Tag: Deacon Rudy Villarreal

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Ascension Sunday

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Mass Readings
First Reading: Acts 1:1-11
Psalm: Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:17-23 OR Hebrew 9:24-28; 10:19-23
Gospel: Luke 24:46-53

Today we celebrate Ascension Sunday. What is the Ascension? I suggest to you that today is one of the most poorly celebrated of the great liturgical days in the liturgical calendar. We’ve turned today into a sort of “bon voyage” party, as if we’re seeing Jesus off on his return trip home. This is not a particularly helpful image.

To better understand the Ascension, we need to go back to the beginning, but first I want to say that I’m pulling a lot from the theologian, Michael Himes, and his excellent book, the Mystery of Faith.<1>

In Genesis, Chapter 1, God creates everything. But as he’s going along, it’s all fairly quick and straightforward. God says, “Let there be…”, and it just becomes and it is good (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24).

But on the sixth day, instead of just snapping humans into existences like a superhero, God pauses. God deliberates. God plans. God decides to use a blueprint to create humans – the blueprint being God’s own self. This is an important theme in the Hebrew tradition. Mosaic law will forbid making any idols or images of God (Exodus 20:4; Deuteronomy 5:8). Why? Because its redundant. God had already made an image of Himself, and we are it.

Remember what we’ve discussed before on Origin Sin. The temptation is that Adam and Eve should eat the forbidden fruit, they will become like God. That serpent tells the first humans that God is great and powerful and majestic and wise. But humans, life as a human is so messy. To become God, he tells them, they need to abandon being human and to eat the fruit of the tree.

The origin of sin, according to the Hebrew tradition, is the rejection of the goodness of being human. Evil, then, is the refusal to accept the goodness of creation. It is the refusal to accept the goodness and rightness of being human. The acceptance of the serpent says instead of what God says is what leads to all the evil in history.

But there is hope.

Our hope is in the “mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now [as the prophets wrote] disclosed,” (Romans 16:25-26). The extraordinary claim of the hymn quoted in Philippians 2 is that God did not see being divine was something to be clung to, so He emptied Himself and took the form of slave, becoming like you and me in every way except sin.

This great mystery hidden for all generations and revealed in the Incarnation is God’s desire to be exactly like you and exactly me in every way except sin. This is the ultimate statement of being human. This is what human dignity is all about. Our understanding of human dignity flows from the teaching of the Incarnation and is at the heart of the Christian tradition.

If Original Sin is the rejection of the goodness of being human, then the Incarnation is the revelation of that goodness. When we read in the New Testament that Jesus has become like us in all things except sin (Hebrews 4:15), we are taught that our humanity unites us with the fullness of God’s glory.

Now, let’s consider the Ascension. The point of the Ascension is not the Jesus returns to the Father. The point of the Ascension, in the imagery of the Creed that we recite in the mass every weekend, is that what sits at the right hand of the Father is a human being just like you and just like me in every way except sin. What unites us with the fullness of the glory of the Father is our humanity. Being fully and authentically human means that you and I become more fully and truly like God, or to use another word, it means to become holy. Any form of spirituality that belittles humanity or de-emphasizes the goodness and dignity of the human person is a genuine obstacle to union with God.

Jesus gave us one commandment. To love God completely and to love our neighbor as ourselves is the same thing – it’s two sides of the same coin. The Vatican II document Lumen Gentium affirms this understanding that intimate union with God and the unity of all humanity are the same thing, (LG 1,1). That’s the point that we need to understand on Ascension Sunday.

Two quotes to ponder as we wrap up this reflection on the Ascension. The first is from John Paul II who wrote in his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis, that Christianity is an attitude of “deep amazement at the human person’s worth and dignity.”<2> Saint Irenaeus, a second-century father of the church, wrote, “the glory of God is a human being fully alive.” And we’ll close with the image that what sits at the right hand of the Father is a human being just like you and just like me in every way except sin.

Homework!

  1. If the glory of God is a human fully alive, when are you fully alive?
  2. How does our true belief in the awesome dignity of humanity change the way we see the world?
  3. How can the dignity of the human person change the world?

