First reading: Acts 6:1-7
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19
Second reading: 1 Pt 2:4-9
Gospel: Jn 14:1-12

By Jem Sullivan | OSV News

In those early days of the global pandemic in spring 2020, our parish food pantry saw an unexpected and dramatic increase in the number of families in need of food assistance. The pandemic lockdown had resulted in loss of employment for many people who worked for local businesses that were forced to close.

Our parish food pantry coordinator, Doug, is “a saint next door.” He dedicates hours to ensuring that the pantry is well stocked, clean and organized. He is helped by a dedicated core of volunteers, from the parish and beyond, who lovingly serve those who come for food assistance. By Christmas 2020, the parish was serving close to five hundred needy families each week, a 100% increase from pre-pandemic days.

Each Sunday our pastor, Father Roberto Cortes-Campos, would remind the community to see the face of Jesus Christ in these brothers and sisters in need, and parishioners responded generously with weekly donations of food, clothing, and volunteer hours. Yet as the pandemic lingered on, the needs of the poor far exceeded the abilities of even the generous giving of the parishioners.

As we journey through the Easter season, we follow the growth of the early Christian community, built on the faith and preaching of the apostles. We read of how the needs of the poor and the widows outpaced the ability of the apostles to care for them. They had to prioritize prayer and the preaching of the word of God. Saint Luke tells us that the Twelve apostles said to the assembled community, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task.” Thus, the first deacons were selected, and the apostles prayed and laid hands on them. Their service enabled the word of God to spread like wildfire as the community of disciples of Jesus increased greatly.

The apostle Peter, in the second reading, reminds the first Christians (and us), to draw near to Jesus, “a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God.” Peter urges the first disciples to be “like living stones,” building up the community with acts of faith and good works. He says, “let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

How do we exercise our baptismal priesthood as “living stones,” who build up community of believers, the spiritual house of the church today? Jesus shows the path as he responds to Thomas’ question, “Master…how can we know the way?” He responds to Thomas with these powerful words, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

In the power of the resurrection, we too can offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ as we draw close to the word of God, live our faith, and serve the poor among us. Then we can pray with confident Easter faith, “speak to me, Lord.”

Question: How are you called to follow Jesus who is “the way, and the truth, and the life?”
– – –
Jem Sullivan holds a doctorate in religious education and is an associate professor of Catechetics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

The post Sunday Scripture readings: May 7, 2023 appeared first on The Central Minnesota Catholic.

First reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6
Second reading: 1 Pt 2:20b-25
Gospel: Jn 10:1-10

By Deacon Greg Kandra | OSV News

Most of us would probably admit: we don’t know a lot of shepherds. (Where I live, in Queens, they are pretty scarce.)

But I met one a few years ago, during a trip to Jordan. He was tending a flock by the side of a road, and the people on our tour bus wanted to stop and chat with him. Our guide saw an opportunity for an interesting experience, so the bus pulled over and we stepped out.

The shepherd was young, bearded, wrapped in scarves to protect him from the sun and sand. He was in his early 20s, but polite and a little shy. (I’d almost say “sheepish.”) He spoke no English, but that didn’t stop our group from peppering him with questions that our guide patiently translated. Where did he live? Were his days long? Did he have a family? (Answers: Nearby. Yes. Yes.)

I had just one thing to ask him: “Do you like being a shepherd?”

He shrugged and replied with a few words in Arabic. “He says it’s okay,” our guide explained. “But it’s boring.”

I laughed. I could understand how tending sheep might not be the most thrilling profession. But encountering this Gospel for this Sunday, I wonder if shepherds felt the same way during the time of Christ.

The world of the shepherd Jesus describes in this Gospel is hardly boring. It’s a place of thieves and robbers, fraught with danger, where the innocent are slaughtered and the helpless are destroyed.

But into this, steps the Good Shepherd, “the gate” who protects and defends them — the guardian who helps his sheep find pasture, security and shelter.

Here is the one who guides those who are easily lost and who feeds those who hunger. The message is clear. In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, danger and risk, we find solace, comfort and direction by following the ultimate shepherd, Jesus Christ.

How we need that message today, just as the first Christians needed it 20 centuries ago. We need someone to lead us on the right path. Significantly, we need to know we are not alone.
This Sunday, the scriptures tell us that. In an insecure world, Christ is our security. When times are hard, and threats of every kind loom, Jesus is with us. It’s a message both calming and hopeful.

But why are we hearing this message now?

