Weekly Reflections

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Pentecost, May 31, 2020

Scripture:

  • John 20: 19-23 (Gospel)

  • Acts 2:1-11: (First Reading)

  • 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 (Second Reading)

Theme: The Spirit of God is upon us

Scripture:

  • John 20: 19-23 (Gospel)

  •  Acts 2:1-11: (First Reading)

  •  1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 (Second Reading)

Theme: The Spirit of God is upon us

Scripture

John 20:19–23 (Gospel)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord  [Jesus] said to them again: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”  And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them: “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Acts 2:1–11 (First Reading)

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God."

1 Corinthians 12:3b–7, 12–13 (Second Reading)

Brothers and sisters: No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the holy Spirit. There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

“The Challenge of Pentecost” by Daniel J. Harrington, America Magazine, May 2008

The word “Pentecost” derives from the Greek word for “fifty.” It marks 50 days after Passover on the Jewish calendar and 50 days after Easter on the Christian calendar. Among Jews it is known as Shebuot or “Weeks” and celebrates the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. For Christians it commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ disciples (including the mother of Jesus) gathered in Jerusalem after his ascension.

In John 20, however, the gift of the Holy Spirit takes place earlier, on the evening of Easter Sunday. The risen Jesus invites his disciples to carry on the mission given him by his heavenly Father and empowers them to do so by breathing upon them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 reminds us that every day is Pentecost in the sense that “to each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.” All baptized Christians are privileged and empowered to be members of the body of Christ, and so they can and should use their spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ.

Luke’s version of the first Pentecost is the biblical account that has most captured the Christian imagination. Fifty days after Easter, the disciples of Jesus gather for prayer in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit comes upon them in dramatic fashion, with a strong wind and “tongues of fire.” They begin to speak in different languages, and miraculously their proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is heard and understood by Jewish pilgrims from different countries with different native languages. Pentecost is often called the birthday of the church. In Luke’s narrative in Acts, the good news of Jesus moves from Jerusalem through Samaria, Syria, Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) and Greece to Rome. The first phase in this amazing story takes place on the first Pentecost, when the Gospel is preached at Jerusalem to Jews and converts to Judaism from various places outside the land of Israel. The miracle of the first Pentecost is that Diaspora Jews from Parthia, Media, Elam and all those other exotic places hear and understand the preaching of the apostles in their own languages. There is some tension in the text as to whether the apostles spoke Aramaic (or Hebrew) and were understood by the foreigners, or whether they spoke in all those different languages. In either case, the point is that the miracle of the first Pentecost reverses the episode of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. In that story, in response to human arrogance, God “confused” the languages of humankind and scattered them over the face of the earth. Now the good news of Jesus Christ is the language that unites all these different peoples. The rest of Acts traces the spread of the Gospel all over the Mediterranean world. It moves first among Jews and then fans out to non-Jews. Paul appears as the great missionary to the Gentiles. By the narrow standards of Mediterranean society in the first century, the Gospel reached the ends of the earth with Paul’s arrival in Rome.

The miracle of the first Pentecost, according to Luke, was that “each one heard them [the apostles] speaking in his own language.” Now, almost 2,000 years later, the church’s missionary activity continues, and the Gospel has been proclaimed far beyond the Mediterranean world. The memory of Jesus has been kept alive, and the movement he began has been carried on. Nevertheless, Luke’s Pentecost narrative challenges the church today to find even more effective ways of communicating the Gospel to peoples in every land on earth. Karl Rahner, S.J., thought that the greatest challenge facing our church today is to become a truly catholic, or world church. Just as the early Christians moved beyond the land of Israel and the Jewish people, so we must help all the peoples in our world hear and express the Gospel in their own languages and according to their own cultural patterns.

The miracle of the “tongues” at the first Pentecost was the initial step in the process that is sometimes called the enculturation of the Gospel. The challenge that faced the first Christians gathered in Jerusalem at the birth of the church still faces the church today. That challenge involves remaining faithful to the substance of the Gospel, while translating and applying it in all the languages and cultures of the world. For that we too need the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. And so on this Pentecost we must say, “Come, Holy Spirit, come!”

