Pentecost - Where is the Holy Spirit in the Bible?

  

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. A few years ago, someone asked me where is the Holy Spirit in the bible? I got to thinking after we had that discussion, many people don’t know where the Holy Spirit is found in scripture. The truth is the whole bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We believe God is the author of Sacred Scripture and he used men to write books in the bible under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, such that they never wrote more or less than what God wanted them to write.

First lets’ look at a few examples in the Old Testament and then we will focus mainly on the New Testament to see specific references to the Holy Spirit.

In the first chapter of Genesis it states: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the waters.” (Gen. 1:2) At the very beginning when God created the world, the Holy Spirit was there and played a role in creating the world.

When the prophet Ezekiel was prophesying over dead bones he said, “See, I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life. I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am the Lord.” This foreshadows the General Resurrection, when the Holy Spirit will give new bodies, to the living and the dead.

Ezekiel also said, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” (Ez. 36:26), which refers to baptism. In Psalm 104 David states, “When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.”

The Holy Spirit is active in the New Testament, in the following examples. At the annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, He said, “Holy Spirit will come upon you”. (Lk. 1:35) And when Mary consented and said, “Let it be done unto me according to thy word”, (Lk. 1:38) the Holy Spirit immediately helped to bring about the incarnation, when Jesus took His flesh from the womb of Mary and became man.

During Mary’s Visitation to Her cousin Elizabeth, the Holy Spirit was active as Jesus, the unborn infant, sanctified John the Baptist in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth. When she heard Mary’s greeting, the babe leaped in her womb and filled with the Holy Spirit Elizabeth cried out, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Lk. 1:41-42)

At Jesus’ baptism, He was anointed with the Holy Spirit when “the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.” (Mk. 1-9-11) Jesus was then led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. (Matt. 4:1)

When returning from the desert, the power of the Spirit caused Him to begin to teach in synagogues. (Lk 4:14) When He went to a synagogue at His hometown of Nazareth, He stood up and read from the prophet Isaiah. He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” (Lk. 4:18) And when He sat down, Jesus said, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk. 4:21), which meant, He is the Messiah.

When referring to the many different workings of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “The wind blows where it will.” (Jn. 3:8) During His bread of life discourse Jesus said, “the Spirit gives life.” (Jn. 6:63). When Jesus said, “Out of his (one’s) heart shall flow rivers of living water”, He was referring to the Holy Spirit.

At the Last Supper, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to help the apostles. He said, “I will send Him to you.” (Jn. 16:7), whom Our Lord called the “Advocate” (Jn. 16:7). He told His apostles, the Holy Spirit will “convince the world of sin and righteousness and of judgment.”

He convinces the world of sin, by helping us to know our sins and to be sorry for our sins. He helps us in the way of righteousness by sanctifying us and making us holy. In judgment, the Holy Spirit helps us in our decision making, to choose good rather thane evil.

Jesus called the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of truth” (Jn. 14:17), who will “guide you (His disciples) to all truth.” (Jn. 16:13). Our Lord told the apostles, “The Holy Spirit will teach you all things and remind you of all that I said.” (Jn. 14:26). He said when the apostles would be persecuted, they were not to worry about what they would say because, “…for it is not you, who will speak, but the Holy Spirit.” (Jn. 13:11).

After His Resurrection, Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Confession when He breathed on His apostles and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you forgive are forgiven them…” (Jn. 20:22-23) Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His apostles, “…you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit” And He told them, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Jesus told His Disciples, “Go therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:19) By these words, we clearly see the Holy Spirit is God, equal to the Father and the Son.

The Acts of the Apostles, written by St. Luke mentions the Holy Spirit’s activity in the early Church so often, the book is often called the “the book of the Holy Spirit”. The most significant event in the Acts of the Apostles was Pentecost.

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles and the Virgin Mary prayed for nine days, (Acts. 1:14) in the upper room, waiting for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. When the day of Pentecost arrived, suddenly, a sound came from heaven, like a rush of mighty wind, and it filled the house they were sitting. And there appeared to them, tongues in the form of fire. The Holy Spirit came down, and rested upon the Apostles, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all were filled with the Holy Spirit. They spoke in tongues such that each person heard the apostles speak in their own language. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were no longer afraid.

After the Holy Spirit descended, Peter stood up and gave his address to all gathered around them, which resulted in three thousand who were baptized that day, which was a result of the Holy Spirit. Because of the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles boldly went out to the ends of the earth to make disciples of all nations. The Spirit began to work through the apostles, by their preaching, teaching and healing of the sick. And from the day of Pentecost, they would become great witnesses of the Gospel, even to the shedding of their blood as martyrs.

