My brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome to today's celebration of Trinity Sunday. This Feast commemorates the Three Divine Presences of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Blessed Trinity.
As we have heard during today's First Reading from the Book of Deuteronomy [Deut. 4:32-34. 39-40] in the Old Testament, God the Father is one of the Three Divine Presences of the Holy Trinity. During the Second Reading from the Letter to the Romans, [Rom. 8:14-17] we heard the reader speak of the Spirit of God, the third Divine Presence of the Holy Trinity. And during the Reading from the Holy Gospel of Matthew, [Mt. 28:16-20] we heard of the Second Divine Presence of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, Who was the incarnation of God.
During the Gospel Reading, we heard Jesus commanding His disciples to baptize in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. These words are the same words that the ministers of God use when blessing people and objects or when administering the Sacraments. From this evidence and other Biblical passages that are found in the Holy Bible, it is very clear that there are Three Divine Presences in the Holy Trinity. Yet, there is One God.
Over the past two thousand years, many have tried to explain the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, how there could be Three Divine Presences but One God, all having done so without success. It appears that this mystery is the greatest of all mysteries within the Holy Catholic Church, the one that just cannot be penetrated. So how do we explain the Blessed Trinity?
I am sure that over the years, you have all heard of different explanations that were simple and acceptable. For example, for little children to understand the Blessed Trinity, we can use a sheet of white paper. We fold the sheet in three equal parts. Then, we indicate that while it is one sheet of paper, it has three parts to it. All three parts are equal and constitute the whole. If we were to cut one section away from the folded sheet of paper, it would no longer be a complete sheet of paper. Therefore, as there is One God, there is one sheet of paper. As there are Three Divine Presences in God, there are three parts to the sheet of paper.
Now, when we have to explain the Blessed Trinity to teenagers, we have to use a little more wisdom. To do so, instead of using a sheet of paper, we use an egg. We explain that while there is one egg, there are three parts to it, the shell, the egg white and the yolk. When we look at the egg, we know that it has an egg white and a yolk but we cannot see them. Comparing this to God, the egg represents God. The visible shell represents God incarnated through Jesus. The egg white represents the Holy Spirit and the yolk represents God the Father. Both, God the Father and the Holy Spirit are hidden from our sight just like the egg white and the yolk... unless of course, if we crack the egg. Then all are revealed.
These kinds of explanations have been around for as long as we can remember. They are good and they are simple. But, the best explanation that I have ever heard was given to me from a middle aged man some time ago in the past. I would like to share with you how he explained the Blessed Trinity to me. To make it easier for me to relate his explanation to you, I will refer to this gentleman as Michael.
Michael started by indicating that North American statistics reveal that 20% of the people surveyed expressed having enjoyed an out- of-body experience sometime during their lives. These persons, having come close to death, often during surgery, found themselves hovering over their physical body while their doctor and nurses were doing all they could to revive them. Those who have been touched by this kind of experience have had their lives completely changed. They no longer fear death and they believe in life after death.
Now what happened to these people? What did they see? Most claim to have seen themselves in their spiritual form, their human spirit. The first question is, is this biblical? Does man have a human spirit? Michael pointed out that James 2:26 states, "The body without the spirit is dead." In John 6:63, Jesus said, "It is the spirit that gives life: the flesh is useless." In Luke 23:46, when Jesus died on the cross, He commended His Spirit into the hands of the Father. In verse 7:59 of the Act of the Apostles, when St. Stephen was being stoned, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." All these Bible passages tell us that we have a human spirit that departs from our body at the moment of death. There are many other Bible passages that refer to the human spirit such as: Job 32:8; Prov. 18:14, 20:27; Ecc. 3:21; Eze. 11:19, 36:26; Zech. 12:1; Mt. 26:41; Lk. 8:55; Jn. 3:6; Rom. 8:15; 1 Cor. 2:11.
Michael continued by explaining that the human spirit is but a spiritual form. As our physical body is a physical shell, our human spirit is a spiritual shell. There is something that is greater than the form of our human spirit. It is the soul.
Michael explained that the soul, formless in nature, is the "I" or the "me." It is the self-consciousness of the person. It is the free will that controls the physical body and the human spirit. None of these two forms, physical or spiritual, can move unless the soul commands them to do so.
