1. Psychologists talk about the left brain and right brain approach or the masculine and feminine in us. As we all know that all women are not right-brained nor all men left-brained. Most of us function from a combination of both. However, at times we seem to function from one side more than the other.
The call “Mary” awakens in her the relationship, love and closeness. The psychological into physical, the movement in her is pretty fast. She tries to hug him. She has to let go that type of relationship into a spiritual one. Many religious men and women struggle with that not knowing where and how to put the boundaries in their relationships as celibate people. The mission – to go and announce the resurrection – is all too important to “waste” our time and energies on earthly niceties. “Go to my sisters and brothers ……”
3. There are a lot of “foot races” in Jn 20. Resurrected people run. If the resurrection hasn’t gotten into your feet, it hasn’t gotten into your heart either! That’s why we have the first reading from the ACTS for the entire season of Easter. The disciples on their foot races around the world trying to raise people from their tombs: of idol worship, laziness, adultery, customs and traditions, drunken living….
4. We celebrate our women who wake up and run caring for parish activities, catechism classes, looking after parishes without priests, altar servers, cooking all those nice things for fetes and birthdays and farewells. If Islam is kept alive by men, Christianity is kept alive by women, I might conclude.
5. If women get involved more emotionally and socially, men tend to go to the heads and talk more theologically and theoretically. We see at this season of Easter Mary coming in grieving, Peter in betrayal, Thomas in doubt and disciples on the way to Emmaus in confusion. Peter and John see the same pieces of clothing and yet John believes.
6. Thomas recognizes the Lord by the “nail marks”. When I was in upper Michigan for a parish mission, while shaking hands with the old timers, I realized their calluses on the hands. I would like to believe that the exclamation of Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” is not only expressions of faith but experience of the love and sacrifice of the Lord through his wounds.
If you take the hands of your father in the evening of his life and feel in the hands the sacrifice and work he had put in working in the farm, field or factory, you would also say, “Oh my God, how much he has suffered in bringing up our family and me!” If you take the hands of your mom in the evening of her life and feel how chaffed, hardened they have become cooking, washing and scrubbing, you would also say, “Oh my God, how much she has suffered for us!”
7. Whether you are a politician or preacher or teacher or a family person, you are recognized by the nail marks or the sacrifice, trouble, time you spent for your constituents. People will soon notice where your “callus” is whether it is on the knees and hands or only on the tongue and wallet.
8. On the next Sunday again, we notice that on the Emmaus journey, Jesus walked with them, they didn’t recognize him, talked with them, explained scripture, they didn’t recognize him. But only in the breaking of bread, their eyes were opened.
a. So, seeking the Lord beyond the tombs, past of sinfulness, rottenness, addictions, dead habits ...
b. Become a missionary to announce the resurrection through activities and ministries
c. Let’s be recognized as the disciples of the Lord by the change of life styles, sacrifices we make, sharing of bread and life and our preaching.
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1: Divine Mercy in action:
Jim Williams of Montana, writes: "I was driving too fast late one night when I saw the flashing lights of a police car in my rearview mirror. As I pulled over and rolled down my window of my station wagon, I tried to dream up an excuse for my haste. But when the patrolman reached the car, he said nothing. Instead, he merely shined his flashlight in my face, then on my seven-month-old in his car seat, then on our three other children, who were asleep, and lastly on the two dogs in the very back of the car. Returning the beam of light to my face, he then uttered the only words of the encounter. “Son,' he said, 'you can’t afford a ticket. Slow down.” And with that, he returned to his car and drove away.” Sometimes mercy triumphs over law. So it is for sinners who call out to Jesus.” (Sent by Fr. pgolden@richmondcathedral.org on March 1, 2013)
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Second Sunday of Easter Gospel reading John 20:19-31
Michel DeVerteuil
General Comments
Today’s gospel reading, like all of St John’s gospel, is an interweaving of several themes. It is not possible to follow up all the themes together; we must focus on one at a time, going deeply into it and allowing it to reveal some deep truth about Jesus, about ourselves and about life.
Here I invite you to focus on the apostle Thomas; this is in accord with the Catholic church’s liturgical tradition for the Second Sunday of Easter. Therefore, although the reading includes two of Jesus’ resurrection appearances – both of them deeply moving – we stay with the second, the dialogue between Jesus and Thomas, and let the earlier appearance provide the context. We are free to identify either with Thomas or with Jesus, but not with both at the same time.
We need to be clear on how we understand Thomas. The popular interpretation puts him in a bad light, as “doubting Thomas”. This however is not the movement of the text, which culminates in Thomas’ admirable act of faith, the most explicit in the New Testament – “My Lord and my God!”.
We are more in accord with the spirit of the text, therefore, when we look at Thomas as a model of faith. He was right to insist that before he could believe in Jesus’ resurrection he must see the holes the nails made in his hands, put his finger into the holes and his hand into the great wound made by the centurion’s lance.
Thomas teaches us the important lesson that we must not separate the resurrection from the cross, since we are called to be followers of Jesus. He also teaches us the truth of the Church and of our individual spiritual growth. We cannot live the life of grace, the “risen life”, authentically unless we bear in our bodies the wounds of the cross. This means being conscious that we develop the capacity to love and to be loved only by dying to ourselves. Our wounds are also a constant reminder of our frailty, and that it is God’s grace that raises us up to new life.
St Paul’s epistles show that the first Christians needed the corrective of Thomas’ faith. They tended to relate with the risen Jesus without reference to his crucifixion. They forgot that they were called to be “followers of Jesus crucified”, choosing to die with him so that they could rise with him (see especially 1 Corinthians 1).
We Christians fall into the same error today when our lives and our teachings proclaim an abstract “disembodied” Jesus, dispenser of graces and teacher of morality – we forget the historical person who was put to death for proclaiming the kingdom of God.
Thomas professes the true faith of the Church. We too must insist that the Jesus we follow is the true Jesus, the one whose risen body bears the wounds of Calvary.
Jesus is the model leader and spiritual guide. He is pleased to give Thomas the assurance he is looking for, and then challenges him to look forward to the day when he will believe without seeing – always in the Jesus who passes through death to resurrection.
The blessedness of believing without seeing came from the experience of the early Church. Jesus is not moralizing, but inviting Thomas – and us – to celebrate great people of faith, in our local communities and world-wide, who take up their cross with confidence in the resurrection.
As always in our meditation we must not limit ourselves to personal relationships. We celebrate the resurrection faith lived by communities, nations and cultures.
“You who remain ever faithful even when we are unfaithful, forgive our sins and grant that we may bear true witness to you before all men and women.” …Pope John Paul II, Service of Forgiveness, March 2000
Prayer reflection
Lord, we thank you for the moments of grace of the recent Lenten season,
when – as individuals and as a church community –
we walked in the footsteps of Jesus by passing from death to new life.
We thank you in particular for the great day
when our church publicly asked forgiveness from other religions and cultures.
We thank you for Pope John Paul who, like Jesus with St Thomas,
invited us to see the holes that the nails of arrogance and self-righteousness
had made in the body of Christ, and to put our fingers into the holes,
to put our hands into the huge wound
which the lust for power has made in his side,
so that we could recognize how, just as you raised Jesus from the dead,
you do not allow his Body, the church, to remain in the tomb,
but always raise her up to new life.
Lord, we thank you for the times when reconciliation
emerged triumphantly from the tomb of conflict:
– the spirit of dialogue between our church and Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and African traditional religions;
– the European Union created by former enemies;
– the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland;
– the peace process in the Middle East.
