Catholic Reflections 607 : Homily Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A - Sunday, May 21, 2017

Homily Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A - Sunday, May 21, 2017

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

       First Reading: Acts 8:5-8. 14-17

       Psalm: Ps 65:1-7. 16. 20. “Let all the earth cry out to God with joy”

       Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:15-18

       Gospel: John 14:15-21

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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A - Sunday, May 21, 2017 by clicking this link here:   https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-easter-6a 
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The readings this weekend speak of the early church communities forming just after Jesus returned to his Heavenly Father…   and had sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles and to the church….    The readings also show that the Holy Spirit sends the disciples out into mission..  into new territories…  further afield.. to preach and to spread the word of God further and further…..   
 
Jesus, as we hear in the Gospel this weekend…  prepared the apostles for his leaving (at his Ascension) by telling them that they would never really be left alone. They would never be like orphans; but, rather, the Spirit of Truth would come (at Pentecost). It is this Spirit that helped them to know the presence of Jesus in their lives even when they were no longer able to see him with their eyes.

Jesus asked the apostles to love him and to follow his commandments, for this is the way to have life. This is the way to experience the love of the Heavenly Father. There is really only one commandment, the single command to love. If we love Jesus, then we have love for one another. When we live the values and commands Jesus lived in his own life—humility, joy, peace, compassion and love —we are doing the will of the Father.

It is also the Spirit of Truth who helps us to understand the presence of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our lives even now and always.

In the coming week..  in some time of quiet and prayer and reflection..   let us reflect prayerfully upon some questions…….
• What is your experience of how Jesus continues to reveal himself to us today?
•     What value that Jesus lived do you find the most attractive?
•     When is the promise of the Spirit of Truth most alive in you?
•     How comforting is it to you to live in the promise that the Holy Spirit will always be with us?
 
And notice, in the gospel.. Jesus speaks about sending the Holy Spirit upon his followers…   the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth…  the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and makes us sons and daughters of God… and joins us to God.. so that we are in communion.. in union with God and with one another..  what a special gift!!!….
 
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and in our church is absolutely vital.  Without the Holy Spirit of God, we cannot do anything effective….
 
This truth was known right from the beginnings of the Church two thousand years ago… and so… the ancient greeting the early Christian communities gave to each-other reflected the presence and the truth of the Holy Spirit in their lives…  the priest or bishop would say “the Lord be with you”  and the people would reply.. “and with your Spirit”.,,,   this was a recognition and acknowledgement that the Spirit was present in us….    Rather fittingly.. the church has gone back to this ancient saying….    It actually never changed.. the English response we had been using forty years, before it was changed back to the ancient words again a few years ago)…  the words.. “and also with you”  we're actually a very loose translation; a paraphrase of the latin master-edition of the Mass….    And Rome and the local bishops decided that this translation didn’t capture sufficiently the recognition of the Holy Sprit, who is SO necessary for the life of the church.. now, since 2010, we Catholics have returned to the ancient words that say so much!!!  And, I must say, although it is an unusual phrase…  I like it..  I like how it acknowledges the presence and action of the Holy Spirit, and how this Spirit of God is with us always, bringing Jesus not only to mind, but also making him present and active in our lives, and in our hearts…  

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References:

Fr Paul W. Kelly

Celebrating the gospels  (Cronin).

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Archive of homilies and reflections is at: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
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Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
Lord Jesus, you healed the sick:Lord, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners:Christ, have mercy//Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength: Lord, have mercy.
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Memorial Acclamation

Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.

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Preparation of the Gifts
Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life.
       Blessed be God for ever.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you: fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink.
       Blessed be God for ever.
Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.
     May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church.

Easter V p.26

Euch Prayer II p.56

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Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life. Alleluia, Alleluia! 

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Paul's Reflections 496 : Homily Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B. 21st June, 2015

Homily Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B.  21st June, 2015

Jesus Calms the storms of life. Jesus is God, whom even the Wind and the Waves obey.

