SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
Fr. Jim Deiters
After the Easter Vigil last Saturday night, I asked one our junior high students what part of the Vigil she found most interesting. She hesitated a bit and then said, “I liked the part when the church was dark, but everyone was glowing from their candlelight.” I was so glad to hear that she noticed this great moment that is my favorite as well when the only light in the church comes from the candles that people are holding that lights up each person’s face…and everyone is ‘glowing’ as she said. When I’m presiding during that candlelight part and I look up, it’s a kind of unique, soft, candle lightglow on each face that somehow makes everyone look very holy! Our scripture readings throughout this Easter Season invite us to renew ourselves in what I call the ‘holiness-glow’ of Jesus’ Resurrection.
I think that most of us often come to Mass feeling not too holy at all…usually aware of our failings and the unholy habits that need changed. Many people mistakenly think that they shouldn’t come to church if they have made a big mistake. But, this sacrament of the Eucharist is exactly what we needwhen we are sick in mind, heart, or soul! Sin takes away our baptismal glow…but Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist to restore us to grace through his healing mercy so that we leave each Mass with a new ‘radiance’ of God’s Glory.
This is what happens each time that Jesus appears to the disciples after his Resurrection. In the story we just heard, the disciples are locked in a room with fear, having lost their faith and hope since Jesus’ death. Jesus comes INTO their midst and breathes on them the breath of the Holy Spirit. The breath of his Spirit forgives their sins, their denying him, and their running away in fear, and he restores them to his grace and love. In other words, he renews his relationship with them in the glow of his Resurrection!
This is exactly what happens at every Eucharist for us! We gather: the lost and broken, the hurting, the guilty, the grieving, and those in fear, to encounter the Risen Jesus… who miraculously comes right into our midst to heal and forgive us. If we really ALLOW Jesus to save us from our sinful habits, then the breath of his Spirit will heal and renew the holy-glow of our baptism in our hearts and actions once again.
Notice that Thomas was not with the other disciples. Maybe he felt too guilty or unworthy of joining the praying community. He represents all those who stray away from Church for various reasons, forgetting that the praying community is exactly where one needs to be for support during difficult times. It is when Thomas rejoins the group that he too experiences the Risen Christ…and his faith is restored. His own ‘glow of faith’ is heard in his great testimony when he proclaims, “My Lord and my God!” This is a scripture quote to memorize and pray each time we receive Holy Communion…as we restate our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus that comes into us -- “My Lord and my God!”
This past week, our world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. Some have called him a great beacon of God’s Light for the 20th Century since he was a voice and witness to God’s justice and peace. Dr. King’s witness to non-violence,- non-violent words and non-violent actions - while standing strong against injustice was his way of being a real glowing presence of God in our divided world. His call to work for justice…while being a person of peace…is sort of a sequel to what Jesus is asking of his disciples as he breathes on them and tells them to be forgiving and loving toward others. One definition of justice that I like is this: Justice is what lovelooks like… in public.
We each have to discern our own path of how to live in our world as glowing embers of God’s healing love and peace. Our ultimate example of love and peace and non-violence is Jesus Christ. In baptism he breathed his Spirit into us and gave us the same power that he gave to the fear-filled disciples in that locked room that day of the Resurrection.
Right here in the Eucharist, Jesus once again comes INTO our midst and says to our own fearful, guilty, worried hearts, “Peace be with you.” During the Mass, try to become more aware of the Real Presence of Jesus right here…in the people around you, as the One leading us in prayer, and in this Word. Try to notice Jesus’ breath come over you in our praying together…as God recreates us to BE the ‘glowing light of the Holy Spirit in the world. And as people notice God’s light glowing through our words and actions, then perhaps some of the “Thomas’” who are not here at the Eucharist…will be inspired to come seek out this font of God’s Mercy.
Fr. Jim Deiters
My nieces and nephews still tease me about using an old-fashioned calendar that’s a hard-copy binder. Anything that’s not digital, they tell me, is something left from the Flintstones. One of them was shocked when they opened it a few weeks ago and said, “How funny, your calendar lists Sunday at the beginning of the week!” While that did not seem odd to me, she felt proud to tell me that her phone calendar starts with Monday and it helps her plan her work week. And being honest with her uncle she said, “And, hate to tell you this Uncle Jim but most people think of Sunday as a time to catch up on things or rest at the end of the week.” Her honest words were no news to me, but a confirmation of what’s apparent in people’s lives.
