May in Year C 10

Click on any date to go to the Thought for that Day

Morning Offering: O Jesus, through the most pure heart of Mary, I offer you all the prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your divine heart, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass. I offer them especially for the Holy Father's intentions:

Pope Benedict's general intention for May is: "That the shameful and monstrous commerce in human beings, which sadly involves millions of women and children, may be ended."

The Holy Father also chooses an apostolic intention for each month. In May he will pray: "That ordained ministers, religious women and men, and laypeople involved in apostolic work may understand how to infuse missionary enthusiasm into the communities entrusted to their care."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday of the fourth week in Eastertide C

Prayers today: You are a people God claims as his own, to praise him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light, alleluia. (1 Pt 2:9)

Father, may we whom you renew in baptism bear witness to our faith by the way we live. By the suffering, death, and resurrection of your Son may we come to eternal joy. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, .

(May 1) St. Joseph the Worker

Apparently in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. But the relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers has a much longer history. In a constantly necessary effort to keep Jesus from being removed from ordinary human life, the Church has from the beginning proudly emphasized that Jesus was a carpenter, obviously trained by Joseph in both the satisfactions and the drudgery of that vocation. Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating. Whether we make a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind, ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 13: 44-52; Psalm 98:1-4; John 14:7-14

Jesus said to his disciples, If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Philip said, Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Jesus answered: Don't you know me, Philip, even

after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14: 7-14)

He is divine As St John presents it, Jesus made extraordinary and absolutely unprecedented statements about himself quite publicly, before the crowds and before the religious leaders. For instance, following his dramatic cleansing of the Temple, he told the leaders that “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again” (2:19) ― referring to his resurrection from the dead. In the synagogue of Capernaum he told the assembled congregation, among whom were many of his disciples, that they must eat

his flesh as real food, and drink his blood as real drink, if they were to live. As a result of this announcement he lost many of his disciples (6:67). He stated he was the Light of the world and the Good Shepherd. Especially noteworthy was his way of speaking about God and his relationship with God. God was his own personal, natural Father. He was literally God’s own natural Son, and God had sent him and was always with him. He, Jesus, never sinned — he always did what pleased his Father, and he challenged his enemies to convict him of any sin. “What do you claim to be?” they asked him (8:54). Our Lord’s reply to this pivotal question was unheard of in the history of God’s chosen people and in the inspired writings, and it was uttered in the Temple itself: “Believe me, before ever Abraham came to be, I am” (8:58). This was too much, and they took up stones in order to stone him. On another occasion, again in the Temple, he declared before the leaders that he and the Father were one (10:30). On this occasion again, “the Jews” took up stones in order to stone him. Christ proceeded to engage them in debate about it, and affirmed that “the Father is in me, and I am in the Father” (10:38). They sought forthwith to arrest him, but once again he escaped. Before raising Lazarus from the dead he told Martha that he was the Resurrection and the Life. The one who believed in him, though he were to die, would live forever (11:25). What did all these extraordinary statements, supported by extraordinary miracles, and by one who was manifestly so holy, indicate? It indicated that he was divine.

It is now the night before he was to die and the night of his betrayal. He is at the most solemn Supper of his life and he is bequeathing to his beloved disciples the most precious of his gifts. That gift is what would come to be called the Holy Eucharist. He is also, in John’s account, giving to them his most precious of teachings, revealing to them who he is and who God his own Father is. In its essential lines the doctrine of his own divinity had been revealed before, and publicly, and it would be in witness to this revealed truth that he would on the morrow be going to his terrible death. But here with his disciples, Christ tells them more and at greater depth, while retaining his remarkable simplicity of expression. “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Christ had repeatedly referred to his Father as the object of his love, veneration and obedience, and had said that the Father is greater than he — precisely because, obviously, he is “the Father.” Here, though, our Lord tells the disciples that they now know the Father and can see him. This was a remarkable utterance, and Philip responded with the obvious question: Lord we do not see the Father. You say we see him, but how is this? We don’t see him, so show him to us. But Christ had just formally said that they already do see him and that they already do know him. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (John 14: 7-14). How simple are our Lord’s words in describing such an ineffable mystery! The Father’s face, we might say, is Jesus Christ. While the two are distinct persons -.one is the Father and the other is the Son — there is another sense in which they are absolutely one. Each separately is the same one divine Being, Yahweh the Lord. Each is so united to the other, as to be “in” the other, and what the one is doing, the other is doing.

If there is one thing that is luminously clear in our Gospel passage today, it is that Jesus Christ is very much a man. We see this even from the way his disciples speak and interact with him. There is no hesitation with questions, and their relationship with our Lord is direct and familiar. He is their Master and Lord, but their dear Friend too. However, he reveals to them that he, Jesus, is the one God, just as his Father is the one God. If they wish to know the Father, they are to look on him. When the Father reveals himself, what people see is his son Jesus. Each is in the other — and it means that if we are in Jesus by grace, then likewise we are in the Father. Let us resolve to live in union with Jesus, for by doing this we live in union with God, Father, Son and Spirit.

(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection (Acts 13:44-52)

The heart of man One of the saddest mysteries of life is the adverse reaction that is possible towards goodness, and indeed

towards God himself. We think of the rebellion of some of the angels, or the hostility that some felt towards Jesus, whom to see is to see the Father. In Acts 13:44-52 there is portrayed the hostile reaction of some Jews towards the preaching of Paul and Barnabas. We read that this was due to their jealousy. The human heart is very capable of resisting the good. Now, we can think of all this as something 'out there', and not involving ourselves. On the contrary, it affects ourselves profoundly. Let each of us consider our response to the call to goodness that our conscience presents to us with every day. Why has not our response to this call been more wholehearted? This reluctance towards goodness is rooted in our own hears also. It is not something “out there.”

We must confront this sinfulness that characterizes our condition. It must be recognized and gradually overcome with prayer, self-denial and above all the grace of the Holy Spirit available to us in the Sacraments and in the life of the Church. As we think of the hostility towards God and Christ that Scripture portrays time and again, let us take it as reminding us of our own hearts and of the work that lies ahead of us.
(E.J.Tyler)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesus, if there is anything in me which is displeasing to you, tell me what it is so that we may uproot it.
(The Forge, no.108)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All teaching about duty and obedience, about attaining heaven, and about the office of Christ towards us, is hollow and unsubstantial, which is not built here, in the doctrine of our original corruption and helplessness; and, in consequence, of original guilt and sin. Christ Himself indeed is the foundation, but a broken, self-abased, self-renouncing heart is (as it were) the ground and soil in which the foundation must be laid; and it is but building on the sand to profess to believe in Christ, yet not to acknowledge that without Him we can do nothing.

JHN, from the sermon ‘Righteousness not of us, but in us’ (1840)

Fifth Sunday of Eastertide C

Prayers today: Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous deeds; he has revealed to the nations his saving power, alleluia. (Ps 97:1-2)

God our Father, look upon us with love. You redeem us and make us your children in Christ. Give us true freedom and bring us to the inheritance you promised. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son. .
or
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you have revealed to the nations your saving power and filled all ages with the words of a new song. Hear the echo of this hymn. Give us voice to sing your praise throughout this season of joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

(May 2) St. Athanasius (295?-373)
Athanasius led a tumultuous but dedicated life of service to the Church. He was the great champion of the faith against the widespread heresy of Arianism. The vigour of his writings earned him the title of doctor of the Church. Born of a Christian family

in Alexandria, Egypt, and given a classical education, Athanasius became secretary to Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, entered the priesthood and was eventually named bishop himself. His predecessor, Alexander, had been an outspoken critic of a new movement growing in the East—Arianism. When Athanasius assumed his role as bishop of Alexandria, he continued the fight against Arianism. At first it seemed that the battle would be easily won and that Arianism would be condemned. Such, however, did not prove to be the case. The Council of Tyre was called and for several reasons that are still unclear, the Emperor Constantine exiled Athanasius to northern Gaul. This was to be the first in a series of travels and exiles reminiscent of the life of St. Paul. After Constantine died, his son restored Athanasius as bishop. This lasted only a year, however, for he was deposed once again by a coalition of Arian bishops. Athanasius took his case to Rome, and Pope Julius I called a synod to review the case and other related matters. Five times Athanasius was exiled for his defence of the doctrine of Christ’s divinity. During one period of his life, he enjoyed 10 years of relative peace — reading, writing and promoting the Christian life along the lines of the monastic ideal to which he was greatly devoted. His dogmatic and historical writings are almost all polemic, directed against every aspect of Arianism. Among his ascetical writings, his Life of St. Anthony (January 17) achieved astonishing popularity and contributed greatly to the establishment of monastic life throughout the Western Christian world. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 14: 21-27; Psalm 144; Apocalypse 21: 1-5; John 13: 31-35

When he was gone, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13: 31-35)

Love and the Eucharist At the point of this reflection, the epicentre of world strife continues to be the Middle East, and in particular that between Israel and the Palestinians. Within that geographical setting, Islam and Judaism are in continual conflict. Many Muslims ― though not all ― are hostile to Jews, and many Jews ― though not all ― are hostile to Muslims. Prescinding from this case of conflict, in so many situations in human history, those of opposite convictions take their stand on “the truth” (as they

understand it). This stand is enforced on their fellows with all the rigour at their command, and the result is the denial of human rights with all its social and political turmoil. This, we might even say, is bearing witness to the truth in a spirit of contempt for others. In fact, it is scarcely the spirit of truth at all. Squeezed within all the strife are the Christians. It is said that a complaint against the Christians is that they are too detached, too uncommitted to the cause. That is to say, they are not firmly on one side or the other of the strife. They just talk of peace. This is a complaint by some who are active in the hostilities, and indeed it could be said to refer to the typically Christian stance. I have read Christian leaders in the area state that they see the Christian presence as a bridge and as an agent of harmony. While the Christian takes his stand on the truth, he does not regard this as a complete description of his stand. His ideal ― even if he often fails to attain it ― is to take his stand on the truth, but in a spirit of Christ-like love. On all hands, the absolute significance of the truth is accepted. Each side of the conflict intends standing for “the truth.” Apart from the question of what “the truth” is, what is consistently forgotten is the divine law of love. The same defect often prevails in countries of peace. Probably the greatest shaper of culture and opinion in modern democratic society is the media, and it prides itself on its freedom to publish “the truth.” All too often it forgets the law of love and so what is called “the truth,” which is often falsehood, is trumpeted before all with little concern for the loss of reputation and harm flowing in its wake.

Our Lord came among us to reveal the truth about himself and his saving mission. His revelation of this divine truth brought down upon himself a tremendous persecution. In our Gospel passage today our Lord is giving his parting words to his disciples before going to meet his final moment of bearing witness to the truth. They will have the mission of bearing witness to his truth to the ends of the earth, but here, in his final meeting with them before going forth to suffer and to die, he speaks to them of love. They are to love as he has loved. “I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13: 31-35). It is by their love that all men will know that they are his disciples. It is by our love that people will know that we are Christians. So much is this so, and so well known is it, that in popular language the word “Christian” often means nothing other than love and kindness, with no reference to the truth of Christ. What the Christian is called to do is to bear witness to the truth of Christ in a spirit of love ― the love of Christ. Our witness ought be a reflection of Christ’s witness, and, just as Christ was consumed with love for men in the entire witness of his life, so ought we, in imitation of our divine Master. Now ― and this brings us to a fundamental matter ― we can only hope to do this by being united in a daily and living way with the risen Jesus, from whom has come the command to love as he loves us. This union with Jesus is nourished above all by the faith-filled reception of Holy Communion. Holy Communion increases our union with Christ and with his Church. It preserves and renews the life of grace received at our Baptism and Confirmation, and makes us grow in love for our neighbour. It strengthens us in charity and helps us in our fight against sin. Inasmuch as the Eucharist is Christ himself, it fills us with all heavenly blessings. Most of all, it nourishes in us the capacity to bear witness to the truth in a spirit of love.

If we aspire to love others with the love of Christ ― as we most certainly should ― then we ought receive the Holy Eucharist regularly and with truly pious dispositions. In Holy Communion we commune with Christ and receive from him a greater share in his own divine life. This divine life is above all the life of love. God is love, St John tells us in his Letter. In entering into union with Jesus at Holy Communion, we receive the capacity to love as he loves. Let us love the Holy Eucharist then, and make it the summit and source of the Christian life, which it certainly is.
(E.J.Tyler)

Further reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.1822-1829 (Charity)
no.1396-1401 (The Eucharist and unity)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is an enemy of the interior life which is both little and silly. Unfortunately, it can be very effective. It is the neglect of effort in one’s examination of conscience.
(The Forge, no.109)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Divine grace does not overpower nor supersede the action of the human mind according to its proper nature.

JHN, from The Idea of a University Part II (1852)

Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

Prayers today: The Lord chose these holy men for their unfeigned love, and gave them eternal glory, alleluia.

God our Father, every year you give us joy on the festival of the apostles Philip and James. By the help of their prayers may we share in the suffering, death, and resurrection of your only Son and come to the eternal vision of your glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,.

(May 3) Saints Philip and James
James, Son of Alphaeus: We know nothing of this man but his name, and of course the fact that Jesus chose him to be one of the 12 pillars of the New Israel, his Church. He is not the James of Acts, son of Clopas, “brother” of Jesus and later bishop of Jerusalem and the traditional author of the Letter of James. James, son of Alphaeus, is also known as James the Lesser to avoid

confusing him with James the son of Zebedee, also an apostle and known as James the Greater.
Philip: Philip came from the same town as Peter and Andrew, Bethsaida in Galilee. Jesus called him directly, whereupon he sought out Nathanael and told him of the “one about whom Moses wrote” (John 1:45). Like the other apostles, Philip took a long time coming to realize who Jesus was. On one occasion, when Jesus saw the great multitude following him and wanted to give them food, he asked Philip where they should buy bread for the people to eat. St. John comments, “[Jesus] said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do” (John 6:6). Philip answered, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit]” (John 6:7). John’s story is not a put-down of Philip. It was simply necessary for these men who were to be the foundation stones of the Church to see the clear distinction between humanity’s total helplessness apart from God and the human ability to be a bearer of divine power by God’s gift. On another occasion, we can almost hear the exasperation in Jesus’ voice. After Thomas had complained that they did not know where Jesus was going, Jesus said, “I am the way...If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6a, 7). Then Philip said, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” (John 14:8). Enough! Jesus answered, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9a). Possibly because Philip bore a Greek name or because he was thought to be close to Jesus, some Gentile proselytes came to him and asked him to introduce them to Jesus. Philip went to Andrew, and Andrew went to Jesus. Jesus’ reply in John’s Gospel is indirect; Jesus says that now his “hour” has come, that in a short time he will give his life for Jew and Gentile alike. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: 1 Corinthians 15: 1-8; Psalm 18; John 14: 6-14.

Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Philip said, Lord, show us the Father and

that will be enough for us. Jesus answered: Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14: 6-14)

Know him! Throughout the Gospels we see that our Lord is addressed as Rabbi, Teacher, Master. From the beginning of his public ministry, even before his ministry began, this was a title which was used to address him. We read in the first chapter of St John’s Gospel, that John the Baptist observed Jesus walking along and said to two of his disciples, “There is the Lamb of God!” He was implicitly directing them to leave him for One who was much greater than he. Thereupon the two disciples followed

Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and asked, “What are you seeking?” They said to him, “Rabbi (which means Master, Teacher), where do you live?” So from the outset of his ministry our Lord was recognized as guide, instructor, teacher ― a master in the things of God. Throughout his ministry he was addressed as Rabbi even by his enemies when they wished to pose a question to him. At the Last Supper, when our Lord rose after having washed the feet of his disciples, he acknowledged that they called him Master and Lord ― “and rightly so, for that is what I am.” Having risen from the dead, he spoke with Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday morning. She addressed him as Rabbi, or Teacher. In his Prologue, St John referred to him as the light of life ― so he is a Light. Our Lord described himself as the Light of the world. The one who follows him walks in the light, whereas the one who refuses to follow him, is in the dark. Our Lord was viewed by the people as understanding fully the things of God, and as a teacher who spoke with an authority far greater than that of the scribes. He was never nonplussed, never caught out, and was never anything but the victor in debate. We read that the Pharisees learnt that he silenced the Sadducees, and when they approached him with their trick question about taxes, they were overawed by his answer. Nothing seemed able to halt his supremacy as a Teacher. The Christian in his turn looks to Jesus Christ as the Way and the Truth. His teaching is our guide to heaven, and that teaching comes to us in the utterances of the Church built on the rock of Peter.

But our stance with respect to Jesus Christ is not simply that of listening to his teaching. He is not just a voice, a source of teaching. Islam looks upon Mahomet as its prophet and though it highly reveres Mahomet in this capacity, it endeavours to keep its focus on God. Mahomet, as Islam views it, passed on what God had revealed to him and wrote it down. It is this revelation, this teaching, which the Muslim thinks of and lives by. This is shown, I think, by the fact that Islam will not depict Mahomet ― let alone his face. It wishes to think only of the word that Mahomet passed on as enshrined in the Koran. This is not the case with Jesus Christ. The disciple of Jesus Christ not only thinks of his teaching, but even more, of him. The most essential feature of the Christian religion is the knowledge and love of the person of Jesus Christ. Obedience to his teaching is the test, the proof and the fruit of this love. Thus it is that while the face of Mahomet is not depicted by Islam, the face of Jesus Christ most certainly is depicted by Christianity. Pope Benedict has referred to Jesus Christ as the face of the Father. Jesus is not just our Master but our Lord ― the word “Lord” suggesting an altogether special veneration for his Person. It is a veneration showing itself in obedience to his teaching. All of this is suggested by our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel (John 14: 6-14). “No-one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Our Lord is speaking of knowing him and knowing the Father ― more is required than just knowing and following his teaching. “Philip said, Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Jesus answered: Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?” Our Lord is encouraging his disciples to “see” him, to know him, and through him to “see” and know the Father. Christ is not just Teacher (Master). He is also our Friend and Lord.

Philip and James came to know Jesus Christ and to love him passionately. To attain sanctity, of course, we must listen to our Lord and put his teaching into practice. Jesus said that it is not those who simply say to him, Lord! Lord! who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of his Father in heaven. But part and parcel of this, and indeed its foundation, is the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. At the Last Supper our Lord said during his prayer that “eternal life is this, to know you, Father, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” So let us strive to know Jesus Christ more and more intimately, to love him more dearly, and on this basis to listen to him and obey.
(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Christian asceticism the examination of conscience meets a need of love, and of sensitivity.
(The Forge, no.110)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are now approaching that most sacred day when we commemorate Christ’s passion and death. Let us try to fix our minds upon this great thought. Let us try, what is so very difficult, to put off other thoughts, to clear our minds of things transitory, temporal, and earthly, and to occupy them with the contemplation of the Eternal Priest and His one ever-enduring Sacrifice.

JHN, from the sermon ‘The Incarnate Son, a Sufferer and Sacrifice’ (1836)

Tuesday of the fifth week in Eastertide C

Prayers today: All you who fear God, both the great and the small, give praise to him! For his salvation and strength have come, the power of Christ, alleluia. (Rev 19:5; 12: 10)

Father, you restored your people to eternal life by raising Christ your Son from death. Make our faith strong and our hope sure. May we never doubt that you will fulfill the promises you have made. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

(May 4) Blessed Michael Giedroyc (d. 1485)
A life of physical pain and mental torment didn’t prevent Michael Giedroyc from achieving holiness. Born near Vilnius, Lithuania, Michael suffered from physical and permanent handicaps from birth. He was a dwarf who had the use of only one foot. Because of his delicate physical condition, his formal education was frequently interrupted. But over time, Michael showed special skills at metalwork. Working with bronze and silver, he created sacred vessels, including chalices. He travelled to Cracow Poland, where he joined the Augustinians. He received permission to live the life of a hermit in a cell adjoining the monastery. There Michael spent his days in prayer, fasted and abstained from all meat and lived to an old age. Though he knew the meaning of suffering throughout his years, his rich spiritual life brought him consolation. Michael’s long life ended in 1485 in Cracow. Five hundred years later, Pope John Paul II visited the city and spoke to the faculty of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. The 15th century in Cracow, the pope said, was “the century of saints.” Among those he cited was Blessed Michael Giedroyc. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 14:19-28; Psalm 145:10-13ab, 21; John 14:27-31a

Jesus said to his disciples, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. (John 14: 27-31a)

Suffering In view of his altogether peerless character and the works he performed, the most striking feature of the life of Christ is his ignominious death. He began with the crowds following him in great numbers ― and at one point they wanted to make him their king. But he was not deceived. Throughout his public ministry there was a growing rejection and hostility, especially by the leaders, to what he was saying and doing. This was manifest to his own disciples, and it just may have been a

factor in the abandonment of our Lord by many of them when, at Capernaum, he taught the doctrine of the Eucharist. Some may have judged that he was not going to prevail anyway, so what was the point of their staying with him, especially after hearing that they were to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Satan was very busy, and we read at the end of the sixth chapter of John that Satan had gained a firm foothold within the very circle of the Twelve. Our Lord told the Twelve that one of them was a devil, even though he had chosen all twelve of them. He had given such proofs of his claims, and had shown that every heavenly blessing was available in him. Yet he could see that he was not going to gain the nation and its leaders. The rejection was growing in intensity and, at the last, this rejection would win out. Thus he ended his days without honour ― meaning by this, without the honour of those who mattered in the nation. He died as if a criminal and among criminals, enduring the humiliation of his innocence and his rights being recognized by the Roman governor but not vindicated by him. Rather, for the governor’s own peace of mind he was handed over to the mob and its ringleaders for a lynching. Crucifixion was the most degrading of deaths ― one that was even prohibited for Roman citizens. It seems to have taken a long time for Christians to begin depicting Christ nailed on the cross. In a word, he was “unsuccessful,” and his followers were left devastated. Now, what does Christ say in the face of this? He says, “ Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Christ knew that this would be his course. It was no surprise to him. He even said that it had to be, and that the Scriptures had foretold it as being part and parcel of his mission. Indeed, his suffering and his terrible death were an essential part of it, and its most important part. His business was to take away the sin of the world and to sanctify it with the gift of a share in his own Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son. Mysteriously, the way forward to this goal was obedience in the midst of terrible rejection and suffering. It was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer in order to enter his glory, and he taught his disciples that this was the path for all who aspire to follow him. They too had to drink his chalice. It is a lesson constantly repeated in the life and history of the Church, and every time it is uttered, it remains still a hard saying. The Christian has to learn that lesson, and he must not be troubled or afraid when he sees persecution coming or actually upon him. Nor must he be troubled or afraid when he sees persecution engulfing the most prominent of Christ’s disciples. The prince of this world is coming, our Lord said ― referring to his own Passion and Death. We must presume that there is a similar demonic activity when Christ’s closest disciples have the most to suffer, especially from the world. For instance, in my own living memory over the past forty-five years, especially noteworthy have been the attacks on the reigning Pope of the time. Pope Paul VI, whose Cause for Canonization is proceeding, was virulently attacked by the world’s media, especially after he issued his condemnation of artificial contraception in his famous Encyclical, Humanae Vitae. Pope John Paul II was frequently attacked. Pope Benedict XVI, so eminent in quality and accomplishments, has been attacked time and again. Now, this is to be expected in much of history because Christ is the paradigm. Our Lord was attacked for violation of received religious practices, for blasphemy in his claims about himself, and for being in league with Satan. He set the direction that was to be expected for the Church, and he said, Do not let your hearts be troubled and afraid.

As a matter of fact, suffering and humiliation is the school of sanctity. When we see the Vicar of Christ on earth being attacked and humiliated, when we think of the sufferings which any true follower of Christ must endure, let us think of our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel (John 14: 27-31a). Our hearts must not be troubled. We ought pray for those who suffer, realizing, though, that their sufferings are a sign of Christ’s special love for them. They are being drawn along the same path as Christ himself. Suffering and humiliation is Christ’s school of sanctity. Let us pray that this suffering bears the fruit intended by God for the Church and the world.
(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection (Acts 14:19-28)

Suffering Paul and his friends were stoned, dragged outside the town, and generally persecuted (Acts 14:19-28). But he and

they were never overcome by these sufferings endured in the service of Christ and the Gospel. They had a remarkable resilience, forever getting up and continuing their mission with an unceasing freshness. What was the key to this perseverance in the work they had been given? One key to it was surely their very attitude to suffering, the suffering with which they were repeatedly afflicted. They saw that it had great meaning and value. They understood and publicly said that suffering was necessary: "We all have to experience many hardships before we enter the kingdom of God." In this they were echoing our Lord who said that the Messiah had to suffer to enter into his glory. So they saw suffering (as connected with the doing of God's will) as most fruitful and as a privileged moment of union with Christ the Redeemer. Thus suffering never discouraged but only encouraged them.

Let us pray for the grace to appreciate suffering in this light. If we have a truly Christ-like attitude to suffering, suffering will transform our lives.
(E.J.Tyler)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there is anything in you that is out of harmony with God’s spirit, get rid of it straight away!

