Here’s an acoustic performance by MercyMe from their bus on the road.

Great song about coping with the death of a loved one.

FIRST READING: Zechariah 12:10-11. Thus says the Lord: “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication so that, when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a first-born. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”

EXPLANATION: Zechariah, one of the twelve minor prophets, lived and preached in Jerusalem to the returned exiles (about 520 B.C.). He encouraged the people to rebuild the Temple and settle once more in their native land. He foretells a great future—the Messianic future—when all the nations will come to the Holy Land eager to follow the God of Israel. The second part of the book (9-14) was, most probably, written by a later author, but here too we have Messianic references. Today’s reading is one such.

I will pour out on the house of David: The promise given to David by the prophet Nathan is not forgotten, for it was Messianic. His descendant who would sit on his throne would establish his kingdom forever (2 Sm. 7:16). Deutero-Zechariah promises that this is about to be fulfilled.

on…inhabitants of Jerusalem: The people of the new kingdom, represented by the citizens of Jerusalem, will receive a new spirit:

of grace and petition: The new spirit of God which the people will receive will enable them to seek God’s favor, and to repent of their past misdeeds. They will ask for forgiveness and mourn for one they have caused to suffer.

they look…on him: The people have caused the death of someone of great importance, as the following verse (natural mourning) shows. St. John (19:37) interprets these words of Christ on the cross, whose side was pierced, “thrust through,” with a lance.

they shall mourn for him: The friends and followers of Christ mourned on Good Friday, and some of his persecutors later did so after their conversion.

only child…first-born: The words are used to show how heartfelt and sincere their mourning would be, but how true they are of Christ, the only Son of God and Mary’s first-born.

Hadadrimmon…Megiddo: There was some tradition of a day of great mourning in the plain of Megiddo (northern Palestine). It may refer to the death in battle of Josiah, Israel’s greatest king after David, at Megiddo 609 B.C. (2 Kgs. 23:29). The mourning in Jerusalem, for the death of the Messiah, to be caused by his own people, would be as great as was the grief of that far-off day.

APPLICATION: From all eternity God had decided, through the Incarnation of his own divine Son, to raise man, his creature, to the dignity of divine adopted sonship, and make him a sharer in his own eternal happiness. He foresaw, and the Son foresaw, all the humiliations and sufferings this would entail because of the sins and wickedness of the very creatures he was exalting. Yet he was willing, not only to accept these humiliations and sufferings, but to forgive the offenders. He was also willing to give them the grace to repent of and to regret their crimes, and thus make them worthy to share in the benefits of the Incarnation.

It is hard for us, whose minds are so finite and limited, even to begin to understand such infinite, magnanimous love and forgiveness. Yet this very forgiveness, the fruit and proof of love, was foretold centuries before the crucifixion took place, by the prophet we have read today, and indeed by almost all the prophets. These prophecies were confirmed by Christ himself as he was about to die on the cross, when he prayed for his executioners: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

We are all sinners. It was not only the Jewish Sanhedrin that condemned Christ to the death of the cross. We, his professed followers, his own Christians, “crucify again the Son of God” in a certain manner, every time we sin grievously. We despise him when we despise his laws. We insult him when we refuse to recognize his authority. We put him to death when, by mortal sin, we drive his Holy Spirit from us.

But the promises he made to the citizens of Jerusalem are for us too, and even more so for us than for them. He foresaw our sins, but he has told us that he is not only ready but anxious to forgive us. There is no sin so serious, no sinner so wicked, as to be beyond the reach and cleansing power of the grace of God. Christ did not become man to be an occasion for sending us to hell. He came to bring us to heaven. There are sinners who, unfortunately, are wrongly but truly afraid of God. It should not be so. God dislikes sin but he still loves the sinner. He wants no man to be eternally lost. He went to great lengths, which are to us almost unbelievable, in order to share his heaven with us. Will he miss any opportunity of bringing us there after all he has already done for us?

Today, think seriously on God’s infinite love for you. If you have offended him, ask humbly for pardon. You are certain to get it. If only we would keep God’s love for us before our minds, not only would we not be afraid to ask for forgiveness, but our normal sense of decency would keep us from offending such a loving Father, and our need for forgiveness would not exist.

SECOND READING: Galatian 3:26-29. In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

EXPLANATION: The great Apostle of the Gentiles was himself a Jew by birth and early education, and remained a lover of his people. From the time he became a Christian he understood that, in the promises given to Abraham, there was no longer any distinction between Jew and Gentile. The Incarnation of the Son of God—the Messianic promise given to Abraham—was for all mankind. The role of Abraham and his descendants—the Chosen People,—was that of preparation for Christ’s coming on earth. Once Christ had come, the preparation period was over. All who now accept Christ are the true Chosen People, the real descendants of Abraham, no matter what their race or nationality.

In Christ Jesus…sons of God: What a marvellous privilege! Who, but God, could have thought of it? In creating us he gave us gifts which the rest of his creation does not possess. He gave us these because of the eternal future he had planned for us.

for as…Christ: We have become God’s children by accepting as the Son of God Christ, who became one of us, so that we could become one with him, sons of his Father.

…were baptized into Christ: It was Christ himself who instituted the Sacrament of Baptism—the efficacious means by which we become one with him. The original form of baptism was by immersion. It was more symbolic of our dying with Christ and rising from the waters—the grave—as new men with him, than is our present form, but both are equally efficacious.

have put on Christ…: We have put on Christ. We are living in him, or as Paul puts it in another place, we are “members of his body.”

Jew nor Greek…male or female: From the moment of baptism we are “new creatures.” We are all members of Christ’s body. All distinctions of race, status, “slave or freeman,” and even sex, disappear. Race, status and sex, mere accidentals in this life, have no meaning whatsoever in the kingdom of God into which we have entered by baptism.

If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring: It was to prepare for the coming of Christ and of Christianity that Abraham was called. Christians are, therefore, the descendants of Abraham. He was called to be the father of a great race, the father of peoples of all nations (Gen. 12:13).

…heirs according to promise: All that was promised to Abraham, the Messiah, and all the blessings, eternal blessings, which flow from the Messiah, are yours.

APPLICATION: What a consoling and, at the same time, what a frightening thought is contained in these outright words of St. Paul for me today! “You are a son of God,” he tells me. It is surely consoling to know that God is my Father, a loving father who is interested in me and who has a great inheritance to give me. He thought of me before creation began. Before he created the world he planned to make me his own son and to share his eternal, happy home with me. Every human father, worthy of the name, does all in his power to educate and prepare his children to make their way in this world. But how limited are the human father’s powers! They begin and end in this very finite life and world.

God, my Father in heaven, is infinite in his power and love. He can and does help me to succeed in this life, even in my very temporal affairs. He can and does help me be a success in the future everlasting life also. That is the real life and the real success. Surely, then, I have reason to rejoice, and be consoled at the thought that God has made me his son.

But when I think of my unworthiness, of my earthiness, of my meanness to the Father who has been so good to me, I have reason to be frightened, frightened that through my own fault I could exclude myself from my Father’s home. It has happened to others. It certainly can happen to me. It need not. It will not happen because of my past faults—I have the means of ridding myself of them. God foresaw my weakness and provided the great sacrament of his mercy, the Sacrament of Penance, so that I could return once more to his friendship and love. If I fail to use the means he gave me, if I persevere in being a prodigal son, ignoring my Father and my real home, then indeed I have reason to fear. Not even God himself, my loving Father, can save me from my own folly.

However, God’s mercy is available to the greatest sinner until he draws his last breath. God keeps sending reminders and messengers to his prodigal sons, inviting them home—right up to the last minute. Why should any decent son delay returning to such a loving Father? Let each one of us look honestly at his conduct, in relation to God and his commandments, and if he really appreciates what God has intended for him by making him his son, he will put himself right with his heavenly Father. He will do all in his power to remain a faithful, thankful son, until he is called to his Father’s eternal home.