The details of our Easter Gospel of Jesus’ empty tomb give us an opportunity to re-think how we perceive time and our life schedule. Why? Because the author Mark makes a specific point of telling us that this whole mind-boggling miracle of Jesus’ Resurrection actually happened – on “the first day of the week,” the day after the Sabbath! The author wants us to know that this changes everything in terms of how we view our 7-day week and our priorities. Before the Resurrection, the ‘first day of the week’ was when you wentback to work after the Sabbath rest. But now, the Christians turned that “first day of the week” into a new day of celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection! At first these Jewish followers of Jesus kept some of their Saturday-Sabbath traditions, but turned Sunday into a day for the Eucharist, helping the poor, and gathering as a community for support and prayer. They changed their concept of time and weekdays around this most significant event in human history! And they marked this ‘new day’ for the Lord Jesus by focusing on things he taught them to do…at the beginning of their week!
Again, I want to emphasize this with our young people, many who think that Monday is the first day of the week! You belong to a faith community that was founded on this history changing event of Jesus’ Resurrection. The human calendar was then changed around this person Jesus, and the original group of about 20 disciples has grown to about 2 billion Christians in the world today. What attracted so many people to want to join them? First, people were amazed by the founding principle of this new religion – that their leader had truly been raised from the dead! Hundreds of people actually SAW Jesus after his Resurrection and ate with him…and they never stopped telling others about this incredible miracle! The other element of Christianity that attracted people, and we will hear more about this in the upcoming Sunday Gospels, is that the Christians were the first to make helping the poor their top priority. They were also the first group to treat women as equals to men, and not segregate people by economic status, skin color or nationality. The Resurrection completely changed the way Christians thought about other humans.
The first disciples of Jesus set aside that ‘first day of the week’ to gather for the Eucharist to renew theircommitment to Jesus and doing what he taught them. Sunday, the beginning of the week, became a day tore-prioritize what was most important in their life – the Eucharist, building community among themselves, helping the poor, and creatively thinking of ways to reach out to those who were not yet a part of their community. Christians created the idea of Sunday as a new kind of ‘Sabbath’ to help them START their week, centered in Christ!
With most of us having very busy lives, filled with lots of important things, the true miracle of Jesus rising from the dead, challenges us to decide how his Resurrection makes any difference in our lives, our priorities, and our schedules. When Sunday is mistakenly thought of as the ‘end’ of the week, we only give God what is ‘left over’ which isn’t much after a long week of work and family duties. Would we be willing to re-think of how we interpret Sunday…as a true day of Resurrection…of new beginnings?! As a day that begins our week, starting with the Eucharist…with God at the beginning and center of all our other activities? We can re-imagine our Sunday conversations about the Scriptures, stories of hope, and encouraging one another that God has given us a new week for new possibilities.
So that today will not just pass by with a fading memory of baskets and bunnies, may this Easter Eucharist open our eyes and hearts in new ways so that the mystery and miracle of Jesus rising from the dead…willmotivate us to see our life differently…reorganizing all of the other people, events, and things in our life to be centered around the Risen Christ!
Fr. Jim Deiters
In order to enter more deeply into Jesus’ Passion story, each year I invite us to listen to it from a different perspective. In his actions of saving the world, Jesus is teaching us many things, and one of them…is how to deal with the unfair and unjust things of life and what to do with our anger. Anger is one of the seven capital sins and it seems to be the one most taking over the world. Anger often leads to other sins that hurt others and our self. The feeling of anger is not wrong; for example, we should feel anger toward an injustice. It’s what we do with our anger that can make it sinful.
There are many things that can cause us to feel anger at others, especially when someone has hurt us either physically or emotionally. Such hurts can lead to a hardened heart of resentment, gossiping, bitterness, and revenge. Holding on to a hurt or anger is like a cancer that eats away at our inner goodness. In today’s ‘my rights –anything goes’ culture, we see people’s anger being acted out in all kinds of terrible revengeful ways. The sin of anger-revenge pervades social media and is in the air we breathe…and thus we must assess the damage it does to our heart and lungs…that are supposed to be filled with the Breath of God.
What I invite us to do as we listen closely to Jesus’ Passion… is to notice how many things were done to him that were unfair, hurtful, mean, and unjust. Yet, he never, ever takes revenge or holds a grudge. I’m sure he felt anger at times, but he channels his anger toward a virtue that counters the hurts…and that virtue is meekness. Meekness is closely related to LOVE and helps us take authority over our anger. Our pride and ego will always fight against being meek…and thus we NEED thisexample of Jesus who describes himself as being “meek and humble of heart.”
