In God we Hope: The Sixth Sunday of Easter

                                                             In God we Hope:

The Sixth Sunday of Easter 

May 14, 2023

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Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; Psalm 66; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21

 

Often when we read Scripture, we do not understand the extent of the relationships with Jews and their neighbors. We hear about Philip going down to Samaria to proclaim Christ to them. We know that Jews by tradition did not associate with the Samaritans, who they viewed as spiritually corrupt and pagan foreigners. Samaritans established their center of worship in a temple of Mount Gerizim north of Jerusalem claiming that this was the sport Moses intended the Israelites to worship. They saw themselves as the true descendants of Israel and the preservers of the one true faith, while considering the Jerusalem temple and the priesthood of the Levites illegitimate. Their tradition grew separately from the people who settled in Jerusalem, and to the Jews, they were more revolting than the Gentiles. They were scorned as half-breeds who corrupted the true religion. 

 

          We know that Jesus had several interactions with the Samaritans, and they were treated respectfully by him, and now we see that Philip, one of the disciples of Jesus, goes to Samaria to preach. That must have been uncomfortable for both Philip and for the Samaritans, but they, a people in a long-adversarial relationship because of religious beliefs, accepted the Word of God. What was in the power of those words? What made them leave their own religion, do a complete about-face, and accept the testimony of Philip. I’m sure the signs of healing helped. There was great joy in the city. It was so astonishing that Peter and John went down to pray with them and to help them receive the Holy Spirit. This was a magnificent turn-around. Through Jesus, whom some of them met, now had to give an account for their hope. 

 

          That’s what Peter asks us in his letter: to be always ready to explain your hope, with gentleness and reverence. I always appreciate Peter’s and Paul’s emphasis on a gentle, respectful style, and the main question we have to answer is why we have hope in the mission and life of Jesus. Hope is probably the least emphasized of the theological virtues, and it is one that we cannot live without. We live out of hope and seldom articulate what we hope for, what we hope hope will do, and how hope silent keeps us moving forward. We keep our hopes and dreams and visions to ourselves, but they are the forces that get us out of bed in the morning, and gets us through the day. It reminds me of the oft-quoted verse from Fr. Pedro Arrupe about the practicality of love, and when he speaks of love, he speaks of faith, and most importantly hope. It reminds me of the choice the Samaritans had to make and the choice we make as we strive to find God. It also sums up the Gospel engagement of love and the commandments. It reads: 

 

Nothing is more practical than finding God,
That is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings,
What you will do with your evenings,
How you spend your weekends,
What you read,
Who you know,
What breaks your heart,
And what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

 

          

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

Monday: (Acts 16) Paul and Barnabas set sail for Philippi, a leading city of Macedonia, and a Romany colony. Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, listens to their preaching and opens her heart to them. She is baptized and invites them to stay with her.   

 

Tuesday: (Acts 16) Paul is brought to the Areopagus in Athens and tells them of the Unknown God he and Barnabas worship. 

 

Wednesday: (Acts 17) At the Areopagus, Paul declares that this unknown God is the same one Christians worship and has brought about salvation, including the resurrection of the dead. This concept unsettles some who find it a difficult teaching to accept.

 

Thursday: (Acts 15) Paul travels to Corinth and meets the Jews, Aquila and Priscilla, who were forced to leave Rome because of Cladius’ dispersion edict. He learns the tent-making trade and preaches to Jews who reject him. He encounters Titus Justus and Crispus, a synagogue leader, who comes to believe. The entire congregation believes the news of Jesus Christ. 

 

Friday (Acts 18) While in Corinth, Paul receives a vision from the Lord urging him to go on speaking as no harm will come to him. Others are harmed, but Paul escapes injury. 

 

Saturday (Acts 18) Paul travels to Antioch in Syria. Priscilla and Aquila meet Apollos, a Jewish Christian, who is preaching the way of Jesus, but of the baptism by the Holy Spirit he is not informed. They take him aside and teach him the correct doctrine. He then vigorously refutes the Jews in public, establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 15) Jesus tells his friends that the Advocate will come and testify to him. Meanwhile, they will be expelled from the synagogues and harmed – even unto death.  

