Celebration, April 2008 issue, 37:4

April 2008 | 37:4

www.celebrationpubs.org

A Comprehensive Worship Resource

In this issue: Sacraments James L. Empereur 3

Formation:

Spanish/English Mystagogia Seniors Parish staff Spirituality Liturgy Singing

6-16

Preparation:

Music, Prayers, Planning & Graphics

17-28

Preaching:

Lectionary commentaries Sample homilies Sermon starters Youth homily ideas for the four Sundays of April 2008

Daily Bread:

Homily starters and reflections on the readings of the day

Hispanic Inuence

The browning of sacramental life

RENEW NOW!

Your next issue will be your last unless you call: 1-800-333-7373

EDITOR’S CORNER we actually live Easter now.

The weeks following We no longer cower in the Easter are a graced opshadow of death, intimidatportunity to deepen the ed into silence or passivity sha red sense of how by the thought that we might our baptismal identity be lost if we speak and act culminates in the resas Jesus did in the world. urrection. As baptized He has already shown us people, we have been that, in the end, truth and c a l led to accompa ny love overcome every threat Jesus on the universal or obstacle. journey through temptaWhile this level of faith tion, trial, suffering and Pat Marrin may waver within us as self-emptying that leads individuals, our experience as to full human maturity and real eucharistic assemblies is where spiritual breakthrough. we find full Easter faith. If Jesus We don’t just believe in Easter; himself, risen from the dead, is we are Easter people. We are those opening our minds and hearts to who proclaim and live the freedom the scriptures, breaking bread that results from having overcome with us, showing us his wounds, the fear of death. then what can keep us from living There is no service we cannot boldly and faithfully? If God is with perform, no act of courage on beus, who can be against us? Who half of others we need shrink from. or what can stop us from rising Jesus has already crossed every to every occasion where love can threshold ahead of us, showing that make a difference, where justice is death is powerless to stop those the path to peace? The mystery is committed to love. By keeping our ours. We need only live it to know eyes on Jesus and on the prize of a that we are the children of God. world transformed by his justice,

Publisher.......................................... Sr. Rita Larivee, SSA Editor-in-Chief....................................................Pat Marrin Associate Editor...............................................Erin Ryan Production....................................................Tobias Becker Advertising........................................... Fr. Jack Lumanog 816-968-2238 CELEBRATION: A Comprehensive Worship Resource (ISSN 0094-2421) is published monthly

by The National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, Inc. Write Celebration, P.O. Box 411009, Kansas City, MO 64141-1009. Periodical Postage paid at Kansas City, MO 64108 and additional mailing offices.

BLANKET REPRINT POLICY Although Celebration is copyrighted, subscribers have automatic permission to reprint or download and print articles from Celebration for local distribution and pastoral need (church bulletins, e.g.). Cartoons may also be reprinted, but please send a $5 fee to the artist (see p. 26).

INTERNET ACCESS Subscribers are entitled to full online access to the entire Celebration publication for up to five simultaneous users. Additional electronic options can be purchased. Visit www.celebrationpubs.org to register for online access or to purchase additional options. For questions regarding electronic issues, e-mail support@celebrationpubs.org.

Editor: Pat Marrin, Celebration, 115 East Armour Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64111-1203; Phone: 816968-2266; E-mail: patmarrin@aol.com Missing issues: Call 816-968-2257. Celebration is mailed two months prior to the issue date. If you have not received your issue a month before the issue date, call for a replacement.

How to renew: Call 816-968-2257. Annual subscription rates: $69.95 print ($87.95 foreign surface; $99.95 Canada/Mexico air mail) with electronic access; $49.95 electronic only.

New subscriptions: Call 816-968-2257, or subscribe online at www.celebrationpubs.org. Click on the Buy Now button.

Change of mailing address or e-mail address: Send your new mailing address AND a mailing label with the old address to: Celebration, P.O. Box 411009, Kansas City, MO 64141-1009. To change an e-mail address log into your Administrator Control Panel at www.celebrationpublications. org and select the change password/edit profile option.

Print subscription and billing questions: Call 816968-2257 or e-mail support@celebrationpubs.org.

For faster service, please have your address label with your customer number on hand. For billing questions, please have your invoice available.

Electronic issues and questions: E-mail support@celebrationpubs.org. Include your name, address and question in your e-mail.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Celebration, P.O. Box 411009, Kansas City, MO 64141-1009. Canada Post Publications Mail Product (Canada Distribution) Sales Agreement #1427695

E-mail is the most efficient way to contact us. E-mail support@celebrationpubs.org and include your name, phone number and your concern or question.

www.celebrationpubs.org

FORMATION Browning of Sacramental Life James L. Empereur 3 April Lectionary Themes Patricia and Rafael Sánchez

6

Do We Hunger and Thirst?

Gabe Huck

8

Tracing the Connections Carol Luebering

10

Many Images of God Denise Simeone

11

Different Worlds, One Humanity Rich Heffern 12 Easter Is Enough Melissa Musick Nussbaum

13

Piety and Liturgical Practice Douglas Sousa 14 Meeting Mystery: Review James L. Empereur

15

‘Sing to the Lord’ J. Michael McMahon

16

PREPARATION April Music J. Michael McMahon

17-21

Planning and Prayers Lawrence Mick Paige Byrne Shortal

22-25

April Graphics Pat Marrin

27

PREACHING Five 4-page resource folders

April Commentaries Patricia Datchuck Sánchez Sample Homilies James Smith Youth Preaching Jim Auer Sermon Starters Dick Folger Daily Bread Patricia Russell Paige Byrne Shortal Mary E. Waldron Elizabeth C. Williams Cover Art & Illustrations Julie Lonneman

Celebration FEATURE

The Browning of Sacramental Life Hispanic influence enriches the liturgy in this postmodern age

By James L. Empereur The churches are changing color.

The universal church has always been colorful — literally and metaphorically. But in the United States there is clearly a changing of the colors of the worshipping assemblies. It is happening in most of the Christian churches, but it is most dramatic in the Roman Catholic church because of the extent and rapidity with which it is happening.

The churches are receiving new life from many parts of the world, including the African, Pacifican and Asian peoples. But because of the immigration from south of the border and the increase through birth of the Hispanic populations, they are the ones most obviously turning congregations into different hues of brown. (Let me note at the beginning that I am aware of the discussion regarding the usage of Latina/o as opposed to Hispanic in writing. I shall stay with the word Hispanic in this article, trusting that it will be clear to which people I am referring.)

This change in color and tone presents the churches with serious challenges in pastoral practice. It calls for the training and retraining of pastoral ministers, the development of appropriate resources, the reception of the gifts that the Hispanic people themselves bring to the table and, most of all, a change of attitude and worldview on the part of the present dominant culture. Already the churches have made some advances on the pastoral level, particularly in the areas of catechetics and sacramental celebrations. Now ministers, as well as those to be ministers, in the churches are encouraged, even required, to learn Spanish (as well as other languages such as Vietnamese).

There is an admirable growth in liturgical celebrations in Spanish

Hispanic religious traditions have maintained a cosmic perspective in popular religious practices, and so it provides a model for sacramental enculturation and spirituality in a postmodern world. in parishes where such would have been unheard of only a few years before. More and more the publishers of more pastorally oriented materials and of liturgical music are turning their attention to the needs of the Spanish-speaking worshipper. Increasingly, there are translations of biblical commentaries, liturgical aids, and popular books in Hispanic spirituality being made available and affordable.

There are now programs that help those non-Hispanics who minister to Hispanics.

This is recognition not only of the need to respond to Hispanics

pastorally but also of the fact that they bring gifts to the church. One very significant gift is how their sacramental experiences can feed into and enrich the larger area of the church’s sacramental theology and practice. In particular, Hispanics can bring to the life of worship a much-needed sensitivity to the sacred, a deeper appreciation of symbolic reality and a greater aesthetic awareness of the sacramentality of the world.

Sacramental theolog y must be rooted in and nurtured by an authentic tradition. The Hispanic practice and spirituality of popular religion is one such tradition.

Popular religion such as the Guadalupan celebrations, las Posadas and the many customs surrounding death are the lifeblood of the sacramental life of Hispanics.

Again, sacramental theology today, as other areas of theology, needs a greater emphasis on the theology of creation. Sacramental theology must situate itself within a framework of cosmic sacramentality. Hispanic sacramental experience already contains such a sense of this cosmic or creationcentered sacramentality. Thus, there is a certain urgency that those working in the field of the sacraments, whether academically or pastorally, be made aware of this tradition so rich in symbolic expression and so useful in recovering a sense of a creation-oriented sacramental understanding.

Today, it is necessary that sacramental theology deal with the postmodern agenda. It must build bridges between the long tradition of sacramental living and reflection in the church and the postmodern world, which is wary of the kind of truth claims made by such long traditions. The traffic on the bridge goes in both directions. While contemporary sacramental theology participates April 2008 | 3

Celebration feature in the postmodern world, it must also be corrective of it. Many of the positive elements of the postmodern agenda are already present in the Hispanic sacramental world and so it can play a major role in being that bridge to postmodernism.

For instance, Hispanics place a priority on familial relationships, they show a willingness to move beyond the institutional to achieve harmony, and they embrace the significance of human embodiment.

Here it is important to remember that Hispanic popular religion differs from European devotionalism. Whereas the latter is usually clergy-led and individualistic in character, popular religion is usually more domestic and communal.

These latter are postmodern values also. European devotionalism often moved people away from the centrality of the official liturgy, whereas popular religion was more parallel to that liturgy. When it did become a substitute for the liturgy of the church, it was due to lack of clergy or because Hispanics were marginalized. Many postmodern persons would find many of these qualities of popular religion quite compatible. This helps the Hispanic world to enter into conversation with postmodernism. But what is even more significant is that Hispanic religious traditions have maintained a cosmic perspective in these popular religious practices, and so it provides a model for sacramental enculturation and spirituality in a postmodern world. It can be a promising way for the church to attain a theologically informed sacramental pastoral practice.

We turn now to the concrete sacramental practice of many Hispanics.

What generalizations are made here are open to many exceptions. The most helpful way to grasp the specificity of Hispanic sacramentality is to cluster the official sacraments of the church with specific forms of popular religion. For instance, we can pair infant baptism with the popular practice of the presentation of the child within 40 days of birth or when the child is 3 years old. The practice of compadrazgo, or 4 | April 2008

With an increasing call from theologians for theology to recover its cosmic dimension, the church needs the Hispanic approach to the sacraments. This is especially true because in the United States so much of the culture (in the loose sense) alienates us from creation. the involvement of the godparents (padrinos), does much to create the bonds of relationships and the sense of community that we especially associate with baptism, although frequently it is sadly lacking.

Here popular religion enhances and extends the theological meaning of a sacrament in daily life. It is not unusual to hear Hispanics refer to the parents of the child for whom they are the godparents as their compadre or comadre, which is like being a companion father or mother. There is a definite bond between these people that is not only a strongly emotional one but also one which implies a serious commitment. In general, this connection is stronger among Hispanics than in the dominant U.S. culture.

Other examples of sacramental and popular religious practices supporting and enriching each other

are listed below. This wedding of unofficial devotional practices to the official rites of the church helps Hispanics to live a fuller symbolic life and one that highlights the sacramentality of the world. Liturgy is like a flower, but it needs a garden in which to grow. Hispanic popular religion can be such a garden. u Regarding the passage into adulthood in the church and family, there are the sacramental rites in the RCIA and confirmation, which can be enriched by the Quinceaùera celebrations for Hispanic young people, usually girls, as they reach the age of 15. u Regarding the witness of the Hispanic family in the church and society, there are the sacraments of marriage and the Sunday Eucharist, which can be deepened by special Hispanic wedding rites such as the coins and the lasso and the engaging sense of fiesta that characterizes Hispanic living. u Regarding the ministry of leadership in church and society, the sacramental vocations of the ordained priesthood and the lay ministry can be enhanced by the special prayer leadership of women in the Hispanic communities and the use of symbols like Guadalupe in secular movements, such as the past farmers’ movement in California. u Regarding healing and brokenness in the Hispanic communities, there are the sacraments of reconciliation and anointing of the sick, which can be supported by the many kinds of non-sacramental forms of reconciliation such as those that take place around the dining table and the practice of confession when attached to certain popular feast days. All such practices, official and non-official, are colored by the Hispanic priority on human relationships when interpreting the moral law and a deep intuitive sense that sin affects the community. u Regarding death and dying, there are the sacramental practices of the funeral and Christian burial, which can be supplemented by the ceremonies of the Day of the Dead, such as the domestic altars and the various practices of remembering

Celebration feature the dead so cherished by many Hispanics.1 With an increasing call from theologians for theology to recover its cosmic dimension, the church needs the Hispanic approach to the sacraments. This is especially true because in the United States so much of the culture (in the loose sense) alienates us from creation. The Hispanic sense of the sacred can be one way for Christians today to develop a sacramental consciousness that is credible in a postmodern world. It is a consciousness that can be developed by a greater relationship of the sacraments to the physical world, our deeper connection to our own embodied selves and the meaningful relationships on the part of all with the objects of creation.

I and my coauthor Eduardo Fernandez end our volume on Hispanic sacramental theology with these words: “The enculturation of sacramental theology and practice in North America can be aided by the aesthetic imagination and cosmic sacramentality alive in the popular religion of Hispanic spirituality. We hope the North American church will choose this avenue for the revitalization of its sacramental life.”2 NOTES 1. For a fuller discussion of Hispanic celebrations of the sacraments in conjunction with their religious popular practices see La Vida Sacra: Contemporary Hispanic Sacramental Theology by James Empereur, S.J. and Eduardo Fernandez, S.J. (New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2006).

2. La Vida Sacra, p. 305.

Jesuit Fr. James L. Empereur is parochial vicar and liturgist at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio. He was formerly a professor of liturgy at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif. Contact him at e-mail: jakeempereur@prodigy.net.

Sacramental dimensions of cultural practice

u Many Hispanic wedding ceremonies feature the lazo, or lasso, and the giving of the arras, a small box containing 13 gold coins.

The lazo appears variously as a rope, a ribbon or a double rosary and is usually placed around the shoulders of the couple during the ceremony in order to symbolize the love that binds them together.

According to CatholicBrides.com, the lazo as a wedding rosary — made up of two individual rosaries joined into one — is meant to “symbolize the unification of the couple through prayer. The traditional belief is if the couple prays the rosary every night their marriage will endure.”

The 13 coins of the arras represent Christ and his 12 apostles.

Usually the groom gives the box and coins to his bride during the ceremony to show that he has pledged to provide financial support for her in their new life. The bride promises to use the money wisely. “In these more modern times of two people often contributing financially to the household this custom still reflects the religious intent of a united couple managing finances through prayer.”

u Through the compadrazgo system (the set of relationships between a child’s parents and his or her godparents), persons unrelated by blood or marriage establish bonds of ritual kinship that are also important for the individual in the society at large. Ritual kinship, sponsorship and special extrafamilial networks have always bound ethnic and social groups together by mutual obligation to care for the young, the old, immigrants and those in need. Hispanic cultures exhibit a rich communal sense of interdependence that acts as a corrective to exaggerated notions of American individuality and self-reliance.

u With the large population of Latino people in all areas of the United States, the Quinceañera celebration for young women coming of age and being recongized as adults in the community is common almost everywhere. Many cultures and religions mark theses rites of passage as a way of celebrating the importance of young people to the future of the community.

Until recently, there has lacked a formal ritual for Quinceañeras for use within the U.S. Roman Catholic church; priests and deacons have been left to adapt liturgies to the needs of the celebration. On August 7, 2007, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a formal ritual, approved by the Vatican, to be used in the context of eucharistic liturgies, with adaptations for Liturgies of the Word. The rite may be found at this address: http://www.usccb. org/liturgy/Quinceanera.pdf — Compiled by Celebration editors

April 2008 | 5

Formación: la palabra

Entusiasmo: ¡Fuego de Dios en nuestras entrañas!

El culto y la vida para el mes de abril 2008 Patricia Datchuck Sánchez y Rafael Sánchez Alonso Cada año, mientras recordamos y celebramos el misterio del eventoCristo, recordamos y celebramos también a nuestros antepasados en la fe cuyas vidas fueron transformadas totalmente y para siempre por Jesucristo. Así, su fervor superó el miedo, su reticencia fue reemplazada por el valor y el sentido de su misión.

Vivían entusiasmados, es decir, estaban en theos, en Dios. Según David Muschell, la palabra entusiasmo proviene del antiguo griego y significa “estar poseído o inspirado por un dios” (Where in the Word?, Prima Publishing, Rocklin, Calif.: 1990).

