A stiff challenge... and the FIRE to live it.

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Homily Outline for the 6th Sunday of Easter, Year A

Our Gospel today on this 6th Sunday of Easter puts before us a simple and very difficult challenge, but it also speaks of the means by which we can respond to this challenge with courage and hope. The challenge is in the very first line: “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.’” That is one tough line… it is easy to say that we love Jesus, and I suspect that most of us experience that movement in our hearts, at least from time to time… after all, he gave EVERYTHING for us on the Cross, and rose in victory of over sin and death. He will come to us at this very Mass Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity, under the humble appearance of bread and wine. What’s not to love! Jesus is a good, true, and beautiful Savior.

Very quickly, though, we are invited to reflect on what love really is…it is certainly not simple admiration or appreciation from a distance. What does loving Jesus look like? We will keep His commandments. He made the 10 commandments His own, but then He went farther… He upped the ante, ruling out not just murder but even hatred, ruling out not just adultery, but the lust of the heart, calling us to forgive 70 times 7 times, and even to love our enemies. These commandments are straightforward, easy to understand, but very difficult to live. Jesus did not say, “If you love me, keep some of my commandments…” He did not say, “If you love me, keep the commandments that come naturally, and you can fudge the rest of them.” He said it very simply, “Keep my commandments.” On this basis, it would be easy to get very discouraged. A careful examination of our hearts will indicate that in one way or another we have fallen short of this standard, casting the reality and authenticity of our love for Jesus, who loved us perfectly unto the Cross, very much in doubt.

That’s not the end of what Jesus tells us today, praise God! There’s more: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth… I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.” Jesus knows perfectly how much we struggle to be faithful, even how much we struggle to desire faithfulness. He does not expect us to fly solo on this mission. He has sent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit of Love, Power, and Self Control, the Consoler and Fire of the Love between Father and Son. This Holy Spirit is sent to help and sustain us in the midst of this daunting invitation to love Jesus, and so to keep His commandments.

We see one aspect of this promise in our first reading. Philip is one of the first 7 deacons, and he was driven from Jerusalem with the other followers of Christ after his brother deacon Stephen was stoned to death for preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He came to Samaria, a region north of Jerusalem and proclaimed Christ. The Lord worked miracles through him, casting out unclean spirits and healing many sick people. Hearing of this missionary fruit, the apostles sent Peter and John, and they laid hands on these newly baptized Christians, who then received the Holy Spirit. Notice that the Holy Spirit came down precisely through the intercession of the apostles, Peter and John. The Holy Spirit is the soul of Christ’s Body, the Church. Now, as then, this gift comes to us through human instruments, the apostles and their successors, the bishops. The full gift of the Holy Spirit is ordinarily given at confirmation by the bishop, who stands in an unbroken line with the Twelve. The power and courage to keep Jesus’ commandments doesn’t ordinarily come to individuals in isolation, but in and through the Body of Christ, the Church.

We see this call to be filled with the Holy Spirit made even more clearly in the 2nd reading. Peter says this to us, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence…” Do we live in such a fashion that people see hope evident in our lives and ask us about it? Are we ready to explain the essential role that Faith plays in our hearts and lives? This is the challenge! On our own, we cannot do it! Enlivened by the Holy Spirit, we can transform the world.

In the years ahead, as in years and centuries gone by, our fidelity to Christ and His Church will be tested… what choice will we make? Will we call upon the Spirit’s aid and stand firm with the Gospel, with the Church, with the Truth, even when it’s inconvenient, even when it’s unpopular? Are we willing to suffer and lay down our lives for Jesus Christ, who suffered and laid down His life for us? Will we walk the broad easy downward road, going with the flow, following the teachings that are comfortable, and ignoring the rest? To walk against that current has never been easy, but we are not alone! The Gospel is bigger than our preferences and tastes, it is bigger than our strength… The Holy Spirit is fire, wind, breath, power, and life that God will pour into our hearts and lives and word and struggles. Do you love Jesus Christ who loved you unto death? Keep, then, His commandments by the power of the Holy Spirit poured out upon us through His Body the Church. Receive today His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, and be filled with fire, with love, and with truth. 

 

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¿Cómo participar?

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Esbozo de una homilia para la Quinta Semana de Pascua, Año A


Durante estas semanas de la Pascua, seguimos celebrando la victoria de Cristo en la cruz. Esta victoria tan grande no se celebra adecuadamente en un día, ni en una semana… se celebra durante 50 días… poco a poco nuestra Madre la Iglesia nos invita a comprender ¡qué grande es el Señor! El venció a la muerte y el pecado a través de la muerte. Muriendo, derrotó a la muerte definitivamente y nos trajo la vida.