After St. Paul became a follower of Jesus, He helped the early Christians grow in their understanding of the Holy Spirit. He told the Corinthians, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corin. 6:19) Paul also said, “…the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 5:5) St. Paul told the Romans,“The Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought.”

Today, and every day, may we turn to the Holy Spirit. For He is God. The Holy Spirit is love. He is life, truth, our advocate, teacher, and guide. He is the sanctifier and therefore makes us holy. He enlightens us to help us know our sins and guides us when making decisions. He helps us remember, speaks through us- to others and He convinces the world of sin, righteousness and judgment and helps us to pray.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, pray for us, that we will be like the apostles, (instruments of the Holy Spirit) to assist Him in renewing the face of the earth.

 

Pentecost- Inspirations of the Holy Spirit

 

Today, we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Out of fear of being persecuted, the apostles had all gathered in the Upper Room and prayed for 9 days for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind and flames of fire appeared above their heads and all were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles the gift of courage to bear witness to Jesus throughout the world now they would be even willing to lay down their life for Him, whom they loved above all things.

The Holy Spirit has many titles, such as the Advocate, the consoler, giver of life, enlightener, Spirit of truth, sanctifier, purifier, revealer, uniter, reconciler, spirit of adoption, Spirit of Christ, second person of the Trinity, Spirit of God, Spirit of promise, Spirit of glory. He is pictured as a fire, a cloud, the finger of God, the wind, a dove, the hand of God, and anointing.

The Holy Spirit is known for seven-fold gifts: wisdom, knowledge, understanding, courage, counsel, fear of the Lord, and piety.

There are also fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness, and chastity.

The Holy Spirit acts in the sacraments, especially Confirmation. The very first sacrament of Confirmation was on the day of Pentecost, when the Apostles and the Virgin Mary were filled with the Holy Spirit and when tongues of fire resulted in them becoming courageous, where as before, they were hiding out of fear. Confirmation makes firm baptismal graces, so that we may be a witness for Christ, a soldier for Christ, and fearless in proclaiming the truth.

What I would like to do is give you some examples of how the Holy Spirit works. One day, when I was an associate pastor at St. Francis parish in Wichita, I went to visit a Catholic patient at a rehab center. When I was at the parish and before I went to the rehab center, I said a prayer. I said, “Lord, I haven’t heard any big confessions for while, I would sure like to hear some.”

When I arrived, I went to the Catholic’s room and heard her confession, and, as I was leaving, a nurse grabbed me, and said, “We have a Catholic in this room too, and she would like to see a priest.” I visited the patient, who said, “Father, I haven’t been to confession for a long time, will you hear my confession?” It had been 25 years since the person went to confession. Then as I was leaving, a woman was hollering at me from another room I was passing by. When I went to see what she wanted, she said, “Father, I would like to go to Confession.” It had been over 40 years since she went to Confession. When combining all three confessions, in a period of 15 minutes, the Lord washed away a combination of over 75 years of sins. How wonderful the Holy Spirit inspired me to pray that prayer and how wonderful the Holy Spirit inspired them to want to go to Confession.

It is the Holy Spirit, who inspires people to be sorry for their sins. The Holy Spirit inspires people to want to go to Confession. The Holy Spirit helps each person to know their sins. And its the Holy Spirit who gives advice through the priest and then its the Holy Spirit who washes their sins away through the absolution of the priest.

Once, when I was doing hospital ministry at St. Francis Xavier Hospital in Tulsa, I was walking down a hallway, and was in a hurry to see another patient. There was no reason to be in a hurry, but I was.

I happened to notice an elderly woman, who appeared to be lost. But, being in a hurry, I zoomed past her and kept going. Then I felt guilty for not helping her, and went back to see if I could help her.

When I came up to the woman, I said, “Are you lost? Do you need help?” She said, “I can’t find my way out of here.” I gave her directions, and then said, “Are you visiting someone?” She said, “Yes, my husband. He’s dying.” I said, “I’m sorry to hear that, would you like me to visit him?” She said, “Oh, yes, but he doesn’t know Jesus.” I said, “Do you want to come with me?” She said, “No, I need to go home to take care of the mule and the chickens.” I said, “Oh, so you live out in the country?” She said, “No, we live in Tulsa.” I chuckled to myself. She gave me his room number and when I arrived at his room, I explained how I met his wife in the hall and how she thought it would be good for me to visit him. He said, “I’m dying.” I said, “I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like me to pray with you?” He said, “Sure.” I said, “What religion are you?” He said, “I don’t have a religion, but I know Jesus and I love Him.” I thought, “Your wife doesn’t know you love Jesus.” I said, “Are you baptized?” He said, “No. But I have always wanted it.” I said, “Would you like me to baptize you?” He said, “Oh, yes, please, I would love that.” I said, “Do you want me to call your wife, so she can be here?” He said, “No, I want to do it, as a surprise for her.” I asked a Catholic nurse to be his godparent and baptized him. He died a few days later. All of his sins and the punishment due to his sins were washed away and it was all due to the inspiration the Holy Spirit, to cause me to want to help the woman who was lost. Had I not went back to help the woman, he may never have received the sacrament.

