Today is the 4th Sunday after Easter. I congratulate the awardees, Mike Gallagher and Hector and Stacy Bucchianeri for their continuous support of the Holy Spirit Mission through their various volunteer works. Next week, the Prior Provincial of the Christ the King Institute, Canon Matthew, will be celebrating mass on my behalf due to my commitment to attend the Knights of Columbus Nevada State Convention in Las Vegas on May 3-5, 2024. My presence is needed because I am still the Knights’ State Chaplain.
Today we heard the epistle taken from the Letter of James. The Letter of St. James is not popular with our protestant brethren because St. James says, “Faith without action is dead,” (James 2:18) which obviously means, real faith cannot exist apart from works. I think the purpose of this epistle is to make us understand that the intent of St. James is to teach us how to live our faith. It challenges us to take the next step in our life of genuine discipleship and teaches us how to persevere following the example of the Lord. St. James acknowledges that the Father is the “Father of Lights,” and all perfect gifts, the sending of His begotten Son Jesus and His words and ministry, all make us favored children of God. The Word became flesh and was born among us, and the word of God which fills our scriptures, also comes from above. It all comes from above, through the Holy Spirit and not from us. The light that came from heaven and descends on earth is the good gift coming from above. St. James further says, “Let every man be swift to hear but slow to speak and slow to anger. For the anger of a man worketh not the justice of God.” We need to accept God’s word to change us when we welcome it with great humility or meekness. We must be willing to be changed by this Word, to be led by this Word and to live not by our will but by the divine Will of God. We are ready to be doers of the word in order to make ourselves an extension of Christ to others. That is what we are called to do. Let us control our anger by what we usually hear in the proclamation of the epistle and the gospel. When we welcome with meekness, God is implanting the power of His word in our hearts.
In the gospel today, Jesus says, “I go to Him that sent Me: and none of you asked Me: Where are you going?” The chosen apostles of Jesus could not understand His impending passion and death with these words Jesus had spoken the night of the last supper. Jesus was giving them clear assurance that leaving them is to open for them a new and life-giving way through the promise of the Paraclete which means the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, and which demonstrates God’s presence so that they would be strengthened and be bold in speaking about the Risen Lord.
God continues to accompany His beloved people of Israel and us since the beginning of His creation. The fundamental realities that sustain the disciples’ goodness and right judgement is their full trust, faith, and belief of Christ’s promise that He would continue working with them powerfully through the Paraclete. Their own vulnerability and fragility have been overcome by the presence of the third person of the Trinity.
There are moments in our lives that we stumble and fall with broken and sad hearts for various reasons, dark and difficult times, and in all our times of painful loss. Our sadness too can be related to some experience of loss just like the sadness the disciples felt knowing that their master would experience passion and death. The disciples were experiencing a necessary loss, a loss that was in the service of a greater blessing, a sadness of losing someone who has been significant to them, and yet Jesus showed them that His leaving had a value. He was teaching them in a new and different way of rising and sharing with us the Paraclete. The Spirit assures us of the Lord’s loving presence at such moments, so that even in our sadness we can experience something of that joy which is the fruit of the Spirit.
In and through the Spirit, the Lord would come to believers of every generation in every part of the world, and to us here present, rejoicing in His eternal presence. Only then, if we work with dedication and commitment, we can do wondrous things by, through, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, whom the risen Lord sends to us, for us also to share and to proclaim!
God bless you.
Fr. Arlon, osa
