Sunday Gospel Reflection, May 3, 2026: Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do...

Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do…

How much God can accomplish through us,

if only we are one in Christ! 

   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

Their hearts are changed (Jackie Bacon)

     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 we do not recognize the gift (Fr. Patrick Michaels)

     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

We are so grateful, Fr. Pat,
for these words of wisdom,
which seem so very appropriate today
as we celebrate your birthday.
 You may not often recognize
what God has done in creating you,
 but the OLMC community sees God
working through you daily,
and we know we are blessed to have you.
Thank you for all you do for us,
and for all you do with us!
May you be abundantly blessed
today and always,
as you are blessing to us all! 

Image source 1: Fr. Pat celebrates Mass on Palm Sunday 2025, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1116331353865611&set=a.1116337687198311

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

At the center of your being (Henri Nouwen)

     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
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Jesus is the door (Pope Francis)

    I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (Jn 10:9). Let us listen to those words again: “he will go in and out”. On the one hand, Jesus is the wide open door that enables us to enter into the Father’s fellowship and experience his mercy. Yet, as we all know, open doors are not only for entering, but also for leaving. After bringing us back into God’s embrace and into the fold of the Church, Jesus is the door that leads us back into the world. He urges us to go forth to encounter our brothers and sisters. Let us never forget that all of us, without exception, are called to this; we are called to step out of our comfort zones and find the courage to reach out to all those peripheries that need the light of the Gospel. 

--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
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Able to distinguish (Elizabeth Nava)

        I’ve introduced my children to the voice of the Good Shepherd… so that when they hear it in the world, they are able to distinguish between the Shepherd and the wolf in sheep’s clothing. 

--Elizabeth Nava 

Image source: Artist unknown, Good Shepherd, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Shepherd
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The voice of the Shepherd (Pope Francis)

      Let us pay attention to the voices that reach our hearts. Let us ask ourselves where they come from. Let us ask for the grace to recognize and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd, who brings us out of the enclosures of selfishness and leads us to the pastures of true freedom. 

--Pope Francis 

Image source: Tom Denny, Witts Memorial Chapel, Gloucestershire, https://www.facebook.com/groups/303462353173920
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Sunday Gospel Reflection, April 26, 2026: What are we to do, my brothers?

What are we to do, my brothers?
What does it take to be saved? 

    In John’s Gospel, having just healed the man born blind, Jesus points out to the Pharisees that they themselves are blind, for they have failed to hear Jesus’ voice and follow him, even when he demonstrates irrefutably that he is the Messiah. The Pharisees ignore and deny God’s action; they are the thieves and robbers of whom Jesus speaks, those who will not enter through the gate to salvation that is Jesus. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, Jesus tells them, but they pay him no heed, refusing to listen (let alone believe!), refusing to accept their identity as sheep and cling instead to their own self-interest. The Lord is manifestly not their shepherd. 

    After Jesus’ death and rising, the Christian community will cling to Jesus’ promise of salvation. In the Acts of the Apostles, the crowds ask Peter and the other apostles, What are we to do, my brothers? Peter reassures them that Jesus’ promise is intended for them as well: Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is made to you and your children and to all those far off. God raised Jesus, thus opening a door; they have but to step through it to access eternal life. Likewise, although they may have gone astray like sheep, the author of the First Letter of Peter tells his community, they have but to return to the shepherd and guardian of their souls, Christ, who suffered for them. As Christians, they may suffer for doing what is good, but they have been called, and must follow in Christ’s footsteps, in order to live for righteousness. 

    It is through Jesus that we must go in order to embrace our identity as Christians; we cannot pass through the gate without being touched by his life, his sacrifice, and participate. We too must be patient when we suffer for doing what is good, and hold to his promise of salvation. All who listen, follow and believe will be saved. Are we ready and willing to embrace that promise and believe, as Psalm 23 reminds us, that the Lord is our shepherd, too? 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Everything visible is the outpouring of God (Fr. Richard Rohr)

    While calling ourselves intelligent, we’ve lost touch with the natural world. As a result, we’ve lost touch with our own souls. 

    When God manifests spirit through matter, then matter becomes a holy thing. The material world is the place where we can comfortably worship God just by walking in it, loving it, and respecting it. Everything visible, without exception, is the outpouring of God. What else could it really be? When we can enjoy all these things as holy, “we experience the universe as a communion of subjects, not as a collection of objects,” as the “geologian” Fr. Thomas Berry said so wisely. 

