May 9, 1999 |
Today's a good day to recall that famous quote, "God couldn't be everywhere, so He created Mothers." How fortunate are we who grew up under the care of a woman who loved us so bountifully and unconditionally. What a great gift from God to have a Mom who teaches us about life, love, patience (especially my mom with me, for my aunt thought I should be tested at age three. In her words, "No normal child is that wild!"), prayer and faith. May God continue to bless our Mothers with the type of tenderness and devotion so beautifully displayed by our Blessed Mother. And for the Mothers who have left this world, may God share with them the riches of Paradise.
The emphasis in our Sunday Liturgy now begins to shift from Easter to Pentecost, and the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the work of the Church, as the visible presence of Christ in the world. This is a very beautiful time in our Liturgy, and calls us to examine our relationship with our community of Faith, the Church. Do each of us do our part to make Christ visible in our daily work? Do we love our Faith, and our Church just as she is, as Pope Paul VI exhorted us, not with excessive nostalgia for the past, nor in some unknown future? In Peaching the Lectionary, Dr. Reginald Fuller notes that:
"In the latter part of the Easter season we move
from the contemplation of the resurrection
appearances to meditation upon the continued
presence of the exalted Christ with His Church
through the Spirit. Thus, the first reading and
the Gospel can be linked together. The Church is a
community in which the Spirit is given and shared.
This means (a) a unity with the apostolic
community and the Jerusalem church, which was the
center of salvation history; (b) communion with
the risen Christ, and through him with the Father
- a Trinitarian experience; (c) not an ecstatic
experience necessarily....but keeping the
commandments is the touchstone of the love of
Christ and the indwelling of the Spirit."
It is the month of May; the month dedicated to Mary. We recall the words of Jesus from the cross, "Here is your mother." Mary is mother to all of us and is mother of the Church. She is mother of Jesus and as such is mother of God. Devotion to Mary is an ancient and revered tradition of our Church. Be devoted to Mary, your Mother. Pray the rosary daily as we celebrate her presence in the Church during Mary's month.
Hail, O full of grace, the Lord is with you!
Hail, O longed-for object of our delight!
Hail, O source of the Church's rejoicing!
Hail, O name redolent of fragrance!
Hail, O countenance radiant with God and
aglow with beauty
Hail, O repository of everything revered!
Hail, O fairest mother of dawning light!
Hail, O unblemished mother of holiness!
Hail, O gushing spring of living water!
Hail, O bright new mother, shaper of the new birth!
Hail, O mother inexplicable and full of mystery!
Hail, you who show the value of virginity!
Hail, O little space, that held within it Him whom the
world cannot contain!
Mary shows what God could do with any of us, if we but fully opened ourselves to Him. She gave herself wholly to doing God's will -- this was the purpose of her Son's mission and, therefore, of her life. One day a woman cried out to Christ, "Blessed be the womb that bore you". His answer shows the real source of Mary's holiness: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"
As we celebrate the Lord's Ascension, we testify to the truth that no one has ascended into heaven but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man (Jn 3:13). Eternally begotten of the Father and sent to dwell among us as a man in the Incarnation, the risen Jesus now returns to heaven because we cannot get there unless He goes. As the Catechism puts it, left to its own natural power humanity does not have access to the Father's house, to God's life and happiness. Only Christ can open to man such access that we, His members, might have confidence that we too shall go where He, our Head and our source, has preceded us (CCC 661).
A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight in a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble. In spite of the best efforts of the pilot the plane started to go down. Finally the pilot grabbed a parachute, yelled to the passengers that they had better jump, and bailed out. Unfortunately there were only three parachutes remaining. The doctor grabbed one and said, I'm a doctor, I save lives, so I must live, and jumped. The lawyer then said, I'm the smartest man in the world, I deserve to live, and jumped. The priest looked at the little boy and said, My son, I've lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace. The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, Not to worry, Father. The smartest man in the world just took off with my back pack.
This Thursday is Ascension Thursday a holy day in the church year, a day on which we remember the Ascension of Jesus into heaven on the fortieth day after His resurrection. It must have been a very traumatic day for the apostles. They probably thought they would never be departed from Jesus after the miracle of Easter Sunday. Some of the pain they experienced after crucifixion of Jesus and before the resurrection returned along with anxiety over the future. Their feelings of anxiety and doubt cause them to return together to the upper room where they begin to pray. Neither the desire nor the need for prayer has left them with the departure of Jesus. In fact, it probably has increased because their anchor, Jesus has left. They even manage to continue with their routine work. They elected Matthais to replace Judas so that there are 12 Apostles once again. Doubt and anxiety are part of us all. No matter how much faith we think we might have or should have, doubts will assail us and anxiety will eat away at us. Our reaction to the presence of anxiety and doubt in our life must be to turn in prayer to our Lord and Savior who experienced his own doubts in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus heard the apostle's anxiety and doubt-filled prayers after his ascension. He continues to hear the prayers of those who, over the almost two millennium, have cried out to Jesus in despair. If nothing else, Ascension Thursday should lead us to offer up our anxiety filled and doubt filled cries to the one who has been there and can bear its weight, Jesus Our Brother and Savior.
