Holy Trinity: Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

One day St Augustine of Hippo was walking along the sea shore and reflecting on the doctrine of the Trinity. He suddenly saw a little child all alone on the shore. The child made a hole in the sand, ran to the sea with a little cup, filled her cup, came and poured it into the hole she had made in the sand. Back and forth she went to the sea, filled her cup and came and poured it into the hole. Augustine went up to her and said, "Little child, what are you doing?" and she replied, "I am trying to empty the sea into this hole." "How do you think," Augustine asked her, "that you can empty this immense sea into this tiny hole and with this tiny cup?" To which she replied, " And you, how do you suppose that with this your small head you can comprehend the immensity of God?" With that the child disappeared. Augustine was pondering the mystery of Holy Trinity those days.

Like Augustine we may not be able to understand the mystery of the Trinity. But we can describe the mystery, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: "the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God." Jesus knew very well that the disciples and his listeners were not able to understand the meaning of his message. Jesus expressed it in today’s Gospel. "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." Jesus revealed himself to the people gradually and as understandable to them. First he taught them to recognize in himself the Eternal Son of God. When his ministry was drawing to a close, he promised that the Father would send another Divine Person, the Holy Spirit, in his place. Finally after his resurrection, he revealed the doctrine in explicit terms, bidding them "go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:18)."

The Fathers of the Church used examples to explain the Trinity. Augustine wrote: "You see the Trinity if you see love."  According to him, the Father is the lover, the Son is the loved one and the Holy Spirit is the personification of the very act of loving. This means that we can understand something of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity more readily with the heart than with our feeble mind.

St. Cyril tried to explain the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity using sun as an example.    He said, "God the Father is that blazing sun. God the Son is its light and God the Holy Spirit is its heat — but there is only one sun. So there are three Persons in the Holy Trinity but God is One and indivisible." St. John Maria Vianney used to explain Holy Trinity using lighted candles and roses on the altar and water in the cruets. “The flame has color, warmth and shape. But these are expressions of one flame. Similarly the rose has color, fragrance and shape. But these are expressions of one reality, namely, rose. Water, steam and ice are three distinct expressions of one reality. In the same way one God revealed Himself to us as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.”

What each of these illustrations has in common is that they are all analogies, and all our language about God can only hint at the reality never grasp or contain God in one image.

The doctrine of the Trinity underlies all major Christian feasts, including Christmas, the Epiphany, Good Friday, Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost. All the official prayers of the Church, including the Holy Mass and the Sacraments, begin with an address to the Holy Trinity: “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We are baptized, absolved of our sins and anointed in the name of the Blessed Trinity. We bless ourselves with the Sign of the Cross invoking the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and we conclude our prayers glorifying the Holy Trinity, saying “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.” 

We are called to become more like the Triune God through all our relationships.  God does not exist in isolated individualism but in a community of relationships.  We are made in God’s image and likeness.  Just as God is God only in a Trinitarian relationship, so we can be fully human only as one member of a relationship of three partners.  The self needs to be in a horizontal relationship with all other people and in a vertical relationship with God.  In that way our life becomes Trinitarian like that of God. 

The more deeply we ponder and absorb this revelation of God, the more we will love him. And the more we love God, the happier we will be. We were created in order to love God. Whenever we do what we were made to do, we experience meaning and fulfillment. So the more we love him, the more fulfilled we will be. But in order to love him more, we must know him better. An old proverb says, "You cannot love what you do not know."

If we know who God is, if we go beyond vague, fuzzy ideas and really get a clear view of his glory and his goodness, it will stimulate our spiritual taste buds and stir up our love. This is the reason that God has revealed himself to us. Today, on this feast of the Blessed Trinity, we need to ask ourselves: how well do we know God? Have we become satisfied with the bare minimum? Today, when we profess our faith in God, let's really mean it. And let's ask God to stir up our desire to know him better, because if we really want to do so, he will gladly show us how to do so.

