3/28/2024 He is risen! Alleluia! For the women in today’s Gospel, nothing is as they anticipated. They expected to need help opening the tomb, but found it open. They expected to find Jesus’ body, but it was gone. They expected to be alone, as they gave their final loving care to their Lord, but found a man dressed in white. They thought the story of Jesus had come to an end, but heard that, not only was Jesus raised, they would see him again in Galilee. They thought their mission was the preparation of a dead body, but were given the responsibility for spreading the good news of the resurrection to the disciples and Peter. It’s a lot to take in! Did the women believe the young man’s report? The story doesn’t say, so we can only guess. We only know what they did. The last sentence of the Gospel, just one verse later explains, “They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” This, according to the scholars, was the original ending of Mark’s Gospel, the remaining verses having been added later. It’s a genuinely startling way to end a Gospel, with the greatest news ever, that Jesus had been raised from the dead, followed by the women’s fear and silence. I would like to suggest that the author did this to make us process our own reaction to the resurrection. If you’re puzzled, and maybe even uncomfortable with the way the women responded, saying nothing, how do you feel about your own reaction to the resurrection? Are you amazed? Do you doubt? If you doubt the universal witness of all four Gospels to the resurrection, what do you believe? That God and Jesus couldn’t do this? — that’s not likely. Or that God wouldn’t do this, perhaps because it hasn’t been done for any other figure in human history? God broke a lot of steady patterns, though, in the life and ministry of Jesus. If you believe, are you dedicating yourself to the Risen Lord, or to other pursuits? Are you proclaiming this extraordinary news to a world that needs the Good News of Jesus’ triumph over darkness, over oppressive high priests, over tombs and death itself? Or, are you, silent, too? Mark’s author seems to hope we’ll ponder these questions, be disturbed by the women’s silence, and act. So ... what shall you do? I hope that your Lent was terrific, your holy week genuinely blessed, and that Easter can build on that foundation with miracles! He is risen! Alleluia, Fr. Patrick Pastor 3/22/2024 HopeHope is an interesting virtue. It’s not like how we perceive the definition of hope to be in our everyday language. Generally, when we use the word, there is an implication that it is out of your hands. We usually use it as a prayer for odds to be beat. To hope is pray that things will be alright, despite the chances looking slim. In the virtuous sense, hope is quite different. It is certain that God’s will, will be done. Hope trusts in God’s many promises, knowing that they will happen. We are days away from the Triduum. As we celebrate the holiest part of our calendar, there are so many ups and downs. Both emotionally and spiritually. Why do we go through this? The answer is quite simple. It allows us to trust in God. When we really dive into readings of people who let Jesus down, it is hard to swallow. The crowds who once chanted “Hosanna” are now chanting for His execution. His friends, who took pride in their loyalty, are now denying that they even know Him. It’s tough to reflect on our Lord’s passion, especially if we see glimpses of ourselves in those who let Him down. Most people would view this betrayal as an excuse to take back good things that were promised. Our God does the opposite and continues his mission. As I stated earlier, Hope is certain. Despite the shortcomings of Jesus’ friends and disciples in the face of social turmoil and the fear of death, there is still Hope. Despite the pain, struggle and eventual death that Jesus went through, it is still certain that He is doing this so we can be with Him in paradise. Nothing could’ve changed His mind and nothing can stop Him from loving you. Since Hope is being certain in God’s promises, it implies that we need to recognize that God will never change. No matter how many times we ourselves have turned our backs from God, the Hope of salvation shines even brighter. No matter how many times we may have chosen other things over God, He still opened the gates of heaven for us. The Father knew the turmoil that His son had to go through and His willingness to die for us to have eternal life is evidence that Hope truly exists. Another reason to Hope is seen in the Resurrection. The one inevitable human experience is death. The Resurrection shows that God will overcome what is deemed impossible just to be with you. When Christ rose from the dead, he not only did the impossible, but He shows that it is more impossible for Him to cease loving you. As we deal with the ups and downs of the Triduum, let us keep sight on the Resurrection. Without it, none of this has meaning. God allows things to feel hopeless and dead to show you that he can conquer them. If death couldn’t even conquer Him, your sins definitely won’t. God Bless, Brett Becker Youth and Young Adult Minister 3/16/2024 “And Who Is My Neighbor?” Lk 10:29Who is our neighbor in this, our nuclear age with its wars and global conflicts? At the core of the Gospel is inclusiveness, challenging us to do the hard work of ever expanding our consciousness about who is our neighbor, and how best we can care or help in some fashion. We may associate neighbor with closeness, a next-door neighbor, or the person sitting in the next pew dealing with a mix of stresses, burdens and dreams. With a fiery new beginning in Lent, we can broaden our view of neighbor to see our neighbor in everyone with whom we come into contact: an overworked grocery clerk needing a kind word, a prayer for an impatient driver ahead of us in traffic, or a frustrated co-worker who really could benefit from a Snickers bar. It can get tough. Love of neighbor means those who may have hurt us, those we may not like, those we need to forgive, and those from whom we need forgiveness. Love of neighbor connects us closer to suffering brothers and sisters in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and people all around the world. Love of neighbor means loving those with whom we may strongly disagree politically. Perhaps, most difficult of all, may be loving the professed enemies of our country, who, like us, have the weaponry to destroy the earth. The magnificent Canticle of St. Francis of Assisi praises God for “Brother Sun and Sister Moon,” and for our “Brothers Wind, Air, and Fire,” and for “Sister Water and Mother Earth.” Can it be that in our nuclear age, the risen Christ reveals to us, that love of neighbor connects us with all of creation – including every person and every creature, even to the ends of the earth? Pax Christi USA is an organization grounded in the Gospel and Catholic social teaching and guided by the spirituality of nonviolence in order to foster a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world. To learn more, visit www.paxchristiusa.org. All are invited to our parish PAX Christi ministry. We meet every third Thursday at 7:00 pm in the San Fernando room. For more information, please contact Gary Freeberg gfreeberg@gmail.com or Deacon Luc Papillon lucpapillon@gmail.com. I extend to a heartfelt invitation to our next prayer gathering this Thursday, March 21. Siempre Adelante, Frank Bognar Parishioner and member of Pax Christi |
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