Alleluia! Christ is risen! Indeed, He is risen! Alleluia!

 

Today we have a guest blogger from Fr. Arthur F. Rojas, administrator of PRESENTATION OF THE B.V.M CHURCH, PORT EWEN AND SACRED HEART CHURCH, ESOPUS. For more information on this parish, check out their website at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary & Sacred Heart Churches - Port Ewen - Esopus, NY (presentationsacredheart.org)

Meditation by Fr. Arthur F. Rojas regarding the VII Sunday of Easter (sent May 26, 2022) © All Rights Reserved ©

 

            Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  Indeed, He is risen!  Alleluia!  

 

            At this point in time, we Catholics in America are at a crossroads of Easter joy and Pentecostal hope, of the coarsening secularization of American culture whilst our parish and other local Catholics aim to revive the Church in our county.  If we truly believe that the Risen Christ ascended into Heaven in body and soul, then we Catholics are called to respond in body and soul in every sphere of life to the awesome event of the Ascension, for where He is in body and soul, there we should strive to be one day through our transformation by seeking, cooperating with, and sharing God’s grace.  However, recent events remind us that if mankind seeks to make Heaven on Earth or our idea of the “perfect society” without God and His teachings at the center of our lives, then as shown throughout human history, we end up making our very own Hells on Earth, with our children miseducated, indoctrinated, malformed, and confused holding up to us a mirror of what we have taught them is truly important. 

 

            As we reflect this Memorial Day weekend on the centuries of sacrifice of American military and diplomatic personnel to preserve our sovereignty as a nation, arguably more than ever before we Catholics and all of us Americans are confronted with the questions:  What did these fellow Americans die for?  For what do our neighbors in uniform risk life and limb today?  How much longer will we Catholic Americans stay quiet, cowed, or indifferent as admittedly powerful interests seek to change our pronouns and vocabulary, our society, and even our understanding of the human person in ways imagined largely by science fiction writers not so long ago?

 

            Framed by Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday, these last days of Eastertide provide the Catholic response to the nihilistic despair coarsening how we live today.  The response is twofold:  to look up to Heaven in prayer and awe as occurred at the Ascension and then with the fire and the force of the Holy Spirit, to go out of ourselves with the joyful valor of Pentecost to offer our fellow Americans the hope and the purpose that only Christ gives to mankind, to bear witness that America must not give up being one nation under God.  America will become great again only when she is good again.  America will not become good again unless we Americans turn anew to God and His ways in our daily lives.  These ends are worth praying for, striving for, sacrificing for, and even dying for.  John 17:25-26.

 

            Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  Indeed, He is risen!  Alleluia!  

“…whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”

 

The Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter | USCCB

We all go through struggles in our lives, whether it’s a problem with a relationship, illness, problems with our children, issues at work, and so on. In all these issues we may feel angry, sad, frustrated or grief. These are all part of the human condition that we face day-to-day.

Our Lord, being not only fully divine, but also fully human, knew and understood the feelings that we all go through in these day-to-day challenges. But he is encouraging us to have faith and trust that these things will pass, and we will eventually feel the joy and peace that comes from Him and His presence in our life.

Using the example of a woman in labor, our Lord points out that once the labor pains are gone, and the child is in the loving arms of its mother, the pain is forgotten, and the mother feels the joy of the presence of the baby in her arms.

Jesus is inviting us to place our love and trust in him in whatever we’re dealing with in our life. If we are struggling with a problem, place it in the Lord’s hands to help deal with it in a way that will give peace. Our Lord will be present to us to help us with our struggles. Then once we’re beyond the problems we are facing, our hearts will rejoice as we feel that peace and comfort that comes through trust in the Lord’s presence in our life.

Jesus wants his disciples to know and believe that after the difficult days of his crucifixion and death, new life will come forth for them.  Jesus also wants us to know and believe that after our difficult days, we also will experience new life.  Once again, we will see him and experience His presence with us.   We will be able to rejoice when Jesus gifts us with new life and hope.

 Our part is to trust and be watchful and attentive to his coming. This often is easier said than done.  We may know Jesus will come again, but when life is difficult and painful, we may not trust that new life and hope will ever return to us.  Often the journey to new life is long and hard.  If we truly trust Jesus, however, we will stay on the journey with him despite the difficulty and the pain.

 As we go through our day, in whatever we are facing, remember what our Lord promises, “…whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” (John 16:23) With that prayer on our lips, we can find the joy that Jesus is promising us. Further, let us remember the words of Padre Pio, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Amen.

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter | USCCB

In our gospel for today Jesus is very clearly letting us know how we are to live if we are to be His followers: “Love one another asI love you.” This is no “suggestion” from Jesus, but rather a commandment. In very clear words, Jesus says “This is my commandment.” He’s not saying to “like” one another, or just to tolerate one another, but to “love one another.”

Following this commandment from Jesus is often challenging and difficult to do. We encounter people who have no understanding of what it means to “love one another.” They may come across as mean and belligerent towards us. It would be easy to respond in the same way and be rude and mean to them, as well. But we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are called to respond with love and patience. We all have different temperaments and personalities that make getting along and loving one another difficult. We are to respond to everyone with the love and respect that Jesus is calling us to have for everyone.

