The Mystery of Love

The Mystery of Love

Gospel for Trinity Sunday: John 16.12-15

By far, my most memorable course when I was completing my Masters in Religious Education from Newman College was the one called the "Theology of the Trinity". There are a number of reasons for this. 

One was definitely the brilliance of Fr. Don McDonald OFM, whose depth of understanding was a marvel. 

It was also memorable because I had never worked so hard in a course in all my academic career. I started the major paper in the first week of the semester and continued to plug away at it - there was no last minute "creative spark" as was my usual method-if you could call it that.

Lastly, it was memorable because I received the highest mark I had ever received for a university course-  and I was still no closer to understanding the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

And this is the point, I think, of why we celebrate Trinity Sunday. We need to experience the Word and partake of the Eucharist, so that we continue to enter into the mystery. 

You see, you and I live in a world where mysteries are meant to be solved. Like an Agatha Christie novel. It's part of our modern age, where most believe that, if there are still mysteries out there, science will solve them.

But the mystery that is our God is not to be solved. The mystery is meant to be lived.

Throughout the ages, great thinkers, philosophers, theologians and saints have used images of light, triangles, shamrocks, candles and all sorts of things to shape meaning to our God who is beyond every thing.

Artists and iconographers have also attempted to express the inexpressible. Take a look at Andrei Rublev's icon at the top of the page. It depicts the three angels visiting Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre, but it also depicts the Trinity. There are some good explanations of the icon on the web- Here is one.


Note, for example, how each person of the Trinity is open to the other. There is a deep sense of community found in the Father, Son and Spirit.

It is a community of love.

It is a community  which we enter into every time we celebrate Eucharist. 
Yes it is a mystery. Love is a mystery. Not one to be solved. One to embrace.

Embrace the mystery! 

 

Forgotten Birthday?

Forgotten Birthday?

Gospel for the Feast of Pentecost: John 20. 19-23

We so looked forward to this long weekend, didn't we? Maybe it was the long winter, but it sure felt good to be outside and enjoy the warm weather. At our place, it meant planting, planting and more planting, leaving both of us tired but content by evening.
So we Canadians enjoy our "May long." That's what many like to call it- I guess "Victoria Day long weekend" is just too many words for our Tweeting culture.
Did we even think about Queen Victoria?? Why do we have the day? You can check

Wikipedia 

if you are interested. In Quebec, it's "Patriot's Day", and there is a petition going around to change the name to "Victoria and First People's Day".

But that's not the "forgotten birthday" upon which we should reflect.

It just so happens that this weekend we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost.

The birthday of the Church.

The Feast the World Ignores

Here's what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about Pentecost:

On the day of Pentecost, when the seven weeks of Easter had come

to an end, Christ's Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy
 


Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person...
 

...Since that day, the Kingdom announced by Christ has been open to



those who believe in him: in the humility of the flesh and in faith, they

already share in the communion of the Holy Trinity... (731;732)
 

No Santa Claus. No Easter Bunny. Just the opportunity of life eternal withe Blessed Trinity!!!

We who are disciples of the Risen Lord can only claim discipleship because of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost, one could say, completes the "trinity" or our great feasts and is indivisible from the other two.

Without the Incarnation (Christmas), the Triduum (Passion and Resurrection) have no root, no "flesh". Without the Triduum, Christmas is a memorial of a great prophet, not the birth of our Redeemer. And without Pentecost, the life death and Resurrection of Christ has no power in my life- and in my death. Because of Pentecost, I enter into the life of the Trinity.

And the world will continue to ignore Pentecost because the reality is too beautiful and sacred.

New Beginning of the REAL "New Age"

The Church sees the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as the beginning of the "end of times"- not as scary as it sounds. What it means is that the Reign of God is both "here" and "to come".

 

For the People of God, Pentecost is the bookend of salvation history revealed in Sacred Scripture. Two points illustrates this. In the first reading on Sunday from Acts  (2.1-11), the Holy Spirit came to them "like the rush of a violent wind", and "divided tongues as of fire, appeared among them." The Holy Spirit gave them His gifts, and they were able to proclaim the Good News to everyone. Language was not a barrier!!

 

Now contrast this scene with the other bookend- Genesis 11. The Tower of Babel tells the continuing story of original sin- this time the sin of the nations wanting to build a city that would make them gods of their own destiny. God had other plans, and so it was that languages became a barrier and they were scattered.