Also in Tulsa, I accidentally went to a wrong room to visit a Catholic patient. I had misread the room number. When I entered the room, I said, “Are you, Sally?” The patient said, “No, but I’m Catholic.” I looked at the paper and realized I was in the wrong room. The woman wasn’t listed as Catholic, and so I said, “Oh, you're not listed as Catholic.” She said, “Yes, but I am.” She said, “Can I go to Confession?” I heard her confession, anointed her, and gave her Holy Communion. She had surgery, but didn’t do well and died shortly afterwards. Had I not gone to the wrong room, she may have never received the sacraments before she died. It was the Holy Spirit, who led me to her room, so she could be reconciled with God and receive Jesus in Holy Communion before she died.

In Mulvane, Kansas there was a Catholic boy about the age of 10, who invited his non-Catholic friend to attend Mass with him on Sunday. The non-Catholic boy said his family were not attending their protestant church. The non-Catholic boy kept attending Mass with the Catholic boy and then one day, he told his friend, “I want to be Catholic”. Soon the non-Catholic boy’s family started to attend Mass too and within a few months, the parents decided they wanted their entire family of five children and the parents to become Catholic. They went through RCIA and became Catholic, simply because the Catholic boy invited his friend to attend Mass with him.

It was the Holy Spirit who inspired the Catholic boy to invite his non-Catholic friend to church and it was the Holy Spirit who inspired the family to want to also attend church and then become Catholic.

The point is, the Holy Spirit works through simple, yet small inspirations, that can have a tremendous impact in our lives.

I will tell you one more story and you can determine if you think this was the Holy Spirit or not.

One day, before I became a priest, I was working in the purchasing department of a hospital in Hays, when a ward sectary from a nursing unit called and was frantic.

When I answered the phone she said, “Come to the third floor medical unit, right away. The card machine is smoking and is on fire.” I said, “You need to call maintenance.” She said, “I tried, but they won’t come. Please come here right away.” I dutifully and quickly took the stairs, as your not supposed to take the elevator in a fire. When I arrived, I saw the unit had become filled with smoke. I said, “Turn off the machine.” She said, “It doesn’t have a switch and I can’t unplug it because the cord is in the corner of the counter top.” She was right there was not on/off switch. So in order to shut if off, I had to remove the bottom drawer from the console desk and crawl inside to pull the plug. Since I couldn’t fit inside, I tried to reach for the cord, but couldn’t. Finally, after some twisting and turning, I was able to get the top part of my torso in the hole and pull the plug.

But, I was stuck. No matter how I turned my shoulders and my arms, I couldn’t get out. I began to panic, and said, “Call maintenance, I’m stuck.” She said, “I ain’t calling them. Do you think they will come up here to get you out, when they wouldn’t come up here if we have a fire.” I kept trying every which way to back out and my chest and arms were getting bruised.

She said, “I have an idea.” She grabbed my two legs and put her foot on the top of the counter and began yanking. It was painful as she tried to pull me out. I became angry, and said, “Mary Ann, don’t do that!” Finally, after a few minutes of turning this way and that way, I was able to finally back out.

Now do you think it was the Holy Spirit, who inspired her to call the purchasing department to turn off the machine? Do you think it was the Holy Spirit who inspired me to crawl in the hole and pull the plug? Do you think it was the Holy Spirit who caused her to pick up my legs and yank? It certainly wasn’t the Holy Spirit, who inspired me to say something out of anger.

The point is, everything we do is not the Holy Spirit inspiring us to do something, but if we are inspired to do something charitable for others, most likely it was the Holy Spirit.

Today, let us pray to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to guide and enlighten us in our daily life and let us ask the Virgin Mary to be open to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.

Ascension of Jesus

Today we celebrate the solemnity of the ascension of Jesus into heaven. In most of the world, the ascension was celebrated on Thursday because Jesus in fact ascended into heaven 40 days after He rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. But in many dioceses in the United States and some other countries, the Ascension of the Lord is transferred to Sunday.

During the forty days between His resurrection and ascension into heaven He appeared to His apostles many times instructing them and teaching them. He trained His apostles for their high calling. Comforted them because they had been scandalized by His death on the Cross. He taught them about the kingdom of God which they were to establish on earth. He inflamed their hearts for a longing for His heavenly kingdom and excited them to love God ever more fervently. Perhaps He instructed them on the sacraments and how to pasture the people. Maybe He told them to ask for the advice and prayers of His Mother, while She is on earth and later pray to Her after She would go to heaven. She would help them, console them and guide them to form the early Church.

The apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary gathered on top of the Mount of Olives. It was at the base of the mountain where Jesus had His agony in the garden. Now, from the top of the mountain Our Divine Lord appeared to them. Curiously, though they gazed upon Him, they doubted out of human weakness. Some still mistakenly wondered when He was going to restore the kingdom of Israel thinking he was going to somehow conquer the enemies of Israel by force.

To receive the Advocate, He told them to stay in Jerusalem so they would receive power from the Holy Spirit to be witnesses unto the ends of the earth. They were to be a witness by proclaiming all that He taught them, and most importantly they would witness by their life, as martyrs, except John, whose enemies attempted to kill by boiling him in oil, though he miraculously survived. In Jerusalem, the Apostles with the Virgin Mary would pray for 9 days for the coming of the Holy Spirit in the upper room (the same place Jesus ordained them as priests, the same place they made their first Holy Communion and attended the first Mass at the Last Supper, and the same place Jesus appeared to them, breathing on them giving them power to forgive sins).

St. Luke tells us Jesus gave the apostles His blessing before ascending into heaven. We can picture the loving reverence in which they received His blessing by kneeling, thanking and praying before Him as they gave Him homage.

Their hearts must have been filled with joy when suddenly a cloud appeared at His feet and He was lifted up into the sky towards heaven. By His own almighty power, He rises up to heaven and disappears. In the Old Testament, God was accustomed to appear and speak to His people from a cloud. The cloud which received the Savior at His ascension is the final testimony to His divinity. Catholic tradition is that Jesus miraculously left His footprints on the stone in which He was standing. The footprint on the stone can be seen in the chapel of the Ascension located on the exact place it’s believed Jesus ascended into heaven on the Mount of Olives.

His ascension into heaven completes His earthly work. What a heartbreaking farewell, though at the same time accompanied by a great joy to see their Master glorified. How deep must have been their sorrow at parting from Him, how keen their longing to follow Him. Who can enter into the Heart of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who having once lost Her divine Son at the foot of the Cross and then find Him at His glorious Resurrection when He appeared to Her and now She had to suffer once again to be taken from Her once more!

Though His earthly life was completed by His ascension, the life of His mystical body, the Church would begin.

Let us picture to ourselves as well as we can, what took place in heaven when our Savior entered it. Let us try to obtain a glimpse of this glorious scene. Thousands of blessed souls were in His train, but thousands upon thousands of angels, yes all the Hosts of the heavenly choirs came out to meet Him, the Savior of the world, the conqueror of evil, the King of Heaven, singing with one voice, “Lift up your gates and the King of Glory shall enter in. Who is this? The King of Glory. The Lord of Hosts, the King of Glory” And Jesus, mounting higher and higher, above all the principalities, powers, virtues and dominions, take His place beside the Heavenly Father: He sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. He sits at the right hand making all His enemies His footstool. The whole court of heaven gives forth that glorious song of praise in the book of Revelation, “The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing forever and ever.”

When He enters heaven with His resurrected body, He elevates the dignity of our human nature. His ascension foreshadows that someday our body and soul, separated at death, will be re-united and we too will have a resurrected body at the end of the world. The two angels who appeared after Jesus ascended into heaven reminded them that just as they saw Jesus taken up to heaven on a cloud, so He will return in the same way on a cloud. This gave them hope that someday, He will return in all His glory to judge the living and the dead.

He ascended into heaven to be our mediator with His Father. It is the great and eternal God, Jesus our Savior, who stands close to God, He who is God, but also man and now intercedes for all time and pleads our cause, pointing to His wounds which He received as a result of our sins, and yet willingly suffered and died for us that we may be reconciled with His Father. He forever atones for us our sins, that we may have life and have it abundantly with Him in heaven.

Before He ascended into heaven, He had told His apostles, “I go to prepare a place for you.” “That where I go, you also may be.” He promised us heaven and then He went to prepare it for us. How our thoughts should be for our future home. The desires and hopes of our hearts should tend ever upward to our heavenly home. St. Paul said, “Seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God; mind the things that are above, not the things of earth.” The things of earth will have little value for us, if we really have a full of desire and longing for the eternal life to come where our Savior awaits us.

Poverty or riches, sickness or health, sorrow of happiness, what does it matter? All that matters is to possess you O God and be with you in heaven. As you told us, “Eye has not seen or ear heard, nor has it entered the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love Him.”

O Lord, our God, and Savior, you who are now glorious in heaven, yet lived a life of poverty, pain, rejection and suffering on earth, we beg you by thy wonderful ascension to fill our hearts with the hope of heaven that we may be consoled in our sufferings, encouraged in good works, and comforted at the hour of death. Amen.

