First Reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9 “You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel.”

Psalm: 95 “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”

Second Reading: Romans 13:8-10 “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law…love is the fulfillment of the law.”

Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them.”

In our First Reading, we hear the Lord appointing the prophet Ezekiel as the “watchman for the house of Israel.” This important appointment comes with heavy responsibility: “When you hear Me say anything, you shall warn them for Me. If I tell the wicked, ‘O wicked one, you shall surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.” Ezekiel would be held responsible for the death of the wicked if the prophet did not speak the words the Lord had given to him to warn the wicked of his impending death. Even though Ezekiel was a God-fearing and virtuous man, he would suffer the fate of the wicked if he failed to warn them. There is good news, however: “But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.” The lesson we can draw from this is that we need to obey the Lord in all things, even if He is asking something difficult or unpopular of you. Ezekiel did indeed obey the Lord and spoke the words God gave him to speak.

Today’s psalmist proclaims: “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” This echoes the lesson from today’s First Reading. Let us listen to the joyful beginning of this psalm: “Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the rock of our salvation. Let us come into His Presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to Him.” Do you sing joyfully to the Lord? Do you consider Him the “rock” of your salvation? Do you give thanks to Him as you enter His Presence in church?

The psalm continues: “Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. For He is our God, and we are the people He shepherds, the flock He guides.” We bow down in worship during the holy sacrifice of the Mass; we kneel before the God who made us. Hopefully your heart is adoring God when your body is following the rubrics of the Mass; hopefully, you are not just going through the motions. Let your heart sing with gratitude during the Mass and whenever you pray.

The psalmist then offers advice: “Oh, that today you would hear His voice: harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, where your fathers tempted Me; they tested Me though they had seen My works.” Massah and Meribah are names given by Moses to a campsite near Rephidim. During the Exodus, the Israelites stopped to make camp near Rephidim; there was no water. The Israelites quarreled amongst themselves and complained against Moses and God, grumbling: “Is the Lord among us or not?” “Massah” means “testing” or “trial” and “Meribah” means “quarreling” or “strife.” God instructed Moses to strike a rock and water poured forth for the Israelites. He saved them even though they complained against Him and questioned whether or not He was with them. The lesson for us is to always trust in God; He is with us whether or not we perceive Him to be there. He never leaves us; He loves us and desires an intimate relationship with us – with each and every one of us.

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. In today’s reading, Paul urges the brethren to “owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” How so? Paul explains: “The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.” Love here is not erotic love, but agape love, the kind of love Christians have for one another – willing the good of the other as other. What is the greatest good that we can will for another? Eternal beatitude in Heaven, of course. If you pray for others and want them to go to Heaven, you are loving them and you will not do any evil thing to them.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches His disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.” Don’t complain to others about this fault; keep it between the two of you and offer him the opportunity to apologize to you. This echoes Ezekiel’s appointment as watchman: help the sinner to turn from their ways. Jesus continues: “If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Only go to others after you have spoken to the sinner individually, and then include the person who has harmed you with the two or three so that you are treating them fairly and not gossiping behind his back. Jesus ratchets it up now: “If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” We see here that while we are to love and forgive, we need not continue to be in a relationship with someone who hurts us.

Jesus then gives His disciples the power to bind or loose, which is how Catholics know that Jesus’ priests have the power to forgive or retain sins in the Sacrament of Confession. Jesus told them: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” What amazing power Jesus has conferred upon His disciples and His priests! We ought to enter the Chapel of Confession with confidence that when our sins are forgiven, they truly are forgiven. Once we have performed our penance, our confession is complete. Thank God for this beautiful sacrament!

Jesus then affirms that He is always with us: “Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by My heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them.” Jesus promised to be with us “unto the end of the Age,” and here we can see how He keeps His promise. We know, of course, that He is really, truly, and substantially Present in the Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament. Here we see that He is Present with us when we pray together. Blessed be our good God who loves us so much!

First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-9 “It becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones.”

Psalm: 63 “My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.”

Second Reading: Romans 12:1-2 “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.”

Gospel: Matthew 16:21-27 “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”

In our First Reading, we hear a yearning complaint from the prophet Jeremiah, who cries: “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped; You were too strong for me, and You triumphed. All the day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I must cry out: violence and outrage is my message; the word of the Lord has brought me derision and reproach all the day.”

Jeremiah lived about six hundred years before the Incarnation. He tried to avoid becoming a prophet by protesting to the Lord that he was too young for such a mission. God knew better, though. Jeremiah served in the Southern Kingdom of Judah as the Babylonian Empire rose and eventually destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC. Before the hordes entered Jerusalem, Jeremiah hid the Ark of the Covenant and the altar of incense on Mount Nebo. He hid it so successfully that no one has found the Ark of the Covenant to this day. He prophesied that the Ark would be revealed when God poured out His mercy upon the nations of the world. What better mercy could God pour out than His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ? Jesus came to save the whole world, and He came through the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is why Mary is said to be the new Ark of the Covenant. Contained inside the original Ark are the tablets of the Ten Commandments (the Word of God = Jesus); manna, the bread from Heaven (= Jesus); and Aaron’s budded rod which confirmed that Aaron was the high priest (= Jesus, our eternal High Priest). Thus we see that Mary, the New Ark, contained Jesus, the Word of God; the Bread from Heaven; and our eternal High Priest.

In today’s reading, Jeremiah complains to the Lord that his mission of prophesying the destruction of Jerusalem leaves him open to mockery and derision. To avoid this, “I say to myself: ‘I will not mention Him; I will speak in His Name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in; I cannot endure it.’” Poor Jeremiah! He must proclaim his doom and gloom prophecies although the people do not want to hear it. They believe that no one could conquer Jerusalem, even though God was telling them through the prophet Jeremiah that it would surely happen. This is a lesson for us: God’s words to us are not always welcome words; sometimes, there is doom and gloom in store for us. Let us rest in the Lord when the bad times visit us, knowing that all things change and pass away; nothing lasts forever except God. Cling to Him in the challenging times and in the good times.

Today’s psalmist begs: “My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord, my God.” This is one of my favorite psalms. My soul seems to sing when I pray it. “Oh God, You are my God; for You I long. My body pines for You like a dry, weary land without water. So I gaze on You in the sanctuary to see Your strength and Your glory.” Seeing God in this way, focusing on His glory, waters your heart and soul and relieves the drought inside of you. “For Your love is better than life; my lips shall speak Your praise. So I will bless You all my life; in Your Name, I will lift up my hands. My soul shall be filled as with a banquet; my mouth shall praise You with joy.” Nowhere else in the Old Testament is anything stated as “better than life.” This is the only exception: the only thing which is better than life is God’s love for us. “On my bed, I remember You; on You I muse through the night, for You have been my help. In the shadow of Your wings, I rejoice; my soul clings to You; Your right hand holds me fast.” Do we cling to God like this, depending utterly upon Him? Do we rejoice in His Providence, His loving-kindness to us? Let your heart sing as you pray with this psalm; let its words soak into your soul.

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. In today’s reading, Paul urges the brethren to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.” This echoes Jeremiah’s experience, whose heart burned with the fire of God’s words and whose bones felt the weight of them. How exactly are we to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice? Whenever you resist the temptations of the flesh, you are offering your body as a sacrifice. Each time you voluntarily fast or abstain, you are fulfilling Paul’s suggestion. Paul’s advice continues: “Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” Do we strive for moral perfection? If we want to go to Heaven, we must strive now for moral perfection; we must pursue virtue and sanctity. We must not shirk our duty to follow Jesus closely, observing His statutes and commands. This means that we must know the Ten Commandments and keep them; we must live out Jesus’ commandment to love one another as He loves us. This is not the broad, easy road which leads to destruction; no, it is the narrow Way which leads to life.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus shocks His disciples with the news that “He must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and on the third day, be raised.” Peter, having recently been named the leader of the Apostles and the first pope, took Jesus aside and rebuked Him: “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to You.” So Simon Peter, who had just declared that Jesus is “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” thought that he knew better than Jesus! Jesus turns and rebukes Peter: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle to Me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” What stinging remarks! First of all, to be acknowledged as “Satan” and then to be called “an obstacle” had to have hurt and puzzled Peter. He must have been scratching his head, wondering what Jesus really thought of him. When Jesus spoke the name “Satan,” He was directly addressing the one who had tempted Peter to rebuke Jesus. Our Lord was not calling Peter “Satan,” but was addressing that ancient serpent who lay at the root of Peter’s action. Satan and his minions can tempt us to do and say things which do not arise from our hearts. We need to be on guard against such temptations; we need to recognize Satan’s influence upon us and squash it by praying and reading or quoting Scripture.

Jesus then turns to His disciples and instructs them: “Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” What precisely does Jesus mean? Daily crosses come to us, well, daily. Do you find it difficult to get up in the morning? Does your bed seem to have a hold on you when you ought to be arising and preparing for your work for the day? Perhaps your cross comes in the form of the drivers on your commute to work or your coworkers when you arrive there. Your cross might be a physical infirmity, a mental disability, or some spiritual battle. We all bear some part of Jesus’ Passion: friends or family betray or abandon us; the government lets us down in the justice system or actively persecutes us; we suffer physically, mentally, or spiritually. Jesus told us: “You will have trouble in this world, but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.” Jesus is always under our cross with us; He supports us, encourages us, and strengthens us. Not only that, but “the Son of Man will come with His angels in His Father’s glory, and then He will repay all according to his conduct.” Let us strive mightily to conduct ourselves as His disciples by taking up our cross daily and following Him.

First Reading: Isaiah 22:19-23 “When he opens, no one shall shut; when he shuts, no one shall open.”

Psalm: 138 “Lord, Your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of Your hands.”

Second Reading: Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20 “Whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”

In our First Reading from the prophet Isaiah, the Lord God is taking power away from Shebna, the royal steward in the palace of Hezekiah, king of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and giving that position to Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. The royal steward had a lot of power in a kingdom: “when he opens, no one shall shut; when he shuts, no one shall open.” We see how God uses His omnipotence to confer power and position upon a person. This foreshadows our Gospel reading today, when Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, conferred the power of the papacy upon Simon Peter. Isn’t God wonderful? He uses real events, like the replacement of Shebna, to foreshadow other real events, like Jesus making Peter the first pope.

Today’s psalmist begs: “Lord, Your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of Your hands.” The psalmist first thanks the Lord with all his heart “for You have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels, I will sing Your praise; I will worship at Your holy Temple.” Again, the psalmist thanks the Lord “because of Your kindness and Your truth: when I called, You answered me; You built up strength within me.” Have you, too, experienced the strength of the Lord when you needed it? I know that He has been there for me when no one else was around; “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13). The psalmist ends by singing God’s praises: “The Lord is exalted, yet the lowly He sees, and the proud He knows from afar. Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of Your hands.” God is always with us; He does not forsake the work of His hands. He loves us more than we can imagine or understand. God is so good – all the time!

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. In today’s reading, Paul expounds upon the “riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways!” Paul explains: “For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been His counselor? Or who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid?” Indeed, none of us knows the mind of God or understands Him. If He had not revealed Himself to us in Scripture and in the Incarnation, we would understand but little about Him. We can know something about God from creation and from considering the human person, but we cannot compass His entirety. “For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen!”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus poses a curious question: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” He doesn’t ask: “What do people think of me?” It’s very interesting that He wants to know who people think He is. Note that none of His disciples answered: “They think that you are an itinerant preacher,” or “They think that you are a carpenter from a small village.” No, the answers they give are dead prophets: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, “or one of the prophets.” Jesus then asks a question which is more difficult to answer: “But who do you say that I am?” Crickets from the disciples. They are stunned into silence. From this uncomfortable silence, Simon speaks up: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replies to Simon: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah.” Simon’s father was John, not Jonah. Jesus was saying that Simon was like a prophet. Can you imagine a simple fisherman being like a prophet? God can certainly imagine such a thing; He chose His prophets from among dressers of sycamore trees (Amos); shepherds (Moses); and a young man (Jeremiah). God sees the heart and chooses His prophets wisely. Of course, while Jonah was a prophet sent to Nineveh to call them to repentance, he did run away first, trying to get out of the job God had in mind for him. This foreshadows Simon Peter, who denied Jesus three times before he was able to take on the mantle of his calling.

