• Acts 15:1-2, 22-29. Luke’s account of the council of Jerusalem.
• Revelations 21:10-14, 22-23. John receives a vision of the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. The city has no temple because now the people will relate directly with God and the Lamb.
• John 14:23-29. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” Jesus explains the sign of peace differentiating it from the peace that the world offers. The Holy Spirit will teach us everything.

Thoughts for your Consideration: By Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, CP  

Today is Mothers Day.  It celebrates the important role that the mother occupies within the family.  She is the heart of the family.

This is a significant social position, that is, a public prominence, and it works in tandem with the private task so often associated with the mother of the family, that is, the care-taking and well-being of her children.  We probably regard this latter concern as the more important of the two, but the church, especially in recent times, suggests that we should think in broader terms about the family, namely, as the basic building-block of society at large. The family is not just a private endeavor, but is a social enterprise. And so the mother of a family is a contributing factor in the betterment of society, contributing substantially to the establishment of social elements extending beyond the family itself. This comes about primarily through the children with whom she and her husband enrich other, larger, elements of society.

In recent times at least one organization of socially attuned mothers has emerged on the public scene, appropriately designated MOMSRISING. They bring to the public forum issues to which they are especially sensitive precisely because they are MOMS with oversight over children, which prompts their activism in the media and in legislation that have helped brought attention and oversight to the social problems associated with noxious elements on furniture imported from abroad, and with the leakage of harmful chemicals into the milk and other beverages children drink from plastic bottles. These are improvements benefiting society at large, not just the little ones.

For this reason linkage can be found between Mothers Day and the Easter Season during which it occurs. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was no more a private event than the work of the mother in the family. The resurrection was a renovating episode that shook the foundations of society. It occurred in the person of Jesus, Whom today’s gospel recognizes as the Word of God the Father. The title Word is frequently applied to Jesus—not just to specific words He spoke to us—but to Himself as a Person, One of the Three within the Trinity of Persons, Another of Whom is the Father Who speaks to us, the “Word of God”.  Jesus as this Word unites the Speaker (God the Father) and the listener, ourselves. In doing so He is a harmonizer of the divine and the human.

Harmonization is a major concern of JPIC activities: Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation.  And harmonization of God and ourselves is the hallmark of Easter. By rising from the tomb Jesus obliterates the wall of sin and death between us and God, bringing us together.

It’s on the basis of this conviction that we can listen to the Book of Revelation’s vision of a new Jerusalem—the poor city that had been the victim of attacks, destruction and defeat over the centuries—and envision a different kind of Jerusalem, no longer to be trampled underfoot by trespassing armies, but now a gloriously gleaming place no longer in need of a sun or a moon for brightness, because it basks in the light of glory bestowed on it by the resurrection.  It is new creation, which is a mainline JPIC concern: a different and better kind of social structure that typifies harmony and peace, not divisiveness and war.

The church concretely illustrates concord emerging amid disagreement dividing the early church over the need of continuing certain Jewish practices, like circumcision, in the lives of Jewish converts to Christianity. This was a religious rite that had embedded itself deeply in Jewish society.  The day’s scriptures describe a peace delegation sent from Jerusalem to Antioch to straighten out this matter, by suggesting other social/religious exercises (abstaining from meat sacrificed to idols, from the blood within meat of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage). Here we see social/religious practices current in a setting unaffected by the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb, giving way to new arrangements in a society thriving in the light of the resurrection. Once again, harmony replaces discord in a specific social setting—truly an exercise in JPIC.

The resurrection is a powerful bonding force capable of restructuring society. It is a social event, as well as a religious occurrence. When we celebrate Mothers Day under the glow of Easter, we see the impact of both on society at large, and recognize their potential for addressing issues that can better society.

• Acts 14: 21-27. Paul and Barnabas complete the first missionary journey and report to the community at Antioch which had commissioned them. They relate all that God had helped them accomplish and repeat the need to undergo many trials perseveringly.
• Revelations 21: 1-5. John sees a vision of the new heavens and the new earth, also the new Jerusalem, beautiful as a bride. Every tear will be wiped away.
• John 13: 31-33, 34-35. Jesus will soon depart and recommends love for each other, “such as my love has been for you.”

