We are to believe in, live out and share the Gospel each day.
Today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark, 16:9-16, is commonly called, “The Longer Ending.” Most ancient manuscripts of Mark end at 16:8. Whether this Gospel ended there or the original ending was lost is not definitively known. Many biblical scholars also recognize in these verses a different writing style, so attribute this longer ending to a different author. This ending recounts that Mary Magdalene and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus met the risen Jesus. When both Mary and the two disciples share their experiences with the eleven, they are not believed, and “later, as the eleven were at table, he [Jesus] appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart”
How many times had Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for being hard of heart? Now he is saying the same to the eleven for not believing the accounts of Mary and the two disciples. We do not have a reason for their unbelief and maybe that is well and good, because that gives us the opportunity to ponder for ourselves, when has someone brought us a message from Jesus and we responded to them with hard hearts and were unbelieving? Are there certain people we would not believe no matter what good news they had to share with us?
Jesus does not belabor the point. His rebuke helped them to see that as his followers their hearts needed to be open to him working through others, as he told John when someone was casting out demons in Jesus’ name, “whoever is not against us is for us” (cf. Mk 9:40).
Christianity is not a secret sect, it is a universal call and proclamation meant to be shared with all. We are celebrating this Easter Octave, and we continue to do so each year, the fullness of the Paschal Mystery, that the Son of God became incarnate, entered into our human condition, lived, suffered, and died, conquered death, and rose again, for all of humanity and creation.
This was no mere resuscitation. Jesus conquered death and became the first born of the new creation and invites us to participate in his reign of the kingdom of heaven. This is the Good News he wanted his eleven to proclaim when he said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15).
Jesus is calling us to do the same, as brothers and sisters, working in solidarity, not for a select few in our pew, but for all in our realm of influence. We are to build relationships by bringing the light, joy, and love of Jesus to each individual that we meet, person to person. Let us also be open to God working through others and receive his message from them as well! Alleluia!!!
———————————————————————
Photo: class of 2104 ready to bring the Gospel to university!
Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, April 27, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042719.cfm
Mistakes are necessary for our growth, Jesus is necessary for our transfiguration!
There are a handful of incidents in today’s Gospel reading from John that refer back to encounters Jesus had with his Apostles before his death and resurrection. Jesus waits on the shore as seven of his disciples; Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James, John, and two others, return from a night of fishing. This is reminiscent of when Jesus first came to Andrew and Simon, James and John as they were casting and mending nets and he invited them to follow him.
The disciples return with their nets empty, and Jesus suggests that they cast their net over the right side and they quickly find that they “were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.” Peter had this experience in one of his first encounters with Jesus when he had been fishing all night and Jesus made the request to put out into the deep water, and that time they were able to fill both boats.
After their great catch “of one hundred fifty-three large fish” John told Peter that the Lord was the one who had instructed them. Just as when Jesus approached his disciples that night walking on the stormy waters, Peter jumped out of the boat and walked on water until he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. Peter again “jumped into the sea.” When Peter and the disciples came to shore “they saw a charcoal fire.” The most recent event with another charcoal fire was outside the gate where Jesus was led for his judgement. To keep warm Peter joined the servants and slaves huddled around a charcoal fire. It was at that charcoal fire that Peter denied Jesus. The final scene in today’s account was when Jesus offered cooked fish and bread to his disciples, this is reminiscent of Jesus feeding the five thousand with two loaves and a few fish.
Throughout our life we will have encounters with people and experience incidents that we have experienced before. We may not have been as present as we have wanted to be when attempting to comfort someone, we may have given in to temptation we regretted, or we may have been involved in some task and made a mistake, just as Peter had denied Jesus three times at that charcoal fire. Peter wept when he heard the cock crow. The sound brought back Jesus’ prediction, brought to light Peter’s own denial and cowardice. How many times must he have berated himself, as we have done when we have sinned, fallen short of our goals, or made mistakes?
Making mistakes and taking risks, are necessary for learning and growing in any endeavor in life. Jesus does not want us to beat ourselves up when we fall short or fail. What is required for maturation is an honest assessment of the situation, and then a movement to correct and learn from our mistakes. Often we overcompensate in the beginning, but as we remain persistent we reach a healthy balance.
A concrete example of this was my first experience with bowling. The first time I walked on the lane, took aim, and released the ball, I threw it into the left gutter, and then the next throw went into the right gutter. Eventually, my adjustments were less drastic and I was able to strike more pins than hurl my ball into the gutter. The same is true for our everyday lives.
Jesus returns to be with his disciples after his resurrection, he meets them in very similar settings as he had before his death. All of his disciples failed him, yet Jesus did not condemn them. Jesus helped to show them how far they have come since he first called them, while at the same time helping them to see how far they still have to go to actualize their potential. Jesus is not only their teacher, but the divine source of their own transformation.