Nos juntamos aquí en esta bella iglesia para celebrar la Eucaristía, la fuente y culmen de nuestra vida católica. A la Santa Misa llevamos todo lo que somos, todo lo que experimentamos, tanto malo que bueno… llevamos todo a este altar. De la santa Misa fluye todo la gracia que el Señor nos ofrece… no es decir que el Señor no puede trabajar de otra manera, pero es precisamente por el sacrificio de Cristo que él eligió actuar. La puerta por lo cual entramos a este sacramento es el bautismo.

Hoy, en nuestra segunda lectura, San Pedro está enseñando sobre nuestra identidad en Cristo, la identidad que viene del bautismo. A pesar de nuestra debilidad, a pesar de nuestros pecados, a pesar de nuestra ignorancia, el Señor nos ha escogido y nos ame con perfecta fieldad. Según San Pedro, pues, ¿Quién somos? “Ustedes también son piedras vivas, que van entrando en la edificación del templo espiritual, para formar un sacerdocio santo, destinado a ofrecer sacrificios espirituales, agradables a Dios, por medio de Jesucristo.” A través del bautismo, somos configurados hijos e hijas del Padre, y somos sacerdote, profeta, y rey. Esta dignidad no pertenece a un grupo contadito, a unos cuantos los líderes, ni tampoco pertenece sólo a los hombres llamados al orden sacerdotal… esta dignidad viene con el bautismo. Cada persona bautizada ha sido transformada en sacerdote, profeta, y rey. Es precisamente por haber recibido este don del bautismo que pueden entrar a esta iglesia hoy. No vienen a observar algo, no vienen como espectadores, de ningún modo! Vienen a participar, a celebrar en raíz a su sacerdocio bautismal. Atiende otra vez a San Pedro, “Ustedes, por el contrario, son estirpe elegida, sacerdocio real, nación consagrada a Dios y pueblo de su propiedad…” San Pedro está hablando a todos nosotros, cada uno… escucharemos a su voz?

¿Cómo participarán? Por cantar? Por leer? Por escuchar? Si, en todas aquellas maneras, pero no es allí donde se encuentra su participación, su celebración, fundamental. Poder participar plenamente, poder celebrar plenamente en la Eucaristía no depende principalmente de tener algún trabajo… ni tampoco depende de poder hacer algo exterior. Una persona muda, una persona sorda, una persona coja… esta persona podría participar profundamente igual a cualquier otra persona… ¿Cómo? ¿De qué manera? San Pedro lo dijo: “…un sacerdocio santo, destinado a ofrecer sacrificios espirituales…” El corazón de la Misa es el sacrificio de Jesucristo, ofrecido a través del sacerdote. En raíz a su ordinación, un don que viene encima de su bautismo, el actúa en la persona de Cristo. El sacerdote es Cristo, el sacrificio es Cristo, y la congregación es Cristo. Tu participación se hace verdadera en el momento que te ofreces completamente en el altar con el pan y el vino. Cuando el sacerdote dice “Este es mi cuerpo,” no se habla principalmente por sí mismo, pero habla por Cristo. Más bien, Cristo habla por el! Además, habla de ofrecer a su propio cuerpo y vida. En este momento, los bautizados deben ofrecerse a sí mismo también. Ésta oferta deber alcanzar al lecho de su alma, su corazón, su vida. Debe alcanzar su gozo, su agradecimiento, su alabanza, pero también su dolor, su angustia, su ansiedad, sus dudas, cualquier dificultad. En la Misa no contamos al Señor lo que creemos que él quiere escuchar…. No es mantener la apariencia que todo está perfecto en nuestras vidas. Si acerquémonos al Señor de esta manera, prácticamente cerramos la puerta al Señor. Celebramos la Misa profundamente en el momento que llegamos honestamente al Señor con todo lo que somos, confiados de que El nos ame de verdad, así como somos.

