Ascension
Acts of the Apostles 1:1–11; Hebrews 9:24-28; 10:1923; Luke 24:46–53

No back-up plan
Jesus gave to his followers the task of completing his work by sharing the Good News with the rest of the world.

There’s an ancient legend about the ascension of Jesus into heaven. According to the legend, when Jesus reached heaven, his body still showed the wounds of his crucifixion. His hands and feet still bore the prints from the nails. His side bore the mark from the spear. His back bore the stripes from the whip, and his head bore the wounds from the thorns. When the people in heaven saw these marks, they fell on their knees before Jesus.

They were astounded to see how much he had suffered. Then the angel Gabriel rose up and said to Jesus:
“Lord, how greatly you suffered on earth! Do all the people on earth know and appreciate how much you went through for them and how much you love them?’’
Jesus replied: “Oh, no! Only a handful of people in Palestine know that. The rest haven’t even heard of me. They don’t know who I am. They don’t know how much I suffered, and how much I love them.’’

Gabriel was shocked to hear this. Then he said to Jesus: “How will all the rest of the people on earth ever learn about your suffering and your love?’’

Jesus said: “Just before I left, I told Peter, James, and John, and a few of their friends, to tell the rest of the world for me. “They’ll tell as many people as they can. Those people, in turn, will tell other people. In that way, the whole world will eventually learn about my love for them.’’

Gabriel looked even more confused now. He knew how fickle people are. He knew how forgetful they are. He knew how prone to doubt they are. So he turned to Jesus and said: “But, Lord, what if Peter, James, and John grow tired or frustrated? What if they forget about you? What if they begin to have doubts about you? “And even if none of these things happen, what if the people they tell become frustrated? What if they forget? What if they begin to have doubts about you? “Didn’t you take these things into account? Don’t you have a back-up plan—just in case?’’

Jesus answered: “I did take all these things into account, but I decided against a back-up plan. This is the only plan I have. “I’m counting on Peter, James, and John not to let me down. I’m counting on the people they tell not to let me down.’’

Twenty centuries later, Jesus still has no other plan. He counted on Peter, James, and John, and they didn’t let him down. He counted on the people they told, and they didn’t let him down. And now Jesus counts on us.

6 Easter Sunday – 13.05. 2007 Mother's Day
Acts 15, 1-2. 22-29; Psalm 67; Revelation 21, 10-14. 22-23; St. John 14,23-29

I begin by wishing the mothers here present a Happy Mother's Day. I am offering this Mass for our mothers, whether they are present with us or far away, whether they are living or deceased. Today is a beautiful day to remember our mothers and to pray for them.
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When Jesus says, in today's gospel, “Whoever loves me will keep my word,” he wishes to remind us that, though it is easy to say that we love Him, it is far more difficult to love others for his sake. A few lines further in the next chapter Jesus specifies more precisely: “If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. And this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (Jn 15,10.12)

It is very easy to talk about love of God, it is not even very difficult to participate quite regularly in Sunday Masses, but it is much more difficult to keep God’s commandments in our daily lives. Maybe it is necessary to ask, first at all, a more basic question: “Do I know the commandments? How do I understand them? Did I not create my own easy understanding of the word of God?” In today's Catholicism we very often accept God, we profess His love towards us, but at the same time –contradictorily (or "in contradiction") - we reject His commandments or we create our own easy interpretation of them. In this way we create our own, private religion, or mild version of the moral law, and so, finally, we worship not God, but idols who are compassionate and kind enough not to ask too much from us, not to overdo requirements and restrictions especially those affecting our private lives.

It is very easy to talk about love of God, but it is much more difficult to love others (be it a wife, a husband, a fiancé, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a neighbor, companions at work) like Jesus loves them (á la manière de Jésus). When we talk about love, we very often think in terms of sexual love. Is this the same as what Jesus is commanding us in today’s Gospel?

In "My Fair Lady" Eliza Doolittle tells Professor Higgins, "Don't talk about love - show me!" This is the same idea we can find in the latest Encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI “Deus Caritas est”, but this love we have to show is certainly not the same as that of pop songs.

Once Francis of Assisi, chanced upon a woman who told him she did not love God. She had no intention of ever obeying Him, because God is too demanding. As he and she walked along together, they passed a man who was both blind and crippled. Francis asked him, "Were I to give you sight and enable you to walk, what would your response be?" As you might imagine, the man said eagerly, "I would both love you and be your servant forever." Il Poverello turned to the woman and quietly queried, "You just heard him. He would both love me and obey me. Why then do you not cherish and obey the Almighty who has so generously allowed you to both see as well as run if you choose?"