Jesus then changes Simon’s name: “I say to you, you are Peter (petros – literally, “rock”), and upon this rock, I will build My Church…whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” To hammer home the point of Simon being Peter, the rock, Jesus “went into the region of Caesarea Philippi,” a vast rocky outcrop which was used by the pagans as a place of worship. Many little idols were scattered around the place. There was a cave in this rocky outcrop, and inside the cave was an apparently endless chasm. The pagans thought that this was the gate of the netherworld, and they would throw their infants into the chasm as a sacrifice to the gods. Jesus alludes to this when He promised, “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it (the Church).” Thank God for His wonderful promises; He always keeps them. Let us love the Lord better and better each day and cling to His promises.

First Reading: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a “After the fire, there was a tiny whispering sound.”

Psalm: 85 “Lord, let us see Your kindness and grant us Your salvation.”

Second Reading: Romans 9:1-5 “My conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness.”

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33 “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

In our First Reading from the First Book of Kings, we see the prophet Elijah taking shelter in a cave. He had just won the contest of the gods, where God made fire immediately upon being called upon, while the 450 priests of Baal were unable to obtain fire from their idol although they had been begging all day. Elijah had slaughtered the 450 priests of Baal and was on the run from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, who hated Elijah and wanted to kill him. Now Elijah is waiting in the cave for a theophany (an experience of God). God had promised him: “The Lord will be passing by.” An extreme wind came by, crushing rocks; “but the Lord was not in the wind.” Then came an earthquake; “but the Lord was not in the earthquake.” Next came a fire; “but the Lord was not in the fire.” God does not often visit us in an astounding fashion; no, the Lord visits us in “a tiny whispering sound” to which we must be attuned. Although God could manifest Himself in the midst of fire, wind, or earthquake, He prefers to not frighten us unduly. He comes to us almost silently, keeping us company in our everyday lives and acting upon our souls and consciences as gently as the dewfall. Let us cultivate some moments of silence in our lives so that we can hear God’s “tiny whispering sound,” for it would be a shame to miss our theophanies.

Today’s psalmist begs: “Lord, let us see Your kindness and grant us Your salvation.” We know that God is love, so we can count upon His kindness and salvation; He loves us so much that He gave us His only Son to come to teach, heal, and exorcise His people, not to mention actually suffering and dying for us. What better proof of His love could we ask of Him? “He proclaims peace. Near indeed is His salvation to those who fear Him.” We do need to fear our God of love, because there is a vast chasm between the Creator and us, His creatures. His power is mighty indeed; there is no limit to His omnipotence. His majesty and glory are awe-inspiring; if we could see Him as He is, we would fall upon our faces in adoration and, yes, fear. Yet “kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from Heaven.” This is one of my favorite lines from the Bible. Do you think about justice and peace co-existing? Or does the word “justice” have negative connotations for you? Justice is giving to each one his due, which will yield peace. Justice and peace do indeed go hand in hand. The psalmist concludes: “The Lord Himself will give His benefits; our land shall yield its increase. Justice shall walk before Him and prepare the way of His steps.” Get right with the Lord with a good confession and perform your penance; then you will be ready to receive His benefits because justice will have been satisfied. Jesus waits for you in the confessional; come to see Him and be freed from your enslavement to sin. Then God’s peace, which outstrips our understanding, will permeate your soul, as you will have seen His kindness and experienced His salvation.

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. In today’s reading, Paul assures the Roman Catholics that he speaks the truth: “I do not lie; my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness…” He then speaks about the “great sorrow and constant anguish” in his heart because the Israelites have not recognized in Jesus the Messiah for whom they have been waiting. He recounts that they have “ the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs…” Yet despite all these wonders, they have failed to perceive Jesus as the Messiah. It is such a shame. It’s like sitting on a great treasure yet living like a pauper, unaware of the wealth you own. Paul concludes with a beautiful doxology: “Christ, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.” Let us remember that Jesus is Lord of all, and let us bless Him eternally.

In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus withdrawing to be by Himself after He has fed the multitude and sent them and the disciples away. “He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was there alone.” He sees that the disciples are in their boat, “being tossed about by the waves, for the wind against it.” He took pity upon them and “came toward them, walking on the sea.” Naturally, the disciples “were terrified,” thinking that Jesus was a ghost. “At once Jesus spoke to them: ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’” Would His words have soothed your fears? Jesus does speak to us and tries to allay our fear of Him. Think of Jesus as the Divine Mercy and come to him courageously. Do not be afraid of loving Him or coming to Him with your needs. The disciples needed Him to calm the physical storm so that their boat would no longer be tossed about; we often need Him to calm the emotional or spiritual storms tossing our hearts about. Peter, the leader of the apostles, at once replied to the Lord: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” What impetuous courage! Yet Jesus bids Peter to come. As long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus, he was able to walk on the sea. Can you imagine?! What an experience! Let us take heart and believe that if Jesus asks us to trust Him with what seems to be an impossible task, that He will enable us to fulfill His Will. Once Peter allowed his attention to be caught by the storm, the wind, and the waves, he immediately began to sink. He cried out, “Lord, save me!” Naturally, Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and saved Peter. Let this be a lesson to us. We need only to call out to the Lord to be saved, and then we need to take His hand. We cannot expect Him to save us without some effort on our part. Once Jesus and Peter reached the boat, “the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did Him homage, saying, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’” Here are the Israelites who recognized that Jesus is the Messiah, the ones for whom Paul yearned in our Second Reading today. Do we recognize Jesus as the Messiah? Do we claim Him as our Lord and Savior? Let us examine our consciences closely in this regard, and then clasp Him to our hearts and souls. Cling to Him and follow Him as His disciple by taking up our daily crosses and doing as He does. Let us conform our wills to His. Keep our eyes on the prize of an eternity with God. What could be better?!

First Reading: Isaiah 55:1-3 “You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat. Come without paying and without cost.”

Psalm: 145 “The hand of the Lord feeds us; He answers all our needs.”

Second Reading: Romans 8:35, 37-39 “What will separate us from the love of Christ?”

Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21 “His heart was moved with pity for them…they all ate and were satisfied.”

In our First Reading from the prophet Isaiah, who lived about seven hundred years before the Incarnation, and who served several Judahite kings: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. King Manasseh had him sawn in half at the end of Isaiah’s life. What a terrible death! He was martyred for his fidelity in prophesying about the sinfulness of the people. Today’s reading from Isaiah, however, has good news for the people from God: “All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!” Please don’t take this literally; the prophet was not handing out provisions. If you thirst for an experience of God, come to the Living Water. If you hunger for God, come, receive the grain, clearly foreshadowing the Eucharist. “Heed Me and you shall eat well; you shall delight in rich fare. Come to Me heedfully; listen, that you may have life.” Let us approach God in a spirit of close attention; let us listen to Him and do as He bids. He will satiate us with His Spirit; He will fill the hungry with good things, as Our Lady proclaimed in her Magnificat. As we will hear in our psalm, “The hand of the Lord feeds us; He answers all our needs.” This does not mean, of course, that we receive every little thing our heart desires. No, God is not a cosmic catalog or a divine vending machine. You don’t put a bit of prayer in and get whatever you want out. God answers our needs; He dispenses His grace to those who love Him and desire a closer relationship with Him. His grace is a participation in His own Divine Life. What else could we want?

Today’s psalmist avers: “The hand of the Lord feeds us; He answers all our needs.” This psalm echoes our First Reading and the Gospel for today. The psalmist begins by praising God: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward His works.” There is much here upon which we can meditate. These words can be uttered in good times and bad times – especially in bad times, to refocus our attention from whatever troubles us to an affirmation of the goodness of God. “The eyes of all look hopefully to You, and You give them their food in due season; You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” Again, affirming God’s providential care of us soothes our souls and settles our minds. An attitude of gratitude goes a long way towards the satisfaction of our souls. The psalmist then declares: “The Lord is just in all His ways and holy in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” The Lord is near to the brokenhearted; draw nigh to Him when you suffer. He knows what it is to suffer; you have only to consider His Paschal Mystery to come to this conclusion. Accept the good and the bad from the Lord’s hands; He knows what we need and never fails to fill us.

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. In today’s reading, Paul declares that nothing will separate us from the love of Jesus. “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God’s love is stronger than death; He loves us even when we turn away from Him when we sin. We can separate ourselves from God through sin, but His love for us does not change. We ought to be grateful for this unending love and not take advantage of it. We ought not to say to ourselves: “I can do as I please and not worry about God’s love for me since that will never change.” No, that is spitting in God’s face. While He loves us, He will never take away our free will; we ought to use our free will to choose the good, the true, and the beautiful. Our free will ought to be used to bring God’s Kingdom here on Earth, to do His Will as best as we can in this life. Let us not separate ourselves from God; let us cling to Him, for He loves us deeply.

In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus withdrawing to be by Himself after the death of John the Baptist, yet He is followed by the crowds. “When He disembarked and saw the vast crowd, His heart was moved with pity for them, and He cured their sick.” Jesus’ heart is compassionate; we can rely upon His mercy. When the disciples brought Jesus’ attention to the fact that the day was drawing to a close and the crowds needed to find something to eat. Jesus responded, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” I can imagine the surprise of the disciples: how could they possibly feed the “vast crowd”? They lamented their lack of food to Jesus: “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Jesus, “looking up to Heaven, said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.” Jesus took the little the disciples had and multiplied it to feed “five thousand men, not counting women and children.” Just like in the miracle at the wedding at Cana, He took something small, all we have to offer, and made something wonderful with it. We are to offer what we have and to obey Him, and He can work miracles through us. Depend upon Him, for His heart is for us. He is on our side. Let us place our trust in Him, as the Divine Mercy message teaches us. Not only did the crowd eat their fill, but the disciples “picked up the fragments left over – twelve wicker baskets full.” Twelve is an important number – the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles show us that. But why is it an important number? Twelve is made up of two sacred numbers, three and four. Three is the number indicating God – the Holy Trinity. Four is the number indicating the Earth – the four seasons; the four winds; the four corners of the Earth; and the four elements of fire, water, earth, and air. Four times three yields twelve. Twelve is therefore a number indicating that God meets us who are earthbound. God certainly came to meet those crowds who ate their fill! God fills our hearts with the Eucharist every Sunday and holy day of obligation – in fact, every day. We have the opportunity to attend daily Mass and receive Him in the Eucharist so that we can move forward into our day with the strength we need. Thank our good God who loves us so much! He answers all our needs!

First Reading: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 “The Lord was pleased that Solomon made this request.”

Psalm: 119 “Lord, I love Your commands.”

Second Reading: Romans 8:28-30 “All things work for good for those who love God.”

Gospel: Matthew 13:44-52 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like...”

In our First Reading from the First Book of Kings, young King Solomon experiences a theophany: an appearance/vision/locution from God. God appears to Solomon in a dream, asking him what he wants. How would you answer the Lord? Would you ask for money, fame, or a long life? Would you ask for peace on Earth or unity in the Church? When God prompts a request from you, there are no limits to what you could request that He couldn’t provide. Solomon chooses wisdom so that he can do a good job of governing the people of whom he is in charge. “The Lord was pleased that Solomon made this request.” How lovely it is to please the Lord! God grants great wisdom to Solomon, but also gives him what he did not ask for: long life, riches, and the lives of his enemies. God will not be outdone in generosity!

Today’s psalmist exclaims: “Lord, I love Your commands.” Then we have the affirmation: “My part is to keep Your words. The law of Your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” That’s keeping your eyes on the prize of Heaven in the best possible position: loving God because He is God and not loving Him for what He can do for you. The psalmist continues, “Let Your kindness comfort me according to Your promise to Your servants, let Your compassion come to me that I may live, for Your law is my delight.” Can you honestly say that you delight in God’s law? Do you happily keep His Commandments? Or do you prefer your way of doing things? Be sure that you are on the path of sanctity when you delight in God’s law, as the psalmist calls out: “For I love Your commands more than gold, however fine. For in all Your precepts, I go forward; every false way, I hate. Wonderful are Your decrees; therefore, I observe them. The revelation of Your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple.” Keep those Ten Commandments for love of God rather than in terror of Hell; keep His Words rather than substituting your “wisdom” for God’s Wisdom. He knows all, past, present, and future; meanwhile, we fool ourselves all the time. Rely upon God and you will find joy and peace.

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. In today’s reading, Paul states directly that “all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” This does not mean that we get everything we want; nor does it mean that no matter what we do, we will experience a good outcome. No, it means that in God’s Providence, His Will will be done. God’s Will is by definition good, but it is not predictable and does not always comport to our wishes. Trust in God and “look to Him that you might be radiant with joy.” (Psalm 34) Come to Him, for He is calling you; “and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.”

