My Lord and My God

Second Sunday of Easter
Sunday of Divine Mercy
April 24, 2022 – Year C
Readings: Acts 5:12-16 / Ps 118 / Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19 / Jn 20:19-31
by Rev. Louis Benoit, Guest Celebrant

In the gospel for today, I think we need to be in touch with the apostles in that closed-off room on this first Easter Sunday night. The gospel tells us they were afraid; they were in there because of fear of the Jews.  Jesus had just been crucified, and they were His followers. The Jewish people could be after them for the same reason.

Besides fear, there was probably a great deal of confusion. Jesus had been crucified. What were they going to do? Where were they going to go? They’d heard news about the empty tomb, but they hadn’t seen Jesus or anything like that. They were probably very confused.

They probably had a certain amount of guilt, too. In Jesus’ hour of suffering, they slept through it, and when He was taken away, they ran away. So there was probably a certain amount of guilt.

Fear. Confusion. Guilt. They were huddled in that closed room with the locked doors. In the midst of that, Jesus ends up standing among them. The first thing He says is, “Peace be with you.” And He repeats it.

What is peace? Peace is when creation is ordered as God would have it. The tranquility of order; that’s peace. Those people He was standing among were in serious need of peace.

Then He tells them, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Jesus was sent, then He preached the Gospel of peace, justice, and love, against the reign of sin, evil, and death. And with His death and resurrection, it is now the responsibility of His followers to continue His mission. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

He doesn’t send them forth alone. He says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” That’s another aspect of resurrection existence: The Spirit that animated Jesus in His lifetime, through His death and resurrection, is now passed on to His followers. And so they don’t go off alone to do the work of Jesus.  The very Spirit of Jesus is with them as they continue that work.

But before He says, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” the gospel says He breathed on them. That’s a symbol that could be easily missed. To understand that symbol, you have to go all the way back to the beginning: the Book of Genesis and creation. When God creates the human, He makes the human out of the mud of the earth. But the human only becomes human when God breathes God’s life into the human. And what that is a symbol of in Genesis is that the human is of the earth and of God. That’s how all human beings are: We’re of the earth and we’re of God.

The fact that Jesus breathes on His apostles is saying He’s breathing new life into them. They are a new creation in Christ Jesus. That’s the meaning of Jesus’ breathing on them.

He does that before He says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Thus they are commissioned to continue the work of Jesus.

The Bible is the living word of God for us today. So that’s not just written about the apostles on the first Easter; it’s written about us. Jesus says to us, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Those are words to us today. And “Receive the Holy Spirit.” We have received the Spirit of Jesus in Baptism and Confirmation. That Spirit is constantly being renewed in Eucharist. And so this gospel is not just about the apostles; it’s about us and what our responsibilities are.

It’s also significant that we have the doubting Thomas in the gospel. Thomas who doubts: He’s not there when Jesus comes. They say, “We have seen the Lord.” And he says, “I’m not going to believe until I touch Him, until I feel the wounds in His hands and touch the wound in His side.  I’m not going to believe.”  A week later, Thomas is there, and Jesus comes. Thomas sees Jesus’ wounds, and he touched the wounds, and he makes the comment, “My Lord and my God.”

A lot of scripture scholars say that this Easter appearance to the apostles was the conclusion of the Gospel of John; the appearance by Jesus at the Sea of Tiberius was a later addition to the gospel. And so Thomas’ professing, “My Lord and my God,” is the apostles’ coming to full faith. Thomas is speaking, but it’s in the name of all the apostles, proclaiming the risen Jesus: “My Lord and my God.” It’s a culmination of their faith. It’s the final profession of their faith in the presence of the risen Jesus: “My Lord and my God.”

Of course, as we are called to continue the ministry of Jesus, we are called (“As the Father has sent me, so I send you”), with the grace of the Spirit we have received, to give the spirit of Jesus to others, and we can say like Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”

Prophets

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 30, 2022 – Year C
Readings: Jer 1:4-5, 17-19 / Ps 71 / 1 Cor 12:31 – 13:13 / Lk 4:21-30
by Rev. Louis Benoit, Guest Celebrant

In the gospel you heard last week, Jesus presented a grand vision of God’s plan for humanity:   God’s plan for humanity through Jesus, God’s presence among them.  The people of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth at first were impressed – They liked it.  But then they started asking, “Hey, isn’t this the son of Joseph, the local carpenter?”  They go from seeing Jesus’ grand vision to seeing things from their local small-town viewpoint only.  In their narrow vision, they miss God’s presence in Jesus, and they resent Him.  That’s what’s going on in today’s gospel. (more…)

Baptism: Together in Ministry

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
January 12, 2020 – Year A
Readings: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 / Ps 29 / Acts 10:34-38 / Mt 3:13-17
by Father Louis Benoit, Guest Celebrant

Today is the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and an interesting question is why did Jesus get baptized? He had no need of it, yet He did it. In Jesus’ baptism, He gets baptized in solidarity with us. He identifies with us in our simple state. He walks with us as we are.