Thoughts for Your Consideration: By John Gonzalez

The Gospel reading for this weekend offers us the final instruction of Jesus to his disciples before being glorified through his own Passion, Death and Resurrection. The instruction is to “Love one another as I have loved you.” In fulfilling our Sunday obligation of attending Mass we are in fact fulfilling our obligation of remembering Christ as we listen to his Holy words in Sacred Scripture and by participating in the last supper during the liturgy of the Eucharist. But the act of remembering is not an historical exercise. We are not merely role playing with an event that happened sometime in the past. A great Passionist scripture scholar, Fr. Carroll Stuhlmueller, reminds us in his commentary on this passage that “remembrance is re-living now what was done then. …Remembrance combines past, present and future, suffering and glory, hopes and fulfillment. The liturgy of the Eucharist enables us to do much more than we ever anticipated, for it brings the mirabilia Dei, the wondrous deeds of God, from the past right into our contemporary actions.”    

Because of the laws of nature humanity is limited by the dimensions of space and time. However God exists beyond these confines and spiritually we too transcend these natural limitations. That is why it is nearly impossible to describe supra-natural concepts that John witnesses in the book of Revelations such as the new heaven, the new earth and the New Jerusalem. The relevance that the second reading has for us is to remind us of our Christian goal which again transcends time and space. Heaven does not become a personal future reward for us if we successfully live a good life. Heaven becomes a liberated form of existence, an existence where we live in a complete holistic relationship with God and each other. What this existence will look like in the end we do not know, but from what John was able to observe “there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.” Our Christian hope is for a new culture of life that will replace the current culture of death. The social culture that placed Jesus on the cross will give way to a new culture that will transform the crucified Jesus into the risen Christ.

We are called to share in that liberated existence now. We remember this existence when we recall the life that Jesus lived and the incarnate relationship he had with God and humanity. We re-live that relationship now as Christians building the Kingdom of God by our very example and by advocating for the society based on the culture of life, a life that compassionately walks with all who suffer, a life that stands in solidarity with all who are mourning, wailing or in pain.

The Passionist community takes a vow that remembers the passion and death of Jesus Christ. This act of remembrance calls us to re-live that suffering by serving and standing with all who continue to face the pains and injustice of our contemporary society. The Passionist Constitutions describe it in this way: “His Passion and death are no mere historical events. They are ever-present realities to people in the world of today, “crucified” as they are by injustice, by the lack of a deep respect for human life, and by a hungry yearning for peace, truth, and the fullness of human existence.”

This path of remembrance is described by St. Paul in the first reading when he instructs the disciples to persevere in the faith. “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” God’s Kingdom is not something we wait for, it is something we build together as a community of faith that believes and hopes for a fuller existence. We remember this vision through the life and love that Jesus shared with all humanity. We re-live this vision today when we reach out and relate to all our brothers and sisters and especially those who need us the most. Finally we also hope that these efforts will help build a new society that is founded on the love and life that God wants to share with all of creation.

Christian eschatology calls us to live in the present by looking to the past and remembering tomorrow.

• Acts 13:14, 43-52. Many converts and persecution at Pisidian Antioch. Many Jewish people joined in accepting Jesus as the Messiah, others resisted, even vigorously. The apostles Paul and Barnabas turn all the more firmly to the gentiles.
• Revelations 7:9, 14-17. In vision John sees a huge crowd from every nation and race, gathering before the throne of the lamb. “The lamb will shepherd them” and these will never again hunger and thirst.
• John 10:27-30. My sheep know me, says Jesus, and no one can snatch them out of my hand.

Thoughts for your consideration: By John Gonzalez

This week’s lectionary readings describe a powerful historical turning point for the development of Christianity. The first reading describes for us an innovative moment where St. Paul and Barnabas take a distressful challenge from the Jewish population and turn it into a golden opportunity. Being reproached by members of his own Jewish community St Paul declares: “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.” With this singular event the great apostle takes the Jewish Jesus movement and shifts it from a Jewish to a Gentile audience.

To understand the great historical and social significance of this moment is it important to consider the context from which this shift takes place. It would not be fair to characterize this passage from St. Paul as a condemnation of the Jewish people. St. Paul is preaching a new and powerful message during the twilight of the Jewish Temple worship. Until 70 AD the mainstream Jewish community is defending it Temple tradition as they see themselves as a challenged group with their authority crumbling from a variety of internal and external factors. St. Paul’s missionary activity is during the 50’s AD and his message of forgiveness and eternal life for all is exciting for the God-fearing Gentile community but it is also challenging the established and defensive Jewish community. In this case the Jewish community in Antioch reacts much the same way any institutionalized and established organization would react if it is fiercely trying to defend its own precepts and doctrine. St. Paul is a marketing genius. In the midst of push back from an established religious community he takes the calculated risk to bring the Gospel message to a new community.  

