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RELIGION LITURGY AND LIFE

Archive for the month “June, 2025”

28 Jun 2025

Saints Peter and Paul

This Sunday June 29 is the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul. These were the two men that  God used to spread the gospel and lead the early Church despite terrible persecution. In the Gospels Peter stands our as apostle who most frequently took  the initiative when they were with Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles portray him as the undisputed leader of the early Church, undergoing enormous hardships and fearlessly facing persecution for the sake of Christ. He was a man of action. He spent his last years in Rome, where tradition tells us he was martyred during the persecution of Nero, in 64 0r 65 AD. St Paul who was well versed in rabbinical learning, at first persecuted the Christians, he has a vision of Christ on the road to Damascus which changed his life. After three years in solitary retirement in the dessert of Arabia , he plunged into a life of intense missionary activity, Tradition says that the was martyred in Rome around the year 67.

The Jews of Jesus’ time were not a free people. They lived under harsh Roman occupation. Yet they held fast to the belief that God would send a king to liberate them a Messiah who would overthrow their oppressors and bring justice and peace to the world. They had waited a long time, trusting in God’s promise. But no one knew exactly who the Messiah would be, what he would be like, or when he would come. Many expected a warrior-king who would lead a revolt against the Romans. Others hoped for a religious reformer who would purify the Temple and restore true worship. Some even claimed to be the Messiah, but the Romans quickly eliminated them, and their followers scattered. In the First Reading  from the acts of the apostles  we are told that Herod imprisoned Peter to appease the Jews. With the Church praying fervently for Peter, an angel appeared, shining light into his cell. Unchained, Peter followed the angel past guards, through self-opening gates, to freedom. In the Second Reading we hear that Paul, seeing his end was near, tells us  I’ve run the race, I have kept the faith. A crown of righteousness awaits me. The Lord gave me strength, protection, and he will guide me to His heavenly Kingdom.

In the reading from Matthews gospel  Jesus asks His disciples about the people’s opinions regarding His identity. Simon Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus acknowledges Peter’s revelation, affirming that upon him, whom He calls Peter, to be the rock that he will build His Church on, and the powers of death will not overcome it. Jesus entrusts Peter with the keys of the Kingdom, granting him authority to bind and loose matters on earth and in heaven. Jesus then asks the disciples, “But, who do you say I am?” It is Peter who adds to the title ‘Son of Man’ by recognising Jesus as ‘the Christ, the Son of the living God’. Jesus names Peter as a happy man. This same Peter whose faith faltered when he was buffeted by the wind and waves of change now shows his openness to God and recognises Jesus for who he is. But this is not the end of Peter’s story. There are ups and downs in his response, as we see that in Matthew 16:21-23 when this ‘rock’ of faith becomes a ‘stumbling block’ to God’s purpose.  In spite of that, Jesus names Peter as the ‘rock’ on which he will build the church. Throughout the centuries Peter is our Holy Father the Pope , Peter the fisherman was the first pope and pope Leo is his successor as the living embodiment of Peter the  rock of faith who is called to build up the church in 2025.

Peter and Paul so different in background and temperament each met Jesus and responded in faith to what they heard and saw. Both Peter and Paul show us how to be courageous in sharing our faith. They faced prison, hardship, and death because they loved Jesus and wanted others to know Him. Their courage encourages us to think about how we live our faith. Do we share it with others? Do we trust God when things get hard?  Peter’s job at the beginning of the church is the same  as it  is today for Pope Leo that is to use the ‘keys of the kingdom’ to unlock the reign of God’s grace and send it out into the world. Are we prepared to be his coworkers where we are right now ? This Holy Year is all about hope often times we feel hopeless and helpless when we see all that is going on in the world around us. Our Prayer and support for one another and our faith leaders is always important.  Our hope filled prayer is that we will be courageous like Peter and Paul as we live and share our faith as they did at the beginning of the Church.

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21 Jun 2025

Corpus Christi

As  we gather for the feast of Corpus Christi we remember all those places at war this weekend sadly we add Iran to the list of countries at war. With all that is going on it would be very easy to loose hope or at least be a lot less hopeful that things will improve but I am reminded of the saying that hope springs eternal. Even though things seem to be hopeless for so many we have to continue our prayer for peace and not loose our hope.  Our prayer for peace as well as praying for the leaders of the nations to have the wisdom to do the right thing are indispensable and we have to keep on praying  especially in the current world situation.  

In the First Reading  Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God, brought bread and wine and blessed Abram. Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything. In the Second Reading Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, saying the bread is his body and the cup is the new covenant in his blood, to be done in remembrance of him. In the gospel we hear the story of the feeding of the five thousand. The reading and the feast itself are filled  with the richness of faith. Jesus fills us with nourishing food both spiritual and physical. Then we are sent out to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom to all around us, in doing this we provide spiritual food for others through the Word of God and the Eucharist. The Eucharist  is the sacrament of thanksgiving. When we see the Eucharistic Bread, we believe that it is Jesus who is there before us in the real presence such is our faith in the Blessed Sacrament. The Church tells us that the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” (CCC 1324)  

At the Eucharist God sees our hunger and feeds us through Word and Sacrament. Remember, the crowd in our gospel story was first taught, healed and then fed. Their hungers were both spiritual and physical . Now it is our turn, as well-nourished disciples, to find ways to address the physical and spiritual needs of the people we have noticed along the way who may be hungry. These needs can seem overwhelming. But, as with the bread and fish in the gospel story we take what the Lord has given us and give it freely to others. He will do the rest and all will be satisfied. The eucharistic meal is also a promise: one day we will sit at the banquet feast where there will be no more hunger,  no more illness and our satisfaction in God will be complete.  Corpus Christi is the solemn commemoration of the institution of the Eucharist on the first Holy Thursday in the upper room.  It is the Church’s act of homage and thanksgiving to Christ, who by instituting the Holy Eucharist gave us the members of the Church the body of Christ our greatest treasure.

