots in support of undoing the country’s legal protections for the unborn - has been widely viewed as the latest sign of the Catholic Church’s diminishing influence in the country.

“Like many others who advocated a NO vote in the referendum, I am deeply saddened that we appear to have obliterated the right to life of all unborn children from our constitution and that this country is now on the brink of legislating for a liberal abortion regime,” said Martin.

“I am very concerned about the implications for society of interfering with the fundamental principle that the value of all human life is equal and that all human beings, born and unborn, have inherent worth and dignity,” he said.

Yet despite his strong regret over the vote’s outcome, Martin insisted now is not the time for Irish Catholics to become despondent.

“This is our time for living. This is our time for believing. This is our time for mission and teaching the truth of the Gospel,” he said.

He then urged those in attendance to continue to preach the sanctity of human life, using words from Francis’s recent apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate to punctuate his point.

“Our defense of the innocent unborn … needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demanding of love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development,” said Martin, again citing Francis.

Francis will visit Ireland in August for the World Meeting of Families, where the outcome of the referendum will likely loom large over the trip.

During deaconate ordinations at Saint Patrick’s College Maynooth, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin also drew heavily from Francis, casting a vision of what it means to be “pro-life” that includes opposition to abortion, but extends beyond it.

“The only way in which we can live as true disciples of Jesus is to respond to him in love and to create a climate of love wherever we may be,” said Martin of Dublin on Sunday.

“The Irish Church after the Referendum must renew its commitment to support life,” he continued. “The Church is called to be pro-life however not just in words and statements and manifestos but to be pro-life in deeds, by being a Church which reflects the loving care of Jesus for human life at any stage.”

“That loving care includes support to help those women who face enormous challenges and who grapple with very difficult decisions to choose life,” said Martin.

“Pro-life means being alongside those whose lives are threatened by violence, and being alongside those who cannot live life to the full because of economic deprivation, homelessness and marginalization,” he said. “Pro-life means radically rediscovering in all our lives a special love for the poor that is the mark of the followers of Jesus.”

“Reshaping the Church of tomorrow must be marked by a radical rediscovery of its roots,” said Dublin’s Martin.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

In this week's Encountering the Word reflection for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Jeff Cavins discusses how baptized Christians are children of the one true God, while sharing a little bit about the mystery of the Trinity.

Can a Catholic Marry a Non-Catholic

Father Mike answers one of the most common questions he receives, pointing out that Catholics marrying non-Catholics is not an issue of sin but an issue of wisdom. Since marriage is naturally so difficult, he argues, the wise decision would be to marry someone who is on the same page with you when it comes to your faith.

Jesus Asks Us To Look At The Little Details

Such experiences, however, are neither the most frequent nor the most important. The common life, whether in the family, the parish, the religious community or any other, is made up of small everyday things. This was true of the holy community formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph, which reflected in an exemplary way the beauty of the Trinitarian communion. It was also true of the life that Jesus shared with his disciples and with ordinary people.

Let us not forget that Jesus asked his disciples to pay attention to details.

The little detail that wine was running out at a party.
The little detail that one sheep was missing.
The little detail of noticing the widow who offered her two small coins.
The little detail of having spare oil for the lamps, should the bridegroom delay.
The little detail of asking the disciples how many loaves of bread they had.
The little detail of having a fire burning and a fish cooking as he waited for the disciples at daybreak.

A community that cherishes the little details of love, whose members care for one another and create an open and evangelizing environment, is a place where the risen Lord is present, sanctifying it in accordance with the Father’s plan.

GAUDETE ET EXSULTATE

Pope Francis 

What If I’m Not the Prodigal Son? (Part 1)

Written By Ruth Baker

The parable of the Prodigal Son is arguably one of the most well-known parables, and it is easy to see why. Despite its short length, the story is packed with drama. We can feel all the familiar emotions in it. We understand the rebellion of the younger son and his need to cut loose and go wild, and we know the pain of the father as he watches him go, relinquishing his inheritance so it can be squandered by his wayward son. We can recognise the turning point, the squalor of the pigs and the abandonment of the friends. We’re humbled by the mercy of the father who opens his arms to welcome the prodigal home, a welcome that goes beyond the son’s wildest dreams.

But I’ll bet that despite our familiarity with this story, it is not always the Prodigal Son who we identify with.

Perhaps we feel the most affinity with the shadowy figure of the Elder Son, whose story we sometimes read as a tacked-on post-script, the lesser part bringing up the rear of the more exciting main event. Oh yes, we say, and there was also the Elder Son, the party-pooper, who came in from the fields and didn’t want to dance. A bitter sting to an otherwise beautiful tale of redemption.

