After the weeks of focusing on the Paschal Mystery through the lens of Lent, the Triduum, and Easter seasons, we have the opportunity to take stock of what it means in our lives on this feast of the Most Holy Trinity.
The Bible never uses the word "Trinity", and in many ways, the Trinity is a mystery. But just as we can't see the wind but feel its effects, so we know the effects of the Trinity's workings in our lives.
The readings give us opportunity to see how the Trinity has been at work: God rescued and claimed the Hebrews as His own Chosen people. The Spirit moves in us to cry out "Abba, Father", as God's children, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading from Romans. And Jesus, in full power, grants His apostles the mission to disciple all nations and baptize them with the Trinitarian formula, promising His presence always.
God, in Trinity, indeed works powerfully to enable us to be His presence on Earth and do His work.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Monday, May 25, 2015
May 24, 2015: Pentecost Sunday
This is the great Founding Feast of the Church, celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, bringing alive in all fullness what Jesus Christ effected by His death and Resurrection.
The Holy Spirit now abides in us, making ever present to us the graces of God, which bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, listed in the reading from Galatians. These are the fruits that come forth in the work we do for God, and by which we glorify Him. Most of all, He gives us His peace and His joy, ours forever. And He lives forever in us, that He may accomplish these works by remaining ever present with us, as we open ourselves to the marvelous ways His Spirit works in us, to make us like Christ.
The Holy Spirit now abides in us, making ever present to us the graces of God, which bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, listed in the reading from Galatians. These are the fruits that come forth in the work we do for God, and by which we glorify Him. Most of all, He gives us His peace and His joy, ours forever. And He lives forever in us, that He may accomplish these works by remaining ever present with us, as we open ourselves to the marvelous ways His Spirit works in us, to make us like Christ.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
May 17, 2015: Ascension of the Lord Sunday
Note: The Feast of the Ascension of the Lord is transferred to this 7th Sunday of Easter here in the Archdiocese of Chicago, as it is in many other US dioceses. It's also the titular feast day of my home parish, Ascension in Oak Park.
This great feast celebrates another aspect of the Paschal Mystery.
Christ, in His glorified, Resurrected human body, goes up to Heaven. This gives us hope that we one day shall, in our bodies, go to where He has gone. We the members, shall follow our Exalted Head.
In the mean time, Christ has given us a mission: proclaim His Gospel and build His Kingdom on Earth. He works through us through the promised Holy Spirit, another aspect of the Paschal Mystery we commemorate soon. Even though He left the Earth physically, He continues to be present here, in various signs, especially through our care and compassion.
So Christ spent His Earthly ministry preparing His disciples--including us--to then go forth and disciple others, preparing them for Christ's glorious return, when He welcomes all the faithful into His Kingdom. We rejoice in the Ascension, the impetus for us to get working.
This great feast celebrates another aspect of the Paschal Mystery.
Christ, in His glorified, Resurrected human body, goes up to Heaven. This gives us hope that we one day shall, in our bodies, go to where He has gone. We the members, shall follow our Exalted Head.
In the mean time, Christ has given us a mission: proclaim His Gospel and build His Kingdom on Earth. He works through us through the promised Holy Spirit, another aspect of the Paschal Mystery we commemorate soon. Even though He left the Earth physically, He continues to be present here, in various signs, especially through our care and compassion.
So Christ spent His Earthly ministry preparing His disciples--including us--to then go forth and disciple others, preparing them for Christ's glorious return, when He welcomes all the faithful into His Kingdom. We rejoice in the Ascension, the impetus for us to get working.
Monday, May 11, 2015
May 10, 2015: Sixth Sunday of Easter
We hear the simple, yet profound truth in today's readings that "God is Love".
As 1 John further tells us, this Love is a new way of life that we experience because God has first shown us His love in Christ Jesus. It is a Love that brings us truly alive, even as it did Cornelius and his household when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Because God loved us, He sent His Son to die for us, that we might have Life Eternal in Him, as part of a close relationship with Him, in which He shares this Love.
We marvel at the wondrous work God does on Earth, living out the Love that is now our Life in Him, as we obey His command to love.
As 1 John further tells us, this Love is a new way of life that we experience because God has first shown us His love in Christ Jesus. It is a Love that brings us truly alive, even as it did Cornelius and his household when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Because God loved us, He sent His Son to die for us, that we might have Life Eternal in Him, as part of a close relationship with Him, in which He shares this Love.
We marvel at the wondrous work God does on Earth, living out the Love that is now our Life in Him, as we obey His command to love.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
May 3, 2015: Fifth Sunday of Easter
God has brought us alive in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. To continue living this life fully, we must remain in Christ, because we can't do anything on our own, without Him.
We remain in Christ, so He can remain in us, and our Father, the vine grower, can continue working on us so that we bear fruit as His disciples, to His glory. We bear fruit by living in His love, in obedience to His commands. And we proclaim Him boldly before all peoples, as did Saul turning into Paul among the apostles in Jerusalem.
We remain in Christ, so He can remain in us, and our Father, the vine grower, can continue working on us so that we bear fruit as His disciples, to His glory. We bear fruit by living in His love, in obedience to His commands. And we proclaim Him boldly before all peoples, as did Saul turning into Paul among the apostles in Jerusalem.
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