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

Receive the Holy Spirit

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • Which reading for today’s Pentecost liturgy do you prefer? Why?
  • This gospel is John’s version of the Pentecost. In this passage He invited the disciples to “receive the Holy Spirit.” Do you believe the Holy Spirit dwells in you?
  • Fr. William Bausch said that Jesus Imposed the “Spirit of Second Chances” on them, sending them out to impart to others the spirit of God’s love and forgiveness. Do you look on the Spirit that way? To whom are you called to go out and extend love and forgiveness?
  • What if this passage is less about the clerical notion of the priest’s ability to forgive sins, but instead is about our own ability to work with the Holy Spirit in forgiving others? Whose sins do I need to forgive?
    What sort of sins would you consider “unforgivable” and thus, retained?
    Do you think Jesus would refuse to free anyone of his or her sins?
    How does your church extend peace to sinners or to those who disagree with its teachings?
  • What is the difference between hearing and understanding? Where can you do better in each?
  • What might it mean to “renew the face of the earth” today?
  • Do you ever pray to the Holy Spirit?
    Where does the spirit figure in your spiritual life?
  • Have there been experiences in your life through which the Spirit was speaking to you? Did you listen?
  • How do you expect to hear the Lord’s voice?
  • What do you regard as your spiritual gifts? How do you use them?
  • What gifts of the Spirit do you see in this community?
  • How might the church be more effective in the process of enculturation? What dangers might enculturation pose?
  • Has some person in your life been a source of inspiration and/or courage for you?
  • What do you see as your mission to the world at large right this moment? In the future?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read today’s responsorial psalm which is Psalm 104. Using Lectio Divina, pray this scripture hymn. Which words or phrases speak out to you? Sit with them and savor the meaning for you. Is God speaking to you these beautiful words? What works can you do to reflect the role of the Spirit in your life? How can you help the glory of the Lord endure forever? Then speak to God, using your own words and from your heart, about how you want to respond to the gift of the Spirit in your life.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from The Holy Longing: The Search for a Christian Spirituality, by Father Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I We need to be on fire again,
for our hope is no longer an easy hope.
We live in a culture of despair
within which Pentecost can no longer be taken for granted.
Hence we must take upon ourselves the burden of the times and refuse to make the Holy Spirit a piece of private property
but a spirit that matters.
—Mary Jo Leddy Rolheiser asks us to examine the following questions and relate them to the presence of the Spirit in our lives:
What should I be doing?
To whom should I be listening?
Must I get involved in this or can I choose to ignore it?
Is this church or this teaching right or wrong?
What is important?
What are the pillars upon which I build my spiritual life?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Memory:

Someone who had been through hardship and endured, sought forgiveness and it was granted said: “There are moments in life when God lifts you up and gives you moments of ecstatic clarity… there are moments that give all of our crosses meaning and revealed their goodness. The Spirit has ruled again.” (Fr. William Bausch in From No to YES)

Think back on instances in your life when you have been given a second chance; think of a time when you have given someone else the gift of forgiveness. Try to look at your present circumstances be thankful for the chances to start anew, try to forgive yourself for mistakes you have made, and extend a non-judgmental hand to another.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read Acts 2: 1-6. Imagine that you are one of the twelve apostles whom Jesus left behind. What have you been doing since Jesus’ death? What are you feeling about keeping the group of believers together? Has a natural leader emerged? What are your immediate plans for spreading the Good News? Suddenly you hear a sudden wind growing stronger and stronger in volume until it seems there is only noise in the house you are in, and then you see the fire (fire!) hovering over the room, appearing to split into individual tongues of flame and seeming to come to rest over the heads of your companions. Has anything like this ever happened to you before? Were you expecting this? Are you afraid? How does it feel to speak in tongues? Do you feel any different now that you have been filled with the Spirit of God? Return to the present and reflect on any times in your life in which you have felt extraordinary strength from the Spirit to do God’s will. Talk to God about your response to this outpouring of love from the Spirit.

Poetic Reflections:
  • Read “The Avowal” by Denise Levertov. Does it capture for you how we are protected by the Spirit, the Sustainer of Life?
  • “Passage” by Denise Levertov (from Oblique Prayers)
  • “In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being” by Denise Levertov (from Sands of the Well)
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Ascension, May 24, 2020

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

Theme: the commissioning of the Disciples (and our commissioning)

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20

Theme: the commissioning of the Disciples (and our commissioning)

The Commmissioning of the Disciples—Matthew 28:16–20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/28:16

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

Excerpted from The Story Revealed, by Rev. William Bausch

The disciples of Jesus were surely disappointed at his pending departure. They love this man. There was nothing they would not do for him. He was their friend, their teacher, their Lord. Now he would be missing from their company. It was a moment of great sadness. But they did realize that Christ was too big for Galilee, to big for Jerusalem, to big even for earth. The physical world could not contain him. He needed to be set free from the confinements of this earthly body so that his spirit might soar and be accessible to all.

