The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want!

 

The scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus | USCCB

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was in 1675 that St. Margaret Mary had a vision of Jesus who told her that he wanted the feast of the Sacred Heart to be celebrated on the Friday after the feast of Corpus Christi.

This feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus helps us to see the love and concern that our Lord Jesus Christ has for each one of us. It is in the readings for today that shows us the imagery of a shepherd towards his sheep that this love of Jesus is shown.

In our first reading we hear Ezekiel say of the Lord, “I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he findshimself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep.” Sheep need that guidance to stay close to the shepherd for protection and guidance from either getting lost or the dangers of wolfs attacking the them. It is through the church that Jesus shepherds each one of us. Then, later in today’s reading from Ezekiel, we hear the Lord say that He will give them rest and to seek out the lost and strayed, and to bring healing to those who are hurt and lost. It is through the Church and the sacraments that the Lord can do all this.

In the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion our Lord brings us healing and strength. These Sacraments are the tools that help us to turn back to the Lord when we’re in the state of sin and need his healing touch. Through confession we receive the gift of healing and forgiveness for our sins, and then through the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, we receive spiritual nourishment and strength to help us to remain faithful to Him and His teachings.

As we read in today’s gospel, we hear further of Jesus being the Good Shepherd and how He would seek out those lost in sin in order to bring them back into relationship with Him and God the Father. Through this example of the Good Shepherd, we can see that, through the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he has love for each one of us and he wants us to always to turn back to him for His love, protection, and healing. Let us always be open to the promptings of Jesus to be ever near to Him through the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion. It will be then that we will have the peace and contentment that can only come from the loving Heart of Jesus.

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be

 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB 

Our Lord in today’s gospel is helping us to get our priorities in order regarding how we are to live our lives in relationship with Him and our eventual goal in the life hereafter: heaven. Many of us get so wrapped up with financial security, accumulating material goods such as cars, or just simply making sure we have enough to retire with. Being financially responsible is important and good. But accumulating wealth or material goods are not to be our priority in this world. Money and materials are only tools for us to use to live out our lives here on earth. As we see with the increasing cost of living and the fluctuation of the stock market, we can’t really count on material things or wealth to bring us peace and contentment. Rather, our focus should be on things of heaven. We can always loose material things through decay or theft or the stock market crashing. It can be like that old saying, “Here today, gone tomorrow.”

The focus in our lives should always be on our relationship with God. The way we can accumulate heavenly treasures is by using the many tools our Lord left us in His Church. These tools are the 7 sacraments. These sacraments bring us spiritual healing and help us to accumulate these heavenly treasures our Lord speaks of. Through baptism we become children of God, washed new in the eyes of God. Then with confirmation we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Then through the frequent use of confession and the receiving of Holy Communion, we can continue to grow in holiness in order to accumulate those heavenly treasure. It’s an ongoing journey to get to heaven.

Further, the day we die, we will leave all our earthly treasures behind. We cannot take them with us to heaven nor to hell. Jesus’ desire for us is that we store up what is lasting, what will never decay. Jesus desires that we store up the treasure that will never fail us: the gift and grace of love! God is made for love: love of God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit and love of other frail human beings!

Today let us take time out to think what is truly important in our lives: material things or things of God. Let us attempt to always keep our priorities in order: to love God with all our mind, heart and soul. Then we’ll be able to have treasures in heaven.

I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts

 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

Over the last few days, we have been reading from the first book of Kings and the struggles of the prophet Elijah. On Wednesday we heard of the struggle between Elijah and the false prophets of Baal, and how the people were turning away from God to worship this false god. After proving that there was one true God, Elijah would go on to kill these false prophets. Then Elijah, fearing for his life because of threats against him after what he did on Mount Carmel, ran to get away from those that wanted to kill him.

After all that he did for God, Elijah felt abandoned by God and felt isolated because of all that had happened since Mount Carmel. Elijah was attempting to live out his life in obedience to God, and it seemed that God wasn’t present any longer. He searched for God in the strong and heavy wind, but God wasn’t there. He searched for God in the earthquake and fire, but couldn’t find God present there, either. It wasn’t until Elijah had settled down and listened for God in silence that he was able to hear and to feel God’s presence within him. Elijah shares his frustration with God and says, “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant…” Elijah remained true to God, even with the obstacles that faced him by those who wanted him dead for his belief in God. Elijah remained steadfast to the one, true God of Israel.

We, too, struggle in our belief in God as we attempt to share it with those in our lives that may not understand our love and devotion to Him. What should always be central in our lives is our belief in one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. People may not share our beliefs, but we are to remain true to our call to be followers of Jesus Christ.  Further, as we live out our lives, we need, like Elijah, to make some quiet time for God. We will not hear God in the busyness of our daily lives, but rather in those quiet moments of prayer and our regular reading of scripture and frequent attendance at Mass. It’s during those quiet times of prayer that we can truly hear God’s voice speaking to us and what He has in mind for each of us as we attempt to serve him as we live out our lives.

As we pray and meditate on our relationship with our loving God, let us make the prayer of Elijah our prayer as well: “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts.” Amen.

“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you

 

Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs | USCCB

In our gospel we hear the Risen Jesus approach Peter, and three times ask him, “Do you love me?” As you recall, Jesus predicted at the Last Supper that Peter would deny knowing Jesus three times. Following the Last Supper, Jesus was arrested, Peter was near where the Lord was, and people recognized him. They inquired as to whether Peter was a follower of Jesus Christ. Peter, out of fear, denied being His follower. It was out of human weakness that Peter did this. What caused Peter such anguish was that he had bragged to Jesus that he would never deny him. But when the going got tough, Peter allowed his fear to take over and then denied Jesus, not once, but three times.

Jesus, in His love for Peter, allowed Peter to reverse the three-time denial of knowing the Lord. Peter responds, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Peter would go on, after the ascension of Jesus into heaven, to be the leader of the apostles, and to proclaim that Jesus not only suffered and died but rose again on the third day and ascended into heaven for the sins of the world and for our salvation.

In today’s gospel, Jesus predicted that Peter would also die for his acknowledgment of Jesus being the Messiah. Peter would go on to be crucified just outside of Rome under the emperor Nero. According to tradition, Peter, not feeling worthy to die in the same way as Jesus, was crucified up-side-down. Peter went from denying that he knew Jesus to dying for his faith in Him as Lord and Savior.

We are all called to imitate Peter in our following and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. There may be times when we may want to hide our faith from those around us due to fear of being misunderstood or attacked for our faith. By doing so, we, like Peter, are denying Jesus. We should never let fear hide our faith in Jesus from those in our lives. Our faith in Jesus Christ is who we are. We are called to proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord and savior with those around us. We are not to force our faith on others, but we are never to be ashamed of our faith in Jesus Christ either. We are to live in a way that shows the world that Jesus is central to who we are as Catholic Christians.

Today we commemorate the martyrdom of the African saints, Charles Lwanga and companions who were martyred between the years 1885 to 1887. Rather than deny their faith in Jesus Christ, they chose to die for their belief in Jesus and their Catholic faith.

Let us live each day as followers of Jesus Christ, like St. Peter, and St. Charles Lwanga and his companions, be proud of our faith in the Lord, and say to Jesus each time we receive Him in Holy Communion, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

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.