In the Gospel and in the second reading we are assured by Christ that those of us who follow him will recognize the Good Shepherd and will enjoy eternal life. However, the fact of the matter is that many of us are not sure if we are on the right and narrow path that has been prescribed by Christ. This is a legitimate concern for many of the parishioners or retreatants that we encounter. It is also a legitimate concern for those of us who minister in the Church. We are conditioned by our own society and even though we may recognize that the wisdom of God is beyond and superior to social wisdom we become confused because we are constantly living within the social moment.

The Christian message is founded on Love and forgiveness. A message that is divisive and judgmental is not authentically Christian. The Christian faith has a prophetic message and as such it will have principles and positions. Because sin abounds in our world we continue to offer a message of individual and social repentance from the social idols that is pervasive in our culture but here again the Christian methodology is to compassionately offer people every opportunity to share in the Christian message not to carelessly shove it down their throats. The Christian social principles begin with the dignity of the human person and respecting the rights and responsibilities that flow from this inherent dignity. The other principles include the important role of the family, the promotion of the common good, the preferential option for the poor and the responsible care for all creation.

These principles come from the Gospel message and are interpreted through the tradition of Catholic social teaching. The principles have evolved in order to address contemporary issues of social concern but they are founded on the core message that the Apostles preached. This week, for example, we observe the Christian value of being responsible stewards of God’s creation as we contemplate Earth Day with our global human community. Many Catholic religious communities are doing what we can to continue promoting this principle along with the entire Gospel message and thus following in the footsteps of St. Paul and Barnabas. Jesus reminds us that the holistic words and examples of the Gospel will resonate with those who in truth aspire to follow the Good Shepherd. The message and ministries of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation is a sacred message that we will continue to preach even in the midst of oppositions from established organizations that are defensively protecting the status quo. Like St. Paul we will try to be innovative with marketing the Gospel message to those who can recognize the consistent and eternal message of the Good Shepherd.

• Acts 5:27-32, 40-41. The Apostles respond to the High Priest and the Sanhedrin: God has raised up Jesus whom you put to death. The Sanhedrin, after being consulted by Gamaliel, dismissed the apostles after having them whipped.
• Revelations 5:11-14. In a vision about heaven, John heard the voices of many angels, crying out “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom, strength, honor and glory and praise!”
• John 21:1-19. Miraculous haul of fishes. Jesus prepares a meal and eats with his disciples. Peter is commissioned and Jesus predicts that he will die a martyr.

Thoughts for your Consideration: By John Gonzalez

The lectionary readings continue to offer us the situation of Peter, John and the Early Christian community. The first reading touches on an important theological principle but unfortunately the reading will skip over this. I encourage the reader to take up their own Bible and read the omitted verses of Acts 5:32-40. Having had Jesus put to death the Sanhedrin are now confronted with the community of disciples who are now preaching in the name of Jesus and who refuse to be silent. At first it seems that the Sanhedrin is contemplating putting them to death, but then a wise Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel offers this rule “if their purpose or activity is human in its origins, it will destroy itself. If on the other hand, it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them without fighting God himself.” It was based on his wisdom that the Sanhedrin opted to flog the apostles instead and then having them released.

The situation of the early Christian community may give us the false romantic impression that the early Church boomed with great enthusiasm, success and undivided focus. But the fact of the matter was that this community faced all the challenges of identity, leadership, and even mission. The Sanhedrin and the Apostles saw themselves as one common family of faith; it was not until the temple was destroyed in 70 AD that saw the ultimate rift with the Jewish followers of Jesus and the evolving rabbinic form of Judaism. In the first reading Gamaliel’s rule is based on his openness to the possibility that God works in mysterious ways. He humbles himself to think that perhaps this Jesus movement may have an authentically divine mission and if this is the case how does one go about defeating God Himself? Gamaliel suggest that the Jewish leadership apply tolerance and patients to another vision of hope for the Jewish community.

