The kingdom began on earth
when the blessed Virgin spoke her
Be it unto me.
--St. Edith Stein
Such ‘consent,’ given by Mary, is not merely private, but expresses the willing participation of man, of humanity, in the work of salvation. In the freedom of Mary, at that instant, were contained all the desires, fears, and hopes of man in need of redemption. And the New Eve spoke her full, total yes to the angel of light, just the first Eve had once spoken her yes to the angel of darkness. Moreover, the response given by Mary to the angel also expresses, in addition to her consent, a humble and unconditional dedication to the plan of God entrusted to her.
–Fr. Settimio M. Manelli, F.I.
In May, we honor
the Blessed Virgin Mary…
Image source: Daniel Braniff, Annunciation window (1966), Dominican College, Belfast, Ireland, https://www.facebook.com/groups/303462353173920/posts/3134290370091090/
Quotation source 1
One of the single most important takeaways from the beginning of Jesus’ Last Supper Discourse in John’s Gospel is the fundamental union of Jesus, the Word-made-Flesh, with his Father, from the time of the Incarnation to Jesus’ death on the cross and beyond: I am in the Father and the Father is in me, Jesus tells his disciples. Through his death, Jesus gives us access to divine life as well: I am going to prepare a place for you, he says. We are baptized into Christ’s death so we might join him in resurrection. But the place he prepares is here, now – it is relationship. Jesus calls us to be fully alive in him, here and now, on earth as it is in heaven. How? Where I am going you know the way, Jesus tells his disciples; I am the way and the truth and the life. Jesus, the perfect revelation of God’s infinite love for all creation, teaches us the way. Love is the way. Love is truth. Love is life. Love is what we are called to.
Although, as we see in the Acts of the Apostles, the early Christian community had its growing pains, with Hellenists complaining against Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution, the community is still very much grounded in their faith in this truth: that they too are called together, as a community, to act in concert as a community for the benefit of all, through love. They can only do so if they recognize the centrality of the Spirit and the importance of the wisdom they gain from the word of God, placing their trust in the Lord, as Psalm 33 reminds them to do.
The importance of interdependence is reinforced in the First Letter of Peter, which calls upon the Christian community of the author’s time to let themselves be built into a spiritual house, not a tangible structure but rather an intentional union in Christ, the cornerstone of our faith. Like the community in Acts, these Christians must work not only to meet the needs of their own, but call others to faith, for this is the work of God, and to do the work of God, they must be one in Jesus who is the revelation of God. Together we are called to learn the way and the truth and the life that is Jesus, and to build upon all that he accomplished, allowing the Lord to work through us for the benefit of our world.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
The Acts of the Apostles provides us with the opportunity to witness one of the truly “aha” moments in Christianity, when people see something quite extraordinary and they are changed. On the day of Pentecost, we see Peter and the other disciples filled with the Holy Spirit, and Peter interprets the recent Christ events and the arrival of the Holy Spirit for them. The crowds see the effects of the arrival of the Holy Spirit on these simple, flawed fishermen, and what they see and what they hear is so gripping, so compelling, that their hearts are changed. They ask, What are we do to? Peter says, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Peter then issues a call to action: Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.
The Greek word for repentance, metanoia, is such a recurring focus in Acts, referring not only to a changed mind, but to a profound conversion that changes the heart, moving people from where they were before to where they are now: a very different place because of Jesus and faith. They are new people, individuals transformed, a group transformed, a Body transformed. That is what Peter is asking the people of Israel.
--Jackie Bacon,
OLMC Communion Service,
April 2, 2024
Image source: Fra Angelico, St. Peter Preaching in the Presence of St. Mark (c.1433), https://www.wikiart.org/en/fra-angelico/st-peter-preaching-in-the-presence-of-st-mark
Oftentimes, in our own self-perception, we do not recognize what God has done in creating us. We do not recognize the gift that he has gifted the world with. We don’t know what we are capable of, but God has loved each one of us infinitely, which means that each one of us has an infinite capacity. The smallest seed brings forth a great, large shrub that gives shade to others.
For the longest time, we were all taught to work for our own salvation. That stood in contrast and contradiction to everything Jesus taught. We cannot find salvation on our own. We can in each other’s context. That’s why we gather here. We long to be with the Lord, and we gather here to be with the Lord in each other, to affirm his presence in one another, to help each of us leave this place knowing that God is at work in us, knowing that the infinite capacity of his love is contained in us. We do not control the growth, but we allow it.
We have to stop working for ourselves, trying to find that holiness we think only can be found in isolation. Holiness is found in one another. We are blessed profoundly in one another because the gifts that you have not the gifts that I have, and if you want a whole set, you need more than you can bring on your own; we all do. That is what draws us together, for then we encounter the one who makes us holy and we live a love that we are only beginning to understand. This is grace: he is present here, now, always, every time we gather, so that we might live… in him.
--Fr. Patrick Michaels,
Homily, June 16, 2024
Image source 2: Fr. Pat works with Joe R. and Rodrigo to prepare the OLMC Memorial Day Float, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1233405612158184&set=a.1233430658822346
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and ask him more directly to give you joy, peace, and a pure heart. Purity of heart means a heart where God is the center of your attention. Take a simple sentence like “The Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want,” and repeat that quietly during the day until the truth of it enters the center of your being. You will always continue to have feelings of depression, anger, and restlessness, but when God dwells in the center of the storm, the storm is less frightening and you can live with trust that in the midst of all of the darkness you will be led to a place of joy and peace.
--Henri Nouwen
Image source: Christ in a mandorla, which is often a representation of the door through which we must pass to live in him; Evangelistar von Speyer (1220), Manuscript in the Badische Landesbibliothek, Karlsruhe, Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandorla#/media/File:Codex_Bruchsal_1_01v_cropped.jpg
Quotation source
--Pope Francis
Image source: Jean-Baptiste Champaigne, Le Bon Pasteur / The Good Shepherd (17th c.), https://pba-opacweb.lille.fr/fr/notice/p-167-le-bon-pasteur-1085b7ea-eb28-4555-989e-a8860be95ff8
Quotation source