If you have any anger or past hurts or just plain ‘life is not fair’ bitterness stuck in your heart, let us take it to the Cross of Jesus TODAY…and listen and watch Jesus model being meek and forgiving in each situation…as we admit how much we need him to SAVE US!
Fr. Jim Deiters
Two weeks ago, the University of Notre Dame hosted a young adult event which drew over 500 people from age 16-29 to discuss the needs of teens and young adults in the Catholic Church today. The conference was held to prepare for the upcoming synod in Rome this fall that Pope Francis has called specifically for bishops and young people to figure out how the Catholic Church can betterengage and keep the youth close to Christ and the Church. Of course there are many issues that teenagers and young adults face today that have them questioning the relevance of God and the Church in their lives. We can blame a lot of cultural distractions, but I like to think that the rituals, prayers and scriptures of these three holy days of the Triduum are some of our best Catholic tools to help our young people see and learn about why it is so special to be Catholic. And that is why we try and have many of our youth involved in these special days…hoping that some of the unusual things they see, hear, and participate in will inspire them to keep searching into the deeper meaning of their Catholic faith and the mind-boggling way that Jesus showed the world God’s great love for us.
For those of us who have been Catholic for many years, and sometimes take for granted the uniqueness of our faith, the same unique things that the youth experience should inspire us to talk more openly to them about why WE are Catholic and what our faith means to us. We have to help our young people make the connection between going to Church and receiving the Eucharist, and all the treasures of our 2000 year history…, are God’s way of showing us that he is REAL and wants to be an intimate part of our lives. Since our young people are very capable of reading and following such complicated, mythical story lines like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Shakespeare, I think we sell them short by not introducing them to the deeper truths of our Catholic faith that have a richness and complexity far beyond the novels and movies with which they are entranced.
A Holy Thursday homily is not the place to explain each of our Catholic treasures but it is a night to at least focus on one of our greatest mysteries and that is the Eucharist. Our very unique Catholic belief that the bread and wine are miraculously changed into the Body and Blood of Christ is something that many Christian martyrs have died for over the centuries, and was Jesus’ way of making sure that he is very REAL in our lives even some 2000 years after the Last Supper with his disciples.
Part of the Eucharist’s significance is the element of Blood that we hear a lot about in the readings tonight. Blood was such an important element in the Jewish faith that symbolized
a covenant between God and the people. At the Last Supper, Jesus makes a clear connection between the blood that would flow from his side at the Crucifixion… and what his disciples would drink every time they celebrated the Eucharist after he ascended into heaven. It is so important for our young people, who sometimes question the purpose and value of their life, to come to appreciate how Jesus gave his life for them and wants his life to flow INTO their life through the Eucharist, his own Body and Blood!
And so I say to our young people here tonight, especially ages 12-29, we share with you tonight our very oldest and special scripture passage about we believe the Eucharist means to us. St. Paul wrote it in about the year 50 AD (before the Gospels!) and it highlights how the first disciples began the Tradition of remembering Jesus’ Last Supper and their deep belief in the miracle that the Eucharist really IS the Body and Blood of Jesus.
We believe that the very same Holy Spirit that comes into the bread and wine at the Mass IS the sameSpirit that was with God at the creation of the world; the same Spirit that led the Israelites out of slavery; the same Spirit that came upon Mary at Jesus’ Conception; and the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead! THAT Spirit, brothers and sisters and young people… wants to come into you…to unite YOU to Jesus… and through his blood flowing INTO your own blood…make us one with God!
Dear young people…and people of all ages…as unworthy or wayward as you may think your life is…in the Mass, Jesus becomes a servant to you. Imagine…it is Jesus washing your feet and soul from sin…and feeds your body with the very love of God in the Eucharist. Will you let Jesus do this for you?
Passion Sunday
Fr. Jim Deiters
While much of the daily news is filled with violence or corruption, I try and search each day for one news story of people’s goodness. This week, my spirits were lifted by the amazing story of Leah Sherubu. She is one of the 110 young Nigerian school girls who were kidnapped by a radical group of Boko Haram. Most the girls were returned this week to their families in the city of Abuja, but Leah was not with them since she was the only Christian and refused to convert to Islam. As I read the article, my heart was incredulous to think that this young girl of around twelve gave up her freedom for her faith in Jesus! Unbelievable! I have no idea how little Leah is doing today, but with a faith like hers I imagine she will remember that it is Palm Sunday and that Christians around the world are with her in prayer… as this retelling of Jesus’ Passion stirs us to think about our own commitment to Jesus.
As Leah enters Holy Week in captivity for her faithfulness, we are reminded in Mark’s version of the Passion, that the only disciples who stayed with Jesus to the end were women. From the woman who anoints his feet at the dinner in Bethany two days before the Crucifixion…to the women who were at the foot of the Cross, we, the listeners, are challenged to think about where we would be in the story? Would I really give up my freedom, like Leah, to admit my faith in Jesus? Would I really be willing to face ridicule, like the woman in the story, if someone challenged my actions for my Christian faith?
The Passion story is truly a tragedy, both for the injustice done to Jesus, as well as the lack of commitmentto Jesus that most of his followers showed to save their own face. Because we know that Jesus’ Death is not the end of the story, it is tempting to not reflect too long on the gravity of how awful were the false accusations against him, the abandonment of his male friends, and the gory details of his crucifixion. Jesus’ execution was a real injustice.
But, the faithful witness of Leah Sherubu and so many other Christians still being persecuted today helps usremember that the living Body of Christ is still suffering greatly. And beyond the persecuted Christians, there are so many other sons and daughters of God who at this very moment are living their own ‘road to Calvary’ due to the injustices of our world.
Before we can truly celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection next weekend and fully rise up with Christ, we have to reflect on where we are at in Jesus’ ongoing Passion narrative in our own times. Since so many of God’s sons and daughters are still suffering, Jesus’ dying is in the present tense; and we must choose whether we will turn away in fear and selfishness from doing anything about injustices done to Christ’s Body in our own time…, OR be like the faithful women and put our life on the line in order to be recognized by Jesus on our judgement day as one who stayed faithful to him…even in the most trying times.
SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
Fr. Jim Detiers
FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT
Fr. Jim Deiters
This week, our St. Vincent De Paul Ministry in the diocese opened up its newly renovated Soup Kitchen, Store and Help Center in the heart of East St. Louis. Thanks to many of you who contribute to our monthly envelope for “Those in Need” and donations to St. Vincent De Paul, our parish was able to make a generous donation toward the renovations. I went there on Friday afternoon for part of the grand opening and had this profound experience of gratitude and inspiration as I witnessed the many people both from our own parish and elsewhere who are such a vital part of this wonderful ministry to those in need. You may know that East St. Louis is a place that struggles with various issues of poverty and some of its neighborhoods look very sad and feel like a real desert. Yet in the midst of the gloomy surroundings, our St. Vincent De Paul Ministryplops itself right in the middle of this desert-looking terrain and is a well-spring of light and hope for many!
Our First Sunday of Lent begins in the desert...with Jesus facing the devil’s temptations. Mark’s version of the story is very short with no details of what temptations Jesus faced. But I like the opening line that says “the Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.” The two words that stand out for me in that phrase are: ‘drove’and ‘into.’ The word ‘drove’ gives a sense of urgency, with images of the Spirit ‘pushing’ or dragging Jesus into the desert.
This is the same Spirit by the way that had just come over Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan in the previous verses of Mark. The author is teaching us that once we let the Spirit into our life, it will push and drive us into places we never expected. The symbol of the desert represents any place in our life that forces us to look in the mirror and be detached from any false self or ego. The word ‘desert’ literally means ‘abandonment’and in this case represents a spiritual experience of abandoning anything that is keeping us from our truemission as followers of Jesus. Jesus had to go through his own desert experience and what he had to say ‘no’ to in order to get clear on his own mission.
Sometimes the Spirit drives us to this experience of detachment and letting go at just the right time in our life and we volunteer to go. Other times, it can be very involuntary and we are driven to a desert-abandoning experience by some profound loss due to a broken relationship, divorce, health issue, or death of a loved one. Every one of us goes through a desert experience at some time...in one form or another. Sometimes we may try and cover up our feeling of desert-abandonment with addictions or excessive food, drinking, material things, or work. Such things will only delay and prolong the loneliness and emptiness since the Spirit is trying to take us INTO the desert experience to learn and grow from it. If we choose to undergo the desert experience, with the Holy Spirit’s help, it can prove to be constructive and liberating!
