Seventh Sunday (Ascension) in Easter

Seventh Sunday in Easter

May 12, 2013

Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 97; Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20; John 17:20-26

When I give people guided meditations, I invite them to being polite and courteous to the Lord when beginning and ending prayer sessions. Rather than to start talking to Jesus in mid-stream of thought, I ask them to say hello and engage in small talk before diving in to profound conversation. At the end of prayer, I ask the person to say goodbye in a way that is comfortable to them – often having Jesus walk away to carry on his mission to other people in need. A curious thing develops: the person feels sad that this special time with Jesus has come to an end and the person feels lonely. They want Jesus to stay close to them all the time and enjoy these meaningful conversations.

It strikes me that the feelings of these guided meditators are just like the original disciples. They were enjoying the presence of the risen Lord when he told them he had to depart – a second time. Grief and loss set in again. Why does Jesus have to leave them on their own again? He explains it by saying that the fullness of God’s promise will come to them in Spirit to assure them that God is always near to them. Jesus, who knows what we are like and how we feel, will be representing us to God in heaven and will be judging human hearts on the extent of their love. His role will be as intercessor while the Spirit will come to guide and instruct us in the way of this divine love.

The Spirit will show and hide the consoling presence of Jesus and will help us realize that God is with us, and while we must think of the things that are above, we are to look at what is surrounding us as proof of God’s abiding care. Jesus sent us to witness to him in lands beyond Israel; when we find others doing that, we know God is working through them in ways we might not understand. When we are clear in the particular mission entrusted to us, we can hold firmly onto it with conviction and we become less concerned about other events that can pull us away from our intended direction.

Looking up in the sky is beautiful, but the mission is entrusted to us in this world – a world that God has redeemed. If God has redeemed the world’s cultures, we ought to befriend it and find God in all things. Culture does not automatically lead us away from God, but it can be the vehicle that leads us to God – so it is best that we not discount it or treat it in opposition to religious beliefs. We have to wrestle with political dilemmas and find the speck of God imbedded within our challenges. We cannot give up because our searching will help us discover and uncover the tiniest details that point to the divine mystery.

Many of us want to be told what is right and wrong, and at the same time, many of us resent others telling us what is morally acceptable. We need to see that stress is good because when we hold those tensions together, we will ultimately be led to a solution that makes sense to us – even if we cannot explain it to others. We feel it in our gut, but it is good for us to expand our vocabulary in order to articulate it for others who are likewise struggling. The struggle is good and healthy; the stress will make us do our work – even if it causes us distress at times. We will mature in our faith when we appropriate the peculiar aspects of our problems in a ways that satisfies our curiosity.

The Gospel reading for the Seventh Sunday in Easter is a perfect complement for Ascension Sunday. In his Last Supper Discourse in John, his last act before he goes to his Passion is to pray for the well being of his disciples. He pours out his heart for the safety and prospering of the community he is leaving. Jesus calls for unity – not that everyone thinks the same way, but that they care for one another and make their best moral choices through the commandments that respect and honor God and one’s brother and sister. Jesus sees each disciple as a gift to each other and he will miss them all, but he entrusts everyone to the same community that will act in compassion and mercy, just as the Father commands. As Jesus ascends to heaven, we are sure that his heartfelt plea for the community’s safety continues. We, therefore, don’t have to worry about anything because we have each other and Jesus is watching over us.

In a violent, fractured world, what will it take for us to reach out to our brothers and sisters to settle minor disputes and increase our love for one another? How can we be respectfully, but gently invasive into our neighbors’ life, so that we can increase our care for them? Mercy can be that virtue that saves the soul of one who is troubled. We know Jesus wants everyone to be healthy, happy, and respectful of others. We know we have great prayerful protection from above. We need courage to offer to intervene into our neighbor’s world so they know we can for them. Easing their loneliness can save their soul. Jesus, though he departed from our visible world, has entered our invisible one so he can remain close to all of us to let us know he prays that we all be one in loving unity.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: Paul goes to Ephesus to introduce believers to the Holy Spirit. Paul recounts the ways he served the Lord with humility, tears and trials, but he returns to an uncertain fate in Jerusalem. As Paul says goodbye, he urges them to keep watch over each other and to be vigilant about those who pervert the truth of the Gospel. Paul is brought to trial. The Pharisees and Sadducees are sharply divided; armed forces are sent to rescue Paul from their midst. The Lord tells Paul he must go to Rome and be faithful there just as he was faithful in Jerusalem. King Agrippa hears Paul's case and determines Paul is to be tried in Jerusalem, but Paul, as a Roman citizen, appeals for the Emperor's decision.

Gospel: The disciples realize Jesus is returning to the Father and that he is strengthening them for the time he is away. Jesus prays for the safety of those given to him by God. He wants them to be safe as they testify to God's steadfastness in a harsh world. He prays for unity, "so that they may be one just as we are one." He consecrates them to the truth and wards off the Evil One. He also prays for those given to him through the testimony of others. The love Jesus and the Father share is available to future disciples. ~ After the Farewell Discourse ends, Jesus appears at the seashore with Simon Peter who professes his three-fold love of Jesus. Jesus forgives him and asks him to take care of his people even though the authorities of this world will eventually have their day with him.

