5th Week of Lent 2025 - Friday - Incline your ear to his heart

 

"We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.”

Our Scripture readings leading up to Holy Week continue to help us understand the various dynamics of Jesus’ passion. The passage from John’s Gospel reveals the motive for the hostility. They claimed he was guilty of the capital crime of blasphemy—the highest blasphemy possible. They claimed that Jesus wasn’t simply speaking against God—but that he was only a man, but claiming to be God. The irony of course is that He IS God. And they failed to recognize the God they were supposed to love with their whole hearts minds soul and strength when he was standing in their midst.

And Jesus even tries to make it easy for them to recognize Him: If I don’t do the works of God then I’m not. But, you’ve seen for yourself, that I do do the things that only God can do.

The logos is logical. Only God can do certain things. Jesus does them. Therefore, Jesus is God.

The Jeremiah reading reveals something even sadder about the hostility toward Jesus.

“All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine.”

Jesus isn’t not only not recognized as God by strangers, but by his closest companions, those he called friends. The Jeremiah reading foreshadows of course the betrayal of Judas, the denial of St. Peter, the fact that none of the Apostles save John are there with his mother on the hill of calvary—he is abandoned by all but those who have listened to his heart.

In a week, we will be in the midst of the great Paschal Triduum. Hopefully, this Lent, you have taken time, like St. John to lay your ear to the heart of Jesus, so that your love for Him will help you to recognize his love for you in the events of his Passion and in the events of your life.

In the days ahead, take time to incline upon his breast, and bring to him those who take no time to pray, no time to understand, no time to seek Him while he may be found.

Pray that their eyes may be opened to his great love and his invitation to life, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in God's mercy and faithfulness, we lift our prayers to the Lord.

For the Church, that during these sacred days she may proclaim clearly and courageously the truth that Jesus is truly God, calling all to recognize and embrace Him. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who lead nations and communities, that they may foster justice, peace, and compassion, recognizing and respecting the dignity of all persons created in God's image. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all who struggle with faith or who refuse to recognize Christ’s presence in their lives, that their hearts may be opened to His truth, love, and mercy. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing betrayal, abandonment, loneliness, or chronic illness, that they may find comfort and strength in Christ, who himself endured rejection and abandonment. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our parish community, that in these final days of Lent, we may draw closer to the heart of Jesus, deepening our love and commitment to Him. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our beloved dead, that they may be welcomed into the eternal presence of Christ, finding peace and joy in His heavenly kingdom. Let us pray to the Lord.

Loving Father, hear the prayers of your faithful people gathered here. Open our hearts to recognize and embrace your Son, Jesus Christ, in every aspect of our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

6th Sunday of Easter 2024 - Love one another

Over the last eight weeks we’ve had Laetare Sunday, Palm Sunday also called Passion Sunday, Easter Sunday, Divine Mercy Sunday, and Good Shepherd Sunday. Last week, we might’ve called “Vine and Branches Sunday”.  This week we could call “Love Sunday”.  For, in just the second reading and the Gospel, the word “love” is used 17 times.  In John’s first epistle he gave us that description of God that sets Christianity apart from any other religion; he said,  “God is love”, and in the nine short verses of the Gospel Jesus uses the word commandment five times and the word “love” nine times: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.” Love…it’s not just for poets, song writers, and romantics. The practice of love is a commandment from our God. 

The truth that the One God of the universe is love in his very being is not found in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, or any of the pagan religions in all of human history. The practice of love and the worship of God who IS love in his essence and being sets Christians apart. In fact, in the Quran, there are more verses about the type of people God does not love, than those who he does. Islam separates humanity into the loved and the not loved, where Christians believe that God is love, and loves all people, dying for all, desiring the salvation of all.

Saint John, the patron of our diocese and author of our second reading today, was certainly devoted to the love of God.  He was called the beloved disciple of the Lord, and laid his head on the heart of Jesus at the last supper. 

Ancient Christian tradition tells us that after Mary’s Assumption, Saint John lived on the island of Patmos, a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea, until he died of old age, around the age of 100.  And there on Patmos, as you might imagine, being the last of the twelve apostles, people would flock to him.  I may have shared this before how Sunday after Sunday, the people would literally carry the Apostle John down from his mountain abode to come celebrate the Eucharist with them.