    When we love something, we grant it soul, we see its soul, and we let its soul touch ours. We must love something deeply to know its soul (anima). Before the resonance of love, we are largely inattentive to the meaning, value, and power of ordinary things to “save” us and help us live in union with the Source of all being. In fact, until we can appreciate and even delight in the soul of other things, even trees and animals, we probably haven’t discovered our own souls either. Soul knows soul through love, which Jesus teaches as the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37–39). 

--Fr. Richard Rohr

Happy Earth Day! 
How (and where) will you
reconnect with nature today?

Image source: Pirates Cove Trail, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, https://www.parksconservancy.org/trails/pirates-cove-trail
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Places of encounter (Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna)

    Brother Lawrence discovered that holiness does not depend on extraordinary circumstances, spiritual achievements or moral perfection. Instead, it flows from a simple, loving awareness of God’s presence in every moment. 

    Whether he was praying in the chapel or working in the kitchen, he sought to remain in quiet conversation with God—not through many words, but through attentive love. 

    This insight reminds us that God is not found only in ideal conditions, but also in the real circumstances of our lives: in moments of joy and pain, clarity and uncertainty, belonging and struggle. This means that our lived experiences—including our questions, wounds and hopes—are not obstacles to God, but places of encounter. 

    Living in God’s presence does not require us to resolve every tension at once. It asks only that we turn our hearts toward God with honesty and trust. A simple intention—“God, I am here with you”—can transform even the most ordinary moment into sacred ground. 

--Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna 

Image source: Still shot, Of Gods and Men (2010), trailer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhQzn2gVGjQ
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God's self-emptying love (Bishop Robert Barron)

    Jesus enlightens the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Have you ever tried to solve a puzzle and then were surprised when the various pieces suddenly fell into place? Well, this is what happens to these disciples as Jesus begins to speak: “How slow of heart [you are] to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” The whole of Christianity is hanging here in the balance. 

    The disciples didn’t get it at first. They didn’t get the secret, the mystery, the key, the pattern. And what was that? God’s self-emptying love, even unto death. God’s act of taking upon himself the sins of the world in order to take them away, the mystery of redemption through suffering. 

   Jesus explains this first by reference to the prophets; but then, he makes it as vividly present to them as he can: “He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.” And that’s when the pieces fell into place—that’s when the puzzle was solved. The Eucharist made present this love unto death, this love that is more powerful than sin and death. The Eucharist is the key. 

--Bishop Robert Barron 

Image source: Pierre Loy, Emmaus, Eglise St Luc, Valais, Switzerland, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1785622648381496
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Jesus accepts their hospitality (Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe)

     When the disciples flee to Emmaus, they are filled with anger and disappointment… The disciples are running away from the community of the Church, like so many people today. Jesus does not block their way or condemn them. He asks ‘What are you talking about?’ What are the hopes and disappointments that stir in your hearts? The disciples are speaking angrily. The Greek means literally, ‘What are these words that you are hurling at each other?’ So Jesus invites them to share their anger. They had hoped that Jesus would be the one to redeem Israel, but they were wrong. He failed. So, he walks with them and opens himself to their anger and fear. 

    Notice that Jesus does not attempt to control the conversation. He asks what they are talking about; he goes where they go, not where he wishes to go; he accepts their hospitality. A real conversation cannot be controlled. One surrenders oneself to its direction. We cannot anticipate where it will take us, to Emmaus or Jerusalem. 

    When they reach Emmaus, the flight from Jerusalem stops. Jesus looks as if he wishes to go further but, with glorious irony they invite the Lord of the Sabbath to rest with them. ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is nearly over.’ (Luke 24:29). Jesus accepts their hospitality as the three strangers in Genesis 18 accepted the hospitality of Abraham. God is our guest. We too must have the humility to be guests. [We] must leave ‘the comfortable position of those who give hospitality to allow ourselves to be welcomed into the existence of those who are our companions on the journey of humanity’. 

    When he was at table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognised him and he vanished from their sight.’ (Luke 24:29). Their eyes were opened. The previous time that we heard that phrase was when Adam and Eve took the fruit from the Tree of Life, and their eyes were open and they knew that they were naked. This is why some ancient commentators saw the disciples as Cleopas and his wife, a married couple, a new Adam and Eve. Now they eat the bread of life. 

