5th Sunday of Easter

There is an interesting tension in today’s readings that I don’t think I have ever paid much attention to before. Today’s Gospel from John 15:1–8 and the 2nd reading from 1 John 3:18–24 are about our relationship with Jesus. In the Gospel Jesus tells his disciples and us, “Remain in me, as I remain in you.” And he explains why this commandment is important. If we don’t stay connected to Jesus like branches on a vine, we cannot bear fruit. In the 2nd reading we hear a similar line, “Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he gave us.” The commandments referred to in John’s letter are we should believe in the name of Jesus Christ and we should love one another.

The tension is in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles 9:26–31. This is the story about Paul’s introduction to the disciples in Jerusalem. It didn’t go down very well. After his astounding conversion and baptism and after some death threats, Paul journeyed to Jerusalem to join the disciples. They didn’t want him. The disciples were afraid and they couldn’t believe that this man who breathed “murderous threats” against them was now a disciple of Jesus. Fortunately Barnabas befriended Paul and through his witness to Paul’s conversion the disciples finally accepted him into their circle. But then Paul got into trouble with the Hellenists who tried to kill him so the disciples bundled him off to Tarsus. It was only after getting Paul out of Jerusalem that “The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.”

What is interesting is that Paul’s problems with the disciples and the Hellenists didn’t stop him from bearing fruit. Paul’s branch was pruned and his ministry thrived, not in Judea, Galilee or Samaria but in the far reaches of Asia Minor. None of Paul’s experiences diminished his deep and abiding belief in Jesus. Jesus told the disciples, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches.” He didn’t say branch. Jesus’ vine has many branches and they are all different. Paul’s branch was not the branch of the disciples in Jerusalem but they were connected to the same vine. We are connected to the same vine as well. And so we can pray:

Our living and loving God,

you have made yourself very close and dear to us

in your Son Jesus Christ.

Through him we can live your life,

rich and generous and reaching out to others,

for Christ lives in us and we can live in him.

Let your Son bring all together in him,

that all become branches on the same vine

and that the new wine of justice and love

fill all this earth with joy and peace.

We ask this through him whose sap of life flows in us,

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

Our God is a Mighty God! Worthy to be Praised!

From the Book of Daniel, that beautiful hymn of praise echoes all creation in praising His might and beauty:

Dew and rain, bless the Lord.

Frost and chill, bless the Lord.

Ice and snow, bless the Lord.

Nights and days, bless the Lord.

Light and darkness, bless the Lord.

Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord.

Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever. Give glory and eternal praise to Him!

Psalm 145:10 echoes that sentiment: Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you.

No matter where you are today, give thanks and praise to God, our almighty Father, and His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the glory of the Holy Spirit, both now and forever!  Amen.

12 Rules

  1.  Do one thing at a time. No multi-tasking.
  2.  Do it slowly and deliberately.
  3.  Do it completely.
  4.  Do less.
  5.  Put space between things.
  6.  Develop rituals.
  7.  Designate time for certain things.
  8.  Devote time to sitting.
  9.  Smile and serve others.
10.  Make cooking and cleaning become meditation.
11.  Think about what is necessary.
12.  Live simply.

Being Human

Overcoming denial means intentionally and fully knowing oneself as a human being - warts and all. 

Being human means that you aren't everything you want to be - or everything you think you are - good or bad. 

Being human means that your thinking is sometimes irrational. It also means that everyday you have thoughts you would not like to have shared with people around you. 

Being human means that you live in a body which might not be perfect and sometimes has pain and is getting... older and probably is not in the same shape as what you see on TV and movies. 

Being human means you might not always have the kind of attitude you'd like to have. 

Being human means that you have those messy human feelings you wish would go away. Having feelings means that you sometimes make decisions based on feelings which aren't always in your best interest and sometimes hurt you and hurt people you love. 

Being human means that you can't do it alone - you need support. 

Being human also means that you are a child of Creation. A Loving God formed you and loves you as you are. 

Being human means that you are a spiritual being living in a physical body. 

Being human means that you are BOTH good and bad, BOTH saint and sinner, BOTH loving and selfish. Being human means that you have BOTH pain and pleasure. 

