Tuesday, April 30, 2019

5 de mayo de 2019 – el tercer domingo de pascua – Juan 21, 1-19


     Alberto Einstein fue uno de los científicos mas famoso  del siglo 20. Einstein enseñaba la física en la Universidad de Princeton en los Estados Unidos.  Viajaba en tren un día.  En el tren, el conductor salió por el pasillo para mirar los boletos de los pasajeros. Einstein, aunque era un físico brillante, podía ser muy distraído. Cuando el conductor se acercó a Einstein, se dio cuenta de que no podía encontrar su boleto. No podía encontrarlo en sus bolsillos.  El conductor, muy amable, explicó: "Dr. Einstein, no se preocupe, yo te conozco, y confío en que compraba el boleto ".  Cuando el conductor terminaba con los otros pasajeros, miraba que Einstein estaba de rodilla, debajo de los asientos, buscando el boleto.  El conductor volvió a él, asegurándole, "Dr. Einstein, le dije que no se preocupe. No es necesario que me muestre su boleto. Estoy seguro de que usted compró uno ".  Einstein respondió: "Mi hijo, usted me conoce, confía en mí, y me dijo que yo no necesito mostrar mi boleto. Entiendo muy bien, y, por eso, estoy muy agradecido. Pero, tengo que encontrar ese boleto, porque no tengo ningún idea de dónde voy ".  Podemos preguntar: Como discípulos de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, ¿sabemos dónde caminamos? ¿Tenemos nuestro destino a la vista?  ¿O no estamos seguros de dónde tenemos que ir?
      Los cuentos en los Evangelios durante la temporada de Pascua nos ayudan a comprender la realidad de Jesucristo resucitado en nuestras vidas.  La semana pasada, escuchamos el cuento de Tomás, de cómo Jesús se acercó a Tomás en medio de sus dudas y su incredulidad, ayudando a Tomás a creer y crecer en su fe.  Al igual que Jesús buscó a Tomás y nunca renunció su punto de visto, en el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús buscó a los discípulos en medio de su decepciones y sus penas y su incertidumbre.  En la primera semana de Pascua, en las lecturas del Evangelio en las misas diarias, el Evangelio de San Lucas contó que después de conocer a Jesús en el camino de Emaus, los discípulos se preguntaban si habían visto un fantasma.  En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús nos ayuda a comprender la realidad de su resurrección, que él no es una alucinación o un fantasma.  Jesús realiza un milagro para los discípulos en el Mar de Tiberio en medio de su viaje de pesca, que en este milagro, ellos atraparon más peces que las redes podrían soportar. Luego se les muestra una gran hospitalidad, preparándolos desayuno. Un fantasma o una aparición ciertamente no podían preparar el desayuno y luego compartir una comida con ellos.  Nos recuerda que en la pasión de Cristo que escuchamos durante la semana santa, Pedro negó a Jesús tres veces. En la actualidad, como Jesús le pregunta a Pedro si lo ama tres veces en el Evangelio de hoy, afirma a Pedro, animándole a pastorear a sus ovejas, y para atender a los discípulos de Cristo.
      Al igual que Einstein no sabía el destino de su viaje en tren, a veces nuestras palabras y nuestras acciones muestran que no estamos seguros de nuestro destino final en nuestra vida.  Como los discípulos en el Evangelio de hoy, podemos buscar por el significado y la presencia de Dios en nuestro camino, pero podemos tener mucho desafíos y sufrimientos en este búsqueda.   Jesús nos asegura que él es nuestro Señor y nuestro Salvador.  Como Jesucristo está levantado de los muertos a la vida nueva, la vida nueva que tenemos en él nos da una responsabilidad.  La misión de Jesucristo, la misión de la Iglesia, la misión de los primeros apóstoles - es nuestra misión también.  Debemos mantener nuestros ojos en nuestro destino espiritual. No debemos perder la llamada que tenemos como discípulos de Cristo.

1 May 2019 – Wednesday of the 2nd week of Easter – Acts 5:17-26


    We know from history and from the accounts of the Early Church that Peter, Paul, and many of the other apostles were imprisoned many times for the way that they publicly preached the Gospel to the world in the years right after Christ’s death and resurrection. This time, as recounted in today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, when Peter and a group of apostles are imprisoned, they are miraculously set free and they go out into the Temple area where they once again preach publicly about Jesus and his proclamation of God's kingdom.  
      We can imprison God’s word in the world just as the chief priest and the Jewish authorities imprisoned it when they put Peter and the other apostles in prison. The Gospel message needs to be more than just words to us.  Christ's message needs to be more than words that fascinate us or touch our imagination.  We need to put those words into action.  We need to practice our faith each day in the reality that faces us.  We need to have God’s word in our lives to inspire us and motivate us and lead us along our journey.  It is difficult to live out our faith sometimes, that is for sure.  Sometimes our lives seem so busy that we do not make time for God or for Church in our hectic, chaotic lives.  But God always meets us in our reality and helps us with the ups and downs of life.  If God’s words are not able infuse our thoughts and our actions, if God’s word does not have a place in our reality, then his word will be imprisoned just as at was when the first apostles were put into jail. 
      I also wanted to mention that today, May 1, we celebrate St Joseph the Worker.  This feast day goes back to the time in the middle of the 20th century when Communism dominated many of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe for decades.  In those Communist countries that were allies with Russia, May 1 was traditionally celebrated as the Communist Day of the Worker.  To put the worker in the context of our Christian values, Pope Pius XII established the feast of St Joseph the Worker in 1955, which we celebrate on May 1 in our liturgical calendar.  To celebrate Joseph as the archetype of the worker makes a lot of sense. We know from Scripture that Joseph was a carpenter, that he probably taught Jesus this trade as well.  The Church teaches us that no matter what work we undertake in life, we are to do so with dignity and in a manner that allows us to contribute to both God’s kingdom and to human society as well.  We can find dignity in all human work – no matter what kind of work it is – and we can lift that work up for the glory of the Lord.