Think of the Apostles. They were not of much account, yet they could work miracles in the name of the Lord. Only Judas, who at one time may also have worked miracles, went astray by voluntarily separating himself from Christ, because he did not cut himself off violently and courageously from what was out of harmony with God’s spirit.
(The Forge, no.111)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whatever troubles come on you, of mind, body, or estate; from within or from without; from chance or from intent; from friends or foes;—what ever your trouble be, though you be lonely, O children of a heavenly Father, be not afraid! … when it is over, Christ will receive you to Himself, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

JHN, from the sermon ‘Warfare the Condition of Victory’ (1838)

Prayers today: Fill me with your praise and I will sing your glory; songs of joy will be on my lips, alleluia. (Psalm 70: 8, 23)

Father of all holiness, guide our hearts to you. Keep in the light of your truth all those you have freed from the darkness of unbelief. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

(May 5) St. Hilary of Arles (400-449)
Born in France in the early fifth century, Hilary came from an aristocratic family. In the course of his education he encountered his relative, Honoratus, who encouraged the young man to join him in the monastic life. Hilary did so. He continued to follow in the footsteps of Honoratus as bishop. Hilary was only 29 when he was chosen bishop of Arles. The new, youthful bishop undertook the role with confidence. He did manual labour to earn money for the poor. He sold sacred vessels to ransom captives. He became a magnificent orator. He travelled everywhere on foot, always wearing simple clothing. That was the bright side. Hilary encountered difficulty in his relationships with other bishops over whom he had some jurisdiction. He unilaterally deposed one bishop. He selected another bishop to replace one who was very ill-but, to complicate matters, did not die! Pope St. Leo the Great kept Hilary a bishop but stripped him of some of his powers. Hilary died at 49. He was a man of talent and piety who, in due time, had learned how to be a bishop. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 15:1-6; Psalm 122:1-5; John 15:1-8

I am the true vine, and my Father is the Vinedresser. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that

does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15: 1-8)

Union It is a wondrous and ever-fascinating thought that in a certain locality and at a certain point of history, God-made-man was walking the earth. In the backwater of Nazareth, people were rubbing shoulders with a Man who was God himself. They spoke with him, ate with him and enjoyed things with him. They were his friends and relatives. The time came when he left the village and launched into his public work as prophet of God, gradually revealing that he was much more than a prophet, and

indeed much more than just a man ― though being man and prophet nevertheless. The greatest thing on earth was to be his disciple and friend and to share his life, and there were those who understood this well. They left everything to follow him. But consider this. Jesus was a little difficult of access. Crowds impeded access to him. Moreover, he had continually to move on, for that was his mission. On one occasion when he had left the house in Capernaum very early to go out beyond the town to pray, Simon Peter sought him out, saying that all were looking for him. But he said he had to move on. On another occasion our Lord and the crowds were moving through Jericho and Bar Timaus the blind beggar began shouting for Jesus. The problem was the crowds. Fortunately our Lord heard him, and asked that he be brought to him. It was difficult remaining close ― physically close ― to our Lord, except for those he chose for this vocation, such as the Twelve. All this is to say that God the Son became man and subjected himself to the human condition. This involved limitations of space and time, which in turn shaped the circumstances in which a person could be his disciple and his friend. The possessed man in the territory of the Gerasenes (Mark 5), having been healed by our Lord, earnestly desired to accompany him. But our Lord would not let him. He received a different mission ― to spread the word about Jesus to his own pagan environs. He was a disciple, but was separated from Jesus because of his distinct vocation and the circumstances of time and place.

Ah! All that has now changed, because Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and lives in glory. There is nothing separating us from him, neither time nor space nor any circumstances whatever. The one who is baptized is in Jesus Christ, just as he is in the Father. The baptized person, the member of Christ’s Church founded on the apostles and on Peter, finds himself always to be close to Jesus ― unless he deliberately breaks this wondrous bond by serious sin. Even if he sins, by the grace of God he can repent and be restored to closeness to Jesus Christ. Crowds cannot separate us from him, nor can distance, nor can our distinctive vocation which might take us anywhere and into unfavourable circumstances. We are in Jesus Christ, and nothing now can separate us from him. We are in union with Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is surely because of this that Christ said to his disciples at the Last Supper that they ought be glad that he was going to the Father. He would be closer to them than ever before, because the Spirit would be sent to them. This is the import of our beautiful Gospel passage today (John 15: 1-8), in which our Lord tells his disciples, and through them to all of us, to remain in him. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” I am sure that our Lord longed to be able to be intimately close to each and all of his disciples, not only then, but from then on till the end of the world. In his human condition prior to his glorification he was subject to the limitations of time and space and many other limitations besides. Once glorified, there would be no such limitations. He would be the Vine that has branches, and each disciple till the end of the world would be like a branch growing on the Vine, pulsating with its life. Because of this union, every one of us can bear fruit that will last, whatever be our circumstances.

How blessed is the Christian! How blessed is the member of the Church which Christ founded on the Apostles! He does not simply live in the glow of the wonderful memory of Jesus Christ. He does not simply have the inestimable advantage of Christ’s teaching. He is graced with a union with the living person of Jesus. This is not only because of having received the grace to love Jesus Christ, but also because of the grace of rebirth in baptism that establishes his very being in the person of Jesus. He shares in the divine life of Jesus, and wherever he is, whatever he does, whatever be his circumstances, he is in Jesus just as Jesus is in the Father. Let us live what we are, then!
(E.J.Tyler)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection (John 15:1-8)

Futility One of the most persistent human problems that many have to face is the sense of futility in one's life. Observing the

apparent success of others, one can be struck by the feeling that by comparison one's life and work is of little value. It has borne little apparent fruit. It is a little hopeless. Now, has God said anything about this? God has made it clear just what it is, in his sight, that will constitute a fruitful life and just who it is who will bear much fruit. In God's plan we are branches of a Vine, and he is the Vinedresser (John 15:1-8). The Vine is Christ. Therefore, enduring fruit has its source not primarily in our own gifts and efforts but in him. We will bear fruit, fruit that will last to the extent that we remain in union with him, as branches of the Vine. Our connection with him has its source, of course, in our baptism and this connection or union is nourished by our life of prayer and the sacraments.

We can all be fruitful and God wants all of us to bear fruit, much fruit, fruit that will last. This will happen if our union with Christ grows strong and if our efforts remain united to his. That is the answer to the sense of futility. Let us always bear this in mind, not only to overcome discouragement, but to ensure that we take the correct steps to make our lives truly fruitful.
(E.J.Tyler)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

My God, when am I going to convert?
(The Forge, no.112)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He who has the truth within him, though he cannot evolve it out of his heart in shape and proportions for another’s inspection, is blessed beyond all comparison above him, who has much to say, and says what is true, but says it not from himself, but by rote, and could say quite as well just the reverse, did it so happen that he mistook it for truth.

JHN, from the sermon ‘Grounds for Steadfastness in our Religious Profession’ (1841)

Prayers today: Let us sing to the Lord, he has covered himself in glory! The Lord is my strength, and I praise him: he is the Saviour of my life, alleluia. (Ex 15: 1-2)

Father, in your love you have brought us from evil to good and from misery to happiness. Through your blessings give the courage of perseverance to those you have called and justified by faith. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

(May 6) Saints Marian and James (d. 259)
Often, it’s hard to find much detail from the lives of saints of the early Church. What we know about the third-century martyrs we honour today is likewise minimal. But we do know that they lived and died for the faith. Almost 2,000 years later, that is enough reason to honour them.
Born in North Africa, Marian was a lector or reader; James was a deacon. For their devotion to the faith they suffered during the persecution of Valerian. Prior to their persecution Marian and James were visited by two bishops who encouraged them in the faith not long before they themselves were martyred. A short time later, Marian and James were arrested and interrogated. The two readily confessed their faith and, for that, were tortured. While in prison they are said to have experienced visions, including one of the two bishops who had visited them earlier. On the last day of their lives, Marian and James joined other Christians facing martyrdom. They were blindfolded and then put to death. Their bodies were thrown into the water. The year was 259.
(AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 15:7-21; Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 10; John 15:9-11

Jesus said to his disciples: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (John 15:9-11)

Joy It is almost proverbial that the problem for mankind is the problem of evil and suffering. I remember reading an article by a well-known British anthropologist who was a specialist in primal religions ― the religions of indigenous societies. In his view, a key to the understanding of a primal religion was its response to evil and suffering. What do its myths and its ritual make of the evil in the world and the suffering that marks the course of man? The fact is that man is subject to so many forces that are

absolutely beyond his control, and his helplessness in the face of this can be seen as one of the founts of religion. He appeals to the powers above him for help and salvation. He cannot get enough food. He is cold and threatened with fire and flood. Disease strikes his tribe or his people. He is being attacked by ruthless invaders. His infant children die from sickness. Why is life like this, and where is help to be found? He may even dimly understand that there is a more profound evil, and that is his own propensity, and the propensity of other human beings, towards moral evil. He may grasp that his worst affliction is the corrupt tendency of his own heart and mind towards sin, and that this is the root of so much other evil that afflicts him and his kind. In a word, the facts of his case are grim and it is difficult to find happiness in this life. Now, of course, everyone seeks happiness and many seek and find it wherever they can, within the constraints of life as it is. They might gain a certain happiness by fairly innocent pleasures, by genuine satisfactions derived from worthwhile work and perhaps a fairly successful marriage. Some may seek their happiness by exploiting others or by various other forms of self-indulgence, and in general by what is really a life of sin. The problem facing everyone in life is, how so to live as to be happy? One cannot help but wonder how many persons ever gain the key to happiness. As we can see in the case of so many in history, the mere possession of power cannot give it. Wealth alone will not do, nor will sensual pleasure.

Granted the human condition as it is, is it then possible to be truly happy when much of life is a struggle, when it entails deprivation of what we would like, when our attainments seem so limited? What is the path to human happiness, a path that is open to all? For this we must turn and listen to the Teacher of all mankind, Jesus Christ. He tells us that if we remain in him we shall have a share in his joy. The foundation of the joy of Jesus Christ was his union with his heavenly Father. He lived in the love and in the sight of his heavenly Father, and did so from his childhood. We remember the event narrated in the Gospel of St Luke, in which Jesus as a youth of twelve remained behind in Jerusalem after going up for the Feast with his parents. After three days of heart-rending anxiety his parents found him in the Temple with the doctors, and he said to them, “Did you not know I must be about my Father’s affairs?” His heavenly Father filled his human heart and soul, and his life was given over to the loving fulfilment of his will. I always do what pleases him, he said later in his public ministry. My Father works, and so do I, he explained in reference to his healing on the Sabbath. The Father and I are one, he said on another occasion. No one comes to the Father except through me, he said again. The happiness of Jesus Christ came directly from his union with his heavenly Father, and it was a share in this happiness that he promised to his disciples. God wants all his children to he happy, and he has revealed to us in Jesus Christ how deep human happiness is to be attained, a happiness that is founded on what is ultimate and real. If our happiness is to be authentic and sure, if it is to be our possession in the midst of the evils and sufferings that will afflict us, then it must be a share in the happiness of Jesus Christ. The question of human history is, how is happiness to be attained, granted all the evil and suffering? The answer is to go to Jesus Christ and be his friend and disciple. That is to say, if we remain in his love by obeying his commands, we shall share in his joy.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:9-11). There we have explained to us by God the Son made man what is the key to the happiness of man despite his difficult situation. The difficulties will not be taken away, necessarily, but happiness is promised. We must remain in the love of Jesus Christ by obeying his commands. That is the path to sharing in the joy of Christ, which is the true joy of man.
(E.J.Tyler)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection (Acts 15:7-21)

The Holy Spirit On one occasion in the Acts of the Apostles the disciples met some disciples of John, years after John's death. They asked John's disciples, have you received the Holy Spirit? John's disciples said they did not know anything about a Holy Spirit. This incident (and many like it could be mentioned), shows that on becoming a believer in Jesus and a member of his Church by baptism, one receives a very great and defining gift. This gift is the person of the Holy Spirit who comes and makes his abode within. In Acts 15:7-21 we are told of Peter’s description of the conversion of pagans. He said to the disciples ― the infant Church ― that "In fact God, who can read everyone's heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us."

We who are baptised have received the Holy Spirit. But do we acknowledge or recognise Him? Do we allow Him to shape our lives as the great Friend and Guide we have been given by the Father and the Son? We must learn to listen to him daily. We must learn to cultivate the capacity to be guided by Him. This is itself a great grace to be prayed for.
(E.J.Tyler)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don’t wait until you are old to start becoming a saint. That would be a great mistake!

—Begin right now, in earnest, cheerfully and joyfully, by fulfilling the duties of your work and of your everyday life.

Don’t wait until you are old to become a saint. Because — I insist — apart from its being a great mistake, you never know whether you will live as long as that.
(The Forge, no.113)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

O my God and Saviour, who went through such sufferings for me with such lively consciousness … such recollection, and such fortitude, enable me, by Thy help, if I am brought into the power of this terrible trial, bodily pain, enable me to bear it with some portion of Thy calmness.

JHN, from Meditations and Devotions (1893)

Prayers today: The Lamb who was slain is worthy to receive strength and divinity, wisdom and power and honour, alleluia. (Rev 5:12)

Lord, by this Easter mystery prepare us for eternal life. May our celebration of Christ's death and resurrection guide us to salvation. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, ...

(May 7) St. Rose Venerini (1656-1728)
Rose was born at Viterbo in Italy, the daughter of a doctor. Following the death of her fiancé she entered a convent, but soon returned home to care for her newly widowed mother. Meanwhile, Rose invited the women of the neighbourhood to recite the rosary in her home, forming a sort of sodality with them. As she looked to her future, Rose, under the spiritual guidance of a Jesuit priest, became convinced that she was called to become a teacher in the world rather than a contemplative nun in a convent. Clearly, she made the right choice: She was a born teacher, and the free school for girls she opened in 1685 was well received. Soon the cardinal invited her to oversee the training of teachers and the administration of schools in his Diocese of Montefiascone. As Rose's reputation grew, she was called upon to organize schools in many parts of Italy, including Rome. Her disposition was right for the task as well, for Rose often met considerable opposition but was never deterred. She died in Rome in 1728, where a number of miracles were attributed to her. She was beatified in 1952 and canonized in 2006. The sodality, or group of women she had invited to prayer, was ultimately given the rank of a religious congregation. Today, the so-called Venerini Sisters can be found in the United States and elsewhere, working among Italian immigrants. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 15:22-31; Psalm:8-9, 10 and 12; John 15:12-17

Jesus said to his disciples, My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit— fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:12-17)

His friends Search the Scriptures and ask this: is there any person in the Old Testament who is addressed by heaven in the way the Virgin Mary was addressed at the Annunciation? “Hail, you who are full of grace,” the Angel Gabriel said. “The Lord is with you!” Then he continued, “You have found favour in the sight of God.” Notice a second point, that before such fulsome praise Mary describes herself as being simply God’s servant: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to

your word” (Luke 1: 26-38). The prophets too are described in the Old Testament as God’s servants. This, of course, is not the only image used of the children of Israel. God speaks of Israel as his spouse, and he is Israel’s Husband. Israel is also his son. I have called my son out of Egypt, he said. God does not treat nor regard his chosen people simply as a lord or king would an abject vassal, but as a God of tender love. Commonly, though, individuals are considered “the servants” of Yahweh, servants who are called to love the Lord their God with all their heart and strength, and to obey his commands. The words of the Virgin Mary describing herself as the servant of the Lord and expressing her total obedience to his plan, may be said to be the quintessence of Old Testament spirituality. It is the essence of all revealed religion. Religion, as Cardinal Newman once wrote, is a matter of God’s authority and our obedience to him. However condescending God is towards him, man is nothing apart from him and his gracious mercy. This is captured and expressed with soaring eloquence in the prayer of the Virgin Mary before her kinswoman Elizabeth, in which she glorifies the Lord for his mercy shown to his lowly handmaid. God is great, we are his lowly servants, and he is loving, compassionate and merciful in all his ways. With the coming of Christ, what we might call the servanthood of each of God’s elect becomes suffused with the vocation to be God’s friend. Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, is now his mother. We who are his servants, are now also his friends.

Christ, who is Lord and Master of his disciples ― they acknowledge this, and he accepts it ― calls himself their friend, and them his friends. What more could he do for them as their friend than lay down his life for them? He has a command for them, and inasmuch as he is commanding them, they may be said to be his servants. His command is that they love one another as he has loved them. If they obey his command, they will be his friends. Thus obedience transforms their being his servants into their being his friends. Being true servants of Jesus Christ is the path to personal friendship with him ― and this friendship with Jesus Christ is the essence of the Christian religion. Furthermore, the one who is in Christ ought see Christ’s teaching as itself a gift of divine friendship, and it is the means whereby we can grow in a profound friendship with him. Precisely because he looks on us, his servants, as his friends, he has made us the gift of his revelation. By receiving his teaching in faith and living according to it in obedience, we who are his servants grow in his friendship. “Jesus said to his disciples, My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Each of us who are baptized into Christ and who accept his teaching in faith are the object of his personal choice. He has chosen us to be his friends who will go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Our life’s work will depend on our friendship with Jesus Christ. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit— fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other” (John 15:12-17).

If we wish to be a friend of Jesus Christ, let us be his true servants who look on him as Lord and Master. He commands us and he teaches us. Above all, he commands us to love one another as he has loved us. Behold the servant of the Lord, we ought say to him. Be it done to me according to your word. If we fulfil his commands in life we shall be drawn deeply into his friendship, and friendship with Jesus Christ is friendship with God. Thus it is that our vocation is to be friends of God. Glorious calling! Friends of God now, and friends of God forever hereafter! It all depends on our obedience, which is what distinguished the Virgin Mary and her most glorious Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection: (Acts 15:22-31 and John 15:12-17)

Dedication There are various moments in our lives when we are prompted to ask ourselves where we are heading, what we

are working for in life, and what we shall have achieved when life is over. These are questions that raise the matter of dedication. What are we dedicated to? Consider the passage in the Acts of the Apostles Ch. 15:22-31. The apostles and elders in their letter which they gave to Barsabbas and Silas referred to Paul and Barnabas as men who had "dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ". They were dedicated to Jesus Christ. All of us are called by God to do the same, to be dedicated to Jesus Christ, in the different ways that correspond to our various callings and circumstances. Let us ask ourselves if we are in fact doing this. Any friendship ― consider a marriage ― requires dedication. Our Lord in John 15:12-17 tells us that he has chosen us to be his friends. He has dedicated himself to us and to friendship with us. We are called to do the same in return, and our eternity and that of others depends on our being truly dedicated to Jesus.

Let us then be dedicated to the most worthy and crucial of life's objects, friendship with Jesus.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ask the Lord to grant you all the sensitivity you need to realise how evil venial sin is, so as to recognise it as an outright and fundamental enemy of your soul, and, with God’s grace, to avoid it.
(The Forge, no.114)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let all those who are in trouble take this comfort to themselves, if they are trying to lead a spiritual life. If they call on God, He will answer them. Though they have no earthly friend, they have Him, who, as He felt for His Mother when He was on the Cross, now that He is in His glory feels for the lowest and feeblest of His people.

JHN, from Meditations and Devotions (1893)

Prayers today: In baptism we have died with Christ, and we have risen to new life in him, because we believed in the power of God who raised him from the dead, alleluia. (Col 2: 12)

Loving Father, through our rebirth in baptism you give us your life and promise immortality. By your unceasing care, guide our steps toward the life of glory. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, .

(May 8) St. Peter of Tarentaise (c. 1102-1174)
There are two men named St. Peter of Tarentaise who lived one century apart. The man we honour today is the younger Peter, born in France in the early part of the 12th century. (The other man with the same name became Pope Innocent the Fifth.) The Peter we’re focusing on became a Cistercian monk and eventually served as abbot. In 1142 he was named archbishop of Tarentaise, replacing a bishop who had been deposed because of corruption. Peter tackled his new assignment with vigour. He brought reform into his diocese, replaced lax clergy and reached out to the poor. He visited all parts of his mountainous diocese on a regular basis. After about a decade as bishop Peter “disappeared” for a year and lived quietly as a lay brother at an abbey in Switzerland. When he was “found out,” the reluctant bishop was persuaded to return to his post. He again focused many of his energies on the poor. Peter died in 1175 on his way home from an unsuccessful papal assignment to reconcile the kings of France and England. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 16:1-10; Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 5; John 15:18-21

Jesus said to his disciples, If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. (John 15:18-21)

Suffering Years ago an Australian politician remarked that “life was not meant to be easy.” Strangely, that observation drew down upon him the ridicule of sections of the press, as if what he said was itself strange. He was simply saying that life inevitably brings many difficulties. One of the difficulties of life is the opposition and criticism of others, and most people receive at least a certain share of this. This opposition and criticism can be fully justified, and it can be unjustified. Usually it is a mixture of both

because however well-meaning and enlightened we may be, we are faulty and limited human beings. Those faults and limitations evoke our neighbour’s criticism and opposition, and those criticisms can cause suffering. There is often a dose of injustice in that opposition too, because while we may be faulty, our neighbour is also faulty. His faults and sins often drive his criticisms of our efforts and of our persons. In fact, sin can be and often is the major cause of the suffering inflicted on others. All this is to say that a large portion of the suffering that is man’s lot arises because of sin ― the sin within the suffering person and the sin within the one inflicting the suffering. A common human problem is bitterness, and I am convinced that the appreciation of our common fallen condition can help us forgive. Those who hurt us are also subject to a sinful condition, as are we. But now, while life was not meant to be easy, it is to be noticed that often in history it is particularly difficult for the one who is eminent in goodness. Personal faults and sins often cannot be regarded as the principal reason for the suffering inflicted on him by others. The paradigmatic instance of this is Jesus Christ, the sinless One. He was without sin, without fault because he was divine. Yet he was hated by those who mattered, and ignored and spurned by many others. He ended his short life ― all according to the divine plan, of course ― utterly rejected and nailed to a cross. It set a mysterious pattern, that those who follow him seriously, and in general the Church he founded, would share in his sufferings.

Of course, those who follow Jesus Christ are also faulty and limited human beings, and their faults, sins and limitations will attract the opposition and criticism of others. Just as Jesus Christ suffered, so will they. However, in their case personal sin will have a part to play in bringing down this suffering, in a way that was in no way the case of Jesus Christ. But that is not the whole story, for Christ’s sufferings do set a special pattern that must be expected to recur in the history of the Church. The Church will be made to suffer in a special sense, and in ways well beyond what is warranted. Saints will suffer greatly, and it will be due to the sinfulness and faults of those who inflict the suffering, just as was the case with Jesus Christ. Let us listen to what our Lord has to say on this. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me” (John 15:18-21). Just as the sinless Christ was accused and condemned for wrongdoing, eminent and holy members of his Church will be accused and condemned for wrongdoing. There will often be just enough of fault and limitation in these great disciples of Jesus Christ to convince their accusers that they are doing a good deed in condemning them, and to cloud their perception of the enormity of their unjust actions. They will think they are doing a meritorious deed, whereas they are perpetrating calumnies and harm to society and the Church. But the disciple of Jesus Christ suffers as Christ suffered, and his sufferings sanctify him and bring sanctification to the Church and to the world. Thus are the sufferings of Jesus Christ continued, and the work of redemption advances.

When, for instance, an outstanding and holy Pope is attacked repeatedly by the secular media and confusion and misinformation is spread as a result, the suffering he endures unites him to the crucified Christ. Just as Christ’s sufferings redeemed the world and brought the gift of sanctity to those who accept him, so the sufferings of his close disciple increases the reservoirs of grace. Christ suffers in him, and in the process sanctifies him and the Church. Let us not be dismayed at immense opposition, criticism and sufferings being at times heaped upon the Church and upon the Church’s chosen representatives. They walk in the footsteps of the Lord. It must be expected.
(E.J.Tyler)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection Acts 16:1-10; John 15: 18-21

Listening to the Holy Spirit At times in life we wonder why God allowed certain circumstances to have occurred in our life, circumstances that prevented us from doing the good we felt we should have been permitted to do. Perhaps those with authority over us prevented us from doing obvious good. As we look back on so many frustrations, we might ask, Why did not God allow us to achieve more good?

But consider how our Lord himself was frustrated in the course of his ministry. His heavenly Father permitted all kinds of

opposition to stand in his way, right to Calvary. This seeming frustration was according to the plan of God. Or again, the Gospel describes how our Lord invited certain people to follow him ― physically. He allowed others to follow him uninvited, such as Bar Timaeus, the blind man whom he cured. But consider the man in the land of the Gerasenes whom he cured of devil-possession. The cured demoniac pleaded with our Lord to allow him to follow him, but our Lord would not permit him. He told him he was to return to his people and tell them all that God had done for him ― which he dutifully did. So our Lord prevented that man from doing what seemed to be the best thing (i.e., following him), and ordered him to do something different. We notice in the Acts of the Apostles 16:1-10, that when Paul and his companions travelled through Phrygia and Galatia they were "told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia." Why did the Holy Spirit forbid them to do this very good thing? We are not told. Again, in the next sentence, "When they reached the frontier of Mysia they thought to cross it into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas." God may not want us to do what we think would be the better thing. But he does plan that we do good, and in the same passage in Acts, Paul has the vision of the Macedonian appealing to him to come. So as Luke says, "we lost no time in arranging a passage to Macedonia, convinced that God had called us to bring them the Good News."

Let us do the good which God in his providence means us to do, not the good we would like to do, even though it may seem to be much the better. The key is to learn to do what Paul and his companions did. They listened to the Holy Spirit.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Calmly, without scruples, you should think about your life, and ask forgiveness, and make a firm, specific and well-defined resolution to improve in one point and another: in that small detail which you find hard, and in that other one which usually you don’t carry out as you should, and you know it.
(The Forge, no.115)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let us set it down then, as a first principle in religion, that all of us must come to Christ, in some sense or other, through things naturally unpleasant to us; it may be even through bodily suffering, such as the Apostles endured, or it may be nothing more than the subduing of our natural infirmities and the sacrifice of our natural wishes.

JHN, from the sermon ‘The Yoke of Christ’ (1839)

Sixth Sunday of Eastertide C

Prayers this week: Speak out with a voice of joy; let it be heard to the ends of the earth: the Lord has set his people free, alleluia. (Psalm 32: 5-6)

Ever-living God, help us to celebrate our joy in the resurrection of the Lord and to express in our lives the love we celebrate. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Or
God our Father, maker of all, the crown of your creation was the son of Man, born of a woman, but without beginning he suffered for us but lives forever. May our mortal lives be crowned with the ultimate joy of rising with him, who is Lord for ever and ever.

