Be Built into a Spiritual House

Fifth Sunday of Easter2014 A

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”  Acts 6:3-4

Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.”  John 14:12

Piety

Piety is our road to the Father through Christ.  He is our way, truth and life.  Christ tells us that when we know him, we know the Father.  Christ says it neatly.  As the Father has loved me, I have loved you.  He invites us to love one another just as we have been loved by him.  We are not clones of Christ.  In our uniqueness in the plan of the Father we have his life.  We are part of the plan of God the Father for our world.  We are in the words of Peter 2:4-9 a chosen race, a real priesthood, a people set apart to offer real sacrifices in the name of Christ that are accepted through our belonging to Christ.

Study

There are many rooms in our Father’s house.  There is one for each of us.  The design on our room flows out of the life we live, how we trust in Christ and how we put into practice what Christ has taught us by his life.  There are even greater things waiting for us if we live the fullness of the Christ we have met through the scriptures and the prayer of our lives.  He has sent into our lives wonderful friends so that we can learn from each other.  Christ in his humanness is safe in heaven He lives on in his humanness in the Sacramental life of the Church.  It is not just that we are the Mystical Body of Christ.  We live his life in the Sacramental life of the Church.  We are his life by the goodness of our lives and our love for one another.  Our study of Christ gives us the plan that we need to put into practice by our actions.

Action

We are called to do the works of Christ and even greater works because we can reach the world we are part of by our actions.  The computer age gives us greater outreach than Christ ever had in his human age where word of mouth was how he communicated.  Now we can make use of his spirit and touch the hearts of people we will never see and who will never see us.  Even as Christ made the Father present by his good works we are to make Christ present by our good works.  We are called to be real Christs for one another.  We are challenged to make Christ real in all that we are by being all of ourselves in his name.

Be an Instrument

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.  For so the Lord has commanded us, I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.”  Acts 13:46-47

“If you know me, then you will also know my Father.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.”  John 14:7

Piety

It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.  Isaiah 49:6

Study

One of Vito Corleone’s most famous lines in “The Godfather” movie was “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”  As we know, the real meaning was neither altruistic nor generous.  The real meaning was “Do as I say or I'll kill you.”  The church-going thugs in these movies betrayed the true faith and backed up their hatred and greed with murder.  

Jesus turns the tables on this.  He makes us an offer that we really can’t refuse.  “Do as I say or I will love you anyway.”  And he follows up those words with his action.  Yet, the refusal of His followers to believe frustrates God’s plan for his chosen people.  That does not stop Jesus nor his followers from continuing to spread the Word.  When it falls on deaf ears in Israel, they take the offer beyond the “chosen” people.”  Israel may have been first, but it was by no means last.  In fact, the Hebrew Bible always spoke to the fact that the Word would bring justice to ALL nations.

Israel was the first step in the journey but not the last.

As we turn to the Last Supper Discourses, we also learn that Jesus is the first step of our faith but not the last.  He asks for us to follow him only so he can lead us to an everlasting life filled with piety, study and action.    

Action

How are you frustrating God’s plan?  What other promises are you following today?  Popular culture throws many such detours in our direction. 

There is an interview with former Microsoft CEO in today’s Wall Street Journal.  Steve Ballmer gave a commencement address last night (Friday May 16) to the graduates of the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.  He told the reporter that his overall theme was “And then when it’s all done the two things that will matter in terms of success: were you lucky, and were you having fun every day.” 

Not a breath about being good, kind and generous.  Not a breath about helping others along the way.  Life is more than getting your golf handicap under 10.  Life is more than learning French and buying the next product that emanates out of Redmond or Cupertino or Detroit.

Stepping down from my self-appointed soapbox to enjoy the weekend starting with a cup of Fair Trade coffee with the hope that the farmer who grew the beans that ended up in my moka pot has a little better life than the food conglomerates which try to put Folgers in my pot or convince me that their coffee is good for their profits until the last drop.

What kind of music will your instrument play today?  The self-indulgent music of Hollywood or Wall Street or the salvation music of Isaiah and the Acts of the Apostles?

