Pope Leo calls us to build bridges and to dialogue with love.

 

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER C 2025

 

 

Today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of the Easter Season - Good Shepherd Sunday.  We are invited to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd. 

 

We celebrate and pray for our new Holy Father – Pope Leo XIV.  An American from Chicago; an Augustinian priest in fact he became the superior general of the Augustinians; a missionary to Peru where he became bishop; a Vatican official in charge of the appointment of bishops for Pope Francis.

 

As Pope, we look forward to Pope Leo being the Good Shepherd of our Church in the footsteps of Jesus himself.

 

In the Pope’s first words to us:  “We have to seek together to be a missionary Church.  He called the Church to build bridges and to dialogue with love.  To show charity to all.”

 

From the Gospel:  Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”

 

The Shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  The sheep follow him because they do not follow the voice of a stranger.

 

What are the voices in your life in which you are safe and very much loved?  How well do we recognize the voice of Jesus in our life?

 

Today we celebrate Mother’s Day, and we ask God’s many blessings to be with our mothers.  As we think of the voices in our lives in which we feel safe and very much loved.  We think of our mother’s love.  Who is the first person that spoke to you the words: “I love you.”  For me, those words were first spoken to me by my mom. 

 

On the day of my ordination to the priesthood, it was my mother’s faith and love for me that revealed the face of God’s love in a privileged way.

 

May be ever thankful for the people in our lives who help to recognize the voice of God in our lives.

 

Who in your family speaks words of unconditional love to you?  Who in our faith community speaks words to you to assure you that you are safe and very much loved?  Who is the first person who spoke to you the words: “I love you?”  Who is the last person to say those words to you?  When was the last time you spoke the words “I love you” to someone?

 

The challenge for all of us is that we live in a time and in a society in which there are many voices that demand our attention. We hear them all the time, from our first conscious moment till the day we die.  Voices hurt us, heal us, form our self-concept, encourage or diminish us.   What voices do our youth listen to in the video games and the music and the culture that fantasizes and celebrates violence in all forms of our media?

 

There are voices from Wall Street that demand our attention as we seek financial security for our lives.  There are voices of Broadway that seek to entertain us in so many ways.  Sometimes positively, other times not so much.  There are voices from our smart phone that continuously demand our attention.

 

What would it take for the voice of the Good Shepherd to be the dominant voice that we hear in our hearts?   Perhaps Jesus could hire a better advertising firm?  An improved website?  More money?  Surely, it is much deeper than that.  There is a critical need for moral leadership in our society and in our church. We need to be able to hear the stirrings of God’s love that is within – our inner voice.

 

For the voice of the Good Shepherd to be our dominant voice, we need to tap into the inner resources of the mystery of God’s love that is within each one of us.  There is a longing in the hearts of each of us to hear and to know the voice of the Good Shepherd.

 

A major question for you and for me is are we able to quiet ourselves down each day in prayer to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd that is within us?

 

Today is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  Vocation comes from the Latin word vocare “to call.”  Our vocation is our response to the call of God in our lives.  By Baptism, God calls us to be disciples, to be witnesses of His presence in our world.  All of us have a vocational story to share.  Your vocational story is to be found in the way you share the giftedness you have been given in relationships, in the work, and in the ways you live your life.  Your vocational story is your continuous response to God’s call.  To be aware of your vocation is to be aware of the voice of God in your life on this day.

 

In the context of celebrating all the ways we hear and respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd in our lives, may we encourage, may we pray that some of the young men from our faith community will consider the call of God to the ordained priesthood.   For me, the vocation of my ministry as a priest has been a source of grace, considerable joy, and a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.  It has given me the opportunity to get to know you and for us together to celebrate the mystery of God’s love in our midst.  Without any doubt, the Church needs people to respond to the call to the ordained ministry as a deacon and as a priest. 

 

As we know in the life of our parish community, we also need men and women to respond to the call of lay ecclesial ministry.  We are blessed by the generosity of our lay ecclesial ministers.

 

Each of us is called to lead others to the gracious mercy of God.  Like the Good Shepherd, we do not do this by herding or forcing people along.  We seek to live lives of such self-evident joy that others can trust that we are leading them in the path of life eternal.

