I will do it. Be made clean

The reflection for today's readings can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/062620.cfm

In our gospel for today we hear of the healing of a person with leprosy. In other accounts of the Lord healing lepers, He just commands them to be healed, and they are healed without Him even touching them. But in today’s gospel our Lord reaches out and touches the leper to bring healing. Jesus thought it necessary to reach out and bring not only healing but comfort to this man in his illness.

Leprosy at the time of Christ was incurable and anyone who had leprosy became shut out from family, friends, and society. They had to keep what we would call today “social distance” from everyone and cry out either “unclean” or “leper” for those nearby to know he was coming. It was a lonely and desperate life. Further, by Jesus touching the leper would have made him ritually unclean as well. But Jesus had compassion on the leper and brought healing in a special and intimate way.
In order for this man to return to society and be accepted again, he needed to go to the priest and receive a “clean bill of health.” Further it proved that Jesus was not unclean as well. Jesus put the needs of the person ahead of what was expected of him by society.

With all that is going on today with COVID-19, our society needs that healing that can only come from Jesus. There are health care workers at hospitals and nursing homes caring for those who are positive with COVID-19. Our Lord is working through them to help bring society the healing that we need. As Jesus touched the leper to bring healing, he is working through the health care workers to bring healing to those in our society that are in most need of healing. The main concern of these doctors and nurses is the health and well being of those they are called to serve. Jesus is working through them to bring peace, comfort, and healing.                                                                                                                                             We, too, can reach out in our own way to help society heal from COVID-19. The leper in the gospel today prayed, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” We, too can pray a similar prayer: “Lord, if you wish, you can cure us of this virus.” By our constant prayers for those in our society that are suffering from the effects of this virus, whether physically, emotionally, or financially, we are helping to bring the healing touch of Jesus to our society.

Lord Jesus, touch us and our society and grant us the healing that can only come from you. Amen.

Corpus Christi

The following is a reflection I submitted to the NY Archdiocesan Holy Name Society June 2020 Newsletter that I wanted to share with you.

  “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” John 6:51

Every year the Church commemorates the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, also referred to as The Solemnity of Corpus Christi. This year the feast falls on June 14th. The gospel assigned for this Sunday is taken from the Gospel of St. John chapter 6. This chapter is known as the Bread of Life discourse. Many of his followers found this teaching very hard to believe and accept, and as a result left Him.

We, as Catholics, based on what our Lord teaches us in this section of John, believe in the REAL presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Many Christian denominations believe the Eucharist to be only a symbol of the Body of Christ. But we take our Lord at His word when, at the Last Supper, Jesus says, “Take it; this is my body.”(Mark 14:22) and “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”(Mark 14:24).

During the Coronavirus pandemic we have been deprived of being able to receive our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament at Mass. As we start attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist, let us be truly grateful for this wonderful gift of the Lord, truly present in the bread and wine at mass: body, blood, soul and divinity.

Also, as we receive our Lord in Holy Communion during the upcoming weeks, let us pray for those effected by the Coronavirus, whether physically, emotionally, or financially, that there may be complete healing and that they may have the peace that can only come from our Lord.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself

The scripture for today's reflection can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/060420.cfm

In the gospel for today's mass we hear a scribe ask Jesus the question, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” (Mark 12:28) Jesus answers very clearly: "You shall love the Lord your  God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30)

In the more than 2,000 years since Our Lord spoke these words, we still seem to have a problem with putting them into action! With the horrible racism that is still rampant in this country, these words need to be spoken more loudly and with more conviction by all who are followers of Jesus Christ!

The death of George Floyd should never have happened, as well as the death of the others that have died in custody of the police. Further, the response to these attacks must be tempered with these words of Jesus, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend." 

Peaceful marches to get the point across to rid our society of racism and to bring equality and justice to all is the way to go. Not the terrible looting and rioting that have occurred since last week. Martin Luther King Jr. marched peacefully to teach the world the words of Jesus: "Love God and love neighbor." It's about mutual love and respect for all people who are made in the image of God.

