He Bows His Head, as if to Kiss You

A Glorious and Blessed Easter to all of you!

I came across this wonderful reflection from St Augustine of Hippo about St John's Passion, and wanted to share.  I can assure you I will not look at the cross the same way again!

As they were looking on, so we too gaze on his wounds as he hangs. We see his blood as he dies. We see the price offered by the redeemer, touch the scars of his resurrection. 

He bows his head, as if to kiss you.  His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love to you. His arms are extended that he may embrace you. His whole body is displayed for your redemption.

Ponder how great these things are.

Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind: as he was once fixed to the cross in every part of his body for you, so he may now be fixed in every part of your soul.

Ponder how great these things are, indeed.

God Bless you!

Desertion and Second Chances

Firstly, I hope you all had a very Blessed Easter, and enjoyed the great Hope that comes with the Resurrection.

When I looked back at this year's Holy week, one thought kept hounding me over and over again.  

Desertion.  

I kept thinking about how beautiful the first Palm Sunday must have been - with crowds of people making this wonderful gesture with branches to welcome Jesus into Jerusalem.  Yes, Jesus must have had His death weighing on his mind as he rode into the city, but at that moment, there were so many willing to be near Him ... to be with Him.  It must have been so joyous.

That feeling, of course, departed rather quickly on Holy Thursday as I really contemplated what it must have felt like for Our Savior when all of his Apostles scattered during His arrest and torture.  It was clear that Jesus allowed Himself to feel our human emotions while He was with us, and having your friends leave you in your greatest time of need must have hurt on some level.  

Imagine for a minute, if you were being arrested for a crime you didn't commit.  If the police dragged you past your closest friends, asking if anyone could vouch for you, or even knew you.  Imagine watching as those friends ran away ... or worse ... told the police they had no idea who you were.  If we are being honest with ourselves, we'd be in utter shock. And it would hurt.  A lot.  It is almost impossible to imagine no one sticking up for us, right?

In fact, sometimes I wonder what was more painful for Christ, the physical torture or watching his friends leave Him, deny Him, and then ignore everything He told them.  

I've shared with you before that I enjoy watching Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ during Holy Week because it helps me appreciate the physical suffering that Jesus endured for us.  But this year, I couldn't help but focus on this other pain He persevered through.  

I must admit, it upset me to think about that.  

But not nearly as much as when I broke out another kind of torture device ... the mirror.  

Realizing that there have been times in my life where I did not stand by Jesus made my solemn thoughts even worse. 

Luckily, the Prince of Peace gives us all second, third, and millionth chances to make it right and follow Him!
  

God Bless you.

The Road to Emmaus ... The First Mass?

Was the Road to Emmaus the first Mass as we know it?

It might just have been.

For starters, there are two disciples gathered together.  

Second, along with the unrecognized Christ, they discuss the Old Testament and the events of Jesus' life, including His death and Resurrection.  We obviously do that in our first and second readings, and our Gospel. 

Third, it is clear that Jesus is interpreting these events for the disciples, which is akin to the homily our priests give.

Fourth, the disciples do not realize they are in the presence of Jesus ... just like some people at our Masses today!

Fifth, and most powerful, Jesus breaks the bread with them.  This is the highlight of their journey, and is also the highlight of our Mass.

And lastly, after their encounter, the disciples go forth and proclaim the Resurrection of the Lord ... which is exactly what we are supposed to do after our Mass!

I hope you are all having a joyous Easter season!  God Bless you!

 

Why The Thomas Story Makes Me Sad

I used to love the Doubting Thomas story. 

To me, it was always a microcosm of us.  We're all followers of Christ who go through periods of varying degrees of understanding - who eventually become passionate believers through the Resurrection.

Then one day I saw something in that story that made me very sad.

First, Jesus shows the eleven "his hands and sides".  Then, later, when Thomas arrives, he says "Put your finger here and see my hands".

This, of course, is meant to convince them that He was the same One who was nailed to the cross just days ago.  

But can't we look at that same image, and imagine God saying "Look at what you did. I came down from Heaven to live among you, and you pierced me"?  I mean, wouldn't the storybook version of the resurrected God have Him look pristine and whole?  

Think about that.    

God came here to live with us - which is unfathomable in its own right - and we thanked Him by putting nails into His hands.  

Who does that???  

Answer:  we do.

And by the way, how sad is it that it is these holes that finally help the Apostles (and us) believe.  Not some glorious piece of evidence, mind you, but icons of the suffering we put Him through.  

Yes, Christ showed us his scars so that the twelve, and eventually all of us, all may believe.  But for me it is also a very sad reminder of what our sins did to Him.  

God Bless you.

What do Aspirin and the Eucharist have in Common?

What do aspirin and the Eucharist have in common?   

Unfortunately, most of the time, not much.

You see, we take aspirin consciously thinking about the effect it will have on us.  We have great confidence that it will change something within us.  Ease pain.  Reduce fever.  Etc. Etc.

But how often do we think about the Eucharist with that same confidence and expectation?

How often do we truly think about how it will cleanse our soul, strengthen our spirit, and fill us with Christ?