GOSPEL: Luke 9:18-24. It happened that as Jesus was praying alone the disciples were with him; and he asked them, “Who do the people say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist; but others say Elijah; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen.” And he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” But he charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

And he said to all, “if any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”

EXPLANATION: For some months now, crowds have been following Jesus, moved by his words of mercy and peace, and especially by the many miracles he was working. They knew that he was a man of God in some way. They looked upon him as someone like the prophets of old of which they had heard. Even the Apostles and disciples had not as yet any idea that he was the Son of God in human nature. Perhaps some of them were doubting that he could be the promised Messiah.

happened…praying alone: Every now and then he went into some secluded spot to meditate and pray, thus training his Apostles in the necessity of prayer, even when doing the work of God.

who do the…say: As they were alone, he took the opportunity to find out what was the opinion of the crowds, and their own opinion. as to who or what he was.

John the Baptist: John had been beheaded by Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, because his illegal wife wanted it so. Some of the crowds evidently thought Jesus was John, risen from the dead. Herod had heard the rumor too (see 9:7).

Elijah…prophets of old: Others thought he was Elijah, one of the earliest of Israel’s prophets (c. 900-850 B.C.), or one of the many other prophets they had had down through the centuries, whom God had raised from the dead to preach again to them.

But you…I am: He expects a different answer from them and

Peter answered…: Peter was already the leader of the Apostles and therefore their spokesman.

Christ of God: The person promised so often down through their history ever since the call of Abraham. The title Messiah, “one anointed,” had been given to him only in the last century before his coming. The name was invented because the prophetic descriptions given of him represented him as king and priest, both of whom were anointed with oil on assuming office. The Greek for Messiah (Aramaic) is Christos, hence the English Christ.

charged…to tell: Because of the wrong ideas the people had concerning the promised Messiah, he did not want the people to look on him as the Messiah yet. He had still much work to do before he could let his enemies take him, and some of his friends might want to proclaim him king and thus incur the fatal wrath of the Roman authorities. Hence, it was necessary that the secret should be kept for the present.

Son of Man: This is the title by which Jesus most frequently described himself. He uses it eighty times in the four Gospels. No one else calls him by this name except St. Stephen at his martyrdom, where he saw “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” The Jews understood that Stephen meant Christ and stoned him for blasphemy. It was probably used by Jesus to emphasize his true humanity. In Hebrew and Aramaic, it simply means a man, but there was also a veiled hint at a Messianic meaning when it was used by Daniel (7:13).

must suffer many things: He now tells his Apostles and disciples that sufferings and death await him, that the High Priests and leaders of the people will condemn him to death, but that he will be raised from the dead on the third day. This was the first of the many such prophecies of his execution and Resurrection. They did not believe that this was possible and so they promptly forgot these predictions.

if any man…after me: He now tells them that they too, and anybody else, who would be his disciple must be prepared to suffer daily—to take up his cross and follow him.

save his life will lose it: The man who will avoid sufferings and martyrdom, which was the fate of many Christians in the early Church (and indeed in many places still), by denying his faith in Christ, will escape earthly death because he denied Christ. On the other hand the martyr will lose or rather shorten his spell of life on this earth, but because he does so for Christ, he will earn eternal life.

APPLICATION: The lesson intended for us in this passage of Luke’s Gospel is most likely in the last few lines. A true follower of Christ if he values eternal life must be ready to carry his cross and, if necessary, must be ready to be nailed to it, as Christ was. We are Christians because we sincerely want to have the everlasting life he came on earth to give us. He went through the excruciating death by crucifixion, the most painful and the most humiliating form of execution then known. He did so in order to enable us to merit heaven. He was the Son of God. He had no sins or faults of any kind to atone for. His sufferings were all willingly undertaken for our sakes.

It is hardly surprising, therefore, that we should be expected to imitate him for our own sakes and in so far as God will demand it of us, by carrying our daily crosses. Down through the nineteen-and-a-half centuries of the Church’s history, there have been heroic examples of men and women who have undergone torture and martyrdom rather than deny Christ or risk their eternal life. We respect them and we honor them. Most of us may feel we would be unable to face such a test of our faith. But God will see to that. When he sends a heavy cross, he strengthens the shoulder that has to bear it.

What the vast majority of us are called on and expected to do, is to bear our own relatively little daily crosses cheerfully and gladly—keeping God’s commandments when temptations to break them are strong around us. Bearing patiently with one’s state in life when others seem to have the best of everything, putting up with a nagging wife or husband, often is a slow and private martyrdom. Forgiving those who injure us and not seeking revenge is a heavy cross, too. Bearing ill-health patiently, instead of perpetually grumbling against God and against those around us, is another form of Christian martyrdom.

These are but a sample of the many crosses that all men have to bear. Those unfortunate ones who have never heard of God or of a future life, or who refuse to believe in anything beyond the grave, have the same crosses to bear as we have. We have the marvellous help of our faith. We know that there is an eternal life awaiting us, if we live our Christian life as Christ told us to live it. This surely lightens our crosses, whereas the atheist has nothing to lighten his load of sorrow, no future to look forward to, and the present life is a misery until the grave puts an end to it.

Thank you, God, for the gift of faith. Thank you, Christ, for having made eternal life available to me, and for showing me how to reach it. Please give me the grace and the strength to show myself worthy of my heavenly calling by carrying cheerfully every day the crosses you wish to send me.-c244

FIRST READING: 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13. Nathan said to David, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king of Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul; and I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah, and if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin, you shall not die.”

EXPLANATION: David, chosen by God to be the second King of Israel and his representative in charge of the Chosen People, had offended God seriously. He had committed adultery with Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, a soldier who was then absent doing battle for Israel and the King. By recalling Uriah David tried to cover up his adultery, but he failed. He then ordered the officer in charge to put Uriah in a part of the battle line where death was a certain fate. Uriah was killed by the enemy, but indirectly murdered by David. David then took Bathsheba as his wife.

Nathan said to David: Nathan, a prophet, came to David and spoke fearlessly to him in God’s name. Through Nathan, God mentioned the many favors he had conferred on David, for which David had thanked him in this way.

despised…Lord…evil in his sight: He had forgotten God, his laws, and his goodness. He had followed his own evil passions. Note how every sin against a neighbor is also, and more so, a sin against God.

the sword…never depart…house: David will be punished in this life for the death of Uriah. There will be fratricide in his own family and incest too, because

you have despised me: Through adultery and murder he has seriously insulted God.

I have sinned against the Lord: David, king though he was and supreme lord over Israel, recognized that God was his Lord and Master. He openly confessed that he had offended him. Weak in his morals, his faith was strong and his humility exemplary.

the Lord…sin: Nathan then states that (because of his humble repentance) God had pardoned his sin and he would not demand a life for a life. David’s life would be spared.

APPLICATION: This incident in the life of King David, who lived three thousand years ago, has been preserved in the Sacred Scripture because it contains a lesson for all men. It shows us the weakness of human nature, even in one so exalted as the king whom God had placed over his people. At the same time it shows the infinite mercy of God when he is dealing with a repentant sinner.

David had sinned grievously in his adultery with Bathsheba. How often does it not happen that one sin leads to another, and even to a worse or greater sin? In trying to cover up his adultery, David had the husband whom he had offended, murdered. This magnified his guilt a hundredfold. In the eyes of men his adultery might have gone unnoticed. The death of Uriah, in battle, could have been laid at nobody’s door. But God, who sees even the secrets of our hearts, was not deceived, and he did not delay in telling David so.

Adultery and murder are serious sins against the neighbor. They are expressly forbidden by God in his commandments. David did injury, and serious injury, not only to Uriah but to God also. He knew this, for he knew the commandments and knew he was bound to observe them. However, he had the good grace to admit his sins when challenged by God’s representative, the prophet Nathan. He made no excuses and no attempt, on this occasion, to cover up his faults. He knew it was God who was speaking through Nathan. He could, perhaps, have claimed some exemption from the commandments because he was king, the highest power in the land. Lesser men have done so down through our history. David, however, was a man of strong faith. He realized full well that the word of the Lord, the commandments of God, bound both king and people.

Because he humbly admitted his sins (”I have sinned against God’) he had thrown himself on God’s mercy—and God’s mercy did not fail. God forgave him. He remained loyal to God and his commandments for the rest of his life. He suffered many heartbreaks from the members of his own family. These were, as Nathan told him, punishment for the serious sins of his life. He bore them with great patience to the end of his days.

