Today, Jesus tells us that “the one who comes from heaven is above all.”  Jesus is Lord.  Jesus is God the Son, the second Person of the Trinity.  Fully divine.  And fully human.

He has returned to the Father with his Ascension.  He is not with us in the same way that he was with the Apostles and other disciples of the first century.  He is still with us in our hearts.  And he has sent the Holy Spirit to help us in these times.

He has also given us the gift of himself in the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is Jesus Christ. The Real Presence.  He has not left us alone.

We are so blessed to be a Perpetual Adoration parish.  However, it is unfortunate that we cannot come together now to adore Christ in the Eucharist in our chapel.  Or to have a public Mass and receive Holy Communion. 

But we do not want people to stay away from the Eucharist.  Yes, our parishioners cannot receive.  But they can come to be in the presence of Jesus Christ.  We open the church 10am-4:30pm Monday thru Saturday and 2pm-6pm on Sunday.  Jesus is not exposed in the monstrance.  He is in the tabernacle.  But he is still there.  Only a small handful of people are taking advantage of this.

We also have tried to start drive-in Adoration from 8-9pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the window of the rectory chapel.  I wish that it were a second-story window, but it is not.  Vincent works hard to ensure that everyone has an unobstructed view as much as possible.  And yes, we must consider what the weather might be.  But Jesus is there.  “The one from heaven” who “is above all.”  There is an extra layer of glass with the rectory window (two extra layers if you count the car windshield).  Remember though that there was always at least one layer of glass between us and Jesus in the Adoration chapel with the lunette in the monstrance. 

Having Jesus fully present to us behind the glass is much better than an electronic representation of Jesus via the Internet.  We livestream this hour of Adoration because we understand that there are some people who just cannot come to the campus for this.  But having Jesus physically present is a big deal. Or, at least, it should be a big deal. 

There is a temptation to settle into a new normal where our faith and worship is only practiced from our own home.  Some are homebound and have no choice.  All of us will likely experience that same constraint at some point in our lives.  But those that are not homebound now need to fight that temptation.  Yes, we are limited.  But do not miss out on the opportunities that we do have to encounter our Lord.

You might know of this famous painting by Salvador Dali called Christ of Saint John of the Cross.  He took a sketch by Saint John of the Cross and reoriented the perspective slightly (see above).  Dali said that he considered his painting “’the very unity of the universe,’ the Christ!”   For me, this new perspective seems to be the Father’s view of the Crucifixion. 

I cannot see this painting without thinking of John 3:16-17 that we also hear in today’s Gospel:

“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,

so that everyone who believes in him might not perish

but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but that the world might be saved through him.”

This is the love of the Father.  This is the love of God.  That the Son came to die on the cross for our redemption.  He did not come to condemn us.  He came to save us.

This painting is normally housed in Glasgow.  To my knowledge, it has only been to this country three times – during the Kennedy administration, several years ago to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and to Saint Petersburg just a couple of years ago.  I had the opportunity to see it in Atlanta.  I paid for my museum ticket, went straight to the foot of this painting, and stood there for well over half an hour… taking it all in.

I try to never forget this.  That God the Son, fully divine, took on a human nature in order to die this death on a cross.  Looking at this painting, I am always amazed at this.  Overwhelmed really by the love of God.  That this was done for me.  And for you.  Individually.  And so, I have a print of this hanging here in my office at the parish.

Amid our current pandemic, we cannot lose sight of this.  No matter what, this is how God loves us.  Some of us are going through tremendous difficulties now.  Loss of a loved one.  Loss of a job.  Businesses closed.  Always, always remember this scene.  This is God’s love for each one of us.

The two verses which ended yesterday’s Gospel passage also begin today’s passage. 

“Do not be amazed that I told you,

‘You must be born from above.’

The wind blows where it wills,

and you can hear the sound it makes,

but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;

so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

For us, those in ancient times, it appeared that the wind went wherever it chose.  Our modern meteorology gives us a different understanding.  However, just as the direction of the wind appeared somewhat arbitrary to the ancients, the work of the Holy Spirit might appear arbitrary to us.  It is not though.  The Holy Spirit does not unilaterally decide how to work.  The will of the Father, Son, and Spirit are one.  They do not work at odds with one another.  They always work together.   They are inseparable. 

We can and should pray to the different Persons of the Trinity.  Most of the prayers at Mass are directed to the Father through Jesus and in the unity of the Holy Spirit.  We pray the “Our Father” prayer.  The Anima Christi prayer is one example of how we pray to Jesus.

However, so many of us neglect the Holy Spirit in our prayers.  There is an “epiclesis” in our Eucharistic Prayers at Mass that invokes the Holy Spirit.  Those who have been on a Cursillo retreat likely pray to the Holy Spirit often (“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful…”). 