Monday, April 29, 2019

5 May 2019 – 3rd Sunday of the season of Easter – John 21:1-19


     Albert Einstein was one of the greatest scientific minds of the 20th century. He was teaching physics at Princeton University here in the US when he was traveling by train one day.  The conductor came down the aisle to punch the passengers’ tickets.  Einstein, though he was a brilliant physicist, was famous for being very absent-minded and forgetful.  When he saw the conductor approaching, he realized that he could not find his ticket.  He checked his coat pockets, vest pockets, shirt pockets, and pants pockets – no ticket anywhere.  The conductor kindly spoke to him when he saw him frantically searching for the ticket: “Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know you, and I trust that you bought a ticket.” After the conductor punched the rest of the tickets in the railroad car, he looked back to see Einstein on his hands and knees, looking under the seats, still searching for the ticket.  The conductor returned to him and tried to reassure him, “Dr. Einstein, I told you not to worry.  You don’t need to show me your ticket.  I am sure that you bought one.”  On his hands and knees, Einstein looked up to him, saying, “Young man, you know me, you trust me, and you told me that I don’t need to show you my ticket.  I understand, and, for that, I am very grateful.  But young man, I have to find that ticket, because I have no idea where I am going.”  I wonder: As disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, do we know where we are going?  Do we have our destination in sight?  Or are we unsure of where we need to go?
      Our Gospel stories during this joyful Easter season help us to understand the reality of the resurrected Jesus in our lives.  Last week, we heard the wonderful story of Thomas the Apostle, of how Jesus approached Thomas in the midst of his doubts and unbelief, helping Thomas to believe and to grow in his faith.  Just as Jesus searched out Thomas and never gave up on him, in today’s Gospel, Jesus goes in search of the disciples in the midst of their disappointment and their sorrows and their uncertainty.  In the first week of Easter, during one of the daily Gospel readings, Luke’s Gospel recounted how after meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus, the disciples wondered if they had seen a ghost.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus helps them understand the reality of his resurrection, that they are not hallucinating or seeing a ghost.  Jesus performs a miracle for them at the Sea of Tiberius in the midst of their fishing trip, having them catch more fish than their nets could bear.  Then he shows them great hospitality by preparing them breakfast.  A ghost or an apparition certainly wouldn’t cook breakfast and then share a meal with them.  We remember how in Christ’s passion, Peter denied Jesus three times.  Today, as Jesus asks Peter if he loves him three times, he affirms Peter, encouraging him to shepherd his flock and to tend his sheep. 
      Like Einstein not knowing the destination on his train trip, sometime our words and our actions show that we, too, are not sure of our final destination.  Like the disciples in the Gospel today, we can be searching for purpose and meaning on our journey, seemingly not sure of where to look.  Jesus reassures us that he is our Lord and our Savior.  Just as Jesus rose from the dead to new life, the new life that we have in him gives us both purpose and responsibility in our lives of faith.  Jesus’ mission, the Church’s mission, the mission of those first apostles – that is our mission as well.  It is the mission of learning and growing in our faith and then sharing that faith with others, bringing Christ’s message to our corner of the world.  May we keep our eyes on our spiritual destiny.  May we not lose sight of who we are as disciples of Christ. 

Thursday, April 25, 2019

25 April 2019 - Thursday of the Octave of Easter - Acts 3:11-26 - Luke 24:35-48


   We hear about Peter and John heading off to the Temple to pray when a lame man stopped them and ask them for some help.   But instead of just giving this man money to help him economically, they heal him through the help of the Holy Spirit. This man is so overjoyed; he leaps around and shouts praises to God.  This commotion draws the attention of a large crowd, giving Peter the opportunity to preach to the people about Jesus.  They tell the crowd about what happened to their Lord.  They want the people to repent, to change their lives, to become followers of the Lord.  That is the thing about miracles.  It is not the miracle itself that draws our attention, but rather the power and the truth behind that miracle, the way it teaches us about God’s kingdom and about our faith. 
      When we think about this story, we might think about aspects of our faith that weave in and out of journey of faith.  We have the reality of the resurrection, a reality that we celebrate in a special way this Easter season.  Jesus tried to help the disciples understand this reality.  He is not alive again in a purely earthly way.  He is not a ghost.  He risen - he is resurrected - this is a new reality.  Secondly, there is the cross.  The resurrection does not exist by itself - with it is the reality of the cross.  Christ would have to suffer and die in order to be raised from the dead.  Third, there is our need to repent.  We heard the call for repentance load and clear during Lent.  It is a theme in our reading today in the Easter season.  We are to feel the urgency to repent and renew our lives again and again as disciples of Christ.  It is not something we do once and for all.  
        May we hear the message of Christ in the words of Peter and John today.  We need to be comforted by the Good News of Christ, yet we also need to radically repent and to bring this message of repentance to our world. 

26 April 2019 - Friday within the Octave of Easter - Acts 4:1-12, John 21:1-14


     When we go through a life changing event, it can be a dramatic change that takes place in an instant.  Or it can be a gradual change that effects our lives.  We have just come out of the experience of Lent and Holy Week.  We may have had a dramatic one-time experience during those weeks.  Or, more likely, the different disciplines of prayer, fasting, and works of charity during the season of Lent helped create a change in us that will carry over to our present daily lives, something that happened gradually.  Before our passage today in John’s Gospel, Jesus had already appeared to Mary Magdalene once and the disciples in the locked room twice.  A group of disciples go back to fishing, their occupation before they became followers of Jesus.  In the daily routine of the ordinary lives of those disciples, Jesus appeared to them again.  The risen Lord will appear to us to in different ways in our ordinary lives.  He will appear to us in great momentous occasions.  He will appear to us subtly and gradually.  The changes that the Lord will help enact in our lives may seem gradual and slow, but the Lord will not give up on us.  The disciples we hear about in the first reading from Acts are some of those we hear about in the Gospel.  But we can see a change in them.   The reality of the resurrection slowly but surely changed their lives.  May all of us allow our eyes to be opened and our lives to be transformed and changed by the reality of the risen Lord in our midst. 

