On Eating a Piece of Fish_Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter

 

On Eating a Piece of Fish: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter

Acts 3:13-15, 17-19

Ps 4:2, 4, 7-8,9

Lk 24:35-48

 

The bulk of first readings during the Easter Season come from Acts of the Apostles. Acts was written by Luke, who wrote today's Gospel as well. The two books are sometime referred to as Luke-Acts to emphasize the common authorship.

Whereas the Gospel of Luke recounts the story of Jesus

beginning with the narrative of His Annunciation to the Ascension,

Acts is the story of the first years of the community that came to be known as The Church.  Acts is an important story because it is our story. It is the story of us as Church. Over the next weeks we will hear of the growth of the Church and the challenges newly forming community faced. These included arguments, infighting, jealousies, and defections. There never was a so-called ‘golden age’ of unity during which the Church was free from strife.  It is unlikely there ever will be no matter how many bumper-sticker like pronouncements are created.

As a happy counterbalance, we will also hear of the care given to the poor and less fortunate and the coming together as a community of those who believed in Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. It is a fascinating history.

In today’s reading from Acts Peter gives a short summary of the prophecies about Jesus, the Christ, the anointed one, the one for whom the world waited.  He assures his hearers that they and their leaders acted out of ignorance when they crucified Jesus. 

It is important to remember that this speech was some time after the resurrection and ascension.  How long did it take Peter and the others who witnessed Jesus’ passion and death to truly understand the resurrection?  How long did it take before they were able to internalize the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead? 

How long does it take us to realize the same thing? 

In the days immediately following Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, his followers' emotions were primarily those of confusion and consternation.  While we know the full story, they were living these events in real time.  Jesus had foretold his passion and death but none of those who heard him really understood. It is likely that they didn't truly understand until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon them.

There is one odd but important detail in the Gospel.  After greeting His astonished disciples Jesus ate a piece of fish in front of them.  He did so for a specific reason.  Jesus ate the fish to prove that He had indeed risen bodily from the dead. He ate a bit of solid food to demonstrate to their uncertain hearts and confused minds that He was not a ghost, that He was not a spirit, that He was not a phantom or an hallucination.  He said,  “Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.”  And then He requested something to eat to prove it to them and assuage their doubts. 

Only corporal beings need to eat.  Only physical beings are able to eat.  By eating a piece of fish in front of them Jesus gave proof to the prophecy, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.. .”

It was not a ghost standing in front of them. It was Jesus, risen from the dead. 

We have something in common with those disciples. Whenever we gather at the altar Jesus is as truly and substantially present to us as He was to His disciples in that room.  Thus we too look can look upon the true and risen Christ and exclaim with the shocked Thomas: “My Lord and my God.”

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Spring is coming and the flowers are being planted on the BC campus.  These are some shots from last year. 

 

 Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

 

 

 

Divine Mercy Sunday (2nd Sunday of Easter)

 

Acts 2:42-47

Ps 118:2-3, 13-15, 22-24

1 Pt 1:3-9

Jn 20:19-31

 

Seven years ago I was in Slovenia for Divine Mercy Sunday.  It is a major celebration there. The church was packed for three hours during which there was adoration, rosary,

Mass with a homily by the Archbishop of LJ, ending with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament.  Had I spoken Slovenian I’d probably still be sitting in a confessional.  The lines were huge.  My job was to take photos. By the time the day was over I’d taken some 700 and walked 3 ½ miles in the huge church.

 

It is fascinating that the writings of Faustina Kowalska, a poorly educated visionary religious sister, writings which were suppressed for a number of years, became a worldwide devotion. That devotion resulted in fellow Pole St. John Paul II designating the second Sunday of Easter as  Divine Mercy Sunday at her canonization, on May 5, 2000, a mere 62 years after her death.  

 

Saint Thomas Aquinas defined mercy as "the compassion in our hearts for another person's misery, a compassion which drives us to do what we can to help him" John Paul II defined mercy in his 1981 encyclical Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy,) in which he wrote:  "Mercy is love's second name" and mercy is "the greatest attribute of God."  Divine Mercy is the form that God's eternal love takes when He reaches out to us in the midst of our need and our brokenness, always ready to pour out His merciful

and compassionate love for us

to help in time of need.