Jesus guides and empowers us with his love and encouragement, to help us to move beyond our own self, so hopefully, we will be a little more present to someone the next time we are in a position to provide comfort or understanding, have greater resolve when tempted, and be able to identify our sins and mistakes as well as learn from them.
Jesus has risen again, appeared to his disciples to guide them, encourage and empower them to be who God has called them to be. Jesus offers us the same teaching, guidance, and power shared from the wellspring of his humanity and divinity that we will be able to also access when we choose to accept the free gift of his grace and participate in his life. Our repentance and Jesus’ forgiveness goes beyond helping us to become better people. Through the love of Jesus, our minds, hearts, and souls change, we are transfigured, and conformed to Jesus and his life of resurrection. This is good news to share not only in word but in deed. Alleluia!!!
————————————————-
Photo: Bowling in the Bronx, my pre-novitiate year with the Franciscans of Holy Name, around 1991, just missed the spare…
Link for the Mass readings for Friday, April 26 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042619.cfm
Jesus has risen, conquering death so that we may thrive in this life and the next! Alleluia!!!
Just as Jesus came among Cleopas and the other disciple on their road to Emmaus, Jesus does so again as the pair was recounting their encounter with the risen Jesus. What Jesus does differently in this interaction is that he clarifies that he is not a ghost, that he is not mere spirit. Jesus said to those gathered around him, “Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have” (Lk 24:39). He then requested some fish and he ate and talked with his disciples as he had done so during their time together before his crucifixion and resurrection.
We have heard about the resurrection of Jesus, maybe for years, but it is important not to get complacent with the amazing miracle that this is. Also, we need to resist the temptation to diminish in any way the significance, that Jesus was transfigured physically. Jesus, was and continues to be a hypostatic union, meaning that he is one divine person, fully divine, subsisting in two natures, the human and divine.
The humanity of Jesus through his resurrection was fully actualized and transcended the limitations of the three dimensional realm that he had experienced in his humanity before. This is how he could disappear after making himself known in the breaking of the bread and how he will come through a locked door to interact with his disciples.
The relevance of the bodily resurrection of Jesus for us, is that he, in dying and conquering death, is now the reality of who we will one day be. We will be fully actualized as God has created us to be. The good news is that we do not have to wait to go to heaven for this process to begin! The path of becoming fulfilled and whole begins in this life, now, as we accept Jesus as our Lord and Redeemer. Jesus in his encounter with his disciples from today’s reading from Luke, continues the message he began at the beginning of his ministry, which is one of repentance and forgiveness.
In our baptism we were born again as part of the new creation given to us by the death and resurrection of Jesus, the gift and life of our humanity has been redeemed. Each day we are to live in humility, calling to mind our sins and repenting daily. Jesus will forgive us, and as we receive his mercy and forgiveness we are to offer the same to others. Jesus suffered and died for each and every one of us, and he also seeks to live through us. Jesus is the foundation and source of our life and salvation. Jesus has come to show us that we are not in competition with God, but that his Father, our Father, seeks to be in solidarity with us.
A statement attributed to the second century Church Father, St. Irenaeus of Lyon, highlights this reality: “The glory of God is the human being fully alive.” We do not need to merely exist or survive. Instead, may we live our life in participation with Jesus the Christ and thrive! Alleluia!!!
——————————————————-
Photo: Me and Fr. Jean, I believe from my first Christmas Mass serving as a deacon.
Link for the Mass reading for Thursday, April 24, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042519.cfm
Even when we are walking in the wrong direction, Jesus meets us where we are!
Our Gospel reading for today begins with a feeling of despair. The hope of Jesus being the Messiah, the promised one who came to redeem and deliver his people Israel died a brutal death. Even though Jesus sought to prepare his followers for this reality, they could not conceive or believe that the promised Messiah could die.
Cleopas and his companion are in mourning as they walk along the road to Emmaus. They have left Jerusalem and are commiserating among themselves about how their hopes had been dashed. They were so sure that Jesus was who he said he was, now what were they to do? Jesus then came upon them in the midst of their discussion.
Jesus met them where they were and wove his way into the conversation and their journey.
When the time for them to part arrived, Jesus motioned to them that he was going to continue on. Cleopas and the other disciple urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over” (Lk 24:29). Jesus did just that and he revealed himself to them “in the breaking of the bread”(Lk 24:35).
The account of the road to Emmaus has significant relevance for our own spiritual journey. How many times have we had an inaccurate understanding of Jesus in such a way that we felt let down? Have we domesticated Jesus, or limited who he is, seeing only one aspect of his person that we accept, attempted to shape or conform him into our image and likeness? Have we prayed for something and then that petition or intention was not fulfilled in the way we had hoped? Have we sought Jesus and felt that he wasn’t there for us in our time of struggle or during those times that we felt that we needed guidance?
