Yes, Lord you know that I love you!

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, Priest | USCCB

We hear in our gospel today one of the many appearances of the Lord between His Resurrection on Easter Sunday and His Ascension into heaven. During this intimate moment with Simon Peter, the Lord asks him three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” This three-fold question by the Lord corresponds to the 3 denials Peter made between Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Peter greatly regretted denying Jesus as he did. But Peter was scared and out of human weakness, he did what he promised Jesus he would not do: Peter denied Jesus three times.

The Lord asking Peter three times if he loved him reminded Peter of his failure to keep his promise to Jesus that he would never deny Jesus. But Jesus, judging Peter’s heart, knew that Peter did indeed love him, and just walked Peter through the healing process of his denying Him to that of Faith in the Risen Lord. It was then that the Lord knew that Peter could be trusted to be the leader of the Apostles.

On Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon Peter and the Apostles, along with Mary, in the upper room, they went from being frightened men to being strong defenders of the faith, proclaiming that Jesus Christ died on Good Friday for our sins, and rose on Easter Sunday, and ascended into heaven. These truths of faith in Jesus Christ were proclaimed by Peter and the Apostles in Jerusalem and all throughout the world. They were no longer afraid to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. All the apostles, except for John, all died as martyrs for their faith in Jesus Christ.

After Peter told Jesus the third time that he loved Him, the Lord said to Peter, “Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and some one will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Scripture indicates that this was signifying what kind of death Peter would die. Peter went from a fearful man on Holy Thursday, denying Jesus three times, to someone willing to die for this gift of faith in the Risen Lord. According to ancient and well-known tradition, Peter, when he was condemned to death in Rome, requested to be crucified upside-down because he did not believe that a man is worthy to be killed in the same manner as Jesus.

We are all called to be witnesses of Jesus in our lives. We are never to deny that we are followers of Him. We are to be bold in our faith in Him and our relationship with the Risen Lord. We are to be His witnesses by how we live out our lives by loving God and loving one another. By doing so, we, like Peter, will be saying to Jesus, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter | USCCB

These comforting words of Jesus in today's gospel gives us hope that Jesus is always present to us in all our needs. Having Jesus as the center of who we are is what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. That relationship is vital to who we are: love of Jesus.

Once we have Jesus at the center of who we are, we can be assured that he will answer our prayers. Further, once we have that love of Jesus in our hearts, we will certainly ask for things that are beneficial for who we are in our relationship with Him and with those in our lives that we care about. 

As we pray to the Father for things that concern us, let us ask it in a spirit of love for Jesus and of charity for those in our lives. We are not to pray for wealth or riches, but rather for things that are most beneficial for us spiritually and for the well-being for those in our life. We can and should pray for healing in the event someone is ill, but we should conclude each prayer, as Jesus concluded his prayer in Gethsemane, "Not my will be done, but your Will be done." 

God will always answer each of prayers in a way that's beneficial for us and for those we pray for. Our Lord goes on to say in today's Gospel, "...you will receive, so that your joy may be complete." (John 16:23) What this is telling me is that no matter what we pray for, God will respond in a way that's best for us in order to have that true joy that can come only from God. We just need to have faith and trust in God's response to our prayers. 

Do not be afraid. Go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you.

 

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

In our first reading for today, we continue with the Acts of the Apostles and the challenge St. Paul had in proclaiming Jesus Christ to those who could not and would not accept Jesus as their savior.

Paul, once he had that vision of Jesus and became a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, become very zealous in proclaiming the gospel of the Lord. As you may recall, before his conversion, Paul was adamant in trying to wipe out the Christian faith. He thought they were heretics and as a result deserved death for going against the Jewish faith as he understood it. But on the road to Damascus, Paul encountered the Risen Jesus and had that profound conversion. As a result, the one who was a great persecutor of the Christian faith became a great follower and preacher of the Lord Jesus Christ. That encounter with the Lord changed his life, and as a result, he went far and wide proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord and savior.

In today’s reading from Acts, we hear people charging Paul with, “inducing people to worship God contrary to the law.” Paul remained steadfast in his faith and continued to proclaim the Gospel. As a result, many came to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ through Paul’s preaching and perseverance, and eventually all the writings that are attributed to him in the New Testament.

We are all, like Paul, called to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to all those we come into contact within our lives. We may not be called to preach as Paul did, or like any bishop, priest or deacon. But we are called to preach in how we live out our lives as Christians.

Our day-to-day actions should reflect the fact that we are Christians. First, we are called to love and respect all those in our lives as the Lord Jesus loves us. All throughout the gospels, Jesus always taught that there are two things we need to do: love God with our whole being, and to love others as God loves us. This is central to being a follower of Jesus Christ.

By living out our lives by the regular attendance at Mass, by frequent reading of scripture, and by showing love and respect for others in our lives, regardless of who they are or how they may treat us, people will see that we are indeed Christians. There’s a hymn that was popular a few years back: “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” Can that be said about us? Can people see that we are Christians by how we love those in our lives and by the fact that we show love and respect towards God by attending Mass every Sunday?