Over the next weeks we will hear of the beginnings of the Church, particularly from Acts.

And we will hear a great deal from the Gospel of John.  It is important to remember that

neither John’s Gospel nor the synoptic gospels are, or were meant to be, albums with verbal snapshots of detailed scenes from Jesus' life.   The gospels are not a log book

that trace Jesus' daily movements or a diary of Jesus’ day-to-day thoughts. They are not history in the modern sense of the word. Any attempt to read them through the lens of modern historical conventions is doomed to failure and perhaps high comedy. 

 

We can never interpret the gospels in the light of the modern concepts of history, journalism, and science without frustration and faithlessness. Nor can we interpret or rewrite them through the lenses of modern ‘isms’ and ‘ists,  especially the modern isms and ists. The less said about novels such as The da Vinci Code the better. 

 

The last sentences of today’s Gospel puts things into perspective:  “Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.  But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that through this belief you may have life in His name.”

 

The Gospel proclaims one, and only one, essential truth, that Jesus of Nazareth,

of whom it speaks, is the Lord.  Thus, the fullness of Easter joy is contained in Thomas’ faith-filled, startled, and ultimately joyous proclamation:  "My Lord and My God." 

 

It is why we too can gaze upon the True Body and Blood of Christ at the consecration in a few minutes and say with Thomas and all the Church, “My Lord and My God.”  

 

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 The photos are from Divine Mercy Sunday in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2017. 

 

 

The congregation shot from under and behind the altar.

The rosary being recited

Mass

The image of Divine Mercy with the candles placed by the congregants

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

 

 

I have not abandoned posting homilies.  However, a bout of covid complicated by pneumonia and dehydration resulted in a six-day hospitalization, half of it in-patient and half in a program called "hospital at home" that was visiting nursing ramped up.  The fatigue afterwards was a real problem.  I did not celebrate Mass for a while.  Am now back to the regular schedule.  Am not posting for today because I am a monastery to which an archbishop made an unexpected visit and chose to celebrate all the liturgies.  I will be celebrating tomorrow AM before heading back to Boston. 

 

There is one concern.  As posted by me on Facebook: 

One must admit that the White House has sunk to a new low of ineptness and reached a new high in humor in one fell swoop, a move deserving of grudging admiration if for no other reason than its efficiency.  In declaring today, Easter  Sunday as “trans visibility day” it committed gross sacrilege.  Excommunication for the main occupant down on Pennsylvania Avenue should be a consideration. 

 

On the other hand, the White House has singlehandedly expanded April Fool’s Day into a two-day celebration.  Again, one must grudgingly admire the efficiency of one declaration having  two opposite effects.

 

Overall, however, the U.S. Government has reached a  new low.  There is no thing in the 250k photos on my computer to express my contempt.

The Time is Close: Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent

 

Jer 31:31-34

Ps 51

Heb 5:7-9

Jn 12:20-33

 

We are rapidly moving toward the singular event in Jesus’ life  and the sole reason for Jesus incarnation and birth, a birth we celebrated three months ago.  Next Sunday we will hear the chilling introduction:  “The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.”  Throughout the rest of Holy Week we will recall the most important event in the history of the world.  The Church will commemorate the institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday.  On Good Friday there will be another proclamation of Our Lord’s Passion, this time according to St. John. Then will follow the long peculiar emptiness of Holy Saturday that will end with the ecstatic joy of the Easter Vigil. 

 

The covenant God formed with His people was not and is not a pact between equals.  It was not, is not, and never will be a democracy.  God decided in freedom to grant His allegiance to Israel.  He dictated His conditions.  We are free to accept or reject those conditions.  We are not free to negotiate them or revise them to suit our taste, socio-political whims, or most recent trends.

 

God chose Israel without any merit on her part.  Similarly, God has chosen us. Like Ancient Israel we are sinners.  Like the Ancient Israelites we are sinners loved by God.  God has given His love freely.  We can only respond with a love

that translates into obedience to the conditions of that covenant.  We heard the how of that obedience in today’s Gospel.

