OT XI (B): Ez 17:22-24; II Cor 5:6-10; Mk 4:26-34   

You probably don't recognize the name, Rita Antoinette Rizzo. Rita was born on April 20, 1923. She had a rough childhood which she spent mostly in poverty. When she was a young woman Rita decided to become a nun. At 21 she entered the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, a Franciscan religious order for women. She believed that God was calling her into television ministry. At the time she didn't know anything about television except how to turn one on. But she prayed about it and decided to go ahead with the project, believing that everything would fall into place. With only two hundred dollars and a handful of other Sisters, she became the only woman in religious broadcasting to own a network. She went on to found a new house for the order in 1962 in Irondale, Alabama, where the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), is headquartered. In 1996 she initiated the building of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of the Angels monastery in Hanceville, Alabama. This sister, Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, suffered a stroke in 2003 and was semi-paralyzed and unable to communicate from then until her death on March 27, 2016. But she is seen still by millions of people on her prerecorded twice-weekly program, "Mother Angelica Live." Her network, EWTN, is available 24 hours a day everywhere in the world. Visitors to the EWTN complex in Birmingham, Alabama cannot help but be impressed with what God has accomplished using this little nun - a monastery, network facilities complete with satellite dish, a print shop and a chapel.

Jesus’ “Kingdom parables” in today’s Gospel point to the Kingdom as a Divine act rather than a human accomplishment.

The example of the grain shows us that this requires cultivation, waiting for the right time to reap the spiritual harvest of our labors, but also that God does the heavy lifting. The growth that is quiet, slow, and unseen, at times even when we’re not doing anything, comes from him and his grace working in our souls and the souls of others. 

This seed grows by using the power of the Holy Spirit, given to us through the word of God, the Mass, the Sacraments and prayer.

We can all plant tiny seeds in the form of words of love, acts of encouragement, deeds of charity, mercy and forgiveness. Parents and teachers can plant a lot of seeds in the minds of their children and students. The Holy Spirit will touch the hearts of the recipients of these seeds sown by us and will effect growth of the Kingdom in their souls and lives. As the apostle Paul once said of his ministry, "Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:7).

Last Month the nation celebrated Mothers’ day. And this weekend we honor the Fathers. A Christian father should become a role model for our children’s concept of God. When a four-year-old hears "Father;" the only father he knows anything about is the one that lives with him and says, "Pass the biscuits, please;" so he asks..."Is God like Daddy?" It is a heavy load! But a good load to consider on Fathers' Day.

In an article entitled "Fathering Fatherless America" Dr. Scott J. Larson reports: One in two children now grow up without a father in the United States, and in our inner cities only one in five children live with their father. A whole new mission field has developed in America: Fathering fatherless kids.

"Rising divorce rates and out-of-wedlock births, according to a survey given in times magazine, shows that more than 40% of all children born between 1970 and 1984 are likely to spend much of their childhood living in single parent homes." And the impact of these fatherless homes on the children is significant, if not devastating.

Time goes on to say, "Studies of young criminals have found that more than 70% of all juveniles in state reform institutions come from fatherless homes.

A study of church attendance sometime back showed that if both Mom and Dad attended church regularly 72 percent of their children remain faithful to the church. If only Mom attended regularly, only 15 percent remained faithful. So the church is thankful for Christian fathers. And so are Christian mothers, needless to say.

The best way to love our children is to love and respect their mother.

The best gift we can give our children is a sense of safety and security as they grow up.

It’s more important to give them your time, not your money, it’s more important to be respected by them than to be liked by them, it’s more important to encourage them in their interests than to require them to share your interests.

The following is a quote from Robert Keeshan, better known to America as Captain Kangaroo.

A small child waits with impatience the arrival home of a parent. She wishes to relate some sandbox experience. She is excited to share the thrill that she has known that day. The time comes; the parent arrives. Beaten down by the stresses of the workplace the parent often replies: "Not know, honey, I'm busy, go watch television." The most often spoken words in the American household today are the words: go watch television. If not now, when? Later. But later never comes for many and the parent fails to communicate at the very earliest of ages. We give her designer clothes and computer toys, but we do not give her what she wants the most, which is our time. Now, she is fifteen and has a glassy look in her eyes. Honey, do we need to sit down and talk? Too late. Love has passed by.”

