Jesus Is Always Your Friend

6th Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Victor Feltes

At the Last Supper, Jesus told his apostles, “I have called you friends…” He calls them friends and he does not lie; what Jesus speaks is true. And then he tells them, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” But what if we, or they, do not do what Christ commands? Does the Lord remain a friend towards us even when we are not being a friend towards him?

It appears Judas Iscariot was not at the table with the other apostles when Jesus spoke those words. Sometime after Jesus had kneeled down and washed their feet, Judas went out into the night to arrange for his betrayal. The passages we hear at Mass from St. John’s Gospel today are set two chapters after that. Jesus foresaw that Judas would freely choose to betray him, and God would go on to work great good from that betrayal, but these facts make the grave sin of Judas no less wrong. Later that night, in the dim light of the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas singled-out his rabbi for the arresting soldiers through a greeting and a kiss. Revealingly, St. Matthew records Jesus’ reply to Judas: “Friend, do what you have come for.” Even as Judas was betraying him, Jesus calls him “Friend.”

Jesus declares “no one has greater love than this, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” And that is what Jesus did for us and the whole world. St. Paul writes in his Letter to the Romans how this proves the Lord’s love for us: “Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” St. John agrees in our second reading that “in this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”

Like the Good Samaritan towards the robbers’ victim, Jesus Christ loved us before we had done anything to merit his love. But one might ask, “Does his love for us remain the same now?” Yes, for the Letter to the Hebrews says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” If we wander, he is like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son waiting and longing for our return. Like a mother hen, he yearns to gather us together under wing. And whenever our Good Shepherd can carry home one lost sheep to his fold, he rejoices greatly with all of Heaven. In light of this divine love for us, how should we respond?

Jesus told his disciples to “remain in my love. … If you love me, you will keep my commandments. … If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love…” So first, we must to recognize and receive the incredible love he always has for us. Then, remaining in that love, we love him in return. This mutual love inspires how we act towards him and other people. And through living this beautiful way of life we remain in his love. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Jesus teaches the greatest commandments are for us to love God with our whole selves and love our neighbors as ourselves. “This I command you: love one another. … As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

The Church Father St. Jerome records how when St. John the Evangelist lived at Ephesus that apostle became unable to walk due to extreme old age. His disciples carried him in their arms with difficulty into the church. He could not muster the breath to preach many words. He would simply say to the congregation, week after week, “Little children, love one another.” Over time, his hearers became annoyed from hearing the same message over and over. They asked, “Master, why do you always repeat the same exhortation?” John answered, “Because it is the Lord’s command, and if this be done all is done.” As St. John wrote his New Testament letter: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God [and] God is love.”

Jesus Christ is always a loving friend toward you, so be his faithfully loving friend in return, and a true friend toward all others, willing their greatest good.

Remain In My Love

6th Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Since Easter, we have been reading and reflecting on the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus and the apostles’ proclamation of the Gospel. Last Sunday we heard how the apostle Barnabas spoke on behalf of Paul and encouraged the other disciples to accept Paul’s conversion as genuine and welcome him into their community despite his past reputation. (Acts 11:19-26)

In the first reading today, St. Peter teaches us that God shows no partiality in His love. God loves everyone, both the Jews and the Gentiles. He wants everyone to be saved through His son Jesus. When Peter preached, the Roman army officer, a devout and kind man named Cornelius was the first non–Jew to become a believer in Jesus. According to Acts of the Apostles, Cornelius who was at prayer at about mid-afternoon had a vision. The Angel said to him that God was very pleased with all his prayers and kindness to the poor, (10:4) for his faithfulness God revealed His salvation to him.

At the same time, Peter had a vision, with various creatures in it. A voice from heaven told Peter to get up and eat. But Peter refused because his religious beliefs told him some of the animals were unclean. (10:14) The voice said to him not to call anything unclean that God has made clean. (11:15) While Peter was pondering over what he had seen, Cornelius arrived at his home. The Spirit encouraged Peter to go with the visitors to see Cornelius. Whatever the vision meant, Peter believed that God had a purpose; he understood God was removing barriers that were previously set in stone by his culture and religion. Through the conversion of Cornelius, the church began to embrace people from every nation and race. God used Cornelius, his family, and his friends to break down the barrier between them and the Gentles. The change did not come from a human plan but from God’s will and guidance.

The joy of the disciples, however, will be complete only if they love one another as Christ has loved them and if they continue to circulate to each other the love of Jesus that they have received. The love of Jesus for his disciples is the love of a friend. Friendship is mutual and manifests in love. Jesus manifests his love by laying down his life for his disciples. He wants us also to love each other as friends, willing to lay down our lives for each other. This is the Church—the community of Jesus’ friends. Our love must not be mere words or thoughts. When Mother Theresa of Calcutta was asked by journalists: ‘How can we solve the world’s problems?’ Her reply was simple: ‘Go home and love one another.’