But most of us do not pray to the Holy Spirit.  Do we appreciate the role of the Spirit in our lives?

Most of these reflections are prepared in the morning on the day before they are posted.  As I sit here typing this, I hear the wind whistling through the parking lot.  I am reminded of how the Holy Spirit is present everywhere in this world.  How the Spirit seemingly permeates everything. 

It makes me wonder if I am fully open to this Spirit being operative in my life.  Am I open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit?  Am I open to the graces that the Spirit wishes to give me?  Am I open to being led where the Spirit can take me?  Can I be led on a path that leads to the fruits of the Holy Spirit…toward a fruition of what my life is supposed to be about?  Or, am I more focused on following my own path? 

One more time, I start to pray, “Come Holy Spirit…”

There are two main Bible translations used by Catholics, each also with a newer version.  First, there is the New American Bible (from which we get our Lectionary readings) along with the newer New American Bible – Revised Edition.  Then, there is the more “word for word” translation of the Revised Standard Version.  It too has a newer version: the New Revised Standard Version (that also has a Catholic edition – NRSVCE).  Seminary classes and some Scripture study courses will use the NRSV or NRSVCE translations.

In today’s Gospel passage, Nicodemus comes to see Jesus at night.  This is the beginning of John 3.  It is significant that the immediately preceding verse that ends Chapter 2 says in the NRSVCE of Jesus, “for he himself knew what was in everyone.”  So, Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus.  He knows what is in us.

Nicodemus is described as a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews.  Unlike with other Pharisees, Jesus does not criticize Nicodemus.  Knowing what was in his heart, Jesus engaged him.  After the Crucifixion, it would be Nicodemus who brought the burial spices for Jesus.  Not just a little, but about one hundred pounds of spices.  In this way, he would give Jesus a royal burial.

Jesus tells Nicodemus that one must be born from above in order to see the kingdom of God.  The original word has a double meaning.  Both “from above” and “again.”  Nicodemus only picks up on the second meaning, so Jesus explains it again by providing separate words to illustrate both meanings.  By water and the Spirit.  In other words, both anew and from above.  In the end of the passage, Jesus returns to the same word with the double meaning.  Again, our translation in the Lectionary only reflects the one meaning – “from above.”

Being born again and being born from above.  Jesus is talking about Baptism.  It is the door to the other sacraments.  It is truly a rebirth for us as children of God.  A rebirth of both water and the Spirit.  We are claimed for Christ.  We receive remission of both personal sin and original sin. 

We have been given a great gift.  But do we really appreciate what it means to be a baptized Catholic?  Have we taken to heart that our baptismal priesthood allows us to participate in the priesthood of Jesus Christ?  That we are permanently and irrevocably changed by our Baptism…sealed on our soul with an indelible mark? 

What do we choose to do with this gift?  Do we allow our entire Christian life to spring forth from that source of new life in Christ?  Where would be without it?

Jesus appears in the Upper Room, where the doors had been locked, and gives them the commission to forgive sins.  This is the beginning of the sacrament of God’s great mercy that we know as the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

The disciples are locked away for fear of their own safety.  Yet, Jesus commissions them to go out and forgive others’ sins.  When Jesus appears to Thomas, he expresses that beautiful acclamation: “My Lord and my God!”  And then Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”  When the disciples are focused on their own safety, Jesus puts the focus on others.  When the disciples are turned completely inward (and understandably so), Jesus moves the focus outward.

Today, we celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy.  Yes, it is this mercy that Jesus wanted us to know and that he asked Saint Faustina to share with us.  But this mercy is not just for us individually.  It is great to receive it.  However, we also must share this message of God’s mercy with others.  And we must show mercy ourselves.

Doing this requires turning outward.

This is something that is difficult to do during this pandemic.  We are staying at home.  We are likely focused on whether we have the supplies needed for the long period of isolation.  Do have the needed PPE?  Do we have enough food?  Not to mention the fear of economic fallout over this.  Many have already been furloughed.  For how long?  We are not sure.  This is a scary and uncertain time.

The disciples were hiding because of their fear of the Jews.  Fear for their lives.  We are in isolation for much the same thing, albeit due to a different cause.  Yet, Jesus calls us to somehow turn our focus outward.  To look toward others.  To see their needs.  To share the message of God’s mercy with them.  To show them mercy.

How do we do this?

