The Good Word

I had a wonderful seminary professor, Fr. John Duffy, from Boston. Am I stating the obvious, saying he was wise and from Boston? (I’m from Boston.) Fr. Duffy was a philosopher, an artist, a poet. In fact, his books of poetry are compared to Robert Frost, only better. He was teaching us a theology course and he asked if anyone could tell him the best proof of God’s existence. Our went up and we said you could prove God’s existence through nature, or causality, or there has to be a prime mover, someone to initiate it all. He kept shaking his head, “No, no, no, no.” Finally, we ran out of proofs for God’s existence, and he said the best proof of God’s existence is the communion line which forms every Sunday. Through all the centuries of our church, through our heresies and crusades, through our public and private sins; faith-filled people have lined up every Sunday to receive our Lord in Holy Communion. They remembered. Most of our parents and grandparents did not have a born-again, Billy Graham crusade experience. They received the sacraments. They grew up with them, experienced them every Sunday of their lives. The Eucharist was the transformative food that nourished their souls and made them who they were. It is what they passed on to us. Jesus said, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” We do not need extraordinary spiritual experiences and private revelations. They can be helpful, but they are not necessary. We have all that we need for our salvation in our Catholic faith. God will make God’s home with us and give us all that need when we need it. A steady receiving of God’s Word and sacrament is all the nourishment we need. Easter Blessings,Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R.

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Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is Thursday of the Second Week of Easter.Our reading from the holy gospel according to John.The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.The gospel of the Lord.Some passages of the gospel according to John, like today’s passage, seem like riddles. The center of today’s passage is Jesus’ affirmation that “the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.” In essence, Jesus is telling us that there is something special about a person who believes in Jesus as the Son of God who took on our mortal human flesh, that is lacking in a person who does not believe.A believer has a different way of looking at the world and of relating to other people that is formed by grace, by the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the way of looking and relating as Jesus does. It is seeing with the eyes of God.This does not mean that a non-believer cannot see the beauty of creation or relate well with other people, because God does not ration his gift of the Spirit, but there will be something missing. Also, a non-believer would have less to draw him or herself out of a self-centered viewpoint, and could become more subject to hatred, partiality and prejudice. At the same time, not all who call themselves believers see and relate with and through Jesus. Unless the believer makes the effort to establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and opens his or her heart to the gift of the Holy Spirit, their lives will be governed more by the ways of this world than the way of Jesus Christ. Faith is not just a question of accepting Jesus Christ as one’s savior, it is uniting one’s mind and heart with the mind and heart of Jesus. Saint Paul calls it putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, so that it is no longer I who live, but he who lives in me.We see this played out in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. The apostles, having received the gift of the Holy Spirit had been teaching the people, curing the sick and driving out demons. For this they had been thrown in prison, but God’s angel had freed them and told them to return to teaching the people in the temple. Now they have been brought before the council of the Sanhedrin. These are the same ones who had condemned Jesus to death and had ordered the apostles not to preach in his name. They were so concerned about their own position and power that they could not see the good that the apostles were doing in Jesus’ name, and wanted to condemn them to death. The apostles, however, simply responded: "We must obey God rather than men,” and recounted how God had raised Jesus from the dead and made him savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. They were witnesses to this as was the Holy Spirit who acted in power through them and through all those who obey God.The Sanhedrin wondered at the courage and determination of the apostles and after giving them a beating, let them go. The apostles simply praised God for being found worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. It was a reaction incomprehensible to the members of the Sanhedrin, but was considered normal for a believer by Luke, who tells us the story.We, too, will find a different kind of power in our lives if we put on the Lord Jesus, and open our hearts to the prompting of the Spirit. There is something different about those who believe. May God bless you.Rev. Karl E. Esker CSsROLPH Basilica – Brooklyn, NY

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