Peter and Paul

                                    Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Apostles

                                    

Feed My Sheep
Assumption Church window
Fairfield CT

            

It takes a great feast day for the Church to interrupt the regular Sunday celebrations of Ordinary time. Today, June 29, is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul and that certainly qualifies. You wonder why the Church does not have a separate feast day for each of these important saints. Perhaps it’s because their lives are so intertwined in Scripture and Tradition.

Although their backgrounds were different, they both had remarkable conversion experiences. For the most part the Acts of the Apostles is all about the work of Peter and Paul. They are both powerful and effective preachers, they both work healing miracles, and they both have miraculous escapes from their enemies. Yet, they each insist that it was only by invoking the “name of Jesus” that they were able to accomplish anything. They took no credit to themselves. Tradition tells us that they both suffered martyrdom in 64 A.D. during the persecution of Christians by the brutal and insane Roman emperor, Nero. 

However, I think that the reason for today’s feastday is not necessarily the greatness of these two saints but their weakness.  Both were failures who had to seek redemption before they could follow in the Lord’s footsteps. Rather than trying to hide the story of Peter’s denial that he even knew Jesus, the Church broadcasts this dark moment in the life of the first Pope. The denial of Peter is one of the few incidents recorded in all four gospels. Moreover, artists have never tired of depicting Peter’s denial. In Caravaggio’s version, after someone claims that Peter was a follower of the recently arrested Jesus, Peter points to himself as if to say, “who me?”

In the same way, no attempt has ever been made to hide the fact that St. Paul persecuted members of the early Church. Before his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul considered himself the greatest of sinners. In Raphael’s depiction of St. Cecilia discarding her musical instruments after she has discovered the music of heaven, the saint is flanked by St. Paul and Mary Magdalen, both symbols of saints who had triumphed over sin. Paul leans on the sword that usually identifies him in sacred art but it is not an ordinary sword. In one of his letters Paul referred to the word of God as the sword of the Spirit.

There is a church at the northern entrance of the city of Rome right next to the famous Paizza del Populo. It is called Santa Maria del Populo and it contains two of the greatest works of the artist Caravaggio. In the small Cerasi chapel Caravaggio has depicted the Martyrdom of Peter on one wall, and just a few feet away on the opposite wall the Conversion of Paul.

In S. Maria del Populo the two saints can be seen together again just as on this feastday. Peter is depicted head down on a cross as he is about to suffer the same fate as Jesus. In the gospel of the vigil mass we have tha account of the appearance of our Lord to Peter after the Resurrection. As if to remind us that Peter had denied him three times, Jesus asks Peter if he loves him. Each time when Peter affirms his love, Jesus deflects it and tells him to feed his sheep. In other words, to direct his love to those entrusted to his care. The image at the top of this post depicts the Risen Lord handing the shepherd’s staff to Peter.

Caravaggio depicted Peter at the end of his journey but Paul is depicted at the beginning. He is shown fallen on the ground with his arms outstretched toward the light that is blinding him. Paul hints at the end of his story in today’s in today’s reading from the letter to Timothy.  

I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,

And the time of my departure is at hand.

I have competed well, I have finished the race;

I have kept the faith.

Today, their message still goes out to all the earth.

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Reading 1. Acts 12:1-11

Reading II. 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 17-18

Gospel. Matthew 16: 13-19 (thou art Peter).\

Vigil:

Reading 1Act 3: 1-10

Reading II: Galatians I: 11-20.

Gospel: John 21: 15-19 (Feed My sheep) 

Corpus Christi

                  Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

                  C cycle

 

The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ used to be called the feast of Corpus Christi, from the Latin words which literally mean the Body of Christ. The feast commemorates not just the Body of Christ but also the fact that it was given up or sacrificed for us. That's probably why each of the Mass readings features a priest who makes an offering to God. 

 

The first reading goes back to the first book of the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis, where the mysterious priest-king, Melchizedek, offers up bread and wine to "God Most High." Although little else is known about Melchizedek, the early Fathers of the Church  viewed him as a forerunner of Christ as both priest and king. At Mass if the priest uses the first Eucharistic prayer, he will compare our Eucharistic sacrifice with Melchizedek's.