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus comparing the Kingdom of Heaven to three different images taken from the everyday experiences of the Jews: (1) a treasure buried in a field; (2) a merchant searching for fine pearls; and (3) a net thrown into the sea. We must peer into these similes to ascertain their mysterious meanings.

Firstly, why is the Kingdom of Heaven like a treasure buried in a field? Consider the image: the field is obvious for all to see, but only those who seek will find the buried treasure. Our salvation was bought for us by Jesus’ Paschal Mystery, but we must cooperate with His graces to ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven. Not only should we seek for the Kingdom of Heaven at the end of our lives, but we should spend our lives seeking for it and encountering it. Look for those “God appointments” where you and God bring His Will about.

Secondly, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls – God is looking for us! Not that He doesn’t know where we are, of course, but He is looking for us to respond to Him, to cooperate with Him, and to do His Will together.

Lastly, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, “which collects fish of every kind.” Every kind means the good fish and the poisonous, dangerous ones. “What is bad, they throw away.” Trust me, you don’t want to be among the bad fish. Do your best to love God above all else and to love all others because God made them. Love will be the barometer by which we are judged – love and how well we obey God. Strive your best to love, love, love, especially those whom we find difficult to love.

First Reading: Song of Songs 3:1-4b “I found Him whom my heart loves.”

Psalm: 63 “My soul is thirsting for You, O Lord, my God.”

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 “The love of Christ impels us…so whoever is in Christ is a new creation.”

Gospel: John 20:1-2, 11-18 “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples: ‘I have seen the Lord.’”

Our First Reading comes from the beautiful Song of Songs, or the Song of Solomon, written in the 10^th Century BC during King Solomon’s reign. The Bride seeks “Him whom my heart loves,” just as St. Mary Magdalene sought Jesus: “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid Him.” The Catholic Church is referred to as the Bride of Christ; does the Church seek Him? He is ever Present in the Eucharist, in the Word of God, in the priest, and in the gathered assembly at Mass; the Church knows where to find Jesus. We must then ask ourselves: do we seek Jesus? Do our hearts love Him? Would you “rise…and go about the city” searching for Him? Do you see Him in your everyday life, or only on amazing occasions? He is always with us, always Present to us; are we present to Him? As St. Augustine said in his Confessions: “You were with me, but I was not with You.” We have to do our part to connect with Jesus, confident that He hears us, is interested in us, and loves to be with us.

Today’s psalmist prays: “My soul is thirsting for You, O Lord, my God.” This psalm anticipates the Gospel reading for today, with St. Mary Magdalene’s plaintive cry as she weeps: “Tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him.” Her soul thirsted for the Presence of Jesus; she came to the well to imbibe the Living Water and found the well dry – that is, she found the tomb empty. This psalm is one of my favorite psalms. I recite it regularly. King David addresses God with his cry from the heart: “O God, you are my God whom I seek; for You my flesh pines and my soul thirsts like the earth, parched, lifeless, and without water.” If you’ve ever seen a drought, you know that the earth cracks and crackles underneath your feet; the very grass seems to call out for water. What is the cure for this distress? “I gazed toward You in the sanctuary to see Your power and Your glory, for Your kindness is a greater good than life; my lips shall glorify You.” In other words, the cure for the distress of wanting God is to seek Him, to connect with Him “in the sanctuary,” that is, at church. What is the result of seeking God? “I bless You while I live; lifting up my hands, I will call upon Your Name. As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied, and with exultant lips, my mouth shall praise You.” Connecting with God, being as present to Him as He is Present to us, satiates our soul as with a banquet and causes us to exult with joy. The psalm ends: “You are my help, and in the shadow of Your wings, I shout for joy. My soul clings fast to You; Your right hand upholds me.” Reaching out for God yields a harvest of joy and confidence in His steadfast love for us.

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. He addresses the congregation as “Brothers and sisters,” and so we, the baptized, are siblings in Christ. Paul teaches: “The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that One died for all; therefore, all have died.” We die to sin with Christ, and we rise to new life in Christ. “He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” Jesus died for us so that we might live for Him. Living for Jesus is to dwell in love, with a heart for the Holy Spirit and adoration for God the Father. “From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him so no longer.” This echoes what we will hear in our Gospel today. Jesus advises St. Mary Magdalene: “Stop holding on to me.” In other words, while she knew Him as a physical Man who is also God, now she must know Him in His glorified Body, as God who is also Man. St. Paul concludes: “Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” Living in Christ is a radical new way of existing; acting not for ourselves, but for Him, to do His Will.

In today’s Gospel, St. John recounts St. Mary Magdalene’s presence at the empty tomb and her encounter with the Risen Jesus. She arrives at the tomb, early, “while it was still dark.” She was anxious to complete the burial duties which had had to be cut short due to the Sabbath coming when Jesus was taken down from the Cross. When she finds the “stone removed from the tomb,” she “ran and went to Simon Peter…and told them: ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put Him.’” She thought that either the Roman guards or the Temple guards had taken the Body of Jesus. She was distraught. “Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping…she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been.” What would your reaction have been to such an amazing discovery? Fear, probably, but Mary was beyond fear. She was filled with love for Jesus and only sought one thing: where His Body was. The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She did not hesitate; she responded immediately, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid Him.” Mary, sensing the presence of a person behind her, turned and encountered Jesus. She did not recognize Him in His glorified Body. Jesus’ question to her echoed that of the angels; she, thinking that Jesus was the gardener in the cemetery, said, “Sir, if you carried Him away, tell me where you laid Him, and I will take Him.” Her heart was focused on Jesus; nothing else entered her mind. Jesus addressed her by name, and at once she recognized Him, falling at His feet to worship. Jesus advised her: “Stop holding on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and tell them: ‘I am going to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” Jesus is telling her that, although she knew Him personally, she would now know Him in a different way, in His glorified Body, one which would ascend to the Father. Mary “went and announced to the disciples: ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and then reported what He told her.” It’s really quite surprising that Jesus chose a woman to be His “disciple to the disciples.” Women at that time were not considered to be valid witnesses; they could not give testimony at a trial, for example. Jesus chose St. Mary Magdalene to be His first witness of His Resurrection due to her great love for Him. He saw her love and rewarded her for it. To confirm her account, Peter and John ran to the empty tomb, but did not encounter Jesus or the angels. Jesus did eventually appear to the Apostles, but He chose St. Mary Magdalene as His first witness. We celebrate her feast today.

First Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11 “My Word shall not return to Me void, but shall do My Will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”

Psalm: 65 “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.”

Second Reading: Romans 8:18-23 “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.”

Gospel: Matthew 13:1-23 “Some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

In our First Reading, the prophet Isaiah speaks for the Lord: “Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there ‘til they have watered the Earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; My Word shall not return to Me void, but shall do My Will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” Yes, all of that is one single sentence. What is God saying to the people through His prophet Isaiah? He is teaching via a metaphor, comparing His Word to the water cycle, emphasizing especially the good which results from precipitation: seeds sprout and bear fruit, “giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats.” In the Eucharistic prayer (II), the priest prays: “Make holy these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall.” I love this prayer! It’s truly wonderful to see the Holy Spirit gently permeating our hearts and souls, as quietly and as inexorably as the dewfall. When you let the Spirit enter your heart, your seed of faith will flourish and bear fruit. God never sends His Word without it doing His Will, “achieving the end for which I sent it.” God loves us and constantly calls to us, trying to get our attention so that He can fill our souls with love and mercy. Open your heart to God, accept His Spirit, and reap the bountiful harvest which will result.

Today’s psalmist teaches: “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.” This psalm anticipates the Gospel reading for today, when Jesus will tell a parable about the receptivity of different types of “ground” for seed which has been sown. “You have visited the land and watered it; greatly have You enriched it. God’s watercourses are filled; You have prepared the grain.” The land to which the psalm refers is our hearts and souls; God waters our spiritual gardens with His Word and His Spirit. “Thus have You prepared the land; drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods, softening it with showers, blessing its yield.” God helps us to dispose our hearts to Him, preparing our spiritual garden to bear fruit for Him. “You have crowned the year with Your bounty, and Your paths overflow with a rich harvest; the untilled meadows overflow with it, and rejoicing clothes the hills.” What a beautiful image! When we cooperate with God’s graces, we can experience spiritual bounty, a rich harvest. All we need to do is to allow God to work upon us. “The fields are garmented with flocks and the valleys blanketed with grain. They shout and sing for joy.” God’s creation shouts and sings for joy because of His love. We, too, ought to shout and sing for joy when we welcome God into our hearts.

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. In today’s reading, Paul compares “the sufferings of this present time” to “the glory to be revealed for us.” Paul puts things into perspective very well! Keep your eyes on the prize of eternity with God, which is much more wonderful than we can imagine and does not compare with the crosses we carry today.

Paul continues: “Creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for Creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the One who subjected it…” Creation was made subject to futility because of Original Sin, which brought the curse of death upon Creation – man and beast, flora and fauna. But there is hope! “In hope that Creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Who are the “children of God”? While everyone is made in the Image and Likeness of God, only those who are validly baptized are children of God. Paul is addressing the baptized.

“We know that all Creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” Paul is referring here to our glorified bodies which we will receive when Jesus comes again at the end of time. Now we have the “firstfruits of the Spirit,” that is, we can experience God in our souls, which can be transformed into a more glorious soul by cooperating with God’s Spirit. At the end of time, our bodies, too, will experience the touch of God and will be glorified. Our glorified bodies will be like Jesus’ glorified Body after His resurrection. We will be able to eat but won’t have to; we can pass through physical barriers; we can be wherever we want to be without physical limitations – we could stand on the Sun or on Jupiter without harm. We will be able to look as we’d like to look – think about Mary, with her glorified body. She looks different in her many apparitions. At Guadalupe, she looked like a mestiza and was pregnant with baby Jesus. At Lourdes, she looked like a young girl. For St. Catherine Laboure, she looked like a queen. She looked African as Our Lady of Kibeho; she looked Vietnamese when she appeared at Akita. Our glorified bodies will be so cool! I can hardly wait!

In today’s Gospel, St. Matthew shows Jesus telling a parable about a sower going out to sow, and he sowed the seed liberally: he scattered the seeds on the path, “and the birds came and ate it up.” Do you listen to the Word of God at Mass? Do you ponder what it means to you? Or are you inattentive at Mass, where the Word of God bounces off of you and is borne away by the Evil One, so that it bears no fruit whatsoever?

The sower tossed the seeds on rocky ground, “where it had little soil; it sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots.” Do you hear the Word of God but do not apply it to yourself and your life? Your “soil” is not deep, and the Word will not bear fruit; it will only sprout without bearing fruit.

“Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.” Do you allow worldly issues to choke your relationship with God? Do you worry about controlling everything rather than allowing God to shape your life? Do not allow anything to keep you from loving God and feeling His love for you.

“But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.” Rich soil is a soul conforming itself to Christ and open to the Holy Spirit; one which cooperates with God’s graces which we receive when we worthily celebrate the sacraments. Such a soul will not only sprout up but will bear fruit for the Lord.

The disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to the people in parables. His answer puzzles us: “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven has been granted to you, but to them, it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away…they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.” Jesus is saying that those who are open to seeing Him as the Messiah, those who ponder His words and actions in their hearts, will see and will hear Him. We have to tune into God’s channel to hear His message. “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears, because they hear.” Hopefully your eyes and ears are attuned to God, so that you can keep your eyes on the prize of Heaven, the unmerited gift of eternity with God. If you want to go to Heaven, if you hope to spend eternity with God, then get to know Him really well now. Spend your time with Him; read the Scriptures; pray regularly; avail yourself of the gift of the Sacrament of Confession; and love, love, love as Jesus loves us. You will bear much fruit for yourself and for the Kingdom.

First Reading: Zechariah 9:9-10 “Rejoice heartily…shout for joy…He shall proclaim peace to the nations.”

Psalm: 145 “I will praise Your Name forever, my king and my God.”

Second Reading: Romans 8:9, 11-13 “If you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30 “I give praise to You, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth!”

In our First Reading, the prophet Zechariah has good news to proclaim: “Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion! Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!” Zechariah lived about 500 years before the Incarnation. He was a youth when God called him to prophesy, and he encouraged the returning exiles from Babylon to build the Second Temple. Zechariah foresees the Messiah and he expounds on the qualities of the Messiah: “See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is He; meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass.” The Jews were not expecting a meek and humble Messiah; they were thinking of a warrior king like King David. Yet this Messiah foreseen by Zechariah is described as “just” and “meek” – so humble that he rides in on a donkey rather than a war horse.