Have we reached out to others, especially those in isolation alone?  Are we in touch with those who are especially high risk?  Have we called those in nursing homes that can safely take a call?  We cannot visit at this time.  But we are thankful for the technology that enables us to talk to them, and even to see them.  Have we reached out to reconcile with someone from whom we have been estranged?  Have we offered to help with virtual activities that help build community, especially in our parish?  If we can do so, have we shared our surplus with others?  Have we supported the Church?

Especially in the most difficult of times, Jesus challenges us to think of others.  To somehow look outward toward others.  How do we answer this call?

Mary Magdalene saw Jesus and told the others. But they did not believe.

The two disciples saw Jesus on the road to Emmaus and told the others. But they did not believe.

Only when Jesus came himself did they believe. He rebuked them for their hardness of heart because they did not believe the others who had seen him.

Do we do that too? Do we refuse to be open to God speaking to us through others?

Perhaps we know the speaker too well. Perhaps we are dismissive of their message because we know their faults.

Perhaps we have our head down and are too focused on our own issues…or even on our own cell phone.

Or perhaps we think that we have all the answers. Neither a homily nor a simple word from our friend can break through to our heart because we think we know everything already.

Docility toward messages from others is likely not our default attitude.

But our faith tells us that every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are within us…and within others. In our heads, we know that God can and does speak to us through others, but our hearts are often not open to this.

God is reaching out to us. But we must be open to it. We must be willing to see it. We must be willing to hear it. We must be willing to allow God to shatter our preconceived notions and to tell us a truth that might be different from what we thought we knew.

Prayer is critical. When we open ourselves to God in prayer, we become more likely to open ourselves to God during the rest of our day.

God is reaching out to us. God seeks us. We do not find God so much as we allow ourselves to be found. Will we allow ourselves to be found? Will we allow ourselves to hear God? Even when God speaks through another? Are we listening?

Today’s Gospel is set on the Sea of Tiberias, or the Sea of Galilee.

These fishermen were out all night.  They caught nothing.  By their own efforts, they came up completely empty.

Jesus tells them one time to lower their nets.  They catch more than they can handle. 

And, it is not like these men did not know fishing.  This was what they did…likely their whole lives before following our Lord.  They may not have known a lot of things, but they knew fishing.  And, the whole night before, they caught nothing.

They were successful only when cooperating with Christ.  It is then that their skills as fishermen were suddenly fruitful.  Abundantly so.  The gift given them back was excessively generous.  But that is who God is.  That is what God does.

Hopefully, we recognize our own talents and gifts.  But we must remember that it was God who gave us those abilities to become successful. 

But we really must step out of the current secular mindset.  That life is all about what we make it rather than what God wants for us.  That it is all about us.  That success is measured purely in secular measures…money, power, fame, and comfort.

God wants to give us something more than what we have now.  And, he will help us do things far greater than those to which we ourselves aspire.  But we must give him something first.  We must be willing to cooperate.  We must offer ourselves.

It will only be by following God’s will…by cooperating with the grace of the Holy Spirit…that we will be fully successful in this life.  At least by the measures that really matter.  Following only our own agenda will leave us empty and unfulfilled. 

One way that helps me greatly comes from Saint Thomas Aquinas.  He wrote that Jesus’ human nature is seen as an instrument of his divinity.  Much like a carpenter might use a hammer.  Or a painter uses a brush.  The tool is an instrument in the hands of the craftsman or artist.

Reflecting on this, I have come to pray that I might somehow be an imperfect instrument of Christ’s divine will, which in turn mirrors the Father’s will. 

If our lives become a total offering, we look to do God’s will in every moment.  It is only then that our lives realize their potential.  It is only then that our nets become fuller than we could imagine.

In today’s Gospel passage, after the two disciples return from Emmaus and share their experience, Jesus himself appears in the Upper Room.

The Apostles were incredulous for joy and amazed at this appearance of the Risen Lord.

Are we also incredulous for joy and amazed, or have we lost our capacity to be amazed anymore?

If we cannot be amazed by the Resurrection, why is that?

We are bombarded by information today.  Much of it might be unreliable.  Almost all of it is fueled by an agenda.  We experience so much vicariously, but so little for ourselves.  We hear news from around the world almost instantaneously, but we ourselves might spend hours in front of a screen of some kind.

What do we see for ourselves?  What do we experience on our own? 

Does this volume of information from dubious sources numb our senses?

Have we heard about God for all our lives from someone else?  And perhaps never experienced God for ourselves?  Do we hear homilies and watch television and movies that include God, but lack a relationship with God through daily prayer?  Do we know something about God without knowing God?

It might be time to walk away from our screens and take time to experience life.  Even in our isolated state.  Go with family members on a walk (maintaining distance from others).  Go out in our backyard and just sit.  Maybe talk with our family.  Perhaps, we should experience a sunrise while in prayer. 