Being human means that you have needs that you can't always meet. 

Being human means that you are NOT in control.

Being human isn’t all negative. We are each gifted with mind and heart and wonderful senses to enjoy the world and to serve one another. We are all gifted and talented in tremendous ways – unique to us in a world filled with wonder. We each have many strengths in addition to any flaws we may have. We are made for great joy. God gave us a world filled with beauty and with pleasure. Being a Spiritual Person doesn’t mean we avoid all pleasure. But that we accept it with grateful hearts.

Let Go

You have to let go at some 

point in order to move forward.

~ C. S. Lewis​

I Know the Shepherd

There was once a Shakespearean actor who was known everywhere for his one-man shows of readings and recitations from the classics. He would always end his performance with a dramatic reading of Psalm 23.

Each night, without exception, as the actor began his recitation - “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” the crowd would listen attentively. And then, at the conclusion of the Psalm, they would rise in thunderous applause in appreciation of the actor's incredible ability to bring the verse to life.

But one night, just before the actor was to offer his customary recital of Psalm 23, a young man from the audience spoke up. “Sir, do you mind if tonight I recite Psalm 23?" The actor was quite taken back by this unusual request, but he allowed the young man to come forward and stand front and center on the stage to recite the Psalm, knowing that the ability of this unskilled youth would be no match for his own talent.

With a soft voice, the young man began to recite the words of the Psalm. When he was finished, there was no applause. There was no standing ovation as on other nights. All that could be heard was the sound of weeping. The audience had been so moved by the young man's recitation that every eye was full of tears.

Amazed by what he had heard, the actor said to the youth, "I don't understand. I have been performing Psalm 23 for years. I have a lifetime of experience and training - but I have never been able to move an audience as you have tonight. Tell me, what is your secret?"

The young man quietly replied, "Well sir, you know the Psalm; I know the Shepherd."

If

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!​

by Rudyard Kipling

4th Sunday of Easter

Today, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is Good Shepherd Sunday and the 58th World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Shepherds tending flocks of sheep are some of the earliest characters in scripture. Abel, the son of Adam and Eve was a shepherd. Other Old Testament sheep tenders are Rachel the wife of Jacob, Zipporah the wife of Moses and David, probably the most famous shepherd in scripture. The shepherd’s job is to lead the sheep to pasture, protect them, and keep them together and safe.

Speaking through the Prophet Ezekiel (Ezk 34:11), the Lord God says: “I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep.” In today’s Gospel from John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” The Greek word John used for “good” is kalos which means model or ideal. Like God, his Father, Jesus sees his mission to lead the lost sheep of Israel and those “who do not belong to this fold.” Jesus is the shepherd who will bring all the sheep together as “one flock” with “one shepherd.” When St. Peter addresses the elders of the early church in 1 Peter 5:2-4, he reminds them to willingly tend the “flock of God in your midst,” as God does, striving to “be examples to the flock.”

God’s flock still needs men and women to shepherd them towards the Kingdom of Heaven. Our Holy Father Pope Francis asks us to pray for vocations to the priesthood and to the consecrated life. In his Message for the 58th World Day of Prayer for Vocations 2021, the Holy Father says, “8 December last, the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church, marked the beginning of a special year devoted to him (cf. Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary, 8 December 2020). For my part, I wrote the Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, whose aim was ‘to increase our love for this great saint’…. God looks on the heart (cf. 1 Sam 16:7), and in Saint Joseph he recognized the heart of a father, able to give and generate life in the midst of daily routines. Vocations have this same goal: to beget and renew lives every day. The Lord desires to shape the hearts of fathers and mothers: hearts that are open, capable of great initiatives, generous in self-giving, compassionate in comforting anxieties and steadfast in strengthening hopes. The priesthood and the consecrated life greatly need these qualities nowadays, in times marked by fragility but also by the sufferings due to the pandemic, which has spawned uncertainties and fears about the future and the very meaning of life. Saint Joseph comes to meet us in his gentle way, as one of ‘the saints next door’. At the same time, his strong witness can guide us on the journey.”

