- Rev. Leo M. Goodman III Pastor
May 20, 2012
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Our first reading presents events between Jesus’ ascension into glory and His sending of the Holy Spirit, exactly where we are liturgically, between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost. Even Jesus’ prayer today captures this mood of departure and anticipation. He prays for us as He sends us to proclaim the Gospel and to carry on His mission in the world.
Jesus tells us that we do not belong to this fallen world any more than He belonged to it. So Jesus knows that we too will be hated by this world. The very fact that the evil one and the fallen world around us seek to destroy us should not surprise us, rather it should be a source of joy for us. Why? Because it is a sign that we are consecrated to the truth and share in the life of Christ. Jesus’ dual prayer is that we will not be lost and that we will remain consecrated to the truth that He reveals.
Some “Christians” seek to simplify our faith to a handful of nice but not too controversial teachings selected from the pages of scriptures. They argue that many of the other teachings were obviously conditioned by the times and therefore do not apply to us today. Other teachings, they argue, were not really the teachings of Jesus but were inserted by men with their own agendas, agendas that the enlightened mind can certainly disregard in a modern world.
Such a shallow view of “Christianity” overlooks one very important point. God is with us! Jesus not only promised that He would be with us until the end of time, but He promised to send us the Holy Spirit who would continue to guide us to all truth. Those who seek to remake Christianity by creating a non-threatening message, one palatable to a fallen world, fail to acknowledge that Christianity is all about the Risen Christ who is alive and in our midst, in His Church.
None of us want to be hated by the world. But is this fallen world really happy and at peace? As painful as it may be for the messengers, the world needs the truth we proclaim, a truth that can truly set it free. Christ is calling us to holiness, to conversion, to communion and joy with Him forever. How can we not share the Good News we have received?
Last Saturday, we had our group First Communion, and this weekend the last of our First Communicants will receive Jesus for the first time. May the Eucharist, Christ present in our midst, keep us always in communion with Him and with one another. Clearly, this is Jesus’ prayer for us.
Don’t miss our parish picnic on June 10, a great day for our family of faith to play, relax and just enjoy one another.
Catechism Question of the Week: True or False: Creation has its own goodness and proper perfection. It sprang forth complete from the hands of God, the creator. (see CCC 302)
With family, friends and those you meet, please discuss the following Question of the Week: Do I seek the truth, and how do I know what is true and what is not true?
In Christ’s Peace,
Rev. Leo M. Goodman III
Pastor