We need to cultivate an abiding and loving friendship with Jesus. We need to express this love in our relationships with others by loving them and offering them trust, faithfulness, equality, forgiveness, joy, and sacrifice. We need to be persons for others: Jesus demonstrated the love of God, his Father, for us by living for us and dying for us. As Jesus’ disciples, we are to be persons for others, sacrificing our time, talents, and lives for others. The most effective way of communicating God’s love to others is by treating everyone as a friend.

Who are the Jews?

By Fr. Victor Feltes

“What’s a Jew,” I asked my dad as a boy. “Where did you hear that,” he countered. I had seen a TV news report about Palestinians in a street slinging rocks at Israeli soldiers. I recalled this memory recently when two parishioners called to ask the same question I once had. So who are the Jews?

We read in the Old Testament about God making covenants with Abraham and his descendants. God changed the name of Abraham’s grandson Jacob to Israel and from his sons come “The Twelve Tribes of Israel.” God used Moses to lead these tribes from Egypt into the land which is now the country of Israel. From one of those twelve tribes, Judah, the Jewish religion (Judaism) and Jewish people (Jews) have their names.

Jesus, Mary his mother, his apostles, and his earliest followers were Jewish. Many Jews believed Jesus was their long-awaited “Anointed One” or Christ. Other Jews, however, rejected him. The Jewish leaders conspired and pushed the Romans to crucify him, yet Jesus died due to the sins of all mankind. After his resurrection, the Jews and non-Jews with faith in Jesus Christ came to be called “Christians.”

In our day, a person could be Jewish in two ways: religiously Jewish, Jewish by descent, or both. Someone now identifying as religiously Jewish believes in the Old Testament and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but does not believe that Jesus was the Christ, God’s eternally-begotten Son, or that he rose again from the dead. Religious Jews are usually of the Jewish race as well, since Judaism draws few converts. On the other hand, a person may be racially Jewish and not practice Judaism. This is how it is possible for someone to be, for example, a Jewish atheist or a Jewish Christian.

All peoples are called to the New Covenant in Christ and his Church. St. Peter preached Jesus as Christ and Lord and risen from the dead to the Jews at Pentecost: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…” The Vatican II document on non-Christian religions, Nostra Aetate, notes, “Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation, nor did the Jews in large number accept the Gospel… Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers…” If the world seems to bear irrational hatred towards Jews, Catholics, and other Christians, perhaps this is because we are God’s people in special ways.

The Fruitful Trials of St. Paul

Fifth Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Imagine if Osama bin Laden, after masterminding terrorist attacks, had repented and begun proclaiming Jesus Christ and the Gospel? Christians might understandably still be afraid of him and wary of his claimed Christian conversion. In the first century, prior to his famous conversion, St. Paul had intensely persecuted God’s Church and tried to destroy it. At the stoning of St. Stephen the Martyr he had guarded the cloaks of the murderers. Before encountering Christ on the way to Damascus, he was “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” He had sought and obtained letters from the high priest empowering him to arrest any Christians he found in that city and take them back to Jerusalem as prisoners. So after his conversion, when “he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, [but] they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.”

Yet it was all real and true. The amazing conversion of St. Paul, that fierce enemy of the early Church, is an authentic miracle in real history which has borne true fruit in Christ. St. Paul founded and fostered early Christian communities, wrote more books of the Bible than any other man, and had a hand in saving many souls. He also discovered good fruits for himself, including Christian peace and joy. St. Paul told the Philippians he had exchanged everything from before as if it were mere rubbish for “the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Such are fruits of a life in Christ.

Jesus tells his disciples in today’s gospel, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” He says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit…” Notice how Jesus says God prunes those who are in him. Pruning clips off of a vine branch certain shoots or leaves in order to help the branch to be healthy and grow and produce more and better fruit. If vine branches were conscious, self-aware like us, how would this pruning feel? Painful, I imagine. Even if a branch loved producing fruit and wished to produce much more, how would a vine branch feel about such pruning if it did not understand this pruning’s purpose? There is a danger for a Christian who expects only comforts in this life and is surprised by the coming of any trials.

