What About Him? - Saturday, 7th Week of Easter + Year A

This morning’s Gospel from John (Jn 21:20-25) continues from yesterday. The Lord had just given Peter a clue by what kind of death he would glorify God. Faced with the reality of our own death few of us know how we would react. We don’t know if it was joy or hurt or anger or just plain ‘ol curiosity that prompted Peter to ask Jesus the question, concerning the Apostle John . . .
LORD, WHAT ABOUT HIM? Early this morning a friend and former parishioner died after a fifteen year battle against cancer. I don’t know what his reaction was when, as just a boy of fourteen, he heard by what kind of death he would glorify God. In one sense, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Jesus said:
FOLLOW ME And, what matters is that the apostle Peter did follow the Lord and so did my friend, whose name is also Peter. All of us know that some day we will die. Some of us know the the what and maybe, even, the when. What matters most is your response to the Lord when He says to you, Follow Me.
My condolences and love to his very courageous bride of just less than one year and to all of his family and many friends. I am confident that in the early hours of this morning Peter heard the Lord say to him:

Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.

Do You Love Me? - Friday, 7th week of Easter + Year A

Today’s Gospel (Jn 21:15-19) takes place by the Sea of Tiberias, and, we are told, this is the third time Jesus appeared to His apostles after His resurrection. The first time Jesus asks Peter the question
DO YO LOVE ME MORE THAN THESE? The these may refer to the fish and the boat and the life of a fisherman. It may also refer to the love Peter has for the other apostles; does he love Jesus more than them? Finally, Jesus may be asking if Peter’s love for Him is greater than the other Apostles love for Him. Certainly, Peter’s three affirmations of his love for Jesus is a type of restitution for his three denials of the Lord. The second and third time, Jesus asks Peter,
DO YOU LOVE ME? This is a question that the Lord asks you as well. Do you love Him more the stuff of your life? Do you love Him more than you love the people in your life, your spouse, your children or your parents? Finally, do you love Him more than you love your betrayals of Him and your sins against Him. If so, you will never be afraid or ashamed of testifying of your love for Him before others!

I Have Given Them The Glory You Gave Me - Thursday of 7th Week of Easter + Year A

I HAVE GIVEN THEM THE GLORY YOU GAVE ME The glory (doxa) that the Father gave to His Son is not only the radiance, splendor and brightness of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6); it is also the honor, praise and dignity bestowed on Him at His baptism when the Voice came from the heavens, (and said) You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased (Mk 1:11). This glory, honor and dignity was bestowed on you at your baptism. In Christifideles Laici (#11), John Paul II spoke of this: With Baptism we become children of God in his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Rising from the waters of the Baptismal font, every Christian hears again the voice that was once heard on the banks of the Jordan River: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Lk 3:22).
I MADE KNOWN TO THEM YOUR NAME AND I WILL MAKE IT KNOWN Every time the Lord said I Am, He made known the unspeakable, unutterable and indescribable, and great name, the only name, the glorious and terrible name, the hidden and mysterious name of God Himself. This is the Name used seven times in John’s Gospel by Jesus to reveal Who He Is.
THAT THE LOVE WITH WHICH YOU LOVED ME MAY BE IN THEM The love that the Father has for His Only-Begotten Son is the very same love that He has for you. You know this by faith and by experience because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us (Rom 5:5).
AND I IN THEM The Lord dwells in you in at least two ways: by faith and by sacrament. Catholics sometimes default to the sacramental presence. But it is not a matter of either/or, but of both/and. So, pray and read scripture every day. Do good and obey the commandments every day. Eat His flesh and drink His blood every day!

Now This Is Eternal Life – Ascension Tuesday + Year A

In this morning’s 1st reading (AA 20:17-27) St. Paul spoke of the nearness of his death and how he desired: only that I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace. May every bishop, priest and deacon, through the ministry they receive from the Lord, bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace . . .
NOW THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE Eternal Life (zoe aionios) as spoken of in today’s Gospel (Jn 17:1-11) or life eternal is not merely the infinite continuation of your present life (God forbid!). Rather life eternal is the possession of that life which neither begins nor ends. And the only life that knows no beginning or ending is the Life of God.
THAT THEY SHOULD KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD Life eternal consists in knowing (ginosko) God. That means both to know and to be known; to have an intimate relationship with God in a similar way to the way husbands and wives know each other.
AND THE ONE WHOM YOU SENT, JESUS CHRIST Because of sin, man(kind) is separated from God and therefore can neither know Him nor possess His life. Jesus is the one mediator between God and men (1 Tim 2:5). You have to know Jesus before you can know the Father. The way to know Jesus is to have faith in Him, and that faith comes from God as a gift or grace, for by grace you have been saved through faith (Eph 2:8).