One of the most bonding activities we do as human beings is come together to share a meal.  During the 7 years I was in Rome on the international leadership team of the Salvatorian Fathers and Brothers, I spent time in many countries, on every continent, eating meals with community members or their friends.  I can honestly say eating together is special in every single culture that I have experienced.  And what birthday, wedding, funeral, or other special event does not involve eating together!
 
That eating together is a sign of being accepted is very clear in the New Testament.  In Acts of the Apostles, Lydia, the seller of fine cloth, invites Paul and others to come to her house “if you consider me a believer.”  That they would come to her house and eat would prove they accepted her.  When Jesus said to Zaccheus, the tax collector, that He wanted to eat at his house, the religious authorities went crazy: Jesus was identifying with and accepting a tax collector!
 
My friends, this weekend we are celebrating the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.  Think of what we are celebrating: first, Jesus invites us to eat together, as a community, with Him.  That means we are accepted, loved, and cherished.  Second, He provides the food, His own Body and Blood, to give us the strength and nourishment we need in life.  He helps us to form a community that is truly the Body of Christ.
 
Receiving the Eucharist can become a routine, something we do without much reflection.  I invite us this week to reflect on and marvel at the wonderful gift that has been given us in the Eucharist.  We are truly loved, accepted, and supported by our Lord.  What more could we ask for?  God bless.

Church sign of the week: Jesus, you bring out the blest in me.

This weekend we are celebrating the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, our belief in one God with 3 divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
 
When I was a child, our parish was named “Holy Trinity” and I remember my mother explaining the Holy Trinity to me.  She said,” I am one human being, right? Well, I am a daughter to my parents, I am a wife to my husband, and I am a mother to you and your brothers.  I am three (daughter, wife, and mother), but only one human being.  That is the Holy Trinity: a creator, a redeemer, and a sanctifier, but only one God.”
 
That made a lot of sense to me, more than other analogies, maybe because it involves activities.  God the Father created me in His image, His love outpouring as creative energy; God the Son came to save me from my sins and failures, a redeeming outpouring of love; and it is not over: the Holy Spirit accompanies me, sanctifying and guiding me as I go through life, an outpouring of love that continues today.
 
What all of this comes down to is love: God is love and that love pours out to us from a God who is the creator, the redeemer, and the sanctifier.
 
This feast calls me to two actions: the first is to be thankful for the love of God that created, redeemed, and sanctifies me.  The second is to allow love to flow out of me to others in varied ways, as the need arises, imitating the three Persons of our
loving God.
 
As we contemplate on our triune God, I invite us to thank God for the gift of His love, renewing our commitment to bring His love to others, the best we can.  May God bless us: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.
 
Church sign of the week: What’s your sign? Mine’s Father-Son-Holy Spirit.

This weekend we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, remembering the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples 10 days after the Ascension of Jesus. As the scriptures make clear, this event changed the disciples from people cowering in fear in the upper room to unintimidated missionaries spreading the Good News.

We receive the same gift of the Holy Spirit, first in baptism, when we are anointed with chrism, and then its fullness when we are anointed again at confirmation.  For many centuries, the sacraments of initiation (baptism, first communion, and confirmation) were celebrated all at once, as we still do at the Easter Vigil when an adult is brought into the Church.

What does the gift of the Holy Spirit mean for us? For me, 
personally, it means three related things: first, I am not alone.  
As I move through life with all of its twists and turns, I believe I 
am always accompanied and protected by the Holy Spirit.  Second, I believe that the Holy Spirit will give me the guidance and direction I need to make the right choices in life. Finally, I believe that the Holy Spirit gives me the strength to live the commitments I made and to do what is right. Accompaniment, direction, and strength.

Yet, while the Holy Spirit is always there to guide me and give me strength, it only works if I am paying attention, if I am giving the Holy Spirit the time and space needed to help me.  I need to be reflective on how the Spirit could be talking to me through the people I interact with and the events of my life.  I need to spend quiet time each day, speaking with the Spirit and being quiet to listen.  

The Spirit is there to help us: accompaniment, direction, and strength. How blessed we are! Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful!  God bless.

This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.  Jesus had done his part: He became one of us through the Incarnation and His birth; He lived and spoke the Good News, so that we would know how to be His followers; He suffered, died and rose from the dead. Now, with His work completed, He needed to get out of the way so that His followers, including us, could continue His work.  He articulated that work clearly in the statement we heard in the Gospel: go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
 
Our second reading, from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (4:1-7, 11-13), gives us some good tips on how to do that, telling us to live the following in our lives:

• Humility: not always having to be first, but taking into     account the needs of others.
• Gentleness: others will make mistakes, as I do.  As I want people to be understanding with me, so must I be with    others.
• Patience: everything will not always go as I want or expect it to.  I need to relax and go with the flow.
• Bearing with one another through love: it is living Jesus’ commandment of love that will enable us to be humble, gentle, and patient.  Love is the root and source of these ways of interacting with others.

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The more we can live with love, the more peace and unity we bring to the world around us – and to ourselves. That is how we “proclaim the gospel to every creature” and continue the work that Christ began of building up the Kingdom of God. Let us make sure we are living Christ’s command to love one another through a life of humility, gentleness, and patience.  God bless.
 
Church sign of the week: Love is the only thing that can be divided without being diminished.

What is most important to being a good Christian?  Our rules?  Or the commandment of love? 
 
In our first reading from Acts of the Apostles, Peter undergoes a conversion.  As a Jew, he had always believed that the Jews were the Chosen Ones and would be defiled to have contact with those who were not “in.” Everyone else was lost.  That was the long-standing “rule.” But when he sees the Holy Spirit coming upon Cornelius and other “Gentiles,” as the Spirit had come upon the apostles, Peter was able to move beyond what they believed and accept what the Holy Spirit was telling them: all are children of God, made in God’s image, and Jesus came to save all. That was a huge change for those early believers who had been Jewish; who knows what rules and traditions will change as we move forward, led by the Holy Spirit!
 
Our second and third reading emphasize LOVE.  The word LOVE appears 9 times in each reading. In the first letter of John, we hear this very blunt statement: Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In the Gospel, Jesus is also very direct:  This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. These two statements leave no doubt: we need to make love and acceptance of others, despite their faults and sins (which we all have), the focus of our spiritual life.
 
I believe what Pope Francis said: who am I to judge? As a pastor representing the Church, I believe it is important for me to convey what the Gospels and the Church call us to live and be.  But when people know these things and make decisions to live in a different way, that is between them and God.  If I rigidly demanded observance of every commandment and rule in order to be part of the community, there would be no one in the community, including me.
 
Rules and rituals and traditions are important: they help keep us from straying and they join us to the community. But we need to lead with love and acceptance of God’s children, not rules and barriers.
 
Church sign of the week: Maybe you wouldn’t have to mention you are a Christian all the time if you just acted like one most of the time.