May 9, 2010 Sixth Sunday of Easter

[이 안드레아]

2010년 5월 9일 부활 제6주일

제1독서

사도행전 .15,1-2.22-29
그 무렵 1 유다에서 어떤 사람들이 내려와, “모세의 관습에 따라 할례를 받지 않으면 여러분은 구원을 받을 수 없습니다.” 하고 형제들을 가르쳤다. 2 그리하여 바오로와 바르나바 두 사람과 그들 사이에 적지 않은 분쟁과 논란이 일어나, 그 문제 때문에 바오로와 바르나바와 신자들 가운데 다른 몇 사람이 예루살렘에 있는 사도들과 원로들에게 올라가기로 하였다.
22 그때에 사도들과 원로들은 온 교회와 더불어, 자기들 가운데에서 사람들을 뽑아 바오로와 바르나바와 함께 안티오키아에 보내기로 결정하였다. 뽑힌 사람들은 형제들 가운데 지도자인 바르사빠스라고 하는 유다와 실라스였다. 23 그들 편에 이러한 편지를 보냈다.
“여러분의 형제인 사도들과 원로들이 안티오키아와 시리아와 킬리키아에 있는 다른 민족 출신 형제들에게 인사합니다.
24 우리 가운데 몇 사람이 우리에게서 지시를 받지도 않고 여러분에게 가서, 여러 가지 말로 여러분을 놀라게 하고 정신을 어지럽게 하였다는 말을 들었습니다. 25 그래서 우리는 사람들을 뽑아 우리가 사랑하는 바르나바와 바오로와 함께 여러분에게 보내기로 뜻을 모아 결정하였습니다. 26 바르나바와 바오로는 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 이름을 위하여 목숨을 내놓은 사람들입니다.
27 우리는 또 유다와 실라스를 보냅니다. 이들이 이 글의 내용을 말로도 전할 것입니다. 28 성령과 우리는 다음의 몇 가지 필수 사항 외에는 여러분에게 다른 짐을 지우지 않기로 결정하였습니다.
29 곧, 우상에게 바쳤던 제물과 피와 목 졸라 죽인 짐승의 고기와 불륜을 멀리하라는 것입니다. 여러분이 이것들만 삼가면 올바로 사는 것입니다. 안녕히 계십시오.”

제2독서

요한 묵시록 .21,10-14.22-23<또는 22,12-14.16-17.20>
10 천사는 성령께 사로잡힌 나를 크고 높은 산 위로 데리고 가서는, 하늘로부터 하느님에게서 내려오는 거룩한 도성 예루살렘을 보여 주었습니다. 11 그 도성은 하느님의 영광으로 빛나고 있었습니다. 그 광채는 매우 값진 보석 같았고, 수정처럼 맑은 벽옥 같았습니다. 12 그 도성에는 크고 높은 성벽과 열두 성문이 있었습니다. 그 열두 성문에는 열두 천사가 지키고 있는데, 이스라엘 자손들의 열두 지파 이름이 하나씩 적혀 있었습니다.
13 동쪽에 성문이 셋, 북쪽에 성문이 셋, 남쪽에 성문이 셋, 서쪽에 성문이 셋 있었습니다. 14 그 도성의 성벽에는 열두 초석이 있는데, 그 위에는 어린양의 열두 사도 이름이 하나씩 적혀 있었습니다.
22 나는 그곳에서 성전을 보지 못하였습니다. 전능하신 주 하느님과 어린양이 도성의 성전이시기 때문입니다. 23 그 도성은 해도, 달도 비출 필요가 없습니다. 하느님의 영광이 그곳에 빛이 되어 주시고, 어린양이 그곳의 등불이 되어 주시기 때문입니다.

복음

요한 .14,23-29<또는 17,20-26>
그때에 23 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다. “누구든지 나를 사랑하면 내 말을 지킬 것이다. 그러면 내 아버지께서 그를 사랑하시고, 우리가 그에게 가서 그와 함께 살 것이다. 24 그러나 나를 사랑하지 않는 사람은 내 말을 지키지 않는다. 너희가 듣는 말은 내 말이 아니라 나를 보내신 아버지의 말씀이다.
25 나는 너희와 함께 있는 동안에 이것들을 이야기하였다. 26 보호자, 곧 아버지께서 내 이름으로 보내실 성령께서 너희에게 모든 것을 가르치시고, 내가 너희에게 말한 모든 것을 기억하게 해 주실 것이다.
27 나는 너희에게 평화를 남기고 간다. 내 평화를 너희에게 준다. 내가 주는 평화는 세상이 주는 평화와 같지 않다. 너희 마음이 산란해지는 일도, 겁을 내는 일도 없도록 하여라. 28 ‘나는 갔다가 너희에게 돌아온다.’고 한 내 말을 너희는 들었다. 너희가 나를 사랑한다면, 내가 아버지께 가는 것을 기뻐할 것이다. 아버지께서 나보다 위대하신 분이시기 때문이다. 29 나는 일이 일어나기 전에 너희에게 미리 말하였다. 일이 일어날 때에 너희가 믿게 하려는 것이다.”

http://www.usccb.org/nab/

May 9, 2010
Sixth Sunday of Easter

Reading 1

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29

Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers,

“Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice,

you cannot be saved.”

Because there arose no little dissension and debate

by Paul and Barnabas with them,

it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others

should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders

about this question.

The apostles and elders, in agreement with the whole church,

decided to choose representatives

and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.

The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,

and Silas, leaders among the brothers.

This is the letter delivered by them:

“The apostles and the elders, your brothers,

to the brothers in Antioch , Syria , and Cilicia

of Gentile origin: greetings.

Since we have heard that some of our number

who went out without any mandate from us

have upset you with their teachings

and disturbed your peace of mind,

we have with one accord decided to choose representatives

and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So we are sending Judas and Silas

who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:

‘It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us

not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,

namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,

from blood, from meats of strangled animals,

and from unlawful marriage.