 

Pentecost, the beginning of the Church, is the feast of communion, or at least the opportunity if we choose it.

 

Now your turn. Read and pray over these two "bookends"- Genesis 1.1-3 and John 20.21-23.

 

Happy Birthday, People of God.

Happy Birthday, Body of Christ.

Happy Birthday, Temple of the Holy Spirit.

 

 

FOR THIS WEEK

 

 

For Catholic educators: Bring cake, donuts or cupcakes for your class or staff. When they ask what the occasion is, tell them!

 

 

For all of us: In you prayers this week, thank God for the gift that is the Church, both the universal and the local. Ask for forgiveness for the times when you've said something against the Church and it's teachings. Why? Because you are not outside of it. You are part of it.

 

  

 

Faith Lift

Faith Lift

'...and they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy..." Lk 24.52

Gospel for the Feast of The Ascension:  Luke 24.46-53

As some of you know, my Lent (and Easter) reading centered on Pope Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth Part 2: Holy Week, which also covered the Resurrection and the Ascension. One of the most powerful "faith lifts" I received from reading this text was his contemplation on the Ascension into heaven of our Lord, and the disciples reaction to it. 

Consider the scene: Jesus, who the disciples had followed for three years,  suffers a bloody and painful death, and comes back to them, only to go away again to "sit at the right hand of the Father".

If you were there, what would your reaction be? I would think we would all be completely saddened and defeated, just like the disciples were upon his death. And yet Luke tells us "they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God. " (Lk 24. 52-53)

To help us understand their joy here is an excerpt from Pope Benedict's book where he discusses the Ascension:

The departing Jesus does not make his way to some distant star. He enters into communion of power and life with the living God, into God's dominion over space. Hence he has not "gone away", but now and forever by God's own power he is present with us and for us. In the farewell discourses of Saint John's Gospel, this is exactly what Jesus says to his disciples: "I will go away, and I will come to you (14.28) These words sum up beautifully what is so special about Jesus' "going away", which is also his "coming", and at the same time they explain the mystery of the Cross, the Resurrection, and the Ascension. His going away is in this sense a coming, a new form of closeness, of continuing presence,which for John, too, is linked with the "joy" that we saw in Luke's Gospel.

Because Jesus is with the Father, he has not gone away but remains close to us. Now he is no longer in one particular place in the world as he had been before the Ascension: now, through has power over space, he is present and accessible to all- throughout history, and in every place. ( Jesus of Nazareth Pt 2 pp 283-284)

 And so, with the Ascension, Jesus has made himself available to the universe and beyond. He then makes himself available to you and I through the Holy Spirit- a reality which we celebrate next week.

He also makes himself available to us every day in the Eucharist.

Now that's  a "faith lift" !!

For the Catholic Educator Talk to your students and your peers about the presence of Jesus in your life. Remind them that Jesus is present and available to us always, especially in the Eucharist.

For your personal reflection: What gives you "faith lift"? Besides the Scripture, what else have you been reading that has increased your faith in the Living God?

Show and Tell.

Show and Tell.

"Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.." John 14. 23

Gospel for the 6th Sunday of Easter: John 14.23--29

First of all, my apologies if you were looking last week for the blog- it appears that I forgot to press "publish"!!! No matter, for there is a very nice reflective "flow" between the two passages from John. I will, however, keep this one a little shorter.

Last week's Gospel expressed the love Jesus has for us, which is a love we must extend to the world. This Sunday the passage from John begins with the quote above. To highlight its importance, the acclamation that prepares us for the hearing of the Gospel is this very same John 14.23.

Jesus gives us a simple, yet challenging, way to show our love for Him. - Keep my word. If you don't love me, you won't keep my word.

What exactly is he saying? It becomes very clear when you consider how we love each other. I saw a YouTube of Fr. Michael "Catfish" Mireau recently that put it quite well- saying you love someone, without showing your love is empty, and showing love without expressing it is meaningless. That is why God gave us the Word, and the Sacraments- especially the Eucharist. This is the beauty of the Divine Love that we celebrate every Sunday- it is God's "Show and Tell" ( or more accurately, "Tell and Show"). And it is up to us to carry that into the world. 

Did you know that the word "Mass" comes from the Latin expression "Missa est"?  It is what the priest says at the end of our liturgy. "Go, the Mass is ended," really  means "Go, and missa est- be sent forth and be Eucharist for the world!!!"