There are few amongst us who can, in all honesty, point the finger of shame at David. We may not, thank God, have committed such serious sins as he did on that occasion. We have, however, offended God in lesser ways, through lesser injuries to our neighbor. But have we always had the humility and the honesty of David to admit our guilt as sincerely as David did?

If we are sincerely repentant in our confessions, we have the word of God assuring us that we are forgiven, just as definitely as David was. The priest’s words of absolution, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” are a repetition of, and as effective as, the words of Nathan to David: “God for his part forgives your sin.” Thus, the infinite mercy of God is there for us sinners too, as it was for David, if we turn to him with a truly contrite heart.

We are all weak. We are all capable of offending God, and thus of losing eternal life. But our God is a merciful father, who is ever ready to forgive the repentant sinner and to welcome the prodigal son home.

SECOND READING: Galatians 2:16, 19-21. We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified. For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose.

EXPLANATION: Paul is speaking here to Peter who had come to Antioch (Syria) and had given some scandal to the Gentile Christians. It was wrong for a Jew to enter or to eat in the house of a Gentile. Peter, knowing that the Christian law had abolished all such customs, had been having meals in Gentile-Christian homes in Antioch, until some Judaizers came up from Jerusalem. He then stopped doing so, and Paul openly told him how wrong he was, as there was no distinction in the Christian religion between Jew and Gentile—all were equally brothers of Christ and in Christ.

a man is not justified by…of the law: Both Peter and Paul have learned, through the teaching of the Christian faith, that the keeping of the Mosaic Law did not bring men to heaven but

faith in Jesus Christ: The Mosaic Law, the whole Old Testament, was but a preparation for the Incarnation, which alone was able to make men adopted sons of God and heirs to heaven. That was true justification. This Christian teaching is for all men, Jew and Gentile. All are made sons of God (justified). There is no further need or usefulness in the Mosaic observances.

we have believed in Christ: Paul reminds Peter that both of them, Jews by birth and by religious practice for years, had accepted Christ and his teaching and therefore had no further use for the old law.

through the law I died to the law: Every Christian, in and by his baptism, is crucified with Christ, dies with him, and rises again with him. (Baptism by immersion brought out this in a symbolic way.) It was the Pharisaical interpretation of the law that caused the crucifixion of Christ and his death, and so likewise the crucifixion and death of all Christians. Therefore, the law itself has compelled all Christians to die to the law, to be finished with it, for they have now the new, the true law which justifies them, makes them heirs of heaven.

I live…God: Giving up the old law and its observances sets Paul and all Christians free to live a truly spiritual life for God. They are now adopted sons of God.

Christ who lives in me: Since in baptism he has died and risen with Christ, his life is no longer his own. It is no longer a merely human life. He has been raised to a new status, that of sonship of God. It is a status which Christ won for him, and which the presence or indwelling of Christ continually preserves and sustains in him.

I who live…life: Becoming a follower of Christ did not change Paul’s human nature externally in any way. He is changed, however, internally. His outlook on this life and the next is different. It is a life of

faith in the Son of God: His whole trust is now in Christ and he is firmly convinced of the change involved in becoming a member of Christ’s body. He is now raised up to a new status, that of an adopted son of God, brother of Christ and heir to heaven.

gave himself for me: Christ, whom he calls and knows to be the Son of God, loved him (and all men) and sacrificed his human life for him on the cross.

I do…grace of God: The Christian faith, which changes man’s status and guarantees immortality, is a pure gift of God. He could have left us to our natural fate, but he willed otherwise. The old law did not, or could not, do this for us, so why should a Christian go back to the old law?

Christ died to no purpose!: Christ died to earn for us sonship of God and an eternal heritage. If the Law could do that, why should he have died?

APPLICATION: St. Paul, once a fanatical defender of the old law, the Jewish religion, never misses an opportunity to stress the superiority of the New Law, the Christian faith. It is good for us, too, that the Church often recalls to our minds during the year the privilege and good fortune we have as Christians. The Jews had a knowledge of the true God. They knew that he was the Creator and Lord of all that existed. They knew that he had a plan for mankind which in “the fullness of time” would be put into effect, when the Messiah came. Their religion was a religion of preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Therefore, once he had come, their religion’s reason for existing would end.

This was Paul’s oft-repeated answer to the Judaizers. Christians have no need for circumcision or other practices of the Mosaic Law. Through Christ’s Incarnation, Death and Resurrection they have become his brothers. The human race has been raised to the dignity of adopted sons of God. When their life on this earth ends, they will rise like Christ from the dead to begin their immortal, eternal life.

We need to be reminded of this often. This earth is not our home. We are travelers on our way to our real home. We may, and we do, meet with snags and hindrances on our way; but any traveler must expect and accept this. The eternal happiness that awaits us in our real home is worth any and every difficulty that we meet on this earth.

This is St. Paul’s and the Church’s message to us today. Christ has earned heaven for us. He represented us in his human life here on earth, and in our name he gave perfect obedience to the Father. That obedience entailed death on the cross, to be followed by his being raised by the Father from the grave. Now, as our brother and Mediator, he sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Our resurrection is thus assured. He was “the first-fruits of all who have died” (1 Cor. 15:20); so we will be the full harvest which will follow in due course.

He has opened the gates of heaven for us. He has earned an eternal life for us. He has given us all the help and all the aid we need on our journey to that eternal life. Any Christian who fails to reach his true home can have only himself to blame. God has done his part, and Christ not only did his part and suffered so much for us, but he is with us every day and every moment, encouraging us to persevere in doing good and avoiding evil. This morning’s reminder of our real destiny is his doing and is an example of his interest in our eternal welfare. Could we be so foolish as to turn a deaf car to his reminder? Could we go back to our careless, cold, or worse still, our positively sinful way of living, which was perhaps our so called Christian life? Could we ignore the fact that our whole eternal future depends on how we spend, and live, the few short years that still remain to us in this earthly world? God grant that no one here present could be so foolish, so oblivious of his own true welfare.

GOSPEL: Luke 7:36-50. One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was sitting at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “What is it, Teacher?” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace.”

EXPLANATION: St. Luke’s story of the penitent sinner, forgiven by Christ, is but one of many such incidents which occurred but are not narrated in the Gospels. He was accused by his enemies of associating with sinners and tax-gatherers. He did not deny the accusation; “it was the sick who needed the doctor, not those who were well.” he said.

One of the…asked him to eat: The Pharisees, Jews who strictly observed the Mosaic Law to the letter and thought all other Jews who did not do likewise were sinners and were thus to be avoided, became hostile to Jesus almost from the beginning of his public life. This invitation to dine must have occurred very early in our Lord’s public life, for there is no sign of hostility on the part of the Pharisee. That he omitted some of the formalities which etiquette demanded when receiving a guest need not have been intentional.

and sat at table: It was the common custom of that time to recline on a couch while eating. Reclining on the left side, the right hand was free to do all that was necessary. Knives and forks were not then in use.

woman…was a sinner: Luke out of delicacy does not mention her name. There is no reason to identify her with Mary Magdalene or much less with Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus. Evidently, she lived a life of loose morals, and this fact was well-known in the town.

alabaster…ointment: Having heard that Christ was dining with the Pharisee, and evidently having heard of his compassion and forgiveness for sinners, she dared the wrath of the Pharisee and entered his house. All she wanted was to show her respect for the merciful Christ. This she did by washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. She then anointed them with precious perfumed oil.

If this man were a prophet: The Pharisee knew that Christ was claiming to be not a prophet but the prophet promised in Dt. 18:18. But how could he be, if he did not know this woman was a public sinner, and therefore ought to be strictly avoided according to the code of the Pharisees.

Simon, I have something…you: He shows this Pharisee that he is more than a prophet. He has read the thoughts which the Pharisee had not openly expressed.

what…Teacher: Simon respectfully calls him Rabbi, Teacher, and he is willing to listen. There is no reason to suspect him of sarcasm.

creditor…debtors: Christ now proposes a parable and Simon gives the correct answer to the question raised. He to whom more was forgiven would be the more grateful.

he said to him: He compares the actions of this woman (the public sinner) with those of Simon, who had failed in his duties as host.