If you keep free of these,

you will be doing what is right.  Farewell.’”

Responsorial Psalm

 Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!

or:

R. Alleluia.

May God have pity on us and bless us;

may he let his face shine upon us.

So may your way be known upon earth;

among all nations, your salvation.

R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

or:

R. Alleluia.

May the nations be glad and exult

because you rule the peoples in equity;

     the nations on the earth you guide.

R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

or:

R. Alleluia.

May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you!

May God bless us,

and may all the ends of the earth fear him!

R. O God, let all the nations praise you!

or:

R. Alleluia.

Reading 2

Rev 21:10-14, 22-23

The angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain

and showed me the holy city Jerusalem

coming down out of heaven from God.

It gleamed with the splendor of God.

Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,

like jasper, clear as crystal.

It had a massive, high wall,

with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed

and on which names were inscribed,

the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites.

There were three gates facing east,

three north, three south, and three west.

The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation,

on which were inscribed the twelve names

of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

I saw no temple in the city

for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.

The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,

for the glory of God gave it light,

and its lamp was the Lamb.

Gospel

Jn 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Whoever loves me will keep my word,

and my Father will love him,

and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.

Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;

yet the word you hear is not mine

but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.

The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you everything

and remind you of all that I told you.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives do I give it to you.

Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.

You heard me tell you,

 ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’

If you loved me,

you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;

for the Father is greater than I.

And now I have told you this before it happens,

so that when it happens you may believe.”

http://www.staygreat.com/

the gift of peace

Jesus said to his disciples,
"Peace is what I leave with you;
it is my own peace that I give
you. John 15:27

Albert Schweitzer gave up a
successful musical career in
Europe to become a missionary
doctor in Africa . One day some-
one asked him what starting
point he used to introduce Jesus
and Jesus' message to Africans
He replied: "When I speak of the
difference between the restless
and the peaceful heart, they
knows what I mean. And when I
portray Jesus as he who brings
God's peace to our heart, to the
human heart, they undestand.

How do I open my hear to the
peace Jesus left for us?

Three enemies of personal
peace: regret over yesterday's
mistakes, anxiety over tomor-
row's problems, and ingratitude
for today's blessings.
William Arthur Ward

http://www.franciscanretreats.net/

Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

Love is many things, as we read in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians a passage we are all familiar with: “Love is patient, love is kind … not jealous, … not pompous…" (ICor. 13: 4-8). Another characteristic of love is its identification with the one loved. Lovers become one, in a sense. They more or less feel the same way, react the same way, think the same way. At the same time, they are totally different. Love is not an easy thing to put your finger on. It is quite complex.

My Commentary on the Scriptures points out that loving Jesus is only accomplished by keeping his commandments. Jesus gave his disciples only one commandment – to love one another. And it is clear from other places in Scripture that we must also believe that Jesus is the One sent by the Father, that Jesus and the Father are one. We receive the power to do this, Jesus tells us, through the Advocate or Paraclete, the Father will send us in Jesus’ name. This Paraclete will be the “alter ego” of Jesus. Paraclete is a Greek word meaning advocate, counselor, stand-in. Already the Scriptures are beginning to prepare us for the coming of this Advocate, the Holy Spirit, at the time of Pentecost. We will celebrate this great Solemnity on May 23.

In this way we become identified with Jesus and his family, the Father and the Holy Spirit. The very God-head dwells within us. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, our humanity’s stock rose 1000%. Let’s spend a bit of time on this Lord’s Day mulling over in our minds the truth of this mystery of the indwelling of the Trinity. What a dignity we all have! With what great respect and admiration we should treat one another! Let us do all we can to make ourselves and others constantly aware of this mystery.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in light of this indwelling, urges us more and more to realize the presence in us of God the Father and Creator who preserves our life through the dark nights we may experience and awakens us to a new day; God the Son and Savior of the World, who vanquished death and hell for us, and dwells in our midst as Victor; and God the Holy Spirit who pours the bright light of God’s Word into our hearts early in the morning, driving away all darkness and sin and teaching us to pray the right way. He points out that our lives do not belong to the individual, but to all the Church of the triune God, to the community of Christians living together.

Let us thank our Great God today for his consideration of the people he created to be his own.

http://www.evangeli.net/gospel/gospel.html

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him; and we will come to him and make a room in his home

Today, before the celebration of the Ascension and Whitsun, we read once more the words of the so called sermon of the Last Supper, where we should see the different ways to present a unique message, insofar as it all emanates from the blessed union of Christ with the Father and from God's will to associate us closely to this mystery of love.

One day, St. Therese of the Child Jesus was offered several gifts for her to choose one but quite decidedly, despite her youth, she said «I choose everything!». When she grew older she realized that choosing everything actually meant desiring to be love and devotion in the Church, for a body without love would be totally meaningless. The mystery of God's love, is a concrete, personal love incarnated within the Son Jesus, who gives us everything: Himself, his life and his deeds are the best and clearer God's message to us.

From this love encompassing everything is where “peace” is born from. A word that, today, we all dream about: we want “peace” but alarm and violence surround us. Peace will only be achieved if we turn towards Jesus, as He gives us his peace as a fruit of his total love. Though He does not give it as the world does (cf. Jn 14:27), as the peace bestowed by Jesus is not made of calm unconcern, but just the opposite: of a solidarity that becomes brotherhood; of a capacity to take a look at ourselves and at others with new eyes, as the Lord does, and thus, forgives us. A great serenity overflows us and helps us to see things just as they actually are, not as they look like. And by following this way we shall reach happiness.