Thursday, April 18, 2019

21 April 2019 - Easter Day Mass - John 20:1-9


      We are sometimes confused and unsure of ourselves on our journey of faith, aren’t we?  Sometimes, we look at reality, and we can’t make sense of what is going on. We’re afraid of what we see. That is what Mary of Magdala is experiencing on Easter morning.  She goes to the tomb early in the morning before sunrise. She is astounded to find the stone moved from the entrance and the tomb empty. She wonders: what is going on?  What has happened to our Lord?  Has someone stolen his body?  Mary of Magdala tells some of the other disciples about what she witnessed.  When they see the the empty tomb and the burial cloths scattered about, they are confused and perplexed, but, the beloved disciple starts to make sense of the situation; he sees, and from there, he starts to believe. It is significant that in today's Gospel, belief in the resurrection does not stem from the actual appearance of the resurrected Jesus, but rather such belief developed from what the believers first reported, from the way they interpreted their experience of the empty tomb. This is significant to us and to the way we are called to be evangelizers as well.  We are called to share our faith experiences with others, to evangelize our family, our friends, our co-workers, our classmates, our neighbors, and our community.  It is not enough for us go to Mass and to grow in the faith ourselves.  Like the example of the disciples in our Gospel today, we witness, we believe, and we share. From the witness of Mary of Magdala, from the witness of Peter and the beloved apostle, the witness of the faith spread to the other apostles, to the men on the road to Emmaus, and to the apostles and disciples who spread the Good News of the Gospel throughout the world.  We are descendants of those first followers of Christ that witnessed the empty tomb that morning.  As they made sense of the empty tomb, as Easter joy filled their hearts, they continued to spread the Good News of Christ to others. What started with a small numbers of believers in this obscure part of the Roman empire, it spread by word of mouth and by the witness of acts of love.  We are called to this same joyful spirit of Evangelization, to have the same sense of courage and urgency that Mary of Magdala had that morning. 
     We have heard about the importance of being witnesses and evangelizers of the Gospel, but perhaps we don’t know where to start.  Well, I have three suggestions on how to get started. First, in order to evangelize others, we ourselves need to be constantly growing and learning in our faith.  We have the Formed website here at our parish with access to books, videos, audio programs - all kinds of things to help you grow in the faith.  Some of you may be logged into Formed already.  There is a special login for our parish that gets you free access through our subscription - details on how to do that is in our bulletin this week.  You also may have heard that we have a new improved parish library in the office area.  We have books arranged by subject area so they are easy to find.  Reading and studying your faith is another great way to prepare for evangelization. Most of you know that I have been in a Masters degree program at Catholic University in Washington DC.  One of the classes was about parish communication and evangelization in the digital world.  We are working on our digital media at St Jude.  We invite you to look at our Facebook page and our website, some of which has been updated.  It is not only for you to receive information, but also for you to share posts and to be an evangelizer with your family and friends.  Finally, I want to mention our ALPHA program which we had this past semester for the first time at St Jude.  ALPHA is a faith sharing program, a space to explore life's big questions, to say what you think and to hear other people's points of view.  It is one evening a week and lasts about 10 weeks.  You can come to ALPHA on any point on the faith journey, whether you are a devout believer or whether you are just exploring  at the moment.  We will have another adult ALPHA program in the fall and our first youth ALPHA in the fall too.  We welcome  any of you to think about joining us for ALPHA this fall. 
       As we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord today and hear about the disciples spreading the Good News of this event, may we all hear this call to witness and evangelize, because, indeed, as disciples of Christ, it is something we are all called to do. 

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

28 de abril de 2019– domingo de divina misericordia - Juan 20, 19-31



      Hoy, en el Evangelio, escuchamos sobre San Tomás el Apóstol y sus experiencias con Cristo resucitado.  Tomás no estaba presente cuando Jesús se apareció a sus discípulos en la casa con las puertas cerradas.  Entonces, Tomás hizo una declaración a los otros apóstoles: "Si no veo en sus manos la señal de los clavos y si no meto mi dedo en los agujeros de los clavos y no meto mi mano en su costado, no creeré.”  De hecho, Tomás tocó a las manos de Jesús y su costado cuando apareció de nuevo a los discípulos una semana después. A través de este encuentro con el, Tomás estaba capaz de creer en Jesús y en la resurrección. Sin embargo, este experiencia que mostró el escepticismo de Tomás le gana el título “el incrédulo". Pero, este título no cuenta toda la historia sobre él. Tomás se convirtió en misionero. Él llevó el Evangelio a India y murió como mártir de la fe. En verdad, Tomás tenía dudas, pero muchos de nosotros tenemos dudas en algunos momentos de nuestra vida. Podemos recordar Tomás como creyente, no solo como incrédulo? Tomás dudó, pero con sus dudas le llevó a tocar las heridas de Jesús. Al tocar esas heridas le llevó a la creencia.  En esta historia de Tomás, vemos la misericordia y la gracia de Dios.  Tomás creció en sus duda y se convirtió en un verdadero testigo de la fe en esas palabras: "¡Señor mío y Dios mío!"
      Estes Evangelio es perfecto para escuchar hoy en el Domingo de Divina Misericordia.  El Papa Juan Pablo II declaró el Segundo Domingo de Pascua el Domingo de la Divina Misericordia  cuando celebró el Año Jubilar de 2000 en la misa en la que la Hermana Faustina Kowalska fue canonizado. Hermana Faustina, una monja de Polonia, tuvo una visión de la Divina Misericordia de Cristo en 1931, acompañado por estas palabras: "Yo deseo que la Fiesta de la Misericordia sea refugio y amparo para todas las almas, y especialmente para los pobres pecadores. Ese día la profundidad de mi misericordia tierna está abiertas. Yo desahogo un mar de gracias sobre las almas que se acercan al manantial de mi misericordia ".  Con esta declaración de la Divina Misericordia, la devoción a la Divina Misericordia de Jesús y la coronilla de la Divina Misericordia son muy populares entre los católicos del mundo.  Sin embargo, la celebración de hoy es más amplia de la Coronilla de la Divina Misericordia. El mensaje que todos nosotros debemos recibir hoy es que el amor y la misericordia son para toda la humanidad. Su misericordia está ahí para aquellos que no han cultivado una relación con Dios en sus vidas, para aquellos que están sobrecargados en la realidad de sus vidas, para aquellos que tienen sentimientos de dolor con sus experiencias en la Iglesia.  Si nos acercamos al trono de la misericordia de Dios en nuestra humildad y nuestra creencia como lo hizo Tomás, podemos cambiar nuestra vida.  Podemos sentirnos la misericordia de Dios en nuestros corazones hoy al celebrar esta temporada de Pascua con esperanza y alegría.
    

