Our Bodies are like a Ketchup Bottle

Happy Ascension Sunday! No wait, Thursday? Wait a second…which state am I in again?

I find this weekend to be one of the most fascinating weekends of the entire year, because it’s the only weekend that is different depending on which part of the country you are in.  On every other Sunday, no matter what Catholic Church you walk into, you will hear the same exact readings, except for this weekend.  Here in New England (and the diocese of Omaha, NE) we still celebrate the Ascension of our Lord on its traditional day, 40 days after Easter, on Ascension Thursday.  So this Sunday, when you walk into Holy Family in Duxbury, MA, you will hear the readings for the 7^th Sunday of Easter.  But in the rest of the United States, the bishops have moved the Ascension from Thursday to Sunday, so if you walk into a Catholic Church, say in Columbus Ohio this weekend, you would hear the readings for the Ascension and not the 7^th Sunday of Easter. 

My mother is a saintly woman, (she has to be if she has been able to put up with me for the last 31 years; she tells me often that I have given her all of her grey hairs, which is probably true!) who goes to daily Mass and hasn’t missed a Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation since All Saints Day in 2006 (the night before my dad passed away).  She is traveling this weekend from Ohio to spend the weekend with us and I was giving her a hard time on the phone today that she skipped the Ascension this year.  She was in Ohio on Thursday but will be in MA on Sunday, neither diocese celebrates the Ascension on either day.  So even though she will have gone to Mass both days, neither will have been for the Ascension.  That realization and conversation probably added a few more grey hairs to her head.  Sorry mom!

So what is this feast day about and why is it important?

On the Ascension, we celebrate that Jesus ascended (went up) to heaven, both body and soul.  His body does not remain here on earth, but was rather taken up to heaven with his soul.  This is very different then what happens when we die.  When we die, our bodies remain here on earth and it is only our souls that enter into heaven, hell or purgatory.  Christ was able to take His body with Him, because it was already perfect.  We cannot take our bodies with us, because they are imperfect.  We must wait till the end of times to be reunited with our resurrected bodies. 

At a staff meeting a few weeks ago, one of the staff members asked for help explaining a soul to a 5 year old child.  I must admit, that I am a little embarrassed, being a youth faith formation minister, that I didn’t have an answer to that question right away.  It is such a difficult concept for adults to grasp, let alone a small child.  I have been thinking about it for a few weeks now, especially yesterday as we celebrated the Ascension and the best analogy that I have been able to come up with is that of a ketchup bottle.   When someone dies and goes to heaven/hell/purgatory, it’s like when you have an empty ketchup bottle.  It is no longer ketchup because it is empty.  All that is left is the bottle.  In the same way, when a person dies, the body that remains is not the person because the soul is no longer in the body.  All that is left is the empty shell, just like the empty ketchup bottle.

Our soul is what makes us who we are, it’s our core, our being.  Our bodies keep our soul protected and safe, but are bodies aren’t who we are, it’s what’s inside our bodies that make us who we are, a son or daughter of God.  So too is the ketchup bottle.  What is inside the bottle is what matters, not the bottle.  The bottle and our bodies are the vessels used to help us achieve our true purpose in life.  In terms of ketchup, it’s to make our hamburgers and French fries taste extra yummy.  In terms of our bodies, it to help our souls to know, love and serve God in this life in order to be happy with Him forever in heaven.

I pray that no matter when you celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, whether it was on Thursday or will be on Sunday, that you are reminded of God’s great gift to us in an immortal soul that, hopefully, one day will be able to spend forever with God in Heaven. 

Reflection by Matthew Bensman

Freedom is Not Free

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Let us take a moment this weekend to remember, honor and pray for all of the brave men and women who have died defending our freedom, and our rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Memorial Day Prayer

God of power and mercy,

you destroy war and put down earthly pride.         

Banish violence from our midst and wipe away our tears,

that we may all deserve to be called your sons and daughters.

Keep in your mercy those men and women

who have died in the cause of freedom

and bring them safely

into your kingdom of justice and peace.

We ask this though Jesus Christ our Lord.

R/. Amen

—from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers

This weekend is a great time to reflect on the fact that freedom is not free.  In our country brave men and women gave up their lives to provide and protect that freedom.  That fact is true in our faith and our Church as well.  Our freedom comes at the ultimate cost, Jesus’ death on the cross.  Through His death and resurrection we were given true freedom; freedom to live a life that will enable us to spend an eternity with the Father in Heaven.  