What will this Messiah do? “He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem…” Chariots and horses are items of war; the Messiah shall end war: “The warrior’s bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the Earth.” The Messiah shall be king of all the known world, even unto the “ends of the Earth,” in other words, including the unknown world. For exiles returning from Babylon, these words would be balm to their hearts. They longed not only for peace, but also to be unburdened from the yoke of an overlord. They yearned to be their own people again, to have a strong Jewish king who would rule the world. Jesus indeed is that Messiah: just, humble, meek, bringer of peace to our own individual hearts, triumphant over death, and king of all the universe. Praise the Lord!

Today’s psalmist sings: “I will praise Your Name forever, my king and my God.” King David wrote this psalm, and he knows that he is not the ultimate king; that honor goes to God. King David exclaims: “I will extol you, O my God and King, and I will bless Your Name forever and ever. Every day will I bless You, and I will praise Your Name forever and ever.” We could take David as a model for us: we ought to bless His Name every day and praise Him in good times and in bad times. The psalmist explains why we should praise God: “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all, and compassionate toward all His works.” To quote the prophet Zechariah from our First Reading: “a just savior is He.”

King David then encourages us: “Let all Your works give You thanks, O Lord, and let Your faithful ones bless You. Let them discourse of the glory of Your kingdom and speak of Your might.” Let us be among those “faithful ones” who bless the Lord and tell of the glories of His Kingdom. What do we know of God’s Kingdom? God is love, and His Divine Will is love and mercy, so we can count on love and mercy suffusing God’s Kingdom. His Kingdom is one of justice and righteousness, so there is no sin in Heaven. His Kingdom is coming, but is already here where God is worshipped and proclaimed, where people live according to the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ Great Commandment (“Love God above all else and love your neighbor as I have loved you.”) If you allow Jesus to rest in your heart while you pursue virtue, regularly examine your conscience, and strive to live in love, the Kingdom of God is upon you.

The psalm concludes: “The Lord is faithful in all His words and holy in all His works. The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.” Can you relate to these statements? Have you ever found yourself falling for a temptation which you know is wrong, but somehow you don’t feel you have the strength to withstand the temptation? You give in, falling into sin. Well, the good news is that “the Lord lifts up all who are falling.” Yes, you can count on God when you are tempted. Call out to Him and accept His help. Have you ever felt burdened and “bowed down” by the challenges in your life? As you struggle under the weight of your cross, remember that He is under that cross with you. He “raises up all who are bowed down.” God is good…all the time! Praise the Lord!

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. In today’s reading, Paul compares life “in the flesh” and life “in the Spirit.” How does one know if they are “in the Spirit”? “If only the Spirit of God dwells in you…” If only the Spirit of God dwells in you – that is, not the spirit of the world, or worldliness; certainly not the evil spirit; and not the spirit of selfishness. Only the Spirit of God will dwell in you if you are living in the Holy Spirit. St. Paul states boldly: “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.” If the Spirit of Christ is within you, you will be living a sacramental life: attending Mass and worthily receiving Holy Communion as often as you can; regularly confessing your sins to a priest; and receiving other sacraments as appropriate to your state in life. You will be meek, humble, and just, as the prophet Zechariah tells us about the Messiah. You will love God above all else and love your neighbor as Jesus loves us – that is, to the nth degree. Love and mercy will be your lodestars. St. Paul concludes: “If you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Living according to the flesh is to break those Ten Commandments, indulging yourself every chance you get: living in sin, in other words. If you find yourself living in sin, go to Confession with a firm purpose of amendment and hearty contrition. Stride forth newly armed with the graces of the sacrament to help you to fight temptation. Thank God for this beautiful sacrament! It cleanses us of our sins and repairs our relationship with God. Again, praise the Lord!

In today’s Gospel, St. Matthew shows Jesus praising God. You might wonder: “Hey! How can the Second Person of the Trinity, that is, God, praise God?” This is a valid question. You must remember Jesus’ hypostatic union: He is fully Man and fully God. He has a human mind, a human body, a human soul. His human soul can praise God. The Second Person of the Trinity can speak to the First Person of the Trinity: the Son can speak to the Father, as we see: “Yes, Father, such has been Your gracious Will. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.”

After this glimpse into the relationship between Father and Son, Jesus offers us comfort: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy, and My burden light.” What beautiful imagery! Have you ever felt the burden as you labored under the weight of your cross? We all have a cross to bear. For some of us, we hurt physically; others mentally struggle; others agonize in their souls; some of us suffer in a variety of ways. Life is like that. Jesus Himself told us: “There will be trouble in this world; but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Come to the just savior who is “meek and humble of heart;” and “find rest for yourselves.” Rest in Jesus and allow Him to rest in your heart; find comfort in the fact that He is under your cross with you, for He is a good God and does not allow us to suffer alone. He is there with us always; we have to be present to Him. Open your eyes and your heart to Him and take your ease in Him. Speak with God on a regular basis; after all, if you want to spend eternity with God, you ought to get to know Him better. The more you speak with God, the better you will be able to hear Him when He speaks to you. Prayer is our lifeline; pray ceaselessly, as St. Paul suggested. This does not mean praying vocally all day long. It means maintaining a lively awareness of His Presence within you, leaning upon Him as St. John reclined upon Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper, and living in His love, radiating that love to others. While some may see this as a burden, remember Jesus’ words: “My yoke is easy and My burden light.” The burden of sin weighs heavily on our hearts, dragging our souls downward when we should want to ascend to the heights of Heaven. Shirk that burden of sin in Confession and live in the newness of life in Christ!

First Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13 “Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for He has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!”

Psalm: 69 “Lord, in your great love, answer me.”

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-15 “The gift is not like the transgression…how much more did the grace of God…overflow for the many.”

Gospel: Matthew 10:26-33 “Everyone who acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My heavenly Father.”

Our First Reading comes from the Old Testament in Ordinary time, so called because we use the ordinal numbers to keep track of the Sundays. Today is the 12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In our First Reading, the prophet Jeremiah discloses that he hears “the whisperings of many…denounce! Let us denounce him!” Jeremiah here is a “type,” or foreshadowing, of Jesus. He was certainly denounced by His own people, betrayed by an apostle to the Sanhedrin and delivered by these Jewish elders to the Romans. Jeremiah continues: “But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutor will stumble, they will not triumph.” Again, Jesus trusted in His Father just as Jeremiah did, proclaiming that a defeat can be turned into a triumph through the power of God. Although Jesus seemed to be routed by the Enemy, that is, Satan, as He languished and died on the Cross, the victory was all His. Jesus saved us by His death and Resurrection, overthrowing our enslavement to sin and death. As Jeremiah extolled: “Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for He has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!” God is with us always, a beautiful promise made by Jesus: “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) Since we know that our good God remains at our side through good times and bad times, we ought to sing to Him, praise Him, thank Him, and rely upon Him. Lean upon the Lord and love Him, allowing Him to shed His peace abroad in your heart. He will never let you down!

Today’s psalmist begs: “Lord, in your great love, answer me.” While this is a plea, it is full of confidence. The psalmist is claiming God’s response, knowing that He hears and answers all our prayers. The psalmist then complains: “For your sake, I bear insult, and shame covers my face. I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s children. Because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme You fall upon me.” Have you become ostracized from those whom you love because of your devotion to God? If so, please identify with Jesus. He, too, became estranged from His people because “zeal for your house consumes Me.” John, in his Gospel, is reminded of this strophe from Psalm 69 as he witnesses Jesus in the Temple overthrowing the money changers’ tables and driving them out (John 2:17).

The psalmist continues: “I pray to you, O Lord, for the time of your favor, O God! In your great kindness, answer me with your constant help. Answer me, O Lord, for bounteous is Your kindness; in Your great mercy, turn toward me.” Again, we hear the notes of confidence and acclamation in this psalm.

The psalm ends on a high note of praise: “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the Lord hears the poor, and His own who are in bonds, He spurns not. Let the heavens and the Earth praise Him, the seas and whatever moves in them!” We can learn from King David here, and praise the Lord in challenging situations; when it seems that everyone and everything is arrayed against us, know that we can confidently call upon the Lord.

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. Paul explains why Jesus incarnated and experienced His Paschal Mystery. Remember, the Paschal Mystery is the “four-event event:” Jesus’ Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven. Why did this good Man, this God, suffer for us? Paul elucidates: “Through one man, sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men…death reigned from Adam to Moses…after the pattern of the trespass of Adam…but the gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one, the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one Man Jesus Christ overflow for the many.” Jesus’ obedience corrected the disobedience of Adam; Jesus’ sacrifice cured the selfishness of Adam. Jesus’ gracious gift made up for the grasping of Adam: he grasped at what was beyond him – to become “like God.” Jesus, who is God, emptied Himself and incarnated while remaining God. This is a great mystery, but we can understand enough of the hypostatic union to know that we owe an eternal debt of gratitude to God for saving us from ourselves. Thank you, dear Lord!

In today’s Gospel, St. Matthew allows us to eavesdrop on Jesus’ teaching of the Apostles, “the Twelve.” This was an intimate discussion between Jesus’ closest followers, the twelve Apostles. Jesus’ first words are “Fear no one.” This can be more easily said than done! Some of us are more timid than others and find some people to be intimidating. Yet Jesus sets us straight: “Fear no one…do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Jesus teaches on this mysterious sentence: “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted…you are worth more than many sparrows.” Even if your faith should lead to martyrdom, God knows all that is happening and permits it according to His own Divine Will or via His Permissive Will. God’s Divine Will is love and mercy itself, according to St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy chaplet Jesus taught her. God’s Permissive Will is what He permits to happen within our own free wills. In other words, we remain free in our choices; God does not constrain us or force us to obey Him. He wants us to love and obey Him by our own free choice. Naturally, by leaving us to be free in our choices, we sometimes choose evil over good. God permits these evils to happen yet brings good out of them.

Jesus then promises: “Everyone who acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My heavenly Father. But whoever denies Me before others, I will deny before My heavenly Father.” Do not be afraid to claim that Jesus is Lord in front of anyone. Live your faith out loud. Don’t be obnoxious about it or try to force anyone to believe in God. We Catholics propose the Faith to people; we do not impose the Faith on anyone. Yet we ought not to shrink from sharing our faith with others. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) We can’t claim Him just at our death; we must claim Him in the way we live our lives.

How does one do that exactly? Live as disciples of Jesus: love God above all else and love others as Jesus loves us. This kind of faith will flow into us via the grace of the Sacraments and will flow out of us in the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. Corporal works tend to the bodies of our fellow men: feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; shelter the homeless; clothe the naked; visit the sick and the homeless; ransom the captives; and bury the dead. Spiritual works tend to the souls of our fellow men: admonish the sinner; instruct the ignorant; comfort the sorrowing; counsel the doubtful; bear wrongs patiently; forgive others willingly; and pray for the living and the dead. You can see how in performing these Works of Mercy, you are living as a true disciple of Jesus. You are proclaiming Him to be Lord of your life by the exercise of these Works of Mercy. Live your faith this way and you will be claimed by Jesus at the end of your life. Blessed be the Lord!

First Reading: Exodus n19:2-6 “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.”

Psalm: 100 “We are His people: the sheep of His flock.”

Second Reading: Romans 5:6-11 “God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ”

Gospel: Matthew 9:36-10:8 “The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

Our First Reading comes from the Old Testament in Ordinary time, so called because we use the ordinal numbers to keep track of the Sundays. Today is the 11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In our First Reading, the Lord speaks to Moses, instructing him to remind the Israelites, “You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to Myself.” The many miracles God performed to liberate the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land were called to mind: not only the ten plagues, but also the crossing of the Red Sea, when God caused the water to separate for the Hebrews and then to cover the pursuing Egyptians. God provided manna in the morning and quail in the evening to assuage His people’s hunger and water from the rock to quench their thirst. God traced a passage in the wilderness for His people by appearing as a pillar of fire by night and a column of cloud by day. He spoke to them personally, which terrified them so much that they begged that He speak only to Moses from then on. Let us consider our own lives: Can you see yourself in the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and their sojourn in the wilderness to the Promised Land? Have you experienced ransom from temptation and sin? Have you seen God’s miracles in your life? Have you been fed with Bread from Heaven and drunk from the Water of Life? Have you allowed God to lead you through the wilds of this world as He calls you to Himself?