Therefore you and your time is more important for your children than your money. Of course money is needed to run the home. But, not at the expense of your availability for your children and spouse.

Fathers, your vocation is a huge call. But learn to balance duties in life. We honor your sacrifice for your family. Without you, your children would not have a balanced upbringing.

And because you are there, life goes smoothly. The car always runs, the bills get paid, and the lawn stayed mowed. Because you are there, the laughter is fresh and the future is secure. Because you are there the kids never get worried about things like income tax, savings accounts, monthly bills, or mortgages. You are not in the family picture, because we know you were behind the camera. Today you are honored. Ask God to help you to help your children know God the Father, by your life and sacrifices for them. Happy Fathers’ day.

OT X (B)  Gen 3. 9:15; II Cor 4:13--5:1; Mk 3:20-35

Both the first reading and the gospel speak of devil and his works. Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, Satan had been the “ruler of this world.” Jesus said: “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out” (Jn. 12:31). After creating the world God handed it to Man to take care of it and rule it. But Satan by trickery got that power from man.

With the arrival of Christ, we are faced with someone who repeatedly outmatches Satan. He casts out demons effortlessly, with a mere word or touch, and, above all, he forgives sin, freeing souls from the most dire of Satan’s entrapments.  

And they were so extraordinary, that the leaders in Jerusalem sent some representatives to investigate. And when they discovered the Lord’s amazing works, they had to offer some kind of explanation.  They could not, however, explain Jesus’ special powers as coming from God, since that would require them to accept his teaching as well.  But his teaching contradicted much of their own, and so to accept it would be to relinquish their status and influence.  

So they attributed his works to a pact made with the devil – one of whose names was “Beelzebub.”  Jesus calmly but clearly points out the absurdity of their claim.  His consistent reversal of the devil’s conquests shows that he is not only at odds with the ancient enemy, but also more powerful than him.  

 With Christ on our side, the devil can’t really harm us. But he still tries to – he tries to separate us from God and the protection of Christ, so that he can then lead us back into the slavery of his lies and deceptions. This is what St. Peter meant when he wrote in his First Letter to all Christians: “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

And it will make all of us a little bit wiser if we understand the five different ways that the devil tries to upset the work of God in our souls and in the world.

The rarest and most dramatic way that the devil tries to disturb our relationship with God is through demonic possession. Possession is when a devil concentrates its activity within a person's body. The devil can never take over a person’s soul, or make a person sin - God protects our freedom from that kind of attack. This is why, during times of crisis, a possessed person can show extraordinary physical strength, or speak and understand languages that the person never learned, or exhibit other strange phenomena.

Almost always, cases of possession originate when a person gets involved with the occult, spiritism, or witchcraft. When someone does that, they open the door to the influence of evil spirits that are in rebellion against Jesus Christ.

The Church has a special ritual that is used to free someone from possession - it is called exorcism. Exorcism consists of a series of prayers and sacramentals, performed by a priest officially designated by the bishop. Fr.Bob Rottgers (at St.Philip’s) is the one in this diocese.

There are also some other extra-ordinary ways that the devil tries to interfere with our lives. Sometimes, the devil and his fallen angels cause frightening physical disturbances in certain places, or even to our own bodies. These can take the forms of loud or strange noises, slamming doors or windows, or even more alarming effects.

St. John Vianney, a holy parish priest who lived in 19th-century France, for example, was dragged around his room by the devil. One time the devil even set his bed on fire. Luckily, the saintly priest was hearing confessions at the time. Later, when he was told what happened, his only response was to say that since the devil couldn't catch the bird, he set the cage on fire! When these physical disturbances are concentrated in certain places, they are called infestations.

When they directly affect someone's body (not from within, as in possession, but from the outside) they are called demonic oppression.