19 April 2019 - Good Friday - Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12


       We hear Isaiah’s prophecy today: the Messiah, the chosen one of God, will be rejected.  He will be oppressed, condemned, and harshly treated.  He will be buried amongst evildoers. Yet, the Messiah is subject to this as a part of God’s plan of salvation as he gives his life as an offering for his people.  It is busy time of the year for all of us.  The pressures of work, school, and family obligations can be overwhelming.  Yet, in the midst of our busy world and our busy lives, the Church calls us to this most holy week.  The Church calls us to journey with Jesus, to be his obedient disciple. Today, as we come to church on Good Friday, we are called to the foot of the cross.  We come to the cross where our Savior died as he shared in our humanity.   At times, perhaps, the idea of Jesus dying on the cross and suffering to take away our sins may seem abstract, distant, and difficult to grasp. Perhaps this action seems more real for us today as as we stand at the foot of the cross, as we bring our burdens and our prayers, our hopes and our disappointments, our longings and our frustrations, our anger and our doubts, placing all those things at the foot of the cross.  Yet, as we bring all these things to the foot of the cross today, we realize that our faith does not promise a life of discipleship that is free from burdens and sufferings.  What Jesus promises us in our life discipleship as we stand with him at the foot of the cross is that his yoke will be different, that it will open up a new life for us.  Yes, we will always have our own crosses to bear, just as Christ had his cross.  However, Christ himself will accompany us on our journey, in our joys and in our difficulties, giving us the courage to face all the challenges and twists and turns of that journey, giving us confidence in God’s fidelity and in the promise of hope.  The darkness of death on Good Friday is not an end in itself.  We have hope in the resurrection to come.  In the darkness, we still have God’s grace.  We have his love, and mercy.  And so, at the foot of the cross, we persevere, we wait, and we hope. 

28 April 2019 – Divine Mercy Sunday – 2nd Sunday of Easter – John 20:19-31


     On the Second Sunday of Easter of the Jubilee Year 2000, at the Mass for the canonization of St Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II proclaimed to the world that “from now on throughout the Church this Sunday will be called Divine Mercy Sunday.”
     As I thought about God’s mercy and our call to live out that mercy each day on our journey and to show that mercy to others, I thought about a story I heard regarding the French emperor Napoleon.  There was a young soldier in Napoleon’s army who was facing execution for deserting his post in battle. With great persistence, the soldier’s mother secured an audience with Napoleon in order to try to save her son’s life.  However, Napoleon refused to remove the sentence of death that had been issued for the young solider. Napoleon explained to the distraught mother:  “Your son deserted his post and left others to die.  Justice demands that your son pay for his cowardice with his life.”  The mother pleaded with Napoleon: “Your excellency, I do not ask for justice.  I ask for your mercy.”  Napoleon replied:  “Your son does not deserve mercy.  He must pay for his crimes.”  The mother responded: “Your excellency, if my son deserved mercy, it would not be called mercy.”  With that, Napoleon pardoned the son, saving his life.
      This desperate mother had no idea what response she would get when she approached Napoleon.  I am sure she trusted in her faith in God and hoped for the best.  In many ways, today’s celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday is rooted in trust and hope.  As disciples of Christ, we’re called to place our trust in God’s mercy.  Trusting in God is essential in receiving the graces that he wants us to have on our journey of faith.  Devoting a Sunday to God’s Divine Mercy during the Easter season, when we are called to reflect upon the meaning of the risen Christ in our lives, is meant to strengthen our trust in God’s mercy. 
       In today’s Gospel, Thomas experiences God’s mercy in a very personal way.  Thomas wants to believe, but he can’t quite get there.  He does not believe the other apostles when they tell him: “We have seen the Lord”.  He wants to see.  He wants to put his hands in the wounds on Jesus’ side, to be sure that this is really Jesus, his Lord and Savior.  Yet, Jesus does not get angry.  Jesus does not close the door on Thomas, writing him off as an unbeliever, as a lost soul.  Jesus instead waits with patience and openness.  When Jesus appears to the disciples again behind the locked doors of their room, he goes directly up to Thomas and tells him:  Take your hand, put it in my hand, then put it in my side.  Touch my wounds. Touch and see so that you not be unbelieving, but rather that you believe, that it is really me, Jesus, that I have been resurrected.  Thomas receives God’s mercy into his life, into his faith, into his unbelief.  With grace and humility of heart, Thomas responds to the mercy of God in the way all of us should respond, in stating: “My Lord and my God.”  Thomas opens his heart.  He trusts.  He believes.  He is a new man.  His faith has been renewed and has been re-energized.
      We can take our faith for granted.  We can take God’s mercy for granted.  Yet, God is always there for us with his love and mercy.  Divine Mercy Sunday celebrates the merciful love of God shining through the Easter mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection.  Actually, today’s feast recovers an ancient liturgical tradition, reflected in the teachings of St. Augustine in which he called the Octave of Easter “the days of mercy and pardon.”  The image of the Divine Mercy of Jesus that we know so well comes from a vision of Sister Faustina in 1931. Her vision shows Jesus in a scene from today’s Gospel, as he miraculously appears in the Upper Room and bestows upon the Apostles the power of the Holy Spirit to forgive sins. His hand is raised in blessing, as he shows them His wounds, and looks for their trust.  Two translucent rays, one white and one red, come from Jesus’ hand in this image.  The red ray symbolizes the blood of Jesus and the white ray symbolizes water – the blood of the Eucharist and the waters of baptism.  The image of Divine Mercy is symbolic of the charity, forgiveness and love of God.  On this image is contained this inscription:  “Jesus, I trust in you.”  May we always trust in Jesus.  May we always be merciful like the Father.