Termino con las palabras tan bellas del Evangelio… Escuchan otra vez, “Jesús dijo a sus discípulos, “No pierdan la paz. Si creen en Dios, crean también en mí…. Yo soy el camino, la verdad, y la vida. Nadie va al Padre si no es por mí. Si ustedes me conocen a mí, conocen también a mi Padre.” Jesús nos mostró el camino cuando se ofreció completamente por nosotros en la cruz, y resucitó en el tercer día… Jesús nos enseñó la verdad y lo sigue enseñando a través de su cuerpo, La Iglesia… Jesús nos da vida, él mismo es la vida que nos da. Esta vida, gracia, fuerza y perdón nos llega especialmente en cada Misa, nos llega del altar… la mera vida de Dios, su gracia, su cuerpo, y sangre. Acerquémonos hoy conscientes del don del bautismo… acerquémonos conscientes de nuestro profundo hambre y necesidad por Dios, acerquémonos al altar ofreciendo al Padre todo lo que somos, dispuestos a recibir a Dios mismo, todo lo que El es, a Jesucristo nuestro Señor.

Heart's longing for the Father's Love

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Homily Outline for the 5th Sunday of Easter, Year A

Who are we in Christ? Each one of us in different ways is busy and does many things, but this is not who we are. We are not our jobs, we are not a bundle of tasks accomplished… St. Peter addresses this central and heartfelt question in our 2nd Reading, listen again to his answer: “…like living stones, let yourself be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. …You are a ‘chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises’ of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” In Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, we are God’s people, created by Him in love, redeemed by Him in love, and called to be a royal priesthood. The Father desires to build us into a body, a spiritual house, each of us living stones, the holy edifice of the Church, the Body of Christ. God’s love, Jesus’ perfect sacrifice becomes concrete in us as we are enlivened by the Holy Spirit.

If we are to embrace this true identity offered to us in Christ, we must turn to the Father with love and confidence, allowing Him to shape and mold us. This is fearful and challenging… sin calls us to shape and mold ourselves, to be the tyrants and masters of our own destiny, to take the rudder of our lives and steer capriciously wherever our whims take us. To truly embrace our identity as beloved sons and daughters of the Father, we must walk the same path that Jesus walked, dying to self and placing ourselves into the Father’s hands.

I had a simple experience some days ago that makes this concrete. I was sitting out on the couch there in the Gathering Space talking to a family, and one of their little girls came flying up onto the couch next to me and immediately nestled herself up against my side, under the crook of my arm. She settled there and gazed up at me with a big smile! Now, some children find my beard frightening, and some want to use it as a rope swing! This little girl has always sought me out, and apparently sometimes refers to me as “her Father Ben!”

You can imagine that the trust and affection in this child’s face touched my heart. The heart of a priest is a heart called to spiritual fatherhood, to give life to many spiritual children, and sometimes that becomes very concrete. Some time after this experience though, I was struck by another angle… Do I approach our Heavenly Father with such confidence and affection? God who created and redeemed us is PERFECTLY worthy of our love and trust, but it is so easy not to approach Him in this fashion, but rather to keep our distance, to approach Him guardedly, to bargain with Him, or even to ignore Him in our daily lives. Do you approach God in prayer, in worship, with deep affection and trust? This is how God the Father wants you to approach, to open your heart to being chosen by Him, to being part of His royal priesthood, a member of His holy nation, a living member of His Body, the Church.

This intimate communion with the Father is exactly what Jesus invites us to in the Gospel… “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” There is no competition for God’s love, His heart is infinite, there is a place for each one of us. Whatever brokenness has affected our human relationships, whether that is with parents, with spouses, with children, we must open ourselves up to confidence in God, whose love is perfect.

How do we draw near to the Father? Listen again to Jesus, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” We draw near to our Loving Father through Jesus Christ His Son. Jesus models for us the way, He Himself IS the Way, the Truth, the Life. Jesus emptied Himself on the Cross completely for us, broke down the barrier of sin and death, and opened up the way to the Father. Will we open our hearts to that love, to that way, to that truth, to that life? It is offered to us freely, abundantly, generously.

Close your eyes for just one moment, and picture yourself nestled against the Father’s loving chest, hearing the beat of His heart which beats with love for you. Pour out to the Father all that is in your heart. Hear of His love and His mercy.

This intimate communion with the Father through His Son and in the Holy Spirit is offered to us most perfectly at this altar. As we prepare to enter into the deep and perfect mystery of the Eucharist, let us turn away from suspicion and fear, and open our hearts to the Father’s perfect love, which will transform us, and through us the whole world.

How can we hear the Shepherd's voice?