    One last small thought: When Jesus vanishes from their sight they say, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked to us on the road.’ (Luke 24:32) It is as if it is only afterwards that they become aware of the joy they had as they walked with the Lord. St John Henry Newman said that it is only as we look backwards at our lives that we become aware of how God was always with us. I pray that this will be our experience too. 

--Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe 

Image source: Sadao Watanabe, Jesus at Emmaus (1969), https://collections.artsmia.org/art/135693/jesus-at-emmaus-watanabe-sadao
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Living with our eyes and hearts open (Fr. James Martin)

     Seeing God means being ready to see him in unexpected people, places and ways. It means living with our eyes and our hearts open. Because wherever you are, there is your Emmaus. 

--Fr. James Martin S.J. 

Image source: Georges Rouault, Road to Emmaus (1936), https://risdmuseum.org/art-design/collection/road-emmaus-20079813
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The One who walks beside us (Fr. Patrick van der Vorst)

   In this lithograph, Maurice Denis offers a contemporary interpretation of the Supper at Emmaus. We see Christ seated at the table, blessing the bread. Opposite him sits the artist himself, portrayed as the disciple who has just recognised the true identity of his extraordinary table companion. Denis’s wife, Marthe, enters the room carrying a dish, while a friend follows with two small jugs; one for water, the other for wine, a clear Eucharistic reference. The print, based on Denis’s original painting now housed in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, reimagines the scene from today’s Gospel in a modern setting. Notice, too, the two candelabra on the table: their flames seem to merge into one. It is a beautiful image: our own light drawn into Christ’s, shining all the more brightly together. 

    This morning’s reading offers real help for our life of prayer. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus are clearly discouraged, weighed down by sorrow. Many of us have found ourselves in that place, living under the shadow of a cross. 

    What does Jesus do? He simply draws alongside them and gently asks why they are downcast. He invites them to speak freely, to share what is on their minds and in their hearts. This is what Jesus invites us to do each time we come to him in prayer: to pour out our hearts, to speak of our joys and our struggles, our hopes and our hurts. 

    And once the disciples have shared all that is within them, the Gospel tells us that Jesus then begins to speak. The same is true for us. After we have brought our hearts to the Lord, there comes a moment to listen, to be still, and to allow Jesus' word to speak to us. Thus prayer is not only about speaking; it is also about listening, waiting in silence for the voice of the One who walks beside us, even when we do not recognise him at first.

--Fr. Patrick van der Vorst 

Image source: Maurice Denis, The Pilgrims at Emmaus (1895), https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/prints/collection/p1115V2000
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Sunday Gospel Reflection, April 19, 2026: Were not our hearts burning within us?

Were not our hearts burning within us?
How has God been revealed to you? 

    As two of Jesus’ disciples travel to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, Luke tells us, they are downcast, devastated and in deep pain. Their rabbi Jesus has just been crucified and they are lost, trying to find their way in the darkness. In their dejection, the travelers encounter a man who can offer them some insight: Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? Jesus’ history is very logical and succinct, bringing new insights and awareness to the travelers. The Lord is very present to them in this moment, a presence they sense viscerally, although they comprehend all only once he has disappeared: Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us? At that moment, they sense the grace of God present and working in their lives. Jesus has, as Psalm 16 suggests, shown them the path of life, remaining in their line of vision to lead them; their hearts are glad and their souls rejoice! 

   In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter, having just received the Holy Spirit, similarly asks the crowd to look more carefully, and to remember what they have witnessed: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know. Jesus’ works, his words, were all part of God’s plan; God was revealed through Jesus, and they have but to open themselves to the fullness of this revelation to be filled with joy in God’s presence once again. They are not dealing with human whim, but with the love of God, which so far surpasses any expectations they may have had. 

    Attentiveness and awe are also at play in the First Letter of Peter, whose author exhorts his audience, Conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning. Why? Because Jesus, known before the foundation of the world has been revealed in the final time for them. Jesus has shown them how to find God in absolute love, in God himself willing to sacrifice the entirety of himself for the sake of that love. All those who knew the Lord in person or know him through the witness of others – ourselves included – are called to be filled with wonder at what God is unfolding in us, for God works through us as well, if only we allow God to show us the path of life!