God does ask us the same question every day. "Why do you not both love and obey me? Consider all I have given you all your life." On the face of it, there is no one of us who can be offended by the question.

Fifth Sunday of Easter – C – April 06, 2007

Acts 14, 21-27; Psalm 145; Revelation 21, 1-5; St. John 13, 31-33. 34-35

In 1976 a car accident tore open the head of a 21-year-old Chicago boy named Peter. His brain was damaged and he was thrown into a deep coma. Doctors told Peter’s family and friends that he probably wouldn’t survive. Even if he did, he’d always be in a comatose state. One of the people who heard that frightening news was Linda, the girl Peter planned to marry. In the sad days ahead, Linda spent all her spare time in the hospital. Night after night, she’d sit at Peter’s bedside, pat his cheek, rub his brow, and talk to him. “It was like we were on a normal date,’’ she said. All the while Peter remained in a coma, unresponsive to Linda’s loving presence. Night after night, for three and a half months, Linda sat at Peter’s bedside, speaking words of encouragement to him, even though he gave no sign that he heard her. Then one night Linda saw Peter’s toe move. A few nights later she saw his eyelash flutter. This was all she needed. Against the advice of the doctors, she quit her job and became his constant companion. She spent hours massaging his arms and legs. Eventually she arranged to take him home. She spent all her savings on a swimming pool, hoping that the sun and the water would restore life to Peter’s motionless limbs.

Then came the day when Peter spoke his first word since the accident. It was only a grunt, but Linda understood it. Gradually, with Linda’s help, those grunts turned into words—clear words. Finally the day came when Peter was able to ask Linda’s father if he could marry her. Linda’s father said, “When you can walk down the aisle, Peter, she’ll be yours.’’ Two years later Peter walked down the aisle of Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Chicago. He had to use a walker, but he was walking. Every television station in Chicago covered that wedding. Newspapers across the country carried pictures of Linda and Peter. Celebrities phoned to congratulate them. People from as far away as Australia sent them letters and presents. Families with loved ones in comas called to ask their advice. Today, Peter is living a normal life. He talks slowly, but clearly. He walks slowly, but without a walker. He and Linda even have a lovely child.

The story of Linda and Peter is a beautiful commentary on the words of Jesus in today’s gospel:

“And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.” John 13:34–35

If there’s one thing we need to do today, it’s to rediscover the power of love, the kind of love that Jesus preached.
Because, just love and faith are able to do miracles in our lives.

A Hindu in India once said to a Christian missionary:

“If you Christians . . . were like your Bible and loved the way it says to love, you’d convert India in five years.’’

And –perhaps- we need to keep in mind some important truths about people and love Jesus is commanding us:

• No one needs love more than someone who doesn’t deserve it.
• If we sit around and wait for people to become lovable before we love them, we will sit around the rest of our lives and even till the end of world.
• It is precisely in the process of loving others that they become lovable.

And one more thing to keep in mind: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him, may not perish, but have eternal life.” In today’s reading from the book of Revelation we read: “Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth. And the One who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev 21:5a) and in the Gospel Jesus says: “I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (Jn 13:34) We can add with a certainty: The new heaven and the new earth will not come, will not be present among us until this new commandment will be realized in our lives.

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Cycle C
Acts 13, 14.43-52; Ps 100, 1-2.3.5.; Rev 7, 9.14-17; Jn 10, 27-30.

Recognizing the Shepherd's voice

Years ago a Broadway play, called “The Royal Hunt of the Sun”, dealt with Spain’s conquest of Peru. In one scene a Spaniard gives an Incan leader a Bible, saying that it is God’s word. Filled with curiosity, the leader raises the Bible to his ear and listens attentively. When he hears nothing, he slams the Bible to the ground, feeling that he has been made the butt of a joke.

The sheep listen to and recognize the voice of their shepherd and that is why they continue to follow him rather than another. It is important for us also to recognize the voice of Jesus as it comes to us in our daily life. And, in our Christian life, the voice of Christ can take many forms. Most of the time, it is in the voices of those people who come into our daily lives. If we do not recognize Christ in the voices we hear, we are likely to get lost and, perhaps, many do lose their way. They do not know where their Shepherd is - or perhaps they do not have shepherds. It is thus necessary to ask myself: “Who is my shepherd? How do I listen to the Word of God?” It is easy for us to have a "supermarket" mentality towards society and towards the Church. We expect our governments to provide all kinds of services without our having to pay our share in having those services provided. We often talk about an entity called "the Church" which is supposed to provide: priests, sisters, churches, schools and the religious, educational, spiritual, sacramental and social services we want and need. But we need to remember that that "Church" is not something "out there"; it is you and me. It is we and only we who, by pitching in together, can provide the service personnel and the operations, the 'hardware' and 'software' by which our Church community can continue to function. And –what is more important- we have to be aware that church is not the supermarket or enterprise but we, the church, are the flock and we have to listen to the voice of our divine Shepherd.