Many times we can get lost in placing all our hopes on a specific theological of social school of thought. We may become so ardently attentive to a specific ideological framework and point of view that we close our minds to any other creative possibility. Tolerance and patients are social virtues that are sorely lacking in our own contemporary society. Recently I offered a workshop on a structure for globalization based on the Catholic principles that were outlined in the Pope’s recent encyclical “Caritas in Veritate.” Because the principles were outside the norm of economic liberalism and national sovereignty some people found this structure much to challenging to accept. Sometimes Christian values may seem utopian and lofty. They are nice and all but they are simply not considered pragmatic. These are the times when we have to think outside of the box and apply Gamaliel’s rule. The former social and economic ideologies pose many issues with regards to a globalized society, perhaps it is time to be open to a new vision based on a powerful faith tradition.

People usually want leadership that is decisive and immediate. The values of tolerance and patients are usually not prized characteristics for leaders. But in the Gospel the risen Jesus challenges Peter to adopt the difficult commission of leadership that is tolerant and patient. While the final words that Jesus offers Peter is seen as a prediction of his own martyrdom there is another dimension to this passage. On his own Peter had the right and freedom to choose where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do. But in leadership this freedom is not his own. He has subscribed to a Will that is greater than him. Peter is to lead not based on his own will and interest but based on the Divine Will. Furthermore he has the challenging responsibility of nurturing a community towards a vision that will contradict social wisdom. Peter must employ tolerance and patience to lead a community that will express the creative vision of the Body of Christ. Peter, like Gamaliel, is humbled and open to the possibility of what God’s divine plan might be, even if it forces him to sacrifice everything.  

Gamaliel’s rule has much to offer our own society. Social movements are developing that are not showing any tolerance or patience with creative possibilities for a future vision. We need not get stuck with dead end movements that can only react by endorsing yesterday’s secular vision and ideologies. We need to be creative and open to new possibilities and we also must employ tolerance and patients to other ways of seeing things.

• Acts 5: 12-16. A third portrait (see “A” and “B “ Cycles for the other two) describing the life of the early church. The power of healing is prominent in this account.
• Revelations 1: 9-13, 17-19. John is called to write down his visions by Christ, the Son of Man, once dead and now alive. John shares in the distress, endurance and hopes of his readers.
• John 20: 19-31. Jesus confers upon the apostles the power of the Holy Spirit to forgive sins. He also overcomes Thomas’ unbelief by beckoning him to examine the marks of the nails and spear on his body.

Thoughts for your Consideration: By John Gonzalez

The first reading immediately following Easter Sunday presents to us an image of the early Christian community. The lectionary of readings are done in three cycles (A,B, and C) and this year we are reading from cycle C. however on the Second Sunday of Easter the first reading for each cycle comes from Acts and the readings all demonstrate a characteristic of the fledgling community that follows Jesus. The term Christian actually does not apply because at this point they still see themselves as a Jewish community that follows the ways of Jesus Christ so until St. Paul the Apostle develops the term “Christian” their earliest tag is actually “The Way.” The characteristics that each cycle presents are as follows:

• Cycle A: Acts 2: 42-47 – dedication to prayer, common worship and communion
• Cycle B: Acts 4: 32-35 – All goods are held in common, communal living
• Cycle C: Acts 5: 12-16 – The power of healing to those that are sick and disturbed

I received a comment once that Jesus was not an agent of social change. To challenge society usually evokes an image of rebellion or some form of civil disobedience. In the Passion narratives that we just reflected on during Holy Week we are told about a social response to the threat that Jesus posed against the ruling classes of his day. Jesus lived with integrity to an alternative social vision. But to live with integrity meant that he had to be public in promoting and advocating for this other vision (the Kingdom of God.) If he had simply lived a personal vision in isolation he would never have been seen as a threat. His methodology for social change was not typical and that is what throws us off. His was not the standard of society so he did not employ violent insurrection (which may have disappointed some of his followers, especially Judas Iscariot) nor did he organize some form of direct action. Instead he was a public example and what he did organize was an alternative community. In the first reading we witness this public community (Peter, John and the Apostles are out in streets healing and preaching) engage in promoting this social transformation through this methodology of community organizing. They are organizing a community that prays, shares, and heals the greater society.

The second reading along with the Gospel passage remind us that any institution, including the Christian Church, needs to always re-evaluate itself from the dangers of corruption and the adoption of social rather than divine values. In the second Chapter of Revelations Jesus has John address the seven early Christian church communities. With many of these churches however Jesus points out forms of social deviation that has crept into them.  Ephesus and Sardis have lulled in their works of mercy, Pergamum has accepted heretical teachings, Thyatira has engaged in sexual misconduct, and Laodicea has been corrupted by its own affluence.

