His Word Today: Keep his word

Good morning everyone,

Have you ever noticed that when we love someone, we want to do everything we can to make that person happy?  The same is true of our relationship with our God.  During one of the final conversations that Jesus had with his disciples, John tells us that he confided this truth to them: whoever knows my commandments and observes them is one who loves me (Jn 14:21).

The wonderful thing about our relationship with God is that He is always outdoing our expectations: loving us even more than we could ever love him.  In response to our willingness to keep his commandments and to grow day after day in our love for him, the added bonus for us is that whoever loves Jesus will keep his word (because we want to do everything we can to please him), and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him (Jn 14:23).

The Father and the Son have come and made their dwelling with us.  How often have we considered the fact that they are in our midst?  Perhaps with that knowledge, we will be more attentive today to the many ways he is present to us, and maybe we will begin to look at the world in a different light.

Have a great day.

Vines and branches

There are twenty-two students in this parish who are preparing to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation next weekend.  Their family and friends will be gathering to celebrate this special day in their lives.  Those who are present will see the Bishop tracing a cross on the forehead of each of the Candidates while he says aloud: Be sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Hopefully, the young adult standing before the Bishop will reply: Amen.  Then he will greet each one of them with the words: Peace be with you, and if all goes well, they will reply: and with your spirit.  The visible signs of this grace-filled moment are few but we believe that there is something much greater happening within the hearts of each of those who is Confirmed.  At the moment of Baptism, each child begins a life in faith.  At that moment, the gifts of the Spirit are already present in our hearts, but they are awakened within us in a special way on the day of Confirmation, and from that day onwards, each of us is strengthened by these gifts so that we can be witnesses for Christ in the world.

This same awakening of the Spirit’s gifts was true for the Apostles.  On the day of Pentecost, they received these gifts so that they in turn could go out into the world to spread the good news, but God was also at work in the hearts of those who heard them preaching.  We see evidence of this within the heart of Saul.  Even though he had once been persecuting the early Christians, God changed his heart and called him to become one of the disciples.  This was not only surprising for him; it would have been even more surprising for the disciples.  When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples (Acts 9:26).  He had had a change of heart, but the disciples did not know that, so naturally they were reluctant.  In fact, since they knew about his past and the fact that he had persecuted the Christians, they were afraid of him.  It was only because the Spirit was active in Saul’s heart that he was able to convince them that he was no longer an enemy, but rather a companion of theirs.  In fact, he became an ardent preacher – to the point where he himself had to be protected from those who wanted to harm him (cf Acts 9:29).

God is preparing the young people in our parish and equipping them with the courage to be able to proclaim their faith too.  This is one of the gifts that the Spirit awakens in our hearts.  As we continue to grow into adulthood, the Spirit’s gifts also help us to grow in our understanding of the special plans that God has for each of us.  All we need to do every day is remember that God lives in our hearts and that we are connected to him like the branches of an enormous vine (cf Jn 15:1).

As we become more and more aware of the Spirit’s gifts alive in our hearts and active in our lives, we are increasingly aware of the ways God makes himself known to us.  The scriptures refer to our awareness of God’s presence as the fruits of the Spirit.  The more we are aware of Jesus’ presence in our lives, the more we are aware of the Spirit at work within us.  This presence of Jesus and the work of the Spirit are pure gift.  Nothing we do could ever earn this gift, but we are the ones who benefit from these gifts, and it’s up to us to share these gifts with others who we meet.

Let us pray this week for the young people who are preparing to celebrate Confirmation next weekend, and let us love, not merely in word or speech, but in truth and action (1 Jn 3:18), and let us marvel at the gifts of the Spirit in action.

His Word Today: Just ask

Good morning everyone,

Today's gospel passage (cf Jn 14:7-14) places us in the midst of a discussion that Jesus had with his disciples.  These are privileged moments because they allow us to see into the heart of the Teacher, something that was not granted to every one of Jesus' listeners.  In this case, Jesus was testing his disciples knowledge of himself (cf Jn 14:7): If you know me then you will also know my Father.

Jesus is often portrayed in the gospel of John as having a double knowledge of himself because by the time that the fourth gospel was written, the Church had already grown in her understanding of Jesus as the Son of God.  It is interesting to note that Jesus invites us to know him, which means much more than simply knowing about him.  The gospel writer wants us to understand this phrase in a much more familiar sense, as if to say: Do we know Jesus?  Have we developed a personal relationship with him?  Do we spend time in conversation with him every day?  Do we listen for his voice?  Do we seek his counsel and guidance before making important decisions?

