Ascension

Today in the church we celebrate the ascension of our Lord into Heaven.

What exactly does this feast do for us?

When we think about the major feast in the church most of them we understand.

Christmas, we can relate with. A baby born in a manger; mom and dad seeking the best possible place. a time of crisis filled with a bundle of blessing. We know what this is like.

Good Friday: we know what Good friday is without a doubt. We all relate to suffering, pain, crucifixion and death.


Easter: what a feast of joy. Who cannot relate to the reality of death being destroyed. THe human heart longs for this and thus we celebrate with great enthusiasm.

But the Ascension leaves us scratching our head. What do we do with this.

The Ascension is primarily a feast of hope and joy united. The Joy of Jesus is our hope.
The feast of the Ascension invites us to look back on Jesus' life and try to understand where he comes from and how he got where he is, ascending into heaven.

Think about his life
*crown of thorns that pierced his head and bloodied his face is transformed into crown of gold.
*the mocking crowd that had harsh and angry words, pushing and shoving this innocent man is now transformed into a myriad of angels in celestial praise
*the betrayal of judas, kiss of deceit is transformed into the fulfillment of love. Love cannot be denied.
*the denial by Peter as the cock crows is transformed into a welcome of heaven, with arms outstretched.
*the agony of the garden, where sweat was like drops of blood is transformed into glory.

In the ascension we experience the mess of living give way to the beauty of life. We see the mess of living become something beautiful for God.

The circumstance of Jesus' life did not deter him. The circumstances did not make his life. His life was determined by a decision of faithfulness with each step he took regardless of the circumstances and thus he opened up to a new horizon of joy.

The ascension shows us the power of perseverance in faith that transforms our reality and invites us to life of high.

We all have a sad story to tell. We all have harsh realities to deal with. We all have circumstances that are not in our favor. But JEsus' has the saddest story of all and yet he remains steadfast and shows us what life can be with proper perseverance and dedication to something greater than one's self.
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The Ascension is an event horizon. It is an invitation into a new dimension. Jesus transcends time and space. HE takes our humanity and incorporates it into the fullness of God, God's way of being and God's way of loving.

God creates space for us in the ascension and thus gives us a reason and a cause to create space for him here and now on earth.

This is why JEsus tells the Apostles at the end of the first reading Acts 1:1-11, when they ask "Lord, will you restore the Kingdom of ISrael" and he replies, "it is not for you to know the time or seasons the Father has established by his own power. But you will receive power...you will be my witnesses..."

When we create space for God in our life then the kingdom is restored through us. Jesus has done his work it is time for us to do ours.

By creating space for God in our life, we live the kingdom, we build the kingdom, we make the kingdom come.

We can finally live out perfectly what we pray, "on earth as it is in heaven."

JEsus opens heaven to earth below when he rises, ascends upward.



When we look at the gospel, Jesus does something to strengthen us and give us courage.

As he ascends, he lifts his hands and blessed the Apostles as he goes upward. THis may seem like a nice gesture but there is more to it.


The gospel writers what us to remember that Jesus is the new moses, the one who leads us to a new exodus. In order to understand what Jesus does, sometimes it is best to see how moses acted.

In exodus 17, Israelites are in a fight with their enemy. As long as Moses as his hands held high, Israelites taste victory. When his hands are down, then they experience defeat. Hands up brings victory, hands down defeat.

When JEsus ascends with hands held high he is reminding the Apostles that on their mission, victory is guaranteed for his hands are forever raised high. We live forever on earth under the blessings hands of Christ raised upward as a sign of victory thus giving us courage to create that space necessary for God so that the kingdom can be restored through us.

The kingdom is alive through us in the power of faith animating throughout our lives. Thus the mess of living can truly be something beautiful for God regardless of circumstances. Through us the kingdom comes alive. Thus hope and joy unite.

The joy of Jesus is our hope and may we have life on high.

Saturday reflection: organic love

1 John 3:11-17

This morning in the office of reading we read from the first letter of John. The letter states the following:

"I ask you, how can God's love survive in a man who has enough of this world's goods yet closes his heart to his brother when he sees him in need?"


What a pertinent question?

How can God's love survive in a man when his heart is closed to his brother in need?

The question points to the reality that God's love can be destroyed. God's love can shrivel and die. God's love is a gift that can be taken for granted. God's love needs to be nourished and nurtured and tended.

God's love is organic, living and breathing reality in our life that when left untended can whither away.

God's love can be killed by our action and inaction.

