Legacies

 May 23, 2012

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

By Colleen O'Sullivan

At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus:  “Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the Church of God that he acquired with his own Blood… So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day, I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears.  And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.” …  When he had finished speaking he knelt down and prayed with them all.  (Acts 20:28, 31-32, 36)

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:  “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one… I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One.  They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.  Consecrate them in the truth.  Your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.  And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”  (John 17:11b, 15-19)

Piety

O Lord, sustain us in our faith.  Though our differences be many, unite us in your one Body.  Protect us from evil in the world.  When you send us out in your name, consecrate us in truth, we pray.

Study

As I was looking over today’s Scripture readings, I was reminded of the title of a book I read years ago, “Praying Our Goodbyes,” by Joyce Rupp.   That’s exactly what’s going on in both readings.  In the passage from the Book of Acts, Paul is bidding farewell to his friends from Ephesus and praying for them, believing they will never see each other again.  In the Gospel reading, Jesus is taking leave of his cherished disciples and prays for them before going to the garden where he will be betrayed.

What a wonderful legacy.  Their friends can always remember being loved and prayed for at the end.

In the first reading, Paul offers several parting admonitions to the elders from the Ephesian church.  Always guard the flock carefully, he says.  He tells them that when he is gone, threats will come both from non-believers outside the church as well as from others within its ranks.  As Paul prepares to set sail, his parting gift is a prayer that God’s word will build up the church and its leaders in Ephesus.

In the second reading, Jesus is coming to the end of what are known in John’s Gospel as his farewell discourses.  He’s given his beloved disciples many assurances throughout the evening after their last meal together:  he’s going to prepare a place for them with his Father and he himself will be the Way to this place; when he is gone, he promises to send them the Spirit of Truth, who will empower them and guide them in continuing his mission and ministry.  It is time to go, but before they leave the Upper Room, Jesus prays for his friends.  He asks his Father to keep them faithful and to keep them united in their faith.  The Lord prays that God will protect them from the Evil One.   He asks his Father to consecrate the disciples, to set them apart to live in God’s truth.  We are never told, but I wonder if, in the days ahead, the disciples ever remember this prayer and take comfort in realizing how much Jesus cared about them.  Jesus surely knows something of the suffering that lies ahead, yet his final action after the supper is to pray for his closest friends.

Action

About a year ago, I decided it was time to have a will, medical and financial powers of attorney, and an advance medical directive drawn up.  As long as I was doing all that, I decided to go one step further and put my funeral wishes in writing, because I am the only Catholic in my family and I would like a Catholic funeral and burial.  At first, planning my own funeral seemed rather morbid, but as I was working on it, I came to see it in a different light.  It’s not that different from Paul’s and Jesus’ final prayers for their friends; your funeral can be part of your legacy to your family and friends.  As I selected songs and Scripture readings, I realized your funeral is not so much about your life as it is a statement of your faith that you leave behind for your family and friends. 

When you have time today, give thanks for Jesus’ prayers for his first disciples, because those are his prayers for us as well.  Then, reflecting on the legacies we leave our loved ones, you might want to consider your beliefs and what statement you would like your funeral to make about your faith.

God, Our Salvation, Carries Us

 May 22, 2012

Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

By Beth DeCristofaro

(Paul said to them) I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me… Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace   (Acts 20:19, 24)

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come.  Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.  Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. (John 17:1-3)

Piety

Blessed be the Lord day by day,

God, our salvation, who carries us.

Our God is a God who saves;

Escape from death is the LORD God’s.

            Psalm 68:20-21

Study

Paul’s life, before his conversion, was as a rising star in the leadership of the Jewish people.  And, as a Roman citizen, he was doubly of the power-elite in the community and the temple.  He was a force to be reckoned with, a man who knew his place within the Chosen People of God.

At least, in human terms he knew.  But his knowledge was so limited.

Then God truly entered his life.  After he personally met God and recognized Jesus as man, God and Saviour, his life was no longer his own and yet at the same time he – Paul – was more alive than before.  After his conversion he lived life with God as the center of his life not power. 

Rather than yielding decisions and holding office among the rich and famous, Paul now reckoned his accomplishments as God centered humility:  (Paul) did not at all shrink from telling…what was for your benefit;  (Paul) bore witness…to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus; (He knew) that imprisonment and hardships await (him).  Paul went, compelled by the Spirit and absolutely certain that God was his salvation, that God carried him.

Action

St. Paul is our Cursillo Patron.  What of Paul’s tasks might you take on to offer to others the knowledge of Jesus Christ?  How will people with whom you interact know that you believe that God, our Salvation, Carries Us?