Except. I have found myself identifying more and more with the Elder Son, particularly as I have got older. I have gone from hearing the Parable in my teens and thinking “what an idiot” in reference to the Elder Son, to now positively identifying with him and wanting to say to him: “I get it. I completely understand you.” His pain is apparent in his anger. In his own way, he has as much as a return journey to make as the younger son. He just doesn’t know it yet.

There have certainly been several times in my life when I have identified with the Prodigal. Those occasional 5am-moments-of-reckoning when I have realised with a sinking feeling that the narrative of my life is slipping away from where it was called to be. A return journey must be made, an anxious one, not confident of the grace that might be granted, but hopeful all the same. These moments stand out because they are so clearly definable. They are black-and-white, before-and-after, misery-to-forgiveness. They are like signposts through my teens and twenties; here, they say, you turned back, and you were forgiven. They demand gratitude, because gratitude springs so naturally because you know you were forgiven much.

But if I’m honest with myself, most of the time I don’t identify with the Prodigal Son.

Because I can roll out a litany of Things I Didn’t Do in my mind. The temptations that I didn’t give into, because actually, they were quite easy not to. The other sacrifices that I made that really, really hurt but I still wonder at the point of them. The times I did the right thing and life was boring because of it. The times I said to God, I have done everything right, given you everything I could, sweated and toiled for You, and for what?! You still treat me like this?!

I am the Elder Son.

“Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’”

The Elder Son is perhaps the daily life of the committed Christian, the cradle-Catholic, the post-conversion-convert, the daily-grind of the person who never left the Father’s home or returned a long time ago, long enough for the sheer-miracle of the return to have faded away.

Which is why it is harder to recognise that there is absolutely no difference to how the Father treats His Prodigal Son and His Elder Son.The Elder Son cannot see that. Look carefully at what he says to His father. Look at his anger. He is wrapped up in bitterness. He is preoccupied with right and wrong, obedience and disobedience. He says he has “slaved” for his father.

So what do we do if we realise we are the Elder Son?

It is interesting that while the Prodigal Son gets a resolution to his story the Elder Son does not. We do not know whether the Elder Son puts his anger to one side, joins the party, and embraces his brother in a welcome home. The Elder Brother doesn’t get a resolution to his story because he does not make that same turn of repentance that is required of both brothers. The Elder Brother does not think that repentance is required of him. We don’t know what he does next, where his heart turns- in on itself, or outwards toward his father’s love.

Whether we ourselves can leave behind the cages of bitterness and pride and find the warmth of a home we have never left depends entirely on how far we are willing to cooperate with God’s grace. God never gives up on inviting us into greater union with Him.

In Part Two of this article we will address how we can make our own return journey from the place of the Elder Son to recognising the home that is in the Father’s loving heart.

Part Two of this article will be published soon!

Deacon Tom's Thursday Homily for May 24th

Jesus leaves us with no doubt: We are valuable. We all carry within us a God-given dignity. And this dignity is identified and enhanced when we bear his name. Every human being has an intrinsic dignity because every human being is created in God’s image. To carry his image is also a responsibility. We must live up to this dignity and show to others a life worthy of the image we carry within. Others may be “little” due to their age, the newness and immaturity of their Christian life, or even their weakness and struggle.

If we put a stumbling block in their way, we scandalize them or causes them to doubt or become discouraged about living the ideals of faith. A “millstone” suggests that anything would be better for us than this. It often seems challenging or almost impossible to live out the Sermon on the Mount. Implementing it even in small ways often involves creative thinking outside of the usual patterns of thought as well as discernment about what is happening in our world.

In today’s world, the value of something is measured in comparison to other items of the same kind: stocks, food, clothes, even music and films are judged against each other. Yet, there are some things that have absolute value: the value of a soul. Nothing compares! Jesus paints this total non-comparison in terms of cutting off whatever becomes an obstacle. You are so valuable that you must be ready to deny, subdue, silence and even sacrifice your own body, or any of its members, rather than risk losing your soul. Do we value our immortal soul, our vocation to eternal life? If so, do we show this by the self-denial we exert in controlling what makes us, and eventually others through me, stumble? How often do we prefer our “things” to the loved ones who depend on our example of Christ? How radical is our faith?

Jesus is very demanding with those of us who are his followers. But Jesus simply wants to emphasize that we must learn how to give up those things that may hurt us, even though we like them, for they can be the cause of all sin and vice. St. Gregory wrote “we should not covet those things that only meet our material and sinful needs”. Jesus expects us to be radical. In another part of the Gospel, it is written: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”[1].

On the other hand, Jesus' demand is a demand for love and maturity. What will make our deeds meaningful must always be our love: we should know how to offer a drink of water to whomever needs it, but not because of any personal interest but, simply, out of love. We must discover Jesus in those more needy and poor. Jesus only severely denounces and condemns those who do evil and shock us, those who make the little ones relinquish the infinite goodness and grace of God.