(May 9) St. Catharine of Bologna (1413-1463)

Some Franciscan saints led fairly public lives; Catharine represents the saints who served the Lord in obscurity. Catharine, born in Bologna, was related to the nobility in Ferrara and was educated at court there. She received a liberal education at the court and developed some interest and talent in painting. In later years as a Poor Clare, Catharine sometimes did manuscript illumination and also painted miniatures. At the age of 17, she joined a group of religious women in Ferrara. Four years later the whole group joined the Poor Clares in that city. Jobs as convent baker and portress preceded her selection as novice mistress. In 1456 she and 15 other sisters were sent to establish a Poor Clare monastery in Florence. As abbess Catharine worked to preserve the peace of the new community. Her reputation for holiness drew many young women to the Poor Clare life. She was canonized in 1712. Catharine wrote a book on the seven spiritual weapons to be used against temptation. "Jesus Christ gave up his life that we might live," she said. "Therefore, whoever wishes to carry the cross for his sake must take up the proper weapons for the contest, especially those mentioned here. First, diligence; second, distrust of self; third, confidence in God; fourth, remembrance of the Passion; fifth, mindfulness of one’s own death; sixth, remembrance of God’s glory; seventh, the injunctions of Sacred Scripture following the example of Jesus Christ in the desert" (On the Seven Spiritual Weapons). (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 15: 1-2.22-29; Psalm 66; Apocalypse 21: 10-14.22-23; John 14: 23-29

Jesus said, If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home

with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. (John 14: 23-29)

The Spirit In classical times, Judaic monotheism was remarkable. While there was something of monotheism in the Platonic concept of God as put forward by, say, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, as well as in the Advaita, Dvaita and Vishishtadvaita philosophies of Hinduism, nevertheless the religion stemming directly from Abraham was singular and unusual in rigorously insisting on one, sole, supreme and very active God. Some scholars have argued that the monotheism of Abraham and the

patriarchs did not originally exclude the gods of other peoples. It insisted that Yahweh alone was to be worshipped by the children of Israel, and that he was supreme over the gods of other peoples. Such scholars opine that there was a development of revelation on this point, in that it was only gradually revealed that there was but one God and that the gods of the peoples were actually non-existent. I would counter this theory by saying that the original revelation granted to Abraham was indeed strictly monotheistic ― that there is in reality but one God ― but the Judaic understanding of the implications of this developed over time. That is to say that while in other matters (such as the nature of the Messiah, monogamy, etc.) more and more was revealed by God through the prophets, the original revelation granted to Abraham and the patriarchs was firmly monotheistic. But it was only gradually appreciated over the course of the Judaic tradition that this excluded even the very existence of other gods, let alone their worship. Whatever about that academic dispute, the monotheism of the people of Israel was a watershed in the history of religion because polytheism was the typical belief of mankind. Israel was profoundly jealous of this doctrine, and its monotheism was destined to have a remarkable influence on religious history. Now, while the one only God revealed himself to Abraham, to the patriarchs, to Moses and the prophets, a new revelation of this same monotheism occurred with the coming of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ revealed that he, man though he is, is the natural Son of the heavenly Father. He is the same one divine being as is the Father, but he is distinct from the Father as a person. This was a public testimony, given before the people and before the leaders of the nation. It was supported by the holiness of his life and the miraculous things he did. He freely gave himself up to suffering and death in witness to this astounding revelation. But there was more. It is clear from the Gospels that our Lord also publicly referred to the Holy Spirit as a divine person. For instance, in dispute with the leaders of the people who accused him of being in league with Satan, Christ told them that to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit would be an unforgivable sin. However, it appears from the Gospel of St John that it was especially to the Apostles that Christ spoke of the person of the Holy Spirit. St John’s Gospel suggests that it was at the Last Supper that Christ spoke most fulsomely of the divine Spirit. Jesus himself is to be loved and obeyed, and the one who does obey him will be visited by the Father and by him, and the two will make their home with him. He, then, acts as the Father acts, and he acts in concert with the Father. But there is also the third divine person who acts with him and with the Father. The Father will send the Holy Spirit in the name of the Son, and he will assist the disciples to live according to his word. “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14: 23-29). The Holy Spirit will be the great Counsellor, and he will teach us everything. He will preserve in our memory the words of Jesus. St John seems to suggest that due to the Spirit there will be a development in the Church’s understanding of what Christ has revealed and taught. The revelation has been given once and for all, but the Holy Spirit will teach us “all things” that have not yet been grasped, and will remind us of what we would otherwise forget.

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit was manifested, given and communicated as a divine Person to the infant Church gathered as a body. On that day the Holy Trinity was fully revealed not just to the Apostles, but to the Church. Those who believe in Jesus Christ share in the life of the Holy Trinity by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. The mission of Christ and the mission of the Holy Spirit then became the mission of the Church, which is sent to the world to proclaim and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity. Let us abide in the life and love of the Holy Trinity, then, for this is our calling now and hereafter.
(E.J.Tyler)

Further reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.731-732 (Holy Spirit and the “last” times)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A second reflection

“If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23-29)

True peace The heart of the practice of the Christian Faith is love for Jesus Christ. We were made to love Jesus Christ. From before the world was made, God chose each of us to be a faithful friend of Jesus, and the test of this is the desire to keep his

word. As our Lord said to his disciples, ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word.’ He repeats the point: ‘those who do not love me do not keep my words’ (John 14:23-29). Again, elsewhere our Lord says: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my commandments, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love.’ The test of our love for Jesus lies in what we are actually doing. Granted this test, we ought always bear in mind the essential goal of life, which is to have a great love for Jesus. One result of loving Jesus ― as we read in today’s Gospel ― is that Jesus will come to us and will remain continually with us. There is more. Our Lord says that the one who loves him will be loved by the Father. Further, by the action of the Holy Spirit both Jesus and the Father will come to him and make their home with him. It was by the power of the Holy Spirit that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ becomes present in the Holy Eucharist at Mass. By the same power of the Holy Spirit, the one who loves Jesus will be loved by the Father and all three will come and dwell with him.

As a result of this, we are granted a share in the peace that fills the soul of Jesus. The indwelling of the Blessed Trinity protects us from losing true peace of heart. Thus it is that our Lord says in today’s Gospel, “Peace I bequeath to you, my peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.” We should take our Lord’s words seriously, and if we are not experiencing peace in our lives, we ought ask ourselves why this is so. It may be because our lives are not based on the decision to love Jesus and to keep his word, and then to cultivate and treasure the thought of the indwelling of the most Holy Trinity. If we are loving and serving Jesus, then we must make the decision not to let things trouble us or make us fearful. How do we do this? We do it by taking to heart the fact that God dwells within. We must believe this on the word of Jesus Christ. God the Holy Trinity is near, intimately near, and nothing, neither life nor death, no powers earthly or otherwise, nothing, can separate us from Him who so loves us. We have no need to fear ― in an ultimate and absolute sense ― even though we shall have our moments, as did our Lord himself in the Garden of Gethsemane. The peace that is the gift of God is present in the midst of sorrow. God whom we love and serve, God who dwells within, will look after us. Right to the end we must trust ― right to the very end ― ever obeying Him, no matter what the cost or the consequences.

As we think of our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel, let us think of the call to each one of us to personal holiness. Everyone is called by God to seek personal holiness which means a great personal love for Jesus. We show that love by keeping his word in our every day life no matter what the cost. If that is our aim, we may resolve not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid.
(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fill yourself with good desires, which is a holy thing, praised by God. But don’t leave it at that! You have to be a soul — a man, a woman — who deals in realities. To carry out those good desires, you have to formulate clear and precise resolutions.

—And then, my child, you have to fight to put them into practice, with God’s grace.
(The Forge, no.116)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Philosophers of old time thought the soul indeed might live for ever, but that the body perished at death; but Christ tells us otherwise, He tells us the body will live for ever.

JHN, from the sermon ‘The Resurrection of the Body’ (1832)

Monday of the sixth week in Eastertide C

Prayers today: Christ now raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has power over him, alleluia. (Rom 6:9)

God of mercy, may our celebration of your Son's resurrection help us to experience its effect in our lives. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, .

(May 10) Saint Damien of Molokai (1840-1889)
When Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy (Hansen's disease). By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They

knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of this disease. Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, six years later Joseph entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island of Molokai, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support. Soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage. Morale improved considerably. A few years later he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope (January 23), to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa. Damien contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. As requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of Damien's body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters after his beatification in 1995. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 16:11-15; Psalm 149:1b-6a and 9b; John 15:26-16:4a

Jesus said to his disciples, When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. (John 15:26-16:4a)

The divine Spirit The account of the Last Supper occupies nearly a fifth of the Gospel of St John. It is much longer than John’s account of the Passion, and even a little longer than his accounts of the Passion and Resurrection combined. It is the longest continual episode in that Gospel. It is slightly longer than Luke’s combined accounts of the Last Supper, the Passion and the Resurrection, and is also notably longer than the great Sermon on the Mount of St Matthew’s Gospel. We could say that the

Last Supper according to St John is the longest unit of all four Gospels, which indicates how altogether special an event it was in itself, and certainly in the mind of its inspired author. For John, the Last Supper was absolutely unforgettable, and the source of a lifetime of inspiration, memory and teaching. It contains the summit of our Lord’s teaching, especially when combined with John’s chapter 6 which is devoted to our Lord’s doctrine on the Eucharist. John does not include in his Last Supper narrative the institution of the Eucharist because, obviously, this was already clear from the other Gospels, and clear too from the early Church’s liturgy. In fact, the discourses of our Lord and his great prayer during the Last Supper are brimful of revealed teaching, including, not least, his explicit teaching on the Person of the Holy Spirit. We must presume that it was especially during the Last Supper ― though not only during it ― that our Lord informed his disciples about the divine Spirit. Just as it took time for the Apostles to understand that the Man before them was divine, the Son of the Father and yet equal to him in nature, so too it would have taken time for them to realize our Lord’s teaching on the Holy Spirit. John reports our Lord’s words that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things, and remind them of what he had told them. We may presume that this was exactly John’s experience. Due to the action of the Holy Spirit, he came to understand the meaning of our Lord’s words about the Spirit of God, and was enabled to remember them ― and for our benefit.

Our Lord’s great discourses of the Supper occupy three chapters ― 14, 15, 16 ― prior to his prayer to the Father which constitutes chapter 17. In each of those three chapters there are teachings on the Person of the Holy Spirit. This means (considering the original text as prior to its subsequent division into chapters) that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit pervades our Lord’s teaching during the Last Supper. That is to say, he was referring to the Holy Spirit throughout his teaching during the Supper. In chapter 14 there are two references (verses 16 and 26) to the Holy Spirit as the Advocate, Comforter or Counsellor (parakleeton) and as the Spirit of truth. He will teach the disciples and remind them of Christ’s teaching. Another reference (15: 26) which is in our Gospel passage today (John 15:26-16:4a), is again to the Holy Spirit as the Advocate or Comforter (parakleetos) and the Spirit of truth (pneuma tees aleetheias). The third chapter of these discourses (ch.16) contains two separate references to the Holy Spirit. The first of them (16:7-11) is again to the Holy Spirit as the Advocate or Comforter (parakleetos), and the second (16:13-14) is to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth (pneuma tees aleetheias). What is manifest in these titles is that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person who is about to be sent with a mission, just as Christ himself was sent with a mission. There is a difference in the origin of the Holy Spirit’s mission. While Christ was sent by the Father, in our passage today (15:26) Christ will send the Holy Spirit from the Father. In the following chapter (16:7) Christ says he will send the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit will come from the Father because he proceeds (ekporeuetai) from the Father, but in some way at the initiative of Christ. In chapter fourteen (verses 16 and 26), the role of Christ in the sending of the Spirit is expressed in two ways. The Father will give the Holy Spirit to them at the request of Christ (vs 16), while a little later (vs 26) the Father sends the Holy Spirit in the name of Christ. So while the Father takes the initiative in sending the Son, the Son has a special role in the sending of the Holy Spirit who, though, proceeds from the Father. In her teaching and her creeds, the Church has clarified that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son as their mutual love. He is, as it were, the Sigh or Embrace of love between the two. The point here, though, is that the Holy Spirit is the gift of Christ to his disciples, while coming from the Father. He will testify to the disciples about Jesus Christ.

Let us think a great deal of the third divine Person. So much depends on his action! He will testify to each of us and to the whole Church about the one we are called to follow with all our hearts. Christ peremptorily invites us to follow him every day, taking up our cross and following in his footsteps. He has sent us the gift of the Holy Spirit to testify to him throughout our lives. There are so many moments of difficulty and temptation. The Holy Spirit is our God-given Guide and Friend in our efforts to follow Jesus Christ. Let us learn to love him, then!
(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What do I have to do to maintain my love for God and make it increase?” you asked me, fired with enthusiasm.

—Leave the “old man” behind, my son, and cheerfully give up things which are good in themselves but hinder your detachment from your ego... You have to repeat constantly and with deeds, “Here I am, Lord, ready to do whatever you want.”
(The Forge, no.117)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My God, Thou art my life; if I leave Thee, I cannot but thirst.

JHN, from Meditations and Devotions (1893)

Tuesday of the sixth week in Eastertide C

Prayers today: Let us shout out our joy and happiness, and give glory to God, the Lord of all, because he is our King, alleluia. (Rev 19:7, 6)

God our Father, may we look forward with hope to our resurrection, for you have made us your sons and daughters, and restored the joy of our youth. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

(May 11) St. Ignatius of Laconi (1701-1781)
Ignatius is another sainted begging brother. He was the second of seven children of peasant parents in Sardinia. His path to the Franciscans was unusual. During a serious illness, Ignatius vowed to become a Capuchin if he recovered. He regained his health but ignored the promise. A riding accident prompted him to renew the pledge, which he acted on the second time; he was 20 then. Ignatius’s reputation for self-denial and charity led to his appointment as the official beggar for the friars in Cagliari. He fulfilled that task for 40 years; he was blind the last two years. While on his rounds, Ignatius would instruct the children, visit the sick and urge sinners to repent. The people of Cagliari were inspired by his kindness and his faithfulness to his work. He was canonized in 1951. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 16:22-34; Psalm 138:1-3, 7c-8; John 16:5-11

Jesus said, Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these

things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:5-11)

The Spirit of Jesus It is characteristic of the Christian to long to be with Christ and to gaze upon his face. The faithful Christian experiences moments of ― what we might almost call ― envy, at the Apostles’ and disciples’ good fortune at having lived at the very time of Jesus Christ, and at having known him personally. They lived familiarly with him day by day and gazed into his eyes, looked upon his face, heard his voice and his gentle laughter. They observed the nobility of Christ’s mind and way ― he

was God himself become man. His manhood was perfectly pleasing to his heavenly Father. “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” the Father had said from heaven. His disciples came to see that the purpose of life was to know Jesus Christ and to live in his friendship, which meant living according to his commands. As our Lord said at the Last Supper, eternal life is this, to know you, Father, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. We read that our Lord selected from his disciples the Twelve, who would be with him as his companions and who would be sent out on his behalf. In a sense, this was the purpose of life and the point of the Christian religion. It is to live as Christ’s companion and to take part in his mission in the way suited to one’s particular vocation. What a blessing to have known personally Jesus Christ! We read of our Lord being received at the home of Martha and Mary, and of Mary seated at the Lord’s feet as he spoke, while Martha prepared the meal and did the serving. But of course, there were immense limitations inherent in this situation because of the very Incarnation. In becoming man and entering into our human condition, there was a limit to the extent that Christ could be known and loved personally. If salvation consists in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ, how could a Gaul, a Briton, an Egyptian, a Parthian, a Roman, a Spaniard or a Mesopotamian arrive at a personal friendship with Jesus who lived in Galilee? How were the nations of the whole world ever to become friends of the Redeemer?

This is just one reason why our Lord says to the Apostles in today’s Gospel, “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away.” His return to the Father ― which is to say, his glorification and his transcending of normal human limitations ― would mean a great leap ahead in his mission to unite all mankind to himself. In the plan of God, all mankind is called to friendship with Jesus, and this calling is entrusted to the Church to effect by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who makes this possible, and the instrument of this is the Church, Christ’s mystical body. So it was for our good that Christ went away. As a result of his departure, the Spirit was sent and Christ was thenceforth able to work with power. In a sense, Christ’s public ministry was a failure ― he ended up being crucified. But this was the direct and immediate path to his glorification, and that made possible the imparting of his Spirit to the Church. Thenceforth, endowed with the Spirit of Christ, the Church spread while bearing the cross of Christ all the while. While still with his disciples, our Lord met continually with incomprehension and uncertainty. They could not understand his insistence that he had to suffer. There were many other things they could not understand, and their following of him was problematic. He was betrayed by one of his own, and when he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, they all fled. The coming of the Holy Spirit changed so much of this. Their adherence to him became bold, firm and lifelong. Their words in witness to him had power and converted many. There was a powerful impetus to bear witness in Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth ― which is what Christ commanded. But it would have been out of the question, were it not for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Mysteriously, for this to happen it was necessary that our Lord go. “Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

In the accounts of the resurrection and the commissioning of the disciples by the risen Jesus, the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins is emphasised. They are to go to the whole world and preach repentance and the forgiveness of sin. This is because the sin of the world has now been taken away ― in principle. But this grand benefit has to be brought to each individual, and each must be brought to repent. For this the Holy Spirit would be necessary. “When he comes,” our Lord promised, “he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:5-11). Let us love the Holy Spirit and depend on him, for he will unite us to Christ and help us to bring the Saviour to the world, and a repentant world to the Saviour.
(E.J.Tyler)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection: (Acts 16:22-34)

The power of God One of our most persistent problems in living the Christian life is that we do not think God is very powerful (nor very loving). How confident in God are we, when we turn to ask Him for what we need? We tend to think that God can do

many things, but that there are limits to his power because the laws of the universe have their power too. These laws circumscribe, we tend to think, the power of the supreme Lawgiver, and in effect limit his power. The forces at work in the universe have their independent sphere of influence. That is to say, we tend to be polytheists without knowing it. We are not unlike believers in other “gods,” even though we profess our faith in the one almighty God, infinite in power as in everything else. Sacred Scripture constantly presents us with the power of God, a power that is so great ― without limit ― and that shows itself in mercy. Especially notable is the power of God to change hearts. Consider the gaoler guarding Paul in the first reading of today (Acts 16: 22-34). He was about to kill himself at the miraculous escape of the prisoners but at the word and appeal of Paul he underwent a remarkable spiritual transformation. In a moment he arrived at faith in Christ, tending the wounds of the Apostles, prompting the conversion of his own family and becoming a member the Church. It was a transformation wrought by the power of God and his grace, which showed itself in saving mercy.

The power of God is revealed across the pages of Scripture. We are all called to share in the Church's mission to evangelise. By the power of God's grace our daily example and efforts will bear fruit. Let us then always trust in God's loving power, and not slip into the assumption that God’s power is limited by the other powers at work in the universe.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A saint! A son of God should exaggerate in practising virtue — if exaggeration is possible here... Because other people will see themselves reflected in him, as in a mirror, and it is only by our aiming very high that others will reach a middling level.
(The Forge, no.118)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is more correct, as well as more usual, to speak of a University as a place of education, than of instruction … We are instructed, for instance, in manual exercises, in the fine and useful arts, in trades, and in ways of business; for these are methods, which have little or no effect upon the mind itself, are contained in rules committed to memory, to tradition, or to use, and bear upon an end external to themselves. But education is a higher word; it implies an action upon our mental nature, and the formation of a character; it is something individual and permanent, and is commonly spoken of in connexion with religion and virtue.

JHN, from The Idea of a University Part I (1852)

Wednesday of the sixth week in Eastertide C

Prayers today: I will be a witness to you in the world, O Lord. I will spread the knowledge of your name among my brothers, alleluia. (Ps 17:50; 21: 23)

Lord, as we celebrate your Son's resurrection, so may we rejoice with all the saints when he returns in glory, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(May 12) Saints Nereus and Achilleus (1st century)
Devotion to these two saints goes back to the fourth century, though almost nothing is known of their lives. They were praetorian soldiers of the Roman army, became Christians and were removed to the island of Terracina, where they were martyred. Their bodies were buried in a family vault, later known as the cemetery of Domitilla. Excavations by De Rossi in 1896 resulted in the discovery of their empty tomb in the underground church built by Pope Siricius in 390. Two hundred years after their death, Pope Gregory the Great delivered his 28th homily on the occasion of their feast. “These saints, before whom we are assembled, despised the world and trampled it under their feet when peace, riches and health gave it charms.”
Pope Damasus wrote an epitaph for Nereus and Achilleus in the fourth century. The text is known from travellers who read it while the slab was still entire, but the broken fragments found by De Rossi are sufficient to identify it: “The martyrs Nereus and Achilleus had enrolled themselves in the army and exercised the cruel office of carrying out the orders of the tyrant, being ever ready, through the constraint of fear, to obey his will. O miracle of faith! Suddenly they cease from their fury, they become converted, they fly from the camp of their wicked leader; they throw away their shields, their armour and their blood-stained javelins. Confessing the faith of Christ, they rejoice to bear testimony to its triumph. Learn now from the words of Damasus what great things the glory of Christ can accomplish.” (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 17:15, 22-18:1; Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14; John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples, I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. (John 16:12-15)

The Holy Spirit will teach us The beginning of this century witnessed a silent revolution in the development of a vast library of electronic books available to people in their home studies all over the world. While there were many large gaps, a great proportion of Western thought became accessible in on-line and downloadable books. Most major writers and a surprising number of obscure ones across the centuries were and are now accessible to a greater or lesser extent on the Internet. The

subjects of study range from the popular to the scholarly, and more and more commercial publishers are discovering the advantages of on-line distribution. It is a remarkable advance in the possibilities of culture and education, and one cannot help but be fascinated at the flourishing of this phenomenon. It is theoretically possible for all publications to find their eventual place on the Internet, all of which is accessible to the home computer. Let us for a moment pause and think of the libraries of the world and all their books, and of all that can be investigated and known. The range of options in education is now staggering, including at the highest levels. It would be hard to imagine a single field which does not have a strong, and at times vast, quota of PhDs to its credit. So in the face of all that is known and that is yet to be known, the question arises, what ought man strive to know? He instinctively desires and seeks knowledge, for he understands that knowledge is a gateway to success. But what is it to be ultimately successful, and what then above all ought he endeavour to know? Many do not seriously ask this question, but simply set out to know what is necessary for a career or for the pursuit of some personal interests. A man wants to work in law, so he studies law. He has an interest in Italian, so he studies Italian. But of course, the ultimate importance of the good things in this world lies in their significance for the next. So the things that pertain to the next must be studied very seriously indeed, and this is something that most people seem not to do at all. This is tragic, because life is short and eternity long.

While it is very important and indeed a noble undertaking to study and know the things of this life, it is of supreme importance that each person study and come to know what is necessary for the next life. If he does not know what eternal life is, nor how to attain it, how is he to get there? “Eternal life is this,” our Lord said, “to know you Father, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” For all the books and fields of study in the world, there is one thing that everyone is called to consider, and then to know. It is the person of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of man. Each of us has the gift of life in order to know, love, and serve God here on earth so as to see and enjoy him forever in heaven. This means knowing, loving and serving Jesus Christ. We, each of us, must make it our daily business to know Jesus Christ better and better, so as to love him more and more. To know Christ Jesus is the goal of life. On the basis of this personal knowledge of Jesus Christ which ought be growing daily, we then devote ourselves to the knowledge and service of the demanding requirements of this life. Conversely, the most important thing which the world must be taught is the good news of the person of Jesus Christ. Thus it is that our Lord stresses the paramount mission of bearing witness to him before the world. The one thing that humanity must come to know is the person of Jesus Christ and his divine revelation. He tells his disciples that the Holy Spirit will come to them to testify about him, and that they in their turn must bear witness to him before others, no matter what the cost. The Holy Spirit will guide them to all truth. “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” (John 16:12-15). The Holy Spirit is the one who will help us, and the world, to know the truth of Christ Jesus.

Early on Holy Saturday morning, April 3, 2010, Pietro Molla, husband of Saint Gianna Molla, died in his family home in Mesero, near Milan in Italy, surrounded by his children. Pietro Molla was 97 years old and had been in failing health for several years. All agree he was an exemplary Catholic, and some have even stated their belief that in due course his own Cause for Canonization will be introduced. There is one thing that Pietro knew, as did his wife, Saint Gianna. He knew Jesus Christ and this was because of the grace of the Holy Spirit. So then, let us look to the Holy Spirit to help us to grow in our knowledge and love of Jesus.
(E.J.Tyler)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don’t be ashamed to discover in your heart the fomes peccati — the inclination to evil, which will be with you as long as you

live, for nobody is free from this burden.

Don’t be ashamed, because the all—powerful and merciful Lord has given us all the means we need for overcoming this inclination: the Sacraments, a life of piety and sanctified work.

—Persevere in using these means, ever ready to begin again and again without getting discouraged.
(The Forge, no.119)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It would be a great mistake for us to suppose that we need quit our temporal calling, and go into retirement, in order to serve God acceptably. Christianity is a religion for this world, for the busy and influential, for the rich and powerful, as well as for the poor.

JHN, from ‘The Church of the Fathers’ (1857 edition)

Thursday of the sixth week in Eastertide C

Prayers today: When you walked at the head of your people, O God, and lived with them on their journey, the earth shook at your presence, and the skies poured forth their rain, alleluia. (Psalm 67:8-9.20)

Father, may we always give you thanks for raising Christ our Lord to glory, because we are his people and share the salvation he won, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(May 13) Our Lady of Fatima
Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three Portuguese children received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of

Lisbon. (See February 20 entry for Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto). Mary asked the children to pray the rosary for world peace, for the end of World War I, for sinners and for the conversion of Russia. The third visionary, Lucia dos Santos, became a Carmelite nun and died in 2005 at the age of 97. Mary gave the children three secrets. Since Francisco died in 1919 and Jacinta the following year, Lucia, who later became a Carmelite nun, revealed the first secret in 1927, concerning devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The second secret was a vision of hell. Pope John Paul II directed the Holy See's Secretary of State to reveal the third secret in 2000; it spoke of a 'bishop in white' who was shot by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows into him. Many people linked this to the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981. The feast of Our Lady of Fatima was approved by the local bishop in 1930; it was added to the Church's worldwide calendar in 2002. Sister Lucia died in 2005 at the age of 97.
“Throughout history there have been supernatural apparitions and signs which go to the heart of human events and which, to the surprise of believers and non-believers alike, play their part in the unfolding of history. These manifestations can never contradict the content of faith, and must therefore have their focus in the core of Christ's proclamation: the Father's love which leads men and women to conversion and bestows the grace required to abandon oneself to him with filial devotion. This too is the message of Fatima which, with its urgent call to conversion and penance, draws us to the heart of the Gospel” (The Message of Fatima, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, June 26, 2000). (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 18: 1-8; Psalm 98: 1-4; John 16: 16-20

Jesus said to his disciples, In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me. Some of his disciples said to one another, What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'? They kept asking, What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying. Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'? I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. (John 16: 16-20)

Christ unseen I remember attending a spiritual retreat on one occasion and included in the program of the retreat were some discussions. One participant in the retreat stated that a real difficulty for her in living a life devoted to Jesus Christ was the fact that she could not see, hear and touch him. If I am to be a friend of him ―

which is the essence of the Christian religion ― then I want to be able to see him. Mary Magdalene at the tomb was granted the grace to see him and to hold him ― our Lord said to her, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father.” The disciples were able to see and hear and touch our Lord. It was granted to St Paul to have seen the risen Jesus in a vision on the way to Damascus. As a result, he was very real to him. But I will never in this life see him, and that is very difficult for me. What is to be said of this lament? To begin with, it is the characteristic difficulty of the modern age which tends to think that the only things that exist are things that are empirically verifiable. We are naturalists, which is to say that we moderns tend only to accept the reality of the natural world, and anything supernatural is assumed to be nothing more than a phantom. It is a metaphysical position that is fundamentally an assumption. It is probably due to the influence of the great scientific advances of the modern era, which have tended to make us unconscious adherents of scientism ― a belief or assumption that the methods of natural science, or the categories and things recognized in natural science, form the only proper elements in any philosophical or other inquiry. The overall upshot is that, due to our cultural starting points, we have a special difficulty in appreciating the unseen world as being truly real. The notions driving our modern culture sweep us along in the quest for tangible benefits, while things spiritual and unseen are ignored, forgotten or positively dismissed as basically fanciful. As Marx said, they constitute an opiate for the masses.