…for she loved much…: According to the parable, the great love and gratitude is the result, not the cause, of the forgiveness. This is the case here, as the Greek construction proves. Christ had already forgiven her sins. It was to show her gratitude and her love for the merciful Master that she came to the house and performed these actions to proclaim her gratitude publicly.

he who is forgiven little: This woman was closer to God than the Pharisee. Her thankfulness and love for Christ were far greater than those of Simon, who had only small sins forgiven or to be forgiven.

Your sins are forgiven: Christ now publicly declares to her, and especially to Simon and the other guests, that her sins are forgiven, and he adds

your faith has saved you: Christ had been preaching the message of mercy in that town and district. This woman had heard of the message and the future that awaited those who received it. She felt remorse for her past life of sin and she asked for his forgiveness. This she received. She believed that Christ was what he claimed to be, the promised Messiah. He now tells her to go in peace, in peace with God and with her own conscience.

who even forgives sins: Christ’s public declaration to the woman, that her sins had been forgiven, had a result which he must have intended. Simon and the other guests naturally began to wonder who this man was. Only God can forgive sins, yet this man tells the sinner that her sins are forgiven. Is he claiming to be God? He was, and it was not just a claim, but a fact.

APPLICATION: While the mercy of God for sinners and the willingness, even eagerness, with which he welcomes back the sinner is the principal teaching in this Gospel story, most if not all of us can be cheered by that teaching. But there are two other lessons in it for us. The first lesson is that the pardoned sinner should show gratitude to God. One of the greatest proofs of gratitude is the firm resolution to avoid offending our good God anymore. Do we really mean it when we solemnly promise in our act of contrition in confession “never more to offend you and to amend my life”? There is great danger that we may make this promise out of habit of routine, without seriously intending or meaning what we say. Non-Catholics often accuse us of hypocrisy in this. “You Catholics can sin and just tell it in confession, be forgiven, and go back and sin again.” This is not so. The priest’s power to forgive sin, given by Christ himself, has effect only on a repentant sinner. If a person goes to confession with serious sins and has no intention of avoiding those sins and the occasions which cause them, he is not only not forgiven, but is adding a further sin to his conscience by abusing and insulting God in that great gift of his mercy, the Sacrament of Penance. Such cases are rare, thank God. We are repentant and we mean to avoid such sins in future. However, the fact that one may fall again is always possible. This does not prove the previous confession to be invalid. But the penitent’s attempts to avoid the occasions will be proof of one’s sincere repentance. It will also be a sign of his gratitude to the merciful God who forgave him his sins.

The second reading is for those amongst us who succeed, thanks to God’s grace, in avoiding serious sins: it is that we must avoid the sin of the Pharisees. They were, on the whole, devout men and did many a good deed. But they gave all the credit, not to God, but to themselves. They grew proud of their good works and despised all others who did not do as they did. The good Christian must avoid any such temptation. He must never say, as the Pharisee did, “thank God I am not like the rest of men, tax-gatherers and sinners,” but rather say what the saints said when they saw or heard of some great sinner: “there would be St. Francis only for the grace of God “.

Yes, the avoidance of serious sin is something which we must thank God for. We should never praise ourselves because of this, and never, never should we despise the neighbor who is not so fortunate. Instead, we must help that neighbor by every means in our power to return to God’s friendship through sincere repentance. This will prove our love for God and neighbor, and our sincere appreciation of the great graces given us by our merciful Lord to keep us free from grave sins.-c237

FIRST READING: Genesis 14:18-20. Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed Abram and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hands!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

EXPLANATION: This incident in the life of Abraham has been chosen for our first reading on this, the Feast of Corpus Christi, because of the reference to the offering of bread and wine. Abraham was returning victoriously from a battle against four invading kings from the east who had raided eastern Canaan and taken off much booty. He met Melchizedek, the King and Chief Priest of Salem, a pagan city at that time (it was later called Jerusalem, and became the capital of Israel), who came out to meet and congratulate him.

brought out bread and wine: That there was some sacrificial significance intended by this action—it was not just an ordinary meal offered to Abraham and his troops—seems clear from what follows.

for he was a priest of the Most High God: Melchizedek could have formed an alliance with Abraham, and the bread and wine, part of a sacrifice, sealed the alliance (see Ex. 24:11).

Most High God: This does not mean Yahweh, the true God, the God of Abraham. This title, the “most high” (Elyon), was applied by the Canaanites to their various gods. The Israelites later used these titles for Yahweh, who alone was the Most High.

He blessed Abram: As a priest he asked his God to bless this stranger with whom he had now formed an alliance.

maker of heaven and earth: This title belongs to the true God of Abraham only, and the author of these verses implies that Melchizedek is referring to the God of Abraham here, as Abraham himself does in verse 22: “I salute the Lord God Most High, maker of heaven and earth.” Abraham would hardly reverence a pagan god.

who…delivered your enemies…your hand: Melchizedek would hardly suggest that his local god had helped a stranger win a battle some hundred or so miles outside of Jerusalem. The pagan gods had very local jurisdiction and power.

APPLICATION: Because Psalm 110 saw in Melchizedek a figure or type of the future Messiah: “You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek and forever” and “royal dignity was yours from the day you were born” (Ps. 110:4; 3), the New Testament (Hebrews 7), and the Fathers read a messianic meaning into this meeting of Abraham with Melchizedek. Clement of Alexandria saw in the bread and wine offered by Melchizedek a figure of the Eucharist. He was followed by others and eventually this offering by Melchizedek found a place in the Canon of the Mass.

That Melchizedek was a king and a priest, and that he offered bread in some form of sacrifice, makes him worthy of mention in the Canon and in today’s feast day. Christ was King and Priest and he offered himself, and continues to offer himself daily, as a true sacrifice to God the Father on our behalf, under the form of bread and wine in the blessed Eucharist—the holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

That Christ who was the Son of God in human nature could do this we cannot doubt. He who, during the years of his life on earth hid his divinity, “emptied himself of it,” as St. Paul says, can hide his divinity and humanity under the form of food, bread and wine, is less surprising and certainly not impossible for one who is God. The fact that he did so is clearly established. In St. John’s Gospel, we are told of his promise to do so (Jn. 6). In the Synoptics and in St. Paul, the occasion (the Last Supper) and the words he used, as well as his command to his disciples to continue doing this, are given us. The Acts of the Apostles and the practice of the Church from its very beginning show that the Apostles understood what he had done, and what they were commanded to do. He did what he commanded them. The mystery of the Blessed Eucharist, that is, that Christ is present, for our spiritual nourishment, in the bread and wine after the consecration in the Mass, is not whether it could be done, but rather why the infinite love and thoughtfulness of the Son of God for us led him to do so.

But though our small minds cannot understand divine love, they can do something to show their gratitude for this proof of God’s love. Christ wished to remain with his Church until the last human being leaves this earth. He wished to remain under a form which would help us on our way. To live his earthly life man needs food. He also needs spiritual food which Christ has provided in the Eucharist.

Not only is Christ in his divinity and humanity present in us every time we receive the Blessed Eucharist, but he deigns to remain under the sacramental species in our churches to welcome us and to encourage us in our daily struggles, when we call to visit him. Surely, if the Chosen People of the Old Testament could exclaim: “What great nation has its gods so close to it, as the Lord our God is to us” (Dt. 4:7), with how much more conviction and certitude can we not say this? He comes personally to each one of us when we receive him in Holy Communion. He remains personally in all our churches throughout the world in order to help us on the road to heaven.

Today, the feast day of Corpus Christi, Christ in the Blessed Eucharist reminds us again of all that God has done and is still doing for us. What am I doing for him in return? I could visit him more often as a sign of my appreciation. I could receive him more often with greater love and fervor. I know I am not worthy of this supreme honor, but if he says the word, “I shall be healed.” I shall be made worthy.

SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

EXPLANATION: St. Paul had preached the doctrine of the Blessed Eucharist to his Corinthian converts. The custom of the early Church was to imitate the Last Supper, during which our Lord had his last meal with his disciples, and then instituted the Eucharist. The Christians used to have a community meal (the Agape, meal of love and unity) after which they received the Holy Eucharist. Some abuses concerning the community meal cropped up in Corinth—lack of true charity among the congregation; the rich had abundance they did not share with the poor, some went so far as to drink too much wine at the community meal and made themselves unworthy of receiving the Lord. Paul corrects these abuses in this letter and then goes on to emphasize once more what the Eucharist really is.