 

Jesus, our Good Shepherd, give us the grace to gently lead others to become more aware of our love and of God’s love.

 

As we continue the Eucharist, where the Good Shepherd feeds us with His Body and Blood, let us pray for the grace to know Him more deeply, to trust Him more fully, and to love others more generously.

 

Have a Blessed Day.

 

Jesus, I trust in you.

 

Second Sunday of Easter  C  2025

Divine Mercy Sunday

 

On this the Second Sunday of Easter, on this Divine Mercy Sunday, as we gather to celebrate this Eucharistic mystery, we proclaim that Jesus is the face of the Father’s Divine Mercy.  In today’s Gospel, the Risen Jesus appeared to His disciples who were behind locked doors in a state of fear.  The first words that Jesus spoke: “Peace be with you.”  Jesus then went on to speak of forgiveness: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven then.”

We clearly see the power of Divine Mercy as Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit on these afraid, grieving, doubting disciples who were huddled behind locked doors.  Jesus shared with his apostles the grace of the Divine Mercy of God.  As the recipients of the merciful love of Jesus, these original apostles were transformed into fearless disciples who were missioned to proclaim God’s mercy with one and all.

Today we pray the novena of the divine mercy chaplet; we seek the intercession of Sister Faustina who received apparitions from Jesus resulting in the familiar Divine Mercy image.  In  the 1930’s, Jesus chose a humble Polish nun, sister Maria Faustina Kowalska to receive private revelations concerning Divine Mercy that were recorded in her diary.

In the very familiar Divine Mercy Image, the red and white rays emanate from the heart of Jesus symbolizing the blood and water that was poured out on the cross for our salvation and sanctification.  The red rays recall the blood which is the sacrifice of Golgotha and the mystery of the Eucharist.  The white rays symbolize the water of baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Through the wounded heart of Jesus, His merciful love is showered upon us.  The wounds of Jesus are the wounds of mercy to us.  In the revelation recorded by Sister Faustina, the Lord requested that the words: “Jesus, I trust in you” be inscribed under the image.

Jesus is the face of the Father’s Mercy.  As we are nourished by the body and blood of Jesus, we are the generous recipients of the merciful love of Jesus.

I invite you to consider the faith journey of the apostle Thomas on this Divine Mercy Sunday.  Thomas is the recipient of the Father’s Divine Mercy.

The popular interpretation of Thomas is that he is doubting Thomas -- seen in a bit of a negative light.  I invite you to revisit this Easter Gospel and see Thomas as a model of faith.

I suggest Thomas is teaching the important lesson that we must not separate the resurrection from the cross.  We are the disciples of the crucified as well as the risen Lord.   We cannot live the life of grace authentically unless we bear in our bodies the wounds of the cross.  This means being conscious that we develop the capacity to love and be loved only by dying to ourselves.  Our wounds are also a constant reminder of our frailty, and that it is God’s grace that raises us up to new life.

Thank you, Thomas for bringing honesty into our faith, for helping to acknowledge at times that there are areas in our life that Jesus is not yet Lord.  Thomas didn’t pretend that he was better than he was. He began by wanting proof and ended by being glad of faith.  He is the patron saint of transitions and steps in faith.  Faith is a journey.  The community was the place he found faith, having lost it when he tried to go it alone.  Then he came back to the community of faith and went on a journey of life that took him to martyrdom in India.

The Bible describes mercy as a gift of God, a gift that is to be given to those who need it.  Establishing the abiding faithfulness of God, we the Church of the Holy Spirit are to circulate mercy, to pay it forward irrespective of deservedness, inviting one and all to experience the merciful love of Jesus.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, my hunch is that we who are gathered today come from all over the spiritual landscape.  There is a side of us that is doubting Thomas and there is a side of us that is the believing Thomas.  Each one of us is unique.  This is not by accident.  It is by God’s design that there is no perfect cookie-cutter approach of the journey of faith for Catholics.  We need to dispense with the myth that there is one size that fits all for us as Catholic Christians.