How we relate to others and how we reach outward has a great deal of effect on the love of God living in our life.

How do we nourish that love?
How do we tend the garden of our soul where God's love has been planted by the Holy Spirit?
Have we been negligent?

WIll we let that love survive, blossom, and be prosperous?

"we too must lay down our life for our brothers..." st John tells us. This is how we keep love alive.

Matthias

Acts 1:15-17,20-26; Psalm 113 The Lord will give a seat with the leaders of his people; John 15:9-17

Do you remember your first kiss?
Most people remember their first kiss. These are big moments in the life of a child becoming a man. I was in 4th grade when i shared my first kiss in the closet of the classroom in Catholic School.

I often wonder if the girl remembers it as I do?

First kiss! IT was a big deal.

Kisses are memorable. Some are good memories and some are not so good.

It is an infamous kiss that brings us to the first reading today. Where Peter stands up and announces that the church must now replace Judas, the one who with a kiss betrayed Jesus in the garden. This kiss certainly has left a lasting memory.

Two questions come to mind
Why did Judas do this?
There are two answers that come to mind.

For Judas, things were not going his way. Jesus wasn't doing what Judas wanted fast enough. Perhaps he got a little impatient and tried to rush head, taking matters into his own hands.

How often have we betrayed JEsus because we felt things weren't going our way fast enough. How often have we been impatient with God's plan in our life and we took matters into our own hands? How often have we left a kiss of betrayal in our wake as we rushed ahead making demands where simple obedience was required?

Secondly, the Scriptures mention that Judas gave into temptation. Temptation is always a clear and present danger for us all. As St. Peter warns us, the devil is prowling seeking to devour souls. We must be attentive and alert. We have to keep our eyes peeled and our ears open, lest we be deceived and carried away.

Second question is how did Jesus handle this kiss of betrayal?

Jesus took the kiss of betrayal and transformed it into a gift of love. The passion of Christ takes the act of betrayal and transforms it. This is the real power of the resurrection. Every act of betrayal does not have to remain an act of betrayal. We, by the power of the resurrection living in us, can transform it into something beautiful for God.

It takes work. The cross was no easy feat, but it was a work well worth it.

If only Judas had remembered this then perhaps he would not have committed suicide. Judas repented from his betrayal but his repentance degenerated into an act of self-destruction for he lost sight of the mercy of God.

We should never underestimate the mercy of God.

In today's reading Matthias is selected to replace the one who betrayed Jesus, to replace the one who betrayed love itself. Jesus seeks to do this in our life at every moment. He wants to replace our old self of betrayal with a true self that gives witness to the power of the resurrection.

It is never too late.

Every time we celebrate the Eucharist we celebrate the power of God to transform an act of betrayal into salvific love, a gift that changes everything. May we give witness to this power daily.

zealous not foolish

acts 18:1-8; Jhn 16:16-20

In the reading from Acts, We find Paul leaving Athens and going to Corinth. We encounter a list of early converts: Aquila, Priscilla, Titus Justus, Crispus.

The faith was spreading but not every one accepted what Paul had to say.

18:6 "When they opposed him and insulted him, he would shake out his garments in protest and say to them, ;your blood be on your own heads. I am not to blame! From now on, I will turn to the gentiles.'"

"Your blood be on your own heads."

What does this mean?

Paul is simply reminding the people of the personal responsibility necessary. They must become responsible and integrate the word preached to them personally in their lives. There is always a personal aspect of faith necessary for faith to be truly genuine and authentic and sincere.

IF we do not personally take responsibility then we shall personally be responsible.

Paul is telling them that he had done all that he could do. It was now in their hands to decide to act or remain obstinate.

When we look in the world we encounter a lot of people trying to skirt their responsibility. They always find someone to blame for their situation. Children blame teachers for their bad grades. Athletes will blame coaches for losing games. We will blame our bosses for low moral and productivity. We often blame our parents for our behavior and personality traits. We blame our president for our country. We blame supreme court for morality issues. we blame our legislatures for bad laws. We blame God for everything else.

At some point, we have to recognize it is our responsibility. God does his part, do we do our part. The blood is on our own heads.


We can learn a lot from Paul. Paul knew when to stop pushing. Paul knew when he had reached his limit and done all that he could do. He was not ashamed to back away and let people deal with the personal responsibility and freedom God gave them from the beginning. Paul knew when to walk away.

Paul knew when to push and pull; he also knew when to cool the jets and look elsewhere.

