Tag: Fifth Sunday of Easter

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Fifth Sunday of Easter

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Mass Readings

Reading 1: Acts 14:21.27
Responsorial: Psalm 145:8-13
Reading 2: Revelation 21:1-5a
Gospel: John 13:31-33a, 34-35

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031322.cfm

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the summary of faith. It almost sounds too easy – it’s too simple! What does it mean to be a Christian? Jesus says we must, “love one another” (John 13:34a). Then Jesus says, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34b).

Why does Jesus qualify this new commandment? Because Jesus specifies a particular kind of love – the love of the cross. Jesus loves us so much that he totally gave himself for us – no strings attached. That’s a very peculiar kind of love that we call agape. Total self-gift. <1>

And as Jesus loves us, we are called to love others. So, before we go any further, we have to start with Jesus loving each and every one of us. We don’t start with, “Look at all we do! Look at how much I love,” like some badge of honor. We start by saying, “Look what love has done to me.” “Look at all the ways love has touched my life.”

I can tell you I am a very different person today than I was when I was first starting out in life because of the ways love has touched my life. <2> Don’t get me wrong, you might have problems in your life. Maybe your life isn’t going the way you hoped. Maybe you’ve experienced a series of unfortunate events. But rather than focusing on the negative, we need to from a place of love to reach out to others in love.

Who is the other we’re supposed to reach out to? Jesus tells us in the Gospel (Luke 10:25-37), that the other is our neighbor. Jesus says we should love our neighbor as ourselves. A scribe will ask Jesus, “And who is our neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) Jesus then tells the story of the Good Samaritan. Of course, that is one of the primary points of that parable is that everyone is our neighbor. <3> My neighbor might look or sound different than me. “Neighbor” is not limited by race, color, language, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation. Everyone is my neighbor.

Alright, everyone is my neighbor. But how do I show love for them? Jesus gives us that answer too in the Bible. This is very important, especially for all of you type A’s out there who love rubrics and metrics and KPIs.

In the Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46), Jesus says that when the Son of Man comes in his glory, he will separate the people like a shepherd separates the goat from the sheep. To those on his right he will say, “because you cared for me when I was hungry and thirsty; when I was naked and sick; imprisoned and homeless, you are blessed.” And those on his left he says, “because you did not do these things for me, you are condemned.”

Then both sides will be confused and say to Jesus, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, naked or sick, imprisoned or homeless?” Jesus will answer by saying, “whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me; and conversely, whatever you didn’t do for the least of these, you ignored me.”

Whew! Those are some KPIs! But they’re concrete – something actionable. Ok, so, we know who is the other, and we know what we are supposed to do. How do we do it? How do we show love for others?

Here’s one suggestion that the Church teaches us. It’s called the ART method of social justice. Social justice is a term we use to describe the practical dimension of living out love in the world. “ART” stands for act, reflect and transform. <4>

Let’s start with act. You see a homeless person on the street, so you give them a little money, or you give them a bottle of water. This time of year you might keep a little cooler in your car so you can give them a bottle of water. Or maybe you go to the store and buy some premade sandwiches and them in your cooler. You might say, “but what if they don’t really need help? What if they’re going to use the money to buy drugs or alcohol?” I don’t.

Jesus didn’t say, “Judge them.” Jesus said, “Love them.” The sainted Mother Teresa once said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” So, we love first – that’s act.

Next, after we’ve taken some action, then we reflect. We ask, “why is this person begging on the street? Why do people come to our country illegally? Why do people get into abusive relationships?” – or whatever the question is that God placed on your heart. We discuss these questions with our family and our friends. We’re trying to understand the root causes. To do that, we’ve got to move beyond the fluff, beyond the Twitterverse, and beyond social media and cable news. We need to try to identify the real root causes of the problem. How can we possibly fix anything if we don’t understand the root causes of the problem? So we reflect.

After we have reflected on the problem and hopefully come up with some possible solutions, then we transform. Let me give you an example.

Let’s say that in your neighborhood, there’s a road and people speed down that road all the time. And someone almost got hurt the other day. So maybe after going through this process, you seek to transform and you advocate on behalf of your neighbors to City Hall and you say, why can’t we put a stop sign here, or maybe some speed bumps to slow traffic down? That’s an example of transform. Right? As we start to think about potential solutions for whatever problem God laid on our hearts, maybe we get involved in our community, we vote. We get involved in a ministry or a nonprofit organization that tackles one piece of whatever’s on my heart. Or maybe I start a new ministry or a new nonprofit, to work on that idea. Whatever it is, we act, we reflect and we seek to transform.

Is that easy? No. Trying to make a difference in the world is not easy. The reality is, that we might get discouraged. We might experience rude awakenings and disappointments along the way.

