Oh, She'll Be Back Again

Yesterday I rode 17 miles on the road. It went pretty well. Today I am taking a rest day, even though it is beautiful. I could sleep all day, if I had the chance. But this morning I had a funeral for Julia Prater. Julia was a wonderful person. I do not know why her children wanted the funeral at the funeral home instead of the church. I will miss Julia, she was faithful and kind.

In the Acts of the Apostles, some of the Areopagites scoffed at the notion of the resurrection. Of course, they were not scoffing at the Christian belief, but at their own misunderstanding of it. In those days, many people looked at the events of life and could see nothing but decay. There is a lot of truth there- as soon as we get older, we start to fail. Getting up gets harder, our hair turns gray, sometimes it falls out, our strength leaves us. For that reason, some people of the ancient world believed the body to be a prison for the soul. And even today, many labor under that notion. So any talk of resurrection has those people scoffing. Someone even told me that the resurrection of the body was not good news, so they could not see it as part of the Christian faith.

Of course, who would want resurrection if it was to the same life we have now- the life of corruption and eventual weakness and suffering and death? But the resurrection for which we hope is not just to the same kind of life, with all its problems and sorrows. For those who experience the Resurrection of the Just to Life, it will be a new kind of life, free from suffering and death, free from corruption and weakness, free from sorrow and tears. Instead, it will be filled with joy.

Sometimes, They Move a Feast

Yesterday, I rode about 15 miles, but it was rough going. Later, I went with a friend to give advice and support as he bought a new road bike.

In the evening, it was time for church league softball. Our game was supposed to be at 8:30pm, but sometime yesterday was moved to 9:30. I stretched, I warmed up, I ran a bit. But when I was running to first at my first at-bat, I pulled muscles in both legs. The legs still hurt very much. I played the whole game, and ended up with two hits, a walk and a score. My fielding leaves something to be desired, I muffed a couple of plays, although I had one good catch. We were in the game until the end, but we still lost. I really do not like losing. But it is just a game for fellowship and exercise.

In this part of the world, the Bishops have moved the feast of the Ascension of our Lord to the 7th Sunday of Easter. The Ascension is an important part of our faith, although we probably do not focus on it too much. The Resurrection was not, and never intended to be, a return to the same kind of life we experience here on earth. Yes, Jesus ate and drank with His disciples, but now He sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus did not leave His human body on earth when He ascended. Rather, He took it up to heave, where He intercedes for His Church and prepares a place of unimaginable riches for us. To receive these riches is part of our vocation as disciples of Jesus Christ.

But it is also part of our vocation to go out into the world and make more disciples, so that the hearts of all others would also be enlightened with the Truth of Jesus Christ and that they too would experience the surpassing greatness of His power and love. We may not feel particularly comfortable going out to evangelize others, but that is what Jesus is asking us to do. And He has promised to be with us so that we can accomplish His goal.

Sunday Things

Today I do not have a homily to post, since the deacons were preaching. But that will not stop me from reflecting on the Sunday readings...

It was rainy this morning, so the early Mass did not have as many people as I would have liked. The later Mass was very crowded, however. At the later Mass, I baptized 5 babies. The water was a little cold, so 4 of them cried a bit. The one whose parents held her so that she could see the water and reach down to touch it did not cry.

This afternoon, I drove out to the local Community College in the next county for a choir and band concert. It was very nice. One of our parishioners was singing in her last concert at that school before moving on to a four year institution.

I got back home from all the activities around 7:30, but it is too cold to ride. I hope tomorrow is warmer.

Now to the readings. Since in a couple of weeks, we will be celebrating Pentecost, the readings had a common theme of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel, Jesus was speaking to His disciples telling them that He would not leave them orphans, but would come to them. And He would send another advocate (Paracletos) to be with them- the Holy Spirit. In the first reading, Saints Peter and John go to Samaria to impose hands on the people who had come to believe in Jesus as the Messiah, so that they could receive the Holy Spirit. The reason they even went to Samaria, was that the persecution of the Church in Jerusalem drove many Christians out of the city, and as they left, they continued to preach.

The second reading had a similar theme from a couple of weeks ago- that of suffering for doing good. Saint Peter exhorted people to always be ready to give a reason for their hope. And that if they were going to suffer, it would be better to suffer for doing good, than for doing evil. His words were not just words that he preached. It would not be long until Saint Peter himself, as well as many of the apostles, would pay for their belief in Christ with their lives. Nevertheless, they continued to give a reason for their hope.

Sometimes as Catholics we have a little trouble doing that. We sometimes think that as long as we are "nice" everything is going to work out. But really, Jesus does not ask us to be "nice." He asks us to be faithful. Our actions should be our primary mode of preaching about our beliefs. But our words should not fail us. When I was in the semminary, one of our professors (a priest) used to tell us "if you do not study, you are going to Hell." His reason was that studying the faith, becoming knowledgeable and skilled at explaining was our job, our calling from God. To waste time or to fail to do the necessary work to fulfill our calling would result in a severe judgement. Another professor (also a priest) told us that if we did not learn how to answer, people would go down the street to find someone who would. And he is right.