Have Faith Also in Me

Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter

By Melanie Rigney

We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our fathers he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.” (Acts 13:32:33)

You are my Son; this day I have begotten you. (Psalms 2:7)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” … Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:1, 5-6)

Piety

Lord, be patient with me as I struggle to follow Your Son.

Study

The linkage still isn’t there for the disciples as they sit down to the Last Supper, despite the fulfillments to date of the Old Testament prophecies, of Jesus’s confirmation he is the Messiah. Now, the greatest test of all is coming.

And so he tries again. You have faith in God, so have faith in me, he advises them. They still don’t get it. Finally, after Thomas in all his literalness asks Jesus to spell it out plain, Jesus does:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

It’s his boldest, clearest statement to date as to just who he is. And still, they don’t get it. Philip and Judas have more questions in John 14 beyond today’s reading, just as we still have questions two thousand years later, even with the advantage of knowing the glory of Jesus’s resurrection and what it means to each and every one of us who follows him.

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Could he be any more direct? “Believe in me.” “Follow me.” And, “Through me, live.”

Action

Where is Christ leading you today? Stop asking questions and follow.

Blessed Are You if You Do It

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.  If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.  John 13:16-17

Piety

Amen, Amen I say to you.  In our piety, let us open our ears to hear the words of Jesus spoken to us.  In our study, let those words resonate and echo in our minds, on our lips and in our hearts so that they are translated for us into apostolic action. Amen.

Study

Right there…in one phrase of the Bible…directly from the mouth of Jesus is the entire Cursillo method.

If you understand the washing of the feet, you will understand that no messenger is greater than the one who sent him.  The notes to the New American Bible explain that this is from the Greek “apostolos.” This is the only time that word is used in the Gospel of John and it must be there for an emphatic reason.   

“No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master.” (Matthew 10:24)  The disciples are not greater than Jesus.  Jesus is not greater than the Father.  Jesus kneels in the foot washing, he lowers himself again to the below the rank of humanity from his divinity.  This humble act is what we are called to emulate.  This humble act reveals how far the Father and the Son will stoop to show us that we are loved by them.

Often in studying a certain passage, I find that it is repeated in one form or another in two other Gospels.  This line from John 13:20 is echoed in all four Gospels.  Like John used apostolos only once for emphasis, the other way to flag something is by repeating it often.  If this was so important as to be repeated from John 13:20 to Matthew 10:40 to Mark 9:37 and finally to Luke 9:48, it must be REALLY REALLY VERY VERY integral to the core message Jesus taught.

Action

Blessed are you if you humble yourself like the Lord and wash the feet of those whom you are sent to serve. Whose feet are you called to wash?  

“As the Father Loves Me...”

Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

By Colleen O’Sullivan

Jesus said to his disciples:  “As the Father loves me, so I also love you…  This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”     (John 15:9a, 12-13)

Piety

Love consists in sharing

what one has

and what one is

with those one loves.

Love ought to show itself in deeds

more than in words.

(St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Study

I wonder what the disciples are thinking and feeling as they sit with Jesus after their last meal together.  They are uneasy.  Jesus isn’t acting like himself.  He seems pensive and sad.  He gets up from the dinner table and washes their dusty, cracked feet.  Then he says they need to do that for one another.  He talks about one of them betraying him, but who could it be?  Jesus more than once mentions leaving them, preparing a place for them where he is going and sending an Advocate to be with them forever instead.  They don’t want him to go anywhere.  Their heads are spinning with all the words.  Now he is talking to them about love.  As my Father loves me, he says, so I love you.  If there’s any one thing to remember it’s to love each other as I love you.  There is no greater love than laying down your life for another.  The disciples don’t know it, but in less than 24 hours Jesus will literally lay down his life for them and for all of us.  It would probably be quite a while before they would fully realize just how greatly they are loved by Jesus and his Father and what it is Jesus really does for them.  What feels like abandonment as they’re sitting around the table listening will turn out to be the greatest act of love ever.