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

21 de abril de 2019 – Domingo de Pascua – Juan 20:1-9


     Podemos ir a la misa cada domingo en nuestra parroquia para celebrar con nuestra comunidad de fe.  En la celebración eucarística que celebramos juntos como una comunidad de fe, podemos aprender mucho sobre nuestro Señor Jesucristo, sobre su vida, sus milagros, sus promesas, y su proclamación del reino de Dios.  Pero, todo de eso es nada si no creemos en la salvación que tenemos en la muerte y la resurrección de Nuestro Señor.   
       La resurrección de Cristo que celebramos hoy es para nosotros la fundación de nuestra fe.  María Magdalena a la tumba de Cristo en las tinieblas de la mañana.  El sepulcro era vacío. Anunció ella a Simón Pedro y al otro discípulo – "Se han llevado del sepulcro al Señor y no sabemos dónde lo habrán puesto".
         María Magdalena y era testigos del sepulcro vacío, signo de la  resurrección.  Pero en este momento, no se daba cuenta sobre esta realidad en su plenitud.  La resurrección es la fundación de nuestra esperanza y la base de toda la vida moral del cristiano.  Ser cristiano es vivir realmente en la profundidad y la realidad maravillosa del Misterio Pascual de Cristo.
         Hay muchas personas en nuestro mundo que no creen en el milagro de Pascua, en el milagro de la resurrección.  ¿Entonces, cómo podemos hablar hoy en nuestro mundo sobre la resurrección del Señor?  ¿Cómo podemos proclamar esta realidad?  Creer en la resurrección es creer en algo que sólo Dios puede hacer. La resurrección nos da vida en una realidad nueva.        
         La creencia en la resurrección y su realidad en nuestra vida sólo tiene explicación desde la muerte y la experiencia de la resurrección del Señor. Es inútil tratar de explicar la resurrección de Jesucristo a una persona que no caminaba con él por los caminos de la fe, que no reunía sus cruces que la Cruz de Jesucristo. Comprender la realidad de la resurrección significa haber aceptado la vida que muere en la cruz para esperar una vida nueva más allá de la muerte.  Creer en la resurrección es creer en las promesas de Cristo y tener esperanza en ellas.
      Pero, en verdad, que es la resurrección?  Es el triunfo del amor que es más fuerte que la muerte.   Es vivir otra realidad.  Esta realidad no existe solo con nuestra inteligencia sino con la fuerza de la fe.  Es increíble porque sólo Dios es quien lo puede hacer.
      Para vivir la resurrección de Cristo es ser testigo de su Buena Nueva. Como María Magdalena era testigo de la resurrección, como Pedro y el otro discípulo eran testigos, nosotros también pueden ser testigos. Tenemos la llamada de compartir nuestras experiencias de fe con nuestro prójimo: con nuestros compañeros de trabajo, con nuestros vecinos, con nuestros amigos, con la gente en nuestra comunidad.  Con el ejemplo en el Evangelio de Juan esta tarde, debemos dar testimonio, debemos creer, y debemos compartir.  
        Como creyentes en nuestro Señor, nuestro Salvador, no nos quedamos solamente en la visión material de nuestra existencia en el mundo.  Es la creencia en algo mas.  Vivir en la resurrección de Jesucristo es tener gozo y nueva vida.  Nunca más la muerte va a tener la última respuesta.  Nosotros como seguidores de Cristo tendremos un horizonte más allá del horizonte de nuestra vista en el presente.  Nosotros como seguidores de Cristo tenemos nuestro Señor como nuestro luz.  Es nuestra realidad. 

Monday, April 15, 2019

18 April 2019 - Holy Thursday - John 13:1-15


      I love the line in the beginning of our Gospel today:  "Jesus loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.”   Jesus’ love for humanity is evident through the Gospels: the healing of the sick, the compassion for the sinner, the love for the poor and the outcast, the way he wants people to repent, to change their lives, to receive eternal life.  Jesus, the king of kings, gets up from the table as he is sharing a meal with his disciples and he washes their feet.  He could be elevated about all things, but instead, he chooses to serve.  It is interesting to me that one of the saints who most exemplified God’s love and a spirit of service and charity, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, is also one of the saints that is most closely tied to love of the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ that we receive when we gather around the Lord’s table.  A biography about her life states that: “Mother Teresa believes that the union the sisters experience with Jesus in Holy Communion is inseparable from their lives.” Christ himself in his presence at the Eucharist renewed and refreshed Mother Teresa and her fellow nuns every morning at Mass before they started their work of serving the poor. “Our life is linked to the Eucharist,” Mother Teresa would frequently say.  She stated very simply and very humbly that without beginning each day with Jesus  in Communion, she and her sisters could do nothing.  This evening, we start our commemoration of the Triduum, three days of liturgies that are the highpoint of our Church’s liturgical year.  As we celebrate in the spirit of the Last Supper tonight with Christ and his disciples, let us hear Jesus call out to us: Are you willing to humble yourself, to reach out to your brothers and sisters in love and charity?  Are you willing to serve?  Are you willing to partake of my body and blood around my altar, to live out the spirit of Eucharist each day of your lives?  May we answers those questions with our words and our actions.  