Today, as I am busy being a mother, I pause, Lord, to reflect on this vocation to which I have been called. Some days are a real mess, others, less overwhelming. But what it really comes down to day-to-day is how my children are formed into good Christians and how I become sanctified. I could be in another more glamorous, less trying career. But none would give me more opportunities to practice the virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice; and faith, hope and love. It seems as though I spend my whole day practicing one or another, if not all of these. But my constant struggle with these brings me and my family much closer to You. In the wisdom of Your divine plan you allowed me to be a mother. How do I thank you?
Liturgical history suggests that originally the Solemnity of Pentecost celebrated both the Lord's ascension into heaven and the giving of the Holy Spirit. Toward the end of the fourth century, however, the Ascension began to be kept as a separate feast on the fortieth day of Eastertime. This reflects the information that St. Luke records in the Acts of the Apostles.
In the Catholic archdioceses of Canada and in several of the states in the United States, the celebration of the Ascension is transferred to the following Sunday. This diversity within the Catholic Church puzzles some of us who have been raised with an "everything is the same" attitude from language to posture at prayers to liturgical colors to doctrine. Catholic teaching and creed is the same. The core of the Church is one, holy, catholic (universal), and apostolic. Externals vary from country to country, time to time, even parish to parish.
Here is an article from Liturgy Training Publications, which addresses the issue of Holy Days of Obligation. [Copyright 1998 Archdiocese of Chicago]
Why is the obligation to participate at Mass waived on certain holy days? Determining which holy days are bound by which rules can be confusing. Simply put, there are six holy days of obligations for most of the dioceses of the United States: Christmas (December 25), Mary, Mother of God (January 1), Ascension (the sixth Thursday after Easter), Assumption (August 15), All Saints (November 1), and Immaculate Conception (December 8). Latin-rite Catholics in the United States are normally obligated to participate at Mass on these days.
But there are exceptions to the rules. When August 15, November 1 or January 1 fall on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is no longer in force. The feast remains a significant day in the life of the church, but the obligaton to participate at Mass is gone. This policy has been approved by the bishops of the United States and confirmed by the Vatican; it went into effect on January 1, 1993.
There are several reasons the bishops chose to remove the obligation to attend Mass on these three holy days. Because of the popularity of vigil or anticipated Masses, there is often widespread confusion about which Mass satisfies which obligation when holy days fall on a Monday or Saturday. Furthermore, it is difficult to prepare and celebrate well two major feasts back to back. In areas where there is a limited number of clergy, the logistics of scheduling become even more of a problem. Finally, it was noted that common practice was to attend either the Sunday celebration or the holy day Mass, but not both.
The observance of holy days is different in different countries.
This Sunday's focus on Mother's Day connects well with the Gospel for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. In the passage from His Farewell Discourse, Jesus assures his disciples that they will not be left as orphans, alone or without his presence, even though he will be leaving them. He promises that another Advocate would be given to his followers by the Father, the Spirit of truth to be with them always. The word Advocate, or Paraclete is an expression that can be translated as intercessor, counselor, helper, guide or defense attorney, one who will be with the disciples forever, in apparent contrast to Jesus, who is now taking leave of them.
Mothers certainly have fulfilled for many an advocate defender, counselor, guide, etc. role. As one writer reflects A mother's love never ends... A mother's love transcends time and carries into eternity. This analogy with the Gospel extends especially to those whose mother has passed on into eternal life. Though they are no longer physically present their spiritual presence remains as this is determined to the degree that they shaped and formed our lives and values - an intercessory role which for many remains strong and even seems to grow as time moves on. As one commentator expresses this notion, But for us as well, the loss, departure and absence imagery is still part of the picture. How? Contemporary psychologists of mourning have faced a parallel problem - from the opposite end. The most obvious starting point is that death is loss, absence and departure from the perspective of the one left behind. Yet the dead do not cease to exist interiorly, do not get erased from the psyches and network of attachments of the bereaved. How are the dead still present in the mourner but yet not as they once were present when alive? Contemporary theorists have struggled with this and using technical terms such as introject, have attempted to reconcile the reality of death as separation with the other reality of the dead as still present in their relationship to us who survive them. ÔThe absence of the dead is their way of appearing,' said Simon Weil, and in their physical absence they can appear more powerfully and immediately than before. Psychological theorists recognize the need to find ways to speak of this appearing, without confusing this with making claims about the literal survival of spirits. (Homily Service, May 1999).