We need to remember that Jesus is the Son of God and we are not. He meets us as we are, accepts us as we are, walks with us even when we are walking the wrong way, but also calls us to be more, to actualize the fullness of our potential, and this is according to the plan of his Father. That means stretching us beyond our comfort zones, urging us to let go of our safety nets and training wheels. We are transfigured as the humanity of Jesus was in his Resurrection by entering into the participation of Trinitarian Love. This begins when we resist withdrawing into our self, and instead are willing to be loved and to love, to give of ourselves to another, to will the good of others.
This Easter Season, may we spend time meditating on the wonderful daily readings of the Mass, the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospels, so to allow Jesus to shape and guide our understanding of the truths within such that our hearts, like Cleopas and his companion, will too be burning within us. As this pair returned to the community of Jerusalem, let us gather together each Lord’s Day, to hear his word proclaimed as well as experience him revealed in the breaking of the bread in our worship together in the celebration of the Mass.
As we put into practice what we hear and receive, we will begin to: see Jesus more active in the midst of our everyday activities, recognize him in our daily events and even the interruptions that arise, be more inspired to share the sacrificial love we have received from Jesus with those in our realm of influence, come to realize that Jesus is among us, closer to us than we are to ourselves. We just need to invite him to walk with us on our journey, even when we are heading the wrong way, as Cleopas and the other disciple did on the road to Emmaus. When we invite Jesus into our lives God will happen. Alleluia!!!
————————————————————-
Painting: Road to Emmaus, Robert Zünd
Link for the Mass reading for Wednesday, April 23, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042419.cfm
May we proclaim the Good News like Mary, the Apostle to the Apostles.
As we continue through the readings for Easter we will been given glimpses of encounters with the risen Jesus. This is good news for us, as the risen Jesus of the Gospels is the same Jesus who we have the opportunity to encounter each day.
In today’s Gospel, we continue where we left off this past Sunday (cf. Jn 20:1-10). Mary does not return with the Peter and John as they head back home after having observed the empty tomb. Mary stayed by the side of the tomb and wept. Mary then peered into the tomb and witnessed two angels. As she turned back she saw who she believed to be the gardener. She questioned the man as to the whereabouts of Jesus. Mary sought for a rational reason for where the dead body had gone. When the man did not immediately answer, she must have turned away again, because Jesus said to her, “Mary” (Jn 20:16)!
Upon hearing her name, Mary Magdalene recognized Jesus.
Peter and John left the empty tomb. We do not know why, could they have wanted to report what they had seen to the other disciples, as Mary had done with them? Mary could have gone back also, but something impelled her to stay. It could have been the sorrow that brought her to tears, it could have been her dedication and faithfulness to Jesus to find him, to anoint him as she had come to do that first early Easter morning, it could have been that she did not know what to do next, or there was a sense beyond her understanding that compelled her to stay. What is revealed is that Jesus came to Mary and when she called him “Rabbouni”, Jesus asked her to, “Stop holding on to me”.
What was Mary holding on to? Though mistaking him for the gardener at first she came to recognize that he had indeed come back to life. But in calling Jesus Rabbouni, teacher or master, Mary was going back to the relationship she had with him before. Jesus was transfigured, he was different than he was before. Jesus actualized the fullness of his humanity, while still retaining the fullness of his divinity. Though the fullness of his mission would not be complete until he returned back to the Father at his Ascension.
There was not only a newness to Jesus, but his relationship with his followers would also be transformed. When Jesus charged Mary to return, she was to convey the message he gave her to his “brothers”. He no longer was calling them his disciples but his brothers. As Jesus would return to the Father, he would unleash the power of that divine communion unto his new brothers and sisters who believed in him through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are heirs to the same promise that Mary Magdalene, the Apostle to the Apostles, shared with the Twelve. Jesus has become the first born of the new creation and through our baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we participate in his death and resurrection, so to share in Jesus’ life and love that he shares with his Father. We too are his brothers and sisters, we too are being configured and transformed into the Body of Christ. This is why we have cause for joy and celebration. This is why, like Mary, we are called to, “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” in our everyday lives! Alleluia!!!
Painting: “Christ and Mary at the Tomb” by Joseph F. Brickey
Link for the Mass readings for Tuesday, April 23, 2019: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/042319.cfm
Jesus has conquered death and has risen! Alleluia!!!
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were bewildered from their encounter with the angel and the empty tomb. As they ran to get the news to the disciples, they were also dealing with mixed emotions, feeling both “fearful yet overjoyed,” (Mt 28:8) when in the midst of their travel they were greeted by Jesus. Jesus assured them and sent them to, “tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Mt 28:10). Off the pair went to share the message that Jesus had risen!