The letter from James touches on what Pope Francis has said. Pope Francis talks about an “ambivalence” created by the world of finance and commerce. Never have these two worlds allowed so many people to benefit from so many goods, while at the same time “excessively exploiting common resources, increasing inequality and deteriorating the planet.” He says that during the trips he has taken since becoming Pope he has seen first-hand this “paradox of a globalized economy which could feed, cure, and house all of the inhabitants who populate our common home, but which– as a few worrisome statistics indicate – instead concentrates the same wealth owned by half of the world’s population in the hands of very few people”.

Business leaders must be especially diligent about paying their workers fairly. James’s words “the wages you have kept back by fraud” are an accusation of abuse of power on the part of these wealthy landowners. The workers were owed wages, but the rich and powerful found a way out of paying them without incurring punishment by the legal system. The rich and powerful often have means to subvert the judiciary, and it’s astonishingly easy to exercise unfair power without even recognizing it. Misuse of power can never be excused just because it is a so-called standard practice.

James also condemns those who “have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure”. The question of what constitutes living in luxury and in pleasure is also complex, but it confronts many Christians in one way or another. James’s chief concern in this passage is the well-being of the poor, so the most relevant question may be, “Does the way I live enhance or diminish the lives of poor people? Does what I do with money help lift people out of poverty or does it help keep people impoverished?”

Let us and the Church unite ourselves to the millions of men and women who say ‘no’ to injustice in peaceful ways, doing what is possible to create greater equity.

[1] (Mt 10:39)

Mary, Mother of the Church

On May 21st, the Monday after Pentecost, the Church will celebrate for the first time the memorial of Mary, "Mater Eccelsiae." Text from Pope Francis

Continuing our catechesis on the Church, today I would like to look at Mary as the image and model of the Church. I will do so by taking up an expression of the Second Vatican Council. The Constitution Lumen Gentium states: “As St Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a type of the Church in the order of faith, charity, and the perfect union with Christ” (no. 63).

1. Let us begin with the first aspect, Mary as the model of faith. In what sense does Mary represent a model for the Church’s faith? Let us think about who the Virgin Mary was: a Jewish girl who was waiting with all her heart for the redemption of her people. But in the heart of the young daughter of Israel there was a secret that even she herself did not yet know: in God’s loving plan she was destined to become the Mother of the Redeemer. At the Annunciation, the Messenger of God calls her “full of grace” and reveals this plan to her. Mary answers “yes” and from that moment Mary’s faith receives new light: it is concentrated on Jesus, the Son of God, who from her took flesh and in whom all the promises of salvation history are fulfilled. Mary’s faith is the fulfilment of Israel’s faith, the whole journey, the whole path of that people awaiting redemption is contained in her, and it is in this sense that she is the model of the Church’s faith, which has Christ, the incarnation of God's infinite love, as its centre.

How did Mary live this faith? She lived it out in the simplicity of the thousand daily tasks and worries of every mother, such as providing food, clothing, caring for the house.... It was precisely Our Lady’s normal life which served as the basis for the unique relationship and profound dialogue which unfolded between her and God, between her and her Son. Mary’s “yes,” already perfect from the start, grew until the hour of the Cross. There her motherhood opened to embrace every one of us, our lives, so as to guide us to her Son. Mary lived perpetually immersed in the mystery of God-made-man, as his first and perfect disciple, by contemplating all things in her heart in the light of the Holy Spirit, in order to understand and live out the will of God.

We can ask ourselves a question: do we allow ourselves to be illumined by the faith of Mary, who is our Mother? Or do we think of her as distant, as someone too different from us? In moments of difficulty, of trial, of darkness, do we look to her as a model of trust in God who always and only desires our good? Let's think about this: perhaps it will do us good to rediscover Mary as the model and figure of the Church in this faith that she possessed!

2. We come to the second aspect: Mary as the model of charity. In what way is Mary a living example of love for the Church? Let us think the readiness she showed toward her cousin Elizabeth. In visiting her, the Virgin Mary brought not only material help — she brought this too — but she also brought Jesus, who was already alive in her womb. Bringing Jesus into that house meant bringing joy, the fullness of joy. Elizabeth and Zaccariah were rejoicing at a pregnancy that had seemed impossible at their age, but it was the young Mary who brought them the fullness of joy, the joy which comes from Jesus and from the Holy Spirit, and is expressed by gratuitous charity, by sharing with, helping, and understanding others.

Our Lady also wants to bring the great gift of Jesus to us, to us all; and with him she brings us his love, his peace, and his joy. In this, the Church is like Mary: the Church is not a shop, she is not a humanitarian agency, the Church is not an NGO. The Church is sent to bring Christ and his Gospel to all. She does not bring herself — whether small or great, strong or weak, the Church carries Jesus and should be like Mary when she went to visit Elizabeth. What did Mary take to her? Jesus. The Church brings Jesus: this is the centre of the Church, to carry Jesus! If, as a hypothesis, the Church were not to bring Jesus, she would be a dead Church. The Church must bring Jesus, the love of Jesus, the charity of Jesus.