That’s the baptism of Jesus, and of course, there is a good analogy here, in that we are made holy in the waters of baptism. Jesus, in His baptism, makes the waters holy. And so we have Jesus identifying with us, and He is identifying with us in a simple way, walking with the people, curing people, taking care of them, preaching to them, preaching a kingdom of peace and justice and love. (more…)

Life-long Repentance

Second Sunday of Advent
December 8, 2019 – Year A
Readings: Is 11:1-10 / Ps 72 / Rom 15:4-9 / Mt 3:1-12
by Father Louis Benoit, Guest Celebrant

We heard in the gospel about John the Baptist in the desert – wearing weird clothes and eating weird food. He’s attracting quite a crowd, calling people to repent. His baptism is a baptism of repentance. Repentance basically means to make a 180-degree turn – to turn away from a sinful life to a life of the Lord.

Of course, for Jesus to be born in our hearts, we have to repent. I suggest that repentance is not a once-and-for-all thing: one time you’re here and then suddenly you’ve done a 180. It’s a life-long process. We have to spend a life turning away from sin and evil and turning toward what Jesus wants for us. We have to keep working on it. (more…)

What Kind of King?

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
November 24, 2019 – Year C
Readings: 2 Sm 5:1-3 / Ps 122 / Col 1:12-20 / Lk 23:35-43
by Father Jay Biber, Guest Celebrant

What an unexpected joy for me, on this last Sunday of this Year of Grace. You notice we wear white, because it’s joyous. We look forward to God’s great mercy, that divine mercy that we look forward to at the end of everything. Christ gathers everything that the Father gave Him – everything! To return it to the Father.

Although Thanksgiving is a civil feast, it’s a very important feast for us. It has a real sacred character to it, perhaps more than Christmas even, unfortunately. Here’s what I want to do in my front lawn, now that I’ve got my own house. I want to put in the front lawn: “Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis.” (It’s a college town; somebody’s going to understand that.) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” That’s the only thing that Christmas is about; everything else is derivative. (more…)

Living In Mystery

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 10, 2019 – Year C
Readings: 2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14 / Ps 17 / 2 Thes 2:16-3:5 / Lk 20:27-38
by Father Louis Benoit, Guest Celebrant

We’ve had two readings today of seven brothers, all of whom have passed away. The first reading from the Book of Maccabees is about the time when the Jewish people were being persecuted and tells of seven brothers who went to their death for what they believed, with the hope of resurrection and new life. And that is what today’s readings are all about: resurrection and new life. (more…)

Taking Time to See Jesus

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 21, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Gn 18:1-10A / Ps 15 / Col 1:24-28 / Lk 10:38-42
by Father Louis Benoit, Guest Celebrant

In the Bible, hospitality was a very important thing. That’s the first reading, with Abraham and his visitors. And in the gospel, Martha welcomes Jesus into her home. Hospitality: a very important thing.

However, Martha gets so involved in making this meal for Jesus. Mary, her sister, is just sitting at Jesus’ feet, doing nothing about the serving. Martha gets rather ticked off, so she comes to Jesus, “Tell my sister to help me.” Notice Jesus: “You are anxious and worried about many things. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her.” (more…)

Be the Good Samaritan

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 14, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Dt 30:10-14 / Ps 69 / Col 1:15-20 / Lk 10:25-37
by Father Paul O’Donnell Duggan, Guest Celebrant

Are you familiar with the name Serena Williams? She almost made history yesterday. She just missed out on getting her twenty-fourth Grand Slam title in London yesterday, which would have equaled a great idol of mine when I was growing up, Margaret Smith. She is the greatest holder of the title – she used to play Billie Jean King. If Serena had won yesterday, she would have equaled Margaret Smith’s record.

About two weeks ago there was another big event in the life of Serena Williams. She joins the ranks of Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, Babe Ruth, Mary Lou Retton, Michael Jordan – all famous for having their pictures on the Wheaties box. She said, “I have dreamt of this since I was a young woman, and it is an honor to join the ranks of some of America’s most decorated athletes. I hope my image on this iconic orange box will inspire the next generation of girls and athletes to dream big.” (more…)

Seek Mercy, Show Mercy

Second Sunday of Easter / Sunday of Divine Mercy
April 28, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Acts 5:12-16 / Ps 118 / Rev 1:9-11A, 12-13, 17-19 / Jn 20:19-31
by Father Paul O’Donnell Duggan, Guest Celebrant

At this very late stage in my life I have entered into the 21st century with emailing. I received an email from a couple from my hometown in Ireland saying to me, “Father Paddy wants to see you when you come home to visit in the summer.” I knew Father Paddy from when we were younger, and our fathers worked in the same village.

About nine years ago, Father Paddy was appointed the pastor of the parish in my hometown.  I want to plagiarize him a little today because it is relevant to Divine Mercy Sunday. (more…)

Praying Together

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 24, 2019 – Year C
Readings: 1 Sm 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 / Ps 103 / 1 Cor 15:45-49 / Lk 6:27-38
by Father Paul O’Donnell Duggan, Guest Celebrant

Can you guess who my favorite brother is and why? My favorite brother is Father Frank, because he always practices these three words, “Cherish no grudge.” People often ask me in response to that, “Who is my least favorite brother?” Can you dislike someone in your own family? I think dislike is too strong a word; perhaps distant would better describe my relationship to this brother. His name is Alton, and he lives in Minnesota. He was training for the priesthood, but he got expelled because he was smoking in the bathroom. This was in the 1950’s in Ireland, so it wasn’t an accepted thing. As a result of his expulsion, we never got to become close. (more…)