Let us pray for the repose of the soul of George Floyd, let us pray for his family left behind grieving and looking for justice, and finally let's pray for our society that we can live out the words Jesus Christ taught, "Love God with all your heart. And love your neighbor as yourself."

Ascension of the Lord

I would like to present a guest blogger for my blog-site, Arlene B. Muller.

Arlene B. Muller, OSF, is a Professed Secular Franciscan, lector & Extraordinary Minister at St. Pancras Church, Member of St. Margaret's Choir and Itinerant Speech/language Therapist. This blog is a reprint from Arlene from the Ascension Day 2019.

 

The scripture readings for the Ascension of the Lord can be found at http://cms.usccb.org/bible/readings/052120-ascension.cfm

I must confess that I feel a little sad on Ascension Thursday. For JESUS it is a totally glorious event because His mission on earth has been completed & He is returning to His home in heaven & the glory He has enjoyed with the Father & the Holy Spirit since the world began of which He emptied Himself & laid aside during His earthly mission of 33 years. But like the disciples who stood looking up, feeling somewhat lost & bewildered, I would tend to wish that the Risen LORD JESUS could remain with us in His glorified body so I could see Him with my human eyes, hear His actual voice speaking His words with my human ears, and to touch Him, as St. John describes in His first letter. I know that His Ascension is one of the Glorious Mysteries, but in my human weakness I feel a little sad that a face to face encounter with Our LORD JESUS will not be my experience until I hopefully meet Him either at my death or His return.  Does anyone else share this feeling?

Of course, this is just the reaction of my human emotions, but learning Scripture, especially the Scripture readings of the past few weeks, learning the teachings of the Church, coming into a personal relationship with JESUS CHRIST & receiving the sacraments, especially Baptism, Confirmation & the Eucharist (the Real Presence of the Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity of JESUS we can receive at every Mass), cause me to realize that because JESUS CHRIST not only suffered, died & rose from the dead but also ascended into heaven, the LORD is actually with us now in a more deeply intimate way--His life is WITHIN us--& He can work in the lives of millions of people at the same time in a way that was not possible when He was limited to walking in a specific geographical area. 

In the last discourses in St. John's Gospel that we have been reading over the past few weeks JESUS has assured us that it was necessary for Him to leave so that He could send us the Holy Spirit to be with us, in us and upon us and enable us through the mission of the Church to do even greater things than He did in His earthly ministry.

Many disciples, both men and women, along with Mary, the Blessed Mother of JESUS who was the first to experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in her virginal conception of JESUS, obeyed the command of JESUS to wait & pray together for about 9  or 10 days until the Holy Spirit came. What was it like to watch, wait, & pray with expectation of what JESUS called His Father's promise, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon each of them!  I imagine the presence of Mary gave them some comfort & bolstered their faith. Though some may have felt lost & bewildered, they knew from experience (especially of the Resurrection) that JESUS is faithful to His Word, & they were not disappointed, because the Holy Spirit came & that has made all the difference! In their waiting I am sure they found comfort & confidence in JESUS' final words in St. Matthew's Gospel, the same words that can give us comfort & confidence in our times of trial & confusion: "Behold, I am with you always, until the end if the age."

So as we celebrate the feast of the Ascension let us remember & trust that although JESUS ascended into heaven He will never leave us or forsake us,  no matter how difficult our life circumstances may be, and let us be grateful for the gift of the Holy Spirit that us the very life of God living within us.

Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts

Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. 1 Peter 3:15

I’m writing this reflection during the Easter Octave. The church just celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus from the Tomb. Yet, it was an Easter that none of us have ever witnessed before due to the pandemic of COVID-19. We’ve experienced a lot of suffering and have seen and known loved ones who have gone as a result of this horrible disease.


During the last couple of months during Lent, and leading up to Easter, I often wondered where God was in all this suffering. It’s hard to feel the presence of God when we see so much pain and suffering.