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Homily Outline for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A


“When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.” Jesus is revealed most perfectly as our Shepherd in the Paschal Mystery, the Mystery of Easter: His Suffering, Death, and Resurrection. As we begin this Fourth Week of Easter, our Mother the Church wants to direct our attention to our Risen Lord as our Shepherd. We hear from St. Peter twice today, and in the 2nd reading He says this about Jesus: “When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” On the Cross Jesus is the Lamb of God, He is both Priest and Victim, and He is most perfectly our Shepherd.

Peter speaks of returning to the Shepherd… Where and how do we hear the voice of the Shepherd? If we desire to follow Him, to return to Him, we must listen for His voice, we must recognize His voice… How do we do that? There are three principal places where we can hear the Good Shepherd’s voice, and thus be lead to green pastures, out of danger, into peace. Christ the Good Shepherd speaks in our consciences, in the Living and Efficacious Word of God, the Bible, and in His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, which is His Body.

Let me begin with our consciences. The Lord has written His Law on our hearts… but to hear His voice speaking to us there, we must enter into the silence of our hearts, we must pause and listen. It takes courage and discipline to go within and so to encounter the Good Shepherd. How often do we have an inkling what our conscience might tell us if we were to listen! We can storm on at top speed, we can keep the music turned up, but if we want to hear the Shepherd’s voice, we must listen. Of course this happens principally in prayer… speaking to the Lord, but also listening. The day has 3 simple natural times built into it for prayer… when we rise, when we eat, when we lie down again. Do you keep these times for prayer? However brief or simple it might be, there is nothing more tranformative you can do than to begin to speak to the Lord, and if you already speak to Him, to do so with greater frequency. And not only to speak, but also to listen.

Our consciences are not always perfectly formed, and sometimes we can get confused. We need to be taught, we need to learn, our consciences and hearts need to be shepherded. God speaks to us powerfully and intimately in His Sacred Scripture. The Catholic Church gave us the Bible, discerning and collecting the inspired writings of the Apostles and their disciples… and yet, unfortunately, we Catholics have often become known for our ignorance of the very book that our mothers and fathers in faith handed down to us at such a great price! A short passage read in quiet and pondered, this is the way to begin. Two concrete suggestions… begin now to read the first Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew. Read a chapter or less a day, and allow God’s Word to soak into you. Alternatively, read the daily Mass readings each day, or just the passage of the Gospel assigned for each day. It’s listed ever week in our bulletin, it’s very easy to find online. God’s word can and will transform you if you open your life to it. The Good Shepherd will teach and guide your mind and heart, if you will listen.

Finally, whenever doubts and confusion afflict us, when we don’t understand how to apply the word of God, when we need guidance of any sort, especially to respond to the many contemporary challenges we face each day, we must turn to the living voice of the Shepherd, His Body, the Church. The Church gave us the Scriptures, and has handed them down to us. The Church teaches us today what it taught in the first century. As Peter proclaimed Jesus Christ and Him crucified, as we heard in the first reading, the Church proclaims Him still today. Without the Church, directly, or indirectly, none of us could have heard of Christ, His Good News, nor could we encounter Him in the sacraments. In our own time many people sneer at organized religion and walk away…. is disorganized religion is any better! Without the Church to teach and guide us, we so often follow our own preferences, our own convenience. We pick and choose the parts of the Gospel that are comfortable… but that is not the Gospel! The Sheepfold of Christ is His Body the Church. If we want to be part of His flock, we are called to listen to His Voice, to be conformed to His Sacred Heart, to be configured to His Passion, His Death, but also His Resurrection! Jesus speaks to us precisely through His Church, guided by the successor of Peter, the Pope.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord is very near to us, and wishes to shepherd and guide us to green pastures, flowing waters, and into the light of hope. He tells us in the gospel that He came so that we might have life, and have it more abundantly…May we listen to Him in our hearts, seek Him in His word, and may we listen to His voice, especially as it speaks to us through His Body, the Church!

With God's help....

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Wedding Homily for Jeff Page and Sarah  Huffmeyer, 7 May 2011

Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, Oldenburg, IN

Jeff and Sarah, it is an honor, a privilege, but most of all a joy to be with you on this holy day! Let us not be alarmed by the rain… it is a symbol in the Scriptures of God’s grace and mercy which He pours out upon us to bring life, grace, and healing! As we come to these final moments leading up to the Sacrament of Marriage which you are about to enter, the Church calls us to turn to the Word of God to prepare our hearts. You have chosen these readings well and prayerfully, for which I thank you.

