S Irenaeus: "avoid foolish and ignorant debates...correcting opponents with kindness"

... it may be that God will grant them repentance

-- 2 Timothy 2:22b-26

Particular Churches are fully catholic through their communion with one of them, the Church of Rome "which presides in charity." "For with this church, by reason of its pre-eminence, the whole Church, that is the faithful everywhere, must necessarily be in accord." (St Irenaeus) Indeed, "from the incarnate Word's descent to us, all Christian churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and foundation since, according to the Savior's promise, the gates of hell have never prevailed against her."

-- CCC 834

S Cyril of Alexandria. "Proclaim the word"

... the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine.

-- 2 Timothy 4:1-5

The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. Likewise, truth carries with it the joy and splendor of spiritual beauty. Truth is beautiful in itself. Truth in words, the rational expression of the knowledge of created and uncreated reality, is necessary to man, who is endowed with intellect. But truth can also find other complementary forms of human expression, above all when it is a matter of evoking what is beyond words: the depths of the human heart, the exaltations of the soul, the mystery of God. Even before revealing himself to man in words of truth, God reveals himself to him through the universal language of creation, the work of his Word, of his wisdom: the order and harmony of the cosmos-which both the child and the scientist discover-"from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator," "for the author of beauty created them."

[Wisdom] is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness. For [wisdom] is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against wisdom evil does not prevail. I became enamored of her beauty.

-- CCC 2500

Solemnity of Corpus Christi: God's Got Talent! In the Holy Eucharist the One who is greatest becomes the least and the most humble among us

People love theater and love to be entertained. They also like to be surprised.

One of the most popular shows on TV invites people from all walks of life to display their talent in front of three judges. If they prove to have a skill worthy of the stage they get an opportunity to advance in the competition for a chance at a career in show business. One appeal of the show seems to be the element of suspense as the audience experiences a role in the discovery of a new and exciting talent for singing, dancing or other means of entertainment. The show also affirms the nearly limitless ingenuity and resourcefulness of the human person, created by God with great dignity and potential.

The best and most captivating entrance is a humble one followed by the revelation of awe-inspiring greatness. Recently an unassuming young man on the show about which I have been speaking wowed the audience and had them on their feet cheering with his tremendous dancing after a very simple and self-effacing introduction. His talent far outweighed his sense of self-importance and endeared him all the more to the audience.

No one can outdo God. And when it comes to God's presence in our lives, no one is greater. In the gift of Himself in every Mass, truly present as He is in the Eucharist, no one outdoes God in humility for in this way the greatest becomes so small so as to be the least among us, inviting us to receive Him without fear.

God becomes most small, the least, in the death of Christ upon the Cross, whereby He made Himself the suffering Servant for the redemption all of humanity. His humility as Savior is also made present for us again each time we celebrate, worship and receive Him in His Eucharist.

"St. Augustine admirably summed up this doctrine that moves us to an ever more complete participation in our Redeemer's sacrifice which we celebrate in the Eucharist:

"This wholly redeemed city, the assembly and society of the saints, is offered to God as a universal sacrifice by the high priest who in the form of a slave went so far as to offer himself for us in his Passion, to make us the Body of so great a head. . . . Such is the sacrifice of Christians: 'we who are many are one Body in Christ' The Church continues to reproduce this sacrifice in the sacrament of the altar so well-known to believers wherein it is evident to them that in what she offers she herself is offered." (CCC 1372)

God's way of acting can also serve as a stumbling block for us, causing a kind of disbelief or scandal. It runs completely contrary to our human way of thinking that someone great would willingly become so small as to risk rejection or indifference.

"The first announcement of the Eucharist divided the disciples, just as the announcement of the Passion scandalized them: "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" The Eucharist and the Cross are stumbling blocks. It is the same mystery and it never ceases to be an occasion of division. "Will you also go away?": the Lord's question echoes through the ages, as a loving invitation to discover that only he has "the words of eternal life" and that to receive in faith the gift of his Eucharist is to receive the Lord himself. (CCC 1336)

God's greatness in loving is evident in that He gives us what we most need in the Eucharist. We are sinners in need of redemption. With the exception of the case of mortal sin which must be forgiven sacramentally in confession to a priest, we should receive this Sacrament as often as possible for the forgiveness of our venial sins.

