Un-Quiet Word for Today
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un-quiet word for today, April 11th, 2021
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The community of beleivers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.
Acts of the Apostles 4: 32THE VITAL SIGN: A SHARING COMMUNITY
School mottos are a revered tradition and practice in Uganda. They are often inscribed on a badge to be worn at a place on the school uniform, where it is to be seen by all. Even more, a school motto is meant to permeate the student manner of life and behavior. It is the pulse with which one does everything as they are in school and after school. Living out that motto is then the vital sign, the distinguishing feature of that person.
What is the motto/vital sign of a true Christian community? What characteristics, features, distinguish a Catholic/Christian community from any other good and peace, loving community? What is ‘our vital sign’?
The Book of the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the first Christian communities and how they labored to live the gospel in a unique way. An ideal apostolic community had these features: the breaking of bread (Eucharist), prayer, attendance of the temple and community life. The common denominator here is: ‘those who believed, shared’. They did everything in common, sharing possessions, even selling property to care for the poor. We are given a portrait of community generosity.
Think about how powerful and impactful this can be? How tasking it can be too? What might it take to be ‘a community of one heart and one mind’? This is obviously more than being philanthropic, it is a deep call to be a ‘sharing community’. if it is a challenge for us to be this in just a single, family unit, think about what it takes to be such in society? Yet, this is what is our motto and the vital sign of a true Christian community. Think unity and mercy.
Jesus appears in the midst of a locked-in and fearful disciples. (‘Fear’ and ‘staying apart’ can be an unhealthy vital sign of an individual or community). The risen Lord has conquered this and he says to the disciples: ‘Peace be with you’ (peace is a healthy vital sign). ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’. This spirit that is received, they must communicate to others. Their faith experience is to become the faith experience of others, forgiving and binding sins. The vitality of the community must be measured by the fidelity to this mission. A sharing community, they must be.
Let it not be hard for us to ‘give of ourselves’. Let us value the ‘sharing of our faith experience’. Use our talents and gifts to interact with the less talented. Make sharing a vital sign of our church community.
Thomas, “the doubter “, gives us our challenge today:
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Many in today’s world do not believe because we have not given them something to touch, see and believe. When I shy away from speaking and living my faith, when I refuse to renounce that another may have a good and decent life, when I am not merciful…we do not see.
As Pope Francis says ‘we must be shepherds who smell like the sheep’. And how appropriate that today is Sunday of Divine Mercy. By our lives let others know, see and touch, God‘s mercy
A Blessed Week in the Lord
Father Anthony
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readings of the mass
SELECT HERE for the Audio recording of the Readings of Sunday, April 11th, 2021, Second Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy.
SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, April 11th, 2021, Second Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy.
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reflections
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What does it take to be a steward of Christ?...
As Catholic stewards, we receive God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord.
In the United States Bishops' Pastoral Letter, Stewardship: A Disciple's Response, we are challenged to embrace stewardship as an expression of discipleship with the “power to change how we understand and live out our lives”.
STEWARDSHIP and a call for discipleship.
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"...If you return to the LORD, your kinfolk and your children will find mercy with their captors and return to this land. The LORD, your God, is gracious and merciful and he will not turn away his face from you if you return to him.”
2 Chronicles 30: 9
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What is the origin of Sunday of Divine Mercy?
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In his 1980 encyclical Dives in Misericordia (“Rich in Mercy”), Pope John Paul II writes,
“Believing in [God’s] love means believing in mercy. For mercy is an indispensible dimension of love; it is as it were love’s second name and, at the same time, the specific manner in which love is revealed” (No. 7).Salvation history is rich with evidence of this truth. From the beginning, the Covenant that the Lord established with the people of Israel reflected the nature of His love. As He gives the Ten Commandments to Moses, He promises to show “mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:6, RSV).
SEEK -
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the Mass: April 11th, 2021. Second Sunday of easter,sunday of divine mercy
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