He went on to explain that angels have a soul and a spiritual body. It is not the spiritual body of the angel that is the higher part of him... rather, it is the soul of the angel. The spiritual body is but a form through which the soul of the angel manifest itself. In the same way, the soul of man manifests itself through either the physical body or the human spirit.[In virtue of its specific nature, the intellectual soul does not possess the body as a part of itself, but has only an aptitude for union with the body. Therefore it is numerically differentiated by its capacity for union with different bodies. And this remains the case with souls even after their bodies have been destroyed: they retain a capacity for union with different bodies even when they are not actually united to their respective bodies." (Extracted from: "The first part of 'LIGHT OF FAITH: THE COMPENDIUM OF THEOLOGY' by St. Thomas Aquinas"; # 85. Unity of the possible intellect.)]Now, this conversation was getting interesting. Michael was telling me that man has two minds, a worldly mind and a spiritual mind. My first question was, where does it say that in the Bible? His immediate response was, "James 1:8 and 4:8." These passages state: "For the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord." [Jas. 1:8] "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
When I indicated that this may not necessarily mean that man has two minds, he referred me to St. Paul's comment in Romans 7:15, "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." He explained that St. Paul was fully aware of the inner battle within man. The spiritual mind of the new creation of the seed of God [1 Jn. 3:9] that is received during the Sacrament of Baptism when one is born again belongs to the new human spirit. Michael asked, "Why does it say in the Bible, '"God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.'" [Jas. 4:5] By being born again during the Sacrament of Baptism, God gave us a new mind and a new human spirit of the godly seed. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, He protects it from Satan.
Now this was getting very interesting. Here I was learning that man has a formless soul, the "I" or the "me" as it is called. The soul is the part of man that manifests itself in the physical body and in the human spirit. The physical body is the part of man that we see. The human spirit is spiritual in nature, giving life to the body and if received during the Sacrament of Baptism, it is of the godly seed, seeking to please God.
Then finally, Michael said, "Why do you think Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, 'God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.'? [Jn. 4:24] Now my eyes were beginning to open. I could perceive hidden teachings in the Bible. It is by living our faith in Christ, by obeying the spiritual mind of our newly created human spirit of the godly seed that we are able to please God.
"But what about the mystery of the Holy Trinity?" I asked Michael. In return, he asked me, "What does Romans 1:20 say?" Opening my Holy Bible, I read, "Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse." The Holy Bible tells us that we are without excuse for not knowing the Divine nature of God because it is made known by what He has created. What a powerful statement! I asked Michael to explain how he viewed that passage.
He said, "Are we not created in the image of God?" [Gen. 1:26] My response was that "yes", this is the teaching of the Holy Bible and the Catholic Church. Then, he proceeded to explain the Trinity.
As our soul is formless, God the Father is formless. As our human spirit gives life to our bodies, the Holy Spirit gave life to the body of Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, He commended the Holy Spirit to the Father. As we have a physical body, Jesus is the incarnation of God, the physical body of God. In Jesus, the fullness of God was pleased to dwell bodily, [Col. 1:19, 2:9] Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Man has a soul, a human spirit and a physical body. God has a Divine Soul, a Holy Spirit and a physical body through Jesus Christ.
As the physical body and the human spirit of man each have life in themselves and a mind of their own, Jesus and the Holy Spirit also have life in Themselves and a mind of their own. John 5:26 states, "As the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself." Therefore, as there are three inseparable presences in man that constitute the whole of the human being, there are Three inseparable Presences in God that constitute the whole of One God.
Now, as if this was not enough for me to grasp, Michael asked me, "How do you explain bilocation? Was St. Francis not present in two places at the same time? Is it not claimed that Padre Pio was also two places at the same time? While they were in two places at the same time, one being the physical body, the other being the human spirit, both had a mind of their own so they could control their thoughts, their words and their actions in their respective body. Through the minds of the physical and spiritual bodies of St. Francis and Padre Pio, their souls were manifesting themselves."
After hearing this, my question to Michael was, "Are you saying that while Jesus has life in Himself, whereas He had a free will through the mind of His body, His Soul would be God the Father?"
To this, Michael answered, "Have you read the Third Letter of Cyril to Nestorius in The Council of Ephesus - 431 A.D.?" He proceeded to find the quote and read it to me."The manner of his (God) indwelling is not defined in the same way as he is said to dwell among the saints, he was united by nature and not turned into flesh and he made his indwelling in such a way as we may say that the soul of man does in his own body."According to the teaching of the Council of Ephesus, the manner in which God the Father dwelled in Jesus was different than the way in which He dwells in us. While His Divine presence in us is spiritual in nature, in Jesus, the Father was said to dwell as the soul dwells in man. This passage affirmed that we are created in the image of God, soul, spirit and body.
Michael concluded by asking me a question, "What is the name of the Father?" I responded by saying, "Father!" Then, he asked me, "What is the name of your soul, the name of your spirit and the name of your body?" I answered, "Well, they are all me. They all have the same name." Then Michael pointed out a Bible passage where Jesus said, "Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me... While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me..." [Jn. 17:11-2] God the Father has the same Name as Jesus because they are One. The Name of Jesus is the Most Holy Name of all Three Divine Presences of the Holy Trinity.