When He does call you, relationship with Him involves some rules, rights, and responsibilities: “If you hearken to My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My special possession, dearer to Me than all other people…you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” When you feel called to God, you willingly undertake your daily cross, knowing that Jesus is under the patibulum with you. He never asks us to bear our cross alone; He bears it with us, just as God did not leave the Israelites in the desert to find their own way. No, He led them by day and by night. How exactly do we keep God’s covenant? In His love for us, God gave us His Ten Commandments as a guide for our lives; Jesus boiled those down to a simpler formula: “Love God above all else and love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34) When we love God above all others, we will keep those first three commandments out of love and respect for Him: you shall have no other gods before Me; do not take the Name of the Lord in vain; and keep holy the Sabbath, which Catholic Christians observe on Sunday, as it is the Day of the Resurrection.

When we love one another, we treat them with the dignity of having been fashioned in the Image and Likeness of God; we don’t lie to them, steal from them, use them sexually in adultery or fornication, we don’t kill them or covet from them, and we honor those in authority over us: in other words, we keep the seven commandments which relate to our relationships with other people. When we keep the Ten Commandments, we “shall be My special possession, dearer to Me than all other people…you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” What an incredible honor! Thank you, good Lord, for treating us with such honor. Blessed be the Lord!

Today’s psalmist proclaims: “We are His people, the sheep of His flock.” We are exhorted to “sing joyfully to the Lord…serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful song.” When you come to Mass, are you filled with joy? When you experience the majesty of the Mass, does your heart sing? When you encounter the miracle of transubstantiation, does your soul melt in love for the Lord? We are privileged to be in His Real Presence at every Mass; Jesus is really, truly, and substantially Present in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. He comes to us with love; we ought to receive Him reverently and with love. The psalmist instructs us to “know that the Lord is God; He made us; we are His; His people, the flock He tends. The Lord is good; His kindness endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.” Have you experienced God’s kindness, goodness, and love? For me, I can answer with an enthusiastic “Yes!” God is good all the time; and all the time, God is good!

The Second Reading comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. This letter was sent ahead of Paul’s journey to Rome, by way of introducing himself to the Romans. Paul points out that “Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly…God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In other words, while we were “enemies” of God through our attachment to sin and temptation, God sent His only Son to teach, preach, heal, instruct, and attract people to God, to announce the Good News that God’s kingdom was at hand, and then died for our sins and rose again, triumphant over death. We are “now justified by His blood…saved through Him from the wrath…we will be saved by His life…we have now received reconciliation.” Our Catechism defines “justification” as “the gracious action of God which frees us from sin and communicates the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.”

Our Catechism defines “remission of sins” as “the forgiveness of sins, which is accomplished in us through faith and Baptism, as the fruit of the redemptive sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Christ gave the power to remit sins to His Apostles, and through them to the ministers [priests] of the Church. The remission of sins committed after Baptism is effected sacramentally through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation [Confession].” In other words, Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross is a “gracious action of God which frees us from sin and communicates the righteousness of God.” Jesus opened the Gates of Heaven for us; it is up to us to walk through those pearly gates. We do that by living Jesus’ commandment to love and by frequenting the Sacrament of Confession to keep our relationship with God in good shape. We need this beautiful Sacrament to mend what we have broken through our deliberate sins; what we have broken is our friendship with God “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.” We choose to sin, and in sinning, we turn away from God’s love. Depending upon the severity and duration of the sin, we can actually spit in God’s face – and after all that He has done for us! Let us examine our consciences thoroughly, be truly contrite for our sins, make a firm purpose of amendment not to sin again, and then come forward to the Confessional where Jesus waits to forgive us. Get back into God’s good graces and relish the sense of relief in our spirit as we are healed. Confession is marvelous, miraculous medicine for what ails us.

In today’s Gospel, St. Matthew relates how Jesus empowers His disciples with “authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.” Jesus also prompts His disciples: “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” We are called upon to pray for vocations to the clergy and religious. These holy people who have given up their lives for the Lord actually hold our world together, supporting us with their prayers and sacrifices. Pray for vocations! We need more good priests, for without priests, we will not have the sacraments of the Eucharist and Confession. While Deacons can assist a priest by proclaiming the Gospel and giving the homily and presiding over weddings, funerals, and baptisms (as long as they are outside of Mass), they cannot absolve sins or confect the Eucharist. Religious brothers and sisters, monks, friars, hermits, and consecrated virgins are instrumental in bringing about the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth through their orations and sufferings, as they are living with one foot in the world – or perhaps just a toehold in the world for the specially holy – and one foot in Heaven. They already live partially and in an obscure way in the Kingdom of Heaven. We ought to follow their lead as closely as possible.

Jesus gives His disciples specific instructions: “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel…make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.” Do we see these miracles today? Yes, we do! Many of these miracles are accomplished through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation; a famous exorcist says that demons are driven out via a good Confession. When we come to the Confessional, our souls are sick and sometimes close to death. We are separated from the Body of Christ through our sins, just as the lepers were alienated from the general population because of their infirmity. A good confession does “cure the sick, raises the dead, cleanses lepers, and drives out demons.” Naturally, these spiritually salubrious results also come about through the deliverance ministry of exorcism. Thank God that He has made a way for us to be cured, raised, cleansed, and freed from demonic interference! God loves us so very much! He knows that we are weak and that we need all of the help He gives us. Jesus has one final admonition: “Without cost you have received; without cost, you are to give.” Love God above all else and love one another to the best of your ability, and give until it pinches – donate of your time, talent, and treasure. Most of all, see Jesus in everyone you meet and treat them with the love and respect you would treat our blessed Lord. Keep in mind that the person you find distasteful is someone who is loved by God, and treat them accordingly.

First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a “He…fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers…not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.”

Psalm: 147 “Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?”

Gospel: John 6:51-58 “This is the bread that came down from heaven…whoever eats this bread will live forever.’”

As we are back in Ordinary Time, our First Reading comes from the Old Testament; on this Sunday, our First Reading comes from the Book of Deuteronomy. “Moses said to the people: ‘Remember how for forty years now the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert so as to test you by affliction.’” It is comforting to know that God directs us throughout our life and that afflictions are allowed by Him. Once we know that our struggles are permitted by God to strengthen us, we can take a different view of them: they, like unpleasant medicine, are good for us. “He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna…to show you that not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.” Even during our tough times, God feeds us with the Bread of Heaven, Jesus Christ Himself. Even during the dark valley, God lights the Way. Since He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we need to partake of Him worthily. Ensure that you are not in mortal sin, be contrite for your venial sins, and then come forward and receive Him in Holy Communion. We must give Him thanks and praise when we worthily receive the Eucharist – Holy Communion with our God. He gives us a share of His Divine Life in the Eucharist. What better gift could we ask of Him?! He can offer us nothing better than Himself; we ought to offer ourselves back to Him in thanksgiving.

Note that we live also “by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.” This means that we must read Scripture regularly and not just wait for the Sunday readings. Take up the Bible and read the words of the Lord. I suggest that you begin with the Psalms, God’s prayer book. Read just a bit at a time and meditate on it; let His words settle into your heart and guide your path. “Do not forget the Lord, your God…brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery…” He leads us out of our slavery to sin, vice, and temptation. Follow His Light onto the Way of salvation. God also “guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its seraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground…(He) brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna…” Have we not all gone through the “vast and terrible desert”? There are times in our lives which challenge us, which feel as if we are in a wilderness “with its seraph serpents and scorpions” – dangerous temptations which can lead to sin and vice. We’ve all experienced times of “parched and waterless ground.” If you remember or have ever been through a physical drought, where the poor, cracked ground seems to cry out for water, we can map that onto a spiritual drought, when our souls cry out for the Living Water of Jesus Christ. Yet in that wilderness, God provides “water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna…” Have you ever gotten water from a rock? This is impossible without the power of God. This points us to the miracles in our everyday life, bestowed upon us from God. Let us remember in our dark days that God is always with us and He provides for us what we need. We ought to peer deeply into our lives to perceive these miracles and appreciate God for them. Praise the Lord in good times and bad times. Praise the Lord!

Today’s psalmist proclaims: “Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!” We are exhorted to “Glorify the Lord…praise your God…He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you.” What does this mean? What bars and what gates are strengthened? The bars and gates are our virtues and our ability to withstand temptations. God helps us to say “no” to sin and vice and to say “yes” to virtue and sanctity. The Psalm continues: “He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat, He fills you.” What is this finest of wheat? The Living Bread which came down from Heaven, Jesus Christ Himself. He gives us His very self in the Eucharist. Continuing with the Psalm: “He has proclaimed His Word…” Jesus is the Word of Life. God has revealed Himself to us in Jesus and in the Scriptures. We must love them both.

The Second Reading comes from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. St. Paul recounts the Words of Institution of the Eucharist: “(He) took bread, and, after He had given thanks, broke it and said: ‘This is My Body that is for you…’ ‘This cup is the New Covenant in My Blood.’” We hear these words at every Mass; are we aware of these words? When the priest intones, “This is My Body,” he is speaking in persona Christi. He doesn’t say, “This is His Body,” but “This is My Body.” At that exact point in time, the bread is no longer bread; it is now the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ. Similarly, when the priest prays, “This is the chalice of My Blood,” the wine becomes the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ. Every tiny morsel of the Host and every drop in the chalice contains the whole Christ. We receive Him in His fullness every time we receive Holy Communion. What a princely, kingly, majestic gift He gives us! Let us raise our awareness of the miracle which takes place at every Mass and welcome Him warmly into our hearts. Let us give Him thanks and praise for loving us so much!

In today’s Gospel, St. John shows Jesus preaching to the crowd about Him being the “Living bread that came down from Heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” This is a surprising teaching, difficult to understand. The people “quarreled among themselves, saying ‘How can this man give us His flesh to eat?’” Is this a problem with which we struggle? Some people find it difficult to believe in His Real Presence, that Jesus is really, truly, and substantially Present in the Eucharist. Jesus knows our struggles, but He does not back off from the Truth. He doubles down: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” Although many of His disciples left Jesus because of this difficult teaching, Jesus triples down: “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me and I in him…the one who feeds on Me will have life because of Me. This is the bread that came down from Heaven…whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Jesus really means what He says: He is there in the Eucharist. It may resemble plain bread and plain wine, but the reality is far from the Truth. Jesus pours Himself out for us in the Eucharist: every crumb of the Host, every drop from the Chalice, contains the whole Christ. He asks that we be conscious of His Presence and that we welcome Him into our hearts. When you receive the Blessed Sacrament, spend time with Jesus, thanking Him and telling Him that you love Him. Pray to Him and adore Him. Prayer is essential for a healthy spiritual life.

It may be that we give only fifteen minutes a day in prayer, or that we spare only a quick prayer for someone in need. Jesus blesses these offerings so that His graces cover everyone. We may not all be St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, tending to the “untouchables” in India, but we can consciously pray for others, giving a moment of our heart to God when we do so. Prayer is powerful, especially when you are devout about it. Speak with God frequently throughout the day, giving Him bits and pieces of your time. Come to Adoration and “waste” time with Him, as Fr. John Ricardo puts it. Hang around Jesus, Mary, and the saints and angels. After all, if you want to spend eternity in Heaven, it doesn’t hurt to accustom yourself to it here on Earth. “They all ate and were satisfied.” We will all be deeply satiated in Heaven. Plan for your eternity by living well on Earth, and that means spending time in prayer: public prayer like the Mass; private prayer; vocal prayer; contemplative prayer. However you do it, pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends upon you (St. Ignatius of Loyola). Pour yourself into your prayer and you will be transformed “from glory unto glory” as St. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18.

First Reading: Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9 “The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.”

Psalm: Daniel 3:52-56 “Glory and praise forever!”

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 “The God of love and peace will be with you. ”

Gospel: John 3:16-18 “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish, but might have eternal life.”

Now that we are no longer in the Easter Season, our First Reading does not come from the Acts of the Apostles. Today’s First Reading comes from the second book of the Bible, Exodus.

In our First Reading, we hear about a theophany which Moses experienced. “Having come down in a cloud, the Lord stood with Moses there and proclaimed His Name, ‘Lord.’ Thus the Lord passed before him and cried out: ‘The Lord, the Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.’” I love these words! I can imagine being there and hearing God’s exclamations about Himself. I totally understand Moses’ reaction: he “at once bowed down to the ground in worship.” What other response would be right? Moses then asked the Lord, “If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as Your own.” Let us importune God like this: “Do come along in our company…receive us as Your own.” When you pray, you are inviting God into your life. He is already here, of course, but when we pray, we are especially aware of His Presence. Imagine Jesus being visibly present to you during a typical day: which actions and decisions would be affected by His visible Presence? I would imagine that we would be on our best behavior, minding our P’s and Q’s. Let us remember that God is “slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity.” Let us give thanks to Him for being so marvelous, so majestic, and so magnanimous. Our God is an awesome God!

