Third Sunday of Easter

 

Life is full of interruptions. It is full of beginnings and endings, successes, and failures. Jesus interrupts the life of the disciples today when He appeared and said, “Peace be with you!” In today's Gospel, the risen Jesus appears to His eleven disciples. He does not appear as a Platonic soul, a ghost, or a hallucination. Instead, He can be touched and seen, has flesh and bones, and can consume baked fish. Jesus appears and the disciples are once again changed.

Have you ever felt Jesus’ presence? Have you ever heard His voice speaking to your heart? Have you ever been changed because of an encounter with Jesus? Just as Jesus spoke the words of peace to His disciples, He does the same for us each and every day. Jesus desires for us to recognize Him in the breaking of the bread. Each day Jesus invites us to be people of peace, people of hope, people of love.

As we begin our day, we are busy focusing on many different ordinary tasks. Jesus invites us to refocus or thinking and embrace the gift that He promises us each day. Peace is what Jesus continually brings to us. God loved us so much that He sent His Son to bring us peace.

Right now, our world is anything but peaceful.  Let us listen to Jesus and embrace His invitation to start each day in peace. Let it infuse our hearts, our families, our homes, our workplaces. May we embrace Jesus’ invitation of peace and allow it to embody all that we do.

Divine Mercy Sunday

 

How many times have we said, “I will believe it when I see it!” Our gospel today reminds us of this statement as Thomas was not present when Jesus appeared to the disciples. Upon his return they tell him of Jesus’ appearance. Thomas is not able to believe at this time the truth of Jesus’ visit to the disciples. He needs to see and touch Jesus to have his faith restored.

Today’s gospel provides us with three images -- it is Easter Sunday night when Jesus comes into the midst of his friends offers them peace, forgiveness, divine mercy. The second is a week later when Jesus appears again and offers them peace and enables Thomas to believe. The third image is the divine mercy that Jesus gave the disciples after they had betrayed and denied Him.

The gospel author states that he, “Wrote it all down in hope that you would believe Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.”

Let us continue to live in the light and hope of this Easter Season. May we hear Jesus say to us, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Easter Blessings

 This morning I went to the sunrise service with Sr. Jeannie at a local park in New Rochelle.  It was a most moving and beautiful service. The Easter Sunrise Service is sponsored by the Inter-Religious Coalition of New Rochelle and all are welcome. Being at the service this morning reminded me of the women who went early in the morning to anoint Jesus' body properly.  The were astounded to discover that he indeed wasn't there and had risen as he promised. In our prayer this morning we prayed for all the faithful that they may know the love of their God and respond out of  that profound love for all.

When I was praying after the service I came across this Happy Easter call from Pope Francis. May we live in the light of this resurrection message always.  Happy and Blessed Easter to all.

Palm Sunday

 

Palm Sunday commemorates when Jesus entered Jerusalem and was greeted by people waving palm branches. This event serves as a reminder for Christians to welcome Jesus into their hearts and be ready to follow Him.

Palm Sunday occurs on the Sunday before Easter. This celebration celebrates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, mentioned in each of the four Gospels. Jesus entered the city knowing He would be tried and crucified and welcomed His fate to rise from the grave and save us from sin! Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, the remembrance of Jesus' last days.

Holy Week stands at the head of our calendar, the holiest week of the entire liturgical year. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and continues until Easter Sunday. It celebrates the Paschal Mystery, the passion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and his victorious resurrection, his triumph over sin and death and his glorification by his Father. As we enter into this holiest week of the year may we take time to reflect on the scriptures of each of the days.  May we prepare our hearts to welcome the risen Christ on Easter.

 

Today we celebrate St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick’s Breastplate is one of the great hymns of the church, sung especially for Saint Patrick’s Day. It is an Old Irish prayer of protection called a lorica, and the text is attributed to St. Patrick or his followers in early Celtic monasticism. Literally, lorica is the Latin term for body armor, thus the title “Saint Patrick’s Breastplate.” Cecil Alexander translated the prayer into an English hymn in 1889, and since then, it has also been known by its first line: “I bind unto myself today.”

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

An Incredible Story

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to the movies.  I went to see Cabrini with one of our sisters. It was a truly moving experience. I remember as a young child learning about her life and visiting her body in the shrine. The timing of the release of the film was on International Women's Day and at the very beginning of National Catholic Sisters Week.

Her story is one that many immigrants faced in her day and still face today. Arriving in New York City in 1889, Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini is greeted by disease, crime and impoverished children. She soon sets off on a daring mission to convince the mayor to secure housing and health care for society's most vulnerable. With broken English and poor health, Cabrini uses her entrepreneurial mind to build an empire of hope unlike anything the world has ever seen. 

Cabrini had a tenacity that was unyielding.  She stood up to Church authorities, hostile civil authorities and anyone who stood in her way. Born prematurely, Cabrini suffered from compromised lungs and was always frail. Her health never thwarted her determination to help others.  She was the voice of the voiceless and challenged authorities to help her.  Facing obstacles was a reflection of her strong will.  Nothing would stand in the way of her achieving her goal of serving. Her dream was to go to the east but she was sent to the west.  She made the best of the situation and helped many to survive.

If you have the opportunity and the desire for an uplifting yet challenging film go see Cabrini - you won't be disappointed.

Transforming Grace

 

The LCWR (Leadership Conference of Women Religious) have been encouraging their membership to participate in a program of Transforming Grace.  Each week they provide a reflection for the journey.

Fasting from Words that Divide

This week, try fasting from spoken and unspoken words that divide. Be attentive to words which create ‘Either | Or’ instead of ‘Both | And’ thinking. Notice the way you think and speak of those who are “other.”

Lenten Fasting for Feast of Transforming Grace



Fast from Words that Divide

Feast on words that invite

Fast from ‘Either | Or’ thinking

Feast on ‘Both | And’ living

Fast from convincing certitude

Feast on space for uncertainty

Fast from anger

Feast on space for serenity

Fast from algorithms

Feast on discernment

Fast from fear

Feast on being willing to speak

Fast from isolation

Feast on connection.