There is no getting away from the fact that while Jesus Christ is real, he is unseen. Of course, religion in general is concerned with unseen things, even though those unseen things are usually represented in some way by material things ― constituting the danger of idolizing those material things. But Jesus Christ is a real, living man who rose from the dead, and the Christian religion is all about having a true, vital and profound relationship with him precisely as living. He is not a past Teacher who lives in his teaching and who influences by the memory of his exemplary life. He is a present Teacher, Master and Lord who is brimming with life, and who is far nearer to each of us than was possible during his mortal life. But he is unseen. As we read in the Gospel of today: “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me. Some of his disciples said to one another, What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?” (John 16: 16-20). What this means is that the Christian must take daily steps to fortify and support a life of faith in the word of Jesus Christ. If his faith in this word becomes weak, then his dependence on the things of this world will grow and in proportion to this, the unseen will appear to be unreal. We must take active steps to help ourselves to realize what we believe. We must put a little time each day into reading the words of Christ and the inspired records of his person and deeds. We must put time each day into formally placing ourselves in his presence and with the aid of those inspired records, communing with him. We must endeavour consciously to live in his presence, for in fact we are in his presence though we do not advert to it. We must actively do what we do for love of him and in the way that pleases him. We must, in sum, live as his friends, as friends of One who is nearer to us than is possible for any friend in the flesh. This will not be possible unless we live according to a plan of life entirely geared towards this.

Every morning, let us on rising immediately place ourselves in the presence of our unseen Friend, Jesus Christ risen from the dead, glorified and at the right hand of the Father. He is near, within. Placing ourselves in his presence, let us offer him everything in the day to come, resolving to do all in a way that will please him ― which is to say, in accord with his most holy will. Let us place ourselves in the care of Mary the mother of our Lord and Saviour, and in the care of our Guardian Angel, assigned by God to accompany us on our way to him. Let us do all we can to ensure that though Jesus Christ is unseen, our faith is such that he is every bit as real to us as if he were seen.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection (Acts of the Apostles 18:1-8)

Pagans in our midst Our Lord's final words to his disciples were that they were to make disciples of all the nations. We are his disciples, so what are we doing about it? As St Ignatius Loyola asks us in his Spiritual Exercises, What have I done for Christ to this point? What am I doing for him? And what do I intend to do for him?

In the Acts of the Apostles 18:1-8 we see St Paul resolving to turn to the pagans in order to tell them the Good News about Christ. Have we ever had a comparable resolve, or anything like it ― and there are plenty of “pagans” among us in our secular society. It is possible to go right through life never making the slightest attempt to introduce others to Christ, let alone introduce him to those who are virtually pagans, who do not know him at all. Such people are found among all the professions. If the world is to come to know Christ, it will of necessity depend very largely on the lay Christian who is in the world with those who do not know Christ and what he has revealed. The challenge for the lay faithful is to find effective means of entering into a dialogue of salvation so as to be able to bear witness to what He has revealed. But this will not happen unless there is the desire to engage in this dialogue.

Let us pray for this desire, and then pray to the Holy Spirit for the light to know how to fulfil it.
(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lord, rescue me from myself!
(The Forge, no.120)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I adore Thee, O my God! together with Thy Apostles, during the forty days in

which Thou didst visit them after Thy resurrection. So blessed was the time, so calm, so undisturbed from without, that it was good to be there with Thee, and when it was over, they could hardly believe that it was more than begun. … What a contrast to what had lately taken place! It was their happy time on earth—the foretaste of heaven; not noticed, not interfered with, by man. They passed it in wonder, in musing, in adoration, rejoicing in Thy light, O my risen God!

JHN, from Meditations and Devotions (1893)

Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle C

Prayers today: You have not chosen me; I have chosen you. Go and bear fruit that will last, alleluia.

Father, you called St. Matthias to share in the mission of the apostles. By the help of his prayers may we receive with joy the love you share with us and be counted among those you have chosen. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

(May 14) St Matthias

According to Acts 1:15-26, during the days after the Ascension, Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (about 120 of Jesus’ followers). Now that Judas had betrayed his ministry, it was necessary, Peter said, to fulfill the scriptural recommendation: “May another take his office.” “Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection” (Acts 1:21-22). They nominated two men: Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. They prayed and drew lots. The choice fell upon Matthias, who was added to the Eleven. Matthias is not mentioned by name anywhere else in the New Testament. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 1: 15-17.20-26; Psalm 112; John 15: 9-17

Jesus said to his disciples, As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands,

you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit— fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15: 9-17)

Love and suffering Matthias had been a disciple of Jesus Christ virtually from the beginning. There were others too. Peter is reported by Luke as saying, soon after the Ascension and prior to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, that there were among the community of believers “men who have walked in our company all through the time when the Lord Jesus came and went among us, from the time when John used to baptize to the day when he, Jesus, was taken from us” (Acts 1: 21). So amid

all the hostility of the leaders, amid the serious walk-out by many disciples at the doctrine of the Eucharist (John ch. 6), amid the devastation of the Passion and Death of Jesus, there were many disciples who adhered to Jesus. St Paul mentions that 500 persons saw the risen Saviour, and many of them were still alive at the time of Paul’s writing this 1 Cor. 15:6). For some reason two among them stood out: Joseph Barsabas (presumably, the son of Sabas), who had been given the fresh name of Justus, and Matthias. Joseph’s new name “Justus” is significant. It perhaps reflects his reputation among the disciples. These two were named to stand for election to the ranks of the Twelve. They must have been outstanding in some sense for them to receive this nomination. There had to be Twelve ― presumably this came from the Lord. One had fallen away, so there had to be another to take his place. The figure “Twelve” harked back to the twelve patriarchs and signalled the new people of God which was now the seed and the bearer of the Kingdom. At the wish of the Apostles and the infant Church, Matthias and Joseph Barsabas were named as candidates for the Apostolic college. “They gave them lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he took rank with the eleven apostles.” We are not told more, but as a member of the Twelve, Matthias at some point received the fullness of what the Church would come to call the ministerial priesthood ― the episcopate.

But let us now consider what the reception of this new dignity really meant. Our Gospel passage today (John 15: 9-17) makes it clear that the Twelve were called to a life of love ― and the vocation of the Twelve is in this special sense a paradigm of the vocation of every disciple of Christ. Our Lord said to his Apostles at the Last Supper, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Now, one can read this and have very pleasant feelings, all the while forgetting the sting at the end. That sting is the sting of self-sacrifice, of immolation, of rejection and persecution, involved in laying down one’s life for the love of one’s heart. The love that our Lord called the Twelve to was a love that truly involved suffering, and it is in this sense that the calling of Matthias and the Twelve was a mirror for all disciples. The Twelve went on to a life of witness amid suffering and rejection, and from there to martyrdom or its equivalent. If there are times in the life and history of the Church when the successors of the Twelve are not made to suffer extraordinarily for Christ and his name, this must not be regarded as the ordinary course of things in the plan of God. Ordinarily, the Twelve, as well as their successors, as well as the disciples of Christ ― if they are truly witnessing to the truth of Jesus and his teaching ― will be made to suffer. Ordinarily they will suffer rejection and persecution in some form. This goes to the very top ― to the successor of St Peter. It must be expected that he will suffer and be rejected. This is the cup the Father will expect him to drink. If a holy Pope is made to suffer rejection, it is a sign that God is sanctifying him. Has there ever been a canonized saint who has not suffered in a special manner? Bearing witness to Jesus amid more than ordinary suffering is a normal hallmark of progress in holiness.

Let us understand the character of Christian love. If anyone wishes to be my disciple, our Lord said, let him take up his cross every day and follow me. Lots of people have few crosses. I would not normally recommend that crosses be sought. But if they come undeserved, they will be a powerful means of personal sanctification and the sanctification of the world. When the world criticizes and rejects those who represent Christ in a special manner, they ought not be regarded as having failed simply because the world views him somewhat in this light. Rather, Christ is showing his special love for the one who suffers, and is making of him a great instrument of good. Christ succeeded through precisely this kind of failure.
(E.J.Tyler)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An apostle who does not pray regularly and methodically will necessarily fall into lukewarmness... and he will then cease to be an apostle.
(The Forge, no.121)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We may use against the world its own weapons; and, as its success lies in the mere boldness of assertion with which it maintains that evil is good, so by the counter-assertions of a strict life and a resolute profession of the truth, we may retort upon the imaginations of men, that religious obedience is not impracticable, and that scripture has its persuasives.

JHN, from the University sermon ‘Contest between Faith and Sight’ (1832)

Prayers today: You are a people God claims as his own, to praise him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light, alleluia. (1 Pt 2: 9)

Lord, teach us to know you better by doing good to others. Help us to grow in your love and come to understand the eternal mystery of Christ's death and resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

(May 15) St. Isidore the Farmer (1070-1130)
Isidore has become the patron of farmers and rural communities. In particular he is the patron of Madrid, Spain, and of the United States National Rural Life Conference. When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, Isidore entered the service of John de Vergas, a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and worked faithfully on his estate outside the city for the rest of his life. He married a young woman as simple and upright as himself who also became a saint — Maria de la Cabeza. They had one son, who died as a child. Isidore had deep religious instincts. He rose early in the morning to go to church and spent many a holiday devoutly visiting the churches of Madrid and surrounding areas. All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. His devotion, one might say, became a problem, for his fellow workers sometimes complained that he often showed up late because of lingering in church too long. He was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidore’s supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great concern for the proper treatment of animals. He died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622 with Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known in Spain as “the five saints.” (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 18:23-28; Psalm 47:2-3, 8-10; John 16:23b-28

Jesus said to his disciples, I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father. (John 16:23b-28)

Petition It is the common experience of man that there are numerous things causing great suffering that are far too large to be resolved by him. The problems can be objectively massive, or objectively minor. For instance, there is only one photo of a beloved grandmother or aunt, and other copies have not been made. Inexplicably, it is lost. A search is begun, but it is unsuccessful. The loss causes grief for years to come, because the grandmother or aunt was so beloved, and now there is no

exact likeness. The photo is somewhere, but nothing done is able to locate it. It could be a diary which a great-grandmother kept over the years. Where has it gone? There are other problems. A member of the family goes down with melanoma and he is soon engulfed in various cancer operations that finally involve brain tumours. It is a problem that seems beyond the power of anyone to resolve. Again, there are serious droughts year after year in a large section of the country and no one is able to do anything about it. The result is that the lives of various farmers are gradually falling to pieces, and the town is reduced to a knife-edge existence. It is a problem that seems beyond the power of anyone to resolve. The examples could go on. Throughout the history of man this experience of helplessness before great threats has been a wellspring of religion. I remember years ago there was a movie which featured the early Christians being persecuted in pagan Rome. A Christian who was physically powerful was set in the arena, and a dangerous bull was released to attack him. It was sport for the crowd. A pagan in the amphitheatre who was in love with a Christian woman, as he watched the two facing one another, cried out in his heart: “Christ, if you exist, give the victory to the Christian!” He continued to repeat the prayer as the Christian and the bull met in mortal combat. The Christian eventually won, breaking the neck of the bull. It was exciting viewing, but the point here is that it was need which fuelled the prayer of the pagan. People have prayed to the gods so as to receive aid in need.

What is the judgment of man on his experience of the efficacy of prayer? I do not think it is possible to answer such a question, but what is obvious is that man keeps praying for the things he needs. But the question is, what is God’s attitude to it? The answer to this is that God has warmly encouraged us to pray for what we need. This is the clear testimony of revelation. He has not explicitly said that everything we ask for will be granted in the precise form we ask for it. But our Gospel passage today shows that our Lord wants us to ask for what we need, and encourages us to be confident that our prayers will be answered. But let us note that in the Gospels themselves our Lord does not grant every petition, but this is not to say that he does not answer the prayer. For instance, when the demoniac was cured in the land of the Gerasenes, he earnestly pleaded with our Lord to let him follow him (Mark 5:14-17). But our Lord refused the request. That is to say, he refused to grant the particular permission and course of action he had asked for. But he gave a very concrete answer to the prayer. He gave him an important mission, which was to return to his pagan region and speak about Jesus and what he had done. Who else could do this, and with such effect? The cured demoniac proceeded (in a spirit of obedience and gratitude) to fulfil this mission he had been given to the Decapolis ― the ten cities or settlements (deka ― ten; polis ― city) ― of this region east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan. It was an area greatly influenced by Greek culture, and what he did may have been one of the first proclamations of Jesus Christ to the world beyond the chosen people. Presumably it paved the way for a future and more complete proclamation. The demoniac would not have received this mission which he fulfilled so well, had he not made his prayer to Jesus. Jesus asked him to do this precisely in response to his prayer. His request was answered but in the way our Lord knew was best, and that demoniac, notoriously under the power of Satan before, became a kind of apostle of Jesus Christ. This happened because he made his petition to our Lord, who answered his prayer in God’s way.

Our Lord wants us to present to him all our needs. “Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” I remember one person who prayed for light and wrote applying for a position. He asked that God do what was best. Unaccountably, and for probably the first time in his life, he wrote the wrong post-box address on the envelope of application, and so his application was never received. The letter was returned unopened and the date for applications had passed. He subsequently came to be grateful that his application had been prevented by this circumstance, and saw it as the answer to his prayer. Let us pray with confidence, then, for all our needs.
(E.J.Tyler)

-----------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection (John 16:23-28)

Faith St Alphonsus Ligouri wrote that a common defect in our prayer is that we ask God for far too little. Throughout the gospels our Lord is being asked for favours. He, in turn, is asking for faith that he could and would grant their petitions. He wanted faith in him. Is it not true that we ask very little of God, and that we rarely keep on asking, with persistence? We give up on God and it can easily be that we do not really believe that our Lord has the power or the interest to hear our prayer. We must ask for an increase of the little faith we have, and keep on asking for this increase. Lord, I do believe. Help my unbelief!
(E.J.Tyler)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lord, from now on let me become someone else: no longer “me”, but that “other person” you would like me to be.

—Let me not deny you anything you ask of me. Let me know how to pray. Let me know how to suffer. Let me not worry about anything except your glory. Let me feel your presence all the time.

—May I love the Father. May I hunger for you, my Jesus, in a permanent Communion. May the Holy Spirit set me on fire.
(The Forge, no.122)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A religion which comes from God approves itself to the conscience of the people, wherever it is really known.

JHN, from Lectures on the Present Position of Catholics in England (1851)

The Ascension of the Lord C
(Seventh Sunday in Eastertide) C

Prayers for today: Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking in the sky? The Lord will return, just as you have seen him ascend, alleluia. (Acts 1: 11)

God our Father, make us joyful in the ascension of your Son Jesus Christ. May we follow him into the new creation, for his ascension is our glory and our hope. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, .
or
Father in heaven, our minds were prepared for the coming of your kingdom when you took Christ beyond our sight so that we might seek him in his glory. May we follow where he has led and find our hope in his glory, for he is Lord for ever.

(May 16) St. Margaret of Cortona (1247-1297)
Margaret was born of farming parents in Laviano, Tuscany. Her mother died when Margaret was seven; life with her stepmother was so difficult that Margaret moved out. For nine years she lived with Arsenio, though they were not married, and she bore him a son. In those years, she had doubts about her situation. Somewhat like St. Augustine she prayed for purity—but not just yet. One day she was waiting for Arsenio and was instead met by his dog. The animal led Margaret into the forest where she found Arsenio murdered. This crime shocked Margaret into a life of penance. She and her son returned to Laviano, where she was not well received by her stepmother. They then went to Cortona, where her son eventually became a friar. In 1277, three years after her conversion, Margaret became a Franciscan tertiary. Under the direction of her confessor, who sometimes had to order her to moderate her self-denial, she pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona. There she established a hospital and founded a congregation of tertiary sisters. The poor and humble Margaret was, like Francis, devoted to the Eucharist and to the passion of Jesus. These devotions fuelled her great charity and drew sinners to her for advice and inspiration. She was canonized in 1728.
Seeking forgiveness is sometimes difficult work. It is made easier by meeting people who, without trivializing our sins, assure us that God rejoices over our repentance. Being forgiven lifts a weight and prompts us to acts of charity. "Let us raise ourselves from our fall and not give up hope as long as we free ourselves from sin. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. ‘O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!’ (Psalm 95:6). The Word calls us to repentance, crying out: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). There is, then, a way to salvation if we are willing to follow it" (Letter of Saint Basil the Great). (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 1: 1-11; Psalm 46; Ephesians 1: 17-23 or Hebrews 9: 24-28; Luke 24: 46-53

Jesus said to his disciples, This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24: 46-53)

Ascension It scarcely needs to be said that one distinguishing feature of man as against the animal is that man can reflect on the world, and reach ― to a point ― an objective understanding of it. The animal lives in the world with awareness, but without understanding. I mention this merely as an introduction to the point that while man is capable of understanding, so often he does not seek to understand, nor even to be aware of, very many of the truly ultimate questions about the world. Let us take one

ultimate question, Where is the world heading? That is to say, what is its ultimate term? When such a question is asked, the reply would usually be in terms of the world’s immediate future. The world is heading for a nuclear war, or for terrible problems of climate change, or for a collision with a great meteor, or for the catastrophe of over-population, or for rampant terrorism. All of these possibilities relate to the next century or so, rather than to man’s ultimate end. But the question I have just posed asks, what is the ultimate term of the world’s ongoing history? The fact is that while we do not know whether the world will suffer a global warming that will threaten so much of life, we do know exactly where the world is ultimately heading. It is heading towards the Judgment by Christ. This will be the final cosmic event and it will involve every person who has ever lived on the face of the earth. It will be the end of the world as we know it, and the beginning of eternity as the common state of all and of a transformed world. The coming of Christ as Lord and Judge will mark the end of the world. Now, this is all part of the meaning of Christ’s ascension into heaven, where he took his seat at the right hand of the Father. As we read in our Gospel today (Luke 24: 46-53), Christ ascended into heaven. As we read elsewhere, he took his seat at the right hand of the Father. He is Lord of all lords and our High Priest who constantly intercedes for us before the Father. With the Father he sends us his Spirit and he gives us the hope of being with him forever in heaven.

The ascension into heaven marks the formal conferring on Jesus Christ of his lordship over heaven and earth, and the beginning of his active exercise of it. The Kingdom of God has come, and the King is Jesus Christ risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father. As the Lord of the cosmos and of all history and as the Head of his Church, the glorified Christ mysteriously remains on earth, where his kingdom is already present in seed and in its beginning in the Church. One day he will return in glory, but we do not know the time. Because of this we live in watchful anticipation. He will come to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. It will mark the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world, with Christ’s coming dominating everything. Christ will hand the world and all that is in it over to his Father, with his redemptive and sanctifying work now done. The final coming of Christ and his judgment on all the nations will result in the definitive triumph of God. Christ will judge all the nations and every individual with the power he gained as the Redeemer of man who came to bring salvation to all. The secrets of hearts will be brought to light as well as the conduct of each one towards God and towards his neighbour. Everyone, according to how he has lived, will either be filled with life or damned for eternity. In this way “the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4: 13) will come about in which “God will be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15: 28). All of these great truths revealed to us by God and brought to Christ’s faithful in the teaching of his Church, rise before our minds as we think of Jesus Christ ascending to heaven, with his disciples gazing on. He left the earth with his work done, but with a new work about to begin. That work was the evangelization of the world. The resurrection appearances included the commissioning of his disciples to make disciples of all the nations. So then, we know what the end of the world will be. The question is, how can we prepare for it? We prepare for it by embracing faith in Jesus Christ, by being baptized into him, and by acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord in the way we live our daily life.

As the disciples stand gazing on Jesus in wonderment as he rises from the earth and is enveloped in cloud from their sight, let us take our place with them. They have come a long way since their meeting with him soon after his baptism by John. They were privileged to have known the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Redeemer of man and the Son of God. Now, the Good News is that we are in Christ by our baptism. We are intimately united to him by the power of God’s grace, coming to us in the Sacraments. Let us live lives consistent with our being in him.
(E.J.Tyler)

Further reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.668-679 (He will come again as judge)

--------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection (Luke 24:46-53)

Jesus is Lord Today, the feast of the Ascension, we think of Jesus our brother and leader occupying the highest heaven in glory, seated at the very right hand of God. In him the human race has won the victory over Satan and sin and entered the

highest glory. Great, then, is the dignity of man now, to have a brother who is God and living in glory at the side of the Father of all. In him the path to eternal life and to an eternity face to face with God has been offered us. At his Incarnation Christ left his glory behind and became as men are, and lowlier still. Now in heaven, as this same man he is filled with divine glory. While he left us in his visible presence, this does not mean that he has simply left us. He cannot forget us, for we are members of his body. Just as the husband is one body with his spouse, so is Christ one body with his Church, of which we are members. St Therese of Lisieux said that she would spend her time in heaven doing good on earth. In this she merely reflects her Master in glory, Jesus Christ. Our Lord said, my Father is always working, therefore so do I. He who is with us always and to the end, works constantly for our sanctification and salvation.

In fact that is the reason why he returned to his Father, to be with us more intimately, and to complete his work of redeeming and sanctifying us. He said, unless I go, the Paraclete will not come to you. In his coming, the Spirit glorifies Jesus by sanctifying us and the world. Jesus, no longer limited to a particular geographic spot, by the power of the Holy Spirit is with us wherever we may be. He is present in the Church, teaching and proclaiming his Word. He is present in the Church’s sacraments, especially the Eucharist. And as we read in today’s Gospel (Luke 24: 46-53), he is present inspiring the Church’s members to engage generously in the mission of bringing others into a personal contact with him. ‘In his name,’ we read, ‘repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.’ All of this became possible by his ascending into glory at the right hand of the Father. Now nothing need separate us from him, save our deliberate and unrepented sins. Jesus in glory with his Father is now closer to us than ever before. The Father, Son and Spirit make their home with us. Let us then cultivate this closeness and this union with him.

As we think of the Ascension, let us resolve to love and serve the heavenly Jesus who is ever present with us in the Eucharist and in the life of the Church his body, and let us do all we can to bring him to the world. For the day is coming when he will come again, this time as our Judge.
(E.J.Tyler)

-----------------------------------------

A third reflection (Ephesians 1:17-23)

“Now as he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven.” (Luke 24:46-53)

Man-God Our Lord’s first recorded words on rising from the dead were to Mary Magdalene, and he told her he was ascending to his Father. The verb is in the present tense, implying an action very soon. It suggests that our Lord ascended in

some sense to his heavenly Father on the day of his resurrection, though of course it was not definitive nor visible ― as was his ascension forty days later, which we celebrate today. We might even say that the Ascension of Christ began on the day of the Resurrection and reached its final moment at the Ascension narrated in today’s Gospel. Now the man Christ acts divinely, not at times but as the normal pattern. He appeared to the two on the way to Emmaus and then disappeared. That evening he appeared to the Eleven and breathed on them the gift of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the Old Testament it was God who gave the Holy Spirit to the prophets and certain great figures such as David. It is now Jesus who gives the Holy Spirit. Also, in giving the Eleven this great Gift, Our Lord gave them the power to forgive sins, something only God could do. Our Lord, true man as he was, was now acting constantly as God, filled as he was with divine power and life, no longer limited by a normal human condition. At our Lord’s next meeting with the Eleven, the unbelieving Thomas acknowledged him as Lord and God. That is to say, when we think of Christ as now ascended to the right hand of the Father, we think of him as the all-powerful God ― while being man ― and as acting as God.

So it is that St Paul, in referring to our Lord’s ascension in his letter to the Ephesians, says that the Father’s “power was at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far beyond every Sovereignty, Authority, Power or Domination, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet, and made him as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole of creation.” Today we think of the risen Lord’s final meeting with his disciples as they watched him ascending to heaven. There is an important detail St Luke mentions here: they worshipped him, for it was obvious that he, the man Jesus, was God. Together with the Father he was soon to show his divine and saving power again, by sending the Holy Spirit to the infant Church, empowering it to begin its public work of preaching the forgiveness of sins in his name, and of bearing witness to all he had done and would continually do for us his disciples. Because Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, he is now the head of the Church everywhere. Together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, he abides in the soul of every baptised person in the state of grace. Precisely because Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father, acting now constantly as God, he is intimately close to each of us as God would be. He does this by the power of the Holy Spirit whom he and the Father have given to each of the baptised.

The thought of his ascension reminds us that, acting now with divine power, he lives in each of us, working for our sanctification.
(E.J.Tyler)

----------------------------------------------------------

A fourth reflection (Ephesians 1:17-23)

"May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, ... and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers." (Ephes. 1:17-23)

Divine power The Ascension of our Lord into heaven sets forth the truth that Jesus our Brother and our Redeemer, so close to us still in the life and teaching of the Church, in the Sacraments (especially the Eucharist) and in so many ways, is the ultimate

in greatness and power and perfection. He is seated at the right hand of the Father, which is to say he is equal to the Father in every way except that he is not the Father. In Jesus we have access to everything we truly need. Our brother Jesus is actually God, at the right hand of the Father. So we can rely on Jesus. We need go no higher, we need go to no one or nothing else. As Pope Benedict XVI often put it, the face of the Father is Jesus. Jesus is all we need for our life’s task of preparing for his coming. There is a certain simplicity to life, despite all its complexities: It is Jesus. In Jesus Christ we have immediate access to all the power and assistance we need, weak as we are of ourselves. By his Incarnation, Jesus became as we are and even lowlier still, dying on a cross. But by the power of the Holy Spirit God our Father raised him up. The resurrection of Christ was a striking sign of God’s power. As St Paul says in our second reading for today (Ephesians 1:17-23) “This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand in heaven, far above any Sovereignty, Authority, Power or Domination, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet, and made him as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church, the fullness of him who fills the whole of creation.”