Evidentemente, los primeros cristianos estaban inspirados por Dios, por Jesús y por el Espíritu Santo que los poseía y les daba la gracia, el poder y el entusiasmo para dar testimonio de la Buena Nueva del evangelio. Como resultado de estar “en Dios,” aquellos primeros creyentes cambiaron, eran diferentes; por ellos el mundo es ahora un lugar diferente.

Algo de este entusiasmo inicial resplandece en las selecciones de la Sagrada Escritura de este mes. Las lecturas de los Hechos de los Apóstoles (el 6 y el 13 de abril) nos presentan el llamado poderoso de San Pablo a sus compañeros judíos; les pide que acepten en Jesús a su tan esperado Mesías. Sus palabras nos recuerdan que todavía hay que proselitizar. Aún hay muchas personas que no conocen o no aceptan a Jesucristo. Además, algunos que lo habían aceptado, ahora rechazan a Jesús y a su Iglesia por culpa de quienes deben ser sus mejores testigos; pero sus vidas y sus obras contradicen sus palabras. Integrar lo que decimos con lo que somos y cómo vivimos es el reto constante de la Iglesia. Si practicáramos con entusiasmo lo que predicamos, los que buscan la verdad y los que están perdidos volverían a casa.

Las lecturas del 20 y del 27 de 6 | April 2008

La palabra entusiasmo proviene del antiguo griego y significa ‘estar poseído o inspirado por un dios.’ abril de los Hechos de los Apóstoles nos recuerdan que nuestra Iglesia es universal, que abraza e incluye a todos. Para mantener este carácter esencial de la Iglesia, es necesario hacer adaptaciones para acomodar y acoger a todos los que forman el pueblo de Dios. Los primeros creyentes, conscientes de la necesidad de mejor servir a la Iglesia, designaron diáconos que hablaban las lenguas de la gente de la diáspora. Éstas y otras adaptaciones hicieron posible que Felipe y otros pudieran llevar el mensaje de salvación a Samaria y hasta los confines del mundo.

En las segundas lecturas de este mes, la carta 1ª de San Pedro nos recuerda que Jesús se sacrificó para redimirnos y sigue llamándonos al arrepentimiento y a renovar la fe en Quien sostiene nuestro entusiasmo y nuestro esfuerzo (6 de abril). El antiguo escritor de esta carta, consciente del costo de ser discípulo de Cristo, nos alienta a hacer el bien uniendo nuestros sufrimientos y luchas con los de Jesús (el 13 de abril), la razón de nuestra esperanza (el 27 de abril).

Nos recuerda que somos las piedras vivas que constituyen la Iglesia (el 20 de abril) y que hemos de ser el hogar espiritual en donde todos son bienvenidos.

Los evangelios de estos domingos,

ricos en Cristología, muestran las abundantes gracias que Jesucristo nos brinda. Siempre presente en el don de su palabra y en el don del pan bendito, partido y compartido de la Eucaristía (el 16 de abril), Jesús se hace asequible en ellos, nos nutre y fortalece, y hace posible que nuestro entusiasmo se avive y se eleve como una llama de fuego para que otros también puedan ver la luz y contemplar la vida, muerte y resurrección de Aquél quien ha transformado nuestras propias vidas.

El 13 y el 20 de abril muestran otras maneras por las que Jesús desea ser conocido. Es y será por siempre el pastor de la Iglesia, la puerta por la que debemos de entrar y la vida que hemos de vivir. Jesucristo, nuestro modelo y líder, decide las normas que deben seguir tanto los fieles como los pastores que cuidan del pueblo de Dios.

El evangelio del último domingo de abril (el 27) anuncia una promesa.

Antes de dejar a los suyos, Jesús les confiere el poder y les da la fuerza de continuar el trabajo que había comenzado. Les promete que enviará a su Espíritu, al Defensor, quien seguirá habitando entre ellos y, con sus poderosos vientos y suaves brisas, hará crecer su fe, su valor y su perseverancia. El Espíritu de Jesús Resucitado hace posible que seamos sus testigos y sirvamos con entusiasmo. Algunos prefieren describir esta experiencia del Espíritu como “tener el fuego de Dios en las entrañas.”

Jesucristo tenía ese fuego. También lo tenían María, Pedro, Pablo, Felipe, Dorothy Day, Juan XXIII, Pablo VI, Martin Luther King Jr. y tantos otros. Ellos nos inspiran y avivan ese fuego dentro de nosotros para que continuemos en el mundo el proceso de transformación y de curación que Cristo nos ha confiado.

Patricia Datchuck Sánchez y Rafael Sánchez Alonso han provisto de comentarios y homilías a Celebración desde 1979.

FORMATION: word

Enthusiasm: God’s Fire in our Belly Lectionary themes for April 2008 Patricia Datchuck Sánchez and Rafael Sánchez Alonso Each year, as we remember and celebrate the mystery that is the Christ-event, we also remember and celebrate our ancestors in the faith. We recall those first believers and how their lives were forever transformed by their relationship with Jesus. Because of Jesus, their fears were overcome by fervor, their reticence replaced by a courageous sense of mission. In a word, they were enthusiastic; that is, they were en theos or “in God.” For the ancient Greeks, from whose language this word is derived, enthusiasm meant “to be possessed or inspired by a god” (from Where in the Word?, by David Muschell, Prima Publishing, Rocklin, Calif.: 1990). Christians, of course, are inspired by God, by Jesus and by the Holy Spirit, who possesses each believer and empowers each with graced enthusiasm for witnessing to the Good News.

As a result of their being “in God,” the early believers were different, and through them the world would become a different place.

Something of that initial enthusiasm shines through each of the scripture selections this month. Paul’s powerful appeal to his fellow Jews to accept Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah will be featured in the Acts readings on April 6 and 13; his words remind us that there is much proselytizing to be done, as many have yet to know and accept Jesus. Some who have come to know Jesus have rejected him and the church, because those who witness to him have offered one message with their lips but another, contradictory message with their lives. To integrate who we are with what we say and how we live remains the constant challenge of the church; to do so with enthusiasm will gather home the seekers and the lost more effectively.

On April 20 and 27, the Acts

Enthusiasm, in ancient Greek, means ‘to be possessed or inspired by a god.’ texts will remind us that ours is a universal church with an all-inclusive embrace. To maintain this essential character of the community of faith, we must make adaptations so as to accommodate all God’s people. The first believers realized this and appointed deacons who spoke the languages of the diaspora. These adaptations made it possible for Philip et al. to carry the message of salvation to Samaria and beyond.

In each of the second readings this month, the author of 1 Peter will remind us of the One through whose saving sacrifice we have been redeemed, and call us to that daily repentance and renewal of faith that will keep us enthusiastic in our efforts (April 6). Fully aware of the cost of discipleship, the ancient writer will encourage us to unite our struggles and the suffering we undergo for doing good with the sufferings of Jesus (April 13), who is the reason for our hope (April 27).

With an evocative metaphor, we will be reminded that we are the living stones that constitute the church (April 20) and that we are to be a spiritual home wherein all should find welcome.

Gospels rich in Christology will be proclaimed each Sunday, apprising us of the graces and gifts that are ours in Christ. Through the gifts of

the sacred word and the blessed and broken bread of Eucharist, Jesus remains ever-present in our midst (April 16). Through these gifts, he is continuously available and accessible. Through these gifts we are nourished and strengthened.

Through these gifts our enthusiasm is fanned into a flame. Our enthusiasm enables others to know the light and life and warmth of believing in Someone by whose living, dying and rising lives are transformed.

Proclaimed on April 13 and 20 are other ways through which Jesus chose to be known. He continues to shepherd the church; he shall always be both the gate and the way who leads to God. He continues to be the truth and the life by which we are to live.

In all these capacities, Jesus stands out as a model leader who has set the norm for all who are privileged to care for God’s people.

On April’s last Sunday, the Gospel proclamation will be one of promise.

Before taking leave of his own, in order to empower them to continue the work he had begun, Jesus promised to send another Advocate. This Advocate, the Spirit of the risen Jesus himself, continues to move among us. The Advocate blows within us the mighty winds and gentle breezes that bring forth growth, courage and perseverance. Because of the Spirit of Jesus, we can live and witness and serve with enthusiasm. Some may prefer to describe the experience of the Spirit as having “fire in the belly.”

Jesus had such fire, as did Peter, Mary, Paul, Philip, Dorothy Day, John XXIII, Paul VI, Martin Luther King Jr. and so many others. These inspire us to stoke the fires within so as to continue the process of transforming and healing the world.

Patricia Datchuck Sánchez and Rafael Sánchez Alonso have been collaborating to provide Lectionary commentaries and homilies for Celebration since 1979.

April 2008 | 7

FORMATION: Mystagogia

Do We Really Hunger and Thirst?

The Easter Gospels present us with the power of bread and wine By gabe huck The following homily is intended for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year A, April 6, 2008. As often in these homilies, it tries to give some glimpse of the Lectionary itself and its Easter sequence of readings. For seasonal homilies from previous years, go to www.homily.com and click on the file for Gabe Huck.

Easter is the church’s longest season, 50 days counted from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. Easter has never been a fixed date. Most churches figure out when Easter should be celebrated only when they can name the Sunday that follows the first full moon after the equinox, when day becomes longer than night in the northern hemisphere, night becomes longer than day in the southern hemisphere.

Thus the planet Earth, its sun and its moon are all part of figuring out when these 50 days should begin. All of this has its roots in nomadic and agricultural societies of the Middle East, one tradition providing the calendar for another, ancient rites enriched and transformed as the Gospel took root and spread to other cultures.

We follow a three-year cycle of readings. In the first readings on each Sunday of the Easter season, the church reads always from the Acts of the Apostles, the stories of our origins as church. For this year the readings from Acts are from the first eight chapters of the book.

The second readings this year take us through the First Letter of Peter, where the author is trying to work out how those who have been baptized into Christ are now to live in the midst of their non-Christian societies in the Roman Empire, to live in those lands which we now know as Turkey and Syria. In the other two years of the reading cycle, we read together the First Letter of John one year and the difficult book of Revelation the other. So this year, in our homes, 8 | April 2008

When we are a church hungry for this common meal, we will arrive here on Sunday almost shouting what Jesus said to the disciples: ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ we might find in the Bible the first chapters of the Acts of the Apostles or the First Letter of Peter and read through these texts. Do this alone or as a household when possible. Sing one of our parish’s Easter songs before or after your reading.

But what of the Gospels of the Easter season? On Easter Sunday, the Gospel is always a story of the empty tomb, the well-known verses from John’s Gospel that begin: “On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark.”

And eight days later, on the Second Sunday of Easter, the Gospel is also the same in every year of the cycle and it tells how Jesus came to the disciples “on the evening of that first day of the week,” but then also came again a week later, when Thomas was present. Both times Jesus greets his disciples with the greeting still traditional in the Arab world: “Peace be with you.”

So we come now to the third Sunday in the Easter season. Every year of the three-year cycle has its own Gospel on this Sunday. When we put the three of them side by side, we see the beauty and power of this season’s stories, and we may begin to grasp what is our Easter task. And what are these three Gospel stories? We just heard the first of these read to us today: how two disciples who used to hope for great things from Jesus were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus and someone they didn’t recognize began to walk with them and talk to

them. When they reach the village of Emmaus they ask the stranger to stay with them. It is evening already and they sit down to eat. Only then, when the stranger takes the bread from the table and gives thanks for it and breaks it and gives it to them, only then do they recognize who this is. Their eyes are opened, the story says, but now they see no stranger, and they hurry back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples what has happened.

The Gospel on the Third Sunday of Easter next year will pick up the story at this point and tell how, when the two arrived back in Jerusalem and were taken up in a hubbub of stories among the disciples, suddenly Jesus stands there among them and tells them: “Touch me! Know that I am not a ghost. I have flesh and bones.”

He shows them his wounds and then asks the most unexpected question: “Have you anything here to eat?”

When they give him some baked fish, he eats it in front of them. Flesh and bones indeed!

Two years from now on this Sunday, we will hear not a continuation of this story, but something with echoes of it, and not from Luke’s Gospel like this year and next year, but from John. Some of the disciples are in a boat, fishing. Again, a stranger comes along on the shore and shouts to them: “Have you caught anything to eat?” They say no and the stranger says to cast the net again and they do and suddenly the net is heavy with fish. Then they know: It is the Lord. When they come to shore they see that this one who called to them, both a stranger and the Lord, has built a fire and is already roasting fish and bread. Jesus says to them: “Come and have breakfast.” Jesus takes the bread and gives it to them, then the fish.

So this Third Sunday of Easter could be called “the Sunday of bread and fish.” Three travelers sit down to supper and one breaks the bread,

FORMATION: Mystagogia and later that same night Jesus stands with the disciples and asks them if there’s anything to eat, and then, miles away by the seashore, there’s breakfast after a night of fishing.

What part of our Easter, what part of our lives is this?

It is something we have to struggle with. Unless we are hungry, we cannot know what it is that we are doing, what we are commanded to do: “Take and eat. Take and drink.” Unless we are hungry for this bread and thirsty for this cup, we are only pious folks going through the motions, going through the holy Communion of this welcome table. When we are a church hungry for this common meal, we will arrive here on Sunday almost shouting what Jesus said to the disciples: “Have you anything here to eat?”

The hunger in our stomachs is to be but some part of the hunger in our lives. A great theologian of the Orthodox church wrote: “The ‘original’ sin is not primarily that humanity ‘disobeyed’ God; the sin is that we ceased to be hungry for God and for God alone, ceased to see our whole life depending on the whole world as a sacrament of communion with God. The sin was not that we neglected religious duties. The sin was that we thought of God in terms of religion, that is, opposing God to life. The only real fall is our noneucharistic life in a noneucharistic world” (Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy).

Have you anything here to eat? Seldom in our society do we have to ask that. Seldom in our society do we have the will or the time to let ourselves be hungry. We are taught to consume but not to know our hunger. We are taught to fill our days to the limit, but we are not supposed to know our thirst. This is the way of “noneucharistic life in a noneucharistic world.” If we never hunger or thirst, what do we know about giving thanks and praise, what do we know about Eucharist?

But here, church, what are we doing when we come here on the Lord’s Day? Why is it that with so many things we could do, we gather at a table? Why do we have here cups and plates? Our call is to discover how to become a eucharistic assembly

around its table with our cups and our plates, our bread and wine. We need to come here as the world itself, for we are the world, and we are commanded to strip away the false fullness of lives so crammed we never know we are hungry and thirsty. Here can we be the disciples weary from the night of empty nets and here so hungry to be fed by the Lord?

The deed we do here, the thanksgiving we make around this table, is not the Thanksgiving of late November when the table groans with food. It is the thanksgiving of those who are slowly recognizing that they are so hungry, so thirsty. To do Eucharist, to give thanks, at this table is to rehearse in ourselves and our assembly, little by little, Sunday by Sunday, a world hungry for God. Another teacher wrote: “In the season for planting, the grains of wheat are thrown into the bosom of the earth, which is a fertile mother, and after an apparent death and time of gestation or germination, we, marveling, see a blade grow. Thus the symbolism of bread implies in the first place the image of death and resurrection in the bosom of the earth. ... The grain, carefully harvested, is crushed, ground, almost annihilated; countless grains are pulverized and mingled to make flour, which, thanks to human work and the action of fire, finally becomes bread” (Philippe Rouillard, “From Human Meal to Christian Eucharist,” in Worship).

Does this tiny mouthful of bread here seem routine? Then we don’t know bread. We don’t know the earth and the death of the seed. We don’t know the harvest and the crushing and pulverizing. We don’t know the fire that makes bread of wheat and water. Fruit of the earth and work of human hands, we say, but do we imagine all that has happened and what it is that together we share this death and life?

Of the wine, the same teacher said: “Before tasting wine we must plant the vine, prune it, harvest the grapes, put them under the press, much as we ground the wheat grain, then let the juice ferment, and finally age the wine.” Pruning, harvesting that separates the fruit from the living

plant, then crushing the fruit, then time. Do we grasp how our very selves and our world are gathered up here and we are like the wine made by pruning, harvesting, crushing, and by time itself ?

“Do you have anything here to eat?” Jesus asked. After all that, after the seed dying in the earth, then the cutting of the grain, the grinding to make the flour, and the fire to make the bread, after the grape taken from the vine, after the crushing to make the juice, after the patient time to make wine, after all this is the eating and the drinking. And what is this eating and this drinking except another death, another transformation, one life taken up in another?

And we dare to call this Eucharist.