Embrace the Holy Moments

This week at Mass you will hear a message you’ve likely heard many times before.  Jesus says in the gospel, “I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”.  Sounds easy enough right?  Since we are still in the Easter season, I’ll flash back to my favorite Mass of the year; Holy Thursday.  This is such a powerful Mass and message, I’ve never understood why this is not a Holy day of obligation.  This is the Mass where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples with a similar message usually sung by our choir and always makes me tear up.  The lyrics go something like this “do you know what I have done for you… if I have washed your feet, so you must do as I have done for you”.  It’s such a message of humility and love.  I’ve been fortunate to watch my children have their feet washed over the past couple years and it was one of the best teaching moments (sadly, I can’t take credit for that one).

I try to be attentive to my faith but the Advent and Lent seasons always give me an opportunity to hit the reset button and reorder my priorities.  This usually comes in the form of an email from Dynamic Catholic or a self-paced online retreat with 30 minute videos of speakers on different topics.  This year I gave up radio on my drive to work in exchange for Relevant Radio.  I learned so much and actually didn’t miss the daily bickering that went on with my usual sports talk show.  One of the takeaways for me this Lent was from Matthew Kelly.  I believe the idea comes from his book “The greatest lie in the history of Christianity”.  It’s the notion of “Holy moments” and that sainthood can be achieved by creating holy moments each day, some days maybe more than just one.  I believe creating holy moments more often than not requires us to love one another; this can come in many forms.  Praying for someone is us loving one another.  I recently had a friend and coworker pass away from cancer.  I prayed not just for her healing but also prayed for the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort her and her family.  One day near the end of her battle, I text a mutual friend and declared, “what a great day to pray for Trish!  Today is the feast day of St. Joseph, patron saint of departing souls”.  Little did I know this mutual friend has just received the call that Trish had passed.  Praying for Trish and her family is something I continue to do daily and my form of loving one another. 

Not too long ago, I was walking into South shore medical for an appointment and there was a man walking in at the same time.  We were both looking at this car that was parked so crookedly it was comical so we had a good laugh.  After my appointment, I was walking out to the parking lot and this elderly man was just starting to cross the cross walk and was clearly struggling and uneasy on his feet.  I thought “here is my holy moment”!  I walked right up next to him and looped my arm in his.  As we walked to his car, it turned out his car was the one that was parked sideways.  He was such a delight to talk to, he kept stopping in the middle of the cross walk to tell his stories, holding up traffic and not caring.  We laughed all the way to his car where I assisted him in getting in and shutting his door.   

Holy moments are sometimes a bit more subtle.  When I wake up a little irritable, it’s easy to take that out on others around me.  When I choose to love despite my grumpiness, it starts my kids and husbands day off on a better note and ultimately turns me around too.  This may not appear to be a holy moment but trust me, my husband and kids would beg to differ.  A more recent holy moment was when my Mother in law was cleaning out her fish pond.  It was the end of the day and finishing up 8 hours of weeding and mulching.  My back was aching.  I saw my Mother in law still back struggling with this project and had to go help her finish it up, despite how much I wanted to get off my feet.  Holy?  Maybe not… loving one another?  Most certainly. 

Holy moments usually take time and they sometimes take effort or sacrifice but 9/10 times I end up benefiting from the holy moments as much as the person I’m attempting to assist or pray for.  Loving one another is contagious.  Being on the lookout for holy moments will inevitably fulfill Jesus’s wish for us to love one another.  I continue to seek out holy moments and am hopeful if I can string enough of them together over my lifetime, canonization may be a long shot but I am hoping for heaven! 

Reflection by Joanna BIshop

How Can You Evangelize?

Do you ever get a post on social media that has to do with something religious or about Jesus and wonder if you pass it on will people judge you or feel it will not be well received?  Or you might think people will think you’re preachy or a holy roller whatever that is.  Then when you finally decide to post it, you get two “likes”, one from your Aunt and one from your grandmother.  Sometimes when I tell people that I work for the church, they have an awkward reaction then move on to the next subject.  The comedian Jim Gaffigan once opened one of his comedy routines by telling the audience… “I want to make you all feel as comfortable as possible so I’m going to start talking about Jesus”.   Of course this was met with much laughter but what is it about faith and talking about Jesus that makes people feel so uncomfortable?  Is it the time lapse?   People might say; this guy died over 2000 years ago and you’re still going on about him?  Well, yes quite frankly, because what we know from Jesus’ death and resurrection means everything.   It certainly meant everything to the apostles as we see in this weekends and last weekend’s readings. The apostles were going out and preaching and teaching and many times they were met with much resistance.  They weren’t just getting awkward stares or indifference.   They were sometimes under the threat of death and yet they still carried on.