“Jesus was asleep in the boat; how few souls there are that let him have his sleep out! He can't be always doing all the work, responding to all the calls made upon him; so for my own part I am content to leave him undisturbed. I dare say he won't make his presence felt till I start out on the great retreat of eternity; I don't complain of that, I want it to happen… our Lord doesn't supply me with provisions for my journey – he just gives me food unexpectedly when and as I need it. [St Thérèse (1873-1897)]

I have never had much luck with boats. One time, whilst on Lake Cootharaba, in a tin boat we were coming close to the pier and the captain yelled out, "quickly, jump out and moor the boat.' I had always been taught that the captain must be obeyed in all things, so I immediately leaped out of the boat. Sadly, the captain had meant, "when the boat gets close enough to the pier please jump out.' The boat was not near enough to the pier so I leapt out and disappeared into the lake, but not before hitting my chin. The whole thing could have been terribly disastrous (even fatal), so I was very much relieved to discover that my head must be made of concrete because I leapt up out of the water, which was thankfully only three feet deep at the pier, and emerged sheepish, but fairly well. Later, I was lying in the back of the boat, half dazed and injured, as they took me back to the other side of the lake, and I thought about how Jesus has lain in the back of a boat as it crossed another river. I was in such a dazed state, I began musing on ponderous topics…..  such as this…."I reckon Jesus would have been calm even if the storm had not quietened, and even if the boat had sunk. This is because Jesus was totally and utterly at one with his Heavenly Father and had surrendered his will and his trust totally in his Father's will. So, come what may in his life and ministry, he was content to be calm and rest in God's will."

For my part, I vowed to be very hesitant to leap into or out of a boat very soon!

Not many of us would be fast asleep in a small boat which was tossing around like a cork on a stormy sea! Jesus must have been extremely exhausted, needing rest, and fearless. We may think the disciples should have had strong faith after the miracles they had witnessed. When we are going through difficult times, we, too, often forget that Jesus is there with us.

God in Jesus calms even what seems like the most unconquerable disturbances, just like the storm at sea.  

What "storms" assail my faith? How do I look to Jesus to quiet my fears?  The disciples wonder, "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?" ; How can I go beyond the "signs" of faith and grasp who Jesus is in my daily life?

Life is a challenge. Couples sometimes struggle with their relationships. Parents have to deal with their children growing up in a world that is sometimes hostile to the values we hold sacred. Kids sometimes live with parents who don't necessarily understand the distant horizons that call to a new generation. Every life has its storms that come up and threaten to sink our boats. Doesn't God care that we feel tossed about and lost? Can we believe that Jesus is with us, in our boat, snoozing on a cushion? We are confident and trusting that he will awaken to our calls and calm the storms that frighten us so?

“Why therefore be disturbed? Your heart is agitated by the tribulations of the world, as the boat in which Jesus Christ was asleep.... This boat in which Jesus Christ is sleeping is your heart in which faith is slumbering. What news do you hear, O Christian, what news do you hear?” —AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (354-430)

“When he established the Heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him.” —PROVERBS 8:27-30

 

 

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Extra

"We begin to reflect on who God is for each of us. What do we think of God? How have we experienced God in our lives? Like these early followers of Jesus, if we meet someone who can stop a storm, who can still the wind and the waves, we would surely be impressed and wonder about that person. Today we can imagine Jesus sleeping in this boat. It could not have been a very large boat and the storm would have been tossing it all over the place. And Jesus sleeps!

How many times have we experienced storms in our lives and thought that the Lord was asleep, that God was not concerned, that God was simply ignoring us? The Gospel today lets us know that God is always aware of what is happening in our lives, even when He seems asleep, unconcerned and uncaring. The Gospel invites us to a deep level of trust in our God. God loves us and cares for us always and will not let us perish. We don't always understand the ways of God—and that should never surprise us. God sees all and knows all and our vision and knowledge is so restricted!

The first reading today, from the Book of Job, is part of our learning about the divine also. Job finally realizes that God is God—and Job understands so little of all reality. We also must learn that lesson. We can easily think that we know what is best in any situation. So we don't pray and we don't even ask God to give us wisdom and understanding. We also need to repent, as Job does at the end of the Book of Job. We stand in the presence of the Almighty and think that we have more wisdom and knowledge than does the Almighty! Again, we can reflect on our personal image of God and of the power of God."