I received from the Lord: This can but does not necessarily mean that the doctrine of the Blessed Eucharist was directly revealed to him by Christ. He was taught the Christian doctrine in Damascus and later in Jerusalem, but whichever way he received it, he had the true doctrine. Of this he had no doubt.

What I…to you: What he had learned, he had taught to his converts.

on the night…he was betrayed: Holy Thursday night, on which he had his last meal with his disciples—when Judas went out to betray him to his enemies.

took bread…broke it…said: The bread used on the feast of Passover was unleavened bread. “He gave thanks,” the Jewish custom before every meal, and then divided the bread to have a portion for each.

This is my body: By his divine power the bread became in a mysterious way his body, himself.

which is for you: Which is to be offered up (on the cross next day) for all men.

do this in remembrance of me: A command and a commission. He is hereby giving them (and their successors) the power to do what he was doing, the power to change the bread into his body, into himself.

In the same way…the cup: He then took the chalice or cup of wine “saying”

this cup is the New Covenant: The Old Covenant (and all covenants in ancient times) was sealed and ratified by the offering of a sacrifice, and the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifice on the object of the pact and on the contracting parties (see Ex. 24:8 on the similar procedure in the making of the Old Covenant between God and the Israelites).

in my blood: Moses used the blood of the sacrifices offered to ratify the Old Covenant. Christ’s blood is the seat and ratification of the New Covenant between God and the Chosen People, Christ’s followers. The blood represented the life of man or animal.

in remembrance of me: As the Passover supper was a solemn reminder to the Israelites of their deliverance from Egypt, so the new Passover, the Blessed Eucharist, is a solemn reminder to Christians of their liberation through the death of Christ.

as often as…bread…cup: This Eucharistic celebration was to be repeated later by Christians. It was, and Christ intended it to be, a recalling to mind, a reenactment, of his death on the Cross, the culmination of the perfect obedience of the Incarnate Son of God. It earned for us the privilege of divine adoption.

until he comes: This reenactment of the death (and Resurrection) of Christ is to be continued until Christ returns on the last day. It is to be the central act of worship (the sacrifice of Christ for us) of the Church until the end of time.

APPLICATION: These words of St. Paul to the Corinthians, written in 57 A.D., can leave no doubt in our minds as to the belief of the great Apostle and that of his converts in the reality of the gift of himself which Our Lord gave to us in that central sacrament of our Christian faith, the Blessed Eucharist, or the Body of Christ, as today’s feast calls it. The meeting for “the breaking of bread,” that is, the celebration of the Eucharist, was the chief act of divine worship performed by the Christians. It was also the bond of love which kept them united from the very first days of the Church.

They knew that in the consecration of the bread and wine, the Mass as it was later called, they were repeating, in an unbloody but real manner, the salvific action of Christ in his death and Resurrection. He returned to heaven in his glorified humanity to take his place as the God-man at the right hand of the Father. But in his love for us, he found a way in which he could still remain with us, and re-offer the sacrifice of the Cross through us and for us.

As an essential part in all the sacrifices of the Old Testament (and in pagan religions too) the priests and the laity offering the sacrifice ate part of the sacrifice offered. It was a sign of their union with God and with one another. Thus Christ gave us the re-offering of himself, “his body and blood,” under the form of food and drink so that we could partake of it and thus become united to God and to one another.

The Mass and the receiving of Holy Communion are the full participation in the re-enactment of Calvary. By offering the Mass we are giving infinite honor and satisfaction to God, and by receiving part of what is sacrificed we become intimately united with God and with one another—we are members of the one divine family, partaking of the same divine meal. This community participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice was stressed and practiced very much in the early Church and down through the first centuries. This is being stressed again in recent years, and so it ought to be. We give honor to God by being present and participating in the Mass, in the offering of Christ’s sacrifice to the Father. But we participate fully and receive the full benefits of this sacrificial act only when we partake of the sacrifice with our fellow-worshipers by receiving Christ in Holy Communion.

There are many, of course, who feel they are not worthy. They are not worthy if they are conscious of serious sins which are unforgiven. But the means of forgiveness, left to us by Christ in another sacrament, are so easily available that to neglect to make use of these means shows a lack of interest, not only in our own salvation, but in the good God who is offering himself to us as our spiritual food on the road to heaven. For those not conscious of any serious offense, an act of love of God will cleanse them of any minor faults or failings. Then the Good Lord will make them worthy. He is willing and anxious to enter their humble and lowly homes.

The ideal to be aimed at is that everyone present at the Mass should also gather around the communion table and take part in the community, sacrificial meal. This will then strengthen the bonds of love that unite them with God and with one another.

GOSPEL: Luke 9:11-17. Jesus spoke to the crowds of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing. Now the day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away, to go into the villages and country round about, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each.” And they did so, and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

EXPLANATION: Jesus had been preaching for some months in the district around the Lake of Gennesaret. His fame had spread all over these regions because of the many miracles he was performing. Wherever he appeared huge crowds gathered to hear him, but especially to obtain favors. In the incident we have just read, the crowds remained all day listening to him speak of the kingdom of God—”and he healed all who were in need of healing.” As night was approaching, the Apostles suggested to him that he should tell the crowd to go away for the night, and to seek food in the neighboring villages. They were evidently in some uninhabited region without shelter or food.

you give them something to eat…: Jesus must have known that the Apostles had not nearly enough supplies to feed such a large number (five thousand men alone), nor could they go and purchase so much food. His purpose, therefore, in asking them must have been to prepare their minds to see the miracle, for it was humanly impossible to provide food there for such a multitude.

no more…five loaves and two fish: Scarcely enough for an evening meal for themselves.

unless…go and buy: Their question expects a negative answer. They had not enough money to buy so much food, nor could they carry it back.

sit down…fifty each: To help the distribution of food, and to estimate the number, and therefore the magnitude, of the miracle.

he looked up…to heaven…the crowd: Our Lord took the loaves and fish, and giving thanks to God he blessed the loaves, broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. St. Luke mentions the prayer of thanksgiving to God, the blessing, the breaking, and the distributing of the loaves (and fish) using the identical formula followed by Christ at the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. It is noteworthy that this is the only miracle given in all four Gospels and that each of the four Evangelists connects the miracle with the announcement of his Passion by our Lord (see Luke 9:22). There is more than a hint in this of the sacrificial character of the Eucharist.

all ate…left over…twelve baskets: Five thousand hungry men, not to mention the women, ate of the multiplied loaves and fish, and twelve baskets-full of the fragments left over were collected. There can be no doubt as to the authenticity and the magnitude of such a miracle. It was a miracle performed out of sheer divine generosity—these people could have gone home or could have found food on their way. St. John, who does not mention the institution of the Eucharist, connects Christ’s promise of the Eucharist (himself, namely, “the true bread of life who has come down from heaven”) with this multiplication of the loaves (see Jn. 6:1-15, 27-35).

APPLICATION: It should not surprise us that Jesus, who miraculously fed over five thousand people out of sheer generosity, to prevent them feeling any pangs of hunger on their return journey home, could and would find a miraculous way to feed his faithful followers on their way to heaven. Many, if not most, of that five thousand had little or no interest in his teaching (he said so the next day; see Jn. 6:26), but were ready to take all the earthly benefits he would give them. Yet he wanted to prevent them from suffering any undue hardship.

We, his followers, have learned and appreciated his teaching and the supernatural future life which he has earned for us and promised us. We are trying to live Christian lives according to the rules he gave us. We are struggling along towards heaven, each in his own way, fervent at times, careless or cold often, perhaps but still most anxious not to miss the glorious future he has prepared for us. With this proof of his kindness and generosity in helping this more or less indifferent multitude in the matter of earthly food, it is much easier for us to see him provide generously for the spiritual nourishment of his followers on their journey to their true and lasting home.