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

The beauty of a community (Veronica Szczgiel)

    There is a sanctity in literally breaking bread with others — whether it be for a special occasion or as part of an everyday routine. Regardless, being distraction-free and fully focused on the present moment — and God’s presence in our company — makes each meal full of grace.  

    Mealtimes emphasize the beauty of a community. Everyone takes time out of their busy lives to come together as one. It’s no wonder that Jesus chose a meal to establish the first Mass, the holiest of meals. In fact, every Mass is a meal. We gather together to listen to God’s word and eat and drink his body and blood in the form of bread and wine. 

    As Jesus literally broke bread [at the Last Supper seder meal], he told his disciples: “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). He did it again as he passed around the cup of wine: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). This was one of the most singularly important announcements in the world: that Jesus is fully present in the bread and wine that is shared in Mass, all around the world, from that very first seder meal to today. 

--Veronica Szczygiel 

Image source: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Potluck, July 14, 2024, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=909846294514119&set=a.909848687847213
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Communities in faith (Dorothy Day)

    We are communities in time and in a place, I know, but we are communities in faith as well -- and sometimes time can stop shadowing us. Our lives are touched by those who lived centuries ago, and we hope that our lives will mean something to people who won’t be alive until centuries from now. It’s a great ‘chain of being,’ someone once told me, and I think our job is to do the best we can to hold up our small segment of the chain. That’s one kind of localism, I guess, and one kind of politics -- doing your utmost to keep that chain connected, unbroken. 

--Servant of God Dorothy Day,
The Reckless Way of Love:
 Notes on Following Jesus

Image source: George Walsh, stained glass, St, Kentigern’s Roman Catholic Church, Eyeries, West Cork, Ireland, https://www.docbrown.info/docspics/irishscenes/ispage134f.htm 
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Interaction with others (Ted Chiang)

    We are all products of what has come before us, but it’s by living our lives in interaction with others that we bring meaning into the world. That is something that an auto-complete algorithm can never do, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 

--Ted Chiang,
"Why A.I. Isn’t Going to Make Art"

Image source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-ai-make-human-relationships-even-more-important-paul-swettenham-fnhyc/
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Christian identity (Pope Leo / Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe)

The Christian life is not lived in isolation,
confined to our minds and hearts.
It is lived with others,
because the Risen Christ is present among
the disciples gathered in His name.
We are part of a people,
a body that the Lord has established.
No one is a Christian alone! 

 --Pope Leo XIV, June 6, 2025 

   For some the idea of a universal welcome, in which everyone is accepted regardless of who they are, is felt as destructive of the Church’s identity. As in a nineteenth-century English song, ‘If everybody is somebody then nobody is anybody.’ They believe that identity demands boundaries. But for others, it is the very heart of the Church’s identity to be open. Pope Francis said, ‘The Church is called on to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open ... where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems and to move towards those who feel the need to take up again their path of faith.’ 

    This tension has always been at the heart of our faith, since Abraham left Ur. The Old Testament holds two things in perpetual tension: the idea of election, God’s chosen people, the people with whom God dwells. This is an identity which is cherished. But also universalism, openness to all the nations, an identity which is yet to be discovered. Christian identity is both known and unknown, given and to be sought. St. John says, ‘Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.’ (1 John 3. 1 – 2). We know who we are and yet we do not know who we shall be. 

    For some of us, the Christian identity is above all given, the Church we know and love. For others Christian identity is always provisional, lying ahead as we journey towards the Kingdom in which all walls will fall. Both are necessary! If we stress only our identity is given – This is what it means to be Catholic – we risk becoming a sect. If we just stress the adventure towards an identity yet to be discovered, we risk becoming a vague Jesus movement. But the Church is a sign and sacrament of the unity of all humanity in Christ (LG. 1) in being both. We dwell on the mountain and taste the glory now. But we walk to Jerusalem, that first synod of the Church. 

    How are we to live this necessary tension? All theology springs from tension, which bends the bow to shoot the arrow. This tension is at the heart of St. John’s gospel. God makes his home in us: ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’ (14.23) But Jesus also promises us our home in God: ‘ In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (John 14.2). 

    When we think of the Church as home, some of us primarily think of God as coming home to us, and others of us coming to home in God. Both are true. We must enlarge the tent of our sympathy to those who think differently. We treasure the inner circle on the mountain, but we come down and walk to Jerusalem, wanderers and homeless. ‘Listen to him’. 

--Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe

Image source: https://emailmeditations.com/2014/08/14/490-early-christian-testimonies/
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Cherished belonging (Fr. Greg Boyle)

We want to commit to creating
a culture and community of
cherished belonging. 

--Fr. Greg Boyle SJ

Image source 1: Belonging, mural, Guelph, Ontario, https://is-gw.ca/stories-of-belonging/
Image source 2: Fr. Greg Boyle with members of his Homeboy community, https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/09/19/greg-boyle-homeboy-industries-241462/
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Our common life (Henri Nouwen)

    How do we live out our common life as a God-centered, love-motivated community of faith? How will we express our particular faith in prayers and worship that include all people? How will we live our unity in authentic ways, fully recognizing the divisions and separations that continue to exist among us? My own growing awareness is that spiritual needs and desires are present and common to all, that we share a universal quest for deeper meaning and purpose, and that we are all beloved children of God. 

--Henri Nouwen 

Image source: OLMC’s “Chosen” group prays for our world, December 2025, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1328667335965344&set=pb.100064662700877.-2207520000
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Sunday Gospel Reflection, April 12, 2026: All who believed were together and had all things in common...

All who believed were together and had all things in common…
 Do we find our common identity in Christ? 

   When, in John’s Gospel, the resurrected Jesus appears to the disciples behind locked doors, he enters into a community of believers, but believers wracked by fear. Peace be with you, he says to them (twice). Jesus wants to put his faithful flock, those who have maintained their faith in him and remain true to him, at ease. Breathing on them, Jesus invites them into new life in him: Receive the Holy Spirit. This gift will allow the disciples to be the first community through whom God will be revealed; their faith – including Thomas’ – will allow them to believe past the limitations we normally place on our world, so that they might bring his mercy to that world. For this, they will, as Psalm 118 states, give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting. 

    It is the union that grows among this community of believers that we find depicted shortly thereafter, in the Acts of the Apostles. They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers, Luke tells us. That communal life becomes integral to their identity; the meals they share are celebratory, exultant, for in them they express true devotion to each other and and to the common good, growing in their identity as the Body of Christ. 

    By the time of the writing of the First Letter of Peter, the Christian community is one that has not known Jesus firsthand: although you have not seen him, you love him. Yet, through baptism, a new birth to a living hope, they too have been transformed through the death and rising of Jesus. Their communal identity develops both from the trials they are facing together and from their indescribable and glorious joy at knowing they are saved. Like this community, we have not seen Christ yet we love him. And like them, we too can give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting!

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

A faithful priest (1 Samuel 2)

I will choose a faithful priest who shall do
what I have in heart and mind.
I will establish a lasting house for him
and he shall serve in the
presence of my anointed forever.

--1 Samuel 2:35 

   Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of our priests, particularly Fr. Bill Brown, who celebrates the anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood today. 

   Through him, we experience your presence in the sacraments. 

   Help him to be strong in his vocation.
   Set his soul on fire with love for your people.
   Grant him the wisdom, understanding, and strength he needs to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
   Inspire him with the vision of your Kingdom.
   Give him the words he needs to spread the Gospel.
   Allow him to experience joy in his ministry.
   Help him to become an instrument of your divine grace. 

We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest.
Amen. 

We are so grateful to OLMC Priest-in-Residence
Fr. Bill Brown,
for all of his loving care for our parish! 

Fr. Brown, you are a wonderful example of
what it means to be a dedicated servant to the Lord.
God bless you on this milestone of devotion and service! 

Source of images: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1398170109015066&set=pcb.1398170242348386
Prayer source

Resurrected (S.D. Gordon / J. Barrie Shepherd)

Easter spells out beauty,
the rare beauty of new life.

 --S. D. Gordon

Our Christian symbols seem, at times, not quite
appropriate to the meaning that they bear.
For instance, take the Easter lily, white
and fragile sign of resurrection. Rare,
its graceful silent trumpet greets the light
of March or April only under glare
of florists’ lamps, unnaturally bright.
You never find them in the open air
before July. A better flower for Easter Day
would be, as every angry gardener knows,
the dandelion, seeded by the gay
abandoned wind that, as it listeth, blows.
No matter how we weed out every stray,
digging as deep, the root still deeper goes.
And when, at last, we quit and go away
the rain falls, and a host of fresh bright foes
stands resurrected, and the garden glows. 