Chrism Mass - Tuesday - 16 April 2019

      Tuesday, April 16, we are celebrating the Chrism Mass here in the Diocese of Jackson.  In the rubrics published by the US Bishops, it states that the Chrism Mass is usually celebrated on Holy Thursday.  However, in the case of our Diocese, which is very large geographically, in fact the largest geographically East of the Mississippi River, we can celebrate it on another day during Holy Week, since it would be difficult for the priests to return back to their parishes to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass with their parish communities.  
      I always enjoy attending the Chrism Mass in our Diocese.  It is Tuesday, April 16, at 5:45 pm.  If you have not been before, I encourage you at attend.  I look forward to renewing my vow of obedience to Bishop Kopacz, an important part of my priestly spirituality.  And I enjoy the blessing of the holy oils which we bring back to our parishes in order to use in the sacraments throughout the year.  

Chrism Mass - 
Cathedral of St Peter the Apostle 
Downtown Jackson 
Tuesday - April 16
5:45 PM


16 April 2019 – Wednesday of Holy Week – Matthew 26:14-25


       Yesterday evening, I went to the Cathedral of St Peter the Apostle to attend the Chrism mass with other priests and lay people from the different parishes of the Diocese of Jackson.  The Chrism Mass takes place in the Cathedral of each Diocese in the Catholic Church during Holy Week, reminding us of our oneness in Christ through baptism and its holy anointing, made possible by the ministry of the Bishop and his priests. The Chrism mass is a key moment in which the unity of the Bishop with his priests is manifested and renewed. During the Chrism mass, the entire assembly is called to renew its baptismal promises.  Along with the other deacons and priests of our diocese, I renewed my vow of obedience to Bishop Kopacz and renewed my commitment to serve God’s people here at the parish of St Jude in Pearl and in our diocese.  I serve all of you here with a very joyful heart.  
         As I renewed my promise of obedience last night, I thought about how many aspects of our lives concern making choices, for renewing my obedience to the bishop was indeed a choice I make.  There are good choices we can make on our journey, choices that bring us closer to God.  But, then there are choices that take us away from God, choices that can build up and weigh us down. 
         In today's Gospel, we hear how Judas betrayed Jesus, how he shared the meal with Jesus and the rest of his disciples in celebration of the Jewish holidays. At the same time this celebration was going on, Judas knew in his heart that he would deliver Jesus into the hands of those who would harm him.  Judas is an example of choosing to go down the wrong road and abandoning our faith. 
         Then we have Jesus, the Son of God, who could have demanded that people serve him. But Jesus came to serve, not to be served.  Tomorrow, on Holy Thursday, we will remember how Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, an action usually performed by a slave or a servant for a guest who had just come in from the dirty streets in Ancient Israel.  Jesus came to serve and to help others, which is so different from the attitude that Judas had, how he would betray his friend for his own personal gain.
         In our observance of Holy Week, we are called to remember all those things that we need to get rid of so that we will be more like Jesus, who came to serve, and less like Judas, who betrayed Jesus and thought of his own gain.

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

12 April 2019 – Friday of the 5th of week Lent – John 10:31-42


      In the Gospel of John, the crowd wants to stone Jesus.  They want to kill him because they thought that Jesus spoke blasphemy, because he told the crowds that he was God, not a man.  So often in John’s Gospel, the people misinterpret the words of Jesus. They cannot make that leap of faith in believing who he truly is. 
       Believing is a grace.  Believing is a gift from God.  I read an article by a Protestant minister from Chicago who expressed her frustration of having people approach her and telling her that although they consider themselves spiritual, they really don’t have any inclination to be associated with an organized religion, that it is not really for them.  I think that is a common attitude to have in our modern world.  However, we can see in the Gospels how people many times either accepted Jesus or rejected him as a community.  The Bible also shows us how the disciples of Jesus and the early Church formed a community of faith that continued after the death and resurrection of Jesus, a community that grew and journeyed together. I am always so edified how we as members of the Church support each other and walk together as believers no matter what is going on in our journey, in both good times and in bad times.     
       We hear in the Gospel how many started to believe in Jesus when they came to him on the other side of the Jordan where John the Baptist was first baptizing people.  May we come to the Lord in our faith during these last days of Lent.  May we ask God to help us in our unbelief. 

Pastor's bulletin column - weekend of April 14, 2019


       I love this quote from Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister: “(On Palm Sunday, we commemorate the fact that the people of Jerusalem welcomed Jesus with open arms. He was, for all intents and purposes, a great public success. His Word was heard. His ministry was achieved. One week later, these same people turned him over to crucifixion or watched silently while others did it. It happens to everyone. On the Palm Sundays of life, we have to learn to enjoy them without expecting them to last. It isn’t Palm Sunday that’s important. What’s important is that we pour out our lives like oil for others. 
         As we celebrate Palm Sunday this weekend, we now enter Holy Week.  I remember that when I was at St James in Tupelo, a man about my age was serving as a sponsor for one of the RCIA candidates.  We we were talking about Holy Week at our RCIA right after Easter, this man was commenting that although he had been a lifelong Catholic and very devout in his and had grown up right there at St James, this was the first year he attended the Good Friday liturgy.  He was amazed at how beautiful the Good Friday liturgy was.  I want to encourage you to come to our liturgies during Holy Week: Holy Thursday and Good Friday at 7:00 pm, Easter Vigil on Saturday at 8:00 pm, and our regular mass schedule on Easter Sunday.  We also will have a Stations of the Cross at noon on Good Friday.  Blessings to all of you as we commemorate Holy Week in our faith community here at St Jude with our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world.   