They were right, and so that Spirit was bequeathed to them. The Ascension is that turning point, that transitional point. Ascension celebrated the passing on of that Spirit to that assembly of disciples who would collectively be known as the mystical body of Christ, the Church. The Spirit was given to ordinary people to witness to Jesus, to do the works of Jesus in this world, to celebrate his memory and invoke his presence in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

The Ascension is, then, if you will, our swearing-in time. You are now Church. You are the priesthood of the faithful. You are Christ in the world. Get busy. You have been empowered to witness to the wonderful works of God. Move!

Again, from another of Bill Bausch’s books:

As an old Quaker story puts it, by accident a lady happened in on a small Quaker congregation. They were all sitting in silence, as Quakers are wont to do. “When does the service begin?”, she whispered to a man sitting near her. His answer: “when the meeting is over.”

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • Have I ever felt deserted by someone in a moment when I needed him/her the most?
    Have I ever felt deserted by God?
    What did I do?
  • What have been some important transitions in my life?
    Did I celebrate them?
    Did I mourn them?
  • How can Jesus be in Heaven and here with us?
  • Do I believe Jesus is with me always?
  • Do I believe God wants me to bring hope and healing into the life of another?
  • Do I have to be perfect to be a witness to Jesus Christ?
  • How am I called to preach with my life?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Read today’s first reading—Acts of the Apostles 1:1–11
commentary from Rev Jude Siciliano, O.P.:
Thomas Troeger, the Presbyterian preacher and homiletician, in a sermon preached on Ascension Day, recalls the frustration of the disciples and the early church in their waiting and longing for the fulfillment of the reign of God. He says we too know that frustration. After having given our lives over to Jesus Christ, we experience not triumph, but a mixture of triumph and defeat. Has anything really changed? What difference does our faith make? “When will things come together in some whole and enduring pattern?” he wonders. We are wearied by our waiting. With Yeats we voice our longing, “Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand.” It’s a lament, a prayer of need and dependence. We need help that we cannot provide for ourselves. Troeger invites us to hear again what the early church heard in its anguish and yearning, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by [God’s] own authority.” How difficult it is for us to hear these words surrounded, as we are, by the kind of events we see and hear on the evening news–pictures and sounds of refugees from war and civil strife, and the scenes of poverty that persist in our prosperous nation. What we have, Troeger reminds us, is the belief that Christ reigns and will send the Holy Spirit to help us live as we must. We cannot force the hand of this Spirit, it is a gift constantly coming upon us. And one that still requires waiting.
questions by Nancy Greenfield:
What am I waiting for? How hard is it to wait?
“Wait for the promise of the Lord.” What does that mean for me?
If I have not “waited” in the past, but acted too soon, what was the outcome? If I waited too long, what was the outcome? How hard is it to know when the time is right to act?

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

Read the account of Mathew again. Imagine that you are one of the disciples trying to make sense of all that has happened to Jesus. Think of his death, his appearances after death and all that has happened in the last month or so. Then imagine yourself there on that mountain in Galilee. What Do you see and hear? What is your reaction to seeing Jesus again on the mountain top? (Why would Matthew say that the disciples “worshiped and doubted”. Do we do the same? Why?) What is your reaction to the words of Jesus telling you: “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age”? Have there been times in your life when you have been comforted by the presence of Jesus during difficult times? Close your eyes and thank God for the gift of Jesus’ love and presence in your life.

Poetic Reflection:

The frightening poem “The Second Coming” was written by William Butler Yeats shortly after the First World War, when the world seemed to him to be in chaos and despair. In our present chaos, dystopian culture, and fear, does the agony of this poem resonate? How is the grim prediction of this poem offset by the poem “Ascension” (by Colleen Hitchcock) which follows?

excerpt from “The Second Coming”

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

“Ascension”

And if I go,
while you’re still here…
Know that I live on,
vibrating to a different measure
—behind a thin veil you cannot see through.
You will not see me,
so you must have faith.
I wait for the time when we can soar together again,
—both aware of each other.
Until then, live your life to its fullest.
And when you need me,
Just whisper my name in your heart,
…I will be there.

