June 16, 2019
Gospel Meditation: Encourage Deeper Understanding of Scripture
If God is one, how can He be three? The most intelligent theologians have racked their brains over the problem, and the most prayerful ones have surrendered to the mystery. How it can be, we can't explain. But what it means, we can join! Our God is an ever-unfolding relationship. Theologians speak of the immanent and economic Trinity. The Trinity is immanent in the sense that the Persons are close and entirely sufficient within Godself. In other words, God doesn't require us for God to exist. The word economic is rooted in the Greek word for management of a household or family. The Trinity is economic in the sense that God has invited us to be part of Him. He's growing the family! We see the dynamic here in today's Gospel. 
 
Jesus says the Spirit "will take from what is mine and declare it to you" and that "everything that the Father has is mine." There is relationship here. Jesus speaks (and is) the word of the Father. The Holy Spirit speaks what He hears from the Son. The Father gives everything to the Son, and the Spirit speaks that inheritance over us. God invites us into the Trinitarian family!
 
The doctrine of the Trinity isn't something to brush off as overwhelming. After all, "the Spirit of truth... will guide you to all truth." This occurs most perfectly in the Church, who protects all that has been revealed by God in Scripture and gradually unpacked in tradition. We can trust the declarations of Her theologians and learn from the lives of Her saints. The Trinity may be a mystery, but, by the grace of God, we can have real truth about who God is and how we can love like Him.
 
Live the Liturgy: Inspiration for The Week
 
We believe in one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The reality that God is three distinct Persons yet One is something that is difficult for the mind to grasp. But, understanding God in this way is not impossible for the contemplative heart. We need only to look around us to see our triune God playing and interplaying with all of creation with each of His Persons manifesting itself. God our Father abounds in and through creation. God the Son beats in every human heart, in love, in tenderness of mercy, and in our neighbor. God the Holy Spirit breathes life into all things and guides the course of time and the seasons, bringing wisdom and guidance to all things. Breathe in the height and depth of God's triune presence and may your heart contemplate His presence and glory.

June 9th, Pentecost Sunday
"God is always more." Have you ever heard that? If we truly believe that He is infinite, then this statement is worth exploring. Today, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit in power upon the early Church. But Pentecost wasn't the first time the disciples received the Holy Spirit. The Gospel actually occurs chronologically before Pentecost. Soon after the Resurrection, Jesus already "came and stood in their [the disciples'] midst... he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" 
 
God is always more. Sometimes we might think the grace of God as one and done. God might break through in people's lives, but it's a one-time event on a retreat or preceding a dramatic conversion of life. But there's always more to come. Even today's Gospel isn't the first time the breath of God stirred. In Genesis, it's God's breath that stirs life into Adam in the garden. Jesus breathes on the Apostles, giving them the Holy Spirit in the quiet and silence. Later, that breath will stir into a "driving wind", and the Spirit will descend with flame ? not unlike Moses on Mount Sinai.
 
God is always more. He has spoken throughout salvation history, and continues to speak into our lives through His Church and through the Holy Spirit alive in our hearts. This Pentecost Sunday, let us come before Him with expectant hearts! Like the disciples in the Gospel and first reading, let us await what "more" God will do.

Living the Liturgy: Inspiration for the Week 
When faced with a decision or a dilemma, where do we turn? Whenever we have to discern the proper course of action, the Holy Spirit is available as our advocate and guide. As Christians, we look not to our world for direction but to God. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to help us find our path to proper thought and conduct. Wisdom, right judgment, knowledge, understanding, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord are all perfect tools for discernment. These gifts allow us to keep our relationships and perspective in proper order. It is the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see that which we would otherwise overlook and opens our hearts to receive those people who would otherwise be ignored. Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you today.

June 2nd, Ascension of the Lord
What is the most common image you've seen of the Ascension? It's typically Jesus hovering above the earth surrounded by brilliant light. The Ascension is a beautiful feast, but it's about more than the distant glory of God. It's about the blessing of God and the transformative power of trust.
 