During the next week please pray for good shepherds to lead our Church in the future,

God, source of creation and love,

you invite each of us to serve you through the gift of our life.

May your grace encourage men and women

to serve the Church as priests, sisters, brothers, and lay ministers.

Make me an instrument to encourage others to give of themselves,

and challenge me to do the same.

Amen

Bring Your Umbrella

One summer, a drought threatened the crop in a small town. On a hot and dry Sunday, the old parish priest told his congregation, "There isn't anything that will save us except to pray for rain. Go home, pray, believe, and come back next Sunday ready to thank God for sending rain."

The people did as they were told and returned to church the following Sunday. But as soon as the old priest saw them, he was furious.

"We can't worship today. You do not yet believe," he said.

"But," they protested, "we prayed, and we do believe."

"Believe?" he responded. "Then where are your umbrellas?"

The story applies to all of us. There are those people who leave their umbrellas at home. Throughout their lives, they are merely hoping their wishes and prayers will bear fruit, but they expect little.

Others expect their dreams and desires to come to pass. It is as if they journey through life always prepared for something to happen.

Today, how will you approach that which you are yearning for? Will you expect your prayers and work to bring about hoped-for results?

Will you bring your umbrella?

Sufferings of Love

Only in the imagination does love promise happiness forever. Through experience, we discover the myriad dimensions of love. Sometimes love is joy. Sometimes passion. Sometimes moments of serenity amongst the laughter and sadness. Generally, love is soft. But it also may sting. Love is forever changing, perhaps a smile will slow our pace one minute, but a sign of danger may push us to act, to respond, to make a decision the next.

All that love is, there's much it is not. Love is not shaming. Nor is it punishing. Love does not gloat, criticize, degrade, or diminish. At times we think we're filled with love and yet we selfishly serve our needs before another's. And when we truly express our love to another, there's no mistaking the warm glow that fills the body.

How simple to be a giver of love and yet how forgetful we are when the opportunities arise.

Reflection: Luke 17:6

Luke 17:6 - The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to [this] mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Two men went fishing. One was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn't. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back.

The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing the man waste good fish. "Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?" he asked.

The inexperienced fisherman replied, "I only have a small frying pan."

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small.

We laugh at that fisherman who didn't figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan, yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith?

Whether it's a problem or a possibility, God will never give you anything bigger than you can handle. That means we can confidently walk into anything God brings our way.​

Reflection on John's Gospel 21: 1-19

Peter’s rehabilitation with Jesus is neat.  Jesus doesn’t address him as Peter (Rock) but as Simon, Son of John.  Kind of like our Mothers addressing us by our full names when we were in trouble – remember? And Peter was in trouble.  He had denied that he even knew Jesus three times and now three times he had to tell Jesus he loved him more than the other disciples.  And we know that eventually Peter would be crucified upside down to “glorify God.” Scripture tells us: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  (John 15:13).

If all of us were asked by Jesus: “Do you love me?”, I would hope we would respond somewhere along the lines of Peter.  But that is a difficult question to answer.  Do I truly love Jesus more than anything or anyone else in this world?  Lord, please give me the grace and strength to answer as Peter did: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you​!"

When Things Go Wrong

“If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.” ~Morris West

Today I watched Finding Nemo, one of my absolute favorite Disney movies. When Dory and Marlin are searching for his lost son Nemo and it seems like they’re doomed to fail, Marlin says, “I promised I’d never let anything happen to him.”

Dory responds, “Hmm. That’s a funny thing to promise. You can’t never let anything happen to him. Then nothing would ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo.”

As someone who has often worried about people I love, I find this incredibly insightful. The truth is we never can know for certain when a storm is coming. We can’t fully protect ourselves or the people we love from hardship.

What we can do is choose not to cause ourselves pain by shutting down, fearing everything that might go wrong. When we hide from the worst that could possibly happen, we also close ourselves off from the best.

Today if you’re feeling fearful about things that might go wrong tomorrow, come back to the present and recognize things that are going right today.

There’s a lot of sunshine to enjoy in life, but we can only appreciate it if we’re willing to be firmly rooted in the here and now.