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6th Sunday of Easter, May 17, 2020

Gospel: John 14:15-21

Theme: Jesus implores us to keep his commandments and promises to be with us always

Gospel: John 14:15-21

Theme: Jesus implores us to keep his commandments and promises to be with us always

The Advocate—John 14:15–21

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/14:1

Music Meditations

  • If Ye Love Me, composed by John Rutter (sung by Cambridge singers)
  • Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life, music by Ralph Vaughan Williams
  • Love Has Come, by Matt Maher
  • A Prayer of St Patrick, composed by John Rutter (sung by Cambridge singers)

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions,” a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Jesus is about to pass to God and he is concerned for the disciples’ well- being; how will they get along without him? In addition, they are in need of consolation in the light of what he is telling them about his departure. They won’t have him with them in the same way; he won’t be there when they need encouragement, prodding, advice or comfort during difficult times. Today’s gospel is part of his farewell speech and reflects his awareness of what is about to happen to him and his concern for those he is leaving behind. This is his last will and testament and he wants to leave them something of great value; but not an inheritance that will rust, wear out, get stolen, cause a squabble, or be irrelevant for future generations of believers. He wants, in a manner of speaking, to leave his descendants the family jewel, the pearl of great price, the unfailing treasure. He is like the parent providing for the children’s future well-being; he is giving them something that will remind them of him, help them to grow together, but also get them through difficult times.

First, he instructs them: “keep my commandments.” That will be the memorial they will raise in his honor after he is gone—not a tombstone, granite monument, wall mural or triumphant arch. Not even a grand cathedral can be as eloquent a testimony of our love for him. Very simply, before they set about forming a building committee, he wants them to show reverence for him by keeping his commandments. Which commandments? Let’s do a little background and then approach this question.

Some have a rather harsh image of God. They envision a distant God, ruling over everything and everyone from an on-high vantage. This God is a ruler and tester, expecting us to live up to a set of regulations and requiring us to pass the “final exam” which weighs our accomplishments against our transgressions. In this perception, Jesus’ role was crucial: to go before God and assuage God’s anger over our sins. God was deeply offended by our sin and Jesus was our Advocate before a fearsome God. We needed him to get us on the straight and narrow and die to appease an angry God. God and the Son are kind of like a “good cop, bad cop” duo. Jesus is our “good cop” persuading us in a nice tone of voice to change our lives. If we don’t, we get the “bad cop” who will shout, pound the desk, threaten us with punishment and scare us to reform. In this perspective of our situation before God, the Advocate is seen as our ongoing intercessor before the throne of God. In other words, the Advocate becomes our next lawyer after Jesus leaves, our defense attorney before the throne of the Judge. Scratch the surface and we will find that in the way some speak about God and how they pray—a lot of people in our congregations still hold these notions of God. Another perspective is necessary, one that fulfills the hope Jesus has for us in the gospel, especially in this last discourse section in John’s gospel (chapters 14-17). There he promises to take us to a place of intimate union with God.

Maybe we need the Advocate, not to argue our case to God, but to argue God’s case to us. The Advocate Jesus will send his followers, will intercede on God’s behalf and remind us of God’s love for us and help us live Jesus’ way of love for others. The Advocate will persuade us and enable us to do what Jesus tells his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Jesus’ commandments are about love; we are asked to love as he loved. At the table he had just demonstrated this love by his washing the disciples’ feet; he will further demonstrate his self-giving love the next day by giving his life on their behalf. Such love will require an enormous bigness of spirit and persevering commitment.

These days, battered and struggling, we pray for the healing of all those harmed by the sickness and crimes of our past and present. We pray too in this breaking-open-time that we have the courage to face the truth and make whatever changes we must make in our society and in our church. We are encouraged this day in Jesus’ promise that we are not left as orphans. We need a loving and strong parental hand to guide us on our path to become the community that faithfully reflects Christ’s loving and caring presence in the world.

In almost every verse of today’s gospel passage Jesus assures us that we will not be left on our own—“another Advocate to be with you always”...”You are in me and I in you”... “reveal myself to him/her.” Jesus is just like a mother giving last orders to her children before she leaves the house (“no fighting, go to bed on time, wash your dishes, not too much television, do your homework, etc.”). A person’s last words before parting usually sum up the essentials. These are Jesus’ last words and he repeats himself because he wants to make a point, “No matter how bad it gets or how severely you mess up remember, I will not abandon you.”

