It's All in the Touch

 

Deacon David Previtali · It's in the Touch

Homily for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 27, 2021. Gospel: Mark 5:21-43. Theme: It’s All in the Touch 

Today’s gospel reminds us that there’s nothing that brings us more blatantly face-to-face with the stark reality of our limited human condition, than being truly powerless. Jairus can’t do a single thing on his own to save his 12-year-old daughter from death; and the woman with a severe hemorrhage is utterly worn out from having tried every human remedy possible. It often takes those kind of wake-up calls in our lives - a love that is not reciprocated, the diagnosis of a serious disease, the destructive chains of addiction, the darkness of depression or the panic of anxiety - to make us acknowledge that we are powerless and that it’s God alone who can rescue us. 

To be truly powerless means that the relief of our suffering, the solution to our predicament, the peace we seek amidst personal struggles, cannot be found from within ourselves. We stand in need a Power greater than ourselves, greater than any human solution, to lift us up and restore us to peace and serenity in the midst of chaos and struggle. We Christians have a Name for this Power-Greater-than-Ourselves: Jesus of Nazareth. But today’s gospel teaches us that to be powerless doesn’t mean to be hopeless or helpless. It shows us that confident trust is the way to experience the saving power of the One who is greater than sickness and mightier than death. 

We first encounter Jairus who falls at the feet of Jesus and pleads with him for the life of his daughter. He is utterly unable to change the situation on his own. He is completely powerless to rescue his little girl whom he loves more than himself. Yet even when the news of her death reaches him, he refuses to concede and continues to trust in that Greater Power called Jesus. Jairus teaches us to humbly throw ourselves upon our knees before Our Lord and to entrust to him whatever is plaguing us, whatever destructive behavior we cannot stop, or whatever the situation is that we cannot bear on our own. 

Along the way to Jairus’ house, we meet a woman with a hemorrhage who for 12 years has spent all of her time, all of her energy and all of her money on seeking a cure. She is worn out, physically exhausted and weak from the continual loss of blood. In addition -and we may not realize this unless we know the backstory - she is also emotionally wounded from being snubbed by her peers, who in ancient Jewish society were not permitted to socially interact with someone in her unclean condition. Yet despite all that she has been through, she too like Jairus, refuses to concede. This woman gives us an astounding example of trust in the midst of powerlessness. She summons up whatever strength she can and battles her way through the crowd, consciously striving to simply touch the clothing of that Greater Power called Jesus. 

This inspiring woman teaches us the importance of making direct, intentional, and personal contact with Jesus in faith, which means in trust. Think about it…Our Lord is in the midst of a crowd, he’s the celebrity center of attention because of his miraculous reputation and is being bumped and jostled by many as he makes his way to Jairus’ house. And yet Jesus knows, he feels from within himself, that he has a been touched in a way that is unlike any others in that crowd. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle Jesus was aware that power had gone out from him, so he stops in his tracks and asks, "Who touched my clothes?” 

You see, even when surrounded by hundreds of people, Jesus knows when an individual has touched Him with intention, with purpose, with trust. It’s a very different kind of touch, one that reaches the very heart of God. Jesus seeks her out because he wants a personal encounter with the one who has touched Him so personally. The woman didn’t need to speak a word, did she? Her action of trust said it all and God, who knows what’s in the heart, responded dramatically to her intentional touch. And he does the very same for us today, for anyone who seeks him out with intention, with purpose, with trust. 

And that’s the good news that Mark wants to deliver to us through this gospel story. We too, in our own struggles and powerlessness, can have the same kind of personal encounter with Jesus. Many, perhaps millions, offer prayers to the Lord every day but it is those what are offered in the spirit of humble and confident trust that touch his heart and grab his attention, just like the woman’s unique touch in the midst of that crowd. We have no need to envy Jairus or the woman, because we too are blessed to be in the very Presence of Christ every bit as much as they were. 

We can fall on our knees before Jesus just as Jairus did every time we come to the Eucharist. We can reach out and literally touch Jesus personally, intentionally, directly, in every Holy Communion! The Risen and Living Lord, who still rescues those in need and heals the sick, is placed into our very hands or upon our tongues and this so much better, so much more powerful, than simply touching his robe! 