There will also be distractions. The world wants us to focus on ourselves. Look, in this Snapchat kind of world (is that even still a thing? Snapchat?), in this Snapchat kind of world, it’s easy to on me. It fills the internet with selfies. What’s a selfie? It’s all about me. We focus on me.

How do we overcome distractions and disappointments?

We come home. We come to mass. Because Jesus gave us this church to support us to nurture us to help us and he infused the church for sacraments, to heal us, and to nourish us.

So, when we come to church, and we see other people we remember, it’s not all about me. It’s about other people. When we participate in the sacraments that go into confession and that little cubicle back there. We allow Jesus to heal us to embrace us to lift us up. When we come to Mass, we allow Jesus to feed us at least twice: Once in the Bible, and once in the Eucharist. We are empowered by the Mass to go back out into the world.

Do we have to do that alone? No! In our first reading from Acts, Paul and Barnabas were sent out as a pair. All the disciples were sent out in pairs. So, we don’t do it by ourselves. We open ourselves up and allow Jesus to walk with us. Allow the church to walk with us. Allow our friends and families to walk with us so that we can go out and love other people through the art of social justice.

Can you imagine what kind of world this would be? If every Catholic – if every Christian reached out all the time in love? Man, we could set this world on fire!

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. (Fr. Peter Scholtes, 1960s)

Nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, there’s one thing I asked you to do this week.

First, remember God loves you. God loves you. How can you use ART to transform the world? God loves you, how can you use art to love other people?

I think doing our homework will help us be the intentional loving disciples that Christ Jesus calls us to be. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Then let’s go out there and share the Good News!

Image Credit: Unknown. JPG file.

Notes:
<1> Himes, Michael, The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism, “Chapter Five Church,” Kindle.
<2> “Love,” Daily Meditations Newsletter, May 12, 2022, https://cac.org/daily-meditations/love-2022-05-12/.
<3> Himes, Michael, The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism, “Chapter Five Church,” Kindle.
<4> United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Leader’s Guide to Sharing Catholic Social Teaching, (Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 2000), 37.

References:
1. Himes, Michael J. The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism. Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004. Kindle.
2. Kurz, William S., SJ. Acts of the Apostles. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013. Kindle.
3. “Love.” Daily Meditations Newsletter, May 12, 2022. https://cac.org/daily-meditations/love-2022-05-12/.
4. Martin, Francis and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015. Kindle.
5. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Leader’s Guide to Sharing Catholic Social Teaching. Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 2000.
6. Williamson, Peter S. Revelation. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015. Kindle.

From the Catechism http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. “as I have loved you”: 459, 1823, 2074, 2196, 2822, 2842
2. A new heaven and a new earth: 756, 865, 1042-50, 2016, 2817
3. Church as God’s temple and Bride: 756-57, 796
4. Characteristics of the people of God: 782
5. Ordained ministry: 1546-51
6. Charity: 1822-29
7. Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper: 2746-51
8. Petitions in the Our Father: 2822, 2842

Fifth Sunday of Easter https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031322.cfm
Lectionary: 54

Reading 1
Acts 14:21-27
After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news
to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God.”
They appointed elders for them in each church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

Responsorial
Psalm 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
R (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R Alleluia.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R Alleluia.
Let them make known your might to the children of Adam,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R Alleluia.

Reading I2
Revelation 21:1-5a
Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
and God himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain,
for the old order has passed away.”

The One who sat on the throne said,
“Behold, I make all things new.”

Alleluia
John 13:34
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
John 13:31-33a, 34-35
When Judas had left them, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him,
God will also glorify him in himself,
and God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”

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Fifth Sunday of Easter

Grapes on a vine

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Mass Readings

Reading 1: Acts 9:26-31
Responsorial: Psalm 22:26-28, 30-32
Reading 2: 1 John 3:18-24
Gospel: John 15:1-8

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050221.cfm
https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/

Welcome back for another edition of deacon rudy’s notes! I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal, and together we’re going to break open the Word!

This weekend’s readings begin with Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. The events we will hear proclaimed came after Paul’s conversion experience.

Before we move on, I just want to point something out. Let’s call this a footnote to our first reading. Why did Paul come to Jerusalem? Luke will set out some facts in Acts, and Paul will give us a slightly different rationale in his letters, but I think it’s safe to draw at least one conclusion. Paul went to Jerusalem because he understood that in the ministry, he is not a lone ranger. At some level, Paul understands that he is part of the church, and that means, at minimum, that he must consult with the church if not submit to its authority.

I think that’s a beautiful idea because it reminds us that church is a community of believers, and like any community, we need to get along or at least figure out how to get along. It’s also a reminder that there is a structure in the church. Jesus said to Peter that he is the rock on whom he will build his church. He didn’t say to Paul he was going to rebuild the church on him. And he doesn’t say to us, “Rudy” or insert your name, “I’m rebuilding my church on you.” Our church has a structure and a leadership, and it’s our job as disciples to support our bishops and pastors as we work together to build up the Kingdom of God.