One moment he was "absorbed in preaching in giving evidence to the Jews that JEsus was the messiah" (Acts 18:5) and the next he leaves them be to think about what he had said (18:6).

Paul was zealous for Jesus but he was no fool.

At some point we too must leave people be and let the grace of God do the rest.

unknown no longer

Acts 17:15,22-18:1; Psalm 148 Heaven and earth are full of your glory; John 16:12-15


St. PAul tell us in the first reading that "God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that all people everywhere repent because he has established a day on which he will judge the world with justice through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead."

This week we are accompanying Pope BEnedict on his pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal. Fatima is the location where the BLessed Mother appeared to three shepherd children 6 times beginning May 13, 1917 until October 13, 1917.

She asked that the world increase its devotion and fervor of faith to bring about conversion and true peace. She asked that the people pray the rosary daily. Meditating on the life of Christ daily would effect a deeper conversion and a more stable life of faith.

Pope Benedict upon his arrival had these words to share:
"Relationship with God is constitutive of the Human Being, who was created and ordered toward God. He must seek truth by means of his cognitive process, tend toward the good in the sphere of volition, be attracted by beauty in the aesthetic dimensions. Consciousness is Christian to the degree it opens itself to the fullness of life and wisdom that we find in Jesus Christ."


In other words: We must seek the truth with our minds, do good with our wills, allow beauty to enter into our hearts and then we shall begin to fully open up to the person of Jesus as the fullness of life.

Every time we say the rosary we seek the truth with our minds as we think about the life of Christ, his ministry, his service, his teaching. He is truth himself. We learn to do as he did as we conform our will to his and truly understand goodness seen in action in the life of Christ. We learn to love what is good for us from goodness himself. We let the beauty of such a life, the God man who brings grace and redemption, to enter into our life and heart and show us what true beauty is all about, "no greater love then to lay down one's life for one's friends." Is there anything more beautiful?

In the Rosary, truth, goodness, and beauty converge in the person of Jesus Christ himself. Perhaps this is why the Blessed Mother in Fatima encouraged us to pray the rosary daily, so that we may open ourselves to fullness of life in Jesus and thus open the world to God himself.


The unknown God is no longer unknown. In the face of Jesus God is made known. Here is the man God has appointed.

Prayer of Pope BEnedict in Fatima upon arrival: click here

reason to sing

Link to worthy Mother's Day homily by Bishop of St. Augustine Florida: click here

Acts 16:22-34; Psalm 138 YOur right hand saves me, O Lord; John 16:5-11


Today we encounter Paul and his companions entering onto the soil of Europe in a little place called Philippi. For the first time, the gospel of Christ is being preached on european soil.

Immediately Paul makes several converts: lydia, a wealthy merchant, a slave girl, and a Roman jailer. Each one of these people were from different social classes: top, bottom and middle. Paul converted the gamut of society and shows how the gospel is meant for all peoples. Paul shows how the preaching of Jesus is meant to be the bridge that closes the gap between peoples.


Paul and his companions are arrested and beaten for preaching. They are thrown in jail and chained to the floor.
Certainly, these were not the expected outcomes of their mission. Yet, Paul and his companions do something unthinkable.

They do not complain, pout, or grow bitter. They simply and faithfully pray and sing hymns. Paul and his companions never let their circumstances dictate their joy but they let their joy be the driving force in their life. Joy is not about what is going on outside but who is going on inside. Keep close to Jesus and we keep joy alive.


This explains why Paul in his letter to Philippi years later reminds the faithful that they should "rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

Paul is reminding them of how he and his companions carried themselves that first time and every time thereafter.

Joy is not a feeling, joy is rather about faithfulness. We are faithful then we will always have a song in our heart and reason to sing upon our lips.

a new saint

Today in the church we celebrate the first feast day of the newly canonized Saint Damien of Molokai.

Saint Damien spent his ministry as a priest living among lepers, even becoming one himself.
The most effective moment of his ministry is said have been when he climbed the pulpit to give a homily, shortly after discovering that he himself had leprosy, and he began with these words, "we lepers."

The people realized he was one of them, he belonged and thus they could trust him and let him into their lives because he understood where they were coming from, what they were experiencing, their fears and sorrows. HE now understood their heart and thus they were willing to put themselves into his hands as their priest.

"we lepers."

The incarnation lived out once again. God becomes man to show to us that he understands. We can trust him with our hearts because he has a human heart like ours. We belong with him for he comes to be with us.

"we lepers."

St. Damien pray for us that we will always seek to understand the other person, becoming one them so to better lead them to God.