God Bless you.

Post-Easter Smile

Post-Easter let down?

Here is a quick joke to put a smile on your face:

A friend of Joseph of Arimathea asked him why he gave his new tomb to that man called Jesus.

Joseph replied "Oh it wasn't an problem ... He only needed it for the weekend."



God Bless you.

Easter Light

At our Easter Vigil Mass, we have a tradition where the Church is kept dark to start.  

The new Paschal Candle is lit outside, and brought into the Church.  The priest lights his candle from that, and then lights the deacon's.  The deacon lights the alter servers' candles, and they in turn light the candles of the folks in the first pews.  Those folks light the candles near them, and so forth and so on.  One by one you can see the light being passed from one parishoner to the next.  Within five minutes, the previously dark church is aglow in beautiful light.  

It is a powerful symbol of the joy of Easter.

Much like the earliest disciples (Mary Magdalene included) learned of Jesus' resurrection and passed it on, we too are called to do the same.  

In fact, it is an important reminder that Easter is just the beginning of our year-long calling to spread God's word.

I wish you and your families a very Blessed Easter!  Please pray for the conversion of many today.

God Bless you.

Have a Blessed Easter

"He is not here, but He has been raised."

A very Blessed and Happy Easter to you and your families. 

Please pray that many return to the Church this Easter, and beyond.

The Story Continues

Once upon a time, a priest friend of mine, after getting tired of hearing me yearn for more detail about the life of the Apostles and Evangelists, finally said:


"Why are you so interested in every little detail of the past?  The truth is, what WE are doing today is AS important ... if not MORE important ... than those little details."


That hit me like a ton of bricks.


Now in fairness, he wasn't saying that we were more important than those folks.  What he was inferring was that they already did their job.  They passed the Word down to the next generation.


Now its our job to do the same.


Our Faith relies on each generation carrying out the task successfully, regardless of obstacle. The early followers faced persecution. We face indifference.


(Sometimes it is hard to tell which is worse.)


In any case, that priest's words kept echoing in my head this Easter.  We read the Gospel proclaiming the Resurrection and it's easy to feel like the Easter story is over.


It's not.


We write a new chapter every single day.


God Bless.

What is Truth?

"What is truth?", Pilate asks Jesus.


This line has always bothered me as it's just left out there with no answer.  


Was he mocking Jesus?  Or really looking for an answer?  Did Jesus respond?  Did Pilate just walk away after asking it?  Was it rhetorical?  And why did John feel compelled to include that line in his Gospel?


Personally, I always assumed it was part rhetorical/part mocking.  


Just like I always assumed Pilate wrote Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews on the sign above our Lord purely to mock the High Priests.  


But this Triduum, I wondered if the two weren't related.  


And serious.


What if Pilate really was seeking the truth?  What if during that short window of time, Pilate realized that the Truth was Christ?  And that He was not only the King of the Jews, but the King of Kings?


A long shot, perhaps.  But one can hope.


Here's hoping this Easter brings more people closer to Jesus - the Way, the Truth, and the Life.   And special prayers for those that have left the church ... may the Risen Christ bring them back for good.


A very Happy and Blessed Easter to you and your families.  

Fifteen Percent

That is the percentage of Catholics - defined as all who were baptized - in our diocese that attend Mass weekly.

Fifteen percent.

Now I know that the Northeast tends to have the lowest attendance rate in the United States, but fifteen percent is still awfully depressing.   (I don't even want to think about what that number looks like if you take out those over 60 and under 18.) 

Interestingly enough, two weeks ago when we read the "Doubting Thomas" passage (Jn 20), I felt a strong parallel to those that were not at Mass.  Thomas had a hard time believing because he was not around the risen Jesus, or those that were celebrating Him.  He missed out on the joy and love they felt that day.

It's the same for the 85% of those that are not at Mass each week, hearing the Word and receiving the Eucharist.   

And so I continue to pray for them.  Not only because their eternal future depends on it, but because I want them to feel the overwhelming love and joy that Mass can bring. 

Sure, many of them think their lives are just fine without it.

But I doubt it.

"He is Risen ...

... just as He said."

A Glorious Easter to you and your families!

Tiniest of Glimpses ...

My church has a 10ft+, 150+ pound Cross that we all kiss during Mass on Good Friday.  One by one, each member of the congregation walks up and pays homage to the sacrifice our Savior made for us.

Today, after the last person kissed it, four ushers walked up to the cross, lifted it up, and started walking it to the left rear of the church.  Awkwardly and slowly, they maneuvered the cross down two stairs and around the pews.  When they finally shuffled to their destination, they slowly lowered the cross and held it - with shaking arms - low enough so one of the handicapped members could kiss it. 

Then they slowly picked up the cross again, and awkwardly made their way to the center-rear of the church so an elderly man could kiss it.  

This went on a few more times, and I have to admit, I was quite moved by the gesture.   Here were four men bringing the cross to those that couldn't get to it themselves - ironically almost 2000 years after our Savior carried His away from us.

