COME HOLY SPIRIT - Pentecost Sunday - May 19th 2024
Throughout these days of the Easter season, one theme that has been consistent in Sacred Scripture, has been the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is noteworthy that while we read and hear right after Easter Sunday about the Resurrection, which we would certainly expect, we also see a rather quick shift to the Holy Spirit. This is for several reasons. Our Lord had made known to the Apostles that He would not be with them much longer, at least not in the way they would understand Him being present. He also knew that they would feel lost without Him and ill equipped to carry on the ministry of reconciliation and the proclamation of the Gospel without His help. Jesus knew their fears and anxieties and what would eventually confront them in the form of martyrdom. To leave them alone and to their own devices would surely be a disaster for each of them. After all, we have seen any number of times the doubts, fears, betrayals and denials on the part of the twelve. To be fair to the twelve, without divine assistance we would be no better.
Jesus made a promise to the Apostles that He would “be with them always, even to the end of the
world.” When they, with the women gathered in the upper room, received the outpouring of the
Spirit they came to a full understanding of what Jesus was saying to them. While there are numerous areas that we can explore regarding the Holy Spirit, one thing we can focus on today is the twin gifts of wisdom and understanding.
We know that vast numbers of those who were baptized into the Christian community have been
catechized and given the truths of the faith. Many have prayed. Others served in the Church. Yet
many of these same Christians have fallen away from the faith, become indifferent, even rejecting the very teachings revealed in Sacred Scripture. Many reasons have been offered for this but one that must not be left out is the indifference to or lack of awareness of the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and us its individual members.
The Spirit is a Spirit of wisdom and understanding. Simply put, the Holy Spirit imparts an ability to
penetrate the mysteries of faith, to make them not a mere academic lesson but a lived way of life, a
manifestation of truth that makes us authentically free, an awareness of our dignity and destiny, a
passion to grow as sons and daughters of God. In order to receive the fulness of the gift two things
are necessary. One is repentance of sin and conversion of life. The Spirit makes us a new creation. To
become that new creation means a willingness to let go of the old self with its sins and its
manifestations and a confident trust that God will bring us to greater heights. It also requires
sincerity of heart. This is the only way the Holy Spirit can work in us, through us, and for us. We must want the Holy Spirit and be open to wherever the Spirit may lead us. It is a self-surrender in the confident trust that the Spirit of the living God will bring us to deeper love, life-giving truth, true
freedom, and a more vibrant and fruitful life than we could have ever imagined.
This Pentecost Sunday, and every day, we should make our prayer – with sincere heart and confident expectation - the prayer of countless wise men and women through two millennia: ‘Come, HolySpirit.’
Fr. John MaduriFr. John Maduri
REMAIN IN ME – 6th Sunday of Easter 2024
Two Sundays ago, the 4th Sunday of Easter, we saw how necessary it is for a happy and
fruitful life to have an awareness that we are known and loved. As noted then, one of the
obstacles to realizing this comes from the lack of social skills that afflict many people.
Another obstacle not noted then but can be inferred from this Sunday’s Gospel is found
in the word “remain.” On the level of faith, most of us can recall more than a few people
we know who at one time lived a life of faith in God and His Church. As time went on,
and for any number of reasons, they slowly but surely slipped away. They did not have
in secular jargon “staying power.” In the language of Sacred Scripture, they did not
remain in that relationship with the Lord. Few people consciously and with vivid intent
turn away from the Faith. The cares and busyness of life, not to mention the numerous
temptations that come from “the world, the flesh, and the devil,” can overcome us.
It was not that long ago that generations of family members would spend a lifetime living
in the same or nearby communities from where they grew up. Many senior adults lived in
neighborhoods with the same friends they had at 80 that they had when they were 8.
When family and friends were the most important factor in life, not to mention the parish
church, people naturally remained in those relationships for decades, even for the span
of one’s life in this world. While some who have never experienced that reality may find
it suffocating, those who have experienced that time see it as life giving. This is not to
say that everything was perfect, but it does mean that people found solace and meaning
in their surroundings and those who shared the journey of life with them. As society
changed and new norms of life came upon us, people lost that sense of community, that
sense of belonging. No longer content to remain with what they had become familiar
with, many sought to move beyond the familiar and the comfortable. In and of itself, it is
not a bad thing to want to explore the richness of the wider world that God has given to
us as our common home. In fact, it is a good thing. Yet it must be noted that the
busyness of life and the loss of community have made it difficult for many to remain in
close relationships with friends and family.
