Alleluia!  He is Risen!

When the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, St. Luke writes that they opened the doors where they were and began preaching, speaking in different tongues.  The Holy Spirit apparently wants all people to hear and received the Gospel message.

Yet on the part of the apostles and the Church, this required a significant change in attitude.  Before, they were content to speak only to people who understood them: other Jews.  They didn’t need to go out and speak to someone else, because they were closed in on themselves.  What’s more, it did not even seem desirable to go to others who were unlike themselves.  The point is clear, and will be the cause of much division in the early Church: God loves everyone, and wants the members of the Church to take practical steps to love each other–even those who are different than we are.

In our parish, we have this very same opportunity, and the very same challenge.  It is hard to speak to someone else, especially when we don’t speak their language.  It’s scary to step outside of our ordinary circle of friends–perhaps even sitting in a different pew at Mass!  Yet if we do not do so, we will be stifling the Spirit of God in our parish, in our world, and in our lives.  This week, we have a beautiful chance to reach out to other people.  I invite each person, every time you come to Mass, to learn someone else’s name.  Be daring: go up and say hello.  Smile.  Extend your hand.  And when someone does the same to you, smile back and see how easy it is.  After all, God the Holy Spirit is the one who at work in us.

Please know of my prayers for you, and please pray for me.

In Christ,

Fr.  B.

Alleluia!  He is Risen!

In the coming weeks, we will be discerning new members of the Pastoral Council, as well as the Formation, Evangelization, and Worship Commissions.  At the same time, members of these commissions are putting the final touches on the next 5-year section of the Into the Deep! long range plan.  I ask you to join us in a novena from Monday, May 13 through Tuesday, May 21.

Prayer for Community Discernment

Lord Jesus, you are the life of our community. You save us and lead us in right paths. You established the Church to be your Body in the world to carry your work forward and bestow your grace through the sacraments. Holy One, you are Lord of the Gifts.

Today we ask you to revive and unleash the power our parish has received so often in the sacraments. We ask that the charisms you have given to members of our parish would emerge and become visible, that you help us support and nurture each other as we discern and exercise our spiritual gifts. That together with you, we may become a channel of God´s mercy and love for the individuals, the neighborhood, the town, the city, and the nation in which you have placed us.

When you called, even Lazarus awoke.

Call our parish, Lord, and unite us to your loving purposes. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

Alleluia! He is Risen!

Four times in today’s readings we hear of “power.” What is the power that Jesus promises to give us? How are we to understand it?

The power that Jesus promises is nothing other than the ability to give witness to Jesus. It is the capacity to show to the world evidence of an amazing fact: that the infinite God has entered the world, and not just in a spiritual way. God has entered the world in Jesus, and that this same Jesus in us, in our bodies. In other words, we believe that the immortal, the invisible, the eternal–Beauty itself, Truth itself, Goodness itself–has become a Man whose name is Jesus. This same Jesus lives in me.

Our world only understands power as the ability to make others do what I want, to make others follow–in short, to make others die. The power of Jesus is the capacity to rise from the dead–indeed, it is a share in Eternal Life Himself. The contrast could not be more stark.

We can see in our mothers a lived experience of that power: the capacity to make others live, even at great cost to themselves. What a beautify example of Gospel Power our mothers have given us. Please join me this week in praying for our mothers, that they will receive the reward of their goodness. Please know of my prayers for you as well.

Sincerely in the Risen One,

Fr. B.

Alleluia! He is Risen!

Jesus says that he gives peace “Not as the world gives.” Note that he is not merely referring to how the world gives peace; he is referring to how the world gives. His way of giving is different than the worldly way of giving. What is the difference?

When Jesus gives, there are no strings attached. He gives, and he gives first. He does not wait for someone to earn his gift; it is a gift, pure and simple. The world, on the other hand, is not that way. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” as we often say. When we give according to the worldly standards, we are often rewarding someone for something that we ourselves have received. Either that, or we are making a down payment on something that we want to receive in the future. How often have we come to prayer, hoping that if we just do this or that thing, then God will have to grant us what we want. That’s not how Jesus gives. He gives simply, in complete freedom.

The response is up to us. Whether we in fact want to receive what he gives us, and whether we want to receive Jesus himself here on earth, and later in heaven. The choice is ours, and it is really a matter of our freedom if we choose to receive Jesus.

This weekend, hundreds of our parishioners are receiving the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Communion, pure gifts of God. These gifts demand a response. It’s called stewardship, and those of us who are blessed to have received them have a chance to make that response. I pray this week that you will be generous in giving as Jesus gives of your lives to God. Please be assured of my prayers for you, and please pray for me.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. B.

Alleluia! He is Risen!

“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Very often, a sense of discouragement can creep into our lives. After many hopeful changes, there’s an apparent setback and the worry comes back. “It was good while it lasted, but the more things change the more they stay the same.”

We experience this in love, in marriage, in work, in politics, in business, in farming, and yes, in parish life too. “I thought this would be different, but now I think maybe it was all a fantasy. Nothing really changes. I should withdraw, and go back to something else. I’m tired. I’m worried.”

Is this not the same attitude as the Israelíes had when they said to Moses, “We should go back to Egypt. Why did you bring us out Here?” is this not the same as the disciples on the way to Emmaus, “We were hoping…”

Brothers and sisters, listen to the loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, I make Lo things new.” There IS something new: Jesus is ALIVE! And He is here! God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with you and me, and He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. This is a new order of things, a new creation. Therefore, beloved, let us love one another even as He loves us. And He will continue to draw us closer in communion and impel us to works of solidarity.

Please know of my prayers for you and please pray for me.

In Christ
Fr. B.

The vision of John in Revelation –”a great multitude from every nation, race, people and tongue…before the throne and before the Lamb”–does this not describe our parish every Sunday?

This compelling image of people who have been gathered to the Lord, people who are in full communion with the Lamb and each other, does not deny the fact that they have suffered. In fact, the Scripture goes on to say that the Lord will wipe the tears from their faces, but they will suffer no more. It is hard to come together.

Yet one of the most common ways of suffering is by trying to create unity. The suffering comes not only because it takes work, but I believe that the most painful aspect is when we try to manufacture a unity ourselves, to impose it on others. This always ends up hurting us, and does not end up in unity. Unity is a fruit, not a product.

Jesus has already united us in Himself. The unity exists. We are already brothers and sisters. We cannot force that relationship to exist, and it is silly to try: it already exists!  If there is division, then it is because something came in from outside to separate us, and the task is to remove whatever it is, and pay attention to the other so that the Body can be restored.

This week, I invite you to look around and identify what separates you from others and God. Ask for the grace to do the work of removing those obstacles, and let God bring us together. Be assured of my prayers for you and please pray for me.

In the Risen One,
Fr. B.