So, let’s have this in mind this as we come forward to receive the Holy Eucharist.  Let’s strive to have the same kind of unstoppable trust as Jairus that saved his daughter from death and approach our Eucharistic Lord with the same intentional faith as the woman whose touch brought her new life.  Let’s have their hope in our hearts as we approach the Lord in Holy Communion, and present to him whatever it is that we need to be healed of or strengthened to endure.  Let’s stretch out our hands with this same confidence to touch that Greater-Power whom we call Jesus, the One who alone can heal us, who alone transform us, liberate us, and restore us to serenity and sanity.  All we have to do is ask. And in the asking, all we have to do is trust.

In the Boat of Life With Jesus

 

Deacon David Previtali · In the Boat of Life with Jesus

Homily for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 20, 2021. Gospel of St. Mark 4:35-41. Theme: In the Boat of Life with Jesus 

You may or may not know this, but not everything Jesus said or did was recorded for us in each one of the four gospels. Matthew includes a lot and gives us the longest version, while Mark takes the short and simple way of story-telling. Luke likes to include left out people and parables, while John looks at Jesus in a way that is completely unlike the other three. The reason I bother to mention all this is because, whenever a story about Jesus ends up being retold in all four gospels, it’s a very good sign that the event and the words of our Lord held a deep meaning and significance to the first Christians. That’s the type of Gospel we have in today’s Story of the Storm at Sea. 

We can imagine the disciples panic as the water level kept rising in the boat. And we can probably understand their bewilderment that Jesus was sound asleep through it all! The backstory to this stormy event is that they had all just seen Jesus that very day free a possessed man from demons and cure the withered hand of another. So, they knew he could make things right and keep them safe, otherwise why would they have awakened him and ask why he didn’t seem to care? I suppose they just had to learn to trust in God even if he seemed silent. And aren’t we the same way in the storm of our lives, especially when God seems silent to us? Don’t we often want to cry out, “God, don’t you care what’s happening to me?” 

It seems to me that this Gospel teaches us that Christ is indeed with us in the storms and turmoil of life and he knows precisely what he will do to rescue us. And maybe like the disciples we will have to wait until the last minute when all seems lost. But the key is for us to keep trusting no matter how things seem because that’s precisely what faith means and it’s what Jesus asks of us when he says, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” 

This story’s universal appeal makes a lot of sense to me because no matter what century in history or what culture we live in, we all find ourselves in stormy turmoil now and then, both from within us and swirling around us. And through this story, Christians have been comforted and encouraged by the truth that Jesus is aware and concerned about us, no matter how bleak the circumstances may look. We are often like those disciples tossed about and made fearful by the various experiences and circumstances of life. And so, like them we too must look intently through the howling wind and splashing waves to see Jesus in the storm. We have to learn from him how to stand firm amidst the turmoil and refuse to give in to our fear. 

All four Gospel writers, by including this story in their writings, want us to know and remember that Jesus is with us, especially during the stormy times in our lives. We can turn to him anywhere and anytime. We can speak with him throughout our day no matter what we are doing, at home or at work. We can find encouragement and strength by reading and repeating to ourselves his words in the Gospels. And we are able to just come before him in peace and quiet to spend some extended time in his Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. He provides us with these - and other ways and means - to cast our cares upon him, to grow in knowing him better and then trusting him more, and in delivering us from whatever is causing our panic or fears. 

Through challenge after challenge, Christ can use these various storms of life to show us his love and provision, if we are open to receiving it.  On our part, we have to learn to hand over the care of our lives to God, acknowledging the reality that only he can restore serenity and sanity to our lives. And the only way we will learn that this is the way to go, is by doing it, by trusting, and then seeing in the outcome how well things turn out. This is how we grow in the practice of handing over the care of our lives to Christ and by so doing, deepening our faith. 

So, in the confidence of hope and the power of love, let’s surrender our lives to him and pray: Lord Jesus, I believe that you care for me, even in the midst of chaos and suffering; even when I cannot see or understand why certain things are happening in me and around me. Help me to hand over my life to you and to trust that you will make everything work out for my good and bring me safely to your Kingdom. Amen.

That Amazing Mustard-Seed Sized Faith!

 

Deacon David Previtali · That Amazing Mustard-Seed Sized Faith!

Homily for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 13, 2021. Gospel: Mark 4:26-34. Theme: That Amazing Mustard-Seed Sized Faith! 