 

Jeremiah prophesied that the covenant would be reestablished.  The covenant had to be reestablished because the Israelites, by worshiping foreign gods, had violated the old covenant in a manner resembling the betrayal of adultery within marriage.  Unlike the old covenant inscribed on stone the new covenant would be inscribed on the human heart. That new covenant will change the heart on which it is inscribed.   It will change it unless that heart chooses to reject the covenant and change itself into stone, scarred and pockmarked by sin.

 

The reading from Hebrews reminds us that Jesus, fully divine and fully human, was acquainted with the trials and sufferings of the human nature he shares with us.  Next Sunday we will recall Jesus’ fear.  Three times he prayed, “Abba . . . take this cup from me.”  And three times he offered his obedience, “But not what I will but what you will.”  

 

After his exaltation Jesus no longer knows weakness.  BUT, having experienced weakness, fear of death, fear of pain, and the sorrow of perceived abandonment

He knows our fear of death, dying, and abandonment, a fear that came true for too many during the bizarre pandemic precautions that ignored the needs of the dying thus, forcing them to die alone, bereft of any human contact,

and kept from the sacraments of confession and anointing of the sick. 

Those who instituted the hysterical, irrational, and immoral policies are deserving of condemnation. They have much to answer for.

 

 

Today’s gospel from Chapter 12 of John begins by noting it was six days until the Passover. The next chapter begins with the words, “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father . . . . “ Jesus gives final instructions to His followers.  He tells us the how of our obedience.  In the Revised Standard Version one hears: “If any one serves me he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him."

 

Confessing Jesus, believing in Him as Son of God, as Revealer of the Father, and Messiah is not an intellectual or mental exercise.  Faith in Jesus is not something to pull out when convenient or just for holidays. It is not something one can store on a shelf. Our actions must emerge from the Eucharist and all it demands.

 

In 1996 Fr. John McHugh, the Capuchin Franciscan chaplain at Dartmouth where I was teaching at the time, preached a challenging and squirm-inducing homily  regarding the necessary response to those suffering from poverty. On the way out of the chapel I overheard a young woman telling a classmate in response to Father's challenge, “I don’t want my religion to influence my political and economic decisions.”   The absurdity of that comment is right up there with, “I’m very spiritual . . . . but not at all religious.”  Those who claim to serve the Lord

must follow Him in the service of His Father. They do that by the totality of their obedience to the Father and in their love for one another. 

 

Jesus’ words: “where I am, there shall my servant be also” radically alter our understanding of death.  Prior to Jesus' act of obedience, death was a descent into Sheol, the dismal habitation of the dead.  Henceforth, the death of those who serve and follow the Lord is an ascent to the Father where the Son also is. 

 

Thus, we pray with the psalmist the great Miserere

 

"A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me. . . .
Give me back the joy of your salvation, 
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you."

 

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While traveling home from N'Djamena, Chad in August 2014, I stopped in Ireland for ten days in large part to attend the Croke Park Classic, an every two or three year American university football game.  Did not take camera to game, a very wise decision.  But wandered around the city.  

The Samuel Beckett  Bridge.  Spent several hours shooting it from both sides.

The prettiest tap line next to the Rockettes.

St. Peter's Green, very near the Leeson St Jesuit Community in which I stayed for ten days.

The city was bedecked by Penn State decor.  The Penn State fans outnumbered the UCF one by at least three to one if nor more.

The announcement of the game.

A pub somewhere between the Leeson St. Community and Croke Park.

Dusty Rose is NOT Pepto-Bismol Pink: Homily for Laetare Sunday

 

2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23

Ps 137 1-6

Eph 2:4-10

Jn 3:14-21

 

"Laetare Jerusalem:

et conventum facite omnes

qui diligitis eam."

 

"Rejoice, O Jerusalem;

and gather round,

all you who love her."

 

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally known as Laetare Sunday, with the name deriving from the first word of the entrance antiphon,  Laetare. “Rejoice.”

 

We mark Laetare Sunday visually by replacing the somber purple vestments with dusty rose. Note, dusty rose is absolutely NOT Pepto-Bismol or Barbie’s Dream House pink. There is a significant difference.  The dusty rose visually remind us

of a subtle lightening of mood, transient though it may be, now that the penitential time is more than half over.   That change of color is an important signifier of that brief respite that Jesuit Father Jim Schall described in one of his many essays.