We begin, very appropriately, in the beginning! God made us! This was His first gift to us, life… not only did He make us in love, but He made the whole beautiful buzzing world for us! As farmers, engineers, and foresters, you and your families understand and experience daily what it means to use this gift well and wisely. Our lives and the world in which we live are not finally random, but an intentional and loving gift for which we give thanks.

From the VERY beginning, God created man and woman in His image and likeness…He gave us the ability to know, and the ability to love. From the very beginning, He called men and women to marriage. Marriage is not something we have created or imagined ourselves, not something we are free to define as we please… it is a gift from God. Like the very gift of life, like the gift of the world around us, it is to be received, cherished, and nurtured with love. As God calls you into marriage with each other, that is not a generic or general invitation, but a very specific call to each other… of all the infinite number of people God could create, He chose to create you, and to create you for each other… How He loves us!

These precious gifts of life were not enough… God has not only created each one of us with love, but in the midst of our brokenness and need, He redeemed us and gave the gift of new life in Christ. At your baptism, you became adopted children of God, members of Christ’s body the Church. In Christ, marriage becomes a sacrament, a visible sign of an invisible reality. Your second reading speaks to this very directly. I appreciate your boldness and courage in choosing this reading… it is the very heart of the Church’s theology of marriage, but many misunderstand Paul and the Church. The word “submissive” rings out, and anger flares, or hurt. Let us listen carefully, because what Paul actually says is very beautiful, and VERY challenging! Listen to the very first line… “Follow the way of love, even as Christ loved you. He gave himself for us. Defer to one another out of reverence for Christ.” This call to defer, to submit, comes to each of you. You are to imitate Christ who gave Himself for us, who loved us even unto death, death on a Cross. We have just celebrated that highest and most central feast of Christian Life, the Sacred Triduum, Easter. The gift of self that Jesus Christ made on the Cross, the gift of self that led Him into the tomb and even into the depths of Hell, that gift of self for us brought Resurrection, Victory, and Joy! The authentic gift of self, the surrender of one’s life and heart into God’s hands leads to true life.

If anything, Jeff, Paul puts you on the spot even more than your wife. Listen to his instructions to you! “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church. He gave himself up for her…” You know what Christ did for His Church, for us… Remember Holy Thursday, remember Good Friday. Out of love for us, Jesus was condemned, mocked, beaten, crowned with thorns, burdened with the Cross, crucified. He shed every drop of sweat, every ounce of blood in Him for us, for His bride, the Church. This is your calling, to lay down your life, even unto death, to lay down every drop of sweat and life and blood in your veins for Sarah, who will be your wife, even unto death… to empty yourself in love for her, even as our Lord did for you, for us. Marriage will not be easy, life is not easy… the Church is very honest about this! You will be called to give in ways you cannot now imagine, but you will NOT be alone!

Sarah, as you place yourselves freely into your husband’s arms, as you entrust your very life to him, he is to entrust his very life to you, heart, body, mind, & soul. This is Christian Marriage, and this is a mystery, a sacrament, that teaches us about Christ’s love for us. Every sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible reality… the visible sign for the world is your love for each other, and it is meant to teach all of us who see it about Christ’s love for us… Husbands and wives, this is the challenge, the invitation… as you love each other, as you love your children, the world should say… ahhh, now I understand a little more how much God loves me!

This is a daunting challenge… to enter into this gift of self freely, to give yourselves totally, holding nothing back, to be faithful to each unto death, and to be open to the gift of life from God… this is Christian marriage, and humanly, it is implausible! It is not possible merely by human strength… but with God, all things are possible! To live this call is to be, like Christ, a sign of contradiction to a world that is very confused, very sad, filled with hurt and falsehood. To live this call is to be a beacon of hope… not because either one of you is perfect, not because you will not make mistakes, but because God’s love at work in you is stronger and more beautiful than any challenge or struggle you may face! We come, here, to our Gospel, to the beatitudes! These sayings are poetic, but in worldly terms, they are silliness, they are pipe dreams. In this world, the poor in spirit, the sorrowing, the lowly, the peacemakers often come up short. But in light of God and eternity, they chart for us the mysterious path of the Gospel. Jeff and Sarah, they chart for you the path of joy in your marriage… to be little and humble before your spouse, ready to admit your failures and ask forgiveness… to long for holiness as a deer longs for running streams, and to lead each other to that life of prayer and truth…to show mercy and to make peace. “Be glad and rejoice, for your reward in heaven is great!”