 It is not enough just to say "I love God" without the action of loving neighbour and the world. 

It is not enough to "Be a good Christian"   and perform acts of Christian virtue and generosity, without letting the world know why you do the things you do.

You have to show and tell.

And it is through the Eucharist that you will receive all the strength you need to do it.

 

No limit

No Limit

"Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." Jn 13. 34-35

Gospel for the 5th Sunday of Easter:  John 13.1, 31-35

No more Chocolate bunny....

  So here we are in the fifth week of Easter. By now the lilies have been thrown out, there is no trace of chocolate bunnies, and well, it feels like "ordinary time". Take a quick look into your local Catholic school. Are there any signs to indicate that we are  "in Easter"? Hopefully the prayer tables still have white table cloths, but are there fresh flowers, bright colours, or any signs of "Alleluia"? Is this too long to be feasting?

Even when we look to the Gospels of the past two Sundays, we might wonder why there are no "Resurrection stories" proclaimed. Last week we recalled the image of the Good Shepherd. And now this Sunday, John's Gospel is set during the Last Supper! Why not carry on with appearance stories??

A couple of reasons.

 Within and Without Time...

The first is found in the wisdom and the beauty of the liturgical calendar. In the Catholic Church, and many of the other Christian churches, the liturgical year is on a cycle of readings- in our case, a three year cycle. In a three year cycle of Sundays, all four Gospels will be proclaimed. This year, during Easter, the majority of the Gospel readings are from John. So we shouldn't expect all the Resurrection stories being packed into one Easter season.

The second reason has to do with John's Gospel. Written about 100 AD, this is a Gospel that is not quite as concerned about the "story" as it is about the "message". There is a certain ebb and flow to when things happen. The Resurrection and the divinity of Christ are the lenses by which everything is seen in John. 

 Glory at the Last Supper...

So, at the Last Supper, we will encounter Jesus who says, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified..." (13.31) We, who are so caught up in time and history will say "How can this be? He has not even been crucified yet!!" It is because Jesus is revealing to us what is, and what is to come.  Judas has just left the Last Supper, and the glory that is Passion, Death and Resurrection are about to take place. Jesus is also telling us of the present glory found in the Eucharist. It is why this Gospel is proclaimed during the Easter season.

Jesus' first will and testament...

 This is another Resurrection story. So, keeping this in mind, we hear Jesus giving his disciples (us) what I would call his "first will and testament" not his last. Jesus gives us " a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another..." (13.34).

Two important messages here:

1. Why does he call it a new  commandment? We know from the very beginning about this commandment (See Leviticus 19.18 for example). This was the center of the Law. 

What makes it new is that the "Law" has been made flesh in Christ Jesus. To "fulfill" the Law, to "obey" the commandment, is to enter into the life of Christ.

2. Because of this, "loving one another" takes on whole new meaning. We can all love our friends, our family, our community, and our country. That is very true. Every atheist can do that. When Jesus says "just as I have loved you"   shows something more.

 It is that "agape"  love that Peter struggled with on the beach (see the blog from two weeks ago). 

 A Love too far...

I'm reminded of a story told to me by a former parish priest who was asking a grade two class about the love Jesus had for us. He took the crucifix down from the classroom wall, and said to the children "Jesus died for us because He loved us sooooo much!" To which a little girl, wide-eyed and a little teary, responded, "He went way toooo far!!!"

The Church has been built on the saints and martyrs who went "way too far". 

The secular world will proclaim, "but what about the soldier who dies for their country? What about the parent who gives up their life for their children? You don't have to be a Christian to do those things!"

Here is the difference, one that even us who call ourselves Christians have a tough time with. 

As it says in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, " Christ died out of love for us, while we were still "enemies". The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbour of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself." (article 1825)

Is this a love too far for us? By ourselves, yes. "But with God all things are possible..." (Luke 18.27)

For this week:

For Catholic educators: Do you sigh in relief when you that the "tough" student is not in school today? Do you find yourself blurting out "Thank God!" Do you recognize the sinfulness of your attitude? If he, she, or even, they are in class, say a prayer of gratitude. They are the graced gifts that God has given you to love like Christ.

For all of us:  Praying for victims of tragedies like the recent ones in Bangledesh and Boston is important- so to is praying for those responsible for the suffering