We hear in the Acts of the Apostles that the Apostles, along with the women, and the mother of Jesus were gathered together, and devoted themselves with one accord to prayer. They were single minded, and prayed together that what they were going to do would be what God wants them to do. The Letter from Saint Peter alludes to the struggles of the early Christians, that they were and would be insulted because of their faith. Peter tells them, and tells us, that whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed, but glorify God because of the name. We can never be wrong, doing what we do as Christians, but others, even most others, may think us to be wrong.
In the gospel from John, we are privileged to overhear Jesus praying to his Father. It is clear that Jesus’ mission has always been to reveal the Father, and to do the Father’s will. And we can know the Father through His Son, and we can know the Father’s will through the Son’s teachings. We can do the Father’s will, and live out the Son’s teachings, if we are not afraid of the world’s reaction. If we can persevere in spite of ridicule, if we can continue in spite of criticism, then we can truly be doing God’s will here in this world.
We meet Jesus Christ, risen from the dead in the celebration of Eucharist. It is the surest sign to us that Jesus is with us still, it is His greatest gift to us, the sign that His presence with us is everlasting. We cannot gather here and celebrate because we are maintaining our distance. Everything else we do (lows from this celebration, and without it what are we to do?
First, we recognize the Risen Lord in each other, just as we recognize Him in the breaking of the bread, and so we have to treat each other as brothers and sisters. This is a great responsibility, and not always easy to do. We greet one another, we say hello, and we ask “how are you”? We need to stand ready to listen to the answer to “how are you”, even if it means the other is sharing their pains, their frustrations, their disappointments. Patient listening is what we do, it is what God does for us, and what we do for each other, BECAUSE WE ARE CATHOLIC.If there are those among us who are hungry, who lack what they need, we provide for them. We do this even when we cannot gather to worship together. We collect food and resources for our food pantry, for those in our sister parish in Haiti, and we share with those in need. We do this BECAUSE WE ARE CATHOLIC.
If there are those among us who are suffering, who are nearing the end of this life, we minister to them. We provide them what comfort we can, we companion them on their journey, and we assure them of God’s presence in their most difficult time. We pray with them, we bring them Eucharist, we show them that even in this most difficult time, God is indeed with them. We do this BECAUSE WE ARE CATHOLIC.
There is the comfort of Eucharist, our assurance that Jesus remains with us still. There is the nourishment of Eucharist, our assurance that Jesus will provide for us all that we need to do His work. Even not worshiping together, there is also the challenge of Eucharist, put so eloquently by Saint Augustine, hundreds of years ago. Augustine said that we “must become what we receive, we must become what we celebrate”. We are continually challenged to do the “more” of what it means to be Catholic.
These are the challenges we have for homework this week; for homework this season of anticipating the beginning of our Church again at Pentecost next week. Anticipating the time soon when we can worship together. If we are Catholic, if we are Church, accept one or more of these challenges in your life.
First: Act like what we have is special, precious, and worthwhile. Invite someone else to learn our faith. Many of your neighbors, come on, many of your family members, used to be Catholic. Invite them to come back to the faith they know. Tell them what we do, show them what we do. If they need assistance coming back, call me. Call any one of the deacons, or priests, we are here to help. Do it BECAUSE WE ARE CATHOLIC.
Second: If your neighbor, your coworker, is not Catholic, never has been, invite them in. Show them by your example what it means to be Catholic. Tell them how you help the poor, how you companion the suffering, how you pray for all. Be joyful, do it with a smile, as Pope Francis says, who want to join a bunch of sourpusses? Do it BECAUSE WE ARE CATHOLIC.
Third: Try to pray everyday, it makes a difference. Let God help you. This is hard for any of us who think we can do it all ourselves. The best can happen when we let God do the work. In God’s time, when God wants. Allow for this BECAUSE WE ARE CATHOLIC.
Let us pray together today for the courage to reach out to those who need us, for the strength to help those who need us, and to be an example of a community that makes it obvious that Jesus Christ is Risen, that He lives among us still. The world was changed when Jesus came and lived among us, the world was redeemed when He died and rose from the dead. Go today and help the change continue, live like the redeemed people that we are. Let the Easter joy in our hearts show on our faces, it is who we are called to be.