What about us?  How much time do we ever spend reflecting on God’s love for us?  Are we sometimes like the elder brother in the parable of the prodigal son, with everything God has to give at hand,  basking in God’s inestimable love, the recipients of gifts beyond telling, and not having the slightest idea how blessed we are?  It is difficult to love others, let alone think of laying down our lives for them, if we go through life with a scarcity mentality.  We are loved beyond measure and, when we realize that, we can love and care for one another out of that abundance.

Action

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius end with a contemplation of the love of God: 

I will call back into my memory the gifts I have received – my creation, redemption, and other gifts particular to myself.  I will ponder with deep affection how much God our Lord has done for me, and how much he has given me of what he possesses, and consequently how he, the same Lord, desires to give me even his very self, in accordance with his divine design. (Ignatian Prayer Adventure, Week, 8, Day 5, www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/an-ignatian-prayer-adventure/week-8)

Spend some time thanking God for all that God has given you.

My Home Is Within You, O God

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

By Beth DeCristofaro

Those who had been scattered by the persecution … went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but Jews. There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however … proclaiming the Lord Jesus.  The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:19-21)

They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
“This man was born there.”
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
“My home is within you.”  (Psalm 87:6-7)

My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.  No one can take them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.” (John 10:27-30)

Piety

You say that you are my sheep,
why aren't you following me?
You say that I am your shepherd,
why aren't you following me?
My sheep hear my voice, they come running to me;
and you say I am your shepherd,
why aren't you following me?

I told my sheep to love one another,
even your enemies too;
but you have love for only those
who have that love for you.
And you say I am your shepherd;
why aren't you following me?

(“The Shepherd’s Song”, Mississippi Children’s Choir, http://www.lyricstime.com/mississippi-children-s-choir-the-shepherd-s-song-lyrics.html)

Study

One day I asked a man who had dementia how he was feeling that day, and he answered me “I feel a little lost.”  In answer to the offer of ice cream for dessert he responded “I will have to see how it looks.”  Now this is a man who loved his ice cream but on that day the circuitry in his brain was causing him to feel out of touch, lost, to his familiar surroundings.  He had eaten a large breakfast late in the morning and perhaps sitting down for lunch while not yet hungry had disconcerted him.  Thankfully he was not sad or afraid, just “lost” at the moment.

Jesus’ disciples were lost after his execution and Israel was lost in exile.  But God’s hand guided them all.  No matter how lost within ourselves we might become.  No matter how far we stray after the gods of our own egos.  No matter how distant we find ourselves following after an imperfect, incomplete truth we hoped to own, the Shepherd is there.

Action

Do we limit the Shepherd as we evaluate others as not real Catholics or poor Christians?  Make a point of speaking with someone whom we feel has lost their way or is not of God’s flock.  Listen closely to them, see the face of God in them.  Pray for them by picturing them in the Father’s hand sitting right next to you.

The Same Gift

Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter

If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”  When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”  Acts 11:17-18

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.  These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”  John 10:16

Piety

THE LORD is my shepherd to feed, guide and shield me; I lack nothing when I surrender myself to the Lord’s care. 
The Lord makes me lie down in fresh, tender, green pastures; then leads me beside still and restful waters.
The Lord refreshes and restores my life – myself by leading me in the paths of righteousness uprightness and right standing with Him -- not for my earning it, but for His name's sake.
Yes, though I walk through the deep, sunless valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil; for You are with me; Your rod protects me and Your staff guides me, they comfort me when I am uncomfortable.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my already brimming cup runs over.
Surely only goodness, mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life; and through the length of days the house of the Lord and His presence in every moment of my life shall be my dwelling place. (Amplified Bible)

Study

Society in ancient Roman-occupied Palestine was very agrarian.  The history books tell us that people had a constant battle for food and water.  When you look at a popular and traditional Nativity scene, you’ll find a variety of domesticated animals which helped to provide food, aid in farming, and provide clothing:  camels, donkeys, lambs, and oxen.  In addition, there were dogs and chickens and horses and goats raised for food or milk or leather.  The writers of our sacred scriptures had their choice of all these possible animal analogies at their fingers and on the tips of their tongues. 