 

Tuesday: (John 16) The Advocate, the Spirit of truth, will guide his friends to all truth. Jesus confuses them by saying, “a little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.”

 

Wednesday (John 16) The Spirit of truth will guide you and will declare to you the things that are coming. The Spirit will glorify. Everything the Father has is mine. 

 

Thursday (John 15) Remaining close to Jesus will allow us to share complete joy with one another. 

 

Friday (John 16) As they debate, he tells them their mourning will become joy – just like a woman who is groaning in labor pains. 

 

Saturday (John 16) As Jesus tells them again that he is part of the Father, he instructs them to ask for anything in his name and God will grant it because Jesus is leaving the world and is going back to the Father. The Father loves them because they have loved him. The Father will reward them for their generosity.

 

Saints of the Week

 

May 14: Matthias, Apostle (first century) was chosen after the resurrection to replace Judas who committed suicide. In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter, quoting a psalm, told 120 people who gathered that they were to choose a new apostle - someone who had been with them from the baptism of Jesus until the resurrection. Two names were put forward and the assembly cast lots. Matthias was chosen.

 

May 15: Isidore (1070-1130), was born in Madrid to a family of farm laborers. With his wife, he worked on an estate and became known for his piety and generosity. His remains are the cause of several miracles most notably the cure of King Philip III who became his sponsor for canonization. 

 

May 16: Andrew Bobola, S.J., priest martyr (1591-1657), is called the Martyr of Poland because of his excruciatingly painful death. He worked during a plague to care for the sick, but he became "wanted" by the Cossacks during a time when anti-Catholic and anti-Jesuit sentiment was high. His preaching converted whole villages back to Catholicism and he was hunted down because he was termed a "soul-hunter."

 

***Please note that the Ascension is celebrated in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Newark, Hartford, and Omaha on Thursday. Most of the world celebrates the feast on  Sunday.

 

May 17: Ascension Thursday is a holy day of obligation. It marks the event in the life of the Resurrected Christ who departed from this temporal earth to return to God. It celebrates Jesus’ visible absence while recognizing his invisible presence to the world. It is the event in the life of Christ when his physical appearances came to an end so he could resume his place at the right hand of the Father in heaven. St. Ignatius was so desirous of learning about the historical Jesus that he traveled to the places in the Holy Lands where Jesus walked and lived. As he was getting kicked out of the Holy Lands, he desired to return to the place of the Ascension to see the direction of Jesus’ feet as he ascended to God. A novena is prayed beginning on this day as we await the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

 

May 18: John I, pope and martyr (d. 526), was a Tuscan who became pope under the rule of Theodoric the Goth, an Arian. Theodoric opposed Emperor Justin I in Constantinople who persecuted Arians. John was sent to Justin to end the persecutions. He returned to great glory, but Theodoric was not satisfied, though Justin met all his demands. John was imprisoned and soon died because of ill treatment.

 

May 20: Bernardine of Siena, priest, (1380-1444) was from a family of nobles who cared for the sick during plagues. He entered the Franciscans and preached across northern and central Italy with homilies that understood the needs of the laity. He became vicar general and instituted reforms. 

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• May 14, 1978. Letter of Pedro Arrupe to the whole Society on Inculturation. 
• May 15, 1815. Readmission of the Society into Spain by Ferdinand VII. The members of the Society were again exiled on July 31, 1820. 
• May 16, 1988. In Paraguay, Pope John Paul II canonizes Roque Gonzalez, Alfonso Rodriguez, and Juan del Castillo. 
• May 17, 1572. Pope Gregory XIII exempted the Society from choir and approved simple vows after two years of novitiate and ordination before solemn profession. In these matters he reversed a decree of St Pius V. 
• May 18, 1769. The election of Cardinal Lorenzo Ganganelli as Pope Clement XIV. He was the pope who suppressed the Society. 
• May 19, 1652. Birth of Paul Hoste mathematician and expert on construction of ships and history of naval warfare. 
• May 20, 1521. Ignatius was seriously wounded at Pamplona, Spain, while defending its fortress against the French.