A Love Without Limits Starts.

It’s Easter Sunday. The pouring rain stopped yesterday. We’re wearing our best “church” clothes. Our parents tell us not to go outside right now. But it’s Easter and it’s sunny now and we sneak out anyway. All of a sudden, we fall down and scrape our knee and get our brand-new outfit all muddy. We might expect to hear, “I told you not to do that! Don’t you ever listen to me?” But our parent’s first reaction is to take us in their arms and comfort us and tell us everything is o.k. We experience their love without a word being said. In human terms, it’s a love without limits. It’s what parents do. They look beyond what has happened and replace that with love.

Now consider the love God has for us. It is exponentially greater than what we can ever imagine. Try to recall a time in the life of Jesus when he turned his back on someone. Those who wouldn’t follow, those who ridiculed him, those with unimaginable sins, those who crucified him were all people who turned their backs on Jesus but He still pursued them. That is truly a love without limits.

Jesus used the imagery of a shepherd because it was a familiar occupation at the time—perhaps not so much today. What’s the message then? If a spouse or a child or a close friend or even an acquaintance hurt us we couldn’t answer how we would respond because we don’t know the circumstances. Jesus could always answer because his response would always be the same—a love without limits.

Jesus doesn’t harbor ill feelings because of things we’ve done or promises we’ve broken. Jesus forgives despite the magnitude of our sin and that’s the example we’re asked to follow today. We are the sheep and Jesus is the shepherd who knows us, loves us and comforts us. We are also the shepherd to all those we come in contact with. That means it’s our responsibility to protect, feed, love and nurture others just like Jesus did.

It’s a tall order but it’s where a love without limits starts.

You Are Witnesses Of These Things

Luke tells us today when Jesus appeared, the disciples’ minds were open and they understood all that they had witnessed. Jesus then tells them, “You are witnesses of these things.” Peter also repeats that same phrase in the first reading today. This is our theme today.

What is a witness? Someone who can attest with confidence to a specific event or events. Yes, you are nervous…but you know what you saw and you speak the truth. A witness CHOOSES to step forward and recount what they saw or heard. That’s what Jesus was asking the disciples then and is asking us today. We’re not recounting an historical event, we’re part of it all. Do you have your doubts? 

Remember the Easter Vigil a few days ago. Christ, represented by the Paschal Candle, was the only light in church. Each of us then received our own light from that Paschal Candle. Each of us received our “marching orders” from the source of the light. What if the first person on that Saturday night refused to light their candle and spread that light to others? The church would have remained dark. Symbolic? Yes. It means we are called to be witnesses to the Light. That’s the message today. We are not bystanders. We are called to be witnesses in life.

Faith Always Trumps Doubt

We hear a version of this Gospel every year after Easter. Why? It’s an important message even today. 

The doors were locked. The courage the apostles showed the last three years with Jesus at their side was replaced with fear. So, when Jesus appeared to them, their knees were knocking. His first words were, “Peace be with you.” Reassuring words! He calmed their fears and brought them peace. We hear that phrase repeated three times in today’s Gospel.

Then Jesus did something which only love and trust can do. He commissioned His weak and timid apostles to preach the Gospel and make new disciples. As the Father had sent Jesus, He now sends them. But to calm their fears and give them strength, his last gift was the Holy Spirit. We get that same gift and we get that same commission—to be disciples and spread the word.

But we hear Thomas wasn’t there. Even though the others told him of Jesus’ resurrection and his appearing to them, he didn’t believe. So Jesus appeared again and Thomas recognized Jesus, believed and exclaimed that Jesus was truly Lord and God! 

Through the gift of faith we, too, proclaim that Jesus is our Lord and God. We may think we couldn’t possibly “preach the Gospel” and make“ disciples” of others. We doubt our abilities and we feel the job of discipleship should be left to someone else.”

Think about it. Jesus laid down his life for us. Is spreading His word too much to ask? We’re not asked to stand on a street corner. We’re asked to lead a life that reflects Christ in us so others may see that light and find hope and consolation in the Resurrected Lord.

Alleluia – He is Risen!

The Resurrection—something without which Christianity would be meaningless. Mary of Magdala tells Jesus’ disciples, who were still unsure of everything that had transpired over the past week, that someone has taken Jesus from the tomb. Peter and John run there, don’t understand but still believe.