Jesus says a couple of things in today’s gospel that I think need a little more looking into on our part. First, he keeps referring to something called the Kingdom of God. It actually will go on to become his #1 preaching and teaching theme. Second, he compares this Kingdom to something so small and ordinary as a seed. So, what in the world does he mean? 

The Kingdom of God doesn’t refer to a place but more so to an attitude, to an inner state of being. It’s a way of living and thinking and acting that originates in a heart where God is enthroned as King. Others can be drawn to this reign of God, this rule of God, this Lordship of God in each one of us by seeing our acts of love, peace, mercy, compassion and justice. The Kingdom has the power to change us from the inside out and transform even the most wrecked and devastated of lives into something beautiful for God. 

Jesus then goes on to compare the spreading of this Kingdom to the planting of seeds, with special attention to the tiniest of them all, the mustard seed. It reminds me of the saying: “good things come in small packages.” I think what Jesus is saying is that even just a little trust in God contains within it the power to do the impossible. This mustard-seed sized faith, watered and nourished by divine grace, can enable the Kingdom of God to emerge from within us, bringing peace of heart to others and confronting the evil and injustice we see in the world. We have proof of this in the lives of some heroic Christians who have gone before us. 

In 1948, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was just an ordinary nun like many others, teaching high school to wealthy girls in India. But every day she came face-to-face with the destitute poverty and desperate hunger among the poor outcasts in the streets. Her mustard-seed sized faith that God could somehow use her to do something about it moved her to leave her comfortable convent and live among the poor. It didn’t seem like much at first. It was a simply something she could do to try and get closer to the destitute and the dying to help them. Many years later, after she was world famous and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa was asked how it all started. She replied, “I never thought of doing anything big. One day, I just saw one poor abandoned dying man lying in the street and so I picked him up and brought him home.” Today, there are over 4,000 Missionaries of Charity Sisters and Brothers relieving the suffering of hundreds of thousands across the globe. All because the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that grows to become a large world-embracing bush. 

In 1964, Rosa Parks, a devout Christian black woman in Montgomery, AL, was on a segregated bus-ride home after a long day at work.  She was tired and at one of the stops, 4 black passengers were told to give up their seats for on-boarding white passengers. 3 of them got up but Rosa stayed put. The mustard-seed sized Kingdom of God within her was enough to inform her that she had dignity just as much as anyone else and so she remained seated. Rosa was arrested on the spot and also lost her job. Once the word about Rosa’s actions got out to the public, this Kingdom of God mustard tree began to spread its branches among the black population. They boycotted the local bus system for 381 consecutive days, bringing it to its financial knees. This ultimately resulted in the US Supreme Court ruling in favor of racial equality and jump-started the civil rights movement. All because the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that grows to become a large world-embracing bush. 

Their stories should make us ask ourselves: “What small mustard-seed is Jesus asking me to plant for the good of others?” That’s something that only we can know for ourselves through prayer and an open heart. And we must not dismiss this idea as foolish just because we have no great social influence to make a difference. That’s a worldly way of thinking, not Jesus’ way of thinking. We must never forget that Mother Teresa did not have the slightest clue that picking up one dying man would result in an international movement of service to the poorest of the poor. And Rosa Parks had absolutely no idea that her refusal to give up her seat on that segregated bus would become the catalyst for a worldwide racial equality movement. They were, each one of them, simply acting upon their mustard-seed sized faith and doing what little thing they thought they could do, at that time and in that place. 

And so, let’s each ask ourselves how Jesus might want to use us to sow mustard seeds of peace and unity in the midst of so much injustice and suffering around us today. Trust him if he puts an idea into your heart that seems challenging…be willing to step out of your comfort zone because…it’s absolutely amazing what God can do even just through one person who decides to plant a tiny mustard seed of the Kingdom of God in the soil of everyday life.

The two indeed meet: Mother St. Teresa & Rosa Parks

“God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for nothing. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.

Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing without a purpose. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, I will trust for He knows what He is about.”