Our Lord knows and feels our pain. During the Easter Triduum, we see our Lord betrayed by one of his closest friends, Judas. This was followed by a cruel death on the cross on Good Friday. But all throughout this suffering of our Lord (both emotional and physical), He always turned to the Father for comfort and strength. In the Garden of Gethsemane, we hear Jesus pray to the Father, “…if you are willing, take this cup from me; still, not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) It was while I was meditating upon Jesus in Gethsemane that I felt our Lord’s presence during this pandemic. God the Father is with us, and always will be with us, in all our sufferings. But we need to be able to pray and offer our sufferings to God and, with Jesus, say, “Your will be done.”

Our Lord accepted the suffering and death on the cross, offering it up to the Father for our sins. Then on Easter Sunday morning, He gloriously rose from the dead.

It is hard for us to understand why God allowed all this suffering and death to occur to us. But I feel we are called to take this pain and suffering and offer it back to God to grant us healing, and to bring us to a closer relationship with Him.

In the first letter of Peter, chapter 3, verse 15, we read “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.” During this time of healing and recovery, let us always remember that Jesus is always with us to give us strength and healing. And let us also pray for those who have lost their lives as a result of this scourge: May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

My Lord and My God

The Scripture readings for today can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/041920.cfm

On this Second of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy) we have for the gospel one of the resurrection stories of Jesus appearing to the apostles in the upper room, from the gospel of St. John, chapter 20. We learn the doors are locked due to the fact that they are afraid of the Jews. They just went through the traumatic experience of the betrayal and death of Jesus on the Cross. They thought that they would be next executed due to their being followers of Jesus Christ. They failed to remember the promise of Jesus that He would be raised on the third day from the dead. They just couldn't comprehend such a thing was possible.

Then on Easter Sunday evening, though the doors were locked, there appears to them Jesus!! He sees their fear, and the first words He says to them. “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19).  They just couldn't believe their eyes, and so Jesus says again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21).  He then shows them His hands and side, showing the scars of the crucifixion. What joy they must have felt at seeing our Lord risen from the dead. 

For some reason, the apostle Thomas wasn't with them for this first appearance of Jesus. I'm sure he was dealing with the fear and disappointment of the death of Jesus in his own way. He just wanted to get away and be alone. So, when the apostles told him that Jesus was indeed alive and risen from the dead he had a problem with accepting the realty of it. Thomas says, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks  and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25) I could only imagine the look on Thomas' face, and him thinking: "What are you guys? Crazy?"

But then Thomas finally sees Jesus, touches his hands and side, and comes to faith: "My Lord and God!" Then Jesus gave us all a gift when he responded: "Have you comet to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." (John 20:29)

Thanks to Thomas, Jesus has blessed us for our faith. Though we have never seen Jesus, we believe and, as a result, we are blessed. During this time of special need during this pandemic, let us turn to Christ, ask for healing and peace, and say, My Lord and my God. Let us pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the healing of all those who are positive with the coronavirus, and pray for the repose of the soul of those who have since passed away because of this virus.

HE IS NOT HERE. HE IS RISEN

Today we have a guest blogger, Arlene B. Muller. Arlene B. Muller, OSF, is a Professed Secular Franciscan, lector & Extraordinary Minister at St. Pancras Church, Member of St. Margaret's Choir, and Itinerant Speech/language Therapist.

"HE IS NOT HERE. HE IS RISEN."

(Matthew 28:1-10)

At Easter Vigil and in the Gospel for Easter Monday (April 13, 2020) we hear the greatest news in the history of the world in the message of the angel to the women who came to the tomb early on Easter morning: "DO NOT BE AFRAID! I KNOW THAT YOU ARE SEEKING JESUS THE CRUCIFIED. HE IS NOT HERE, FOR HE HAS BEEN RAISED, JUST AS HE SAID." JESUS, the One in Whom they--and now we--have put all our hope--is no longer dead! HE IS ALIVE! HE IS NO LONGER DEAD! All that He ever said is TRUE! He is truly the SON OF GOD, the SAVIOR & the promised MESSIAH, and He has won the victory over satan, sin and death!

