PENTECOST SUNDAY

John 7:37-39, John 20:19-23, John 15: 26-27; 16:12-15

 

          This weekend you will hear one of the three above referenced gospels.  They all have one thing in common:  The Holy Spirit.

           It is one thing to engage in good Catholic practices:  daily prayer; weekly Mass; reception of Communion and the other sacraments; charitable and joyous good works.  Yet, without the constant connection with The Holy Spirit these practices might become mere rote, or joyless obligations, or may lead to burnout.

The constant need of The Holy Spirit is what Jesus refers to in each of these passages.

          In John 20 we hear that Jesus appears to his disciples in the locked room, offers them peace, and “… breathed on them and said to them ‘Receive the Holy Spirit …’”   To me this always evokes the image of someone receiving artificial resuscitation.  Life literally being breathed into someone on the brink of death.  Artificial resuscitation, however, is an emergency procedure – a one time deal (hopefully).  But Jesus is there to breath upon us always.  When we get caught up in the activities of daily living – including our religious practices – it is important to stop, be at peace, and let Jesus give us the Holy Spirit to revive us.  It is not a one time, emergency procedure.  It is a way of life.

          Similarly, in John 7 Jesus exclaimed “Let anyone who thirsts come to drink,” and the passage reminds us that he is referring to the Spirit.  When we are thirsty    we refresh ourselves with water.  Yet, again, it is not a one-shot deal.  We will thirst again, for sure.  In our faith lives it is important to constantly be refreshed by the Spirit.

           In John 15 Jesus refers to the Spirit as the Advocate, the one who will guide us to the truth.  Again, this is not a “one and done.”  Throughout our lives we must always seek the truth, in all of life’s situations, and turn to the Advocate for guidance.  Not once, but each time.  Discernment.

          I conclude by inviting all who read this to seriously consider Spiritual Direction.  Don’t be mislead by the terminology.  Spiritual direction is not being told what to do.  It is more spiritual companionship.  It is giving yourself the gift of constantly staying in touch with the Holy Spirit within you.  A brief amount of time every several weeks to be resuscitated, to be refreshed with living water, and to allow the Advocate to guide you.

Peace  - “Call Me Ishmael”

         

 

AMBASSADORS OF CHRIST

Mark 16: 15-20 (Sunday Gospel: May 16, 2021)

“Go into the world and proclaim the Good News to the whole of creation.”  Familiar with this Gospel?  In summary, Jesus tells His disciples to carry on from where He left off.  They are no longer strangers and are given the mission to build the church and to evangelize.  The message that struck me was simple.  I too have a responsibility to do my part in actively converting others, as I work on converting myself to the Gospel messages.  I too must be an “ambassador for Christ” in all that I do.  St Francis of Assisi summed it up by saying, “Preach always and sometimes use words.”  So just how does “little ole me” follow in the footsteps of the apostles? 

I assume that if you are taking the time to read this reflection, you are already following through with Jesus’ directives.  You may not know it, or you may not feel you can do it, but the roles assigned to you from heaven, are being acted out daily.  Despite our character flaws, most people I know do not feed into the grand lie that screams out, “It is impossible for you be an ambassador of God.”  There are times I doubt myself and this is the great paradox of walking in the footsteps of Christ.  I must fight this propaganda with all my heart and once I remember the words mentioned above, I receive the grace to carry on.

The simple truth is that we all possess the ability to be ambassadors of Christ. There are ambassadors all around us, doing the work needed to renew the face of the earth.  Just look to the pandemic and all who sacrificed their time and safety to care for others.  It was nothing short of remarkable to witness these holy disciples.  Is the work challenging at times? Yes.  Does exhaustion drag them down periodically? Absolutely.  And do they all fall into the trap of doubt and discouragement while trying to walk the walk?  Undoubtedly. 

I am blessed to be a part of a group of men who call themselves, Fishers of Men” and who are carrying the torch of the first disciples by praying daily and writing weekly reflections throughout the year.  And they are doing this anonymously, without a need to be recognized by using pseudo names to do their part as ambassadors of the faith and behind a cloak of obscurity. They are teaching me lessons of kindness, integrity, respect, acceptance and most importantly, humility with each reflection they post from their hearts.  Thank you, dear bothers.  For without each of you, I would sink into the abyss of doubt and uncertainty. So, before I leave and continue my path, I leave you with one question to ponder.  “How might God be asking you to be an ambassador for Christ?  The Pilgrim. 

 

They do not know the one who sent me

 In this weeks Gospel reading our Lord tells us "if the world hates you, realize that it hated me first." These are comforting words to those that feel alienated; anyone that finds themselves at odds with the world because of their belief in Jesus and all His teachings can be assured that they are on a good path. 

Perhaps you are reading this and saying to yourself that you're pretty happy with things the way they are. If you're like most people, you have a good number of friends, you get along with pretty much everyone.  Sure, there are those that don't really like you, but no one "hates" you that you know of. You believe in Jesus, follow His teachings, and you are NOT being persecuted. You love the world, the life you're living and you might be tempted to wonder what all that says about you. 

My guess is that in and of itself, it doesn't say anything about you. The Lord declared all creation "good" and certainly He wants us to enjoy the good gifts that he gives us. We are stewards of those gifts, and we are called to share them as well as enjoy them in good measure. Not all Saints were martyrs; and I dare say there are Saints who were popular in life and who died peaceful deaths. So even though one can find comfort in these words when they are stand before the power of hell; the lack of oppression due to your beliefs is only an invitation to examine your conscience. 

The question is; if those things changed, how would you respond?