Since I have been able to view the Blessed Trinity according to Michael's presentation, I feel blessed because this has opened my eyes to many passages of the Holy Bible that were once mysterious to me. And I should state, using my doubtful worldly mind, I have done all I could to tear this presentation apart. But, to this date, I have not been able to find a flaw with it. As such, I felt it was appropriate to present it to you so you will all enjoy a greater perception of the Holy Trinity on this special Feast. May God be with you as you reflect on the nature of God and the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
For it is by understanding the mystery of bilocation that we come to perceive the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Today's Homily
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Reading 1DT 4:32-34, 39-40
Moses said to the people:
"Ask now of the days of old, before your time,
ever since God created man upon the earth;
ask from one end of the sky to the other:
Did anything so great ever happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God
speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another nation,
by testings, by signs and wonders, by war,
with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors,
all of which the LORD, your God,
did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
This is why you must now know,
and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God
in the heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today,
that you and your children after you may prosper,
and that you may have long life on the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."
"Ask now of the days of old, before your time,
ever since God created man upon the earth;
ask from one end of the sky to the other:
Did anything so great ever happen before?
Was it ever heard of?
Did a people ever hear the voice of God
speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself
from the midst of another nation,
by testings, by signs and wonders, by war,
with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors,
all of which the LORD, your God,
did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
This is why you must now know,
and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God
in the heavens above and on earth below,
and that there is no other.
You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today,
that you and your children after you may prosper,
and that you may have long life on the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you forever."
Responsorial PsalmPS 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it was made;
he commanded, and it stood forth.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the Lord the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made;
by the breath of his mouth all their host.
For he spoke, and it was made;
he commanded, and it stood forth.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Reading 2ROM 8:14-17
Brothers and sisters:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!”
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you received a Spirit of adoption,
through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!”
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.
AlleluiaREV 1:8
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
to God who is, who was, and who is to come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 28:16-20
The eleven disciples went to Galilee,to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.
Then Jesus approached and said to them,
"All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
Some Prayers for Today
"May the Lord Jesus put his hands on our eyes also, for then we too shall begin to look not at what is seen but at what is not seen. May he open the eyes that are concerned not with the present but with what is yet to come, may he unseal the heart's vision, that we may gaze on God in the Spirit, through the same Lord, Jesus Christ, whose glory and power will endure throughout the unending succession of ages." (Prayer of Origin, 185-254 A.D.)
Lord Jesus, I believe in you. I believe you have called me to the faith and to share that faith. I trust that you will fill me with your spirit of courage and truth, so that I might faithfully assimilate and transmit the faith. I love you. I want to love you more with my prayer and with my life, and so grow in the unity of the love you share with your Father and the Holy Spirit.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
A Homily for Today
Today, we are celebrating Pentecost Sunday. Some of you may ask yourselves, "What is the origin of Pentecost in the Catholic Church?" According to the New Catholic Dictionary of 1929, the word Pentecost is Greek for "pentecostes" which means "fiftieth." This feast "commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles, and takes its name from the fact that it comes nearly fifty days after Easter. It was a Jewish festival, and has been observed in the Christian Church since the days of the apostles. It is often called Whitsunday (White Sunday) from the practise of giving solemn Baptism on that day in early centuries, the candidates being attired in white baptismal robes."
Today's three readings made reference to the arrival of the Holy Spirit, being baptized in the Spirit and being sent forth to proclaim the Word of God so others may convert to the living faith.
The arrival of the Holy Spirit was affirmed in the First Reading [Acts 2:1-11] when we heard, "All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages. Being baptized in the Spirit was affirmed in the Second Reading [1 Cor. 12:3b-7, 12- 13] when it was said, "In the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." And being sent to proclaim the Word of God was affirmed in the Gospel Reading [Jn. 20:19-23] when we heard, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." These three passages are the gist of today's homily.
While preparing my homily, I was guided by the Spirit to review what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches about Pentecost in relationship to the Church. Today, I would like to share with you some of those teachings.