Lord, we thank you for the experience of the military in Iraq.
We pray that they will hear your voice calling on them all
to remember those who have been hurt,
who still have holes that the nails made in their hands
and can put their finger into the holes they made,
and unless they can put their hands into their side, they will refuse to believe.
Do not let us forget the terrible legacy of hatred and resentment
which had to be overcome;
invite us to put our fingers into the holes made by nails,
our hands into the great wounds made by lances,
so that we can recognize with awe and wonder
the spark of your divine life that is within us all.
Remind us too of those who worked for peace during the long years of conflict
when it seemed that they were working in vain.
How blessed were they who did not see
and yet continued to believe in your power to bring new life into the world.
“Whoever sees anything of God, sees nothing of God .” …Meister Eckhart
Lord, lead us to the blessedness of not seeing and yet believing.
“Go for broke, always try to do too much, dispense with safety nets, aim for the stars.” … Salman Rushdie
Lord, we thank you for friends, leaders and spiritual guides
who challenge us as Jesus challenged Thomas.
When we commit ourselves to a cause because we have tested its reality,
they invite us to experience the blessedness of believing without seeing.
“Beware of the seduction of leaving the poor to think about them.” …Jean Vanier
Lord, forgive us that we want to help those in need without sharing their pain,
we look for their resurrection but do not want to see their wounds:
– young people have been deeply hurt and we serve them with pious exhortations;
– we become impatient with those who continue to mourn the death of a spouse or a child;
– we think we can restore a broken relationship by merely saying we are sorry;
– we propose reconciliation between warring factions without acknowledging past wrongs;
– we pray for peace in the world and do not agonize over its terrible injustices.
We thank you for people like Thomas
who will not let us get away with easy solutions;
they insist that we must see the holes that nails have made
in the hands of victims,
put our fingers into the holes and our hands into wounds
that lances have made in their sides,
and only then believe that they have within them
the capacity to rise to new life.
“We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being,
the exact nature of our wrongs.” …Step 5 in the 12 Step Method of Alcoholics Anonymous
Lord, when we are converted from an addiction to alcohol, drugs, power or sex,
we are so anxious to make a new start
that we try to forget the hurt which was at the root of our problem
– the loneliness of our childhood
– the sense of racial inferiority
– our disability
– the fear of failure.
We thank you for sending us friends who insist
that we must face the reality of the past.
We pray that like Jesus welcoming Thomas,
we will invite them to put their fingers into the holes the nails have made
and their hands into our sides, so that they can walk with us in our new life.
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Thomas O’Loughlin
Introduction to the Celebration
Last Sunday we cried out with joy that ‘Today Christ is risen! Christ has conquered evil and death.’ This theme is so central for us that we need an extended time to ponder the day of resurrection: so here we are again today thinking about the day he rose. Easter day is the day he told us that our sins were forgiven, it is the day he charged us to be forgiving. On Easter day he gave us new life, and charged us to be life-giving. So as we stand here celebrating resurrection, how do we stand in our lives as people claiming this belief?
Homily Notes
1. Only one of the three elements in this gospel passage can be explored in the homily: to try to do more is to risk confusion and overload. I have chosen the image of the risen Christ who appears among his followers with the greeting: ‘Peace be with you’, and who follows this up with a sending out of the disciples to be bearers of peace and reconciliation.
2. Forgiveness, peacemaking, and reconciliation are not concepts that we run together in our minds nor automatically link to our identity as Christian, yet they are at the heart of the meaning of resurrection. Let us note how we tend to react to these themes.
3. Forgiveness brings to mind a very individualist notion of getting rid of that which hinders me from getting to where I want to go: heaven. Forgiveness can be seen as a kind of sacred selfishness or a personal escape hatch from doom. Seeking forgiveness can then become an introverted process of reducing the mystery of God’s love into my desire ‘to get off the hook’.
4. Reconciliation and peacemaking seem to be sideline issues for most Christians: one more good work that you might engage in if that is your ‘thing’. Having a conscious attitude of seeking to overcome division or taking a positive stance towards the question of peace can be seen to be areas where some Christians might feel they have a role, but that these could not be said to be defining issues for Christians. Many First World Christians might even go so far as to say that even if one were uninterested in the building-up of a society of peace one could still call oneself a Christian and a believer in resurrection.5. When we hear of ‘forgiving and retaining sins’ we think first of the priest in the confessional in the highly structured environment of the sacrament. The notion of ‘retained sins’ brings to mind many negative images of being frightened in the confessional and ‘the church’ wielding spiritual ‘power’. This command is therefore primarily a commissioning ceremony of giving out power and authorisation to the apostles and their successors. This range of ideas, limiting forgiveness to a specific sacramental moment often with negative echoes, can seriously impair our seeing the larger significance of this part of Christ’s resurrection message.
6. To be a Christian is to be one who is forgiven, and so one who forgives. ‘Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ This forgiveness is declared to us in the Father raising Christ from death: death and destruction are not to have the final say in human life. This forgiveness and victory are shared with us in Christ’s gift of the Spirit. We are a people who, far from being cut-off from God, have God dwelling within us.
7. This people of the resurrection is then commanded to share this forgiveness and peace in their actions: it is the acceptance of this divine programme that constitutes real belief in resurrection. So the followers are constituted as a group who have a task to fulfill for the whole world: they must be the bearers of forgiveness. It they carry out this task then peace and for King). This is a ministry that Christ sends us out into the world to perform as his agents. It is a ministry not in some restricted sense of a job or function in the church’s administration or liturgy, nor in a special sense of a sacred encounter with a sacred minister (priest), but in the fundamental sense of a service performed to a suffering humanity. The risen Christ looks with love on all who suffer and are in bondage in one way or another, and sends us to bring peace and freedom. This is a central task of us Christians as a group and of each of us. It should be that to know there are Christians is to know that there are people who go around working for peace and proclaiming that God is forgiving.
8. Even in the case of the specific instance of forgiveness we call the Sacrament of Reconciliation we express the belief that the basic mission to forgive and reconcile belongs to the whole group: ‘… the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of the Son … sent the Spirit … for the forgiveness of sins … through the ministry of the church (the sacramental formula of absolution).
9. However, knowing that peacemaking and reconciliation is central to our role as Christians and our witness as a group is one thing, moving beyond this is something else again. The temptation is to harangue and preach: we must be reconciling! we must be peacemaking! we must condemn violence! and the cries go on and on. But such harangues make little difference in practice. Perhaps it is more useful to become aware of the complexity of our situation. First, we all are in favour of peace and goodness and reconciliation — it is almost axiomatic, like saying ‘humans want to be happy.’ But, second, while this is what we claim to want, most of us have vested interests in strife in some shape or form: be it in relationships, in the way we earn a living, in our national pride, or in more obviously exploitational activities. We want peace but only in so far as it is equivalent to our victory or at the very least only in so far as our own apple cart is not upset. Third, we must be aware of how precious our own positions are to us and how we dread having to change our minds or lifestyles. This change is painful and cuts deep. Peace making is only easy for those with no stake in the present situation. Finally, we must note that we as Christians have an abysmal track-record regarding peace. Hence it is all too easy to root around in Christian tradition and find justification for any type of intolerance and this makes the whole notion of peacemaking seem less urgent. Memories can be the great authorisation of strife and hatred, and to challenge some long-championed position in theology, politics, business, relationship, or social customs can seem both treacherous and foolhardy.