Sometimes the only bible or scripture verse people may see is in how we live out our lives in service to God and to others. And when we fall short of following Jesus as he wants, turn to him in the sacrament of confession and through prayer and He will help you along the way to become the Christian he wants you to be. Jesus promises us in today’s Gospel: “…whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” Pray for an increase in love of God and love of neighbor.

Praise be Jesus Christ now and forever.

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

 

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

In our gospel for today the Lord is teaching us that love is at the core of who we are as his followers. It is probably one of the most difficult teachings of Jesus to follow. “Love one another as I love you.” With so many “unlovable” people around us, we may ask: how can we love those people we may feel uncomfortable with or downright dislike?

We all know the love Jesus has for each one of us. He loved us so much so that he came into this world to suffer death for our sins and to rise again on the third day in order to bring salvation to the world and forgiveness of sins. So, the love of Jesus is very evident in his whole life and ministry up to and including his crucifixion on Good Friday and Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The challenge Jesus is giving us in today’s gospel, and all throughout the Gospels, is that we are to show that love to all we come into contact within our lives. This includes not only family members and friends that are easy to love, but also with those in our lives that are very “unlovable”.

Jesus made it clear in today’s gospel that we are his “friends.” Then he goes on to tell us, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” That command is to love everyone unconditionally. To clarify further, we don’t have to worry about “liking” everyone. Not everyone is likeable. But everyone is made in the image and likeness of God, and we are to love them as Jesus loves them, and to show them the respect of being made in the image and likeness of God. It’s not easy. But it’s what the Lord Jesus is calling us to do. 

Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, “Keep giving Jesus to people not by words but by example, by being in love with Jesus.” It is through this love of Jesus that we in turn can love those around us. It will be then that we will keep these words of Jesus, “This I command you: love one another.”

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

Today’s gospel is one of the choices that can be used at a wake service of a loved one. It’s a beautiful gospel that I use often that allows me to try to bring comfort to the family that is hurt and grieving. I would always invite everyone to remember these words of Jesus during the wake service, the funeral, and the service at the cemetery: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” I further encourage them that, once their loved one is at rest, to reflect on these words from Jesus whenever they think of them. The loved one is at rest and would want those they care about to be at peace.

We also can apply these words from this gospel to our day-to-day life. Living in the world with problems, issues with loved one, even facing death of our loved ones, Jesus is telling us not to be troubled. He’s there with us to comfort us. We just need to have faith in God and in the Lord Jesus that he’s there for us in whatever situation we are facing. The troubles of life will still come to us, but we need to place these cares into the loving hands of Jesus to help us and to receive comfort.

Further, Jesus promises us that he is going to prepare a place for us and eventually he will come back for us to lead us to that special place that he has waiting for all those who love him and have faith in Him.

The apostle Thomas, also known as the doubter, in his usual doubting way of asking those great questions, says to the Lord, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?”  (John 14:5) And the Lord responds beautifully: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) Following Jesus is the way we are called to live out our lives. It is through Jesus that we can come to the Father and gain everlasting joy in heaven. Heaven is our goal and Jesus is the way to make it to heaven.

Further, we are all called to follow Jesus in different ways. We are all on a journey with Jesus: the way, the truth, and the life. Whether we’re a priest, deacon, mother, father, married or single, we are called to follow Jesus towards our goal: life forever with Him in Heaven. We just need to be open to the Lord’s promptings in our lives. We do this by regular attendance at Mass, reading scripture daily, and the regular use of the sacrament of confession. This way we can have our hearts at peace and live out our lives in faith in God and the Lord Jesus.

As we follow Jesus, let us not worry about doing it in a big and grand way, but to follow the advice of Mother Teresa who said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever.

It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians

 

Our scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church | USCCB

During this Easter season, the first readings at Mass continue with the development of the early church as told by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles. These readings from Acts are very inspirational to me as a deacon and follower of Jesus Christ. 

We see in the beginning of this reading from Acts that the early followers were scattered as a result of the persecution that arose because of the killing of St. Stepehen, the first martyr and deacon of the early church. Yet they continued to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ to the Greaks in Antioch and many came to believe and follow Jesus Christ as their savior.

The courage and faith they had in God, even with the persecutions that they encountered is a great example of how we are to live out our faith. We may never face death as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ, but there are times when in our society that being a Christian can be difficult. We, like the early Christians, are called to be counter cultural. Further, we are called to share our faith in Jesus Christ even when it's not convenient or comfortable. In every situation in our life, in all our relationships with others, we have to remember that we are called to love God with all our mind and hearts and to love those in our lives as God loves us. This is not always easy, but it's what we are called to do.

Let us be proud of the name "Christian" and like those first followers of Jesus Christ always be ready to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior.