Claire Smith

Scripture:

Acts 1:1-11
Ephesians 1:17-23
Luke 24:46-53

Reflection: 

They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy.  -Luke 24:53

Today is unique when it comes to the readings for the liturgy. There are three choices depending on which diocese you are in. You could be celebrating Thursday of the Sixth week of Easter and celebrating the Feast of the Ascension this coming Sunday. Your parish might be celebrating the Memorial of Saint Paul VI, Pope. Or you could be celebrating Ascension Thursday. Whichever you are celebrating, I hope that this reflection provides a spiritual nugget or two to ponder upon today.

The Ascension of Christ marks the end of his time on earth with the Apostles and his triumph over Satan. Christ takes his place in heaven where he will soon send the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. The last line of the Gospel of Luke, which is quoted above, has the Apostles celebrating and praising God. They now understand what Christ has been trying to teach them and know that the Easter joy is not over.

The Gospel of Luke begins and ends in the Temple. This was a sacred place for the Jewish people during Christ’s presence on earth. It housed the Holy of Holies, the place where the Ark of the Covenant was and was a place that only the High priest could enter. This was the place where they could be closest to God. This was the place where heaven and earth met, the axis mundi. This was the perfect place for the Apostles too celebrate what they had just experienced.

Christ’s Ascension mirrors his Transfiguration, except that he shows his glory to all of the Apostles at his Ascension. Seeing the Ascension of Christ revealed all things to them and they were exuberant with joy. Witnessing God’s son ascend into heaven must have given them great hope in all that he taught them. We, too, need to embrace the hope we have in the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. The messages have been clear this past week, as sections of John 15 proclaimed to us: “Do not be afraid”; “I am sending the Advocate”; “You are the vine and my father is the vine grower”.

Saint Paul VI was elected to the papacy after the death of Saint John XXIII and continued  the tradition of the Apostles in leading the Church. He saw the Second Vatican Council through to its closing in 1965. He took on the task of leading the Church into a more modern world. During his fifteen-year papacy, he had a historic meeting with the Greek Patriarch. He established World Peace Day and wrote many important encyclicals. Humanae Vitae has had an impact not only on all Catholics and also provides the world with a guide for the treatment of human life.

Populorum Progressio addressed economic justice and development for all people. Saint Paul VI authored three encyclicals on Mary, declaring Mary as “Mother of the Church”. He became the first pope in modern history to travel widely, using his visit to the United States to address the United Nations, where he promoted peace, dialogue, and social justice. He modernized the liturgy and established the Synod of Bishops as a permanent advisory body to the papacy. He allowed himself to be led by the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, putting into motion all that was contained in the documents.

How do we reflect the hope of the Ascension or the passion of Saint Paul VI in our lives?

Linda Schork is a theology teacher at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always.

Thanks be to God for sending us all an Advocate, the Holy Spirit!  I don’t know about you, but as I reflect on my life, past and present, I marvel at how much the Holy Spirit has been a guiding force in the good times as well as those times that challenged me.

SHE was there:

            -as I prepared for ministry through pastoral theology, CPE, spiritual direction internship, catechetical leadership training, and hundreds of hours of practicum.

            -as I pulled up roots in Michigan and moved to Kentucky

            -as I ministered in countless parishes over 40 years and experienced the blessings and challenges of serving God’s people.

            -as I struggled with saying goodbye to loved ones, family, mentors and friends when it was time for them to return to the One who created them.

            -as I mourned the changes that must come in life in order to grow and become who we are to be.

SHE continues to walk with me today:

            -as I give thanks for all the beautiful people, events, blessings and challenges that make it possible to keep growing in faith and live life to the fullest

            -as I revel in the HOPE for our Church in the likes of spirit-filled leaders as Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV.

            -as I continue to minister and grow as a servant of God surrounded by committed and loving family, friends, mentors, pastoral leaders, lay, professed and ordained.

            -as I continue to be challenged and blessed at the same time in helping to alleviate all the suffering and discord that surrounds us daily.

We thank our loving God for this wonderful gift of an Advocate, Holy Spirit, Sophia into our lives.  Make friends with her, accept her as she challenges, supports, brings comfort, wisdom and love to our being.  She be my best friend, may she also be yours! 

Theresa Secord is a retired Pastoral Associate at St. Agnes Parish, Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

“I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord; he will guide you to all truth.” John 16:13 (Gospel Acclamation)

In a dramatic scene in the movie, A Few Good Men, Colonel Jessup says in a response to a question posed by the lawyer for the prosecution, Lieutenant Daniel Kaffe, “You want the truth?” Kaffee snaps back, “You can’t handle the truth!”