"The prophetic texts that directly concern the sending of the Holy Spirit are oracles by which God speaks to the heart of his people in the language of the promise, with the accents of "love and fidelity." [Ezek 11:19; 36:25-28; 37:1-14; Jer 31:31-34; and cf. Joel 3:1-5] St. Peter proclaimed their fulfillment on the morning of Pentecost. [Acts 2:17-21] According to these promises, at the 'end time' the Lord's Spirit will renew the hearts of men, engraving a new law in them. He will gather and reconcile the scattered and divided peoples; he will transform the first creation, and God will dwell there with men in peace." (C.C.C. # 715)
"On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ's Passover was fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, poured out the Spirit in abundance." [Acts 2:33-36] (C.C.C. # 731)
"'When the work which the Father gave the Son to do on earth was accomplished, the Holy Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost in order that he might continually sanctify the Church.' [LG 4; Cf. Jn 17:4] Then 'the Church was openly displayed to the crowds and the spread of the Gospel among the nations, through preaching, was begun.' [AG 4] As the 'convocation' of all men for salvation, the Church in her very nature is missionary, sent by Christ to all the nations to make disciples of them." [Mt 28:19-20; AG 2; 5-6] (C.C.C. # 767)
"The Church was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. [SC 6; LG 2] The gift of the Spirit ushers in a new era in the 'dispensation of the mystery' the age of the Church, during which Christ manifests, makes present, and communicates his work of salvation through the liturgy of his Church, 'until he comes.' [1 Cor 11:26] In this age of the Church Christ now lives and acts in and with his Church, in a new way appropriate to this new age. He acts through the sacraments in what the common Tradition of the East and the West calls 'the sacramental economy'; this is the communication (or 'dispensation') of the fruits of Christ's Paschal mystery in the celebration of the Church's 'sacramental" liturgy.'" (C.C.C. # 1076)
"Since Pentecost, it is through the sacramental signs of his Church that the Holy Spirit carries on the work of sanctification. The sacraments of the Church do not abolish but purify and integrate all the richness of the signs and symbols of the cosmos and of social life. Further, they fulfill the types and figures of the Old Covenant, signify and make actively present the salvation wrought by Christ, and prefigure and anticipate the glory of heaven." (C.C.C. # 1152)
"From the very day of Pentecost the Church has celebrated and administered holy Baptism. Indeed St. Peter declares to the crowd astounded by his preaching: 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' [Acts 2:38] The apostles and their collaborators offer Baptism to anyone who believed in Jesus: Jews, the God-fearing, pagans. [Cf. Acts 2:41; 8:12-13; 10:48; 16:15] Always, Baptism is seen as connected with faith: 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household,' St. Paul declared to his jailer in Philippi. And the narrative continues, the jailer 'was baptized at once, with all his family.'" [Acts 16:31-33] (C.C.C. # 1226)
"According to the Apostle Paul, the believer enters through Baptism into communion with Christ's death, is buried with him, and rises with him: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. [Rom 6:3-4; cf. Col 2:12] The baptized have 'put on Christ.' [Gal 3:27] Through the Holy Spirit, Baptism is a bath that purifies, justifies, and sanctifies." [CE 1 Cor 6:11; 12:13] (C.C.C. # 1227)
"Hence Baptism is a bath of water in which the 'imperishable seed' of the Word of God produces its life-giving effect. [1 Pet 1:23; cf. Eph 5:26] St. Augustine says of Baptism: 'The word is brought to the material element, and it becomes a sacrament.'" [St. Augustine, In Jo. ev. 80, 3: PL 35, 1840] (C.C.C. # 1228)
"This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah's, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people. [Ezek 36:25-27; Joel 3:1-2] On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit, [Lk 12:12; Jn 3:5-8; 7:37-39; 16:7-15; Acts 1:8] a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost. [Jn 20:22; Acts 2:1-14] Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim "the mighty works of God," and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age. [Acts 2:11; Cf. 2:17-18] Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn." [Acts 2:38] (C.C.C.# 1287)
"From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ's will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the Letter to the Hebrews the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of hands is listed among the first elements of Christian instruction. The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church." [Paul VI, Divinae consortium naturae, 659; Cf. Acts 8:15-17; 19:5-6; Heb 6:2] (C.C.C. # 1288)
"It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost." (C.C.C. # 1302)
"From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
- it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, 'Abba! Father!'; [Rom 8:15]
- it unites us more firmly to Christ;
- it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
- it renders our bond with the Church more perfect; [LG 11]
- it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross: [Council Of Florence (1439) DS 1319; LG 11; 12]
Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts." [SL Ambrose, De myst. 7, 42 PL 16, 402-403] (C.C.C. # 1303)
"Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the 'character,' which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness." [Council Of Trent (1547) DS 1609; Lk 24:48-49] (C.C.C. # 1304)
"This 'character' perfects the common priesthood of the faithful, received in Baptism, and 'the confirmed person receives the power to profess faith in Christ publicly and as it were officially (quasi ex officio).'" [St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 72, 5, ad 2] (C.C.C. # 1305)
Finally, "In the Lord's Prayer, 'thy kingdom come' refers primarily to the final coming of the reign of God through Christ's return. [Titus 2:13] But, far from distracting the Church from her mission in this present world, this desire commits her to it all the more strongly. Since Pentecost, the coming of that Reign is the work of the Spirit of the Lord who 'complete[s] his work on earth and brings us the fullness of grace.'" [Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer IV, 118] (C.C.C. # 2818)
Pentecost Sunday Mass during the Day Lectionary: 63
Reading 1ACTS 2:1-11
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.”
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.”
Responsorial PsalmPS 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
R. (cf. 30) Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O LORD!
the earth is full of your creatures;
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD be glad in his works!