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

Whoever loves me will be loved by my father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • What is your motivation for living as you should—fear of God, or love of God? What is the difference?
    Do you read a difference between the phrase “Keep the Commandments”, and the Phrase “Keep my commandments”? If so, how would you list the commandments in each category?
    Which of Jesus’ commandments is the hardest for you? Which is the easiest?
  • What would qualify a person as a “real Christian?”  What daily practices would they have to observe?
    What basic knowledge must they have?
    Does keeping Jesus’ commandments mean the absence of bad behavior or something more?
  • Father Paul O’Reilly, S.J., once wrote: “Love is not in words; it is in actions”. Do you agree?
    How does that impact your understanding of the commandments we are to keep?
  • The reverend William Sloane Coffin once said: “If we fail in love, we fail in all things.” Do you agree or disagree?
    In what ways did you love today? In what ways did you not love today? What can you do about the “not loving” part?
  • For John, faith is to be in a loving relationship with Jesus. What is your understanding of faith?
  • What is the role of prayer in your personal life?
    What is the role of guilt in your personal life?
    What is the role of “doing” Jesus’ commandments in your personal life?
  • Describe a time in your life when you felt “orphaned”—left out or abandoned by friends or loved ones, or maybe even a colleague or professor.
  • What, in our society, writ large, creates a sense of abandonment? Is there anything in myour current life right now that makes you feel abandoned and alone? Is this a time to pray?
  • What in our present world, cannot accept the “Spirit of Truth”? What has to happen for this to change?
    What in yourself do you have to change?
  • Jesus said: “Because I live, you also will live.” Do you believe this? Jesus, in his last discourse to his beloved disciples, promised to send his Spirit—also known as the Paraclete, which could be translated as comforter, advocate, counselor, helper. (Paraclete is never translated as a bird; I’m just sayin’). Which of those translations of the term Paraclete speaks to you the most?
  • Paul never met Jesus, yet he felt the strong presence of the Spirit of Jesus within him, which made his extraordinary missionary work possible. How do I access the Spirit of God within me?
  • What signs around you help you to be aware of God’s presence in your life?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

adapted from First Impressions, a service of the Southern Dominican Province

Jesus isn’t speaking about how we feel towards others.  How could he command us to “feel” love for another?  How could we maintain such a feeling for those we barely know; people not in our family?  It’s a lifetime effort to act lovingly towards those we do feel love for, so how could we possibly have and convey those feelings toward others who are strangers?  Even enemies? Jesus’ teaching is not merely about liking a person. Rather, he wants us to make an act of our will and do what is for another’s good.  It’s not about liking everyone because, I don’t know about you, I don’t! How can we mere humans, who have a mental list of those we love, those we like, and those we dislike, ever live up to Jesus’ commandment of love?  We already know the answer to that: on our own, we can’t. But Jesus makes some promises to us today that make what he asks of us possible. Jesus is soon to depart, but the Spirit he sends back will never leave us on our own, “I will not leave you orphans.” How often do I, in my personal prayer life, address myself to the Spirit, who is with me always?

Towards whom, in my life, do I find it difficult to act lovingly? How do I continue to love this person as Jesus would? Have I ever called out to Jesus for help and in my heart felt the presence of his Spirit standing with me, to help me be the kind of loving person I am called to be? I pray in thanksgiving for those moments of comfort and strength.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

I read Luke 8: 22-25 (Jesus calms the storm). In this story, Jesus has been standing in a boat to teach the crowds because there are so many people along the shore of the lake who have come to see and hear him. I imagine how tired Jesus must be after trying to come up with parables to explain his message and then projecting his voice for several hours to so many people. Then I imagine that I am one of the disciples to whom he gives orders to go to the other side of the lake. As I start rowing, what does Jesus do? I try to picture the size of the boat, the look of the sky above as the storm blows in. I imagine the sound and feel of the wind, the waves, the water coming inside the boat. Is the water cold? Am I wet? Afraid? What is Jesus doing now? Why do I wake him? Am I afraid we will drown if the boat goes down? Do I want him awake to share my fear? Do I think he can do anything to help? What does Jesus do when he is awakened? Am I surprised? How do I feel when he turns to me and asks why I am frightened? What kind of faith did he expect me to have? I reflect on the times I have been in a panic and turned to God—did I think God would ignore my well-being unless I begged for help? Did I ever stop to consider that God is watching out for me always, whether I know it or not?

Poetic Reflection:

Janet Lewis, in The Dear Past, looked to The Last of the Mohicans as inspiration for a prayer of trust when we are spiritually, physically or emotionally lost. See if it somehow reflects the thoughts of today’s readings:

“Four Hymns”

Let us lift up our grateful Hearts to Thee
Who are the light of all who strangely roam.
Thy rod, thy staff, shall ever comfort be,
Thy love shall never fail to guide us home.