How do we come to that? We do what we do around a table like every table of our daily lives. We do what we do with a most ordinary sort of bread and a simple wine. That is enough and more than enough when we have come here hungry and thirsty for God. That is enough and more than enough when we have come here not as so many isolated individuals but as the church born in the drowning waters of baptism. For this church will eat no meal unless we share and share alike, each hungry one of us eating the tiny and broken piece of bread, each thirsty one of us drinking but a sip from the cup of wine.

And each beloved one of us daring to say Amen when the minister says to us: The body of Christ. The blood of Christ. Amen!

Do we then say that here we have done something outside the world?

How could we? Who do we think we are? Baptized, church, we are the world first and last and always and it is as the world that we here become eucharistic because we begin to know our hunger and our thirst, and we begin to know the words, the melodies, the steps of the procession, the words and gestures of peace, the mysteries of death and life in a struggle that is an embrace, an embrace that is a struggle.

Gabe Huck writes and speaks about liturgy and justice issues from Damascus, Syria.

Contact him at GHuck24282@aol.com.

April 2008 | 9

FORMATION: SENIORS

Tracing the Connections Giving thanks for the people who shaped who we are By carol luebering Jack and I recently got home from a visit to a daughter who lives some 500 miles away from us. I find myself looking back at the good time we had with Anne and her family. Anne is the daughter we call Jack’s because she is so like him, and I never see her without being struck by how much like his mom she is. Not only does she look like her; her every gesture brings my mother-in-law back to me.

(Forget the bad jokes. That woman was ever a joy to me.) Anne’s daughter is the image of her dad’s mother.

I look at my grandson and see my grandpa — just as I do when I see my own face in the mirror.

Physical resemblances are easy to spot. Likenesses in personality and talent emerge more slowly, but are every bit as obvious — at least to folks of a respectable age. Nothing seems to annoy the young more than being told, “You are so like …”

Perhaps their sense of who they are is too fragile for them to be willing to claim likeness to someone else. Or perhaps they simply can’t see clearly enough across the age gap to identify with an older relative.

I’ve long since left that youthful resentment behind. Now it delights me to see how traits weave in and out through people of different generations. It affirms my belief that nothing of a person is ever really lost. I suspect there’s more to resurrection than Easter tells. Even though we may part from someone dear in this world, we may well discover them again in ourselves or in some younger relative.

There’s a bit of irony in that, for we may just as well discover that what we think of as our deepest flaws wear another face as well. As an adult, I found much amusement in my mother’s frequent comment that I always was a rebel (perhaps a genetic gift from her younger sister). Mind you, Mother spent many 10 | April 2008

Begin by asking the obvious: From whom came the startling blue eyes or some other physical feature? How did the other get interested in a certain hobby or profession or acquire a particular skill? years researching her ancestry so she could join the Daughters of the American Revolution. I thought she should see my rebelliousness as a precious heritage. Watching my own offspring grow up, I learned that fault and virtue are often two sides of the same coin. The child I would happily have strangled for her stubbornness when she was small I now see as a model of perseverance.

Who we are is not entirely traceable to genes, of course. We acquire a lot of unrelated role models along the way, people who instill their values in our hearts, whose virtues invite imitation or who prompt our interest in one thing or another. These are the folks who have shaped our choice of career, nurtured our desire to acquire some skill and sparked our ardor for certain causes. They are as influential a part of who we are as the ancestors who passed on their genes.

Spend a little time remembering the people who have had a strong

influence on who you are, whether by nurture or by nature. Then breathe a prayer of gratitude for the gifts each of them gave you.

Enjoy the same exercise with the people to whom you minister. Begin by asking about the obvious: From whom came the startlingly blue eyes or some other physical feature? How did the other get interested in a certain hobby or profession or acquire a particular skill? Even someone who retains only very old memories can probably tell you about a favorite relative, neighbor or teacher, and explain what was so special about that person.

Name those people in an extended prayer of thanks for the ways in which they shaped a person’s inmost being. Explore what influence either of you has exerted on other lives and express your gratitude for having had that opportunity as well.

If you are thinking that no one can possibly cover all that territory in the course of a single visit, you are absolutely right! Happily, an exercise in gratitude can be repeated over and over again. Make a mental note of avenues for further exploration — and turn it into a written note as soon as you walk out the door.

Use it as a springboard to prayer another day.

And don’t forget to keep on doing the same thing with your own memories. After all, the people who follow Jesus are called to give thanks always and everywhere.

Weekly, we celebrate the meal he left us on the night before he died. And the very name by which we know that meal — Eucharist — means thanksgiving.

Carol Luebering is a freelance writer and a consultant for establishing bereavement committees and coordinated outreach to the sick and shut-in. Contact her at jncluebering@juno.com.

FORMATION: PARISH STAFF

Many Images of God Jesus isn’t just for Europeans

By Denise Simeone It started with a Christmas card, a beautiful drawing of a mother holding her baby. The card depicted Mary lovingly caressing the Christ child, an image that always marked the season. But it was not familiar this time. The features of the figures were clearly Asian.

That card’s arrival on my doorstep many years ago sent me on a search for images of God. I was amazed at what I found when I was willing to open my eyes.

We hear the Emmaus story this Easter season and are reminded once again that “while they [the disciples] were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” We often imagine that couldn’t happen to us; we would certainly know if God walked alongside us! Yet I think until my eyes were opened by that particular Christmas card, I had a simple, even childish, picture of God and an undeveloped sense of who God was.

Often churches with primarily black, Asian or Hispanic community members have inherited churches in urban areas built by European immigrants or their descendants.

Statues, paintings, stations reflect the image and likeness of those who built the churches. They were not created to be historically accurate with the facial features, skin color or clothing of the culture into which Jesus was born. Many might not even recognize a depiction of the Holy Family or the disciples if they were drawn with cultural accuracy.

We look to connect with God in ways that comfort us and seem familiar, so in many American parishes, our depictions of God looked European.

But living as we do in such a diverse country and a diverse world, we have the potential to open our eyes to God’s immense power.

We look to connect with God in ways that comfort us and seem familiar, so in many American parishes, our depictions of God looked European.

But living as we do in such a diverse country and a diverse world, we have the potential to open our eyes to God’s immense power.

Years after I began collecting Christmas cards and searching extensively for different images of God, I offered a retreat to high school boys with these materials. Afterward (I am sure at their teacher’s insistence) I received almost 100 letters thanking me. Most of them said they had never seen such diverse images of God. Some of their comments reveal wonderful theological insights: “I saw images of God I would never have imagined” … “I thought Jesus was white to everybody” … “I have always seen Jesus as old, and brownhaired with a beard dressed in white” … “What I saw made me realize Jesus is not limited to European, Renaissance paintings” … “I had no idea God was present in so many different ways. Now I can see Jesus as being Mexican, Asian, Italian, or Middle Eastern” … “I had never really pictured Jesus, Joseph and Mary in any other way than European” … “This really opened my eyes and made me realize He is in all of us and all of us are in Him” … “Jesus is not one color, He is everyone” ... “Jesus’ skin and look does not matter as long as you believe in what he preached” … “This shows how awesome and powerful God is” … “It helped me understand the limitlessness of God; now I realize

I was limiting God.” What can we do in parishes to open our eyes and allow ourselves to see God in many, diverse ways?

Expand God images. Look at images hanging in meeting rooms, hallways and classrooms and consider how God is depicted or what cultures are shown. Use images connecting to the parish’s name or mission — e.g., St. Monica, Our Lady of Africa — or to a place where justice is practiced.

Use art, images, sculpture, etc. to help parishioners explore various God images.

Form people musically. The power of musical images often touches an inner chord: Our spirits soar or are comforted; they ring out praise or sigh quiet lament. Using songs and hymns written by diverse composers stretches us. Singing words in a new language or hearing instruments from other countries empowers us to explore the mysterious ways of God’s revelation.

Pray inclusively. When praying, use multiple titles and litanies for God, especially ones from other nations and cultures. Use other forms of prayer, such as the familiar call and response used often in black communities. Occasionally, responding in another language, especially Spanish, connects us not only globally but also to our brothers and sisters in our own country and continent.

I once worked with a gathering of parish workers to expand the Spirit images of Pentecost’s fire and wind.

One teacher told the group, “If I could show my children this force and energy of the Spirit they would see God as a presence in their lives that would rival any peer or gang pressure they face.” Now that means open our eyes and recognize God is walking right alongside us!

Denise Simeone is a writer and consultant skilled at group facilitation, long-range planning and mission development. E-mail: denisesimeone@hotmail.com.

April 2008 | 11

Formation: SPIRITUALITY

Different Worlds, One Humanity History reveals rich interdependence between world cultures By rich heffern “The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions” is a treaty adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Oct. 20, 2005, at its 33rd session.

The convention affirms that cultural diversity is a defining characteristic of humanity and should be cherished and preserved for the benefit of all. Cultural diversity creates “a rich and varied world, which increases the range of choices and nurtures human capacities and values, and therefore is a mainspring for sustainable development for communities, peoples and nations.”

This particular U.N. treaty is significant in light of the notion of a “clash of civilizations” that has gathered steam over the last decade.

It’s a theory, proposed first by political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, that people’s cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. Originally formulated in 1993 in a Foreign Affairs article, it was a reaction to Francis Fukuyama’s landmark 1992 book The End of History and the Last Man. “The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future,” Huntington wrote.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, Huntington was regarded as a seer, when the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, the Bali bombings, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Madrid train bombings and the 2005 cartoon crisis seemed to show evidence that such a clash has begun, particularly between the Western world and Islam.

But Mehmet Aydin, Turkey’s minister of state, said: “In order to overcome the myth or even paranoia of clash of civilizations, we should promote that values like human 12 | April 2008

rights, democracy and the rule of law are truly universal and no single culture can claim monopoly over them.”

It’s crucial, he said, to recognize that this heritage incorporates and is enriched by the experience and contribution of all nations, cultures and religions at different stages of history. Consider, for example, the significant contribution of Muslim thinkers and scholars on European science and philosophy, particularly during the eight centuries of Muslim presence in Spain.

Muslim Spain gathered and preserved the intellectual content of ancient Greek and Roman civilization and made a vital contribution of its own in so many fields of human endeavor, in science, astronomy, mathematics, algebra (Al-Jabr), law, history, medicine, ceramics, dentistry, pharmacology, optics, agriculture, architecture, theology, textiles, music.

The first astronomy observatory in Europe, for example, was built

by Muslims, the Tower of Seville in Giralda, in 1190. In the opinion of medieval scholars, 10th-century Cordoba in Andalusia was the most civilized city of Europe. Lending libraries existed in Spain at the same time England’s King Alfred was fighting off the Vikings. It is said that the 400,000 volumes in the sultan of Cordoba’s library amounted to more books than all the libraries of the rest of Europe put together. The Muslim world had acquired the Chinese skill of making paper four centuries before the rest of Europe. Many of the traits on which modern Europe prides itself came to it from Muslim Spain. Diplomacy, free trade, open

borders, the techniques of academic research, of anthropology, etiquette, fashion, various types of medicine, hospitals — all came from Spain’s principal medieval city.

“Islam can truly be said to have played a founding role in Europe’s past,” says Aydin.

What’s more, medieval Islam was a religion of remarkable tolerance for its time, allowing Jews and Christians the right to practice their inherited beliefs, and setting an example that was not copied for many centuries in the West.

Maria Rosa Menocal, professor of Spanish at Yale University, in her book The Ornament of the World, describes a young Muslim prince of the Umayyad family, which ruled the Islamic Empire in the eighth century. When the rest of his family was murdered by a rival clan in 750, Abd al-Rahman fled his home in Damascus across North Africa to the backwater of Cordoba in Spain.

His vision and leadership gave birth to a new civilization, according to modern scholarship. “The Umayyads, who had come pristine out of the Arabian desert, defined their version of Islam as one that loved its dialogues with other traditions,” Menocal writes. “This was a remarkable achievement, so remarkable in fact that some later Muslim historians accused the Umayyads of being lesser Muslims for it.”

The author attributes this embrace of complexity to the “perpetuation within the Arab imagination of both the Islamic faith and the intense love of language and poetry that were part of Arabia’s pre-Islamic tradition.”

Cultural diversity creates a rich and varied world, as the U.N. Convention says, and a clash of civilizations might be avoided by taking that diversity seriously.

Rich Heffern is a regular contributor to Celebration. You can e-mail him at rheffern@ncronline.org.

FORMATION: Liturgy

Easter is Enough Why Divine Mercy Sunday during the season of rejoicing?

By Melissa Musick Nussbaum I remember my husband’s Grandma Nussbaum’s parlor. In a room of heavy oak furniture covered in maroon velvet and stuffed with horsehair, there stood, on the mantel, a lava lamp, a gift from one of her 50-plus grandchildren back in the ’70s. She kept it there, always plugged in, the orange blobs melting and breaking apart, forming and reforming in the spaceship-shaped lamp, as a ceramic spaniel perched on the brick of the hearth appeared to look on, as puzzled as any of us by the collision of styles and times.

Sometimes Catholic churches resemble nothing so much as grandma’s parlor. The pastor with a devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe leaves an oil painting alongside the tile mosaic left by the monsignor with a devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes.

Benefactors donate windows and crosses and benches and statues, each item with a nameplate affixed, “In memory of …” One parishioner donates a complete set of homemade vestments emphasizing her take on the seasons, while a couple brings back a chalice purchased on their tour of the Holy Land. These gifts and benefactions multiply, until it’s difficult to see the church beneath the lovingly bestowed accretions.

Divine Mercy Sunday, aka the Second Sunday of Easter, seems to me an example of a Grandma-parlored calendar. A beloved pope brings his beloved saint into the year and, though she doesn’t really fit, pushes aside some 1,700 years of Easter practice to make way for his own lovingly bestowed addition.

Mercy, yes. Mercy, we pray. Rain down mercy on our parched and withered hearts. But what greater mercy can there be than in the death and resurrection of Christ?

To know that, on the cross, Jesus has died every death and suffered every loss is perhaps the only mercy

We enter into confession in preparation for the Fifty Days, but once arrived, we leave the confessional to keep the feast in fire and water, in white robes and fragrant oils. We breathe mercy in the very air of the season. we can find in our own. But mercy it is. Not sympathy, not words of consolation from the distance of safety and health; Jesus’ own flesh is torn and bleeds. He has known all the fear of all the world. He has known abandonment and exile, shame and humiliation.

Surely God knows how we were made, And recalls that we are dust!

Our human life is a reed, A flower that blooms in the meadow.

It is gone when the wind blows over it; Its place recalls it no more.

The psalmist prays that God might look down and recall the brevity and pain of human life. Jesus shares it, the brevity and the pain of human life. He knows our suffering as a brother.

Then — and this is a mystery beyond all telling — Jesus rises from his grave. He tramples death. And, because he has shared our death, we are freed to share his life.

It is, one of my daughters says, a story so improbable as to be beyond human invention. Like the story of how babies are made, it is just crazy enough, she says, to be true.

This is a wonder, the church decrees, that calls for 50 days. Fifty days of singing, 50 days of feasting, 50 days of rejoicing, 50 days of gladness; that is Easter. From at least the

third century the church has kept this as a continuous feast. All penitential observances and practices were put aside. There would be time enough, and soon enough, for the awareness, again, of our failings, our hatreds and our little murders. But this, this blessed time, is for standing erect and proclaiming, in word and deed, that love is stronger than death, that death has no dominion, and that its captives have been set free.

And yet, Divine Mercy Sunday with its emphasis on mercy sought and found in confession introduces a Lenten practice and disposition where it does not belong. I understand the impulse and I honor John Paul II’s devotion to Sister Faustina. I treasure her reassurance, “There is no misery that could be a match for [God’s] mercy.” But when she writes, “In the Tribunal of Mercy (the sacrament of Confession) ... the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated,” I must respectfully disagree.

The greatest miracle is Easter. We enter into confession in preparation for the Fifty Days, but once arrived, we leave the confessional to keep the feast in fire and water, in white robes and fragrant oils. We breathe mercy in the very air of the season.

We keep Easter, just as the fifth-century saint John Chrysostom enjoined us: “Come you all: Enter into the joy of our Lord. You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today.

The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet. The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness.”

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Melissa Musick Nussbaum lives in Colorado Springs, Colo. Her e-mail address is mmnussbaum@comcast.net.

April 2008 | 13

formation: inculturation

Piety and Liturgical Practice Celebration of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal promotes goals of renewal

By DOUGLAS SOUSA One of the challenges of liturgical planning is weaving together the themes, symbols and rituals of a liturgical season so as to give the assembly a sense of the “whole” of that season. For example, we might sustain the spirit of the 40 days of Lent into the Triduum, only to see the Easter season “lose steam” midway through the home stretch to Pentecost.