Saints of the Week

May 12: Nereus and Achilleus, martyrs (early second century), were Roman Imperial soldiers who converted to Christianity. They left the army and were martyred when they refused to sacrifice to idols during Emperor Trajan's reign.

May 12: Pancras, martyr, (d. 304)was a Syrian orphan who was brought to Rome by his uncle. Both soon after converted to Christianity. Pancras was beheaded at age 14 during the Diocletian persecution and buried on the Via Aurelia. A cemetery was named after him, but his remains were sent to Northumbria in England where six churches are dedicated to him.

May 13: Our Lady of Fatima is a name given to Mary after she appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal between May 13 and October 13, 1917. During her appearances, Mary stressed the importance of repentance, ongoing conversion, and dedicated to the heart of Mary through praying the Rosary.

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 16: 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.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      May 12,1981. A letter of this date, from Secretary of State, Cardinal Casaroli, speaks positively of Teilhard de Chardin in celebration of the centenary of his birth (May 1,1881).

·      May 13, 1572. Election of Gregory XIII to succeed St Pius V. To him the Society owes the foundation of the Roman and German Colleges.

·      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.

Poem: "Take, oh Take" by Rabindranath Tagore

Time after time I came to your gate

with raised hands, asking for more and yet more.

You gave and gave, now in slow measure, now in sudden excess.

I took some, and some things I let drop; some lay heavy on my hands;

some I made into playthings and broke

them when tired; till the wrecks and

the hoard of your gifts grew immense,

hiding you, and the ceaseless expectation

wore my heart out.

Take, oh take - has now become my cry.

Shatter all from this beggar's bowl;

put out the lamp of the importunate watcher;

hold my hands, raise me from

the still-gathering heap of your gifts

into the bare infinity of your

uncrowded  presence.

Poem: "Joy is the Grace We Say to God" by Ray Bradbury

Joy is the Grace we say to God
for his gifts given.
It is the leavening of time,
it splits our bones with lightning,
fills our marrow
with a harrowing of light
and seeds our blood with sun,
and thus we
put out the night
and then
put out the night.

Tears make an end of things;
so weep, yes, weep.
But joy says, after that, not done...
No, not by any means. Not done.
Take a breath and shout it out.
That laugh, that cry which says: begin again,
so all's reborn, begun.
Now hear this, Eden's child,
remember in thy green Earth's heaven,
All beauty-shod:
Joy is the grace we say to God.

Prayer: Teresa of Calcutta

Holiness consists in doing God’s will joyfully. Faithfulness makes saints. The spiritual life is a union with Jesus: the divine and the human giving themselves to each other. The only thing Jesus asks of us is to give ourselves to him.

Spirituality: The radical commitment of the young Ignatius

Ignatius began the honest and thorough examination of his life that would lead to a radical commitment to Jesus. As part of his spiritual recovery, he pledged to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. His family strongly opposed his journey, but Ignatius would not budge:

His brother took him from one room to another and with many protestations begged him not to throw himself away and to consider what hopes had been placed in him and what he could become and he advanced other similar arguments, all with the purpose of dissuading him from his good intention. But he answered in such a way that, without departing from the truth, for he was now very scrupulous about that, he evaded his brother.

(Olin and O'Callaghan, Autobiography, p. 26)

Literature: Excerpt from "Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps"

"What the ego hates more than anything else in the world is to change - even when the present situation is not working or is horrible. Instead, we do more and more of what doesn't work, as many other have rightly said about addicts, and I would say about all of us. The reason we do anything one more time is because the last time did not really satisfy us deeply. As English poet WH. Auden put it in "Apropos of Many Things": "We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the present and let our illusions die."  

Poem: Edwina Gately

Let your God love you.
Be silent.
Be still.
Alone.
Empty.
Before your God.
Say nothing.
Ask nothing.
Be silent.
Be still.
Let God look upon you.
That is all.
God knows and understands.

God loves you with an enormous love,
Wanting only to look upon you with love....
Quiet.
Still.
Be.
Let your God love you.

Sixth Sunday in Easter

Sixth Sunday in Easter

May 5, 2013

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23; John 14:23-29

“It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities…” These stirring words of relief show us an image of the early church that (1.) cares for the well being of its followers, (2.) seeks the truth during challenging circumstances, and (3.) is free and open to culture adaptations, and (4.) the Holy Spirit guides the church despite all our efforts to the contrary. The church leaders’ courage to discern rightly the movements of the Spirit shows us God is very active in guiding the church.

Many church followers were probably very annoyed by the decision of the Apostles and the Holy Spirit. They protested and gasped at the fallacy of their decision. Many others rejoiced because they felt the welcome relief that God’s love transcends the rules we set for ourselves. The same viewpoints that were held in the early church are the same positions that are held today. They have always been there and always will be there. Neither side will be vanquished even though the pendulum might tip in one direction or the other for periods of time. Knowing that, we can breathe more easily because we are not entirely in control of the church and it is not a game of positioning. We don’t have to solve the church’s problem.