"Holy Communion separates us from sin. The body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is 'given up for us,' and the blood we drink 'shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins.' For this reason the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins:

For as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the death of the Lord. If we proclaim the Lord's death, we proclaim the forgiveness of sins. If, as often as his blood is poured out, it is poured for the forgiveness of sins, I should always receive it, so that it may always forgive my sins. Because I always sin, I should always have a remedy." (CCC 1393)

In the Eucharist, God truly present inspires us to love Him. And the deep love invisibly in our hearts is naturally expressed visibly by the adoration of our bodies. We worship God truly present in the Eucharist by our posture: our gestures of genuflection and bowing.

"In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. 'The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession.' " (CCC 1378)

Love seeks union. God uses his infinite power in the Eucharist to make Himself one with us in the perfect union which satisfies the need of the one who loves to be one with the beloved.

"Holy Communion augments our union with Christ. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus. Indeed, the Lord said: 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.' Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic banquet: 'As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.'

On the feasts of the Lord, when the faithful receive the Body of the Son, they proclaim to one another the Good News that the first fruits of life have been given, as when the angel said to Mary Magdalene, "Christ is risen!" Now too are life and resurrection conferred on whoever receives Christ.(CCC 1391)

This "greatest show on earth", the act of God who gives all His power to us who are powerless on our own in the battle against sin, is not done for applause. God's unforgettable performance on the altars of our churches everywhere is given because of Divine Love: God gives Himself under the signs of bread and wine to save us from our sins!

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.

((((..))))

Saturday, Wk 12: "that you may refresh yourselves"

Let some water be brought

-- Gn 18:1-15

"If you knew the gift of God!" The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God's desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.

-- CCC 2560

Nativity of St John the Baptist: "I am too young"

"To whomever I send you, you shall go"

-- Jer 1:4-10

Jesus is the Father's Emissary. From the beginning of his ministry, he "called to him those whom he desired; . . . . And he appointed twelve, whom also he named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach." From then on, they would also be his "emissaries" (Greek apostoloi). In them, Christ continues his own mission: "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." The apostles' ministry is the continuation of his mission; Jesus said to the Twelve: "he who receives you receives me."

-- CCC 858

Thursday, Wk 12: "He taught them"

as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

-- Mt 7:21-29

The Jewish people and their spiritual leaders viewed Jesus as a rabbi. He often argued within the framework of rabbinical interpretation of the Law. Yet Jesus could not help but offend the teachers of the Law, for he was not content to propose his interpretation alongside theirs but taught the people "as one who had authority, and not as their scribes". In Jesus, the same Word of God that had resounded on Mount Sinai to give the written Law to Moses, made itself heard anew on the Mount of the Beatitudes. Jesus did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it by giving its ultimate interpretation in a divine way: "You have heard that it was said to the men of old. . . But I say to you. . ." With this same divine authority, he disavowed certain human traditions of the Pharisees that were "making void the word of God".

-- CCC 581

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More: “Beware of false prophets"

every good tree bears good fruit

-- Mt 7:15-20

The Holy Spirit is the protagonist, "the principal agent of the whole of the Church's mission." It is he who leads the Church on her missionary paths. "This mission continues and, in the course of history, unfolds the mission of Christ, who was sent to evangelize the poor; so the Church, urged on by the Spirit of Christ, must walk the road Christ himself walked, a way of poverty and obedience, of service and self-sacrifice even to death, a death from which he emerged victorious by his resurrection." So it is that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians."

-- CCC 852

S Aloysius Gonzaga. "How narrow the gate"

those who find it are few.

-- Mt 7:6, 12-14

One enters into prayer as one enters into liturgy: by the narrow gate of faith. Through the signs of his presence, it is the Face of the Lord that we seek and desire; it is his Word that we want to hear and keep.

-- CCC 2656

Monday, Week 12: “Stop judging"

as you judge, so will you be judged

-- Mt 7:1-5

Christ is Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of the world. He "acquired" this right by his cross. The Father has given "all judgment to the Son". Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save and to give the life he has in himself. By rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one's works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.

-- CCC 679

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity: The Father "gave his only Son" and the fellowship of the Spirit to satisfy all our needs

Everyone has made a wrong decision at some point in their life, and everyone can speak about the suffering or pain caused by bad decisions. What, on the other hand, about the suffering or pain that is caused by doing the right thing? How often can we say that we suffered personally and willingly for doing right? Or that we chose to do what was right and good with foreknowledge of the cost to ourselves? I recently spoke with a father who is suffering for doing the right thing.