You begin your marriage here in this beautiful church, a place, Sarah, where you have worshipped, a place where the gift of faith given you by your family was strengthened and nourished. Jeff and Sarah, we have prayed together today, we have listened together to the word of God. Do not stop seeking the Lord in this way… they say that the family that prays together, stays together… this is true! We added a new clause when you visited me last month…the family that traps and prays together, stays together and is warm in their beaver hats! All jesting aside, stay together before the Lord… stay close to the Lord in prayer, in His Word, in the sacraments. In just a few moments, you will enter into the sacrament of marriage, and that sacrament will be sealed by the gift of the Eucharist, the gift of the Lord’s body, blood, soul, and divinity. Jesus who gave Himself to us on the cross, Jesus who calls you to imitate that gift of self in your marriage, pouring out your lives for each other, that same Jesus continues to come to us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, under the humble appearance of bread and wine. He not only calls you to holiness, but He gives Himself to you, giving you all the grace and strength you need, if you will but receive it. Enter this sacrament today in humble joy, and receive the Lord once joined in marriage as one body, one love… be filled with Him who died for us!

 

My Lord and my God.... Jesus, I trust in you.

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Homily Outline for the 2nd Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday

Happy Easter, brother and sisters in our Risen Lord! Jesus Christ is risen, alleluia, alleluia! He is risen, indeed! Although most of us are finishing off our Easter candy and almost through those delicious leftover ham sandwiches, today is just as much Easter as last Sunday… this evening we enter into the octave day of Easter, the 8th day! The Church gives us these 8 days of intense liturgical joy because we need more than one day to begin to wrap our heads around the truth of that proclamation… “The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal!” Towards the end, the sequence says, “Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning,” and our opening prayer today says, “God of mercy, you was away our sins!” We also celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus suffered, died, and rose again precisely because we needed, and need, to be saved!

The Apostles needed to receive the very life and grace of God poured out through the Cross and Resurrection, and so do we! This theme is repeated in our readings: “And every day, the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.” “I was hard pressed and was falling, but the Lord helped me.” “You rejoice…. as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of souls.” Jesus breathes the Holy Spirit upon His apostles, and immediately He says, “Receive the Hol Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” We are invited to believe, and we are filled with joy, precisely because we are so much in need of God’s healing and help, His Divine Mercy. Truly, we are each one of us beggars before the Lord.

It is difficult to admit this; it is difficult to receive this gift of faith. In the gospel we hear vividly of Thomas’ struggle. He will not believe unless he sees the Lord’s wounds. Upon seeing them he exclaims, “My Lord and my God.” Those wounds on the risen Lord speak of our need, His suffering, but also of the victory He offers to us!

We have not seen those wounds… Jesus offers us a blessing, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed!” But we have seen the fruits of that resurrection… before that gift of the Holy Spirit, the apostles are scared, they’re still holed up in hiding. But, after that, we hear of their courage in Acts, “They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.” They were no longer scared, even by persecution, martyrdom and death. This truth and proclamation has come down to us through long centuries of faith and courage. Today there are 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide connected to that upper room by an unbroken chain of faith and grace. Even as it is difficult to believe in our skeptical and cynical world, even as it is difficult to trust a Church made up precisely of broken people like us, nonetheless we have GOOD reason to trust message, this truth! Jesus Christ is risen, indeed! His Body, the Church still lives and breathes with that same Holy Spirit He breathed upon his apostles.

And the Lord’s action in the world did not cease upon His Ascension into heaven… He continues to be at work in the world. As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday today, we remember the concrete impact of Christ’s resurrection in the life of St. Faustina Kowalska… she was born in a poor family in 1905 in Poland. She grew up in the midst of poverty, hunger, and the horror of World War I. She heard God’s call to the religious life, and as a young nun the Lord appeared to her as He is depicted in the Divine Mercy Image: From His heart, pierced on the cross, shine out rays of white and red, signifying water and blood, Baptism and Eucharist. Jesus asked St. Faustina to share this image with a very simple message, “Jesus, I trust in you!” It was a message much needed in her difficult life, much needed in her broken land. Poland would suffer much more after her death than it did during her life: World War II, and the long Communist regime. It is a message and invitation just as much needed in our hearts and lives, so often broken by sin and suffering. Jesus has risen from the dead, He has trampled death by death. He offers us the fruits of that victory, if we will but receive them! Let us make that pray our own, let those words be on our lips… with Thomas let us say, “My Lord and my God.” With St. Faustina let us say, “Jesus, I trust in you.”