 

The gospel is St. Luke's account of the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fishes. This miracle, where Jesus provided food for the 5000, has also always been viewed as a precursor of the Eucharistic sacrifice. Like many of the miracles of Jesus this one follows a standard format. Jesus is busy at his work of teaching and healing when a problem--a hungry crowd--is brought to his attention. At first He doesn't see what it has to do with Him, and tells his disciples to take care of it themselves. "Give them some food yourselves." When they confess their own inability, He takes over. 

 

      Then taking the five loaves and two fish,

      and looking up to heaven,

      he said the blessing over them, broke them,

      and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

 

St. Luke concludes that "they all ate and were satisfied," and that plenty was left over.

 

Despite the fact that this miracle is the only one to appear in all four gospels, it is one of the most difficult for many people to accept. Today it is fashionable to offer a purely natural or sociological explanation. Some think that people were shamed by the selfless sharing of Jesus, and proceeded to take food which they had hidden about their persons and share it with their neighbors. 

 

That's one theory but I prefer to think that the God who is responsible for every grain of wheat that grows on the earth, and for every fish that swims in the sea, could feed 5000 people. Right after this miracle St. Mark tells us that Jesus saved His disciples from drowning when he calmed the storm at sea. St. Mark relates this incident to the miracle of the loaves. He says that the disciples in the boat "were utterly beside themselves with astonishment, for they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was blinded."

 

Many people also find it hard today to believe that the Body and Blood of Jesus are offered in the Sacrifice of the Mass. In the second reading from St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians we have what is probably the first written account of our Lord's offering of His own Body and Blood at the Last Supper. It's obvious that Paul didn't make these words up. He says that he heard them from the Lord Himself in much the same way that the other Apostles did at that Passover meal.

 

What could the Apostles have been thinking when they saw Jesus take the bread, offer thanks, break it, and then say, "This is my body that is for you?" How could the bread be His Body? Or what about, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." How could the wine be His Blood? We know that they believed it because He said it and because He would raise His Body from the dead only three days later. We also know that the first Christian communities also believed it and from the beginning repeated the Lord's words whenever they gathered together "in remembrance of Him."

 

Since the beginnings of Christianity theologians have tried to come to a better understanding of what our Lord meant. In the Middle Ages they came up with an explanation that is as good as any that has been offered since. Guided by the rediscovery of the works of ancient Greek scientists and philosophers, theologians like St. Thomas Aquinas developed the concept of "transubstantiation."

 

Like most scientific words "transubstantiation" is a long word made up of different parts in order to give greater clarity and precision. But if we break the word down into its parts, we will get a better idea of what it means. First, let's deal with the prefix, "tran." It means going from one thing to another, like in transport or transmit. The suffix, "ation", at the end of the word means a process or action, like in transportation. So if we get rid of the prefix and suffix, we're left with the root or core of the word, "substance." Now  "sub" means under and "stance" comes from the Latin verb, "stare" which means "to stand." 

 

When we deal with substance we're dealing with that which stands under a thing, it's real core, what it is. So "transubstantiation" means that the bread and wine although they still look, and feel, and taste like bread and wine, have become something else. It's something like when we advance through the different stages of life, from infancy to old age. Although our bodies change, aren't we always the same person?

 

However, transubstantiation is an attempt to explain a mystery. It is not the mystery itself. Like the early Christians we believe that the Body and Blood of Christ are truly present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist because our Lord said so at the first Eucharist.

 

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Reading 1. Genesis 14: 18-20

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26

Gospel. Luke 9: 11b-17 (Loaves and Fishes).  

