Claire Smith

Scripture:

Acts 20:17-27
John 17:1-11a

Reflection:

…I pray for them…the ones you have given me, and everything of mine is yours…

Jesus prays for his apostles, disciples and all of us really!  He is getting ready to leave, remembering that he has done what his father has asked – passed on the best of what he has – his relationship with his Father, his prayer life, his preparing of others to continue the journey on their own.  In some ways, setting them free – commissioning them to continue to build the kingdom, yet somehow trusting that he has done his ‘job’ – loved them into adulthood and trusted that God will continue to accompany them on their life journey.

Those of us who are parents, or mentors, or teachers really, of any kind, can relate to Jesus in this passage.  Isn’t that what we do – prepare those given to us to grow – grow in knowledge, wisdom, grace and love.  We prepare them to set them free!  We prepare them to face challenges, joys, obstacles and opportunities.  We prepare them to trust that they have all that they need to continue the journey.  We prepare them to love – because they have first been loved – by us, by God.

Like Jesus, we too take God with us.  God’s love empowers us to pass along what we know, to pass along our learned wisdom, to model right relationship and accountability.  Love is what enables us to let go and let God – to trust that God will have their back.  We too pray for those we love and care about – Love assures us that our relationship with them will continue, albeit different, even when we set them free.  We too pray that God will continue what we have begun and that our sons, daughters, mentees and students will continue to be embraced and loved by God, and that they too will pass on the best that they have.

Faith Offman is the Associate Director of Ministry at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Acts 19:1-8
John 16:29-33

Reflection:

“I tell you all this that in me you may find peace.” Those words of Jesus spoken to his disciples in today’s gospel grab at our hearts because peace is one thing every human being desires; indeed, the story of our lives can be read as an endless—and sometimes frantic and sorrowfully misguided—search for what we think will satisfy and content us. If we look at the trajectory of our lives, it is hard to deny that human beings are creatures of restless hearts, hungrily pursuing all the things we believe will quiet our desires and quell our deepest yearnings.

Jesus proclaims that he is the answer to our restlessness and the secret to our heart’s greatest longing. But the peace Jesus offers is eminently deeper and more resilient than a feeling that we have one day but is gone the next. The peace that we find in Jesus is the pervasive and abiding serenity that characterizes the person who has been transformed by, and become one with, the greatest possible good, and for Christians that good has a name: Jesus. This is why enjoying the peace Jesus brings requires being initiated into a certain way of life, a way of life began in baptism that Christians call discipleship. We grow into peace as we follow, learn from, imitate, and become increasingly like Christ. Of course, along the way we discover that we must relinquish any desires, attitudes, habits, or affections that can never bring us peace because they are at odds with the ways of God that are revealed in Jesus.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: “There only will you have true peace where true good is desired.” The plot of the Christian life is to form us into the kind of persons who know true peace because we have learned to love and savor God more than anything else. When we have become that man or woman we will understand exactly what Jesus meant when he told his disciples: “I tell you all this that in me you may find peace.”

Paul J. Wadell is Professor Emeritus of Theology & Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and a member of the Passionist Family.

The Ascension of the Lord

Scripture:

Acts 1:1-11
Ephesians 1:17-23 or 4:1-13
Mark 16:15-20

Reflection:

Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel reminds me of a famous saying of St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel and all times and if necessary use words.” So often when we read these words of Jesus we automatically think of what words to use to effectively communicate the Good News. The reality is that words often fall short unless accompanied by actions. Our actions can bring words to life or make those words irrelevant. If you think about the people you know whose words make a difference, it is usually because of their actions. You know something has touched you; their words carry weight and you will be more likely to hear their message.

In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we get a kind of back story to the event. As I read, I get a sense of a threshold moment in the life of the early church; Jesus is taken up to heaven on a cloud with its echoes of Elijah (2 Kings 2:9-11) as the “Men of Galilee” continue to look up. I wonder what was going through their heads—and their hearts? Did they feel loss in that moment? We read of their absolute fear as they locked themselves in the Upper Room (John 20:19) before Pentecost. The first readers of this text would be well familiar with the experience and emotion of Jesus’ departure and of the Apostles stepping into his earthly role—moving beyond their fear into the freedom of life-in-Christ.

It is no different for us today, we may think that Jesus’ command to “Go..” has somehow been watered down for us. It has not; it is essentially the same. Do the captives still need liberty proclaimed to them; the blind need their eyes opened; the oppressed need to go free? Absolutely!

There will always be a need to bring the light of Christ into the darkness around us; to bring mercy into our world. By virtue of our baptism (Christening) we are called to be a Christ.