This man is a divorced father who fell in love with a divorced woman, who also has children, and they subsequently decided to move in together. After some time with this arrangement, however, the man decided that his sense of sin in living with a woman to whom he is not married demanded that he do the right thing: follow his conscience and break up. Now they are living separately and the relationship has changed to the point where their future together is uncertain. This man rejected a sinful relationship that simulated the spousal love he rightly seeks in order to choose faithfulness to his vocation as a father and to avoid scandal as a Godly example for his children.

Shouldn't someone feel good if they have done a good thing? Yes. But the reality of sin and human nature means that the right and the good will sometimes be opposed, even by people we love the most. Opposition can bring the pain of internal conflict even for those with a clear conscience.

Our heavenly Father is the best of fathers: He always gives us what we need no matter the cost to Himself. "He gave His only Son" because that is precisely what we needed, mired in sin and in need of salvation as we were after the sin of our first father, Adam.

"The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God's love: 'In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.' 'For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.' " (CCC 458)

On this Father's Day we rightly celebrate the selfless and heroic love of all our fathers on earth. But we also for that reason rightly look to the Father in heaven, He from whom all fatherhood on earth takes its name. Jesus Christ, the only Son, is the one who perfectly reveals the love of the Father.

"Jesus revealed that God is Father in an unheard-of sense: He is Father not only in being Creator; he is eternally Father in relation to his only Son, who is eternally Son only in relation to his Father: 'No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.' " (CCC 240)

On this Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity we cannot omit mention of the Holy Spirit, who together with the Father and the Son, is one God. The Holy Spirit continually ushers us into the life of God, whose inner reality is an ineffable mystery which we try to touch and to understand with the word "Trinity".

"The Trinity is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the 'mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God'. To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel's faith before the Incarnation of God's Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit." (CCC 237)

"The love of the Father, the grace of the Son and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always" to choose what is good no matter the cost in this world which is passing away.

Saturday, Wk 11: "grace is sufficient"

... power is made perfect in weakness.

-- 2 Cor 12:1-10

The Holy Spirit gives to some a special charism of healing so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord. But even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St. Paul must learn from the Lord that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," and that the sufferings to be endured can mean that "in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church."

-- CCC 1508

Friday, Wk 11: "many boast according to the flesh"

I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

-- 2 Cor 11:18, 21-30

"The flesh is the hinge of salvation" (Tertullian, De res. 8, 2: PL 2, 852). We believe in God who is creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh.

-- CCC 1015

Thursday, Wk 11: "I betrothed you"

... to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

-- 2 Cor 11:1-11

The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies the distinction of the two within a personal relationship. This aspect is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride. The theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist. The Lord referred to himself as the "bridegroom." The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the faithful, members of his Body, as a bride "betrothed" to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit with him. The Church is the spotless bride of the spotless Lamb. "Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her." He has joined her with himself in an everlasting covenant and never stops caring for her as for his own body:

This is the whole Christ, head and body, one formed from many . . . whether the head or members speak, it is Christ who speaks. He speaks in his role as the head (ex persona capitis) and in his role as body (ex persona corporis). What does this mean? "The two will become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the Church." And the Lord himself says in the Gospel: "So they are no longer two, but one flesh." They are, in fact, two different persons, yet they are one in the conjugal union, . . . as head, he calls himself the bridegroom, as body, he calls himself "bride."

-- CCC 796

Tuesday, Wk 11: "love your enemies"

pray for those who persecute you

-- Mt 5:38-42

Christian prayer extends to the forgiveness of enemies, transfiguring the disciple by configuring him to his Master. Forgiveness is a high-point of Christian prayer; only hearts attuned to God's compassion can receive the gift of prayer. Forgiveness also bears witness that, in our world, love is stronger than sin. The martyrs of yesterday and today bear this witness to Jesus. Forgiveness is the fundamental condition of the reconciliation of the children of God with their Father and of men with one another.

-- CCC 2844

Pentecost: "they were all in one place together." The Holy Spirit is a gift to the family of the Church through the prayer of the Church

Individualism is a clear and present danger for individuals.

We were made for community, to be with others, because we were made for the love that only others can give us. The trend of cutting oneself off from others through misuse of PDAs, phones, MP3 players and the great assortment of other electronic gadgets has become widespread. Thoughtless use of these devices during conversations hampers communication and sometimes offends those we love.