«The Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have told you» (Jn 14:26). In these last days of Easter let us beg to open up to the Holy Spirit; we received it when we were baptized and confirmed, but now we must —as a last gift— make the Spirit to spring up from within us to take us where we would not have dared by ourselves.

http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

PREPRAYERING

Today in this part of the world there is the wonderful celebration of Mothers Day. It is the most popular day for the restaurant industry, the flower stores and in the memory departments of most of us. Graduates refer to their schools as their “Alma Mater” which literally means “Nourishing mother”. Religious orders refer to their foundation buildings as “Mother Houses”. Miners hitting a large strike of ore would call that hitting the “Mother Load”. WE refer to this planet as “Mother Earth”. There is something precious, like gold, nourishing, sustaining and stable about the vocation of being a mother.

As we prepare these days to remember our birth-mothers and journey toward the celebration, as well, of the Eucharist, we might reflect on how we relate with the mysterious God often as a Mother; stable, precious, tender, the Source. In most families we learned of God, not through Theology, or catechism, but through a gentle force which picked us up, sat us down, rolled us over, let us go and brought us back. We can pray with the memories of how our mothers brought us to life and played their part in bringing God to life for us as well.

REFLECTION

Relationships do change behavior. The early apostles were influenced greatly by their friendship with Jesus. They were religiously faithful to their Jewish traditions, such as circumcision, and other rituals of bodily and communal purification. Chapter seventeen of the Book of Leviticus relates clearly some of these laws which were the Word of God.

What we hear of in today’s First Reading is a developmental situation. The Acts of the Apostles is a book dedicated to the workings of the Holy Spirit in spreading the relationship with Jesus within a growing and non-Jewish community. The question Paul and Barnabas are facing is - what do converts from paganism have to do to be in the, what we would call, the Church. Do the men have to be circumcised? Are the purification rules for women and eating laws binding on the converts?

Some of the Jerusalem head-office have come down to Antioch and were instructing the new-comers that they must observe all the old Jewish rituals of purity. Paul and Barnabas, who were formerly quite religiously Jews, begin to reflect on just how Jesus, during His time with the apostles, dealt with these very same laws and rituals. They decide to have a literally, “Come-to-Jesus” meeting about this issue. What we hear is the letter or decree which is sent to the new communities. It is a long letter meant to restore peace of mind and heart to the newly converted. There are some things which are required which are stated near the end of the letter and which are mentioned in the chapter from Leviticus cited above. It is so helpful to remember that relationships change behaviors, but without the preexisting relationships, the changes are meaningless. Paul and Barnabas kept preaching about the Risen Jesus Who came to free all from mere practice of laws and called all to be brothers and sisters of His and each other.  

The Gospel continues the last conference-talk Jesus is giving His disciples in John’s narrative leading to the betrayal of Jesus, His death and His Resurrection. There is a peaceful tenderness about Jesus’ words and still a doomful sense of leaving them, but not totally.

In two weeks we will celebrate the descending of the Holy Spirit upon the world through the Church and before that the Ascending of Jesus from the earth into heaven. This Gospel reading is a preparing for our not experiencing being left abandoned as a Church. This fragile reality, the Church, had its problems from the earliest days when two disciples wanted preferential treatment by being guaranteed top seats when the Kingdom was to arrive. Jesus offers us a peace that the world cannot give. The world gives a temporary stillness when there is perfection or accomplishment. Jesus is the Fullness of Creation and He associates from the beginning with the fragmented and incomplete. His peace comes from the embrace He extends to the disciples and through them to us. His peace is not predicated on our perfection or achievements. His peace flows from His perfect embrace of our imperfect struggles to follow Him in bringing this world to His peace. The world applauds, celebrates and moves on to the next superiffic person or persons. Jesus’ peace is a covenant, a completion of God’s creation.

My own mother gave peace to us not like the world gives. She, by her own self, had her husband, the father of us three, confined to a state hospital for six months to detoxify him from “the drink” as it was known in our Irish community. We have hand-written letters from Dad explaining how things were going to be lots better and a lot sooner if she would let him out. She didn’t! She was giving us and him peace in the many ways of God’s giving peace. It was neither through denial, avoidance, easy solutions nor through anger. She loved him beyond all that and loved us as well. She ordered peace through hope and got a job to sustain that peace, not as the world does.

Three more children later, for all those years later, our mother remained the source, the stable force, the precious stillpoint in a family which more than survived, but flourished and not as the world flourishes.

The Church which is the extension of the person and Mission of Jesus receives its peace from the active stillpoint of the peaceful hands even when it experiences its fragility, fragmentation and disorders. Jesus, give us Your peace.

http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/

“If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him”

Do you know the love that surpasses all, that is stronger than death itself (Song of Songs 8:6)? In Jesus' last supper discourse he speaks of the love he has for his disciples and of his Father's love. He prepares his disciples for his imminent departure to return to his Father by exhorting them to prove their love for him through their loyalty and obedience to his word. He promises them the abiding instruction and consolation of the Holy Spirit. Saint Augustine says the Lord loves each of us as if there were only one of us to love. God’s love for each of us is as real and tangible as the love of a mother for her child and the love of a lover who gives all for his beloved. God made us for love – to know him personally and to grow in the knowledge of his great love for us. How can we know and be assured of the love of God? The Holy Spirit helps us to grow in the knowledge of God and his great love. The Spirit enables us to experience the love of God and to be assured of the Lord’s abiding presence with us (see Romans 8:35-39). The Holy Spirit also opens our ears to hear and understand the word of God.  Do you listen attentively to God's word and believe it?  Ask the Holy Spirit to inflame your heart with the love of God and his word.

Do you know the peace which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7)? Jesus grants peace as his gift to his disciples. What kind of peace does he offer? The peace of Christ is more than the absence of trouble. It includes everything which makes for our highest good. The world's approach to peace is avoidance of trouble and a refusal to face unpleasant things. Jesus offers the peace which conquers our fears and anxieties. Nothing can take us from the peace and joy of Jesus Christ. No sorrow or grief, no danger, no suffering can make it less. Jesus also speaks of his destination and ultimate triumph over the powers of evil in the world.  In the eyes of the world the cross stood for shame, humiliation, and defeat. Jesus went to the cross knowing that it would lead to victory over the powers of sin and of Satan. Jesus also knew that he would return to his Father in glory. The cross brought glory to Jesus and to the Father and it is our way to glory as well.  In the Cross of Christ we find true peace and reconciliation with God. Do you live in the peace of Jesus Christ?