3rd Sunday of Easter

While I was pondering the readings for the 3rd Sunday of Easter Year B, a song by Bernadette Farrell popped into my head. The song, God of Abraham, has a catchy tune and seventeen verses. I can’t recall ever singing the entire song. A few of the verses are:

God of Abraham, lead us, lead us to your kingdom Into fruitfulness,

 lead us, lead us together, lead us to freedom.

God of Sarah be with us, lead us to your kingdom. 

 Through our laughter and labor, lead us together, lead us to freedom.

God of Moses and Aaron, lead us to your kingdom. 

 Out of slavery, lead us, lead us together, lead us to freedom.

God of Samuel, lead us, lead us to your kingdom. 

 Into listening, lead us, lead us together, lead us to freedom.

What prompted the song in my memory is in today’s Gospel, Luke 24:35–48. In this passage the Resurrected Jesus appears to the disciples who are cowering in fear, locked up in a room somewhere in Jerusalem. The two disciples who encountered Jesus on the Road to Emmaus are there to share their astounding story. Jesus appears to all eleven disciples, shows them his wounds, eats with them and then he explains why he had to suffer, die and rise from the dead. Jesus tells them (and us), “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). St Luke tells us ‘Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures” (v 45).

Jesus did the same thing when he was walking with the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. He said, “’ Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures” (Luke 24:25–27).

It was only after Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures” that the disciples finally got it. This is why we have eight readings at the Easter Vigil Mass. The readings at the Easter Vigil pull the whole story together from creation through the resurrection. Without the patriarchs, judges, prophets and kings the Resurrection story has no historical context. Everything is part of God’s plan. And that plan extends to us. God’s plan did not end with the resurrection and ascension. Just as Jesus commissioned the disciples to preach forgiveness to all the nations, he commissions us as well through our baptism. Every time we attend mass, hear scripture proclaimed and encounter Jesus in the Eucharist we are commissioned.

In Bernadette Farrell’s song we ask the God of Abraham to lead us to his kingdom. In today’s gospel and throughout all the gospels Jesus tells us to lead others to God’s kingdom. And so we pray:

God of Abraham and Sarah,

God of Isaac and Rebecca,

God of Jacob and Rachel

and of all our ancestors in faith,

you fulfilled your promise of old

that your Christ would suffer

and so rise to glory.

Open our minds to understand the Scriptures

and fill us with joyful wonder in the presence of the risen Christ,

that we may be his witnesses

to the ends of the earth.

We ask this through Jesus Christ,

the first-born from the dead,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever. 

AMEN

Faith

 

Building Bridges

Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side-by-side, sharing machinery and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference and finally, it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days' work," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?"

"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you! Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor. In fact, it's my younger brother! Last week there was a meadow between us. He recently took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll do him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence an 8-foot fence - so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore."

The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."

The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day -- measuring, sawing and nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge! A bridge that stretched from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work, handrails and all! And the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming toward them, his hand outstretched. "You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done."

The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox onto his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you!" said the older brother.

"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but I have so many more bridges to build."

Good Luck

It’s hard to detect good luck; it looks so much like something you’ve earned.  Frank A. Clark

A little boy wanted a taste of molasses from the large barrel by the door of an old-fashioned country store. He slid a box beside the barrel, stepped up on it and leaned over the rim as far as possible, stretching out his finger toward the sweet goo below. He stretched and strained and toppled headfirst into the barrel.

Dripping with molasses, he stood up, lifted his eyes heavenward and was heard to utter, “Lord, help me to make the most of this fantastic opportunity!”

Most of us will never fall into a barrel of opportunity. We won't be awarded a great sum of money (though I am never sure that is in our best interest), we won't be offered a “dream job,” we won't have all of our needs suddenly provided for. We can spend years waiting for opportunity to knock only to find that we wasted precious time wishing for something to happen that never was to be.

Yet some people seem to luck into these things, don't they? It's as if they were in the right place at the right time and they just fell into it.