(excerpt from Abbot's Homily, Monastery of Christ in the Desert).

 

References:

 

* Fr Paul W. Kelly

* Abbot's Homily, Monastery of Christ in the Desert

* Some questions from Prepare the Word

 

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Homily 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B 8th February, 2015

Homily 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B  8th February, 2015     

 

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Jesus responded to need. Jesus had the most indescribable compassion for everyone he met; but his vision, the vitality of his message and the urgency of his preaching dictated his priorities and responses……..  and sometimes led to surprising results…. As we see in the Gospel today.     

 

Jesus, in the gospel this weekend, is fascinating.  Jesus travels the countryside preaching his message of the Kingdom of God, and enormous crowds of people gather. He teaches them, he heals them, he releases their burdens….  one gets a sense of a sea of need…. a vast, continuous, endless line of people seeking help, searching for hope, reaching out for a helping hand.  Jesus responds to this…. what is to be done…….so much.

 

Then, we hear that he rises very, very early, and goes off to a lonely place to pray…..to connect…. To re-focus….. to re-energise.

 

The crowds continue to search for him,  his disciples search for him and inform him that everyone is looking for him…..The needs of these crowds are most certainly real… and they are urgent….   and immediate…..   Yet, Jesus informs them that the message of his gospel is absolutely vital…..   of the highest importance……. and so, he tells his disciples that they must move on, they must continue his preaching in other places too……//   Jesus, aware of the many urgent demands of the crowds…   chooses to move one… to keep going on his journey….   because “vital” overrides “urgent”…. “important”  overrides “pressing”.

 

He leaves behind crowds of people still looking for healing, peace and hope….but he does not abandon them….his message… his presence for a short time has already brought the seeds of that hope taking root there…. in each of those crowds in the places Jesus visited…….  so many of them will take this message and run with it…….   as Jesus message spreads to other communities… those people pick up his message and consolidate it…..   nurture it………the Spirit builds on it (in and through the people who hear and respond to this)…..   //  and meanwhile…..Jesus must spread that message wider….   but it must have been heartbreaking that he couldn’t alone have touched and transformed each and every person Jesus met individually… but there was no time.. and his mission was urgent, vital, time was short// and his mission was on-going……

 

Thank goodness for this message…..    There is still so much to be done….// so much need….// so much to do, so little time to do it, the harvest is plentiful, the labourers are few……..//   there is no time but the present……   // there are crowds with similar needs in the next town Jesus will visit… and the town after that….. 

 

[Saint Paul can be inspiring, but his text today…(the second reading)…… : - “I shall be all things to all people…”. “(which has been the mantra of so many priests and so many who work in public ministry)…..   sadly, it is also a recipe for a nervous breakdown……… as we try to respond to every request, every need….  To be “one thing for one person”…. And quite “another thing for the other”………//      caution here is needed………….   and our Master, the Lord Jesus, managed to show us great example in this…. He didn’t fall for this trap…….]

 

This gospel shows the importance of action…. Of….“don’t just stand there do something….”

 

But this gospel also shows us the importance of prayer…… connectedness to our relationship with God…… that we take time out…. take a step back…. and see the big picture……   to connect to the source and the power and the reason behind all our efforts and actions…..    This part of Jesus message… is the counter-point to the first…. it is saying:  “don’t just do something…. STAND THERE”……   

 

Its reassuring to us….  There is still so much to be done… so much we can do…. so little time to do it…..   never enough hours in the day, //…days in the year…..  // we do what we can…// and keep our eyes on the big picture…. and draw strength, inspiration and vision from our time-out with God…. to focus our energy… direct our resources and ….   lead us through the “busy-ness” of our days with its many possibilities and needs…..   we can’t do everything… we are all too aware of our limitations….   so we ask the Lord to help us do some things well.

 

Lord, (in this), help us to know what is urgent…   help us to know what is vital…..  give us the strength to leave behind even the urgent, when the vital calls us……..    help us to know the difference…….

 

 

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REFERENCES:

 

·                    FR. PAUL W. KELLY

 

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