World Day of the Poor 2024

 

Image credit: https://allenbrowne.blog/2021/03/01/fig-trees-and-seasonal-change/

Extract from the Sunday homily by Deacon Steve.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near."
    - Mark 13:28. From the Gospel reading for 33rd Sunday, World Day of the Poor.

As threatening as today’s gospel sounds, with all of its vivid and stressful imagery of pain and despair, in the end it is not a gospel of doom. Amid the collapse, Jesus is asking the apostles and us, to trust our Lord and have trust in God, even when our world appears to be turning dark. 

We are all very aware of the harsh realities of life going on in the world today. All we have to do is listen to the news or read the paper, and we are confronted with numerous stories of war and crime, not to mention the people suffering devastating illnesses, both chronic and terminal, as well as family tragedies.

Despite living with all of these harsh realities, Jesus invites us to read the signs all around us, to look well at all the small buds about to blossom, the harbingers of summertime. Distress is not the final word of the story. Jesus tells us to look more closely. What signs of hope do we see that lifts our spirits, ever so slightly, with hope. Hang on to them, they are reminders that God has not left us on our own. They in fact are assurances Christ is coming with new life for us.

In reading these signs we are to join in God’s work. Wherever there are human needs and situations that cry out for justice, reconciliation, compassionate action and peacekeeping there is an opportunity for encountering our Lord.

Pope Francis, in his message for the Eighth World Day of the Poor, which is being celebrated today (33rd Sunday), offers some insights to help us see the “small buds… from the fig tree… and learn its lesson, and know that summer is near.”

First, we need to keep in mind that the “poor” are not only those people who suffer financial problems, homelessness and starvation, but also people who suffer chronic and terminal illness in long term care homes, hospitals and hospices, as well as those who suffer mental illness, loneliness and depression.

And so, the pope writes, “In this year dedicated to prayers, we need to make the prayer of the poor our own and pray together with them… Indeed, humility generates trust that God will never abandon us and will never leave us without a response.’

“We all have had the experience of prayers that seem to remain unanswered…God seems not to hear our cry…However, God’s silence does not mean he is inattentive to our sufferings.”

The World Day of the Poor is an opportune occasion…to recognize, support …and thank the Lord for the people who make themselves available to listen to and support the poorest among us…[and] by their testimony give voice to God’s response to the prayer of those who turn to God. 

“God’s silence, therefore, is broken every time a person in need is welcomed and embraced.”

In the spirit of Pope Francis’ message, on this the Eighth Day of the Poor, let us thank all of our volunteers. To our Vincentians, who visit with those who are poor in our community. To our ministers who visit those who are poor in hospitals and nursing homes. And to our CWG and Knights of Columbus who work to raise funds as well as all parishioners who make donations to support all of these works. You are the “small buds,” the signs of hope, that remind us to have faith and keep going. You are the ones who break the silence for our poor.

Prayer for Prophets

 

The Light Which God Intends to Kindle

 

Image credit: https://unsplash.com

Spiritual Reading - selected by Deacon Steve

“Humanity, made in God’s image, is placed in the paradise of the world, a world which is still paradise, but which we have lost, by becoming alienated from ourselves and from the Creator.

In this world from which we are alienated, humanity can come to find ourselves and recover our right relation to the world, and to God, by the work which God has given us to do. Our worship, our liturgy, should rightly be not only worship but a theology of life, a theology of work, planting in us the seeds of understanding and wisdom which will flower in our work. But this means that our work must be purified of titanism, of self-will, of aspirations to self-assertion and power. And this means that it must be delivered from obsession with what we are not, with our past and future, what we have ceased to be and have not yet become and is based on what we are in our present reality. For only in the present can we come in full contact with the truth willed for us and in us by God. Thus, creation will become once again a lampstand, and humanity the lamp will be placed on it in order to be lit with the light of truth. For this is the light which God really intends to kindle in us. When we are in communion with other people and with the cosmos by our will, the light of truth is kindled in us.

The Book of Proverbs says: ‘The light of God is the human spirit, penetrating to the depths of our being.’ (Proverbs 20:27)”

from Merton, Thomas, “Seasons of Celebration” p. 132 – 133, Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, 2009

Titanism: 
A spirit of revolt or defiance, like that of the Titans, against established order, social conventions, etc.