Consider the life of St. Paul. He suffered and endured many trials. Five times he received thirty-nine lashes from Jewish foes, three times he was beaten with rods, one time he was stoned, three times he survived shipwrecks, and ultimately he was beheaded by the Romans. St. Paul was not always liked, even by fellow Christians. It appears some Christians at Corinth said things like, “His letters are severe and forceful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is contemptible.” St. Paul’s letters reflect that the first Christian communities were far from perfect and they gave him many stressful problems to deal with. He writes of having beautiful mystical experiences but also of a “thorn” in his flesh and physical illness. St. Paul’s life was not always comfortable. However, he wrote to the Philippians, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

When St. Paul, now amongst the saints and angels in heaven, looks back on all his troubles and beholds all their good fruits, does he believe that it was worth it? Of course he does. And he cheers us on alongside that “great cloud of witnesses,” prayerfully interceding for us to “persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.” In both good times and in bad, Jesus counsels us to remain in him. “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit… By this is my Father glorified…” And in this will be our glory too.

Abide in Me & I in You

5th Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

Today we are invited to remain in Christ as branches on a vine. We do this by recognizing that God is at work in everyone and by striving to keep His commands and to do what is pleasing to God. The Christian life sounds easy and yet is a challenge for us all.

In the First Reading of today, we heard how Paul and the disciples of Jesus were trying to bear much fruit. When Paul arrived in Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples, the disciples avoided him with great fear. They knew that he had a reputation for persecuting the Christians. They were unable to believe that Paul was now one of them. Barnabas came forward and took Paul to the apostles. On behalf of Paul, he explained to the apostles how Jesus had spoken to Paul on the way to Damascus. Now Barnabas testified his spiritual joy by sharing with the others the Divine intervention of Jesus in the life of Paul. We all know what a difference Paul made to the Church. Jesus pruned St. Paul, and he bore many fruits.

In today’s gospel, Jesus uses the familiar image of the vine and the branches to teach us lessons about our Christian life. First, the image reminds us that God is the real owner of everything that we have. He is the vine grower. He does to us what is good and right. We belong fully to God. We should not allow our selfishness and pride to make us think that we have absolute control over our lives. Rather, we always have to be open to God’s action, confident that he knows fully what is good for us.

He is the vine and we are the branches. A branch cut off from the vine will wither and die. So it is with our life as disciples. We live fully and become fruitful only by remaining in Christ. In the gospel of John, the word “abide” appears several times: “Abiding in God,” “abiding in Christ,” and “abiding in his Word.” We need to abide in Christ because apart from him, we can do nothing.

The image tells us that to stay healthy and fruitful we need pruning. Vine growers know that the act of pruning is good for the branch. If the branch is not pruned for a long time, it becomes wild and produces no good grapes. Sometimes in our lives, God intervenes with the cross to challenge us and make us grow. To take away our pride, sometimes God allows us to fail to make us grow stronger in faith.

We are called to remain in Jesus, to be in communion with him. We are also to be pruned; what is useless in our lives is to be cut off. Our pruning is our self-denial and purification. We have to be open to pruning so that we can be healthy and fruitful for the Lord.

Like Paul, we believe in the name of Jesus Christ, God lives in us, and we live in him. We become branches of the true vine, Jesus Christ. Then with the psalmist, we can confidently sing: “You, Lord, I praise in the great assembly.” Alleluia!

Good Shepherd

4th Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

Many leaders work for money and without any concern for people. Some of them take advantage of people for their selfish motives. But not Jesus. He has shown us the kind of leadership everyone needs to follow. First, He knew His followers by heart. Then He served them, taught them, and trained them. He didn’t run away from them even when His own life was in danger.

“I am the good shepherd.” Jesus goes on to describe what a good shepherd does: He lays down his life for his sheep. He knows his sheep by name and his sheep know him. They are not just numbers or faceless beings; they are deeply known and cared for. This teaches us about the value of individual attention and recognition. There is a close relationship between masters and their animals. They speak or give signs to the animals and the animals understand and follow instructions. The masters keep watch over the animals and do everything they can to protect their animals from any kind of danger.

Jesus is our shepherd and laid down his life to save us. He speaks to us through the Scripture. In John 10:5 and 27, Jesus says, “They will never follow a stranger; in fact, they run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” In Jesus’ voice are words of peace, love, faith, healing, unity, mercy, justice, truth, repentance, holiness, and eternal life. The good shepherd loves his sheep and makes sacrifices. Jesus says that other sheep do not belong to His fold. These people He must lead too. It does not matter if they reject Him again and again. One day, they too will know Jesus as their good shepherd.

As we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, let us ask the Lord that we may be his good sheep, listening attentively to his voice, and following his example of self-giving love. Jesus gives us the example of a good shepherd who shows his concern and care for his sheep. Here we have Jesus as our model who offered to sacrifice his life for his chosen ones. He is the one who goes after the lost sheep leaving the ninety-nine to bring it back to the fold.