We live in a world where, on the one hand, we have governments which tend to take charge of many social needs, but do not always do a very good job where those in greatest need are concerned. On the other hand, we also live in a highly competitive society which drives home the message that one has to devote all one's energies in taking care of oneself and one's family. If we take such a situation for granted as being the "normal" state of affairs, it will not be easy for us to see what active role there is for us to play. Even where our Christian faith is concerned it is easy for us to adopt a passive attitude - "pray, pay and obey". We can see our faith as expecting conformity in certain fringe areas of our life such as attending Mass once a week. But even that attendance can be a very passive experience - we endure the homily, we let the priest "say" the Mass for us and the choir sing for us and a commentator to pray for us. We may arrive late and leave early. Is that how I live my Christian vocation, my participation within Christ’s flock?

And this brings us to Good Shepherd Sunday, which is also Vocations Sunday. In particular we are asked to pray that more people will consider whether they are being called to join the ranks of priest-shepherds or the dedicated life of brothers and sisters. Without these people, without those who will dedicate themselves totally to the service of God and God’s flock, we can be lost like sheep without a shepherd.

Third Sunday of Easter – 22.04.07
Acts 5, 27-32. 40-41; Psalm 30; Revelation 5, 11-14; St. John 21, 1-19

When Peter and the other disciples in the boat behind him came upon Jesus, they found him sitting at a fire. He offered them breakfast. Jesus was not a ghost, but a real human being. He ate with them.

Then we come to that wonderful dialogue between Jesus and Peter demanding the triple affirmation from Peter as a negation of his triple denial on Good Friday. “Do you love me, Simon Peter?” “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” “Then feed my sheep.” Peter has learnt his lesson. The bravado is gone. He does not dare to compare himself with his fellow-disciples. Now he only speaks for himself: "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Three times Jesus is asked the same question just as three times Peter had denied. It hurts him and finally he says: "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you."

Jesus was not about to let Peter wallow in his own guilt and self-pity. OK, he had done a terrible thing. He had denied the Lord. But, to Jesus, there were more important things to consider: Peter, as head of the apostles, would be the point man in the establishment of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Church.

In the first reading for this Sunday, Peter happily accepts being flogged for the sake of the Word of God. In a complete reversal from the coward who lied on Good Friday, Peter tells the Sanhedrin that he will listen to the Lord rather than them. We know from early Christian writers that Peter would eventually go to Rome and, as the Roman historian Tertullian states, endure a passion like his Lord’s.” The Christian theologian, Origen, and others testify that Peter was crucified, head downward. This happened in the Ager Vaticanus, the area on the west bank of the Tiber where Nero had constructed an arena. Christians would eventually build a Church over the burial spot, and then a basilica. The truth of Jesus would continue to nourish the people from Peter and those who stood in his place, the popes.

This all happened because Peter accepted the forgiveness of the Lord and moved on with the Lord’s business. That’s the main message for those of us who have also have sinned and then sought forgiveness. We cannot allow ourselves to be mired down in the past. Jesus has far more important things for us to do then wallow in guilt

Let me tell you a story of a typical woman whom Jesus would not allow to remain stagnating in her own guilt.
This woman was forced to make a horrible decision and she allowed the life within her to be destroyed so many people whom she had respected told her what was the best thing for her to have done, however, they wouldn't have to live with the result. Perhaps these authority figures in her life carried a greater responsibility than she did for what had happened, but she was the only one who suffered the consequences. She was the one who could not think about a child without being immersed in pain. She was the one who was in turmoil.

She sought forgiveness through confession and healing through Project Rachel. She learned that Jesus had work for her to do. She could form a positive out of the horrible negative of her life. Pope John Paul II actually wrote to her and those like her. He wrote the she could become stronger than before because she now recognized the value of human life.

To quote the late Holy Father once more: you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone’s right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life. She could live in peace. She must live in peace. God had work for her to do.
Jesus will not allow us to be mired down in our guilt. He has too much work for us to do. His work.