Pleasing to him be my theme;
I will be glad in the LORD.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2 1 COR 12:3B-7, 12-13
Brothers and sisters:
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh;
these are opposed to each other,
so that you may not do what you want.
But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you.”
No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
OrGAL 5:16-25
Brothers and sisters, live by the Spiritand you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh has desires against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh;
these are opposed to each other,
so that you may not do what you want.
But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, lust, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
Sequence — Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Come, Holy Spirit, come!And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 20:19-23
On the evening of that first day of the week,when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
OrJN 15:26-27; 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples:“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you.”
Prayers for Today
"Lord Jesus, I thank you for the gift of Pentecost and for the new life you offer in the Holy Spirit. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and set my heart ablaze with the fire of your love that I may serve you in joy and freedom."
Today, Lord, we celebrate the gift of your Holy Spirit to the Church, which you won for us through your patient suffering on the cross. I believe and trust in his power to make me a better apostle of your Kingdom, to bring fervor where I have grown tepid, to instill detachment where I have become too indulgent, and to perfect the innocence of my baptism, which leaves my soul more pure and worthy to serve and honor you each day.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Divine Mercy Sunday
|
During the course of Jesus'
revelations to Saint Faustina on the Divine Mercy He asked on numerous
occasions that a feast day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy and that this
feast be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. The liturgical texts of
that day, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, concern the institution of the
Sacrament of Penance, the Tribunal of the Divine Mercy, and are thus
already suited to the request of Our Lord. This Feast, which had already been
granted to the nation of Poland and been celebrated within
Vatican City, was granted to the Universal Church by Pope John Paul II on
the occasion of the canonization of Sr. Faustina on 30 April 2000. In a
decree dated 23 May 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the
Discipline of the Sacraments stated that "throughout the world the
Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a
perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in
divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind will experience
in the years to come." These papal acts represent
the highest endorsement that the Church can give to a private revelation,
an act of papal infallibility proclaiming the certain sanctity of
the mystic, and the granting of a universal feast, as requested by Our
Lord to St. Faustina.
Concerning the Feast of Mercy Jesus said: Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)As you can see the Lord's desire for the Feast includes the solemn, public veneration of the Image of Divine Mercy by the Church, as well as personal acts of veneration and mercy. The great promise for the individual soul is that a devotional act of sacramental penance and Communion will obtain for that soul the plenitude of the divine mercy on the Feast. *The Cardinal of Krakow, Cardinal Macharski, whose diocese is the center of the spread of the devotion and the sponsor of the Cause of Sr. Faustina, has written that we should use Lent as preparation for the Feast and confess even before Holy Week! So, it is clear that the confessional requirement does not have to be met on the Feast itself. That would be an impossible burden for the clergy if it did. The Communion requirement is easily met that day, however, since it is a day of obligation, being Sunday. We would only need confession again, if received earlier in Lenten or Easter Season, if we were in the state of mortal sin on the Feast. |
||
Pope Francis: Now is the time for mercy
Reflecting on the ongoing persecution faced by Christians, the Pope said, “our prayer is all the more intense and becomes a cry for help to the Father, who is rich in mercy, that he may sustain the faith of our many brothers and sisters who are in pain.”
For our part, we are to seek the grace of “conversion of our own hearts,” whereby we are moved “from indifference to compassion,” he added.
The pontiff made these remarks during his homily for Evening Vespers in St. Peter’s Basilica, minutes after a public proclamation of the Jubilee for Mercy in front of the Holy Door.
The Jubilee is an Extraordinary Holy Year that will open this year on Dec. 8 – the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – and will close Nov. 20, 2016 with the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
The Pope first announced the Year of Mercy on March 13, the second anniversary of his pontifical election, during a Lenten penitential liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Mercy is a theme that is dear to Francis, and is the central topic of his episcopal motto “miserando atque eligendo,” which he chose when ordained a bishop in 1992.
Speaking the evening before the Feast of Divine Mercy, which falls on the first Sunday after Easter, Pope Francis recalled Jesus’ words to his disciples, “Peace be with you!”
During the Easter season, he said, this concept of peace “remains the desire of so many people who suffer unprecedented violence of discrimination and death simply because they bear the name ‘Christian’.”
Regardless of life’s difficulties and sufferings, the pontiff said – citing St. Paul – the hope of salvation won for us the mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection “continues to grow.”
“The mercy of God is poured out upon us, making us just and giving us peace,” he said. “This is a time for the Church to rediscover the meaning of the mission entrusted to her by the Lord on the day of Easter: to be a sign and an instrument of the Father’s mercy.”
Pope Francis explained that he declared this Jubilee of mercy because we are living at a “time of great historical change” which calls the Church “to offer more evident signs of God’s presence and closeness.”
This period in history is a time where the faithful “need to be vigilant and to reawaken in ourselves the capacity to see what is essential,” he said.