 

Questions for reflection:

As Vincentians, what is our "work" that needs to be purified?

Am I stuck, trying to live according to an identity locked into my past, who I used to be?

Am I pretending to be someone I would like to be in the future?

… or am I OK with letting people see me for who I am right now, warts and all, not perfect, but beloved by God?

Do I really believe that God loves me now, as I am?

Do I consciously remind myself that God deeply loves each of the families we serve, as they are?

Become a Light

 

Reflection selected by Deacon Steve.

Easter - the resurrection of Christ. The feast of feasts! The final proof of Christ’s divinity! Easter the first feast of the early Church, around which all the other feasts grew like stars around the sun.

We celebrate Christ’s resurrection as something absolutely, fantastically beautiful that has happened and is still happening. The fact there is an Easter is something to be grateful for. Now death has become a passage. A passage to what, to where, to whom? It is the passage of you to God and me to God.

Yes, Easter is the apex of feasts, the feast of all feasts- Christ is risen! …It is eternal – it picks you up and drops you into eternity. 

God loves me. He loves me when I am good and when I am not so good, because he loves sinners. He forgives them too. His mercy is infinite and so is his love, his goodness, his forgiveness. My hand nestles easily in the immense hand of God, and I shiver with delight. 

Christ is risen! Let us love one another as Christ loved us. Then we are clothed in the shining garments of one who is baptised, one whose garments shine from far away and even through the night. Then we become a light to our neighbour’s feet.

- Catherine Doherty, “Season of Mercy; Lent and Easter” Madonna House Publications, 2011, Combermere, p. 92 – 95

Redefining Normal

 

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Following Christ means redefining 'Normal'

"Peter, James, and John are so weirded out by this bizarre (Transfiguration of Jesus) experience that Peter babbles about building booths, James and John say not a word, and they all eventually fall on the ground prostrate in dread. Then, of course, Jesus acts normal and says “Rise and do not be afraid”. Really? And how exactly is life supposed to go back to normal after all of this?

It’s not. That is a big lesson learned through their discipleship. What they previously thought was “normal” in life was actually harmful to many. So what they considered “normal” had to change. And it could only change through a pouring out of God’s Spirit to challenge them, to open their eyes, and to offer a different way of living in the world that would lead to life and flourishing for the many who were victims of the violence of this “normalcy” and then blamed as “sinners” and “unclean” for crying out when they were injured. They had to learn to see the world again and then focus on the suffering of the sinned-against."

- from a reflection on the 2nd Sunday of Lent by KEVIN CONSIDINE, PHD
Click here for the full reflection on the Catholic Theological Union website.

Lights shining in the world

 

River Jordan. Image credit https://faith.nd.edu/

Selection by Deacon Steve: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

“Jesus rises from the waters; the world rises with him. The heavens like Paradise with its flaming sword, closed by Adam for himself and his descendants, are rent open. The Spirit comes to him as an equal, bearing witness to his Godhead. A voice bears witness to him from heaven, his place of origin. The Spirit descends in bodily form like the dove that so long ago announced the ending of the flood and so gives honour to the body that is one with God.

Today let us do honour to Christ’s baptism and celebrate this feast in holiness. Be cleansed entirely and continue to be cleansed. Nothing gives such pleasure to God as the conversion and the salvation of people, for whom God’s every word and every revelation exist. Our Lord wants you to become a living force for all humanity, lights shining in the world. You are to be radiant lights as you stand beside Christ, the great light, bathed in the glory of Christ who is the light of heaven. You are to enjoy more and more the pure light of the Trinity, as now you have received – though not in its fullness- a ray of its splendor, proceeding from the one God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be power and glory forever and ever. Amen”

From the Second Reading- From a Sermon by Saint Gregory Nazianzus, bishop – Office of Readings, Liturgy of the Hours on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, p. 634- 635.

Joy, Hope and Love - A Spiritual Reflection

 

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Spiritual reflection by Catherine Doherty, selected by Deacon Steve.

Joy is very quiet and full of wonder. It is like a light that shines in the darkness and is connected with hope and with love.

To give you an idea of my joyous moments, the first occurs when I wake up every morning with the incredible thought that here God has granted me another day to love him and to serve him.

Simultaneously, other thoughts come to me from my own humanity and emotions. They creep in like shadows over the shining light of my joy.

They whisper, “Look, you are going to have a whole day full of problems. You are going to have to be in four places at once,” and so on. Through these whispers, the whole weight of the day and of my duties creep in.

But joy smiles. I know that I do not have to face all those things at once, that these too are works of love for Christ’s sake, that all I have to worry about is doing the duty of the moment as it comes to me with love and enthusiasm for Love’s sake- for Christ’s sake.

- Catherine Doherty, “Grace in Every Season”, November 26th, p.311,2001, Madonna House Publications

As we come to the end of the Liturgical Season and the beginning of Advent, with all the busy-ness of the Season, I pray we will all grow in that deeper joy, which keeps all of our “doings” in perspective.

God bless. Deacon Steve

Hope: A spiritual reflection

 

Spiritual Reflection selected by Deacon Steve

“… I have experienced the Cross to mean mercy and not cruelty, truth and not deception: that the news of the truth and love of Jesus is indeed the true good news, but in our time it speaks out in strange places. And perhaps it speaks out in you more than it does in me: perhaps Christ is nearer to you than He is to me: this I say without shame or guilt because I have learned to rejoice that Jesus is in the world in people who know Him not, that He is at work in them when they think themselves far from Him, and it is my joy to tell you to hope even though you think that for you all hope is impossible.

Hope not because you think you can be good, but because God loves us irrespective of our merits and whatever is good in us comes from His love, not from our own doing. Hope because Jesus is with those who are poor and outcasts and perhaps despised even by those who should seek them and care for them most lovingly because they act in God’s name. No one on earth has reason to despair of Jesus because Jesus loves all humanity, loves them in their sin and we too must love all humanity in their sin.”

“Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours”, Kathleen Deignan, Sorin Books, Notre Dame, Indiana, p. 129

A Prayer of Oscar Romero

 

Curated from Bread for the World

This poem was composed by Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw in November, 1979.
It draws inspiration from St Oscar Romero and now known as A Prayer of Oscar Romero.

A PRAYER OF OSCAR ROMERO

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders;
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future that is not our own.

Amen.

Campfire Bread Twists - Happy Feast Day

 

As a boy, when I was a scout, we enjoyed a very simple bread by making a dough from flour and water which we twisted around a stick and baked over the embers of our campfire. The important thing about bread, any bread, is not that you spend hours contemplating it, analysing it, trying to understand it, but that we eat it. It's a comfort food that relieves our hunger pangs and nourishes us, giving us strength to carry on our day or enjoy a night's sleep. This experience is always made so much more enjoyable when we eat as a family or group of friends.

Just as our camp fare has three elements, wheat, water and fire, together making one bread, so the Blessed Trinity has three Persons, together making one God; but the important thing about our God is not that we spend hours analysing and contemplating how the Blessed Trinity is constituted, but that we be nourished by the empowering love of our Father and the Christ-Son poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

On this Feast of the Most Holy Trinity may we all be so nourished among our families and friends.

Terry

The Feast of Feasts

 

Spiritual Reading selected by Deacon Steve

The Feast of Feasts!

“Easter – the resurrection of Christ! The feast of feasts! The final proof of Christ’s divinity! Easter – the first feast of the early Church, around which all the other feasts grew like stars around the sun.

We celebrate Christ’s Resurrection as something absolutely, fantastically beautiful that has happened, and is still happening. The fact that there is an Easter is something to be grateful for. It is such a happy feast. What can be more beautiful than this passage from death to life, real life? Now death has become a passage. A passage to what, to where, to whom? It is the passage of you to God and me to God. You walk into it and there at the end is Christ and Our Lady, the life that lasts forever and that is lived with God and his blessed Mother. Christ’s resurrection is the most joyous feast in the calendar of the Church, the one in which everything comes together. It is the greatest feast…

Christ’s Resurrection is the earth in which the seed of faith can grow. His Resurrection, when we look at it, opens the tombs of our hearts. Can you hear the stone of doubts, of fears, of expectation, of loneliness, roll away from his tomb? You and I are transfigured and resurrected, too, in an inner resurrection that is like a fire, like an exploding sunrise.”