10. It is in this personal analysis of the contrast between, on the one hand, how big a stake so many of us have in violence, strife, struggle, and a culture of death, with, on the other hand, the command to forgive and make peace, that we individually discover the cost of believing in Christ as the conqueror of death. To even start the examination of this cost of discipleship in our lives is the first victory of peace. Do not ask ‘Do I believe in the resurrection’ — that can be a cosy religious word-game; but ask: Am I prepared to take the discomfiture, loss of pride, or perhaps loss of income that comes with working for peace, development, and reconciliation (cf ‘development [of the Third World] is another name for peace,’ Paul VI in Populorum progressio)? Peacemaking is never soppy, usually costly, and rarely easy.
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Sean Goan
Gospel John 20: 19-31
In this very packed Gospel, different facets of the Easter mystery are presented. Firstly we note that Jesus appears to the community pity gathered on a Sunday, they rejoice at his presence and receive through him the gift of the Holy Spirit and with this are given a mission, they are sent just as Jesus himself was. In these verses we have as good a summary of what Sunday Eucharist is all about as we will ever find. In short, it is about joy in the presence of the Risen Lord who give us his peace so that we can continue his task of revealing God to the world. Thankfully Thomas is missing because his refusal to believe means that the following Sunday we need to gather again and once again as a community of faith encounter Christ among us. Now, by a wonderful irony, it is Thomas who leads us in our appropriate response as we acknowledge Jesus as Our Lord and Our God. The words addressed to Thomas by Jesus are for the generations of Christians who have continued to proclaim the Easter message ever since: ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’
Reflection
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Donal Neary SJ
Growing in Faith
Our church community faces many big questions about the place of women, our views on sexuality, the need for consultation and for dialogue. We need to know what all of us believe, not just our leaders. We need to know how people find it to live their faith, in these areas of sexuality, justice, migration, ministry and other realities today. Recent Synods and letters of the Pope have tried to narrow connect theory and lived faith.
There is a need to be able to grapple with the demands of today and the message of the gospel; To be able to discern our path in the peace and joy of the Easter message, knowing we don’t all have to agree with each other to say to say ‘my Lord and my God’.
We are the people who are happy to believe; to show we are a community of faith and of joy, and we want to spread this faith that lives for justice and compassion.
We will never get it fully right. But we can get it better and better if we unite with the Lord and hear each other with respect. That is our challenge at Easter. May the Lord bring the best out of our faith in bad days, and help us live with and enjoy the best of our faith in the good times. We want to make alive what is best in our Christianity.
can I share my doubts of belief with the Lord?Lord, I believe in you, strengthen my belief.
From The Connections:
Scene 1 takes place on Easter night. The terrified disciples are huddled together, realizing that they are marked men because of their association with the criminal Jesus. The Risen Jesus appears in their midst with his greeting of “peace.” John clearly has the Genesis story in mind when the evangelist describes Jesus as “breathing” the Holy Spirit on his disciples: Just as God created man and woman by breathing life into them (Genesis 2: 7), the Risen Christ re-creates humankind by breathing the new life of the Holy Spirit upon the eleven.
In scene 2, the disciples excitedly tell the just-returned Thomas of what they had seen. Thomas responds to the news with understandable skepticism. Thomas had expected the cross (see John 11: 16 and 14: 5) – and no more.
The climactic third scene takes place one week later, with Jesus’ second appearance to the assembled community – this time with Thomas present. He invites Thomas to examine his wounds and to “believe.” Christ’s blessing in response to Thomas’ profession of faith exalts the faith of every Christian of every age who “believes without seeing”; all Christians who embrace the Spirit of the Risen One possess a faith that is in no way different less than that of the first disciples. The power of the Resurrection transcends time and place.
The “peace” that Christ gives his new Church is not a passive sense of good feeling or the mere absence of conflict. Christ’s peace is hard work: the peace of the Easter Christ is to honor one another as children of the same Father in heaven; the peace of the Easter Christ seeks to build bridges and find solutions rather than assigning blame or extracting punishment; the peace of Christ is centered in relationships that are just, ethical and moral.
The “peace” that the Risen Christ breathes into us at Easter shows us a way out of those tombs in which we bury ourselves; the forgiveness he extends enables us to get beyond the facades we create and the rationalizations we devise to justify them.
Jesus’ entrusting to the disciples the work of forgiveness is what it means to be the church: to accept one another, to affirm one another, to support one another as God has done for us in the Risen Christ. What brought the apostles and first Christians together as a community – unity of heart, missionary witness, prayer, reconciliation and healing – no less powerfully binds us to one another as the Church of today.
All of us, at one time or another, experience the doubt and skepticism of Thomas: While we have heard the good news of Jesus’ empty tomb, all of our fears, problems and sorrows prevent us from realizing it in our own lives. In raising his beloved Son from the dead, God also raises our spirits to the realization of the totality and limitlessness of his love for us.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus appears to his disciples and shows them his hands and his side; later he invites the doubting Thomas to touch the marks made by the nails and the gash from the soldier’s lance. We all have scars from our own Good Fridays that remain despite our small resurrections. Our “nail marks” remind us that all pain and grief, all ridicule and suffering, all disappointments and anguish, are transformed into healing and peace in the love of God we experience from others and that we extend to them. Compassion, forgiveness, justice — no matter how clumsily offered — can heal and mend.
Your nail marks
A prominent Washington attorney died, a man who had lived a good life: solid, moral and trustworthy, a faithful husband and loving father. He had worked hard; his work ethic and professionalism were beyond reproach. When he died, he went to heaven where St. Peter greeted him at the gates of God’s dwelling place.
When the attorney asked if he could enter, Peter pulled out a sheet of paper. It was the man’s resume of his many accomplishments. Peter nodded approvingly as he scanned the sheet, clearly impressed by what he saw — but then a frown settled on the saint’s face.
“But,” Peter said, “I’m puzzled about one thing. Where are your wounds?”
“What do you mean?” the distinguished guest said. “My wounds?”
“Your wounds,” Peter explained, “back down on earth. Did you see your city and nation, even your world, struggling through countless crises? Couldn’t you recognize the pain in front of you as you moved around your city — people without homes and jobs, without health care, without hope? Couldn’t you see the people around your city and country and world in desperate straits? Could you not be wounded, even a little, for the sake of all the wounds around you?”
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The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles has an apt description of the ideal Christian community, a community gathered around the risen Lord. There are two characteristics pointed out in this community. Firstly, there was a tremendous unity and secondly, as a result of this unity there was a generous sharing of all that they had, out of concern for others. It is good to remind ourselves today that if we are truly Christians, then our communities should have the same characteristics. Today we are reminded that if we are an Easter people we have to share our lives and in the measure we care, in that measure we grow as a Christian community.
Uplifting One Another
Have you ever watched geese fly in V-formation? While a thing of beauty to watch, the formation is essential to the geese for survival. If you listen, you can hear the beat of their wings whistling through the air in unison. And that is the secret of their strength: the lead goose cuts a swath through the air resistance, which creates a helping uplift for the birds behind it. In turn their flapping makes it easier for the birds behind them, and so on. Each bird takes its turn at being leader. The tired ones fan out to the edges of the V for a breather, and the rested ones surge towards the point of the V to drive the flock onward. If a goose becomes too exhausted or ill and has to drop out of the flock, it is never abandoned. A stronger member of the flock will follow the failing, weak one to its resting place and wait till the bird is well enough to fly again. Together, cooperating as a flock, geese can fly at 71% longer range, with up to 60% less work.