11 April 2019 – Thursday of the 5th of week Lent – Genesis 17:3-9; Psalm 105:4-9


    We hear from Genesis today as we get closer to Holy Week.  Our reading from Genesis tells us about the covenant God made with Abraham. God promised to be faithful to Abraham and his descendants; God made Abraham the father of a great nation. Another reading that we often hear during the season of Lent is from the prophet Jeremiah, which speaks about the new covenant that God will write onto the hearts of the people.  We in our modern world see the heart as the seat of our emotions; the Ancient Israelites also saw the heart as the center of their thought, intellect, and being, in the same way we in the modern Western world see our brain and our soul.  So, writing his covenant on their hearts would mean embossing it on their very being.  We hear about covenants so much during Lent because Jesus is our new covenant, because the salvation Jesus brings us through his death and resurrection is our new covenant. 
       “The Lord remembers his covenant forever” – the psalmist expresses great confidence in this statement in Psalm 105. Think about when you have gone through a dark or difficult moment in your life, when it takes everything you’ve got to make it to the next day, when you walk by faith because daily life is such a battle. Sometimes we need to take it one day at a time.  Sometimes that is the best we can do.  But God never forgets the covenant He makes with his people, that He makes with us. 
        “Look to the Lord in his strength, seek to serve him constantly.”  May we truly believe the words of our psalm today, placing our trust in our Lord, placing our trust in the covenant he has made with his people.

10 April 2019 - Wednesday of the 5th Week of Lent - Daniel 3:14-20, 24-25, 28


      I think that a lot of us grew up in the United States taking our freedom to practice our religion for granted, right?  That was one of the founding values of our country.  Religious persecution was something that took place way back in history or in a foreign land, but not here in the United States.  There is a famous quote that Cardinal Francis George made to a gathering of priests in 2010 that reflects the reality I am speaking about: “I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history”  In our reading from Daniel today, three young men - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - were faced with a choice - of choosing between God or their lives.   And if these young men chose to be faithful to God, then into the flames of the fiery furnace they would go.  They would be turned into ashes and their lives would be just a memory.  They responded to King Nebuchadnezzar: Even if our God does not save us, if it is not his will, then we still will not serve your god or worship the golden statue that you have set up. There have been martyrs throughout the history of the Church who have given up their lives in order to be faithful to God.  Their are men and women today who courageously stand up for their faith in different ways.   Yet, we have also seen a lot of the faithful who have left their lives of discipleship for different reasons. Our physical possessions will turn to dust one day.  Our bodies will turn to dust as well. May we always choose God and the truths of our faith, those things that eternally endure. 

Sunday, April 7, 2019

14 de abril de 2019 – Domingo de ramos –

         Cuando el emperador romano Constantino reconoció la Iglesia en el siglo IV, los cristianos en Jerusalén comenzaron a representar públicamente la entrada de Cristo en su ciudad el domingo antes de Pascua. Este domingo tiene el nombre “Domingo de ramos.”  Había una gran procesión por las calles de Jerusalén. La muchedumbre llevaba los ramos y gritaba "¡Hosanna en las alturas!"  Seguimos en esta misma tradición de la Iglesia Antigua al conmemorar el Domingo de Ramos de la Pasión del Señor y el comienzo de la Semana Santa.  Además de la procesión con ramos, la otra característica antigua del Domingo de Ramos es la lectura del Evangelio de la Pasión de nuestro Señor en esta celebración.  Esta semana, completamos nuestro camino con Cristo en su camino a la cruz, en su camino a su muerte y resurrección y en la salvación que tenemos en él.
       En nuestra celebración, Cristo inicia su pasión entrando triunfalmente en Jerusalén en una entrada de amor y generosidad en lugar de poder y fuerza.  Sin embargo, en esta entrada, Jesús no entró como los grandes y poderosos del mundo; entró revestido de humildad y sencillez. En esta entrada, era la gente sencilla que aclamaba a Jesús como el Mesías.  Era en esta ocasión cuando se hace realidad lo que ya antes había dicho Jesús: “Yo te bendigo, Padre, Señor del cielo y de la tierra, porque has ocultado estas cosas a los sabios y los entendidos, y se las has revelado a la gente sencilla y a los niños.”  Era la gente humilde y sencilla que reconoce que Cristo es nuestro único salvador.  La muchedumbre, llena de alegría, alfombraba el suelo con sus mantos y con ramos cortados en el campo para dar una bienvenida de gozo a su entrada. El orgullo y la arrogancia de los poderosos cierran los ojos de su fe. En lugar de alegrarse por la llegada de Cristo, los poderosos se sienten molestados ante el júbilo de la gente sencilla.
       Tenemos mucho ejemplos de fe en la historia de nuestra Iglesia por supuesto.  Por ejemplo, en el 24 de marzo, marcamos el aniversario de la muerte del Arzobispo Oscar Romero de El Salvador.  Arzobispo Romero es mártir de la fe – murió durante la celebración de la misa en su país durante la guerra civil.  Romero defendía los derechos de los pobres en la mitad de mucha opresión y violencia. El Papa Francisco expresaba su admiración por El Arzobispo Romero.  El Papa apoyaba a su causa de canonización. El fue canonizado en octubre del año pasado.  En comparación del ejemplo del Monseñor Romero, en el Evangelio de San Marcos, los discípulos de Jesús frecuentemente no son modelos de fe.   En la forma en que se representan en el Evangelio, tal vez nos preguntamos cómo estos discípulos continuaban el ministerio de Cristo después de su muerte.  Como acabamos de escuchar en la lectura de la Pasión, en la Última Cena, los discípulos insistían en que ninguno de ellos sería traicionar a Jesús.   Jesús predijo que su fe se agitará en los próximos eventos de su camino a la cruz. Pedro y los otros discípulos lo negaron.  Sin embargo, en su agonía en el huerto, mientras que Jesús oraba, los discípulos dormían toda la noche.  En el Evangelio, no menciona los discípulos de estar presente en la pasión y la muerte de Cristo.  De hecho, sólo las mujeres que habían sido seguidores de Cristo en Galilea son reportados como estar presente en la crucifixión, aunque a cierta distancia.                                          
      Conmemoramos la pasión del Señor hoy y reconocemos la entrada triunfal de Cristo en Jerusalén antes de su crucifixión; entonces, podemos preguntarnos: ¿Cómo podemos tener los días de Cuaresma y el Domingo de Ramos y la Semana Santa un impacto en nuestras vidas?  En el año 2014 durante la misa del Domingo de Ramos en la plaza de San Pedro en Roma, el Papa Francisco pidió a los fieles algunas preguntas muy directas que salen de la lectura del Evangelio de la Pasión: ¿Duerme en su vida de fe, al igual que los discípulos que se quedaron dormidos cuando Jesús estaban orando en el huerto?  ¿Te gusta el poder de Poncio Pilato en el Evangelio, que, cuando ve a una situación difícil, y luego se lava las manos de ella?  Esas preguntas nos dan mucho para reflexionar.