That he did so we have the certainty of the centuries-long tradition of generations of Christians, based on his own words recorded in the inspired writings. Christ has arranged to remain with us under the form of food for our spiritual sustenance in the sacred sacrifice of the Mass, in which we can partake of his sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. This is, we can receive the Incarnate Son of God in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

How he could do that is only a small mystery for our finite minds. He was God as well as man. But why he should do this for us unworthy creatures is the greater mystery by far. Infinite love, which we finite beings cannot even begin to understand, is the answer and the explanation. Instead, then, of wasting any time on trying to solve this mystery, which we know to be a fact, let us try to thank him for it and use this gift of his love as often as possible. This will be the greatest proof that we appreciate this divine gift. We know that we are not worthy to receive our divine Lord “under our roof.” Perhaps, we are even more unworthy than the pagan Centurion who was first to use these words. But we also know that Jesus can and will make us worthy if we ask him in all sincerity: “to say but the word” and we shall be healed.

“It is not the healthy who need the doctor but the sick,” Christ said when accused of being too friendly with sinners (Mt. 9:12). We Christians are more often spiritually sick and dead than healthy. However, we have our doctor and he cares for us. It is only by following his advice, and by using the spiritual medical nourishment he prescribes for us, that we can overcome our illnesses and weaknesses and keep on the straight and narrow road to heaven.-c223

FIRST READING Proverbs 8:22-31. Thus speaks the Wisdom of God. The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth; before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the sons of men.

EXPLANATION: The Book of Proverbs, one of the sapiential books of the Old Testament, is a collection of wise saying and counsels. Its range covers human as well as divine wisdom, and though intended primarily for the young and inexperienced, it can also help those in a more advanced state of education to wisdom. The section read to us today is a eulogy of Wisdom personified, which existed as distinct from God before creation. It is a foreshadowing of what was fully revealed later, when Wisdom in the Person of Jesus Christ became incarnate.

The Lord created me: Wisdom is speaking as a person and says he was begotten of God (the Father, as later revelation made clear).

beginning . . . his work: Preceded all other works or products of God, both in time and in excellence. St. Paul (Col. 1:15) understands these words as said of Christ.

first . . . old: The Hebrew word “olam” means an indefinite period of time. They had no word for eternity, which is what “olam” stands for here.

before . . . the earth: This and the following three verses express in a poetic fashion the fact that personified Wisdom existed before any part of the universe was created.

When he established . . . I was there: He (Wisdom as a person) was present when God brought the world into being, and not only present but

beside him . . . workman: He cooperated with God intelligently in the work of creation: He was the architect, the designer (see Wis. 7:21).

his delight . . . rejoicing before him: Wisdom is God’s child, playing in his presence, a source of delight for his Father. St. John expresses this same idea: “the only Son ever at the Father’s side” (1:18).

in . . . world: He delights in all created things, but especially

delighting in the sons of men: Man is the masterpiece of creation and would therefore be the source of greatest pleasure to the Architect, but there is also here perhaps a hint at least of the Son’s part in man’s salvation—the reason why man was the masterpiece in God’s creative act.

APPLICATION: The fact that there are three Persons in the one God has been clearly revealed by Christ himself. He spoke of being equal to the Father yet a distinct Person from the Father; then he spoke of the Holy Spirit as a Person with distinct actions of his own, whom he and the Father would send on earth to complete the work of man’s salvation. The Church accepted this fact and this doctrine without hesitation from its very beginning, as it was given to it on Christ’s undoubted and undoubtable authority.

This doctrine was not revealed to the Jews of the Old Testament, and for a very good reason. They were surrounded by pagan nations who had many gods, and anything that even remotely looked like polytheism was anathema to their strict monotheism. But there were many hints at the possibility of more than one Person in their God—one of which we have just read in Proverbs today—but the Jews did not see the hints, for their minds were closed against any such idea.

What is remarkable is the ease with which the Jewish converts of the early Church, and they were numbered in thousands, accepted this doctrine once they accepted the divinity of Christ. The one followed of necessity from the other. The Gentiles accepted it too without question, not because their former paganism allowed many gods, for Christianity had but one God (in whom there were three persons), but because the authority from whom this truth came was none other than Christ who was one of the divine Persons of the Triune God.

The doctrine of the Trinity is the basic mystery of our religion. We too accept it, not because we can understand it but because we have it from Christ. Granted that we cannot understand how the one divine nature has three distinct persons in it, we can use our reason and see that, because our intelligence is so finite and limited, to comprehend or to understand the inner nature and qualities of the infinite is something entirely beyond us. In fact, if we could understand God and grasp his nature, fully, then he would not be God but something finite and limited like ourselves.

Today, let us humbly adore the Blessed Trinity and let us thank the three divine Persons for all the knowledge concerning themselves which they have revealed to us. We know enough about the goodness and the love of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for us to make us want and wish to spend eternity thanking them. We know enough about the plans they have made for us, so that we can share in their eternal happiness. We know more than enough to make any sensible human being do all in his power to cooperate with them in the work of his own salvation.

We were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. If we strive to live lives faithful to our baptismal vows, we can be sure that the same Father, Son and Holy Spirit will receive us into the eternal mansions when we depart from this world.

SECOND READING: Romans 5:1-5. Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

EXPLANATION: These five verses of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans bring out very clearly the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. Each of the three divine Persons has a part in our justification. We are at peace with God the Father through the death and resurrection of the Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit continually lives in us, keeping the love of God alive and active in our hearts.

justified by faith: Through their belief in Christ who had become man in order to make them sons of God, all Christians are on the way to their justification, that is, to the eternal happiness with God for which they have been created.

peace with God: Friends, nay, sons of God, because of Jesus Christ our Lord, that is, because Christ who is God (our Lord) through his Incarnation, his gospel, his death and resurrection, has made us his brothers and, therefore, God’s sons.

the grace in which we . . . stand: The friendship, the new relationship with God which we now have, we owe to the Christian faith.

hope . . . the glory of God: We shall partake in God’s glory in heaven if we follow this faith and live up to its teaching.

rejoice . . . sufferings: To St. Paul, and to every true Christian, to suffer for and with Christ was a privilege to be welcomed and boasted of.

endurance produces: Paul goes on to show how sufferings help to build up the true Christian virtues and form a solid basis for Christian hope.

hope . . . does not disappoint: This Christian hope—the firm assurance that we shall one day share in God’s heavenly glory—will not prove false because

the Holy Spirit has been given us: At his baptism the Christian receives the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, who continues to dwell within him, strengthening in him daily the gifts of faith, hope and charity. Love of God is the most important part of charity, and where the love of God is strong and active, hope in the future reward is assured. Paul tells us the Holy Spirit, fruit of divine love, is filling our hearts daily with this love of God.

APPLICATION: That there are three Persons in the one God, each one infinite in power, in glory, in wisdom, is a fact we accept because the Triune God has revealed it to us. No intelligent Christian, or, for that matter, no intelligent human being, who hears of this mystery, can even think of questioning this truth once he admits its existence has been revealed by God “who cannot deceive or be deceived.” The human mind, let it be that of the greatest genius the world has ever produced, is finite and limited; it cannot even begin to grasp or study the infinite, much less deny anything the Infinite tells us of itself.

As Christians then we accept without question that there are three Persons in the One God and we bow down in humble adoration before them. But there is another mystery in the Blessed Trinity which can and should cause us wonder and amazement. It is the mystery of this Triune God’s love for us. St. Paul’s words in today’s reading show us the three divine Persons cooperating on our behalf. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have each a part in the work of enabling us, finite, fragile and fickle creatures, to share in their infinite happiness.

But why? They are infinitely perfect and infinitely happy in themselves; they need nothing from us. Here again is where our small, finite intelligence fails us. We can understand human love and human generosity, which is hardly ever without a tinge of selfish interest, and which at its greatest is but a temporary and very limited quality and quantity. But God’s love for us is infinite. It is completely and entirely without self-interest. It is not a limited gift but the promise of an unending state of happiness, if we do what is asked of us during our few years of probation in this world.

We know the fact that it has been clearly and very definitely revealed to us—God loves us with an infinite love. The three Persons of the Blessed Trinity have proved and are still proving this fact to us. We cannot in this life understand why, but we can and we must show our gratitude for this fact of divine generosity and love.

Today, the feast day of the Blessed Trinity, let us thank, from our hearts, the three divine Persons for all they have done and are continuing to do for us. Let us resolve to make ourselves less unworthy of their divine love, by doing what they ask of us, by living our faith in charity, and by keeping ever before our minds the hope of the eternal reward, so generously offered to us. If we do this, one day soon, we shall meet the three divine Persons, we shall get to know them a little more intimately, and we shall share personally, joyfully and gratefully in their divine, eternal happiness.

