Fifth Sunday of Easter

Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, the only truth to believe, and the only life that is eternal. The Apostles miss the meaning of what Jesus says to them, and keep asking to be shown the way to the Father. It is simple - follow Jesus, see and believe in Him alone.

In the Second Reading, St. Peter tells us that we are living stones, built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. United with Him, we are called to put all of our talents and skills to the use of the Church. Some, of course, are called as priests and religious. Some, perhaps most, are called to live out their vocations of marriage in the world, to lead others to Christ through a faithful witness in the secular sphere. Yet, all are united in the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

Good Shepherd Sunday (Fourth Sunday in Easter)

Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, the savior who leads us into the safety of the Trinity's loving embrace. We need to listen to His voice, to know His voice through and through. If we become 'accustomed' to knowing His voice, we will be more ready to follow wherever He leads. If we are not familiar with His voice, we may find ourselves following other voices that would lead us to our destruction, whether those voices are from Satan, the world, or our malformed consciences and twisted psyches. Only the Voice of Jesus Christ will lead to lasting freedom and eternal happiness.

Prayer, as I have said before, is absolutely necessary. Prayer is the conversation we have with God, and it is not to be a one-sided affair. We must listen to Christ, to hear His voice.

Though they are not Catholic and some of their songs are from a Protestant Theology, the band Casting Crowns has a powerful song that comes to mind this Good Shepherd Sunday: The Voice of Truth. In the song, they sing about listening not to the laughter of the giant or the rumble of the waves, but to the Voice of Truth, who says do not be afraid. Let us listen well - let us know the Voice of Truth, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

Message for the 45th World Day of Prayer for Vocations

His Holiness Pope Benedict has released a Message on the occasion of the 45th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which is to be held this weekend. The message is beautiful and worth a read. Most touching, probably because I am a farm boy at heart, was the eighth paragraph which read:

8. Vocations to the ministerial priesthood and to the consecrated life can only flourish in a spiritual soil that is well cultivated. Christian communities that live the missionary dimension of the mystery of the Church in a profound way will never be inward looking. Mission, as a witness of divine love, becomes particularly effective when it is shared in a community, “so that the world may believe” (cf. Jn 17: 21). The Church prays everyday to the Holy Spirit for the gift of vocations. Gathered around the Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles, as in the beginning, the ecclesial community learns from her how to implore the Lord for a flowering of new apostles, alive with the faith and love that are necessary for the mission.

May we be that good soil!

Third Sunday of Easter

This week, we hear of the first post-Resurrection Mass. As Cloepas and his company are walking to Emmaus, they are joined by a 'stranger' who seems to have no idea of what has happened in Jerusalem in the days around that first Good Friday. He invites them to tell the story, and Jesus continues on, explaining the Scriptures to them and how they spoke of these events. Arriving at their evening lodging, they beg Him to stay. They sit down to a meal, and Jesus takes the bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. With this, they recognize Jesus, and he is taken from their sight. They run back to Jerusalem to share the news, to be met with the news that Jesus had also appear to Peter.

Sometimes, we too don't understand what God is doing in our lives, but we need to allow Jesus to reveal to us what He desires. Perhaps like Cleopas, we will not understand, but it is in the Eucharist that we receive the grace to continue on.

Divine Mercy

Jesus is risen, and reveals Himself to the Apostles as the Living Savior. In His love and mercy, He reveals Himself to Thomas, who was lost in doubt. Could the Apostles really have seen the Risen Lord, just as they said? Is it really Him, or just a ghost?
It is indeed Jesus, flesh and blood.
This weekend, we celebrate the mercy of Christ as directed by Pope John Paul II. It is mercy that most perfectly sums Christ's life given for us - He loves us and gives us His very self for our salvation. In the same way that He was revealed to St. Thomas, He is revealed to us, but for us, we see Him in the Eucharist.
As a priest, the most powerful thing I call to mind is that in all I do, Christ continues to express His mercy. To remember this is humbling.

On this Divine Mercy Sunday, may I suggest praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy?

The Chaplet is prayed on regular Rosary beads, starting with the Sign of the Cross, one Lord's Prayer, one Hail Mary, and the Apostles creed.
Then on the Our Father Beads say the following:
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

On the Hail Mary Beads say the following:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

After the five decades, conclude with repeating three times:
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Often, some will add three times, Jesus, I trust in you.

Easter Praise

Alleluia, He is risen!

With the universal Church, we join the praises of all creation. With angels and archangels, we rejoice. In this vein, may we reflect on the beauty of the Resurrection, as found in the Church's liturgy from the Easter Vigil, the Exultet:

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,

that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.

Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Deacon: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Deacon: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.


For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is the night
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:
"The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father,
in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church's solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

Reclaiming our Priestly Character (Part 2)

In the continuation of the Interview of Fr. Toups on his recent book, Fr. Toups speaks of the 6 parts of priestly Character that are held:

The first principle is the permanence of the priesthood, namely the reminder that the priest has entered into a permanent relationship with Jesus Christ and the Church by virtue of ordination.

He receives, in ordination, an ontological character that cannot be removed or erased. This reality affects the way he prepares for the priesthood in the seminary, the way he understands himself as a chaste spouse of the Church and spiritual father of the faithful.

The second principle is that the priest acts "in persona Christi," assuring both himself and the faithful that the sacraments are efficacious "ex opere operato."

The flip side of this is that, although he has received the sacerdotal character, he is obliged to keep working on his own personal character development as a man striving for holiness in his daily life.

The third principle is a reminder that the priest is not his own, but rather he belongs to and represents the Church "in persona Ecclesiae." Thus, he prays the Liturgy of the Hours, as he promised at ordination, for the needs of the whole Church.

Likewise, he embraces and hands on the teachings of the Church as the steward, not the master, of her truths. He is also proud -- in the best sense -- to be visibly recognizable as a priest, knowing he is called to courageously be a sign and symbol pointing beyond himself to Christ.

The fourth principle is priestly presence, namely that everything the priest does is priestly and has immense value, as Christ desires to work through him at all times. This happens in a particular way when preaching, shepherding, and healing God’s people as their spiritual father.

The fifth principle is the caution for priests to avoid the trap of functionalism or activism. The priest can get so busy that he can forget who he is or for whom he is doing the work.

He must be supernaturally sensitive, grounding himself by being a man of prayer who encounters God through daily, silent meditation, desiring an ever more intimate relationship with him.

Finally, the sixth principle, which has already been discussed, is ongoing formation. These principles all find their basis in the priestly character and serve as a foundation for a priestly life lived joyfully, bearing abundant fruit.