Ascension Year A - Pass Life's Tests

 

Today is the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus into heaven. Did you know the public ministry of Jesus lasted for 3 years. Jesus began His public ministry at the age of 30 years old and He completed His public ministry, 3 years later at the age of 33.

The apostles had first hand experience with Jesus for those three years. During that time, they listened to His sermons, watched Him heal the sick, perform miracles of walking on the water, multiplying the loaves, expelling demons and raising people from the dead. They witnessed how He forgave sinners and was tender and compassionate towards them.

Then for forty days, between His resurrection and ascension into heaven Jesus appeared to His apostles many times instructing them and teaching them. He trained His apostles for their high calling. He comforted them because they had been scandalized by His death on the Cross. He taught them about the kingdom of God which they were to establish on earth. He inflamed their hearts for a longing for His heavenly kingdom and excited them to love God ever more fervently. Perhaps He instructed them on the sacraments and how to pasture the people. Maybe He told them to ask for the advice and prayers of His Mother, while She is on earth and later pray to Her after She would go to heaven. She would help them, console them and guide them to form the early Church.

In a certain sense, the apostles “graduated”, from their personal one on one time with Jesus during His public ministry.

Now, 40 days after giving the apostles instructions, they and the Blessed Virgin Mary gathered on top of the Mount of Olives. It was at the base of the mountain where Jesus had His agony in the garden. From the top of the mountain Our Divine Lord appeared to them. Curiously, though they gazed upon Him, they doubted out of human weakness. Some still mistakenly wondered when He was going to restore the kingdom of Israel thinking he was going to somehow conquer the enemies of Israel by force.

St. Luke tells us, Jesus gave the apostles His blessing before ascending into heaven. We can picture the loving reverence in which they received His blessing by kneeling, thanking and praying before Him as they gave Him homage. Then He would ascend into heaven on a cloud.

After they completed or so to speak “graduated” from their personal one on one experience with Jesus, now they were going to wait to receive a new mission in life. They were disciples, who were followers of Jesus, now, as apostles, the would make more disciples, by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded them. But they had not yet received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

To receive the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, He told them to stay in Jerusalem, so they would receive power from the Holy Spirit to be witnesses unto the ends of the earth.

In Jerusalem, the Apostles with the Virgin Mary would pray for 9 days for the coming of the Holy Spirit in the upper room (the same place Jesus ordained them as priests, the same place they made their first Holy Communion and attended the first Mass at the Last Supper, and the same place Jesus appeared to them, breathing on them giving them power to forgive sins).

Today, we have 8^th grade and high school graduates here at Mass. We are proud of your accomplishment. You are graduating from a public school and some of you are graduating with honors.

With regard to the faith, I mentioned earlier that the apostles “graduated”, so to speak, from their personal one on one time and experience with Jesus. They flunked some spiritual tests. For example, they were jealous of each other, wanting to sit on the right hand of Jesus in heaven. James and John flunked the test of patience, when they wanted to call down fire on the people who rejected Jesus. All of them flunked the test of loyalty when Jesus was arrested, as all of them abandoned Jesus. Peter flunked the test of faithfulness, when He denied knowing Jesus, three times.

One apostle, Judas, flunked the test of trusting in God’s mercy, despaired, and killed himself.

Only one apostle passed the test of courage. It was St. John the Apostle, who stood with Mary at the foot of the Cross and was rewarded by taking Mary into his home.

The other 10 apostles, passed their final test and were martyred for Jesus and His teachings. They were true witnesses.

Some have said Confirmation is a passage way to adulthood. I can remember when I was Confirmed in 8^th grade, I was told, you are now an adult. That was far from true. When young people are Confirmed, they are fully initiated in the Catholic Church, but fully initiated doesn’t mean fully mature.

When someone is Confirmed, they are to be witnesses to the faith. They are soldiers for Christ. Even though they are not physically mature, inside they have power from the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel and are willing to suffer for it.

Our seniors, who graduated, will have many future tests. Some tests will be in college, other tests will be in life, and there will be some tests of faith.

Will they pass the test of being faithful to their Sunday Mass attendance, to going to Confession regularly, to reading and meditating a short paragraph from the bible, praying the Rosary everyday? Will they past the test of being a Christian witness by their good behavior, by their faithfulness to their jobs, and/or classes if they go to college?

When I was in college, there were three Catholic men who joined a fraternity. One went to Mass every Sunday, to Confession regularly and he even went to Mass during the week at times, his name was Brian. Brian was the encourager and regularly complimented others.

He always had a smile on his face, was willing to help anyone at anytime. He attended the frat parties, but was never seen intoxicated. Brian would regularly ask other Catholics to go to Mass with him on Sunday, because he wanted to help them to stay close to Jesus.