When they bother someone's mind, they are called demonic obsession - this happens even to saints.

Many saints, towards the end of their lives, were assailed by blasphemous thoughts, for example. These thoughts appeared suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere. But they battered the saints' minds intensely and repeatedly. That's what happens in demonic obsession. Therefore it is always advisable to help the dying with prayers. Even though they are not responsive they could be fighting temptation. The best prayer that could help at this time is Hail Mary, in which we ask Mary’s help to pray for us sinners NOW and at the hour of death. Pray this, surrounding the dying person.

Blessings, holy water, and other prayers and sacramentals are sturdy defenses against this kind of devilish attacks.

Possession, infestation, oppression, and obsession can frighten us, but they usually lead us to exercise our faith in order to get rid of them. Temptation, the devil’s favorite tactics, on the other hand, tries to lead us into sin - and only sin can really damage our souls and interfere with our friendship with God.

We have ingrained tendencies towards selfishness, greed, lust, depression, anger... (the theological word for these tendencies is “concupiscence”). These tendencies, when they are not curbed and formed by virtue, can get us into trouble. They can blind us to God's will, to what is right.

To counter this, the Church is constantly reminding us of: daily, heartfelt prayer, the sacraments, especially Communion and Confession, and a daily effort to follow Christ's teaching and example in our words, actions, and relationships.

But there's one other thing that is truly essential, and that we too often overlook. Temptation always begins in our minds, with a thought, an invitation to choose our will over God's will. And so, we need to form the habit of reflection, of interior silence, of discerning the origin of our different thoughts. None of us are impervious to temptation. Even Jesus had been tempted by Satan. But his 40 days of prayer and reflection in the wilderness helped him overcome the temptation successfully. Let’s also form a habit of prayer and deep reflection everyday so that we can be successful in our fight against the arch enemy, the Satan.

THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST [B] 

(EX. 24:3-8, HEB. 9:11-15, MK: 14:12-16, 22-26)

Dominic Tang, the courageous Chinese archbishop, was imprisoned for twenty-one years for nothing more than his loyalty to Christ and Christ’s one true Church. After five years of solitary confinement in a windowless, damp cell, the Archbishop was told by his jailers that he could leave it for a few hours to do whatever he wanted. Five years of solitary confinement and he had a couple of hours to do what he wanted! What would it be? A hot shower? A change of clothes? Certainly, a long walk outside? A chance to call or write to family? What would it be, the jailer asked him.  “I would like to say Mass,” replied Archbishop Tang. [Msgr. Timothy M. Dolan, Priests of the Third Millennium (2000), p. 216].

The former archbishop of San Francisco, John Quinn, loves to tell the story of the arrival of Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity to open their house in the city. Poor Archbishop Quinn had gone to great efforts to make sure that their convent was, while hardly opulent, quite comfortable. He recalls how Mother Teresa arrived and immediately ordered the carpets removed, the telephones, except for one, pulled out of the wall, the beds, except for the mattresses taken away, and on and on. Explained Mother Teresa to the baffled archbishop, “All we really need in our convent is the tabernacle” [Msgr. Timothy M. Dolan in Priests of the Third Millennium (2000), p. 218.]

On this annual feast of Corpus Christi, we focus on the Eucharist in the context of his Resurrection.

After the Holy Thursday liturgy, there is a Eucharistic procession (in this parish we do it to the School Library) that reminds us of the procession Jesus and his Apostles made to Gethsemane. After the Corpus Christi Mass, there is often a procession in which we bring the Eucharist out into the streets, reminding us of the Church's mission to bring the Good News to the whole world. Holy Thursday is the sorrowful celebration of the Eucharist, and Corpus Christi is the joyful celebration of the Eucharist.