Today’s psalmist is the prophet Daniel, and he exclaims: “Glory and praise forever!” Daniel begins by blessing God, “the God of our fathers…and blessed is Your holy and glorious Name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.” Daniel wrote these words while he was in exile, in Babylon, far from his homeland and the only place he could truly worship, the Temple. Can you praise God when you are far from your spiritual home, when you feel as if you cannot truly worship Him? Sometimes bad patches challenge our faith: at times, you are driven closer to the Cross; at other times, you might fall away from faith. Be like Daniel and praise God even in the darkest of times.

Daniel continues: “Blessed are You in the Temple of Your holy glory…blessed are You on the throne of Your Kingdom…blessed are You who look into the depths from Your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.” Can you declare what God has done for you? Can you bless God in the depths of depression, despair, or despondency? Do an exhaustive examination of conscience to help you to see all that God has done for you so that you can sing His praises and cry out to God: “Glory and praise forever!” Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!

The Second Reading comes from the second letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, who begins his letter with the salutation “Brothers and sisters.” Obviously, these people are not members of his physical family, but members of the Body of Christ. We, the baptized, are adopted children of God, members of the mystical Body of Christ, and are therefore brothers and sisters in Christ. St. Paul recommends that the Corinthians “Rejoice! Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace…” What a wonderful world that would be! St. Paul specifies what Jesus commanded: love one another. Jesus gave us the broad brush stroke with His three-word command; St. Paul fills in the details. He continued: “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” How many people would you feel comfortable kissing? I imagine the European double-kiss on the cheek, but still, we tend to distance ourselves from others, especially since the advent of COVID. ‘Tis a shame. If we could love one another, “the God of love and peace will be with you.” St. Paul ends his letter with a beautiful doxology: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.” Amen!

In today’s Gospel, St. John assures us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” God has lavished His love on the world in Jesus. He could give us no better gift. Jesus came not “to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” How did Jesus save the world? He redeemed us through His Paschal Mystery, that four-event Event: Jesus’ Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension into Heaven. He opened the gates of Heaven; it is up to us to endeavor to get through those open gates. Jesus has said that the Way to Heaven is the narrow way, and that “few find it.” (Matthew 7:14) He also advises us to pick up our cross daily and follow Him (Matthew 16:24-26). It is not easy to enter Heaven, but it is worth whatever price we need to pay. Praise God for His goodness and majesty! Praise Him for His love and mercy! Praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who do not leave us orphans, but remains with us always!

First Reading: Acts 2:1-11 “They began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”

Psalm: 104 “Lord, send out Your Spirit, and renew the face of the Earth.”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”

Gospel: John 20:19-23 “He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

St. Luke writes of the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. “Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.” This strong, driving wind was perceived by those outside of the Upper Room; it was not a phenomenon limited to the experience of the Apostles. “At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd.” We, too, would have collected together in a great throng upon hearing this theophany (an extraordinary experience of God). We’d want to know what was going on. Confusion reigned as people from all over the Roman Empire heard the Apostles speaking in their native tongue. “They began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” This is a strong indicator that God meant for His Church to be international, from Jerusalem to the ends of the Earth. We can confidently say that the Gospel has spread over each of the inhabited continents, and that people of all tongues, races, and nations have heard the Good News. We have heeded Jesus’ Great Commandment under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, our Consoler, and our Paraclete (Advocate and Counselor). Thank God for the Holy Spirit! Thank God for God!

Today’s psalmist exclaims: “Lord, send out Your Spirit, and renew the face of the Earth.” This psalm exhorts us to “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” It goes on to praise the Lord for He is “great indeed!” God is praised for His works, His creatures, and His glory. “I will be glad in the Lord.” When you are down, contemplate the Lord. Enter into the mystery of His glory, His power, and His great love for us, small creatures that we are. He is our Creator and our Sustainer; if He took our breath from us, we would collapse into nothingness. He is ponderously wonderful as He holds us in being. At the risk of repeating myself, I shout for joy: Thank God for God!

The Second Reading comes from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. St. Paul extols on the fact that there is one Spirit who “gives different kinds of spiritual gifts.” “There are different forms of service, but the same Lord; there are different workings, but the same God.” All comes from God and all returns to Him. We, as different as we are from one another, form one Body in Christ – we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and we “were all baptized into one Body…and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” We are knit together in the Body of Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit because we were all baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as Jesus commanded.

In today’s Gospel, St. John recounts one of Jesus’ post-Resurrection appearances to the disciples. He came into the room in His glorified Body, passing through the locked door easily. He immediately calmed their fears: “Peace be with you.” Then He “showed them His hands and His side.” They were then overjoyed to know that it was truly He who stood amongst them. He repeated His greeting of peace and then gave them a mission: “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.”

How did the Father send Jesus? In love and total sacrifice. He held nothing back. We are to live our faith that way, in complete surrender to the Lord, holding nothing back. It’s a tall order, and we can’t do this on our own. Jesus knows this, so “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” With the grace of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were emboldened to proclaim the Good News; they were strengthened to undergo martyrdom for God.

The symbols of the Holy Spirit convey something of His reality: wind, water, and fire. All three of these elements are friends to man, but are powerful and wild – definitely not under our control. Let’s not be under any illusion that we can control God, or make bargains with Him, or exert any pressure whatsoever upon Him. He loves us and listens to us as a doting parent bends their ear to their child. He encourages us to pray to Him and to intercede for others who need our prayers. Our prayers of praise and petition, contrition and thanksgiving are good for us; we need to pray. Our prayers do not add anything to God’s greatness or glory, but it is beneficial for us to contemplate His greatness and His glory.

Let us listen to Jesus’ last words from the Gospel reading today: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” This is the power of absolution which Jesus granted to His Apostles to wield in the wonderful sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession, Penance – it goes by many names). It is a powerful gift for the priest to share with us when we are truly contrite, confess our sins, and indicate a firm purpose of amendment to avoid sinning again. Let us take advantage of the marvelous sacrament of Reconciliation as often as we can. The Church suggests going once a month – yes, even during the summer vacation days! Come! Jesus waits to forgive you through the priest – it is Jesus’ power coursing through the priest, Jesus’ words you hear as the priest pronounces the words of absolution and assigns you your penance. Come to the Lord who knows you, loves you, and waits to forgive you.

First Reading: Acts 1:1-11 “This Jesus who has been taken up from you into Heaven will return in the same way as you have seen Him going into Heaven.”

Psalm: 47 “God mounts His throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord!”

Second Reading: Ephesians 1:17-23 “May the eyes of your heart be enlightened that you may know…what is the surpassing greatness of His power.”

Gospel: Matthew 28:16-20 “I am with you always until the end of the age.”

St. Luke writes to his friend, Theophilus, about Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven. Theophilus is likely not his real name, although it may be. It means “Lover of God,” so St. Luke may be carefully keeping his friend’s name anonymous so that he could avoid persecution; or he may be addressing a wide audience, including us, as God Lovers. Whoever his intended audience is, we derive the benefit of reading his writing. St. Luke explains how Jesus “presented Himself alive to them by many proofs after He had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the Kingdom of God.” Jesus enlightened their minds to understand more of what they had witnessed: what Jesus had taught and done in His encounters with many people, how and why He had suffered, and finally, the fact that He would leave them but would send the Holy Spirit. They were to wait for the Holy Spirit before they went out to “be My witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth.” As they “were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him from their sight.” Can you imagine watching Jesus ascend into Heaven? It must have been a glorious sight, dazzling to the eyes and to the heart. They were so amazed that they remained gazing up. Two angels upbraided them: “Why are you standing looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into Heaven will return in the same way as you have seen Him going into Heaven.” In other words, get your head out of the clouds, get your feet on the ground, and do God’s Will until Jesus comes again on the Last Day. Get to work doing good and avoiding evil. It’s a lesson for all of us: God may favor us with wondrous spiritual experiences, but we must still soldier on here on Earth, doing God’s Will and loving Him.

Today’s psalmist exclaims: “God mounts His throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord!” This Psalm exhorts us to clap our hands and to shout to God “with cries of gladness.” Why? “For the Lord, the Most High, the awesome, is the great king over all the Earth.” As the angels and saints look on, “God mounts His throne amid shouts of joy; the Lord, amid trumpet blasts.” We are encouraged to sing praise to our God and King, “for King of all the Earth is God; sing hymns of praise. God reigns over the nations; God sits upon His holy throne.” It is good to be under the government of such a lofty King! He loves us and wants the best for us; He protects us and comes to our rescue. He is our God and redeemer. Praise Him!

The Second Reading comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. St. Paul imparts a blessing to the church in Ephesus: “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of Him.” In other words, may you come to know, love, worship, and serve God through the graces God gives you. He reveals Himself to us gradually, allowing us to experience Him and come to love Him. You must first know whom you love, so this knowledge St. Paul prays for is key to loving God. He continues with the blessing: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know…the hope...the riches of glory…the surpassing greatness of His power.” Again, St. Paul is praying that the people of Ephesus come to know God. Then St. Paul turns to the proof of our redemption: “In accord with the exercise of His great might: which He worked in Christ, raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the Heavens…and He put all things beneath His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the Church, which is His Body.” Jesus is the Father’s last word, the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets; and the proof is His resurrection and Ascension into Heaven. We believe in the historicity of the resurrection; that Jesus really suffered, really died, and really did rise again bodily from the tomb, never to die again. We believe in the historicity of His Ascension into Heaven, that He lives and moves and has His Being not only in Heaven, but in His Church, the Catholic Church, His Body of which He is the head. We should never allow our hearts to be moved from this fact: Jesus lives and acts through His Church; He is really, truly, and substantially Present in the Eucharist, through which He gives us a share of His own Divine Life. We need to treat the Eucharist reverentially because we receive Him – His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity – in Holy Communion. Make sure that you are in communion with Catholic teaching before you receive Communion at Mass, else you are eating and drinking condemnation upon yourself, as St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:29. Know Him, love Him, worship and serve Him all the days of your life, and you will be happy with Him forever.

St. Matthew recounts Jesus’ words to the Apostles at His Ascension. “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” We are clothed with power from on high at our baptism, at our Confirmation, when we make a good Confession, and when we receive the Eucharist worthily. We have His power within us; He has given us His peace. Let us rejoice and be glad!

First Reading: Acts 2:1-11 “They began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.”

Psalm: 104 “Lord, send out Your Spirit, and renew the face of the Earth.”

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.”

Gospel: John 20:19-23 “He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

St. Luke writes of the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. “Suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were.” This strong, driving wind was perceived by those outside of the Upper Room; it was not a phenomenon limited to the experience of the Apostles. “At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd.” We, too, would have collected together in a great throng upon hearing this theophany (an extraordinary experience of God). We’d want to know what was going on. Confusion reigned as people from all over the Roman Empire heard the Apostles speaking in their native tongue. “They began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” This is a strong indicator that God meant for His Church to be international, from Jerusalem to the ends of the Earth. We can confidently say that the Gospel has spread over each of the inhabited continents, and that people of all tongues, races, and nations have heard the Good News. We have heeded Jesus’ Great Commandment under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, our Consoler, and our Paraclete (Advocate and Counselor). Thank God for the Holy Spirit! Thank God for God!

Today’s psalmist exclaims: “Lord, send out Your Spirit, and renew the face of the Earth.” This psalm exhorts us to “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” It goes on to praise the Lord for He is “great indeed!” God is praised for His works, His creatures, and His glory. “I will be glad in the Lord.” When you are down, contemplate the Lord. Enter into the mystery of His glory, His power, and His great love for us, small creatures that we are. He is our Creator and our Sustainer; if He took our breath from us, we would collapse into nothingness. He is ponderously wonderful as He holds us in being. At the risk of repeating myself, I shout for joy: Thank God for God!

The Second Reading comes from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. St. Paul extols on the fact that there is one Spirit who “gives different kinds of spiritual gifts.” “There are different forms of service, but the same Lord; there are different workings, but the same God.” All comes from God and all returns to Him. We, as different as we are from one another, form one Body in Christ – we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and we “were all baptized into one Body…and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” We are knit together in the Body of Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit because we were all baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as Jesus commanded.