"Lord Jesus, in love you created me and you drew me to yourself. May I never lose sight of you nor forget your steadfast love and faithfulness. And may I daily dwell upon your word and give you praise in the sanctuary of my heart, You who are my All."

Psalm 67:1-7

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, [Selah]
2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. [Selah]
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
7 God has blessed us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!

http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html

The readings this Sunday are filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel is taken from Jesus' farewell address to His apostles at the Last Supper. Jesus tells them that He's leaving them for a while, but He will return. To quiet their fears, He promises to send them an "Advocate" who will remind them of all He Himself had taught them, and even more. If they really love Him, the Father and He will come and live in them! What a remarkable comfort that should be!

After Pentecost (which we'll celebrate in just two weeks), we know how powerfully Jesus' promise was fulfilled with a thunderous experience which left His followers incredibly changed into bold and courageous preachers of the Word.

Our second reading today gives us a glimpse into the work of the Holy Spirit at the first ecumenical council of the Church in Jerusalem . A momentous decision is made by the apostles gathered there, not to impose circumcision on the Gentiles. And the Holy Spirit agrees (it is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us). Clearly, God is not going to leave this new Church without Divine guidance.

Today's second reading from Revelation gives us an encouraging picture of the "end times" when the struggle between Good and Evil has ended, and the new city of Jerusalem has come down out of heaven, radiant as jasper, clear as crystal. The glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. (see Revelation 21:23)

In the midst of the present crisis in the Church, we tend to forget Christ's promise that He will be with the Church until the end of time, and that the "gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it." As the Holy Spirit was with the Church at the beginning, so will it be until the final days of the world. More and more, we see a strong positive response from Pope Benedict XVI guided by the wisdom of the Spirit and the continued faithful sacrifice of its priests, sisters, and lay people in carrying out its mission.

~ Msgr. Paul Whitmore

http://goodnews.ie/calendar.php

"We live in a numble abode," said Uriah Heep in David Copperfield.  That was in 1850; I don’t think anyone refers now to his or her house as an 'abode', 'umble or otherwise.  But the word itself is interesting.  It is related to 'abide'.  You abide in an abode.  (The words 'ride' and 'road' have a similar relationship.) 

The word ‘abide’ is used repeatedly in the part of John's gospel that we are reading at Mass these times (10 times in verses 1-10 of chapter 15).  It is variously translated as ‘live’ and ‘remain’ and 'make your home'.  It is a beautiful word.  It was a word much beloved of Meister Eckhart, the 14th-century German mystic.  He wrote, “It is not right to love God for His heaven's sake nor for the sake of anything at all, but we should love Him for the goodness that He is in Himself. For whoever loves him for anything else does not abide in Him, but abides in the thing he is loving Him for. If, therefore, you want to abide in Him, you must love Him for nothing but Himself.” 

That's how a person behaves at home: we love the people there for their own sakes, not because they are good-looking, or clever, nor for what we can get from them.  Some saint said she would like to close down both heaven and hell, so that people would do good for its own sake, not because of greed or fear,  and love God for God's own sake.  That would be ‘abiding in God.’ 

Equally, God abides in us  -  lives in ‘a numble abode.’   “If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him” (the beginning of today’s gospel reading).  He promised too to send the Holy Spirit.  This means that the Trinity lives in us.  And we in the Trinity. 

How did we get the idea that God was distant from us?  I suppose it was because many people spoke to us about God and neglected to mention that “God is love”; and because many of them had little love for us themselves.  Recently I found a copy of the Penny Catechism that was knocked into me in my childhood, and I saw that in the first chapter, which was about God, the word ‘love’ did not occur at all.  God was described as Creator, Ruler, Punisher of evil, Rewarder of Good; but nowhere did it say that God loved us.  Love brings near; fear separates, it makes you want to run away.  How terrible that we run away from our very Source like frightened animals!  How terrible that we feel like strangers and exiles from our own home, our abode. 

In the immortal story that Jesus told about the Prodigal Son, the father saw his son “while he was yet a long way off…and was moved to pity.  He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly.”  Then he gave him the best robe and put a ring on his finger.  This ring symbolised that he was a true son, and not a servant as he wanted to be.  That was Jesus describing God our Father.  How then could we ever have imagined that God was distant from us?  Even when we try to make ourselves distant from God, God remains close to us.  Meister Eckhart, whom I quoted above, wrote, “You need not seek Him here or there, He is no further than the door of your heart; there He stands patiently awaiting whoever is ready to open up and let Him in. No need to call to Him from afar: He can hardly wait for you to open up. He longs for you a thousand times more than you long for Him.” 

‘Abide’.  It is a word you might use to describe what you are doing in contemplation: you are abiding, you are making you home in Christ, you are within his mind.  You are in God and God is in you.  You are in your true home.   

http://www.presentationministries.com/

DECISION-MAKING

"It is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and ours too." 뾃cts 15:28

Two weeks from today, we will celebrate Pentecost. We will receive in a new way the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, Whom the Father will send in Jesus' name (Jn 14:26). The Spirit will instruct us in everything and remind us of all that Jesus told us (Jn 14:26). This instructing and reminding from the Spirit will have such an effect on our lives that our decisions will also be the decisions of the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28). Therefore, our decisions will be correct, life-changing, life-giving, miraculously wise, and fruitful for God's kingdom.