This reality also affects our relationship with God. How many who amid the busyness of
life, or who are immersed in the “world, the flesh, and the devil,” no longer remain or
abide in the Lord. Why is this so important anyway? As we turn to this Sunday’s Gospel
we find the reason: love. Jesus tells us we are “no longer slaves but friends,” that we
are chosen, and that He desires our joy to be complete. Some may think themselves
unworthy of this great gift. Yet St. Luke tells us in today’s first reading from Acts, that
“God shows no partiality.” All that is asked of us is that we fear the Lord (have awe and
reverence before Him) and “act rightly,” not because God needs it but because we do to
become fully human and fully alive.
We live in an era of change and disruption, of busyness and confusion, of anger and
hostility but one that is still permeated by truth, beauty, and goodness. If we ask the Holy
Spirit to empower us to remain in the Lord, we will see that being a friend of the Lord,
being called and chosen by name, having abiding joy of knowing that God is with us, will
enable God to bring forth great fruits in our own lives and in the lives of all those whom
we meet.
Fr. John Maduri
THEY DID NOT BELIEVE THAT HE WAS A DISCIPLE – 5th Sunday of Easter 2024
The fear that the people experienced regarding St. Paul is understandable when we
realize that Paul was persecuting the Christians and that he “concurred” in the killing of
St. Stephen. The first reading from Acts makes clear the anxiety of the early Christian
community. The words that we hear in Acts can also apply to ourselves. Too many
Christians do not believe that they are a disciple, a witness to the Risen Christ. Equally,
too many Christians do not have a conscious awareness or appreciation of the fact that
their fellow Christians, including those we encounter every week at Mass, are also
disciples. This explains why the work of evangelization has not commenced anywhere
near what it should be. Too many Christians, particularly Catholic Christians, are
apathetic about our call to be disciples: to our family members, friends, neighbors,
coworkers, fellow parishioners, and to all whom we encounter.
It is also noteworthy that God does not call the perfect to discipleship. Paul’s life and
persecution of the early Christians did not keep God from calling Him to be a pillar of the
Church. Everyone is called. All we need to do is what St. Paul did: say ‘yes.’
Two things are needed though to accomplish this task given every Christian by virtue of
Baptism. For, as the Gospel reading this Sunday from St. John tells us, “Apart from
(Jesus) you can do nothing.” Too often we think we need to witness the Lord by our own
strength and talents. This is only true to an extent. Yes, God does make use of our
strengths and our talents, but these are imbued in us only if we “abide in (Jesus).”
Otherwise, our greatest talents can fall to nothing in the Lord’s vineyard. To “abide”
means to ‘remain in’, become one with. This is where an intimate relationship with the
Lord is necessary. It is in this relationship that we can bear the good fruits of the
Kingdom.
The Acts of the Apostles, and for that matter, Jesus public ministry, is all directed to the
coming of the Holy Spirit in Fire and Power. To abide in Jesus in intimate relationship
finds its greatest strength in an openness to the gift of the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul tells
us, and it cannot be repeated enough, we can only know Jesus as Lord and Savior by the
Holy Spirit. Once again, we see the essential role the Holy Spirit should have in our lives.
What a great gift to go to bed at night and realize that our life made a difference to
someone else. What a great gift to live our life knowing that we have accomplished
something good and lasting. What a great gift to leave this world knowing that we have
left it a better place. What a great gift to know that because of our response to God’s
call, imperfect to be sure for all of us, others have been able to come to know the Lord
and the blessedness to which He calls us both now and forever.
Fr. John Maduri
IT DID NOT KNOW HIM – 4th Sunday of Easter 2024
In this Sunday’s second reading from the first letter of St. John, we come to see how the world rejected Jesus because “it did not know Him.” One of the most common acknowledgements among men and women, and particularly the younger generations, is that many do not feel known. The refrain, “Nobody really knows me” is something that many feel in the depths of their being. A recent study of millennials showed that about a third do not have a single close friend, another third had one, and only a third had more than one close friend. The sense of not being known or understood can lead to a sense of not being loved. It is therefore not surprising when we see countless people immerse themselves in entertainment or various ideological movements. In the former it is escapism; in the latter it is a need to belong.