GOSPEL: John 16:12-15. Jesus said to his disciples: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

EXPLANATION: During his discourse at the Last Supper, Christ had promised his disciples that he would send them the Holy Spirit—the Paraclete—(see Jn. 14:16-26), to strengthen and console them and recall to their minds the truths he had taught them. In today’s text, he repeats the promise and tells them the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and that the truths he will reveal to them will be those which the Father and the Son want revealed.

you cannot bear . . . now: Christ says he has much more to tell them, but their minds were so disturbed at the thought that he was very soon to leave them that they were unable to understand what he would have said. The Apostles, who were not yet convinced that he was God as well as man, thought that death would end not only his life but all their hopes. They were in no state to hear of his resurrection and eternal glorification in his human nature.

When he . . . truth: When the Holy Spirit he had already promised would come.

he will guide you to all truth: Then they will learn the full truth of Christ’s two natures in one Person, and of his mission on earth.

not speak on his own: As Christ’s authority to speak came from the Father (Jn. 12:49), the authority of the Holy Spirit will be from the Son and the Father, who is in Christ the Son (Jn. 14:10). The truths he will announce will be spoken with the authority of the three divine Persons.

declare . . . things to come: He will foretell future events (see Acts 21:11; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10 etc.), but especially the Holy Spirit will explain the events that were to take place within the next three days, events which almost shattered the spirit and the faith of the Apostles.

will glorify me: By continuing the work of Christ and by consolidating it, the Holy Spirit will give glory to the Son Incarnate as he had given glory to the Father (Jn. 13:31 etc.).

will take . . . to you: The truths the Holy Spirit will announce, he will receive from the Son, who in turn had received them from the Father (Mt. 11:27 etc.).

All the Father . . . is mine: All three divine Persons cooperate in the salvation of man. The Son Incarnate established the Church through the power and authority of the Father. The Holy Spirit will continue to uphold and teach the Church through the power and authority of the Father and the Son. The one God, in three divine Persons, is the author of man’s salvation and of all the necessary revelation and other aids which that salvation demands.

APPLICATION: In St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, read at today’s Mass, we have a clear statement of the faith of the infant Church in the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity. In these verses from St. John—a part of the discourse at the Last Supper—we have St. Paul’s and the Church’s source of the truth of that doctrine, Christ himself, who was the second Person of the Blessed Trinity become man for our salvation. As regards this basic dogma of our Faith then, that there are three Persons in the One God, there is no room for doubt, we have it on the authority of Christ who is God. If we cannot understand how this can be, we need not be surprised—our human minds are very limited, they depend on our human senses for their images of things. A man, deaf from birth, has no image in his mind of sound, a man blind from birth has no mental idea of color, but it would be irrational of these to deny the existence of sound and color.

We Christians, however, have no difficulty in admitting the existence of the Blessed Trinity, and today, as we honor the three divine Persons, our central thought should concentrate on gratitude to each of the three: the loving Father who planned not only our creation but our elevation to adopted sonship; the all-obedient loving Son, who carried out the Father’s plan, sharing with us our humanity so that we could share in the divinity; the Holy Spirit, fruit of the love of Father and Son, who has come to dwell in the Church and in each individual member in order to fill our hearts with a true love of God.

We know we are unworthy of this divine generosity. The greatest saints that ever lived on earth were unworthy of such divine interest. That should not and must not stop us from availing of this divine generosity. We can show our gratitude in one way only, that is by appreciating our privilege and by striving to show our appreciation of it in our daily lives.

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit know all our human weaknesses, they knew them before they arranged to make us sharers in their own eternal happiness. They know also that it is those of us who try and try again to rise above our human weaknesses who will finally share their heaven with them.

This possibility is open to all. The Blessed Trinity will exclude nobody from heaven. What we know of their plans for man’s sanctification makes such a thought impossible. If some fail, the fault will lie completely and entirely with themselves; they did not do the little that was asked of them.

May God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit grant us the strength to overcome our human weaknesses and live and die in their love so that we may share their eternal kingdom with them.-c204

Lin Yu Chun sings Amazing Grace at a Taiwanese singing competition show Super Star. Beautiful!

Amazing video of a homeless man joining in with a man singing praise to God.

Great worship song. Video is a little long - but check out the enthusiastic crowd.

FIRST READING: Acts 2:1-11. When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, “are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

EXPLANATION: “Pentecost,” which means “fiftieth,” was the second of the three most important of the annual feasts in the Jewish calendar. It occurred seven weeks after Passover and was primarily a feast of thanksgiving for the harvest: the first-fruits of the wheat crop were offered to God on that day. Later on, the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai was also commemorated on this feast day. All Jewish men, not legitimately impeded, were expected to come to Jerusalem to the temple for the feast. Hundreds of Jews from outside of Palestine also came, and the city was usually full to overflowing. It was very fitting therefore that this feast day was chosen for the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The Christian religion was to be universal, and the gift of tongues showed its universality. The law given by God to Moses was for the Jews only; the new law, given by Christ, and confirmed by the power of the Holy Spirit, was for all men. The vast gathering of Jews from Palestine and from all nations was a very suitable occasion on which to proclaim publicly the message of Christ given through the mouth of Peter.

Suddenly…a sound came: The Apostles had been told by our Lord to wait in Jerusalem (Lk. 24:49), until the Holy Spirit came on them. They were all in one place, probably the room of the Last Supper where Jesus had appeared to them twice after his Resurrection.

like the rush of a mighty…: Spirit means breath or wind, so it was fitting the Holy Spirit made his presence felt by the noise of a strong driving wind.

Tongues as of fire appeared: Something that looked like a flame rested on each of them. When God gave the law to Moses, peals of thunder and lightning flashes signified God’s presence and made the people tremble (see Ex. 19:18ff). The loud noise and the flames signified the presence of the Holy Spirit.

to speak in other tongues…: The first signs of the power of the Spirit. They were given foreign languages and a new superhuman courage to proclaim their faith. Hitherto they had sheltered from the Jews.

and at this sound: This sound “like a driving wind” was heard all over the city, and by devout Jews from “every nation under heaven,” a pious exaggeration and a way of saying that they came from most of the known nations of the Roman empire, which was the whole world then known to the Jews.

each one heard: Each foreigner who spoke the language of the country he came from heard one or other of the Apostles speaking his language.

amazed…wondered: Little wonder they were amazed. They had enquired of the local Jews, and knew that the Apostles were simple men, with little education, from Galilee. Where did they learn all these foreign languages?

Parthians…: These foreigners say they are from Mesopotamia, Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt and North Africa, Crete and Arabia. There are even Romans present, most of them Jews, but Gentile proselytes also among them.

we hear…tongues: This was the cause of their amazement, these simple folk from Galilee speaking all kinds of languages.

the mighty works of God: The Apostles were speaking of Christ, his teaching, and his Resurrection. St. Peter develops this theme later (2:14ff).

APPLICATION: Pentecost day is called the “birth-day” of the Church. The Apostles had already received the Holy Spirit on Christ’s first appearance to them after his Resurrection (Jn. 20:22). But on Pentecost day the descent of the Holy Spirit was a public manifestation intended to impress and amaze the crowds of local and foreign Jews who thronged Jerusalem on that great festive occasion. The signs and wonders that manifested his coming brought these Jews in huge crowds to the place where the Apostles were staying, and immediately the gift of tongues was used by the Apostles to explain the occurrence. It was a marvel wrought by God, a necessary consequence of the sojourn of Christ among them. He was the Christ whom the Jews had crucified but whom God had raised from the dead, thus proving he was the promised Messiah and his own beloved Son. Christ had chosen the Apostles to bring his good news to all nations—the good news that all men were once more reconciled to God their Creator, and were now adopted sons of God and heirs to heaven.

Today was the day chosen for the opening of this mission of the Apostles. That they were backed by the divine power of the Holy Spirit was proved not only by the gift of tongues but more especially by the change his coming wrought on the Apostles. From this day forward they were men dedicated to one purpose and to one purpose only, to bring the good news, the Gospel of Christ, to the world.