Another young man, was Paul. Paul went to Mass every Sunday and prayed the Rosary at times. But, he got drunk on occasion. One time, he was so drunk, he walked into the home of a stranger and fell asleep on their couch, only to waking up in the morning with two people who asked him to leave their home. Paul likewise, was a happy person, but at times, he got drunk.

Paul used to tell the fraternity members about his father, who he said would get up in the middle of the night, and go to the church to pray. He said many thought his dad was odd for doing such a thing. We later discovered, his father was praying his weekly Holy Hour in the middle of the night at Blessed Sacrament in Wichita.

Paul eventually graduated from college got married and raised his family in the Catholic faith. He stopped his excessive drinking and became a good husband and good father to his children. Perhaps, his change of life was due the prayers of his father in the middle of the night adoring Jesus in the Eucharist, that helped Paul to give up his sinful behavior and most likely the Virgin Mary helped him too, because he regularly prayed her Rosary.

Then there was Dennis. Dennis only went to Mass on Christmas and Easter. He didn’t know how to pray the Rosary. He hadn’t been to Confession since he was in 3^rd grade. He got drunk at frat parties and cheated on a term paper by asking a fellow frat member to do the paper for him, because he said he had no skill in writing papers and was too busy partying. The teacher knew he cheated and told him he had two choices.

One choice was to re-write the paper, which she said must have a beginning, middle and end to it, and, if he would re-write the paper, the highest grade he would receive on it, would be a B.

Or he had the choice of not re-writing the paper and the teacher would go to the Dean’s office and inform him of the cheating, and if so, he would be expelled from the college, and it would be noted on his transcript, the reason for the expulsion would be for cheating and then, almost no other college would take the student. She said she believed in him and that if he applied himself, he would do well.

Dennis decided to re-write the paper and he made sure it had a beginning, middle and an end. He received a B. He was happy the teacher believed in him because no one else believed in him before.

Dennis eventually dropped out of college and began to work full time. A few years later, he went to Confession, stopped partying, began to pray the Rosary, read the bible, and go to Mass on Sundays. He began to practice his faith, but not before he hurt many people by his sinful behavior especially himself.

Years later, when Dennis was more mature, he returned to college and ended up getting a bachelor's and a master’s degree.

One day, at the age of 22, Brian went home for Thanksgiving to be with his family. On his way home, he hit a patch of ice, rolled his car and died. Everyone understood Brian was the best witness, because he always lived out his faith by going to Mass and Confession regularly, and helped others to grow in their faith. He encouraged others and always had a smile on his face. When Brian died, he passed all his life tests and received a crown of glory. While Brian wasn’t martyred for Jesus, his life bore witness to his love of God and neighbor.

Who do you want to be like when you go to college or when you begin your new job? Brian, Paul or Dennis? And when we graduate from this life, how many life tests will we have flunked and how many tests will we have passed? No matter, what you do, or how many life tests you flunk, Jesus will always be there for you, to erase our mistakes, and help us to begin anew to be a Christian witness.

Mother's Day 2023

 

This weekend is Mother’s day. Throughout the entire life of Jesus on earth, until He ascended into heaven, He honored His Mother in a very special way, and we should do the same, with our earthly mother and our heavenly Mother, as well.

Jesus first and foremost honored His Mother Mary, by preserving Her from every stain of sin from the moment of Her Immaculate Conception. He honored His Mother, when He sent the angel Gabriel to Her, asking Mary, to be His Mother. Of all the women in the world, She was chosen to be His Mother. After Mary gave Her yes, Jesus honored His Mother when the Holy Spirit came down upon Her, as He descended from heaven into Her womb. He honored Her by forming His body, inside her, in which She carried Him for nine months. In Bethlehem, She gave birth to Jesus and wrapped in swaddling clothes. She received the privilege of nursing Him, tenderly rocking Him, in Her sweet arms and loved Him dearly. She cuddled Him, and kissed His sweet cheeks. She washed His diapers, made His clothing, cooked His food, taught Him to walk, to eat, to talk, to write, to sing, to read the Sacred Scriptures. She nurtured Him, and clothed Him in Her mantle. As a Mother, She spoke to Him, and He spoke to Her.

It was through Her intercession, He worked His first miracle, at the wedding feast of Cana. She came to visit Him in various places, and most likely fed His disciples, whenever He would bring them home. She heard of His arrest, perhaps watched His trial, His scourging at the pillar and met Him, as He carried His Cross.

She stood at the foot of His Cross, watched Her only Son slowly die a terrible death. After taken from the Cross, She placed Him in Her arms, and helped take to the tomb, She must have greatly sorrowed for Her precious Child. But was filled with joy, when He appeared to Her before anyone else. And 40 days later, She watched, as He ascended into heaven, on a cloud, knowing someday, She would join Him.