“This is the time for mercy.”
The aim of Jubilee Year of Mercy is to encourage the faithful to “welcome the numerous signs of the tenderness which God offers to the whole world,” the Pope continued.
These signs of God’s tenderness are especially offered to the suffering, the alone, the abandoned, and those “without hope of being pardoned or feeling the Father’s love.”
“It is the favourable time to heal wounds,” he stressed, “a time not to be weary of meeting all those who are waiting to see and to touch with their hands the signs of the closeness of God, a time to offer everyone the way of forgiveness and reconciliation.”
Pope Francis concluded his short address by calling on Mary to help the faithful “comprehend the task to which we have been called” during this Holy Year of Mercy, helping to experience the year “as faithful and fruitful witnesses of Christ.”
The Homily For Today
How marvellous was the living faith of the early Church Christians once they knew that Jesus was the Messiah and that He had resurrected from the dead! Once Jesus had resurrected by the grace of God the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, it did not take Him very long to firmly establish the Mystical Body of the Holy Catholic Church on earth.
During today's First Reading from The Acts of the Apostles, [Acts 4:32-35] we heard of the living faith that united the members of the early Church. They were of one heart and one soul. No one claimed private ownership of any possessions. All shared what they owned for the good of all.
The love and charity that was enjoyed by the early Church Christians is still visible today in a variety of degrees. Many of those who have been called to the religious life have made the vow of poverty in order to live their faith of one heart and soul as was seen in the early Church.
In the worldly life, many of those who are more fortunate than others contribute to charities on an ongoing basis to help the less fortunate. The oneness of heart and soul in today's Christians is seen through the ongoing fruits of the Bishop's appeal, the assistance provided to missions, the United Way Appeal, the Red Cross, special funds set up for those enduring natural disasters, the local Food Banks, and the thousands of other agencies that are managed by an endless number of volunteers who donate their endless time and efforts for the betterment of the world.
While our living faith embraces physical actions, it also requires that we testify to the Word of God. As the apostles gave their testimony to the glorious Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, as instruments of the Lord, we too are called to testify to others as to the reason for our living faith. From the understanding and knowledge of our living faith, our hope and our charity that have been firmly established in Jesus Christ, we are called to share this knowledge and understanding with our brothers and sisters for the growth and benefit of the whole Body of Christ. We are called to share it with our children so they too may establish their living faith in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
The Second Reading from the First Letter of John [1 Jn. 5:1-6] teaches us that "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child."
Through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism, we were born again as new creations of the godly seed. As new creations, we became children of God. This qualifies us to inherit the eternal Kingdom of God if we persevere in our living faith through the sacramental life. As children of God, if we love our Heavenly Father, then we also love His children, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
How do we know if we love our brothers and sisters in Christ? It is by our love for God and by our obedience to His Commandments. The Commandments of God are not hard to obey for those who are born again. For their living faith in Christ testifies to their victory, that they have conquered the world. Their charitable actions and their testifying as to the Word of God to others is a sure sign that while they are in the world, they are not of this world. Their minds are set on what is spiritual in the hope of things to come.
Our living faith is in Jesus, the Son of God. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit." [Jn. 3:5] Through the words that were inspired upon John the Baptist, we know that through Jesus, we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. [Mt. 3:11] Having received our Baptism through water, it is the Holy Spirit who purifies us as we are sanctified to become in the likeness of Christ.
When Jesus was baptized, it was not to be born again. For He is the eternal God. His baptism was an example for us to follow. The baptism of Jesus was not only a baptism by water, but also by blood. He gave His life for us as the sacrificial Lamb of God.
Who shall testify on our behalf that we have been born again through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism? Who shall testify on our behalf that we have lived our faith in Christ? Who shall testify on our behalf that we allowed ourselves to be sanctified in Christ by the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit? Will it be our parents, our godparents or our friends?
No! It is the Holy Spirit Himself Who shall testify on our behalf. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who bears witness that we have received the new creation of the godly seed during the Sacrament of Baptism. It is indwelling Holy Spirit who shall testify that we have walked our faith in Christ and allowed ourselves to be sanctified by His purifying fire.
Most of us, we remember today's reading from the Gospel of John. [Jn. 20:19-31] We all know the story of the doubting Thomas who said that he would not believe that Jesus had resurrected until such time as he had touched the mark of the nails and the side of the Lord. The Holy Bible does not tell us if St. Thomas ever did touch the marks on the body of Jesus. But it does tell us that once Jesus had appeared to St. Thomas, he suddenly came to believe. St. Thomas said, "My Lord and my God!" Not only did St. Thomas perceive at that moment that Jesus was His Lord and teacher, but that He was also the eternal God manifested in human form.
In response to the doubt of St. Thomas, Jesus said, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Yes, blessed are those who have not seen and who believe! Do you realize that not having seen Jesus, because of your living faith in Him, you are more blessed than the Apostle St. Thomas who doubted? What a blessing!