We have spoken about Mary, about Jesus. What about us? We who are the Church? What kind of love do we bring to others? Is it the love of Jesus that shares, that forgives, that accompanies, or is it a watered-down love, like wine so diluted that it seems like water? Is it a strong love, or a love so weak that it follows the emotions, that it seeks a return, an interested love? Another question: is self-interested love pleasing to Jesus? No, it is not because love should be freely given, like his is. What are the relationships like in our parishes, in our communities? Do we treat each other like brothers and sisters? Or do we judge one another, do we speak evil of one another, do we just tend our own vegetable patch? Or do we care for one another? These are the questions of charity!

3. And briefly, one last aspect: Mary as the model of union with Christ. The life of the Holy Virgin was the life of a woman of her people: Mary prayed, she worked, she went to the synagogue... But every action was carried out in perfect union with Jesus. This union finds its culmination on Calvary: here Mary is united to the Son in the martyrdom of her heart and in the offering of his life to the Father for the salvation of humanity. Our Lady shared in the pain of the Son and accepted with him the will of the Father, in that obedience that bears fruit, that grants the true victory over evil and death.

The reality Mary teaches us is very beautiful: to always be united with Jesus. We can ask ourselves: do we remember Jesus only when something goes wrong and we are in need, or is ours a constant relation, a deep friendship, even when it means following him on the way of the Cross?

Let us ask the Lord to grant us his grace, his strength, so that the model of Mary, Mother of the Church, may be reflected in our lives and in the life of every ecclesial community. So be it! (Audience, 23 October 2013)

Texts from Saint Josemaria

We need to meditate frequently on the fact that the Church is a deep, great mystery, so that we never forget it. We cannot fully understand the Church on this earth. If men, using only their reason, were to analyse it, they would see only a group of people who abide by certain precepts and think in a similar way. But that would not be the Church.

In the Church we Catholics find our faith, our norms of conduct, our prayer, our sense of fraternity. Through it we are united with all our brothers and sisters who have already left this life and are being cleansed in Purgatory—the Church suffering—and with those who already enjoy the beatific vision and love forever the thrice holy God—the Church triumphant. The Church is in our midst and at the same time transcends history. It was born under the mantle of our Lady and continues to praise her on earth and in heaven as its Mother ("The Supernatural Aim of the Church," 28 May 1972).

If we become identified with Mary and imitate her virtues, we will be able to bring Christ to life, through grace, in the souls of many who will in turn become identified with him through the action of the Holy Spirit. If we imitate Mary, we will share in some way in her spiritual motherhood. And all this silently, like Our Lady; without being noticed, almost without words, through the true and genuine witness of our lives as Christians, and the generosity of ceaselessly repeating her fiat, which we renew as an intimate link between ourselves and God.

I want to tell you something that was said to me by a good Christian, who has a great love for Our Lady, though he is no expert in theology. I am going to tell it to you just as he said it, because in its simplicity it is the natural reaction of an untutored mind.

‘I needed to talk about this to someone,’ he said. ‘I get terribly upset at some of the things that are going on nowadays. In the preparatory meetings for the present Council and during the Council itself proposals were made to include the “theme of the Blessed Virgin.” Just like that, “the theme”! Is that the proper way for children to speak of their mother? Is that the way our fathers professed their faith? Since when has love for the Blessed Virgin become a “theme” to be discussed as to whether or not it is appropriate?

‘There is nothing more at odds with love than stinginess. I am not afraid of speaking out clearly,’ he continued, ‘in fact, if I didn’t, I would feel I was insulting our Holy Mother. It has been discussed whether or not it was right to call Mary the Mother of the Church. It hurts me to have to spell this out, but surely, since she is the Mother of God and the Mother of all Christians, she must be the Mother of the Church, which gathers together all those who have been baptised and reborn in Christ, the Son of Mary.

‘I can’t understand,’ he went on, ‘where the pettiness comes from which hesitates at giving that title of praise to Our Lady. How different the faith of the Church is! The “theme” of the Blessed Virgin! Do children discuss the “theme” of love for their mother? They love her, and that’s all there is to it. If they are good children, they will love her a lot. Only strangers approaching the matter with clinical coldness, as if it were a case to be studied, could speak about “themes” or “drafts.”’ That was how that simple and devout soul put it. A well-intentioned and pious outpouring, although not altogether fair.

Let us now return to our consideration of this mystery of the divine Motherhood of Mary, praying quietly and affirming from the bottom of our hearts, ‘Virgin Mother of God, He whom the whole world cannot contain, enclosed himself in your womb to take the flesh of man.’