What Jesus models for us is how the Spirit that took possession of him at his baptism is also the very One who gives him the strength to resist the devil’s temptation to give up on his mission. We spend a good part of our life putting off or denying our baptismal mission, trying to avoid any desert experience that might challenge us to face our own demons. Jesus teaches us that by going INTO the desert and facing Satan’s temptations with the power of the Holy Spirit, we come OUT OF the experience a much stronger person, with more integrity and sense of commitment to who we really are as a son or daughter of God.
Right here in this room are many who are right in the middle of a personal desert experience, wondering howthe Spirit will guide them through this trial. This is the importance of a faith community as we make a commitment to one another to be here at the Eucharist for each other, with God at our center. As this Eucharist gives us strength and consolation for each new desert and temptation, it also commissions us to seek out real-life desert places in our local cities and neighborhoods that are parched for some good news and good people who will be the real face and hands of Jesus for them.
While some deserts places are internal and others are real places of poverty, the Savior we follow walks into the desert with us and gives us his Holy Spirit for the strength and power we need to walk away from Satan’s lies and temptations…so that we can more faithfully live out Jesus’ Mission in all our words and actions.
ASH WEDNESDAY
Fr. Jim Deiters
Most people would not consider Lent as a very happy season. The colors at church are a somber purple, we’re supposed to practice self-discipline (?!), and give up sin and bad habits? While all this is meant to be helpful, the word ‘lent’ actually means ‘spring’ and is meant to carry with it a feeling of growth and HOPE! The prayer, fasting, and almsgiving for the poor, are meant to help free us from the burdens we place upon our self and give us hope about the deeper meaning of our life.
Given that every one of us is dealing with some kind of struggle, upset, or sadness that weighs on our heart, I invite us to think of these 6 weeks of Lent as a season of HOPE. Especially with the added stresses of things happening in our own country and the world, it is easy to get discouraged and depressed about the state of life. Psalm 51 that we prayed today and is assigned at various times throughout Lent has this beautiful line, “Lord, give me back the joy of your salvation.” To be filled with joy, we need to regain a sense of hope...for our own life and for the world.
First, we have to get clear on the difference between hope and optimism. Optimism isn’t really helpful since it simply says that “things will work out and be okay.” In reality, things do not always work out. False optimism always disappoints since each new trial in life makes us think that God has abandoned us. In reality, (get ready for this depressing truth), in the long run, every one of us will be dead. Every one of our projects and all our accumulated things...will ALL turn to dust! All of ‘this life’ is passing away!
But here is where our Christian virtue of hope comes into play. Hope is a virtue that you cannot learnfrom practice like we learn to be more just or prudent. Hope is a ‘supernatural’ GIFT from God that comes from an inrushing of grace. Hope is meant to re-order or direct us toward heaven as our ultimate good. Hope pushes us beyond the struggles of this life to our ultimate good, life with God. Not that this life is meant to be shunned, but hope helps us admit that ‘this’ is all passing...and that our life is about more than what appears.
Do you see how the virtue of HOPE can change our understanding of this season of Lent? We don’t give up sinful habits, selfishness, and sloth simply to be a better person. The scriptures of Lent call us to see the real meaning of our existence and the beautiful plan God has for us both now and in heaven. Hope calls us to ‘give up’ clinging to the desires for self-pleasure for the here and now… and re-direct our desires toward God! Of course God wants us to enjoy this life...but HOPE helps us learn to progressively desire what God desires for us. Hope then...orientates our desire toward God. It’s a form of detachment isn’t it?
Keeping our desire toward God and heaven...FREES us from the stresses of our daily life since we keep our focus on the deeper meaning of our life in God. Even when bad things happen to good people, hope clings to the belief that God is actively working IN and THROUGH the circumstances of our lives and loving us INTO a fuller life with him. THIS is the ‘spring-time’ idea of Lent - new beginnings!
If we are honest with our self - the anxieties, disappointments, hurts, and sadness of our life are usually rooted in a false optimism that things are supposed to go well for me if I’m being a good person. Since in the long run all of this life turns to dust, life can simply be one disappointment after another…if one is without the virtue of HOPE. The hope of Lent calls us to a new way of thinking...in which we re-orient our daily living and choices based on our ultimate goal of being in union with God...while still enjoying the blessings God gives us in this life.
So what to give up for Lent? Any and everything that has me clinging to the false notion that this is all there is. Lent forces us to face our mortality and that everything we have will one day turn to dust...even this body we love. As the ashes are rubbed into our forehead in the sign of the Cross, and we hear the words, “Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return,” let us invite the Holy Spirit to stir deep within us and fill us with a new hope...redirecting all our desires toward God.