And the story goes that Sunday after Sunday, Saint John would offer the same simple message. He would say “my little children, God loves you.  Now you love Him and love one another.”  Sunday after Sunday, the same simple message: “my little children, God loves you.  Now you love Him and love one another.”  Sunday after Sunday after Sunday.

Finally, someone asked him: “holy apostle, why do you keep repeating the same message, over and over again?”  To which Saint John replied: “I keep repeating it over and over again because the Master repeated it over and over again”.

God loves you, now you live him and love one another.  It’s the essence of the entire Gospel, isn’t it?  God is love.  

Almost 20 years ago, already, all the way back in in 2005, Pope Benedict surprised much of the world, with his first encyclical. Prior to his election, Pope Benedict was the head of the congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope John Paul II. And in many instances, the future Pope Benedict was tasked with cracking down on some doctrinal matters. And so the world thought that the tone of his pontificate would follow in that manner. But no, his first encyclical, was called “God is love”. Deus Caritas est. God is love. If you haven’t read it, you should.  You won’t be disappointed.

As you might imagine, the Holy Father drew upon scripture passages like our second reading and gospel for this 6th Sunday of easter. And Benedict goes on to explain how since God is love, when we engage in charity, we aren’t just fulfilling an ethical duty, but we are participating in the life of God. 

“Love one another as I love you”. "In His death on the Cross,” Pope Benedict writes “Christ expressed love in its most radical form. By loving as He loved, which involves self-sacrifice, we live out His commandment of love and thus dwell in Him and He in us."

Love isn’t just about having nice feelings about people. Love is not a feeling. It is an action, of doing what is best for another person. And love reaches its highest expression, its truest form, when it costs us something. Sacrificial love shows that we really believe something to be so good that it is worth sacrificing ourselves for, even dying for. 

And, that type of love, we are to show towards all—with God-like love, Christ-like love. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Pope Benedict writes, “Love of neighbor…consists in the very fact that, in God and with God, I love even the person whom I do not like or even know."

Loving the Unlikable involves extending kindness and forgiveness to those who may have wronged us or whom we find difficult to like due to personality clashes, differing opinions, or past conflicts. We’ve all met unlikable people. Each of us have likely appeared to others as unlikeable. I’m a priest and people have not liked me for a whole number reasons. But we have to see beyond our emotions, and practice love to the unlikeable. 

We are to practice love to the Unknown: to strangers or people we do not know personally. This could include acts such as providing food or clothing to pantries for the impoverished, donating to charities that support refugees, or volunteering our time to feed and clothe and help people get their life in order or the medical care they need, or the education they want for their children. I think we do a great job of this here at St. Ignatius. Unknown people call us every day, and our SVDP, which many of you support so generously, is able to help so many people. 

And the charity we are able to offer and called to offer extends to groups of people that the rest of society may overlook or marginalize. We have a nice group of parishioners that brings communion to the sick and elderly in nursing homes.  

Pope Benedict also addresses the need for Christians to bring love into public life. This can mean engaging respectfully, respectfully, respectfully, with people who hold different political views, advocating for authentic justice, like the safety of the unborn in public policies, and working towards the common good in ways that uphold the dignity and rights of every person, especially the most vulnerable.

"The Church's deepest nature,” writes Benedict, “is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God celebrating the sacraments, and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable." 

We preach the Gospel because we love non-believers and desire they share in eternal life with God through Christ. We celebrate the Sacraments, faithfully, because God desires to purify us of our sins and strengthen us in charity through them. And we engage in charity because that is our identity. To be Christian is to be a love-doer. A lover of God, a lover of your fellow man—in word and deed. 

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, who we honor in a special way during this month of May, most blessed of all women in her love of God and the Church, assist us by her example and prayers, along with St. John, St. Ignatius, and all the saints, in the practice of love toward all, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

December 27 2023 - St. John the Evangelist - Incline your ears to the heart of Christ

 St. John the Apostle is often depicted in art with his head resting on the breast of Christ, as he does at the Last Supper. Among the apostles, it was John alone who remained at Christ’s side at the crucifixion. John was among the first-called, along with his brother James, and the brothers Peter and Andrew. John’s Gospel describes John’s own closeness with the Lord, and so it is fitting that we celebrate the evangelist’s feast in such proximity to the Lord’s birthday.