See what the liturgy proposes for our prayer today: ‘Blessed be the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father.’ An exclamation both old and new, human and divine. We are telling Our Lord, as they do in some places when they want to praise someone, ‘Blessed be the mother who brought you into the world!’ (Friends of God, nos. 281-283).

Teach Your Children These Attributes Of God

If artists who make statues and paint portraits of kings are held in high esteem, will not God bless ten thousand times more those who reveal and beautify His royal image?

For man is the image of God. When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, and to be forgiving – all attributes of God; to be generous, to love their neighbor, to regard this present age as nothing, we instill virtue in their souls, and reveal the image of God within them.

This, then, is our task: to educate both ourselves and our children in godliness; otherwise what answer will we have before Christ’s judgment seat?

St. John Chyrsostom 

John Chrysostom (349-407): Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. The epithet Χρυσόστομος (Chrysostomos, anglicized as Chrysostom) means "golden-mouthed" in Greek and denotes his celebrated eloquence. Chrysostom was among the most prolific authors in the early Christian Church, exceeded only by Augustine of Hippo in the quantity of his surviving writings.

In the Roman Catholic Church he is recognized as a Doctor of the Church and commemorated on 13 September in the current General Roman Calendar and on 27 January in the older calendar

Pope’s Message for World Mission Sunday 2018

“Together with young people, let us bring the Gospel to all”

Pope Francis on May 19, 2018, released his message for World Mission Sunday 2018, to be held October 21, 2018.  The theme: “Together with young people, let us bring the Gospel to all”.

“What leads me to speak to everyone through this conversation with you is the certainty that the Christian faith remains ever young when it is open to the mission that Christ entrusts to us,” the Pope said in directing his message to young people. “The Synod to be held in Rome this coming October, the month of the missions, offers us an opportunity to understand more fully, in the light of faith, what the Lord Jesus wants to say to you young people, and, through you, to all Christian communities.”

In his message, the Holy Father stressed that each person has a mission in life and the Church proclaims Christ’s message and shares with young people “the way and truth which give meaning to our life on this earth.”

“This transmission of the faith, the heart of the Church’s mission, comes about by the infectiousness of love, where joy and enthusiasm become the expression of a newfound meaning and fulfillment in life,” the Pope continued.  “The Pontifical Mission Societies were born of young hearts as a means of supporting the preaching of the Gospel to every nation and thus contributing to the human and cultural growth of all those who thirst for knowledge of the truth.”

World Mission Sunday raises funds for more than 1,000 mission projects around the world.  It was established by Pope Pius XI in 1926 as a day of prayer for missions.

Message of the Holy Father

Together with young people, let us bring the Gospel to all

Dear young people, I would like to reflect with you on the mission that we have received from Christ. In speaking to you, I also address all Christians who live out in the Church the adventure of their life as children of God. What leads me to speak to everyone through this conversation with you is the certainty that the Christian faith remains ever young when it is open to the mission that Christ entrusts to us. “Mission revitalizes faith” (Redemptoris Missio, 2), in the words of Saint John Paul II, a Pope who showed such great love and concern for young people.

The Synod to be held in Rome this coming October, the month of the missions, offers us an opportunity to understand more fully, in the light of faith, what the Lord Jesus wants to say to you young people, and, through you, to all Christian communities.

Life is a mission

Every man and woman is a mission; that is the reason for our life on this earth. To be attracted and to be sent are two movements that our hearts, especially when we are young, feel as interior forces of love; they hold out promise for our future and they give direction to our lives. More than anyone else, young people feel the power of life breaking in upon us and attracting us. To live out joyfully our responsibility for the world is a great challenge. I am well aware of lights and shadows of youth; when I think back to my youth and my family, I remember the strength of my hope for a better future. The fact that we are not in this world by our own choice makes us sense that there is an initiative that precedes us and makes us exist. Each one of us is called to reflect on this fact: “I am a mission on this Earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world” (Evangelii Gaudium, 273).

We proclaim Jesus Christ

The Church, by proclaiming what she freely received (cf. Mt 10:8; Acts 3:6), can share with you young people the way and truth which give meaning to our life on this earth. Jesus Christ, Who died and rose for us, appeals to our freedom and challenges us to seek, discover and proclaim this message of truth and fulfillment. Dear young people, do not be afraid of Christ and His Church! For there we find the treasure that fills life with joy. I can tell you this from my own experience: thanks to faith, I found the sure foundation of my dreams and the strength to realize them. I have seen great suffering and poverty mar the faces of so many of our brothers and sisters. And yet, for those who stand by Jesus, evil is an incentive to ever greater love. Many men and women and many young people have generously sacrificed themselves, even at times to martyrdom, out of love for the Gospel and service to their brothers and sisters. From the cross of Jesus, we learn the divine logic of self-sacrifice (cf. 1 Cor 1:17-25) as a proclamation of the Gospel for the life of the world (cf. Jn 3:16). To be set afire by the love of Christ is to be consumed by that fire, to grow in understanding by its light and to be warmed by its love (cf. 2 Cor 5:14). At the school of the saints, who open us to the vast horizons of God, I invite you never to stop wondering: “What would Christ do if He were in my place?”