In our own hearts we find a wilderness,
lurking despair and hidden cruelty;
From mindless fear, from blind revengefulness
Shield us so that we may come unharmed to thee.

Lord God, who art the sum
of mercy and of love,
Though we are far from home,
And lost the way thereof,
Let us not blindly roam
But to thy kingdom come.

All loving God, in my most deep despair,
As I am Thine, receive my trembling soul.
For in Thy will, in Thy will only rest
Hope and salvation and acceptance blest.

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5th Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2020

Gospel: John 14:1–12

Theme: Jesus loves us and wants to be with us

Gospel: John 14:1–12

Theme: Jesus loves us and wants to be with us

From the Last Supper Discourses—John 14:1–12

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where [I] am going you know the way.”

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

Philip said to him, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. 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.

http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/14:1

Music Meditations

  • Let Your Restless Heart Be Still--Cathedral Singers
  • On Eagle’s Wings—John Michael Talbot
  • Lord I Need You—Matt Maher

Companions for the Journey

From “First Impressions,” a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Jesus is addressing his disciples; it is his Last Discourse. His tone and words convey a calm before the storm. Jesus is reflective, concerned and gentle as he instructs his disciples for the last time. He must give both them and the future community (us) courage for what is immediately going to happen to them. He is like a parent who soothes the anxiety of his/her children by telling them, “There, there, everything is going to be alright.” What is going to happen to him will be painful, but in the long run, it will be for their benefit, for he goes to prepare a place for them. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” I have often read this passage at the bed of a dying person or a funeral. It is very comforting to hear Jesus’ promise of a dwelling place for his disciples. A place with God is awaiting us and the knowledge of that place of security with God is both comforting and encouraging. But in the theology of John’s gospel, what is promised and waiting for us has already begun. If Jesus has prepared a dwelling place for us, it is available to us now. His disciples do not live detached from the world, but are touched by it and face its challenges daily. We try to be a sign of Christ in a world that is tumultuous and often feels like a foreign land. Each of us has a special calling to live our unique lives in our family, job, school, and service to those in need. No two of us live in exactly the same way and so no two “dwelling places” are the same, for each of us has a special share in God’s life. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” Though we face confusion, ambiguity, struggle and challenge to our faith, we still dwell and share life with the divine. Jesus has not left us orphans on our own. By his death, resurrection and breathing of the Holy Spirit on us, Jesus has, in a manner of speaking, moved over and made room for us in God.

Jesus’ promise speaks to the itinerants among us—and we are all itinerants who have stopping-off places at various moments on life’s journey. We first live our lives with our parents, then we set out on our own. Many “stopping-off places” follow: we start a career or go to college, marry, have children, work out relationships, face the challenges of sickness and old age. Each stage of our lives we carry much with us that life has given; both in blessing and injury. But each new moment also offers us another “dwelling place” where we experience the life of God for us and in which we receive help as we strive to live the “way” Jesus taught us. (“I am the way and the truth and the life.”) There are no guarantees in life—except that as we move through the changing landscape, we do so in Jesus’ assurance that we dwell with God. Jesus has gone ahead so that he can come back and take us to God—now.

Like the disciples, we too can feel left behind trying to figure out the mess we are in and the seeming absence of God. These words of Jesus today assure us that God is not just up ahead waiting for us. We already dwell with God. That much is secure in our unstable world. In addition, anything we undertake to right the wrongs of our world, we do with the faith that God is up close to us—dwelling with us.

By Jude Siciliano, O.P.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Have faith in God, have faith also in me.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • How does this gospel speak to these stressful times?
  • Is it a demonstration of lack of faith if we are “deeply troubled” about things?
    Was Jesus ever “deeply troubled”?
  • Do you believe that Jesus understands your confusion and anxiety about the future?
  • Do you look on this gospel text as more about life after death or more about life here and now?
    What do you think of when you read the phrase “my father’s house”? Is it heaven? Is it anywhere God is present?
  • Some have suggested that this gospel, which says “I will come back again and take you to myself” not only applies to the second coming of Jesus (Parousia), but also the coming of Jesus for us personally when we die. What do you think?
  • This passage is calling us to a radical trust in the goodness and love of God. How hard is this?
    Has anyone ever betrayed your trust in him or her? How does that affect your trust in God?
  • Do you see Jesus as the face of God, or do you see God as something quite different—a judge, maybe?
  • Jesus says that if we believe in him, we will do the works that he does. What are those works?
    How can we complete those works, since we do not possess His power or His goodness?
    How does the Spirit fit into this consideration?
  • Do you ever feel like Thomas: “We do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”
    Does Jesus’ answer to Thomas comfort or challenge you?
  • One commentator suggested that Philip’s problem was not that he did not know the Father, but that he had not realized that he knew the Father because he knew Jesus. What do you think? What then does Jesus show you about the Father?
  • Has there ever been a time when someone trusted you to help him or her and you came through?
  • Describe a situation in which you trusted in the Lord. What did you expect to happen? How did it turn out?
  • Was there ever a time when you prayed for a certain outcome and it did not happen that way?
    How did you feel?
    What was the final outcome?
    What did you learn?
  • From Father John Harrington, S.J.:
    How do you try to keep Jesus’ memory alive?
    How might the church today be more effective in keeping Jesus alive?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