St. Ireneaus, bishop of Lyons around the year 200, reported with assurance: “John, the disciple of the Lord, who rested on the heart of Jesus, wrote a Gospel when he was in Ephesus.” Ireneaus was a disciple of St. Polycarp who was made bishop of Smyrna by St. John himself, as is depicted in the top middle stained glass window in the eastern transept here at St. Ignatius. Remaining so close to the Lord throughout the Lord’s public ministry, it is no wonder that John’s Gospel is among the most mystical books of the Bible, filled with such intense insight into the divine identity of the Lord and his love for sinful humanity. 

The writings of St. John his letters and Gospel are saturated with the love of God. Throughout his Gospel, John identifies himself, often not by name, but by the beloved disciple. Consider that! His name was secondary to the fact that he knew that he was loved by Jesus. That is such an important lesson for Christians to “take to heart”. Do you know that you are loved by Jesus? DO you know that you are loved by God? 

Love is the key to understanding the Gospel. Love is the divine motive for the incarnation. Love is the divine motive for the Lord’s teaching and miracles. Love is the divine motive for the Lord taking upon himself the weight and suffering of the cross. Love is the divine motive for sending the apostles into the world.

John records the Lord saying, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.”

John teaches us to incline our ears to the heart of Christ, to learn of his love for us, that we may in turn, love one another. 

St. John is the patron of the diocese of Cleveland, and he is a powerful example to all of us: of zealous love for the Lord, temper under control, mystical prayer, devotion to the Blessed Virgin, tireless pastor, who used his intellectual gifts to combat the errors plaguing his flock and bestowing to the Church of all ages, a portrait of piercing insight of the Lord Jesus. May we know continuously the example and heavenly intercession of so great a patron saint for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

We bring forth now our prayers of petitions.

For the Church of Cleveland under the patronage of St. John, apostle and evangelist, and particularly for Bishop Malesic, that together we may witness faithfully and tirelessly to the truth of the Gospel

For Christians who are persecuted throughout the world, especially those who face martyrdom, that they may have a faith that is constant and pure.

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness or loneliness, that through the mystery of the Nativity of Christ, they may find relief in both mind and body. 

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

December 27 2021 - St. John the Apostle & Evangelist (and his student Ignatius of Antioch)

 In the eastern narthex here at St. Ignatius of Antioch, the middle set of stained glass windows depict the life of our parishes patron St. Ignatius. And the very top stained glass window contains three figures. St. Ignatius, St. Polycarp, and the saint we honor on this third day of the Christmas Octave, the principal patron of the Diocese of Cleveland, St. John the Apostle and Evangelist.

These three saints are depicted together, for it is said that Polycarp and Ignatius were both students of the beloved disciple (and this is how they are depicted, as if sitting at the foot of the master). They were also both consecrated bishops by St. John around the year 66 A.D. Polycarp was made bishop of Smyrna, and Ignatius, of course, was made the third bishop of Antioch, where he remained for about 40 years, at which point he was arrested and marched to his martyrdom in Rome.

On his way to martyrdom, Ignatius wrote his famous epistles, and you can really tell he had spent time with the Apostle John, for John’s influence runs through the epistles of dear Ignatius.

Ignatius writes of “the timeless, eternal, invisible Word made visible” drawn, concepts we find in beloved John’s prologue. Ignatius presents the Lord many times as the Divine Physician, the Son of God, True God, the Divine Word, the Logos, as does John. 

St. John impacted St. Ignatius deeply, and he is meant to impact all of us, deeply. No doubt, the love, the knowledge, the understanding that Ignatius derived from John, enabled him to teach and guide the flock at Antioch, and gave him conviction and courage when facing the Emperor, and provided him bravery and resolution as he faced his martyrdom.

So we do well to meditate on the writings of John often. For John, laid his head on the breast of our Savior, and helps us to do the same. When we meditate on John’s gospel, we can hear the Lord’s own heartbeat. 

We can hear his love for the Father and the Lord’s love for his blessed Mother, his love for his apostles, his deeper mercy for sinners, and his love for us. 

The collect for today’s Mass speaks of how, God, through the apostle John has unlocked for us the secrets of the Word, and asks God to help us grasp with proper understanding what he has brought to our ears. What a powerful prayer! 

And what a fitting saint to celebrate so near to the feast of the Lord’s birth, for St. John unlocks for us the secret hidden to many. That the Christ child is not an ordinary child, he is the Word Made Flesh come to save us from our sins.

