4/3/2016 – Divine Mercy Sunday – 2nd Sunday of Easter – John 20:19-31

     On the Second Sunday of Easter of the Jubilee Year 2000, at the Mass for the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II proclaimed to the world that “from now on throughout the Church this Sunday will be called Divine Mercy Sunday.”  Since we have been celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy as declared by Pope Francis, the mercy of our Lord has certainly been front and center in our lives of faith in recent months, which makes our celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday today even more meaningful and more profound. 

     As I thought about God’s mercy and how we are supposed to live out that mercy in our lives and show that mercy to others, I thought about a story I heard regarding the French emperor Napoleon.  There was a young soldier in Napoleon’s army who was facing execution for deserting his post in a battle. With great persistence, the soldier’s mother secured an audience with Napoleon in order to try to save her son’s life.  However, Napoleon refused to remove the sentence of death that had been issued for this young solider. Napoleon explained to the distraught mother:  “Your son deserted his post and left others to die.  Justice demands that your son pay for his cowardice with his life.”  The mother pleaded with Napoleon: “Your excellency, I do not ask for justice.  I ask for your mercy.”  Napoleon replied:  “Your son does not deserve mercy.  He must pay for his crimes.”  The mother responded: “Your excellency, if my son deserved mercy, it would not be called mercy.”  With that, Napoleon pardoned the son, saving his life.

      This desperate mother had no idea what response she would get when she approached Napoleon.  I am sure she trusted in her faith in God and hoped for the best.  In many ways, today’s celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday is rooted in trust and in hope.  As disciples of Christ, we are called to place our trust in God’s mercy – that trust is essential in receiving the graces that God wants us to have on our journey of faith.  Indeed, devoting a Sunday to God’s Divine Mercy during the Easter season, when we reflect upon the meaning of the risen Christ in our lives, is meant to strengthen our trust in God’s mercy. 

       In today’s Gospel from John, Thomas experiences the mercy of God in a very personal way.  Thomas has trouble believing.  He wants to believe, but he can’t quite get there.  Thomas does not believe it when the other apostles tell him: “We have seen the Lord”.  Thomas wants to see.  He wants to put his hands in the wounds on Jesus’ side, to be sure that this is really Jesus, his Lord and Savior.  Yet, Jesus does not get angry.  He does not close the door on Thomas, writing him off as an unbeliever, as being lost.  Jesus waits with patience and openness.  When Jesus appears to the disciples again behind the locked doors of their room, he goes directly up to Thomas and tells him:  Take your hand, put it in my hand, then put it in my side.  Touch my wounds. Touch and see so that you not be unbelieving, but rather that you believe, that it is really me, Jesus, and that I have been resurrected.  Thomas receives God’s mercy into his life, into his faith, into his doubts and unbelief.  And with great grace and humility and poverty of heart, Thomas is able to respond to the mercy of God in the way all of us should respond.  His response of “My Lord and my God” is simple, yet full of faith.  Thomas opens his heart.  He trusts.  He believes.  He is a new man.  His faith has been renewed and has been re-energized.

      We can take our faith for granted.  We can take God’s mercy for granted.  Yet, God is always there waiting for us with his love and mercy.  Divine Mercy Sunday celebrates the merciful love of God shining through the Easter Triduum of the death and resurrection of our Lord and the whole Easter mystery.  Actually, today’s feast recovers an ancient liturgical tradition, reflected in the teachings of St. Augustine in which he called the Octave of Easter “the days of mercy and pardon.”  The image of the Divine Mercy of Jesus that we know so well comes from a vision that Sister Faustina in 1931. Her vision shows Jesus in a scene from today’s Gospel, with miraculously appearing there in the Upper Room and bestowing on the Apostles the power of the Holy Spirit to forgive sins. His hand is raised in blessing, he shows them His wounds, and he looks for their trust.  Two translucent rays, one white and one red, are coming from Jesus’ hand in this image.  The red ray symbolizes the blood of Jesus – the divinity of Jesus -  and the white ray symbolizes water – his humanity.  The whole image of the Divine Mercy is symbolic of the charity, forgiveness and love of God.  On this image is contained this inscription:  “Jesus, I trust in you.”  May we always trust in Jesus.  May we always be merciful like the Father.

Ministry in a Brave New World – by Diana Macalintal

I came a cross this poem some years ago in a magazine.  I came across it recently and felt called to share it on my blog.