We stand on the shoulders of giants –those who answered the call of Christ from the first moments, we are the beneficiaries of their labors in the vineyard of the Lord. “How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of those who being good news.” (Is 57:7)

St. Paul of the Cross, the founder of the Passionist Congregation said to his companions, “The world lives unmindful of the sufferings of Jesus. We must arouse the world from its slumber.  His Holy Spirit will teach us how.” So, we can relax because the freedom to act and move and speak can only come through “the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.” v.20

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of all those who have gone before us who brought the good news of your love and salvation—who set us free! Give us the grace to allow you to Go in us beyond our comfort zone to new challenges in our lives. Let your glory shine through us. Bless all Mothers this day. Amen.

Jean Bowler is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the Office of Mission Effectiveness Board of Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Acts 17:15, 22-18:1
John 16:12-15

Reflection:

The two readings assigned to Wednesday of the sixth week of Easter, could be designated for a Mass devoted “to the Wisdom of God.” I heartily suggest that you linger over these two readings, read them a couple of times, because of their importance in confirming each one of us as “bearers of the Wisdom of God towards others.”

This is why these two readings get my attention. “I have much more to tell you,” Jesus says to his disciples, “but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” (John 16:13)

Have you ever had the experience of someone speaking to you about something of a very personal nature? Such that you stop and think about what was said and ponder it in your heart. You may have instant recall of what was spoken to you from the heart of another. I recall a Confessor of mine, when I lived in San Antonio, spoke that kind of truth to me. It stopped me in my tracks and made me think and commit to a change in behavior. I use that wisdom he gave me, often, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This priest was a “bearer of the Wisdom of God” for me.

And our bearing the Wisdom of God will not always be accepted as we read here in Acts, where, “some began to scoff.”  That is what St. Paul was for many who had assembled at Athens’ famous forum, the Areopagus, where sophisticated discussions and civic decisions were made. The God of whom Paul preached was the God of all people. He was preaching the God in whom all of us “live and move and exist.” (Acts 17:25)

Paul was quoting Aratus, a famous Athenian poet when he (Paul) said “For we too are God’s offspring.” And Paul meant that in a challenging manner, because people would be judged justly, knowing that they were not treating one another as brothers and sisters.

I will say it again. Through our Baptism we are entrusted with God’s Wisdom through the Gift of the Holy Spirit. The Father will take from what He gave to His Son and declare it to us.

Pray that you will be open to the Spirit, to bear whatever wisdom is appropriate at the moment that God sends you as God’s bearer of Wisdom. Let’s pray for each other.

Fr. Alex Steinmiller, C.P., is a member of the Passionist Community in Detroit, Michigan.

Scripture:

Acts 16:22-34
John 16:5-11

Reflection:

Why are the disciples sad?  Why do they grieve?  They mourn because Jesus is about to leave them.  He reassures them that contrary to their feelings of sadness, it is better that he goes.  Only then can he send the Spirit, the Paraclete, to them and us.

Don’t we sometimes feel like the disciples?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have Jesus among us today?  If we could just see him, hear him, being a Christian would be easier, and our faith might be more robust. 

This way of thinking makes sense in our world of technology, proof, facts, seeing, and touching.  The disciples had a significant advantage over us.  They got to walk with Jesus, sit at his feet, and learn from him.  How can it be better that he leave?

Think about it.  The Jesus we want among us is the Jesus of history, a man who lived in a particular time and place.  Jesus was a first-century Jew who lived in a small corner of Palestine. 

The particularity of Jesus was necessary in our salvation history.  More than 2,000 years ago, Jesus ministered, healed, and proclaimed the good news: The Kingdom of God is at hand.  He died on a cross.  He was risen from the dead.  And he tells his disciples in today’s gospel, it is time that he returns to the Father.

But he quickly adds, get ready because I will send the Paraclete to you; I will unleash the power of the Holy Spirit among you.  It is through the Spirit that Jesus will continue his work through his disciples – and not just in a remote geographic location, but in all times and in all places on earth.

Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives us a glimpse of what life in the Spirit looks like.  The Romans have imprisoned Paul and Silas to silence them from preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.  But a miraculous earthquake frees them from prison bars.  The Spirit cannot be imprisoned, cannot be contained. 

First, the guard and his family came to believe in Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Then, the guard welcomed Paul and Silas into his home to feed them and tend to their wounds.

What have we witnessed?  Through Paul and Silas, the Holy Spirit has brought about the radical conversion of the prison guard and his family.  Then, the guard’s conversion leads him to offer hospitality to the disciples. 

The Holy Spirit was at work, giving the guard the gift of faith and empowering him to love the men who had just previously been his enemy.