The Corpus Christi is three feasts in one: the feast of the Eucharistic sacrifice, feast of the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the feast of the Real Presence of Jesus. The sacrificial aspect of this feast emphasizes the theme of Covenant blood because the ancient peoples sealed covenants with the blood of ritually sacrificed animals, and Jesus sealed this New Covenant with his own Blood, shed on Calvary. The first reading describes how Moses, by sprinkling the blood of a sacrificed animal on the altar and on the people ratified the covenant. Since the altar symbolizes Yahweh’s presence, all the Covenant-makers now have blood splattered on them.  The Letter to the Hebrews explains the rituals of the Old Testament as foreshadowing and pointing to their fulfillment in Christ, in God-with-us.

Today’s Gospel details how Jesus converted this ancient ritual into a Sacrament and sacrifice.  Instead of the lamb’s blood, Jesus offered his own Divine/human Body and Blood and, instead of sprinkling us with blood, Jesus put it into our hands as food. Since it was his own, this Blood needed no further identification with God by splashing against an altar.  Mark recounts the institution of the Eucharist -- how Jesus said to his disciples, gathered for the Seder:  "Take, … eat … this is my Body" -- not "represents,” or "memorializes", but "IS"! 

Finally, the Blood was "to be poured out for you and for many (a Semitism for 'all')."  Thus, the new and perfect Paschal Lamb accomplished for people of every nation what Mosaic sacrifices only imperfectly achieved for the Jews.

Vatican II states that as a sacrifice "the Holy Eucharist is the center and culmination of Christian life" (L.G.11).  

The Eucharist is the symbol of God's presence.  St Maximilian Kolbe wrote, “God dwells in our midst, in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar." It is the symbol of God's concern and God’s immeasurable love. St. Peter Julian Eymard expressed it as,”The Eucharist is the supreme proof of the love of Jesus. After this, there is nothing more but Heaven itself."  

When we receive the Holy Communion we become the tabernacle where Jesus is present. So Maximilian Kolbe says, ' If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion." Hence, it is binding on us that we should keep the tabernacle, ourselves, holy. 

St Francis de Sales preached to the people, "When you have received Him, stir up your heart to do Him homage, welcome Him as warmly as possible, and behave outwardly in such a way that your actions may give proof to all of His Presence." Blessed Damian dedicated his life for the service of the lepers. It was a hard choice. He said, "Blessed Sacrament is, indeed, the stimulus for me to forsake all worldly ambitions."

 As we celebrate this great feast of Faith, let us worship what St. Thomas Aquinas did not hesitate to call, "the greatest miracle that Christ ever worked on earth .”..... My Body ........ My Blood". Let us also repeat St. Thomas Aquinas' prayer of devotion in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament:  "O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine!" 

HOLY     TRINITY [B]: Dt 4:32-34, 39-40; Rom 8:14-17; Mt 28:16-20

The feast of the Holy Trinity invites us to live in the awareness of the presence of the Triune God within us. “There is one God, who has three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Each Person is God, yet there is still only one God” (CCC #234, #253-256). Father, Son and Spirit are not parts of God, but One God. Easier said than understood!

All the official prayers of the Church, including the Holy Mass and the Sacraments, begin with an address to the Holy Trinity. We are baptized, absolved of our sins and anointed in the name of the Blessed Trinity. We bless ourselves with the Sign of the Cross, invoking the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and we conclude our prayers glorifying the Holy Trinity, saying “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.”

The early Christians started talking about a Triune God. This wasn’t to make God more logical and understandable and acceptable to human ways of thinking. In fact, the idea of the Trinity intensified the Mystery and awesomeness of God. They observed that Jesus had a unique relationship with the Father and that the Holy Spirit had a unique relationship with the Father and the Son. Against all sorts of odds, against all human logic, and in the face of mounting opposition, the Church maintained that Jesus Christ is true God, equal with the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is God, equal with the Father and the Son.

Since Yahweh, the God of Israel, was careful to protect His Chosen People from the pagan practice of worshipping several gods, the Old Testament books give only indirect and passing references to the Trinity, and the Jewish rabbis never understood them as references to the Holy Trinity.    Genesis 1:26 presents God speaking to Himself:  "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness."    Genesis 18:2 describes Yahweh visiting Abraham under the appearance of three men, an event that the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates as the “Trinitarian Experience of Abraham.” In Genesis 11:7, before punishing the proud builders of the Tower of Babel, God says, “Come, let Us go down among them and confuse their language. “These passages imply, rather than state, the doctrine of the Trinity.