We all have a mental picture of this gigantic boulder rolled away from the tomb on Easter morning. These days we have our own boulders as well. Many of us walk through life as if we were already dead and buried. We get caught up in all the false promises of this world and find ourselves in tombs— wrapped in burial cloths of depression and fear. Oftentimes we are trapped in tombs of our own making. 

On this day of rejoicing, we should look at Easter as our “reality check” reminding us believers that the Resurrection is real and it spits in the face of this world’s tombs! Today, that is the message for us. Roll away those heavy stones! Leave the tombs behind! Accept the gift we have been given by Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection. Unbind the self-imposed burial cloths and walk out into the bright Light of Easter.

Are you a "Consumer Catholic" ?

“Consumer Catholic” –an interesting phrase. Perhaps we follow the Church’s teaching to the letter of the law but that is all we do. We have a good prayer life. We rarely, if ever, commit a serious sin. However, as disciples of Christ, we are not to be consumers only. Sure, there are times we need to be fed spiritually, but there are many more times others need to be fed spiritually as well and it’s our responsibility as Catholics, as disciples, to participate.  Showing up on Sunday, taking in what’s being proclaimed, and leaving with no further action on our part is not what being a follower of Christ means.

In today’s Passion reading, we hear of the people of Jerusalem waving palms and chanting “Hosanna” to their King. These are the same people we read later that jeered at Jesus and chanted,“Crucify him!” Fickle. We can’t have it both ways. We’re either “for Jesus” or “against Jesus”. If we are for Jesus, then we’ll take this week’s message to heart—don’t be a “Consumer Catholic”. Find a way, even the smallest way at first, to become involved in something pertaining to our faith...and what a week to start! Holy Week reminds us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. It might be a good time for us to start returning the favor.

Here is our Holy Week Schedule - which I hope you can be a part of:

HOLY THURSDAY (April 2, 2015)

7:00 p.m. - Mass celebrated by Bishop Matthew Ustrzycki followed by Procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the Repository with Adoration until 11:00 p.m.

GOOD FRIDAY (April 3, 2015 )

11:00 a.m. - Solemn Liturgy adapted for children

3:00 p.m. - Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday

7:00pm - Stations of the Cross

HOLY SATURDAY (April 4, 2015)

1:00 p.m. - Blessing of Easter Food (Church)

7:00 p.m. - Solemn Easter Vigil

EASTER SUNDAY (April 5, 2015)

8:00 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.

The Final Days

Did you ever find yourself looking back at your week and saying, “Oh, yeah, I was going to do that,” or “It just skipped my mind.” Another week passes and we say the same thing again. It’s that way with our spiritual life as well. To coin an old expression, to fail to plan is to plan to fail.

In this week’s Gospel, we hear Jesus discussing His impending death with Philip and Andrew, and he admits that He is troubled. Yet that was why He came to this point in His ministry—to die so that we might live. Death, as unfortunate as it is, is often a wakeup call for us. We realize our mortality and we decide something needs to change. Interestingly, some people start organizing their closets, get their wills up to date, heal broken relationships, etc. 

This week our message is to create a plan for life. What do we want to do differently? What have we looked back upon with regret? How is our relationship with God? We never know the length of time for the “rest of our life.” It may be 1 more minute, a day, a month or years. The wise person will choose to plan the rest of their life sooner rather than later—rather than too late. Let us spend this 5th week of Lent beginning to plan our journey ahead, not looking back with regret, but looking forward to the rest of eternity with God.

Love Where You Are.

The theme for this 4th Sunday of Lent focuses us on loving where we are. Perhaps that’s a little ambiguous, so let’s look at it in a different way. It’s easy to love someone from a distance. There are no strings attached. If we walk away perhaps no one will even notice. 

Christ, however, gave us the example of loving where we are. In His public life He crossed paths with saints and sinners, lepers, the blind and the lame. He went to them where they were. He loved them where they were. 

 We often “think” about getting involved and then find reasons not to: “I don’t have enough time.” “My schedule conflicts with their meeting times.” “My weekends are my own,” “Why would I ever want to go on a mission trip and sleep in a hammock,” and on and on. Loving our neighbor doesn’t require us to jump in with both feet. It isn’t an all of nothing request. We can love right where we are—with as little or as much time as we have. 

That is the message for this week. Jesus found time to love everyone he came in contact with and as his disciples, we’re called to do the same. “Distance is to love like wind is to fire... it extinguishes the small and kindles the great!” Let us pray that we may love “greatly”.