PENTECOST:C-.2016

Bishop Bob Morgan in his book Who’s Coming To Dinner? tells a powerful story about a Dutch pastor and his family who during the second World War got into big trouble with the Nazis. The Dutch pastor and his family had been hiding Jewish people in their home to keep them safe from Hitler’s forces. They were eventually found out. And one night in the darkness, they heard the sound of heavy boots and the loud impatient knocking on the door. They were arrested and loaded into a cattle car to be taken to one of the notorious death camps. All night long the Dutch pastor and his family rode along in heart-breaking anguish, jostling against one another and against the other prisoners who were jammed into the train cattle car. They were stripped of any form of dignity and absolutely terrified. They knew they were being taken to one of Hitler’s extermination centers. But which one? Would it be Auschwitz, Buchenwald, or Dachau?

Finally, the long night ended and the train stopped. The doors of the cattle car were opened and light streamed into that tragic scene. They were marched out and were lined up beside the railroad tracks, resigned to unspeakable pain, as they knew they would be separated from each other and ultimately killed. But in the midst of their gloom, they discovered some amazing good news… good news beyond belief. They discovered in the bright morning sunlight that they were not in a death camp at all, not in Germany at all. Rather, they were in Switzerland!

During the night, someone through personal courage and daring had tripped a switch… and sent the train to Switzerland… and to freedom. And those now who came to them were not their captors at all, but rather their liberators. Instead of being marched to death, they were welcomed to new life. In the midst of his joy and relief, the Dutch pastor said, “What do you do with such a gift?”

Something like that happened to the disciples at Pentecost. They were afraid, confused, unsure, overwhelmed… and then came this incredible gift… the gift of the Holy Spirit! It turned their lives around… and empowered by this amazing gift, they went out and turned the world upside down.

Today’s Gospel relates how the risen Jesus gave his apostles a foretaste of Pentecost on the evening of Easter Sunday by appearing to them and inviting them  to carry on the mission given him by his Heavenly Father. He then empowered them to do so by breathing upon them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” 

On the day of Pentecost, Jesus fulfilled his promise to send the Advocate or Paraclete. The gift of the Spirit would enable them to fulfill Jesus’ commission to preach the Gospel to all nations as well. Therefore they were given the gift of tongue to speak to people of all languages.

The Tower of Babel story begins with unity (same language, same words) and ends with disunity (confusion of speech, scattering all over the earth). The people built “a city and tower with its top in the sky,” a figurative way to describe human folly, wanting to be more than what humans can really do. This action results in confusion of language and dispersion of people.

Reader’s Digest once carried a wonderful story of a mother who was describing her family’s visit as tourists to Wales. She was describing her six-year-old son’s reaction the first time he heard the Welsh language being spoken. “Mom,” he said, “it sounds like they’re scribbling with their tongues.” This was the condition of the people of Babel felt about each other.

The story of Pentecost in Acts 2:1 – 11 reverses what the people in the Babel story had done, it begins with people coming from every nation under heaven and speaking different languages.  It ends with people filled with the Spirit still speaking in different tongues, yet united and able to hear different languages yet unmistakably understand the mighty acts of God.

The Holy Spirit helped breaking down barriers. Barriers are things like fear, misunderstanding, prejudice, jealously, envy, resentment, grudges. These are at the root of all the conflicts that threaten world peace. But all those large scale conflicts can always be traced back to conflicts in individual hearts. If we learn to break down barriers in our own hearts, we will become more effective builders of unity in the world around us. One of the barriers that come up most frequently in our daily lives is that of misunderstanding. This is also known as "lack of communication" or "miscommunication".

An international business consulting firm did a study a few years ago about the most common obstacles to productivity. They concluded that over 85% of problems in the business world stem from miscommunication. In family relationships, the percentage is even higher. Jesus has given us the method for breaking down this ubiquitous barrier. He was able to break down mankind's misunderstanding of God and open the way for a renewed relationship of trust. Breathing on the disciples he gave them the power to forgive sins. Forgiveness of sins is an important aspect of restoring communication in our relationships. In this Year of Mercy, we invoke the Holy Spirit to intensify in us His gifts of joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

It is important to gain a renewed appreciation of the Spirit as the One who builds the Kingdom of God within the course of history and within our own life.