Phillip Yancy, in 'Benedict Arnold Seagull'
In the Gospel, Easter Peace is very much linked with our readiness to forgive and to receive forgiveness from others. We are all called to be witnesses of His Peace and His forgiveness. The Gospel adds a little detail that Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came and when the others told him that they had seen the Lord he refused to believe. He demanded proof that would satisfy him. "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." We have people who are believers and people who are doubters; people who are ready to accept the word of others as gospel truth and people who question even those in authority. Apparently, the apostles let Thomas be part of the group in spite of his doubts and questions. Equally, it must be said, that in spite of not believing their testimonies, Thomas did not walk out on them, but rather, stayed with the community. His perseverance was rewarded with the second appearance of Jesus to him. Jesus on his part is seen to be patient and tolerant of Thomas and takes the initiative to meet him on his terms and conditions. "Thomas, put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Doubt no longer but believe." The gospel concludes with those reassuring words for many of us, who have our doubts, who have not seen and are struggling to believe. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Don't be crying! It's Ok! He is alive!
"I remember one occasion when I led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. One of the young men in the group was quite mentally limited, although his grasp of God, of Jesus, and the events of the gospel were uncanny. We arrived at the tomb of the basilica, and we joined the long line, waiting our turn to enter. One lady came out of the tomb, and was obviously deeply touched by the experience of her visit to such a sacred spot. She sat down outside the entrance, took out a tissue, and began wiping her tears. My friend, who was back in the line, spotted what was happening, and responded instantly. He ran straight up to her, put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't be crying, it's ok. He's alive; don't you know that?" The whole thing was so spontaneous and genuine that the woman stood up, and gave him a warm hug. The simple fact was that he could not understand how anybody could be crying at this tomb, of all the tombs in the world. - Jesus thanked the Father for giving a message that was so simple and straightforward that the intellectual and the worldly-wise would fail to grasp it, and yet it could be fully accepted by someone with the mind of a child. Happy are they who have not seen yet believe."
Jack McArdle in 'And that's the Gospel Truth'
Cure for Sorrow
There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. In her grief, she went to the holy man and said, "What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?" Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, "Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life." The woman went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed. She came first to a splendid mansion, knocked at the door, and said, "I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow. Is this such a place? It is very important to me." They told her, "You've certainly come to the wrong place," and began to describe all the tragic things that recently had befallen them. The woman said to herself, "Who is better able to help these poor, unfortunate people than I, who have had misfortune of my own?" She stayed to comfort them, then went on in search of a home that had never known sorrow. But wherever she turned, in hovels and in other places, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune. She became so involved in ministering to other people's grief that ultimately she forgot about her quest for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had, in fact, driven the sorrow out of her life.
Brian Cavanaugh in 'The Sower's Seeds'
Identity Issue
The conversation at a party turned to religion. Many gave their opinion on a whole series of contemporary issues. One person kept silent. Then one of the guests asked him: "By the way, what are you?" In the context it was clear that he was asked what religion he was affiliated with. He said: "Oh, I happen to be a Christian!" You could tell by the way he said it that either he didn't take his religious convictions seriously, or he didn't want to admit it if he did. How different from those Christians from the Acts! They had no difficulty in describing or defining themselves; they had no identity problems. They would say things like: "We are witnesses to all this, we and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who listen." They didn't just 'happen to be' Christians. They were Christians by conscious choice and commitment. They had opened their hearts and minds to the presence of the spirit of Jesus. They not only witnessed to Jesus by professing what had happened to him; they witnessed to Jesus by living as he lived.
Joseph G. Donders in 'With hearts on Fire'
Hope for the Flowers
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then, it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could. So the man decided to help, he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!
Anonymous
Is God Alive?
In a philosophy class being taught by a great Master of Philosophy, the issue being discussed was "The Existence of God-Myth or Reality". The professor was very verbose about the folly of the whole idea of "God". While he was thus going on, one of the boys in the class was eating an orange right under the professor's nose while taking in all that the professor was saying. At the end of the discussion, the professor, with a very gleeful look of great satisfaction, asked his students whether anyone had anything to add to what he had said. Very promptly this student, who had just finished licking the final bit of juice off his fingers, popped up and asked the professor: "Sir, wasn't that orange simply scrumptious!". The professor turned all the colours of the rainbow. He was furious and yelled at the student: "How do I know you imbecile, you ate the orange not me. How can I tell the taste of something I did not eat?!!" The whole class laughed- but the student quite undeterred spoke up and said: "Exactly my point sir, how then can you speak of God whom you have never known or experienced, when I have known Him and experienced Him and I can tell you that He is, beyond a shadow of doubt".
Anonymous
God cannot be separated from our lives
About two centuries ago, some atheistic scientists in France set out to prove that, if an individual was never told about God, he would never think of the existence of God. And so they devised a strange plan. They made an agreement with the parents of a newborn infant to remove the entire family to a remote region where they could enjoy the very best by way of nutrition and recreation. The little boy was educated by the best of tutors, who were however strictly instructed never to make a mention of God. When the little boy was seven, his nurse found him missing one morning. In a state of alarm, she searched for him until she found him on a little hillock, facing the rising sun. He was on his knees, his hands were reverently joined, his head respectfully bowed and his eyes were closed as though he was lost in prayer. "What on earth are you doing?" demanded the anguished nurse. Without batting an eyelid, the little fellow said: "I am only praising the almighty Person who made that beautiful sunrise!" And there ended the sinister plan of those atheistic scientists and their presumptive objective.
James Valladares in 'Your Words O Lord, are Spirit and they are life.
MERCY
A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death.
"Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for."
"Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman's son.
You may be interested to know that in the first three gospels we are told absolutely nothing at all about Thomas. It is in John's Gospel that he emerges as a distinct personality, but even then there are only 155 words about him. There is not a lot about this disciple in the Bible but there is more than one description.
When Jesus turned his face toward Jerusalem the disciples thought that it would be certain death for all of them. Surprisingly, it was Thomas who said: Then let us go so that we may die with him. It was a courageous statement, yet we don't remember him for that. We also fail to point out that in this story of Thomas' doubt we have the one place in the all the Gospels where the Divinity of Christ is bluntly and unequivocally stated. It is interesting, is it not, that the story that gives Thomas his infamous nickname, is the same story that has Thomas making an earth shattering confession of faith? Look at his confession, "My Lord, and my God." Not teacher. Not Lord. Not Messiah. But God! It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. It is uttered with conviction as if Thomas was simply recognizing a fact, just as 2 + 2 = 4, and the sun is in the sky. You are my Lord and my God! These are certainly not the words of a doubter.
Unfortunately history has remembered him for this scene where the resurrected Christ made an appearance to the disciples in a home in Jerusalem...
The British writer Arthur C. Clarke proposed three "laws" of prediction that are known as "Clarke's Three Laws." Here they are:
GIVING BLOOD by Leonard Sweet - a must-have manual for preachers. Get your copy today! http://www.zondervan.com/giving-blood.html
Would You Still Like to be Rescued?
*****************
Finally, in a last desperate effort, he contacted a friend in another city who hadn't heard about his death. And that person was able to convince his family and friends that the judge really was alive.
1: Mercy during tragedy: The news is filled
with illustrations of mercy—or the need for mercy—in our world. One of the most
moving stories came to us on October 6, 2006, when an armed man entered an
Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. He chased out the little boys
and lined up the 10 little girls in front of the blackboard. He shot all of
them and then killed himself. Five of the girls died. After the medics and
police left, the families of the fallen came and carried their slain children
home. They removed their bloody clothes and washed the bodies. They sat for a
time and mourned their beloved children. After a while they walked to the home
of the man who killed their children. They told his widow they forgave her
husband for what he had done, and they consoled her for the loss of her spouse.
