April 26, 1998Third Sunday of Easter |
We encounter a certain facet of the Risen Lord, which leads to an awareness of what "new life" in Jesus Christ really implies, which in turn unfolds for us the implication of "being Church."
The Risen Savior we meet in the Gospel is the Lord and Leader who nourishes us with an unexpected catch (I read this as the unanticipated richness we discover when we participate fully in the liturgy and not just "go to church.") and nudges us into a profound profession of and witness to faith (I read this as "wearing our faith on our sleeve" through our testimonials in word and deed to each other.)
The nourishment and the invitation to Christian leadership by example that we receive from the Risen Lord gives rise to the most profound and dramatic incident of our whole experience as a follower of Jesus, which is dynamically portrayed in the second reading: Seeing the "God-helps-those-who-help-themselves" attitude actually as #1 the willing response to the initiative of God's grace, #2 the absolute surrender to the saving power of Christ, and #3 the intimate identification with the cross and glory of Jesus. In other words, making -- in thought and in word and in deed -- Jesus Christ the inspiration and center, motivation and model of our lives.
As a result (as we see in the first reading), there's no holding us back from proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ, neither fear nor hate, neither prejudice nor cowardice, neither criticism nor threats, neither manipulation nor passive aggression. In season and out of season, in spite of ill-treatment and torment, the Church teaches and preaches the truth of the Gospel.
And, as Jesus has said, the one who accepts this truth and makes the word of Jesus one's "home" (i.e., lives this word) will be a true disciples of Jesus, will know (that is, with deepest intimacy) this truth, and will be set free! This is really our Easter way at St. Anthony.
--Father Benet OFM
In last week’s column, I mentioned that the celebrant for Confirmation this year is Bishop Walter Paska, auxiliary bishop of the Ukranian Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia. This has raised questions as to what is the Ukranian Catholic Church. The Catholic Church originated in Palestine and then spread throughout the known world at the time. Certain places and regions became key centers of Christian life with great influence on the local churches in their respective areas. Such centers were Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch and Constantinople in the East and Rome in the West.
The usages of these churches expressed the one faith in different ways in liturgy, theology, hierarchy and governance, tradition and culture. Hence, the different rites.
Based on the Rite of Saint James of Jerusalem and the churches of Antioch, and reformed by Saints Basil and John Chrysostom, the Byzantine Rite is proper to the Church of Constantine. It is now used by the majority of Eastern Catholics and by the Eastern Orthodox Church (which is not in union with Rome). Included in the Eastern Catholic Churches is the Ukranian Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
According to the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Eastern Catholic Churches, "In conjunction with baptism or otherwise, all Eastern-Rite priests can confer this sacrament validly on all the faithful of any rite, including the Latin." With this in mind, we look forward to the visit from Bishop Paska on May 19.
God be with you.
Dios este con ustedes.
Precede a Juan Pablo II el santícimo papado de Juan XXIII, quien
convoca al trascedental Concilio Ecuménico Vaticano II, uno de los más
grandes procesos de actualización y relanzamiento hacia el futuro de la
fe y la actitud reponsable. Bajo el aura pastoral de Pablo VI concluye
el Concilio Ecuménico y se establece la más emocionante modalidad
estilística de los papados actuales: las peregrinaciones del Pontífice,
mediante visitas pastorales, con auxilio de las tecnologías y recursos
contempor neos, armonizando aviación y televisión con púlpitos y
catequesis, para saciar la necesidad de orientación que existe en todo
el planeta.
El mundo en el que comienza el reto de Juan Pablo II está enlodado
por la guerra fría, el terrorismo, el crecimiento desbocado de la
delincuencia, un desbordamiento de laxitud moral, relativismo y
secularizacón. La espiritualidad est a la defensiva y la moralidad casi
es un asunto avergonzante. El clero escasea y la agrecividad del ateísmo
y el hedonismo cargan de pesimismo al Pueblo de Dios.....Continuar