When Jesus appeared to His disciples, He breathed the Holy Spirit upon them. In other words, the Holy Spirit made His indwelling within the disciples and they became full of the Holy Spirit. Their minds were opened to the knowledge and understanding of the Spirit of Truth.
Having done this, Jesus authorized His Apostles to forgive the sins of others in His Name. Those who's sins are forgiven shall be forgiven. Those who sins are retained shall be retained.
This statement of Jesus testifies to the truth regarding the Sacrament of Confession. While some may want to believe that they can confess their sins directly to God the Father by bypassing those who have been appointed by Jesus to administer the Sacrament of Confession in the Holy Catholic Church, they are living a false hope. Without the Sacrament of Confession through the priests who have received the faculty to hear Confessions and who are in direct succession to the Apostles of Jesus, there is no forgiveness of sins.
Jesus did not say, "Be baptized and you are saved." He gave a number of commands. The Sacrament of Baptism through faith in Jesus Christ opens the door to our salvation. It makes us righteousness in the eyes of God through the forgiveness of the original sin and the sins committed before our Baptism. To maintain that righteousness, we must receive the Sacrament of Confession on a regular basis. The Sacrament of Confession that returns our state of grace is still insufficient for our salvation. We still need the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the Living Bread that leads to the salvation to our souls.
My brothers and sisters, to live our faith in Jesus, we must receive the Sacraments of the Holy Catholic Church. To live our faith in Jesus, we must abide by the Commandments of God. By doing these things, we will have life in His Most Holy Name.
The readings...
Second Sunday of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 4:32-35
The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
R. (1) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2 1 Jn 5:1-6
Beloved:Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and blood.
The Spirit is the one that testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
Alleluia Jn 20:29
R. Alleluia, alleluia.You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen me, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Jn 20:19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week,when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.
Some Prayers
"Lord Jesus Christ, through your victory over sin and death you have overcome all the powers of sin and darkness. Help me to draw near to you and to trust in your life-giving word. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and strengthen my faith in your promises and my hope in the power of your resurrection."
Lord Jesus, I believe in your grace and your love for me. This is why I come before you now. I know that through this meditation I can experience your love and be filled with your grace, so that I might fulfill my role in your plan of salvation. You know that I am weak and am sometimes tempted to lose heart. But I know I can count on your generous graces to bolster my courage and love. For my part, I will strive to spend this time with you well.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Homily
My brothers and sisters, today's message from the First Reading [Acts 10:34, 36-43] of the Word of God is presented to us by our first Pope, Peter the First. Often, we do not think of Peter as the First Pope. Rather, we think of him as St. Peter. But in reality, it is he who received the Keys to the Kingdom of God and he was in fact the first Pontiff of the Holy Catholic Church. As the spiritual leader of the Church of Jesus Christ that was being established on earth, Saint Peter took his place of authority and began to speak to those who had assembled in the house of Cornelius.
St. Peter said, "You know the message of God sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ - he is Lord of all." For centuries, the people of God had awaited for the coming Messiah who would bring peace to the world to reconcile man with God. Peter affirmed that this had come to pass through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lord of all! Through Jesus, God the Father had fulfilled all His promises that are found in the Old Testament.
In the presence of all, Peter affirmed that he and the disciples of the Lord were witnesses to all what Jesus had done in Judea and in Jerusalem. What was said about Jesus was not fabricated stories. It was the truth. The disciples of Christ lived alongside Him and witnessed everything that He had done and said.
Peter testified that Jesus was indeed crucified and that He had died on the Holy Cross. But God raised Him from the dead on the third day. And, after His glorious resurrection, Jesus appeared to many of the disciples who were chosen by God as witnesses. In all, it is estimated that Jesus appeared to approximately 500 different persons during the days that followed His resurrection.
Now, when Jesus appeared to the disciples, it was not in a dream or in a vision. Nor was it the Spirit of Jesus who appeared to the disciples because a spirit cannot eat or drink. It was the Lord Jesus Himself, He had resurrected from the dead. In His resurrected physical body, Jesus ate and drank with the disciples.
When Jesus came to the disciples, He gave them a command. Jesus commanded the disciples to preach to the people and to testify to all that He was the One sent by God to judge the living and the dead. Jesus was the promised Messiah in fulfillment of the Scriptures.
In today's first reading, Peter finished by stating that all the prophets of the Old Testament spoke about the coming of Jesus. In their inspired writings, they testified that those who would believe in Jesus would receive the forgiveness of sin through His Most Holy Name. As the Holy Bible tells us elsewhere, Jesus gave the authority to forgive sins in His Name to His disciples. "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." [Jn. 20:23]
During today's Second Reading that was taken from the Letter of Paul to the Colossians, [Col. 3:1-4] we heard that if we have been raised with Christ, we should seek the things that are from above where Christ dwells in Heaven. We should set our minds on spiritual things, not on worldly things.
