Seventh Sunday of Easter

May 24, 2009

How is your novena, your nine days of intensified prayer going? Persevere in prayer as Pentecost is nearing. I feel like I have had a spiritual make-over yesterday as I saw my own spiritual director, visited my mom, and then visited a cloistered Cistercian Trappist monk at St. Joseph’s Abbey.

The first reading for today’s Mass tells us the story of the God-guided election of the one who would replace Judas among the Twelve after he had turned away from Jesus. Matthias was the one elected for the service of witnessing to the Resurrection of the Lord. The community must have still been struggling with sting of having one of their own betray Jesus. They gather and deliberate about whom to choose to complete the full number of disciples. Notice the number of times that the early church comes together to pray as a community about their complex circumstances. They realize that they did not have the answer and they seek to discover God’s will. They learn to trust God’s care for them. It strikes me that they must have some enlightening conversations and some heated discussions. I hope we can rekindle the art of conversation and prayer that existed in the early church. The complex needs of our world might benefit from the same prayerful discourse.

John’s Gospel continues his Farewell Discourse in which we are able to hear an intimate conversation between Jesus and the Father. Jesus thanks God for protecting him and his own, who are separate from the world. He then tells the Father that he has done his best to care for the disciples entrusted to him, and we can hear his concern for them as they will temporarily be left without a strong protector. He, therefore, consecrates his followers and sets them apart so they will continue his mission. Jesus’ prayer strengthens his friends in a way that allows them to face the inevitable hostility and hatred that must come before they can experience the joy in the new life that comes from remaining in the protective love of Jesus.

May we learn to actively seek the will of God as the first disciples did and may we allow the divine protection to embolden us to take risks that God may ask of us. Let us confidently know that Christ is still working for our behalf – still offering us his protective care. Wouldn’t that allow us to freely and boldly step forward and to live our faith well?

Themes in This Week’s Masses

Interesting parallels exist between the first readings and those of the Gospel this week. On Monday, both St. Paul and Jesus begin to speak plainly about the workings of the Holy Spirit. For the remainder of the week, we get Paul’s farewell discourse to the people of Ephesus at the same time we are hearing Jesus’ final portion of his farewell discourse. While Jesus is foretelling the probable dangers of the disciples for carrying on his mission, we see Paul being unjustly charged, tried, and imprisoned. The parallel to Jesus’ arrest and trial is stunning. Paul is living his life in the same manner that Jesus lived his. Paul exhorts us to live in the same manner and he shows us how to do it. Both men were true to their mission given to them by God and were vindicated for this faith. The final Gospel passage of this week shows the Risen Lord calling us into deeper relationship and entrusting us with his individual mission for us.

On Monday, we remember the Venerable Bede whose greatest work was writing The Ecclesiastical History of the English People and preparing the people for the inclusion of the non-Roman barbarian north of England to receive Christianity. St Gregory the Great is also celebrated traditionally on May 25th. He is responsible for the Gregorian reforms by which he separated the Church from civil control. The ancient chant that is used in our churches were commissioned during the time of Gregory’s papacy. Tuesday is the memorial of Philip Neri who became a priest around the time of the Council of Trent. His personality attracted many people to his type of spirituality in which people to become more human through their holiness. He is remembered for both his humility and his laughter. On Wednesday, the church remembers Augustine of Canterbury, a contemporary of Gregory the Great. Augustine was a missionary in England who failed often. His failure allows the Britons to retain their pagan rituals that later became incorporated into the larger Catholic world.

Happy Memorial Day to all of our veterans. May we remember our deceased brothers and sisters who gave their lives to the service of their country. Through their sacrifice, we are able to enjoy the many comforts and freedoms that they won for us.

Republished Book: The Practice of Spiritual Direction

HarperOne of San Francisco is publishing a second, revised and updated edition of The Practice of Spiritual Direction by Jesuit Fathers Bill Barry and Bill Connolly. The language is made more inclusive, and it contains an updated bibliography with some changes in the text. The basic thrust and insights of the book remain the same. The cover is more inviting, and the price is right, $14.99. Besides ordering directly from HarperOne or your bookstore, you can also get the book online through Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. The authors are very pleased that the book continues to attract readers and practitioners.