They buried their anger before they buried their children. Amish Christians
teach us that forgiveness is central. They believe in a real sense that God’s
forgiveness of themselves depends on their extending forgiveness to other
people. That’s what the mercy of God is all about. That mercy is why we
celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. (Rev. Alfred McBride, O.Praem: Catholic
Update – March 2008). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
2: Divine Mercy in action: A TIME magazine
issue in 1984 presented a startling cover. It pictured a prison cell where two
men sat on metal folding chairs. The young man wore a blue turtleneck sweater,
blue jeans and white running shoes. The older man was dressed in a white robe
and had a white skullcap on his head. They sat facing one another, up-close and
personal. They spoke quietly so as to keep others from hearing the
conversation. The young man was Mehmet Ali Agca, the pope’s would-be assassin
(he shot and wounded the Pope on May 13, 1981); the other man was Pope St. John
Paul II, the intended victim. The Pope held the hand that had held the gun
whose bullet had torn into the Pope’s body. This was a living icon of mercy.
John Paul’s forgiveness was deeply Christian. His deed with Ali Agca spoke a
thousand words. He embraced his enemy and pardoned him. At the end of their
20-minute meeting, Ali Agca raised the Pope’s hand to his forehead as a sign of
respect. John Paul shook Ali Agca’s hand tenderly. When the Pope left the cell
he said, “What we talked about must remain a secret between us. I spoke to him
as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust.” This is an
example of God’s Divine Mercy, the same Divine Mercy whose message St. Faustina
witnessed. (http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0308.asp)
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
3: St. Faustina and the Image of the Divine Mercy: St. Faustina of Poland is the well-known apostle of Divine Mercy. On the 30th of April 2000, at 10:00 AM, on the Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday, the Feast requested by Jesus in His communications with St. Faustina), His Holiness Pope St. John Paul II celebrated the Eucharist in Saint Peter’s Square and proceeded to the canonization of Blessed Sister Faustina. [John Paul himself would be canonized on this same Feast Day – April 27 in 2014 – by Pope Francis.] At the canonization of St. Faustina, Saint John Paul II said, “Believing in the love of God means believing in His mercy.” Saint Faustina invites us by the witness of her life to keep our Faith and Hope fixed on God the Father, rich in mercy, Who saved us by the precious Blood of His Son. During her short life, the Lord Jesus assigned to St. Faustina three basic tasks: 1. to pray for souls, entrusting them to God’s incomprehensible Mercy; 2. to tell the world about God’s generous Mercy; 3. to start a new movement in the Church focusing on God’s Mercy. At the canonization of St. Faustina, Pope St. John Paul II said: “The cross, even after the Resurrection of the Son of God, speaks, and never ceases to speak, of God the Father, Who is absolutely faithful to His eternal love for man. … Believing in this love means believing in mercy.” “The Lord of Divine Mercy,” a drawing of Jesus based on the vision given to St. Faustina, shows Jesus raising his right hand in a gesture of blessing, with His left hand on his heart from which gush forth two rays, one red and one white. The picture contains the message, “Jesus, I trust in You!” (Jezu ufam Tobie). The rays streaming out have symbolic meaning: red for the Blood of Jesus, which is the life of souls and white for the Baptismal water which justifies souls. The whole image is symbolic of the mercy, forgiveness and love of God. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
4. Traffic cop’s mercy: A priest was forced by a
police officer to pull over for speeding. As the officer was about to
write the ticket, the priest said to him, “Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7). The police officer
handed the priest the ticket, and said, “Go, and sin no more” \
5. Photographer’s mercy: The story is told of a politician
who, after receiving the proofs of a picture, was very angry with the
photographer. He stormed back to the man’s studio and screamed
at him: “This picture does not do me justice!” The photographer replied, “Sir,
with a face like yours, what you need is mercy, not justice!”
6. Mercy of Sisters of Mercy: There is a joke about the
payment of a bill at the Sisters of Mercy Hospital. A man was brought to Mercy
Hospital for surgery. The operation went well. The sister waiting by his bed
said to the man, “You’re going to be just fine,” and asked him, “We want to
know how you intend to pay for your stay here. Are you covered by insurance?”
He whispered, “No, I’m not.” The sister asked, “Can you pay in cash?” He
replied, “I’m afraid I can’t, Sister.” She continued, “Do you have any close
relatives, then?” The patient replied, “Just my sister in New Mexico, but she’s
a spinster nun.” The sister said, “Nuns are not spinsters, Mr. Smith. They are
married to Jesus.” The man said with a smile, “Okay, then send the bill to
Jesus, my brother-in-law.”
22 Additional anecdotes:
1: “Law vs Mercy” In Reader’s
Digest, Jim Williams of Montana, writes: “I was driving too fast late
one night when I saw the flashing lights of a police car in my rearview mirror.
As I pulled over and rolled down my window of my station wagon, I tried to
dream up an excuse for my haste. But when the patrolman reached the car, he
said nothing. Instead, he merely shined his flashlight in my face, then on my
seven-month-old in his car seat, then on our three other children, who were
asleep, and lastly on the two dogs in the very back of the car. Returning the
beam of light to my face, he then uttered the only words of the encounter.
“’Son,’ he said, ‘you can’t afford a ticket. Slow down.’” And with that, he
returned to his car and drove away.” — Sometimes mercy triumphs over law. So it
is for sinners who call out to Jesus.” (Sent by Fr. pgolden@richmondcathedral.org on
March 1, 2013) Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
2) Divine mercy experience of Rev. Fr. James Alberione.
The founder of the religious congregation to which I belong is Rev. Fr. James
Alberione. A holy man with a prophetic vision, he harnessed the pastoral
potentiality of the modern means of communication at the service of
evangelization. The Holy Father, Pope St. John Paul II will beatify him today –
April 27, 2003 – in Rome. Fr. Alberione founded five religious congregations,
four aggregated Institutes, and the Association of Pauline Cooperators, all of
which comprise the “Pauline Family.” In 1923, he was struck down with a serious
illness that led him into a kind of crisis about the future of the religious
family launched just a few years earlier. He needed some kind of assurance in
the midst of uncertainties. He looked for confirmation in the most difficult
moment of his life. The Divine Master kindheartedly obliged by appearing to him
in a dream, assuring him of His Divine assistance and presence. Here is Fr.
Alberione’s personal account of that awesome experience. In a particularly
difficult moment, reexamining all his ways of doing things to see if there
might perhaps be impediments to the action of grace on his part, it seems that
the Divine Master may have wanted to reassure the Institute that had only
gotten underway a few years before. In a subsequent dream, he had what seemed
to him to be a reply. Jesus, the Master, in fact, said to him: “Fear not. I am
with you. From here I will enlighten. Have a contrite heart.” The “from here”
came forth from the tabernacle; and with power, such as to make one understand
that from Him, the Master, must one receive all enlightenment. Fr. Alberione
spoke of this with his spiritual director, noting in what light the figure of
the Master has been enveloped. His reply to me was: “Be at peace; dream or
otherwise, what was said is holy; make it a practical program of life and of
light for yourself and for all members.” From that point on he became more and
more oriented to and received all from the tabernacle. (Cf. Abundantes Divitiae,
n. 151-155). Indeed, the experience
of Blessed James Alberione, a “true missionary of the Church” and a modern
apostle for our times, is similar to that of the apostle Thomas, who
experienced the compassion of the saving and merciful Lord as predilection. Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
3) Iranian mother saves son’s
killer from hanging, with a slap of mercy and forgiveness: Tehran:
An Iranian mother spared the life of her son’s convicted murderer with an
emotional slap in the face as he awaited execution with the noose around his
neck, a newspaper reported on Thursday. The dramatic climax followed a rare
public campaign to save the life of Balal, who at 19 killed another young man,
Abdollah Hosseinzadeh, in a street fight with a knife in 2007. The newspaper
Shargh said police officers led Balal to a public execution site in the
northern city of Nowshahr as a large crowd gathered on Tuesday morning. Samereh
Alinejad, mother of the victim, who had lost another son in a motorbike
accident four years ago, asked the onlookers whether they knew “how difficult
it is to live in an empty house.”