Trinity Sunday

                    Most Holy Trinity *

                  C cycle

 

On Trinity Sunday one is reminded of the great saint and philosopher, St. Augustine. There is a well known story that one day Augustine was thinking about the Trinity while walking upon the seashore. He came upon a little boy who was busy emptying pails of water into a hole he had dug upon the beach. Augustine asked him what he was doing, and the boy replied that he was trying to empty the sea into the hole. When Augustine told the boy that he was attempting the impossible, the boy replied that Augustine in trying to understand the mystery of the Trinity was also attempting the impossible.

 

Nevertheless, the boy's advice did not stop Augustine from writing a treatise on the Trinity. Nor has it stopped theologians and homilists from writing millions of words about the Trinity ever since. None of these words would ever have been written if our Lord had not repeatedly referred to the Trinity during His time on earth. The Church did not invent the idea of the Holy Trinity, our Lord did. 

 

In today's gospel He says that "everything that the Father has is mine," and tells the Apostles gathered at the Last Supper about the coming of "the Spirit of Truth." In our second reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans, he says that "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," as if the two were somehow different. Paul then goes on to say that "the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." Clearly, Paul understood what our Lord was saying.

 

In other words, neither Paul, nor Augustine, or anyone else would have come to the idea  of three persons in one God by the use of reason alone. Reason had led even the pagan philosophers to conclude that the many gods of antiquity were fraudulent, even comical. Reason had led them to conclude even before the time of Christ that there could only be one God. Of course, the Jews had come to this realization even before the philosophers. 

 

Still, only the words of Christ opened up the idea that this one God contained three Divine Persons. Let's pause for a minute and consider the meaning of the word "person." The Latin word "persona" means the mask or masks that ancient actors wore to express different characters or emotions. We've all seen pictures of these masks, some with smiles and others with frowns, which the actors held over their faces while playing their roles. It's similar to the way our TV newsmen will look glum while reporting a tragic story but then smile when the next story deals with the rescue of a cat from a tree.

 

We often today think of our "personality" or "persona" as something different from ourselves. No matter what we are like inside, our personality is the way we appear to the world outside of us. Looking at it this way, couldn't we say that there are many persons in any one of us. A man could be a husband to his wife, a father to his children, a son to his own parents, a friend to his friend, etc. A woman would not be the same person to her husband as she is to her children, or her parents, or her friends. 

 

Certainly Jesus meant much more when He talked about the relationship of the Persons of the Trinity. And I don't mean to suggest that God wears masks. I am merely saying that He has chosen to appear to us in different ways. I know that this is not a scientific explanation but if we consider the Trinity, we will see that our Lord is telling us that it is possible to have a warmer, more intimate relationship with God than our reason could ever imagine. Just imagine that the same God who created not only this world but all the worlds keeps them in existence by love alone. He actually came into our world as one of us. Then after He suffered, died, and rose from the dead, He sent His own Spirit to dwell in us and guide us.

 

Some poor heretics throughout history have been unable to accept this divine intimacy. For some Jesus was God but never truly a man. How could God lower Himself in such a way?  For others, Jesus was a good man but certainly not God. How could a man be God?

We say, however, that what kind of a God would it be who couldn't do it, or who wouldn't do it? 

 

Who would want a different God? God is not a white haired old man sitting on some mountain top waiting to zap us with lightning bolts when we do wrong. He is not some force of nature that guides our evolutionary progress. Neither is He some kind of unconcerned creator who made the world and then ignored it. St. John tells us that God is Love. The Book of Proverbs says that God "found delight with the human race." Our creed tells us that God sent His Son to be one of us, and to suffer and die for us. St. Paul says that the grace of God is our hope,

 

      and hope does not disappoint,

      because the love of God has been poured into our hearts

      through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

 

We have a mystical relationship with the Trinity. Because of the Trinity we can with Jesus call God, "Abba" or "Father." We can call Jesus, "our brother." Finally, we can say that the Spirit of God lives not in the faraway heavens, but in our very selves.

* Note: Today is Father's Day. Here is a little prayer for fathers.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for all the fathers on earth who,
Like St. Joseph, accept the responsibility to care for and love their children.
May you strengthen them with the kindness, patience and wisdom they need
To encourage and guide their children.
May they be supported by a steadfast wife, a caring family and good friends.
Most of all, may they know that you and you alone are the source of all that is
Good and truly valuable in this world.