We have access to that power. The Ascension of Christ to the right hand of the Father is a great manifestation of the power of God. This same power conferred on us by the gift of the Holy Spirit, enables us to follow in the footsteps of Christ. So when we think of the Ascension of Christ to the right hand of the Father, we ought think that, ― well, ― I can learn to follow Jesus because a portion of that same power at work in Jesus is available to me. It is the grace of Christ available to me in the ministry of the Church. I can follow in the footsteps of Jesus. I can combat sin. I can follow the suffering Christ and rise with him and be with him where he now is. Despite all the failures in my life, in my job and whatever, despite all the battles and the disappointments life brings, by the power and the grace of God I can win the war against sin and get to heaven. God’s kingdom, his rule, can be established in my own heart and I can help to establish it in the hearts of others. How? By the power of God. This is our great hope. Jesus is at the right hand of God and I can hope to be with him in heaven by following in his footsteps here on earth. How? Through the grace of God and my efforts inspired and sustained by that grace. As St Paul says in the second reading, “May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised we shall inherit and how infinitely great is the power he has exercised for us believers.” As we think of Christ ascending to the right hand of the Father, let us renew our faith in God’s power, thinking of all that Christ did for us, and where he now is even though he is close to each of us.

God can get us to heaven, he can help us to follow him ever more closely in how we think, in what we say and in what we do. Let us be sure to use the means: assiduous prayer, the sacraments, the ministry of the Church through which Christ comes to me, resolving to lead a good life and striving daily to love Jesus.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meus es tu — you are mine, the Lord has declared to you.

—To think that God, who is all beauty and all wisdom, all splendour and all goodness, should say to you that you are his…! and then, after all this, you can’t bring yourself to respond to him!
(The Forge, no.123)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Those political institutions are the best which subtract as little as possible from a people’s natural independence as the price of their protection. The stronger you make the Ruler, the more he can do for you, but the more he also can do against you; the weaker you make him, the less he can do against you, but the less also he can do for you.

JHN, from ‘Who’s to Blame?’ (1855)

Prayers today: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. You will be my witnesses to all the world, alleluia. (Acts 1:8)

Lord, send the power of your Holy Spirit upon us that we may remain faithful and do your will in our daily lives. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, .

(May 17) St. Paschal Baylon (1540-1592) (painting: St Paschal's vision of the Eucharist)
In Paschal’s lifetime the Spanish empire in the New World was at the height of its power, though France and England were

soon to reduce its influence. The 16th century has been called the Golden Age of the Church in Spain, for it gave birth to Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Peter of Alcantara, Francis Solano and Salvator of Horta. Paschal’s Spanish parents were poor and pious. Between the ages of seven and 24 he worked as a shepherd and began a life of mortification. He was able to pray on the job and was especially attentive to the church bell which rang at the Elevation during Mass. Paschal had a very honest streak in him. He once offered to pay owners of crops for any damage his animals caused! In 1564 Paschal joined the Friars Minor and gave himself wholeheartedly to a life of penance. Though he was urged to study for the priesthood, he chose to be a brother. At various times he served as porter, cook, gardener and official beggar. Paschal was careful to observe the vow of poverty. He would never waste any food or anything given for the use of the friars. When he was porter and took care of the poor coming to the door, he developed a reputation for great generosity. The friars sometimes tried to moderate his liberality! Paschal spent his spare moments praying before the Blessed Sacrament. In time many people sought his wise counsel. People flocked to his tomb immediately after his burial; miracles were reported promptly. In 1690 Paschal was canonized; in 1897 he was named patron of eucharistic congresses and societies.
“Meditate well on this: Seek God above all things. It is right for you to seek God before and above everything else, because the majesty of God wishes you to receive what you ask for. This will also make you more ready to serve God and will enable you to love him more perfectly" (St. Paschal). (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 19:1-8; Psalm 68:2-7ab; John 16:29-33

The disciples said to Jesus, Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God. You believe at last! Jesus answered. But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:29-33)

The world In the context of Church history, the early months of 2010 were notable. There was a world-wide attack by the press on the person of Pope Benedict XVI. This was initiated by senior columnist Laurie Goodstein’s lead article in The New York Times and accompanied by the editorial. Press after press followed suit, taking their cues from the New York Times. In all of this the Pope himself was at the mercy of the media. It was like a runaway horse that had bolted before those who looked at

the facts had time to put their boots on. William McGurn, opinion writer for The Wall Street Journal (April 6), showed what anyone who took care with the available sources could see, that in its treatment of the person of Pope Benedict XVI The New York Times (and by implication those that followed suit) lapsed in its standards of journalism. Now, what was the reaction of Pope Benedict XVI to this rolling, confused and false gossip about him that filled the printed and electronic media? He said scarcely a thing, but let it rumble on till it spent itself somewhat. Had he said anything at all, it would have been characteristically misinterpreted and misreported, and the misperception about him caused by the press would have worsened. A close observer had the impression that Pope Benedict was close to God and trusted in his power. The hand of the Lord was upon him as he readied himself to deal with the Church’s problems and the scandals of many. The most obvious, though not the only, example of this merciless media treatment was when in 1968 Pope Paul VI issued his famous Encyclical, Humanae Vitae, reiterating the Church’s condemnation of artificial birth control. The press of the world attacked and vilified him. Pope Paul’s cause for Canonization is proceeding. In the specific matter of the treatment meted out to Pope Benedict himself ― as distinct from the matter of terrible scandals ― we are reminded of our Lord’s words in our Gospel today. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:29-33)

One of the great blessings for the Church of the twentieth century and the early years of the twenty first, has been the quality of her supreme pontiffs. They have been outstanding in talent and spiritual stature. In them we are reminded of faith in Jesus Christ. On the tomb of Mary MacKillop in North Sydney there is written the powerful words, Trust in God. Pope Benedict XVI ― holy, wise, learned and eminent as a disciple of Jesus Christ ― trusted in God. He had no doubt of the power of Jesus Christ. In our Gospel today, our Lord exhorts his disciples to trust in him, whatever the world may bring, and indeed whatever their own limitations and failings may bring. “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone.” Our Lord predicted the failure of his disciples when his hour would come. They scattered and abandoned him when crisis and difficulty came. Time and again there have been failures in the Church’s members, but the ultimate Stay resides in the Church herself. That Stay is Jesus Christ, in whom is to be found the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Father is with him and he, Jesus, means his disciples to find peace in him. “Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.” In the world, too, they will have trouble, but ― and this is the good news of the Gospel ― he has overcome the world. “But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Christ has broken the power of Satan. Even though his victory has to be brought to each generation and to each crisis of human living, the ultimate victory belongs to him. Those who take their stand with Christ can be sure of the final outcome, whatever be the trials of the moment. The sinner, aware of his abandonment of Christ, must take refuge in him again. The faithful Christian, buffeted because of the sins of those who abandon Christ, must take refuge in him. Christ is the refuge of man. In him all can take heart.

Let the Christian be confident, whatever be the vicissitudes of life. His confidence is not grounded in his gifts, his accomplishments, his access to means of influence. It is grounded in the might and the love of God. If God allows things to happen that cause great suffering and serious reversals to his Church, he continues nevertheless to be God. In Christ he has overcome the world, and following a passion there comes a resurrection. So then, Be of good heart! I, Jesus Christ, have overcome the world.
(E.J.Tyler)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You should not be surprised to feel in your life that weight dragging you down which Saint Paul spoke of: “I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind.”

—Remember then that you belong to Christ, and have recourse to the Mother of God, who is your Mother. They will not abandon you.
(The Forge, no.124)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And I trust and hope most fully / In that Manhood crucified / And each thought and deed unruly / Do to death, as He has died.

JHN, from the ‘Dream of Gerontius’ (1865)

Prayers today: I am the beginning and the end of all things. I have met death, but I am alive, and I shall live for eternity, alleluia. (Rev 1:17-18)

God of power and mercy, send your Holy Spirit to live in our hearts and make us temples of his glory. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

(May 18) St. John I (d. 526)
Pope John I inherited the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. Italy had been ruled for 30 years by an emperor who espoused the heresy, though he treated the empire’s Catholics with toleration. His policy changed at about the time the young John was elected pope. When the eastern emperor began imposing severe measures on the Arians of his area, the western emperor forced John to head a delegation to the East to soften the measures against the heretics. Little is known of the manner or outcome of the negotiations—designed to secure continued toleration of Catholics in the West. When John returned to Rome, he found that the emperor had begun to suspect his friendship with his eastern rival. On his way home, John was imprisoned when he reached Ravenna because the emperor suspected a conspiracy against his throne. Shortly after his imprisonment, John died, apparently from the treatment he had received. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 20:17-27; Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21; John 17:1-11a

After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed: Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all mankind that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now

this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. (John 17:1-11a)

Life With good reason it is often stated that the study of history is an essential part of a true education. When we open the history books we see that history embraces a vast variety of perspectives. There is economic and political history, there is the history of science and philosophy, there is the history of religion. I have heard that there has even been published in Australia a history of bush fires. Now, as we think of the onward flow of history with its regimes, empires and states rising and falling, we

could wonder if there is any unifying thread in it all. Is there a linchpin, or is history made up simply of a succession of distinct items that exert their influence on other things or persons? Is history nothing more than a succession or change, perhaps shaped by the conflict between what is in possession and what is rising to challenge it? There is Alexander, there is Caesar, there is Genghis Khan, there is Sulamein, there is Bonaparte. They come and they go, and history marches on as influenced and as influencing. “One generation passes and another comes, but the world forever lasts. The sun rises and the sun goes down; then it presses on to the place where it rises .... Nothing is new under the sun.” Thus writes Quoheleth, in Ecclesiastes (1: 4-9). Is there a linchpin to give to human history a meaning? There certainly is, and the words of our Gospel passage today provide that linchpin. It is Jesus Christ, to whom all authority has been granted. Addressing his heavenly Father, our Lord prays, “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all mankind that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” The world has a King, a Lord, and the Source of all that is has given to him the dominion of all things. All things, all empires, all that happens and will happen, occur under the eye of the One who has all authority. A second question flows from this. What is the purpose of the authority over the world possessed by Jesus Christ? The purpose is to bring life to all of God’s children. I have come that they may have life, he said elsewhere.

Our Lord is more specific still on this central question. In history, mankind heaves and surges on, seeking a flourishing of life. It attempts to find it in a variety of things: wealth, pleasure, power, good work, whatever. How to live? How to live in a flourishing and happy way? These are the questions that electrify the energies of man in his history, and they exercise the minds of the thinkers of the ages. How are we to gain life in abundance both here and hereafter? That is the question, and in our passage today our Lord gives us the answer. Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. This knowledge of God is not just any kind of knowledge open to man, as, for instance, even in the mere exercise of his conscience. Whenever he senses or judges there to be a moral obligation, he has a dim sense of the Lawgiver behind it. But this ordinary and natural knowledge of God is not what our Lord is referring to here. He means the knowledge of God open to man as a result of his supernatural revelation. The key to human history and the flourishing of mankind in its fundamental sense is the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. The knowledge of Jesus Christ brings the truest and fullest knowledge of God, and constitutes life eternal. It is this which opens man to a share in the life of Jesus Christ, and this life of his is eternal life. If we know Jesus Christ, if we love him and live according to his commands, life ― the life lived by Jesus Christ ― will be ours. Ultimately, the plan of God for mankind is to share in the life of Jesus Christ by truly knowing him. It is this which we must work on and it is this which we must bring to others by our own work, by our example, and by our discrete and alert use of any opportunities that come our way to spread the knowledge and love of him. The first thing we ought do on rising each day, is re-establish our relationship with Jesus Christ. It ought become a daily habit by disciplined prayer, thought, reading and service. The purpose of his supreme authority is in order that we might find life in his name.

It is no use having a mere general appreciation of all this. We must get down to a specific plan of life that will make it possible for Jesus, the Lord of all lords, to begin to have dominion. Let us set aside real time for prayer each day, real minutes. It ought not simply be prayer on the run. Let us read about Jesus and his revealed truth, reading material that the Church sanctions. Let us endeavour to obey Jesus Christ in our everyday life and work. Let us build our lives on what Jesus Christ has revealed, because to him has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
(E.J.Tyler)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A second reflection: Acts 20:17-27

On the Holy Spirit Years ago I remember hearing a Scripture scholar and teacher assert that the Holy Spirit is the hidden

Person of the Blessed Trinity, almost in the shadows, as it were. In a certain sense this is correct: we cannot visualise him. He seems more elusive than the Father and the Son. His manifestations in Scripture are less direct (as a dove, as tongues of fire, etc.). But if we read the Acts of the Apostles attentively, searching to know more fully the Third Divine Person, we get a sense that the Holy Spirit is the principal protagonist in the infant Church. He is the great evangelizer and guide of evangelists. He is very much the Guide, the Director, the one who warns and forewarns. Consider our passage today (Acts 20:17-27) St Paul says that "the Holy Spirit, in town after town, has made it clear enough that imprisonment and persecution await me."

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us know and love him more, to help us to be guided and inspired by him in our whole Christian life. Let us think of Mary, the first and greatest Christian, full of grace, filled with the Spirit of God. In the midst of an ordinary life, she was led by the Holy Spirit constantly.
(E.J.Tyler)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Receive the advice you are given in spiritual guidance as though it came from Jesus Christ himself.
(The Forge, no.125)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All through the day we are tried and tempted in various ways. We cannot think, speak, or act, but infirmity and sin are at hand. But in the unseen world, where Christ has entered, all is peace.

JHN, from the sermon ‘Warfare the Condition of Victory’ (1838)

Wednesday of the seventh week of Eastertide C

Prayers today: All nations, clap your hands. Shout with a voice of joy to God, alleluia. (Ps 46:2)

God of mercy, unite your Church in the Holy Spirit that we may serve you with all our hearts and work together with unselfish love. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son...

(May 19) St. Theophilus of Corte (1676-1740)
Theophilus was born in Corsica of rich and noble parents. As a young man he entered the Franciscans and soon showed his love for solitude and prayer. After admirably completing his studies, he was ordained and assigned to a retreat house near Subiaco. Inspired by the austere life of the Franciscans there, he founded other such houses in Corsica and Tuscany. Over the years, he became famous for his preaching as well as his missionary efforts. Though he was always somewhat sickly, Theophilus generously served the needs of God's people in the confessional, in the sickroom and at the graveside. Worn out by his labours, he died on June 17, 1740. He was canonized in 1930. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 20:28-38; Psalm 68:29-30, 33-36ab; John 17:11b-19

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, Holy Father, keep true to your name those you have given to me so that they may be

one as we are one. While I was with them I kept true to your name those whom you gave me. I have watched over them so that none has been lost except the son of perdition, in fulfilment of the Scriptures. I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I dedicate myself, that they too may be dedicated in the truth. (John 17:11b-19)

In Christ I remember years ago when I was studying philosophy at university, the professor of the department, who happened to be the supervisor of my research, referred to one of his colleagues. He told me in passing that he was an Hegelian. He was, that is to say, a disciple of Hegel. There are those who are followers of the philosophy of Marx, Sartre, Wittgenstein, Russell,

Marcel and various others. The Catholic Church has recommended various of her philosophers, but especially the philosophy contained in the thought of Thomas Aquinas. In all of these cases, it is the man’s thought and doctrine that is accepted and followed. One becomes a disciple of the man’s thought. The teacher himself ― say, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Cicero, as the case may be ― could be long since dead and therefore quite vanished as a living presence from the scene. It is his thought and teaching, expressed in the records of his writing, which continue to command influence. It is conceivable that a follower of Hegel’s philosophy might have little interest in Hegel himself. Many have been enamoured of the philosophy of Frederick Nietzsche, but one would be hard put to see how many could be enamoured of Nietzsche himself. After a turbulent life he ended his days out of his mind. But notice how our Lord refers to his disciples. They must certainly follow his teaching with all their energies, but in the first instance, what counts is their relationship with him. This relationship is God’s creation. They have been given to Jesus by the Father. “Holy Father, keep true to your name those you have given to me so that they may be one as we are one.” They belong to Jesus in order for him to care for them ― so that he might keep them true to the Father’s name. Every disciple of Christ may say that he belongs to Jesus. He finds himself as belonging to Jesus by the gift of the Father. He does not approach Jesus as one who is separated from him. He is already the gift of the Father to Jesus, and as this gift he receives the word of Jesus his master, a word to which he must adhere.

So the primary thing about being a disciple of Jesus Christ is being faithful to the personal relationship with Christ in which he has been placed by God himself. There is a more general observation to be made here about our fundamental situation. Following on the isolating perspective propounded by Descartes, modern man tends to regard himself as being, in the first instance, isolated, apart. From his isolation and separation from other persons and things, he seeks relationships. Descartes began with the self that thinks in isolation. Descartes built his system from the fact of personal thought. It even confirms man’s existence to himself, but this starting point isolates him from the world with which he must then establish a connection. Modern man prizes friendship, but he tends to come at it from a prior solitariness. It is this starting point that is so erroneous, and which has had such baleful effects on the philosophy of the last few centuries. Man’s true starting point is not his isolated reflection on himself precisely as a being who thinks, but his being part of the world and in profound relationship with others. His relationships with others are a primary and fundamental given, that include his own action. He is an acting person, and not just a thinking one. His action is as one who is part of the external world and in deep relationships with others, such as his family and friends. He finds himself to be interconnected with others, and not in the first instance solitary and disconnected from the world. Hence our Lord’s words in today’s Gospel (John 17:11b-19) are part of a piece with the reality of human life as man finds it to be. The disciple of Jesus Christ learns from his Master that the Father has made of him a gift to his beloved Son. We are, by God’s gift, in relationship with Jesus. We are God’s gift to Jesus who has given his life for us and for our salvation. This is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is from this starting point of being in him that we follow the teaching of him who is the Master.

That having been said, it is far more crucial that we adhere to the teaching of the Master, than it is for any disciple of any other philosopher or leader of thought and religion. If we do not follow his teaching, despite the gift the Father has made of us to the Son, we shall be lost. “I have watched over them so that none has been lost except the son of perdition, in fulfilment of the Scriptures.” We must be faithful to the word of the Master. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” Let us then rejoice that we have by the grace of God been placed in Christ, and resolve to live in him by obedience to his word.
(E.J.Tyler)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A second reflection (Acts 20: 28-38)

Being submissive to the Holy Spirit At times one hears certain Christians (and certain Catholics too) professing to be

devotees of the Holy Spirit, striving to be responsive to his lights and his promptings, while at the same time they allow little place in their spiritual lives for the Church and for the Church's guidance. But what do we see St Paul saying? Consider his words in Acts 20:28-38. He refers to the Holy Spirit as the one who made "the elders of the church of Ephesus" as the "overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his own blood." That is to say, the responsibility carried and exercised by the Church's pastors comes from the Holy Spirit. They are to be on their "guard" against "men coming forward with a travesty of the truth ... to induce the disciples to follow them." This is what the Church's pastors are called to do, and for which many criticise them. They are to watch, feed, and warn the flock.

If we aspire to be submissive to the Holy Spirit (as we must, if we wish to be truly Christian), we must also be submissive to the Church which is Christ’s creation.
(E.J.Tyler)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You asked me to suggest a way for winning through in your daily struggles, and I replied: When you lay your soul open, say first of all what you wouldn’t like to be known. In this way the devil will always end up defeated.

—Lay your soul wide open, clearly and simply, so that the rays of God’s Love may reach and illuminate the last corner of it!
(The Forge, no.126)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember … this further reason why the witnesses of the Resurrection were few in number; viz. because they were on the side of Truth. If the witnesses were to be such as really loved and obeyed the Truth, there could not be many chosen. Christ’s cause was the cause of light and religion, therefore His advocates and ministers were necessarily few.

JHN, from the sermon ‘Witnesses of the Resurrection’ (1831)

Thursday of the seventh week of Eastertide C

Prayers for today: Let us come to God's presence with confidence, because we will find mercy, and strength when we need it, alleluia. (Heb 4:16)

Father, let your Spirit come upon us with power to fill us with his gifts. May he make our hearts pleasing to you, and ready to do your will. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

(May 20) St. Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)
Most of the saints suffer great personal opposition, even persecution. Bernardine, by contrast, seems more like a human dynamo who simply took on the needs of the world. He was the greatest preacher of his time, journeying across Italy, calming strife-torn

cities, attacking the paganism he found rampant, attracting crowds of 30,000, following St. Francis’s admonition to preach about “vice and virtue, punishment and glory.” Compared with St. Paul by the pope, Bernardine had a keen intuition of the needs of the time, along with solid holiness and boundless energy and joy. He accomplished all this despite having a very weak and hoarse voice, miraculously improved later because of his devotion to Mary. When he was 20, the plague was at its height in his hometown, Siena. Sometimes as many as 20 people died in one day at the hospital. Bernardine offered to run the hospital and, with the help of other young men, nursed patients there for four months. He escaped the plague but was so exhausted that a fever confined him for several months. He spent another year caring for a beloved aunt (her parents had died when he was a child) and at her death began to fast and pray to know God’s will for him. At 22, he entered the Franciscan Order and was ordained two years later. For almost a dozen years he lived in solitude and prayer, but his gifts ultimately caused him to be sent to preach. He always travelled on foot, sometimes speaking for hours in one place, then doing the same in another town. Especially known for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, Bernardine devised a symbol — IHS, the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek, in Gothic letters on a blazing sun. This was to displace the superstitious symbols of the day, as well as the insignia of factions (for example, Guelphs and Ghibellines). The devotion spread, and the symbol began to appear in churches, homes and public buildings. Opposition arose from those who thought it a dangerous innovation. Three attempts were made to have the pope take action against him, but Bernardine’s holiness, orthodoxy and intelligence were evidence of his faithfulness. General of a branch of the Franciscan Order, the Friars of the Strict Observance, he strongly emphasized scholarship and further study of theology and canon law. When he started there were 300 friars in the community; when he died there were 4,000. He returned to preaching the last two years of his life, dying while travelling. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Psalm 16:1-2a and 5, 7-11; John 17:20-26

Jesus prayed, My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of

them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. (John 17:20-26)

The foundations It seems that the great thinkers of mankind can be divided into two groups. There are those who aimed at constructing a system of thought, and there are those who achieved great originality in a few chosen areas and who did not concern themselves with developing a system. Thomas Aquinas in the Middle Ages achieved a system of thought that was remarkable, and the Church has pointed to him as a very good guide in respect to the synthesis between Faith and Reason.

Another great Christian thinker was John Henry Newman, the English convert and priest of the nineteenth century. He did not offer a system in his writings, but rather achieved his eminence because of his originality in a few chosen areas. One thing Newman repeatedly stressed was the importance for thought of our starting points ― our first principles, where we are coming from. A system of thought does not begin with reason, but it is developed by reason. That is to say, reason takes the starting points of a person’s thought and life, and develops them by reasoning from (what he takes to be) the known to the unknown. Newman accounts for the wide divergence among people in large measure to their divergence in the matter of first principles or starting points. It would seem that most people have no idea where they are coming from and what are the assumed starting points of their thought and life. Nor is there much wrong with this, because it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to know what are all our starting points or assumed fundamental truths. They are just part of us; we take them for granted; their truth is so obvious to us that we scarcely advert to them. The question becomes serious, though, when our first principles are quite false and lead to a false attitude to the world. For instance, if considerable numbers of a world religion have a hostile attitude to the rest of the world and see themselves as justified in waging a campaign of terrorism on other societies, all the while invoking the One they worship, then their starting points, their assumed truths, have become lethal.

Let us take a theoretical example. Let us imagine a person whose basic starting point is that he has been granted “the truth” and that “the truth” ― i.e., the truth that is in his possession ― is supreme. The “truth” must be acknowledged by all ― he thinks ― and those who refuse thus to acknowledge it, lose their rights and dignity before the supreme dignity and rights of truth. Thus it is that because of his view on truth, he is hostile to the world because he discovers that the world does not agree with him. The roots of his attitude to the truth probably lie in his moral life. But let us take another case. A person is convinced that he has been granted “the truth,” and that this truth is supreme. But there is a second starting point to his thought and life, one that is probably of equal importance to the first. It is that he is in communion with God and with others. He is not alone with his truth, with others cut off from him by their disagreement ― or, rather, by their antagonism because of their disagreement with him. Rather, he is in communion with all to a greater or lesser extent, and this fact of communion, just as with the fact of his having the truth, is a fundamental reality that constitutes a fundamental duty. The duty is to remain in communion and to foster it to the extent possible. He perceives that it is only when this communion with others, that is a basic fact of life and reality, is respected, that one’s “truth” can flourish and spread among men. This first principle, this starting point, this fact from which he is coming, shapes his life in the world of men and societies, as does his respect for the supremacy of the truth. He is not, then, intolerant, but in dialogue and communion with others, precisely over the truth. Thus does communion advance, as well as the recognition of the truth. A great deal depends on where we are coming from, our first principles, our basic starting points. Now, what are the starting points, the fundamental facts on which our lives ought be based, according to the words of Jesus Christ? They are precisely the ones I have just mentioned: fidelity to the truth he has revealed, and the communion that we have been granted with him and the Father.

Let us listen to our Lord’s beautiful words. “Jesus prayed, My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:20-26). The message of Jesus Christ is supreme, as is our communion with one another and with God. Let us look at these basic truths of life as they come to us from Jesus Christ our Redeemer and our God, and let us make them the foundation of life.
(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If that dumb devil mentioned in the Gospel gets into your soul, he will spoil everything. On the other hand, if you get rid of him immediately, everything will turn out well; you will carry on merrily, and all will be well.

—A firm resolution: to be “savagely sincere” in spiritual direction, always keeping your good manners…, and to be sincere immediately.
(The Forge, no.127)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While we thus grow in knowledge in matters of time and sense, yet we remain children in knowledge of our heavenly privileges!

St. Paul says, that whereas Christ is risen, He “hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This is what we have still to learn; to know our place, position, situation as “children of God, members of Christ, and inheritors of the kingdom of heaven.” We are risen again, and we know it not. We begin our Catechism by confessing that we are risen, but it takes a long life to apprehend what we confess. We are like people waking from sleep, who cannot collect their thoughts at once, or understand where they are. By little and little the truth breaks upon us. Such are we in the present world; sons of light, gradually waking to a knowledge of themselves.