In today’s Gospel, St. John recounts one of Jesus’ post-Resurrection appearances to the disciples. He came into the room in His glorified Body, passing through the locked door easily. He immediately calmed their fears: “Peace be with you.” Then He “showed them His hands and His side.” They were then overjoyed to know that it was truly He who stood amongst them. He repeated His greeting of peace and then gave them a mission: “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.”

How did the Father send Jesus? In love and total sacrifice. He held nothing back. We are to live our faith that way, in complete surrender to the Lord, holding nothing back. It’s a tall order, and we can’t do this on our own. Jesus knows this, so “He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” With the grace of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were emboldened to proclaim the Good News; they were strengthened to undergo martyrdom for God.

The symbols of the Holy Spirit convey something of His reality: wind, water, and fire. All three of these elements are friends to man, but are powerful and wild – definitely not under our control. Let’s not be under any illusion that we can control God, or make bargains with Him, or exert any pressure whatsoever upon Him. He loves us and listens to us as a doting parent bends their ear to their child. He encourages us to pray to Him and to intercede for others who need our prayers. Our prayers of praise and petition, contrition and thanksgiving are good for us; we need to pray. Our prayers do not add anything to God’s greatness or glory, but it is beneficial for us to contemplate His greatness and His glory.

Let us listen to Jesus’ last words from the Gospel reading today: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” This is the power of absolution which Jesus granted to His Apostles to wield in the wonderful sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession, Penance – it goes by many names). It is a powerful gift for the priest to share with us when we are truly contrite, confess our sins, and indicate a firm purpose of amendment to avoid sinning again. Let us take advantage of the marvelous sacrament of Reconciliation as often as we can. The Church suggests going once a month – yes, even during the summer vacation days! Come! Jesus waits to forgive you through the priest – it is Jesus’ power coursing through the priest, Jesus’ words you hear as the priest pronounces the words of absolution and assigns you your penance. Come to the Lord who knows you, loves you, and waits to forgive you.

First Reading: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 “Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”

Psalm: 66 “Let all the Earth cry out to God with joy.”

Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:15-18 “Put to death in the flesh, He was brought to life in the Spirit. ”

Gospel: John 14:15-21 “He will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of Truth.”

Our First Reading comes from the New Testament in the Easter Season: from the Acts of the Apostles. Throughout the year, our First Reading is taken from the Old Testament except for the fifty days of the Easter Season. It’s interesting to learn about the early Church and how the Apostles fared once Jesus had risen and ascended into Heaven.

In our First Reading, we hear about Philip going to Samaria “and proclaimed Christ to them.” Remember, Samaria was a place the Jews hated. They would walk around Samaria rather than walk through it and get its dust on their feet. The reason for this is that Samaria is in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the first part of Israel to be taken by the Assyrians. Some of the Jews in Samaria were exiled, but most were forced to intermarry with the pagans. This resulted in those Jews turning from the one true God and committing apostasy, worshipping the idols of their pagan spouses. The result was that the Jews in the Southern Kingdom of Judea regarded the Samaritans with contempt. For Philip to evangelize the Samaritans was an act of great faith in God. His efforts at evangelization was so successful, due to the great “signs he was doing…unclean spirits….came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed or crippled people were cured,” that the “apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God.” Saints Peter and John “went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit…then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” Note how Philip defers to the first Pope, Peter, to Confirm the people he had baptized. He felt that Jesus’ choice of the first Pope ought to be the one to Confirm, just as our priests defer to the bishop of the diocese for Confirmation.

Today’s psalmist exclaims: “Let all the Earth cry out to God with joy.” The Psalm begins with a happy command: “Shout joyfully to God, all the Earth, sing praise to the glory of His Name; proclaim His glorious praise. Say to God: ‘How tremendous are Your deeds!’” Does your heart sing when you hear these wonderful words? Do you shout joyfully to the Lord and praise the glory of His Name? Keeping the good things He has done for you uppermost in your heart helps you to be a happier person, and it is balm for your soul.

The Psalm continues: “Let all on Earth worship and sing praise to You; sing praise to Your Name! Come and see the works of God, His tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.” An attitude of gratitude goes a long way toward sanctity – holiness. “Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare what He has done for me. Blessed be God who refused me not my prayer or His kindness!” Can you declare what God has done for you? Do an exhaustive examination of conscience to help you to see all that God has done for you so that you can sing His praises and “cry out to God with joy.” Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!

The Second Reading again comes from the first letter of St. Peter, who begins his letter with the salutation “Beloved.” Peter was writing to the persecuted Christian communities in the provinces of Rome, which contained a mixture of Gentile and Jewish converts. I am sure that he was as beloved of them as they were beloved by him.

St. Peter exhorts these communities: “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.” How do we sanctify Jesus? Is He not holiness itself? Is He not holy enough? Yes, He is holiness itself. What St. Peter means is that we must recognize His sanctity; we must see the difference between ourselves, poor sinners, and God, our Creator. St. Peter gives the following advice: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence.” What is the reason for our hope? Jesus’ Resurrection. He defeated death and rose triumphantly over it. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; He goes before us and shows us the Way. We, too, will rise again, on the Last Day; we, too, will live after death – our souls are immortal; souls do not die when our bodies do. What a beautiful hope! Surely we can communicate that hope to others “with gentleness and reverence.” St. Peter advises: “It is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the Will of God, than for doing evil.” Jesus tells us that we must “pick up our cross daily and follow Me.” This means that this life is not meant to be easy; we will suffer in one way or another, spiritually, emotionally, or physically. Yet we can suffer well, with patience and faith in God, or we can suffer like toddlers, whining and complaining. Which way leads to Heaven? Suffering well, under obedience to the most high God, is the way to Heaven. St. Peter concludes: “Put to death in the flesh, He was brought to life in the Spirit.” When we chastise our flesh, when we fast or abstain, we are being brought to life in the Spirit. Praise God for the Holy Spirit!

In today’s Gospel, St. John relates how Jesus instructs His disciples: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” What is Jesus’ commandment? “Love God above all else, and love one another as I have loved you.”(John 13:34-35) Don’t think that this is easy or that we’re getting a smooth route to Heaven. It can be truly challenging to love others. To love another is to pray for their highest good, and their highest good is Heaven. We must forgive readily, as we want God to forgive us readily. Mercy is part of love – mercy, compassion, forgiveness, truth, not holding grudges, and praying for the other, for their highest good. It takes strength to love like this. We must always strive to attain true love for others. Let us pray for the strength to love.

Jesus promises that God the Father “will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of Truth.” Jesus also assured them: “I will be with you always, unto the end of the Age.” (Matthew 28:20) Now He further pledged the Holy Spirit to be with them always, and, by extension, with us forever. The Holy Spirit is “the Lord, the giver of Life,” as we profess in our Creed. Jesus remarked that He came “that we might have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) We see the Holy Trinity at work here, with the Father sending the Spirit, and Jesus aligning Himself with the Spirit giving life.

Jesus promises: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” What a beautiful reality! I thank Jesus every time I receive Communion for not leaving us as orphans. I trust in Him and in His promises. Jesus concludes by reiterating: “Whoever has My commandments and observes them is the one who loves Me. And whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.” Here Jesus aligns Himself clearly with the Father, as He had revealed in the Gospel last week: “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father…I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” (John 14:9-11) We profess one God in three Divine Persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These Divine Persons are distinct, yet they all work together. All are Creator, all are Sustainer, all are Consoler and Advocate. That being said, we do think of the Father as the Creator, the Son as the Redeemer/Savior, and the Holy Spirit as Consoler and Inspiration. We assign them these roles, but we must be cognizant of the reality that all three Divine Persons act together, with the sole exception of Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity, suffering on the Cross. Neither God the Father nor God the Holy Spirit experienced the Passion. They, with Jesus, suffered the weight of our sins, but they did not physically undergo the scourging, the crowning with thorns, or the crucifixion. Praise God for His goodness and majesty! Praise Him for His love and mercy! Praise the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who do not leave us orphans, but remains with us always!

First Reading: Acts 6:1-7 “The Word of God continued to spread.”

Psalm: 33 “Lord, let Your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in You.”

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:4-9 “Come to Him, a living stone. ”

Gospel: John 14:1-12 “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Our First Reading comes from the New Testament in the Easter Season: from the Acts of the Apostles. Throughout the year, our First Reading is taken from the Old Testament except for the fifty days of the Easter Season. It’s interesting to learn about the early Church and how the Apostles fared once Jesus had risen and ascended into Heaven.

In our First Reading, we eavesdrop on a discussion among the Twelve Apostles as to the “daily distribution” to the widows of the community. The twelfth Apostle was not Judas Iscariot, of course, but Matthias, who had been chosen by lot after the Resurrection. The early Christian community helped each other spiritually and financially, and the Christian widows who came from the “Greeks” – that is, the pagans – felt overlooked during the daily distribution of food. The Apostles opined that it was not right for them to be taken away from their mission of evangelization to see to these daily duties; they came up with the idea of appointing deacons to see to the quotidian needs. Seven men were thus chosen: Stephen (who became the first martyr of the Church); Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas. To ordain them to the diaconate, the Apostles prayed over these men and anointed them by laying hands on them. We are told that “the Word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly.” We can see how the idea of the deacons serving the community worked, as the Apostles were free to evangelize. Each person in the Church has their own task, and each task is important. Are you using the talents God has given you to further the Kingdom? Please involve yourself in your parish. You will be spiritually satisfied as you give to others. Give in order to receive! That’s God’s logic.

Today’s psalmist pleads: “Lord, let Your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in You.” The Psalm begins with a bang: “Exult, you just, in the Lord; praise from the upright is fitting. Give thanks to the Lord on the harp; with the ten-stringed lyre, chant His praises.” And why ought we to praise the Lord? “Upright is the Word of the Lord, and all His works are trustworthy. He loves justice and right; of the kindness of the Lord, the Earth is full.” So the Lord’s Word is righteous and we can trust in His Word; He is kind and fair. Only God can perfectly balance kindness and justice, although we are to emulate Him. We are practicing Catholics, attempting to follow Jesus more perfectly each day. The psalmist goes on to assure us: “The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear Him, upon those who hope for His kindness to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine.” When we rest in the Lord and rely upon Him, He redeems us from our sins and strengthens us to resist temptations. Keep our eyes on Him and He will keep His eyes on us!

The Second Reading again comes from the first letter of St. Peter, who begins his letter with the salutation “Beloved.” Peter was writing to the persecuted Christian communities in the provinces of Rome, which contained a mixture of Gentile and Jewish converts. I am sure that he was as beloved of them as they were beloved by him.

St. Peter encourages these communities: “Come to Him, a living stone…chosen and precious in the sight of God; and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house…” If we dispose ourselves to be open to God, to trust Him to do what is right and good with us, then we can “be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.” In God’s original covenant with the Israelites, all of Israel were to be priests. It was only after the Golden Calf Apostasy that God limited the priesthood to Aaron and his sons and the Levites, the only tribe to be faithful to God. Now, in the New Covenant, we participate in the “common priesthood,” which differs from the “ministerial priesthood,” that is, ordained priests. As members of the common priesthood, we are called upon to offer sacrifices on a daily basis. Not burnt animal sacrifices, but spiritual sacrifices: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Giving to others when you want to hold back; obeying the Ten Commandments, even when it is difficult. Putting your own wants and needs last to serve others. These are all spiritual sacrifices pleasing to the Lord.

St. Peter continues with the stone analogy, quoting from the prophet Isaiah: “I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.” This selected, priceless stone is Jesus Christ, and we are called to have faith in Him. If we don’t, then Jesus will become “a stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall.” We stumble against Jesus when we sin, when we choose ourselves instead of God, when we disobey the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ Great Commandments to love God above all others and to love others as God loves us. Let Jesus be the Rock of your salvation, not a stumbling block.

In today’s Gospel, St. John relates how Jesus spoke tenderly to His disciples at the Last Supper: “Do not let your hearts be troubled…I will come back again and take you to Myself, so that where I am, you also may be.” He makes this promise to us as well. Jesus comes for us at our deaths; we must dispose our hearts to be ready to greet Him and to go with Him. Do you want to be where He is? I know that I do! Sign me up!

Precisely how do we dispose our hearts this way? We need to pray regularly, to speak with Him and listen to Him. We have to get to know Him well so that we recognize Him when He shows Himself to us. We ought to read Scripture often, as this is one great way to get to know our Lord. Jesus states that “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father…do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?” This gives us a clue that we need to know the whole God, the Blessed Trinity. Frequenting the sacraments and spending time in prayer are wonderful ways to know God better; the better we know Him, the more we can love Him; and the better we love Him, the more we want to serve Him and spend all of our time, especially our eternity, with Him. Pursue a relationship with God now which will last you forever. You won’t regret the time you’ve invested!

