Are You Prepared For Pentecost?

Homily 05 25 2014
6th Sunday of Easter - A

View the Readings for this day

From Easter to Pentecost our readings focus on the promises of Jesus to his disciples, especially that of the Holy Spirit, and for the early apostolic preaching of the Good News of salvation.

Today's readings provide answers to puzzling questions about Who the Holy Spirit is, what He does, and how we experience Him in our daily lives.

Today's first and second readings were chosen to help us prepare for the soon-to-be-celebrated feast of Pentecost. They show us how the Spirit worked in the everyday activities of Jesus' first followers.

This is the sixth week of Easter and over the course of these many weeks, the season of Easter invites us slowly to shift our focus: the event of the Son's resurrection "expands" to emphasize the Spirit who raised him for the dead and who empowers us who believe to abide in Christ's presence and to continue his works in community.

We were told that Phillip was chosen to serve at table last week and this Sunday he is known by the early church as a great preacher...and Steven was the first martyr and crowds at Samaria paid attention and the Church began to grow beyond Jerusalem.

Phillip went to Samaria with love in his heart to overcome the centuries-old animosity that separated the Jews from the Samaritans and he embraced them as his brothers and sisters.

The Spirit makes this possible to happen today at St. Aloysius and Our Lady of Lourdes Parishes as well, just as Jesus promised: "the Spirit of truth will be in you...I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you."

There can be great joy here, if we but respond in loving obedience to that same Spirit.

It seems the authors of scriptures suggest that works of love are a precondition for welcoming the divine presence.

Those to whom the Spirit comes live in love and obedience; those who live in love and obedience are persons in whom the Spirit dwells.

By the power and grace of the Spirit, the challenge of Jesus can be met and words of love come alive in works of love. If a disciple loves Jesus and professes that love with words, those words are to be translated into and supported by obedience to the commands Jesus has given. In other words, words of love must be realized in works of love.

Today's reading from John reads almost like a love letter to us.

The words put into the mouth of Jesus show how much he loves his people, how much he loves us. "I will not leave you desolate."

Jesus assures us that we are never alone and Jesus promises to send the Spirit, the consoler, to be there for us at all times so that we are not left alone.

"If you love me." The only pre-requisite for receiving "the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth" is to love the Risen One in those with whom we share life. By such love we become one with him and with the Father.

The early faith communities understood this. They understood that the world will know there is something special about us when we love one another, including those perceived as our enemies.

It is not religious acts that make us special. It is being truly and fully human!

Christ is risen! (Truly He is risen!)

Jesus is quite preachy in John's Gospel and is telling us things we need to hear.

This really is a call for each of us to evangelize, and usually we relegate this to the priest or lay ministers but it is the responsibility of each of us.

Evangelization is nothing more than people sharing the joy and inner power their faith has given them. Frequently words aren't even necessary as others notice and are drawn to the joy and peace they see in people of faith. My prayer is that each of us will be willing to share our faith with others and be welcoming.

Before I end I also want to thank the parish for your generosity to the Annual Catholic Appeal thus far.

I am hopeful that more of you will respond so that we can make our goal in both parishes and also have monies to be used for some of our needs in the parishes by getting a rebate.

If you did not bring your envelope from home, there still are envelopes in the pew. Even if you are giving nothing, please fill out an envelope, it helps us to acknowledge greater participation by each envelope turned in.

Because of your gifts, the faith in our Archdiocese will be stronger, and so on behalf of the Archbishop I beg for your generous response to this year's Catholic Appeal.

Please prayerfully consider a truly sacrificial gift, not to me, but to Christ whose work we have all be commissioned to carry out. May God bless all of you.

Here we are with Memorial Day upon us. On this occasion we are called upon to remember and respect those who have died, those whose days are gone. It is no surprise to us that many people do not reflect upon the past during this holiday any more than they do on any other day.

In our age of ever-accelerating change, we don't tend to look to the past to find our wisdom. We view what "has been" as largely irrelevant to what is now.

The ancients are not our models. We place little value in traditions and inherited customs.

And so AS Memorial Day Weekend is here, our thoughts do not automatically turn to the past and to the departed. Most people appreciate Memorial Day largely because it is an extra day off work.

My purpose is not to be an advocate for a renewed practice of Memorial Day. This holiday is not expressly religious. It is secular.

Nevertheless, it can serve to promote a value that is elevated throughout the Scriptures, that value being the importance of remembrance.

You see, a failure of memory is not just something which leads to personal inconvenience or social embarrassment. It is a spiritual danger.

A failure of memory in those things which are most significant results in a failure of faith. Forgetfulness erodes the foundation of our relationship with God.

As we continue with the Eucharist this morning, let us ask the Lord to fill our hearts and minds with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let us ask Him to stir into flames the gifts He has given to us in Baptism and in Confirmation.

Let us pray that we as a people may continually grow in obedience, as Mary was obedient to the will of the Father. Let us pray that we may always have the courage to speak the truth, to work for peace, and to work for true justice. Justice is always the ordering of society according to God's plan.

As we remember our dead and hold them up to the Lord, let us ask the Lord to give us a deeper faith in the truth that has been proclaimed in His Son, Jesus Christ. May we, recognize the presence of our Lord in our midst and may our lives be conformed to His truth.

As Americans, we honor the sacrifice of those who died in the service of our nation by building on these pillars of truth, justice, love and freedom the peace which their sacrifice has won for us.

As Jesus tells us, blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.

May the souls of all the faithful departed, especially those fallen in the service of this great nation, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen

jjl

Home › Homilies › Homily 05 25 2014