But I was also moved by the physical labor it took to do it.  It took them 15 minutes to cover about 50 feet.  

And then I realized God was sending us another message.   He was giving us a small glimpse at the physical pain His Son went through ....

The cross Jesus carried probably weighed close to 300 pounds, and was probably at least 8 feet high.  (And even if He only carried the crossbeam, that still had to be at least 7 feet and 100 pounds.)


Yet Jesus carried it hundreds of feet - part of that by himself.


After being brutally beaten.


And he wasn't walking on carpet either.


I don't know if I will ever be able to comprehend everything He did for us.  But today I feel like I got the tiniest of glimpses.

I hope you are having a Blessed Triduum.

Life Is Beautiful

I recently watched the movie Life is Beautiful for the first time in about 10 years.

It's a good thing, too, because I almost forgot how powerful a movie it is.

For those of you that haven't seen the movie, it's a heart-tugging story about a Jewish man who is so positive, and so uplifting, that he even makes the most of a Nazi-era Concentration Camp.

That movie, coupled with today's Gospel reading and the Easter season, led me to reflect on how beautiful our lives really are.

Sure, we all have our issues, our struggles, and our crosses to endure.

But they all pale in comparison to what life would be like if Jesus did not make the ultimate sacrifice for us, and if God wasn't eternally willing to forgive us.

Imagine, for just one minute, that there was nothing to look forward to. That, after taking our last breath, our souls would languish in emptiness for eternity.

Picture emptiness.

Forever.


(go on, I'll wait)


Kinda scary, huh?

Life would be pointless! Like a relatively short distraction on our way to perpetual gloom.

But thanks to Christ, we have Hope.

Hope that our lives are leading us to an eternity surrounded by God's love and joy in Paradise. That our future is a place where there is no sadness, no pain, and no emptiness.

Just our Father's never ending beauty.

Unfortunately, in the movie, Roberto Benigni's character is forced to make life beautiful for his son and everyone around him.

Luckily, in the real world, Jesus has already done that for us.

God Bless.

Apologetics for Today's Thomas

"Yes, but how do you know that the Resurrection actually happened?"

As Christians, we have all heard this question at least once in our lives. Especially at Easter.

So I thought it would be worthwhile to share a list of some apologetics that I have heard over the years, put into loose theoretical order.

Here it goes ...

1. Jesus died while on the cross. There is almost no debate on this one. Christian and non-Christian writers have mentioned Jesus' execution and death. Furthermore, the odds of surviving the scourging, crucifixion, and lance to the side are medically slim to none.
2. Joseph of Arimathea was given the body. There is no other written testimony to contradict this. And, Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin (albeit sometimes mentioned to be Jesus' relative). If the followers of Christ were making up a tale, they certainly would not have let their King's body be turned over to a member of the despised group that condemned Him to begin with.
3. Matthew tells us there was a guard stationed at the tomb. We do not know if this is a Roman guard or a Jewish one. If it was a Roman one, there is no way he would have taken the body or assisted in a cover-up because the punishment would have been severe. If it was a Jewish guard, surely he would have done everything possible to prevent theft of the body. In either instance, the guard was likely armed, making it even harder for a common person to get past him.
   
4. All four Gospels tell us that it was women who found the empty tomb. In Jesus' time, the testimony of women was worthless. If the authors were trying to gain credibility, they would have had men making the greatest discovery of all time. If they were just telling the truth, they would tell it exactly as it happened.
   
5. There was a two-ton stone covering the tomb. The women could not have moved it themselves to take the body. Nor could anyone else with any degree of stealth.
   
6. There are no Jewish or Roman writings contradicting the empty tomb. Having an empty tomb is paramount to proving there was a Resurrection. If the women were at the wrong tomb, as some protest, the Jews would have showed the world the actual tomb.
   
7. Jesus appears to many. To different people at different times. To believers and non-believers. He ate with the disciples. Thomas was able to touch Him. St. Paul even tells the Corinthians that the Resurrected Jesus appeared to over 500 at one time, many of whom were still living. In other words, they could have confirmed this if they wanted to.
   
8. The Apostles were convinced. These same folks that ran when Jesus was captured, denied Him, and remained hidden after the Crucifixion, suddenly found the courage to preach the Word to their death. Every one of them. Surely at least one of them would have bailed on the plan if the whole thing was a conspiracy, no?
9. They had nothing Earthly to gain. People lie to gain something. Money. Power. Status. They got ridiculed, beaten, and jailed. And they kept going. That is pretty strong conviction.
   
10. They preached in Jerusalem. They didn't all go off immediately to a foreign land to preach the Word. They preached in front of witnesses. They could not have gotten away with that if they were fabricating the events that had transpired. (And again, if the Jews had the body, they would have produced it to nip the revolution in the bud.)

This certainly isn't an exhaustive list, and I'm sure there are many more points to make.

But hopefully it will help more than one person echo the Apostle Thomas' beautiful statement ...

"My Lord and my God"

God bless.

Blessed Easter!

He is not here, but is risen
- Luke 24:6



A Blessed Easter to you and your families!