The longer we live, the longer we can realize that GOD works in mysterious ways that are usually very different from our ways and often very different from what we would like, because He allows bad things to happen to good people. In my way of thinking love usually means doing everything possible to protect the ones I love from suffering, hurt and pain, even moving heaven and earth if I only could! From an earthly, human perspective it is hurtful and even incomprehensible to think of the FATHER allowing and even willing that His beloved SON endure all these terrible things: betrayal, abandonment, scourging & execution by crucifixion, which was the most horrible form of execution ever invented! But because JESUS endured the Cross and suffered for our sins and the sins of all humankind, He was raised from the dead and He ensured that all who are faithful in following Him are forgiven of our sins and have eternal life. On my perpetual calendar for April 12 there is a very fitting prayer that sums this up very well: "THANK YOU. LORD, FOR TAKING THE WORST THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED & FOR TURNING IT INTO THE WORLD'S GREATEST VICTORY AVAILABLE TO ALL WHO ACCEPT IT."

GOD allows some strange, awful things to happen in this world, but His purpose is always for good. We look at the coronavirus that has killed over 100,000 people worldwide and put us in a quarantine that prohibits us from celebrating public communal liturgies for the most important & holiest time of the year & wonder why GOD would allow this to happen! We don't know, but we know that GOD can take even the worst that could ever happen and use it for our good. We can trust the way He has worked in our lives & in the world in the past & we can trust the promises in His Word. In JEREMIAH 29:11 the LORD says that He knows the plans He has for us, plans for peace & not for disaster, to give us a future & a hope.

For the past several weeks of ongoing quarantine, once I realized that the miraculous DIVINE intervention for which I had hoped would happen in time to bring us back to Church in time for Holy Week was not going to happen, I had wished that Holy Week & Easter could have been postponed, since we are still living in a kind of extended LENT, EXILED from our churches & unable to celebrate with each other, to perform our ministries in a public communal liturgy, & to receive our RISEN LORD in the Eucharist! For me, Easter has meant celebrating in Church, getting dressed up in new clothes, prettily groomed (complete with a manicure & pedicure), serving in ministry & especially singing in the choir with other choir members all dressed up for Easter Vigil, the highlight of the Church's Liturgical year, joyfully singing our Easter ALLELUIAs with great joy & enthusiasm!  I felt as if it could not truly be Easter while we were exiled from church--that it could not be Easter until we could come back "home" to church to celebrate liturgy together. I felt somewhat like the disciples walking along that lonely road to Emmaus who had heard the good news of the Resurrection but were still living in confusion, bewilderment & discouragement.

But FINALLY on Easter morning, after participating in televised Holy Week services--Holy Thursday, Good Friday & Easter Vigil--I could absorb & understand the deeper meaning of Easter that can NEVER be obliterated, not even by coronavirus & quarantine. The RISEN LORD conquered satan, sin & death & in His time we will experience His victory over the coronavirus.

Because JESUS CHRIST IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD we can say with St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:54, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY". When someone dies from a disease, whether it is my Mom, who died this past June after a 3 year bout with stage 4 cancer, or the people who have died from the coronavirus, we tend to see it from the earthly perspective and say that he/she lost the battle with the disease. But from a heavenly perspective, those who have died who have followed the LORD faithfully & endured until the end have NOT lost the battle--THEY HAVE WON THE VICTORY, they are now enjoying their reward in heaven, they will be raised up on the LAST DAY & we will see them again in a joyful reunion!

In the end Easter gives us a REASON TO HOPE.  The RISEN LORD is our LIVING HOPE in every circumstance & we can look to His Resurrection as PROOF that God can turn even the worst of our circumstances to good, sometimes even greater than we could ask or imagine, whether externally, internally, or both!

From the song by Bill & Gloria Gaither:

"BECAUSE HE LIVES, I CAN FACE TOMORROW. BECAUSE HE LIVES, ALL FEAR IS GONE. BECAUSE I KNOW HE HOLDS THE FUTURE. AND LIFE IS WORTH THE LIVING, JUST BECAUSE HE LIVES."