We could have been described as stubborn like a donkey in holding fast to our ways.  We could have been hard-working like the horse or oxen pulling the plow through the fields to try growing crops.  We could have been described as noisy like a barking yapping dog.  But, these analogies were not used.  Instead, the Gospel writers settled on sheep.

Sheep have traits that made them an excellent illustration of the Christian psyche. By considering the life of a sheep, we can gain some incredible insights into the feelings of the Lord’s true followers individually as well as in a group.

Sheep are special.  If one gets lost, the shepherd will leave the others and look for the lost one until it is found.  That tells us that each member of the Christian community is important. The sight of the people who really needed help to cure them of disease and other maladies moved Jesus pity. The sight of sinners moved Jesus to action.  They were like sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36).

Sheep stick together.  Sheep are best known for their strong flocking (herding) and following instinct. They will run from what frightens them and band together in large groups for protection.  We would call that safety in numbers. It is harder for a predator to pick a sheep out of a group than to go after a few strays.  Maybe that is why Jesus surrounded himself with disciples and preached to large crowds on the side of the mountains, along the seacoast and in the plain.  It also may be why we saw Jesus tempted when he was alone in the desert but striking out at the devil when surrounded by groups of followers.

Sheep follow the leader:  When one sheep moves, the rest will follow, even if it is not a good idea. Even from birth, lambs are taught to follow the older members of the flock.  The dominant member of the flock usually leads.  Jesus was their leader.  When he went out in a boat, they went, too.  When he walked around ancient Palestine, they went, too.  When he entered Jerusalem, they went, too.  Sometimes the crowds were so big, they might have gotten in the way of the broader message.  Maybe that is why the Passion and Crucifixion is that much more important…because after years of following the shepherd, the sheep scattered. Jesus was left alone as he was in the beginning in the desert.

Sheep are social:  Sheep are a very social animal. When grazing, they need to see other sheep. In fact, books on animal husbandry advise that ensuring sheep always have visual contact with other sheep will make moving them easier. According to animal behaviorists, a group of five sheep is usually necessary for sheep to display their normal flocking behavior. A sheep will become highly agitated if it is separated from the rest of the flock.  Peter, alone and separated from the strength he gained from his comrades, was anxious when challenged about his relationship with Jesus.  Fearing the worst, he denied knowing Jesus rather than risk his own life.

Action

Cursillistas are a lot like sheep, too.

We are special, too.  The yellow button says it all.  “I’m Loveable.  God don’t make junk.” J

We stick together in Palanca, table groups, closings, group reunions, Ultreyas at the parish and diocesan level and regional or national meetings.

We follow the leader.  With Christ, we are an unbeatable majority.  ‘Nuff said.

We are social. An isolated Christian is a paralyzed Christian according to the popular summary of the “Christianity in Action” lay talk on the weekend.

Life may be a cabaret.  Life may be a perpetual Cursillo.  But life is also a perpetual flock of sheep searching for the voice of our Master.  

The Promise Made

Fourth Sunday of Easter 2014A

By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.”  Acts 2:38-39

“I am the gate.  Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.  A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”  John 10:9-10

Piety

Piety is the call on our hearts to be a good shepherd for all those we serve.  Christ is the good Shepherd who enters our lives by giving us his life.  He takes care of his flock and defends us by giving us his life in giving up his life for our sakes.  He calls us by name.  Even as our hearts recognize who is calling, he recognizes us by the way we call out for his help in our lives.  Christ enters our lives through the door of our hearts.  He loves us and calls us to be one of his flocks.  The way we share our lives with others is how his flock is identified.   “See how the Christians love one another” cannot be said too often.  We are known as his disciples by our love. 

Study

We study how to be more loving by our deeds.  There should be no such a thing as a sad Christians.  Joy is how we are to be recognized.  A Christians brings peace by the patience, kindness and generosity of faithfulness, gentleness and self-control lived out in the justice that is offered to all.  The fruits of the Spirit are the marks of the Christians in the flock of the good shepherd.  The flock enters through the door of the church.  The Body of Christ is made well by the way we make the church the Mystical Body of Christ.  The Sacraments are the ongoing life of the humanness of Christ on earth.  The Christ of his human body is safe in heaven.  We are his body on earth by the sacramental life of the Church. 