“The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” so ends the first reading from Acts where Paul and Barnabas are in Antioch in Pisidia.  Yes, nothing more than the Holy Spirit could inspire these guys to forge on with their difficult mission.  If you think about it, these men were tough.  They had to be.  They had to be confident about what they were teaching, they had to be compelling, they had to venture into territories and lands they had never been.  They had to speak in synagogues under the sometimes jealous eye of Jewish leaders who were not ready to hear or except Jesus’ words.  They were always being watched and under threat of death.  And yet each week we hear the same words about the apostles…that they had great “joy”.  They “rejoiced” the fact that they were “found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name” that being Jesus.  Wow! I’m not so sure I would have this solid conviction.  Granted they had just witnessed great things that helped bolster their resolve.  They saw the risen Lord.  They knew the truth of what was to come.  Well for that matter so do I.  So I have to ask myself, do I have their determination when it comes to spreading the good word?  Do I have the courage and conviction to admit that I am a follower of Jesus?  Do you?  

What does it mean to evangelize today?  How do we avoid that awkwardness of being open about our faith?  Father Mike Schmitz of Ascension press says that “evangelizing doesn’t mean going door to door with religious flyers. It means being aware and looking for opportunities in everyday life to be witnesses of Christ’s love: listening to people’s concerns, offering tangible help, praying for others, and being open to conversations about spiritual matters.”  That sounds doable Fr. Mike!  Another simple thing to do is daily prayer. Fr. Mike also points out that “a lot of people easily slip into self-centered individualism (“just me and Jesus”), or they mindlessly go to Mass because it’s what is expected of them”  He further points out that  as “St. Paul says you’re a member of Christ’s body—you’re a member of the Church. Which doesn’t mean that you have a card and you’re a member [to a club]. No, you’re a physical member, like an arm or a leg. So the arm has to be healthy individually but connected to the head, Jesus. But it also realizes that it’s not the only member.” It’s important to have a dialogue with Jesus and ask for His guidance.  We ask God for so much and in we return we should ask Him where we are most needed.  What can we do today for our neighbors or for others?  Where can we be of most help today?  If we keep this prayerful dialogue going maybe the awkwardness of admitting to and showing our faith will fade. Maybe the messages will become clear, and maybe with the help of the Holy Spirit we can be joyful like the apostles in sharing our faith and our love of Jesus.

Reflection by Mary Juliano Hayes

Feed my Sheep

“When a maid saw him (Peter) seated in the light, she looked intently at him and said, ‘This man too was with him.’  But he denied it saying, ‘Woman, I do not know him.’ A short while later someone else saw him and said ‘ You too are one of them.’ but Peter answered, ‘My friend, I am not.’   About an hour later, still another insisted, ‘Assuredly, this man too was with him, for he is also a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.’” (Excerpt from Luke Chapter 22)

These are the last words we hear from Peter before Jesus’ crucifixion.  The man who was chosen by Christ to be the head of the Apostles and the first pope, in the hour Jesus needed him most, repeatedly denied knowing him.  This is the man whom Jesus said He would build His Church upon and he just lied and ran away when things got too hard.  How many times have we denied Christ when it became challenging or too inconvenient? 

But do not despair, there is hope!  This weekend we hear this exchange between Jesus and Peter:

“’Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’  He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’  Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’  Jesus said to him a third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was distressed that Jesus had said to him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything: you know that I love you.’  Jesus said to him ‘Feed my sheep.’” (John 21)

Christ, in his infinite love and mercy, gave Peter a chance at forgiveness and redemption.  Each time Peter denied Jesus before his crucifixion, and each time we deny Christ with our words and actions, we are saying, “Jesus I don’t love you.”  

Jesus, by asking Peter, “Do you love me?” three times gives Peter a 2^nd chance, a chance to change his answers from, “No Jesus I don’t love you,” to “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.”  And through that second chance, Peter’s denials were wiped away and replaced with love and forgiveness. 

God gives us that same chance everyday to undo our denials of Him.  He is the loving God that is standing there waiting for you to turn back towards him and say, “Yes Lord, I love you.”  Come meet our loving God in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist.

Please pray in a special way for the young people of our Parish who are receiving that love of Christ in a special way this weekend (and over the next few weekends) as they make their First Communions. 

If you love me, feed my sheep. 

Reflection by Matthew Bensman