4th Sunday of Easter

 This Sunday is often referred to as Good Shepherd Sunday. It is helpful for us to remember that in the liturgy we do not act in the absence of the Lord. The priest, who acts in persona Christi capitis, that is, in the person of Christ the Head, is not a substitute for Christ. The people, the Word and the Blessed Sacrament are also presences of Christ in the liturgy. Taken together these presences make Christ liturgically tangible while he continues, in his risen power, outside of time. Thus, the sinfulness or shortcomings of the priest do not impede the validity of the sacrament but sadly they can affect the effectiveness of the graces received as people are damaged by scandal. The members of the Church know their Master. They have, in the sensus fidelium (sense of the faith) an understanding of what it means to follow Christ. They turn away from heresy, schism and apostasy when other malicious voices try to lure them away from the true faith which has been revealed to them: "He (Jesus) 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." (Jn 10: 3-5) Let us take it seriously that we believe, as we say in the Nicene Creed: "... in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." That when we gather for Mass it is indeed in the Lord and that He is present to us, teaches us and feeds us. The Good Shepherd, even in our times of pain and suffering, does not abandon us but rather gives us the strength to overcome. Saint Paul tells us: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God." (2 Cor 1: 3-4)

Reflection on Creation and the Resurrection

 It is a given that as Christians we: "... we walk by faith and not by sight." (2 Cor 5: 6) This faith can be defined as: "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb 11: 1) This theological virtue applies both to Creation: "By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God; so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible" (Heb 11: 3) and to the Resurrection: "Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed...." (Jn 20: 8) The moment of Creation is considered as the first day: "And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." (Gen 1: 5) while we can think of the Resurrection, happening as it did on the first day of the week, as the eighth day, when Creation was created anew: "He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation... he is the beginning the firstborn from the dead...." (Col 1: 15 and 18). Does this mean, however, that both of these events are unknown or unknowable to science scrutiny? Happening in history, surely there is a way to understand at least the physical phenomenon of both events which shape our reality? I suggest to you that there is compelling physical and scientific evidence for both of these events. I warmly recommend the work of Fr Robert Spitzer sj on these subjects and more which can be found on Youtube. A couple of examples of his work are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xxiR37eUt8 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWmo1Jk9YwM. The physics underpinning the first moments of Creation are mind-boggling as is the scientific analysis of the Shroud of Turin which can be seen as a "receipt of the Resurrection." I pry that as we journey through Eastertide the Holy Spirit will guide us in all we think, do and say.

3rd Sunday of Easter

 The phrase that jumps out at me from the Gospel this week is: "But we had hoped that he (Jesus) was the one who would redeem Israel." (Lk 24: 21) The two disciples have been, anachronistically speaking, baptized as infants, gone to Catholic schools, received First Reconciliation and First Communion and  Confirmed as teenagers. The faith that they had been given has been static. It has met their cultural and communal needs but they have ultimately been disappointed. They have heard of the Resurrection but God has not given them what they want when they wanted it. Rather, than staying with the community and striving to contribute to it while maturing their insight and knowledge of the faith already received, as adults they leave. It is not told us whether we are dealing with two men or a woman and a man. We could imagine that this is a married couple who decide to walk out from the congregation and set out on their own spiritual and religious journey. In reality, if they had kept on walking, they would have missed out on Pentecost and all of the wonderful Springtime of the Church that came with it. The road to Emmaus is, in fact, the road to oblivion. In an uncaring and broken world they will be deprived of the support of the sacraments and a stable faith community. Cut off from the source of their original faith and culture their relationships and spirituality will degrade to the point that their children will have no knowledge or regard for Jesus or the Church as life giving realities. Rather, the Lord and the Church will be seen as either quaint out of date myths or, alternatively, as authoritarian menaces to self realization and autonomy. Rightly, Jesus pulls them up short when he says: "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared." (Lk 24: 25) Nevertheless, he starts again from the beginning and patiently accompanies them on their journey. Their eyes are only opened to the truth when he is revealed at the breaking of the bread. My question today is, how is the Lord revealed for me in the Mass, since as we hear in the Eucharistic Prayers for Various Needs: "Blessed indeed is your Son, present in our midst when we are gathered by his love and when, as once for the disciples, so now for us, he opens the Scriptures and breaks the bread."?

2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)

 The Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, is the completion of the Easter Octave. Just as at Christmastide the solemnity of Mary Mother of God deepens the theological insight of Christmas and the implications of the Incarnation so too Divine Mercy shows forth the implications of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Resurrection reveals irrevocably and definitively the merciful nature of our God. The human race, with the crucifixion, repudiated the love of its heavenly Father and like the younger son in the parable of the Prodigal Son faced the prospect of eternal disgrace. Divine Mercy shows us that instead of yielding condemnation the resurrection brought forth, from the side of Christ, an outpouring of mercy sufficient the heal and safe the whole of the world. The gates of paradise slammed shut behind the First Adam are opened joyously by the Second. The twin streams of blood and water, which speak to us of Baptism and Holy Eucharist, indicate the means by which we have this mercy mediated to us. Let us, as missionary disciples, be eager to intentionally share the Good News of this Mercy both in our words and our actions. 

Easter Sunday

 The morning of the Resurrection, as related by the Gospel of John, has a great deal of movement. Mary Magdalene runs to Peter and the Beloved Disciple who in turn run together to the tomb. One could almost think of a panic. The absence of the body was not expected despite all of the predictions made by Jesus. Nevertheless, the tomb itself is quiet and empty. The only evidence is the linen wrappings with, significantly, the cloth that had been on his head rolled up in a place by itself. We can imagine that Jesus was taught by Our Lady when he was growing up to always leave his bedroom tidy and so, rising from the dead, the linen wrappings and the head cloth are placed tidily! I suggest that we need on this Easter Day to take time to contemplate the quietness of the tomb and not be overtaken by busyness and movement. It is in reflecting of the tomb and the cloths with the silence of the garden that we can experience the insight of the Beloved Disciple for ourselves: "Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed." (Jn 20: 8)

Good Friday

 The message of Good Friday is summed up in the phrase: "... by his bruises we are healed." (Is 52; 5) The agony of the Passion speaks to  us of an act which makes of us not merely spectators in the plan of salvation but also subjects of the salvific plan. Jesus is no crucified randomly and he did not get sucked into the situation by accident. His triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the cleansing of the Temple are proof that he instigated a confrontation with the Jewish and Roman authorities. Since God was able to use suffering and death in such a powerful way to defeat sin and death let us also make available to him our own suffering and misfortunes so that he can likewise use them for the benefit of the Kingdom which is founded on self-sacrificing love that overcomes death.

Holy Thursday

 Jesus tells Peter: "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." (Jn 13: 8) If we take those words into our own hearts we are brought to confront our own relationship with the Lord. It is not simply a question of imitating the Lord in the washing of the feet but also allowing him to love and serve us first. If I am self sufficient and think I can aspire to act as Jesus did, without letting him love me first, then I have a problem. The church's doctrine on prevenient grace means that the action of God in Jesus Christ always comes first and precedes our own acts of love or service. What does it mean to let Christ love me and serve me? It means encountering him with openness and humility in the sacraments. The sacraments, all seven of them, speak of Christ loving, serving and healing his people. We cannot be so proud as to think that Christ needs us to help him in his salvific work it is out of his generosity and for our benefit that he allows us to cooperate in the work of salvation. Let us always be open to his grace and love and acknowledge our need of his healing and loving touch in our lives.