The formula for reform is suffering. In Revelations and in the Gospel Jesus demonstrates that purification comes through suffering. What is amazing to me is that the Resurrected Christ continues to bear the wounds of his suffering. This is the constant reminder that is needed to keep us on the social vision that we have been set out to build. Like Thomas we are reminded that the way to live our baptismal calling is to be ever present with the ongoing Passion and suffering that continues to be in our world. We are called to be in solidarity with all who suffer. If we stray from the suffering in our society, if we become lax in performing our works of healing and sharing then we will fall victims to corruption, then we will be the ones that will have to be purified.

In reflecting on the “signs of the times” it certainly feels that our Church is passing through such purification. This is an opportunity for us as it was for the seven churches of Revelations. Let us reflect on the vision of God’s Kingdom as lived and expressed by Christ and early community, then let us reengage with our community of faith to be heralds of reform for this vision.

• Isaiah 43: 16-21. See, I am doing something new; opening a new way through the mighty waters.
• Philippians 3:8-14. I push on to what is ahead – to know the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and to arrive at resurrection from the dead.
• John 8:1-11. Jesus forgives the adulterous woman. Everyone sins and all have need of forgiveness.

Thoughts for your consideration:  By Stephen Dunn, CP

I am thinking that today’s Liturgy is especially relevant for social justice advocates. It occurs as the liturgical year is carefully guiding us toward the events of Holy Week.  In other words, it is there to assist us in the impossible task of squarely facing the heart of darkness, a place where those dedicated to social justice attempt to walk bravely.

Our time may not be worse than other human epochs, but it surely feels replete with the darkness of war, torture, slavery and so many forms of economic and military oppression.  Perhaps it’s not intensity we feel, although a case might be made for that, but that we are sensitive to the “omnipresence”, the blanket of media attention, so inescapable in our time, relentlessly keeping the brutality of the dark side of life as our constant waking companion.

Media coverage of “honor killings” has transported their horror from far away places to our doorstep.  Not so long ago, we in North America would have read today’s Gospel in terms of a sexual disorder — severely, even excessively, punished. Today we know it to be one of patriarchy’s sickest sins, unaffected by presumed cultural sophistication, present even now in far too many places.  Thinking in that way makes the dilemma Jesus faced much more fundamental than juggling the niceties of moral law.  It has to do with deep human darkness.

Although the incident happens in the vicinity of the Temple, the Gospel account begins with the poignant reminder that Jesus had just returned from the Mount of Olives, the historical place, where he himself is soon to face the ultimate darkness of feeling rejection by the God he called Father.

In the first reading the prophet Isaiah wants his people to remember Yahweh’s ancient intervention to end the darkness of their slavery, by parting the seas, ensuring their escape. It put me in mind of a contemporary “parting of the seas” as described by Fr. Rick Frechette, the Passionist doctor-priest working in Haiti.  He describes, in his new book*, the day kidnappers took the whole Haiti airport road by storm.  Amid the chaos, he and his associates attempted to rescue friends who were deep inside the slum.  The crossfire was too intense, so he decided to wait. “Suddenly, a truck full of heavily armed men, all in black, drove up to the intersection from inside the slum … They shot heavy artillery into the air.  They were dressed like the special police force, but it was easy to see they were frauds.  How?  Because the special police eat well, and are strong from bodybuilding.  These men we so thin; their clothes were hanging off of them.  They were “chimeres” ) ghosts from the slums.  …  Raphael understood at once that they were clearing the way for us to in to get the wounded, which we did…and raced them to town, to the surgeons of Doctors Without Borders”.

“The Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters” declares:  “See, I am doing something new!  Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”

Fr. Rick has learned to be creatively respectful of the heart of goodness as he stands adamantly against the heart of darkness.  Like Paul, speaking to the Philippians in our second reading, he “continues his pursuit” of the heart of goodness “in hope”.  His hope allows him to be both courageously forthright with gang members and tenderly healing of traumatized children, body and soul.

Looking at the Gospel story that way, it seems to me that Jesus is similarly facing down darkness in search of a regeneration of heart:  his, first of all, since it must have seared him to come so close to this barbarity, but also those of the scribes and Pharisees and the terrified woman who was to be the victim of this patriarchal madness.  Scholars tell us that peasants of Jesus’ time would do as he did, “doodle on the ground” when they felt too distraught to engage people directly.  But he masterfully challenged everyone to look into their own hearts:  “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”. 