Action

We return to the Church at least every Sunday to be fed as his flock.  The Church is where we can rest in the Christ of each other.  We need each other safe in the sheepfold to know in our togetherness the many faces of Christ that make up the sheepfold.  The Christ of our hearts is fleshed out in our togetherness as the flock of Christ.  He feeds us in the Eucharist that is relived in the giving of his life for us in the shared Eucharist that makes us one in the Lord.  We build up the flock by the love that is shared in how we are Eucharist for each other.  

Who Can Accept It?

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

“Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed.”  He got up at once.  And all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.  Acts 9:34-35

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”  Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you?”  John 6:60-61

Piety

No matter how hard the message, help us take the first step every day to follow the Word.

Study

Individually and in groups, people have different reactions to Jesus and the Word.  Some have their eyes opened and become followers.  Others see the message as too hard and return to their comfortable way of life.

Peter carried on the tradition of miracles in the name of Jesus by healing Aeneas and bringing Tabitha back from the dead.  They and others used these signs as inspiration to follow Jesus and grow the church community. 

However, others who were blessed to have a direct encounter with Jesus did not follow his Word.  They witnessed not only the miracle of feeding the five thousand but also heard the discourse on the bread of life.  Finding it hard to understand and hard to put into practice, they rejected the message – foreshadowing the famous comment by G.K. Chesterton:  “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” (What's Wrong with the World)

Action

We are really not very different from the early followers of Christ.  Some of us find it easy to pick up our cross daily and others find it hard. 

What do you find difficult in following the Word?  Doing it every day in the face of the deluge of messages in popular culture is one of my biggest challenges. One day per week, most of us go to church and hear the message and are strengthened by the community presence, the Word and the Eucharist. Six days a week, we might spend a little more time in study and prayer or group reunion or doing the works of mercy. 

In contrast, on a daily basis, we are inundated with advertising, music, movies, news and economics that celebrate the individual rather than the community, which preach consumption, not sacrifice. However, the lesson of the bread of life is to feed each other, not to hoard what is good for ourselves. This is seen by some as a cultural contradiction even greater in modern society than in ancient, Roman-occupied Palestine.

We are called to solidarity with the whole community even more today than yesterday.  Those of us with plenty are called to offer the bread of life we share with those who are excluded from the economic and technical progress which can make their lives better.

One way to do that would be to make a gift to support Operation Starfish.  This was a charity founded by the late Rev. Richard B. Martin, former pastor at Nativity Church in Burke, VA.  Fr. Martin died last week and was laid to rest yesterday.  However, as his spirit and commitment live on in those he touched, you can help and honor his memory by sharing with Operation Starfish, a program that seeks to build homes for people in Haiti.

According to its website, the story of Operation Starfish® began in 1998 with a late evening stroll by a man and his dog.  Father Martin and his pooch, “Pete,” were walking one night before Lent “chatting” about “what-ifs.”  What if each family in the parish would forego one order of french fries?  What if they would subtract one topping from their weekly pizza?  How much money could they raise to help those who are less fortunate?

Fr. Martin couldn’t believe the numbers when he calculated them: 2,500 families saving just 50 cents a day for the 40 days of Lent could donate $50,000 to make a difference in the lives of the poor.  What a significant result from such an insignificant sacrifice!

A fact sheet explains that this simple program of sacrifice was far more successful than Fr. Martin predicted.  The parish was enthusiastic when the idea was presented to them.  That first year, Church of the Nativity raised over $67,000!  They decided to use the funds to build 27 simple houses in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, working through the international Christian charity, Food for the Poor, Inc.

You can support this effort today by donating online through Food for the Poor or sending checks made out to "Operation Starfish^®" to: Church of the Nativity, 6400 Nativity Lane, Burke, Virginia 22015.  For assistance with donations, contact jim@starfishmission.org.

