What we are to "keep"

      I recorded the English voice over on WAOB for Pope Francis' homily for the Ascension on Wednesday of this week.  The Holy Father tells us that Jesus, in his prayer to the Father in the Gospel of John, uses the word "keep".  Pope Francis then points out that there are three things that we must "keep" to live with Christ.

     We must keep FAITH.  We do so to avoid yielding to grief or plunge into the despair of those who no longer see a way out of our difficulties.  Pope Francis says: "To keep faith is to keep our gaze fixed up to heaven ... To keep the faith is to refuse to yield to the logic of hatred and vengeance, but to keep our gaze fixed on the God of love, who calls us to be brothers and sisters to one another."

     We must keep UNITY.  "Jesus asks the Father to preserve the unity of his disciples, so that they may be 'completely one' (Jn 17:21), one family in which love and fraternity reign."  Pope Francis goes on to say that we are to be "completely one, to be a family, to find the courage to live in friendship, in love and fraternity."

    We are called to keep the TRUTH.  The prayer of Jesus is that we may be consecrated in truth as we are sent throughout the world to carry on his mission.  The Holy Father points out that "Truth, for the apostle John, is Christ himself, the revelation of the Father's love."  "To keep the truth means to be a prophet in every situation in life, in other words to be consecrated to the Gospel and bear witness to it even when that means going against the current."  He wants us to be consecrated to the beauty and truth of the Gospel so that we can testify to the joys of God's kingdom even in the dark night of grief, even when evil seems to have the upper hand.

     The Holy Father was addressing at that Mass the Myanmar Community in Rome, a people suffering tremendous violence, conflict, repression and evil.  His message encourages them, and us, to be faithful to what we are being called to be faithful to ... what we are being called to keep.  I thought that they were important words, words that touched my heart.  Maybe they will touch your heart.

THE EYES OF OUR HEARTS

     This past Sunday, and in our area the previous Thursday, was the celebration of the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven.  The second reading for that feast is taken from chapter 1 of the Letter to the Ephesians.  Here is my reflection for that reading that I shared on WAOB.

     In verse 17 of the 1st chapter of Ephesians Paul says: "May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.  May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened."

     The Spirit that Paul speaks of is the Holy Spirit, which, before he ascended to the Father, Jesus promised to his followers.   That Spirit came upon the Church at Pentecost and remains the gift without equal that we still possess.

     In our baptism we have been given that Spirit, entrusted with the source of wisdom and revelation in order to know and understand Jesus Christ.

     For our part, there needs to be a willingness to allow the "eyes of our hearts" to be enlightened so that we may walk in his way.

     Paul tells us that our willingness to have our hearts enlightened is so that "we may know what is the hope that belongs to his call" [the call to unity with him and holiness of life creates within us a vision of what can be, what must be, in order to live in hope of something far beyond our capabilities] ... "what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones" [what a tremendous treasure has been placed within our grasp, a treasure that will never lessen in time or circumstances] ... "and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe ... which he worked in Christ."

     Our lives are not about power and earthly glory, but our life in Christ is entrusted with spiritual power and blessed with eternal glory.   When he returned to the Father, Jesus sent the Spirit, and we stepped out into a world that required our proclamation of faith.

     All of this is possible because Jesus brings the Father's love to us and shares with us a life beyond imagining.  Ephesians tells us that the mighty work accomplished in Christ our Lord is this: "raising him [Jesus] from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion ... he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fulness of the one who fills all things in every way."

     The Father gave us his Son ... a gift to the Church, which is his body.   We are that Church.   In us, the fulness of the gift of the Father is seen and experienced; for we, the Church, are the gift of hope given to a world that, although created by God in goodness has fallen upon hard times and lost its way.   We are to show that way to all who seek the path of life.

     When they left that upper room on Pentecost, the disciples went forth to proclaim that good news - a message that we are entrusted with to share. 

ANNIVERSARIES

     Yesterday the fourteen residence of our house celebrated the anniversaries of our priesthood ordinations.  Nearly all of us were ordained in the month of May, so we chose May 5th to celebrate.  I had no objection to the date, for on that date 48 years ago [May 5, 1973] I was ordained along with Father Peter Peretti (who also resides here) and Monsignors Paul Fitzmaurice and Roger Statnick.

     We gathered for Mass in our chapel at 4:30 followed by a social time and then a delicious festive dinner prepared by our kitchen staff.  Father Al Pleban was our celebrant for Mass, being our senior member having been ordained 64 years ago.

     The fourteen of us, most retired, a few in special circumstances and one new brother from the Philippines who is familiarizing himself to our Diocese (he is our youngster, ordained only 22 years), rack up some impressive statistics.

     We represent 675 years of priestly service ... conservatively we are looking at about 250,000 Masses offered ... countless baptisms, weddings, funerals, confessions, and lives touched by God's grace.  And yet each of us realizes our limitations and inadequacies as well as the blessings we have been given by this call of the Lord and extended through the love and support of the great People of God.

    Pray for your priests ... and pray for vocations. 

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES

     This is my reflection on WAOB for the gospel of this past Sunday, the 5th Sunday of Easter.

     Our image of Christ in this 15th chapter of Saint John's gospel is found in this saying of Jesus: "I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

     This Spring a tree outside our residence was filled with blossoms and was truly magnificent.  One of our men cut a few branches to place in his room.  They were beautiful and their fragrance filled the room.  But he told me that it wasn't long before the smell faded and the pedals began to fall off.  He eventually found that the branches had died and had to be discarded.

     I have over the years had an indoor plant called a philodendron.  I have taken cuttings and placed them in water, where they usually began to develop roots.  When enough roots were present, though, the plant required planting in soil in order to grow.  Before that, it was not strong and unlikely to survive.

    "Apart from me", Jesus says, "you can do nothing."  We weaken, we wither, we die.

     Jesus tells us in John 15 that "I am the vine and my Father is the vine dresser.  Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he prunes, that it bear more fruit."

     Years ago I visited the vineyards of Napa Valley in California, noted for the excellent wines that come from those vineyards.  Here there are vines that are very old, going back generations, that produce grapes in their various flavors.  These vines are not large, in fact it is surprising how small and compact they are.

     This is because the vine growers do as Jesus says the Father does.  They cut away the dead or dying branches, even those that seem strong but bear no fruit.  And they cut back even the productive branches in order to bring forth a greater, fresher yield.  This takes work, but the results are worth it.

     Even though united to Christ, the vine that gives us life, there is the need for pruning in order to bear more fruit.  Pruning can be good.

     We hear in John 15: "You are already made clean [the old cut away and the new pruned] by the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."

     We pride ourselves in our freedom and individuality.  We are taught to be self-sufficient and stand on our own.  We long to be first among others and consider being like everyone else as being less than desirous.

     Yet we need each other .. and most especially we need our union with Christ and his Church ... in order to find our real potential and to truly bear fruit.

     We cannot be "independent agents" who stand alone.  We glorify the Father by our unity with his Son and his body and bearing much fruit in love and joy.  Be a great branch!  Bear tremendous fruit!