Christ as One Who Ends All Divisions

In today's second reading,  Ephesians 2: 13-18, St. Paul reminds us that Jesus "came and preached peace to [us] who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we [all] have access in one Spirit to the Father."   Paul was speaking to Jews and Gentiles, peoples who were at odd with one another, divided by different faiths. In Jesus, divisions cease between persons, cultures, nations.  Jesus "is our peace, he who made both [parties-- whether individuals or nations, different races or nationalities] one and  broke down dividing wall/[s] of enmity, through is flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create  in himself one new person [nation, race, culture, religion] in place of the two [or three, four, five, etc.] thus establishing peace, and might reconcile [all] with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it."

God sees us at war with those we consider inferior to us; He witnesses us at odds with different cultures, races, nationalities, countries. God, not only sees the divisiveness and the animosity that exist among us, but also takes action, sending us the graces we need to end divisions, to reconcile with one another as persons, as countries in opposition to one another, as persons  hostile toward those who may worship God differently than we do.  We have God on our side to help us accomplish the mission of reconciliation and to move toward greater union and deeper love in our relationships on all levels of existence: familial, interpersonal, societal, ecclesial, national, international.

God Desires Life and Wellness

In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 30,  we thank the Lord because He "changed my mourning into dancing."  In the Gospel, Mark 5: 21-43, Jesus did just that for the woman "afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years" and for Jairus, a synagogue official, whose  twelve-year-old daughter was dying.   Both were healed and restored to life and wellness. The faith of the woman, Jesus tells her, "has saved you." And he says to the distraught father: "Do not be afraid; just have faith."

God does not delight in you or I, or anyone, contracting a disease; nor does he rejoice in any one's death! We are told in today's first reading, Wisdom 1: 13-15; 2: 23-24, that "God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living....But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it." 

Jesus' actions reveal the truth that God desires our well-being and delights in each one of us being fully alive.  Jesus does not hesitate to restore individuals to robust health, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. He delights in inviting us into make choices which lead us to greater wholeness and to deeper communion with one another.  Choices that fragment us or cause us to be separated from one another cause God as much pain as they do us. God weeps with  us when we make such choices and stands by to rescue those who call upon Him.

Lord, do not let my enemies--Satan and his helpers--rejoice over me. "Preserve me from going down into [any] pit" (Psalm 30) that causes me to lead a fragmented, separated life that defies that I have been created to live life in a way that fosters union with others and leads to ever greater and greater wellness and wholeness!

To what choices am I being invited today that will lead to deeper union with others, especially with family members--one's spouse, children, grandchildren, relatives--community members, coworkers, parishioners, persons of other cultures, races religions? Which choices am I making that are causing division and fragmentation?

One with Jesus and the Father

In today's Gospel, John 17: 20-26,  Jesus says to the Father:  "I have given them--you and me--the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me." Let us personalize Jesus' statement to read:  Father, "I have given  [Dorothy Ann]-- (your name)--the glory you gave me." What glory? The glory of being one with Jesus, as Jesus and the Father are one with one another. Jesus explains to the Father why He is asking that you or I be one with Him:  "[T]hat [Dorothy Ann--insert your name] may be one, as we are one, I in [her] and you in me, that [she] may be brought to perfection as one [with me],  that the world may know that you sent me, and you love [her] even as you loved me."

If you are married, I encourage you to read that passage with you and your spouse in mind, personalizes the passage! It then would read, for instance: "I have given Joe and Mary the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that Joe and Mary may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you [love] Joe and Mary even as you [love] me." 

Peace of God Be with You

In today's Gospel for Tuesday of the fifth week of Easter, John 14: 27-31, Jesus says to his disciples, that is, to you and me, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid...I am going away and I will come back to you....I am going to the Father; ....I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me...."

"The ruler of the world is coming"!  The ruler of the world is Satan, who sows discord, jealousy, anger, prejudice, hatred, and division. Jesus says: "He has no power over me!" Neither does he have power over those who stay focused on Jesus, seek Jesus and follow Him unreservedly. We are able to do just that because  Jesus prayed for us.  He prayed that we would be one with Him as He and the Father are one and that we would carry on the work He did.  That is why He gave us His peace, saying: "My peace I give to you.....Do not let your hearts be troubled."  Filled with the peace of Jesus and of the Spirit, we are empowered to overcome fear and hatred, jealousy and anger and division.  Our union with others deepens as we foster our relationship with God in prayer and in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. Our union with God also deepens as we give our ourselves in  self-sacrificing love to one another throughout a given day!

Gratitude and Growing in Love

“Bless the Lord, O my soul;

and all my being, bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all his benefits” (Ps. 103) is the responsorial psalm of today’s Liturgy.

 It certainly behooves us to thank  God for His benefits to us, to consider what they are, to become aware of God’s graces and to appreciate them.  Think of how you feel and the effects of when someone acknowledges who you are, what you have done for them and how much you are cherished by them.  God, too, I believe, appreciates our gratitude, not that His giving to us depends on our response. God is love and showers us with the gifts of his love unconditionally.

In the Gospel of today,  Jn 21: 20-25, Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved  Him.  God wonders that same about us and one of the ways to express our love is by blessing God for all the great things He does in our lives.  When Peter says: “Yes, Lord, I love you,” Jesus says to him “Feed my sheep.”

Love, if it is to mature, needs the “watering,” the “cultivating,” and the “fertilizing,” that occurs by unselfishly caring for others, meeting their needs, being for the other in a way that they experience their greatest potential as a human being, the potential, in turn,  to give of their lives for and to another, the potential of creating a union of love, of being in communion with another/others. 

The Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—model communion,  a union of love. Does my life reflect the life of the Trinity?