It is the Church's belief and practice through the centuries that the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, is initially received at Baptism, strengthened at Confirmation and further nourished through the Eucharist and other devotional practices. We are encouraged in Scripture to desire (thirst imagery) the deeper release, to give God permission to liberate the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within the disciple of Christ. In St. John's Gospel we hear For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He (God) does not ration his gift of the Spirit (Jn. 3:34). If the Holy Spirit's power on gifts are limited (i.e. rationed), it is by us, not God, either through lack of desire for God's Spirit to move within us, or attempt to control and limit the effect of the Spirit's activity, or patterns of life that are not in tune with the Spirit of truth and love.
As we near Pentecost, the birth of the outpouring of the Spirit upon the Church, it seems timely to use the opportunity of the traditional Pentecost Novena to pray to overcome the usual obstacles that tend to ration the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Pentecost Novena extends nine days from Ascension Thursday, until the Saturday Vigil of Pentecost, beginning with Ascension Thursday or Friday after.
THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION makes Jesus' call to conversion "sacramentally present" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1423). In the Scriptures we hear again God's plan for the world and Christ's invitation to turn around, to repent, to love one another. In the silence of our hearts and with the support of the parish community we examine the direction of our lives in the light of the Holy Spirit who helps us see things as God sees them. And in the proclamation of Sacramental absolution we are assured that God does forgive. -- How important that assurance is today when all around us we hear of people who are unable or unwilling to forgive. Surrounded by so much "unforgiveness," it is especially important for us to hear again that our sins are forgiven. And we can continue on our great pilgrimage to the Father without being encumbered by sin and regret.
Again this weekend we see another aspect of the Risen Lord; this awareness strengthens our personal understanding of the spiritual life (second reading) and gives the Body of Christ new purpose (first reading).
On this Sunday before the Ascension Jesus assures the disciples that he would not leave them orphaned but would ask the Father to send the Spirit to be with them always. Jesus says that he would still reveal himself to those who love him.
The second reading tells us that this Lord Jesus, the Risen Savior, died for sins "once for all." He was put to death as far as fleshly existence goes but received life according to the spirit. We likewise die to self-centeredness to have the spirit of gentleness and reverence.
The first reading narrates the great success Philip had in going to Samaria to proclaim Jesus as Christ the Lord and the eagerness of the apostles to pray that the Samaritans receive the Spirit; it provides a model for the mission of the Church.
We've again seen the Risen Lord! We are witnesses to his presence and power! We encounter the God who dwells within us and who promises to send the Spirit and reveal the Father if we are true to him; that is, if we choose prayer, proclamation, and purity of intention as our way of life.
God truly dwells within us -- Father, Son, and Spirit. But our awareness of this indwelling and our benefiting from God's living in and around us depends on our response to God's presence and power. The Word today points out three characteristics of this response:
Prayer as Communion: How does your prayer demonstrate your oneness with God?
Purity of Intention as Credible Conscience and Conduct: How does your speech communicate what's in your head and heart, and your actions portray your beliefs and feelings?
Proclamation as Communicating Christ: How determined are you in making Christ known to others?
In this way we become more aware of the Risen Lord and are more eager to share him with others.
--Father Benet OFM
The confession of Jesus as Lord was not intended by the early Church as some kind of metaphysical definition of Jesus. Rather, it had an eminently functional purpose. Jesus is Lord because, or even inasmuch as, he saves. Taking up the ancient confession of faith that had come down to him, St. Paul explains it precisely in this way: "For if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." The same is implied in Paul's statement to the Corinthians that "No one can say: 'Jesus is Lord,' except in the Holy Spirit." In other words, the confession of Jesus' lordship manifests the saving power of the Spirit at work.
Perhaps what is most significant is that this salvific lordship of the exalted Christ was considered to be exercised not only over Christians but over the whole of created reality. This is clearly implied in the Philippian hymn already referred to; the name of "Lord" given to Jesus is said to be "above every other name," and there is a reference to the adoration by "every knee... in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth. . . ." To confess that kind of lordship, especially in the Hellenistic world where the emperor cult was dominant and where the same title of "lord" was applied to kings and other rulers, required a heroism that could be sparked only by a deep faith in Jesus as sole Lord....
Thus the New Testament makes clear that at the core of Christianity is the lordship of the risen Jesus. Any aspect of Christian life must be seen in that light.
--U.S. Bishops, 1972