A Chosen Instrument of Mine

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

By Melanie Rigney

(After Ananias protested the Lord’s request to lay hands on Saul of Tarsus), the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16)

Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. (Mark 16:15)

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you.” (John 6:53)

Piety

Lord, help me to keep You in mind at all times, setting aside my own preconceived notions and prejudices.

Study

I got a piece of jail mail the other day. It doesn’t happen every day, but frequently enough (five or six times a year) that it doesn’t surprise me. It is, however, one of the reasons the address I publicize in public profiles and editing listings is not my home, but a mail box.

The gentleman was looking for someone to help him find a publisher or agent for his non-fiction book on Christian spirituality. In his polite, handwritten letter, he noted that my listing said I preferred to work via e-mail, but he would not be able to do that. Further, he explained that he would not be able to make phone calls, but could take them, then asked if I’d be willing to consider working with him under these unusual circumstances.

Since I’m not taking on new clients at this point, I have a standard response to that effect. But before I sent it, I decided to check him out. It turned out he’s a seventy-something former Episcopal priest, small-town mayor, and real estate agent who abused a seven-year-old girl on multiple occasions over at least eighteen months. I was stunned; most of my jail mail comes from convicted drug users or dealers. As Ananias felt about Saul of Tarsus, I was put off at the idea of having any contact at all with this slime ball.

Finally, I decided to do what I would with any other would-be client: I wrote a note thanking him for his inquiry, but noted I’m currently focused on my own writing these days and therefore not working with new clients. And I wished him the best with his project. That line was difficult to write. It was hard to remember that as perverted as this creep is, he is still a loved child of God, capable of being redeemed.

Ananias’s obedience to the Lord helped a man who would bring millions of souls to the kingdom. I doubt that will happen with this prison inmate. But it’s not about whether those we help will change the world. It’s about whether we are brave enough to change ourselves, even minutely, and love the unlovable in His name.

Action

Be kind, even in a small way, to someone who has no reason to expect kindness from you. Plant a seed.

Understand

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter

Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”  He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?”  So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.  Acts 8:29-31

Jesus said to the crowds: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.  It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God.  Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.  John 6:44-45

Piety

Father, we can all get stuck in the disappointments and losses of our lives. But send your Son Jesus to walk that road by our side, sharing our burden of grief for as long as necessary.  Holy Spirit, patiently help us to reinterpret our situation until we are ready to recognize the Lord’s work and presence in the power of his resurrection.  Amen.  (Based on CNS Sunday Scripture Blog site)

Study

Many of our scripture readings since Easter do not only proclaim the Good News of the resurrection.  To help put the Easter mystery into context, we also hear and connect the New Testament with sacred scripture and traditions.  During the walk to Emmaus, Jesus preached the whole story of creation. 

How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!  Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”  Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.  Luke 24:25B-27

Today, the cornerstone of both readings rests in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  Philip helped the eunuch understand the passage from Isaiah which he was reading.  Jesus helped foreshadow the resurrection with his message in John. 

Action

What is the context of your life that the Good News touches?  How does the message penetrate and resonate in your home, your work, your school and in what you do?

When people least expect it, someone shows up to help them.  Just like Jesus showed up on the walk to Emmaus to help the confused and depressed disciples understand, Philip showed up in the chariot to help the eunuch understand. 

Who is in your prayer life playing the role of showing up and enlightening your understanding?  A great homily?  A group reunion?  A teacher?  How can you help others understand?

Where We are Weak, God is Strong

Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

Colleen O’Sullivan

There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles.  Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.  Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.

Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.  Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.  With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.  For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.  There was great joy in that city.   (Acts 8:1b-8)

Piety

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise.  Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”  (Psalm 66:1-3a)

Study

Persecution, fear, brutal home invasions, imprisonment, grief at the grave of a martyred brother – each one a snapshot of life in the fledgling church in Jerusalem.  This certainly isn’t what James and John or their mother envisioned when they asked for seats of honor at Jesus’ right and left sides or what they imagined when they agreed they could drink the cup that Jesus drank.  Yet here they and their friends find themselves, despised and hunted, powerless to change their situation.