Today, let’s pray for our spiritual shepherds: the pope, the bishops, the priests, and the religious. We pray for our first shepherds, our parents, and our second shepherds, our teachers. We pray for our political and economic shepherds. We pray for shepherds in various institutions and establishments. May they all be guided by the voice of the Good Shepherd. Jesus did not use his authority and Divine power to rule and control people, but to set them free. Let us approach Jesus with trusting Faith so that he may free us from evil.

He is our Good Shepherd

4th Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Today, St. John the Baptist’s Parish is celebrating First Communion. So, my homily for these six little ones is a little simpler and a little shorter, but still with big lessons for everyone. Jesus tells us in our gospel, “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me… and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep… These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.” Jesus is our good shepherd and we are the sheep of his flock. He calls us, he gathers us, and he rescues us to save us.

Jesus calls us.
Sheep hear their shepherd’s voice and follow him when he calls them. Jesus calls us to follow him. He says, “My sheep hear my voice… and they follow me,” and that “everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” If you love the truth and goodness, then you will love Jesus. But if you love lies and sin, then you will not follow him. Never lie, because lies belong to Satan and darkness. Always be honest, because Jesus is the truth and light. Love Jesus, his truth and his goodness, and every time he calls you will follow him. Jesus say, “If you love me, you will do what I command.”

Jesus gathers us.
A shepherd wants all of his sheep to be together in one group. When his sheep are together as one flock he can lead them throughout the countryside, guard them from any dangers, and feed them so that they can live. Jesus calls people to be members of his one Church from all around the world. In his Church, Jesus leads us through this world, guards us from evils, and feeds us with his Eucharist. The day of one’s First Communion is a very special day, but it is only the first of many such Communions. Jesus wants to gather us in his Church for Mass every single Sunday.

Jesus rescues us.
One of Jesus’ famous parables is about a shepherd who goes out into the hills or desert searching for a lost sheep. And when he finds that one lost sheep he joyfully places it on his shoulders and carries it home. Jesus wants to find and rescue everyone who is lost; every person who does not know him and everyone who has wandered off from him. He tells us there is great joy in heaven over any sinner who comes home though the Sacrament of Baptism or the Sacrament of Confession. It is not the will of the Lord that you would be lost. So if you are distant, come home.

Jesus Christ is our good shepherd who loves us. Unlike a hired man, whose sheep are not his own and who only works for pay, Jesus was willing to fight our enemy and lay down his life for us because he loves us. And Jesus loves us still, giving us his very self in this Holy Eucharist today.

Lord, Let Your Face Shine on Us

3rd Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

We have been reading and reflecting on the appearances of Jesus to his disciples, and the experiences of those disciples. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene who was weeping by the gravesite of Jesus. Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus. She mistook Jesus to be a gardener. Jesus opened her eyes to recognize him. The effect of the experience was that Jesus made her the first bearer of the good news of his resurrection.

Jesus appeared to the two men returning to their village called Emmaus. They did not recognize Jesus. They mistook him to be a stranger. Their eyes opened to recognize him at the breaking of bread. The effect of the experience was that Jesus empowered them to go back to Jerusalem to share the good news of his resurrection with the other disciples.

Today, we read that Jesus appeared to his disciples and they mistook him to be a ghost. He opened their eyes and sent them to be witnesses to the power of his resurrection. He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

Peter preached these words of Jesus as we see in the first reading. Peter said, “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” Peter who was fearful and denied Jesus three times became transformed by the power of the resurrection. He began to preach boldly to the Jews whom he feared.

Many people in the world do not know Jesus and do not experience him. Some see Jesus as a gardener; some as a stranger, and others as a ghost. They can only know him and experience him through us who are his followers. We are to share the good news of the transforming power of the resurrection to the world.

Jesus needs us as witnesses to continue his mission. Jesus needs Spirit-filled followers to be his eyes, ears, hands, and feet, to bear witness to his love, mercy, and forgiveness through our interactions with our brothers and sisters.

We must daily invite Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help us, especially when we read the scriptures. Therefore, let us pray with the psalmist today: “Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord.” The light of His face will illuminate and cast away the shadows of ignorance from our minds, increase our faith, and finally, make us firm witnesses to the resurrected Christ.

Fruits of Faithfulness — Funeral Homily for Beatrice “Bea” Seibel, 91

By Fr. Victor Feltes

Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount by describing to his followers what makes a person truly happy or blessed. What do the blessings promised to those who follow Jesus look like? They are promised the Kingdom of heaven, the reign of God. When we allow the Lord to be our King we can be comforted with peace this world cannot give. Our hunger and thirst can be satisfied, because Jesus gives us our daily bread of meaning and hope. We can be shown mercy, mercy we all need because of our many sins, the divine mercy which is our doorway to go forth and sin no more. We see God whenever we open our eyes to Jesus. In Christ, we become children of God the Father. And when your Father is the king, you receive every good gift upon his earth with gratitude, and you will inherit everything he has as yours in the life to come. When yours is the Kingdom of heaven, you experience life in this imperfect world differently – with an assurance of goodness’s future victory and of goodness’s great reward hereafter. These fruits do not grow naturally, they come from faith in Christ.