"You are witnesses to these things." Before he ascends, Jesus reminds the disciples of the basic message of the Gospel and of the disciples' own important role. They are to proclaim the Gospel message by their personal witness to the saving power of God. "I am sending the promise of my Father upon you... clothed with power from on high." Jesus promises to equip the disciples for this important mission. Not only are they receiving a command, but they're receiving the empowerment they need to move. "He... raised his hands, and blessed them." Even now, though the fulfillment of Pentecost is still to come, Jesus gives them a parting gift before he ascends into heaven. Finally, "They... returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God."
 
The disciples faced an unknown future. Their teacher had left them, and the political and religious authorities weren't exactly thrilled about Jesus and his growing movement. But the memory of our Father's redemptive love, the promise of the Holy Spirit, and the blessing of Christ sustained them. Jesus trusted them to act in his name. They could trust him in return. Do you face uncertainty in your own life? Remember, we are all called to be disciples and witnesses. We have received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at our baptism. We are blessed by Christ beyond imagining in the sacraments. This Ascension feast, we too can trust in God! With this firm trust, we too can return to our daily lives, praising God with great joy!

Living the Liturgy: Inspiration for the Week 
Today, we are reminded that it is Jesus' suffering, death, resurrection, AND ascension all taken together that make the one event that brings salvation to humanity. Jesus' return to the Father completes the work Jesus came to accomplish and clearly shows us the forgiveness, mercy, and love the Father wishes to bestow upon his children. Faith allows us to savor the mystery of God's design and the hope that awaits us. Today, we are called to look up and see that Jesus ascended to the Father. His mission is completed, and ours is now beginning. Having "looked up," we now have to "look out" into our broken world and deliver the Good News. We now have a new perspective on life and can see things differently: life comes from death, hope from despair, faith from doubt, joy from sadness, and freedom to those who are held bound. It is amazing news indeed! How do we spread the word?

May 26, 2019, 6th Sunday of Easter 
Theology has two words to describe the space between God and us - transcendent and immanent. When we say God is transcendent, we speak of the One whose ways are not our ways, the placer of stars and maker of mountains. This is God who transcends our understanding, whose being goes beyond what we can know. When we say God is immanent, we mean His nearness to us. This is the way Jesus speaks of himself in today's Gospel. "Whoever loves me keeps my word... and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." 
 
The Hebrews saw God as intimately involved with the fate of their people. But for all His care, God was still distant to most. He spoke through prophets and was represented in blazes of fire and pillars of cloud. Priests offered animal sacrifice to atone for the nation's sins. While we still know that God is transcendent - any morning's resplendent sunrise confirms this - Jesus introduces us to himself in a new way. Not only does Jesus walk among us, but the Holy Spirit dwells within us. "The Advocate, the Holy Spirit... will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you!"
 
How do you tend to view God? For many of us, the transcendent sense of a distant God might fill our perception. Today's Gospel reminds us of something altogether different, something more intimate. Our God remains with us. He overcomes the confusion of the world and speaks peace to our troubled hearts. Our God is not far from us. The more we remain connected to Him and love as He loved, the more we will experience His nearness. We can have confidence in His presence and rest in His encouragement: "Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid."

Living the Liturgy: Inspiration for the Week 
To listen openly and be willing to dialogue are the most effective ways to discern how to solve a problem. We must be open to the Holy Spirit and, under his guidance, allow our opinions to be challenged and changed. Learning to trust the active work of the Holy Spirit in all things releases us from fear and brings us closer to living in the peace Jesus promised. Scripture, Church teaching and practice, the wisdom of others in our community, our relationship with God, and the promptings and stirrings of our hearts all have to be weighed when making important decisions. This is how the Holy Spirit keeps us faithful to Christ and the Gospel and the way the Church brings resolution to questions that inevitably arise.