 

"Laetare Sunday is traditionally called a respite.  It makes us begin to feel the nearness of the Passion and the Resurrection, but with a reminder that even amid the Lenten fast and the coming remembrance of the Crucifixion, we are not to forget that Christianity is a religion of joy."  He goes to explain that "Christianity is a religion of joy since it knows this world is not all there is; there is something precious beyond the world."  That precious something is apparent in today's readings and particularly in John's Gospel.

 

Commenting on the first reading, The Jewish Study Bible notes that "one of the hallmarks of the Book of Chronicles is its notion of divine providence and retribution . . . through which virtuous deeds lead to reward, and bad deeds bring punishment and suffering."  The book's uniqueness is its view of Divine compassion, that allows for repentance and forgiveness of sin. That compassion brings an eternal message of hope.  

 

No matter how often the Israelites violated the covenant forgiveness was available. God never forgot the covenant even when his people repeatedly did,

even when they chose to worship false pagan gods. We are blessed because

through  God's mercy we receive forgiveness for our sins in the sacrament of confession, as often as we wish to partake of it.  

 

The responsorial, Psalm 137, is fascinating.  It reflects the notion of retribution for sin found in Chronicles. It illustrates the importance of holding to God, recalling and living within the covenant God made with His people. It is also one of the few instances in all of scripture in which a physician can make an accurate diagnosis. 

 

"If I forget you O Jerusalem,

may my right hand wither,

may my tongue cleave

to the roof of my mouth

if I remember you not."

 

As punishment for forgetting the covenant, the psalmist is calling down upon himself the Ancient Near Eastern version of the old schoolyard oath, "If I am lying may God strike me dead."  He is calling down a specific punishment that even today many find worse than death. Should he sin by forgetting what God had done for his people, the psalmist is asking that he be punished by a stroke on the left side of his brain, the type of stroke that results in paralysis and atrophy of the right hand and arm, along with the garbled speech of expressive aphasia that does, in fact, sound as if the tongue is stuck to the roof of the mouth. It is important to note that God is not threatening this punishment.  The psalmist is calling it down upon himself for the sin of forgetting God and His covenant.

 

St. John Paul II of happy memory took words from Paul's Letter to the Ephesian for the title of his second encyclical Dives in Misericordia (Rich in Mercy), an encyclical in which he explored the mystery of redemption.  We read in section seven:  "mercy is an indispensable dimension of love; it is . . . love's second name, and, at the same time, the specific manner in which love is revealed and effected . . ."

 

We have been saved by grace and mercy.  John tells us as much in the gospel

where he wrote, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life."  This truth never loses its power to stun the believer into silence at the power of the cross while leaving the non-believer perplexed by the scandal of the same cross. 

 

It is critical to recall when contemplating these words that they do not even hint

that our bodies will not die. Rather, these words tell us that the power of death itself has been overthrown.  We will all die.  It cannot be otherwise.

 

Ideally that moment will occur at the natural end of our lives rather than through so-called physician prescribed death, a euphemism for putting down those who are ill. We will all die. But, death itself has lost its power over us and will never regain it. 

 

"Laetare Jerusalem:

et conventum facite omnes

qui diligitis eam."

 

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At this point in Lent of 2011 I was part of the Australian Tertianship.  We were making the Long Retreat at Sevenhill, South Australia, a 1000 acre winery near Clare, South Australia, that is best described as being in the middle of nowhere. 

 

 

Brother Vincent making his midday meditation. 

We knew where the key was for the church's choir loft.  Fortunately I had the camera with me the first time I went up.  The cross for the veneration liturgy on Good Friday was in place.  Took many many photos of this over a few days.

We had an unusual amount of rain.  I posted this in honor of the anniversary of the release of the movie version of "The Sound of Music" on 2 March 1965, fifty-nine years ago last week.

My familiar lament:  if only I had the equipment then that I have now.  Kangaroos are fast and difficult to get near.

The altar cross.  The stained glass was non-figurative and cast great light.

The altar at around the same time of the day.  The church was oriented directly east thus late afternoon (it was autumn in Australia) was a great time to capture the light. 