Balal, black-hooded and standing on a chair before makeshift
gallows, had the noose around his neck when Ms Alinejad approached. She slapped
him in the face and removed the rope from his neck, assisted by her husband,
Abdolghani Hosseinzadeh, a former professional footballer. “I am a believer. I
had a dream in which my son told me that he was at peace and in a good place …
After that, all my relatives, even my mother, put pressure on me to pardon the
killer,” Ms Alinejad told Shargh. “The murderer was crying, asking for
forgiveness. I slapped him in the face. That slap helped to calm me down. Now
that I’ve forgiven him, I feel relieved.” Balal said the “slap was the space
between revenge and forgiveness”. “I’ve asked my friends not to carry knives …
I wish someone had slapped me in the face when I wanted to carry one,” he said.
A high-profile campaign was launched by public figures – including popular
football commentator and TV show host Adel Ferdosipour and former international
footballer Ali Daei – appealing for the victim’s family to forgive the
killer. See the video commentary below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cwh17osBCNI
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/iranian-mother-saves-sons-killer-from-hanging-with-a-slap-20140418-zqw3f.html#ixzz300Il5O32,
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
4) “Well, then, I will have mercy.” The Emperor Napoleon was
moved by a mother’s plea for pardon for her soldier son. However, the Emperor
said that since it was the man’s second major offense, justice demanded death.
“I do not ask for justice,” implored the mother, “I plead for mercy.” “But,”
said the Emperor, “he does not deserve mercy.” “Sir,” cried the mother, “it
would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.” The
compassion and clarity of the mother’s logic prompted Napoleon to respond,
“Well, then, I will have mercy.” — The Second Sunday of the Easter season
invites us to reflect on God’s infinite love and mercy for His people, as detailed
in the Bible and as lived and taught by Jesus, and to practice the corporal and
spiritual works of mercy. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
5) Divine Mercy and Zacharias Moussaoui. Zacharias
Moussaoui was sentenced for a role in the devastating 9/11 tragedy. The
Frederick News Post (Apr 14: Good Friday) reported it with the
headline: “Suspect wishes pain for victims.” Wow. “‘So you would be happy to
see 9/11 again,’ the prosecutor asked. Moussaoui said: ‘Every day until we get
you.’ He told jurors that he has ‘no regret, no remorse,’ and was disgusted by
the heart-rending testimony of victims and relatives and only wished they have
suffered more.” Have you read any more tragic thoughts and wishes? When this
Chaplain describes the words and actions as objectively “evil,” he means that,
objectively, wanting to murder people, and to plague them with more harm and
rub it into their lives is an evil thing. Subjectively, perhaps Zacharias
Moussaoui is mentally deranged and not totally culpable for his words and
actions. We don’t and can’t know this as a literal matter of fact. The question
was raised by both defense and prosecution in his sentencing. Point: Mercy is
just for such people – the free offer of God, to even the harshest of
offenders, like Zacharias Moussaoui, of forgiveness and reconciliation if he
chooses to accept it. We need to pray for Moussaoui that he may ask for and
receive God’s pardon and love. This man and his sentiments are just one more
reason why Jesus came to Earth-to save souls, even the most overtly plagued
ones. (Fr. John J. Lombardi) http://www.emmitsburg.net/grotto/father_jack/2006/mercy_sunday.htm
(Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.)
6) Mayor’s mercy: One night in 1935, Fiorello H.
La Guardia, Mayor of New York City, showed up at Night Court in the poorest
ward of the city. He dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the
bench. One case involved an elderly woman who was caught stealing bread to feed
her grandchildren. La Guardia said, “I’ve got to punish you. Ten dollars
or ten days in jail.” As he spoke, he threw $10 into his hat. He then
fined everyone in the courtroom 50 cents for living in a city “where an old
woman had to steal bread so that her grandchildren should not starve.”
The hat was passed around, and the woman left the courtroom with her fine paid
and an additional $47.50. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
7) Mary Duray, Connecticut: Mary and her husband
suffered the tragic loss of their son, and it was her understanding of Divine
Mercy that helped her and her family forgive those that took his life during a
robbery. Mary tells us how her attendance at a Mother of Mercy Messengers
(MOMM) Divine Mercy Program helped her overcome great obstacles and allowed her
to forgive and even to pray for them. Knowing that as long as there is life,
there is hope, the family did not seek the death penalty for his murderers. How
differently does the person filled with God’s mercy see and react to the world!
(http://mercyimages.com/video_MaryDuray.php )
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
8) “What I don’t know is where I am going.” The
story is told about Albert Einstein, the brilliant physicist of Princeton
University in the early 20th century. Einstein was traveling from Princeton on
a train, and when the conductor came down the aisle to punch the passengers’
tickets, Einstein couldn’t find his. He looked in his vest pocket, he looked in
his pants pocket, he looked in his briefcase, but there was no ticket. The
conductor was gracious; “Not to worry, Dr. Einstein, I know who you are, we all
know who you are, and I’m sure you bought a ticket.” As the conductor moved
down the aisle, he looked back and noticed Einstein on his hands and knees,
searching under the seat for his ticket. The conductor returned to Einstein;
“Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry. I know who you are. You don’t need a
ticket, I’m sure you bought one.” Einstein arose and said, “Young man, I, too,
know who I am; what I don’t know is where I am going.” And that is the Good
News of Easter; that we know where we are going. We have been told by the
Savior that His life and death has promised us life eternal. (Steven
Molin, Elated….Deflated. Quoted by Fr. Kyala)
9) Ask for Mercy: In order to receive mercy
we must ask for it and be ready to accept it. If we do not accept it sincerely
we will not change our attitude towards our past life. We read in history that
in 1829 George Wilson was condemned to death for robbing the mail and killing
the policeman who was on the way to arrest him. President Andrew Jackson
granted him a pardon but George Wilson refused to accept it. The judge said
‘Pardon is a pardon only when one accepts it. George must die’. Mercy is mercy
when we accept it. We read in the life of Voltaire that he wanted to live six
weeks to repent for his sins. The doctor told him he would not live six days.
He died unrepentant. Having mercy at his door he refused to accept it. (Elias
Dias in Divine Stories for Families; quoted by Fr. Botelho).Fr.
Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
10) “The miracle over Hudson
River:” A banker on a business trip in New York City, Fred Berretta had
just checked into his hotel room. He had about 20 minutes downtime before he
had to meet his colleagues. For some reason he decided to clean out his
briefcase, something he hadn’t done in a long time. As he emptied it out, he
came across a booklet he had stuffed into a pocket years ago on praying
the Chaplet
of The Divine Mercy. He recalls having prayed it a few times years ago.