Jesus speaks plainly: “I AM the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” This Scripture passage is not difficult to understand: you must believe in Jesus to go to Heaven. You might not have heard about Jesus in this life, or you may not have taken hold of Him, but you will have the opportunity to get to know Him, love Him, and accept Him as your Savior in Purgatory. If you die in friendship with God, but are imperfectly attached to sins, temptations, goods, or people, or if you have no relationship with Jesus, Purgatory is your chance to learn, to be purged of your undue attachments, and to get ready for Heaven. Purgatory is a mercy from our merciful God! Let us follow the Way, hold fast to the Truth, and receive Life from the One who can give it to us abundantly. Jesus, I trust in You!

First Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41 “Repent and be baptized.”

Psalm: 23 “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”

Second Reading: 1 Peter 2:20b-25 “By His wounds, you have been healed. ”

Gospel: John 10:1-10 “I AM the gate for the sheep.”

You will note that the First Reading comes from the New Testament in the Easter Season: from the Acts of the Apostles. All throughout the year, our First Reading is taken from the Old Testament except for the fifty days of the Easter Season. It’s interesting to learn about the early Church and how the Apostles fared once Jesus had risen and ascended into Heaven.

We hear Peter’s powerful preaching as he elucidated how Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. He explains how Jesus was “both Lord and Christ…whom you crucified.” When the people heard this, they were “cut to the heart.” I can only imagine how they would be cut to the heart. If you heard that you were responsible for the death of the long-awaited Messiah, would you not feel that same way? They importuned Peter: “What are we to do?” Peter responds: “Repent and be baptized…in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” We, too, need to repent of our sins even after we have been baptized, for while baptism washes away Original Sin and all actual sins, we tend to sin after our baptism. Peter exhorts the people: “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” The same thing can be said for today’s generation; there is much corruption and immorality going on. We need to “save” ourselves from this amoral culture. We do this by keeping ourselves from participating in the amorality, by pursuing the virtues and attempting to be as holy as we can be. We can be contrite for our sins and frequent the Sacrament of Confession. We should examine our consciences carefully and closely and honestly. We detach ourselves from temptations and sin. It takes work and honest effort, but it is so worth it! We receive grace when we frequent the sacraments worthily, and grace helps us to conform ourselves to Christ. The more closely we are conformed to Christ, the holier we are, and the holier we are, the better are our chances to go straight to Heaven. Who doesn’t want that?

Today’s psalmist declares: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” This Psalm is a familiar one; it is quite beautiful. The psalmist praises God for the good things He has done for him: “in verdant pastures, He gives me repose; beside restful waters He leads me; He refreshes my soul.” The psalmist is referring to himself as a sheep of the Good Shepherd. Sheep like the “verdant pastures,” that is, lush and green with plenty of good grazing. The “restful waters” are actually created by the shepherd; he places small dams in the rushing water to create a pool of still water, which the sheep prefer. This Good Shepherd takes good care of us and goes to trouble to give us what we need. He feeds us with the finest of wheat in the Eucharist; He is the source of Living Water for us, water which flowed from His pierced side; He refreshes our souls with His Presence.

The Psalm continues: “He guides me in right paths…even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil; for You are at my side with Your rod and Your staff that give me courage. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” What else can be said of our Good Shepherd and the loving care He takes of us? He guides us with His Word in the Scriptures; He spreads the Eucharistic table before us at every Mass; we are anointed with oil at our baptism and our Confirmation.

The Psalm concludes with the affirmations: “Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.” When we see with the eyes of our souls, when we are conformed to Christ, we can see God’s goodness and kindness in all circumstances of our lives. When we firmly thank God for all that befalls us, we dwell in the house of the Lord, and what a blessing this is! The Holy Trinity tabernacles within those souls which love Him and praise Him. Love Him, praise Him, and obey Him, and you, too, will live in the house of the Lord.

The Second Reading comes from the first letter of St. Peter, who begins his letter with the salutation “Beloved.” Peter was writing to the persecuted Christian communities in the provinces of Rome, which contained a mixture of Gentile and Jewish converts. I am sure that he was as beloved of them as they were beloved by him. St. Peter exhorts these communities: “If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you.” We find it difficult to suffer, even when we unite our suffering to Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Jesus, after all, left us “an example that you should follow in His footsteps.” St. Peter then describes some of the examples Jesus left for us: “When He was insulted, He returned no insult; when He suffered, He did not threaten; instead, He handed Himself over…He Himself bore our sins in His body upon the Cross…By His wounds, you have been healed…you have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” How difficult it is to return no insult when we are insulted! How challenging it is to refrain from threatening with we suffer! Yet it is only in this way that we can return “to the Shepherd and Guardian of (our) souls.” Let us do our best to follow Jesus’ example and thus return to the Good Shepherd, who waits for us in the Confessional to wash away our sins and to reconcile us to Himself, to repair our relationship with God.

In today’s Gospel, St. John recounts Jesus’ metaphors of Himself as the Good Shepherd. There is one particular image Jesus uses at this time. He first instructs that “whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the Gate, but climbs over elsewhere, is a thief and a robber.” To whom does Jesus refer? He speaks of those who preach they have salvation through anyone but Himself. It is only through the Name of Jesus that we can be saved. Jesus Himself stated, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Jesus continued, “The shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice.” Jesus is telling us that if we know Him, we will follow Him; and if we follow Him, we will be saved. Jesus spoke more plainly, as the Pharisees did not understand Him yet: “I AM the gate for the sheep…whoever enters through Me shall be saved…I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” The shepherd will function as the gate, as the sheepfold is enclosed on three sides only; there is a spot where the shepherd will lie across the opening to guard the sheep and keep marauders and predators at bay. Jesus keeps us safe from sin if we remain in the sheepfold being guarded by Him. Stay close to Jesus and accept all things from His hand, obey the Commandments and Jesus’ Great Commandment to love, and you will be saved. Thank God for our Good Shepherd!

First Reading: Acts 2:14, 22-33 “God raised this Jesus…(He is) exalted at the right hand of God.”

Psalm: 16 “Lord, You will show us the path of life.”

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-21 “You were ransomed…with the precious Blood of Christ. ”

Gospel: Luke 24:13-35 “He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him.”

You will note that the First Reading comes from the New Testament in the Easter Season: from the Acts of the Apostles. All throughout the year, our First Reading is taken from the Old Testament except for the fifty days of the Easter Season. It’s interesting to learn about the early Church and how the Apostles fared once Jesus had risen and ascended into Heaven.

We hear Peter’s powerful preaching as he elucidated how Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. First, he states how Jesus “was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs.” How many of these miracles can you name? He fed the hungry, both spiritually with His preaching and physically with a miraculous catch of fish and by feeding the multitudes on at least two separate occasions. He healed the sick, both spiritually by forgiving their sins and physically by curing their illnesses or handicaps. He restored people to community by forgiving sins (rendering them “clean” from their “unclean,” sinful states) and by curing the lepers, restoring sight to the blind, making the deaf hear and the lame walk. He brought people back to life, both spiritually by restoring them to communion with God and physically: Jairus’ daughter; the son of the widow of Nain; and Lazarus. He freed the hostages by exorcising demons. He healed the ear of Malchus, a guard sent to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus; could you be so kind to someone arresting you, especially if you were innocent of any crime? He forgave those who were actively crucifying Him; can you forgive as readily as Jesus does?

Peter then quotes King David, explaining that David was speaking of the Messiah: “I saw the Lord ever before me; with Him at my right hand, I shall not be disturbed. Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted…You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your Presence.” Peter states that David “was a prophet…he foresaw and spoke of the Resurrection of the Christ.” St. Peter then connects King David’s prophecy with the Resurrection of Jesus: “God raised this Jesus; of this, we are all witnesses.” Peter and the other Apostles became influential witnesses of Jesus as the Messiah after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, 50 days after the Resurrection, which is when Peter addresses the crowd in our First Reading today. Jesus poured forth the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles “as you see and hear,” according to St. Peter. We have the Holy Spirit poured upon us at our baptism and Confirmation. The Holy Spirit bathes our souls in grace; grace is a share in Divine Life. We participate in the life of the Holy Trinity whenever we partake worthily of the sacraments. Cooperate with these graces and your spiritual life will be enriched: fed, healed, restored to life, and freed from sin and death. Thanks be to God!

Today’s psalmist declares: “Lord, You will show us the path of life.” This Psalm first entreats God for His help: “Keep me safe, O God, for in You, I take refuge…You it is who hold fast my lot.” Then the psalmist sings: “I bless the Lord who counsels me…I set the Lord ever before me; with Him at my right hand, I shall not be disturbed.” This echoes the quotation from King David (who wrote most of the Psalms) which St. Peter cites in our First Reading. The Psalm continues joyfully: “My heart is glad and my soul rejoices…because You will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will You suffer Your faithful one to undergo corruption.” This is a clear reference to Jesus Christ, a foreshadowing of the Messiah. We can see this with 20/20 hindsight; it was rather more difficult, which is not to say impossible, for Jesus’ contemporaries to apprehend. The Empty Tomb was a clear fulfillment of this prophecy for those who believed the words of the Apostles when they declared it. Catholics assert that the Resurrection is historically accurate; a fact to be proclaimed rather than a myth or a wish. Do you firmly believe in the Resurrection? Would you defend it if you were challenged? Confessing the Faith, that Jesus is the “path of life,” or as He said it, “the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” is a commandment from Jesus when He gave the Great Commission to His disciples. Let us obey Him!

The Second Reading comes from the first letter of St. Peter, who begins his letter with the salutation “Beloved.” Peter was writing to the persecuted Christian communities in the provinces of Rome, which contained a mixture of Gentile and Jewish converts. I am sure that he was as beloved of them as they were beloved by him. St. Peter advises these communities that God “judges impartially according to each one’s works;” therefore, they ought to “conduct yourselves with reverence…realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct…with the precious Blood of Christ.” We receive the most Sacred Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion: we receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our risen and glorified Lord Jesus Christ. Let us receive Him with reverence, loving Him and thanking Him, for what better could He give us than Himself? St. Peter continues: “He was known before the foundation of the world” – which we confess in our Creed: “born of the Father before all ages…God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.” St. Peter concludes: “Revealed in the final time for you…so that your faith and hope are in God.” Divine Revelation, which comes to us from Scripture and Tradition, is for our own good, so that our faith and hope are placed firmly in God, Who alone is worthy of our faith and hope.

In today’s Gospel, St. Luke recounts Jesus’ appearance to some disciples on the road to Emmaus. These men were walking seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. While this culture was more ambulatory than is ours, walking seven miles would still take the best part of a day. Jesus joins the two as they amble along and participates in the conversation. They explain to this newcomer about the things that Jesus had suffered, adding that “Some women from our group…have astounded us” with the report of the Resurrection. Jesus opens their eyes to the fact that the Messiah “should suffer these things and enter into His glory.” Jesus explains, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them what referred to Him in all the Scriptures.” As the trio approached Emmaus, the two disciples invite Jesus to remain with them: “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” I love this line from Scripture! My heart throbs to hear it (or to read it), as I can certainly imagine my reaction being exactly the same. In my prayers, I sometimes implore Jesus to “stay with me, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” What I mean by this is that my physical life is short, from the standpoint of eternity, and I want Jesus with me as I struggle to know, love, and serve Him in this life. I need Him to remain with me, holding me up, helping me with the crosses I bear, and spurring on my spiritual growth toward sanctity.

Jesus remained with them, going into the house where they were staying. “While He was with them at table, He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.” This procession of acts - took, said, broke, gave – follows the narratives of the Institution of the Eucharist which we read in the three Synoptic Gospels and in St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The disciples recognized Him at once, but He vanished from their company. They immediately arose and walked the seven miles back to Jerusalem at night to deliver the Good News to the others: “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared!” The two narrated what had happened on the way to Emmaus and how Jesus “was made known to them in the breaking of bread.” Do we recognize Jesus in the Eucharist? We ought to. He is really, truly, and substantially Present in Holy Communion. While He has mercifully hidden Himself under the appearances of bread and wine, He is, nonetheless, really there in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. He is there as completely as anyone can be present. The Eucharist is not just a reminder of the Last Supper; it is not a “thing,” it is a Person. Jesus does not stress us by appearing as His True Self; He knows that we would be unable to partake of the Eucharist if He did. So He hides Himself under the appearances of bread and wine. Our God is so very good to us!