We are all human beings in need of the forgiveness of God, but once we have been forgiven, we need to get down to work. “Show your love for me, Simon Peter, by feeding my sheep,” the Lord said. Jesus has too much work for us to do. His work.

Second Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

Homily

There is a story about a climber who was determined to reach the summit of a high mountain. After years of preparation, he began his adventure, but he journeyed all alone because he wanted all the glory. He began his ascent, and as daylight faded he decided to continue climbing. Night fell. The night fell heavily and he was overcome by total darkness. The moonlight and starlight were hidden within the clouds. There was zero visibility. He was only a few meters away from the summit when he slipped as he was climbing a ridge and fell off, falling at frightening speed.

While falling he could only see shadows like figures in the darkness and felt the tug of gravity sucking him down. In those anguishing moments he saw his life pass before his eyes. He thought death was near when suddenly he felt the tighting of the rope around his waist that tied him to a nail embedded in the rock wall of the mountain.

In desperation, suspended in mid-air he screamed:- God, please help me!
Then unexpectedly a deep voice from heaven responded: - What would you have me do?

- Save me!
- Do you really think I can save you?

- Of course my Lord!
- Well then, cut the rope.

There was a moment of silence, and then the man tightened the rope around his waist saying:
- Are you joking with me?

The mountain rescue team reported that they found the man frozen to death, his hands wrapped firmly around a rope tied to his waist…

The man was HANGING TWO FEET FROM THE GROUND…

So ... How tight are your ropes? Would you let go?

“I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, and I tell you ‘don’t be afraid. I will help you.’” (Is. 41:13)
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

"Divine Mercy Sunday" was officially established for the universal Church on May 5, 2000 by a decree of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship.

God shows us His infinite Love and Mercy in different ways. The only concern and problem is: “are we able to believe, to trust Him?” or we are rather firmly gripping the security rope like "Doubting Thomas"? To see and know Jesus in our lives is to recognize where he comes to us in the day-to-day events and to trust Him even if it is against our reason.

The Divine Mercy Sunday

Powerful King Milinda said to the old priest: "You tell me that a man, who has committed all possible sins during his lengthy lifetime, will live in heaven if he relied on the Divine Mercy of God and sought forgiveness before he died; whereas somebody who committed only one sin during his lifetime and didn’t rely on the Divine Mercy will end up in hell. Is this just? Does it mean that one sin is more serious than hundreds or those a hundred sins are less serious than one?

The old priest answered the King," If I take one small stone and I put it on the surface of the lake, will it sink or will it float?"

"It will sink", answered the King.

"And if I take a hundred big stones, put them in a boat, and push the boat out into the middle to the lake, will they sink or will they float?"

"They will float".
"Then a hundred stones and a boat are lighter than one stone?"

The King did not know what to answer so the old priest explained: "So, powerful King, the same happens to men. A man, even if he has made mistakes throughout his whole life, but relied on Divine Mercy will not go to hell. Whereas a man, who did only one bad thing, but didn't turn back to Divine Mercy, will be condemned".

"Divine Mercy Sunday" was officially established for the universal Church on May 5, 2000 by a decree of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. According to St. Faustina, Our Lord promises to those who go to confession and communion on this day, the remission of the guilt and the punishment of sins.

On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. (Diary of Sr. Faustina, 699)

Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of the Lord - Cycle C

I heard of a TV reporter interviewing a group of understandably excited youngsters in New York City's Rockefeller Center. He chose one six year old and asked patronizingly, "What does the Easter bunny mean to you?" The boy without a second's hesitation replied, "Jesus died for our sins and then rose from the dead."

The stuttering reporter quickly asked, "But what does that have to do with the Easter bunny?" The boy said very resolutely, "Nothing."

The question of the reporter can be changed and we can ask: “What does the Resurrection of Christ have to do with my life?”

Will the answer be a similar reply of “absolutely nothing”? Jesus Christ is risen, but in my daily life He has been already dead for a long time.

Our faith is deeply rooted and finds its real meaning in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

St Paul says that, if Christ is not risen, then all our believing is in vain.

This is certainly the central truth of Christianity. But are we as resolute and sure as the boy was when he responded at Rockefeller Center?

Holy Thursday – April 5th 2007

“Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. … (J 13,1

on the night he was handed over, he took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”( 1 Cor 11:23-24)

John Paul II begins his Encyclical Letter “Ecclesia de Eucharistia” with the statement:

“The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith, but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church. (n. 1)”

And he continues:
“The Church was born of the paschal mystery. For this very reason the Eucharist, which is, in an outstanding way, the sacrament of the paschal mystery, stands at the centre of the Church's life. (n. 3)”
I ask myself, as well as I also ask you: “Is the Eucharist really the center of my life? What is the meaning, the significance of this Sacrament in my Christian life?”