Just when I thought

I had it all figured out, Lord,

things change again.

When will I be able to rest

in the comfort of knowing

what comes next?

You, who transcend all time,

who created the stars

and set them in place,

you, who are ageless,

yet known in every age,

grant me the grace to accept

the changes that are happening. 

Empty my heart of anxiety,

and fill it instead with wonder and awe.

release me from the chains

of complacency

and bind me to your ever-moving Spirit.

When the things I believed to be

permanent and stable

are left by the wayside,

enfold me in your undying love

that I may remember

in whom all things are bound.

When fear of something new

paralyzes me,

and grief cripples me with anger

over the loss of what had been,

send your angels to give me

a gentle push

over that frightening edge

into the unknown,

so that I may learn to trust in you. 

For you along are eternal.

You alone are enduring.

You alone are the everlasting God.

And in you alone will this restless world
find peace.

Reflections for the Live Stations of the Cross - Good Friday - Bilingual - Spanish and English - March 25, 2016 - St James Catholic Church - Tupelo, Mississippi

We welcome all of you to the Stations of the cross today, dramatized by the children, youth and young adults of St James Catholic Church.  The Stations today will be bilingual – in Spanish and in English.  We will follow the traditional stations of the cross as written by St Alphonsus Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorist fathers in the 18^th century.  I will introduce each station with the writings of Pope Francis. 

Introduction

Lord Jesus, you took up you your cross in order to have mercy on us.  You walked the way to death upon the cross in order to give us the freedom of new life.  We willingly take up our own crosses today and follow you on your journey.  We will walk with you on this pathway of love.  Stir up within us, Lord Jesus, the desire to forgive our enemies, to love our friends more deeply, and to have mercy on others in the same way you have mercy on us. 

Querida María, Madre de la Misericordia, se nuestro ejemplo de valor al que nos enfrentamos en nuestro camino de la cruz. Ruega por nosotros en nuestro viaje aquí que nuestras vidas puedan estar llenas de la gracia de Dios.

Danos un corazón limpio, Espíritu Santo, y enciende en nosotros el fuego de tu amor.

Demos gracias por el amor misericordioso de Cristo que le llevó a abrazar la cruz.

Llevamos  ahora a los brazos amorosos de Dios el Padre, con el que esperamos para vivir por siempre y para siempre. AMÉN.

Primera estación - Jesús sentenciado a la muerte

V. Te adoramos, Cristo, y te bendecimos.

R. Porque con tu Santa Cruz redimiste al mundo.

El camino de la Iglesia es no condenar a nadie por la eternidad, pero es derramar la misericordia de Dios sobre aquellos que lo piden con un corazón sincero. Nosotros en la Iglesia hay que dejar las paredes e ir a buscar a los que están lejos y en las "afueras" de la vida. Debemos adoptar el enfoque de Dios - el enfoque de la misericordia. La Iglesia tiene que sentir el impulso a ser como Jesús para toda la humanidad. 

Second Station -  Jesus carries his cross

We adore you O Christ and we bless you –

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

The cross of Christ invites each one of us to allow ourselves to be smitten by his love, teaching us to look upon others with mercy and tenderness.  This is especially true of those who suffer, those who need help and are vulnerable, those who are waiting for us to do something concrete on their behalf.  No one can think of the cross without giving something of himself or herself to Christ. 

Tercera Estación -  Jesús cae la primera vez debajo de la cruz

V. Te adoramos, Cristo, y te bendecimos.

R. Porque con tu Santa Cruz redimiste al mundo.

Los cristianos no pueden engañar a Jesús, actuando como santos en la iglesia, pero que viven como paganos el resto de la semana. Jesús conoce nuestros corazones. Él sabe que somos pecadores. Pero no hay que temer la ira o el juicio de Jesús. Jesús nos mira con misericordia. Tenemos que ir a la gente con el mismo amor, llegar a aquellos cuyas cargas de peso los empujan hacia abajo.

Fourth station –   Jesus meets his sorrowful mother

We adore you O Christ and we bless you –

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

The church is a mother to us, a mother who tenderly holds Jesus and gives him to us with love.   Mary and Jesus remained together from the time of his conception to his birth in Bethlehem, to his first public ministry at Cana, and throughout his way to the cross.  Mary is the first disciple of Jesus.  She opens the pathway for us to follow Jesus as his disciples too.