 

Look Beyond

 

Deacon David Previtali · Look Beyond

Homily for Corpus Christi Sunday, June 6, 2021. Gospel of St. Mark 14:12-26. Theme: Look Beyond 

Today’s Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or to give it it’s traditional Latin name, Corpus Christ, was established in the Church way back in the year 1264. Around that time, a priest named Fr. Peter, made a pilgrimage to Rome. On the way, he stopped in Bolsena, Italy, to celebrate Mass. At the time, he had been struggling with doubts about the Body and Blood of Christ being actually present in the Eucharist. But God in his great mercy came to Fr. Peter’s aid in an unforgettable way! When he recited the words of consecration at Mass that morning, drops of blood started dripping from the consecrated host in his hands and fell onto the altar cloths. And even more, they formed a rather rough but discernable image of the face of Jesus Christ. The pope at the time had the miracle investigated and as a result he instituted the Solemnity that we are celebrating today. 

I think all of us can relate to Fr. Peter’s dilemma because what we see and touch in Holy Communion still looks and tastes like bread and wine. But don’t you think that makes a lot of sense on God’s part? How many of us would go to Holy Communion if the externals were also changed to look and taste like what they really are: the Flesh and Blood of Christ? But you know, God, has worked many more marvels throughout the centuries than just Fr. Peter’s miracle in Bolsena. We now have about 130 documented and scientifically examined Eucharistic miracles in Church history and I would like to say just a little bit about the very first one and also the most recent one. 

The first and most famous actually took place 500 years before Fr. Peter’s experience. It was the year 700 and a priest was celebrating Mass in the village of Lanciano, Ital.0y. He, too, was having some doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. During the words of consecration, the host he was holding began to literally turn into flesh right in his hands! And as he spoke Jesus’s words from the Last Supper over the chalice, the newly consecrated wine was transformed into coagulated drops of blood! And astoundingly, they have remained flesh and blood throughout the past 1300 years! In 1971, Pope St. Paul VI permitted carefully guarded scientific studies to be carried out and it was discovered that the flesh was from the heart of a male and the content of the chalice was human blood type AB. Keep this in mind as we now jump ahead into the late 20th century. 

In Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1996, a host also turned into bloody flesh. The archbishop at that time, who is today Pope Francis, sent the sacred specimen under guard to a reputable lab in New York for testing. Those who examined it were not told what it was nor where it came from. The man in charge of the study was Dr. Frederic Zugibe, a world-famous cardiologist and forensic pathologist. His findings revealed the consecrated host to be part of a male’s heart muscle. The blood type was found to be type AB. It was a perfect match to the miracle of Lanciano!  But here’s another very interesting fact: the blood matched the very same blood type which is found on the famous Shroud of Turin. 

As if these findings weren’t amazing enough, the scientific testing came up with an even more astounding and inexplicable fact. When the host was put under a microscope, Dr. Zugibe saw that the cells were actually moving; they were pulsating, beating, as if he looking at a normal functioning human heart! The communion host that was originally simply a round disc of ordinary wheat bread had somehow become living flesh! Dr. Zugibe declared it to be a mystery beyond the capability of science to explain. 

This miracle reminds us that in Holy Communion we receive the body and blood of the living Risen Lord, not that of a dead and long-gone Savior. It also calls to mind the words of Jesus which we just recited today for our Alleluia Verse: “I am the living bread come down from heaven.” When people heard Christ say those words, not all were convinced and many left his company. And sadly, the same is true today. There are many who think that the Eucharist is nothing more than specially blessed bread and wine, and they scoff at the notion of a supernatural miracle taking place at every Mass. 

This tension that exists between what our human senses perceive and what our faith tells us is really nothing new in Christianity. After all, when Christ lived on planet Earth the reality of who he really was couldn’t be experienced by the human senses either. As a matter of fact, when people looked at Jesus of Nazareth what they saw and smelled and touched and heard was a young Jewish man, fit and strong from his work as a laborer, covered with the dust of the road and having the smell of many days on that road without a bath. What their senses could not tell them was that the Eternal Son of God the Father, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, was standing right there in front of them! And yet that reality of his divinity was always there. It was just hidden from them by the outward appearances of flesh and bone. Those disciples needed great trust in Jesus to look beyond what their eyes saw and call Him Lord; to look beyond what their hands touched and worship Him as God. 

And the same is true for us when we come before Jesus truly present in the Eucharist. The full reality of Who is actually before us is hidden by the outward appearances of bread and wine. And so, we must rely upon faith to look beyond what our senses tell us about Holy Communion. We must look beyond the appearance of the consecrated host and remember that Jesus said, “This is my body given for you…”. We must look beyond the chalice of consecrated wine and recall the words of Christ at the Last Supper: “This is my blood, poured out for you.”

The Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, 700 AD

The Eucharistic Miracle of Buenos Aires 1996 AD

The Eucharistic Miracles that the Church holds to be authentic are the ones which have been witnessed by others and were studied by science.   We have about 130 of these with the first documented one happening in the year 700.  If you are interested in more information on this topic go to the extensive catalog of such marvels at: http://www.miracolieucaristici.org/en/liste/list.html

Adopted into God's Family

 

Deacon David Previtali · Adopted into God's Family

Homily for Trinity Sunday, May 30, 2021. Readings: Romans 8:14-17, Gospel of St. Matthew 28:16-20. Theme: Adopted into God’s Family 

Today’s liturgy reminds us that as Christians we profess a key fundamental truth of faith that sets us apart us from all other world religions. I am referring, of course, to the mystery that we call the Most Blessed Trinity; the mystery of the One True God being a plurality of persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And yet, somehow, this doesn’t mean that we have three gods who are intimately related, but only One Divinity who is three distinct Persons. How can this be? We’ll never really know because it’s something that our human minds simply cannot comprehend. And so, we call it a mystery, that is, a truth that has been revealed to us, but which is far beyond our finite understanding. We only know of it because it was revealed to us by God the Son himself, when he came down from Heaven and was made flesh. And so, we accept it and we profess it by faith alone, trusting in the fact that Jesus does not lie and cannot deceive us. 

And no matter how much time we spend thumbing through the pages of the Bible, we will never find any explanation of HOW God can be a Trinity of Persons…but what we will find is a reason WHY this can be true. You see, once we accept the word of Scripture that says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8) then it can begin to make a bit of sense to us that there must be more than just one Person who is Divine. The reason being that love is relational; it only happens within a communion or fellowship of persons. And so, our Faith teaches us that the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father, and that this mutual love is so perfect and so powerful that it brings forth yet another Divine Person, the Holy Spirit. And that’s pretty much all that we can say with confidence about the Trinity. Anything else would simply be theorizing and speculating. 

But you know, there’s something even more wonderful, almost unbelievable about God that Scripture tells us and it’s this: the divine love relationship of the Trinity is not kept just among themselves, but it spills out on to and over all of creation! This awesome mysterious God who is love reaches out to us, to each one of us individually and personally, inviting us to enter into this threefold love relationship and share in it. Imagine that! The dynamic love of God, once it pulls us into itself and makes us part of the divine relationship, completely changes who we are and what we become. It makes us - as the Bible teaches - a spiritually new creation, a new type of being, transformed from the inside out. It elevates us from being simply creatures of God and makes us the very children of God. 

We see this beautifully proclaimed in today’s second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, "Abba, my Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God our Father and joint heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:14-16) I don’t think that we fully realize what this passage is really saying to us. 

You see, in the culture that the Letter to the Romans was written, to be adopted meant to be as much a part of the Father as were his natural children. There was absolutely no distinction made or permitted. As a matter of fact, it was easier to disinherit your natural child than it was your adopted child. The rationale behind this was that a Father personally chose the adopted child, while the natural one was simply given to him. And here’s another very interesting fact from that culture that sheds more light on what St. Paul is saying in our second reading. Ancient Romans were not typically adopted as infants but as adults and they were issued two certificates. First, a death certificate listing their old name. Then they received a birth certificate bearing their new name. The idea was that their old lives, their old selves were dead and gone. Now they had a new life, a new family, a new identity, a new beginning. 

This is precisely what was in the minds of those first Roman Christians when they heard the words St. Paul had written to them. They rightfully understood that he was telling them that the very same things about adoption happen to them, but from a spiritual point of view. Those Christians heard the very same words that we heard today and they thought to themselves, “My old life before knowing Christ is dead and gone. My old way of thinking and acting is over. This is the beginning of a new life. I have a new family now which is the Church, the community of God’s people. I am now a child of God the Father, a sibling of Christ the Son, and a temple of the Divine Spirit. All that rightfully belongs to Christ now also belongs to me and this includes Heaven, which is my birthright and my inheritance.” 