Transmitting the faith to the ends of the earth

You too, young friends, by your baptism have become living members of the Church; together we have received the mission to bring the Gospel to everyone. You are at the threshold of life. To grow in the grace of the faith bestowed on us by the Church’s sacraments plunges us into that great stream of witnesses who, generation after generation, enable the wisdom and experience of older persons to become testimony and encouragement for those looking to the future. And the freshness and enthusiasm of the young make them a source of support and hope for those nearing the end of their journey. In this blend of different stages in life, the mission of the Church bridges the generations; our faith in God and our love of neighbor are a source of profound unity.

This transmission of the faith, the heart of the Church’s mission, comes about by the infectiousness of love, where joy and enthusiasm become the expression of a newfound meaning and fulfillment in life. The spread of the faith “by attraction” calls for hearts that are open and expanded by love. It is not possible to place limits on love, for love is strong as death (cf. Song 8:6). And that expansion generates encounter, witness, proclamation; it generates sharing in charity with all those far from the faith, indifferent to it and perhaps even hostile and opposed to it. Human, cultural and religious settings still foreign to the Gospel of Jesus and to the sacramental presence of the Church represent the extreme peripheries, the “ends of the earth”, to which, ever since the first Easter, Jesus’ missionary disciples have been sent, with the certainty that their Lord is always with them (cf. Mt 28:20; Acts 1:8). This is what we call the missio ad gentes. The most desolate periphery of all is where mankind, in need of Christ, remains indifferent to the faith or shows hatred for the fullness of life in God. All material and spiritual poverty, every form of discrimination against our brothers and sisters, is always a consequence of the rejection of God and His love.

The ends of the earth, dear young people, nowadays are quite relative and always easily “navigable”. The digital world – the social networks that are so pervasive and readily available – dissolves borders, eliminates distances and reduces differences. Everything appears within reach, so close and immediate. And yet lacking the sincere gift of our lives, we could well have countless contacts but never share in a true communion of life. To share in the mission to the ends of the earth demands the gift of oneself in the vocation that God, Who has placed us on this earth, chooses to give us (cf. Lk 9:23-25). I dare say that, for a young man or woman who wants to follow Christ, what is most essential is to seek, to discover and to persevere in his or her vocation.

Bearing witness to love

I am grateful to all those ecclesial groups that make it possible for you to have a personal encounter with Christ living in His Church: parishes, associations, movements, religious communities, and the varied expressions of missionary service. How many young people find in missionary volunteer work a way of serving the “least” of our brothers and sisters (cf. Mt 25:40), promoting human dignity and witnessing to the joy of love and of being Christians! These ecclesial experiences educate and train young people not only for professional success but also for developing and fostering their God-given gifts in order better to serve others. These praiseworthy forms of temporary missionary service are a fruitful beginning and, through vocational discernment, they can help you to decide to make a complete gift of yourselves as missionaries.

The Pontifical Mission Societies were born of young hearts as a means of supporting the preaching of the Gospel to every nation and thus contributing to the human and cultural growth of all those who thirst for knowledge of the truth. The prayers and the material aid generously given and distributed through the Pontifical Mission Societies enable the Holy See to ensure that those who are helped in their personal needs can in turn bear witness to the Gospel in the circumstances of their daily lives. No one is so poor as to be unable to give what they have, but first and foremost what they are. Let me repeat the words of encouragement that I addressed to the young people of Chile: “Never think that you have nothing to offer, or that nobody needs you. Many people need you. Think about it! Each of you, think in your heart: many people need me” (Meeting with Young People, Maipu Shrine, 17 January 2018).

Dear young people, this coming October, the month of the missions, we will hold the Synod devoted to you. It will prove to be one more occasion to help us become missionary disciples, ever more passionately devoted to Jesus and His mission, to the ends of the earth. I ask Mary, Queen of the Apostles, Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and Blessed Paolo Manna to intercede for all of us and to accompany us always.

Holy Father’s Homily on Pentecost May 20th 2018

Following is the Homily Pope Francis delivered May 20, 2018, at Mass on Pentecost in St. Peter’s Basilica.

‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.’

