6th Sunday of Easter (Mother's Day)

We celebrate Mother’s day.  It is a day of special gifts for our Mom reminding her of her many sacrifices and love.  It is good to remind Mom that her care is appreciated.  Moms have many demands including their spiritual life.

Mother’s need a purpose.  We can begin looking for that purpose by examining the role of a mother.  A mother shares a responsibility in caring for her children.  As a faith community, we believe the care should involve love.  However, care based on love can get lost in translation of hectic schedules like baseball games and band practices and unforeseen problems like strep throat and the stomach virus.  Mother’s can forget their purpose.     

Mother’s need a purpose.  On May 10, 2012, on the WLOX website, Trang Pham-Bui reported on an incident this past week.  Trang Pham-Bui reported, “It started as a missing family case that had Jackson County investigators fearing for the lives of three children…It ended Thursday with the children's mother in jail, and her three young sons in the custody of the Department of Human Services…Twenty-five-year old Tomika Booker and her sons were last seen Monday night…"What the text said was she had no reason to live, and that her and the children would be much better off if they were just dead and she was going to take her life and theirs, also," said (Sheriff Mike) Byrd. "The truck that was left there, which belongs to her live-in boyfriend, it looks like she took a hammer to it and destroyed the truck."(http://www.wlox.com/story/18253313/missing-jackson-county-family-found-mom-ends-up-in-jail)”  On Thursday, Tomika was later found walking the street with her children.  The family was taken into custody.  Tomika had lost her purpose.  Her purpose in being a model of God’s love.

Mother’s have a purpose.  Moms are made to love.  Mary found her purpose by loving God at the very beginning of her creation and was given the gift of being born in the fullness of grace.  Moms can find their purpose by striving to reach the state of grace, with God’s help, and by being faithful to the commandments.  Being faithful to God requires sacrifice.  Mary’s heart was pierced with pain when she witnessed her son’s crucifixion.  God gives mothers the strength to endure sacrifices for their children. 

Mother’s have a purpose.  On May 2, 2012, on Life Site News website, Peter Baklinski reported on an incident that happen in Muskegon Heights, Michigan.  Baklinski reported, “A 26-year-old mother (Christine Bolden) who was pregnant with twins was declared brain dead after suffering two serious brain aneurysms. The mother was kept on life support until high blood pressure forced the doctors to deliver the twins through an emergency cesarean section, according to 24 Hours News 8…Christine was leaving a building with her boyfriend and young daughter in March when she suddenly experienced an excruciating pain in her head, said Christine’s aunt Danielle Bolden. The pregnant mother immediately collapsed and appeared to have entered into a deep sleep (http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/brain-dead-mother-delivers-twins-before-dying).”   Christine had found her purpose.  God had chosen take Christine’s life and allowed her two boys, Alexander and Nicholas, to live.  Mothers and Father know where to look to find their purpose.  Their purpose is found in being a model of God’s love. 

5th Sunday of Easter

Title: Eucharist in Fruit Wreath Artist: Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-84)The Gospel of John is the only Gospel author who records a set of teachings by Jesus called the Farewell Discourses.  The Gospel reading for the Mass is found in this section.  It is the teaching about Jesus as the True Vine.  The talk is given by Jesus as an answer to the fears the disciples have surrounding his Passion and the future.

The fear was centered on the reality that Jesus was going to face death.  The disciples began to face a fundamental human need.  We need a true connection.  We need to be plugged into the truth, the true vine who promises salvation, a future after death filled with love.  A false connection is plugged into the lies, The Father of Lies, Satan who promises damnation, a future after death filled with the absence of love, hatred.  The fear surrounding our future after death is a real concern.

We need a true connection.  A true connection helps us fight the fear our future.  Our spiritual connection is popularly called prayer.  Our thoughts, what we think about during the day, is part of our prayer.  Our prayer to God can be confusing.  I am worried the carpet in the house, because the cat has hairballs.  I am stressed, because my daughter has three soccer games on Saturday.  I am angry, because my boss has denied me vacation time I wanted.  I am confused, because the washer machine in the house has broken for the third time this month.  I am hurt, because my spouse says that he or she does not feel the love like we used to when we got married ten years ago.  The list details struggles without mentioning God.  We might be afraid to admit it, but God is present in these struggles.  

