HOMILIES
The Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
CHURCH If then when the Church�s ministers and officials sin and those sins become public and known and confirmed, they ought to confess them to receive God�s forgiveness and peace, and the forgiveness of those sinned against.
April 11, 2010, Year C
Acts of the Apostles 5:12-16; Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31
Today has been called Mercy Sunday. The Lord has ordered priests through Faustina to speak of his mercy. Pope John Paul II has encouraged it in his Encyclical, Dives in Misericordia:
�The Church of our time ... must become more and particularly and profoundly conscious of the need to bear witness in her whole mission to God�s mercy.�
How prophetic! The Holy Spirit is active in the Church. We need mercy.
�Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ who in his great mercy gave us new birth to living hope through the Ress of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance which is imperishable. But for a little while you will have to suffer through various trials so that your faith, tested, may prove to be for praise and glory and honor when Jesus is revealed� (1Peter 1:3-9)..
Today the Church suffers; its faith is being tested that it may give God praise, honor, and glory. Listen for God�s mercy in today�s readings
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Introduction
Today�s first reading shows us the great things that happened after the Resurrection of Jesus. The apostles cured the sick and healed the crippled and the blind, and large crowds followed them. The young Church experienced great growth. Because of the times and events people had faith in Jesus� apostles and miracles happened.
Psalm Response
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting.
Let the house of the Lord 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/.
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/.
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/.
Homily Reflections
Jesus comes to the apostles gathered together in fear of the Jews. Jesus came through locked doors and stood in their midst.
��Peace be with you,� he said.� Then he showed them his hands and his side. Confirmed by their senses, �The disciples rejoiced at seeing Jesus.� Again he said, �Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.� He then breathed on them and said,
�Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men�s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound.�
Thomas was absent on that occasion, and when the apostles told him that they had seen the Lord, he did not believe them. He stated emphatically that he will never believe until he has probed the nail marks of Jesus and put his hand into his side. The following week Jesus appeared again and had Thomas do what he had wanted to do. Thomas then believed in his Lord and God.
The Loving Mercy of God
The Lord Jesus makes doubting Thomas a believer. Most of the work of believing and being faithful is a gift from God through Jesus. In his mercy Jesus helps the obstinate Thomas believe in him as God.
The purpose of writing the fourth Gospel is that we, you and I, might believe and have LIFE in his name. Jesus here speaks of risen life in glory with God as he has!
We sin privately; we confess privately, but freely, and we receive God�s forgiveness and peace.
MERCY SUNDAY is a good time to ask Jesus for mercy from his loving heart. His mercy is his spirit, the Holy Spirit, who brings peace and love. We all need this mercy of God�s love which brings peace
Reflections
The peace of the Risen Jesus..
The Third Sunday of Easter
April 18, 2010, Year C
Acts of the Apostles 5:27-32, 40b-41; Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19 or 21:1-14
The apostles insisted on preaching in the name of Jesus. That preaching, because sthe people were believing them, would bring the blood of Jesus on the Sanhedrin. The apostles persisted that they must obey God rather than men. They reminded the Sanhedrin that it was they and not the apostles who had killed Jesus by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him up at his right hand. God did this work through Jesus to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. The apostles are witnesses to these happenings as well as the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. The apostles obeyed Jesus and so have the Holy Spirit and believe. The Sanhedrin, on the other hand, have not obeyed, do not have the Holy Spirit and so do not (cannot?) believe. The apostles are dismissed by the Sanhedrin and are overjoyed that they could suffer dishonor in the name of Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus reveals him as truthful and a man of integrity, and the authorities as hypocrites and liars. They are experiencing their guilt and shame as the people acknowledge the work of the apostles as coming from the Holy Spirit of Jesus.
Psalm Response
I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O Lord, for you drew me clear / and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, you brought me up from the nether world; / you preserved me from among those going down into the pit. Response/.
Sing praise to the Lord, you his faithful ones / and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger lasts but a moment; / a lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in, / but with the dawn, rejoicing. R/.