Bea and her husband Robert had nine children; six girls, two boys, and one child they lost. Remarkably, her children have nothing negative to say about her (apart from a less than stellar singing voice). They did not grow up wealthy on their farm, they almost never vacationed and for awhile they had an outhouse and showered in the milk house, but they never felt deprived. Now her children look back and ask each other, “Can you imagine having just one brother or one sister?” “No,” they agree, “[That would be] boring!” Beatrice has been close to all her grandchildren and they respect her. They see how Bea loves and how her family loves her, causing one granddaughter to say, “After seeing all this, I want five kids.” It has been asked about Bea, “How can one little lady bring so much warmth?” The answer is the same as how St. Peter proclaims Christ after the Resurrection: “He went about doing good… for God was with him.”

Her children describe Bea as faith-driven. Our Catholic Faith formed her and sustained her. They saw her pray at her bedside, begin mornings with her prayer book, and pray before every meal. She led them to Mass every weekend, helped them receive Christ’s sacraments, and formed them all through St. Paul’s Catholic school. She never skipped encountering Christ at Holy Mass, and would watch on TV when she could not attend. She loved lighting vigil candles at church in response to the joys and trials of others. When she could not light these visible expressions of prayer herself she would ask that candles to be lit at church ‘for this, and this, and this.’ Near the end, she would say, “Light a candle for me.” When I visited to give Bea the Last Rites in her final days, she was no longer speaking much, but she knew what was happening and felt consoled by the sacrament and her loved ones, and we heard her join in the Litany of the Saints being invoked for her. A beautiful Christian life culminating in a beautiful death with hope in the life to come. I encourage you to pray for her, but more importantly, I urge you to emulate these Bea attitudes. Beautiful fruits like hers do not grow everywhere, they come from a living faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Glorious Moment

3rd Sunday of Easter
Fr. Victor Feltes

Boys and girls, I want to tell you about an adventure I went on last week. I took a short trip to see the solar eclipse on Monday in Indiana. (An eclipse is a very rare event where the Moon gets in front of the Sun in just the right way that, for a few minutes in particular places, the Moon blocks out the Sun’s light.) My friends and I had looked forward to that day for seven years, ever since 2017 when we traveled to see the total eclipse in Missouri. Widespread clouds had been forecasted for Monday, but the skies were providentially clear for millions of eclipse-watchers from Texas to Ohio.

The Moon began covering the Sun over the course of an hour. At first, to the naked eye, you couldn’t notice anything had changed, but the sunlight slowly became like an overcast day. (Remember kids, do not stare at the Sun because that can permanently damage your eyes.) In the final moments before the full eclipse, it was like seeing the world’s dimmer switch being turned down. Then, the Moon totally covered the blinding light of the Sun. You could see the Sun’s corona resembling white wisps of motionless smoke. Jupiter and Venus were visible in the darkened sky, while every horizon around us looked like twilight. All the birds were quiet. After three minutes, the Sun began to reemerge and several seconds later, its light became too bright again for us to look at without our special, filtered safety glasses. Imagine if colorful sunsets only occurred on Earth at particular places on a handful of dates each decade. Seeing the total eclipse was as special as that.

Besides its beauty, a wondrous thing about a total eclipse is our ability to predict them. The orbits of the Earth and Moon around the Sun are well-known, such that we can calculate with high accuracy, years in advance, when and where eclipses will occur. For instance, unless the second coming of Christ occurs first, the United States’ next total eclipses will be in 20 and 21 years. (You children will be grown up by then.) And 75 years from now, a total eclipse is forecast over Bloomer, Wisconsin, on September 14, 2099 at 10:45 AM, lasting four minutes. (So far, I have nothing else scheduled on my calendar for that day, but we’ll see.)

Another wondrous thing about total eclipses is that they are even possible. The Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun. The Moon it is also about 400 times closer to us than the Sun. For this reason, our Moon and Sun appear the same size in our sky and one can closely cover the light of the other. Scientists have not identified any reason why their relative sizes and distances would have to be this way, but if their ratios were just a bit different then the stunningly beautiful eclipses we have would never occur; the Moon would cover either too much or not enough of the Sun. Countless things about our universe are fine-tuned in this way.

The physical laws of the universe fit together so providentially to allow and sustain living and interesting and beautiful things that some want to imagine there’s an infinite number of universes to explain away this fact. St. Paul wrote to the Romans about people who deny our Creator, “Ever since the creation of the world, [God’s] invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse; for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened.” Our lives are not an accident. We are willed by God. Heaven and earth are full of God’s glory. We and our world are wonderfully made.