JHN, from the sermon ‘Difficulty of Realizing Sacred Privileges’ (1839)

Friday of the seventh week in Eastertide C

Prayers today: Christ loved us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and has made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father, alleluia. (Rev 1:5-6)

Father, in glorifying Christ and sending us your Spirit, you open the way to eternal life. May our sharing in this gift increase our love and make our faith grow stronger. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, .

(May 21) St. Cristóbal Magallanes and Companions (d. 1915-1928)
Like Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, S.J., Cristóbal and his 24 companion martyrs lived under a very anti-Catholic government in Mexico, one determined to weaken the Catholic faith of its people. Churches, schools and seminaries were closed; foreign clergy

were expelled. Cristóbal established a clandestine seminary at Totatiche, Jalisco. Magallanes and the other priests were forced to minister secretly to Catholics during the presidency of Plutarco Calles (1924-28). All of these martyrs except three were diocesan priests. David, Manuel and Salvador were laymen who died with their parish priest, Luis Batis. All of these martyrs belonged to the Cristero movement, pledging their allegiance to Christ and to the Church that he established to spread the Good News in society—even if Mexico's leaders once made it a crime to receive Baptism or celebrate the Mass. These martyrs did not die as a single group but in eight Mexican states, with Jalisco and Zacatecas having the largest number. They were beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later.
During his homily at the canonization Mass on May 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II addressed the Mexican men, women and children present in Rome and said: “After the harsh trials that the Church endured in Mexico during those turbulent years, today Mexican Christians, encouraged by the witness of these witnesses to the faith, can live in peace and harmony, contribute the wealth of gospel values to society. The Church grows and advances, since she is the crucible in which many priestly and religious vocations are born, where families are formed according to God's plan, and where young people, a substantial part of the Mexican population, can grow with the hope of a better future. May the shining example of Cristóbal Magallanes and his companion martyrs help you to make a renewed commitment of fidelity to God, which can continue to transform Mexican society so that justice, fraternity and harmony will prevail among all.” (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Acts 25:13b-21; Psalm 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20ab; John 21:15-19

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these? Yes, Lord,

he said, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my lambs. Again Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you truly love me? He answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Take care of my sheep. The third time he said to him, Simon son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, Do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, Follow me! (John 21:15-19)

Love for Jesus Christ’s rising from the dead involved more that his sense of triumph over death and the joy of his disciples at his gaining this victory. What was uppermost was his sense of mission. On appearing to the Eleven our Lord gave them a share in the peace that was his: “Peace be with you,” he said to them, and he then showed them his hands and his side. He was back from the grave. But then he immediately entrusted them with a share in his mission: “As my Father sent me, so am I

sending you.” St John is specific about that point. Having proved that he was back with them in the flesh, he gave them their great work, together with the gift of the Holy Spirit to enable them to fulfil it. Our Gospel passage today is drawn from the following chapter of St John, and it would appear to be an (inspired) addition to the original text. It speaks especially of Peter and his mission, but of course as part of the portrayal of Jesus Christ. So let us consider what our Lord’s words to Peter reveal to us of Jesus himself. Firstly and above all, the mission our Lord is entrusting to Peter requires a personal love for him. We do not see this demanded by other great religious founders ― though, being human, they implicitly expected to be loved. But in the case of Jesus Christ, it is an essential requirement of the mission of spreading the Gospel throughout the world. This mission could only be prosecuted by those who loved him dearly. The “doctrine” of the Gospel is above all his own person. It is he who is to be loved and obeyed, and this is done in the total acceptance of his doctrine. Peter himself, chief pastor of the flock, must love Jesus totally. This point is made by our Lord three times, and is singularly clear. “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my lambs. Again Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you truly love me? He answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Take care of my sheep. The third time he said to him, Simon son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, Do you love me?”

Furthermore, let us notice the personal relationship between our Lord and all those to whom Peter and the Apostles were being sent on their mission. They were Christ’s sheep, his lambs. During our Lord’s public ministry, their mission ― as was his ― was to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Now, with his having risen from the dead, it is to the whole world. The whole world is Christ’s flock, his sheep, his lambs. The Father has entrusted the world to him, and has given to him, as man, all authority in heaven and on earth. The purpose of this authority was to bring all those entrusted to him to glory. So not only is there a personal relationship of love between Christ and the Apostles; not only must they themselves love him dearly and personally if they are to feed his sheep, but the sheep to which they are being sent belong to him. The entire flock belongs to him. He loves them individually and is determined to bring them to a share in his glory. The entire situation in which the Apostles and all of Christ’s sheep are now immersed, is one of love. Christ loved Peter and the Twelve. He loved every one of his sheep, every one of his lambs. He asked for love in return from Peter and the Apostles, and love from each and all of his lambs ― and the test of this love was the fulfilment of his commands. Thus is the Christian religion a very personal matter between each person and Jesus, but each person as inextricably part of the communion of all Christ’s flock. Each of us is called to a personal love for Jesus Christ, not in isolation from others, but precisely as part of Christ’s flock. Feed my sheep, feed my lambs, Christ said, referring to them in the plural. We are called to love Jesus Christ as members of his Fold. If we think of any other figure in all of the Scriptures, or indeed any other founder of religion in human history, there is no one who claims such personal love from his followers as does Jesus Christ. He claims the same degree of love for himself as God claims.

Let us place ourselves in the Gospel scene today and hear our Lord’s words to Peter as being addressed to each one of us: Do you love me? Yes, Lord, you know I love you! Do you love me, and are you determined to love me? Yes, Lord, you know I love you! Then feed my sheep ― serve them by bringing them to a personal love for me and to a total acceptance of my teaching. Do you love me? Lord, you know all things, you know I love you! Then join with me in my mission to make disciples of all the nations, for all are called to find life in me. To the work, then!
(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Love and seek help from the person who guides your soul. In spiritual direction lay your heart completely open — rotten, if it were rotten! — with all sincerity, with the desire to be cured. If you don’t, you will never get rid of that rottenness.

If you go to someone who can only cleanse the wound superficially… you are a coward, because really you will be going along to hide the truth, doing yourself harm.
(The Forge, no.128)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conscience … teaches us, not only that God is, but what He is; it provides for the mind a real image of Him, as a medium of worship; it gives us a rule of right and wrong, as being His rule, and a code of moral duties.

JHN, from An Essay in aid of a Grammar of Assent (1870)

Saturday of the seventh week in Eastertide C/I

Prayers today: The disciples were constantly at prayer together, with Mary the mother of Jesus, the other women, and the brothers of Jesus, alleluia. (Acts 1:14)

Almighty Father, let the love we have celebrated in this Easter season be put into practice in our daily lives. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

(May 22) St. Rita of Cascia (1381-1457)
Like Elizabeth Ann Seton, Rita of Cascia was a wife, mother, widow and member of a religious community. Her holiness was reflected in each phase of her life. Born at Roccaporena in central Italy, Rita wanted to become a nun but was pressured at a young age into marrying a harsh and cruel man. During her 18-year marriage, she bore and raised two sons. After her husband was killed in a brawl and her sons had died, Rita tried to join the Augustinian nuns in Cascia. Unsuccessful at first because she was a widow, Rita eventually succeeded. Over the years, her austerity, prayerfulness and charity became legendary. When she developed wounds on her forehead, people quickly associated them with the wounds from Christ's crown of thorns. She meditated frequently on Christ's passion. Her care for the sick nuns was especially loving. She also counselled lay people who came to her monastery. Beatified in 1626, Rita was not canonized until 1900. She has acquired the reputation, together with St. Jude, as a saint of impossible cases. Many people visit her tomb each year. (AmericanCatholic.org)\

Scripture today: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; Psalm 11:4, 5 and 7; John 21:20-25

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against

Jesus at the supper and had said, Lord, who is going to betray you?) When Peter saw him, he asked, Lord, what about him? Jesus answered, If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me. Because of this, the rumour spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:20-25)

Follow me! One gets the impression that during our Lord’s public ministry and its aftermath, Peter and John were especially close. The Gospels report that on various occasions our Lord took Peter, James and John apart with him as his closest associates. On the occasion of his raising the little girl from the dead, he had those three with him. During the Last Supper, it seems that John was on one side of our Lord, Peter on the other ― for Peter signalled to John that he ask our Lord who was going to betray

him. In his Agony in the Garden, Jesus had Peter, James and John with him. On Easter Sunday morning, it is Peter and John who set off at a run making for the tomb, and together find it to be empty. John arrives at the tomb first, but waits and allows Peter to be the first to enter. They both love our Lord, and while John is the “beloved disciple,” the hint is that among the disciples it is Peter who loves our Lord the most. In the last chapter of the Gospel from which our passage today is drawn, it is Peter who, on seeing that it is our Lord on the shore, jumps into the water ahead of the others, and makes his way to the shore. On the shore, our Lord asks Peter if he loves him more than do the others, and though Peter does not himself claim this, it is certainly Christ’s expectation. The hint is that he does. That is to say, in the last chapter of St John’s Gospel, what we might call the Johannine tradition places Simon Peter at the forefront of the Church in his assigned apostolic mission, in his calling to love Jesus more than the others, and in the death by which he would give glory to God. In the memory and thought of John, Peter seems to be leader and exemplar of Christ’s disciples ― despite his faults. There is an implication in this prominent vocation of Peter. It is that roles and vocations in Christ’s Church vary, and this is so by divine plan. Some are called to prominence, others are called to an ordinary and obscure path. Each person, though, is special in that each has his or her calling. The important thing in God’s eyes is not that the calling one has received be prominent, but that it be lived generously.

It may be observed that our Lord’s prophecy of Peter’s death as given in this last chapter of John (John 21: 18-19), was not the only such prophecy granted to his disciples. During his public ministry our Lord had told them all that they must renounce themselves and take up their cross and follow him. Separately, he had told James and John that they would indeed drink his cup. So it is that Peter, having received his special calling and a hint as to his very death, notices the beloved disciple following as he and Jesus speak. Peter is curious ― what about him, Lord, the one who has a special place in your heart, the one who is my friend too, this one who already has a certain prominence among the disciples? You have spoken of me. What is to be his path in your plan? Now, this question surely reflects questions that can arise in the hearts of many disciples of Christ, in many members of the Church. We remember how during his public ministry there were times when the disciples vied for positions of importance. When James and John asked our Lord for places at his right and left in his kingdom, the others were annoyed with them ― for, they thought, they were trying to get special favours over and above them. Our Lord had to correct their propensity to compete for prominence. Does this not remind us of envy or at least of other less than worthy attitudes within the ranks of Christ’s disciples? John the Baptist was told by his disciples that more were going after Jesus. He simply said that each must be content with the gift he has been given. Each must live his vocation to the full and not be distracted by the thought of the different, and perhaps more obviously effective and prominent vocation of the other. What about him, Lord? Simon asks. What will be his path? Our Lord’s reply to this ever-recurring question, one that so often blunts and detracts from the heartfelt dedication that ought mark the path of each of us, is “You are to follow me!” Leave the other person’s vocation to God, and praise God for his ways. Whatever be my plan for him, leave that to me. The one thing necessary is that you fulfil your vocation to love and serve me to the utmost. You are to follow me!

Envy is an active force in society and even at times in Christ’s Church. Pilate saw that it was due to jealousy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. Let us not bemoan in our hearts the good fortune of others and the lack of good fortune in ourselves. Let us treasure the specific calling we each have received, with all its difficulty and disappointment. For his own inscrutable reasons, God has so disposed that we be as we are with the vocation that we have. We have only one life and it is the particular life that has been granted us. We must live it well, following the Master. Don’t be looking at him, look at me! Leave him to me. You are to follow me!
(E.J.Tyler)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second reflection: Acts 28:16-20

Being welcoming Some people seem to be bored with life. They have a lot of time on their hands. The Christian ought never be bored, for each day offers constant opportunities. For instance, we can take the opportunity to be truly welcoming in all our contacts with others. A welcoming hospitality brings the chance of introducing people to the person of Christ. Consider St Paul under house arrest in Rome for two years (Acts 28:16.30). What did he do? "He welcomed all who came to visit him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ.." (Acts 28:31). He welcomed all. He used the restricted conditions he was compelled to live in by extending to all who came to him a welcoming friendship, and used this friendship as the door to evangelisation.

This gives us a key to apostolic success in everyday life, whatever be our circumstances. The medium of apostolic activity is to be genuine and welcoming friendship. We can exercise this at every contact we have with others. If we live in the presence of God, ever keeping in mind the mission we have from Christ, we shall be motivated to be like St Paul in this respect. It will open the door to trust and to a readiness in others to listen to what we have to say of Christ.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Never be afraid of telling the truth. But don’t forget that sometimes it is better to remain silent out of charity towards your neighbour. However, you should never be silent out of laziness, or love of comfort, or cowardice.
(The Forge, no.129)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I adore Thee, O my Lord, for Thy wonderful patience and Thy compassionate tenderhearted condescension. Thy disciples, in spite of all Thy teaching and miracles, disbelieved Thee when they saw Thee die, and fled. Nor did they take courage afterwards, nor think of Thy promise of rising again on the third day. They did not believe Magdalen, nor the other women, who said they had seen Thee alive again. Yet Thou didst appear to them—Thou didst show them Thy wounds—Thou didst let them touch Thee—Thou didst eat before them, and give them Thy peace.

JHN, from Meditations and Devotions (1893)

Pentecost Sunday C

(May 23) St. Felix of Cantalice (1515-1587)
Felix was the first Franciscan Capuchin ever canonized. In fact, when he was born, the Capuchins did not yet exist as a distinct group within the Franciscans. Born of humble, God-fearing parents in the Rieti Valley, Felix worked as a farmhand and a shepherd until he was 28. He developed the habit of praying while he worked. In 1543 he joined the Capuchins. When the guardian explained the hardships of that way of life, Felix answered: "Father, the austerity of your Order does not frighten me. I hope, with God’s help, to overcome all the difficulties which will arise from my own weakness." Three years later Felix was assigned to the friary in Rome as its official beggar. Because he was a model of simplicity and charity, he edified many people during the 42 years he performed that service for his confreres. As he made his rounds, he worked to convert hardened sinners and to feed the poor as did his good friend, St. Philip Neri, who founded the Oratory, a community of priests serving the poor of Rome. When Felix wasn’t talking on his rounds, he was praying the rosary. The people named him "Brother Deo Gratias" (thanks be to God) because he was always using that blessing. When Felix was an old man, his superior had to order him to wear sandals to protect his health. Around the same time a certain cardinal offered to suggest to Felix’s superiors that he be freed of begging so that he could devote more time to prayer. Felix talked the cardinal out of that idea. Felix was canonized in 1712.
(AmericanCatholic.org)

Prayers: The love of God has been poured into our hearts by his Spirit living in us, alleluia. (See Rom 5:5; 8:11)

Almighty and ever-living God, you fulfilled the Easter promise by sending us your Holy Spirit. May that Spirit unite the races and nations on earth to proclaim your glory. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
or
Father in heaven, fifty days have celebrated the fullness of the mystery of your revealed love. See your people gathered in prayer, open to receive the Spirit's flame. May it come to rest in our hearts and disperse the divisions of word and tongue. With one voice and one song may we praise your name in joy and thanksgiving. Grant this through Christ our Lord.
or
God our Father, you have given us new birth. Strengthen us with your Holy Spirit, and fill us with your light. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

Scripture Vigil Mass: Gen 11: 1-9 or Ex 19: 3-8. 16-20 or Ezek 37: 1-14; or Joel 3: 1-5; Romans 8: 22-27; John 7: 37-39

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7: 37-39)

The Spirit of God Every Sunday after hearing the word of God in the readings and the homily we all recite the Nicene Creed. In that Creed we all say, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken by the Prophets.” So then, the Holy Spirit is the Lord. Although there are other spirits, such as the Angels who are ministers and messengers of God, the Holy Spirit is the Lord

of all that is. He is God, just as truly as the Father is God and the Son is God. He is not only the Lord of all but the Giver of Life. The true life of the soul is not to be famous or wealthy, but to be united to God. It is the Holy Spirit who, by his grace, unites the soul to God. What, then, is his relation to the Father and to the Son? The Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. The Son is the Word of the Father and the Holy Spirit is the love between the Father and the Son. Therefore while the Son is begotten of the Father, the Holy Spirit proceeds not just from the Father but from both the Father and the Son, for he is the love between the two. Moreover, just as the Son is the same divine being as the Father while being a distinct person from Him, so is the Holy Spirit the same divine being as the Father and as the Son, but is a distinct person from each of them. And for that reason he is adored and glorified equally with the Father and the Son. It is He, the Holy Spirit, who spoke through the prophets and inspired the Scriptures. So, whenever we read or hear the Scriptures we ought be open to the light and inspiration of the Holy Spirit who continues to speak to us through the prophets he inspired.

It is this same Holy Spirit who came at Pentecost to give birth to the Church. It is this same Holy Spirit whom we received at our baptism and confirmation, and who continually blesses us with his help through life. What then is the help through life that the Holy Spirit brings to us? The Holy Spirit cleanses us of our sins. It was by the power of the Holy Spirit that our Lady was conceived free of original sin, and it was by the grace of the Holy Spirit that she remained utterly sinless throughout her life. It was the Holy Spirit who by his grace, together with her own cooperation, made her all-holy. He cleanses and repairs by his grace, which is available to us in the sacraments ― especially in the Sacrament of Baptism, and then subsequently in the Sacrament of Penance ― and in prayer. The Holy Spirit also enlightens our minds. Our Lord said at the Last Supper, “the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and bring to your mind whatever I have said to you.” The Holy Spirit also assists us to keep God’s commandments. Our Lord said, “If any one love me he will keep my word.” The Holy Spirit makes our hearts like the heart of God. Through the words of the Prophet Ezechiel, God said: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the heart of stone that is within you and I will put my spirit into you. I will cause you to walk in my commandments.” He counsels us when we are in doubt, and teaches us what is the will of God. As we read in the book of the Apocalypse, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.” The Holy Spirit also strengthens us in the hope of eternal life. He is himself the surety we have of eternal life. Of course, we must live as God’s children if heaven, which is intended for us, is finally to be gained. As St Paul says, “You have received the spirit of sonship whereby we cry out ‘Father, dear Father’.” For the Holy Spirit himself testifies to us that we are children of God. So the Holy Spirit gives us every reason to hope for heaven.

Whenever we recite the Nicene Creed let us proclaim our faith in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified. It is He who leads us to holiness by his grace. Let us pray, Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your divine love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. Let us also pray, O God who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant by the same Holy Spirit that we may be truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolations, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(E.J.Tyler)

Prayers: The Spirit of the Lord fills the whole world. It holds all things together and knows every word spoken by man, alleluia. (Wis 1:7)
or
The love of God has been poured into our hearts by his Spirit living in us, alleluia. (See Rom 5:5; 8:11)

God our Father, let the Spirit you sent on your Church to begin the teaching of the gospel continue to work in the world through the hearts of all who believe. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
or
Father of light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds. Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit man could never raise his voice in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus is Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Scripture (for Mass during the day) Acts 2: 1-11; Ps 103; 1 Cor 12: 3-7.12-13; Jn 14:15-16.23-26

Jesus said to his disciples, If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever. If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:15-16.23-26)

The Spirit One of the most fundamental features of the world that we experience is that it changes. The human person is changing continually too, but in his case the change that is all-important is moral change. It is at this level that he changes for the better or for the worse in what is distinctive to him as a human being. It is the goal of life to change for the better. Imagine a young man who is aimless, bored and full of feelings of hostility. He meets a group of splendid young people who have purpose

and direction in their lives. They offer him friendship and the group begins to affect him with their spirit, leading him to move in their direction in life. Let us try to imagine the goodness of every saint and moral hero concentrated and available at a single point. Imagine all this goodness as a Person who is the source of all the goodness that there is. Suppose that this Person were to come to a group and to abide within them, empowering them to become good themselves. We are speaking of the Holy Spirit and his coming. Today, Pentecost Sunday, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the infant Church, including the mother of Jesus and the apostles. Both individually and together they received the Holy Spirit, not necessarily for the first time (for of course our Lady had been filled with the Holy Spirit since her conception) but for the first time precisely as Christ’s infant Church. They had been told by our Lord to await ― not just individually but together ― what the Father had promised. The promised Gift came, and the Church as such was born. The Holy Spirit became the Church’s soul, animating and vivifying her members, and making of them one body ― the body of Christ her head. Mary, present among them and receiving the Holy Spirit anew as a member of the Church, became the mother and model of the Church, forever bound to the Church in this capacity. All this was the direct result of the gift of the Spirit. And of course, with his coming, this third divine Person was thus wonderfully revealed. He revealed himself publicly as it were, and in power.

The Acts of the Apostles, in which we read of this event of Pentecost, is the story of the action of the Holy Spirit. Just as it was by the power of the Holy Spirit that the second divine Person became man, so too it was by the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ’s Catholic Church was born and continues as the body of Christ in the world. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that the Church is now and will be to the end of time the sacrament of Christ, the sign and instrument whereby Jesus is made present among us and brings salvation to the ends of the earth. As the Holy Spirit led Jesus, so he leads his body the Church, and he leads the Church’s members to live in active union with the Church. This gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit, is an inestimable gift of God to mankind. It is available through the ministry of the Church. Without the Holy Spirit, man would be sunk in his sins, as St Paul says in Romans, and doomed to death. The Holy Spirit is the love of the Father and the Son, uniting them both. It is this love which is the source of all possible life and goodness, including the goodness of God himself. The task of every member of the Church is to be led by this divine Person, just as Christ was led by him. We must get into the way of thinking that he is with us to guide us and to inspire us. Inasmuch as the Holy Spirit is the divine Person who brought the Church to birth at Pentecost and then sustains her life and mission through history, if we wish to be led by the Holy Spirit, we must be led precisely as members of the Church, in union with her, and subject to her lead. Now, through what medium, through what instrument at hand, does he do this? He does this generally through our consciences enlightened by the teaching and witness of the Church, who is herself guided by the Holy Spirit. He dwells within us to guide our consciences, to inspire us to be faithful to Christ and his Church. Let us then resolve to be his true friend, and not, as St Paul says, to make him sad by failing to know well what Christ teaches by means of the Church, and then by failing to put this teaching assiduously into practice.

Come Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of your faithful! Enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and by means of your Spirit lead us to holiness of life!
(E.J.Tyler)

Further reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.731-741

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A second reflection Acts 2:1-11

Our Companion Many years ago it was observed that the Holy Spirit, the precious Gift that the Father and the Son have sent us, had become a little forgotten. It is the Holy Spirit who inspired the prophets and holy men of the Old Testament. It was he who inspired the writing of the Sacred Scriptures themselves. It was he who filled Mary the mother of Christ with grace. It was by his power that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. It was he who filled the soul of the child Jesus, who daily

advanced, humanly speaking, in wisdom and grace. It was he who came upon our Lord again and in a new way at his baptism, leading him thenceforth in his public ministry, a ministry mighty in word and in works. It was he who led Jesus to his Passion, and it was by his power that Christ offered himself as a victim to the Father on our behalf. It was by his power that Christ rose from the dead. So important was the Holy Spirit in the divine plan that our Lord said to his grieving apostles that it was better for them that he go, because unless he did go the Holy Spirit would not come. For some reason known only to God, our Lord had to depart from us visibly and ascend to the right hand of the Father before the Holy Spirit could be sent to the Church at large, and begin his own proper mission in the Church’s life. There was so much that the Apostles and disciples had not and could not grasp while our Lord was still with them, despite all our Lord’s teaching, and all his patience and explanations. Even when our Lord was risen, they still mistook him and his true mission. The infant Church which our Lord had founded to the point of his resurrection and ascension was as yet embryonic. It needed the gift of the Holy Spirit, as the seed needs the downpour of rain, for it to burst into life-bearing fruit.

This is what happened at Pentecost, as we read in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. The Holy Spirit came with a powerful noise and tongues of fire. With that they were empowered to bear witness to Jesus in numerous tongues. While the Gospels portray the person and work of the Redeemer, the Acts of the Apostles could be said to show the person and work of the Holy Spirit in the infant Church. The Holy Spirit is the third divine Person, and is just as truly the one God as is the Father and the Son, just as much to be worshipped and adored as they. He is therefore the greatest gift the Father and the Son could possibly confer on the Church. It was at Pentecost that this Gift was given to the Church, and with that Gift the Church was born and became publicly active. He was given to the Church to enlighten, guide and sanctify her. He has been given to each of us, to enlighten, guide and sanctify us. He abides in each of us as in his temple, provided we are in the state of grace. He is therefore our constant Companion, our divine Friend, our Guide and our Sanctifier. He gives effect to our undertakings and our efforts, and enables our fidelity to Jesus to bear fruit that will last. He is our Companion, Friend and Guide far more than any angel or saint, and is present with us in all his divine power. Let us then ask ourselves, Do we think much of this divine, all-powerful Companion that Christ and the Father have given us? Do we make any effort to get to know him, to be devoted to him, to be inspired by him and to learn from him? He wishes to make us saints, yet we so often make him sad by our sins. It is quite possible scarcely to think of the Holy Spirit, except when he is celebrated in the Church’s feasts.

Let us resolve to take practical steps to learn to be guided by him in our Christian life. He wants to lead us to the truth and to the perfection of love. He is with us daily for this express purpose. We must resolve to listen to the Holy Spirit and to be sensitive to his promptings. Let us determine to meditate on our Lord’s words about him, read of him in the Scriptures, expect him to enlighten our understanding and our conscience, and recognise his action after it has occurred. Our daily goal ought be to be submissive to the Holy Spirit, in imitation of our Lord himself and all the saints
(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------

Your deepest love, your greatest esteem, your most heartfelt veneration, your most complete obedience and your warmest affection have also to be shown towards the Vicar of Christ on earth, towards the Pope.

We Catholics should consider that after God and the most Blessed Virgin, our Mother, the Holy Father comes next in the hierarchy of love and authority.
(The Forge, no.135)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

In this lies the difference between the treatment due to an individual in heresy, and to one who is confident enough to publish the innovations which he has originated. The former claims from us the most affectionate sympathy, and the most considerate attention. The latter should meet with no mercy; he assumes the office of the Tempter, and, so far forth as his error goes, must be dealt with by the competent authority, as if he were embodied Evil. To spare him is a false and dangerous pity. It is to endanger the souls of thousands, and it is uncharitable towards himself.