Some might remember an old corporate training exercise with four quadrants.  The two axes were Urgency and Importance.  Thus, the four categories were Urgent and Important, Urgent But Not Important, Important But Not Urgent, and Neither Urgent Nor Important.  The point of the exercise was to show how we find a way to do the Urgent and Important.  But we also tend to gravitate toward the Urgent and Not Important.  And we fail to properly address the Important but Not Urgent (at least not until those important items also become urgent).  Checking off urgent items somehow seems more satisfying than addressing important items that need our time.  We get swallowed up by the urgent regardless of importance.

If you are like me, you tend to make a to-do list and then spend the whole day trying to accomplish everything on the list.  I know I fail to take time to appreciate the small things along the way.  “Take time to smell the roses.”  Perhaps I need to do that more. 

If I spend more time living directly rather than vicariously, perhaps I become more capable of being amazed. 

Can you be amazed?  If not, what is holding you back?

Today’s Gospel passage from Luke is the famous “Road to Emmaus” story.  Jesus walks with two disciples who do not recognize him.  He acts oblivious of recent events, and they tell him the news…the news about himself…about Jesus the Nazarene.

Then Jesus chastises them for not recognizing these events as the fulfillment of all Scripture (what would have been the Old Testament for a first century Jew).  We can only imagine to which passages Jesus would have pointed, but it apparently took the better part of that seven-mile walk.  There are so many possibilities.  Some scholars took the time to try to find at least several hundred passages that predict the coming Messiah or tell something about him.  Here are just a few:

To the devil in Genesis 3:15 – “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel.”

Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac showed what God would do with only Son.

The Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven in Daniel 7.

Nathan’s prophecy to David in 2 Samuel 7 – “I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. He it is who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever.”

The Palm Sunday entrance prophesied by Zechariah.

The Suffering Servant in Isaiah.

And so on…and so on.

The Vatican II document on Sacred Scripture, Dei Verbum, quotes Saint Augustine, “God, the inspirer and author of both Testaments, wisely arranged that the New Testament be hidden in the Old and the Old be made manifest in the New.”

Jesus is the culmination of God’s saving plan for us.  Are we willing to see that?  Are we willing to appreciate that?  Do we have an appreciation for God’s word in both the Old Testament and the New Testament?  Do we read the Old Testament with Christ in mind?  Do we look for how it is fulfilled by him?  While we know that Jesus is especially present at Mass in the Eucharist, are we also open to how he is present in the word of God?  Do we pray with Sacred Scripture?

The Bible is the greatest story ever told.  It is the story of God’s saving plan.  It is our story. 

In the Gospel passage today from John, Mary Magdalene meets Jesus in the garden.  At first, she supposes him to be a gardener who might have taken Jesus’ body away.  Later, after she belatedly recognizes Jesus, he tells her not to cling to him.

What does this mean? 

In calling him “Rabbouni,” Mary looked to Jesus as the same teacher that she had known before.  Not just “a teacher,” but “my teacher.”  However, there is a problem with this perspective.

Things are not the same.  He came to teach us, yes.  But he came first to save us.  His life was directed toward his death and Resurrection.  He is our Savior.  Jesus is looking forward in continuing his mission of doing the will of the Father.  He has been victorious over death.  But he is not yet finished.

Mary is clinging to the past.  She is looking to return to the days of sitting at the feet of the teacher.  She needs to instead transition to the new ways to come.  Jesus will return to the Father.  But he will not leave us.  Instead, he will still be present to us in a special way.  In each of our hearts.  At all times and in all places.  And, we also have the benefit of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, that he sends to us and that is present with us now.  This Spirit strengthens us with graces and gifts, helps to yield fruits, and even “intercedes with inexpressible groanings” (Romans 8:26) when we do not know how to pray as we ought.

Treasuring our memories is a good thing.  Trying to turn back the clock rather than moving forward in our lives is not.  Our reality, no matter how difficult, is our reality.  We might even need to grieve that reality.  But, what does God want us to do going forward?  How do we grow closer to God and help others to do so?  How do grow closer to our families?

Perhaps, when we look back on this time, we will see the beginning of a greater appreciation of what is important.  And a greater appreciation of the simpler things.  We will find that our families have grown closer together.  That this is when we started gathering for prayer and for meals.  That our families started to more closely resemble the domestic church that they are supposed to be.  That our homes began to include home altars, prayer corners or rooms, enthroned Bibles, and displayed rosaries and sacred images.  And during this forced fast, that we grew in our appreciation of the Eucharist.

Perhaps that is the good that comes out of this physical evil.  Perhaps that is how we are called to move forward in our own mission in this world.