Ok, footnote over – moving on!

Look at what happened to Paul through his conversion experience. So much happened to the poor guy; you have to wonder why. Perhaps the Gospel gives us a clue. Maybe everything Paul went through throughout his conversion and the following three years was a sort of pruning. God pruned Paul so that he could bear more fruit!

Wouldn’t you agree that Paul’s life is an example of someone who kept the commandments and remained in God and God in him?

My brothers and sisters, by our baptism, we are part of the vine. So, we have the same opportunity to be pruned by God so that we too can bear much fruit for the Kingdom! That’s one way to think about discipleship. But not all discipleship is fruitful. So, we are warned that if we don’t bear fruit, bad things will happen!

So, how can we cooperate with God, or in what ways can we help God with our own pruning so that we bear fruit? I’m so glad you asked!

We’ve talked a lot about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, virtues, fruits of the Holy Spirit, and even sin. We’ve learned that we can evaluate where we stand concerning these through self-examination, speaking with someone close to us like our spouses or close friends, or meeting with a spiritual director. But, we can be much more deliberate about the process.

For example, let’s say we want to grow in prudence. Well, of course, we can look up what that means and search the internet for church teachings or writings from the saints or spiritual masters about prudence. We might learn that some virtues related to prudence include circumspection, docility, and foresight. But learning alone doesn’t guarantee that we will grow in prudence. So, we need to bring prudence to prayer.

One way to do that is through the daily examen. To do the daily examen doesn’t require much time at all – perhaps 5-7 minutes – indeed 10 minutes max. Why not bring prudence or one of its related virtues to the daily examen? You could prayerfully reflect on it over several days, a week, or longer. It’s up to you. You could do the same thing with a bad habit or with something that’s bothering you. It might be helpful to keep some notes as you try to grow in prudence or overcome a bad habit.

This is one example of what it means to remain in Christ. We don’t try to do it by ourselves. We can turn to God in prayer and invite pruning in concrete ways – like overcoming a specific bad habit or growing in a particular virtue. If we are mindful about growing in our spiritual life, then our lives will bear much fruit.

Homework! Nourished by the fruit of the vine through the Word and Eucharist, I invite you to reflect on the following questions.
First, what are one or two virtues I want to grow in or one or two bad habits I want to overcome?
Second, turn to God in prayer and ask for specific help to increase in that virtue or overcome that particular bad habit.

I think doing our homework can enrich our discipleship. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

You’re listening to deacon rudy’s notes. Thank you for joining me today. Our theme music was composed by Silent Partner. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. I’m Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Join me again next weekend as we break open the Word. Peace!

Image Credit: Malbec Grapes. Ian L. 30 August 2004. JPG. Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic. Description: Malbec grapes. Taken at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Rutherford, California (in the Napa Valley), California.

Bibliography/Suggested Readings:
1. Anderson, Kelly and Daniel Keating. James, First, Second, and Third John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2017. Kindle.
2. Kurz, William S. SJ. Acts of the Apostles. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2013. Kindle.
3. Martin, Francis and William M. Wright IV. The Gospel of John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2015. Kindle.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Believing in Jesus Christ: 151
2. God’s mercy greater than our hearts: 208, 1781, 2845
3. Call to love one another: 459, 1823-25
4. The gift of the Spirit: 733-36
5. Church as vine: 736, 755, 787, 1108, 1988, 2074
6. Persecution: 769, 1808, 1816
7. Charity: 953, 1822-29
8. Eternal separation from God: 1033
9. Being conformed to Christ: 1694
10. Keeping the commandments: 2052-55, 2072
11. “Apart from me you can do nothing”: 2074
12. Charitable works of mercy: 2447-48
13. Bearing witness to Christ: 2471-74
14. Praying in Jesus’ name: 2614
15. Praying with confidence for our needs: 2631
16. Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper: 2746-51

Fifth Sunday of Easter https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050221.cfm
Lectionary: 53

Reading 1
Acts 9:26-31
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him,
not believing that he was a disciple.
Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles,
and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord,
and that he had spoken to him,
and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus.
He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem,
and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord.
He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists,
but they tried to kill him.
And when the brothers learned of this,
they took him down to Caesarea
and sent him on his way to Tarsus.

The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.
It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

Responsorial
Psalm 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or: R. Alleluia.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear the LORD.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
“May your hearts live forever!”
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or: R. Alleluia.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
all the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or: R. Alleluia.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth;
before him shall bend
all who go down into the dust.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or: R. Alleluia.
And to him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
or: R. Alleluia.

Reading 2
1 John 3:18-24
Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.

Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth
and reassure our hearts before him
in whatever our hearts condemn,
for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence in God
and receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit he gave us.

Alleluia
John 15:4a, 5b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain in me as I remain in you, says the Lord.
Whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
John 15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

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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!