The journey of faith of each one of us is unique.  But it is the plan of Jesus that we are better together as a parish community rather than as isolated individuals.  This was the experience of the apostle Thomas, and I suggest that in this community may you experience again the merciful love of Jesus in the love we have for each other as a parish community.

Thomas, “the twin,” has many brothers and sisters in today’s Church.  Most of us are doubters at some point in life.   When I’m out of sync in a significant relationship in my life, I can be out of sync in my relationship with the Lord.  Resurrection faith is crucial, but often we want to believe on our own terms. 

Jesus is the model leader and spiritual guide.  He is pleased to give Thomas the assurance he is looking for and then challenges him to look forward to the day when he will believe without seeing – always in the Jesus who passes through death to resurrection.

The Risen Lord never gives up on us as He never gave up on Thomas.  The Lord encounters us in the circumstances of our life.  We seek to live a new life trusting in the Spirit of the Risen Lord.

Jesus on this Divine Mercy Sunday is pleased to give what you are looking for in your journey of faith.  Jesus does not want His Body, the Church, to remain in the tomb but always raise her up to new life.  Each of us is not to remain in the tomb of our doubts, of our fears, of our anxieties.

Lord, we thank you for friends, leaders and spiritual guides who challenge us as Jesus challenged Thomas.  But may we like Thomas know that we need to see the scars and the wounds for us also to believe in resurrection and new life.  Thomas professes the true faith of the church.  We too must insist that the Jesus we follow is the true Jesus, the one whose risen body bears the wounds of Calvary.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, may live in a state of thanksgiving for God’s redemptive mercy that is shared with each and every one of us.  And may the Gospel we proclaim help us to recognize that scars are the pathway to our sharing in the Risen life of Christ.  This was the journey of the apostle Thomas.  It is the journey for each one of us.

Have a Blessed Day

We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.

 

EASTER 2025

Today is about abundance! The abundance of food and drink, of family and friends, of gratitude and hope. Today is about an abundance of Grace.  Today is a day of Easter joy.  We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.

And yet, on the first Easter day, the first disciples did not exactly experience the Resurrection event with the magnificence of Easter music and Easter flowers and a wonderful sense of celebration.  The first disciples did not immediately proclaim: We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.

For the first disciples, their Easter faith was much more gradual.  The first disciples encountered the empty tomb before experiencing the Risen Lord.  The Easter Gospel speaks of the empty tomb experiences of Mary Magdalene and the apostles Peter and John.  They only gradually came to an Easter faith.

An important truth of our lives is that we discover important things about our lives at the empty tomb. 

Just as the first disciples experienced the empty tomb before they came to a resurrection faith, we need to encounter the empty tombs of our own lives – whether the cancer will be cured, or we will love again, or find a job that fulfills our calling. 

As with the first disciples, our empty tomb experiences are the moments of darkness and confusion in life.  As we peer into the empty tombs of the ups and downs of everyday life, we are challenged to see and believe as the apostle John did as he stared into the empty tomb.

 

Ours is an Easter religion.  For us Easter is a living reality.  We do not deny the challenges, the setbacks, the darkness, the grieving we experience, the anxiety that too often gets the best of us.

We do not deny these miseries, but we refuse to surrender to their power because of our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Suffering will be vindicated; death will be overcome; a new life will arise: that is the Easter message of the paschal mystery. We do not deny these miseries, but we refuse to surrender to their power because of our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

I invite you to use the prayerthat is meaningful to me:   “Lord of Easter’s Promise, I live in faith of the Resurrection, but . . . so much of me remains entombed. Break open the tomb so that I may live with a Easter Joy.”

May our Easter faith in the presence of the Risen Christ within our hearts fill us with an Easter joy.   Allow yourself to be loved by the God who goes with us in all situations of life. Be assured that with the eyes of faith the vaccine we most need is found in our solidarity with the Risen Lord and in our solidarity with each other as a community of faith.

We are an Easter people.  This means that we are not buried in the tomb of our sins, evil habits, or dangerous addictions.  Our Resurrection faith gives us the Good News that no tomb can hold us down anymore -- not the tomb of despair, discouragement or doubt, not that of death.  Instead, the joy of the Risen Lord fills our spirit.