“Season of Mercy: Lent and Easter – Meditations and Traditions from Catherine Doherty”, Marian Heilberger, ed., Madonna House Publications, Combermere, p 92 & 99

Follow Christ to where we are not yet

 

Image: crosswalk.com

Reflection by Deacon Steve selected from Thomas Merton

“The cult of the Holy Sepulchre is Christian only in so far as it is the cult of the place where Christ is no longer found. But such a cult can be valid only on one condition: that we are willing to move on, to follow Christ to where we are not yet, to seek Christ where he goes before us - “to Galilee.”

So we are called not only to believe that Christ once rose from the dead, thereby proving that he was God; we are called to experience the Resurrection in our own lives by entering into this dynamic movement, by following Christ who lives in us.

This life, this dynamism, is expressed by the power of love and of encounter: Christ lives in us if we love one another. And our love for one another means involvement in one another’s history.”

(Merton, Thomas, “He is Risen.” p. 7-8, Argus Communications, 1975)

As we make our visits to the people who request our services we become involved in another person’s history, thus we enter the dynamism of the Resurrection and thus we follow Christ who lives in us, bringing the experience of the Resurrection to all we meet.

May you and your families and loved ones be transformed by the grace and mercy of our Lord as you celebrate the Easter mysteries. May Christ‘s Easter hope, peace and joy fill your hearts.

Let God do the Rest

 

Our presence is the real evangelization and we need to let God do the rest.
By Deacon Steve

“Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.

Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am,” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:1-6

“Remove your sandals from your feet, for the ground on which you are standing is holy ground.” Every encounter with every person is an encounter with “holy ground” for every person is made in the image and likeness of our God. In every person is the “burning bush” that never consumes but remains as a light in each person, whether they choose to reveal it or not.

And so we need to remove “our sandals”, the “sandals” of our ego, our status, our agenda, and our solutions. We are called to be humble and to walk with people, especially those people who are poor, suffering and marginalized, experiencing who they are as a person and thus experience the person of Christ in each of them and so allow God’s grace to begin to restore their sense of dignity as persons.

We ourselves need to acknowledge that we are in need of God’s love, mercy and compassion, so that by God’s grace we can be the loving presence of Christ to each person. In each person we meet, especially those who are poor, if we listen, we can experience the merciful love of Christ.

St. Francis of Assisi is thought to have said, “Preach the Gospel…if necessary use words.” It is our loving, non-judgemental presence that is the real evangelization. When people start thinking of evangelizing the poor, it almost feels like they are looking for a way to solve the person’s problems rather than just walking with them and being a friend. We also have to remember we are not qualified counsellors and while trying to be helpful we could create other problems or extend them.

In the stories of Jesus healing miracles, Christ is totally present to the person first, looking at them directly, with a loving presence that gives them a wonderful sense of their humanity and dignity in the eyes of God. Any teaching moment only happens when the person is fully healed and their dignity restored.

In being Christ’s presence to the poor and suffering, we have no idea of the grace God makes available to all people. In faith we believe our Lord has a plan and it will be by God’s will that God’s grace will do what is needed. All we have to do is be fully present to the people as equals and as brothers and sisters.

Poverty of Spirit

 

Spiritual Reading selected by Deacon Steve from
Metz, Johannes B., “Poverty of Spirit”, Paulist Press, New York, 1968, p. 25-26

“God has come to us in grace. Our Lord has endowed us with God’s life, and made our life God’s. In doing this the Lord did not mitigate or eliminate our innate poverty; God actually intensified it and outdid it. God’s grace does not cause estrangement and excess as sin does. It reveals the full depths of our destiny (resulting from God’s salvific initiative in history), which we could not have imagined by ourselves.

A person with grace is a person who has been emptied, who stands impoverished before God, who has nothing of which they can boast…Grace does not erase our poverty; it transforms it totally, allowing it to share in the poverty of Jesus’ own immolated heart.

This poverty, then, is not just another virtue – one among many. It is a necessary ingredient in any authentic Christian attitude toward life. Without it there can be no Christianity and no imitation of Christ. It is no accident that “poverty of spirit” is the first of the beatitudes. What is the sorrow of those who mourn, the suffering of the persecuted, the self-forgetfulness of the merciful, or the humility of the peacemakers- what are these if not variations of spiritual poverty? This spirit is the mother of the threefold mystery of faith, hope and charity. It is the doorway through which people must pass to become authentic human beings.