Quinta estación -  Simón ayuda a Jesús a llevar la cruz

V. Te adoramos, Cristo, y te bendecimos.

R. Porque con tu Santa Cruz redimiste al mundo.

No se puede entender quién es Cristo hasta que él o ella toma la cruz como Simón de Cirene lo hizo. Cristo mismo nos prepara para ser la persona que da los pasos para ayudar a llevar las cruces de los demás. Este es el misterio de la muerte y resurrección y es la vía a una verdadera vida cristiana.

Sixth Station –  Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

We adore you O Christ and we bless you –

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Like Veronica, many women have a special sensitivity toward the weak in society.  Their ministry is often to care for the sick, to reach out to the poor, and to lead prayer groups.   The gift of love and tenderness is important in today’s modern world.  Women contribute so much to our Church - they have an important role in building up the Church in the world today.  The presence of women in the home is likewise essential as they pass on both life and faith to their families.  We honor the role of women in the family and in society and in the Church.

  

Séptima estación – Jesús cae la segunda vez con la cruz

V. Te adoramos, Cristo, y te bendecimos.

R. Porque con tu Santa Cruz redimiste al mundo.

La marca de una vida cristiana no es si o no va a caer. Todos caemos. Todos somos pecadores. La marca de una vida cristiana es si, después de caer, usted tiene la humildad y el coraje para levantarse de nuevo. Nos levantamos con la gracia de Cristo - este es nuestro testigo. Hay que decir: "Sí, yo soy un pecador, yo hice mal, pero puedo continuar porque el Señor está conmigo."

Eighth station – The women of Jerusalem weep over Jesus

We adore you O Christ and we bless you –

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Jesus reveals to us that God is our Father, a Father who never gives up on us until he has forgiven our wrongs and offered us his mercy and compassion.   God is full of joy when we return to him, ready with open arms to embrace us.   God watches us to trust him.  He forgives us with his merciful love.

Novena estación -  Jesús cae por tercera vez con la cruz

V. Te adoramos, Cristo, y te bendecimos.

R. Porque con tu Santa Cruz redimiste al mundo.

Tenemos que aprender a estar en un camino de fe que nos ayuda a ver la presencia de Dios con nosotros, pero no detenerse tanto tiempo en ese viaje que echamos de menos nuestro objetivo. Habrá días obscuros en nuestro viaje, días en los que caemos y días cuando no somos capaces. Pero no tenga miedo al fracaso. Levántate enseguida y sigue adelante. No podemos hacer este viaje solos - caminamos con nuestra comunidad y nuestros amigos y nuestros seres queridos, con los que nos ayudan en el camino.

Tenth station – Jesus is stripped of his garments

We adore you O Christ and we bless you –

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

How good it feels to come back to Christ whenever we are lost.  God does not grow weary in forgiving us.  Ware the ones who tire of asking for his mercy.  Christ teaches us to forgive each other 70 times 7, but he has forgiven us so much more.  No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by his boundless and unfailing love.  With a tenderness that never disappoints, we can start anew once again.

Decima primera estación -  Jesús es clavado en la cruz

V. Te adoramos, Cristo, y te bendecimos.
R. Porque con tu Santa Cruz redimiste al mundo.

La pena de muerte no se puede justificar hoy en día, independientemente de la gravedad del delito. La pena capital fomenta la venganza y permite que las víctimas obtengan una venganza, pero no nos ayuda a perdonar a nuestros enemigos. Esto no puede ser justificado por los cristianos. La pena de muerte es un error debido a la posibilidad de errores en los tribunales, que muchos no verán la luz durante muchos años. Más allá de eso, no hay forma humana de matar a otro ser humano.

Twelfth station – Jesus dies on the cross

We adore you O Christ and we bless you –

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

We Christians must follow the pathway set for us by Jesus.  We must accept our cross and carry it even when it means denying ourselves.  This is the style of the Christian because it is the style of Jesus.  It requires humility, a desire to serve, and a self-giving love.  “If the grain of wheat does not die, it cannot bear fruit and give new life,”  as it says in Scripture. 