We fight fear by proclaiming the truth.  We already have a true connection.  The connection is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is present in us to guide our true connection to Our Father in prayer.  “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.”  The Holy Spirit does the hard work of guiding our conversation with Jesus.  The Holy Spirit helps us speak the words, helps guide our thoughts to allow God’s love to nurture us, the branch.

We already have a true connection.  Through our baptism, we are the branch connected to the true vine, Jesus Christ.  We are the disciples of Jesus Christ, and we know how to pray.  Our Father gave us the perfect prayer, the Our Father.  Our Mother has given us her prayer, the Hail Mary.  The next part is allowing the Holy Spirit to use what you already know.  We call this surrendering to God, or allowing God’s will to be done in your life.  I surrender my anger, confusion, stress, emotional needs to my Father or to my Mother, then say the corresponding prayer.  You are trained in this type of prayer.  It is called the Holy Sacrifice of Mass.  We offer our struggles to God in Mass, and ask healing through the Eucharist.  

4th Sunday of Easter

We are in the middle of the Season of Easter.  Parable of Jesus as the Good Shepherd in the Gospel of John helps us understand Jesus’ divinity.  There was much opposition to Jesus’ claim that he was God.  It is true that Jesus is God.  He is our Good Shepherd.  The Bad Shepherd is the Father of Lies, the Big Bad Wolf.

We need good shepherds.  The Gospel of John is clear.  The sheep must be protected.  I am not demanding the protection of sheep with the white fuzzy coat and making the distinct sound, BAHHH!  We must look deeper into the Gospel of John.  Jesus is aware that the sheep, that’s us, God’s children, must be protected.  Sheep represent ignorance and vulnerability.  Jesus ascended to heaven, and he needs shepherds.  Yes, shepherds are needed.  The Big Bad Wolf, we call him the Father of Lies, has a pack, has an army, of wolves trained at scattering and confusing God’s children!

We need good shepherds.  We are all call to be those shepherds.  One of the characteristics of a shepherd is responsibility.  Our responsibility is to take care of ourselves.  We do not want to be one of the hired men.  I got in this marriage, because I only wanted to be with my spouse.  I did not want kids.  Kids complicate the relationship and demand attention.  I guess, if I have to, I will the support the kid, but the child is not my responsibility.  This hired person is having a problem recognizing that they are a shepherd.  We have to accept our roles in our relationships.  We cannot decide to stop being the shepherd, because the wolf of rejection will come stalking that vulnerable child of the hired person.  Also, the hired person is ignorant to the fact that they are being attacked by the wolf of selfishness. 

Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  God’s beloved children were being scattered by the lies of the Big Bad Wolf, the Father of Lies.  God loved his sheep and desired to redeem his creation and give his beloved children the power to fight the lies.  We see this plan in action when Moses was given the Ten Commandments.  The Ten Commandments established truth.  However, the Law was not enough to redeem creation.  Jesus, the Good Shepherd, made the ultimate sacrifice by laying down his life on the cross.  Jesus fulfilled the Law and redeemed creation.  One of the gifts of the Cross is empowering us to battle the wolves trained at scattering and confusing God’s people.

Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  Jesus leads all of humanity by his voice.  We hear Jesus’ voice in the Gospel.  We hear Jesus’ voice in the Confessional.  We hear Jesus’ voice in our community.  People are rejecting the lie that they are not a shepherd modeled after the Good Shepherd.  WLOX website reports on April 24, 2012, “The (Biloxi) police department served red beans and rice to raise money for the Indiana state troopers who lost their homes in recent tornadoes.  It's a payback for the generosity shown after Hurricane Katrina, when more than a hundred Indiana troopers came to South Mississippi to help.” WLOX website reports on April 13, 2012, “New Life Disaster Relief will be heading to some of the hardest hit areas of Texas. The organization was created after Katrina, and it continues to house numerous volunteers at Biloxi Christian Church in Jackson County.”  We are accepting the truth that we have to care for the people who live in our communities.  We accept the truth that we are a good shepherd.

3rd Sunday of Easter

We celebrate the 3^rd Sunday of Easter.  In the readings, Jesus Christ is still walking around the world in his glorified body.  The gift of the Resurrection is a mystery.  The mystery of the Resurrection reveals many secrets including our true identity as human beings.