Hear, O Lord, and have pity on me; / O Lord be my helper. You changed my mourning into dancing; / O Lord, my God, forever will I give you thanks. R/.
Gospel
Peter and some of the apostles were frequenting their old haunt by the sea of Tiberias. They were uncertain about what they should be doing; Jesus had appeared to them but hadn�t given them any instructions. Peter decided to go fishing and the others joined him; they labored through the night but caught nothing. As they approached shore Jesus was there and asked if they had caught anything. No! So he told them, �Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.� At the word of Jesus they cast their nets again and they were filled to breaking point with fish. At that moment the disciple whom Jesus loved recognized the risen Lord and said to Peter, "It is the Lord" (John 21:7). When they arrived ashore Jesus told them to �Bring some of the fish you just caught.� They did so; then he said to them, �Come, have breakfast.� Jesus came over took the bread and gave it to them, in like manner the fish. They all recognized him and no one dared ask, �Who are you?� because they realized it was the Lord. They had followed his instructions like good children and made a large catch of fish. This unusual event took place in the everyday living of the apostles as they went about their work. Jesus wants to meet us in daily life circumstances. In this scene Jesus is supporting his apostles and reforming them into his community of followers. He feeds them with his food and now adds their catch to his meal. They dine together and share each other�s food. This meal had overtones of Eucharist and foreshadows the Church community. From now on the apostles must do the feeding, and Jesus has promised that they will catch men. The meal Jesus prepared represents his Body and Blood which he gave us at the Last Supper. The catch of the apostles, joined to Jesus, is the work and sacrifice they must make to win others for the Lord.
The intimacy of union with God is to share in his work and its fruits and together celebrate the harvest in a heavenly banquet. That banquet is meant to begin here on earth. It is an �out of this world banquet,� and is symbolized by the meal on the lake shore. The apostles are God�s especially chosen ones who ate and drank with Jesus before and after his resurrection. The other chosen one are sthose who ate with hm after his resurrection and ascension.
Eucharist
The Eucharist is the unbloody reenactment of the passion and death of Jesus but it is also a celebration of our Christian fellowship and solidarity with one another in Jesus. At Mass we break bread and partake of the cup. We eat and drink the Body and Blood of the risen Lord. The Eucharist involves us in communion with others and is a sign which effects what it signifies --union of minds and hearts in God. Easter celebrates Christ�s victory of life over death, of hope over despair, love over indifference. The Eucharist is a daily celebration of Easter bringing about the Kingdom of God, a present reality on earth in process of fulfillment.
Reflections --
Simple trust in Jesus brings new life to those who believe and partake of his Body and Blood --the food
of eternal life
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The Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 25, 2010, Year C
Acts of the Apostles 13:14, 43-52; Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5
Revelation 7:9, 14b-17; John 10:27-30
Paul preaches in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia, the southern part of the Roman province. He preaches to Jews and Gentile believers, the �God fear-ers� On the following Sabbath most of the people in the city showed up to hear Paul and Barnabas. The Jews were jealous of the great crowds who came to hear the word proclaimed. Paul began with a brief history of Israel's Old Testament and the promises made by the prophets and contained in the Psalms concerning the Messiah. Texts in Isaiah relating to king David were interpreted of Jesus as king. Paul was justifying the recent events of Jesus with the prophecies of the past and confirming the prophecies through the present events. The new king over life and death was confirming Israel�s history. Since the Jews were rejecting the completion of the Old Testament by the life and death of Jesus, Paul turned his preaching to the Gentiles. This decision, stated in Isaiah, delighted the Gentiles.
Look, I have made him a witness to peoples, a leader and lawgiver to peoples. Look, you will summon a nation unknown to you, a nation unknown to you will hurry to you for the sake of Yahweh your God, because the Holy One of Israel has glorified you (Isaiah 55:4-5). That same technique of using ancient texts to interpret recent, or present, events in the life of the community could be employed today. For example: �Now, will not God see justice done to his elect if they keep calling to him day and night even though he still delays to help them? I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily. But when the Son of man comes, will he find any faith on earth?' (Luke 18:7-8). Is this text not supported by the lack of faith in God in today�s world were Jesus to return today? His delay in coming is, indeed, to help those who do not yet believe, to believe.