Today is a great day to ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle in us the spirit of new life and enthusiasm, the fire of God's love and communication.  Let us repeat Cardinal Newman’s favorite little prayer, “Come Holy Spirit:”

 “Come Holy Spirit
Make our ears to hear
Make our eyes to see
Make our mouths to speak
Make our hearts to seek
Make our hands to reach out
And touch the world with your love.  AMEN.”

The Ascension Acts 1:1-11; Eph 1:17-23; Lk 24:46-53

Today’s readings describe the Ascension of Jesus into his Heavenly glory after he had promised to send the Holy Spirit as the source of Heavenly power for his disciples and commanded them to bear witness to him through their lives and preaching throughout the world.  The Ascension and Pentecost, together, mark the beginning of the Church.  The feast of the Ascension tells us that the Church must be a community in mission, guided by God’s Spirit and confident of God’s protection even amid suffering and death.

Each Sunday we profess through the Creed, "He ascended into Heaven."  Christ’s Ascension was the culmination of God’s Divine plan for Christ Jesus – his return to his Father with his “Mission Accomplished."  Ascension is the grand finale of all his words and of the works He has done for us and for our salvation.  It is a culmination, but not the conclusion.  As he is now with God in glory, he is now with us in Spirit: "Lo, I am with you always." The feast of the Ascension celebrates one aspect of the Resurrection, namely Jesus’ exaltation.  He did not wait 40 days to be glorified at God’s right hand. That had already happened at his Resurrection. 

The Ascension is most closely related, in meaning, to Christmas.  In Jesus, the human and the Divine become united in the person and life of one man.  That's Christmas.  At the Ascension, this human being – the person and the resurrected body of Jesus – became for all eternity a part of who God is.  It was not the Spirit of Jesus or the Divine Nature of Jesus that ascended to the Father.  It was the Risen living Body of Jesus: a Body that the disciples had touched, a Body in which He Himself  had eaten and drunk with them both before and after His Resurrection, a real, physical, but gloriously restored Body, bearing the marks of nails and a spear.  This is what, and Who, ascended.  This is what, now and forever, is a living, participating part of God. That is what the Ascension, along with the Incarnation, is here to tell us – that it is a good thing to be a human being; indeed it is a wonderful and an important and a holy thing to be a human being.

The apostles aren’t sad at the leave taking of Jesus. Think of the children you see at the county fair who lose the grip on their helium balloon and, as it floats away, they weep. Then turn to the parent, saying, “Buy me another one. Buy me another one.” It’s not like that with Jesus’ apostles. They don’t feel abandoned. The Scripture says they did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God. Under Jesus’ blessing hands this small group of Christians who see Jesus ascend to heaven is the nucleus of God’s worshiping church, a nucleus as strong and powerful as the nucleus of any atom.

In today's Gospel, Jesus gives his mission to all the believers: "Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” This mission is not given to a select few but to all believers. To be a Christian is to be a proclaimer and an evangelizer. There is a difference between preaching and proclaiming. “We preach with words but we proclaim with our lives.”

After attending a convention led by Billy Graham a woman wrote to him. “Dear Sir, I feel that God is calling me to preach the Gospel. But the trouble is that I have twelve children. What shall I do?” The televangelist replied: “Dear Madam, I am delighted to hear that God has called you to preach the Gospel. I am even more delighted to hear that He has already provided you with a congregation in your own home.” We are called to begin the preaching in the small community we live in and then go out to the rest of the world.

As we celebrate the Lord’s return to His Father in Heaven – His Ascension -- we are being commissioned to go forth and proclaim the Gospel of life and love, of hope and peace, by the witness of our lives. On this day of hope, encouragement and commissioning, let us renew our commitment to be true disciples everywhere we go, beginning with our family and our parish, "living in a manner worthy of the call [we] have received.”

Easter VI : Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Rv 21:10-14, 22-23; Jn 14: 23-29

St. Francis of Assisi was an ardent advocate of the doctrine of the indwelling of God in man. It enabled him to love everyone equally whatever his status in life. One day he met a fellow who had no love for God. As they walked along they met a man who was blind and paralyzed. St. Francis asked the sightless cripple: “Tell me if I were to restore your eyesight and the use of your limbs, would you love me?” “Ah,” replied the beggar, “I would not only love you but I would be your slave for the rest of my life.” “See,” said Francis to the man who maintained that he could not love God, “this man would love me if I gave him his sight and his health. Why don’t you love God Who created you with eyesight and strong limbs?” That is what Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel. If we love him because of the countless blessings he has given us by “keeping his words” he will start dwelling within us in the company of his Father and the Holy Spirit, making us the temples of the Triune God.