Many of us have messed up our lives through bad decisions. Our marriages, finances, employment, family life, and lifestyle were forged by a series of bad decisions. The way out of this mess is to make good decisions by the power oob0509.rtff the Spirit. Therefore, we must receive the Holy Spirit. Our lives, decisions, and futures depend on receiving the Holy Spirit. We must go into the upper room of prayer, repentance, and conversion. There we will receive the Spirit. He will change our lives, hearts, minds, and decisions.

http://www.judeop.org/dailyreflections.htm

"Farewell dinners" have a certain note of sadness about them even if they are done in a humorous fashion such as a "roast." There's nothing humorous about Jesus' "farewell dinner!" His discourse builds on all that he has taught the disciples, and especially on the example he provided by washing their feet. Now he is trying to prepare them for the time when he will not longer be with them in the flesh! The passage from the "Farewell Discourse" that we read in today's gospel highlights the presence of Jesus in the believer and the community in two particular ways.

The first way is a reminder of something Jesus has said over and over again. Faith in him and in his word is equivalent to eternal life and assures the presence of Jesus and his Father in the one who believes. (Older translations might use the word, "abide," for the expression‎, "make our dwelling." ) The second form of presence is the "Advocate, the Holy Spirit." (Again, older translations may use the word "Paraclete.") This presence is the guarantee of fidelity to the teachings of Jesus and is a binding force in the community of the disciples. Fidelity to the teachings of Jesus, and not simply a sentimental attachment to the "earthly" Jesus, will be the hallmark of the individual as well as the community.

The "Farewell Discourse" can seem repetitive and abstract at times. The gospel author appears at times to have put several addresses together to form one long one. However, if we read the "prologue" and first thirteen chapters of the Gospel of John before reading the Farewell Discourse, the latter will make more sense. It's like the guest at the farewell supper getting up and reminiscing about his or her service and "legacy" to the audience. The difference here is that Jesus' legacy is eternal. And there will be no "gold watch." There will be a cross and empty tomb and the promised Spirit for his disciples. AMEN

http://biblereflection.blogspot.com/

 

Homily from Father James Gilhooley
6 Easter

Sixth Sunday of Easter - Cycle C
John 14:23-29
    
Francis of Assisi, Arthur Tonne tells us, chanced upon a woman who told him she did not love God. She had no intention of ever obeying Him. As he and she walked along together, they passed a man who was both blind and crippled. Francis asked him, "Were I to give you sight and enable you to walk, what would your response be?" As you might imagine, the man said eagerly, "I would both love you and be your servant forever." Il Poverello turned to the woman and quietly queried, "You just heard him. He would both love me and obey me. Why then do you not cherish and obey the Almighty who has generously allowed you to both see as well as run if you choose?"
    
But the fact of the matter is God does ask us the same question every day. "Why do you not both love and obey me? Consider all I have given you all your life." On the face of it, there is no one of us who can take umbrage at the question.  In the best possible scenario, we should bolt out of bed in the morning, crash down on the floor at risk of water on the knee, and pray with absolute conviction. What should we say? How about this for openers? "Dear God, once again my name is not in the Irish funny pages aka the obituary column. In gratitude, I will expend myself for you all day." As Robert Frost puts it, earth's the right place for love. The Swedes would remind us that those who wish to sing always find a song.
    
In today's Gospel, Jesus is clearly on the record saying, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments... Those who do not love me do not keep my words." Why should anyone of us be in a state of shock at this pronouncement? The Christ has been called many names by His enemies down the centuries, but no one ever called Him dumb.
    
And the sublime wordsmith Mr Shakespeare might well have had John 14 in mind when he wrote, "They do not truly love who do not show their love."
    
After all, every mother's child of us is, as someone has pointed out, a forgiven sinner. Much love and likewise obedience then should be justly expected from those to whom much love has been shown. Love then in this context is, in James Tahaney's incisive language, a four word synonym for grow.
    
Happily for us what the Teacher wants from us is written in black and white in the Ten Commandments. No matter from what angle one approaches these commandments, no matter how one shakes them, the color gray is never seen. One does get the distinct feeling that gray was the least favorite color of the Master.
    
There are some of us who think if we attend the Eucharist, we can be totally cavalier about the law of God. But such an approach will simply not wash. Even the curmudgeon who was George Bernard Shaw saw the fallacy in such an approach. He penned, "Beware of the man whose God is in the skies." Shaw would applaud the aphorism that teaches a hypocrite is a person who is not himself on Sunday.
   
We must establish our love by doing what God desires and fleeing, like a case of the swine flu, what He says is a forbidden. To profess love for God and forget His commands may be our idea of bliss, but it is not Christianity. Rather, it is the Gospel according to you and me. It is, in one man's terms, decaffinated Christianity. And one comes up with a faux Jesus.
    
Too many of us have developed the nasty habit of keeping the New Testament buried on our shelves instead of in our minds and hearts. Today's Gospel advises us not to be in that company. "Be smart enough," St John is saying to us today, "to learn from the mistakes of others. You may not live long enough to make them all yourself."
    
My Irish ancestors a long time ago wrapped today's Gospel up in a clever lyric. "Paddy Murphy went to Mass, never missed a Sunday. But Paddy Murphy went to hell, for what he did on Monday."
    
But do not lose heart. "God," said the pundit, "can make a great finish out of a slow start."

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Homily from Father Joseph Pellegrino
http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html
6 Easter

6th Easter: The Movie Was Not As Good As the Book

The book was better than the movie.  I’m sure you agree.  The movie was OK, but it just didn’t capture the images, the characters and the drama of the book.  Maybe those who only saw the movie thought it was tremendous, but if you read the book first, the movie is quite disappointing.

You could probably say this about any movie you have seen based on a book you have previously read.  Maybe our young people could apply this to a Harry Potter movie or to Lemony Snickett.  There is no doubt that the Lord of the Rings Trilogy or the Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, were great movies, but if you read the books first you’d probably say that the books were so much better. Perhaps our older folk (like me) would agree that the movie versions of To Kill a Mockingbird or one of the Steinbeck novels like The Grapes of Wrath just didn’t match up with the books, even though the movie may have won awards.