The coming of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, and the resurrection of Christ we heard about it today’s gospel reading are like a total eclipse; beautiful, awesome, and stunning; happening in real history at a particular place at a particular time; and “announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets.” These things draw the attention of millions, though many disregarded them. God was like the Sun, our source of life, yet too hot, too blinding, and too far away to approach. Jesus Christ is like a solar eclipse. Like the Sun and Moon during a solar eclipse he is God and man united, allowing us to see God’s glory. Jesus Christ performs a similar wonder today for you. Behind the appearances of bread you can gaze upon his very self. Jesus has chosen this day, this place, this glorious moment to give you his Most Holy Eucharist, this most precious gift of himself.

Peace Be With You

Divine Mercy Sunday
By Fr. Chinnappan Pelavendran

On Good Friday, Jesus suffered and died for our sins. His trusted disciples abandoned him. Judas sold him for thirty pieces of silver. Peter denied him three times. The rest of the disciples went into hiding themselves except John. When Jesus needed their help, they failed him. One reason for this must be fear of the Jews and their peace was completely disturbed. After the resurrection of Jesus, they were afraid to face Jesus because of what they had done to him. They thought he would surely condemn them for their infidelity. Now, Jesus appeared to them for the first time. He stood in their midst and the first words he uttered were “Peace be with you!”

The resurrection of Jesus changed everything. It was a new experience for the disciples, even though Jesus constantly preached and explained about his rising from the dead, they were unable to understand it. Today’s gospel helps us to move from fear to joy, seclusion to mission, absence to presence, disbelief to faith, and mere existence to new life. Just look at how Thomas changed. Before he met Jesus, he was depressed, absent from the group of apostles, and disbelieving: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) after His resurrection, Jesus offered Thomas the proof he needed. Thomas was amazed, and he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28) In that moment, Thomas’s doubt turned to faith.

During his apparition to the disciples, Jesus gave the mission; telling them that just as the Father had sent him, he was sending them to continue the mission that was given to Jesus by his Father. He was commissioning the Church through His disciples to continue the work of salvation. They are called upon to live like Jesus and draw others to share their personal experience of knowing and loving Jesus and being loved by him. Now they have a mission to spread the love of Jesus, to form a community, and celebrate the Eucharist.

Jesus’ mission to his disciples was to restore their peace. He said to them Peace be with you, do not be afraid. In the same way, Jesus says to all of us this Sunday, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid,” because I have truly risen. Therefore, this is one message that we must bring to our world as we witness the risen Christ this season. This is because our world lacks peace and needs the peace that comes from Christ. This is very important in a world where all we hear every day is about wars, bombing, hatred, accidents, shooting, fighting, killing, broken relationships, and fractured families. We must accept and bring the peace of the risen Christ to our families, to our neighbors, to our communities, and our world.

On the second Sunday of Easter, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Let us celebrate the mercy of God. Like the disciples of Jesus, we, too, have been unfaithful to Him. We have turned our backs on Him and have failed Him so many times. However, Jesus does not condemn us, nor is He angry with us. It is because He is the God of mercy. Mercy is the word for generous love towards sinners.

Encounter Christ’s Divine Mercy

Divine Mercy Sunday
By Fr. Victor Feltes

On Easter Sunday evening, all of the apostles (besides Judas and Thomas) were gathered behind locked doors in the Upper Room. Yet the Risen Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” St. Luke records that they “were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost.” So to reassure them, Jesus asked, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And Jesus showed them the enduring wounds in his hands and feet and side.

Jesus’ first order of business on Easter Sunday was to demonstrate to his disciples the fact of his bodily resurrection, and “the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus” for the rest of their lives. So either Jesus Christ rose again from the dead in his flesh or all the apostles lied; but who would ever die for what one knows to be a lie? They were amazed and overjoyed, and Jesus said again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Second to establishing the fact of his resurrection, of next importance was commissioning the apostles to spread Divine Mercy and giving them the authority to forgive sins.

Some people imagine that they themselves never commit sins. However, without great devotion, that is extremely unlikely. In his first New Testament letter, St. John taught that “if we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Some Christians acknowledge their sins yet never come to confession and merely pray to God. Contritely praying to God is good, but if this were all the Lord desired for the forgiveness of your post-baptismal sins, then why did he give his Church’s priests the power to forgive sins? To do other than what he has ordained is presumptuous. Please do not be afraid to approach and receive this healing gift of mercy.