The first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, tells us how the Holy Spirit, dwelling in the Church, helped the apostles to solve a major doctrinal problem, which shook the very foundation of the early Church. The first major controversy in the infant Church was about "what one needs to do to be saved."  For the first 15 to 20 years of the Christian era, all Jesus’ followers were Jewish.  During that period, any Gentiles who wanted to become Jesus’ disciples were expected first to become Jews. They had to attend Sabbath synagogue services and keep the 613 Torah laws.  This situation began to change when a few “liberal” Christian communities like the newly founded Church of the Gentiles in Antioch, began to admit Gentiles into their number without demanding that they first be converted to Judaism.  Some of the Judeo-Christians from Judea and Jerusalem argued that the new Gentile converts must observe the Mosaic Law of circumcision, dietary regulations, purification rituals, etc.  The issue couldn't be settled on a local level, although Paul and Barnabas tried that at first.  Hence, they had to go to Jerusalem to consult the apostles.  The apostles convened the first synod at Jerusalem and, with the clear leading of the Holy Spirit, decided that the Gentiles need not become Jews first, to be saved as Christians.  The decision was momentous for two reasons.  First, it marked a significant break of Christianity with Judaism. Second, it put the burden of salvation on God rather than on man.  In other words, it is God’s love that saves us -- not prayers, sacrifices or keeping of the Law, which are only expressions of our gratitude to God.  Thus the Holy Spirit was able to solve the cause of dissention by inspiring the leaders of the Church.

 Jesus is quite forthright in today's Gospel as he speaks to the disciples at the Last Supper. He tells them he is to die, he has to leave them. He does not deny the hard facts of the case. But even as he describes their condition without him, he is assuring them it is only temporary. "I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you." Another, Advocate, the Holy Spirit will come to you and he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.

The role of the Holy Spirit is twofold: a) to "teach" the disciples and b) to “remind" them of what Jesus has already taught them” (v. 26).  Jesus affirms that even though He will no longer be visible with them, he will continue to be present among them through the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit of truth will continue teaching them and helping them to understand and to build on what Jesus has already taught them.  The Advocate will bring no new revelation because God has already revealed Himself in Jesus.  But the Advocate will deepen their understanding of the revelation given by Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is the abiding love of God available to us, enabling us to accept the friendship of Jesus, while imitating Him, the Master.   Then he gives us His peace to strengthen us against fear in the face of trouble. Here "peace" is not just the absence of conflict, but also the far wider concept of shalom, the total well-being of the person and community. 

Jesus says that the peace He offers is different from the one that the world gives. When the Christian community remains united like Jesus is united with his father the gift of peace will pervade in our communities too. The peace of Jesus comes to us when we obediently submit ourselves to God’s Divine Will through the authority of the Church. Then we are blessed with Divine peace; we are no longer troubled or afraid.

We must deepen our relationship with Jesus, learn to get in touch with him, and sincerely love him.  When we listen to the Holy Spirit, we will   know His plan for our life and His solutions to whatever problems we face.   The Holy Spirit teaches us through the Scriptures and preaching during the Holy Mass as well as in our prayer and our private reading of Scripture.

In these last days of Easter let us open up to the Holy Spirit; whom we received when we were baptized and confirmed, so that he may share with us the peace of Christ which Jesus left for us before he went up to heaven.