These are examples of the power of the Holy Spirit as we cooperate with the Spirit’s continual grace in us.  This is what Jesus meant when he proclaimed the Good News: The Kingdom of God is near.  Jesus, the incarnation of God, has entered our world.  The reign of God has begun, and it will be fulfilled at his second coming.  In the meantime, the Holy Spirit dwells with us – at work, inspiring us to faith, hope, and most of all to love.

Jesus does not abandon us.  Rather, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is still with.  As with every generation of Christian since the disciples, it is now our turn to continue the ministry of Jesus: to care for one another, to love one another.  In other words, filled with the Holy Spirit, we are summoned to proclaim the Good News — That the Reign of God is near us in Christ Jesus.

Deacon Manuel Valencia is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

Scripture:

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
1 John 4:7-10
John 15:9-17

Reflection:

The Sacrificial Love of God is a Mother’s Love

We believe that the love of Jesus embraces everyone and shows God’s divine love for all of us.

When Jesus washes the feet of his Disciples, he is their servant, and he the master, tells them that he is their friend. Jesus does not deem equality with God something to grasp at but rather empties himself becoming the servant. Jesus loves us with a sacrificial love. God describes this love to Moses. “The Lord, the Lord a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and rich in kindness and fidelity’. The New Commandment of Jesus given at the last supper is for us to love in this way.

Who loves with a sacrificial and unselfish love more than a mother? That is what we celebrate today, Mother’s Day.

A story tells that when God created woman from Adam’s side as he slept, God told the woman not to wake Adam. ‘Let him sleep and you and I will take a walk in the garden’. God talks with the woman and fills her with all that will make her different form Adam. She sees her reflection in some water and asks, ‘what is that’? God says, ‘that is only a reflection of you, it will disappear when we move. But, ‘let us wake Adam. Then his love for you will reveal to you who you are; and in your love him, he will come to know who he is’.

Each mother has the privilege of revealing to their child who they are by the love they give. Just as Eve did to Adam, so all the daughters of Eve have the privilege of doing.

Eve isn’t named until God ushers her and Adam out of the garden. Only at the gate does Adam name her Eve. The name that means the mother of all the living.

It is not a woman becoming vice-president, a CEO, or whatever brings fame because of her talents to serve or save or to bring meaning and happiness into the world. What makes all the daughters of Eve unique is the awe filled gift of being a mother.

In our parish church this Lent and for the days of Easter we hung the names of 40 women of the Bible. This was inspired by the church on the shore of Galilee dedicated to the women of Galilee. Around the Baptismal font are 8 pillars, seven have the names of the women of Galilee on inscribed on them, the 8th was left blank. It is for each woman who ministers on behalf of Jesus as did the women of Galilee. They can put their name on that pillar. So there is a blank panel among the names of the Bible women to remind the women who come into our church to put their names there.

We wish a Mother’s Day to all mothers, that is more than happy. May it be profound because of your dignity and privilege, your sacrificial love and the indescribable beauty of your giving birth and revealing the love that makes us in the image of God. See that your name is written in the hand of God, the hand that touches you with special love.

Fr. William Murphy, CP is the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Acts 16:1-10
John 15:18-21

Reflection:

Jesus’ Tender and Redeeming Love

Each year the fifty days after Easter are a kind of virtual retreat for me. You see, a long time ago when I was a student preparing for final vows with the Passionists, a classmate of mine and I made a thirty-day retreat at our Prayer Center in Hinsdale, Illinois. Our director, Fr. Jim, would reflect on these Easter-to-Pentecost readings, and while I don’t remember any particular homily he gave, I do remember how soothing and prayerful and hopeful the experience was for me. Beginning with Jesus’ appearances to his disciples that first week of Easter Octave, unfolding into the intense conversations with Nicodemus from the third chapter of John’s Gospel, and, my favorite, the final discourse of Jesus — those final and very intimate words of Jesus’ love shared with us, his disciples.

Perhaps that is why we hear in today’s first reading, “Day after day the churches grew stronger in faith and increased in number.”  Amidst all the violence and jealousy and hurt of first century Palestine, the memory of Jesus’ unconditional love was contagious. And maybe that is our call today as well. Amidst all the polarization and fear and rancorous words, I must ask myself, “How have I revealed Jesus’ tender and redeeming love today?”

In an excerpt from the last testament of our founder, St. Paul of the Cross, we read, “Above all, I recommend most urgently the observance of that most holy admonition that Jesus Christ gave his disciples: In this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Behold my dearest Brethren, what I desire with all the intensity of my poor heart, I give to you…”

“How have I revealed Jesus’ tender and redeeming love today?”

Fr. Jack Conley, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Christ the King in Citrus Heights, California.