 

 

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

Zeal for the Father’s House: Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent

 

Ex 20:1-17

Ps 19

I Cor 1:22-25

Jn 2:13-25

 

The readings for today’s Mass are rich. Each could be the text for a long homily.  Each tells us about God. The God of Exodus is not a God of relativism, a God of accommodation, negotiation, or adaptation to social trends.

 

The Ten Commandments are short. They are to the point.  They prohibit Adultery.  Killing.  And Stealing, to name a few thou shalt nots. They demand love for God and one’s neighbor.  Thou shalt not kill does not exclude abortion

because it is QUOTE delivery of women’s health care UNQUOTE. 

 

“Honor thy father and mother" does make allowance for asking physician to prescribe death for mom or dad because their lives are perceived to have no meaning; or the inheritance is running out. 

 

While the prohibition against adultery should be self-evident, it doesn't take long

wading in the moral swamp of modern American life to get the idea that it is frequently ignored and accepted as a part of life. 

 

The second chapter of John‘s Gospel is 25 verses long and includes and one massive shift in scene.  In the space between the end of verse 12 and the beginning of today's reading with verse 13, we move from the wedding at Cana

to the Temple at Jerusalem.

 

The challenge of this gospel reading is that we are forced to confront our notions

of who Jesus is and, perhaps with greater difficulty, how Jesus acts.  This is not a warm and fuzzy scene.  For those for whom zeal for God’s house is a sometimes thing or depends current social fads, it is an uncomfortable confrontation.  Like the God of the Old testament, The Jesus of the gospels is not a Jesus of relativism, accommodation, negotiation, or a man who adapts to social trends, "Oh, c'mon Jesus, everybody is selling animals in the Temple these days." Or, "Keep your religion out of my life." Or, "My body, my self."   

 

The Jesus of the gospels is the Jesus who challenged political authorities. but he also challenged social trends: adultery, divorce and extortion.  The Jesus of the gospels called a spade a spade.  The Jesus of the gospels did not cave into secularist society.  The Jesus of the gospels would not tolerate the desecration of His Father’s house, unlike some idiot at St. Patrick’s a few weeks ago when a group of trannies, who are beneath contempt, desecrated it in the course of a so-called funeral.

 

The scene of Jesus overturning tables in the Temple and driving out the money changers with a whip, bothers some people.  They are bothered because Jesus is not gentle, or affirming, or negotiating. He is angry and acting on that anger.

It is unlikely that the Jesus of this gospel would sanction and bless immoral relationships, even if that blessing was given “spontaneously” whatever that might mean.

 

The late Jesuit Father Stanley Marrow, commented on this reading. “One puzzling aspect is how generation after generation can hear this account and persist in clinging to their cherished image of Jesus. . . an image of Jesus so “gentle and mild” as to be incapable of overthrowing anything, not even the reader’s smugness. . . . The Jesus in this or any other gospel is not a standard-bearer for bleeding hearts. The aim of the Gospel is not to provide us with the biography of an inspiring hero, proportioned to the size of our ambitions, conformed to our ideals, and meeting our notions of what constitutes greatness.”  Perhaps Stanley might have included he was not a standard bearer for political correctness.

 

Without zeal for God’s house the Church cannot exist.  Without zeal for God's house, we might as well simply stay in bed on Sunday and watch the shopping channel or reruns of Oprah. Only zeal for God's house, only time dedicated to prayer and contemplation on the gospel, will allow us to realize the fundamental truth given in the psalm.

 

“The law of the Lord is perfect,

refreshing the soul;

The decree of the Lord is trustworthy,

giving wisdom to the simple.

 

The precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart,

the command of the lord is clear,

enlightening the eye."

 

The Lord does, indeed, have the words to everlasting life. 

________________________________________________________

 

One of the fascinating aspects of photography is the relationship between light and shadow.  Without the shadow light means very little.  

 

Sunrise at Cohasset, MA

My lunch at a monastery in Slovenia.  The rose was icy cold, made on the grounds.  The bread is "borek" a stuffed bread that I ate whenever possible.

A still life at a monastery of nuns.

Votive lights at the Cathedral in Lyon, France.