And that is why I think this liturgy is so apt for those committed to social justice.  The logic of adjudicating sins to lay blame is opaque to God’s ability to “part the waves” to find a path that reveres human dignity, it does not allow God to “make a new thing” among the people.  Its certitude or sense of rightness stifles hope, which is the lifeblood of the heart of goodness in the environment of darkness.  Fr. Rick is fond of saying “think with your heart”.  The results, in faith hope and charity, are as remarkable as “neither will I condemn you, go, and walk not in darkness”.

• Isaiah 62:1-5. Jerusalem will no longer be desolate and forsaken but will be overflowing with life. The Lord will address her as “My Delight” and her land will be called “Espoused.”
• 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. There are many gifts and ministries, but one and the same Spirit who accomplished each good action in everyone.
• John 2:1-12. The marriage feast of Cana where Jesus works the “first of his signs” and reveals his glory.

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

In the Gospel of John the first action of Jesus’ public ministry is recounted to us as the miracle that took place at the wedding feast in Cana. The account has a number of curious details, such as the odd interaction between Jesus and Mary his mother and the manner in which Jesus reluctantly conducts the miracle of turning the water into wine. But another detail which deserves our contemplative attention is that venue of the wedding itself. Indeed, if you consider the three readings that have been chosen for this Sunday, then this opening act by Jesus reveals a powerful symbol with regards to Jesus’ purpose.

In the realm of social institutions none is prioritized by the Church above the family unit. A marriage is considered the basic building block of society. In these readings however this prominent social unit is used to symbolize a divine relationship. In the mystery of the incarnation, Jesus embodies the intimate marriage of God with humanity. How appropriate for Jesus to begin engaging publicly at a wedding feast, thus placing this mystical marriage in the context of a conventional marriage.

Isaiah reflects on Jerusalem as a bride of the Lord. Paul does not specifically use the image of marriage but he certainly suggests an intimate union that exists with the Trinity (“One Spirit,” “one Lord,” “One God.”) From this intimate Divine union Paul integrates the human community as individuals who share in this mystical union and who obtains a unique gift that comes from the “One Spirit.”  

The readings ask that we contemplate the mystical union of God with humanity within our own social experience of marriage. Begin by considering your own marriage or one that you have experienced through your family and friends. Consider the love, passion and joy that this interaction brings about. Also consider the challenges, sacrifices and anguish that also has been part of this dynamic. Consider how love has both shaped and challenged those unions.

Then, as you hear these readings, consider the love that God has for all humanity. In the story of the life of Christ himself do we not see the joys and happiness that he brings to humanity as well as the suffering and challenge that his life also presents. Love is not only that warm fuzzy feeling that happens when a couple first lays eyes on each other. Love is all that happens when two are engaged in a mystical union. Love can also be that gut wrenching feeling when you feel betrayed or let down by the other. God’s love for humanity was experienced at the Christmas moment when Christ came into this world and was celebrated by Kings and shepherds alike. But Divine love was also experienced when Christ agonized on the Cross feeling betrayed and abandoned by even his closest friends.

As Christians we are called by Christ to live out this union of God and humanity but many times we may not know what this means. To talk about God’s love for us is to talk about a joyous social reality as well as a great social challenge. Those of us who are married may have considered some great and joyful possibilities before we entered into this union and chances are we may have also considered some theoretical challenges without really knowing what they were going to be like. In the end the only thing that could have prepared us for the joy and sufferings of marriage was the experience itself. In becoming a married couple the two individuals allow themselves to be shaped by a union that pushes and pulls them in all directions. If the couple allow themselves to be directed by a holistic love for each other then this union will be a great gift for their marriage and each other. We Christians are also called to engage with the greater society in a similar way. Ultimately, like Christ, we are called to love and serve one another. Perhaps the wisdom we experience from our own marriages can help us as we struggle to engage in this greater union.

• Sirach 24: 1-4, 8-12. Wisdom proclaims her life with God before the creation of the world. Afterwards she wandered the world restlessly until she fixed her abode at the Jerusalem temple.
• Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-18. Before creation God predestined us in Christ as the object of his love and as his very own adopted children Paul prays that we can be enlightened in the great hope to which God has called us.
• John 1:1-18. In the beginning before creation the Word was with God and the Word was God. This Word came to dwell in our midst and offered us a share in his fullness.