Having been born again through the Church Sacrament of Baptism, we are obligated to God to feed our souls with spiritual things. We are called to spiritually grow in shining virtues and in the fruit of the Holy Spirit so that we may gradually be transformed by the grace of God the Father to become more in the likeness of His Son Jesus Christ.
For many, their participation in the celebration of the Holy Mass on Easter Day is a stepping stone towards returning to their living faith. It is a sincere resolution... but it must not end there.
Jesus is the Lord of all! And we all need Him! On a regular basis, we need to receive the Sacrament of Confession that Jesus has instituted on earth through the apostles for the forgiveness of our sins. We need to receive the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist that Jesus has instituted on earth through the apostles as our assurance of salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God. The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the Living Bread that feeds our souls once we have been reinstated in a state of grace after having received the Sacrament of Confession.
During today's reading of the Holy Gospel, [Jn. 10:1-18] we heard how Mary Magdalene needed Jesus. She wept when she realized that His body was gone, believing that someone had stolen it. She wept because she missed the Divine presence of Jesus. She missed that inner burning desire to be near the living body of Jesus, to follow Him, to hear Him, to feel loved, to be understood and to be forgiven of sins.
Mary Magdalene was not the only one to have these feelings. All the disciples of Jesus felt that way. That is why they reacted the way they did when they heard some saying that Jesus was no longer in His tomb, that He had resurrected, or that He was appearing here and there to different disciples.
The word, "Jesus is alive!" or "I have seen the Lord!" were enough to instantly create a great spiritual hunger in the soul of the disciples of Jesus where emptiness existed because of His death. The worldly minds of the disciples suddenly became alerted to the truth. Through these words, there was a new hope. Faith was being reinstated in the Words that Jesus had spoken while He lived on earth.
Jesus is the Lord of all! It is the will of God that we all experience spiritual hunger for the Divine presence of the Lord Jesus. It is the will of God that Jesus feed our spiritual hunger so like Mary Magdalene and the disciples, we will never want to leave His Divine presence.
When we set our minds on Jesus, we do what is spiritual. While we are in this world, we are not of this world. Through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism, we have become new creations of the godly seed, called to obey and serve the Lord Jesus in all righteousness.
When you go home today, think of the words, "Jesus is alive!" Think of the words, "Jesus is the Lord of all!" He is your Lord as much as He is my Lord and the Lord of all the others, those who are present and those who are not. Remember that spiritual hunger that you experienced so many times in your life, during those moments when you desired that the Lord Jesus could be so close to you... (pause) and He came close to you. You felt His warmth, His joy and His peace.
Awaken your spirits so you may relive those moments, not only for a day or two, but for every day of your life until you appear before the Lord Jesus in person. While you are in this world, be of above. For Jesus is the Lord of all and by the grace of God the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, He can once more ignite your hearts with a burning hunger that will draw you to Him.
The Resurrection of the Lord The Mass of Easter Day
Reading 1ACTS 10:34A, 37-43
Peter proceeded to speak and said:
“You know what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people
and testify that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him
will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
“You know what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.
We are witnesses of all that he did
both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They put him to death by hanging him on a tree.
This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible,
not to all the people, but to us,
the witnesses chosen by God in advance,
who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
He commissioned us to preach to the people
and testify that he is the one appointed by God
as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness,
that everyone who believes in him
will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Responsorial PsalmPS 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
R. (24) This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.”
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
“The right hand of the LORD has struck with power;
the right hand of the LORD is exalted.
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.”
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2COL 3:1-4
Brothers and sisters:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast,
so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Offer your thankful praises!
A Lamb the sheep redeems;
Christ, who only is sinless,
Reconciles sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous:
The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
What you saw, wayfaring.
“The tomb of Christ, who is living,
The glory of Jesus’ resurrection;
bright angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting.
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he goes before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining.
Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia.
Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed;
let us then feast with joy in the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.
Or1 COR 5:6B-8
Brothers and sisters:Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast,
so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Sequence - Victimæ Paschali Laudes
Christians, to the Paschal VictimOffer your thankful praises!
A Lamb the sheep redeems;
Christ, who only is sinless,
Reconciles sinners to the Father.
Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous:
The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.
Speak, Mary, declaring
What you saw, wayfaring.
“The tomb of Christ, who is living,
The glory of Jesus’ resurrection;
bright angels attesting,
The shroud and napkin resting.
Yes, Christ my hope is arisen;
to Galilee he goes before you.”
Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining.
Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning!
Amen. Alleluia.
AlleluiaCF. 1 COR 5:7
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed;
let us then feast with joy in the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 20:1-9
On the first day of the week,Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.
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