Rebuilding Trust:
The Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 30, 2023
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Acts 2:14, 36-41; Psalm 23; 1 Peter 2:20-25; John 10:1-10
Jesus placed his trust in God and was obedient to God’s will for him. It is because of his trust in the Father that we may attain salvation. Trust is a central part of all human relationships, and we are inclined to place our trust in leaders, people in authority, and those who we think have our best interest at heart. Being able to trust gives us a feeling of confidence and security about our place in the relationship, and each of us wants to deeply know that Christ cares for us and finds us lovable.
All too easily, we know that once trust is eroded, it is difficult to regain. Many people today mistrust the news media, institutions of any type, including church leadership, and politicians. Trust is seldom absolute, but we apply it to certain behaviors or situations, like trusting a family member to go to the market each week to pick up milk and bread for the weekend, and trust is a process that binds us closer to one another in particular situations. When we mistrust, we expect a betrayal of our confidence, and it creates a negative emotional feeling about the other person or institution. We have a tenuous relationship with trust, and what is faith, but trusting in God. In order to increase our faith then, we have to look at what trust requires of us.
We know that Jesus went about doing good, speaking about God’s reign, healing the sick and curing people of their illnesses. He created a community based upon the type of community God wanted to us to be – one based upon compassion, full of mercy, slow to anger, and rich in understanding, and most importantly, one in which each person could know of God’s desired friendship. This new community learned to trust the common good that all essential needs would be met, and that each person had an opportunity to grow in grace and dignity.
If trust is confidence in one another and in God, then what is fear? Fear is a lack of trust. If we fear, then we are not trusting in God. Some people fear what the church will look like in a few years rather than trusting that God’s plan for humanity is unfolding. Some people fear evil forces rather than trusting that Jesus has definitively conquered sin and death. Some people fear processes of change rather than trusting that the Spirit is working through human hearts and minds to shape future outcomes. Fear is not faith, and one does not trust in the power of the resurrection. Therefore, as a community, we have to collectively learn what it means to trust in God during a time when we trust one another less and less. In order for our community to be trustworthy, we must raise up our personal level of trustworthiness as it begins with ourselves.
We must check ourselves. When we speak or act out of fear, we have to ask, “How can I replace it with trust?” If I believe in the Resurrection and the promises of Jesus, then I will act as if everything depended on me; trust as if everything depended on God.
Scripture for Daily Mass
Monday: (Acts 11) The Apostles include the Gentiles into the community after solemn deliberation. Peter lifts the Jewish dietary laws for them declaring that, “God granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
Tuesday: (Acts 11) Those who had been dispersed since the persecution that followed Stephen’s stoning began proclaiming the story of Jesus Christ to their new communities. The number of converts increased dramatically.
Wednesday: (Acts 12) The word of God continued to spread and the number of disciples grew. At Antioch during prayer, the Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Thursday: (Acts 13) In Perga in Pamphylia, Paul stood up and told the story of God’s deliverance of the chosen people from bondage and slavery. God’s work continued in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Friday (Acts 13) The whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord, but strict Jews opposed Paul and Barnabas and claimed they told the wrong story.
Saturday (Acts 13) The Gentiles were delighted when Paul and Barnabas opened scripture for them and those them of their inclusion as God’s elect. Salvation was accessible to them too.
Gospel:
Monday: (John 10) The Good Shepherd tales continues as Jesus describes to his friends the characteristics of a self-interested person who pretends to be a shepherd. The sheep know and trust the voice of the good shepherd.
Tuesday: (John 10) During the feast of the Dedication, Jesus declares he is the good shepherd and that he and the Father are one.
Wednesday (John 10) Jesus cries out, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me.” Jesus speaks and acts of behalf of the Father.
Thursday (John 13) Jesus makes “I am” statements and he shows he does the work of the Father when after he washes the feet of the disciples, he says, “I am.”
Friday (John 14) In his farewell discourse, Jesus consoles his friends. He tells them that the is going away but will soon return to take away their fear.
Saturday (John 14) He reassures that that since they know the mind and heart of Jesus, they also know the mind and heart of the Father.
Saints of the Week
April 30: Pope Pius V, Pope (1504-1572), is noted for his work in the Counter-Reformation, the Council of Trent, and the standardization of the Roman Rite for mass. He was a fierce conservative who prosecuted eight French bishops for heterodoxy and Elizabeth I for schism. The Holy League he founded defeated the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto whose success was attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
May 1: Joseph the Worker was honored by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in an effort to counteract May Day, a union, worker, and socialist holiday. Many Catholics believe him to be the patron of workers because he is known for his patience, persistence, and hard work as admirable qualities that believers should adopt.
May 2: Athanasius, bishop and doctor (295-373), was an Egyptian who attended the Nicene Council in 325. He wrote about Christ's divinity but this caused his exile by non-Christian emperors. He wrote a treatise on the Incarnation and brought monasticism to the West.
May 3: Philip and James, Apostles (first century), were present to Jesus throughout his entire ministry. Philip was named as being explicitly called. James is called the Lesser to distinguish him from James of Zebedee. Little is known of these founders of our faith.
May 4: Joseph Mary Rubio, S.J., priest (1864-1929), is a Jesuit known as the Apostle of Madrid. He worked with the poor bringing them the Spiritual Exercises and spiritual direction and he established local trade schools.
This Week in Jesuit History
- April 30, 1585. The landing at Osaka of Fr. Gaspar Coelho. At first the Emperor was favorably disposed towards Christianity. This changed later because of Christianity's attitude toward polygamy.
- May 1, 1572. At Rome, Pope St. Pius V dies. His decree imposing Choir on the Society was cancelled by his successor, Gregory XIII.
- May 2, 1706. The death of Jesuit brother G J Kamel. The camellia flower is named after him.
- May 3, 1945. American troops take over Innsbruck, Austria. Theology studies at the Canisianum resume a few months later.
- May 4, 1902. The death of Charles Sommervogel, historian of the Society and editor of the bibliography of all publications of the Jesuits from the beginnings of the Society onward.
- May 5, 1782. At Coimbra, Sebastian Carvahlo, Marquis de Pombal, a cruel persecutor of the Society in Portugal, died in disgrace and exile. His body remained unburied fifty years, till Father Philip Delvaux performed the last rites in 1832.
- May 6, 1816. Letter of John Adams to Thomas Jefferson mentioning the Jesuits. "If any congregation of men could merit eternal perdition on earth and in hell, it is the company of Loyola."