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

This week’s readings we celebrate the mystery of Christ as the “Logos” or as John put it in his Gospel, “The Word.”  Last week we reflected on Jesus as the child of Mary and Joseph and his role within the dynamics of the Holy Family. This week we contemplate Christ as “The Word” that became flesh and the “Logos” that is the second member of the Holy Trinity. Within these reading the contemplative philosopher among us will be drawn to the words of Sirach who himself was a famous Jewish Philosopher in the second century BC. Sirach, who like Socrates was drawn to wisdom, comprehends the vast mystery that is the Divine Wisdom.

The first man never finished comprehending wisdom, nor will the last succeed in fathoming her. For deeper than the sea are her thoughts; her counsels, than the great abyss.

In reflecting over these readings we are forced to consider the concept of predestination. Paul’s letters to the Ephesians talk to us about how we have already been “destined” by the Will of God to be His adopted children. Sirach and John reinforce this notion by remind us that the “Logos,” The Wisdom of God, has been active at the foundation of the world in carrying out God’s destined plan for creation. And yet, in Jesus’ public ministry, we hear Jesus inviting us all to share in God’s perfection. Throughout the Gospel, in the Beatitudes, in the Last Judgment reading of Matthew, in the Good Samaritan parable in Luke, in the exhortations made by Paul, James and Peter in their respective epistles, time and time again we are freely invited to partake in the Kingdom of God by living a life of charity and social justice. This is the theological tension that our faith has wrestled with regarding “Predestined Grace” and “Free Will,” the same tension that brought about the great split between the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. How should we understand our motivation and incentive towards an expression of Love through acts of charity and social justice if our salvation is indeed predestined?

This past week I had the pleasure of speaking to a neighbor who is also an architect and who in the last few years designed architectural plans for his new house. It surprised me to learn that as he began the construction of his new house unforeseen conditions popped up everywhere forcing him to redesign his plan again and again. Ultimately his goal was accomplished and a new house was built for his family but the final plan had evolved greatly from his initial design. As he was telling me his I thought of the passage in Jeremiah where God instruct Jeremiah to visit a potter’s house. As the potter shaped his clay Jeremiah witnessed the potter reshaping it because the original design did not come out as plan. God reminded Jeremiah that as the Potter did to this clay so too can God act with regards to His own creation.

The wisdom of God is beyond human comprehension. God’s wisdom has us destined towards a perfect social union. Yet this union is based on our ability to freely develop this union. God’s revelation, and more specifically the revealed example of Jesus Christ, offers us the plan for constructing this union which of course God designed and which he may have to redesign based on the unforeseen conditions of our own free actions. Actions of charity and social justice are not methods for us to achieve our own salvation but rather they are the expressions of God’s ultimate social plan (the Kingdom of God) which we are invited to live out. The Biblical passages mentioned in the second paragraph remind us what actions are expected from this union. We may not be able to fully comprehend the final plan, but fortunately for us God supplements our ability to reason with the revelation of “The Word” that became flesh and whose “life was the light of the human race.”

Thoughst for your consideration: by Jim O’shea, CP

In John’s gospel offered for the feast of Christ the King we are permitted to listen to the face off between two power players – Pilate and Jesus – both who possess tremendous power in their respective kingdoms.  If Jesus were any other type of power player, at this point a deal would be made, a “win-win” and execution would be avoided.  Jesus was obviously unable to win a military battle, and so Pilate would have pardoned this powerful agitator and, after receiving Jesus’ grateful loyalty, added the significant influence of Jesus and his followers to his already potent reign.  But this is not an ordinary power player and Jesus continues to baffle the logic of the world.  He demands that power tell the truth, even at the cost of security and strength.  It was a seemingly reckless position – one that ultimately cost his life.  Pilate had no other choice – if he could not co-opt or control the power of Jesus and his gospel of truth, he had to destroy it.  There is no other satisfactory solution for the kingdoms of this world.

Most of us would likely have made a deal with Pilate and continued uneasy residence in his kingdom.  We are more comfortable with Pilate and, besides, we all like to avoid executions, particularly our own.  But Jesus continues to fascinate by offering an alternative kingdom.  This is a kingdom without borders and citizenship comes not by government approval but by the revolutionary willingness to tell the truth – the truth that we are hopeless sinners and that sin hopelessly continues to create and sustain structures that mar the Creator’s image on creation.  The only privileges to this citizenry are eternal life and imminent persecution.  It’s no wonder the kingdom of Jesus has no waiting list!