The Pope further wrote:
“Even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. It unites heaven and earth. It embraces and permeates all creation. (n. 8) The Eucharist, as Christ's saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the Church can have in her journey through history. (n. 9) The Church has received the Eucharist from Christ her Lord not as one gift – however precious– among so many others, but as the gift par excellence, for it is the gift of Himself, of His person in His sacred humanity (n. 11)”

Do we realize, do we understand the depth and the meaning of these words? Are we really aware of the greatness of the gift we are receiving in the Sunday Eucharist?

Pope Benedict XVI, in the apostolic Exhortation “Sacramentum Caritatis”, writes:

“The sacrament of charity, the Holy Eucharist is the gift that Jesus Christ makes of himself, thus revealing to us God's infinite love for every man and woman. This wondrous sacrament makes manifest that "greater" love which led him to "lay down his life for his friends" (n. 1)

Jesus in the Eucharist does not give us a "thing," but Himself; He offers His own body and pours out His own blood. He thus gives us the totality of his life and reveals the ultimate origin of this love (n. 7). In instituting the sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus anticipates and makes present the sacrifice of the Cross and the victory of the resurrection. (n. 10)”

"The Eucharist draws us into Jesus' act of self-oblation. More than just statically receiving the incarnate Logos, we enter into the very dynamic of his self-giving." (21) Jesus "draws us into Himself." (22) The substantial conversion of bread and wine into his body and blood introduces within creation the principle of a radical change, a sort of "nuclear fission,” to use a term which is familiar to us today, which penetrates to the heart of all being, a change meant to set off a process which transforms reality, a process leading ultimately to the transfiguration of the entire world, to the point where God will be all in all. (n. 11)”

These are the deepest dimensions of the Most Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament which we are celebrating today- in a very special way re-commemorating the very first Eucharist celebrated by our Lord and Savoir, the very night preceding His betrayal, passion and death.

The bread in front of the altar is only a symbol because Jesus Himself decided to use daily bread as the matter, the substance of the Eucharist. He was born in Beth le hem (in Hebrew it means the house of bread), many times He multiplied bread, and He choose the breed as the most powerful sign.

However, the bread which will appear on the altar is not only a symbol. It is really “Christ's saving presence” among us.

Today is perhaps the best opportunity ask oneself some fundamental questions:
- What is my attitude toward this Most Sacred Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ?
- Do I recognize Jesus’ real presence in this Sacrament?
- Do I prepare myself to be as worthy as possible to accept it in communion?
- Or do I maybe neglect it and am not truly attentive to this Mystery?

When the communists took over China in the late forties, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory. Looking through the window, he saw the soldier enter the church and break open the tabernacle, scattering the Blessed Sacrament on the floor. The priest knew the exact number of hosts: thirty-two.

Unnoticed by the soldiers, a young 11 year old girl had been praying in the back of the church and she hid when they came in. That night the girl returned, spent an hour in prayer, then entered the sanctuary where she knelt and bent over to take one of the hosts on her tongue. She actually licked it off from the floor. In those days communicants did not receive the Eucharist in their hands, but only on the tongue.
The next night she came again and did the same despite knowing soldiers were there guarding the imprisoned priest. The girl came back the following night and the next and each night throughout the whole month. She would spend an hour in prayer and receive Jesus by picking up a sacred host with her tongue. The thirty-second night, after consuming the final host, she made an accidental sound, awakening a soldier. He ran after her and when he caught her, he struck her with his rifle butt. The noise awoke the priest – but it was too late. From his house, he saw the girl die.
Bishop Fulton Sheen, who related the story, said that when he heard about this, it inspired him so much that he made a promise that he would spend one hour each day before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. He always said that the power of his priesthood came from that daily holy hour and veneration of the Blessed Sacrament.

One Solitary Life
(the original version by Dr James Allan Francis (1864–1928) in the book "The Real Jesus and Other Sermons"):
Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never owned a home.
He never had a family.
He never went to college.
He never put his foot inside a big city.
He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where He was born.
He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.
He had nothing to do with this world except the naked power of His divine manhood.
While still a young man, the tide of public opinion turned against Him.
His friends ran away.
One of them denied Him.
He was turned over to His enemies.
He went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth while He was dying—and that was his coat.
When he was dead He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress.
When I try to sum up his influence I will say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that One Solitary Life.