JHN, from The Arians of the Fourth Century (1833)

Solemnity of Our Lady Help of Christians (May 24)
(Eighth week in Ordinary Time C/I)

Prayers today: Lord, place deep in our hearts the love of Mary our help. May we fight vigorously for the faith on earth and praise your victories in heaven. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever

(May 24) Mary Help of Christians (picture below: Lepanto)
In two of the most decisive battles in European history Christians sought the help of our Lady under the title of Help of Christians. In each of these two battles Christian civilization was under great military threat from Islam. Christians turned to Mary

as their great help. The first of these battles was the Battle of Lepanto, October 7th, 1571. Almost 1000 years after Islam’s first attack on the Christian world, the Mahomedans sent a giant naval armada to attack Europe by sea. The whole of European and Christian civilization was under an immense threat. The Christian fleet under Don John of Austria encountered the Islamic fleet at Lepanto just off the coast of Greece. Pope St Pius V, entrusting the outcome to our Lady, ordered uninterrupted prayers to her throughout Christendom. During the actual battle Rosary processions thronged the streets of Europe and St Pius V with outstretched arms

prayed to Mary in his chapel in the Vatican. It was a tremendous battle. The Turks slew 8,000 Christian soldiers and ship after ship of the Christian fleet sank. But due to the prayers of the Christians and the resolve of the Christian forces who were depending on the help of Mary, the tide began to turn. The upshot was that 30,000 Turks were killed or taken prisoner, and 12,000 Christian slaves released. The Christian forces were victorious. It was the first great defeat for the Turks at sea. Pope St Pius V made the feast of our Lady Help of Christians a universal feast. Not only was the Christian world saved, but it marked the turning point in the military fortunes of Islam. While Islam continued to remain a threat and continued to attack Christian countries, Lepanto marked the dramatic beginning of a gradual decline. Our Lady help of Christians is the help of each Christian, and the help of Christian civilization against attack. The last great threat from Islam occurred over a hundred years after Lepanto. 200,000 Ottoman Turks besieged Vienna in the summer months of 1683, and the Austrian Emperor placed the outcome under the protection of Mary help of Christians. During those sombre weeks Pope Innocent XI united Christendom against the attack of Islam. In response to the Pope’s call John Sobieski, the King of Poland arrived in September, and on September 8, the feast of our Lady’s nativity, the battle plans were drawn up. On September 12, the feast of the holy name of Mary, the Christians gained a great victory over the Turks. The Christian forces had placed themselves under the protection of our Lady Help of Christians. It was a great Christian victory, and it was due to Mary the Help of Christians.
In 1841 the pioneer priest of the Catholic Church in Australia, Father John Therry, wrote to the Archbishop of Sydney, Archbishop Polding, requesting that Australia be dedicated to Mary’s name. Three years later in 1844 the bishops of Australia appointed Mary Help of Christians as the patroness of Australia. We Catholics in Australia look to Mary as the great defender of the Church and Christian civilization when under threat. The biggest danger is a weakening of our faith in her Son. Mary is our Helper. ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled,’ Christ tells us. ‘Trust in God still, and trust in me.’ Mary who is our help will support us in our trust in all adversities, so let us resolve to regard Mary as our help every day of our lives and in all our difficulties.

Scripture today: Genesis 3: 1-15.20; Ephesians 3: 14-19; Luke 8: 19-21

It happened that Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you. He replied, My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice. (Luke 8: 19-21)

Mary our help If one were asked to name the most famous Catholic thinker in English history, the name of John Henry Newman would be among those who would immediately come to mind. His intellectual and religious formation was Anglican, and as an Anglican he worked his way to the Catholic Church. From being the most famous Anglican theologian in England he became the country’s most famous Catholic theologian ― although he is probably best described not strictly as a theologian, but as

a seminal religious thinker. One of his most notable books was his last as an Anglican, in which he answered one of his own most persistent objections to the teaching of the Catholic Church. As an Anglican he objected to the apparent innovations to pristine Christian doctrine which the Church of Rome had gradually introduced over the centuries. These innovations amounted to corruptions of revealed teaching, he had thought, and an instance of this was the invocation of the saints ― especially the invocation of the Virgin Mary. There was almost nothing of this in the New Testament, and yet it was rampant in Catholic teaching. His formal answer to the non-Catholic objection to the change in Catholic doctrine over the centuries is contained in his epochal book, The Development of Christian Doctrine (1845). He writes that the innovations are not corruptions but developments that represent the Church’s advancing understanding of divine Revelation. Having established this general idea, he offers several tests of a true development. It is an hypothesis ― a philosophical theory about doctrine ― that has stood the test of time and is accepted now as assuredly true. Over the course of the centuries the Church comes to an explicit awareness of what it knows implicitly. It is in this light that the copious teaching of the Church on the Mother of Christ and the power of her intercession is to be understood. In our Gospel today Mary the mother of Jesus is referred to. She is among the relatives of Jesus and a message comes to him asking that she and his family circle wished to see him.

Our Lord uses the occasion to explain who are his real family. “Someone told him, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you. He replied, My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice” (Luke 8: 19-21). The Catholic will see in these words a description of Christ’s mother: she is the one par excellence who heard the word of God and put it in practice. She is mother to Christ according to Christ’s own criteria as given in this passage of Luke’s Gospel, in which Gospel much of what we know about our Lady is to be found. I am referring especially to the infancy narratives of that Gospel. The Angel addressed her as the one who was “full of grace.” She accepted the word of God as it came from him, and immediately gave to it her entire obedience: “Be it done unto me according to your word.” The power of her intercession is seen in the Gospel of St John, when at her word our Lord worked his first miracle at the wedding feast of Cana, and thus launched his public ministry. From the Cross he gave his mother to his beloved disciple to be his mother too, and to dwell with him. The Christian sees in this a gift to all of us. Since the early centuries, the Church’s love for and confidence in the mother of Christ has constantly deepened. So it is that Mary the mother of Christ is understood by all the faithful as being the Help of Christians. She is Christ’s gift to us to be our mother and our model. At special times in the Church’s history, times of unusual threat, the Church has invoked the intercession of Mary, Help of Christians. Not only does this apply to threats on the individual believer, but threats on nations and civilizations. One of the greatest instances of this was the threat to European and Christian civilization posed by the Islamic advance during the sixteenth century, a century riven by Christian division and strife, for it was the era of the Protestant Reformation. Prior to and during the encounter with the Islamic forces at Lepanto, a vast chorus of prayer ascended to heaven, calling on the intercession of Mary, Help of Christians.

The Turks were defeated. The point is that the intercession of Mary in heaven is immensely powerful. How could her Son refuse her requests? Let us look on Mary the mother of Christ as the unfailing help of Christians and as their mother and their model. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death! She is full of grace. The Lord is with her. Blessed is she among all women, and blessed is the fruit of her womb, Jesus. Let us hear again the words of Christ ― Behold your mother, and let us take her to our home, the home of our heart.
(E.J.Tyler)

------------------------------------------------------------------

It would be a false charity, a diabolical, deceitful charity, to give way in matters of faith. We must be fortes in fide — strong in faith, firm, as Saint Peter demands.

—This is not fanaticism, but quite simply the practice of our faith. It does not entail disliking anyone. We can give way in all accidental matters, but in matters of faith we cannot give way. We cannot spare the oil from our lamps, otherwise when the Bridegroom comes he will find they have burned out.
(The Forge, no.131)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Errors in reasoning are lessons and warnings, not to give up reasoning, but to reason with greater caution.

JHN, from the Grammar of Assent (1870)

(May 25) St. Venerable Bede (672?-735)
Bede is one of the few saints honoured as such even during his lifetime. His writings were filled with such faith and learning that even while he was still alive, a Church council ordered them to be read publicly in the churches. At an early age Bede was

entrusted to the care of the abbot of the Monastery of St. Paul, Jarrow. The happy combination of genius and the instruction of scholarly, saintly monks produced a saint and an extraordinary scholar, perhaps the most outstanding one of his day. He was deeply versed in all the sciences of his times: natural philosophy, the philosophical principles of Aristotle, astronomy, arithmetic, grammar, ecclesiastical history, the lives of the saints and, especially, Holy Scripture. From the time of his ordination to the priesthood at 30 (he had been ordained deacon at 19) till his death, he was ever occupied with learning, writing and teaching. Besides the many books that he copied, he composed 45 of his own, including 30 commentaries on books of the Bible. Although eagerly sought by kings and other notables, even Pope Sergius, Bede managed to remain in his own monastery till his death. Only once did he leave for a few months in order to teach in the school of the archbishop of York. Bede died in 735 praying his favourite prayer: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As in the beginning, so now, and forever.” His Ecclesiastical History of the English People is commonly regarded as of decisive importance in the art and science of writing history. A unique era was coming to an end at the time of Bede’s death: It had fulfilled its purpose of preparing Western Christianity to assimilate the non-Roman barbarian North. Bede recognized the opening to a new day in the life of the Church even as it was happening. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: 1 Peter 1: 10-16; Psalm 97; Mark 10: 28-31

Peter said to Jesus, We have left everything to follow you! I tell you the truth, Jesus replied, no-one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields— and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. (Mark 10: 28-31)

A hundredfold Inasmuch as most would agree that the goal of life is to be happy and not unhappy, then one would expect that parents would strive to help their children to know what it is to be happy in life, and knowing this, to teach them to know how to attain it. One obvious problem in a proposition such as this is that great numbers of parents themselves do not really know how happiness is to be attained ― and for this simple reason that they do not know in what it is that happiness consists. The

words of Thomas at the Last Supper are apposite in the matter of happiness, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way there?” What is true happiness? Great numbers would assume that happiness consists in doing well economically, being well regarded and successful, having plenty of ease and freedom from work, being physically healthy ― and many other temporal blessings besides. These goals will bring a measure of happiness. Having attained a certain measure of happiness, many do not bother with the deeper question which is, in what consists great and enduring happiness? Obviously, it cannot consist in the absence of difficulty and pain because it is manifestly impossible that difficulty and pain be banished from life. The world changes and moves on, and this vast movement of things cannot be ordered to the convenience of an individual, a group, a nation. The lack of fit between the individual and his physical and social environment will mean that, in a certain sense, the words of Christ will apply to all: “in the world you will have trouble” (16:33). They will, of course, apply supremely to Christ’s closest disciples who model their lives on him whose path led to the Cross. There is this too. There are many cases of persons who in the midst of pain and difficulty are very happy ― and all recognize that this is a great achievement. If there is to be happiness at all in life, it has to be a happiness in the midst of difficulty and pain. So, the question of life is, how to attain true happiness in the midst of pain and suffering?

Answering the question abstractly and philosophically, we could hazard an answer to this by saying that, theoretically, our truest happiness will come by steadfastly living in the truth, even though the doing of this will be costly. But this is theoretical, and scarcely likely to fill and warm the heart. Jesus Christ gives us the divine path to human happiness. The deepest happiness consists in being united to him, and this will come in the following of him. He says to us, trust me on this! Leave everything ― in terms of the attachment of your heart ― and come! Follow me! Our Gospel today follows the episode of the wealthy man who had eagerly come to our Lord asking what more need he do to gain eternal life (Mark 10:17). Our Lord looked on him with love and solemnly told him that the one thing he lacked was this: sell all, leave all, give it to the poor, and follow me. The man went off sad. Presumably a certain sadness remained with him for the rest of his life. He had, in effect, been told by our Lord in what his greatest fulfilment would consist, and therefore his deepest happiness. Following his refusal, he would never have attained the happiness that could have been his. He had chosen to seek his happiness in other things as well ― in his case, in his wealth. His truest happiness consisted in choosing and following Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life. This is the context of our passage today, which opens with Peter’s profession that “we have left all and have followed you.” The Apostles had done what the rich man refused to do. At this our Lord solemnly assured them that the deepest happiness will be theirs: “Jesus replied, no-one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields— and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life” (Mark 10: 28-31). If we choose Christ and resolutely strive to make him the central choice in all our choices, the love of our heart in all that we do, then ― together with sufferings (“persecutions”) ― we shall share in the joy that Christ gives to his friends. The love of Christ, precisely in the following of him, is the key to happiness.

Let every disciple of Christ be confident in the divine promise that the following of him is the path to happiness. But it will be the happiness of one who shares in the Cross of his Lord. He will receive “a hundred times as much in this present age, together with persecutions ... and in the age to come, eternal life.” So every day let us offer all our thoughts, words, joys and sufferings to God, striving to do his will in union with Christ, knowing that by doing this we are contributing in the greatest way possible to the happiness of the world.
(E.J.Tyler)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Humility and obedience are the indispensable conditions for acquiring good doctrine.
(The Forge, no.132)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great truths, practical or ethical, float on the surface of society, admitted by all, valued by few … until changed circumstances, accident, or the continual pressure of their advocates, force them upon its attention. The iniquity … of the slave-trade ought to have been acknowledged by all men from the first; it was acknowledged by many, but it needed an organized agitation, with tracts and speeches innumerable, so to affect the imagination of men as to make their acknowledgment of that iniquitousness operative.

JHN, from An Essay in aid of a Grammar of Assent (1870)

Wednesday of the eighth week in Ordinary Time C/II

(May 26) St. Philip Neri (1515-1595)
Philip Neri was a sign of contradiction, combining popularity with piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy, the whole post-Renaissance malaise. At an early age, he abandoned the chance to become a businessman,

moved to Rome from Florence and devoted his life and individuality to God. After three years of philosophy and theology studies, he gave up any thought of ordination. The next 13 years were spent in a vocation unusual at the time—that of a layperson actively engaged in prayer and the apostolate. As the Council of Trent was reforming the Church on a doctrinal level, Philip’s appealing personality was winning him friends from all levels of society, from beggars to cardinals. He rapidly gathered around himself a group of laypersons won over by his audacious spirituality. Initially they met as an informal prayer and discussion group, and also served poor people in Rome. At the urging of his confessor, he was ordained priest and soon became an outstanding confessor, gifted with the knack of piercing the pretenses and illusions of others, though always in a charitable manner and often with a joke. He arranged talks, discussions and prayers for his penitents in a room above the church. He sometimes led “excursions” to other churches, often with music and a picnic on the way. Some of his followers became priests and lived together in community. This was the beginning of the Oratory, the religious institute he founded. A feature of their life was a daily afternoon service of four informal talks, with vernacular hymns and prayers. Giovanni Palestrina was one of Philip’s followers, and composed music for the services. The Oratory was finally approved after suffering through a period of accusations of being an assembly of heretics, where laypersons preached and sang vernacular hymns! (Cardinal Newman founded the first English-speaking house of the Oratory.) Philip’s advice was sought by many of the prominent figures of his day. He is one of the influential figures of the Counter-Reformation, mainly for converting to personal holiness many of the influential people within the Church itself. His characteristic virtues were humility and gaiety. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: 1 Peter 1: 18-25; Psalm 147; Mark 10: 32-45

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. We are going up to

Jerusalem, he said, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise. Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. Teacher, they said, we want you to do for us whatever we ask. What do you want me to do for you? he asked. They replied, Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory. You don't know what you are asking, Jesus said. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with? We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, You will drink the cup I drink and be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared. When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10: 32-45)

The divine strategy One of the remarkable stories in history is that of Mahomet’s rise from utter obscurity, his religious experiences, his sense of special calling, his early reversals, his flight from Mecca to Medina, and then his gradual ascendancy to complete victory. He won out not only in the spread of the new religion he proclaimed, but also politically. He defeated his enemies politically and militarily, and this, as was natural, powerfully aided in his defeat of competing religions in the region.

Mahomet beat his opponents at their own game. This is not to decry the effect of the superiority and attraction of the new religion over the Arabian polytheism it conquered. It set the stage for a remarkable turn in history as the Muslim armies overran region after region bringing to those defeated peoples the imposition of Islam. When one stands back and looks at the rise of Islam and its astonishing spread, one can understand the Islamic claim that it could not have had such success had it not been the religion intended and revealed by God. However, granted the means which came to hand and which were taken by Mahomet and his followers, it is quite understandable that Islam spread so rapidly. There is no mystery to it. The strategy for spread and for victory was unashamedly political, military and economic ― together with the proclamation of the religion. Against the claim that the success of Islam was manifestly supernatural in its cause, it is not hard to make the counter suggestion that it was manifestly natural in its causes. Other spectacular phenomena are also to be noticed in history, such as the extraordinary success of Alexander the Great some eight hundred years before. He thought that the gods had vindicated him and that they were bearing him along. It seems that he came to think he was divine. His success, though, was due to his native brilliance, his military genius, his armies and many other factors of the natural order. Why do I mention the rise of a figure such as Mahomet and the strategies he employed to bring his religion to his people and beyond?

It is always helpful, when considering one thing, to set it against another that is very different. Its distinctive characteristics can be more easily noticed and appreciated. In our Gospel today we read that “They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid.” Since early in his public ministry, our Lord had faced mounting hostility and opposition from ― not all, but ― the dominant elements of the ruling class. To an increasing extent, we might say that he was on the run. They were out to get him, and they were baffled as to how this was to be done. Whenever there was any direct confrontation, Jesus Christ routed them in debate and in every other sense. He showed that he had the power to overcome them completely ― even, had he chosen, by very force. But he never did use such natural means. On the contrary, he eluded capture, escaped their grasp in dramatic moments, and never developed a strategy for victory based on natural brilliance. His plan was completely different. It was to attain the victory intended by God precisely by means of defeat. In our Gospel today (Mark 10: 32-45) he is making his way resolutely to Jerusalem where, the disciples know, all that can be expected is death. They were astonished. Some were filled with fear. What was the sense in what their Master was doing? “Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. We are going up to Jerusalem, he said, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” As he would soon say to James and John, he had a cup to drink, a baptism ahead. This was the way, the divine strategy for gaining the glory of the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God was coming in power, and the means for this was the direct opposite of worldly strategy. The divine strategy was to bear witness to the truth amid suffering.

Let us place ourselves with James and John and present ourselves to Jesus. Let us ask him, not for first places by his side in glory, but for the great grace of being able every day to drink his cup, and to be baptized with his baptism of suffering and bearing the cross. That is the strategy for true success. We must live in union with Jesus Christ as he carries his cross along the road to Calvary. If we do this ― if we do the will of God every day after the example of Jesus Christ and in union with him ― then we shall share in his glory. This must be our strategy in life.
(E.J.Tyler)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome the Pope’s words with a religious, humble, internal and effective acceptance. And pass them on!
(The Forge, no.133)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Though I hold, as you know, a process of development in Apostolic truth as time goes on, such development does not supersede the Fathers, but explains and completes them.

JHN, from A Letter Addressed to the Rev. E. B. Pusey (1865)

Thursday of the eighth week in Ordinary Time C/II

(May 27) St. Augustine of Canterbury (d. 605?)
In the year 596, some 40 monks set out from Rome to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons in England. Leading the group was

Augustine, the prior of their monastery in Rome. Hardly had he and his men reached Gaul (France) when they heard stories of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons and of the treacherous waters of the English Channel. Augustine returned to Rome and to the pope who had sent them — St. Gregory the Great (September3 ) — only to be assured by him that their fears were groundless. Augustine again set out and this time the group crossed the English Channel and landed in the territory of Kent, ruled by King Ethelbert, a pagan married to a Christian. Ethelbert received them kindly, set up a residence for them in Canterbury and within the year, on Pentecost Sunday, 597, was himself baptized. After being consecrated a bishop in France, Augustine returned to Canterbury, where he founded his see. He constructed a church and monastery near where the present cathedral, begun in 1070, now stands. As the faith spread, additional sees were established at London and Rochester. Work was sometimes slow and Augustine did not always meet with success. Attempts to reconcile the Anglo-Saxon Christians with the original Briton Christians (who had been driven into western England by Anglo-Saxon invaders) ended in dismal failure. Augustine failed to convince the Britons to give up certain Celtic customs at variance with Rome and to forget their bitterness, helping him evangelize their Anglo-Saxon conquerors. Labouring patiently, Augustine wisely heeded the missionary principles — quite enlightened for the times — suggested by Pope Gregory the Great: purify rather than destroy pagan temples and customs; let pagan rites and festivals be transformed into Christian feasts; retain local customs as far as possible. The limited success Augustine achieved in England before his death in 605, a short eight years after he arrived in England, would eventually bear fruit long after in the conversion of England. Truly Augustine of Canterbury can be called the “Apostle of England.” In a letter to Augustine, Pope Gregory the Great wrote: "He who would climb to a lofty height must go by steps, not leaps." (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: 1 Peter 2: 2-5. 9-12; Psalm 99; Mark 10: 46-52

Then Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho. As they were leaving the city, together with a large crowd, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me! Jesus stopped and said, Call him. So they called to the blind man, Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you. Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. What do you want me to do for you? Jesus asked him. The blind man said, Rabbi, I want to see. Go, said Jesus, your faith has healed you. Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. (Mark 10: 46-52)

Persistent prayer A case could be made for thinking that the simplest parts of the entire Scriptures are the Gospels. They are direct and concrete and easy to imagine, even if parts of our Lord’s teaching therein are difficult ― not to follow, but ― to understand. For instance, the Beatitudes that begin the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of St Matthew are not difficult to follow, but in certain respects are somewhat difficult to understand. Our Lord’s doctrine on the Eucharist in chapter 6 of St

John’s Gospel is not difficult to follow, but parts of it are very difficult to understand. The difficulty is encapsulated in the question of some of his disciples: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Because of the difficulty many of our Lord’s disciples left him. Yet at the same time the Gospels are the most important part of the Scriptures because they present the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. So in the Gospels we have relatively simple material which is of tremendous import. Our Gospel today (Mark 10: 46-52) is a simple scene, easy to visualize, but which contains much to stimulate our reflection. The blind man, the son of Timaeus, was at the roadside doing his typical work of begging. A caravan of noise and people approached and enveloped him. He was curious as to what was happening, and was told that Jesus of Nazareth was with the crowd and was passing through. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for Bar Timaeus, an opportunity which he would not allow to pass him by. He began to shout for Jesus, appealing to him for kindness and mercy. His predicament was hopeless and he had nothing to look forward to. Life had dealt harshly with him, and his blindness terminated all his prospects. There is no mention of friends or family with him. So he began to shout at the top of his voice, calling out to Jesus above the humming and talkative crowd. He repeated his shouts as the crowd moved on, fearing lest Jesus, wherever he was, would soon be gone.

Now, what would have happened had he not begun to shout? Presumably he would have spent the rest of his days in his blindness, begging by the side of the road till he would eventually, years later, be found dead by the side of the road where he would usually have begged. But no, he began to shout. He shouted with the vigour of one who knew that Jesus of Nazareth was the only one who could get him out of his hopeless predicament. What would have happened if he had not begun to shout? Jesus Christ would have passed him by. What would have happened if he had not shouted not just once, but several times? Jesus Christ would have passed him by. What would have happened if he had simply asked someone to ask Jesus to come and heal him? Well, that request may not have been put to Jesus ― clearly the best thing was for him to loudly and repeatedly place his request before Jesus himself. This is what he did, from a distance and from beyond the crowd. The sound of his voice reached the ears of Jesus, and we know what followed as a result. His persistence gained for him the ear of Jesus, and that led to his healing, which in turn led to his being a disciple ― for we read that following the restoration of his sight, he followed Jesus along the road. The fact that his very name is reported by Mark suggests that he was well known in the Christian community. His persistent prayer of petition led to his being a disciple of Jesus Christ. In the same Gospel’s account of the Passion, Mark gives us Simon of Cyrene’s name, together with the names of his two sons. This also suggests that he and his sons were well known in the Christian community of Mark the author. The point is that it is inconceivable that a request placed before Jesus Christ would be simply ignored by him. That is not to say that the request would be automatically granted ― but it would not be ignored. It would be heard. As a result of the prayer, if it is persistent, what God knows to be best will be surely granted. Our prayer must be trusting and faith-filled, as was that of Bar Timaeus. It must also be persistent. If Bar Timaeus had not persisted, Christ would have passed him by.

If we persist, the answer still may be a long time coming. In fact, some requests were presented to our Lord which he did not grant. For instance, in the same Gospel we read that the people of Capernaum wanted our Lord to stay with them (1: 36-37), but he refused. He had to go to other towns in order to preach there too, for that was why he was sent (1: 38). If there are larger reasons beyond our comprehension why our Lord does not grant a particular request in the form presented, doubtlessly God will grant the favour in another and better way. He will not ignore our requests. He is listening. We are before him. Let us then be humble and persistent in our prayer, letting the example of the blind man guide us.
(E.J.Tyler)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You must love, venerate, pray and mortify yourself for the Pope, and do so with greater affection each day. He is the foundation stone of the Church and, throughout the centuries, right to the end of time, he carries out among men that task of sanctifying and governing which Jesus entrusted to Peter.
(The Forge, no.134)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When trials are inevitable, we must cheerfully bear them; but when they can be avoided without sin, we ought to prevent them.

JHN, from the sermon ‘Wisdom and Innocence’ (1843)

Friday of the eighth week in Ordinary Time C/II

(May 28) St. Mary Ann of Jesus of Paredes (1614-1645)
Mary

Ann grew close to God and his people during her short life. The youngest of eight, Mary Ann was born in Quito, Ecuador, which had been brought under Spanish control in 1534. She joined the Secular Franciscans and led a life of prayer and penance at home, leaving her parents’ house only to go to church and to perform some work of charity. She established in Quito a clinic and a school for Africans and indigenous Americans. When a plague broke out, she nursed the sick and died shortly thereafter. She was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
"At times when especially impelled by love for God and fellowmen, she afflicted herself severely to expiate the sins of others. Oblivious then to the world around her and wrapped in ecstasy, she had a foretaste of eternal happiness. Thus transformed and enriched by God's grace, she was filled with zeal to care not only for her own salvation, but also for that of others to the utmost of her ability. She generously relieved the miseries of the poor and soothed the pains of the sick. And when severe public disasters such as earthquakes and plagues terrified and afflicted her fellow citizens, she strove by prayer, expiation, and the offering of her own life to obtain from the Father of mercies what she could not accomplish by human effort" (Pope Pius XII).
(AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: 1 Peter 4: 7-13; Psalm 95; Mark 11: 11-26

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig-tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.