--J. Barrie Shepherd,
Hope Weed 

Image source: https://www.yinovacenter.com/blog/dandelions-recipes-from-a-foraging-herbalist/
Quotation source 1
Quotation source 2

Go to my brothers and sisters (Jackie Bacon)

    Mary of Magdala, follower of Jesus… Mary, whose life was changed by Jesus… Mary, who was saved by Jesus… Mary had witnessed her Lord, her friend, ridiculed, beaten, whipped, and then, as she stood at the foot of the cross, she saw Jesus crucified. And Mary knows: she is so very helpless. She can do nothing. 

    It is little wonder that Mary is called to the tomb of her best friend. Rising early, eager to be with the crucified Jesus, Mary is the first to see the stone of the sepulchre has been moved. Mary runs back, telling Peter and the other disciples what she saw. Peter and the other disciple race to the tomb, finding indeed that Mary is correct: the tomb is open and Jesus is not there. 

    Quickly, the two disciples retreat from the tomb, trying to make sense of this open, empty tomb. Mary, still driven by her love for Jesus, returns to the tomb a second time, desperate for understanding. This first appearance of the resurrected Jesus might have included his Mother Mary, or Peter, the head of the disciples, or the Beloved Disciple. But no: this first sighting of the resurrected Christ is the honor given to Mary of Magdala, Mary, who has lived a life of sorrow and of loss, a woman who recently (because of the presence of Jesus in her life) knows of beauty and knows the joy of life. She is changed – hers is a life reclaimed, because of Jesus. 

    At the tomb, Mary sees the risen Christ, and Jesus speaks to Mary, calling her by name. He says, Stop holding onto me. Go to my brothers and sisters. And what does Mary do? Having longed to see the body of her Lord, to minister to him, what does she do? Mary does what is asked of her, and races to tell the other disciples what she has seen: Jesus, risen! Mary becomes the apostle, the messenger, to the other apostles. 

    We, like Mary of Magdala, are asked to go and tell our brothers and our sisters. Go, make a difference! We are the hands of Christ, reaching out to those in need, gentle, focusing hands, hands that will be of help to others, asking, what do you need? Do you need to be heard? Do you need to be hugged? Do you need to be helped? We are the face of God for all to see. Go… 

    Go, make a difference in our world, because the world needs you. 

--Jackie Bacon,
OLMC Communion Service,
 April 2, 2024 

Image source: https://cbn.com/article/salvation/why-jesus-chose-mary-magdalene-proclaim-his-resurrection

Can we imagine? (OLMC Reflection)

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

John 20: 16

    Consider Mary Magdalene as that most remarkable day breaks. She has gone to the tomb early in the morning, has called the disciples – and they have come and gone, yet she remains there, weeping. And when Jesus asks her, Woman, why are you weeping? she mistakes him for the gardener. She doesn’t know him, at least not at first; he has to call her name for her to know – to recognize him. But then he says her name: Mary! 

    Can we imagine how beautiful the sound of our own name would be, when said by Jesus? 

    The Resurrection restores Jesus to Mary Magdalene, to us, to the world, so that we might be moved by the imagination of joyful companionship with Christ… so that we can and must imagine what it would mean to know him, to recognize his presence in our lives daily, in one other, in Eucharist… so that we can and must imagine what is would mean to be known by him, to know intimately the love he holds for us, its extravagance, its wonder, as reflected by the love he shared on the cross… 

And he walks with me, and he talks with me,
and he tells me I am his own…

 And the joy we share as we tarry there,
none other has ever known… 

    For God did so love the world, so extravagantly, so wondrously, that he gave his only Son, gave him not to take him away again, but to make him present in our lives. Yes, God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus who was crucified for us. God has made him the bearer of God’s forgiveness, and the source of the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

    And while we, like Mary, cannot hold onto him in his resurrected form, we can choose to live in him, to walk with him, to embrace his gift of the Spirit, allowing our soul to wait for the Lord, allowing our soul to open to his presence, allowing our soul to know the joy that comes of knowing the Lord, and being known by him. 

    Happy Easter! 

--Suzanne,
OLMC Reflection,
March 29, 2016

Image source: Bruce Wolfe, Jesus with Mary Magdalene (detail), Mission Santa Barbara, https://smecsundaymorningforum.org/tag/bruce-wolfe/

Christ is Risen! (Fr. Gerhard Lohfink / Fr. Ron Rolheiser)

The experience of the Risen One
must have been shocking,
deeply moving, and all-shattering.