In the N.T. we get a clearer understanding of the Trinity.

 a) The Annunciation (Luke 1: 26-38), describes how God the Father sent angel Gabriel to Mary to announce to her that God the Holy Spirit, would "come upon” her, that “the power the Most High will overshadow” her, that the Son would be made flesh in her womb: “Therefore, the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.”

 b) During the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:  16-17), the Holy Spirit was shown descending on Jesus in the form of a Dove, while the Voice of God the Father was heard from the clouds, saying, “You are My Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased” (Luke 4:22).

 c) John Chapters 15 & 18 present the detailed teaching of Jesus on the Persons of the Holy Trinity.  

 d) In the preaching mission given by the risen Lord to the disciples, Jesus commanded them to baptize people “in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19; John 10:30).

St. John of Damascus, a great Eastern theologian of the eighth century, said we should think “of the Father as a root, the Son as a branch, and of the Spirit as a fruit, for the sustenance of these three is one.”    

A good illustration of the Trinity comes from world-renowned scientist Dr. Henry Morris. He notes that the entire universe is Trinitarian by design. The universe consists of three things: matter, space, and time. Take away any one of those three and the universe would cease to exist. But each one of those is itself a trinity. Matter = mass + energy + motion. Space = length + height + breadth. Time = past + present + future. Thus the whole universe witnesses to the character of the God who made it (cf. Psalm 19:1).

Richard of St.Victor Said: For God to be truth he has to be one; for God to be love: He has to be two; for God to be Joy he has to be three.

It is a mystery and therefore it cannot be really understood. Therefore it is not necessary to understand it before we can believe it.

One parishioner said, “The Trinitarian God is a lot like our pastor. I don’t see him through the week and I don’t understand him on Sunday.”

Thomas Edison, the inventor, once remarked: "We don't know what water is. We don't know what light is. We don't know what electricity is. We don't know what heat is. We have a lot of hypotheses about these things, but that is all. But we don't let our ignorance about these things deprive us of their use." The truth of that statement is real. Most of us do not know how an electric light works, how a telephone or a TV works, but this does not prevent us from using them. Let us try to apply the same common sense to our Faith in the doctrine of the Trinity.

We are made in God’s image and likeness.  Just as God is God only in a Trinitarian relationship, so we can be fully human only as one member of a relationship of three partners.  The self needs to be in a horizontal relationship with all other people and in a vertical relationship with God.  In that way our life becomes Trinitarian like that of God.  “I am a Christian insofar as I live in a relationship of love with God and with other people.” 

St. Francis Xavier’s favorite prayer was: “Most Holy Trinity, who live in me, I praise You, I worship You, I adore You and I love You.”  Let the Son lead us to the Father through the Spirit, to live with the Triune God forever and ever. Amen.” 

Pentecost: Acts 2:1-11; I Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13; Jn 20:19-23 

There are transitional moments in life that confirm something tremendous has taken place. One of those moments occurs in a teenager's life and in lives of the parents of that particular teenager, when a mom or a dad gives to him or her the keys to the car for the first time for a solo run. What a transitional moment this is! It's going to be a step of growth for you. It's a time when you release your child into an adult world. It's a change in your son or daughter's life from which they are never going to turn back. It's a moment in which you are giving your child an adult responsibility.

It is a transitional moment for the child also because the teenager recognizes that he/she has been given a great responsibility. It's an adult responsibility. He also realizes that this is something that he needs to take care with because great trust has been put in him/her. Teenagers need to prove to their parents that the validity of their faith in them is correct.

In the Scripture for today, Jesus does something very similar for His followers. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Jesus is tossing the keys to the kingdom to His disciples. He is demonstrating that He is accepting them as His followers but He is also demonstrating to them that He is entrusting to them the message of the gospel. He is showing them that He believes in them.