Why is that?  Why is it that the movie is never quite as good as the book?  Well, when we read a book, we create images in our head about what characters should look like, sound like, etc.  We create images of various scenes that were so intense, we just couldn’t put the book down.  We have in our heads ideas of how something should look, or how something should go.  It’s hard to change our minds when we see it portrayed in a different way on film.  It is hard to change when we have pre-conceived notions.

In today’s readings, God calls us to move past our pre-conceived notions to a deeper understanding of Him, His Church and what it means for us to be Catholic.

For example, the people addressed in the first reading were absolutely convinced that since salvation came through the Jewish people, a person could not become a Christian unless he or she first became a Jew.  It might seem minor to us, but it was a huge decision when the apostles got together, and prayed together, called upon the Holy Spirit, and then decided that those who had been pagan did not have to become Jewish first.  They just had to stay away from immorality and from joining pagan practices.  “The Messiah of the Jews was also the Messiah of the pagans?  Unheard of.  How could this be?” God called the early Christians to move past their pre-conceived notions and to allow Him to work His wonders on the world.

The same could be said about the second reading.  The Jewish people could not envision a Jerusalem without a Temple .  But now God was calling them beyond these thoughts  to envision a new world where His Presence would permeate the world, where people, you and I, would feel and be empowered by His Presence wherever we were.

In the Gospel reading Jesus tells the disciples and us that the peace He leaves us is radically different than our concepts of peace. What we consider peace and what God considers peace are two different things.  For us, peace means not to have conflict.  But Christ called us into conflict with the world.  Still, God gives us peace.  A different peace, a peace within ourselves, a peace that only comes through union with Him.  We are not to be troubled.  We are not to be afraid.  Rather we are called to embrace the Lord and His Way.  Then the Father and Son will love us, come to us and make their dwelling with us.

But we are afraid.  We are afraid that if we abandon our pre-conceived notions of happiness we will be left with nothing.  So we work like dogs not merely to provide for our families, but to purchase happiness.  I mean that is the message of our materialistic society, isn’t it?  Happiness can be bought. Or can it?  It takes a huge step to trust God to bring us happiness.

We associate with a certain group that everyone looks up to; perhaps it’s the in-crowd in the high school or college that celebrates the prom, or graduation, or the end of the school year by getting drunk.  We are called beyond the notion that happiness is found in alcohol or in having drinking buddies, to the notion that happiness is found in Jesus Christ.  But we fear, we fear being unpopular, losing our friends if we don’t go along with them.

Our sex saturated society says that physical relations is the greatest source of happiness and that sex should be used for amusement, not for the expression‎ of committed love.  And so many people buy into this lie, and give themselves up because that is what everyone their age is supposed to do, whether that age is high school, college, young adult, or older adult and even senior citizen.  But we are called beyond this notion to the recognition that sex is good and beautiful only when the Lord is present uniting His Love to the love of a husband and wife.  Still, we are afraid to trust God.  And our fear holds us back from enjoying His Love.  Our fear prevents us from running away from any relationship where His Love is not present.  Our fear binds us to pre-conceived notions of happiness.  Our fear prevents us from savoring  the beauty of possessing God in our lives.

“Do not be afraid,” the Gospel tells us.  Trust in God to bring us happiness beyond any happiness the world presents, beyond any thing in our minds that we conceive would bring happiness. 

The movie may not be as good as the book, but God’s Happiness, His Peace, and His Love are infinitely greater than our ideas of happiness, peace and love.  We ask God today to take us beyond the limits this world imposes to the Life where His Spirit makes all life complete. (Alternate Opening Prayer of the Epiphany)

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Homily from Father Phil Bloom
http://www.geocities.com/seapadre_1999/
* available in Spanish - see Spanish homilies
6 Easter

That the World May Believe
(May 9, 2010)

Bottom line: Disunity, criticism and complaining can destroy faith, but unity - working for a common vision - can lead others to faith.

I begin this Sunday by wishing all our moms a Happy Mothers Day. I am offering this Mass for our mothers, living or deceased. The readings address a theme dear to the hearts of moms: How to avoid complaining and disunity - and how to achieve a unity that leads to faith.

On this Sixth Sunday of Easter, we have a choice: Since we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord next Sunday, we have the option of using the Seventh Sunday readings today. In the Gospel we hear this prayer of Jesus: "Holy Father...may they all be one, as you, Father are in me and I in you, that the world may believe you sent me."

"May they be one...that the world may believe." Our unity - our oneness - draws people to faith. I'd like to illustrate this, first with a negative example -how disunity can weaken, even destroy faith. Then I will give a positive example - how our unity can lead other to faith.

Here is an example of how disunity weakens faith: In a certain parish a controversy broke out - of all things - over what color to paint a room. Some wanted a bright, lively color. Other preferred a more subdued, mellow color. This innocent controversy soon became heated. They began labelling each other. The "brights" were characterized as elitists, the "mellows" as sticks-in-the-mud. Pretty soon, some became convinced that the parish's future depended on the outcome of the controversy. Parents could not avoid discussing the matter in their homes and at their dinner tables. They thought their children would appreciate their concern, their "passion," but it had a different effect. What the children heard was not "passion," but anger. They heard their parents criticizing other parishioners - and the parish priest. All in all, it weakened the faith of children, young people and other adults.*

Of course, controversies are inevitable. They have always been part of Church life - even in New Testament times. God can use controversy to purify his Church and to clarify the faith. But the devil can also use controversy to create enmity, factions and bitterness - to destroy faith.** For that reason, Jesus prayed, "Holy Father...may they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that the world may believe you sent me."