When Peter, representing the eleven, preached Christ crucified, raised from the tomb by the power of the Father, and now seated at his right hand in heaven, he raised the Christian standard aloft. He and his fellow Apostles (including Matthias and Paul later) gave their lives gladly to plant it throughout the Roman Empire. The remaining twenty-six chapters of the book of Acts and the inspired letters of the Apostles tell the story of the growth of the infant Church. It was brought about by frail and mortal men, turned into spiritual heroes by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Twenty centuries separate us from those heroic men of God, but the truth of their labors is with us still, thanks to the same Holy Spirit who has remained with the Church down through the years. From generation to generation the message and the means of salvation have been handed down, sometimes through periods of peace and evident progress, but more often through years of persecution and apparent near-extermination. The Church survived because men of God valued eternal life, and the Church as the means of reaching it, more than their own comfort or personal safety.

Our own generation too needs men of principle, men of generosity, men who will put the eternal values before personal conveniences or earthly gain. The Church today has her enemies. They shout loud and long—the same centuries-old themes are put to some of the present-day pop music. But we need not fear. The voice of the Holy Spirit is still as strong as it was on that first Pentecost day in Jerusalem. His powers are divine and will never diminish. He is still at the helm of the barque of Peter and will continue to bring millions to the shores of the eternal kingdom as he has done during the past two thousand years.

“Come, Holy Spirit, enkindle in the hearts of the faithful the fire of divine love.”

SECOND READING: 1 Cor. 12:2-7, 12-13. No one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God inspires them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

But just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

EXPLANATION: The gifts of the Holy Spirit were very evident in the infant Church. This was necessary to prove to the pagans that the Christian religion was from the real God who controlled all things. As pagans they had their local god or gods to whom supernatural powers were often falsely attributed. But the God of the Christians had real powers and they were distributed freely by the Holy Spirit when occasion demanded. St. Paul in this part of his first letter to the Corinthians is emphasizing that these gifts are not given to an individual for his honor or glory but to help to build up the Church.

No one…the Spirit: One of the first tests of the genuineness of a gift from the Holy Spirit was conformity with the Christian Faith. If any man claimed he was moved by the Holy Spirit to blaspheme Jesus, he was evidently a liar and a fraud. On the other hand he who sincerely professed that Christ was God was moved by the Holy Spirit. Faith is a gift from God.

varieties…same Spirit: All the gifts given to the early Christian converts were from the same Holy Spirit, and each had its special purpose. It is possible that Paul wished to prevent any temptation for one to boast that he had a better gift than his neighbor. All were from the same source.

varieties…service: The ability to help in administering the affairs of the early Christian communities was a gift of God—each one receiving the gift necessary for his particular task. Helping the sick, feeding the poor, calling the assemblies together, explaining the Faith, powers of healing, are all examples of these different ministries, but they all came from the same God.

given for the common good: These gifts were given for the good of the whole community—to help build up the Church, and so that no one should refuse to use the gift he got or claim it as his own.

The body is one: St. Paul now introduces the simile of the human body made up of many members, to describe the Church of Christ. From this we get the title of “Mystical Body of Christ” to describe the Church.

for by one Spirit: It was the Holy Spirit, sent by Christ on his Ascension to heaven to direct and inspire his newly-founded Church, who gave us the grace to become members of Christ’s body.

Jews or Greeks: Meaning all men. Greek stood for Gentile, that was the rest of the world apart from the Jews.

were baptized: The sacrament instituted by Christ to make men members of his Church, his body.

APPLICATION: These verses of St. Paul are very suitable on this the feast day of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. Not only did he make his presence felt by the external exercise of his powers on that first Pentecost day, but he continued to do so for some years until the Church had laid solid foundations in the Gentile world.

These gifts of the Spirit were foretold in the Old Testament as signs of the Messiah’s arrival (see Joel 3:1ff; Acts 2:16ff), and were manifested in the early Church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:4), Samaria (8:17), Ephesus (19:6), Rome (Rom. 12:6), Galatia (Gal. 3:5), and in Corinth. St. Paul has much to say of the gifts given in Corinth because there was evidently some abuse of them or some dissensions because of them in that city.

But for us the important point to bear in mind today on this, the anniversary of the public manifestation of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, is the infinite love of God for us, his Chosen People of the New Covenant. Through the Incarnation men are empowered to become adopted sons of God; through Baptism we become members of Christ’s body, his Church. Through the direct reception of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation, we are made active members of the Christian Church, with all the strength and powers necessary to be effective members, on active service daily, true soldiers of Christ.

Let each one of us take an honest look at himself today, and ask himself: Am I really an active member of the body of Christ? Am I spiritually healthy, living in God’s grace and thus helping the whole body to be healthy? Or am I a diseased member, and not only sickly and weak through my personal sins, but spreading that sickness and weakness to my neighboring members by my bad example? But perhaps I can claim I have no very big sins and give no grave scandal, but I am lukewarm in the practice of my religion. I haven’t much time for things of that sort. If I am one of these two types—a diseased member or a lukewarm one, I could hardly call myself a soldier of Christ on active service. Deserters and dishonest draft-dodgers are not at the front.

Thank God, a large percentage of Christians do strive to remain healthy members of his mystical body—they may weaken now and then but they call on their divine physician and put things right again. This is as it should be, but is it all that is expected of us?

The Holy Spirit came to us in confirmation with his gifts and graces to enable us to work for the whole Church, for the whole body of Christ. We are made soldiers to form an army that will work together for the protection of our nation and our freedom. No man is put into military uniform in order to look after his own interests. We too are not made soldiers of Christ in order to save our own souls only—we are soldiers in order to help our fellow Christians and all men in their common fight against sin and Godlessness. We must then take an active part in the battles of the Church, against everything that impedes the practice of the Christian virtues.

There is a place for everyone in the Church’s line of battle. We need not search far to find it. We need not be physical or intellectual giants in order to fulfill the role destined for us. What we need is sincerity and a bit of moral courage; sincerity in our belief that it is the future life that counts—the present is only a few years of training; moral courage to face opposition and criticism from enemies and often from false friends. When God and the Holy Spirit are on our side, we need not worry about the opinions or sneers of worldly-minded men. If we are true soldiers of Christ we shall win our battles, not by crushing our enemies but by making them, too, children of God and our brothers for all eternity.

GOSPEL: John 20:19-23. On the evening of the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

EXPLANATION: For the explanation of these five verses of St. John, see the Second Sunday of Easter. They are repeated here today, the feast of the Holy Spirit, because on that first appearance of the Risen Lord he conferred the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. Today’s feast commemorates the solemn public and publicized conferral of the same Holy Spirit.

APPLICATION: The liturgical cycle, which each year represents to us God’s mercy and kindness in our regard, closes today with this great feast of Pentecost the public solemn descent of the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, on the Christian Church. During Advent we try to prepare ourselves for the coming of the Son of God to dwell as man among us. Christmas recalls to our minds and hearts the great act of divine love. Lent prepares us for the sufferings endured by Christ during Holy Week on our behalf. Easter is the feast of triumph, Christ’s triumph over death, the guarantee of our final triumph and union with him in his eternal glory. Pentecost crowns Christ’s work among us. The Holy Spirit comes to abide with the Church, directing and effectively aiding its leaders to preserve, explain and spread the gospel of hope and love which Christ had brought on earth. This same spirit helps and aids each member of the Church to live a life of holiness by following the teaching of Christ and by helping his fellow man to do likewise.

Briefly, this annual series of Church feast days recalls to our minds the infinite love of the Blessed Trinity for us finite, mortal men. At the same time it shows us the part played by each of the divine Persons in the eternal plan to share with us the perfect peace and the unending happiness which they enjoy in their heavenly kingdom.

God the Father created us with the intention and plan to raise us up to adopted sonship with him. God the Son took human nature so that we might share in the divinity. Representing all men he gave perfect obedience and reverence to the Creator “even unto death on a cross,” and thus merited sonship for us. The Holy Spirit, the “fruit of divine love,” came from the Father and the Son to bring to perfection the work of our sanctification. Thus the three divine Persons of the Blessed Trinity have cooperated in the great work of infinite love and condescension which opens for us a future of unending happiness, if only we have the common sense to appreciate what has been done for us, and the simple common decency to do in return the few relatively easy little tasks asked of us.

May the Holy Spirit today fill us with gratitude for all that God has done for us.-c198