The feast of Pentecost commemorates the official inauguration of the Christian Church by the apostolic preaching of St. Peter, which resulted in the conversion of 3000 Jews to the Christian Faith. Pentecost is, thus, the official birthday of the Church. It is the Holy Spirit who enlivens, enlightens, guides, and sanctifies the Church. The Psalm refrain for this Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm (Ps 104) says it so well: “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.”  We know Jesus through the Sacramental Mysteries of the Church, and Holy Spirit is at the heart of the Sacramental life of the Church.  Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders are the Sacramental Mysteries through which people receive the seal of the Holy Spirit.  It would be impossible for us to receive Jesus in the Eucharist without the descent of the Holy Spirit at the Epiclesis of the Divine Liturgy.  Even the forgiveness of sins comes through the Holy Spirit (Jn 20:21-23). 

At Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended, notice that the Spirit “filled the entire house”, and then the apostles were “all filled with the Holy Spirit”, and then they fill the streets of Jerusalem where, speaking in the languages of the known world, they signify that the Spirit fills the inhabited world with God’s blessings. On the day of Pentecost, those touched by the Holy Spirit were accused of being drunk, or maybe crazy. Today, believers are still considered to be weak, foolish, or emotionally unstable. But more and more studies are showing that religious believers are more emotionally and mentally stable than the average population. Religious faith is linked to lower blood pressure and lower rates of drug use, alcoholism, suicide, and mental disorders. Therefore remaining an active member in the community of believers is significant.

D.L. Moody once called on a leading citizen in Chicago to persuade him to accept Christ. They were seated in the man’s parlor. It was winter and coal was burning in the fireplace. The man objected that he could be just as good a Christian outside the church as in it. Moody said nothing, but stepped to the fireplace, took the tongs, picked a blazing coal from the fire and set it off by itself. In silence the two watched it smolder and go out. “I see,” said the man. The message was clear to him. Away from the active community of believers we cannot get the support to sustain ourselves in grace.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is something to be shared with others. If we are led by the Spirit, then, we shall have “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” If we desire to these gifts of God, then we have to receive the Holy Spirit, and seek daily to “be directed by the Spirit.” As Pope Francis said recently: “Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace. For in the words of León Bloy, when all is said and done, “the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint.”

How beautiful is the thought that the Holy Spirit lives within us!  Saint Paul reminds the Corinthian community of this fact when he asks, "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?" (I Cor. 3:16).  It is the Holy Spirit who develops our intimacy with God.  "God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba!' ('Father!’)” (Gal 4:6).  "God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us" (Rom. 5:5). "No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit" (I Cor. 12:3).  Moreover, we know that it is the Holy Spirit Who teaches us to pray (Rom.8:26).  

There was once an Eskimo who used to take his two dogs for a bet-fight in the town square. One was a black dog the other was white. The people gathered week after week to see the dogs fight and betted heavily. On some days, the black dog won and on others the white. No matter which dog won, the Eskimo made money. The secret behind duping the people was that he would feed well the dog which he wanted to win. Do we feed our spiritual self and keep it strengthened by the daily anointing of the Holy Spirit to win over the carnal person? "

Today is a great day to ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle in us the spirit of new life and enthusiasm, the fire of God's love.  Let us pray Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman’s favorite little prayer, “Come Holy Spirit:”

“Come Holy Spirit
Make our ears to hear
Make our eyes to see
Make our mouths to speak
Make our hearts to seek
Make our hands to reach out
And touch the world with your love.  AMEN.”  

THE FEAST OF ASCENSION OF OUR LORD [B] (Acts 1:1-11; Eph 1:17-23 or 4:1-13; Mk 16:15-20)

Today’s readings describe the Ascension of the Lord Jesus into his Heavenly glory after promising the Holy Spirit as the source of Heavenly power for his disciples and commanding them to bear witness to him by their lives and preaching throughout the world.  The feast of the Ascension tells us that the Church must be a community in mission, guided by God’s Spirit and confident of God’s protection even amid suffering and death.