Since the year 2000, during the papacy of St. John Paul the Great, this 2nd Sunday of Easter has been celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday. This is one fruit of private revelations (judged by the Church as being “worthy of belief“) to a Polish religious sister in the 1930s. Jesus told St. Faustina Kowalska, “When you go to confession, to this fountain of mercy, the blood and water which came forth from my heart always flows down upon your soul. … Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. … Come with faith to the feet of my representative. … I myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest… I myself act in your soul. … Make your confession before me. The person of the priest is, for me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to me, and I will fill it with my light.” Jesus declared, “The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God’s mercy!” … Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to my mercy.”

I know how much I regularly need and benefit from Confession and I hope that you will soon avail yourself of this sacrament soon. Please do not be presumptuous and do not be afraid. Promptly approach this great and holy sacrament of Divine Mercy. and Christ’s peace will be with you.

Encountering Our Risen Lord

Easter Sunday
Fr. Victor Feltes

This gospel reading is a curious one to proclaim on Easter Sunday. It’s the one we read on Easter Sunday morning every year: John’s story of Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple at the empty tomb. Other gospel reports about Jesus’ resurrection have miracles and appearances of angels or of Christ himself. St. John’s Gospel recounts examples of these on Easter as well; for instance, after where our reading ends, Mary is greeted by Jesus and angels at the tomb, and Peter sees and touches the Risen Lord in the Upper Room. This morning’s gospel reading, however, does not find Jesus and sees no angels or miracles in progress. Mary Magdalene discovers Jesus’ body is missing and runs away distressed. She finds Peter and the Beloved Disciple (traditionally, the Apostle John) and the men run back to the tomb. Both of them go inside but only find burial cloths. They had not yet understood Jesus’ previous remarks nor the Old Testament passages which foretold “that [Christ] had to rise from the dead.” But, when the other disciple went inside the tomb after Peter, “he saw and believed.”

So what convinced him? Was it something about those burial cloths? Was it because the cloth which had covered Jesus’ head was “not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place” with a tender delicacy which a grave robber would not show? Was it because tomb raiders in the ancient world would typically steal fine burial linens and leave the body behind? Was it because a body-snatcher would not peel the dry-blood-caked shroud away from the body to carry away a naked corpse? Perhaps the cloths looked deflated, as though Jesus’ body had vanished or passed through without disturbing them. Or maybe a miraculous image of Jesus’ body had been left behind upon the shroud. Whatever it was, the Beloved Disciple reasoned from what he saw to firm conviction. Was Peter convinced by seeing the same scene? Maybe not. Mary Magdalene was not consoled by her first glances at the tomb. It was later encounters, typically together with other friends of Jesus, which led Christ’s disciples to faith in him as the risen Lord.

Many people come to church on Easter Sunday morning. And this is a good thing. Our Lord is pleased that you are here. On the first Easter Sunday evening, when Jesus Christ appeared in the Upper Room even though he had died for their sins, even though they had previously deserted him, he said to all those gathered: “Peace be with you… Peace be with you.” Many people come to church on Easter Sunday morning. But typically, on the following Sunday, a fewer number attend. Jesus may touch your heart this morning, he may give new insight to your mind, you may “see and believe” in a new way. Or maybe you will encounter Jesus’ empty Easter tomb this morning and walk away unchanged. Remember that it was later encounters, typically together with other friends of Jesus, which led disciples to faith in him as the risen Lord.

Jesus desires a personal relationship with each one of us; a relationship which will bless, console, strengthen, and guide us. A life of daily prayer, weekly worship, and true devotion. Praying to God only when I need something is like talking to a friend only when I want something. If you have been away from Christ, he calling you to return, to draw nearer, so your personal relationship and conviction may deepen. Realize that if Jesus Christ had not been risen, nothing else in life would matter. But since Jesus Christ has been risen, nothing else in life matters as much as this.

Building Community

Easter Vigil
By Fr. Victor Feltes

A theme of Easter Sunday was Jesus Christ’s disciples being reunited. When some female disciples find the stone rolled away, an angel announces that Jesus has risen and instructs them to “go and tell his disciples and Peter…” Later, when Jesus himself appears to Mary Magdalene outside the empty tomb, he tells her to “go to my brothers and tell them…” The two disciples on the road to Emmaus would not have returned to Jerusalem if they had not encountered Jesus along the way. And all of the remaining apostles (except for Thomas) were together Easter Sunday evening when Jesus appeared in the Upper Room. Notice that for St. Thomas the Apostle coming to full faith in Christ and accomplishing his Christian calling involved him rejoining the other disciples and sharing in their community. Now Jesus did not need to employ messengers. Post-resurrection, he could have opted to appear to each of his disciples personally, individually. Mary Magdalene, Peter, and Paul each had private first-encounters with the risen Lord. Yet Jesus wants his friends to help share the good news about him with others and he prefers to reveal himself when they are gathered together.