Only through poverty of spirit do people draw near to God; only through it does God draw near to people. Poverty of spirit is the meeting point of heaven and earth, the mysterious place where God and humanity encounter each other, the point where infinite mystery meets concrete existence.”

Metz, Johannes B., “Poverty of Spirit”, Paulist Press, New York, 1968, p. 25-26

The Wedding at Cana – From a Sermon by Faustus of Riez, bishop

 

Stone water jars. Image credit: Jerusalem Perspective

“To those who only see with the outward eye, all these events at Cana are strange and wonderful; to those who understand, they are also signs. For, if we look closely, the very water tells us of our rebirth in Baptism. One thing is turned into another from within, and in a hidden way a lesser creature is changed into a greater. All this points to a hidden reality of our second birth. There water was suddenly changed; later it will cause a change in all people.”

The water in the jars is not less than it was before, but now begins to be what it had not been; so too the law is not destroyed by Christ’s coming, but is made better than it was.

When the wine fails, new wine is served: The wine of the old covenant was good, but the wine of the new is better.”

From a Sermon by Faustus of Riez, bishop - from the Office of Readings for Saturday before the Baptism of the Lord. Selected by Deacon Steve

Hills, Valleys and Rough Roads

 

"Make the rough ways smooth."

A friend sent me a refection on the readings for the 2nd Sunday of Advent by Louis J. Luzbetak SVD, of the Catholic Theological Union. In it he does a simple but striking job of creating similes out of the mountains, valleys, rough and crooked roads we hear in these readings. He writes:

"How do these images from Isaiah/Luke... invite us to reflect upon the implications of “preparing the way of the Lord” for us as Christian individuals and families during this time of Advent? What are the hills of self-centeredness and pride that need leveling and the deep valleys of depression, addictive patterns, and poor self-esteem that need to be acknowledged and filled? What are the rough ways of broken relationships, loss, and trauma due to COVID, that need to be smoothed out and healed?

"I suggest that we are invited to move from not only a personal and family level of reflection to include also the broader context of our society and church when we reflect on the implications of “preparing the way of the Lord.” Can we apply the “level ground” of Baruch to “creating a level playing field,” in our common language today? The past twenty months have made us more aware of the “age-old depths and gorges” of racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of prejudice from our “us-them” categories in our institutions, country and Church itself."

When we take the first steps in tackling these challenges, we are not acting alone. "The One who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion..." (Philippians 1:6)

Conference Spiritual Reflection - September 13/21 - by Deacon Steve

Image: thevalemagazine huacachina-peru-desert-oasis-south-america

The following reflection is taken from  “The Lessons of St. Francis: How to bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life” by John Michael Talbot.

Francis (of Assisi) found his inspiration in the life of Jesus, whose love for us led him to become one of us by being born into the human race instead of remaining in heaven, aloof from us and all our problems.

Most Christians celebrate the Incarnation of Christ as human, around Christmas time and ignore it for the rest of the year. But for Francis, the Incarnation served as a minute by minute reminder to be deeply involved in the world, loving people at close range instead of from inside the strong, stony walls of a monastery.

Francis understood that the dichotomy between solitude and service is a false one, because everyone needs both. If we don’t spend time alone with God, we become spiritually weak, and our work in the world carries little of lasting value. On the other hand, if we spend all of our time with God and never venture out into the world, we may become spiritually isolated and self-contained. We may be full of wonderful wisdom and divine power, but if we don’t share it with others, who benefits? Certainly not other people, and often, not even ourselves.

Here’s how saints down through the ages have explained it: Contemplation and prayer are like an oasis in a dry desert. Through prayer we store up a huge reservoir of water. Our service is the conduit for delivering the water. But once our reservoir is depleted, we need to return to our oasis so we don’t wind up stranded in the desert without water. This is a picture of the life-giving balance between prayer and service.

Talbot, John Michael, “The Lessons of St. Francis: How to bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life”, p. 188 – 189, New York, Penguin Group, 1997.

Image credit: https://thevalemagazine.com/2019/04/13/huacachina-peru-desert-oasis-south-america/

“... and forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive those who wrong us.” Matthew 6:12

Spiritual reflection by Denise Bondy, reproduced from the Spirituality Corner of the Ontario Regional Council.