Each Sunday we profess through the Creed, "He ascended into Heaven."  Christ’s Ascension was the culmination of God’s Divine plan for Christ Jesus, his return to his Father with “Mission Accomplished”.  Jesus’ Ascension is the grand finale of all his words and works done for us and for our salvation.  It was a culmination, but not the conclusion.  One wonder is that though Jesus is now with God in glory he continues to remain with us, dwelling within us together with the Father and the Holy Spirit: "Lo, I am with you always." The Feast of the Ascension celebrates one aspect of the Resurrection, namely Jesus’ exaltation.  The focus of this Feast is the Heavenly reign of Christ, and the Lord’s being  “seated at God’s right hand,” meaning He alone will be in control of the continuing plan of salvation through the Holy Spirit, unrestricted by time, space or culture. Jesus has gone to heaven so as to direct operations more fully here on earth. That’s why we pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

We need to live a life of Christian joy in the presence of the ascended Lord. According to Luke, the disciples "returned to Jerusalem with great joy." Apparently, Jesus' exaltation and final blessing gave them, as it gives us, the assurance that, though absent, Jesus is still present, present even in the pain and sorrow we undergo. That is why St. Augustine assures us, “Christ is now exalted above the Heavens, but he still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his Body, have to bear. He showed this when he cried out from above: 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?' and when he said: 'I was hungry and you gave me food.' While in Heaven he is also with us; and while on earth we are with him.

When the trials of life feel too heavy to bear, we must remember that Christ will come again in glory, the same glory in which he arose from the tomb, the same glory in which he ascended, and the same glory in which he currently abides.

A priest, Walter Ciszek by name, was in Russia for 23 years, five of which were spent in the dreaded Lubyanka prison in Moscow and ten of which were spent in the harsh Siberian slave labour camp. He was finally released from Russia in 1963, in exchange for two Soviet spies held in USA. He died in 1984 at the age of 84. After release he wrote a book He Leadeth Me. In this book he tries to answer the question: “How did you manage to survive in Russia?” He says: “I was able to endure the inhuman conditions in which I found myself because I experienced somehow the presence of God. I never lost my Faith that God was with me, even in the worst of circumstances.” What was true of Fr. Walter Ciszek is true of each of us. Jesus is with us; God is with us in the power of his Holy Spirit.

"Like the first apostles, we too share in the mission of spreading Christ’s kingdom in the world today. Yet we do not have to become missionaries in Africa to do this. Whether a teacher in the classroom, a businessman in the workplace, a college student on campus, or a mother raising children in the home, all Christians play a crucial role in helping build the kingdom where God has called them to serve. To be a Christian is to be a proclaimer and an evangelizer. There is a difference between preaching and proclaiming. “We preach with words but we proclaim with our lives.” By bringing the extraordinary witness of Christian truth, virtue, and love into our ordinary, daily endeavors, we can help transform our culture into the kingdom of the risen and ascended Christ."

Ruddell Norris was a conscientious young man. But he was also a shy young man. He found it hard just to talk to people, much less to discuss religion with them. Then one day he got an idea. Ruddell did a lot of reading, and he was aware of the many pamphlets about the Catholic faith. So he decided to set aside a part of his weekly allowance to buy pamphlets. Ruddell placed his pamphlets in places where he thought people would pick them up and read them. For example, he placed them in waiting rooms and in reception areas. One day a young woman who was a friend of his family told his parents how she became a convert and how her husband returned to the Church. "It all started with a pamphlet," she said. "I found it in the hospital waiting room." You can imagine the boy's excitement when he learned of the impact just one of his pamphlets had. He just tried to obey the missionary command of Christ.

After attending a convention led by Billy Graham a woman wrote to him. “Dear Sir, I feel that God is calling me to preach the Gospel. But the trouble is that I have twelve children. What shall I do?” The televangelist replied: “Dear Madam, I am delighted to hear that God has called you to preach the Gospel. I am even more delighted to hear that He has already provided you with a congregation in your own home.”

Anyone who has truly experienced God's saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love." Our great hope is that one day we too will be ascending to Heavenly glory provided we complete our part of the mission entrusted to us by the ascending Lord.