Easter V [C] Acts 14: 21-27; Rv 21: 1-5a; Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35

In 1921, Lewis Lawes became the warden at Sing Sing Prison in New York state. No prison was tougher than Sing Sing during that time. But when Warden Lawes retired some 20 years later, that prison had become a humanitarian institution. Those who studied the system said credit for the change belonged to Lawes. But when he was asked about the transformation, here's what he said: "I owe it all to my wonderful wife, Catherine, who is buried outside the prison walls." Catherine Lawes was a young mother with three small children when her husband became the warden. Everybody warned her from the beginning that she should never set foot inside the prison walls, but that didn't stop Catherine! When the first prison basketball game was held, she went ... walking into the gym with her three beautiful kids, and she sat in the stands with the inmates. Her attitude was: "My husband and I are going to take care of these men and I believe they will take care of me! I don't have to worry." She insisted on getting acquainted with them and their records. She discovered one convicted murderer was blind so she paid him a visit. Holding his hand in hers she said, "Do you read Braille?" "What's Braille?" he asked. Then she taught him how to read. Years later he would weep in love for her. Later, Catherine found a deaf-mute in prison. She went to school to learn how to use sign language. Many said that Catherine Lawes was the body of Jesus that came alive again in Sing Sing from 1921 to 1937. Then, she was killed in a car accident. The next morning Lewis Lawes didn't come to work, so the acting warden took his place. It seemed almost instantly that the prison knew something was wrong. The following day, her body was resting in a casket in her home, three-quarters of a mile from the prison. As the acting warden took his early morning walk he was shocked to see a large crowd of the toughest, hardest-looking criminals gathered like a herd of animals at the main gate. He came closer and noted tears of grief and sadness. He knew how much they loved Catherine. He turned and faced the men, "All right, men, you can go. Just be sure and check in tonight!" Then he opened the gate and a parade of criminals walked, without a guard, the three-quarters of a mile to stand in line to pay their final respects to Catherine Lawes. And every one of them checked back in. Every one! They learned the commandment of love as practiced by Catherine.

Today’s Gospel passage gives us the secret of Christian renewal as the faithful practice of Jesus’ new commandment:  “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13: 35). Jesus has added a new element to the Old Testament command of love by telling us that the true test of discipleship is to love other people in the same way that he has loved us. The basis of the new law was his own life. The love that Jesus showed was different from the one that they had experienced. His love was sacrificial. Love becomes meaningful only when its demands for sacrifice are accepted.

Edwards VIII ascended the throne of the British Empire after the death of his father. But his proposal to marry Wallis Simpson, a divorced American Socialite, led to a constitutional crisis in British Empire. Religious, legal, political and moral objections were raised. Mrs Simpson was perceived to be an unsuitable consort to him. But King Edward was not ready to give up his love for the throne. The conservative leaders and people were unwilling for any compromise. Edward abdicated his throne for the realization of his love.

Jesus’ love for the humanity is characterized by great sacrifices. He left his immortal and radiant form and assumed mortal body and came down to earth. On earth he experienced rejection and persecution. He accepted even crucifixion to show his love for his people. And Jesus told his disciples “love one another as I have loved you.”

When Jesus tells us “love one another as I have loved you” our love too should be ready to accept sacrifices for the sake of our love. We should be able to sacrifice our ego. We should be able to sacrifice our comforts. We should be willing to sacrifice our likes and dislikes. We should be able to sacrifice our choices.

Secondly, Jesus’ love is full of understanding. He knew his disciples through and through. He knew that the disciples would flee at the moment of his trial. He knew that they would disperse after his death. But he understood the circumstances which made them react in such a manner. The understanding that was seen in the early Christian communities made them unique. Tertullian, a great Christian writer and leader from North Africa in the second century, gave an account of a mass turning to Christ.  What prompted them to do it was the life of the early Christian communities.  Unlike their hate-dominated clubs and societies they saw the emergence of a strikingly different community with unusual love and understanding. This experience attracted them to accept Christian life.

Thirdly, Jesus’ love is forgiving. He told Peter that he would deny him three times before the cock crew. But Jesus was ready to forgive Peter. When the people brought the woman caught in adultery to be stoned, she felt secure before the forgiving eyes of Jesus. She felt reassured of God’s love and forgiveness. Even on the cross Jesus promised paradise to the repentant thief and prayed for those who crucified him. Never has there been a concrete realization of such a forgiving love. When Jesus gave the new commandment of love to his disciples, he expects the same forgiving love from each one of us.

In the Eucharist we see how practical Christ’s love for us is. He laid down his life for us in an outpouring of love, and he gives us the strength to follow his example.