Only two weeks prior, Fred had made a New Year’s resolution to try to get into
better spiritual shape. Here in this hotel room was an opportunity to fulfill
it. So, he followed along in the booklet and prayed the chaplet, a prayer our
Lord gave to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, during a series of
revelations that has sparked the modern Divine Mercy movement. He would be
among the 155 people to board a jet airliner at LaGuardia Airport bound for
Charlotte, N.C., his hometown. It was January 15, 2009. Ninety seconds after
takeoff, the jet would apparently hit a flock of geese, the engines would
explode, and the plane would lose power at 3,200 feet. The aircraft would be
out of reach from any airfield. It would lose thrust and altitude. Everything
would become eerily quiet. Fred would cinch his seatbelt. His left hand would
clutch the armrest, his heart would race, his face would be flushed. “Prepare
for impact,” the pilot would say over the PA system. As the ground
surged into view, Fred would look at his watch. It would be 3:30, the Hour of
Great Mercy! “I prayed with every fiber of emotion and sincerity I could
muster, ‘God, please be merciful to us,’” Fred would recall two weeks later.
You’ve probably heard about the crash landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson
River on Jan. 15. No one was seriously injured. Then, there were the news
images of a US Airways Airbus floating gently down the frigid Hudson, like some
sort of breaching, people-friendly, aquatic creature. The passengers stood on
its wings, calmly awaiting rescue. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
11) We might never have learned Fred Berretta’s story
if it weren’t for Vinny Flynn. Following the crash, Fred felt compelled to send
an email of thanks to Vinny, the former executive editor at the Marian Helpers
Center, in Stockbridge, Mass. Fred had never heard of Vinny until about two
hours before he boarded Flight 1549. Following morning meetings on Jan. 15,
Fred had found himself in the unusual position of having some free time on a
business trip. It was noon. He stepped inside Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s
Cathedral. He stayed for the 12 p.m. Mass. Afterwards, he went into St.
Patrick’s gift shop. A book caught his eye — Vinny’s 7 Secrets of the
Eucharist (Mercy Song Ignatius, 2006), which, with citations from St.
Faustina’s Diary, gives a greater understanding of the mystery of
the Eucharist. Fred also purchased a St. Michael’s scapular. In an interview
with thedivinemercy.org this week, Fred explained what
happened next: “I got into a cab and went to the airport,” he said. “My flight
was delayed about 15 minutes, so I sat there and started reading Vinny’s book.
I was really taken by it. I boarded the plane and continued to read. Just as we
were rolling out for takeoff, I put the book away and closed my eyes and began
to reflect on what I had been reading. “Some of us looked at each other,” he
said. “There was nothing to be said. I knew that the only thing I could do was
pray.” Which is exactly what Fred did when he suddenly realized it was the Hour
of Great Mercy and he would probably be dead in a matter of seconds. He
trusted, truly, for the first time. All these fragments of thought seemed to
piece themselves into place. The plane was going down, yet everything was
making sense. He admits he was in shock. But he also felt at peace, a deep
peace. God had allowed him to find the Divine Mercy booklet in his briefcase.
God had steered him to Vinny’s book. God did all this, he thought, to prepare
him for death. He hunched over in his seat to brace for impact. He prayed for
God’s mercy. Then he prayed two Hail Marys and one Our Father. He made it
halfway though a prayer to St. Michael, the archangel, when the plane hit the
water, came to a stop, and bobbed up and down like a toy in a kiddy pool. (http://thedivinemercy.org/news/story.php?NID=3493).
Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
12) “Sir, that is what I am afraid of.” There
is a story about a soldier brought before General Robert E. Lee. Accused of
misconduct, the soldier was trembling. The general said to him, “Do not be
afraid, son. Here you will receive justice.” The soldier looked at the general
and said, “Sir, that is what I am afraid of.” Like that soldier, Peter would
have reason to tremble. Peter had boasted about his bravery, how he would
always stand by Jesus. Yet when Jesus needed him most, he nodded off. Perhaps
one could forgive him for falling asleep, but later – when he was wide-awake –
he denied Jesus, three times, with forms of, “I do not know the man.” Some
rock! In strict justice, Peter should have been punished – at the very least,
removed as head of the Church. In Christ’s passion, however, a deeper justice
is at work. That is what we will discover this Divine Mercy Sunday. God’s
justice has a name – it is called the Divine Mercy. I invite you to return on
Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. These are the great days of
grace – of Divine Mercy. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
13) Macbeth never had peace in his life: One of the
famous tragedies of William Shakespeare is Macbeth. When Macbeth
was returning after a victory, he was met by three witches. The first witch
greeted him, “Thane of Glamis”. The second witch greeted him, “Thane of
Cawdor”, and the third witch greeted him, “King hereafter”. As they disappeared
messengers reached with the good news that he was appointed as the Thane of
Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth went home and shared this strange
experience with his wife. She enkindled his hopes, and persuaded him to murder
Duncan, the king, who came to his house as his guest. As Macbeth thrust the
dagger into the heart of Duncan he heard a voice, “Sleep no more! Macbeth does
murder sleep…” (II, 2:35-36). Thereafter Macbeth never had peace in his life.
His life became miserable. In his frantic attempt to get peace he committed
murder again and again. When Macbeth sinned against the king he lost his peace.
Jesus was aware that sins destroy the peace of man. So Jesus both wished the
Apostles “Peace” and granted them the power to destroy sin and so make that Peace
available to all of us. . To destroy a powerful enemy we need a powerful
weapon. Jesus put this weapon in the hands of the Church by communicating to
the Apostles the power to forgive sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Jesus said to the apostles: “Those whose sins you forgive, they are
forgiven. Those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” (Fr. Bobby
Jose). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
14) Uplifting One Another: Have you ever
watched geese fly in V-formation? While a thing of beauty to watch, the
formation is essential to the geese for survival. If you listen, you can hear
the beat of their wings whistling through the air in unison. And that is the
secret of their strength: the lead goose cuts a swath through the air
resistance, which creates a helping uplift for the birds behind it. In turn
their flapping makes it easier for the birds behind them, and so on. Each bird
takes its turn at being leader. The tired ones fan out to the edges of the V
for a breather, and the rested ones surge towards the point of the V to drive
the flock onward. If a goose becomes too exhausted or ill and has to drop out
of the flock, it is never abandoned. A stronger member of the flock will follow
the failing, weak one to its resting place and wait till the bird is well
enough to fly again. Together, cooperating as a flock, geese can fly at 71%
longer range, with up to 60% less work. (Phillip Yancy in Benedict Arnold
Seagull; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
15) Cure for Sorrow: There is an old
Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. In her grief, she went to the
holy man and said, “What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to
bring my son back to life?” Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her,
he said to her, “Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known
sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life.” The woman went
off at once in search of that magical mustard seed. She came first to a
splendid mansion, knocked at the door, and said, “I am looking for a home that
has never known sorrow. Is this such a place? It is very important to me.” They
told her, “You’ve certainly come to the wrong place,” and began to describe all
the tragic things that recently had befallen them. The woman said to herself,
“Who is better able to help these poor, unfortunate people than I, who have had
misfortune of my own?” She stayed to comfort them, then went on in search of a
home that had never known sorrow. But wherever she turned, in hovels and in
other places, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune. She
became so involved in ministering to other people’s grief that ultimately she
forgot about her quest for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it
had, in fact, driven the sorrow out of her life. (Brian Cavanaugh in The
Sower’s Seeds; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
16) Hope for the Flowers: A man found a cocoon of a
butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly
for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
Then, it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as
far as it could. So the man decided to help, he took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.