The Portuguese community has long ago addressed this concern through their remembrance of one of the great saints of their history, Saint Elizabeth of Portugal. Her story and the tradition that grew out of it are worth examining to give us fresh ideas when approaching the question of connecting Easter to Pentecost for our assemblies.

Elizabeth (or Isabel, in Portuguese) was born in Spain in 1271 and at age 12 was given in marriage to King Denis, the monarch of Portugal. Throughout her life she showed concern for the poor. To the outrage of her husband, she would often leave the castle at night to bring them food, clothing and money. Whenever she learned that a beggar had been mistreated by the castle guards, she would usher the beggar in, feed him and treat his wounds.

She also had a profound devotion to the Holy Spirit, directing that a church be constructed in honor of the third person of the Blessed Trinity. When the country was suffering from a long drought, Saint Elizabeth promised to donate her crown to that church if God would bring an end to it. Keeping her word, she not only donated her crown but established the tradition of feeding all the poor in the city on the day of Pentecost. At that celebration, she would choose children from the crowd and place the crown on their heads to symbolize that the poor were the true royalty of Portugal, 14 | April 2008

thus committing herself to serving them as she would any other king or queen. For many years after her death, the church in Portugal commemorated Saint Elizabeth and her devotion to the needy by continuing the tradition of hosting meals for them on Pentecost.

Though it was observed less frequently as the years went by, the tradition was revived in the Azorean islands. Inhabited by the Portuguese in the 15th century, the Azores are an archipelago of nine volcanic islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that are often subject to violent tremors. Drawing on the example of Saint Elizabeth’s prayers during a time of drought, the faithful paraded through the streets whenever the earth shook carrying a banner emblazoned with a dove representing the Holy Spirit to show their faith in the midst of peril and to inspire calm in the populace.

The tradition expanded the practice of the Pentecost meal to the seven Sundays between Easter and Pentecost. Beginning with the first Sunday of Easter, each parish chose seven families to host celebrations.

Each week would focus on one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. During the week, the families would host the rosary and a reflection on the gift of the Holy Spirit being celebrated that week. Then, at the end of the

Sunday liturgy, the host family would stand in front of the assembly to be crowned with replicas of Saint Elizabeth’s crown representing both the descent of the Holy Spirit and the church’s commitment to the poor. The celebrations would end on Pentecost with the meal for the needy and other festivities for the community.

This observance has survived in many immigrant Portuguese communities in the United States and around the world. Though the history and meaning of the symbols are often lost on the participants, the celebration achieves many of the goals we have for the renewal of parish life.

First, it gives a sense of wholeness and continuity to the Easter season.

Secondly, it calls parishioners to host prayer in their homes and to form small communities of worship that flow from the Sunday liturgy and lead back to it. Thirdly, it connects worship to service of the poor. While this particular tradition would be difficult to adapt for non-Portuguese communities, it illustrates well the unity of prayer and service, parish and home, culture and faith, all working together.

Meeting the challenges of today’s worshipping communities requires much forward thinking. Sometimes, however, solutions lie in rediscovering and celebrating with new meaning the symbols, rituals and traditions our communities are already familiar with. As parishes grow in ethnic and racial diversity, it could be that we find in these diverse traditions and customs means of renewing our parish life whether our goal is to bring unity to a long liturgical season or to connect Sunday worship with Monday labor.

Douglas Sousa holds a license in moral theology at the Pontifical Alphonse Academy.

E-mail: douglas.sousa@comcast.net.

FORMATION: resources Meeting Mystery,

by Nathan D. Mitchell; edited

by Peter C. Phan.

Orbis Books, 2006, $20.00

Author Nathan Mitchell adds Meeting Mystery to his already considerable contribution to the areas of liturgical theology, ritual studies and aesthetics. He is one of the most articulate spokespersons for the cause of liturgical renewal and is well-known for his insightful analyses, his command of the literary tradition and his willingness to explore beyond seemingly wellsettled parameters.

Meeting Mystery is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the transcendent aspect of the physical experience of liturgy through ritual. The second is devoted to the languages of liturgy, with special emphasis on the place of the body in worship, the character of ritual speech and the constitutive liturgical elements of ministry, assembly and sacrament. Each chapter concludes with a few discussion questions and a brief list of annotated suggestions for further reading.

Part One begins with considerations of postmodernity, information technology and the criteria for the verification of authentic liturgical experience. Many of the elements of a liturgical theology are found here, although Mitchell does not intend to write the usual kind of book on liturgical history and theology. From one point of view, the book is about ritual and all the experiences that are part of and culminate in the ritual process.

Admirers of Mitchell’s work will not be disappointed in this volume.

They will find plenty of examples of the way he accesses the expected, usual elements of liturgical theology and spirituality by providing alternate ways of considering these elements. For instance, in dealing with the matter of public prayer, Mitchell uses the Lord’s Prayer as

an example of the way Jesus prayed publicly and demonstrates how this provides insight into our way of engaging in public prayer today.

He shows how praying as Jesus did can move us away from trying to get God to see things our way in public prayer, so that we come to see it as a way of divesting ourselves of what we desire to possess.

Throughout the various chapters, Mitchell manages to weave together many significant aspects of liturgical spiritual life: sacramentality, parables, presence, absence and so many others. Each chapter of Part One provides alternative ways of viewing the liturgical experience.

If anything, Mitchell challenges the reader to see differently what is happening when people gather for public worship.

Meeting Mystery is a provocative volume by a significant author in an important series.

Part Two, “Polyphony: The Language of Liturgy,” begins with the idea that the body is the most obvious language of liturgy. Here Mitchell makes use of the definition of sacrament put forth by Louis-Marie Chauvet: a sacrament is “God’s word at the mercy of the body.”

This welcome emphasis on the body provides the space for the treatment of incarnation, enculturation and the transformation of the world, understood as God’s body.

From embodiment, Mitchell moves to language and metaphor and addresses the question of why the liturgy must be metaphoric.

Then follows a discussion of language, the assembly as first theology and doxology as a way of life. Here and throughout the book Mitchell is concerned to highlight the ethical dimension of worship. The repeating ground base of the book is that Christian liturgy must always be verified in the liturgy of the neighbor. It is not a matter of production.

Attention to the neighbor prevents

consumerist values from invading the liturgy.

The book concludes with the call to shape ministry today eucharistically. The shape of the liturgy is the shape of the ministry. Mitchell wishes to avoid the extremes of an overly abstract view of liturgy that localizes divine presence in certain signs, as well as an overly psychologized view that reduces the presence of Christ to the assembly’s consciousness.

This is a very rich book. Even for someone already quite familiar with the field of liturgy, it is provocative in many areas. However, Meeting Mystery is part of a series on theology in a global perspective published

by Orbis Books under the editorship of Peter C. Phan of Georgetown University, and it does not conform to the guidelines established for this series. It is too idiosyncratic for that.

The books in this series are to be introductory, as is indicated by the discussion questions at the end of each chapter of each volume. Meeting Mystery is not introductory in the way a teacher would want from a text for use in a class of students who have little or no formal education in the liturgy.

Meeting Mystery also lacks an overall sense of unity. Each chapter is strong in itself, but each chapter does not seem to lead inevitably into the next. It seems more like a collection of essays. One reason for that is the way Mitchell utilizes the thought of others. For example, the reader meets the two French thinkers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, in Chapter 1, but for the most part they disappear after that. Most of Jean-Luc Marion is in Chapter 6.

On the other hand, the reader does meet Louis-Marie Chauvet along the way throughout the book. Meeting Mystery is a significant contribution to liturgical studies, but Mitchell did not write a book on “liturgy in a global perspective.”

— Reviewed by James Empereur Jesuit Fr. James L. Empereur is parochial vicar and liturgist at San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio.

April 2008 | 15

formation: Singing the Rites

‘Sing to the Lord’ New official guidelines for liturgical music in the United States

By J. Michael McMahon At their November 2007 meeting, the bishops of the United States approved new official guidelines for liturgical music. Titled Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship (STL), the new document replaces Music in Catholic Worship (MCW, 1972) and Liturgical Music Today (LMT, 1982), which have guided the development of American Catholic church music for many years.

Sing to the Lord is far longer and more comprehensive than the previous two American documents. It deals with many of the same topics as the earlier statements and repeats many of their key principles. Here are some of the similarities between STL and its predecessors, MCW and LMT: u The full, conscious, and active participation of the faithful is a fundamental consideration in preparing music and other elements of the liturgy. u Music is not merely decorative, but rather is an integral component of the liturgy. u The priest celebrant has an enormous influence on the musical formation and participation of the assembly. u The choice of parts to be sung should be guided by the principle of progressive solemnity. u Evaluation of music for liturgical celebration should include liturgical, pastoral and musical judgments. u Specific guidance is offered on singing the various parts of the rites, especially the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist; u Various related topics are considered, such as ministries, chant, culture and copyrights.

The new document often refines or expands on the material in MCW and LMT. It also includes references to many official church documents issued since the publication of the 16 | April 2008

The document is available on the USCCB Web site at http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/ SingToTheLord.pdf. earlier statements, and even deals with some new topics. Here are some key differences: u Sing to the Lord offers a broader understanding of why we sing, beginning with song and music as gifts of God that enable the human response to God’s love. u The new document provides a more nuanced treatment of participation in the liturgy, including both its internal and external dimensions. u STL places greater emphasis on the parts of the liturgy to be sung by the priest, especially those that are sung in dialogue with the rest of the assembly. u STL lays out a more detailed treatment of musical ministries (choir, psalmist, cantor, organist, instrumentalists) and incorporates the role of the professional director of music ministries. u According to STL, Catholic schools at all levels have a responsibility for musical formation that enables active participation in the liturgy. u STL considers the sacred quality of liturgical music, defining it by both ritual and spiritual dimensions

as well as the cultural context. u STL offers greater encouragement and practical advice for singing Gregorian chant. u The new music document provides a more detailed treatment of the multicultural and intercultural dimensions of liturgical music. u The discussion of which parts are to be sung reflects a shift in priority, placing greater stress on the dialogues and acclamations of the liturgy. u STL recasts the three judgments (liturgical, pastoral, musical) into a single evaluation. u The document includes a section that emphasizes the importance of good acoustics for supporting and sustaining the singing of the assembly. u STL provides a more comprehensive treatment of the musical elements of the Mass that includes the norms of the most recent General Instruction of the Roman Missal. It also offers fairly detailed guidance on the use of music in other sacraments and rites of the church.

Sing to the Lord will provide plenty of material for reflection and study by musicians, clergy and other liturgical ministers for years to come. Unfortunately it has already been dismissed by some critics as “only a guideline.” While it is not as binding as liturgical law, STL is nonetheless an official statement of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and will be very important for guiding the continuing development of liturgical music in the United States. The document is available on the USCCB Web site at http://www.usccb.org/liturgy /SingToTheLord.pdf.

J. Michael McMahon is president of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.

Contact him at npmpres@npm.org.

PREPARATION: mUSIC

By J. Michael McMahon

April 2oo8

3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER April 6, 2008 Psalm of the Day: Ps (15) 16 For You Are My God (Foley) GP 612/CBW 483/MI‑BB 434/GC 616/JS 694 Harbor of My Heart (Warner) PMB 138/WC 382/WS 274 Lord, You Will Show Us the Path of Life (Alstott) MI-BB p. 146 Lord, You Will Show Us the Path of Life (Guimont) GC2 884/LPMG 46 Lord, You Will Show Us the Path of Life (Hurd) JS 17 Lord, You Will Show Us the Path of Life (Joncas/Gelineau) WOR 839/RS 34/LPGG 844 Lord, You Will Show Us the Path of Life (Kasbohm) PRM A50/PMB 619/WS 124 Lord, You Will Show Us the Path of Life (Schiavone) JS 924/LP 68 Show Us, Lord the Path of Life (Somerville) CBW 94 You Will Show Me the Path of Life (Balhof f/Daigle/Ducote) GP 170 You Will Show Me the Path of Life (Haugen) GC 24/GC2 19/PCY2 6/RS 36/SS 628 You Will Show Me the Path of Life (Soper) GP 169/MI‑BB 750/ SP3 6 You Will Show Me the Path of Life (Warner) WS 274 You Will Show Us the Path of Life PSL A-74/SS 489 Common Psalm: Ps (65) 66 Let All the Earth Cry Out with Joy

Songs for the Liturgy *All People of the Earth, Rejoice (E) IH 24 *All You Nations (E) WC 409/WS 296/PMB 153 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (G) WOR 737/CBW 426/GP 419/WC 703/ MI‑BB 747/LMGM 67/GC 853/ GC2 826/JS 477/RS 914/PMB 352/WS 500/SS 1066 At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing (2) WOR 459, 460/CBW 375/BB 179/GC 433/GC2 463/WC 569/ JS 424/RS 578/GP 394/PMB 271/WS 409/SS 845 *At Your Word Our Hearts Are Burning (G) PSL A-75/SS 221 Be Light for Our Eyes (Ps, G) GC 509/GC2 511/CBW 305 Behold the Lamb (2, G) MI‑BB 332/GC 823/GC2 824/JS 809/ GP 524 Bread of Life (G) GP 498, 522/ MI‑BB 318, 326, 361/JS 819 Christ Has Risen, v 3 (G) GC 451/ GC2 465 Christ Is Risen! Shout Hosanna!, v 3 (G) GC 431/GC2 449/PMB 263/WC 570/WS 412/SS 830 Christ the Lord Is Risen Again, v 6 (G) CBW 498/BB 176/WC 577/ JS 442

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today (1, 2, G) WOR 452, 461, 462, 463/ CBW 499/BB 173, 180/LMGM 57/GC 437/GC2 439/WC 552, 558/JS 422, 427/RS 594, 602/ GP 381, 387/PMB 265, 268/WS 407, 413/SS 836 *Come and Eat This Living Bread, v 2 (G) GC2 820 Companions on the Journey (G) GP 566/JS 851/MI‑BB 542 *Daylight Fades (G) WOR 448/RS 597 Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether (G) WOR 731/RS 917/JS 797/MI-BB 306 Easter Alleluia, v 3 (G) GC 424/ GC2 447/RS 592/SS 833 Gift of Finest Wheat (G) WOR 736/CBW 603/WC 629/GP 525/ MI‑BB 322/LMGM 136/GC 815/ GC2 816/JS 803/RS 912/PMB 300/WS 457/SS 1086 Give Thanks and Remember (1, G) PMB 315/WC 644/WS 446 God, Our God of Distant Ages (G) PMB 346/WC 690/WS 493 God’s Holy Mystery (G) PMB 297/WC 621/WS 450 He Comes to Us as One Unknown (G) WOR 573 I Am the Vine (G) PMB 436/WC 830/WS 542 I Come with Joy to Meet My Lord (G) WOR 726/CBW 424/WC 877/ RS 854/GC 806/GC2 799/PMB 320/WS 465/SS 1056 I Danced in the Morning (1) WOR 636/MI‑BB 604/GC 708/GC2 689/WC 717/JS 764/RS 809/GP 395/PMB 366/WS 502 I Know That My Redeemer Lives – Hatton, v 3 (1, G) WOR 445/ MI‑BB 612/WC 707/LMGM 63/GC 430/GC2 454/JS 131/RS 582/GP 388/PMB 363/WS 503/SS 843

KEY: * = Quotes or makes direct reference to one of the scripture readings or antiphons. E = Related to entrance antiphon. 1 = Related to first reading. Ps = Related to responsorial psalm. 2 = Related to second reading. G = Related to Gospel. C = Related to Communion antiphon. Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Publications Service, 90 Parent Ave., Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B1: CBW=Catholic Book of Wor­ship III (1994).

G.I.A. Publications, Inc. (GIA), 7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638: CCS=Cantor/Congregation Series; GC=Gather Comprehensive (1994); GC2=Gather Comprehensive, second edition (2004); HG=Hymns for the Gospels (2001); LMGM=Lead Me, Guide Me (1987); LPGG=Lectionary Psalms: Grail/Gelineau (1998); LPMG=Lectionary Psalms: Michel Guimont (1998); PCY=Psalms for the Church Year (1983, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995); PST=Psaltery (1990); RS=RitualSong (1996); SI=Songs of Israel (1971, 1983); WOR=Worship, third edition (1986). Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: BFW=By Flowing Waters (1999); PFS=Psalms for Feasts and Seasons (1990); PJ=Psalms for the Journey (1991); SS=Sacred Song (2007). Oregon Catholic Press (OCP), 5536 N.E. Hassalo, Portland, OR 97213: BB=Breaking Bread (2007); GP=Glory and Praise, second edition (1997); JS=Journeysongs, second edition (2003); LP=A Lectionary Psalter: John Schiavone (2003); MI=Music Issue (2007); PSC=Psalms and Selected Canticles (1983); SP=Singing the Psalms (1995,1996,1997,1999). World Library Publications (WLP), 3825 N. Willow Rd., Schiller Park, IL 60176: PMB=People's Mass Book (2003); PRM=Psalms and Ritual Music, Years C and A (2000); SO=Sing Out (1994); WC=We Celebrate (2004); WS=Word and Song (2007).