What were any of us expecting when we signed on to follow Jesus?  That the path to eternal life would somehow take a detour for us and miss the Cross?  Every one of us at some point will suffer and be unable to remedy the situation at hand.  Someone we dearly love dies.  The health we’ve taken for granted begins to deteriorate.  The sin we’ve committed that hurt another gravely weighs on our conscience.  We are helpless, totally without power to save ourselves.

But look at what happens in the second half of today’s reading.  Many of the disciples are sent to the countryside to escape the chaos and danger in the city.  They are scared and don’t know what else to do, so they flee.  But where we are weak, God is strong.  God uses the situation to create the first missionaries.  Philip brings the Word and its healing power to people who otherwise might never have heard of the Christ.  The infant Church begins to grow!

The paradox of our faith is that it is in dying that we come to eternal life.  It is in admitting our inability to fix ourselves that we are healed.  It is in placing our grief, our sorrow or our remorse into God’s hands that we grow spiritually and are made whole.

Action

As you reflect back over your life, have you noticed this to be true?  

Be Filled with the Bread of Life

Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter

By Beth DeCristofaro

But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)

Piety

Extend your Grace, o gracious God, to your servants who are hurt, lonely, disillusioned, or weighed down with the burdens and cares of the world.  May we believe and be filled.  May we live with the sure knowledge that you are ever at our side and guiding our way.  May the joy of your presence give meaning and sanctify all suffering and want.  Amen.

Study

To be honest, I am not sure that I could perceive and then share a beatific vision if I were in the process of being stoned.  Usually moments of violence and certainly danger leave me more numb and speechless than moved with great ecstasy.  Stephen was filled with the Spirit, inflamed with grace which Fr. Richard Rohr in Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, says “empowers those who really love and trust God, and frankly leaves all others in the realm of missed opportunity.”  Stephen did not miss his opportunity to see God but also to proclaim God even in extremis.  There is a joy in his proclamation which states that he is not thirsty, not hungry.  Rather Stephen was full of the Word, of the Bread of Life and thus not fearful even for his life.

Fr. Richard Martin, Pastor of Nativity Church in Burke who died Saturday May 3, seemed to me to be always full of the joy of the Lord.  His was a welcoming presence at Mass with his simple yet thoughtful and moving homilies.  His belief manifested as generosity, humility and often smiles and laughter.  I wonder if, as he breathed his last, he did not look up and see the glory of God with Jesus standing at the right hand.  Sometimes I forget that a priest’s job can be difficult and lonely.  May each priest know that Jesus stands ever at their side.

Action

What will people say when we die?  That we lived in the sure joy of the Lord?  That we kept a clean house or achieved a career full of esteem?  Are we intent on our own self-interests or are we filled with the Bread of Life and joyfully overflowing with the Holy Spirit?

The Way of Loyalty

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”  John 6:29

Piety

Lead me from the way of deceit; favor me with your law.  The way of loyalty I have chosen; I have kept your judgments.  Psalm 119:29-30

Study

Jesus predicted that his followers would meet with the kind of persecution that Stephen endured.  There is the easy way and the hard way.  The hard way starts with belief.  But it does not end there.  Some of the steps that follow belief are obedience and humility.  No matter how amazed some people were at his teaching, Jesus never let it go to his head.  Even though he wished for his mission to pass by if possible, he willingly accepted it. 

There are two kinds of people in the New Testament.  There are people who enjoy listening to Jesus and John the Baptist.  Herod is counted among those. But Jesus is not delivering some after dinner keynote address which will be quickly forgotten. 

The other kinds of people are those who listen AND act.  Time after time, we are told to listen to Jesus and act accordingly.  During the mystery of the Transfiguration, we learn:  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”  (Matthew 17:5)

At Cana, Mary did not just tell the wine steward to listen to Jesus.  She told them to do what Jesus instructed.  “His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5)

The hard way is the one with a heavy cross on your back.  The hard way is the least popular option.  The hard way has no cushions on the kneelers. The hard way was shown to us by John…by Jesus…and today by Stephen. 

Action

Am I ready for the hard way of humility, obedience and action?