Like St. Ignatius of Antioch, may we all become students of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, to learn ever more deeply the love and knowledge of Christ, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We bring forth now our prayers of petitions.

For the Church of Cleveland under the patronage of St. John, apostle and evangelist, and particularly for Bishop Malesic, that together we may witness faithfully and tirelessly to the truth of the Gospel

For Christians who are persecuted throughout the world, especially those who face martyrdom, that they may have a faith that is constant and pure.

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness or loneliness, that through the mystery of the Nativity of Christ, they may find relief in both mind and body. 

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

Easter Octave 2021 - Friday - Revealed

 The very first verse and the very last verse of the Gospel passage today contain a very important word: reveal. After his resurrection, the risen Lord “revealed” himself to his disciples. 

St. John likes to use this word, both in his Gospel and in the book of Revelation. He’s even sometimes called “St. John the Revelator” 

The signs Jesus accomplished throughout John’s Gospel: the wedding at Cana, walking on water, multiplying loaves, raising the dead, reveal Jesus’ identity and his mission—his divine identity and his mission to bring about the salvation of mankind.

Two details certainly reveal his identity and mission in the Gospel today: the miraculous catch of fish and the meal Jesus provides. And yet, these two details reveal something about the church, too. Just as at Jesus’ word, the net is cast into the sea after a long night of fruitless fishing, now in the period after the resurrection the church is to cast the net of the Gospel into the world, to bring in souls. We are made fishers of men. And just as the risen lord shares a meal with his friends on the seashore, the members of the church, are to celebrate the holy mass, in which the lord feeds his friends with his body and blood in every corner of the world. 

The Lord wishes to use us to continue to reveal that his is Risen from the dead. The Church’s mission continues and will continue until the Lord’s return: to help people believe that Jesus is God, that he is savior, and that he is risen. 

In the Gospel, it takes a number of disciples to pull in that net of fish, and so too with us. It takes a number of Christians, working together, to bring souls to Christ. Who are your fishing partners? Your not meant to be working all alone. The work of the Gospel is never a solitary act. Where two or three are gathered, the Lord is revealed. 

Lord, reveal to me how you wish me to reveal you to others, today. For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.

For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ. 

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to and grow in the faith they have received. 

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

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.

Holy Week 2021 - Tuesday - 3 Responses to the Cross

 Each of the Gospels relate scenes from the night before Jesus died.  On this Tuesday of Holy Week, we are taken to the table of the Last Supper, where Jesus predicts his death and his betrayal.

Three characters have three different responses to Jesus. John, the beloved disciples lays his head on Jesus’ chest.  Peter, confesses his desire to follow Jesus even unto death, but at the sight of the cross flees in fear.  And Judas, with betrayal in his heart goes into the night.  

Sometimes we are like John: we have moments of great intimacy with Jesus, of deep prayer and unshakable love for the Lord.  Of all the apostles, it is John who stands at the cross with the Blessed Mother.  

Sometimes, we are like Peter: we can be so pious and enthusiastic one moment, saying, “Master, I will lay down my life for you”, and then the next moment, when discipleship becomes difficult and costly, we are running away in fear. 

And then sometimes we are like the silent Judas, rejecting the light and slinking off into the darkness—to sin. 

We’ve have all been like Judas, from time to time. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, we betray him often for so much less, a moment of passing pleasure, a juicy morsel of gossip shared on social media, a greed for money and material things that keep us from charity towards the poor.

How will we ever overcome our fear of the cross like Peter? How will we finally overcome those moments, when we, like Judas prefer darkness and sin to faithfulness and trust?

First, we must ask the Lord to increase our faith. Faithfulness to Jesus must become more important than anything else—any earthly pleasure, relationship, or activity. Pray to the Holy Spirit for faith. For Peter’s faith does not truly become rock-like, until the descent of the Spirit on Pentecost.

Secondly, practicing fasting,  abstinence, mortification, acts of humility, and acts of mercy, not just through Lent but throughout the whole year, increases our hope. Our hope is not in the passing things of earth, but in the promises of Christ. As hope increases our fear of the cross decreases. So, small sufferings and humiliations prepare us for willingness for sacrifice in larger things, and increase our hope for life eternal. 