Let me give an example of how unity can lead to faith. In this case it resulted in a remarkable conversion. It happened that in a country parish, one of the parishioners very much desired the conversion of her husband. But he scoffed at the faith, especially at the priest assigned to the parish. The priest had a problem with drinking and the people never knew when he would disappear for an all night binge; the next day the priest would be out of commission. The priest wasn't me, by the way.:) Anyway, the parishioners had to station a cordon around the rectory on Saturday night to make sure they would have Mass on Sunday morning. The woman's husband at first made fun of all this, but little by little he became impressed by the people's unity, that the Mass meant so much to them. Eventually, the scoffing husband became a Catholic. The parishioners' unity, their common vision led him to faith.

So that is the message for this Sunday: For sure, disagreements and controversies are inevitable, but much depends on how we handle them. Disunity, criticism and complaining can destroy faith, but unity - working for a common vision - can lead others to faith. "May they be one...that the world may believe."

**********

*To give another example: Once a young couple had two teenage boys. More than anything else, they wanted their sons to have faith in God, to follow Jesus and to participate in the Church. This couple was deeply involved in their parish, but one day they had a difference of opinion with the pastor. As sometimes happens, a difference of opinion can escalate and we can start thinking everything hinges on it. It became quite emotional and the couple couldn't help talking about it at the dinner table. They thought that their sons would appreciate their "passion." Unfortunately, the boys didn't understand the whole issue. All they knew was that their parents were angry - and it made them feel miserable. The boys, who once were friendly to the priest, began to keep their distance. They even started making comments in that priest's hearing. The parents' disunity with the pastor wound up alienating their children from the faith.

**Some might say, "If I don't complain, nothing will ever change." Maybe so, but there are a couple of things to consider: If I stop complaining, that's already a change. A big one because it makes life better for people around me. But more to the point is what a person does with their complaint. Bring it first to the Lord in prayer and ask him what to do with the complaint. If it seems worthwhile, the complaint should be taken to someone who can do something about it. To complain in front of those with those can do nothing about it, destroys faith.

Spanish Version

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Homily from Father Andrew M. Greeley
http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.html
6 Easter

May 9th, 2010 A.D
Sixth Sunday of Easter JN Jn 14/23-29

Background:
John's Gospel obviously displays a much more developed theology then the three synoptic gospels. However, it was still written early in the so-called sub-apostolic time. The remarkable fact is not that there is a strong theological slant to it. Rather it is surprising how relatively early in the history of the early Church a strong Trinitarian perspective has emerged. The trajectory towards Nicea and the other early councils has already been set, thought he elaborate explanations have yet to appear. Associated with God even by the time of St. John are Jesus, and the Father, and the Paraclete, the advocate, the teacher, the protector, the guarantor of the peace that Jesus has given.

Already we have hints that God is a community of relationships, that there is so much knowledge and love in God that the knowledge and love explode into distinct personages. This truth is revealed to test our faith, not to provide theologians with raw material for their speculations (though there is nothing wrong with that), but to dazzle us with the brightness of God's glory, the power of God's knowledge and the passion of God's love. The use of the word "spirit," a translation of the Hebrew word Shekenah hints at a maternal protection in God because the word is feminine in Hebrew - and was used in Hebrew folk religion as the name of Yahweh's consort. St. John had no thought of such matters, yet the gender of the noun might well be part of the meaning "in front of the text."

Story:
Once upon a time back in the last century there was a young woman from Ireland who had lost her parents and all her family. Some kind people wrote to their relatives in America and said we have this fourteen year old orphan here who is very bright and very pretty and very hard working, We don’t want her to go to the orphanage because she won’t have any opportunities there to develop her talents. Would you eve consider hiring her as a servant girl. You’d have to pay her way over on the boat, but she’ll work for nothing until she earns her fare. You won’t go wrong with her. So the Americans who could afford a serving girl, but never had one and weren’t altogether sure what they would do with such a person talked about it and said, well, what have to lose. So they sent the fare for the boat and the train. And waited for the young woman to come.

 She sailed from Kinsale. The last she saw of Ireland were the twin spires of the church as they faded into the background. Weeks later, sick and thin and exhausted, she arrived in the city where her master and mistress lived. They took one look at the poor child and said, Dear, we don’t need a servant, but we have room for another daughter. When they brought her home the other children hugged her and said, hooray! We have another sister. With their help she grew up to go to college and university and become very successful and was a great credit to those who took her into their family. (The Trinity is a family into which God has invited us)

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Homily from Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe,Pa
http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/homilies/index.lasso
6 Easter

May, 09, 2010
John 14: 23-29
Demetrius R. Dumm, O.S.B.
May 9, 2010
Sixth Sunday of Easter

Gospel Summary

When Jesus says, in today's gospel, "Whoever loves me will keep my word," he wishes to remind us that, though it is easy to say that we love him, it is far more difficult to obey him by offering our love to our fellow humans. Such concern for others will be the indispensable proof of our authentic love of Jesus, for to love Jesus means ultimately to commit oneself to imitate his unconditional love of others.

This challenge is very difficult, and may even seem impossible at times, but our feeble efforts will be strengthened by the love of the Father--the same divine Father whose love is revealed in Jesus. And when we allow that divine love to flow through us, we will discover that both Jesus and the Father will make their dwelling with us in an ineffable mystical communion. Nothing could be more desirable.

Jesus promises to send us the Advocate, which is the special name John gives to the Holy Spirit. An advocate is one who stands with another to take away that person's fear and sense of aloneness or inadequacy. This divine Advocate will thus dwell deep within us and will continue the work of Jesus by drawing out all the implications of his teaching.

Life Implications
John's gospel is full of reminders that Jesus has come among us to reveal the true nature of God as one who cherishes his love far more than his power. It is for that reason that Jesus is called the Word of God, for he reveals what is hidden in God just as our words make known our hidden thoughts.