The preaching of a true identity is needed.  We get confused on our labeling of people in our community.  It happened to community of people in Jerusalem around 33 A.D.  During the Passion of Jesus, Chapter 23 of the Gospel of Luke, the people level an accusation against Jesus.  The people accused Jesus of perverting the nation.  Jesus is an enemy against Caesar and has the audacity to call himself a king.  The people of Jerusalem thought they knew the true identity of Jesus.  Jesus was a liar and apostate, one who has abandoned his Jewish faith.  Jesus was not capable of righteousness in the face of God.

The preaching of a true identity is needed.  Our identity became lost at the Fall.  In Genesis Chapter 3, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  Adam and Eve eyes became opened, and they knew they were naked.  All of humanity has been battling the lies that rushed into our world at the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God.  Lies attack our true identity.  In Mississippi, we come last in many rankings of education, health, employment, and income.  I have heard the lies.  “Well, you are from Mississippi, you want amount to much.”  Or we may have heard, “Well, based on your status, you want achieve much in life.”

The preaching of a true identity is needed.  Jesus’ true identity is revealed in Acts and the 1^st letter of John.  Jesus is the Holy and Righteous One.  Jesus is the Author of Life, the Advocate, the Righteous One, and the Father’s servant.  Jesus is capable of righteousness in the face of God.  Jesus was telling the truth, and he came to fulfill the law.  The people of Jerusalem who leveled the accusations against Jesus during his Passion were blinded by the lies from the Fall.  Jesus’ true identity has conquered evil and stripped those lies of all their power.

The preaching of a true identity is needed.  We can achieve great and wonderful things.  It does not matter our social conditions or status.  We are all called to be saints.  Our true identity is to become a saint and live in eternal life with God.  The lies will try to tell you that you cannot achieve much.  Repent of these lies, and God will forgive your sins and welcome you back to his love.  If we follow the commandments of Jesus Christ, we are promised to receive our glorified bodies and spend eternal life in the New Garden of Eden.       

Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Happy Easter!  The Easter Bunny will be bringing candy and eggs to children.  The Resurrection is an Easter egg of truth that sits in our Easter basket.  The Easter egg of truth proclaims: The Lord is risen, Alleluia, Alleluia!  Our Lord has risen from the dead and returned to earth in his glorified body.  Let all the peoples of the earth hear the glorious message of the Resurrection! 

The author of Acts describes the public ministry of Jesus.  Jesus did good works and healed all those who were oppressed by the devil.  Truth, good and evil exist.  Jesus’ ministry was filled with good works.  People who do bad works are evil, bad eggs.  Evil works is called sin.  Sin began with our first father, Adam.  So, evil entered our world through the sin of Adam.  Jesus’ ministry involved healing people who had been oppressed by the sin of Adam.  He loved us, and Jesus was on a plan to change our world.

Our world has been changed by Jesus Christ, and it continues to be changed into the New Jerusalem.  Responding to the message of the Resurrection involves actively working with God’s grace through the guidance of the Christian Church.  Our response is like a basket of Easter eggs.  There are several rotten eggs were we do not agree with the teaching of the Catholic Church.  Another rotten egg is that we have lost faith in the leadership of the Church.  The egg representing our prayer life may need some attention.  God knows how many rotten eggs our basket can hold before our salvation comes into question.  Also, we do not know if our basket is stinking unless we are willing to listen to the other people around us complaining of the smell.

Jesus Christ has changed our world.  He changed the whole carton of eggs in our baskets.  How did he do this?  Jesus died on the cross.  At his death, Jesus descended down to hell.  Jesus met Moses, Aaron, and a whole crowd of people.  Jesus broke the gates of hell and allowed the righteous souls to enter heaven.  Jesus returned to the earth in his glorified body.  Jesus’ glorified body was something new to our universe.  We have oak trees, coal, diamonds, sea water, and Jesus’ glorified body?  Jesus’ glorified body was something new in creation starting the change of our world into the New Jerusalem. 

Our basket is part of this new creation.  We can get rid of the rotten eggs in our basket with God’s help.  We have Easter people in our own community here at Our Lady of Fatima who are role models.   They fill their basket with beautiful eggs like a committed prayer life egg.  I will commit to say the rosary every day.  Or, they fill their basket with a Sabbath day egg.  I will commit to fulfilling my Sunday obligation.  Jesus has already done the hard work.  Let the glorious message of the Resurrection began to change the eggs given to you by God into blessed eggs of praise.