But that is not the way it happens. Those people who seize opportunities others seem to miss, find them for one specific reason: they have trained themselves. People who seem more fortunate than the rest of us are those who have taught themselves to look for possibilities in every circumstance and every obstacle.

I think David Boren, president of the University of Oklahoma, is such a man. Years ago, Boren learned from professional pollsters that he would most likely lose his state gubernatorial race, and lose it big. The professional polling agency he hired reported his strength to be only about two percent of the population.

Many people would quit the moment they receive such news. And in truth, that was his first reaction. Could anything good come out of such a bleak situation? But he had trained himself to look for opportunities, even when confronting great obstacles. He stayed in the race and approached his campaign in a different way. He told his listeners, “I had a professional poll taken and it shows I’ve got great potential for increasing my support!”

That may sound a good deal better than it is. But he didn't give up and people began to listen to what he had to say. Boren eventually won the election and served as governor of the US state of Oklahoma.

People who spot opportunities may simply be people who have trained themselves to look for the best possible outcome in every situation and act on it. It takes a different way of thinking.

To everyone else it may just look like you're lucky. But you will know better.

Tools

“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” - Abraham Maslow

When we can take a long view of our problems, we can sometimes see that we're using inappropriate tools to try to solve them. What's necessary for us to do is to move away, to detach. That may show us a whole new context into which our problem fits, and in which it may not even be a problem.

Detachment is hard to achieve when we're deeply hooked into a situation. When we send ourselves drastic messages like "now or never!" we're pressing our noses right up against the problem - a position in which it's difficult to maintain a balanced view. To stop and say, "If not now, then perhaps some other time," unhooks us and lets us remember that life is richer and more varied than we thought when we were hooked.

Crisis thinking can be like a hammer - it flattens everything. This can be our way of trying to control the outcome of our individual struggle. But when we remember that we make up only small parts of one grand and beautiful design. We can surrender our problems to it.

To be a competent worker, we need to seek out the tools that are best suited to the task.

Lead, Kindly Light

Lead, Kindly Light, amidst th'encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on.
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!

Meantime, along the narrow rugged path,
Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Saviour, lead me home in childlike faith,
Home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.

Unfolding the Rose

It is only a tiny rosebud,

a flower of God's design;

But I cannot unfold the petals

with these clumsy hands of mine.

The secret of unfolding flowers

is not known to such as I.

GOD opens this flower so sweetly,

when in my hands they die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud,

this flower of God's design,

Then how can I have the wisdom

to unfold this life of mine?

So I'll trust in Him for leading

each moment of my day.

I will look to him for His guidance

each step of the pilgrim way.

The pathway that lies before me,

only my Heavenly Father knows.

I'll trust Him to unfold the moments,

just as He unfolds the rose.​

Divine Mercy Sunday

“Peace be with you,” Jesus greets his disciples after the Resurrection when he enters the locked room where they are cowering in fear. “Peace be with you,” he says again.

In John 14: 27-29 Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.” Initially, when Jesus told his friends he was leaving peace with them, he was preparing them for his death. Over and over Jesus warned his followers about what was to come. He wanted to comfort them. “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, 'I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”

What is this peace that Jesus is talking about? It is not peace, as our world understands it. The peace that Jesus gives does not grant us immunity from pain and suffering, or even death, rather it enables us to face all these painful realities and triumph over them in union with the victory of Christ himself. Just as Jesus comes to the disciples hiding behind locked doors, he comes to us today bringing his peace and empowering us to rejoice in his Resurrection. He invites us to share in his Resurrection and life of glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He invites us to join his pain and suffering with our own pain and suffering so that dying with him we may also rise with him and share in that peace which the world cannot give.

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. God’s intense desire for mercy is revealed through the birth, ministry, crucifixion, death and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ. Through his teaching, healing and miracles Jesus demonstrated God’s kingdom of mercy, peace and love. On this Divine Mercy Sunday 2021, let’s remember the words of Jesus in St Matthew’s Gospel, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matt 9: 12 -13). We are all sinners and we all are in desperate need of God’s mercy.

Prayer of Entrustment to the Divine Mercy

O Lord, our God.

We place our trust in You,

Because you are mercy itself.