 

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Reading 1. Proverbs 8: 22-31

Reading II. Romans 5: 1-5

Gospel. John 16: 12-15 (the Spirit of Truth).

The Spirit of God

              Pentecost

                      C cycle

 

In today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles St. Luke gives us the well known account of the extraordinary appearance of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles in the upper room. The Apostles had gathered together for the Jewish feast of Pentecost, a feast which commemorated the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai.  

 

Next week we will celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity but today's feast is about the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Let's start out by clearing up a few misconceptions that some of us may have about the Holy Spirit. First of all, the Spirit is not a bird. I know that the traditional image of a dove given us by Christian artists is probably ingrained in all of us. It is hard to portray a purely spiritual being in art for a spirit has no body to paint or sculpt. In one gospel passage the movement of the Holy Spirit is likened to the fluttering flight of a dove and so I guess the early artists used the dove as a kind of artistic shorthand.

 

Speaking about images I have to confess that as a child I thought that the "tongues as of fire" that rested on the Apostles at Pentecost were actually human tongues on fire. It took me years before I realized that the "tongues" were actually similar to the darting flames that we would see in our own fireplaces. Also back then it was more common to refer to the Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost, which only conjured up images from old Abbott and Costello movies.

 

But in today's readings we see that although we cannot see or feel or hear the Spirit of God, It dwells in us and works through us. St. Luke says of the Apostles that "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." St. Paul says in the letter to the Romans that,

 

       you are not in the flesh;

       on the contrary, you are in the spirit,

       if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.

 

Our Lord says in today's gospel that the Father will give "you another Advocate to be with you always," and then He promises,

 

       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.

 

If we can't see or feel or hear the Spirit, how do we know that He dwells in us? As Christians we have to learn to read the signs. Just as the shipwrecked Robinson Crusoe knew that there were other men on his lonely island when he beheld their footprints, we will know the Spirit by His signs. St. Paul says in the letter to the Corinthians,

 

       There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Lord;

       there are different workings but the same God

       who produces all of them in everyone.

 

Then, talking to us as well as to the Corinthians, Paul says that to "each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit." In other words we all have a role to play in bringing the Spirit of God to each other.

 

What are the signs that the Spirit dwells in us? In years past we used to speak of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. If you pick a fruit from a tree and it tastes and smells and feels like an apple, then you can conclude that it's an apple tree. The same goes for a peach or pear tree. In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul lists the fruits or signs of the Spirit as charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, chastity." Some of these words might sound strange to us today but we surely get the general idea. Who would not want to receive the Holy Spirit? Would we want to be uncharitable, miserable, quarrelsome, impatient, malicious, bad, mean-spirited, offensive, unfaithful, immodest, wasteful, or promiscuous?

 

We don't need miraculous, mystical, or ghostly experiences to encounter the Spirit today. After all, we have all received the Spirit at Confirmation. Right after Pentecost the Apostles saw that it was necessary not only to preach the Word but also to lay their hands on all the baptized in order that the Spirit might dwell in them.  Generation after generation have continued this practice. Every confirmation is a kind of Pentecost. 

 

Even though the Apostles had walked with the Lord and had seen His Risen Body, they still needed to receive His Spirit before they could leave the upper room and go out and face the world. St. Paul says the same for us.

 

       For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

       For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,

       but you received a Spirit of adoption,

       through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!

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Reading 1.  Acts 2: 1-11

Reading II. Romans 8: 8-17 or

            1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13

Gospel. John 14: 15-16, 23b-26 or

       John 20: 19-23. (the Advocate).  

Bearing Witness

                  7th Sunday of Easter

                  C cycle

 

 

Today, the seventh Sunday of Easter, falls between the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord which we celebrated last Thursday, and the Feast of Pentecost which we will celebrate next Sunday. For these nine days we, like the first disciples, are in a kind of limbo. We commemorate these nine days in our "Novenas," a word taken from the Latin word for nine.