But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to
watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would
enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in
time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life
crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to
fly. What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the
restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through
the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly
into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its
freedom from the cocoon. — Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our
lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it
would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. We could
never fly! So God in His mercy, challenges us, giving obstacles in life.
(Anonymous; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
17) “Don’t be crying! It’s Ok! He is alive!” I
remember one occasion when I led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. One of the
young men in the group was mentally quite limited, although his grasp of God,
of Jesus, and the events of the Gospel were uncanny. We arrived at the tomb of
the basilica, and we joined the long line, waiting our turn to enter. One lady
came out of the tomb, and was obviously deeply touched by the experience of her
visit to such a sacred spot. She sat down outside the entrance, took out a
tissue, and began wiping her tears. My friend, who was back in the line,
spotted what was happening, and responded instantly. He ran straight up to her,
put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Don’t be crying, it’s OK! He’s alive;
don’t you know that?” The whole thing was so spontaneous and genuine that the
woman stood up, and gave him a warm hug. The simple fact was that he could not
understand how anybody could be crying at this tomb, of all the tombs in the
world. — Jesus thanked the Father for giving a message that was so simple and
straightforward that the intellectual and the worldly-wise would fail to grasp
it, and yet it could be fully accepted by someone with the mind of a child.
Happy are they who have not seen, yet believe. (Jack McArdle in And That’s the
Gospel Truth; quoted by Fr. Botelho). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
18) President’s mercy: Years after the death of
President Calvin Coolidge, this story came to light. In the early days of his
presidency, Coolidge awoke one morning in his hotel room to find a cat burglar
going through his pockets. Coolidge spoke up, asking the burglar not to take his
watch chain because it contained an engraved charm he wanted to keep. Coolidge
then engaged the thief in quiet conversation and discovered he was a college
student who had no money to pay his hotel bill or buy a ticket back to campus.
Coolidge counted $32 out of his wallet — which he had also persuaded the dazed
young man to give back! — declared it to be a loan, and advised the young man
to leave the way he had come so as to avoid the Secret Service! (Yes, the loan
was paid back.) [Today in the Word (October 8, 1992); quoted by Fr.
Kayala.] Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
19) The story of Oshea Israel and Mary Johnson: One
of the stories of the “Forgiveness Project” that caught my attention was the story
of Oshea Israel and Mary Johnson. Oshea had shot and killed Mary’s son –
a boy Oshea didn’t even know. There was no way Oshea could pay Mary back
for what he had taken from her. And Mary owed him nothing. It’s not
an easy story. As Mary said, “I hated everyone for a while.” But
over time Mary came to forgive Oshea. She visited him in prison.
She helped him when he was released. In the process they both changed.
Mary gave Oshea the one gift he needed to begin his healing: total forgiveness.
Mercy doesn’t undercut justice but surprises it! It is the linchpin that
supports forgiveness and compassion. Mercy is the force that reawakens us to
new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope. We
might think of mercy as the grace for conversion. (Stories Seldom
Heard; quoted by Sr. Patricia). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
20) Everything was held in common (First
reading): The earliest Christians, says the Acts of the Apostles, were “of
one heart and one mind.” They shared their possessions with each other, so that
none would be in need. Some even sold their belongings and set up a fund to
provide for all. This great spirit of Easter charity did not last very long,
but in later years those who founded religious orders revived common ownership
as a part of their religious rules. Thus, when St. Benedict wrote a rule for
his monks in the sixth century, he ordered, “Let all things be common to all.”
Human beings are naturally possessive. Not all of Abbot Benedict’s monks lived
up to the ideal of personal poverty. Once a monk of his monastery gave a
spiritual talk at a nearby convent of nuns. To express their thanks, the nuns
gave him a few handkerchiefs. Although the rule said that no monk should use
anything he had not received through the Abbot, this monk decided he would keep
the little gift as his own without mentioning it to his superior. He simply
tucked the handkerchiefs in his habit. He did not get away with it. When he returned
to the monastery, Benedict scolded him: “How is it that evil has found its way
into your heart?” The monk was puzzled, for he had already forgotten the
handkerchiefs. But the misdeed had been revealed to Benedict. “Was I not
present, he said, when you accepted those handkerchiefs?” The wayward monk at
once knelt before the saint, begged his forgiveness, and handed over the
compromising gift. — Holy Communion as practiced in the earliest Church and in
the religious orders was not something commanded by God; it was something
embraced by loving choice. Is there indeed a better way of showing love for
neighbor? Or of showing total trust that God our Father will provide? “…The
community of believers were of one — Today’s first reading. Father
Robert F. McNamara. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
21) St. Thomas’ way of experiencing God: Fr.
Mark Link, SJ in his homily book, Illustrated Sunday Homilies Year B,
offers a scenario: “You are called up to the lectern and blindfolded and a
bucket full of water is placed in front of you; then, you are asked if the
bucket is empty or full.” Then he asks a question: “What are the ways you can
learn the answer such inquiry without removing the blindfold?” Fr. Link said
that there are three ways we can learn to answer such
question: One way is to reach into the bucket and feel if
there is water in it. In other words, you can experience firsthand if the
bucket is full or empty. This way of learning is called experiencing; it
is knowledge that our senses give us. The second way of
learning if the bucket has water or has none is to drop an object like a coin,
into it. If the object hits the bottom of the bucket with a loud or ringing
sound, you know the bucket is empty. On the other hand, if the object hits with
a slurp or a splash, you know the bucket contains water. This way of acquiring
knowledge is called reasoning. A third way to
learn if the bucket contains water is to ask someone you trust. The person
could look into the bucket and tell you if it has water in it. This way of
learning is called believing. It’s knowledge that we acquire by Faith.
But of the three ways of acquiring knowledge, that is, by experiencing, reasoning
and believing, by which way do we obtain most of our knowledge? Is it by
experiencing, by reasoning or by believing? If we said believing, then you and
I are correct, according to some experts, who estimate that we acquire as much
as 80 percent of our knowledge in this way. For example, Fr. Link continued,
few of us have travelled around the world. The only way we know about most
countries is by what others tells us. We are told in today’s words; we trust
the people who have been there. If they tell us there is a country called China
and that its people do this or do that, we believe them. — Today’s Gospel
describes how St. Thomas the apostle chose the way of experiencing the Risen
Lord by touching him. Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/)
2021.
22) Was the early Church a “Potemkin village?” During the reign of Empress Catherine II, Gregory Aleksandrovich Potemkin was the Commander-in-Chief and Governor General of “New Russia“ (the southern Ukraine). After he had successfully defended Russia’s southern borders against the Turks and colonized the Ukrainian steppes, Potemkin conducted the Empress on a grand victory tour. His policy of disguising all the weak points in his administration and camouflaging his failures gave rise to the apocryphal tale that he had erected artificial villages to be seen by the empress in passing. Hence the term “Potemkin village” came to denote any pretentious façade designed to cover up a shabby or undesirable condition. — But Luke’s portrait of the early Church’s harmony, agape love and sharing was a reality, the effect of the believers’ trusting in the Divine Mercy of the Risen Lord on their behavior. The early Church’s mutual sharing and care for the needy also reflectedc the Deuteronomist who promised, “When the Lord God blesses you in your land, there will be no needy person among you” (Dt 15:4). (Adapted from Sanchez Files). Fr. Tony (http://frtonyshomilies.com/) 2021.