I was baptized and received the Eucharist for the first time at the age of 18, at an Easter vigil, so long ago that it pre-dated RCIA. Although I missed out on many things by not growing up in the Church, I am blessed to remember vividly the details of my sacraments of initiation and to appreciate them with my whole heart. For me the Church is home, shelter, joy and love. I came to this home during the celebratory days of Vatican II. The windows were thrown open. All were welcome. Anything was possible. We sang and danced joyously.

As the years passed the Church and I have experienced some difficult times. There was push-back to progress. Scandal bruised and tarnished the institution that I had entered wide eyed. I was no longer a carefree young woman as I experienced the realities of marriage, work, children, illness and loss. Through it all, faith sustained me. My Vincentian calling and my Vincentian family have sustained me too.

Vincentians are blessed to be called by the God of do-overs. No matter what happens, no matter what our failings, we can return like the prodigal son. When we express sorrow our ‘do-over God’ welcomes us. All is forgiven and we have a fresh start. Because God allows us as many do-overs as we need in our lifetime we must treat others in the same way. God doesn’t put limits on how many times love is given, nor should we.

Our Society’s motto is Serviens in spe – We serve in hope. Knowing our loving, forgiving, do-over God gives us hope. It’s up to us to share our hope with those we serve. We may not express our faith as teachers or preachers but we show our faith as we maintain hope for every household we visit, every meal we serve, every caring deed we perform. Instead of asking “How many times will we help?” we remember that Jesus said we must forgive and allow do-overs “seventy times seven”. We live our hope as we keep doing Home Visits, keep serving and keep loving in Jesus’ name.

Loving God, we ask your forgiveness; we forgive others freely, as you forgive. Amen

Power made perfect in infirmity - a reflection

Suspended over the abyss

“…Easter is the mystery of our redemption. We who have died and risen with Christ are no longer sinners. Sin is dead in us. The Law has no further hold on us.

And yet this is not as simple as it sounds. Our new life in Christ is not a permanent and guaranteed possession, handed over to our control, a “property” which we now definitively have. We are still suspended over the abyss, and we can still fall back into that awful dread of the alienated person who has lost trust. But the fact remains that if we consent to it, grace and trust are renewed from moment to moment in our lives. They are not a permanent possession but an ever present gift of God’s love. For this liberty to continue, we must really believe in the power of God to sanctify us and keep us saints. 

We must dare to be saints by the power of God. We must dare to have a holy respect and reverence for ourselves, as we are redeemed and sanctified by the blood of Christ. We must have the courage to grasp the great power that has been given to us, at the same time realizing that this power is always made perfect in infirmity, and that it is not a “possession.”

Merton, Thomas, “Seasons of Celebration: Meditations on the Cycle of Liturgical Feasts”, Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Indiana, p 120 – 121

Reading selected by Deacon Steve Pitre

An Easter Reflection by Deacon Steve

 

“Why was the Easter proclamation “good news”? What did it mean to those who first heard the message?” Does it still pack the same punch today as it did Easter morning? If not why not?

These are questions that we must always bring to our celebration of Easter, for so often it is merely another feast on the liturgical calendar with little practical impact on individual lives. Peter relates the original proclamation with a sense of joyful wonder. The story is about this incredible God-filled man named Jesus… [and how] what could have been a crushing and tragic end was transformed by the hand of God who raised Jesus from the dead. And now Jesus stands astride all human history as its life-giving power and final judge.”

“…humankind is discovering in Jesus that God is impartial. Rather than being the property of any person or group, God offers grace and mercy to all. We need fear nothing-not even death itself. God was showing humanity not a way to escape the miseries and struggles of the human condition, but how to pass through them transformed.”

- Lewis, SJ, Scott, “ God’s Word on Sunday Year B” Catholic Register Books, Toronto, 2011, p51

Each time we are present to the people who request our services we bring our Lord’s grace and mercy to the people and they experience hope. In turn our Lord’s abundant grace and mercy transform’s us.

May you and your families and loved ones be transformed by the grace and mercy of our Lord as you celebrate the Easter mysteries together or apart! May Christ‘s Easter hope, peace and joy fill your hearts.

God bless

Steve