Bolstered with Jesus’ very strength in Holy Communion, let's make our first priority every day to "love one another as Christ has loved us." Let’s beg him to set our hearts on fire with love, and to give us the strength to love others as he has loved us: to the end. 

EASTER IV: Acts 13:14, 43-52; Rv 7:9, 14b-17; Jn 10:27-30

One Sunday morning, following the church service, a layman accosted the pastor and said, “Tom, this church has been insulting me for years, and I did not know it until this week.” The stunned pastor replied, “What on earth do you mean?” “Well,” said the layman, every Sunday morning the call to worship in this church ends with the words, ‘We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.’ And I have heard ministers over the years call the congregation, God’s flock.’ Then this past week I visited the Chicago stockyards. There I discovered that sheep are just about the dumbest animals God ever created. They are so stupid that they even follow one another docilely into the slaughterhouse. Even pigs are smarter than sheep, and I would certainly be angry if my church called me a pig’ every Sunday morning. So I’m not at all sure I want to come to church and be called a sheep’ any longer...even God’s sheep’.”

The man had a point. But whether we like it or not, that is the language of the Bible: both the Old and New Testaments. We are called “God’s sheep.” The favorite psalm of many people is the 23rd, and it begins by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd...” And if “the Lord is my shepherd,” then I am one of the Lord’s sheep. Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah said to his people: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) From the Bible, we have taken this pastoral imagery over into the Church. One of the symbols of the office of bishop across the centuries has been the shepherd’s crook, that long staff with a hook on the end…

The fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, and it is the “World Day of Prayer for Vocations.”   Each year on this Sunday, we reflect on the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who devotedly and kindly takes care of his flock.  Introducing himself as the Good Shepherd of his flock, Jesus makes a few claims in today’s Gospel.   

He knows his sheep and his sheep hear his voice: Just as the Palestinian shepherds knew each sheep of their flock by name, and the sheep knew their shepherd and his voice, so Jesus knows each one of us, our needs, our merits and our faults.  He loves us as we are, with all our limitations, and he expects us to return his love by keeping his words.  Jesus manifests to us God the Father and his loving care for us. Outside of Jesus Christ we simply don’t know very much about God. But with Him, we know that God is love. We know that he is the gateway into the heart of a loving God. Jesus speaks to us at every Mass, through the Bible, through our pastors, through our parents, through our friends and through the events of our lives. C.S.Lewis says: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, He speaks to us in our consciences, and He shouts to us in our pain!"

In chapter ten of John’s Gospel, Jesus adds two more roles to those of the Good Shepherd.  He goes in search of stray lambs and heals the sick ones.  Jesus dies for his sheep:  Just as the shepherds of ancient days protected their sheep from wild animals and thieves by risking their own lives, so Jesus died in expiation for the sins of all people.

The story is told of a farmer who had just rescued a lost sheep. When asked how the sheep got lost, the farmer replied, "They just nibble themselves lost. They go from one tuft of grass to another, until at last they've lost their way." That's what happens in our life. We nibble away at life with little purpose or direction, until it's gone and we have no idea where it went.

In a world that’s increasingly more scattered and scared, our task as Christ’s Church is to translate and transmit the voice of the Good Shepherd to all those who are lost, hurting, and alone. It’s also about following Jesus’ example and welcoming everyone into the fold.

Every one of us plays the roles of sheep and shepherd at different times in our lives. Everyone who is entrusted with the care of others is a shepherd.  Hence, pastors, parents, teachers, doctors, nurses, government officials, etc. are all shepherds.  We become good shepherds by loving those entrusted to us, praying for them, spending our time and talents for their welfare, and guarding them from physical and spiritual dangers.  Parents must be especially careful of their duties, thus giving their children good example through the way they live their Christian lives. 

This weekend is the DPAA commitment weekend. Last week we heard the message of Bishop and other beneficiaries of the DPAA. You also heard from one of the members of the DPAA committee in our parish.

Unlike last year this year we are not too far behind on our budget, because you helped generously with the DPAA last year and we were able to get back some $15,000.00  from the diocese as over the goal amount. As you were told last week we are exempt from assessing that amount of money we get from the DPAA. So we save an additional 10% on the money we make over the goal of DPAA. You may also know that if we don’t make our goal, we have to give it from the parish general account.