Be My Witnesses

May 20, 2012

Ascension 2012 B

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

When they had gathered together they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"  He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.   But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."  Acts 1:6-8

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.   Ephesians 1:18-21

"Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.   Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned."  Mark 16:15

Piety

The Ascension of Christ is the final hope of every Christian for themselves.  Christ returned to the Father and took his place in God.  Heaven for us is the person of Christ.  We will become what we see as we find our place in heaven in Christ.  Here on earth our piety is expressed in all the ways we have put on the mind and the heart of Christ.  We grow into Christ even as Christ in our Eucharistic celebrations takes us into himself.  In our reception of Christ in Eucharist we grow in his life.  There is more Christ in us because of each Eucharist as he takes us into himself even as we take him into who we are.  Our piety has its fullest expression in Christ.  Christ is our foothold in heaven even as we are his foothold on earth.  We are his hands and his feet when we live in the love we have for one another.  We have been created in the image and likeness of Christ.  We live the fullness of that image in our love for one another.

Study

Each time we focus a word of Christ and allow it to take root in our heart, our lives become conformed to Christ and the Christ way of doing things.   We give Christ to another when we are willing to be ourselves in Christ.  What we do in his name becomes who we are in his being the deepest meaning of our lives.  We study Christ not just to become more like Christ but to be real Christs  in all that we are.  My favorite definition of a saint is a transparency of Christ.

Action

Mark, 12:15-20 offers us the challenge of discipleship.  “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” We preach by our lives and our lives need to be signs of the Christ we received in our baptisms.  We have the best action we can do in the good example of our lives.  Our working with the sick brings recovery for those we touch in the name of Christ.  We speak the language of God by our love.  We proclaim the good news that is the fact that God loves us.  We are the continuity of the love of Christ as we pass on what he gave us.  The Ascension is for us the signal for doing the work of Christ.  He went before us to prepare a place for us.  We preach how much God love us in all the ways we make Christ real in what we say and do.  The Ascension of Christ is the beginning of everlasting life for all believers.  We are the voice of the Ascension by the holiness of our lives.  We must do whatever we do in the name of Christ.

The Promise of the Spirit of Truth

May 16, 2012

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

By Colleen O'Sullivan

Jesus said to his disciples:  “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.  He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.  He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.  Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”  (John 16:12-15)

Piety

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.   Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

Study

As I was pondering today’s reading from John’s Gospel, I thought about one aspect of what I do at work.  One of my responsibilities at work is orientation of new employees.  We’re a small office and we don’t have a great deal of turnover, but over the years I’ve done this at least a dozen times.  I’ve learned to put all the information I’m imparting in writing, because inevitably there comes a moment on that first day when I see that I’ve crossed the fine line between being helpful and being the bearer of too much information.  At that point it’s best to back off, assure the new person that I’m available for any questions, and remind them they’ve got their orientation booklet for reference.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus is talking to his beloved circle of friends after their final meal together.  In a sense, he’s trying to orient them to carry on his work when he is gone.  How he loves them!  He knows these are their final hours together, and he has already been talking for quite a while, trying to prepare them in every way possible for his impending death and for their lives as missionaries and ambassadors for Christ when he is no longer with them.   He has so much he wants to say.  He has washed their feet and reminded them to be servants to one another (John 13).  He has assured them that he is going to prepare a place in heaven for them and that he is the Way to that place.  He has told them that when he is gone from their midst, his Father will send the Spirit of Truth, who will help them remember all that Jesus has taught them. (John 14)  He has recounted the story of the vine and the branches as a reminder that if they are rooted in God, God will always abide in them.  He warns them that the world may very well despise them just as it despises Jesus.

As Jesus looks around the room at his closest disciples, he realizes that they are tired, confused and apprehensive.  They haven’t totally understood what he’s about over the three years they’ve journeyed together.  This is his last chance to be with them before his suffering and death and, although he’d like to tell them everything, but he can see they are already on information overload.  They’re beyond being able to process anything more.

So, the Lord tells his friends not to worry; it’s not important that they understand everything that very moment.  They will not be left alone.  The Spirit of truth will come.  And when the Spirit comes, they will have a guide who will glorify Jesus.  Just as the Father has imparted to his Son everything that is his, so the Spirit will share with the disciples all that comes from Jesus, the Christ.  The Word is the same whether the disciples hear it from the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit.  What seems so obscure in that discussion around the table will all be made clear, Jesus promises.

Action

Look at the disciples in today’s Gospel reading – lacking in understanding of the nature of God’s kingdom, fearful of unfolding events, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.  Look at those same followers after Pentecost.  This was no small promise that Jesus made after the Last Supper.  The Spirit of Truth radically transforms their lives.  They are empowered to go out, preach the Word and form the new Church. 

What in your life needs renewal or transformation?  Lift your needs in prayer and believe that the same Holy Spirit who so changed the lives of Jesus’ first followers can change your life as well.