Decima tercera estación -  Jesús es bajado de la cruz

V. Te adoramos. Cristo, y te bendecimos.

R. Porque con tu Santa Cruz redimiste al mundo.

No olvidemos la cruz, porque es aquí es donde la lógica de fallo se pone al revés. Jesús nos recuerda que, aunque podemos esperar pruebas y el rechazo, al final veremos triunfo. La piedra que desecharon los arquitectos es ahora la piedra angular. La historia que contamos es uno que comienza con un sueño de amor. Se termina pareciéndose a una historia de fracaso cuando Jesús muere, pero con el gran amor de Dios, amor que  nos regala y nos salva a todos.

Fourteenth station: Jesus is laid in the tomb.

We adore you O Christ and we bless you –

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Love is stronger than hatred.  Life conquers death.  Light chases away darkness.  Jesus has shown us the way to happiness and that pathway is humility.  By our dying and rising we Christians become the seed of love in the world.  Love will grow when we live in service to others and when we show the love of God to them. 

Conclusion of the Stations of the Cross -

Prayer to Jesus Christ Crucified

My good and dear Jesus, we stand before you,

Asking you most earnestly to engrave upon our hearts a deep and profound faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for our sins and a firm resolve to make amends.

As we reflect upon your five wounds with deep compassion and grief, let us recall the words of the Prophet David that were spoken long ago concerning you – “They pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all of my bone.”  May this accompanying you in the prayers of the stations of the cross this Good Friday give us courage on our journey of faith, courage to carry our own cross with dignity and fortitude.  AMEN.

4/1/2016 – Acts 4: 1-12 – Friday of first week of Easter –

       The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the formation of the Early Church.  In the first days of the Easter season, we always hear first readings from Acts, about the formation of the Early Church after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  For the last couple of days during the first week of the Easter season, we have been hearing about how the healing of a lame man gave Peter and John the opportunity to address the crowds about their need for repentance, about the reality of the risen Christ, and about how our faith in Jesus can work miracles in our lives.  Not only did Peter and John attract the attention of the crowd, but they also attracted the attention of the Sadducees, the head of the temple guards, and the chief priests.  John and Peter were afraid after the death and crucifixion of Jesus, afraid that the same thing would happen to them.  Their fears were justified, for the authorities take Peter and John into custody.  However, like Jesus himself, they use these opportunities for evangelization and as moments where they can minister to others. Peter and John take advantage of this opportunity to address the elders and to proclaim their message, specifically that the name of Jesus is the only name that truly saves.  Although the disciples were terrified and fearful for their own lives, they use that feat as the starting point to make sense of the resurrection after the risen Christ starts appearing to them.  Little by little, they become more energized and more confident, courageously bringing the message of Christ’s resurrection to the world, even to those important elders of the Jewish community in Jerusalem who held all of the power & influence in that society, those who are so reluctant to hear this message.   We may be holding onto fears.  We may be struggling with doubt and confusion and a lack of understanding about our faith, about our vocation, about where God is leading us, about where the world is headed.  Let us use those things as starting points to grow in our faith, to reach out to others on our journey.

3/30/2016 – Acts 3:11-26 – Wednesday of first week of Easter –

     Peter and John were heading to the Temple to pray in today’s narrative from the Acts of the Apostles when a lame man stopped them, asking them for some money.   Instead of just giving this man alms, they heal him through the help of the Holy Spirit.   The man is so overjoyed.   He leaps for joy and sings praises to God.  We will hear the continuation of this reading tomorrow, as all this movement draws the attention of a large crowd, giving Peter the opportunity to preach to the people about Jesus, about what his passion and his journey to the cross, about how Jesus calls the people to repent and to become his followers.  That is the thing about miracles.  It is not the miracle itself that draws our attention, but rather the power and the truth behind the miracle, the way it teaches us about God’s kingdom and about our faith. 

     We hear a lot about repentance in our Catholic faith.  “Turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel” was the admonition that was proclaimed to us at our Ash Wednesday liturgy as we received that smudge of ash on our foreheads.   How we respond to the resurrection of Christ and make it a reality in our lives is what this joyful Easter season is all about.  May we hear the message of Christ in the words of Peter today.  We may need to be comforted by the Good News of Christ, yet we also need to radically repent and to be challenged by the Gospel message.  May we in turn bring this message of conversion and repentance to others. 