We repent of our sins and turn to You for mercy.

We trust You to provide for our every need, according to Your will.

Help us to forgive others as You forgive us.

We promise to be merciful by our deeds, words and prayers.

Though we have fears because of human weakness, we rely on Your infinite goodness and mercy.

We entrust to You the future of our planet, our Church, our nations, our families and all our needs.

With loud cries we implore your mercy on us and on the whole world.

Look upon us, created in your image and likeness.

Form us in the Heart of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit into the living images of mercy.

May all come to know the depth of Your mercy and sing the praises of Your mercy forever.

Amen!

Friendship

. . . is you.

. . . is love.
. . . is shared.
. . . is forgiving.
. . . is understanding.
. . . is shared secrets.
. . . heals many hurts.
. . . is not judgmental.
. . . is shared laughter.
. . . is slow and steady.
. . . can be angry at times.
. . . is dependable and true.
. . . is meant to be savored.
. . . is more precious than silver or gold.
. . . is not perfect, much like we are not perfect.
. . . does not hold grudges or demand perfection.
. . . makes all the wrong things in life, right somehow.
. . . is meant to be gulped like lemonade on a hot summer day.
. . . is always there, through times of trial, happy times and hard times.
. . . just happens, but once discovered, needs to be tended like a beautiful garden.
. . . is a road to be traveled slowly, remembering the sights and sounds.
. . . is strength when you are too weak to notice its there.
. . . is a cherished moment of mutual understanding.
. . . reaches into your heart and grabs a firm hold.
. . . is a refreshing rain on a hot day.
. . . is sunshine through the clouds.
. . . cannot be forced or induced.
. . . is relaxed and comfortable.
. . . is a shoulder to lean on.
. . . is an ear to whine to.
. . . gets better with age.
. . . is shared tears.
. . . is shared pain.
. . . is shared joy.
. . . is shared.
. . . is love.
. . . is you.

Take Care of Yourself

 

Doing Things We Don't Want To

 

Doing things we don't want to do, or that scare us, creates flow in our lives and allows us to grow.

Most of us have had the experience of tackling some dreaded task only to come out the other side feeling invigorated, filled with a new sense of confidence and strength. The funny thing is, most of the time when we do them, we come out on the other side changed and often wondering what we were so worried about or why it took us so long. We may even begin to look for other tasks we've been avoiding so that we can feel that same heady mix of excitement and completion.

Whether we avoid something because it scares us or bores us, or because we think it will force a change we're not ready for, putting it off only creates obstacles for us. On the other hand, facing the task at hand, no matter how onerous, creates flow in our lives and allows us to grow. The relief is palpable when we stand on the other side knowing that we did something even though it was hard or we didn't want to do it. On the other hand, when we cling to our comfort zone, never addressing the things we don't want to face, we cut ourselves off from flow and growth.

We all have at least one thing in our life that never seems to get done. Bringing that task to the top of the list and promising ourselves that we will do it as soon as possible is an act that could liberate a tremendous amount of energy in our lives. Whatever it is, we can allow ourselves to be fueled by the promise of the feelings of exhilaration and confidence that will be the natural result of doing it.​

The Legend of the Dogwood Tree

When Christ was on earth,

the dogwood grew to a

towering size with lovely hue.

Its branches were strong and interwoven.

And for Christ's cross

its timbers were chosen.

Being distressed at the use of this wood,

Christ made a promise

which still holds good:

"Not ever again shall the dogwood grow

to be large enough for such a tree,

And so slender and twisted

it shall always be 

with cross-shaped Blossoms for all to see.

The petals shall have bloodstains

marked in brown and in the

blossom's center a thorny crown.

All who see it will think of Me,

nailed to a cross from the dogwood tree.

Protected and cherished this tree shall be

A reflection to all of my agony."

Easter Sunday

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ has risen! Alleluia!

The greatest symbol of resurrection is not the Easter lily or the Easter egg. It is not the empty cross or the Pascal lamb. The most awe-inspiring symbol of Easter is the empty tomb! Why the empty tomb? Because the empty tomb holds the truth about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise that each one of us will rise to eternal life. The empty tomb means that we no longer need to fear death because Christ defeated death. St. Paul tells us in Romans 6: 8 – 9, “If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him.” The tomb is empty!