When we accept in faith the testimony of Jesus about the love of God for us, we are liberated from the need to worry excessively about ourselves and are thus enabled to become more and more aware of others and more ready to share our love with them. When this happens, we are drawn into that powerful flow of life and love which courses between the Father and Jesus. In this sense, we can understand how the Father and Jesus will "make their dwelling" with us. When this happens, we discover for the first time the real meaning of our lives, for we will then become what our creator has always intended us to be.

The Advocate/Spirit is given to us, therefore, as one who stands at our side, in bright days and dark, to help us understand the reality of this love of God that Jesus offers to us. As we do so, we will become ever more united with Jesus who has revealed the Father's love and who wishes to lead us back to the source of that love. It will be only then that we will begin to understand the meaning of coming home.

Demetrius R. Dumm, O.S.B.

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Homily from Father Cusick
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/lowhome.html Meeting Christ in the Liturgy
6 Easter

Sixth Sunday
Acts 15, 1-2. 22-29; Psalm 67;Revelation 21, 10-14. 22-23; St. John 15, 9-17
Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Jesus the Lord sends the Holy Spirit, and Jesus and the Father are also revealed and mad present to us by the Holy Spirit of love.

Before his Passover, Jesius announced the sending of "another Paraclete" (Advocate), the Holy Spirit. At work since creation, having previously "spoken through the prophets," the Spirit will now be with and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them "into all the truth." The Holy Spirit is thus revealed as another divine person with Jesus and the Father. (CCC 243)
 
Let's pray for each other until, together next week, we "meet Christ in the liturgy", Father Cusick

(See also nos. 243, 244, 260, 263, 692, 729, 1099, 2466, 2615, 2623 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.)
(Publish with permission.)

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Homily from Father Alex McAllister SDS
http://www.ctk-thornbury.org.uk/
6 Easter

Sermon by Father Alex McAllister SDS
Sixth Sunday of Easter

I once went on a course organised by Cruse, the organisation which offers bereavement counselling; it was a good course aimed at prison chaplains and I found it most helpful.

In case you are wondering why expertise in bereavement is particularly relevant to prison chaplains let me tell you that one of the most common experiences of prisoners is bereavement. In the prayers offered at mass by the women at Eastwood Park Prison this theme of bereavement comes up all the time.

Many of the women have experienced the loss of a parent, a sibling, or more commonly a child. I am certainly not putting the blame for their criminality on the loss that they have experienced but it is certainly for many of them a complicating factor in an already very complicated life.

The lady giving the bereavement course had a long list of words on her power point display one of which I had never come across before, it was the word ‘shrinism’. Don’t bother to look it up in a dictionary because you won’t find it there. It was merely her shorthand word for turning the room of a deceased loved one into a shrine.

This is something most of us have encountered, or at least heard about. In its most extreme form the whole room is left in exactly the condition it was left in and becomes a sort of time capsule containing all the belongings of the dead person.

Now everyone can understand the natural reluctance to deal with the personal items of a close family member who has died, and it can take quite some time to clear out their clothes and eventually put their room to another use.

But clearly when things have reached the stage of a shrine then some outside help is probably needed to work through that difficult stage of bereavement.

Now don’t get me wrong, by shrinism I’m not talking about a few photographs of a loved one in pride of place in the house, nor am I talking about a lovingly tended grave. What I’m referring to is something much more out of control where a person has got seriously stuck somewhere in the long process that is bereavement.

I was reading a book the other day in which the author gave a definition of the word consolation. Apparently it comes from two Latin words ‘con’ meaning with and ‘solus’ meaning alone. So to console means to be with the lonely.

You can see how this fits in with a discussion about bereavement because this feeling of loss and aloneness is precisely what the bereaved person experiences and the best thing we can do is simply to be with them, not to interfere but to accompany them on their painful journey.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that he is leaving them and returning to the Father. They are going to experience loss, they are going to miss Jesus who has been their teacher and guide and who has changed them so much.
But he reassures them by saying that he is going to leave them the Holy Spirit to be their advocate. Sometimes this word advocate is translated as comforter or consoler. It is a complicated word that needs a lot of unpacking, but today I just want to focus on this consoling aspect.

Jesus certainly sends the Spirit to them in a big way on the Feast of Pentecost; he fills them with his gifts and impels them to leave the Upper Room and to go out to the whole world to preach the Good News.

And they certainly needed a strong impulse at that crucial moment—the very birth of the Church. That kind of push was very appropriate at the beginning but later on they needed something quite different. Especially when they faced criticism, opposition and persecution they would have felt very alone indeed without the Holy Spirit to give them consolation.

We are no different to the Apostles and frequently we too find certain stages of our life journey extremely difficult to cope with. We too frequently feel alone and isolated and in need of comfort. It is then that the Holy Spirit comes into his own.

I began by talking about bereavement counselling but just as in any other counselling the fundamental concept is listening. A counsellor who can’t shut up is no earthly use at all; a counsellor must listen, but listen in an active way.

But that’s only half of the story; the other half is that the client must talk. The client must tell the counsellor what is wrong and where he is hurting; he must unfold his story and describe his feelings because without this the counsellor has nothing to go on.

Of course, it is in telling the story and explaining the feelings that the real healing takes place. The counsellor may have helpful suggestions but certainly no answers. What the counsellor does is facilitate the healing which come from the interaction between them both.

It is exactly the same with the Holy Spirit, he is the ideal counsellor, the perfect consoler, the most extraordinary patient listener; but we need to do our part and tell him our story and explain where we are hurting.

We might feel lonely and isolated in matters of faith; we might be going through a period of spiritual dryness and be experiencing a real sense of loss.

It is then we need to turn to the Holy Spirit and ask him to be our consoler, to be with us in our aloneness. It is then that we need to tell him our story and explain our troubles and unpack our feelings.

But these things take time, time spent with the one who understands us better than we do ourselves, real quality time.

We usually call this prayer, the name isn’t important but the time and the frequency are.