However, not all mothers are like the Virgin Mary. Due to original sin, mothers are weak, and sometimes fail, as mothers.

When I was in Calcutta India, working with the poorest of the poor with Mother Teresa’s sisters during the Jubilee year, I visited a home for orphaned children. The children were unwanted because they were born with defects. Some had no arms or legs, others had down syndrome. Others had diseases such as leprosy. There were wall-to-wall cribs, with literally hundreds of babies, whose mothers abandoned them, and all in a large room. The children would cry and cry, and were starving for love and a mother. But no mothers were to be found. Their society is different than ours, or perhaps, not so different, because instead of abandoning their children, we deem some some as unwanted and have abortions. But Jesus is rich in mercy and will always forgive.

Despite mothers, who have failed, we can look at our own mothers, and be grateful to God for such good and holy mothers, who sacrifice their lives, their desires, and all they have for the sake of their children. And so, we should honor our own mothers, who have had to make many sacrifices, and put up with many things to nurture us and care for us.

Our mothers gave birth to us in excruciating pain. Once born, she held us in her arms, gazed upon our face, and forgot the pain, she endured, giving thanks to God for the gift of her new born babe. Mothers seem to know why their children are crying too. They know the cry of a wet diaper, the cry of hunger, or the cry of sickness or pain. Mother’s know everything. They put their fingers, in diapers to discover it’s wet, or poopy. Mother’s wash and dry our clothes, cook our food, teach us to walk, and clean up our messes. They chase after us, especially during the terrible twos. Mothers cry, when they first take us to kindergarten. They love our first homemade mother’s day and birthday cards and treasure them, as masterpieces, and keep them in that special box in her room. They know what is best for us, by making us eat spinach and broccoli. But they also know our favorite cake, which they make for our birthdays. They changed our wet bed sheets. They came running, when we took off the training wheels, and crashed our bikes. They hug us and kiss our wounds, and make them better. Moms find tadpoles and frogs in the bathtubs, and little girls, who experiment with make-up. They take pictures of us at our music programs, and are smiles, no matter what we do. They root for us at our sports activities and encourage us

The break up fights between brothers and sisters, and teach us to apologize. They teach us to love each other, and share with others. Mothers cry, when we cry, and laugh when we laugh. They hug us, when we are down, and kiss us all the time. When boys get their BB gun, they tell us not to shoot someone in the eye. When we become teens- mothers make us wear modest clothing, tell us to turn down the music in our room, take us to sports games, tell us to be at home by a certain time, and if we are late, they worry if we have wrecked the car. They help us with our homework, but don’t have a clue with algebra. They seem to know when we are struggling and have open ear to listen. Moms are sometimes Moms to their husbands too, as they baby them, and help them, and cuddle them as well.

There are mothers, who have had to endure great sufferings. Some have had to endure the lengthy sickness of a child, and or perhaps even the death of a child, and so feel the pain of the Blessed Virgin, who stood at the Cross of Her Son, at His death.

Sometimes we cause our mothers to cry. Some of us may have gotten lost as a child, or threatened to run away from home. And so, mothers understand how Mary felt, who couldn’t find Jesus, for three days.

Out of anger, we may say to our Mom, “I hate you!”, or “You don’t love me anymore.” Or “You embarrass me in front of my friends”. We hurt their feelings, when disobedient, when we lie, or call them a name. But mothers always forgive, and teach us to forgive. They always love and care for their children, no matter what we do. And when we go to college and fall away from the Church, our mother’s hearts are in anguish, as they pray for us to come back to God. Many a night, mothers will cry tears of sorrow, on her pillow, for us, her children, whom she loves.

In imitation of the Blessed Mother’s love for Her Son, and for all Her children, though not perfect, our mothers do their best, and love us dearly. At the Cross, Jesus wanted didn’t want His Mother to be alone, so He said to John, “Behold thy Mother.” and then took Her into his home.

And so, we too should take care of our mother, all they way to the end, because she cared for us, when we couldn’t do it our self. When she gets old, we may need to change her diaper, to help her bath and when she gets confused, we will hug her, just as she hugged us when we were confused.

Today, let us give thanks for our mother, and for all she has done for us. And if our mother is heaven, let us pray a prayer for her, knowing she would rejoice and smile, as though today was the day, we had made our first mother’s day card, just for her.

And during this month of May, dedicated in honor of our heavenly Mother, the perfect mother. Let us ask Mary to help us to stay close to Her Son. She will always be there, in good times, and in bad. Will listen to us, and help us, in ways our natural mothers can’t. And someday, Our Blessed Mother will bring us to Jesus, Her glorified Son, who sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Today, let us pray a rosary for our mother, and remember to pray to our heavenly Mother, who deeply loves and cares for us, with a mother’s heart.