Also, the sinful and dangerous behavior of sending explicit images over the internet, because of a lack of perspective which is a symptom of dependence on these items for satisfying emotional needs, has destroyed careers and threatened marriages. This is another kind of individualism which objectifies others through the immersion in the fantasy world of pornography. It is a grave offense against chastity because it perverts the marital act and uses individuals as objects not for love but for base gratification. (CCC 2354)

So what are we to do?

The Holy Spirit is the source of love and Pentecost was the moment the Holy Spirit was first given. This happened in the midst of the people gathered together to pray as we are doing here and now. The Holy Spirit was given to the community first: "They were all together in one place ... And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." Only through and because of the gift to the Church as a whole is the Holy Spirit also a gift to individuals as part of the community: God works to build us up as individuals in and through the love of the Holy Spirit we discover living and active in the Church, especially at holy Mass.

The Scriptures tell us that the Church is the bride of Christ. As a matter of fact, this image is given in the book of Revelation through a prayer which calls out to the Lord: "The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come'!" But before the Church could call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, the gift of the Spirit was necessary, to give her the power of prayer which is a grace, a gift from God. The primary moment of prayer is the liturgy, the work of God's people who worship together, particularly at holy Mass.

"The Spirit and the Church cooperate to manifest Christ and his work of salvation in the liturgy. Primarily in the Eucharist, and by analogy in the other sacraments, the liturgy is the memorial of the mystery of salvation. The Holy Spirit is the Church's living memory." (CCC 1099)

The Holy Spirit works in us to make us sons and daughters of the Church.

"Thus a true filial spirit toward the Church can develop among Christians. It is the normal flowering of the baptismal grace which has begotten us in the womb of the Church and made us members of the Body of Christ. In her motherly care, the Church grants us the mercy of God which prevails over all our sins and is especially at work in the sacrament of reconciliation. With a mother's foresight, she also lavishes on us day after day in her liturgy the nourishment of the Word and Eucharist of the Lord." (CCC 2040)

Saturday morning I was “together with the Church in one place” as I attended the ordination of three new transitional deacons for our Archdiocese. I rejoiced to be present as the Holy Spirit used the episcopal ministry of our Cardinal to descend upon three men and create of them three new sons to serve the Church in love all their lives so that the Word and Sacrament of the Lord will work to save many souls. The Archbishop, as Father of our family of faith, brings increase and growth within the a family in his vocation as spiritual father for the whole family of the Church of Washington.

"In the consecratory prayer for ordination of deacons, the Church confesses:

"Almighty God . . .,
You make the Church, Christ's body,
grow to its full stature as a new and greater temple.
You enrich it with every kind of grace
and perfect it with a diversity of members
to serve the whole body in a wonderful pattern of unity.

You established a threefold ministry of worship and service,
for the glory of your name.
As ministers of your tabernacle you chose the sons of Levi
and gave them your blessing as their everlasting inheritance." (CCC 1543)

The Holy Spirit once again came alive and active with Divine power to change three young men sacramentally into servants at a deeper level of their being for the sake of the good of the whole Church. Only because they moved beyond their individual needs and wants did these young men become capable of the great joy that becomes possible only by forgetting self for the sake of others. Each of us as baptized members of the Lord's body are called also to this joy in keeping with our baptism.

Each family of mother, father and children, is a domestic Church.

"The Christian family is the first place of education in prayer. Based on the sacrament of marriage, the family is the 'domestic church' where God's children learn to pray 'as the Church' and to persevere in prayer. For young children in particular, daily family prayer is the first witness of the Church's living memory as awakened patiently by the Holy Spirit." (CCC 2685)

The Holy Spirit is sent also to build up the faith and worship which continues throughout the week in each home which is a household of Faith that each member might flourish in grace and grow toward the life of heaven. Mothers and fathers say "yes" to God by bringing the great blessing of new children into the world and then say "yes" again by offering their children at the baptismal font to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit so that they will have supernatural life through the sacrament made possible by the Holy Spirit.

That life of the Holy Spirit must truly be worthy of the name of "life": one which continues and grows in every circumstance. The love of families overcomes the tyranny and alienation of individualism as brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers practice giving the gift of presence by putting aside distractions for the sake of enjoying time together, in particular on Sunday by avoiding unnecessary work or shopping.