Every year on this 4th Sunday of Easter, we encounter Gospel readings that cite Jesus as our shepherd, and we hear once again one of the most familiar passages in all of scripture, the 21st Psalm. In these first weeks after the Resurrection, we are reminded not only that Jesus rose from the dead, but that we who follow him may face difficulties of our own — thieves, threats, violence, wolves.

In the afterglow of Easter, we’re busy chanting “Alleluia.” But that doesn’t mean this is a time to take it easy and finish the rest of the chocolate Easter eggs. Clearly, the first followers of Jesus didn’t.

The tone this Sunday, in fact, is foreboding. The letter from Peter calls on the early Christians to be “patient when you suffer for doing what is good,” and mentions insults, wounds and hardships of all kinds.

And in the first reading from Acts, Peter calls for repentance and baptism as the way to be saved “from this corrupt generation.” You don’t hear a lot of Alleluias there.

No wonder. His was a time of persecution, imprisonment, and martyrdom. But is there any time for Christians when that hasn’t been the case? Despite all that, whatever challenges each of us may face, these readings assure us that we aren’t left to face them alone.

This Sunday, in the midst of whatever we are living through, whatever struggles we’re enduring, whatever headaches and heartaches are weighing us down — whether it’s anxiety at work, stress at home, sickness and suffering, or even discrimination and persecution and pain — there is this simple truth: Emmanuel. God with us.

Take heart. Jesus leads us where we need to be. To him, shepherding isn’t remotely boring. It is, in fact, a great act of love.

Look up. Look around. The Lord is our shepherd. No matter what, he doesn’t abandon us.
The first Christians understood that. Do we?

Deacon Greg Kandra is an award-winning author and journalist, and creator of the blog, “The Deacon’s Bench.” He serves in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York.

The post Sunday Scripture reading: April 30, 2023 appeared first on The Central Minnesota Catholic.

First reading: Acts 2:14, 22-33
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Second reading: 1 Pt 1:17-21
Gospel: Lk 24:13-35

By Jem Sullivan | OSV News

Think of a memorable meal you had recently or in the past. Perhaps it was a casual family gathering or a formal occasion. It may have been in a secluded place or against a noisy backdrop. We might recall the setting of the meal, the conversation that animated the group and the food and drink that provided bodily nourishment. But it’s the experience of the company of others, in whose presence we enjoyed the meal, that lifted our spirits and left lasting memories. We savor such meals long after the taste of food and drink, however enjoyable, fades from our recollection.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that after their experience of Jesus’ passion and death, the disciples tasted fear, disappointment and hopelessness. They’d lived through the unique experience of being in the physical company of Jesus as he walked and talked with them, healed the sick and restored outcasts to their communities. The disciples shared many meals with Jesus as he multiplied loaves and fishes, turned water into wine and enjoyed the hospitality of his friends, Mary and Martha. No wonder then, that the two disciples described as heading away from Jerusalem — the spiritual center of worship of God — are downcast. Jesus, their beloved master and lord, is no longer present to them.

Jesus meets these two disciples on the road to Emmaus and enters into their deep disappointment and sense of abandonment. He does not issue a proclamation from heaven or send a thunderbolt of energy to revive them. Instead, Jesus draws near and accompanies them, talking with them even though their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.

As this Easter story unfolds the disciples enter into the great mystery of the Eucharist, when Jesus continued his presence with his disciples — then and even now, to the present day. For Jesus begins by explaining the meaning of Scripture as it refers to his passion, death and resurrection. In a kind of original bible study with Jesus as teacher, the disciples experience the Liturgy of the Word — just as the church hears the voice of Jesus proclaimed in the assembly.

When the disciples urge Jesus to stay with them as evening draws near, they approach the second part of every liturgical celebration. When Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to the disciples, Luke tells us only that, “with that their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.”

In this moment of eucharistic amazement the disciples hear the Word of God preached, and receive the presence of Jesus in the bread blessed and broken for the salvation of the world. Jesus’ real presence is the power that transforms their Easter faith.

Have you made your Emmaus journey with Jesus this Easter? This is the challenge and invitation of God’s word. In the radiant light of the resurrection we can be confident to journey on the path the disciples walked with Jesus to deeper faith. For the Emmaus journey captures the journey of every disciple of Jesus.

Today we are invited into awareness of Jesus, who desires to draw close to us, speak his comforting word, and then nourish us with the spiritual food (and healing presence) in the supreme gift of his body and blood in the Eucharist. As our eyes are opened around the sacred meal of the Eucharist, we join the church in praying with Easter faith, “speak to me, Lord.”