It should be acknowledged that much of this sense of not being known comes from an inability to enter – and maintain – relationships. When social skills are lacking so are deep relationships. Yet there are few things that unsettle a person more than that sense of being unknown.
When we turn back to Sacred Scripture it becomes obvious that numerous men and women who heard Jesus speak, or at least heard about Him, did not make much effort to really get to know Him. In the more extreme we can look at the Pharisees and the Roman authorities. If they had taken the time to know Jesus rather than getting their information second or third hand, things would have been dramatically different for them. When people take the time to get to know each other wonderful things can happen: misunderstandings are cleared up; prejudices are eradicated; the truth about each other becomes clearer; we see the good in each other; and even in the midst of serious disagreement, mutual respect can be realized. In other words, we get to know each other.
In today’s Gospel reading from St. John, we find two kinds of shepherds: the hired hand and the devoted. The latter “only works for pay and has no concern for the sheep” whereas the devoted good shepherd gets to know his sheep. He can identify each one of them. Because of that knowledge of the sheep a certain affection develops for them. The shepherd wants to protect the sheep from harm, but here is the catch: it can only happen once he takes the time to know the sheep.
The Good Shepherd who calls us by name and “counts every hair on our heads” is Jesus. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Those in a deep relationship with this Good Shepherd do not feel unknown or misunderstood or unloved. These are the ones who have the joy this world cannot give nor take away. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, as we grow in relationship with the Lord, as we get to know Him and allow the Lord to know us, we find ourselves in a greater union with others. God did not make us to be alone. Our very humanity seeks the love and care of others. To think otherwise is to stunt ourselves. As we enter this union with the Lord, He invariably opens doors to a new world of deeper family relationships and more fruitful friendships.
Once again, we must note the essential role of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit, Who is the love of the Father and the Son, who come to us to show us the ways of love. As we encounter the Holy Spirit and allow the Spirit to transform us, our knowledge and love of the Lord will grow into a fruitful and rich love that extends to those we encounter. As they come to know us in the bonds of friendship and devotion, we will have the joy and peace that comes from being both known and loved.
Fr. John Maduri
HE OPENED THEIR MINDS – 3rd Sunday of Easter 2024
Those words that we hear in the Gospel of St. Luke are perhaps more interesting than we may think. For millennia the enemies of faith and of the Church in particular, have made the accusation that people of faith live their lives in blind obedience and/or superstitiously. In recent decades there has been a cacophony of voices insisting – incorrectly - that faith and reason are in opposition to each other, the implication being that faith must give way to reason and science. Sacred Scripture begs to differ. We not only hear the words of this Gospel, but we can also recall the words of St. Paul, “Put on the mind of Christ.” Both statements have to do with reason and thought. Jesus is calling us to listen carefully to what He is saying, to evaluate His teachings with a keen eye on knowing the truth, and embrace them, in the words of the Second Vatican Council, “with ascent of intellect and will.” Notice how nothing from the Council, St. Paul, or our Lord Himself, is calling us to blind obedience or illogical ascent. This is a rather radical point for those who do not know Christ or His Church to discover. What our Lord is convinced of, as well as St. Paul and the Church, is that if we sincerely open our minds to the truth of things, we will not be in contradiction to our Lord’s teachings either in Sacred Scripture or the Church. There is, however, one glaring dagger through this ideal. It goes back to a comment by the late Chicago Archbishop, Francis Cardinal George, who stated in the 2000s: “Now we have morality by desire rather than the truth of a thing.” This is where the human mind can be closed. Our fallen nature wants what we prefer, what we desire. We bring our own histories, weaknesses, failures, and brokenness to our decision making and our ways of life. To break through this in order to achieve the ability – and willingness – to allow our Lord to open our minds can be very difficult for many. We become comfortable; we settle. This certainly describes what is going on in our contemporary Western society. It is why we hear such things as “my truth”, “your truth”. If the truth is the reality of what is, then the most we can have are opinions; the truth is one. To further complicate what our Lord is telling us in St. Luke’s Gospel, as well as the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, is the call to be witnesses to the Risen Christ and His Gospel of salvation. If we do not know what is true, starting with the obvious that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, it is almost impossible to be an effective witness. Yet as Popes in recent decades have told us, ‘The Church needs witnesses not teachers’, ‘fewer theologians and more saints.’ What do the saints do? They witness. What is the solution to break through our preconceived notions, to break down the wall of resistance oftentimes erected to protect us from the pain of facing our wounded selves, to move beyond the ideologies that are imposed on us and accepted in our culture with what is truly blind obedience? It is the Holy Spirit. Our Lord, in one of His final statements in His earthly ministry, and before His Ascension to the right hand of the Father made a promise: “I will send forth the Holy Spirit to guide you into the fullness of truth.” Everything we need to know is in that one sentence. The Spirit will be given to us if we are honest with ourselves and with sincerity of heart seek to know the truth. The Spirit of the Lord will open our minds so that we make a free ascent of will and intellect. Why is this important for us? Our eternal salvation depends upon it for one. We also desperately need witnesses; but closer “to home” we see another reason that is the found in a prayer our Lord offered to the Father. He prayed that our “joy may be complete.” When we allow the Lord to open our minds to the good, the true, the beautiful, then in the words of Sacred Scripture, we can “enter into joy.” In our joy the Lord rejoices.
Fr. John Maduri
HE OPENED THEIR MINDS – 3rd Sunday of Easter 2024
Those words that we hear in the Gospel of St. Luke are perhaps more interesting than we may think. For millennia the enemies of faith and of the Church in particular, have made the accusation that people of faith live their lives in blind obedience and/or superstitiously. In recent decades there has been a cacophony of voices insisting – incorrectly - that faith and reason are in opposition to each other, the implication being that faith must give way to reason and science. Sacred Scripture begs to differ. We not only hear the words of this Gospel, but we can also recall the words of St. Paul, “Put on the mind of Christ.” Both statements have to do with reason and thought. Jesus is calling us to listen carefully to what He is saying, to evaluate His teachings with a keen eye on knowing the truth, and embrace them, in the words of the Second Vatican Council, “with ascent of intellect and will.” Notice how nothing from the Council, St. Paul, or our Lord Himself, is calling us to blind obedience or illogical ascent. This is a rather radical point for those who do not know Christ or His Church to discover. What our Lord is convinced of, as well as St. Paul and the Church, is that if we sincerely open our minds to the truth of things, we will not be in contradiction to our Lord’s teachings either in Sacred Scripture or the Church. There is, however, one glaring dagger through this ideal. It goes back to a comment by the late Chicago Archbishop, Francis Cardinal George, who stated in the 2000s: “Now we have morality by desire rather than the truth of a thing.” This is where the human mind can be closed. Our fallen nature wants what we prefer, what we desire. We bring our own histories, weaknesses, failures, and brokenness to our decision making and our ways of life. To break through this in order to achieve the ability – and willingness – to allow our Lord to open our minds can be very difficult for many. We become comfortable; we settle. This certainly describes what is going on in our contemporary Western society. It is why we hear such things as “my truth”, “your truth”. If the truth is the reality of what is, then the most we can have are opinions; the truth is one. To further complicate what our Lord is telling us in St. Luke’s Gospel, as well as the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, is the call to be witnesses to the Risen Christ and His Gospel of salvation. If we do not know what is true, starting with the obvious that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, it is almost impossible to be an effective witness. Yet as Popes in recent decades have told us, ‘The Church needs witnesses not teachers’, ‘fewer theologians and more saints.’ What do the saints do? They witness. What is the solution to break through our preconceived notions, to break down the wall of resistance oftentimes erected to protect us from the pain of facing our wounded selves, to move beyond the ideologies that are imposed on us and accepted in our culture with what is truly blind obedience? It is the Holy Spirit. Our Lord, in one of His final statements in His earthly ministry, and before His Ascension to the right hand of the Father made a promise: “I will send forth the Holy Spirit to guide you into the fullness of truth.” Everything we need to know is in that one sentence. The Spirit will be given to us if we are honest with ourselves and with sincerity of heart seek to know the truth. The Spirit of the Lord will open our minds so that we make a free ascent of will and intellect. Why is this important for us? Our eternal salvation depends upon it for one. We also desperately need witnesses; but closer “to home” we see another reason that is the found in a prayer our Lord offered to the Father. He prayed that our “joy may be complete.” When we allow the Lord to open our minds to the good, the true, the beautiful, then in the words of Sacred Scripture, we can “enter into joy.” In our joy the Lord rejoices.