The Disciple’s discernment reveals that the church communicates God’s emotions and values, namely that God does not wish for us to impose undue burdens on others. It is always important for a church or institution to set norms for incorporating and excluding individuals for membership, but the cultural contexts have to be respected. Worship of God ought not to be burdensome or cause hardship, but one’s unique context needs to be examined. The Disciples were faithful to the discernment process and the end result was compassion. God cares that people want to worship freely and it is senseless to restrict this good and holy desire. Today, it is good to remember this monumental action of the Spirit in order that we replicate the same intentions in our discernment in troubled times.

The early community was wholly perplexed about how to proceed. They give us an example for our wrestling with unsettling social issues and they realize there is a lot at stake in one’s decision. They see the love of God as the primary motive in discernment. Love always has to be at the root of our laws and decisions. If law is solely about control, it will not last; if law is to communicate love for neighbor, then it is a good chance it is God-initiated and God-centered. Transcending cultural assumptions is necessary because God operates in all cultures at all times. Just because we do not understand another’s culture is no reason to reject a differing viewpoint. Culture and faith intersect and God has already redeemed the world’s cultures. Our task, just like the early disciples’ tasks, is to understand and seek enrichment, and this happens by listening to another’s God experience.

A church is healthy when it operates in freedom and is not in opposition to culture. A defensive church hides behind documents and pronouncements, while a healthy church seeks to integrate into various cultures and says, “Tell me about your experience. I want to learn.” It says, “We don’t always know, but we are trying to understand.” It is comfortable with the cultural forces that shape people’s lives, and it tries to gently nudge, invite, and help people freely make their choices with an informed conscience. A church that stands over and against culture is not following the text of “The Church in the Modern World,” a central part of the church’s constitution that results from the Second Vatican Council. Standing against cultures means the church is stodgy, fearful, and mistrusting of the world, while a church that dialogues, embraces, knows it does not have all the answers, but seeks to understand, is a church that is healthy and strong. Church membership grows when it is healthy; it declines when it stands in absolute opposition to culture.

The Holy Spirit guides and inspires and makes the necessary modifications to bring about a power balance. As the Spirit leads and encourages, so must the church. The Spirit allows the church to live in us and work through us as we relate to others with love and compassion. When the church is infused with the Holy Spirit, its happiness is recognizable in its leaders and followers. “Look how much they love each other,” is the curious statement others may make about us when we display our love and hospitality, joy and peace, mildness and chastity, patient endurance, our kindness and generosity, and our increased faith. Of course, ‘catholic’ means ‘universal’ and therefore it is to welcome anyone who calls upon the Lord and to treat them with mercy. I wonder who today’s Gentiles are that are to be welcomed into the faith.

As the Spirit mediates God’s love, we are to make sure we bring it into all levels of our church, but most especially at our local level. The Spirit of Jesus spoke assertively centuries ago and Jesus tells us “Whoever loves me will keep my word.” I think it is best that we bring about the love God intends for us. If we don’t, we know the Spirit will teach us all we need to know and will remind us of the words of God through Jesus. Peace, a gift of Jesus, will remain with us to wipe away our fears and disturbances. Choosing to live peacefully brings greater happiness.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: Paul and Barnabas set sail for Philippi, a leading city of Macedonia and a Roman 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. Paul is brought to the Areopagus in Athens and tells them of the "Unknown God" they worship. This God is the same God as the 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. Paul travels to Corinth and meets the Jews, Aquila and Priscilla, who were forced to leave Rome because of Claudius' 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 come to believe. The entire congregation believes the news of Jesus Christ. 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. 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: 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. 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." As they debate, he tells them their mourning will become joy - just like a woman who is groaning in labor pains. 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 for Jesus is leaving the world and 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 10: Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i, priest (1840-1889), was a Belgian who entered the Congregation of the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He was sent on mission to the Hawaiian Islands and was a parish priest for nine years. He then volunteered as a chaplain to the remote leper colony of Moloka'i. He contracted leprosy and died at the colony. He is remembered for his brave choice to accept the mission and to bring respect and dignity to the lepers. He was canonized in 2009. A statue of him stands in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      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."

·      May 7, 1547. Letter of St. Ignatius to the scholastics at Coimbra on Religious Perfection.

·      May 8, 1853. The death of Jan Roothan, the 21st general of the Society, who promoted the central role of the Spiritual Exercises in the work of the Society after the restoration.

·      May 9, 1758. The 19th General Congregation opened, the last of the Old Society. It elected Lorenzo Ricci as general.

·      May 10, 1773. Empress Maria Teresa of Austria changed her friendship for the Society into hatred, because she had been led to believe that a written confession of hers (found and printed by Protestants) had been divulged by the Jesuits.

·      May 11, 1824. St Regis Seminary opens in Florissant, Missouri, by Fr. Van Quickenborne. It was the first Roman Catholic school in USA for the higher education of Native American Indians.