6th Week of Easter 2018 - Friday - Childbirth and New Spiritual Life

Jesus explained to the Apostles that their experience of his absence will sometimes feel like the sufferings of childbirth.

Now, none of the Apostles had ever experienced the pains of childbirth, themselves; but no doubt, they knew it to be one of the most intensely painful human experiences.

So when Jesus says, following me will bring you intense pain and grief, you wonder why the apostles stuck around! Well, yes, as the Lord taught, there would be pain and grief and suffering, but all that would seem like nothing, like a distant memory, compared to the joy to follow.

The Apostles would truly experience great suffering. They would see their Lord and Master crucified, in what appeared to be ultimate defeat. Then they would experience the feeling of abandonment following the Lord’s Ascension. And then in their work for the spread of the Gospel around the world, we know they would undergo terrible sufferings for the sake of the Gospel. They would face persecution in nearly every corner of the earth.

Jesus’ words at the Last Supper give the Church hope. That our sufferings for the sake of the Gospel meaning something—that the suffering indeed furthers the Gospel and brings salvation to souls lost in error and sin.

The example of a woman in labor was a common biblical image for the end of days. Just as a woman is in anguish as she gives birth, so also the Church experiences anguish throughout history. But once the baby is born, the mother no longer remembers the pain but is filled with joy. Similarly, the Church’s grief will pass away, and be transformed into joy over the new life experienced through Christ.

As is often the case in pregnancy, our work for the Gospel may be marked by great stress. Under these circumstances, we will be pressured to terminate the new life the Holy Spirit wishes to create in us. We will be tempted to seek escape from the hard work through various pleasurable distractions.

Today begins the annual Pentecost Novena. Nine days of prayer perhaps corresponding to the nine months of pregnancy, itself symbolic of the whole of the Christian life. Let us pray fervently these nine days, turning to God in times of stress, nurturing the new spiritual life God wishes to bring to birth in us, knowing that all we suffer for His sake will be transformed into joy for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That through the preaching and teaching of the Church and all that she suffers, all people will come to recognize Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

That those charged with civil authority will show Christian compassion to the poor and marginalized, particularly for the safety and defense of the unborn.

For all Christian families: that the mercy, purity, and peace of Jesus will reign in their hearts and homes.

That the Church may cooperate with God’s grace for a flowering of new spiritual life during this Pentecost Novena.

For the sick, the suffering, those in nursing homes, hospitals, and hospice care, for the underemployed and unemployed, for the imprisoned, those with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, that the Spirit of Consolation may comfort them.

For the deceased members of our families, friends and parish, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for all those who fought and died for our freedom.

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

2nd Week of Easter 2018 - Thursday - Life and the call to holiness

In John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about “life” 41 times: nearly as many times as Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined. Jesus says to the Samaritan woman, “the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life”.  We will hear next week Jesus say “I am the bread of life”.  And later, after raising Lazarus, he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And he speaks to Nicodemus about the importance of believing in HIM that we may have eternal life.

Through sin, we had lost the gift of eternal life; we were “dead in our transgressions” as Paul says.  We were alienated from God who Himself is the only source of life.

St. John Cantius spoke of how the world is busy indulging in its own madness. It is wearing itself out. It cannot endure. It passes like a shadow. It’s growing old and decrepit

Jesus by his life, death and resurrection shows that his mission from the Father is to restore us to life: “I have come that they might have life, and have it in abundance.” He has come to save us from the powers of death and selfishness, greed and lust, which are so evident in the world.

The saints, who have turned away from the world are so attractive to us because the life of Christ is flourishing within them. They have become purified of the ugliness of worldliness, and therefore magnify the beauty of the life of Christ.

Through their lives of prayer, fasting, charity, penance, they show us how to nurture, fertilize, and protect the spiritual life that comes from God.

In his new apostolic exhortation Pope Francis emphasizes how even the great saints who were drawn more to contemplation, mental prayer, silence, and meditation upon scripture were also passionately committed to the love of neighbor. Authentic spiritual life becomes evident and life giving for others.
The Holy Father echoes our Lord at the last supper who teaches how “Eternal life” consists in knowing the Father, knowing the Son, loving them, and allowing that love to lead us to the washing of feet, to self-sacrifice on the cross, to laying down your life for a friend.

May we zealously seek out Jesus, the fount of life, drink of his waters, that the fruits of his life may be evident in our own life, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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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.