And the Good News is that our spiritual adoption is not just wishful thinking! It’s as true about us as the mystery of the Trinity is true about God. This opportunity for us human beings to live in such an intimate divine relationship is the great gift and beauty of Christianity. God has not done this for any other religion that exists or ever existed on planet Earth. Purely out of love and on no merit whatsoever of our own, has such an awesome gift of grace been given to us Christians. This is precisely why we begin and end all of our prayers, and hopefully every one of our days, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Fired Up for the Message!

 

Deacon David Previtali · Fired Up for the Message!

Homily for Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2021. Reading: Acts 2:1-11. Theme: Fired Up for the Message! 

Today, Pentecost Sunday is called the birthday of the Catholic Church. Up to that day the Church existed of course, but in a kind of unseen way, much like a child in the womb. Jesus had spent a few years gathering his disciples and nurturing them in his Gospel way of life and teachings. But with the sending of the Holy Spirit, this Church-in-the-womb burst forth out into the world, preaching the message that Jesus is Savior and Lord of all people. It was and remains a pivotal point in human history.  

We can easily imagine the scene of that first Pentecost Sunday that was described for us in today’s first reading from the Book of Acts. The apostles and other disciples were gathered together in a large room in Jerusalem. United with Mary the Mother of Jesus, about 120 of them were praying for the Promised Gift of the Father, the all-powerful and truth-bearing Holy Spirit! And suddenly, without warning, that Spirit came upon them, transforming them from the inside out and empowering them to live as witnesses to the Person and Message of Jesus. 

The Scriptures today speak about three powerful and even strange symbols of the Holy Spirit: Wind. Fire. Tongues. 

Wind...is a symbol of the invisible presence of the Spirit who urges us on to share in Christ’s mission us and keeps us going even in difficulty so that we do not tire of spreading the Message of Jesus. 

Fire...is the symbol of the zeal and devotion that should burn within our hearts urging us on to know, love and serve God better and to demonstrate this love by living the Message of Jesus in our daily lives. Tongues...is the symbol of our Spirit-supported ability to speak about God’s Word and explain the Message of Jesus to others, especially when they ask what it is that gives meaning and purpose to our lives. 

There’s a lot of talk in the Book of Acts about the Message of Jesus so that might make us ask: What exactly is this Message that those newly energized apostles proclaimed with these signs and wonders? What was that Message of Jesus that they taught the people on that first Pentecost that was so powerful that the Bible tells us that over 3,000 were converted to Christianity that very day? 

It’s a Message that we have come to call the Good News or Gospel, and here is a short easy 4-step way to recall it, memorize it, and share it with others... 

1. God is love, unconditional love, who desires to live in an intimate personal relationship with every human being. 

2. At the beginning of our history, we humans rejected this offer of a relationship with God and as a result, we are all born into this world with a spiritual hole in our hearts, a void where God should be. 

3. But this God who is love freely chose to become human in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, so that he could personally and in the flesh, fix this relationship. His teachings show us how to live and death and Resurrection have healed the rupture caused by our sins.  

4. Anyone who wishes to live in this healed relationship with God can do so by believing and trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Following Jesus begins with baptism and is expressed in our lives by living his Gospel. For those who choose this pathway in life, death no longer has the last word over them and sin can no longer hold them captive. 

This is the Message of Jesus. This is the message of Pentecost. It’s the message of Christianity. It’s the Message each one of us are called to proclaim by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit within us. 

The Book of Acts shows the Holy Spirit coming down in a rush upon the disciples with power and force. It seems like his strong invisible hands are pushing them out of the room and into the streets! And you know, sometimes it still happens that way and we find ourselves witnessing to Jesus and serving others in ways we thought we could never do. But I think that many of us the Holy Spirit nudges more than pushes. Maybe we get an idea to do something or to say something to someone, and it turns out to be what they really needed to experience or hear. Or perhaps the thought comes to us to pray intensely for a person or a situation and later we find out that there was truly a need to do so. 

So, let’s ask this Holy Spirit to make today - and every day really - become our own new personal Pentecosts! Let’s form the habit pf praying to him daily saying, “Come, Holy Spirit! Fill me with the fire of your love! Lead me. Guide me.” Let’s beg him to come upon us like wind and fire so that we can give witness by our tongues - and even more so by actions - that Jesus is Lord. It’s a Message everyone needs to hear!

Promise, Power & Pentecost!

 

Deacon David Previtali · Promise, Power & Pentecost!