 --Fr. Gerhard Lohfink,
Jesus of Nazareth

      Christ is risen, though we might not see him! The miraculous doesn’t force itself on us. It’s there, there to be seen, but whether we see or not, and what precisely we do see, depends mainly upon what’s going on inside our own hearts. 

--Fr. Ron Rolheiser OMI 

Easter Blessings from
Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
Mill Valley!
May your heart be full!

Image source: Resurrection, Church of Lord Jesus the Good Shepherd, Krakow, Poland, https://www.themayor.eu/en/a/view/krakow-now-boasts-the-world-s-largest-stained-glass-window-12495
Quotation 1 source
Quotation 2 source 

Love triumphs! (Fr. Ron Rolheiser)

   Despite every appearance to the contrary at times, in the end, love does triumph over hatred. Peace does triumph over chaos. Forgiveness does triumph over bitterness. Hope does triumph over cynicism. Fidelity does triumph over despair. Virtue does triumph over sin. Conscience does triumph over callousness. Life does triumph over death, and good does triumph over evil, always. The resurrection, most forcibly, makes that point. In the end, God has the last word. 

--Fr. Ron Rolheiser OMI

He is Risen!

Love has triumphed!

Alleluia! 

Image source 1: La Rédemption, St. Mathieu-de-Flône, Amay, Belgium, https://www.facebook.com/agencewallonnedupatrimoine/posts/%EF%B8%8Fde-nouveaux-vitraux-pour-l%C3%A9glise-saint-matthieu-de-fl%C3%B4ne-amayau-printemps-2019-/1236792545159212/
Image source 2: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mill Valley, Easter Vigil, April 2025, https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1123838136448266&set=a.1116337687198311 Quotation source

I too often dwell among the dead (Fr. Louis Brisson / Fr. Michael Newman)

My children, for us Easter must be the passing
from natural life to supernatural life,
the passing from ourselves to God.

 --Fr. Louis Brisson 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”
The angel said to the women at the tomb.
Lord, the angel says that to me too on this Easter.
For I too often dwell among the dead,
removing the scars on my hands and my feet
so that I might bleed again.
Revisiting past hurts,
Cherishing resentments.
Ashamed by my wounds.
Entombing myself in the past,
 walking dead in the present.
“He has been raised!”
The angel said to the women and to me.
Jesus, give me the grace this Easter to believe
that your Resurrection doesn’t depend on me being perfect;
that your Resurrection is not conditioned by my being right;
that your Resurrection isn’t a reward for right behavior;
but the guarantor that a new way is possible,
a new road is now open,
and a new and eternal destiny lies before me;
that your scarred hand is stretched out before me,
waiting and desiring to grasp my bleeding hand,
as you invite me in faith,
to take hold of you and never let you go,
to embrace my wounds and not run from them
and to experience your Easter gift of new and eternal life,
Resurrection now and forever,
For once we are born into this world,
we never truly die.
Jesus, help me remember that,
no matter what happens,
You will always rise.
And,
with your grace,
so will I.
Amen.
May God be Praised! 

--Fr. Michael Newman OSFS,

April 20, 2025 

Image source: https://www.religiousartdecor.com/jesus-is-laid-in-the-tomb/#iLightbox[gallery_image_1]/1
Source of quotations

Did they wonder? (Barbara Brown Taylor / Vaneetha Risner)

New life starts in the dark.
Whether it is a seed in the ground,
a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb,
it starts in the dark.

--Barbara Brown Taylor,
Learning to Walk In the Dark

    Holy Saturday follows Good Friday. On the first Holy Saturday, the disciples all scattered, each to their own homes (John 16:31). It was the Sabbath for them, a day without work. Nothing to busy themselves with. Just silence and stillness. 

   I wonder if they pondered the events of the past week or talked about them together? Were they filled with regret, second guessing what they’d said, ashamed of what they did and didn’t do? Did they wonder what was true about what they once earnestly believed and were willing to give their lives for? 

--Vaneetha Risner 

Image source: Eugène Burnand, Saturday (1907-1908), https://artandfaithmatters.blogspot.com/2020/04/holy-saturday-waiting-art-lectionary.html
Quotation source 1
Quotation source 2