The Gospels we read at Mass for this week focus our attention on the coming of the Advocate, who is the Holy Spirit who Jesus will send after his Ascension into heaven. This last discourse of Jesus is taking place in the upper room, right after the Passover meal. It will be the last opportunity he has to talk privately to his followers. They had no idea what was about to happen next. They were all thinking that after the Passover, they would follow Jesus on his journeys, doing what they had been doing for the last three years. Little did they realize that they were about to enter into a very dark moment in their lives. It was time for Jesus to tell them the truth about their future.

That evening, Jesus would be captured as a common criminal, taken to be tried by both his religious leaders and the Roman Procurator, tortured by the soldiers, condemned to carry his cross of execution and then crucified. Jesus knew that his disciples were not going to grasp the truth of these events until much later, until after the Resurrection.

Jesus needed to reassure them with words that they would remember later, because he would send them his Advocate, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, who would guide them to all truth. He needed to reassure them that they would be able to handle the Truth! The Holy Spirit would see to that.

As in Jesus’ time, the Truth today is being questioned by so many people, people who we look to for Truth. In Jesus’ case, a few hours later, he will be standing before Pilate and say, “Everyone who belongs to the Truth listens to my voice.” Pilate responds like Col. Jessup, “What is truth?”

If we want to know the truth, we need to listen to the voice of Jesus! What does Jesus say? What does he say about who we are to believe? What does Jesus say about what we are to do? What does Jesus say about the dignity of life? What does Jesus say about who we are to love and embrace? What does Jesus say about Love and Life?

This is why we find comfort in the Gospel Acclamation: “I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord; he will guide you to all truth.” John 16:13

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Mater Dolorosa Community in Sierra Madre, California. 

Scripture:

Acts 16:11-15
John 15:26-16:4a

Reflection:

It was just over one month ago that Pope Francis died. We probably all anticipated it and maybe were even surprised when he came home from the hospital and participated, as best he could, in the Easter Triduum, the most holy of days, before peacefully embracing his own journey to eternal life.

Since then, the cardinal electors chose Robert Francis Prevost, OSA, as our new shepherd, and in that selection, there is a tangible sense of something new yet something old.  Obviously, a missionary who is deeply rooted in the struggles of the people of Peru, he is also a Vatican administrator. Obviously, a citizen of the United States of America, he is also a Peruvian citizen. He was a religious priest sent on mission but then called back to guide the Augustinian community in the Midwest as provincial (that includes Chicago’s St. Rita High School) and then on to lead the international community of Augustinians. From there, back to Peru as a humble bishop before returning to Rome as a critical support to Pope Francis’ vision of an inclusive Church but never forgetting the people he served as a missionary and their spiritual leader.

Here is a man…yes, a human being…like St. Paul in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles, who himself was on a journey. Just as Paul finds hospitality in the home of Lydia, who opens her heart to the Spirit because of Paul’s visit, I know from my own experience of receiving hospitality from welcoming people of the squatter community in Quezon City, Philippines where I lived for two years, that an encounter like this is more transformative for St. Paul and Fr. Bob (Pope Leo XIV) and me than it was for Lydia or any of the others we encountered. God was working on us just as much through us.

Our faith anchors itself in our conviction that Jesus, the Son of God, is one with us. He shares in our human journeys, our fears, our struggles. A missionary like Fr. Bob Prevost entered into the lived reality of Peruvians, as did Jesus for those in Cana, Capernaum, Galilee, and Jerusalem. I want to believe that wherever I find myself, I too can “be there” for those the Lord brings into my life. This means being kind, accepting, and forgiving. Let’s leave behind our tendency to judge, dismiss, and condemn.

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and was the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23
john 14:23-29

Reflection:

As I read our first reading for this Sunday (Acts 15:1-2, 22-29), I found myself returning to some things that have been on my mind for some time: How do we see the “other?” Are we called to be more inclusive or exclusive? Must we always be in battle? The reading covers a time when some Christians were saying to others, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.’ For Paul and Barnabas, who had been proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to Jew and Gentile alike, this went against their understanding of the Gospel. And so, the apostles and other leaders in Jerusalem called a meeting to decide what the community would do. The full debate is not covered in our reading, but we do have the result. And the result was that the leaders discerned that the Gentiles did not have to be circumcised in order to be part of the church. In other words, the Gentiles didn’t have to become something they were not in order to join the Christian community.

When we read this, I think our natural reaction is to see the wisdom and compassion of the decision. And yet, I think the Church at times continues to struggle with the questions of identity and unity and diversity. Do we have unity only when everyone is the same, and so we are to try to make everyone the same? Or is there room for differences according to cultural understanding and expression? For example, when I visited India, most Catholic churches had no seats, not to mention kneelers. The congregation sat on the floor. Were they less Catholic because of this? I think many who are reading this would say, “Obviously not!” But still, there seems to be a strong temptation to judge people who are not like us.