Thirdly, we must like John, lay our heads on the chest of Jesus in daily prayer.  In prayer, our love for Jesus in increases. If you are not putting your ear next to Jesus heart, how can you learn to love him and love others as he loves? Getting serious about prayer, especially fervent devotion to the Mother of Jesus, like St. John, will help increase our love.

Faith, hope, and love. The three theological virtues unite us with the life of God.

As we enter into the most sacred three days of the Church year—the sacred triduum—may our faith, hope, and love increase, that we may have the courage to journey with Jesus to the cross, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That God may be pleased to grant all necessary graces to the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity. 

That those in need may find assistance in the charity of faithful Christians and that peace and security may be firmly established in all places.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

Octave of Easter 2019 - Friday - Recognizing the Risen Lord

The post-resurrection accounts of the disciples’ encounters with the Risen Jesus often contain an interesting detail. The disciples often do not recognize Jesus after his resurrection. Mary Magdalene thought that Jesus was the gardener. She did not recognize it was the Lord until he spoke her name. The disciples on the road to Emmaus walked, talked, and ate with Jesus but did not recognize him until he broke the bread.

In today’s Gospel, though Jesus was standing on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius, the disciples did not realize it was Jesus. It was not until they brought in this miraculous catch of fish that St. John, the beloved disciple recognized that it was Jesus.

Why this failure to recognize Jesus? Scripture isn’t exactly clear. Jesus truly had a material body after the resurrection: he truly stood on earthly ground, he sat and ate food. And it was the same body that was crucified: in the upper room, he bore the scars of crucifixion. But there was also something different. Where our earthly bodies decay, and age, and are bound by earthly limits: Jesus’ glorified body was something that no one had ever seen before. Heaven—eternity—now infused his earthly body.

One Scripture commentator ponders todays passage. He writes: you will ask how was it that John was the first to recognize Christ I reply that while Peter was occupied in drawing up the net full of great fishes John more carefully looked at Jesus and Jesus first presented his appearance to st. John because he most chiefly loved him and because he was most pure. “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”

Among the Apostles, John had never married, and he also had a special purity about him, and a special Love for the Lord. John reclined at the breast of Jesus at the last supper. The more familiar and intimate anyone is with God—the more we truly contemplate, adore, and love God—through prayer and service, the more we will recognize the attributes of God when we come across them.
The same commentator explains that a pure heart means “first, a chaste mind free from all lust and carnal concupiscence. Second, a pure conscience, cleansed from every stain of sin, from evil thoughts and desires…evil intentions, especially duplicity and hypocrisy.”

St. John, likely recognized Jesus, because he loved Jesus above all things. He alone among the Apostles followed Jesus all the way to Calvary. May St. John, the patron of our diocese, help us to cultivate that purity of heart, that love of Jesus above all things, that we may recognize the Lord more easily in the circumstances of life, and come to behold his face in eternity, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications.
For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.
For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ. And for the victims of the terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka and their families, for consolation in their grief, and assistance in their needs.
For our parish, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received.
For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.
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.

January 2 2019 - Sts Basil and Gregory Nazianzen - Faithful to what was from the beginning

Throughout the Christmas season we read from the first letter of St. John. Though the letter itself never mentions its author, ancient authorities like Irenaeus, Clement, Origin, and Tertullian were substantially unanimous in ascribing its authorship to the Apostle John, the Beloved Disciple. The parallel themes and linguistic style of this letter and John’s Gospel adds further weight to this claim, particularly I John’s treatment of light and darkness, life and truth. Read during the Christmas season, I John helps us to understand the identity of the One born on Christmas—the Word of Life who has taken flesh and made visible the invisible God that we may have fellowship with the Father.

John wrote this letter to that early group of Christians, probably near Ephesus wear John lived with the Blessed Mother—Christians who were already experiencing division, a worrisome loss of enthusiasm for the Gospel, disregard for the moral teachings of Jesus, and Christians who were leaving the Communion of the Church and were beginning to deny authentic apostolic teaching—sound familiar? These are problems that have afflicted every generation.

And John writes to the remnant, as we heard today: “Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you.” He’s speaking of the Gospel: that Jesus is God, that Jesus is the Christ, that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and “no one comes to the Father except through Him.” It is only through the one born on Christmas, that we receive the promise of eternal life, as is so beautifully inscripted on the archway of our sanctuary here at St. Ignatius of Antioch.

