April 29, 2018: Fifth Sunday of Easter

Jesus is the True Vine, providing His abundant Life, which is the sole means for us to bear fruit that will last for His Glory.

We remain in Him so that we will bear fruit and glorify Him, through His Spirit Who empowers us to show the Love He has first shown us.  We show Love in action and truth, as God's Life, through the Spirit, flows forth into us.

As we bear fruit and show His Love, we boldly proclaim Him before all the world, just like Saul did after his radical transformation, demonstrating the true power of God.

27 years ago on the Fifth Sunday of Easter, April 28, I experienced the Paschal Mystery in dying and rising to Christ's Life in the waters of baptism.  I celebrate that occasion throughout this weekend, which is special not only for what happened that day, but for what has happened on the journey that has taken place since that day, as I have grown as a disciple and born fruit for His Glory.

April 22, 2018: Fourth Sunday of Easter/Good Shepherd Sunday

Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd Who willingly lays down His life for us, His Sheep.  Though He was the stone rejected by the builders, He has become the cornerstone of the Church, for in laying down His life and taking it up again, He becomes the guide for us into Eternal Life.

By dying and rising again for us, He has named us His own, His children, who encompass a wide variety of people, each of us compelled to share the power of the Good Shepherd's love for others.  He draws us to Himself, and we radiate His glory as we proclaim by our lives Who He is as our Godo Shepherd.

April 15, 2018: Third Sunday of Easter

The prophets foretold that Jesus would die, and then rise again from death.  It is through His Death and Resurrection that we experience forgiveness of sins, and can repent of wrong ways to live righteously, as His living presence in us, the Holy Spirit, perfects His love in us.

God truly shines a glorious Light on humanity, bringing us fully alive:  Indeed, Christ Resurrected in the fullest sense, in both spirit and body.  Now the whole of our beings is destined for Heaven, which allows us to be alive more fully even now, motivated in love to care for ourselves, and all in Creation, because of the new Life that pervades us.

April 9, 2018: Feast of the Annunciation

How fitting to have snow falling on this Monday morning in Chicagoland, as we celebrate when the angel Gabriel came to announce she would be the one to give birth to Jesus, the Son of God.

We see in Mary a great example of trust, giving her yes to God, in spite of the challenges.  But her yes was the way by which God advanced His victory in conquering sin, and making mercy possible for us through the Savior she bore.  Just as is spoken of in the Second Reading from 1 John the day before this feast, as we offer a yes to God, we bring forth the faith that conquers the world, as we open ourselves to how God will unfold His plan in our lives.

April 8, 2018: Second Sunday of Easter/Divine Mercy Sunday

In the Gospel reading, Jesus, now alive and risen from the dead, breathes new Life into the disciples, drawing them out of fear and filling them with His peace.  Mercy is an important theme we encountered in Lent, and we encounter it again this day in the presence of our Living Savior.

For Thomas, the news of the Risen Jesus stirs Him to express His doubt, rather than passively assenting to some idea.  And Jesus's appearance to him summons forth an amazing declaration of faith.

In the first reading from Acts, we see the continued effect of the Risen Jesus in a community of people who experience unity in Him, and share His love with one another by meeting each other's needs.

The Risen Jesus is truly alive and active in our midst, summoning forth great faith.  As we take the steps to acclaim true faith, we experience the victory of the Resurrection in our lives, because we are living the commandments Jesus gave us to show Love and mercy to one another, based on the reality of His death and resurrection.

April 1, 2018: Resurrection Sunday

We've made it:  Our Lenten journey has culminated in this great feast of joy as we celebrate Christ, Who once was dead, now raised from death and living victoriously.  We share in this victory because we are now free from the curse of Sin and Death.

Indeed, the world has totally been changed by the Resurrection.  Even the beloved disciple sensed something had happened when he saw the empty tomb and the burial clothes, which led him to believe.

We now focus our gaze upward, because by the Resurrection, Heaven is our destiny.  But we don't have to wait for Heaven to experience the fullness of new Life:  Christ has transformed us so we live it now, evidenced in how we proclaim the Paschal Mystery of His death and Resurrection.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!