This year our goal is 24200.00 and whatever excess we contribute will come back to us to broaden the road coming up to the Church. Every morning during school hours I see a traffic bottle neck in front of the Church as only one car can really pass that way at a time. Most of the times, the cars that go down usually need to stop on top of the hill waiting for the upcoming cars to climb up the hill before they can go down. So, there is a need to broaden the road for easy traffic.

Last year we made some extra money by volunteering to  work at the Bangles game. This year we did not have enough volunteers signing up and so we do not get to make that money this year. Therefore we will have to be a little more extra generous with the donations and if it is done with DPAA that is even better.

We have made every possible cut in the parish and school expenses and I believe it is going in good direction with your cooperation. So, I invite you to take your pledge card and make the pledges if you have prayed about it. If you have not and need more time to think take the card with you and you can bring it back next week or reach the parish office any time during the week.

EASTER II [C] (DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY)

Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-1, 12-13,17-19; Jn 20:19-31                                                        

On October 6, 2006, 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. 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. Today on the second Sunday of Easter we celebrate the Feast of Divine 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!".  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. You may have a picture of divine Mercy in your homes by now, if not yours is lying at the back of the Church with your name on it. Keep the picture in an honorable place and look at it and pray every day for God’s mercy on you and your family.

The readings for this Sunday are about mercy, trust and the forgiveness of sins.   In the Responsorial Psalm, we repeat several times, "His mercy endures forever" (Ps 118).  Besides mentioning the word, our readings illustrate mercy in action. How does God reveal His mercy?  He does so, first and foremost, by sending His only-begotten Son to become our Savior and Lord by his suffering, death and Resurrection. When Jesus appears to the disciples, he shows them his hands and his side. He shows them the wounds of his crucifixion. His wounds are his identity card. They shout out to us that God’s mercy is more powerful than death.   

Divine Mercy is given to us in the celebration of the Sacraments.  The first reading explains how the Risen Lord continued to show His Divine Mercy to the sick through the healing and preaching ministry of His apostles in the early Church. 

The Risen Lord gives the apostles the authority to forgive sins in His Name.  "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (Jn 20-23).  He gives the apostles the power of imparting God’s mercy to the sinner, the gift of forgiving sins from God’s treasury of mercy.   In the liturgy, the Church has proclaimed the mercy of God for centuries through the Word of God and the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ.  The Gospel text also reminds us that the clearest way of expressing our belief in the presence of the Risen Jesus among us is through our own forgiveness of others. We can’t form a lasting Christian community without such forgiveness.  Unless we forgive others, our celebration of the Eucharist is just an exercise in liturgical rubrics.

One way the Church celebrates God’s mercy throughout the year is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Finding time for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is another good way to receive Divine Mercy.  The Gospel command, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful," demands that we show mercy to our fellow human beings always and everywhere.  We radiate God's mercy to others by our actions, our words, and our prayers.  It is mainly through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy that we practice mercy in our daily lives and become eligible for God’s merciful judgment. Mercy is when’s God love meets our brokenness. As Pope Francis, paraphrasing Pope Benedict XVI, once said, “The name of God is mercy.” And the wounds of Christ, visible for all eternity, are the vivid reminder of God’s mercy.

Mercy of God on the estranged human race brought peace and reconciliation to the world. “Peace” is the first word that came from the lips of Jesus on meeting his Apostles. “Peace be with you. (Jn 20:19). Then Jesus gave them the power to forgive sins. As sin destroys internal peace Jesus strictly commanded his disciples to love their enemies, and to return good for evil (Mt 5:44). Jesus ratified his teaching with his own example as he hung on the cross. He prayed, “Father forgive them” (Lk 23:24).

Today the risen Lord stands in our midst and greets us too, “Peace be with You.” Let’s translate this message into action and pass on to our brothers and sisters. When you take initiative in patching up an estranged relationship with your friend, when you forgive a dishonest act of your friend, when you show kindness to someone, when you appease the anger of your friend, when you find time to re-establish a broken relationship, when you persuade someone to give up some evil habits you are giving the message, “Peace be with you”. And the peace that you radiate will come back to you manifold.