Just before he calls Lazarus out of his tomb in John 11, Jesus says to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He immediately goes on to ask her, “Do you believe this?” Like Martha, we are called to believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life for us. He has the power to call us out of our tombs, and lead us from death into new life in him.

We also believe that the Lord who calls us out of the tombs of physical death calls us out of the other tombs we build for ourselves, the tombs of sin: anger, hate, jealousy, selfishness, greed and materialism. Jesus tells us in John 10: 10 that he came to give us abundant life. He constantly calls us out of the darkness of our self-made tombs into the light of new life with him. We are Easter people. We are people who believe in Resurrection. Our lives are new creations in the Risen Lord. And so, we can join Martha in saying “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ has risen! Alleluia!

God of life and of love,

we rejoice today that Jesus is risen

and that he has begun

to raise us up with him in baptism.

Continue in us the work of resurrection;

lift us above our faults, our mediocrity,

to joy and unselfish love

as we serve you in one another.

Let your Spirit make us free

to bring hope and justice to all around us,

until you raise us up to share

in your happiness without end.

We ask this in the name of Jesus, our risen Lord,

who lives with you and the Holy Spirit

now and for ever.

Amen.

Faith

Faith is not something we have or can keep, for it is not something". As St. Declan once said, "When I say I have attained enlightenment, please do not think there is anything that I have attained." A seeker's faith is not attained, contained, or maintained. It is not a body of beliefs held to unswervingly. It is, rather, a response to and embrace of what is unbelievable; it is a willingness to live in relationship to the Mystery that is beyond our comprehension but which comprehends us. As we move forward along a spiritual path becoming more and more taken with the Presence that stirs within all life, we become transformed, focused, smitten, and committed to continued transformation. Our lives become faith-filled, and we become faithful to the living, dynamic Presence that summons us to live dynamically.

But Still He Walked

He could hear the crowds screaming "crucify" "crucify"...

He could hear the hatred in their voices,

These were his chosen people.

He loved them,

And they were going to crucify him.

He was beaten, bleeding and weakened... his heart was broken,

But still He walked.

He could see the crowd as he came from the palace.

He knew each of the faces so well.

He had created them.

He knew every smile, laugh, and shed tear,

But now they were contorted with rage and anger...his heart broke,

But still He walked.

Was he scared?

You and I would have been

So his humanness would have mandated that he was. He felt alone.

His disciples had left, denied, and even betrayed him.

He searched the crowd for a loving face and he saw very few.

Then he turned his eyes to the only one that mattered

And he knew that he would never be alone.

He looked back at the crowd, at the people who were spitting

At him, throwing rocks at him and mocking him and he knew

That because of him, they would never be alone.

So for them, He walked.

The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes echoed through

The crowd. The sounds of his cries echoed even louder,

The cheers of the crowd, as his hands and feet

Were nailed to the cross, intensified with each blow.

Loudest of all was the still small voice inside his

Heart that whispered "I am with you, my son",

And God's heart broke.

He had let his son walk.

Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead he asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive him, but to forgive the ones who were persecuting him.
As he hung on that cross, dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw, not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And his heart filled with love.
As his body was dying, his heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless, unconditional love he feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.

When I forget how much My God loves me,
I remember his walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
I remember his walk.
When I need reminded of how to live like Christ,
I think of his walk.
And to show him how much I love him,
I wake up each morning, turn my eyes to him,
And I walk.

Come Sit With Me

In the evening, when I am tired, God says, “Come sit with me.” I speak about the little things that have happened to me during the day and I know I am heard. I share my fears, angers, doubts, and sorrows, and I feel like I am being held. I smile with what energy I have left and I am gently teased. Then when all the conversation is over and the day had been opened up and emptied out, I am ready to rest. Nothing is solved. Nothing is under control. But also nothing pressing remains. But as I go to sleep, a fleeting thought breaks the smooth surface of my peace: What would I do each night if God didn’t say, “Come sit with me”?