adapted from First Impressions, a service of the Southern Dominican Province

Thomas wants to know the traveling directions to where Jesus is going, “how can we know the way?” But Jesus is using “way” to mean his way of living. Jesus has, as he promised, returned to God, and has been “glorified.” He chose the way to God through suffering and death. The way others have rejected, Jesus chose as his and he invites his disciples to follow. His is the way of giving and sacrifice and because of what he did and who he is, we too can live his “way” to the Father. Believing in him and his way assures us that, in some real sense, we have already arrived into God’s presence. And Jesus has told us that where he is going, we already know the way. How would I define the “way” of Jesus in this present life we are living? What concrete actions can I take this coming week to try to follow the “way” of Jesus?

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

So here we are in the middle of a horrific pandemic. What “troubles” your heart these days? One could easily wonder—as the disciples must have, a couple days after their dinner with Jesus when the authorities were looking for them—“So where is Jesus when we need him? Is he who he says he is? Why doesn’t he show himself and help us end the sufferings in the world?” What aspects of Jesus’ person, teaching and activity are most important for you? Reread this gospel today and try to see that Jesus is with us, even if we cannot see him, and they He has gone before us to prepare a welcome for us. Share with Him your hopes for a life with God.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

adapted from First Impressions, a service of the Southern Dominican Province

Do I trust that God is my father, and the father of all of us? Do I believe that heaven exists because God is there? Is God’s name holy to me? Do I really trust that God will give me whatever of this world’s goods I need, or do I worry a lot about money, possessions, security? Do I believe that God forgives me? Do I forgive those who have hurt me, or do I still carry old resentments and pain into my relationships? Do I believe that God would never ‘tempt’ me to sin and thus lose eternal life, or do I believe that God sets traps for me so that I must constantly prove my love? Do I believe that my God, my Father, will deliver me from evil; that God, my Father, is my strength and my salvation?

And finally, I recite the Lord’s Prayer, praying each phrase as an affirmation of my trust in the Lord, rather than as a series of petitions.

Poetic Reflection:

Read the poem “Morning Mist” (from Evening Train) by Denise Levertov, a former professor at Stanford. Try to remember a really foggy day in the Bay Area and see if you can recapture the trust the poem expresses.

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4th Sunday of Easter, May 3, 2020

Gospel: John 10:1–10

Themes: In Jesus we trust; He gives us life in abundance

Gospel: John 10:1–10

Themes: In Jesus we trust; He gives us life in abundance

John 10:1–10

Jesus said to the Pharisees: “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Music Meditations

Companions for the Journey

A distillation of ideas from various sources, including “America”, “First Impressions” and others:

We now jump from post resurrection narratives to a speech Jesus made to the Pharisees earlier in his ministry right after he cured the man born blind; this is common in the lectionary where readings are not necessarily sequential, but are often organized thematically. But why inset this speech here? John Harrington, S.J, said: through his resurrection the slain Lamb has become for straying sheep “the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” This startling transformation is a neat summary of what Christians believe about the paschal mystery. I also think it is to remind us that Jesus’s whole life had a mission, a purpose. There were many hints in John of what this purpose was, and who Jesus was, but there is a hope here that after realizing the importance of the resurrection as an event, we must also realize that it is part of the entire mission of Jesus, and therefore, the mission of all his disciples down through the ages: to care for one another and a shepherd does the sheep, and to bring life in abundance wherever and whenever we can to those around us.

We begin today to consider two images that Jesus gives of himself: the first is that of a gate and the second that of a shepherd.