The family prays together in one place, in the domestic church of the home and here at Mass, and in other ways, puts overcomes individualism, putting aside sources of virtual reality, in order to be nourished by the real persons and events before them. When we invite the unifying power of Holy Spirit into our midst through heartfelt and sincere prayer in common, walls of division are broken down and hearts and minds can be opened to one another.

The family practices selfless love as the fruit of prayer through patience, listening, helping and serving. Thus the Holy Spirit is given again and again to the family, the worship of the domestic Church which abides in faith, hope and love.

(((..))))

Saturday, Easter VII: "they laid hands on them"

... and sent them off.

-- Acts 11:21b-26; 12:1-3

To fulfill their exalted mission, "the apostles were endowed by Christ with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit coming upon them, and by the imposition of hands they passed on to their auxiliaries the gift of the Spirit, which is transmitted down to our day through episcopal consecration."

-- CCC 1556

Pentecost: "they were all in one place together." The Holy Spirit and the Church cooperate to manifest the Savior through the liturgy

Individualism is a modern threat for individuals.

We were made for community, to be with others, because we were made for the love that only others can give us. The trend to cut oneself off from others through PDAs, phones, MP3 players and the assortment of electronic gadgets has become widespread. Also, the risky behavior of sending explicit images over the internet because of a lack of pespective which is a symptom of overdependence on these items for emotional needs has destroyed careers and threatened marriages. Thoughtless use of these devices during conversations hampers communication and sometimes offends those we love.

So what are we to do?

The Holy Spirit is the giver of love and communion. Pentecost was the moment the Holy Spirit was first given to the Church. And it happened in the midst of the people gathered together to pray as we are here and now. The Holy Spirit was goven to the community first, and then only after that to individuals as part of the community.

"They were all together in one place ... And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit."

The Scriptures tell us that the Church is the bride of Christ. As a matter of fact, this image is given in the book of Revelation through a prayer which calls out to the Lord: "The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come"! But before the Church could call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, the gift of the Spirit was necessary, to give her the power of prayer which is a grace, a gift from God. The primary moment of prayer is the liturgy, the work of God's people who worship together, particularly at holy Mass.

"The Spirit and the Church cooperate to manifest Christ and his work of salvation in the liturgy. Primarily in the Eucharist, and by analogy in the other sacraments, the liturgy is the memorial of the mystery of salvation. The Holy Spirit is the Church's living memory. (CCC 1099)

The Holy Spirit works in us to make us sons and daughters of the Church.

"Thus a true filial spirit toward the Church can develop among Christians. It is the normal flowering of the baptismal grace which has begotten us in the womb of the Church and made us members of the Body of Christ. In her motherly care, the Church grants us the mercy of God which prevails over all our sins and is especially at work in the sacrament of reconciliation. With a mother's foresight, she also lavishes on us day after day in her liturgy the nourishment of the Word and Eucharist of the Lord." (CCC 2040)

Friday, Easter VII: "do you love me "

... more

--Jn 21:15-19

St. Peter's conversion after he had denied his master three times bears witness to this. Jesus' look of infinite mercy drew tears of repentance from Peter and, after the Lord's resurrection, a threefold affirmation of love for him. The second conversion also has a communitarian dimension, as is clear in the Lord's call to a whole Church: "Repent!"

St. Ambrose says of the two conversions that, in the Church, "there are water and tears: the water of Baptism and the tears of repentance."

-- CCC 1429

St Ephrem the Deacon: "O LORD"

... my allotted portion and my cup

-- Ps 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11

Deacons share in Christ's mission and grace in a special way. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint ("character") which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the "deacon" or servant of all. Among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the bishop and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over funerals, and in dedicating themselves to the various ministries of charity.

-- CCC 1570

Wednesday, Easter VII: "Keep watch"

... the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers.

-- Acts 20:28-38

"Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of the apostles, destined to be transmitted to his successors, is a permanent one, so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the Church, a charge destined to be exercised without interruption by the sacred order of bishops." Hence the Church teaches that "the bishops have by divine institution taken the place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens to them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and him who sent Christ."

-- CCC 862

Tuesday, Easter VII: "this is eternal life"

... that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

-- Jn 17:1-11a

Christ is Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of the world. He "acquired" this right by his cross. The Father has given "all judgment to the Son". Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save and to give the life he has in himself. By rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one's works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.