In the first reading of today’s Liturgy, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is compared to “the rush of a violent wind” (Acts2:2). What does this image tell us? It makes us think of a powerful force that is not an end in itself, but effects change. Wind, in fact, brings change: warmth when it is cold, cool when it is hot, rain when the land is parched… this is why it brings change. The Holy Spirit, on a very different level, does the same. He is the divine force that changes the world. The Sequence reminded us of this: the Spirit is “in toil, comfort sweet; solace in the midst of woe”. And so we beseech him: “Heal our wounds, our strength renew; on our dryness pour your dew; wash the stains of guilt away”. The Spirit enters into situations and transforms them. He changes hearts and he changes situations.

The Holy Spirit changes hearts. Jesus had told his disciples: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). That is exactly what happened. Those disciples, at first fearful, huddled behind closed doors even after the Master’s resurrection, are transformed by the Spirit and, as Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “they bear witness to him” (cf. Jn 15:27). No longer hesitant, they are courageous and starting from Jerusalem, they go forth to the ends of the earth. Timid while Jesus was still among them, they are bold when he is gone, because the Spirit changed their hearts.

The Spirit frees hearts chained by fear. He overcomes all resistance. To those content with half measures, he inspires whole-hearted generosity. He opens hearts that are closed. He impels the comfortable to go out and serve. He drives the self-satisfied to set out in new directions. He makes the lukewarm thrill to new dreams. That is what it means to change hearts. Plenty of people promise change, new beginnings, prodigious renewals, but experience teaches us that no earthly attempt to change reality can ever completely satisfy the human heart. Yet the change that the Spirit brings is different. It does not revolutionize life around us but changes our hearts. It does not free us from the weight of our problems but liberates us within so that we can face them. It does not give us everything at once but makes us press on confidently, never growing weary of life. The Spirit keeps our hearts young – a renewed youth. Youth, for all our attempts to prolong it, sooner or later fades away; the Spirit, instead, prevents the only kind of aging that is unhealthy: namely, growing old within. How does he do this? By renewing our hearts, by pardoning sinners. Here is the great change: from guilty, he makes us righteous and thus changes everything. From slaves of sin, we become free, from servants we become beloved children, from worthless worthy, from disillusioned filled with hope. By the working of the Holy Spirit, joy is reborn and peace blossoms in our hearts.

Today, then, let us learn what to do when we are in need of real change. And who among us does not need a change? Particularly when we are downcast, wearied by life’s burdens, oppressed by our own weakness, at those times when it is hard to keep going and loving seems impossible. In those moments, we need a powerful “jolt”: the Holy Spirit, the power of God. In the Creed, we profess that he is the “giver of life”. How good it would be for us each day to feel this jolt of life! To say when we wake up each morning: “Come, Holy Spirit, come into my heart, come into my day”.

The Spirit does not only change hearts; he changes situations. Like the wind that blows everywhere, he penetrates to the most unimaginable situations. In the Acts of the Apostles – a book we need to pick up and read, whose main character is the Holy Spirit – we are caught up in an amazing series of events. When the disciples least expect it, the Holy Spirit sends them out to the pagans. He opens up new paths, as in the episode of the deacon Philip. The Spirit drives Philip to a desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza… (How heartrending that name sounds to us today! May the Spirit change hearts and situations and bring peace to the Holy Land!) Along the way, Philip preaches to an Ethiopian court official and baptizes him. Then the Spirit brings him to Azotus, and then on to Caesarea, in constantly new situations, to spread the newness of God. Then too, there is Paul, “compelled by the Spirit” (Acts20:22), who travels far and wide, bringing the Gospel to peoples he had never seen. Where the Spirit is, something is always happening; where he blows, things are never calm.

When, in the life of our communities, we experience a certain “listlessness”, when we prefer peace and quiet to the newness of God, it is a bad sign. It means that we are trying to find shelter from the wind of the Spirit. When we live for self-preservation and keep close to home, it is not a good sign. The Spirit blows, but we lower our sails. And yet, how often have we seen him work wonders! Frequently, even in the bleakest of times, the Spirit has raised up the most outstanding holiness! Because he is the soul of the Church, who constantly enlivens her with renewed hope, fills her with joy, makes her fruitful, and causes new life to blossom. In a family, when a new baby is born, it upsets our schedules, it makes us lose sleep, but it also brings us a joy that renews our lives, driving us on, expanding us in love. So it is with the Spirit: he brings a “taste of childhood” to the Church. Time and time again he gives new birth. He revives our first love. The Spirit reminds the Church that, for all her centuries of history, she is always the youthful bride with whom the Lord is madly in love. Let us never tire of welcoming the Spirit into our lives, of invoking him before everything we do: “Come, Holy Spirit!”

