5th Week of Easter 2019 - Last School Mass - Perfect Joy

Just about a month ago, we all gathered for prayer, here in the church, on Holy Thursday. We spoke about the words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper. Jesus knew he was about to die, and so the lessons he taught at the Last Supper would be pretty important, don’t you think.

He taught a lesson about humble service by washing the feet of his disciples. No act of service is too dirty, no act of service is too lowly or too difficult for the follower of Jesus. We must wash feet, as our Master washed feet.

Secondly, he taught a lesson about the Church. He wanted the Church to celebrate the Eucharist in his memory. Taking bread, taking wine, Jesus said, “DO THIS in memory of me.” And, when we do this, Jesus becomes really present: bread and wine are really changed into his body and blood.

Thirdly, Jesus taught by his words. And today’s Gospel is part of the speech he gave, his final farewell sermon. When someone knows they are about to die, you listen carefully to their last words because people aren’t going to waste their final breaths on insignificant statements.

And so what were the words Jesus just uttered, what was his most important lesson? Do you want to be happy? Do you want to have joy? Do you want to have eternal life? Follow my commandments. God wants us to have joy. Jesus says, God wants your joy to be complete, he wants your joy to be perfect.

And what is the key that unlocks the door of joy? Following Jesus’ commandments. Now, we might think, following commandments is hard, it’s difficult. It’s hard to pray every day, when you have the excitement of summer vacation. It’s hard to go to church every Sunday, when you have other things to do. It’s hard to love those who hurt you. It’s hard to be faithful in times of temptation. It’s hard to share your things with others: to give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty.

As hard as these things might be, Jesus, in the final discourse of his life, says, do these things, and you will have joy.

Friends, I hope your summer is filled with joy. But I promise you, joy will not be discovered by playing video games all day. It will not be found in selfishness or envying the possessions of others. It will not be found on the internet or with a mobile phone in your hand. It will not be found in skipping church or the million and one other activities the world has to offer. I pray, teachers and students, that you will discover the perfect joy of friendship and true discipleship of Jesus Christ this summer, by practicing the faith daily in your words and actions, by daily prayer, daily acts of service,
love of God and neighbor for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

5th Week of Easter 2018 - Monday - Commandment Keepers

In this Gospel passage from the Last Supper, Jesus teaches the importance of “keeping” the commandments. And that Greek word Jesus uses for “keeping”, “tereo” is another interesting word with several meanings.

First, the obvious meaning: to “keep” a commandment we are to observe it, obey it. The word is used with the same connotation in Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus teaches “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." In that instance Jesus explains that not only are we to keep, obey the commandments of the decalogue, he even commands the young scribe to sell all that he has, give it to the poor, and store up treasure in heaven.

In today’s passage, the commandment all of His disciples must keep is to love one another as the Lord loves us, humbling ourselves in self-service, washing feet, laying down our lives, as Christ lays it down on the cross.

Another meaning of “tereo” is to keep the commandments as you keep food in your pantry. We are to reserve the words of Christ within our minds and hearts, so we can call upon them when we need them: in moments of temptation, in moments of despair, in moments of fear. So, we do well to study the scriptures, so we have them “up here” and “in here” when we need them.

A third meaning of “tereo” is a task particular to the Apostles: to keep the commandments as a guard keeps a room full of treasure. The apostles and their successors, the Holy Father and the bishops, have the duty of keeping the Word of God free from error, that it may be passed on faithfully to future generations. The world pressures the Church to change her teachings, to change her doctrines to fit modern sensibilities.

I think particularly of the Church’s teaching on contraception, the definition of marriage, and the moral teachings, particularly involving sexual morality, the obligation to attend Sunday Mass, to confess serious sins. Members of the Christian Church are to keep these commandments by “adhering to them with religious assent” no matter how unpopular they are.

The Lord teaches that to those who “keep” the commandments will be a dwelling place of the Holy Trinity—a Temple in which God is glorified, where His presence is known and felt by those we encounter.

May our Easter celebrations help us in “keeping” the commandments of Christ, observing them, obeying them, reserving them in our minds and hearts, and guarding them from error, for the building up of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - - - - - -
 
God the Father was glorified in the death and resurrection of his Son. Let us pray to him with confidence.

God the Father bathed the world in splendor when Christ rose again in glory, may our minds be filled with the light of faith.

Through the resurrection of His Son, the Father opened for us the way to eternal life, may we be sustained today in our work with the hope of glory.

Through His risen Son, the Father sent the Holy Spirit into the world, may our hearts be set on fire with spiritual love.

May Jesus Christ, who was crucified to set us free, be the salvation of all those who suffer, particularly those who suffer from physical or mental illness, addiction, and grief.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.