In our own country recently, we have issues of hate and violence that go contrary to what Our Lord is teaching us. It has led to the death of innocent people made in the image of God. Racial hatred and intolerance go against everything Jesus taught us. We are called to bring the love of Jesus to all we meet no matter who they are or what their ethnic background happens to be and to remove that hate and intolerance that is plaguing our country.

There are two things that Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend” and “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

As we live out our day today, let us keep in mind this teaching of Jesus as we encounter each person we meet: “This I command you: love one another.” Then as we share the love of Jesus with all we meet, we will then have a world that is becoming more God centered and reflecting the love of Jesus Christ.

As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.

 

Our Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Fifth Sunday of Easter | USCCB

In our gospel for today we hear the Lord share with us what appears to be a very simple request: "As I have loved you, so you also should love one another." This request of Jesus seems very clear: LOVE ONE ANOTHER! But how often do we really do that in our relationship with one another? We may find it easy to go to church and to fulfill our church obligations each week. We attend Mass, we pray our rosary or other devotions.  We say that we love God and do what appears to be the right thing to fulfill our obligations with God. But yet, what about loving those in your family that may get on your nerves, and you really don't want anything to do with? Or with those co-workers and neighbors that always seem to be pressing our buttons and getting on our nerves? We are called to love them as well. But do we? 

Further, it's so easy to point our fingers at those we know that may not be living their lives in a way we feel they should. We are quick to judge their lives and their motives rather than to try to understand them and love them as Jesus is asking us to do. 

Living out our lives as Christians requires not only complete love of God, but complete love of those that God has placed in our lives. With each person we encounter in our lives, let us, like the Glen Campbell song from years ago says, "Try a little kindness" and then attempt to love them as our Lord asks. It'll be then we can live up to that saying, "They'll know we are Christians by our love."

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.

 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter | USCCB

In this very comforting gospel, we are reminded by Jesus that no matter what our cares or concerns are we are not to be troubled. All we need is faith in God and in Jesus Christ. By placing our cares and concerns into the loving hands of Jesus Christ, we can find that peace that can only come from Him, through God the Father and the Holy Spirit. It may seem easier said than done, but we are to trust in Jesus’ promise that he will bring us peace and comfort.

In our day and age with a lingering pandemic that doesn’t seem to want to go away; problems with wars and conflict in Ukraine and around the world; and problems with the economy here in the United States, there always seems to be something to worry about. But Jesus reassures us that He’s present even in these difficult times. We need to turn to Him for healing from the effects of COVID, and we need to pray to Him to bring peace to those troubled parts of the world, including here in the United States. Jesus encourages us to place all our cares and problems into his loving hands.

Jesus goes on to tell us that He’s preparing a place for us in the heavenly kingdom, and he will take us to himself. By turning ourselves to him daily in our prayers, and by the frequent reception of confession and Holy Communion, we can look forward to a time when we enter that place that the Lord has prepared for us. By our constant devotion to Him in prayer and sacrifice, we can endure these problems and look forward to a time of peace and comfort with Him in the heavenly banquet.

During these trying time of sickness, war, and economic struggles, let us pray the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila: “Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.” Amen.

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Third Week of Easter | USCCB

In our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear of the familiar story of the conversion of St. Paul (formerly known as Saul) on the road to Damascus. Up to this point Saul was working to destroy the church because of his understanding that the early Christians were going against the teachings of the Jewish faith. He sincerely believed that they were blasphemous in believing and teaching that Jesus not only died and rose from the dead, but that Jesus was God. Further, earlier in Acts, Saul was a witness to the martyrdom of St. Stephen, the first martyr for this faith in Jesus Christ. In Acts 8, verse one, we read, “Saul was consenting to his execution.”

So, it’s very understandable that Ananias was hesitant, at the request of God, to go to Saul. He was afraid for his life. But he was obedient to God, and went and prayed over Saul, who recovered his vision and came to faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized.

Ananias was willing to go and pray for Saul and his conversion. Further, St. Stephen as he was being stoned death for his belief in Jesus Christ, prayed for Saul and those stoning him, “Lord, donot hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60), words that were similar to the words our Lord used from the cross towards those who put Him to death.

As a result of the prayers of St. Stephen and Ananias, Saul came to faith in Jesus Christ Saul would become Paul and would go on to spread the faith that Jesus Christ is Savior and Messiah through his many missionary trips and his writings that now make up most of the New Testament.

Prayer for others is a powerful tool in our relationship with God and with those that we know that may not share our faith in Jesus Christ. We are called by God to pray for them. We may never face martyrdom like St. Stephen, or, like Ananias, be called to go to someone we fear, but we are called to pray for those in our lives that may not have the faith in Jesus Christ that we are blessed to have. Through our silent prayer for those among our families and friends, God can bring others to faith in Him. Pray for those family members and friends in your life that God may touch their hearts and come to knowledge that Jesus is indeed Lord and Messiah.