At the same time, some of the guards who witnessed the event at the tomb, took a different way and headed into the city to meet with the chief priests. They relayed the incident about the earthquake and the angel appearing to them and the two women. After deliberating, the chief priests and the elders paid the guards a large sum to perpetuate the tale that his disciples took Jesus away.
Who would be believed, the two women or the guards? Apparently both! Mary Magdalene and the other Mary fulfilled their first apostolic role and passed on Jesus’ message to his disciples for them to meet him in Galilee. Galilee was where the public ministry of Jesus began. They would all go back to the beginning. The tale spread by the guards would also be believed, because by the time of the writing of the Gospel of Matthew, the community, to which he wrote, were aware that, “this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day” (Mt 28:15).
Did Jesus really rise again from the dead as the angel, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary claim or was this an elaborate plot by the disciples of Jesus to stage his resurrection, as the guards portrayed? How we answer these questions ought to make a difference in our lives. If we say yes, that we believe in Jesus and that he rose again, do we live our lives any differently than those who say they don’t believe?
We, as followers of Jesus who rose again, are to be like the angel and each Mary. We are to be an Alleluia people, allowing the risen Christ to proclaim through us to those facing death, hope and life; to those living in the darkness of sin and addiction, light and a new direction; to those who are weak and indifferent, empowerment and inspiration. Each day, during this Easter Season, may we become less so that the risen Jesus, who is our Way, our Truth, and our Life, becomes more.
—————————————————————–
Photo credit: Luis Ca from http://www.cathopic.com
Link for the Mass readings for Monday, April 22, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042219.cfm
Happy Easter!
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting” (1 Cor 15:55)? Jesus has conquered death and given us new life in him! Alleluia.
Thank you for joining me on the spiritual steppingstones journey this past year, whether it be through my blog, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter. Be assured of my daily prayers for your intentions – whether you have let me know you are reading along or not!
Let us pray for those who have lost their lives in the Sri Lankan attacks as well as all those who suffer from the scourge of violence in all its forms.
I pray that you all and those you hold close have a blessed Easter Season.
Happy Easter from my family to yours!
Photo: After the Easter Vigil last night- thank you Giovanna for taking the picture!
Jesus has risen, he has risen indeed!
Mary of Magdala comes to the tomb during the early hours of morning while it is still dark and finds the stone rolled away. She runs to Peter and John to share with them the news, that: “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him” (Jn 20:2). Peter and John retrace the steps of Mary, running to find the tomb empty as well. All three are stunned because, “they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead” (Jn 20:9).
How can we blame them? Do we fully understand the reality and fact that Jesus has risen from the dead? There is conjecture today that Jesus did not really die, but woke up three days later, aching all over from the excruciating effects of the crucifixion. Others say that the accounts of the resurrection were mass hallucinations, or that the Gospel accounts of Jesus rising from the dead are mere myth. These propositions do not stand up to the fact that Jesus, fully God and fully man died, entered death, and conquered it. In so doing he entered into a new life, a new reality. Jesus, in becoming the first born of the dead, was transfigured from the three dimensional reality that we all know and experience, such that he now resonates at a higher pitch, in a higher dimensional reality. Jesus is the first born of a new creation!
All of human history changed in that tomb because of this new fact of the resurrection of Jesus. How this has happened is indeed a mystery, but in our seeking understanding, we will fall short and be frustrated if we only approach the mystery of God in the same way that we tackle a problem to be solved. The Apostles and disciples of Jesus struggled to find meaning and understanding about how Jesus crucified was now gone from the tomb. They came to understand the Mystery of the Resurrection, as they would the mystery that Jesus is fully human and fully divine, when they encountered Jesus again. The Mystery of the Resurrection is not a problem to be solved, but a person to encounter, a relationship to embrace, as it was for the Apostles and is so for each of us.
Faith seeking understanding is grounded in having an encounter with a person, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Pope Francis writes: “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness” (Francis, 9).
Today during the Mass when we enter the sanctuary and each time we dip our fingers into the baptismal or holy water font, we renew our baptismal vows. Each day may we renew our commitment to open our hearts and minds to Jesus who is the Christ, who has truly risen – Alleluia, Alleluia!!!
We are an alleluia people, meaning that even in our trials, loneliness, confusion, suffering and sin, we are a people endowed with hope, because we have not only been loved into existence, we have been loved into the promise of eternity, where suffering and death is no more!
May you all have a blessed and joyous Easter Sunday and Easter Season. May God bless and infuse you and all you hold dear in your heart with a soul on fire with his Love and Joy this day, and all days into eternity! Alleluia! Alleluia!
————————————————–
Photo: Christ the Redeemer statue – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Francis. Evangelii Gaudium, Joy of the Gospel, Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Frederick, MD: The Word Among Us Press, 2013.
Link for Mass readings for Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042119.cfm
