May 26, 2019: Sixth Sunday of Easter/Rogato Sunday

Revelation describes how God and the Lamb are the all-sufficient Light in the new Heaven, so that there will be no sun or moon, and there is no Temple since we abide in God's real presence there.

Even now, though, we have a foretaste of what we will experience one day in Heaven.

In the midst of the progression of changes we experience in life, we can be that God is always present with us through the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is the Advocate to guide us through the changes so that we respond in a way that honors God.

Acts recounts how the early Church relied on the guidance of the Spirit in issues they encountered, like when it came to the right way to welcome Gentiles into faith, which was still dominated by Jewish practice.

As we abide in the newness of Life now, we can rely on God, letting Him be the Light that shines in and through us, ever making us new as we remain constant in our devotion to Him.  As His Light shines in all the world, all the peoples praise Him for His goodness and mercy.  And we go forth unafraid, because He has promised us peace, which we know because of the Advocate Who guides us.

May 19, 2019: Fifth Sunday of Easter

In those remarkable early years, those in the Church had to strive to uphold the faith, even in the face of opposition.  So we in this day must keep persevering in the faith. We know that a glorious end will come, when all suffering will end, and everything will be made new, as described in the reading from Revelation 21

We are already experiencing everything made anew, for Christ has been glorified through His death and Resurrection.  He imparts His glory to us, and we see it revealed when we follow His commandment to love another in the same love He showed us in dying and rising, which was His glorification.

I think about my life of faith and how it has been made new in so many ways, ever since my baptism on the Fifth Sunday of Easter 28 years ago, and has especially been shaped significantly in the 6 years since I graduated from Valparaiso University, with experiences like teaching Religous Education, joining the Knights of Columbus, and attending World Youth Day, which I incorporated in many ways into my excursions this weekend in Washington, D.C.

I visited St. Joseph Parish, some of whose parishioners I met at World Youth Day.  I visited and prayed at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the National Shrine of Pope St. John Paul II, two places that evoke such a strong sense of the glory of God.

It is amazing to think of how glorious it is when my faith has come alive, and the ways I have put it into action, as God has done one amazing thing after another.

So I strive on in this journey of faith toward the glorious vision God has revealed to us, even as this glory is present to us now when we live the Love He showed us so fully in the Paschal Mystery.

May 12, 2019: Fourth Sunday of Easter/Good Shepherd Sunday

As we approach the midpoint of the Easter Season, the focus of the readings turns toward Jesus as our Good Shepherd of us the flock, who are His people.

As our Shepherd and Savior, He lays down His life for His flock, His people, so that we can be free from sin, and He opened the way for us to attain Eternal Life.  He guides us through all the cares of this life, caring for us tenderly as He guides us on our way to living forever in His Presence.

As He leads us there, He calls us to embrace a way of life that abides by His Word, so that we can faithfully fulfill the vocation He grants us for our lives, to serve in His Love, which makes Eternal Life present to us now.

On this Sunday, we rejoice in the gift and vocation of motherhood that brought us alive and by constant nourishment, continues bringing us alive.  We implore God to stir up abundant vocations to the religious life and priesthood as people devote their lives to serving as shepherds of His flock.  We also give thanks to God, on this, Florence Nightingale's birthday, for the compassionate care nurses do in their work as they tend to those with medical needs.

We praise God that in so many ways He shows His care for us and calls us to care for others as a sign of His continued Presence among us, bringing a healing touch that brings us alive.

May 5, 2019: Third Sunday of Easter

The Risen and Living Jesus Christ truly transforms us.  He draws us out of despair and sin to enter into a new way of life steeped in hope.

He reinstated Peter and the other apostles after they slunk into despair, especially considering how they fled from Him the night of his betrayal and compounded by a night of catching no fish whatsoever.

Christ gave them new purpose, which eventually led them to boldly proclaim His Name, even when the religious authorities ordered them not to, and they rejoiced that they were found worthy to suffer for the Name, as Acts recounts.

They grounded themselves in a powerful sense of hope, which is represented so powerfully in the reading from Revelation, describing Christ, Who was once dead and rose again, conquering death, as now reigning powerfully and giving us hope and courage to face any troubles in the world, knowing we live in and act in His victory.

It is truly reason for celebration, which was certainly on my mind as I marked the 20th Anniversary of my First Holy Communion, at St. Giles Family Mass where it happened.  And we go forth celebrating, strengthened by Christ to live His love, which, as Father Carl put it in his homily today, is the criteria for serving Him.