3/27/2016 – Easter morning – John 20:1-9

      We can try to imagine the emotions and confusion that Mary of Magdala, John, and Simon Peter were feeling that morning they went to the tomb only to find the tomb empty, to find Jesus’ burial clothes in a heap lying on the ground.  Our Gospel today ends by saying that these disciples of Jesus still did not understand what it meant that Jesus would be raised from the dead.  That is at the center of the Gospel readings we will hear throughout the Easter season all the way until our celebration of Pentecost: of what the reality of the resurrection really means as it pertains to Jesus and as it pertains to us on our own journey of faith.

       Back in January, Pope Francis declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy in the Catholic Church, encouraging us to reflect upon God’s mercy and to have us more fully incorporate that mercy in the reality of our lives.  We all know that Pope Francis has reached out to some many different people during his papacy.  He has reached out in a special way to the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized in the world, and to those who really need the message of God’s mercy to be able to face the next day with courage and hope.  There is a lot in the world today that can seem confusing, chaotic, and frightening.  Earlier in the week, we greeted the day with the news that there had been another terrorist bombing in one of the major cities of Europe, with many innocent lives being taken or harmed in bombings in the train station and airport in Brussels, Belgium.  The terrorist group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. We hear the message of hope and new life and resurrection this Easter morning in the midst of the difficult reality of our world, and that is the way it should be.  God does not exist in a perfect world in isolation from the daily reality of our lives.  We must attempt to understand the message of the resurrection in the midst of our lived reality – a message that speaks to that reality no matter how difficult or challenging or contradictory that reality may be.  The joyful message of the resurrection is to touch our hearts and to give us hope.  Pope Francis has stated that so many in the world are affected by violence, war, and terrorism; by extreme poverty; by daily troubles in work or school; or by the loneliness of their lives. The message of the resurrection is that we are not to lose hope, that we are not to be taken in “by the messages of hatred or terror all around us.”  We can be merciful like the Father.  We can live out God’s mercy in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy in our Catholic faith. 

      Our Easter Vigil mass last night was our first celebration of the joy of the Easter season.  In that mass, we blessed the baptismal waters, renewed our own baptismal promises, and baptized, an infant, two children, and a youth into the Catholic faith.   In addition, last night, 7 adults came into the faith through the RCIA process, and 3 Hispanic Catholic adults received the Sacrament of confirmation.  And many of these individuals received the Eucharist for the very first time.   The joyful Easter Vigil mass is such a wonderful way to kick off the Easter season.  It is a good experience that can prompt us to start thinking about our own faith journey and the presence of the resurrected Christ in the reality of our lives.  As disciples of Christ, we can all give Jesus an answer to the following questions:  What is the reality of the resurrected Christ in my life?  How do I live out the resurrection each day?

      Today, on Easter morning, we celebrate Christ’s triumph over death, a triumph that helps us find a reason for our joy and our hope, that helps us find a purpose and direction in life.  We’ve not sung the alleluia all during the 40 days of Lent, our 40 days with Jesus in the desert.  We sang the alleluia for the first time in the Easter season last night during the Easter Vigil mass.  The word alleluia is our slogan during the Easter season.  The Greek word Alleluia come from the Hebrew word for God – Yahweh – meaning “praise the Lord” or “praise God.”  Thus, the Alleluia that we sing today is a fitting response to what we affirm and celebrate on Easter Sunday.

       I mentioned that the Easter season is a good time for all of us to reflect on the reality of the resurrected Christ in our lives. Later in the Easter season, I am going to ask members of our confirmation class and our RCIA program to give a faith testimony as to how they have experienced the reality of the risen Christ in the midst of their faith journey.  Let the risen Christ be more than an idea or symbol for us in our lives.  Let the risen Christ truly be a reality that molds us and leads us and guides us. 

3/26/2016 – Easter Vigil Mass – Luke 24:1-12

      Tonight is the culmination of a long journey.  During Lent and Holy Week, we journeyed with Jesus in his passion and in his way to the cross.  We started this journey with Jesus with Ash Wednesday, with a desire in our hearts to repent for our sins and to turn away from those things that keep us from following the Gospel in our daily lives.  Today, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, we complete this journey.  This evening follows a tradition from the Early Church with a group of adults who started who started a special journey way back in September.  Seven adults are going to receive their first communion and confirmation as members of our RCIA program, as we rejoice this glorious evening with them.  In addition to celebrating the baptism of three children and the baptism and first communion of a teen this evening, we also celebrate the confirmation of three members of our very first Spanish RCIA program here at St James.