Question:

How are you called to give witness to the transforming presence of the risen Jesus in your life?

Jem Sullivan holds a doctorate in religious education and is an associate professor of Catechetics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

The post Sunday Scripture readings: April 23, 2023 appeared first on The Central Minnesota Catholic.

First reading: Acts 2:42-47
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
Second reading: 1 Pt 1:3-9
Gospel: Jn 20:19-31

By Deacon Greg Kandra | OSV News

This Sunday gives us one of my favorite Gospel readings — a story of doubt that turns into belief, of stubbornness that gives way to assent and conversion. It is perfect for this Sunday of Divine Mercy. Among other things, it shows that Jesus is the Lord of do-overs.

In his generosity and mercy, Jesus offered one of his most troubled and doubt-ridden apostles — someone who even mocked the idea of the miraculous — a second chance.

That apostle, of course, is Thomas, who was absent when Jesus first appeared after the resurrection. The rest of the apostles were understandably stunned — who wouldn’t be? — but when Thomas joined them and heard their astounding testimony, their eyewitness account of seeing the Lord, he couldn’t believe it. Not one bit. “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,” he said, “I will not believe.” He demanded more than something he could see; he needed physical evidence, to touch with his own hands Christ’s wounds.

What followed is an iconic moment for Christians, when “Doubting Thomas” became a steadfast believer. He saw, alright, but then he was invited by the one he saw to do what he mockingly considered undoable.

With that, his eyes were opened, his heart changed.

Thomas’s quick turnabout serves as a lesson to anyone who dares to doubt, disbelieve, or sneer at matters that others accept on faith. It says: the impossible is possible. The faithless can become faithful. Even the unbelieving can believe.

Countless men and women who entered the church at Easter can attest that, yes, it happens. 2000 years after Thomas, it continues to happen, in ways that can’t be explained. And it happens through the breathtaking gift of God’s mercy.

Jesus could have dismissed Thomas’s doubt and left him skeptical and scared. But he didn’t. He came back.

Jesus never considers us as undeserving of another chance. The Good Shepherd searches for his lost sheep; the worker of miracles doesn’t tire of doing anything he can to help the blind see.

Ours is a God who comes back, again and again, coaxing us to learn, to grow, to love, to believe. He doesn’t give up on us easily.

In the case of Thomas, Jesus did more than offer proof. He offered a second chance. He offered another opportunity to accept what seemed unacceptable. That gesture of mercy became an act of transformation — a way of not only helping an unbeliever believe, but of making him realize, profoundly, Christ’s real presence in his life and God’s transformative love at work in the world.

The lesson of this Gospel is two-fold: it teaches us the power of faith, of believing in what we cannot see; but it also illustrates the great breadth of God’s mercy, the Lord’s willingness to be patient and help us find our way.

How we need to remember that! In moments of despair or disillusion, when we may feel God is distant or indifferent, we need to believe. To trust. To have faith in the seemingly impossible generosity of his love and mercy. We need to hold fast to this enduring truth: Ours is a faith of second chances, of renewal, of forgiveness, of starting over. Easter is a glorious testament to that, reassuring us that even death doesn’t have the final word.

The story of Thomas takes that idea even further, to tell us that even lack of faith doesn’t have to define us.

The one-two punch of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday serves to let us know we shouldn’t give up on God, because he doesn’t give up on us. He keeps coming back.

Deacon Greg Kandra is an award-winning author and journalist, and creator of the blog, “The Deacons Bench.” He serves in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York.

The post Sunday Scripture readings: April 16, 2023 appeared first on The Central Minnesota Catholic.

First reading: Acts 10:34a, 37-43
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23
Second reading: Col 3:1-4
Gospel: Jn 20:1-9

By Jem Sullivan | OSV News

Christ is risen, Alleluia! He is truly risen!

The discovery of the empty tomb is the biblical record of the historical event: Jesus’ bodily resurrection. No witnesses saw Jesus as he arose from the dead. But what they did see was Jesus’ passion, crucifixion, and the empty tomb. So, how did the disciples come to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead? And how is an artist to depict this central mystery of Christian faith?

In a 19th century masterpiece titled, “Two Disciples at the Tomb,” Henry Ossawa Tanner captures the dramatic moment described in the Gospel proclaimed on Easter Sunday morning. The remarkable painting invites us to enter into the Easter mystery with the same joy, hope, and faith of Mary of Magdala, Peter and John — the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection.

We are told that Peter and John “ran” to Jesus’ tomb. Before them, Mary of Magdala had run to Peter and John to announce what she had found there. We might wonder why these Gospel figures are running – why they are in such haste at this pivotal moment on which the history of the world turns. Their eagerness evokes the deep longing of humanity for freedom from sin and despair. After Jesus’ crucifixion the disciples recoiled in fear and abandonment. Mary’s witness offers a first glimmer of hope. She — called the “apostle to the apostles” by Saint Thomas Aquinas — is a fearless messenger of hope to the disciples, who will in turn bear their witness to Jesus’ resurrection to the known world.

Tanner captures the moment when Peter and John stand before the empty tomb as they come to see and believe in Jesus’ resurrection. A warm golden light radiates from the dark tomb onto their astonished yet thoughtful faces. Just as they are bathed in the divine light of God’s power, so are we on this Easter day. The disciples’ gaze at the empty tomb is like our awe-filled contemplation of the mystery of Jesus’ resurrection.

God’s desire that we share in the divine life is the miracle of Easter morning. In the light of this supreme grace we become courageous witnesses, like Saint Peter in the first reading.

Human beings can forgive and receive forgiveness from each other. Only God can forgive the sins of all humanity, in every time and place. This is the good news of Easter. Bathed in the radiant light of Jesus’ resurrection, we receive nothing less than divine life itself. Sin no longer has the last word on human existence.

Easter is the “feast of feasts,” when we join our voices to the church’s joyful celebration of Jesus’ victory over sin and death. Jesus’ resurrection is the pattern of the newness of divine life we are invited to live in every day. As the joyful hope of Easter echoes within us, we become loving witness of the risen Jesus to a wounded world, as we pray with Easter faith, “speak to me, Lord.”

Question:
How are you called to witness to the resurrection of Jesus?

Jem Sullivan holds a doctorate in religious education and is an associate professor of Catechetics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

The post Sunday Scripture readings: April 9, 2023 appeared first on The Central Minnesota Catholic.

First reading: Ez 37:12-14
Responsorial Psalm: 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Second reading: Rom 8:8-11
Gospel: Jn 11:1-45

By Jem Sullivan | OSV News

On Ash Wednesday, the prophet Joel invited us to return to the Lord with our whole heart, mind, body and soul. “Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart,” (Jl 2:12). Our Lenten observances of prayer, fasting and almsgiving serve to return us, slowly but surely, to the Lord — who we strive to place at the center of life.

The Sunday Gospels of Lent remind us that when we do return to the Lord, we find only a God who is merciful, rich in kindness and forgiving love. Each week we have walked with Jesus — through his temptation in the desert, his Transfiguration as a foretaste of his resurrected glory, his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, and his healing of a man blind from birth. These stories prepare us for the renewed outpouring of graces we first received in baptism, confirmation and Eucharist – the very sacraments with which the church welcomes her new members at the Easter Vigil.

In this fifth week of Lent, the Gospel raises the stakes of Jesus’ earthly ministry to a highpoint. Just as at the Transfiguration, Jesus goes beyond restoring the dignity of the marginalized and healing physical illness. Now he reveals his divine identity and the full extent of his divine power by raising Lazarus, his friend, from the dead. Only God could raise the fallen from the sleep of death. Now the crowds cannot remain indifferent before this most astonishing of miracles as Jesus cries out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man arose and came out and Jesus ordered him to be freed.

Mary, Martha and Lazarus are described as friends of Jesus. John tells us that Jesus was deeply, grievously disturbed when he saw the distress of Mary and Martha at the death of their brother Lazarus. With great simplicity we are told that Jesus wept.

The ancient promise that God would open graves and raise the dead to life — conveyed by the prophet Ezekiel in the first reading — is now fulfilled perfectly in this all-powerful miracle of Christ Jesus. To place our trust in God, who raises the dead to new life, is the gift of faith extolled by the psalmist who sings, “I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in his word. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the Lord.”

Even as this graced liturgical season draws to a close, it’s not too late to begin our Lenten journey of faith. “Even now,” (and every day) we can return to the Lord with our whole heart, mind, body and soul. In walking with Jesus, we let the “Spirit of God dwell in us,” as Saint Paul urges the Romans. On our Lenten path, the pattern of Jesus’ dying and rising to new life becomes the pattern of our daily life as we pray, “speak to me, Lord.”

Question:

How does Jesus’ raising of Lazarus prepare us for the sacred events of Holy Week?

Jem Sullivan holds a doctorate in religious education and is an associate professor of Catechetics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

The post Sunday Scripture readings: March 26, 2023 appeared first on The Central Minnesota Catholic.