He will bring his power of change, a unique power that is, so to say, both centripetal and centrifugal. It is centripetal, that is, it seeks the center because it works deep within our hearts. It brings unity amid division, peace amid affliction, strength amid temptations. Paul reminds us of this in the second reading, when he writes that the fruits of the Spirit are joy, peace, faithfulness, and self-control (cf. Gal 5:22). The Spirit grants intimacy with God, the inner strength to keep going. Yet, at the same time, he is a centrifugal force, that is, one pushing outward. The one who centers us is also the one who drives us to the peripheries, to every human periphery. The one who reveals God also opens our hearts to our brothers and sisters. He sends us, he makes us witnesses, and so he pours out on us – again in the words of Paul – love, kindness, generosity, and gentleness. Only in the Consoler Spirit do we speak words of life and truly encourage others. Those who live by the Spirit live in this constant spiritual tension: they find themselves pulled both towards God and towards the world.

Let us ask him to make us live in exactly that way. Holy Spirit, violent wind of God, blow upon us, blow into our hearts and make us breathe forth the tenderness of the Father! Blow upon the Church and impel her to the ends of the earth, so that, brought by you, she may bring nothing other than you. Blow upon our world the soothing warmth of peace and the refreshing cool of hope. Come Holy Sp

Pentecost: the Difference that the Spirit Makes

As a teen, I thought the clergy were supposed to do everything.   We laity were just called to pray, pay, and obey.  Oh yes, and keep the commandments, of course.  The original 10 seemed overwhelming enough.  Then I discovered the Sermon on the Mount and nearly passed out.

Perhaps this is why many inactive Catholics are so resentful of their upbringing in the Church.   For them, religion means frustration, failure, and guilt.

Somehow they, and I, missed the good news about Pentecost.  OK, we Catholics celebrate the feast every year and mention it in Confirmation class, but lots of us evidently didn’t “get it.”

Because if we “got it,” we’d be different . . . bold instead of timid, energetic instead of anemic, fascinated instead of bored.   Compare the apostles before and after Pentecost and you’ll see the difference the Spirit makes.

The gospel is Good News not just because we’re going to heaven, but because we’ve been empowered to become new people, here and now.  Vatican II insisted that each of us is called to the heights of holiness (Lumen Gentium, chapter V).  Not by will-power, mind you.  But by Holy Spirit power. Holiness consists in faith, hope, and especially divine love.  These are “virtues,” literally “powers,” given by the Spirit.  To top it off, the Spirit gives us seven further gifts which perfect faith, hope, and love, making it possible for us to live a supernatural, charismatic life.  Some think this is only for the chosen few, “the mystics.”  Thomas Aquinas taught to the contrary that the gifts of Isaiah 11:1-3 (wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, piety, fortitude, and fear of the Lord) are standard equipment given in baptism, that all are called to be “mystics.”

Vatican II also taught that every Christian has a vocation to serve.  We need power for this too.  And so the Spirit distributes other gifts, called “charisms.”  These, teaches St. Thomas, are not so much for our own sanctification as for service to others.  There is no exhaustive list of charisms, though St. Paul mentions a few (I Corinthians 12:7-10, Romans 12:6-8) ranging from tongues to Christian marriage (1 Corinthians7: 7).  Charisms are not doled out by the pastors; but are given directly by the Spirit through baptism and confirmation, even sometimes outside of the sacraments (Acts 10:44-48).

Do I sound Pentecostal?  That’s because I belong to the largest Pentecostal Church in the world.  Correcting the mistaken notion that the charisms were just for the apostolic church, Vatican II had this to say: “Allotting His gifts ‘to everyone according as he will’ (1 Cor. 12:11), He [the Holy Spirit] distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. . . . These charismatic gifts, whether they be the most outstanding or the more simple and widely diffused, are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation, for they are exceedingly suitable and useful for the needs of the Church” (LG12).

Powerful gifts, freely given to all.  Sounds like a recipe for chaos.  But the Lord also imparted to the apostles and their successors a unifying charism of headship.  The role of the ordained is not to do everything themselves.  Rather, they are to discern, shepherd, and coordinate the charisms of the laity so that they mature and work together for the greater glory of God (LG 30).

So what if you, like me, did not quite “get it” when you were confirmed?   I’ve got good news for you.  You actually did get the Spirit and his gifts.   Have you ever received a new credit card with a sticker saying “Must call to activate before using?”  The Spirit and his gifts are the same way.  You have to call in and activate them.   Do it today and every day, and especially every time you attend Mass.  Because every sacramental celebration is a New Pentecost where the Spirit and his gifts are poured out anew (CCC 739, 1106).

That’s why the Christian Life is an adventure.  There will always be new surprises of the Spirit!

Marcellino D’Ambrosio (aka “Dr. Italy”) writes from Texas.  For info on his resources or his Holy Land pilgrimages, connect with him via dritaly.com or on social media @dr.italy.

This is offered as a reflection upon the Scripture readings for the feast of Pentecost cycles A, B&C (Acts 2:1-11; Psa;, 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-14 and John 20:19-23).  It is reproduced here with the permission of the author.

Thought for the Day Thursday May 17th

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you.

Thomas Aquinas