       Why such a great celebration tonight?  Why do we devote so much time and effort commemorating an event that took place almost 2,000 years ago? Tonight we profess that Jesus no longer just belongs to the past, but he truly lives in the present and he is projected toward the future.  Our faith tells us that the resurrection of the risen Christ is an everlasting reality in our lives. Just as the women who found the empty tomb received a glimpse of the reality of the resurrection, just as the disciples started to learn what Christ’s resurrection meant to them, we are also called to contemplate this reality Christ brings into our lives – his victory over sin and death that brings us new life.

        Even though our salvation comes from this historical event of the death and resurrection of Christ, we still watch and wait to see what wonders God is doing in our lives today.   The celebration of the Easter vigil mass tonight invites each one of us to break open some very powerful symbols of God’s action in our lives of faith and our response to that action.   All we do tonight -  the waiting, the readings that break open for us the history of salvation, the Easter fire and lit candles, the dignified procession at the beginning of mass and the music, the blessing of the baptismal waters and the initiation of new members into our faith – all of this remind us of the amazing things that God has accomplished something in his word through his love and mercy. Our Easter Vigil mass tonight is a powerful statement, both individually and collectively, of how we are to be ready to be renewed and to live out of the grace we receive from him. Yes, our Vigil mass tonight stresses how important our Church and our local community of faith is, as we gather tonight with Catholic churches throughout the world, all of us using the same rituals and readings and symbolism, to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.

       The baptismal promises that the newly baptized will make tonight, the baptismal promises we renew as a community of faith, call us to embrace the values of our faith with courage and zeal and to renounce those things that keep us from God.   From the death and resurrection of Jesus and from waters of baptism should flow a vision that should change and challenge the way we live and engage with the world.  Indeed, what we experience tonight at our Easter Vigil mass should inspire us to look at our old ways and to live in a new way centered around Christ.   In our reinvigorated Easter faith, we hope to be alive in the spirit of Christ - in the Christ who shared our life, who spoke up for the oppressed, who healed the sick, who fed the hungry, and who died to bring us salvation.  This is the spirit of Christ that we are called to share with our world.

3/24/2016 – Holy Thursday – John 13:1-15 –

    Today, we begin three important days in our Catholic faith:  the Holy Triduum.  The Easter Triduum consists of three days that prepare us for the holy day of Easter: Holy Thursday,  Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil Mass.

These three days are a Triduum of the Passion of our Lord. 

       The commemoration of Holy Week has a very important message for us as modern disciples of Christ.  The message is this:  God does not abandon his people – God is there for his people to deliver them from whatever weighs them down and from whatever enslaves them.  God does not want us to be enslave.  He wants us to have the freedom to follow our faith.  It is important to recognize that Holy Week is not just a nostalgic memory of the past.  Holy Week is a memory that is alive and real, that give hope in the daily reality of our lives, in the reality of our journey of faith. 

        In the Last Supper that Christ shared with his disciples, he gives us an example of service and humility that we are to emulate on our own journey.

Christ celebrate the Last Supper with the richness of symbol and ritual in the midst of his own Jewish faith.  This ritual supper of the Jewish Passover was converted into a memorial dedicated to him as the Son of God, a memorial that we as his disciples are to practice and celebrate and live.  As modern disciples of Christ, we participate in the new life we have in Christ if we collaborate in his ministry and his service, if we follow his example of humility and mercy, abandoning are own egos and self-interest. 

       Without a doubt, we know that Jesus is God’s presence with us.  His actions are the actions of the Father.  Jesus’ love and mercy are the same love and mercy are the same as the love and mercy of God the Father.  Through our service to our brothers and sisters, through our acts of mercy and charity, we participate in the divine life here in the midst of our human existence on earth. 

      We celebrate the presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that is with us in our Holy Thursday mass.  We celebrate the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who washed his disciples feet and we gave us the Eucharist to sustain us.  This is our Lord Jesus Christ who came to earth as a servant.  As we begin the Holy Trinity today with our Holy Thursday mass, we have the opportunity to reflect upon the words of St Vincent DePaul: “His humiliations were nothing less than love.  His work here on earth was love.  His sufferings was love.  His prayers were love.  This workings of his interior and exterior were not more than repeated actions of love.  In his love, Christ gave us an example that is so different from many of the values of our secular world, very different from the riches and pleasures and honors of the world.”  May the love of Christ, the example of Christ, that we celebrate today on Holy Thursday, be the guiding light of our lives.