The  feast of Corpus Christi celebrates the enduring sign of Christ’s presence with us personally in the Bread and Wine. It also celebrates Christ’s presence with us in the community of faith where we are. The Eucharist is our sacrament of communion, not only with Christ and God, but also with all those called into the Christian faith. Our communion binds us to one another in a sacred union of mind and heart with Jesus the Son of God our hope in an often times hopeless world.

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14 Jun 2025

TRINITY SUNDAY

One week after the end of the Easter season on the feast of Pentecost we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. The reality of the Holy Trinity is, of course a mystery. But mysteries can be talked about. Mysteries have clues that our minds can grasp. But a mystery remains a mystery unless and until we look at it in its totality. However when it comes to God we simply cannot comprehend the total reality of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Mysteries of one sort or another make up a good portion of our lives. Science has its mysteries, as does philosophy, as does psychology, as do other intellectual disciplines. They all have much within them to challenge our minds and our intellectual capacities. All of them contain unknown things that move us to seek out the answers within the mystery.

The Feast of the Trinity is unique in that the focus of our celebration is not an aspect of the history of salvation, but reflection on the nature of God as it has been revealed to us as Christians. This weekend  we celebrate and reflect on our relationship with God and what our Creator and Redeemer has done for us. The scriptures remind us of our God’s graciousness and we rejoice in the God who has acted so mightily and lovingly on our behalf.  The feast of Holy Trinity goes back to 12th century England and St Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Historians say the great Thomas celebrated a Liturgy in honor of the Trinity in his cathedral. In the 14th century, the feast came to be observed by the universal Church. The first reading this Sunday is from the book of proverbs. Its description of the creation of the world is evidence of Wisdom. God’s wisdom declares it was created first, before the earth and oceans. Present during creation, it rejoiced beside God, delighting in the formation of the world and mankind. This writer sees creation as well put together in a functional manner only a Creator with great wisdom could have done such an intricate, complex, complicated job that creation was. In the second reading from Romans we are told that we are Justified by faith, we are at peace with God through Jesus, and rejoice in hope. Our sufferings produce endurance, character and hope that is  filled with God’s love through the Holy Spirit.

The gospel presents Jesus speaking to the disciples. He spent three years teaching them, demonstrating how to grow in love with one another in their small but ever-expanding community.  The reading  also speaks of the power of presence and the power of the name. Ancient people placed great weight in presence; the way someone dressed and acted spoke of social power. Ancient people also chose names carefully; they believed a person’s name defined their strength of character. Both outward presence and inward character are part of the disciples’ experience. When the followers of Jesus  saw the resurrected Lord and heard his command to go out to  the whole world, they saw for themselves the Trinity in action. The feast of the Holy Trinity invites us to contemplate the mystery of the trinity God the Father Son and Holy Spirit 3 divine persons united as one.  In faith hope and gratitude, let us pray with greater faith and reverence  when we say “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

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07 Jun 2025

PENTECOST SUNDAY

This Sunday  we celebrate the decent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles at Pentecost which heralded the beginning of the apostolic mission to bring the Christian faith  to the world. This gift of the Holy Spirit is the culmination of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The gifting of the Holy Spirit is a continuing event in the life of every believing person and, therefore, in every age of human history. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God with us the enduring way in which Jesus remains present in the Church and in the life of each person.

The readings for Pentecost promise that we are not on our own, but have the Spirit to guide us. The focus for this weekend is how the Holy Spirit empowers us to be disciples.  In the First Reading we hear that during Pentecost, the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke in diverse languages, astonishing a multinational crowd in Jerusalem as each person heard about God’s wonders in their own language.  In the Second Reading we are told  if we live by the Spirit, not the flesh, we will be aligned with God. Christ’s Spirit in us promises life despite our mortal bodies. Led by this Spirit, we are God’s children, heirs with Christ, sharing in his glory through our sufferings. With the feast of Pentecost the seven weeks of  the Easter season have come to an end with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person. “Peace” was John’s prayer for his readers as it is for us as we listen to this gospel reading and our world needs peace more than ever in these days of conflict in many places. Jesus emphasized the importance of obedience to his commandments as a sign of true love for him he also promised the Father would send an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with his followers forever.

This Spirit would teach the apostles and us and remind us all of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus and the Father will dwell with those who adhere to these teachings.  When they saw Jesus their fear turned into great joy, and their Anxiety turned into relief. The lack of spiritual direction turned into a sense of deep spiritual grounding. The divine presence stood close to them and with the divine presence came a great sense of peace of spirit mind and soul. We in our time have the divine presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and it brings Joy and spiritual grounding to all those who come to meet him in the sacramental life of the Church. Gathered for Mass and other liturgies we bring all our concerns to god  in prayer because our prayers  raise our hope in the power of God made real to every generation through the Holy Spirit.  Most of the time the problems in our lives just don’t go away by themselves very often we need to stop and think and pray things through.  If we pray about the problems as well as thinking them through we will find that they are much easier to deal with.  Through the Holy Spirit our relationship with God satisfies the  longings  of our hearts and brings us the deep peace of God which is beyond all understanding.  Because of God’s faithfulness, we give thanks, offer sacrifice, and once again present our needs this Pentecost Sunday as we remember the presence of God who is with us through the happy and sad times that are part of our daily lives as we thank God for his enduring hope filled presence among us.

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