Psalm Response
We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; / serve the Lord with gladness; / come before him with joyful song. Response/.
Know that the Lord is God; / he made us, to him we are; / his people, the flock he tends. R/.
The Lord is good; / his kindness endures forever; / and his faithfulness, to all generations. R/.
Gospel
Paul and Barnabas are living out and describing in Acts what Jesus promised in the Gospel. Those who believe in him are his followers, the sheep of his flock, who have heard his voice. The Father has called them to Jesus and given them faith to believe in his Son. They believe because they have listened to his voice in the words of the apostles and taken it to heart. They are Jesus� sheep from �other folds.� They come from the East and the West to sit at Abraham�s table.
The sheep who follow Jesus receive eternal life. They hear his voice and follow him and shall never perish. The Father has given them to Jesus and no one can take they from him because the Father and Jesus are one. The relationship of Jesus and his sheep has the same basis as Jesus and the Father -- intimate knowledge of each other. He gives them eternal life with the Father and they will not be lost. As the Jews would not believe Jesus and wanted to arrest him, he left them as he had come to them and went back across the Jordan to the place where John had first baptized (Jn 10:40). He shook their dust from his feet.
Reflection
John�s heavenly vision reflects the final stage of God�s Church community. A great multitude of people from every land and race stood before the throne of the Lamb. He will shelter them and lead them to spring of life-giving water. They will have no more tears.
Fifth Sunday of Easter May 2, 2010, Year C
Acts of the Apostles 14:21--27; Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-14
Book of Revelation 21:1-5a; John 13:31-33a, 34-35.
Persevere in faith for, "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.. The new Church is taking root and doing well, but the signs of strife are evident as old Jewish traditions hold fast against their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Paul and Barnabas visit the churches strengthening Christ�s followers. The Gospel has been preached in Gentile lands for God has opened the door to them. They are happy and rejoice at being chosen to hear the word of God and follow his teaching.
Psalm Response
I will praise your name forever, my king and my God.
The Lord is gracious and merciful, / slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all / and compassionate towards his works. Response/.
Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, / and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom, and speak of your might. R/.
Let them make known your might to the children of Adam, / and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, / and your dominion endures through all generations. R/.
John's Gospel
Jesus� glory begins with the departure of Judas the agent of evil and Satan has a temporary victory. Jesus is still in control of his destiny and gave Judas permission to do what he must do. Now is Jesus glorified in God the Father. If God is glorified in Jesus he will in turn glorify his Son. Jesus has been betrayed into the hands of sinful men by one chosen and a friend. Jesus must depart his little group of friends and they did not know how or why. He would come back later and take them with him so that where he is they also will be. The new commandment he gave them is that they love one another as he loves them. Then he went out and died for them. This introduction to the farewell discourse of Jesus to his apostles is appropriate for this interim between his resurrection and his ascension to the Father. It also helps us in this extended interim of the end times to realize that even those close to Jesus can be blinded by greed and power. It also reminds us that scandals will be in the Church until the end. The demands of God or his Church are not the cause of failings but the human weakness of all individual persons before God�s commands.
The Book of Revelation
A new heaven and a new earth replaces the former heaven and earth which has passed away. The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven prepared like a bride for her husband. God's dwelling is with the human race for his bride, the Church, is prepared for her wedding. All nations will be his people; He will dwell with them and they with him. All tears will be wiped away. No more death and no more mourning. The One who sits on the throne makes all things new -- they are already new but not seen, not in glory. The image is that of the wedding festival. The meaning is that of greater love, a loving union for life --for eternal life.
Reflection
The heavenly wedding feast completes the marriage between Christ and his Church; the glory of the eternal banquet begins. The Groom, through his sacrifice of love on earth has prepared his bride for loving union in heaven. In this state separation is unthinkable, unknowable. The bride's life work on earth prepared her for this moment --eternal celebration of connubial bliss in God. Don't miss it for the world!