April 2008 | 17

preparation: MUSIC I Received the Living God (G) WOR 735/LMGM 137/RS 913/GC 851/GC2 809/JS 851/PMB 312/ WC 657/WS 463/SS 1076 *In the Breaking of the Bread/ Cuando Partimos el Pan del Señor (G, C) JS 808/MI‑BB 331/GC 841/GC2 843/WC 624/RS 932/ GP 508/PMB 303/WS 447 In This Place (G) MI-BB 308 Jesus Is Here Right Now (G) LMGM 142/RS 930 Jesus Is Our King, v 3 (G) LMGM 91 *Journeysong (G) GP 581/JS 759 Let the Hungry Come to Me, v 6 (G) WC 628 *Let All the Earth (E) PSL A-73/ SS 336 Let Us Break Bread Together (G) WOR 727/GP 505/WC 616/LMGM 135/GC 832/GC2 832/JS 806/ MI‑BB 329/RS 911/PMB 313/WS 449 *Lift Up Your Hearts (E) GP 676./ GC 558/GC2 543/MI-BB 551/JS 620/RS 691 May We Be One (1, G) RS 477/GC 316/GC2 322 May We See You (G) JS 550 Now in This Banquet (G) GC 833/ GC2 825/CBW 608/RS 933 Now Let Us from This Table Rise (G) CBW 521/WOR 625/WC 928/ PMB 472 Now We Remain (1) GC 694/GC2 696/MI‑BB 524/WC 640/RS 813/ WS 458/SS 983 *On Emmaus’ Road (G) HG 44/ PMB 401/WC 782/WS 538/SS 981 *On the Journey to Emmaus (G) RS 816/GC 445 Our God Is Here (G) MI-BB 305 Priestly People (1, 2, G) PMB 383/WC 740/WS 529 *Psalm 66: Let All the Earth (E) Shelter Me, O God (Ps) JS 724/ MI-BB 472/GC 636/GC2 634/GP 626/RS 765 *Shepherd of Souls (G) WOR 728// WC 626/MI‑BB 363/GC840/GC2 818/JS 825/GP 501/PMB 296/ WS 442/SS 1070 Shout for Joy, Loud and Long, v 4 (G) WOR 540 *Sing of One Who Walks beside Us (G) CBW 405 Song of the Body of Christ/Can18 | April 2008

ción del Cuerpo de Cristo (G) GC 847/GC2 807/MI‑BB 319/RS 924/WC 631/WS 622 That Easter Day with Joy Was Bright (G) WOR 457/GC 445/GC2 461/CBW 392/RS 599/SS 825 Thine Be the Glory, v 2 (G) WC 556 *Two Were Bound for Emmaus (G) JS 430/BB 183 Ven al Banquete/Come to the Feast, v 3 (G) JS 795/MI-BB 307 *We Recognize You, Lord (G, C) GIA G‑2250 We Remember, We Believe (G) GC2 836 *We Who Once Were Dead (G) CBW 402 We Will Journey in Faith (G) JS 552 When We Eat This Bread (1, G) MI‑BB 330/JS 823/GP 510

4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER April 13, 2008 Psalm of the Day: Ps (22) 23 El Señor Es Mi Pastor (Rosas) GP 181 My Shepherd Is the Lord A-39/SS 370 My Shepherd Is the Lord (Gelineau) WOR 32/CBW 606/GC 30/ GC2 24/WC 387/RS 45/WS 277/ MI-BB 756/SS 632 Nada Me Falta (Peña) RS 46/GC 33 Shepherd Me, O God (Haugen) GC 31/GC2 23/MI‑BB 475/PCY2 9/WC 386/RS 756/WS 278/SS 633 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Alstott) MI-BB p. 149 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Cooney) GP 179 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Crandal) JS 23/MI-BB 755 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Foley) PCY7 8 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Guimont) GC2 894/LPMG 49 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Hurd) JS 24 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Gustafson) GP 178 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Janco) PRM A51/PMB 622/WS 126 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Kreutz)

PSC 36 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Marshall) SO 58 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Murray/Gelineau) SS 634 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Proulx/ Black) CBW 53, 211 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Proulx/ Gelineau) WOR 842/LPGG 800 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Roberts) LMGM 544 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Schiavone) JS 927/LP 71 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Sensmeier) RS 44GC 32 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Smith) GP 180 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Somerville) CBW 607 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Vermulst) PMB 141/WC 385/WS 279 The Lord Is My Shepherd (Wood/ Black) CBW 158 You Are My Shepherd (Haas) SS 942 Songs for the Liturgy *A Banquet Is Prepared (Ps, 2, G) GP 509 A Living Hope (1) CBW 613/PMB 284 Abundant Life (G) RS 636/GC 710/GC2 703 *Amen! (Ps, 2, G) LMGM 170 *Baptized in Living Waters, vss 1‑2 (1, G) PMB 386/WC 741/WS 527 Baptized in Water (1) WOR 720/ GC 798/GC2 797/CBW 614/RS 903/JS 542/PMB 286/WC 603/ WS 433/MI-BB 659/SS 1057 Be Not Afraid (2) GP 602/MI‑BB 428/GC 608/GC2 596/CBW 481/ LMGM 123/WC 839/JS 706/RS 734/PMB 446/WS 601/SS 929 *Because the Lord Is My Shepherd (Ps, G) MI‑BB 474/JS 725/ GP 627 Christ Be Near at Either Hand (Ps, G) PMB 361/WC 714/WS 497 *Come to Me – Norbet (G) MI‑BB 464/WC 842/JS 728/GP 629/ PMB 444/WS 603 Come, Taste and See, v 1 (G) GP 526/JS 818 Come to Us (G) GP 537/GC 743/ GC2 740 Easter Alleluia, v 4 (Ps, 2, G) GC 424/GC2 447/RS 592/SS 833

PREPARATION: mUSIC *Gentle Shepherd/Jesús, Pastor Tan Dulce (Ps, 2, G) JS 737/CBW 598/GP 512 Gift of Finest Wheat, v 1 (G) WOR 736/CBW 603/WC 629/GP 525/ MI‑BB 322/LMGM 136/JS 803/ RS 912/GC 815/GC2 816/PMB 300/WS 457/SS 1086 Glory and Praise to Our God, v 3 (G) GP 671/MI‑BB 578/GC 522/ GC2 537/WC 898/JS 596/RS 696/WS 640 His Name Is Wonderful (Ps, 2, G) LMGM 87 *I Am the Good Shepherd (G) BFW 158/SS 690 I Am the Vine, v 3 (G) PMB 436/ WC 830/WS 542 I Lift My Eyes to the Quiet Hills (Ps, G) CBW 484 *In the Arms of the Shepherd (Ps, G) WC 848/WS 606 *Jesus, Shepherd of Our Souls (Ps, 2, G) WOR 649 Jesus, Wine of Peace, vss 5 ff (Ps, 2, G) GC 817/GC2 804 Keep in Mind (2) MI‑BB 680/WC 802/GC 674/GC2 658/JS 589/RS 940/GP 492/PMB 36/WS 569/SS 968 Like a Shepherd (G) GP 708/CBW 490/MI‑BB 635/JS 648/GC 325/ GC2 332 *My Shepherd Will Supply My Need (Ps, 2, G) WOR 606/WC 847/RS 761/JS 732 Now We Remain (2) GC 694/GC2 696/MI‑BB 524/WC 640/RS 813/ WS 458/SS 983 *O Lord, You Are My Shepherd (Ps) WC 846 Open Wide the Doors to Christ (G) PMB 356/WC 718/WS 546 *Peace, v 6 (G) WC 863/MI‑BB 482/JS 741/GP 649/PMB 462/ WS 614 Priestly People, v 11 (Ps, 2, G) PMB 383/WC 740/WS 529 *Ps 33: The Earth Is Full (E) Rain Down (E) GP 713/MI‑BB 634/GC2 505/JS 651WS 574 Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us (G) LMGM 47 *Shepherd of My Heart (Ps, 2, G) GC 641/GC2 624/SS 944 Shepherd of Souls, in Love, Come, Feed Us (Ps, G) PMB 307/ WC 643 Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and Bless (Ps, 2, G) WOR 728/MI‑BB

363/JS 825/GC 840/GC2 818/ WC 626/GP 501/PMB 296/WS 442/SS 1070 Splendor and Honor (G) CBW 685 *Take and Eat, v 3 (G) GC 831/ GC2 812/WC 648/RS 910/CBW 611/WS 461/SS 1087 *The Earth is Full (E) PSL A-76/ SS 418 *The King of Love My Shepherd Is (Ps, 2, G) WOR 609/MI‑BB 477/ WC 815/JS 733/RS 766/GC 635/ GC2 631/GP 632/PMB 427/WS 582/SS 941 *The Living God My Shepherd Is (Ps, 2, G) CBW 690/WOR 612/MIBB 479 *The Lord Fills the Earth (E) GP 198/MI-BB 767 *The Lord Is My Shepherd (Ps, 2, G) LMGM 152 *The Lord Jesus Christ (G) CBW 436 *The Lord, My Shepherd, Rules My Life (Ps, 2, G) CBW 489 *The Lord’s My Shepherd (Ps, 2, G) CBW 488 *The Mercy of the Lord (E) IH 25 This Is My Body, v 4 (G) WC 623/ CBW 580/PMB 318/WS 451 Through the Mystery of Death (1, 2) GP 451 We Know That Christ Is Raised (1, 2) WOR 721/CBW 398/WC 554/ RS 906/SS 832 We Shall Rise Again (2, G) GC 772/GC2 762/RS 872 *We Will Rise Again (Ps, 2, G) MI‑BB 432/JS 714 With a Shepherd’s Care (G) GC 654/GC2 628/RS 738 *Without Seeing You, v 4 (Ps, 2, G) GC 844/GC2 842 *You Are All I Want (Ps) GC2 625 *You Are the Shepherd (C) PSL A78/SS 482 You Have Looked upon the Lowly, v 2 (G) CBW 624 You, Lord, Are Both Lamb and Shepherd (2, G) RS 698/GC2 525/HG 64 You Shall Be My People (1) WC 745

5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER April 20, 2008 Psalm of the Day: Ps (32) 33 God, Let Your Mercy (Foley) PCY7

16 Let Your Love Be upon Us PSL A80/SS 341 Let Your Mercy Be on Us, vss 1, 2, 4 (Haugen) GC 45/GC232/RS 66/PCY2 14/SS 640 Lord, Let Your Love Be upon Us (Folk) CBW 100 Lord, Let Your Mercy Be on Us (Alstott) MI-BB p. 151 Lord, Let Your Mercy Be on us (Arnold) JS 36 Lord, Let Your Mercy Be on Us (Dufford) GP 196/MI‑BB 768 Lord, Let Your Mercy Be on Us (Guimont) RS 68/GC2 914/LPMG 52 Lord, Let Your Mercy Be on Us (Hughes) PRM A52/PMB 625/WS 128 Lord, Let Your Mercy Be on Us (Proulx/Gelineau) WOR 845/ LPGG 850 Lord, Let Your Mercy Be on Us (Schiavone) JS 930/LP 74 Lord, Let Your Mercy Be on Us (Stewart) PCY5 16 Lord, Let Your Mercy Be upon Us (Warner) PMB 145/WC 396 Suggested Common Psalm: Ps (99) 100 We Are His People Songs for the Liturgy Alleluia! Give the Glory, v 2 (C) JS 240/GC2 733/MI-BB 906 Anthem (2) GP 578/MI‑BB 521/ GC 690/GC2 681/JS 761 Be Not Afraid (G) JS 706/GP 602/GC 608/GC2 596/CBW 481/ MI‑BB 428/LMGM 123/WC 839/ RS 734/PMB 446/WS 601/SS 929 Bread of Life – Farrell (G) JS 819/ GC 821/CBW 597/MI‑BB 318/GP 498 Center of My Life (G) JS 697/ MI‑BB 491/GC 598/GC2 580/GP 593 Children of the Lord (2) WC 795/ PMB 410 *Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation (2) WOR 617/WC 746/CBW 430/GC 662/GC2 642/JS 780/ RS 778/PMB 384/SS 964 Christ Is the World’s Light (G) WOR 543 Christ’s Church Shall Glory in His Power (1, 2) WOR 616/RS 777 *Church of God, vss 1, 2, 3 (2) GP 571/CBW 581/JS 686/RS 783/ PMB 381 April 2008 | 19

preparation: MUSIC *Church of God, Elect and Glorious (2) JS 533/MI-BB 405/SS 961 *Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life (G) WOR 569/WC 818/JS 693/RS 717/GC 577 Come, Taste and See, v 2 (C) JS 818/GP 526 Come to Jesus (G) LMGM 287 Come, Ye Disconsolate (G) LMGM 255 *Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled (G) GC2 765 Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether (1, 2) WOR 731/RS 917/JS 797/MIBB 306 Eye Has Not Seen (G) MI‑BB 470/ WC 844/GC 638/GC2 616/CBW 482/RS 758/WS 599/SS 940 Father, We Praise You, v 2 (G) WOR 4/RS 860 For Builders Bold (2) RS 891 Gift of Finest Wheat, v 5 (1) WOR 736/GP 525/MI‑BB 322/WC 629/ CBW 603/LMGM 136/JS 803/RS 912/GC 815/GC2 816/PMB 300/ WS 457/SS 1086 God Is Here! As We His People (2) WOR 667/GC 741/GC2 737/RS 844/JS 796/PMB 463/WC 866/ SS 1010 God, Whose Love in Jesus Found Us (1) CBW 501 God Will Take Care of You (G) LMGM 183 *I Am the Vine (G) PMB 436/WC 830/WS 542 *I Am the Way (G, C) PSL A-81/ SS 298 *I Call You to My Father’s House (G) PMB 343/WC 680/WS 489/ SS 1106 *I Know That My Redeemer Lives -- Hatton (G) WOR 445/WC 707/ MI‑BB 612/LMGM 63/GC 430/ GC2 454/JS 131/RS 582/GP 388/PMB 363/WS 843 *I Received the Living God (G) WOR 735/GC 851/GC2 809/WC 657/RS 913/JS 815/PMB 312/WS 463/MI-BB 351/SS 1076 *I Saw Water Flowing – Hurd, v 2 (2) JS 543 *I Will Be the Vine (C) GC2 763/ SS 637 *In My Father’s House (G) LMGM 250 Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love (1) LMGM 33/WOR 431/GC 409/ GC2 429/WC 768/RS 564/GP 20 | April 2008

361/BB 145/JS 402/PMB 407/ WS 539 *Jesus, Bread of Life, v 4 (G) PMB 295/WC 627/WS 462 Jesus Christ, Yesterday, Today and Forever (G) GC 745/GC2 730/RS 679/SS 1005 *Joyfully Give Praise to God (E) GP 242 Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service (1) WOR 630/MI‑BB 589/GC 681/GC2 668/CBW 507/WC 933/ JS 840/RS 793/GP 557/PMB 508/WS 662/SS 972 *Love One Another ‑‑ Dufford, v 3 (G) JS 752/GP 645/MI‑BB 426 Make Us True Servants (1) PMB 501/WC 923/WS 666 *Make Your Home in Me (G, C) PMB 400/WC 786 *New Songs of Celebration (E) WOR 533 Now the Feast and Celebration (2) RS 853/GC 742 O Christ the Great Foundation (2) WOR 618/CBW 527/RS 781, 782/ GC2 646/SS 958 *O Sing a New Song to the Lord (E) IH 26 *Out of Darkness (Walker) -- Easter vss (2) JS 765/GC 689/MI‑BB 519/GP 574 *Priestly People (2) PMB 383/WC 740/WS 529 *Rain Down (Ps, G) GP 713/MI‑BB 634/GC2 505/JS 651/WS 574 *Sing a New Song (E) BFW 167/ SS 692 *Sing a New Song – Brown (E) GP 692/MI-BB 562 *Sing a New Song -- Schuttte (E) CBW 563/MI‑BB 566/RS 686/GP 670/GC 537/GC2 544/JS 607/WC 893/WS 658 *Sing a New Song to the Lord (E) BFW 167/SS 434 *Sing a New Song to the Lord - Dudley-Smith/Wilson (E) WOR 550/CBW 566/GC 521/GC2 541/ RS 677/PMB 493/WC 920/SS 898 *Sing to God (E) GC2 533 *Sing to God a New Song (E) PSL A-79/SS 41 Sing to the Lord (E) WOR 532/ CBW 569 Sing to the Lord a Joyful Song (E) WOR 532 Song of Good News, v 1 (2) WC 759/WS 530