Fr. John Maduri
MERCY, CONVERSION, NEW LIFE, and THE HOLY SPIRIT - Second Sunday of Easter 2024
All of us should take great comfort is our Lord’s ministry of reconciliation which
culminated in His suffering, death, and Resurrection through which we are reconciled to
God. We find great consolation when we recall Jesus’ words to the woman caught in
adultery, “Neither do I condemn you.” We also take note of our Lord’s understanding of
the human condition and human weakness when He admonishes us “to forgive not
seven times but seventy times seven times.”
With these words and others, and in so many actions, Jesus shows mercy. It should
therefore not be a source of controversy when we speak of God’s mercy, yet at times it
is. There are two issues that arise that cause this controversy. The first is “what is sin?”
Many without well-formed consciences can justify any behavior or attitude that may suit
them. Second is an understanding or better, a misunderstanding of mercy, that is rooted
in the sin of presumption: “I can do whatever I want, and God will forgive me.”
There are serious problems with this. Our Lord’s gift or mercy is a call away from sin,
what St. Paul rightly calls slavery. “Anyone who commits sin is a slave to that sin.”
Mercy is about being set free from that slavery so that we can experience the “freedom of
the sons and daughters of God.” Yet how can we be free as God’s sons and daughters if
we are not aware of what sin is. One of the best definitions of sin that I have found is
that of “using God’s gifts in ways contrary to God’s will.” That may sound simple on its
face, yet it is still not enough. As I mentioned already, we can do a great job of justifying
ourselves and convincing ourselves that everything we do is alright with God. We may
think we are physically healthy but may be unaware of a disease lying within that can do
serious damage. It is no different with unrecognized sin. We may think we are spiritually
and morally healthy but serious damage is still being done to ourselves by unrecognized
sin.
If we want to experience the authentic freedom of the children of God then we need to do
as Jesus did, always attentive and faithful to the will of the Father. We can make an
objection. “How can I know the will of the Father. I am not Jesus”? True and false. We
are not Jesus, but we can know God’s will. We have only to embrace the teachings of
Sacred Scripture and of the Church. We have the Commandments and the Beatitudes,
the parables, and the witness of the Apostles, and above all the law of love. Each of
these together form a whole. All of these show us how to live in that freedom this world
cannot give nor take away. This twofold movement of confidence in God’s mercy in all
things, and a commitment to ongoing conversion of life will lead us to the new life in
Christ, to a union with God beyond all imagining once we rid ourselves of those
obstacles (sins) that keep us from receiving that gift. Notice how this call to a
purification of conscience and to a humble fidelity to revealed truth is about one thing:
God’s deep desire for us to be one with Him even at this time and in this moment. This is
what is means to walk in the “newness of life” that St. Paul writes about in his letter to
the Romans.
This past Sunday we celebrated our Lord’s glorious resurrection. It is almost the
culmination of His ministry. Almost because we still await His next glorious gift and the
fulfillment of Jesus’ ministry, that of the Holy Spirit come upon us and within in us at
Pentecost.
Embracing this radical call to authentic freedom in Christ with its attendant call to
conversion of life and embrace of revealed truths, that admittedly can be difficult for a
great many people who struggle with them, will lead to that union with God that
everyone, either implicitly or explicitly seeks. As we celebrate this second Sunday of
Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, and approach Pentecost, we are invited to call upon the
Holy Spirit with open hearts and minds, to guide us into all truth. If we do this with a
sincere heart and a true desire to know what is the good, true, and beautiful, we will have
begun a marvelous journey that leads to God who is love.
Fr. John Maduri