Got it? Get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

Notes:
<1> Himes, Michael, The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004), 303-413.
<2> John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis (Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 1979), #10, 28.

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My Peace I Give You

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Sixth Sunday of Easter Mass Readings

First Reading: Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Psalm: Psalm 672-3, 5-6, 8
Second Reading: Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23
Gospel: John 14:23-29

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,” (John 14:27).

Today we continue to hear what is called the Farwell Discourse from Scripture. There is little time left and what does he tell the disciples? Peace. Even in today’s first reading from Acts 15, we seem to hear that message. After Paul’s first missionary journey, some of the Pharisees are concerned that the Gentiles are not being instructed in the Jewish faith. Remember at this point in history, Christianity is not separate from Judaism. It’s one of many different branches of the Jewish faith. So, some people are going behind Paul and Barnabas and confusing them and stressing them out. But in the midst of all that stress and commotion, the Apostles through their letter wish these communities peace.

Peace.

Jesus says this in today’s Gospel. Peace.

That’s a message I need to hear. How about you? Life can be so hectic – so busy. It seems from the second I wake up we’re racing about trying to get to this or to that. No wonder I feel exhausted at the end of the day! How about you? How many of us get so caught up in the stresses of life that we can barely see straight? Sometimes the world gets to spinning so fast that we’re not sure which way is up and which was is down. We want to connect with the Divine, but we can’t – we don’t know how, and we just don’t have time.

Some people get so caught up in the motions of life that so much of what they do seems blah. Perhaps they’re in a sort of a funk – I don’t know. But everything is blah. For some, they become disillusioned with their faith. I’ll hear people say, “Going to church really doesn’t do anything for me.” Yet, they hunger for something…

The we see it – maybe as a social media ad or a sign on the way to work – an invitation to hear a Buddhist talk about meditation. Sounds intriguing. Maybe we think the West got it all wrong. We’re too rigid or too programmed or too whatever, so our minds turn to the ancient religions and philosophies of the East. We reach out there in the desperate hope of finding peace. Meditation and a nice cup of tea with a bit of honey…sounds good, doesn’t it?

But you know, no outside force can make us find peace. In many ways, that’s why Jesus ascended instead of continuing to live among us. We have to find him – we have to find peace on our own. Is that mean? No, I think that’s just life – that’s just the way we’re wired. So while the Far East ad might sound intriguing and indeed some of the conversation you find there might be intersecting, in the end it cannot force peace upon, nor would it try.

Do you want to know something funny? Many of us in many different situations and circumstances leave home in search of ourselves or in search of something only to realize that what we long for or who we love has been right there at home all along. And the same is true with our faith.

Although we didn’t read it today, a little earlier in the Gospel passage read today in mass, John 14:2 says, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” And in today’s Gospel, in John 14:23 we hear, “Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

So many people set out on a journey to find God, but God has been right here, right where we started from the whole time. St. Teresa of Avila, reflecting on this these pieces of the Gospel, called it the Interior Castle. She said we could think about soul like a castle made out of a diamond or very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms. The soul, then, deep within us is a paradise where we can dwell with the Lord. Our soul – within our very bodies – right here, right now. We don’t need to run off to the Himalayas in search of some hidden Buddhist monastery to make a connection with God. No! We simply need to quiet our selves and look inwards to find the Lord.

The very heart of Christian meditation and contemplation is a journey within to experience the Lord. That’s peace!

Homework! Today, I want to prescribe some very different homework today. I’d like to invite you to spend just a few minutes in prayerful meditation. Don’t get hung up on the vocabulary or the process. There are lots of great resources out on this form of prayer – whether you call it centering prayer, or meditation or contemplation. In truth they’re all slightly different. Maybe I’ll dedicate an entire episode to this topic for now, let’s try this quiet form of prayer. Now, our minds – at least mine – is always racing.

There are always thoughts racing from here to there and back again. I suspect I’m not the only one. We need to find a way to gently push these thoughts aside and pull ourselves back to the exercise. Picture yourself floating in a swimming pool and some other floating toy is making its way toward you. If you overreact, you could flip into the water. So instead, we just gently push the other toy away. That’s what I want us to picture with our thoughts too. We’re just going to gently push thoughts away.