Take and Eat (2, G) GC 831/GC2 812/CBW 611/WC 648/RS 910/ WS 461/SS 1087 The Church’s One Foundation (2) WC 743/CBW 526/GC 661/ GP 573/JS 779/MI‑BB 406/PMB 385/WS 525/SS 959 The Lord Jesus Christ (G) CBW 436 The Servant Song ‑‑ Gillard (1) GC 669/GC2 661/RS 788/JS 829/WC 800/PMB 413/WS 562/ MI-BB 375/SS 967 *This Is My Body, vss 9, 11, 13 (2, G) PMB 318/WC 623/WS 451 Up from the Earth (G) RS 589/GC 452/GP 386 Water and Spirit (2) WC 602 We Are God’s Work of Art/Somos la Creación de Dios (2) RS 901/ GC 808 We Are Many Parts (1) MI‑BB 539/WC 762/GC 733/GC2 727/ RS 840/WS 532/SS 999 We Are Your People (2) WC 744/ WS 526/SS 963 *We Come, O Christ, to You (G) HG 6 We Gather Together (Westendorf ), v 1 (2) PMB 468/WC 876/ WS 625 We Have Been Told, v 1 (C) GC 699/GC2 694/WC 812/WS 581/ RS 815/MI-BB 525/SS 987 We Shall Rise Again (G) GC 772/ GC2 762/RS 872 You Are Called to Tell the Story (1) RS 800/GC 680/GC2 675 You Are Mine (G) RS 762/WC 853/GC 649/GC2 627/MI‑BB 469/WS 604/SS 943 *You Are the Vine (C) PSL A-82/ SS 483 *You Are the Way (G) CBW 441/ WC 705/PMB 365/WS 498

6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER April 27, 2008 Psalm of the Day: Ps (65) 66 All You Nations, vss 1‑5 (Deiss) PMB 153/WC 409/WS 296 Let All the Earth PSL A-73/SS 336 Let All the Earth (Alstott) MI-BB p. 153 Let All the Earth (Cooney) GP 216/MI‑BB 782/SP4 28

preparation: MUSIC Let All the Earth (Foley) PCY7 24 Let All the Earth (Guimont) GC2 935/LPMG 55 Let All the Earth (Hutmacher/Gelineau) LPGG 853 Let All the Earth (Haugen) GC 65/ GC2 45/RS 93/PCY1 42 Let All the Earth (Isele) LMGM 519 Let All the Earth/Aclaman al Señor (Krisman) SS 342 Let All the Earth (Olivier/Black) CBW 103 Let All the Earth (Roberts) LMGM 518 Let All the Earth (Schiavone) JS 933/LP 77 Let All the Earth (Strickland) PRM A53/WS 130 Let All the Earth (Vogt) JS 53 Let All the Earth (Warner) CBW 589/GP 217 Let All the Earth (Willcock) PFS 28 Lift Up Your Hearts (O’Connor) JS 620/GP 676/GC 558/MI‑BB 551 Songs for the Liturgy A Living Hope, v 3 (1, G) CBW 613/PMB 284 All the Ends of the Earth -- Dufford (1, Ps) JS 595/GP 683/MI‑BB 568/GC 520/GC2 526 *Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (G) WOR 737/CBW 426/GP 419/WC 703/ MI‑BB 747/LMGM 67/GC 853/ GC2 826/JS 477/RS 914/PMB 352/WS 500/SS 1066 Amen Siakudumisa (Ps) RS 698/ GC 536 At the Table of the World (1, G) PMB 301/WC 646/WS 443 Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death (2) WOR 586/RS 729/WC 788/WS 540 Called and Gathered by the Spirit (G) SS 863 Christ, Be beside Me (G) WC 704/ JS 687/MI‑BB 387/PMB 364/WS 507 Christians, Lift Up Your Hearts, v 5 (1, 2, G) WOR 538/CBW 585/ RS 674 Come Down, O Love Divine (1, G) WOR 472/MI‑BB 452/CBW 407/ GC 465/GC2 471/WC 588/JS 461/ RS 617 Come, Holy Spirit (1, G) JS 464 Come, Holy Spirit, Wind and Fire (1, G) PMB 375/WC 724/WS 519

Come, Host of Heaven’s High Dwelling Place (G) GC2 747 Come Now, Almighty King (G) WOR 487/MI‑BB 717/LMGM 76/GC 475/GC2 486/JS 471/GP 417/PMB 378/WC 737/WS 522/SS 868 *Come, Spread the News (E) IH 27 For Your Gift of God the Spirit (G) HG 45 Forth in the Peace of Christ (1) WOR 627/CBW 514 From All That Dwell below the Skies (Ps) JS 603/WOR 521/WC 922/MI‑BB 557/GP 682/PMB 483/WS 655/SS 906 Glory and Praise to Our God (Ps) GP 671/GC 522/GC 537/MI‑BB 578/WC 898/JS 596/RS 696/WS 640 God Sends Us His Spirit (1, G) GC 467/WOR 724/LMGM 125 Holy Spirit (1, G) MI‑BB 459, 463 I Come with Joy (G) WOR 726/WC 877/CBW 424/GC 806/GC2 799/ RS 854/PMB 320/WS 465/SS 1056 I Surrender All (G) LMGM 235 I Will Be with You (G) GC 455/RS 603 I Will Never Forget You (G) GP 711/ JS 653/CBW 708/MI‑BB 633 If You Believe and I Believe (1, 2, G) RS 825/GC 722/GC2 708/JS 839/WS 520 Jesus, Wine of Peace (G) GC 817/ GC2 804 Jesus, Your Spirit in Us (G) GC2 648 *Live on in My Love (G, C) PSL A85/SS 350 Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (G) WOR 588/MI‑BB 424/GP 640/WC 814/GC 622/GC2 613/JS 746/ CBW 625/RS 743/PMB 431/WS 578/SS 934 Love One Another ‑‑ Dufford, v 3 (G) GP 645/JS 752/MI‑BB 426 Mold Me, Lord (G) LMGM 128 More Love to Thee, O Christ (G) LMGM 246 O Breathe on Me, O Breath of God (1, 2, G) RS 907/GC 800/GC2 800/ JS 551/MI‑BB 655/WOR 725/PMB 373/WC 729/WS 517/SS 857 O for a Heart to Praise My God (G) WOR 591 O Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts (G) WOR 605/CBW 654/JS 444/RS

759/SS 1080 *Peace, v 7 (G) WC 863/MI‑BB 482/CBW 700/JS 741/GP 649/ PMB 462/WS 614 Praise the Spirit in Creation (G) WOR 477 Send Us Your Spirit (G) GP 410/ MI‑BB 456, 462/GC 470/GC2 476/ CBW 414/JS 462/RS 612/SS 864 *Shout to the Ends of the Earth (E) PSL A-89/SS 408 Singing Songs of Expectation (G) RS 780/JS 781 Song of the Holy Spirit (1, 2) JS 460 Spirit, Come (G) MI‑BB 460/GP 406 Spirit Divine, Accept Our Prayers (G) WOR 476/PMB 374/WC 730 Spirit of God (G) MI-BB 451 Spirit of God within Me (G) WOR 480/GC 468/RS 610/MI-BB 450 Sweet, Sweet Spirit (G) LMGM 75/ JS 331/GP 405/WC 726/WS 516 There’s a Spirit in the Air (1, G) WOR 531/GC 550/WC 585/RS 689 *This Is My Body, v 10 (G) PMB 318/WC 623/WS 451 This Is the Spirit’s Entry Now (1, 2) WOR 722 Veni, Lumen Cordium (G) SS 854 Water and Spirit (1, G) WC 602 We Are God’s Work of Art/Somos la Creación de Dios (2) RS 901/GC 808 We Have Been Told (G) MI‑BB 525/GC 699/GC2 694/RS 815/WC 812/WS 581/SS 987 We Receive Power (1, G) WC 732 Wonderful and Great (Ps) PMB 499/WC 918 You Are Mine (G) RS 762/WC 853/ MI‑BB 469/GC 649/GC2 627/WS 604/SS 943

J. Michael McMahon is music editor for Celebration and president of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. Contact him at npmpres@npm.org.

April 2008 | 21

preparation: Planning & prayers

April 6, 2008

Thinking Mystagogically

3rd Sunday of Easter

Fr. Lawrence Mick

Paige Byrne Shortal

If you approach today’s readings with your mystagogy cap on, it should be easy to understand how these readings can help both the newly baptized and the rest of the parish to reflect on the experience and meaning of initiation and the Easter sacraments.

The preacher has a variety of possibilities for the focus of the homily.

The most obvious, of course, flows from the Gospel account (from Luke, even though this is the year of Matthew) of the encounter between the risen Christ and the disciples on the way to Emmaus.

This is a classic text on the Eucharist, but notice that it might be approached in various ways. There is basis here for reflecting on the power of the Liturgy of the Word (“Were not our hearts burning within us?”), perhaps noting the power of the word in leading the newly baptized to the font as they were formed in the catechumenate.

There is also basis for reflecting on the meaning of the meal, perhaps linking to the disciples’ request for Jesus to stay with them.

Of course, our belief in the real presence of Christ in the meal is reflected in their experience of him.

But remember that Christ is also present in the word.

Recognizing and responding to his presence in both forms is important.

Another mystagogy focus could come from the first reading. Peter says, “God raised this Jesus; of 22 | April 2008

this we are all witnesses.”

All those who are baptized are called to be witnesses of the resurrection, leading others to Christ.

Such a focus on mission is important not only for the newly baptized but for all the members of the assembly. Though the mission emphasis is greater on the Sundays closer to Pentecost, there is no reason it cannot be lifted up today as well.

Planners should consider ways to support the mystagogical preaching in prayers and other dimensions of the liturgy.

Those who compose petitions might consult with the preacher(s) to foster some linkage between the preaching and the prayers.

Depending on the preacher’s focus, it might also be helpful to provide further catechesis in the bulletin or a separate handout.

If the focus is on the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, for example, an outline of the parts of the Mass might be a helpful addition.

If the focus is on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, an article on the four modes of Christ’s presence might broaden people’s awareness.

It might also be good to have a fuller Gospel procession this week, with candles and incense, to express our reverence for Christ’s presence in the word.

Introduction Easter is the season of the impossible, when Jesus, who was dead, appears and speaks to his disciples.

In our first reading, the apostle Peter preaches that it was impossible for Jesus to be held by death. As disciples of Jesus, as sons and daughters of God, we, too, will know new life. We, too, are called to believe the impossible — that Jesus speaks to us today.

We suggest that the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water replace the Penitential Rite and Kyrie during the Easter season.

Scripture Readings Acts 2:14, 22-33 It was impossible for Jesus to be held by death.

1 Pet 1:17-21 Conduct yourselves with reverence.

Luke 24:13-35 The disciples on the road to Emmaus failed to recognize Jesus.

Prayers of the Faithful Presider My friends, let us bring before God our prayers for the world. Remembering the disciples who did not recognize Jesus when he was in their midst, let us pray that our eyes are opened to the presence of Jesus among us.

Minister For the church, that we may each be the hands and heart and face of Christ to each other and to the world … we pray,  For those who are new to faith. For those who came into the church at Easter, that they may continue in their formation and recognize the presence of God in this community … we pray,  For peace, that enemies may recognize the face of God in each other … we pray,  For an end to poverty, that we may recognize Jesus in the faces of the poor … we pray,  For those who are suffering: for the sick, those in chronic pain, those who are frightened or lonely … for all who need the comforting presence of God this day … we pray,  For those in the midst of change: for those who will graduate this year; for those preparing for marriage; for those who are moving or starting a new job … for trust in the presence of God as our lives change … we pray, We remember those who have died … (names). For all who are mourning, who each day are filled with longing for the presence of someone they love … we pray, Presider Good and ever-present God, hear the prayers of your people and fill us with faith in your love for us and confidence in your power to provide what we need. Give us this day and every day the joy of your presence. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen.

preparation: Planning & prayers

April 13, 2008

Shepherding One Another

4th Sunday of Easter

Fr. Lawrence Mick

Paige Byrne Shortal

Today’s readings give this Sunday its nickname: Good Shepherd Sunday.

This image of Christ as shepherd often makes this a good Sunday to focus on the issue of vocations, especially vocations to the priesthood. This year, however, that topic might fit better next week, when the readings speak of the establishment of the diaconate and the priesthood of the whole community.

A different mystagogical slant might be to focus on the ways that we are called by our baptism to shepherd one another in the church and beyond the church. In the church, you could focus on the role of the sponsor/godparent as one who guides a catechumen or a child or a confirmation candidate in the ways of faith. The role of the sponsor and godparent in the catechumenate can serve as a model for those who are chosen as godparents for infant baptism and for confirmation.

Too often those roles are seen as merely ceremonial, but sponsors bear an important responsibility to support the faith life and growth of those they sponsor.

This could be a good Sunday to recruit new sponsors for the RCIA. It could also be a day to ask a few sponsors to speak at the different Masses in the parish about their experience in shepherding those who were baptized at Easter. This could be worked into the homily, with the sponsor speaking briefly in

the midst of the preacher’s words, or it might be a short presentation (and do keep it short!) at the time of the announcements during the dismissal rites.

Planners might work with the RCIA team to put a description of the sponsor’s role in the bulletin and to publicize an evening of training for prospective sponsors. It might also be useful to spell out the requirements and expectations of godparents for infant baptism and sponsors for confirmation.

Past and current and potential sponsors might be the focus of a petition or two in the intercessions.

A broader focus could also be helpful. What are the other ways that parishioners shepherd others in your parish? Shepherds both guide the sheep and care for them. Thus, those who visit the sick and bring them Communion are shepherding the flock.

Those who serve in the soup kitchen or with St. Vincent de Paul feed the flock. Those who serve as catechists, whether for children or adults, share in this role. Planners might list all the ways that shepherding occurs locally and then use that list to craft the petitions for the liturgy today. Those who do the writing might be careful, though, of overusing the same language or image too often in one set of intercessions; there are multiple ways to speak of caring and guiding others in union with Christ.

Introduction Today is sometimes called Good Shepherd Sunday.

Jesus tells us that his sheep recognize his voice.

There are many strange voices in our world today and sometimes it is difficult to discern a true voice from the false. Let us quiet our minds and calm our hearts so that we may hear the voice of Jesus.

We suggest that the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water replace the Penitential Rite and Kyrie during the Easter season.

Scripture Readings Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Peter preaches repentance and 3,000 people are baptized.

1 Pet 2:20b-25 You have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

John 10:1-10 The sheep know the shepherd’s voice.

Prayers of the Faithful Presider On this Good Shepherd Sunday, let us pray for our world so in need of guidance, and for all those who are seeking to follow the way of Jesus.

Minister Let us pray for our noisy, hectic, complicated world … for quiet amid the noise; peace amid the activity; simplicity amid the complication … for the grace to hear God’s voice and follow in the way of Jesus … we pray,  Let us pray for the church … for the grace to be God’s presence in the world … we pray,  Let us pray for those who have powerful voices: for those in authority whose decisions affect the lives of many people; for those in the media; for celebrities; for leaders in government and in the church; for teachers; for all who have been given the gift of influence … we pray,  For those called to offer counsel: for confessors, spiritual directors and therapists; for investment counselors and employment agencies and those who offer guidance to young people… we pray,  For those called to offer comfort: for doctors and nurses; chaplains and hospice workers and all who sit with those who grieve … we pray,  Let us pray for those who are suffering with depression, anxiety, autism, schizophrenia, addiction … for the grace to hear God’s voice amid all the other voices … we pray,  We remember those who have died … (names).

For those who are mourning and need the comfort of the shepherd … we pray, Presider Good and loving God, hear the prayers of your people this day. As we enter into the work of this week, protect us, guide us and be with us always. We pray in the name of our shepherd and risen Lord, Jesus. Amen.

April 2008 | 23

preparation: Planning & prayers

April 20, 2008

The Dual Priesthood

5th Sunday of Easter

Fr. Lawrence Mick

Paige Byrne Shortal

As we noted last week, the readings this Sunday offer a natural basis to focus on vocations in the church. The first reading from Acts recounts the establishment of the role of deacons. It is instructive to note that this role was created because there was a need in the local community. The church is always able to create (or suppress) ministries according to the needs of the Christian faithful.