But it is not just the priest who should be able to answer. Sometimes a person who has a question never gets to the priest. Sometimes the person who has to give a reason for their hope is their brother or sister, or their neighbor, or co-worker. Each of us should be a lifelong learner. And we should not be afraid to speak the truth, even if people do not want to hear it. We never know when the seed of faith that we plant with courage and conviction will take root in someone. Maybe they will turn to Christ because they observed someone who actually lived and actually took the time to learn.

Of course, it is not all intellectual. In all our learning, the most important aspect is prayer. If Jesus is not a real person to us, if our relationship with God is not personal and intimate, not only will we be poor evangelizers, our own faith will be too weak to do us a lot of good. Jesus promised not to leave us orphans. God wants to be intimate with us, to come to us and be with us forever. That is certainly something to hope for.

The Dogs are Barking

My feet hurt today. I rode the road bike this morning. My plan was to ride 30 miles, which I have done many times. But after 15, my knees were complaining, and I felt tired. By 5pm, my feet were also complaining. I believe the source of the problem is a new set of tyres I put on the bike a week ago. The bike was running Michelin 25's and I switched to Vittoria 23's. But that small difference is a bit much. The tires are really tight and one can feel the roads around here right through them. The ride is considerably rougher. (The roads in this part of the world are not very smooth, and have lots of patches on top of patches.) So I think I am going to switch back. My next new set will be 28.

This weekend, the deacons are preaching and giving me a break. I like to preach, but I am grateful for the time off. Next week is First Friday and I will make up for all the work I did not have to do.

God did it again

Today a couple who had been away from the Church for a long time returned. It would be nice to say it was because of my hard work, my preaching, my attention, but that would not be true. It was entirely because God had been working on them interiorly. They had not spent the time away from God, they had spent the many years earnestly searching for the will of the Lord. It really is better the way it happened. No one needs to be Catholic because of me, but because they believe in Jesus with their whole heart and are convinced that He has established the Church.

Still, preaching is essential to spreading the Good News of God’s love. We must tell people (including ourselves) over and over again that God has loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to redeem us (see John 3:16). He calls us to be His children, to experience the Love of God and to spend eternity in the home of Our Father in Heaven. Every day, the priests, deacons, and vowed religious, as well as many others, pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Repeatedly, we recite the Psalms and Canticles. And eventually, the soak in like a gentle rain, getting to our roots. That is the way preaching should be- soaking the hearer with the Truth of God over and over again, so that the Truth can reach down to the roots. It is the work of God, but He calls us to be cooperators.

Ready for Some Renewal

Today I am going riding with a priest friend. We were going mountain biking, but the recent rain has turned our plans to the road instead. My coughing is a little less, but still very annoying. Yesterday I visited someone in the hospital. As soon as I walked into the room, I could hardly keep from coughing. So I had to cut my visit a bit short.

I am ready for some spiritual renewal. Maybe what I need is a retreat, maybe I need a vacation - something to clear my mind and my heart of the cobwebs that have collected. In the Gospel today, Jesus says to remain in His love so that His joy might be in us, and our joy might be complete (see John 15:9-11). In this world, it is easy to start looking for our joy in imperfect things - people, activities, objects, even feelings. Unfortunately, all of these lose their luster after awhile, and none of them can really fulfill us (even though they may seem to at first). The desire for joy will only be filled when we have the joy of Christ in us, when we live in His love.

Oh those words are so easy to write, and I believe them, but they can be difficult to live. We are corporal beings, and we need other people, material things, and human activity. Still, it is possible to focus our attentions on the One who can invest our life with true meaning and purpose. And by desiring and doing all things according to the will and for the sake of the Lord, find the peace which the world cannot give.

We are not alone.

An aspect of grief is the anger felt over abandonment by the one whom you love who is gone. And fear of abandonment causes much sorrow as well. Because of their particular circumstances and sufferings, there are many people who are afraid that God has abandoned them, or are angry because they are sure He has done so. Jesus was well aware of this aspect of human nature and so seeks to alleviate our fears. He promised that He would not leave us orphans, but that He would come to us. The Lord does so through the gift of the Holy Spirit, as well as through the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. So we should not be afraid.

As I mentioned yesterday, my parents today celebrate 58 years of marriage. They met on a blind date two years to the day before their wedding. They have seven children, 14 grandchildren. Mom and Dad put us all through Catholic school for 12 years each. And they paid for most of our first time through college. I am grateful for their marriage and wish them happiness now and forever. I love you Mom and Dad!