Then he said to the tree, May no-one ever eat fruit from you again. And his disciples heard him say it. On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers'. The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. When evening came, they went out of the city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig-tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, Rabbi, look! The fig-tree you cursed has withered! Have faith in God, Jesus answered. I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. (Mark 11: 11-26)

Reverence Let us begin our reflection by situating today’s Gospel passage within its context in St Mark’s Gospel. At the beginning of the previous chapter (ch.10) we read of our Lord entering Judea, and giving various teachings including his prediction to his disciples of his Passion, Death and Resurrection. At the beginning of this chapter (ch.11) he approaches Jerusalem and, seated on the colt, enters the City to the acclaim of many. As we read in our passage today, going straight to the

temple he looked around on the scene before him. As it was late in the day (11:11), he thereupon left for Bethany with the Twelve. Clearly, he had determined what he would do. The next day, leaving from Bethany for the City nearby, he gave a typically prophetic sign: he cursed a fig tree which ― it not being the season for figs ― was not bearing its fruit. In the past the prophets had been commanded to perform actions symbolic of the state of the people and of the divine judgment on them. The fig tree here was clearly a symbol of the chosen people and of their mission to bear the fruit of faith and obedience continuously, which they were failing to do. Jesus hungered for righteousness, and he was not finding it there. So he re-entered the temple and dramatically threw out all the mercantile activity and imposed reverence, prayer and teaching. With that, the rest of this chapter, and the two chapters (12-13) following it, are given over to Christ’s last days of public teaching. Much of it is directed to his enemies and critics. The narrative of his Last Supper, Passion and Death begins in chapter 14. So our passage today sets the scene for Christ’s last entry into Jerusalem and for the teaching he gave in or near to the temple prior to the supreme work of his life, which was his Passion, Death and Resurrection. The teaching of these chapters therefore has a special solemnity in St Mark, and our passage today initiates it. Today, among other things, we see Christ’s insistence on reverence in all our dealings with God our Father.

Reverence is a virtue which easily eludes modern secular man. Liberty, equality and fraternity was the catchcry of the French Revolution, which ― if it had any religion in it at all ― was at best, deist. The deist God was scarcely the object of true reverence. He was the God ― the god, rather ― of nature rather than of Revelation, and tended to be a Principle of things rather than the personal Lord who cares for his creatures. He was the God ― the god ― of Reason, a very rational and reasonable God, a God whom man can more or less understand. When all was said and done, the God of the Enlightenment, which was the heritage of the French Revolution, was scarcely transcendent. Man had his measure ― for, indeed, this God was man’s creation. He was not reverenced and feared. Newman once said, when at Oxford and when told of the attitude of some at Cambridge, that what they needed in their religion was more fear. He meant that they lacked true religious reverence. It is a very modern defect, but of course it spans the ages of sinful man’s religion. In our Gospel today (Mark 11: 11-26), our Lord surveys the lack of reverence for his heavenly Father in the Temple. Imagine the reverence of Christ in the house of his own Father! If it is a command of God that we honour our father and our mother, can we imagine the reverence of the Son of God made man for his own Father in heaven? Imagine the heart of Christ as he enters the City, seated on the colt and gazing ahead of him to the temple, the house where his own Father dwelt in a special way! He enters the temple, his heart brimming with loving reverence, and beholds the sound of animals and caged birds, the clinking of coin, the talk and hubbub, the traffic of people and, in general, the striking neglect in prayer and recollection. Within perhaps twenty minutes the place was transformed amid a series of rapid sensations, and reverence was imposed. Word reached the leaders of what had happened ― and their hostility was overflowing. The hide of him! But fear of the people prevented their hand, for they saw in him a great prophet.

Let us contemplate the figure of Jesus Christ, especially Jesus at prayer. Let us contemplate the constant prayer that filled his utterly noble heart. He always did what pleased his heavenly Father. On one occasion, on seeing him at prayer, his disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, just as John taught his disciples. Christ at prayer! The reverent heart of Christ! Let us think of the reverence of Jesus Christ in all things to do with prayer, worship, and God. Let that be our example for all our times of prayer, for all moments when we raise our minds and hearts to God, and for any time we ourselves are in the Church, the house of God.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May the daily consideration of the heavy burden which weighs on the Pope and the bishops move you to venerate and love them with real affection, and to help them with your prayers.
(The Forge, no.136)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To know God and Christ, in Scripture language, seems to mean to live under the conviction of His presence, who is to our bodily eyes unseen. It is, in fact, to have faith, according to St. Paul’s account of faith, as the substance and evidence of what is invisible.

JHN, from the sermon ‘Saving Knowledge’ (1835)

Saturday of the eighth week in Ordinary Time C/II

(May 29) St. Madeleine Sophie Barat (1779-1865)
The legacy of Madeleine Sophie Barat can be found in the more than 100 schools operated by her Society of the Sacred Heart,

institutions known for the quality of the education made available to the young. Sophie herself received an extensive education, thanks to her brother, Louis, 11 years older and her godfather at Baptism. Himself a seminarian, he decided that his younger sister would likewise learn Latin, Greek, history, physics and mathematics—always without interruption and with a minimum of companionship. By age 15, she had received a thorough exposure to the Bible, the teachings of the Fathers of the Church and theology. Despite the oppressive regime Louis imposed, young Sophie thrived and developed a genuine love of learning. Meanwhile, this was the time of the French Revolution and of the suppression of Christian schools. The education of the young, particularly young girls, was in a troubled state. At the same time, Sophie, who had concluded that she was called to the religious life, was persuaded to begin her life as a nun and as a teacher. She founded the Society of the Sacred Heart, which would focus on schools for the poor as well as boarding schools for young women of means; today, co-ed Sacred Heart schools can be found as well as schools exclusively for boys. In 1826, her Society of the Sacred Heart received formal papal approval. By then she had served as superior at a number of convents. In 1865, she was stricken with paralysis; she died that year on the feast of the Ascension. Madeleine Sophie Barat was canonized in 1925. (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Jude 17. 20-25; Psalm 62; Mark 11: 27-33

Jesus and his disciples arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. By what authority are you doing these things? they asked. And who gave you authority to do this? Jesus replied, I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism— was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me! They discussed it among themselves and said, If we say, 'From heaven', he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' But if we say, 'From men' (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.) So they answered Jesus, We don't know. Jesus said, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. (Mark 11: 27-33)

God and man It helps us to perceive the lessons of a Gospel scene if we can enter as fully as possible into the circumstances of the event, and listen to Jesus as he speaks within those circumstances. In Mark’s account, Jesus has arrived from Galilee and is welcomed into Jerusalem to the acclaim of disciples and many of the people. He enters the temple, surveys the scene before him, and leaves the City for Bethany. The next day he returns and dramatically throws out all the business activity going on in

the temple, and imposes a regime of reverence, prayer and teaching. Come evening, he again leaves the City, returning to the temple the next day. We may presume that he stayed by night at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus ― whose being raised from the dead is not mentioned by Mark. Our Lord, being a Galilean, may not have had the kinds of friends in the City permitting him to stay there. Alternatively, he may have wished to be out of the City of a night for safety’s sake, for the leaders were seeking ways of seizing him out of the sight of the people. The night would have been the obvious time to do so. While it is reported to us in the Gospel that he stayed at Bethany by night, this may not have been generally known at the time. His whereabouts after dusk may have been a mystery to the leaders, his having slipped out of the City at the end of his day of teaching in the temple. These details are conjecture, for we are not told. Be all this as it may, our Gospel scene (Mark 11: 27-33) presents a new day in this last week or so of Christ in Jerusalem. Our Lord is once again walking in the temple, and undoubtedly people are with him, including his disciples. The “chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders” come to him and accost him with their question, by what authority has he done all this? He teaches without any reference to them, the leaders. He has single-handedly and on his own authority imposed a new atmosphere in the temple of Jerusalem ― acting as Master of the temple. What justification, they demand to know, has he, in any case a Galilean, for doing these things?

To me, a particularly fascinating thing about these encounters between Christ and the religious leaders, is the thought of who it was that the leaders were confronting and opposing. He was the very Son of God. The Father and I are one, he had told them ― as we read in the Gospel of St John. That is to say, the dignity of the Man before them was unparalleled and, literally, immeasurable because his person was divine. Yet they treated him roughly and this rough treatment would become brutal in the extreme, in the days ahead. What it does manifest is the absolute authenticity of the Incarnation. God though he was and is, he had become truly man. His manhood was manifested in his being subject to the conditions of a fallen world. It was manifest to the leaders that he was a man, though they might have dimly sensed that there was something more than this before them. After Pentecost, Peter publicly allowed that the leaders had not known that they crucified the Lord of glory. They thought they were putting to death a mere man with extraordinary pretensions ― though theirs was not a innocent mistake. Their blindness was due to their sin. All they saw before them was a man, their moral condition rendering them impervious even to his manifest holiness precisely as man. But as I say, it shows the authenticity of the Incarnation. God truly became man, subject to the sufferings that descend on holiness and on witnessing to the truth. At the same time, his divinity was in evidence for those whose moral condition enabled them to see it. Apart from his miracles, he was absolutely faultless. Whenever the scribes, the Pharisees and the priests accused him of fault ― such as violating the Sabbath ― he reduced them to silence in debate about it. His greatest and most unique claim was that he and the Father were one. The leaders of the people could not prevail in any way over him in direct discussion of such matters. All they could do was either retire in silence or promptly search for stones in order to bring about a lynching. Jesus was Master.

Let us place ourselves in the Gospel scene and contemplate, by the side of Jesus as his disciples, this encounter between him and the religious leaders. Calmly he stands before them, and calmly he again reduces them to silence. Tell me by what authority John spoke ― the one who bore witness to me ― he answered, and I will tell you by what authority I act. They were brought to silence. We do not know, they deceitfully replied. It brought the encounter to its end. Jesus Christ, God and man! Magnificent man! Let us stay by his side and live in him always.
(E.J.Tyler)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

is painful and unnatural to us to remain in it. To be alive with Christ, is to be so minded, that the atmosphere of heaven refreshes, enlivens, stimulates, invigorates us. To be alive, is not merely to bear the thought of religion, to assent to the truth of religion, to wish to be religious; but to be drawn towards it, to love it, to delight in it, to obey it. Now I suppose most persons called Christians do not go farther than this,—to wish to be religious, and to think it right to be religious, and to feel a respect for religious men; they do not get so far as to have any sort of love for religion.

JHN, from the sermon ‘Love of Religion, a New Nature’ (1840)

Trinity Sunday C
(2010 Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time C)

Prayers today: Blessed be God the Father and his only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit: for he has shown that he loves us.

Father, you sent your Word to bring us truth and your Spirit to make us holy. Through them we come to know the mystery of your life. Help us to worship you, one God in three Persons, by proclaiming and living our faith in you.

(May 30) St. Gregory VII (1020-1085)
The tenth century and the first half of the eleventh were dark days for the Church, partly because the papacy was the pawn

of various Roman families. In 1049, things began to change when Pope Leo IX, a reformer, was elected. He brought a young monk named Hildebrand to Rome as his counsellor and special representative on important missions. He was to become Gregory VII. Three evils plagued the Church then: simony (the buying and selling of sacred offices and things), the unlawful marriage of the clergy and lay investiture (kings and nobles controlling the appointment of Church officials). To all of these Hildebrand directed his reformer’s attention, first as counsellor to the popes and later (1073-1085) as pope himself. Gregory’s papal letters stress the role of bishop of Rome as the vicar of Christ and the visible centre of unity in the Church. He is well known for his long dispute with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over who should control the selection of bishops and abbots. Gregory fiercely resisted any attack on the liberty of the Church. For this he suffered and finally died in exile. He said, “I have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore I die in exile.” Thirty years later the Church finally won its struggle against lay investiture. The Gregorian Reform, a milestone in the history of Christ’s Church, was named after this man who tried to extricate the papacy and the whole Church from undue control by civil rulers. Against an unhealthy Church nationalism in some areas, Gregory reasserted the unity of the whole Church based on Christ and expressed in the bishop of Rome, the successor of St. Peter.
Gregory's words still ring true today when civil or national religion is making subtle demands: “In every country, even the poorest of women is permitted to take a lawful husband according to the law of the land and by her own choice; but, through the desires and evil practices of the wicked, Holy Church, the bride of God and mother of us all, is not permitted lawfully to cling to her spouse on earth in accordance with divine law and her own will” (A Call to the Faithful). (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Proverbs 8: 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5: 1-5; John 16: 12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.” (John 16: 12-15)

One and three It needs scarcely to be observed that in human history polytheism has been characteristic of most of the religions of man. But man is blessed in having received a divine revelation, and we have come to know that God is only one. He is one in a way we and all other things are not, for we are not simply one. We are complex ― we have a mind, a will, a body, and various other elements, and we could and will lose many of these components. God simply is, and everything that God is ― his

love, his power, his goodness, his knowledge ― is simply God. There is nothing about God which God could cease to possess, because whatever he “has,” he simply is. Because he simply is, he is all that he is without limitation. But God has revealed that while in being he is simply one, in person he is not one but three. God is three divine Persons each of whom is the same divine Being. Jesus Christ is God’s only Son. He is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God. In this there are not two divine Beings, but only one. The Son is the one same God that the Father is, but he is not the same Person as the Father. He is the Father’s only-begotten Son. The Father did not become man and die on the Cross for us. Rather, the Father sent the Son to do this for us. We also believe in the Holy Spirit who is the Lord and Giver of life and who proceeds from the Father and the Son. He is the divine love which unites them both ― not, though, a mere divine force or quality, but every bit a Person as is the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. That is, just as the Father is the one God, and just as the Son is the same one God, so the Holy Spirit, a third and distinct Person, is the one God too. There is only one God and he is utterly one in his being. Yet there are three distinct Persons, each of whom is the one God. Jesus taught us to address our Father in heaven. When we speak to God our Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we speak as brothers and sisters of Jesus our Redeemer and God, living by the love of the Holy Spirit, given us by the Father and the Son.

This is the Sunday of the year when we honour the most profound and central mystery of the Christian Faith, the mystery of the holy Trinity. If we do not accept that God is one Being and three Persons, we cannot count ourselves as Christians. In the prayer of today’s Mass we say, “Father, you sent your Word to bring us truth and your Spirit to make us holy. Through them we come to know the mystery of your life.” The Son and the Holy Spirit have been sent to us with distinct though ineffably interrelated missions. They alone are sent. The Son is sent by the Father. The Spirit is sent to us by both the Father and the Son. The Father is not sent to us on a mission, for he is the divine origin of the other two divine Persons. All three are equally God, yet the Father is the origin of the other two, not in time, for all are equally eternal, but in their personhood. The Son is eternally generated by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from both as their love. Their relations one to the other vary, but in being they are identical. While in one sense the Son, precisely as Son, looks to the Father with humble reverence as having been generated by him, he is in no way inferior to the Father in his being, because, precisely as God, his being is that of the Father. In this sense, and in this sense alone, are we to understand Christ’s words, “The Father is greater than I,” for our Lord says in another place, “The Father and I are one”, and again, “He who sees me sees the Father.” All three Persons are one in power, divinity, knowledge, eternity ― qualities of their very being. We each of us, because of our baptism, share in the life of this same one and triune God. There is a principle of life within us which is beyond the natural human life into which we were born. This divine life in which we share, the life of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the source of that holiness to which we are called. It is the power of God enabling us to be sanctified. This is the will of God, St Paul writes, your sanctification. Our sanctification is possible because we share in the life of the Blessed Trinity. So let us today thank God for revealing himself to us and calling us to an eternity with him.

Let us do all things in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Thus they were in the beginning, are now and will be forever. Glory, then, be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and shall be forever. Let us cultivate a profound devotion to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. If we do this, we share in the very life of God.
(E.J.Tyler)

----------------------------------------------------------------

A second reflection: Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

The Trinity Every one of us is born into a family, and our family life, such as it is, has a profound effect on us. As we all know, a key to the understanding of any person is to know and understand that person’s family. But the human family ultimately takes its origin from another family, the divine family, which is God himself, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: three distinct Persons, each of whom is the one divine Being. They are united in a bond of love we can scarcely imagine. On this feast of the Holy

Trinity, let us think of the three divine Persons. Those blessed with God’s revelation in the Old Testament had not the slightest inkling that the one only God who had revealed himself had a Son who was also God. By hindsight the Christian can see that the Holy Spirit had given hints of it in passages of the Old Testament. For instance, in the account of the creation in the book of Genesis, God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.” God the creator speaks of “us” making man in “our” likeness. In the first reading of today (Proverbs 8:22-31) there is given an account of God’s Wisdom. No-one suspected that God’s Wisdom and his Word was a second divine Person. At the beginning of the fourth Gospel, St John says that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Our Lady was the first believer of the New Testament to receive the revelation of the one God in three Persons. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” the Angel said to her, “and the power of the most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God.” The Child to be born was the Son of God. During the years when our Lord was growing up, Mary his mother would have pondered on those words of the angel about her son. He, her son, was the Son of the Father almighty. He was man, and God. He was human and divine, an eternal divine person who had taken on a human nature. When she and St Joseph found him in the temple, he said to her, “did you not realize that I was about my Father’s business?” There never was a time when Jesus Christ was not aware that he was God’s only Son.

When our Lord was baptised by John the Baptist in the river Jordan, the Father spoke from heaven. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Not long before his Passion, our Lord went up the mountain with Peter, James and John. There on the mount the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” But there is also a third divine Person, the Holy Spirit. We remember what the angel said to Mary at the Annunciation: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most High will overshadow you.” At our Lord’s baptism in the river Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove, and with the Holy Spirit upon him, the Father announced that Jesus was his beloved Son. At the last Supper our Lord spoke of the Holy Spirit, and our Gospel today (John 16:12-15) provides us with one such passage. The Holy Spirit will glorify Christ, and instruct the Church and the Church’s members on all that Jesus has said. On Pentecost Sunday, the Father and the Son together sent the Holy Spirit on the infant Church to launch it on its mission, with Christ invisibly at its head, working through its members. Not only must we believe that the one only God is three divine Persons, each of which is this one only God, but we must act on it. That is to say, this stupendous mystery was revealed to us because God wanted to tell us of his plan for us so that we might co-operate with His plan. His plan is to make us part of his own family life for ever, to draw us into the life of the Blessed Trinity for all eternity. This he did at our baptism and continued at our confirmation. We are adopted children of God, we share his divine life, and if we are in the state of grace, the Holy Trinity dwells within us. God’s plan is that we be with him forever in heaven, provided we co-operate in his plan. That wonderful future starts now. But we must live in the state of grace and grow in it. We must make the decision to love God with all our heart and live out that love by obeying his will each day. If ever we fail, we must repent, and start again.

Let us resolve to grow in grace by means of prayer and the frequent reception of the Sacraments, especially of the Eucharist and Penance. Today, the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, let us renew our faith in the Blessed Trinity. Let us live out our belief by a fervent Catholic life, a life renouncing sin, a life of prayer and the Sacraments, and so living as to merit heaven.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your love for Our Lady should be more lively, more supernatural.

—Don’t just go to the Virgin Mary to ask her for things. You should also go to give!: give her your affection; give her your love for her divine Son; and show her your affection with deeds of service to others, who are also her children.
(The Forge, no.137)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If Scripture reading has been the cause of schism, this has been because individuals have given themselves to it to the disparagement of God’s other gifts; because they have refused to throw themselves into the external system [of the Church] which has been provided for them, because they have attempted to reason before they acted, and to prove before they would consent to be taught.

From the Prophetical Office of the Church (1837)

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (May 31)

Prayers today: Come, all you who fear God, and hear the great things the Lord has done for me. (Ps 65:16)

Eternal Father, you inspired the Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, lo visit Elizabeth and assist her in her need. Keep us open to the working of your Spirit, and with Mary may we praise you for ever. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, . .

(May 31) The Visitation
This is a fairly late feast, going back only to the 13th or 14th century. It was established widely throughout the Church to pray for unity. The present date of celebration was set in 1969 in order to follow the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and

precede the Birthday of John the Baptist (June 24). Like most feasts of Mary, it is closely connected with Jesus and his saving work. The more visible actors in the visitation drama (see Luke 1:39-45) are Mary and Elizabeth. However, Jesus and John the Baptist steal the scene in a hidden way. Jesus makes John leap with joy — the joy of messianic salvation. Elizabeth, in turn, is filled with the Holy Spirit and addresses words of praise to Mary — words that echo down through the ages. It is helpful to recall that we do not have a journalist’s account of this meeting. Rather, Luke, speaking for the Church, gives a prayerful poet’s rendition of the scene. Elizabeth’s praise of Mary as “the mother of my Lord” can be viewed as the earliest Church’s devotion to Mary. As with all authentic devotion to Mary, Elizabeth’s (the Church’s) words first praise God for what God has done to Mary. Only secondly does she praise Mary for trusting God’s words. Then comes the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Here Mary herself (like the Church) traces all her greatness to God.
“Moved by charity, therefore, Mary goes to the house of her kinswoman.... While every word of Elizabeth’s is filled with meaning, her final words would seem to have a fundamental importance: ‘And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her from the Lord’ (Luke 1:45). These words can be linked with the title ‘full of grace’ of the angel’s greeting. Both of these texts reveal an essential Mariological content, namely the truth about Mary, who has become really present in the mystery of Christ precisely because she ‘has believed.’ The fullness of grace announced by the angel means the gift of God himself. Mary’s faith, proclaimed by Elizabeth at the visitation, indicates how the Virgin of Nazareth responded to this gift” (Pope John Paul II, The Mother of the Redeemer, 12). (AmericanCatholic.org)

Scripture today: Zephaniah 3: 14-18; Psalm - Isaiah 12; Luke 1: 39-56

At that time Mary arose and hastened to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In

a loud voice she exclaimed: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished! And Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been looked upon the lowliness of his handmaid. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever, even as he said to our fathers. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. (Luke 1: 39-56)

The Mighty One There are various theories of the foundations of ethics. There are the utilitarian or consequentialist theories of Bentham and Mill which stress that morality is determined on the basis of results. There is the deontological ethics of, say, Kant, which looks not to results but to the objective duty itself that pertains to certain acts. There is also what is called virtue ethics, one aspect of which is that it is the man of virtue who will be best able to judge what is a good act and therefore what is

the objective duty. Without ever having called himself a “virtue ethics” man, John Henry Newman always stressed that fidelity to the conscience is necessary to arrive at religious and moral truth. The state of the heart is decisive in being able to judge aright in matters religious and moral. I would suggest we take the point a step further, and observe that it is the believer who is truly holy who is able best to know ― and therefore is our best guide in coming to know ― what God is like. This brings us to our Gospel today for the feast of the Visitation of Mary to her kinswoman Elizabeth. The Gospel passage (Luke 1: 39-56) is notable for many reasons, not least for what Mary the mother of Christ says about God. The Angel Gabriel addressed her as one who was full of grace, and that the Lord was with her. She was bearing within her the Messiah. Her kinswoman Elizabeth called her, in effect, the perfect believer, believing all that the Lord had uttered to her. She, the mother of her Lord, was blessed among women. The Church has taught that she was conceived and born in a state of holiness and that no sin ever touched her. In view of her very moral constitution, then, we may ― following the point made by Newman about religious knowledge ― regard Mary the mother of Christ as best equipped to tell us what God is like. This she does in the song of praise that comes from her lips following the salutation of Elizabeth. She tells us about God, so let us listen to her description of “the greatness of the Lord.” Let us regard holy Mary as our instructress as we seek to know what God is like.

God is not remote. Nor is he merely close. The things of this world are close: the air, the wind, the ground, the trees. But they, close as they are, appear indifferent to us and while in fact they sustain us, at times they threaten us. But God is close to us as our Saviour. He saves. The Virgin Mary exults in God who is her Saviour ― as should we. But we struggle in his hand and wish to be out of it, going our own way. We must learn to submit to his will so as to remain close to him. If he remains close to us ― “with us” as the Lord was “with” Mary ― then he will save us. It is when, and to the extent that, we distance ourselves from him by our disobedience, that we place ourselves beyond his saving plan. As the Angel said to Mary, the Lord was with her ― and because of this, he saved her. God was her Saviour, and he is ours. So let us remain with Mary! If we remain with her, the Lord will be with us, and as he was her Saviour, so too he will be ours. On this basis we may rejoice in the Lord our Saviour, just as Mary rejoiced in the Lord her Saviour. “My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour!” St Paul writes that we ought rejoice in the Lord always ― again, he says, rejoice! God is the one in whom we may trust and rejoice because he is our Saviour. Mary proclaims him as the Mighty One, whose might is shown in his goodness and mercy. “From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name.” In many religions the might of the deities is menacing, and this is because man offends them. He disregards the deities and does not observe their prescriptions, and therefore they menace him. Very often they dislike him. Their might is often a threat to them. But the Lord is different ― as the Mighty One, the One of power, he is especially kind. He saves, and his might is our recourse. He does good things for us ― even great things (megala), just as he did “great things” for Mary. He is especially the defender of the poor and the stricken, and takes their part against the proud, the rich and the mighty. He helps his servants and is faithful to his promises.

Wonderful God is the Lord! My soul rejoices in God my Saviour! He looks on us his lowly servants, and he does good things for us. He will help and defend us against all that threatens us. He is a mighty and merciful God, and Mary the Virgin is the exemplar of all that he can do. His might is manifested in her. She is his work par excellence! Let us, together with her who is our mother and our model, cast ourselves in the hands of the living God, for he is our Saviour. With Mary at our side as our teacher, let us strive to know the living God, for as our Lord said at the Last Supper, eternal life is this, to know you, Father, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
(E.J.Tyler)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesus is our model. Let us imitate him.

Let us imitate him by serving the Holy Church and all mankind.
(The Forge, no.138)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The kingdom [of God] is within us, and among us, and around us. We are apt to speak of it as a matter of history; we speak of it as at a distance; but really we are a part of it, or ought to be.

JHN, from the sermon ‘The Weapons of Saints’ (1837)

Liturgical Season	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
Fourth week in Eastertide C/II							1
Fifth week in Eastertide C/II	2	3 Philip & James	4	5	6	7	8
Sixth week in Eastertide C/II	9	10	11	12	13	14 St Matthias	15
Seventh week in Eastertide C/II	16 Ascension	17	18	19	20	21	22
Eighth week Ordinary Time C/II	23 Pentecost Vigil Mass Mass of Day	24 Mary help of Christians	25	26	27	28	29
Ninth week Ordinary Time C/II	30 Trinity Sunday	31 The Visitation