Knock Knock.

Who’s there.

Baby.

Baby Who?

Your baby.

My baby?

Yes, I’m inside of you.

What’s your name?

I don’t have one, you haven’t named me yet.

What do you want?

I want out of here. Its getting cramped and I can’t move around very much.

But, its not your time.

Well, when will it be time?

When my water breaks.

What’s that?

Your in a bag filled with water and when it breaks, you will come out.

How can I get out?

Well, if you jump up and down and throw your first temper tantrum, then you will come out.

It's dark in there now, but when you come out, it will be bright and you will see the most beautiful colors and see my face. I will hold you in my arms. I will hug and cry tears of joy. You will see me and I will see you. I will kiss you and make you smile. But for the rest of your life, however, you are to honor and obey me.

Well, that’s not fair.

I think I will stay here for awhile.

Love you mom!

5th Sunday Easter "Do You Not Know Me?"

 

In the Gospel today, we heard Jesus preparing His disciples for the time when He would no longer be with them and He didn’t want them to be troubled or to worry. He said to His Disciples, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.” (John 14:1-3)

Why are our hearts troubled and worried so much? And what is it that we need in order to not have anxiety about the many difficult and stressful situations of life? The answer to these questions can be found in getting to know Jesus.

After Philip asked Jesus to be able to see the Father and Our Lord responded, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? To have seen me is to have seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

If Jesus were to ask the same question to us that He asked Philip, I think we would all answer that we do know something of Jesus, but we don’t know him as well as we ought.

And because we don’t know Jesus as well as we ought, that is the reason why we worry so much. If we knew Jesus better we would not focus on problems and difficulties, but rather focus on Jesus instead, who gives peace when we are worried & troubled.

May be we can hear Jesus say to us, “Have I been with you all this time and you still do not know me?” “In prayer, I am with you and still you do not know me as you should.”

“Have I been with you all this time in the Mass and still you do not know me? My two Disciples on the way to Emmaus recognized me in the Breaking of the Bread. Can you not recognize me at the moment of the consecration?

When I come into your heart in Holy Communion still do you not know me?” “Do you pray to me when you receive me in the Eucharist?” “After you have received me in Holy Communion, have you stopped to listen to me, as I am trying to speak with you? Or are you distracted and ignore the good God, who gives Himself and His graces to you?” “In the Eucharist, I give you peace. I calm your fears and I give you courage to endure your life’s difficulties.”

“Have I been with you all this time when you come to Confession and still you do not know me? It is I-- behind the screen. It is I-- who give you advice. It is I-- who absolves your sins and give you mercy. The priest is a mortal man, but through the sacrament of ordination, his words are My words. Do you still not know Me and do you not comprehend My compassion and mercy?”

Have I been with you all this time in the Word of God--- (the Bible) and you still do not know me?” “How often do you read the Gospels, about my life, about my miracles, and my sermons, about the way I treated sinners--and still you do not know me?” “The scriptures reveal my infinite love for you, especially when you contemplate my Sacred Passion, My Sufferings and My Death.” “Read Sacred Scripture everyday and you will come to know me, not only as your God, but as a your friend. And you will come to know my desire that you come and live with me forever in heaven.”

“I have been with you all this time throughout your life, from the moment of your conception, I gave you a soul. Even before you were created I knew you. From the moment of your birth, I gave you parents to reveal my love for you. I educated you. I fed you. I clothed you. I walked by your side, especially during your difficult times. Remember the time, I saved your life and protected you from danger. I gave you catechists to teach you about me. Look back over your life, and discover my intimate friendship with you, even when you turned away from me and failed to even think of me. See how I drew you back to me, and I sought you out as a lost sheep and how I now hold you close to my heart?

Why then-- are you afraid? Why then-- do you worry? Why then are you anxious? Do not expect to feel my presence. For feelings come and go, but my love always remains.”

My child, pray, hope and do not worry. I hold you in the palm of my hand. Do not let your heart be troubled. Have faith in God. Trust me! While it is true, I may not remove your trials and difficulties, I will never leave you orphan. I will always be at your side. All things are possible with God. My grace is sufficient for you and I will never give you anything, you and I cannot handle together. I will always be with you, even to the end of the age.

For if you come to know me and come to know my sweet Mother, I will come to take you to the Father’s house, so that where I am, you also may be. And on that day—the day of your judgment, you will have no more fear, no more worries and no anxiety, because you will look at me face to face and say “Lord, I knew you.” And we will walk together as friends, because we will know each other in my heavenly kingdom forever and ever.

And where I am, so also is my Mother. Call upon Her and ask Her motherly intercession. Some of your prayers, I will not answer, unless you first come to Her, because I want to honor my Mother and you honor Her as well. Amen.