If we know Jesus in this way, we can be assured that if we ask anything of him, he will do it (Jn 14:14), much as we might ask a favour of someone who we trust implicitly, like a family member or a very close friend.  When we ask a favour of someone who is close to us, we already expect the answer to be yes and we already count on their collaboration, even before it is agreed upon.  The same is true of the relationship that God wants with each one of us.  We can trust him so implicitly that we can present our prayers to him and already know that he will help us.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Never alone

Good morning everyone,

Can you remember a time when you may have had to go somewhere totally unknown to you?  Were you nervous?  Whenever we have to set out into the unknown - whether that is an unknown place or an adventure that is entirely new to us, or we have to meet people for the first time, there is always a part of us that is unsettled.  Sometimes, we may experience excitement, but most often, there is at least a part of us that is uncertain.

Jesus knew that his disciples were nervous about the fact that they would have to carry on without him.  It is a natural human response for us to be unsettled by the absence of someone we have grown to trust, but Jesus wanted his disciples to understand that his separation from them was only temporary, that he would come back: Do not let your hearts be troubled ... I will come back again and take you to myself (Jn 14:1, 3).

We are never alone, even when there are no other human beings near to us.  The Holy Spirit, who God the Father and Jesus sent at Pentecost is always near to us, to protect us and to guide us as we make our way through life.  One day, Jesus will come back to take us to himself, to live with him in heaven.  He wants us to remember this so that when we must face situations that threaten to unsettle us, we can rest assured of his promise.  Perhaps if we grow in this understanding, we might be less likely to allow our hearts to be troubled.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Know your place

Good morning everyone,

As we continue our reflection on the teachings that Jesus shared with his disciples - and by extension, the ones he shares with us - today, John's gospel reminds us that no slave is greater than his master, nor any messenger greater than the one who has sent him (Jn 13:16).

If we consider the classroom setting, it might be easier for us to think about the fact that - in general - the students are taught by the teacher.  Although at some level, wise teachers can always learn things about themselves, the task at hand is that of sharing knowledge and forming the minds of those who have been entrusted to our care.  If this is true in the case of classrooms, it is equally the case in the relationship we share with our God.  Our loving Father is constantly at work, teaching us valuable lessons that shape the people we become.

Since God's wisdom is infinite, we should always remember that we are the messengers who have been sent to share with others the good news that we ourselves have experienced and come to believe.  Our teacher is - and always will be more loving, more forgiving, greater than we can ever hope to be, and our God will always gently invite us to stretch our understanding of ourselves and of the relationships we are called to live with others and with Him.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Saint Mark

Saint Mark
Religious painting by Guido Reni, 1621

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates the liturgical Feast of Saint Mark, the evangelist (which means the writer of the gospel).  After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and said to them: 'Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature' (Mk 16:15).  The Eleven then set out to share the Good News in every part of the known world.

Saint Peter travelled from Cesarea to Antioch and then through Asia Minor where he visited the early Christians in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (cf 1 Peter 1:1) before arriving in Rome around the year AD 42.  Somewhere along the way, Peter met Mark and invited him to join his journey. Mark wrote down the sermons that Peter shared along the way, thus composing the text that has come to be known as the Gospel of Mark before he left Rome and made his way to Alexandria.

In AD 49, Mark travelled to Alexandria, Egypt (cf Acts 15:36-41) and there he founded the Church of Alexandria.  Today, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria and the Coptic Catholic Church all claim to be successors to this original community of Christians.  Some aspects of the Coptic liturgy trace their roots back to Mark himself.  He was chosen as the first Bishop of Alexandria and is honoured as the founder of Christianity in Africa.

May Saint Mark intercede for us today so that the Lord will give us the special gift of holy bravery to share the joy of our faith with those we meet.

Have a great day.

His Word Today: Hear His voice

Good morning everyone,

Have you ever heard a voice calling your name - even from far away, even in a crowded room - and known instantly that you needed to answer?  It takes time and repeated efforts for human beings to become so connected to one another that we instantly respond to the sound of another person's voice.  The most well-known of these may be the voices of our mothers, fathers, grandparents or children, but the same depth of connection exists between us and God.

From the day of our Baptism, Jesus has been calling our names.  At some level deep within each one of us, our hearts have always longed to hear his voice, and when we hear it - even though it might seem to be spoken at a great distance from us - we instantly want to respond ... because at that level, deep within us, we know instinctively that Jesus loves us and will do everything in his power to protect us.

Let us listen today for the voice of our Shepherd (cf Jn 10:27).  He knows us, he knows our hearts, he knows the things that can tempt us to seek out other voices, and despite all that, he still loves us.  Why would we not want to follow him?

Have a great day.