May we listen as the Risen Lord  calls us by name and welcomes us into the joy of sharing in His Risen life. 

Whenever and wherever we trust and hope in the light that comes from the risen Lord, our spiritual darkness fades away.   May you too be very much in touch with how the spirit of the Risen Lord lives in your family and in our parish family.

Today is the day of Easter joy.   We proclaim the centerpiece of our Catholic Christian faith:  Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead.  Alleluia! Alleluia!  Today we celebrate the reason why we are a people of hope and new life.  Today we cast off fear and make a leap of faith.  Liturgically we light the Easter candle because we believe in the light that comes from the Risen Lord.  This Easter candle needs to be lit in the deep recesses of our hearts. 

In every way possible to say it, the Lord’s Easter message is that all are welcome; all are forgiven; all are invited to the Easter banquet.  Does this mean that anything goes, that our Church is a Church without rules or discipline?   Of course not.   It does mean that the Lord’s love and Risen Life is to be shared by all.  There is nothing we can do to stop God from loving us.  Yes, we do need to open ourselves to the forgiveness and reconciliation and love the Lord extends to us.  And as sure as the sun rises each day, when our hearts are touched by the love of Jesus, we are motivated to share this love with one and all.  

More than ever on this beautiful Easter day, we need to trust and embrace the grace Jesus offers.  The Risen Jesus calls us by name and offers us the grace to walk away from the empty tombs of the fears and the demons of our lives so that we live with Easter joy and an Easter peace.  This indeed is our journey to an Easter faith.

For me my Easter dream is that we as a parish family  gather to give thanks to the Lord our God because God desires our Easter friendship.  May we allow the Risen Lord to fill this world and our hearts with his love.

In the words of Pope Francis, the grandeur of life lies not in possessions and promotions, but in realizing that we are loved and in experiencing the beauty of loving others.

In his farewell message to his disciples at the Last Supper said: “By this all shall know that you are my disciples, by your love for one another.”

God desires our Easter friendship. God desires that we share our friendship with each other.  May we allow the Risen Lord to fill this world and our hearts with His love.

Have a blessed Easter day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rejoice, O Mother Church, exult in glory. Jesus Christ, our King, is risen.

 

Easter Vigil 2025

With this solemn Easter Vigil, we celebrate the centerpiece of our Catholic Christian faith – the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Indeed, this is  the most sacred night of the liturgical year.

We began this solemn Easter Vigil with the lighting of the Easter Fire in the landscaped area at the front entrance of the Church.  From the Easter fire, we lit the Easter candle, the Christ candle – the light of the Risen Christ that overcomes the darknesses of our lives. 

After lighting the Christ Candle, we enter the Church in darkness.  It is the darkness of the closed-up tomb where Jesus’ body lay on Holy Saturday.  The stone has been rolled in front of it.  No light enters.  It is utterly dark.

In our prayer, the darkness of the Church at the beginning of our liturgy speaks to the daily reality of our lives at times.  This is where many of us live from time to time. Yes, there are times when we live between death and resurrection. It is the valley of grief and unknowing--for us as well as for the first disciples. On Holy Saturday we, and they, don't know what the future will bring. Whether the cancer will be cured, or we will love again, or find a job that fulfills our calling. It can be a time of dark uncertainty.

Into the darkness of our lives, we proclaim the great Easter mystery that the light of the Risen Christ overcomes the darkness of our lives.  Susan Gividen proclaimed the Easter mystery in the singing of the Exultet.

Rejoice, heavenly powers!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor!

Rejoice, O Mother Church, exult in glory.

Sound the trumpet of salvation.

Jesus Christ, our King, is Risen!

Let this place resound in joy,

Echoing the song of all God’s people!

 

Then in the Liturgy of the Word, we are swept through the landscape of our salvation history.

From the first Scripture reading, the creation account from the Book of Genesis, “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep..." In the beginning, all was a dark void. And in this empty tomb where Jesus was buried, we find the same reality--it is a dark void.  How many times will we find ourselves in that dark place? A place where any ray of hope is extinguished in the vacuum of fear, of not knowing, of total emptiness.