Be aware, however, that the description of deacons in this passage creates some difficulties. The reading says that deacons were chosen to serve at table in the distribution of food to the widows.

Other passages from Acts, however, indicate that deacons like Stephen were busy preaching the word of God. So, while this passage is seen as the basis of the diaconate, it does not indicate clearly what the role of the deacon is — historically or currently.

The second reading, a beautiful passage from 1 Peter, expresses a rich theology of the priesthood of all the baptized. The Catholic tradition insists that the ordained priesthood and the priesthood of the laity are different in kind but they are both seen as a sharing in the one priesthood of Christ.

It is this common priesthood that forms the basis of church teaching that the whole assembly offers the sacrifice of the Mass.

We all, ordained and nonordained, share in the 24 | April 2008

priestly ministry of Christ and offer the sacrifice in union with Christ.

One of the great unfinished tasks of liturgical formation is helping the assembly to embrace its rightful role in the celebration.

So, while this is a good day to pray for vocations to holy orders, it should also be a day to lift up the priestly vocation of the baptized. This broader priesthood is really the basis for the ordained, since those ordained are first baptized and are ordained to serve the baptized. This interdependence should be clearly expressed in the preaching and prayers today.

The focus on the diaconate in the first reading certainly makes it appropriate, too, to lift up the ministry of the diaconate today. If you have a deacon in your parish, this might be a good day for him to preach, if he has preaching faculties. In any case, let the deacon be visible at the liturgy carrying out his designated role at Mass.

Both in preaching and in petitions, concern for vocations to ordained ministry and religious life should always be balanced by concern for faithful living of the vocations to marriage and to the single lay life.

No one in the assembly should be excluded from the ranks of those recognized as having a vocation and thus the focus of prayer.

Introduction Today we hear a question from the apostle Thomas that many of us ask at some time in our lives: “How can we know the way?” And Jesus answers him with words we know by heart: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” As we begin our prayer today, let us ask God to show us what these words mean for us today — in this time, in this place.

We suggest that the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water replace the Penitential Rite and Kyrie during the Easter season.

Scripture Readings Acts 6:1-7 The call of the first deacons 1 Pet 2:4-9 Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.

John 14:1-12 “Master, how can we know the way?”

Prayers of the Faithful Presider My friends, the way of Jesus includes praying for those in need. Let us pray for those who most need our prayers today, for those for whom we are concerned and for all those for whom we have promised to pray.

Minister Let us pray for peace. For those in danger right now; for those who live in fear all the time; for all those in harm’s way … we pray,  Let us pray for the church. For pastors and leaders in the church, especially those who are tempted to lose hope; for those who are struggling with doubt; and for all those who, by their prayers and the example of their lives, provide encouragement, guidance and strength to others … we pray,  Let us pray for young people. For those who are trying to find their way in this world. For those who are preparing for graduation and for those who struggle in their studies. For those who do not have access to education, health care or meaningful work. For those who are too distracted to care for themselves and others. For the protection of our youth from all that is harmful to the spirit … we pray,  Let us pray for those who are sick: for those living with Alzheimer’s, depression, anxiety or addiction and for those who care for them … for those who feel lost … we pray,  We remember those who have died … (names). For those who are living in the throes of grief, longing for someone dear to them who has passed away … for the comfort of all who mourn … we pray, Presider Loving God, hear our prayers this day and bring our needs and the needs of the whole world to the fulfillment your love intends. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

preparation: Planning & prayers

April 27, 2008

Moving toward Pentecost

6th Sunday of Easter

Fr. Lawrence Mick

Paige Byrne Shortal

Today’s readings bring us to a kind of turning point in the Fifty Days of Easter. From this point on, we focus more and more on the gift of the Spirit as we move toward the celebration of Pentecost Sunday.

All three readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter mention the Holy Spirit.

If you opt to use the second reading and Gospel from the Seventh Sunday of Easter (an option if you will celebrate Ascension next Sunday), then only the first two readings will mention the Spirit.

In either case, however, there is ample basis here for some mystagogical catechesis on the sacrament of confirmation. What does it mean for us to be anointed with the Holy Spirit?

We received the Spirit in baptism, of course, but for those baptized at the Easter Vigil, the gift of the Spirit is expressed most fully by the anointing that follows the water bath. Confirmation reminds us that we are initiated into a community that claims to live in the Holy Spirit and under the guidance of that Spirit.

Parishes (and thus preachers today) might well ask themselves whether their local community really does live in the Spirit. How often is the guidance of the Spirit sought before decisions are made by the pastoral council or other parish leaders? What “spirit” would be evident to an outsider or a newcomer observing how members of the community treat

one another and how they respond to strangers?

One useful step might be to encourage parishioners to memorize the traditional prayer for the Holy Spirit.

It can be found in many prayer books, including Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers (look under Pentecost). It might be printed in the bulletin this week with encouragement to memorize it before Pentecost arrives.

Are there young people in your parish preparing for confirmation at this point? If so, this would be a good day to pray for them in the intercessions. If a group has recently been confirmed, pray that they will show the parish what it means to live in the Holy Spirit.

The second reading today also raises a note of warning. The joy of this season and the joy of those who were recently baptized can lull us into thinking that the Christian life should be a life filled with nothing but blessings and happiness. Into this mood, 1 Peter injects a reminder that suffering is part of the Christian journey.

The text urges us to suffer for doing good rather than for doing evil.

This might prompt some prayers today for those in so many parts of the world who suffer oppression for doing good.

If you aren’t sure what groups to include, consult your diocesan social action or mission office.

Introduction As this Easter season continues, we are busy about many things. Let us take time now, for the next hour, to put aside all our busyness and pray quietly for the coming of the Spirit into our lives.

We suggest that the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water replace the Penitential Rite and Kyrie during the Easter season.

Scripture Readings Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 The people of Samaria receive the Holy Spirit.

1 Pet 3:15-18 Be ready to give a reason for your hope, but with gentleness.

John 14:15-21 I will ask the Father and he will send you the Advocate.

Where the Ascension is transferred to next Sunday, the second reading and Gospel of the Seventh Sunday of Easter may be read today.

Prayers of the Faithful Presider Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus promised us that God would send us the Holy Spirit to guide us and to speak for us. Let us claim that promise together and call on the Lord to hear our prayers of petition for those who most need our prayers.

Minister We pray for those who are forgotten: for those orphaned by the world; for those who whose names are unknown to us and yet whose faces beg us for what they need to care for their children and live healthy, happy, holy lives … we pray,  We pray for the church … for missionaries and those who live among the poor; for those who minister in food pantries and in clothing banks; for those who support others by their prayers, their generous offerings and their good works … we pray,  We pray for those who are preparing for graduation. For children who are dear to us and those who give us cause for concern. For the protection of all young people … we pray,  We pray for the sick and all who have asked for our prayers. For those waiting for the results of tests. For those undergoing treatment for cancer and other illnesses. For all those who are struggling with pain, infirmity or weariness … we pray,  We remember those who have died … (names).

For those who mourn the loss of someone dear to them and find the springtime difficult as they long for someone they love … we pray, Presider Creator God, hear the prayers of your people this day. Help us to know your son, Jesus; to do as he would do; to be like him; to preach his Gospel; and to live out our lives faithful to all of his commands. We pray always in Jesus’ name. Amen.

April 2008 | 25

second collection Loose Change from Church and World

Science Exam Children’s science exam answers Q: Name the four seasons.

A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: How is dew formed?

A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?

A: Keep it in the cow.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?

A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the moon. All water tends to flow toward the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature hates a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.

Q: What are steroids?

A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.

Q: What happens to your body as you age?

A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?

A: He says goodbye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.

Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.

A: Premature death.

Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (e.g., abdomen) A: The body is consisted into three parts: the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels A, E, I, O and U. Q: What is the fibula?

A: A small lie.

Q: What does “varicose” mean?

A: Nearby.

Q: Give the meaning of the term “Caesarian Section.”

A: The Caesarian Section is a district in Rome.

Q: What does the word “benign” mean?

A: Benign is what you will be after you are eight.

Compiled from Internet sources

26 | April 2008

“I see you’ve laid up for yourselves treasure in heaven.

Is this some sort of tax dodge?”

Cartoons

Cartoons printed in Celebration are the property of the artists who created them and are not covered

by Celebration’s usual blanket permission to reprint material that appears in each issue. For automatic permission to reproduce a cartoon published in this April 2008 issue, send five dollars to the artist listed below whose cartoon you wish to use:

Martha Campbell Page 26 PO Box 2538 Harrison, AR 72602

Now in our 37th year Celebration has been serving preachers and worship planners since 1971. Loyal subscribers have helped make Celebration the most widely used, comprehensive homiletic and liturgical resource on the market. You can help us continue to serve by telling your friends and colleagues about us.

Celebration is published both in print and in electronic form. Subscribers outside the United States can subscribe to the electronic version and avoid the delays and additional costs of receiving it by mail.

Please consider sharing the contact information on the back cover with a future subscriber.

preparation: GRAPHICS

April 6, 2008 Third Sunday of Easter [When he broke the bread], their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.

Luke 24:31

April 13, 2008 Fourth Sunday of Easter I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.

John 10:9

April 20, 2008 Fifth Sunday of Easter Whoever believes in me will do the work that I do, and will do greater works than these.

John 14:12

April 27, 2008 Sixth Sunday of Easter I will not leave you orphans: I will come to you.

John 14:18

About the artist Pat Marrin is editor of Celebration. These same graphics are available on our Web site for easy downloading for use in bulletins and parish newsletters. To access Celebration online, go to www.celebrationpubs.org. Register by clicking on the link REGISTER NOW and filling in the required fields. A username and password for your account will be sent immediately by e-mail. Use this to enter the site through the Administrator Panel on the same Web page.

April 2008 | 27

images & POETRY

Joy in the Faces of the Young “What is nobler than to mold the character of the young? I consider that he who knows how to form the youthful mind is truly greater than all painters, sculptors and all others of that sort.” — St. John Chrysostom Words are not necessary to read the kind of joy that is seen on the faces of many Brazilian youth.

They are expressive, inheritors of a rich blend of European, Indian and African culture and personality.

A rosary for a necklace, this youth waits to join in the Eucharist with her friend, a shared sheet for word and song.

Enthusiasm for song, for soccer and for dance is strong in Brazilian youth, forming a joyful soul.

As in our country, some youth know poverty and lack opportunity to learn and to earn, yet want to trust that church and state are concerned.

They long for companionship which strengthens and guides, shares daily life in home and school, integrates faith as a force for good.

Text and Photo by Abbot Barnabas Senecal, OSB St. Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, Kan. 66002 E-mail : bsenecal@kansasmonks.org

To subscribe to Celebration, call 1-816-968-2257, write to us at P.O. Box 411009, Kansas City, MO 64141 or subscribe online at www.celebrationpubs.org. To renew your subscription, call 816-968-2257 or write to us. Please include the customer number from your mailing label.

See Page 2 for other contact information or send an e-mail to support@celebrationpubs.org.

28 | April 2008

April 6, 2008 — 3rd Sunday

Easter Open Eyes, Burning Hearts

W

Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource www.celebrationpubs.org ROMAN LECTIONARY 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14, 22-23 1 Pet 1:17-21 Luke 24:13-35 Revised Common LECTIONARY 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, 36-41 1 Pet 1:17-23 Luke 24:13-35 Anglican LECTIONARY 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14a, 36-47 or Isa 43:1-12 1 Pet 1:17-23 or Acts 2:14a, 36-47 Luke 24:13-35

Patricia Sánchez has been contributing to Celebration for over 25 years. She holds a master’s degree in literature and religion of the Bible in a joint degree program at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York.

henever my mother had to leave my father, brother and me for a few days, she left all our meals prepared and ready in the freezer. While she cared for a sick friend or relative, we were cared for, too, because she had planned ahead and seen to all our needs. In a certain sense, Jesus made similar provisions for his own in leaving behind the memorial meal of the Eucharist.

Celebrated in today’s Lucan Gospel, Eucharist became the spiritual and physical food for Jesus’ disciples. At Eucharist, they experienced his real presence and became what they were truly meant to be — companions. The word “companions” is derived from the two Latin words: cum (“with”) and panis (“bread”). Companions are those who share bread together, and through their sharing they are profoundly bound to one another in faith and fellowship.

Companions are also fellow travelers who share the journey that Jesus began. Thematically, the notion of the journey is woven into the very fabric of the Lucan Gospel. With many references to that effect, the evangelist made it clear that Jesus was always en route, pressing on to the fulfillment of his mission in Jerusalem. It is not a coincidence that the disciples in today’s Gospel met Jesus while they too were en route. But their journey was rerouted by Jesus; their experience of him in bread and word caused them to return to Jerusalem to begin a new journey for the sake of the Gospel. All the while, as they traveled from place to place and person to person, their food, their companion, their strength would be Jesus himself.

Like a loving mother, he continues to provide for the needs of his own. At every eucharistic gathering the word is unwrapped and shared; the bread is blessed, broken and given; and Jesus is present. That longago evening in Emmaus, at supper, the disciples acknowledged their realization of this mystery by saying that their eyes were opened and their hearts were burning within them. But to what were their eyes opened? For what did their hearts burn?

An answer to these questions is suggested by the following story adapted from one told by William Bausch in A World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers (Twenty-Third Pub., Mystic, Conn: 1998): A young medical student about to take his final exam had to leave his fiancée behind for a month to travel from Ithaca, N.Y., to New Haven, Conn., where the testing would take place. En route, the bus stopped at a rather dilapidated station, and the young man sat down at a U-shaped lunch counter. Directly across from him was an elderly woman who said, “You sure do look depressed.”

He answered, “I am,” and without warning he began to cry. Suddenly the woman reached across the counter and, with dirty hands and fingernails, was about to wipe his cheeks. But he pulled back, repulsed.

She simply asked, “Honey, what’s wrong?” And his words came tumbling out about the pressures of his studies, the upcoming exams and the pain of missing his fiancée. When he showed the woman her

Easter is a celebration of both the vulnerability and the power of God.

April 6, 2008

PREACHING

picture in his wallet, she was full of admiration. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful young woman,” she said.

Then she shared her story about her traveling salesman husband who had passed away. She told the young man how she and her husband used to hug each other and cry each time he had to go away but how happy they were together when he returned. “Marriage is wonderful,” she assured him. “You are going to be very happy; you’ll see!”

Then the woman suggested that the young medical student might feel better if he had something to eat, so she ordered a donut from under the scratched plastic dome displayed on the counter. She took it, broke it and gave it to him. As she did, an announcement boomed over the loudspeakers about an imminent arrival. “Oh, my goodness! My bus is here,” she said, and, with that, she disappeared. Only then were his eyes opened, and he recognized the visitation in the breaking of the donut (“The Bus to Emmaus,” p. 210).

Through her simple sharing of herself, her sympathy and the donut, the woman became companion to the man. We are companions to Jesus and companions to one another, sharing what we are and what we have. For it is in these acts of authentic sharing that eyes are opened to others’ needs; hearts begin to burn with love and caring. Through these simple acts of sharing, the community will surely grow, and the world will begin to know better the saving power of God.

Acts 2:14, 22-23 The attitude of many Jews regarding Jesus has evolved considerably since the time Luke portrayed Peter making this appeal to his fellow Jews to accept Jesus. Editor Beatrice Bruteau compiled the thoughts of many rabbis and other scholars in Jesus Through Jewish Eyes (Orbis Books, Maryknoll, N.Y.: 2001). Concerning Jesus, contributor Joseph Gelberman writes: “In some ways I identify with Jesus. He came from a very orthodox family as I did. He didn’t like what he saw as regards 2 | April 2008

RESOURCES

April 6, 2008

Easter 3rd Sunday Open Eyes, Burning Hearts

authentic worship and social justice and he spoke out against it, as do I.” Another contributor, Arthur Waskow, admired Jesus’ ability to reach out and touch people from all walks of life. Waskow praised Jesus’ compassionate caring: “He brings comfort to the discomfited and has a compelling way of discomfiting the comfortable.”

Lance Flitter chose to comment on Jesus by way of an anecdote: “An elderly Jewish woman was a patient in a Catholic hospital, and facing her bed was a large picture of Jesus. A considerate nun asked if she would like the picture removed.

‘Oh, no,’ replied the old woman.

‘Such a success by one of our boys.

Leave it up!’ ” When Peter preached to the crowds in Jerusalem, he hoped that his fellow Jewish listeners would accept Jesus, not just as one of their own who had succeeded in his God-given mission, but also as their messiah. For that reason, his appeal to the Jews was supported by references to their own scriptures.