EASTER VI [B]: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; I Jn 4:7-10; JOHN 15: 9-17  

During the Second World War Dr. Ernest Gordon, later Chaplain of Princeton University, was a prisoner of war in Thailand. In his book, Through the Valley of the Kwai, he reflects on the difference between two Christmas seasons he spent in prison. He says that during the Christmas season of 1942 there were thousands of American soldiers in that prison who robbed the sick among them, mistreated one another, and did not care whether the other prisoners lived or died. During the following year, a healthy American soldier began giving his food to a sick buddy to help him get well. In time the sick prisoner recovered, but the buddy who had given him food died of malnutrition. The story of the man who sacrificed his life to save a buddy made the rounds of the camp. Some of the prisoners remarked that he was a lot like Christ. Some of the soldiers began to recall passages from the Bible they had learned years earlier under far different circumstances. One of the passages stated, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Some who were Christians took heart and began to witness to other men. The prisoners began to ask about Christ and to meet for Bible study. When they began to know Christ as Lord the entire atmosphere in the camp changed from despair and desperation to hope and compassion. When Christmas of 1943 arrived, Dr. Gordon said, 2000 prisoners assembled for worship. They sang carols and someone read the story of the birth of Jesus from a Gospel account. Much more was different. In spite of their hunger, prisoners who were well, shared food with the sick to help them gain strength faster. They cared for one another. They agreed that the difference came about because of faith in Christ and people who lived his love in the midst of unloving circumstances. After telling the parable of the vine and branches, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the disciples that they are to remain bonded to him as branches are bound to a vine.  They are to obey his commandment of love, just as he has obeyed his Heavenly Father’s will by fulfilling His commandments and remaining inseparably bonded with his Father.  Jesus’ unconditional, forgiving, selfless, sacrificial love for us must be the criterion of our love for others.  The highest expression of this love is our willingness to lay down our lives as Jesus did, for people who don’t deserve it.

G. K. Chesterton once said that the really great lesson of the story of "Beauty and the Beast" is that a thing must be loved before it is loveable. A person must be loved before that person can be lovable. Some of the most unlovely people I have known got that way because they thought that nobody loved them. The fact of the matter is that unless and until we feel ourselves loved, we cannot love. That's not only a principle of theology but of psychology and sociology as well. Just as abused children grow up to abuse their children, loved children grow up to love their children. Loved persons are able to love. Unloved persons are not. Christianity says something startling. It says that God loves and accepts us "just as we are." Therefore, we can love and accept ourselves and in so doing, love and accept others.

Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord said, “Because you are precious in my sight, I love you (43:4).” After Mother Theresa received the Noble Prize, someone asked her, “How can we solve the world’s problems.” She replied, “Go home and love one another.” The thing that is destroying the world today is: hatred and intolerance. It is only love, which can save the world from destruction. And love shall be the only thing that is eternal. Therefore Jesus tells his disciples that by their love, others will know that they are his disciples. And love can transform the world around us.

The power of Christ's love and friendship in no way negates the reality of this world's ability to hate.  That is why Jesus closes with a clear command that we must love one another, and even love those who hate us. Jesus says to pray in his name and the Father will grant that grace to love irrespective of the harm done to us.

This week: think of one small thing we can do to ease the burdens of others, especially of your spouse; think of one small thing you can do to make your boss's or coworker's job just a little bit easier; think of one small thing you can do to bring some encouragement and joy into your parents' lives; think of a friend or relative who is suffering, and think of one small thing you can do to help support them.

Jesus gives the assurance that "Love will always bear fruit." At times it may appear to us that to do good to certain people is a waste of time; people are often ungrateful, and on occasions those to whom we have done good turn against us. But, we should not get discouraged; because we do not know when, how and where love will bear fruit. It is the assurance of Jesus that "Love will bear fruit." It bore fruit in the life of Mother Theresa. It bore fruit in the life of Pope John Paul. It bears fruit in our lives. May God help us in our attempt to show his love to our brothers in small little ways. Amen.