-- CCC 679

Solemnity of the Ascension. "You will be my witnesses": Ascending to the right hand of the Father Christ gives power to the Church

What happens far away impacts each one of us here and now.

Images of tornadoes, floods and other disasters are almost immediately available to the curious through telephones and the internet. We gain powerful impressions of their size and scope through the pictures of damaged homes and land, and most tragically, lost lives.

With all the data that is available to us about these and other events and people in our world, what can often be lacking is the process of meditating on the meaning of these events. We were made to think and to seek understanding about our world and ourselves and without this process our humanity is incomplete. The sheer size and constant flood of the tsunami of images and news reports tends to prevent the needed process of meditating on the import and meaning of these things for us personally, thereby allowing us to move beyond our first instinctive fears aroused by these disasters toward a more serene sense of resolution.

Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, an event that takes Him far away from us, to the highest heavens and to the "right hand of the Father". We could stand around in wonderment like the Apostles did in amazement at this cosmic and awe-inspiring event. We could continue to gaze longingly toward the heavens. But it is better for us if we take the advice of the angels and get busy about the work we are given, to be witnesses in the power Christ sends, thus looking forward to His coming again in power and glory when he "will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven".

How do we "process" this amazing event, moving beyond the news report in today's Gospel about our Lord's glorious Ascension, as wonderful and awe-inspiring as it is, and discover its true importance for us? This is necessary if we are to have a share in His glory which is manifested in the mystery of His return to the right hand of the Father.

You are here today, in this liturgy of the holy Mass, that you might enter into a deeper meditation upon the mysteries of faith and thus gain insight and understanding "through the Church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way." This fullness is above all of love, for just as no body can go on living without a heart, so the Body of Christ must draw its lifeblood from the heart of Christ, infinite in divine Love.

First we are promised: "you will receive power". This power is given through the sacramental life, at the hands of our bishops and priests.

"To proclaim the faith and to plant his reign, Christ sends his apostles and their successors. He gives them a share in his own mission. From him they receive the power to act in his person."(CCC 935)

How do we receive power? First, through the forgiveness of sins. The power given to the Apostles was for the sake of forgiving our sins, particularly through the Sacrament of Confession.

"The Apostle's Creed associates faith in the forgiveness of sins not only with faith in the Holy Spirit, but also with faith in the Church and in the communion of saints. It was when he gave the Holy Spirit to his apostles that the risen Christ conferred on them his own divine power to forgive sins: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (CCC 976)

Second we are promised: "You will be my witnesses". When we proclaim the Faith through our actions we invite others to take the risk of believing.

"By virtue of their prophetic mission, lay people 'are called . . . to be witnesses to Christ in all circumstances and at the very heart of the community of mankind' (GS 43 § 4)." (CCC 942)

Handing on the faith through the witness of lives filled with God's mercy is the calling of a disciple of the Lord who is now seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for His Church as the source of salvation for the world.

We are sent: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations".

We cannot give what we do not have. Before making disciples of others we must become disciples ourselves. The gift of the Eucharist is the fulfillment of the Lord's promise that we will "receive power". When we receive Him in a state of grace, that is with all of our sins forgiven through His power in Baptism and Confession, and with adoration and love, we grow in the grace of loving and obedient discipleship.

"From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings. Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him: 'Abide in me, and I in you. . . . I am the vine, you are the branches.' And he proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours: 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.' " (CCC 787)

Saturday after Ascension: "ask"

so that your joy may be complete.

-- Jn 16:23b-28

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." If we ask with a divided heart, we are "adulterers"; God cannot answer us, for he desires our well-being, our life. "Or do you suppose that it is in vain that the scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us?'" That our God is "jealous" for us is the sign of how true his love is. If we enter into the desire of his Spirit, we shall be heard. Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to him in prayer. God wills that our desire should be exercised in prayer, that we may be able to receive what he is prepared to give.

-- CCC 2737

S Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs of Uganda: "It was my choice to die"

... at the hands of men with the God-given hope of being restored to life by Him.

-- 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14

God revealed the resurrection of the dead to his people progressively. Hope in the bodily resurrection of the dead established itself as a consequence intrinsic to faith in God as creator of the whole man, soul and body. The creator of heaven and earth is also the one who faithfully maintains his covenant with Abraham and his posterity. It was in this double perspective that faith in the resurrection came to be expressed. In their trials, the Maccabean martyrs confessed:

The King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws. One cannot but choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again by him.

-- CCC 992