Homily for Ascension Sunday, May 16, 2021. Acts 1:1-11, Mk 16:15-20. Theme: Promise, Power & Pentecost! 

Today we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven 40 days after his Resurrection. But his return to where he came from was so very different than when he first came down 33 years before. At that time he, who from all eternity had been solely God, now returns to Heaven also as Man. It’s so very important for us to remember that Jesus didn’t take on our human nature just to get a job done on planet Earth, and then discard his humanity once the mission was accomplished! He became human to totally elevate and transform what it means to be human from the inside out! This healing of our humanity from sin and the joining of it to divinity is what we call “salvation”. And because this, we human beings are now able to become what we never were before. This is why Scripture calls us Christians a “new creation”. 

Because of the coming down of the Son of God from Heaven our humanity has the potential to be forever changed. And because of the going back up of the Son of God into Heaven, it has been blessed every further and given a share in the very power and glory of God. Imagine that! The Ascension shows us that Heaven is our destiny and a place is waiting there for those who live their lives in Christ! He became human so that our entire existence in both its phases, earthly and heavenly, in time and in eternity, could be transformed! 

But here’s the thing: this isn’t something that automatically happens to us just because we’re human. In order for all this to become a reality in our own individual lives, we need receive the Promised Gift and open ourselves up to the Power of the Spirit that we hear about in today’s first reading. While those words were first spoken to the disciples they are not meant for them alone. They are also spoken to each one of us. This Word of God invites us to hear Jesus, to accept what he is saying, to trust in his Promise, and to pray that it be fulfilled in our own lives. I find it helpful to remember all this by simply keeping in mind three “P” words: Promise, Power, and Pentecost.   

The first word is PROMISE.  In the Old Testament God promised that one day, through his Messiah, he would pour out and immerse his people in the Holy Spirit. This is what Jesus was referring to when he said, “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”  The word ‘baptized’ means “to be immersed in something”. This immersion or baptism in the Holy Spirit transforms us from the inside out, giving us a new way of looking at life, a new way of thinking, a new way of living and of loving. The baptism in the Holy Spirit makes our relationship with Christ come alive and exist as something that we cherish as the treasure of our hearts. 

The second word Jesus spoke was of POWER. We all know what power means. It’s the ability, energy and strength to do something beyond our normal capacities. So, why will the Holy Spirit give us this power? What are we supposed to do with it?  We find the answer in Jesus’ words that we are to be His witnesses. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives those who trust in Him the ability to do wonderful things in His Name. It’s the power to change our lives in unbelievable ways and the power to love even when it is difficult and seems next to impossible. It’s the power to live for Christ and even, if needs be, to die for him as so many martyrs have done in the past and even today. 

And finally, we come to the last “P” word: PENTECOST. The Promise of the Father and the Power foretold by the Son, was first given on the day we call Pentecost which we will celebrate next Sunday. Just as the original Christians had the transforming experience of that first Pentecost, so Christ intends the same for each one of us. This is what the Sacrament of Confirmation is supposed to be: a personal Pentecost for each one of us in which God’s Promise is fulfilled and the Power is given. The first Christians in Jerusalem experienced this baptism in the Holy Spirit through the symbols of wind and fire, while we do sacramentally by chrism and the laying on of hands. But even though the symbols are different, it is the same Promise fulfilled, the same Power given. 

But I think in all honesty, we must admit that many of us leave the Promised Gift of the Father wrapped up, so to speak. Perhaps we even put it away in the back closet of our lives where it remains only a memory of our Confirmation that gathers dust as the years go by. But the Good News is that once given, the Gift is always available to be opened and used. The baptism of the Holy Spirit can be activated at any time in our lives, whenever we choose to turn ourselves over to Jesus and begin really living with him and in him as Christians in fact and no just in name. 

Through today’s liturgy Jesus calls us to spend the coming week - these days between Ascension Sunday and next week’s Pentecost Sunday - in focused intentional prayer. Like the original disciples, we need to pray from the heart that this baptism of the Holy Spirit becomes something tangible and real in our lives. Let’s ask for the grace to truly believe the Promise and activate the Power, so that our own personal Pentecost will change us from the inside out, helping us to make our lives something beautiful for God and enabling us to become witnesses to Jesus among those with whom we live, work and socialize.

O Father, through Jesus your Servant and Son, 

baptize me in the Holy Spirit!