Today, we honor two saints, doctors of the Church, Bishops Basil and Gregory Nazianzen who, like John, addressed Christians who were deviating from apostolic truth: the Arians—who denied that Jesus was consubstantial with the Father. Basil and Gregory are perennially important, particularly to Christians in the 21st century, that we ensure that we remain faithful to what was preached “in the beginning”—to Apostolic Tradition, Apostolic Truth.

21st century Christianity, and Christianity of every age has to confront new issues, new questions that are not explicitly addressed in Scripture. Yet we see in Catholicism a continuity not found in other Christian denominations, a continuity with what has been received from Jesus Christ from the beginning, passed on to the apostles, expounded upon by the doctors of the Church, protected by the Popes and the Magisterium, that we may have eternal life for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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That the witness of the Church may help all nations come to believe in the Lordship of Jesus, and that our Bishops and Priests might have the courage to proclaim the truth amidst the errors of the world.

That those in civic authority may submit their minds and hearts to the rule of Christ, the Prince of Peace and Hope of the nations.

For the healing of families divided by sin and selfishness, for a strengthening of all marriages, and that young people may be formed to have deep and authentic faith.

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness, addiction, or loneliness, that through the mystery of the Nativity of Christ, they may find relief in both mind and body.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.
Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

December 27 2017 - St. John, Apostle and Evangelist - Patron of the Diocese of Cleveland

St. John the Apostle is often depicted in art with his head resting on the breast of Christ, as he does at the Last Supper. Among the apostles, it was John alone who remained at Christ’s side at the crucifixion. John, in a sense, is among the first-born of the apostles, along with Peter, James, the Lord’s inner-circle. So how fitting it is to celebrate the apostle’s feast in such proximity to the Lord’s birthday, which John described in his Gospel, as the Word becoming flesh.

St. Ireneaus, bishop of Lyons around the year 200, reported with assurance: “John, the disciple of the Lord, who rested on the heart of Jesus, wrote a Gospel when he was in Ephesus.” Ireneaus, of course, was a disciple of St. Polycarp, who died around 156, and who was made bishop of Smyrna by St. John himself. Remaining so close to the Lord, it is no wonder that his Gospel is among the most mystical, filled with the most intense insight into the divine identity of the Lord.

In the Gospel for today’s feast, we read John’s own account of the morning of that first Easter. Upon hearing the news of the empty tomb, John sprints ahead of St. Peter to reach the Lord’s resting place. Was it his youthfulness or his intense love of the Lord which allowed him to reach the tomb first? Probably a little bit of both. Peter was likely weighed down by the guilt of having denied the Lord, during the Passion, while John had remained faithful. John, in his humility, though, shows deference to the Prince of the Apostles, by allowing Peter to enter the tomb first.

His humility may be a bit surprising, as elsewhere in the Gospel, John shows a thunderous temperament, wanting to call fire down from heaven on a group of unwelcoming Samaritans. Jesus, in fact, calls John, and his brother James, the sons of thunder.

We know, though, that the thunderous temperament of John was indeed tempered into a pure and zealous love of the Lord. After the resurrection, John preached the Gospel fearlessly, he was arrested, tortured, and exiled to the island of Patmos, from which he wrote his three new testament epistles, and continued to shepherd the Church with great pastoral care.

After his death, the bishop Polycrates testified that John’s body was returned to Ephesus, where he was once bishop and caretaker of the blessed Virgin Mary.

St. John is the patron of the diocese of Cleveland, and he is a powerful example to all of us: of zealous love for the Lord, temper under control, mystical prayer, devotion to the Blessed Virgin, tireless pastor, who used his intellectual gifts to combat the errors plaguing his flock and bestowing to the Church of all ages, a portrait of piercing insight of the Lord Jesus. May we know continuously the example and heavenly intercession of so great a patron saint for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We bring forth now our prayers of petitions.

For the Church of Cleveland under the patronage of St. John, apostle and evangelist, and particularly for Bishop Nelson Perez, that together we may witness faithfully and tirelessly to the truth of the Gospel

For Christians who are persecuted throughout the world, especially those who face martyrdom, that they may have a faith that is constant and pure.

For those oppressed by hunger, sickness or loneliness, that through the mystery of the Nativity of Christ, they may find relief in both mind and body.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord