We celebrate this weekend the feast of St Kateri Tekawitha; the lily of the Mohawks. How well her story captures the spirit of this weekend’s readings. God touched Kateri’s life at an early age in spite of the ridicule she received. God chose her not because she was powerful; Amos was only a tree surgeon. God choose her in her poverty, her blindness, her disfigurement from small pox to be the radiant and beautiful light of His presence. God chooses you and me the same way. We are called to be his disciples in our fear and powerlessness, in our poverty and weakness to bear the light of the peace and justice of the Kingdom, today The Apostles were sent out by Jesus with nothing but a message and faith in him. The reality of this is that when God calls us to do something in His name, all we need is Him…..and we never walk alone because of Him and the community of faith. We cannot live Christianity alone. Yet many say, they can pray at home on a Sunday morning. Jesus shows us in today’s Gospel: without a community around us, we will not be able to do the work of the Kingdom. We see this is Kateri’s life too. Even though she lived with her tribe and family, she was ridiculed for her faith. It was the faith of the other Christians that sustained her. She did not go alone to Canada when her uncle insisted she get married in spite of her wanting to completely give her life to Christ. She left withheld faith in Jesus and journeyed with others to travel from Auriesville (the Fonda area) to just south of Montreal. Remember this was on foot; a distance of about 216 miles. Jesus walked with her and her companions the entire way; His Spirit filled her as the Spirit filled the hearts of the apostles. Just like the apostles returned to Jesus with joy, so Kateri returned to the Jesus she loved at 24 years of age. The radiance of her love of Jesus and His love for her shone on her face at the time of her death and all the scars from the small pox disappeared. Jesus revealed in her the true beauty of a Christian is the faithfulness of a heart; not how a person looks, not what they own, not where they live. Our true beauty is from our willingness to be sent and proclaim the Kingdom. This is the mandate of the Gospel. As the Council Father’s of Vatican II wrote in Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity:

The laity share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ and therefore have their own role to play in the mission of the whole People of God in the Church and in the world. They exercise a genuine apostolate by their activity on behalf of bringing the gospel and holiness to men, and on behalf of penetrating and perfecting the temporal sphere of things through the spirit of the Gospel.

God chooses each of us to move beyond our comfortability, like Amos and Kateri Jesus sends us out together to proclaim the Kingdom of God. May we like Amos, the Apostles and Kateri respond with a resounding : I will go.

O God of all the nations, Like Amos, you called Kateri to be a prophetic voice to her people and to us today. She reminds us to look beyond a person’s looks, origins, poverty and see the radiance of your face. You sent Kateri like the Apostles to tell her people about you. May her example and prayers enable us to tell our world today about you without counting the cost. O God who choose her and us, not because of our looks, money or influence but because of love, help us to in all the radiance of your face.

Small actions have great impacts.  In today’s gospel, Jesus uses the parable of the mustard seed to describe the kingdom of God.  A mustard seed is so small that it is hard to believe anything will grow from it.  One small act of kindness can change the entire world and vice versa. One negative act can also alter the world too, but not in a positive way.  We are challenged to practice small acts of kindness to live out our discipleship.  To smile at someone, say hello, let someone in in traffic, hold open a door, offer to help someone struggling with a bag at the grocery store…all these small acts change the world and the Kingdom of God shines forth a little more.   Every negative act will create a world that is drifts away from the Kingdom.  Our angry words, name calling, the attitudes we may have toward others grows a world that reflects less and less the Kingdom of God.

We, as a Church, are called to do small courageous acts to build the Kingdom.  Our call as disciples of Jesus is to plant the seeds of love, justice and peace as St Paul describes the Kingdom of God.  We are to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.  In the Hebrew Scripture, the nation had forgotten the mandates of the covenant and the prophet uses the imagery of God chopping off a part of the tree  and replanting so that it reflects the covenant.  One of the main charges of the people was to take care of the poor, the widow, the orphan and the alien.   This is also the charge of the new People of God….. you and me.  No matter where a person stands on the immigration issues in the country today, children being separated from the parents goes against the spirit of the Gospel.  My concern is totally about these children and the effect the separation will have.   A debate about the law or what the parents have done is for another time and place.  Cardinal Daniel Dinardo of Galveston-Houston and Bishop Joseph Vasquez of Austin, Texas, at the June meeting of the Bishop’s Conference wrote: Our government has the discretion in our laws to ensure that young children are not separated from their parents and exposed to irreparable harm and trauma. Families are the foundational element of our society and they must be able to stay together. While protecting our borders is important, we can and must do better as a government, and as a society, to find other ways to ensure that safety. Separating babies from their mothers is not the answer and is immoral.”

Vatican II calls us to be the salt and leaven to society.  Small grains of salt can be an irritant.  A small amount of leaven changes the flour and water into bread.  It is a scary prospect to speak out but remember today’s second reading…”We are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

My brothers and sisters, I take the risk today to ask you to do a small action to protect these children and I challenge myself to do the same.  I take a risk that you may not like what I have said or leave the parish. But, in my opinion, no action is not an option.  As God’s people, our mandate in rooted in Jesus himself:   What so ever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.

I would like you to take a few seconds and look at your hands…..what do you see?  Do any of you see the hands of Christ?

 

St Theresa of Avila wrote:

 

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes with which Christ looks out his compassion to the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.” – Teresa of Avila

 

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord, we also are reflecting on who we are as a parish community with our annual trustee report. 

 

When I first came here last August, I was wondering what I would do here…..this parish has so much going for it and works very well….in February when I went on retreat, God showed me what my work with you would be…….to further the mission of the Church……to be a disciple with you, to help you be better disciples and then to go and make disciples.  This is the mission entrusted to us by Jesus and the reason the parish exists.  As I read the surveys, many of you said that we need to get more people involved and to reach the younger members of the community.  To do that is to call them to discipleship; but, we need to be that ourselves.  Being a disciple is not in a book or a theological idea:  it is to follow Jesus, to love Jesus, and to have a relationship with him.  This has to be the starting point.  Anything we do will fail if we are not doing Christ’s mission.   Our mission must be centered here at the Eucharist.  Here we are made into His Body and Blood; from this holy table, we are sent to be his hands, his feet, his eyes into the world.  Christ left us the mystery of the Eucharist as a memorial of His Love; He gave us the very gift of himself so we could change the world in His name.

The vision I have for us as a community is that we all commit ourselves to be disciples, grow as disciples and make disciples.   All the gifts and talents we need are already here; we just need to use them.  The gift of the Lord’s Body and Blood is what transforms us into His Church.

 

Take a look at your hands……..they are Christ’s and have a mission to accomplish: to bring Him into the world

 

I have been following the news on the eruption of the volcano in Hawaii.  Too me, the power that is evident is tremendous.   The pressure that builds is some of the lava tubes miles away from the volcano can throw rock the size of refrigerators into the air.  This molten rock from the very core of the earth is always there and when it erupts to the surface, the earth itself is recreated.  Yes, there is destruction, but at the same time creation.  In Hawaii, when the lava cools or hits the water new land begins to be formed.  Over time, this new land will be able to sustain life or make the island bigger.

What a great analogy for the Holy Spirit.  The fire of the Spirit burns in the hearts in each of us.  In Baptism and Confirmation, we receive the very life of God, the very Spirit God comes to us.  It is present in us whether we practice our faith or not.  The Spirit is like the molten lava in the core of earth; the Spirit is there working under the surface and waiting for the day we allow It to break through the solid walls of our resistance, our lack of faith, our sin, our coldness, our fear.  On that day, the fire of the Power of God erupts with such force that we are forever changed.  The hardness of our hearts is destroyed; our sin is forgiven, our fear is destroyed, our coldness is changed into the warmth of charity, and our selfishness into Love.  This is what happened in the Upper room when the Spirit descended upon the Apostles and all those who gathered in the Upper Room,  I don’t think it is a mistake that the Spirit descended like a mighty Wind and danced as tongues of fire.

Today, we need to beg God to unlock within us the power of the Spirit that flows like the lava in the core of the earth.  We need to beg God to let the power of His Love flow into the world like the lava that flows out through the fissures to re create the earth and our world.  We need to beg God to use us to break down the walls of the violence that is growing in our nation.  We cannot keep reading about children being  shot in schools and do nothing.  As Christians, the Spirit can flow through us to make the changes needed so that our youth can go to school and not worry about what could happen.  The power of the Spirit can enflame us so that those who are poor are fed, there is adequate health care for those with mental health problems, that people find a just wage and the earth itself is treated with respect and love.  The fire and power of the Spirit that flows in the heart of the Church and in our hearts can recreate the face of the earth can erupt and flow….if we open our hearts and allow God to erupt in us and into the world.  If built up steam can through boulders the size of refrigerators into the air like a tennis ball, then the power of the Spirit can blast into our hearts and change us and the world

We are challenged to take the risk today and ask the Spirit that dwells in the depths of our hearts to erupt and flow out of us like the lava in Hawaii.  Yes, things will be destroyed in us and in the world, but God will use us and empower us to recreate the world into the Kingdom Jesus preached.

 

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful

and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.

And You shall renew the face of the earth.

 

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

What do we do with our friends?   Spend time together, talk with each other, share a meal with each other, be there for each other….my friend Jesus and your friend Jesus wants to do the same with us.  Jesus wants to spend time with us, but we need to make time for him.   No friendship can survive with a few tweets or messages a month or a year.  Jesus wants more.   He wants to have a meal with us…..here at the Eucharist.  This Holy Meal has been set before us by God Himself and the food we share is His Divine Presence.  To be friends with Jesus means we give up as much for others as he gives up for us.  Jesus loves us so much that He gives us everything possible and then says to go and do it to all we meet.  To be Jesus’ friend is to befriend every person in the world as He does.   Jesus excludes no one from His friendship.  We exclude ourselves; we keep Him at a distance; we think we don’t need him.  Yet, whether we want to admit it or not, we do.

The friendship that Jesus calls us to is not a friendship of connivence. He demands from us a commitment.  It is not easy to be a friend of Jesus because he calls us to love as unconditionally as He loves.  We need to love ourselves as Jesus loves us; we need to love others as Jesus loves them, and we need to love Jesus with everything we have.  In Corinthians 13, we are told that without love we are nothing.  Christian love is patient, kind, forgiving, not inflated, and the list continues. 

As we approach the end of the Easter season in two weeks with the Solemnity of Pentecost, let us beg the Spirit of God to grant us all the grace to celebrate being the friends of Jesus.  May the Spirit of the Living God enflame our hearts the love of God that transformed the Cross into the sign of our hope and the symbol of His Love.

 

Come, Divine Spirit of Christ and teach us how to love.

Thank you for calling us your friends.  Teach us to live as your friends.

May we share the Love that you have for us with all we know and meet.

Divine Spirit, light our hearts on the fire of love.

May we have the strength to Love as Jesus loves us

Amen.