We have to imagine a sheepfold as an area surrounded by walls or wooden fencing but open to the sky, and with only one entrance.  The walls kept the sheep from wandering and protected them from wild animals at night.  Only a genuine shepherd enters the sheepfold through the single gate.  Thieves and brigands will try to enter by another way, such as by climbing over the walls or breaking through the fence. “All who came before me are thieves and robbers but the sheep do not listen to them.”  Jesus is referring to all the “false shepherds”, including some of the Pharisees and religious leaders of his time who are quite unlike the true prophets of the past. The real shepherd, however, enters by the gate and is recognized and admitted by the gatekeeper (the one mentioned above who sleeps across the entrance).  There are many sheep in the sheepfold belonging to different shepherds so the shepherd calls his own sheep out one by one.  He then walks ahead of them and they follow their shepherd because they know his voice.  They never follow strangers.  (This is quite different from the European or Australian custom where the sheep are driven from behind.)

We are told that his hearers failed to understand the meaning of what Jesus said.  They failed to realize that the parable applied particularly to the religious leaders. (Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in this section—those who purported to be examples of proper religious observance). So he spoke more clearly: “I AM the gate of the sheepfold.”  On the contrary, Jesus, as the Gate, the Way, has come “that they may have life and have it to the full.”  This is a constant theme we have heard many times already and especially in chapter 6 about Jesus as the food and nourishment giving us life. But it is not mere existence that Jesus promises here, it is life in abundance. What do we think Jesus means by life in abundance?

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session…

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

  • How do you respond to the biblical imagery of sheep and shepherds? Is it helpful? Or does it put you off? Why?
  • Have you even been a position to guide someone else? How did it work out? How did you feel?
  • Have you ever been nurtured in your faith life by someone who had your best interests at heart?
  • Have you been aware of the promptings of the spirit in your own life to date? Where did it lead you?
  • What do you see is your role in this Catholic community of which you are a part?
  • How someone speaks to us can be life-giving or harsh and destructive… What has generally been the quality of things spoken to you—harsh and unforgiving, or inviting and nurturing, calling you to growth and to life?
    What is the quality of your messages to others?
  • What in our culture keeps us from hearing the voice of the good shepherd?
    How do you distinguish His voice from all of the other voices that clamor for our attention? (our prevailing culture, advertisers, messages from our childhood, for example)
  • From “Sacred Space,” a service of the Irish Jesuits:
    What lifts your spirit, satisfies your soul, gives you lasting peace and fills you with life?
    What drains you, steals your energy, leaves you lifeless and empty?
    Native Americans have been known to tell their children that deeply imbedded in our hearts are two wolves each wanting to kill the other… the child is meant to ask: “And who wins?” The parent wisely answers: “The one you feed the most.”
    What wolf are you feeding?
  • In what ways are you only half-alive (boredom, pain, loneliness, sadness)?
    When have you felt gloriously alive?
  • What does it mean to you to “have life”?
    How about “life in abundance”? Does this mean that you should always expect to be rich, health, important, successful? Does it mean you should always love what you do, be excited about your life, be happy all the time? Insert your definition/expectation of the promise to have life in abundance…
  • What does it mean to you to be alive in Christ?
    Walter Burghardt, S.J. said: “Eternal life does not begin at death, it begins when we believe.” Or as John 17 puts it: "Eternal life consists in this; that they know you, the only true God, and the one you sent, Jesus Christ.”
    Do you realize you are living in eternal life right now?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

One translation of Psalm 23 is : “The Lord is my Shepherd, he keeps me from wanting what I can’t have.”
“And what you thought you came for is only a shell, a husk of meaning from which the purpose breaks only when it is fulfilled, if at all. Either you had no purpose or the purpose is beyond the end you figured and is altered in fulfillment.” (T.S. Eliot: “Little Gidding”)
I make a list of all the things I want at this moment.
Then I think of something that I really wanted that I didn’t get; and something that I didn’t even want that somehow came my way. How have these things impacted my life for good or for ill? Have I been able to see the hand of God working things out for the best? I go back to the list of things I want and offer each one to the wisdom of the Shepherd's providence.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

Read Psalm 23, then transpose the words so that you are speaking directly to God. (i.e. “Lord, you are my good shepherd, I shall not want. Rich and green are the pastures where you give me repose,” etc.) Savor each phrase as you speak from your heart to the God who loves you and wants what is best for you, the Lord who wants you to be happy in your relationship with your God. Then Imagine God Speaking the words of this psalm to you directly: “I am your good shepherd, you shall want nothing.” At the end, take time simply to be silent and rest in the immensity of God’s loving embrace.

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