Is there an answer to how we are to treat others, including those who are different from us? In our Gospel reading (John 14:23-29), Jesus says to the apostles at the Last Supper: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him…I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” For me, Jesus is telling me to heed and follow His words, many of which speak about love and not giving in to fear. Jesus’ words tell me to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, not the prejudices I may hold in my heart or the stereotypes I may hold in my mind.

There may be limits to diversity that can be sustained in any group or institution, but there can be no limits on love. There are no limits on God’s love for us! That is what we need to remember when we wrestle with the issues of inclusion and exclusion, or when we’re tempted to condemn.

May the love of God in Jesus Christ keep us and open us to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Scripture:

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

Reflection:

Providence of God

“They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them”.   ACT 16:6

The Acts of the Apostles in the Scriptures for the Easter Season are not just a fascinating history of the early Church.  They guide us today as we are still in the business of preaching the Word!  Paul had his plans for evangelization, but like our plans, they were not always God’s plans.  “The Holy Spirit prevented” Paul’s plan.  The Greek NT word for “prevent” uses “eao” which means “did not allow it”.  Fortunate for us, our plans are often His wishes for us!  God is love! The only thing He can do is love us.

Divine Providence

When our designs are blocked after great effort, it might well be that God has something much better in mind for us.   This is more likely to be the case when something happens to us that we can’t do anything to change it.   I have been a priest now for 60 years, and many people have said very helpful things to me.  One I can’t seem to forget is this one.  Many years ago, a man in Detroit asked me, “Do you want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans for tomorrow!”   It’s a spin-off of an old Yiddish proverb: “We plan, God laughs.” 

God’s vision for us is way beyond our dreams and hopes on this earth; He thinks forever!   This is what we call Divine Providence.  The word comes from Hebrew when God asked the near impossible of Abraham to sacrifice his only begotten son.  His son asks: “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” In Hebrew text, “God will see to it” Yahweh-Yireh!

 Our word in English comes from the Latin translation pro videre God will see to it or take care of it!  “Father, help us to rest our heads on the soft pillow of Your providence.” Alistar Begg

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Acts 15:22-31
John 15:12-17

Reflection:

In our first reading from Acts, we have the outcome from the meeting held in Jerusalem around the question whether Gentiles who had converted to Christianity had to become circumcised according to the Mosaic law observed by Jews. The apostles and elders discerned that the Gentile Christians did not have to be circumcised. In other words, the Gentile Christians did not have to be like Jews in order to be Christian

This account of a dispute in the early Church reminds us that conflicts can occur. And what is necessary to resolve such conflicts or debates is what we hear Jesus say at the beginning of our Gospel reading: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” 

We are called to love as Jesus loves, and we have an indication of what that means: “No one has greater love than this. To lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” I don’t see doing what Jesus commands us to do as a condition for Jesus to love us. I believe Jesus loves us no matter what. I see it more as saying, “This is what you need if you truly love me and want to be in a relationship with me: do what I command you to do.” 

Jesus also says: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain…” We are called to go and bear fruit, not spend time passing judgments on others. However, we may resolve the disputes and conflicts that come up, even within the church, we are called to resolve them in love.

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P., is the local superior of the Passionist Community in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Scripture:

Acts 15:1-6
John 15: 1-8

Reflection:

Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
-John 15:5

Have you ever forgotten where you put your car?  In the Catholic grade school I attended, when we lost something, St. Anthony would help us find it if we just prayed to him.  One time, I couldn’t remember where I had parked my car.  I prayed to St. Anthony and suddenly I found my car.  I found myself saying, “Never mind St. Anthony, I found it.” How many times during confession or the sacrament of penance have you or I ever confessed the sin of self-reliance? 

Yet, today’s scripture verse clearly states: “without me you can do nothing”.  We Americans pride ourselves on “pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps.”  How many of us genuinely reflect upon today’s scripture passage and its implications for our daily lives?   Something inside of us wants to resist God’s help even when it is clear that we have received it. We like to think that we can take care of ourselves.  But today’s gospel is quite clear: “without me you can do nothing”.  (Kathleen Swartz McQuaig, Living Faith, April, May, June 2025, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, Bayard Publications.) 

In today’s first scripture reading, we learn that faith is not dependent upon self-reliance. Paul and Barnabas seek guidance from God, the Apostles and presbyters. (Acts 15:1-6) Let us not discount today’s Gospel.  We need the Lord’s guidance and assistance with all that we do. Let us take to heart the gospel message and rejoice that we are not in this life’s journey alone.  Thank you, Lord, for being with me on this journey of life and for sustaining and enabling me to bear fruit for you.

Carl Middleton is a theologian/ethicist and a member of the Passionist Family.