4th Sunday of Easter

So often we wonder what we mean to God, what He is doing with us or where He is leading us in our lives. Today's readings should give us hope. Jesus Christ should be the cornerstone of our foundation. The rock on which we stand. But when we want to move, where should we go? God has provided us a shepherd to guide us. The sheep do not lead themselves, the shepherd guides them to rich meadows full of grass to eat. He also leads them away from the dangerous predators who would kill or harm the sheep. But we are not sheep, and we know that. The second reading assures us who we are, which is the children of God.

Knowing these things is comforting, but still we wonder, “What is God doing with my life?” We can say, “Last year I did this good thing” or “Right now I am doing this.” or “One day, I hope to do that” but still we do not know what God wants from us. Today's second reading offers assurance. “Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” This letter to John assures us that we aren't supposed to know. Perhaps the accumulation of our life's work will be revealed to us in the end. The reading says, “We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” We will know where God led us, and what we did for Him when we see Him. Is this when we get to heaven?

In our entire lives, we have so many opportunities to do God's work. Sometimes it is easier to look for the big thing to do, the hurricane victim to rescue or the mission trip to go on, than it is to do the small thing, loving your neighbor or giving 35 cents to the homeless guy. Not everyone can do the big things, but all of us can do the small things. Will the most important thing we did in our entire lives be a big thing or a small thing or many small things? Perhaps the accumulation of our lives is to smile at that one person who will go on to change the world. Perhaps the $20 donated to the mission trip car wash fundraiser didn't seem like much, but it helped 25 students get that much closer to Honduras. In those 25 students, maybe one needed the trip desperately so God could crack their hard shell and shine His light into their life. Perhaps that one student became a priest who goes on to lead many parishes and speak to the hearts of thousands of people. That $20 doesn't seem so small now, does it?

We can all work for God, we may not know how our actions change others, but there is a change. If we live as God's children, let the Shepherd guide us, and stand on the Rock then we shouldn't worry if we are doing the right thing for God. He won't let us do anything else.

Divine Mercy Sunday

For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
 And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
 Who indeed is the victor over the world
 but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5: 4-5)

What does it mean to conquer the world? This scripture is not referring to world domination like the goal in board game Risk. It is referring to our more personal world and the things we deal with on a daily basis: work, home, self, family, friends, coworkers, money issues, grief, fear, illness, uncertainty, death, disability, trauma, etc.

One very good example of this is the death of Fr. Bill. As a community our hearts are saddened, but we have the faith that he is with God in heaven. We could be consumed in grief, but we should be filled with joy because he is receiving the reward of his life. Conquering the world with our faith may be easy with the passing of a holy person, but it can be done in other types of situations too.

When struggling with the overwhelming situations of daily life, its important to remember that God wants what is best for us. Ever since He placed mankind in the Garden of Eden, God designed the world to give us the best. It is our own foolish human nature that leads us away from the best things that He has planned for us. It is our weakness of faith that lets life defeat us sometimes. When we are tempted to declare defeat, that’s the world that we need to conquer with our faith.

Sometimes it is hard to love our neighbor, enemies, and even our family. Sometimes it is hard to believe that God wants what is best for us when there is a pile of bills to be paid and no money in the bank. The same is true when a loved one has a disability or is in the hospital with little chance of recovery. Again this is true when dealing with defeat and failure of best laid plans. It is hard to believe when hearing the news of war, famine, and horrors in distant countries. However, God does want what is best for us.

When the world tries to defeat us, having faith in God’s plan, faith in heaven, and faith in his providence will help us conquer our world. Who indeed is the victor over the world
 but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Belief in Jesus is belief in the words he preached, belief in our community, belief in heaven and through these things, belief that God will provide and lead us to what is best .

Easter

Hosanna He is risen! Easter is the most important holiday in our church year, every thing that we do and believe as Christians centers around this holy day. Jesus’ teachings and his entire life can be summed up in his sacrifice on the cross which triumphed over death and gave eternal life to all who believe. Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to give his life so that we might have life. His death and resurrection teach us to follow what he has done and to love so much that we would be willing to give a sacrifical love to others. We must love so much that we would be willing to give our lives so that others may have life. Everything in our faith can be summed up with this life-giving love.

How has Jesus given life to us? How can we give that life to others? How can we love someone so much that we could give our life for them? How are we life giving? Is it through our marriages or chaste relationships that respect the life-giving power God has given us? Is it through our children? Do we give life by holding our tongue when we have a potentially hurtful opinion? By encouraging the best in others? By showing kindness to someone we dislike? By forgiving people who have hurt us the most? By seeking forgiveness when we have hurt others?

Sometimes living a live-giving love can seem difficult or even impossible! In order to give something away to others, we must have received it first. Just as we would prepare for a race by exercise training and proper nutrition, we can do the same to prepare to love others as Christ taught us. Every day in Catholic churches around the world, Jesus’ sacrifice is celebrated on the altar. We can draw the strength we need in order to be life-giving from the sacrifice that is re-lived on the altar at Mass. Receiving the Eucharist is the way that we can strengthen and nourish ourselves to live as Christ lived and love as Christ loved.