Darkness is shorthand for anything that scares me--either because I am sure that I do not have the resources to survive it or because I do not want to find out.

But in that place, somehow through the grace of God, we must be patient. We must wait for the wind of the Spirit, the "wind from God that sweeps over the face of the waters" to fan the dim embers of our faith.

"Then God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.... God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day."

You see, both darkness and light are part of the first day. Darkness and light are halves of every day ever since that first day. Darkness and light are essential parts of our lives. And when we find ourselves in that dark lonely place, we must remind ourselves of this truth. There will always ultimately be light in the midst of the darkness.

In the second Scripture reading from the Book of Exodus, as God leads Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt at night, the Israelites cry out to God in fear and uncertainty as they see the massive army of Pharaoh in pursuit behind them, while in front of them is the sea--they are trapped in the darkness of fear and faithlessness. "It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!" they cry out. But Moses tells them, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today.... The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still."

It is so hard to keep still in the fearful dark, isn't it? It is so hard to trust that the wind of God's spirit will, finally, blow on the dim embers of our cooling faith.

Thanks be to God, the angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them."  The divine presence, the angel of God, glowing within the cloud in the darkness, blocks the oncoming threat of the Egyptian army. You see, there will always be light in the midst of darkness. God will show up at night. We have only to keep still.

Darkness is part of every day. But there will be light. What would our lives with God look like if we trusted this rhythm of darkness and light instead of fighting it? 

Then in the Gospel, the angels announce to the women of Jerusalem that Jesus has been raised from the dead as he had foretold.  Alleluia, Alleluia. The final word was not the death of Jesus.  The resurrection of Jesus gives us the mystery of our faith that in dying we ar born to eternal life.

Following this Liturgy of the Word, we will joyfully celebrate the Sacraments of Initiation with our RCIA candidates.  They have been on a spiritual journey all of their lives.  Some time ago, they have heard God’s call and enrolled in the RCIA program.  They have been praying and discerning, and we have been praying for them.

As a faith community, we rejoice with an Easter joy in welcoming our elect fully into the sacramental life of the Church, the mystery of the dying and rising of Christ Jesus.

As well as rejoicing with our elect, we will all be invited back to the baptismal font to renew our baptismal commitment to live our discipleship of the Lord Jesus.

The final movement of the great Easter Vigil is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. 

We gather to give thanks to the Lord our God.  In Eucharist, we are fed and nourished at the Table of the Lord.  We share in the mystery of the dying and rising of Christ Jesus.  As the community of the baptized and as a Eucharistic community, we proclaim that we are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.

 

 

The Holy Thursday message is that we are to change the world by getting down on our knees and washing the feet of God's poor.

 

With this solemn liturgy of the Lord’s Supper, we enter the heart and soul of the entire liturgical year.  We celebrate the paschal mystery – the dying and rising of Christ Jesus.  As the disciples of Jesus, we gather during the Triduum to celebrate the mystery of the ways we encounter the Lord.

In this Holy Thursday liturgy, we encounter the Lord in two significant ways.

In today’s Gospel account, Jesus wraps a towel around his waist, takes a pitcher of water and, on the night before he dies, begins washing the feet of his disciples.  The disciples are stunned.  The washing of feet was usually done by a slave.   It was Jesus who was washing their feet.  Jesus is teaching them that this new life is gained not in presiding over multitudes from royal thrones; it is gained, however, in walking with the humble and in humbly serving this world’s walkers.  When he tells his disciples to do as he has done in washing their feet, he is commissioning them to walk as he has walked and to heal as he has healed.

The message of Holy Thursday is that his disciples are to change the world by getting down on their knees and washing the feet of God’s poor.

This is the authentic mark of the follower of Jesus Christ:  that he and she wash the feet of the beggar, the leper, the miserable sinner rejected by everyone else.  The lesson to be drawn from Jesus’ washing of the feet, I do not decide which lives have value and dignity, God does.

Jesus the teacher demonstrated his life-giving message:  foot washing.  He did not ask his friends to die for one another, but to live for one another.  Holy Thursday is a celebration of life, and life together as a people of God.

 

Notice how we encounter the Lord in this liturgy of the Lord’s Supper.  Shockingly, the voice of God speaks to us through Jesus with a towel around his waist asking us to find the towel with our name on it: “As I have done for you, so you also must do.”

Service rooted in love is the example Jesus gives to his disciples.  It is a radical form of service because it is based on a radical form of love.

 

The second way we encounter is in the mystery of the Eucharist.  It was at the Last Supper on the night before he died, that Jesus said over the Bread and Wine:  This is my Body; take and eat.  This is my blood: take and drink.  Do this in memory of me.

When we gather for Sunday Eucharist Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, we are doing what Jesus asked us to do when He said:  Do this in memory of me.

In this sacred Eucharistic meal, under the form of bread and wine, Jesus is present to us.  We are nourished with the bread of life and the cup of Eucharist.

We encounter the Lord in a most privileged sacramental in the Sacrament of the Eucharist that was instituted at the Last Supper on the night before he died to insure us that Jesus will be present to us all days until the end of time.

On this Holy Thursday, may we ponder over the words of Jesus: “Do this in memory of me.”  Specifically, what is “this” that Jesus wants us to in His memory.

Traditionally, we think of the Eucharist has what Jesus is calling us to do in His memory.  And so, we gather Sunday after Sunday after Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist in obedience to what the Lord as asked us to.

I invite us to expand our sense of what Jesus is asking us to do.  Do this also means to do the meaning of the ritual in real life, to do what Jesus did.  It means to live as Jesus lived.  We are to remember not only what Jesus did at the Last Supper, but we to remember the example in his whole life. Doing this is living this.  

A profound truth of our Holy Thursday liturgy is that these two ways of encountering the Lord are essentially linked together for us as Catholic Christians.  What does this mean?   We will never see Christ in the Eucharist we kneel to adore if we do not first see Christ in those before whom we kneel to serve.

To say it again, we will never see Christ in the Eucharist we kneel to adore if we do not first see Christ in those before whom we kneel to serve.  Where is the towel with your name on it?  That towel is surely found in how you are to love and serve in your family, that towel is around your waist calling you to wash the feet of the person you don’t along with, that towel is to be found for you in one of the ministries of our parish life?

After Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Do you know what I have done for you?  You call me Teacher and Lord – and rightly so, for that is what I am.  So, if I, your Lord and Master, wash your feet, you are to wash the feet of one another.  I have given you an example, what I have done, you are to do likewise.

On this holy night, we pledge once again to use our hands and feet for the work of forgiveness, for the work of loving each other.  We pledge to wash each other’s feet, to hand over our lives for each other for the sake of the world.  As we gather to celebrate the Eucharist on this Holy Night, we do this in the memory of the One who gave His life for us.

We seek by the way we live our lives to be faithful to the words of Jesus:  Do this in memory of me.

 

Have a Blessed Triduum.

 

 

Jesus claims victory by being defeated; he would establish his reign by serving and by dying.

 

Palm 2025  C Sunday 

 

Today begins the most sacred week of the Church’s entire liturgical year.   We   will walk with Jesus through Holy Week in the pattern of his death and resurrection.  The week we call holy invites us to enter into the heart of our faith. 

 

St Paul in the second Scripture reading reveals who Jesus is: “Christ Jesus, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality to God something to be grasped, rather he emptied himself taking the form of a slave…he humbled himself.”

 

Who are we as the disciples of Jesus?  Our God wants us to embody the humble actions of Jesus:  The God who emptied himself, the God who humbled himself, the God who sat on a donkey.

 

On Palm Sunday the church gives us the opportunity to hear two Gospels. The first one was proclaimed at the beginning of the liturgy from the back of our church; the second was proclaimed at its normal time. One of the gospels depicts a triumphal march into Jerusalem. The other on a painful, humanly agonizing and struggling march leading to a death. A high and a low. But, which one is which.

 

Our world would assert that the glorious entry into Jerusalem was the high point and that the death of Jesus on the cross was the low point. Our faith proclaims that just the opposite is true.

 

During the two Gospels that make the Palm Sunday liturgy, we go from the joy of a good parade on Palm Sunday to a parade that ends with the suffering and death of Jesus on Good Friday.  The incredible contrast in moods between the two Gospels proclaimed in this Sunday’s liturgy capture well the broad dynamic of the Paschal Mystery.  The opening Gospel proclaimed in the blessing of the palms is the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem with the disciples shouting Hosanna and placing palm branches along the route

 

The second Gospel proclaimed is the Passion Account of the suffering and death of Jesus.  Before this week is ended, the palm branches of Palm Sunday will be replaced by the thorns and nails of the Friday we call “Good.”  Shouts of “Alleluia” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” will be drowned out by the mocking sneers and cries of “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

 

 

 

Traditionally during Holy Week, we focus on the sufferings of Jesus.  But it is not suffering, not even the sufferings of Jesus, that makes this week holy.  Rather it is holy because of love -- the reconciling love of God who has come to live among us in the person of Jesus Christ.   God’s love is the only thing that makes sense out of suffering, conflict, and tragedy.  God’s love does not do away with suffering; the very fact of the cross should teach us that.  God’s love makes it possible to deal with suffering, to remember it, to share in it, and, yes, even to celebrate it.  God’s love is the essence of the story of salvation.

 

In the passion account, Jesus looks like a victim.  He is not triumphant as we understand triumph.  Instead he appears to be a failure.  Judging by one set of standards, Jesus has not met our expectations.  But according to another standard – the standard of unconditional love –he has far surpassed our expectations.   At once regal and lowly, he brought healing and holiness to others through his own pain and brokenness.  He would claim victory by being defeated; he would establish his reign by serving and by dying.  His crown would be a weave of thorns.

 

 

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with palm branches being spread on the road. When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil: “Who is this?” people asked.  In Jesus, God is the one who identifies with and enters into the experience of the people He loves.  Today God is sending a message through Jesus in this Palm Sunday celebration that states that Jesus once again accompanies us in these days.  God wishes to be in solidarity with us.  All of life is so precious that God wishes to be in solidarity with us.  God will embrace and transform our sufferings so that we may enter more fully into the risen life of Jesus.

 

Morning after morning in these days of Holy Week, we strive to accompany Jesus, present here and now in this community of believers and especially in those who suffer, as he continues his journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem through a world that sometimes cries Hosanna, but often, also, Crucify!  As disciples in every age, we resolve to be ready to suffer with our Master, carrying the cross in union with Him, freely laying down our lives in selfless service, trusting as did Jesus that, despite appearances to the contrary, God’s steadfast love will not abandon us but lead us safely to eternal life.

 

As we listen to the account of the passion and death of Jesus, may we be immersed in the immensity of God’s love for us.  May we also listen to the challenge that is given to us throughout the entire passion narrative:  As the master goes, so goes the disciple.

 

Take the palm branches with you today; let them be a reminder that we are entering the holiest week of the year. The week that begins with the false triumphal entry into Jerusalem and ends with the true triumph over death and the cross. These palms challenge us to remember our role in our Lord’s passion – that those great sufferings endured by our Lord were endured for each of us.

 

These palms can stay with us, calling us to not forget who we are – sinners in need of our Lord’s grace, and what we can be – sinners who have placed our lives in the hands of our loving God.

 

Have a blessed day.

 

                                                  

 

 

Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

 

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT   C   2025  1

 

 

The Gospel tells of the account of the woman caught in the act of adultery.  This Gospel is one of the most graphic Gospel accounts of the mercy of Jesus Christ that leads to new life.  The take-home message for us is that this Gospel story is not about adultery.  It is about forgiveness -- God’s forgiveness. It is a moment of mercy, redemption and transformation.

 

The Lenten season calls us to repentance.  This has been the theme of our journey of forty days.  What is repentance?  Repentance is not something we do; but it is allowing the forgiving power of God to touch our lives and to lead us along new paths.

 

In this Johannine Gospel account, we actually have two trials going on at the same time.  The first and most important trial:  the prosecutors in the persons of the Pharisees are putting Jesus to the test -- will Jesus uphold the Law of Moses -- dealing the death penalty to adulterers or not?  It is Jesus who is on trial.  He is the enemy, the heretic, the threat to the Pharisees and scribes who consider themselves the holders of God’s prophecies and promises.  The trap is set to prove that Jesus is not who he claims to be.

 

It’s a “Catch 22 dilemma.”  If the Lord upholds capital punishment, the people will see him as unmerciful and hard-hearted.  If He sides with pardon or acquittal, the Pharisees will convict him of infidelity to the Law of Moses.  That’s one trial going on.  However, as we see, this is a trap that ultimately reveals the mercy of Jesus.

 

The second is that of the woman herself who has been dragged from her bed of infidelity and brought before this public trial.  Jesus has suddenly been called upon to the acting judge of her case.  Jesus then bends down and began to write on the ground with his finger.  The silence of Jesus must have been deafening as the crowd waited for a verdict.  The scribes and Pharisees rattled on, persisting in their judgments and condemnations.  Then Jesus stands and utters those memorable words: “Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone.”  Then he stooped down and continued to write on the ground while beginning with the eldest, the wisest, the most experienced, one by one they walked away.  One by one they leave, knowing that none of them is sinless.

 

Then we hear the compassionate words of Jesus: “Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?”  She replied, “No one, sir.”  Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.  From now on, sin no more.”

 

We do not know this woman’s name, or what happened to her.  Though some have claimed that this woman was Mary Magdalene or even Mary of Bethany, there is really no evidence to identify her.  With certainty she is a distinct person with her own history and her own life; yet she is also symbolic of every person who stands in need of compassion.  She is you, me, all of us.

 

Notice carefully the authority Jesus exercised.  He acted not as her judge.  He acted as her Savior.  Our God is not a God of condemnation.  Our God is a God of mercy and compassion.

 

Jesus did not wish that this woman be imprisoned by the mistakes of her past.  Our God is a God of second chances.  This Gospel is not too good to be true.  It is what we believe.

 

Can you imagine what your life or my life would be like if we were prisoners of the worst mistake we ever made?  Who among us can say that we have not done some dumb things in our life? 

 

Our God is not a God of condemnation.  He is a God of mercy and forgiveness and compassion.  This is what this gospel account is all about.  In contrast to the values of society, the Gospel proclaims the mercy of Jesus to save this woman and to enable her to turn her life toward a God of love.

 

Jesus did not claim that the woman did not sin, he simply does not condemn her for it --- and even more Jesus saves her from self-righteous accusers.  Please God, may we in the name of Jesus never ever be the verbal equivalent of the stone-throwing scribes and Pharisees.  Rather, may we as the disciples of Jesus witness to God’s healing love in the lives of people.

 

When Jesus forgives, He does not condemn.  He does not remember.  He makes all things new.  He gives life when all seems dead.  Jesus offers her something greater -- a new beginning.  This is the essence of His mission: not to destroy sinners but to save them.

 

Jesus calls us to change our hearts. Sometimes, we think our righteousness and the law of God give us the right to judge others.  But in the gospel, Jesus shows us another way.

Jesus teaches that the life of a sinner is more important than the law. The woman caught in adultery broke the rules, and there’s no denial of that. But Jesus believes in giving second chances, even when the law does not.

He invites us to turn to Him with open hearts and pray with the prophet Isaiah, the apostle Paul, and the anonymous woman of the Gospel: “The Lord has done great things for me.  I am filled with joy.”

 

 

Jesus ‘s response to the forgiven woman challenges us in two ways:

 

·      To be merciful – Instead on making judgements and falling into the trap of gossip, Jesus calls us to bring people closer to God with love and mercy.

 

·      To seek conversion –Jesus tells the woman to sin no more.  God’s mercy is not a free pass to continue in sin but an invitation to change.  True repentance is to take on the mind and heart of Jesus.

 

We go forward as forgiven sinners, as sons and daughters of a loving God, and as the disciples of Jesus. 

 

Have a blessed day.