 

The theme of today's readings is martyrdom. Although we commonly associate the word "martyr" with one who suffers and dies for his or her faith, the word really refers to one who gives witness to his or her faith. In today's first reading we recall the death of Stephen, the first martyr to die for his faith in Jesus.

 

Why do we recall the death of Stephen today? The feast of St. Stephen is December 26, the day after the coming of the baby Jesus at Christmas. It seems so strange after that wonderful day of hope and joy to hear such a sad story. It's like a rude awakening from a pleasant dream. And now on the first Sunday after Our Lord's departure, we again have the story of Stephen. 

 

In chapter 6 of the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke introduces us to Stephen, one of the group of seven "deacons" chosen by the Apostles to assist them in their ministry. Stephen witnessed to the Risen Lord by " working great wonders and signs among the people," but his activity also provoked opposition. Like Jesus, Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin to answer charges. In his defense he launched into a retelling of the whole history of the Jews from the time of Abraham down to the prophets. In his conclusion he castigated the present generation:

 

      Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ear, you always oppose the Holy

      Spirit; as your fathers did, so you do also. Which of the prophets have not your

      fathers persecuted? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just

      One, of whom you have now been the betrayers and murderers, you who

      received the Law as an ordinance of angels and did not keep it.

 

Is it any wonder that they would be furious at these words and sentence him to death? Would we behave any differently today if a similar prophet appeared among us? Not only have we rejected the "ordinance of angels" and failed to keep it, we have glorified our failure to keep it. Let's just look at the Ten Commandments. Love the Lord thy God--we can't even mention His Name in school. Keep holy the Lord's day. Where? In the Mall? Honor thy father and mother--the very idea of fatherhood and motherhood has been under attack for decades. Avoid adultery. Who are you kidding? Isn't adultery a stepping stone to success in the business and entertainment world? Stealing! Lying! They are only wrong if you get caught. Killing! Enlightened voices no longer consider abortion a necessary evil. It has become a positive good that every politician and judge must embrace in order to attain office.

 

Isn't it just as difficult to be a follower of Jesus today as it was in the time of Stephen? Maybe that's the reason why Jesus in today's gospel prayed not only for the disciples but for all of us at the Last Supper. Lifting his eyes to Heaven, he said,

 

      Holy Father, I pray not only for them,

      but also for those who will believe in me through their word...

      

As the prayer continues we see that our Lord's wish is that our lives will bear witness to His love and serve as a lesson to the world--"so that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me." 

 

Most of us are not going to be asked to suffer and die as Stephen and the Apostles did. But we are all being asked in one way or another to be a witness--to pass on the love of Christ to others. Someone once posed a question which should make all of us a little uneasy. I'll just repeat it. "If someone were to accuse you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" Again, "If someone were to accuse you of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" 

 

We will have to find ways to bear witness--to become martyrs. Let's look at the commandments or ordinances again. We can make the Lord's day holy again by making it a day of rest, a day spent rediscovering our own families. We can honor our father and mother by refusing to blame them for everything that's gone wrong with our lives. Stealing at work is a major problem in our society. If we expect to be fairly compensated for our work, shouldn't we give a full day's work for a full day's pay? Pornography leads to adultery. Let's keep it out of our homes. As far as the fifth commandment is concerned, Our Lord saw little difference between anger and killing. 

 

Like the Apostles we will not be able to bear witness on our own. We need the Holy Spirit of Christ just as much as they did. It may not appear to us as tongues of fire, but the Love of Christ has been given to all of us and it is the strongest force in the world if only we believe.

 

 It is our choice. We can accept the "ordinance of angels" or reject it. In today's second reading from the Book of Revelation, we read,

 

      The Spirit and the bride say, "Come."

      Let the hearer say, "Come."

      Let the one who thirsts come forward,

      and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water. 

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Reading 1. Acts 7: 55-60

Reading II. Revelation 22: 12-14, 16-17, 20

Gospel. John 17: 20-26 (Jesus prayed).