June of last year, our church renovation pledge drive concluded. Since then, your contributions, generously fulfilling those pledges, have been flowing into the parish. This January, we signed the building contract to renovate our vestibule. And tonight we see that project substantially compete, though a few details remain to be finished. In just a nine-month span, St. Paul’s entryway has been transformed, under budget and sooner than we had imagined. I wish to thank God and St. Paul our patron, who helped all of this come together better than we could have planned. And I wish to thank you for your generosity, those of you who served on our committees and all who have contributed to our Inspired by the Spirit campaign. Based upon some back-of-the-envelope calculations I made this afternoon, with the capital campaign monies we have received and at the rate your campaign contributions have been coming in, I estimate we could have all the money needed for our next stage, the renovation of our nave—that is, the front portion of our church—about a year and a half, eighteen months from now, or less.

Our new vestibule is a wonderful thing. The elderly or handicapped who may have stayed away from Mass now have recourse to a first floor bathroom. Parents self-conscious about their babies now have a cry-room space and a first floor changing station. Funeral mourners now have a space for casual visitations onsite, and no longer need to go outside on school days to find a restroom. And now our parish has a natural place to mingle after Mass respecting the prayerful quiet of this sacred space while strengthening bonds of holy friendship between us. The growing and deepening of this community is the greatest reason for our vestibule renovation.

Tonight we are delighted to be initiating through Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion, new Catholic Christians among us. We welcome you and feel great joy that our collective witness has drawn and not repulsed you to full communion with Jesus Christ’s Church on earth. We treasure you and rejoice to share with you the precious gifts of grace and wisdom which we have received from the Lord. But brothers and sisters, we must do more to be inviting and share these gifts.

Jesus wants us, his friends, to help share the good news about him with others and he prefers reveal himself when we are gathered together. An old joke goes, “I don’t know why people say our parish is unfriendly — I always say ‘hello’ to everyone I know.” If you see someone new at Mass, please make them feel welcome. If you would like to organize after-Mass socials for our vestibule, with coffee and doughnuts, or ice cream, or something else to promote community, let me know. Invite a non-practicing Catholic back. Invite a non-Catholic Christian or even a non-believer to come and see. Invite them to come here with you to some weekday or Sunday Mass or to Eucharistic Adoration. Maybe offering to treat them to a coffee or meal after. Pause and ask the Holy Spirit: “Whom are you calling for me to invite here?” Let’s see how many more souls we can help bring into communion with Christ’s Church at next year’s Easter Vigil. If Jesus Christ had not been risen, nothing else would matter. But since Jesus Christ has been risen, nothing else matters so much.

Why Did They Do It?

Good Friday
By Fr. Victor Feltes

Why did they do it? Judas, the Jewish leaders, Pilate — why did they send Jesus to his death? Understanding their motives can help us avoid their errors.

Governor Pilate was actually not eager to kill Jesus. He did not want to get involved in that religious squabble. Pilate declared three times that he found no guilt in Jesus, but then people were saying, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar!” When Pilate’s interests were threatened he acted selfishly rather than doing justice, and condemned to death an innocent man whom he had a duty to protect. We have a responsibility to care for the vulnerable too.

As for the Jewish leaders, Pilate knew that they had handed over Jesus out of envy. Jesus did not belong to their circles but hailed from rural Galilee, and his miracles and teachings were drawing crowds of thousands. He challenged those religious figures’ hypocrisy, their vanity, their neglect of justice, mercy, and faithfulness — the weightier things of the law. And the proud Jewish leaders, instead of despising their sins and repenting, despised and condemned the messenger. We must be humble enough to love Jesus more than our sins.

Why did Judas Iscariot betray him? St. John reveals that Judas carried the apostles’ money bag and used to steal the contributions. In exchange for his betrayal, he accepted thirty pieces of silver, about a month’s wages for a day-laborer, so the greed of Judas was one factor. Yet when he saw that Jesus had been condemned to death Judas tried to return the money, to undo what he had done. It appears that he did not want Jesus to die but wished to force him into a confrontation where he would wield his might and claim King David’s throne. Perhaps he greeted Jesus with a kiss in the garden to conceal his treachery, hoping to soon enjoy power alongside him in luxury. Judas wanted Jesus to be his king but on Judas’ own terms. We need to accept Christ as our Lord according to his will.

So that is why they did it, but why did Jesus do it? Why did Jesus allow himself to be killed? He did it for love. He was obedient unto death because of his love for God the Father and he became our saving sacrifice because of his love for us. The crucifixion is Jesus Christ’s glory because it reveals to everyone for all time his great goodness, holy virtue, and incredible love.