 Fr. Jack, SJ, MD

We Adore Thee O Christ and We Bless Thee: Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent

 

Gen 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18

Rom 8:31b-34

Mk 9:2-10

 

We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee

Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

 

The first reading from Genesis described Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Unfortunately, the passage was edited and thus we hear a discontinuous reading. Thus the details of the journey to the place of sacrifice were omitted,  as was the image of Isaac carrying the wood for his sacrifice. We are left with two things: Abraham's obedience and the confirmation of God's promise that he would be the father of a great nation.

 

This is a rich narrative.  It should not be abbreviated. The parallels between Isaac carrying the wood on which he was to be sacrificed and Jesus carrying the wood on which He was crucified are obvious. If they are proclaimed in the first place. Isaac's confusion was mirrored by Jesus' confusion in Gethsemane. 

 

To those with a Freudian mindset or those hostile to faith, the narrative is disturbing.   God orders a man to sacrifice his only son.  The man prepares to carry out the sacrifice without question. 

 

Many people whine, whimper, and emote about this narrative along the lines of "I could never believe in a God who could be so cruel, sadistic, irrational, or . . . ."(fill in the blank with a favorite pejorative).  There is no sadism here. There is no cruelty in the narrative. There is only faith.

 

The Jewish Study Bible describes this as Abraham's greatest test, and as "A magnificent story, that is one of the gems of biblical narrative."  It also notes a translation problem. "There is no good English equivalent for the Hebrew 'hineni' that is translated as 'Here I am.'  Hineni indicates readiness, alertness, attentiveness, receptivity, and responsiveness to instructions."  It indicates unquestioning obedience to the will of God. 

 

In the reading from Paul's Letter to the Romans we heard that, God "did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all."  God asked Abraham to give him all, to give him everything, to give him his only son, to give him his future, and the existence of a people yet to come into existence. 

 

Once Abraham demonstrated his obedience God returned everything to him.  Because of Jesus' obedience everything was returned to us.

 

One of the first prayers a Jesuit novice learns is the Suscipe of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It begins,

 

"Take Lord, and receive,

all my liberty, my memory, my understanding,

my entire will,

all I have and call my own." 

 

Take all.  Not that which I am willing to give, not that which is left over, not that which is easy. Take all.  That is what Abraham was willing to give. That is what God the Father gave us.  All.

 

The narrative of Jesus' Transfiguration both points us towards and draws us into

a mystery that is beyond historical reconstruction, scientific explanation, or geographic specificity.  None of these factors matter.  When, how, and where are unnecessary distractions.  It is sufficient to know that Jesus was transfigured in front of three of the apostles. 

 

Imagine the scene. Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets standing with Jesus.  Place yourself in that scene.  Where are you standing?  What do you see?  What do you feel? What are you thinking?  How are you acting? The apostles were confused and frightened.  As he became more anxious Peter began to speak without thinking what he was saying.  Despite today's vogue for apostle bashing none of us would have acted any better.  Most likely, we would have acted worse and pulled out an Ancient Near East smart phone,

snapped pictures, texted them to the rest of the apostles, and tried to get a selfie with Moses.

 

As the tension increased the voice of God the Father declared, "This is my beloved Son."  This is the beloved Son who was like us in all things but sin. This is the beloved Son who took on the human condition to redeem us from our sins and save us from death. This is the beloved Son, God incarnate, who, like Isaac, carried the wood for the sacrifice on his own back.

 

This is the beloved son, who, like Abraham, acted in perfect obedience to the will of the Father.  Then, the apostles, and by extension, each one of us, received a mission from the Father: "Listen to him." 

 

Listen to his teaching, the teaching of His words and the teaching of His actions.  As we listen to Jesus words and imitate his actions, as we take His teaching to heart, and allow that teaching to transform us, we move that much closer to experiencing the glory of His Transfiguration in our own lives.

 

We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee

Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

 

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Almost fully recovered from the adventure with covid.  A bit of fatigue and a degree of cough which is baseline for me for other reasons.  Will give the homily at Mass tomorrow AM at 8. 

 

The photos are from the Church of St. Cyril and Methodius, the Serbian Orthodox Church in Ljuljana.  It was not large but absolutely exquisite.  

Fr. Jack, SJ, MD