To pull ourselves back to prayer, many people find it helpful to have something more tangible. Perhaps you can focus on your breathing? Or perhaps you could hold a rosary and change which bead you’re holding? Or perhaps you could pick a word to help pull you back? Some people might simply say the name, “Jesus.” Ok, ready? Let’s give it a try. We’re actually going to try this exercise just for 1 minute. For this exercise, our symbol will be the name Jesus.

  1. Pick a quiet place where you are not likely to be disturbed for the next few minutes.
  2. Set a timer on your phone. Maybe start out with 3 minutes.
  3. Choose a word or symbol or your breathing to help pull yourself into prayer. Whatever you choose, say to yourself that this word or symbol or breath is my consent to God’s presence during this prayer. For our exercise, we’re using the name Jesus.
  4. Sitting comfortably, take 2 or 3 deep breaths. Feel the tension in your shoulders melt away. Then gently close your eyes and introduce the word or symbol or breath.
  5. If a distracting thought enters, don’t get frustrated and angry with yourself. It’s perfectly normal. Just imagine yourself pushing it away as easily as if you were pushing something in a swimming pool and in your mind quietly say the name Jesus.
  6. If another thought comes, quietly say the name Jesus.
  7. Now when you’re ready, I want you to open your eyes.

What did you think? Sitting quietly is not easy, is it. I find this very helpful especially during adoration, but you can do this just about anywhere. I encourage you to try this exercise a few times this week. As you become more comfortable, perhaps you could add a couple more minutes to your timer. People who use contemplative prayer will often try two times a day for twenty minutes each time, but just take baby steps. I’d love to know your thoughts. Leave a comment the website or send me an email to deaconrudyv@gmail.com.

Got it? Get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

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And They’ll Know We are Christians by our Love

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Fifth Sunday of Easter Readings
First Reading: Acts:14:21-27
Psalm: 145:8-13
Second Reading: Revelations 21:1-5A
Gospel: John 13:31-33A, 34-35

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love. That’s the message of today’s Gospel from John 13. And that’s why Paul and Barnabas are running Lystra and Iconium and Antioch in today’s first reading from Acts 14. They aren’t getting bonuses for every conversion. They aren’t saving for their retirements. No! They are sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ out of their love for Jesus which helps them see that every person has dignity and every person is worthy of the message of salvation. Paul’s missionary journey is made possible out of love.

Love is everything. I would suggest to you that the ultimate fruit of our conversion is love.

Now I have to admit, that is not an earth-shattering idea or even a cool one. In fact, when I was kid going to RE, what we used to call CCD, I remember complaining to my catechists about all these lessons that always talked about love. I told them we should be learning what it means to be Catholic – like studying our history, our culture and our traditions. But really, I didn’t get it, and that my catechists had no answer for me says they didn’t get it either.

Being a Christian means to be transformed by love. The ultimate fruit of our conversion is love. Love is what drives my desire to learn more about Jesus. Love is what drives my desire to share the Good News with others. Love is what should motivate us to go the margins to bring the Good News. Being a Christian means I need treat everyone around me with love – even if I don’t agree with their politics – even if I don’t agree with their lifestyle – even if they broke the law, for example, are here illegally. Every person is created by God and so every person has dignity. Christian love means that I love the sinner even though I hate the sin.

Is this easy? No and that’s why Catholics talk about conversion being a daily process. Conversion means dying a little to ourselves every day so that we become more fully Christ-like. And this conversion to love is critical. Jesus says, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another,” (John 13:35). Without love, our words and gestures and actions are meaningless. The beginning of discipleship is to first be converted by love and then live a life of love for others.

Homework: I suggest we reflect on the following two questions this week – at least a couple of times this week.

  1. First, what does the feedback I receive from others say about how I live my life? Can they see I am disciple of Jesus Christ by the way I love other people?
  2. Second, where in my life do I need to grow in love?

Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!