Quote from Dorothy Day

We had a reflection on Dorothy Day this weekend at our masses during the 5th Sunday of Lent.  The founder of the Catholic Workers movement and newspaper, a peace and justice activist, an accomplished journalist, and a great woman of faith, Dorothy Day is a great example of faith for all of us.  Her is one of Day's profound quotes: 

“People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.” 

Quotes for Palm Sunday - April 14 2019


For Palm Sunday this weekend, I want to share with you some quotes that capture the spirit of that day.  

“But Palm Sunday tells us that it is the cross that is the true tree of life.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

“(On Palm Sunday, we commemorate the fact that the people of Jerusalem welcomed Jesus with open arms. He was, for all intents and purposes, a great public success. His Word was heard. His ministry was achieved. One week later, these same people turned him over to crucifixion or watched silently while others did it. It happens to everyone. On the Palm Sundays of life, we have to learn to enjoy them without expecting them to last. It isn’t Palm Sunday that’s important. What’s important is that we pour out our lives like oil for others. (Sister Joan Chittister)

“We wave palms because we have long awaited God’s deliverance and now we’re within 7 days of it. We wave palms because Jesus shows us life-saving answers when we feel crushed by problems threatening to overcome us. We wave palms because Jesus has set us free from the destructive longings of our fallen nature. We wave palms because, like the pilgrims who came to Jerusalem and gave thanks for their healing by Jesus, we too can really be healed in body, mind, and spirit.” (Kevin Gray)

“No pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown.” (William Penn)

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Reflecting upon Dorothy Day - Woman of Faith - on the Fifth Sunday of Lent - 7 April 2019


      On this 5th Sunday of Lent, we hear about the confrontation between the crowd and the sinful woman accused of adultery, in which Jesus tells them, let you who is without sin cast the first stone.  Today, as we hear this famous Gospel passage, we reflect upon Dorothy Day (1897 - 1980), an American woman who was a convert to Catholicism and who one day may be canonized a saint.  It is interesting that we reflect on her this weekend as we hear about the woman accused of adultery, because Dorothy Day herself would admit that her journey before her spiritual conversion was anything but holy.  In the 1930s, Day worked closely with fellow peace and social justice activist Peter Maurin to establish the Catholic Worker Movement, a pacifist movement that combines direct aid for the poor and homeless with nonviolent advocacy to help their plight. The Catholic Worker movement published its own newspaper under the leadership of Day, an accomplished journalist.  I remember hearing about Dorothy Day while I was a college student at Wake Forest.  In fact, Day passed away the fall semester of my freshman year of college. It is interesting that Pope Francis named Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, and Martin Luther King, Jr as models of good citizenship when he spoke before Congress on his visit to the United States several years ago.  Here is a wonderful quote by Dorothy Day that truly represent her faith and her love for the poor: “What we would like to do is change the world--make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do. And, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, the poor, of the destitute--the rights of the worthy and the unworthy poor, in other words--we can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world. We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world. We repeat, there is nothing we can do but love, and, dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as our friend.” 

7 April 2019 - 5th Sunday of Lent - John 8:1-11


      We are getting closer to the end our Lenten journey.  Next week we commemorate Palm Sunday and then the start of Holy Week.  Today’s Gospel highlights an important teaching. Indeed, we are all sinners.  None of us can throw the stone at the woman accused of adultery.  
        A few years ago, Pope Francis called a Year of Mercy in our Church.  Our attention was focused on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.  As I thought of the sinful woman accused of adultery in our Gospel today, I thought about the spiritual work of mercy of admonishing the sinner.  That does not sound like it is an easy thing to do, does it - admonishing the sinner?  The word admonish comes from a Latin word – monere – meaning to warn or advise or alert someone of a threat or danger.  We admonish the sinner out of love and concern, not in order to degrade or belittle him - that is important to remember. We alert the sinner of the danger of his sinful course of action.  We admonish the sinner not out of arrogance or pride, but out of love, humility, and charity.  In our modern Western society that is becoming more secular, many falsely see admonishing the sinner as an attempt by the admonisher to impose his values on others. But, in our faith journey, we are to admonish the sinner out of the brotherly love we have for him, to reach out in a spirit of mercy and charity. But we also do so in order to bring our brothers and sisters to repentance.   But admonishing the sinner with compassion and love means that we sometimes have to say some words that someone does not want to hear.  It means that we have to have to leave our comfort zone to be bold and direct with someone.  And that is not easy, is it?  Our journey of faith is not about taking the easy way out.  It is not about cheap grace.  It is not about a faith that lacks sacrifice or courage or commitment.  During these days of Lent, we are called to journey with Jesus on his way to the cross.  We are called to carry our own crosses and to look at those ways we need to repent and change.  And we are called to help our brothers and sisters to do the same.  That is why we are called to admonish the sinner.
      And this brings us to the holy person we are going to reflect upon today.  Dorothy Day was born in New York at the end of the 19th century.  If you looked at her life as a young adult, it certainly did not look like the life of a holy woman of God, but rather it was similar to the life of the sinful woman in the Gospel today.  Yet, after her conversion to Catholicism, Dorothy Day because an influential voice in the American Catholic Church and a courageous woman of faith.  Parishioner Cathy Hayden will reflect upon Dorothy Day for us today.