Power as Pilate wielded continues to attract us, yet Jesus, also, continues to fascinate us.  The kingdom Jesus proposes calls the world’s institutions to penance – institutions that frequently find the truth an annoyance, or even dangerous.  Cover-ups are the order of the day – all done for the good of the institutions.  Power players in governments and churches have become expert at the “art of the deal” all the while sleeping well as abuse and denial sustain their kingdoms for another day.  Pilate would be proud!

And yet we return year after year to this feast that intrigues us and a savior who refused to make a deal with liars, despite the power they held.  A Savior, who throughout his life, called power a ministry to be first offered to those left behind and badly beaten. A Savior who died for his kingdom and rose as a confirmed guide into its’ new order, and who liberates us from the need to hide the truth.  It is this Savior we encounter again on this feast who allows us to reflect on the “deals” of our own lives and the harsh truth as to which kingdom we choose to belong to.

Questions for Reflection in your Faith Sharing Group:
1. What is an example in your experience of someone exercising healthy Christian authority?
2. What is an example in your experience of someone exercising unhealthy authority over others?

• Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14. The 144,000 from every tribe of Israel are the ones who have survived the period of great trial.
• 1 John 3:1-3. We shall see God as God is, for we are God’s children. All who have hope keep themselves pure as God is pure.
• Matt 5:1-12. Jesus teaches the disciples the blessedness of following him as poor in spirit, sorrowing, single-hearted, peacemaker.

Thoughts for your consideration: By John Gonzalez

This week our Church celebrates the communion of the saints. The Apostles’ or Nicene Creed that we recite at the beginning of the liturgy of the Eucharist reminds us that the communion of saints is a fundamental tenet of our Faith. Each of this Sunday’s readings reminds us that we are called to be part of this sacred community. Christ invites us all to be saints. This Sunday we recall the great men and women who have come before us and whose own lives were a powerful witness to the Kingdom of God. Some of these people may be famous people who are well known within the Catholic Community such as St. Francis of Assisi, St. Theresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena and St. Paul of the Cross. Others may be more obscure and perhaps known only to us, parents, relatives and friends whom we remember for their own powerful testimony of being Christ like in our midst. These are all people who selflessly gave of themselves for their family, community or society. We recall these saints not for their own sake, but rather because they exist as living examples to us of how to be Christian.

The first reading comes to us from the Book of Revelation. This book, along with Daniel in the Hebrew Scriptures, are perhaps two of the most complex books in our own Sacred Scriptures precisely because they are eschatological books. They are rich in symbolism and because they are prophetic writings many lay readers get caught up in looking for clues and answers related to the end time. This week we read about the saints or the elect who number 144,000. This number has had the unfortunate effect of demoralizing many of us who believe that we have almost no chance to be part of this small community. The 144,000 mentioned in verse 4 indicate the elect from the twelve tribes of Israel, where each tribe has been given 12,000 elect. Verse 9 however, tells us that that there is another group of elect “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” Scripture scholars have argued that the first elect is symbolic of the Jewish community of saints, whereas the second group is the broader gentile community.

What is important for us is not how many elect there are but who they are. “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress.” In this world that we live in, all of us are subject to suffering of one form or another. We are all being tested and challenged to live our Christian vocation. Our early Christian martyrs suffered simply for being Christians. We suffer from the secular counter-cultural challenges to imitating Christ. We live in a society focused on individualism, value is given to material possessions, praise and reward is offered for those who gain the most for themselves. We may have the freedom to be Christians and to attend Church services but the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience stand in stark contrast to our own social values. While these two forms of suffering are very different they are both very real in their own way and just like our Christian ancestors were tested in their discipleship from the persecution of their day we continue to be tested in our own way today. We who are called to be saints are very much being challenged to live the Christian values of simplicity, fidelity, and mutual collaboration. Will we survive this time of great distress?

The second reading reminds us that as part of the communion of saints we are called to be children of God and to imitate the purity of Christ. The Gospel goes on to offer a description of this pure lifestyle through the beatitudes. The beatitudes identify a special grace to the aspects of suffering that we face in this world. The beatitudes are not telling us that we are blessed simply because we suffer. Instead the beatitudes are inviting us to redeem society through our own response to suffering. All members of the human family suffer; it is a common element of all creation. How shall we respond to the personal and social suffering of our world? Should we take a defeated stance and allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by our own limitations and the social injustice of our world. No, again we are called to live the values of the saints, humility, compassion, simplicity, righteousness, mercy, integrity and peacefulness. By being a lived witness to these values not only will we be ensuring our own participation in the communion of saints but we will be bringing society one step closer to the kingdom of heaven.