Peter’s citation of Psalm 16 offers the purported witness of David, who was traditionally credited as author of the Psalter. This psalm, as Beverly Gaventa has pointed

out, describes salvation from death and restoration to life (Texts For Preaching, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky.: 1995). Since it was obvious that David was dead, he could not have been referring to himself in the psalm. Therefore, reasoned Luke and Peter, he must have been referring to Jesus.

What Luke and Peter affirm here is that God is fully invested in human history, and that Jesus’ mission among us has been in accord with God’s preordained plan all along. God’s hand, at work in Jesus throughout his earthly life, is ultimately revealed in his resurrection. All this, insists Gaventa, reminds us that Easter is a celebration of both the vulnerability of God — who chose to be open to the needs of sinners — and the power of God, who chose to meet those needs through Jesus. Because of God’s vulnerability and power, humankind is privileged to encounter a God who is in touch with their lives. Ours is a God who chose to be weak so as to empower the weak; ours is also a God whose power and strength are our salvation.

1 Pet 1:17-21 First described as the “catholic epistles” by the church historian Eusebius (circa 300), 1 Peter, along with 2 Peter, James, Jude and 1-3 John are general writings addressed to the church at large rather than to a specific community. The attribution of these pseudonymously written letters to an apostolic figure (Peter) or to those in Jesus’ family (James and Jude) was intended to lend them an air of authority and to keep alive the teachings of those eyewitnesses for later believers.

Probably written circa 70-90 to Christians in northern Asia Minor, 1 Peter is regarded by some as being a composite of two documents. The first, which is comprised of 1:3–4:11, appears to have been addressed to those who might face persecution; the other, 4:12–5:11, is intended to support believers already suffering for their faith. If this supposition is correct, then today’s second reading,

PREACHING as well as the other three selections from 1 Peter that will be read on each Sunday of this month, are addressed to those being threatened with persecution. The ancient writer’s intention was to affirm the Christian identity and dignity of his readers and to set forth the norms for appropriate behavior for Christians living in a pagan world. As John H. Elliott has pointed out, today’s reading references the transformation effected in believers through their conversion to Christ (“1 Peter, Its Situation and Strategy,” from Perspectives on First Peter, C.H. Talbert, ed., Mercer University Press, Macon, Ga.: 1986).

Sanctified, reborn and purified by the costly sacrifice of Jesus, believers can no longer return to the way of life they led before their baptism.

This may have been a temptation for many who feared persecution and the possible loss of property, livelihood, freedom and even the loss of their own lives.

Compared to the struggles that faced those first generations of Christians, ours is a rather easy lot. Few of us in the old world or the new world are burdened by the problems that faced the early church and continue to persist in the Third-World church.

Free to live our faith as our convictions dictate, we are indeed fortunate. However, if ours is to remain a relevant voice in this world, a voice that speaks to the fact that many do suffer for their faith and struggle to maintain basic human rights, then we must adapt our mission toward the needy. With an eye toward this adaptation, Walbert Bühlmann, quoting S. Burgalassi, insists that there must be a change  from individual, self-regarding activity to community and social activity;  from the approach which goes from the world to God to an understanding of God coming to meet the world;  from reliance on routine to awareness of purpose;  from a spirituality of renunciation and segregation to a reverence for the earth and the part it plays in humankind’s journey to God;  from unquestioning obedience to

rESOURCES

the hierarchy to collaboration and shared responsibility;  from a ghetto mentality to ecumenism;  from power to service;  from “religion is all” to “all is religion” (in The Coming of the Third Church, St. Paul Publications, Slough, U.K.: 1976; quoting Burgalassi’s La Cristiantà nascoste. Dove va la Cristiantà italiana?, Bologna, Italy: 1970).

Luke 24:13-35 Luke tells his readers that as the two disciples made their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus, they were conversing and debating. They had thought Jesus was the one sent by God to accomplish the redemption of God’s people and to establish them in peace, prosperity and justice. But everything they had hoped for ended on a cross at Calvary. As N.T. Wright explains, they had been traveling up a road they thought was leading to freedom and it turned out to be a cul-de-sac — or, to put it bluntly, a dead end (The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill.: 1999). They had been living out a story built upon prophetic promises and historical precedents (exodus, return from exile), and for these reasons they hoped God would step in and deliver Israel yet again. They also had an idea as to how God should step in: through a revolt against Rome whereby God would empower the remnant to defeat their oppres-

3rd Sunday of Easter

sors. But with Jesus’ crucifixion, it seemed clear, explains Wright, that their exile was continuing, that God had not forgiven their sins and that the pagans were still ruling the world.

As they explained all this to the yet unrecognized risen Jesus, the hopelessness of the traveling pair was obvious. But rather than commiserate with them, the risen Jesus took their story and began to tell it differently. Rather than view their sufferings and struggles as punishment from God, he helped them to see that it is always darkest before the dawn. In fact, it was within the very experience of their suffering that God acted most powerfully.

Through the many political crises that constituted their history, God never failed to act, but that action usually came when all seemed at the breaking point. It was the same way in Jesus’ seeming defeat, and in what seemed to be the finality of his death, God effected salvation and a new beginning for Israel and all of humankind.

In Jesus’ rereading of the scriptures and through the gift of himself in broken bread, suffering and salvation come together; dying and rising become one great act of the love God has for sinners. Each time we remember and celebrate this action, our hearts burn with the recognition that Jesus is present. As we travel through this life together, he is continually retelling the story that is my life and yours.

Sermon Starters Dick Folger Someone once said to Miss Montana: “I didn’t recognize you without your sash.” When we encounter a person out of context, we may not know them. At some high school reunions everyone wears name tags with their yearbook pictures on them so others can tell who they are.

In today’s Gospel story of the two disciples who did not recognize Jesus until the breaking of the bread, we can discover our own story.

In our life’s journey we may also not recognize Jesus. There may come a day when we will wonder how we could have missed him.

The truth is that Jesus is present to us all the time. In the last sentence of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reminds us: “I am with you always, until the end of the world.”

April 2008 | 3

PREACHING

April 6, 2008

Preaching to Youth Jim Auer KEY VERSE(S) / MAIN IDEA (Matt) “Then he said to them, ‘What little sense you have! How slow you are to believe all that the prophets have announced!’ ” Confronting our “little sense” and “slowness” to believe.

HOW YOUTH MIGHT APPROACH THE READINGS Interest, or at least awareness that this is not a warm fuzzy. (So, the Starter begins humorously.) Also awareness that abandoning the skepticism of peers will make them stand out.

STARTER Think of some things Jesus said. What comes to mind?

Did you think of something relatively soothing? (If the homily is interactive, elicit some responses.)

Why wasn’t it: “How little sense you have!” from today’s Gospel? How many are going to make this their favorite saying of Jesus? How many can think of people who need to hear what little sense they have?

LEADING QUESTIONS * In what ways could Jesus be speaking to us today as well as to the two disciples? * Who has been a prophet (one who speaks on behalf of God) to you? * How fully today do you believe what they have “announced”?

DIRECTIONS TO EXPLORE * Reasons for our reluctance to believe those who speak for God. They challenge us to abandon a self-serving lifestyle. * The new “rationalism”: “There’s no way of telling who’s right.” * The public discrediting of some religious leaders (of all faiths). * Like the disciples in the Gospel, we want to believe but see an apparently insurmountable obstacle — in their case, it was the death of Jesus.

What are the obstacles today? * Jesus didn’t “prove” the scriptures to the disciples; he rekindled their faith.

MEDIA LINK “What you gonna do when you just can’t cope / Oh, keep walkin’ on / What you gonna do when you’re out of hope / Oh, keep walkin’ on / My Lord overcame this world / And I’m walkin’ on” (Faith Hill, “Keep Walkin’ On,” from the album “It Matters to Me”).

4 | April 2008

RESOURCES HOMILY Fr. James Smith

We Have to Hope The disciples were walking along dejectedly. One of them said: “I hoped Jesus would liberate Israel from Roman occupation.”

The other one replied: “I hoped he would bring the kingdom of God down to earth.”

Or let’s imagine a scenario closer to home: You and a friend figured out a brilliant new business idea. You found a venture capitalist who said he would bankroll your project. All excited, you both quit your jobs, cashed your pensions, got a second mortgage — and hoped to be rich. But before the deal was made, your backer was killed in an accident. You and your friend meet for a drink to commiserate. You say: “I hoped to retire at 40.” He says: “I hoped to go national.”

Now, why do you and your friend and the disciples keep talking about what might have been? Jesus and George are dead; they are not coming back to life. But hope is hard to kill. We don’t want to give up. We will accept hope from anyone, even strangers.

Like the stranger who started to walk with the disciples. He seemed to know even more about Jesus than the disciples did. He pinpointed his place in Jewish scripture all the way back to Abraham. He was so convincing that the disciples were almost ready to buy into his explanation. But no — they had lost hope once; it hurt too much to hope again.

Meanwhile, a stranger sits down beside you and says: “I happened to overhear your conversation. I am in the same field as you.

And I think your idea has merit. So much so that I would like to invest in your project.” You and your friend are amazed at your good fortune and thrilled that someone else understands. You are about

to make the deal when you both look at each other and say: “No, we have already lost our jobs, our homes — we cannot dare hope this will finally turn out right.”

Which brings up a good question: What do any of us dare to hope for? They were just ordinary fishermen, you are just ordinary businessmen. Maybe you and they set your hopes too high; maybe it’s better to aim lower and have a better chance of success. Or not even hope at all, and never be disappointed.

But a hopeless life is a dreary, inhuman life. So how can we integrate hope in a realistic way? Is there any guarantee for any hope at all? Yes. The one hope that is always fulfilled is the hope of living forever with God. Every other hope depends on that one.

On earth, however, God does not micro-manage, so our hopes can be misplaced, even with the best intentions. In fact, they are just misguided wishes unless they can be fitted in as part of our personal journey to God. To finish the story: The disciples invited the stranger to dinner. They asked him to say grace.

He prayed: “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation; through your goodness we have this bread to offer. It is my body.” The disciples were stunned into recognition.

They immediately realized that their hopes had been fulfilled beyond all imagining.

When our journey is over, we will sit down at table with Jesus. He will say: “So we don’t eat together as strangers, let me introduce you. This is my Father.

These are my friends.” And we will be stunned into recognition of the God we could never see before. And our wildest hopes will be fulfilled.

April 13, 2008 — 4th Sunday

Easter To Be Shepherd, To Be Gate

H Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource www.celebrationpubs.org ROMAN LECTIONARY 4th Sunday of Easter Acts 2:14, 26-41 1 Peter 2:20-25 John 10:1-10 Revised Common LECTIONARY 4th Sunday of Easter Acts 2:42-47 1 Pet 2:19-25 John 10:1-10 Anglican LECTIONARY 4th Sunday of Easter Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a, 51-60 or Neh 9:6-15 1 Pet 2:19-25 or Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a, 51-60 John 10:1-10

Patricia Sánchez has been contributing to Celebration for over 25 years. She holds a master’s degree in literature and religion of the Bible in a joint degree program at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York.

uman beings can be many things to one another. We can be friends or acquaintances or strangers or even enemies. To our parents, we are children. To our spouses, we are partners, helpers, lovers and friends. To our bosses, we are employees. To the government, we are citizens. To our teachers, we are students. To politicians, we are votes waiting to be cast. To the IRS, we are taxes to be collected. To merchants, we are the promise of sales and profits.

To doctors and nurses, we are patients to be cured and cared for. To lawyers, we are clients to be represented. To police officers, we are someone to be protected or investigated, as the situation requires.

When Jesus came among us as one of us, he also assumed roles and formed relationships. Some of his most significant are best described in the fourth Gospel. Therein, Jesus identified himself by declaring: I AM the way, the truth and the life; I AM the living bread; I AM the vine; I AM the light of the world; I AM the resurrection and the life; I AM the good shepherd. Johannine scholars, led by Raymond E. Brown, have long recognized that the I AM statements were intended to associate Jesus with the God who chose to be revealed as I AM to Moses in Exodus 3:14 (The Gospel According to John, Doubleday, New York: 1966). This declaration of I AM and its several predicates also describe who Jesus is in relationship to humankind. As Brown explained, in his mission Jesus is the source of eternal life for sinners (“vine,” “life,” “resurrection”); he is the means through which sinners find life (“way,” “gate”); he leads sinners to life and safe pasture (“shepherd”); he reveals the “truth” to sinners and nourishes their every need (“bread”).

Thus, said Brown, these predicates are not static titles but a revelation of the divine commitment involved in God’s sending of Jesus. If Jesus is all these things to human beings, then it follows that his disciples are also to be light, life, bread and — as is emphasized this Sunday — the gate (Gospel) that opens the way and the shepherd (Responsorial Psalm, second reading) who leads sinners home to God. Shepherds are seldom seen by us except in rural settings, but the manner and mission of the shepherd is one of the most poignant and powerful descriptions of God and of Jesus in the scriptures. Unlike contemporary sheep ranchers who control their herds with dogs, horses, pick-up trucks or other more advanced technological methods, shepherds in the ancient world knew their sheep individually. Each had a name to which it responded when called by its shepherd. Rather than prod them from behind, the ancient shepherd would walk ahead of his sheep, striking a safe path, and search for good grazing and water.

When a sheep was missing, the shepherd sought it out; when a sheep was injured, the shepherd carried it and tended its wounds. Something of the tenderness of the relationship between sheep and shepherd is affirmed in the parable of Nathan (see 2 Sam 12). This same tenderness was epitomized in the way Jesus cared for his own. Those who follow him are to behave similarly — knowing those whom they lead by name; caring for them continually; leading them in right paths; seeking out the lost to bring them home.

The image of Jesus as gate sets forth an example for his disciples.

April 13, 2008

PREACHING

Likewise, the image of Jesus as gate (Gospel) sets forth an example for his disciples. As gate, Jesus is a passage through which others are led to God. He is the conduit who opens to all who knock and who offers welcome and sanctuary to all who seek. One of the more intriguing aspects of this description of Jesus as gate is the fact that shepherds in the ancient world acted as the living gates of their sheepfolds. Standing at the entrance of the fold, they would make sure that every single one of their sheep was accounted for. Once all were safely inside the enclosure, the shepherd lay down in the opening and there he kept watch over the lives of his flock.

So did Jesus lay down his life to secure the safety and salvation of sinners.

If this was the manner in which Jesus exercised his mission, then his disciples are to do likewise. Being a gate means being a passage and a conduit that enables rather than an obstacle that prevents others from drawing near to God. Being a gate means offering authentic witness that lights the path and eases the journey of others rather than creating a detour or a stumbling block. Ultimately, being a gate, as Jesus was a gate, involves a willingness to lay down our lives and spend ourselves in service for the sake of those whom God has entrusted to us. Such is the daily challenge of discipleship.

Acts 2:14, 26-41 Just as the Hebrew scriptures show development of the human understanding of the nature of God, so in the Christian scriptures there is an evolving awareness of Jesus.

In their earliest dealings with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Israelites acknowledged that there were other gods and acquiesced to the popular belief that these gods enjoyed power in those places where they were revered — Ra in Egypt, Baal in Canaan, etc.

Not until centuries later did a strict monotheism emerge in Israel, such that Deutero-Isaiah, speaking for 2 | April 2008

rESOURCES

April 13, 2008

Easter 4th Sunday To Be Shepherd, To Be Gate

God, declared, “Thus says the Lord … I am the first and the last; there is no God but me!” (44:6).

In today’s first reading and Gospel, we can discern a similar evolution regarding the understanding of Jesus, which deepened as the church grew in awareness. Preserved in this text from Acts is a very early creedal formula that professed: “God has made both Lord and Christ this Jesus whom you crucified.” This declaration of faith reflects a view that Jesus became Lord and Christ — God — at the moment of his death and resurrection. But this idea is incomplete.

A deeper grasp of the person of Jesus is reflected in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, which present Jesus as Lord and Christ from the moment of his conception (Matt 1-2; Luke 1-2). But this, too, represents incomplete understanding; full awareness is discernible only in the fourth Gospel, which is introduced by this insightful proclamation of faith: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Described as “high Christology,” this identification of Jesus with God is also reflected in the I AM statements.

Therefore, what we have in today’s first reading is a glimpse

of the early believers struggling to know and understand Jesus and to present that growing knowledge and understanding to others (in this case, to the Jews) in such a way as to draw them, in faith, to Jesus. Luke attests to the effectiveness of the early Christian witness by telling his readers that “when they heard this, they were cut to the heart … they asked, ‘What are we to do?’ ” Evidently, their struggle to know Jesus proved contagious. Their enthusiasm offered a powerful witness that caused their fellow Jews to question their own beliefs and to become open to the wonders God had worked in Jesus.

Perhaps contemporary believers hearing today’s story about the experience of the first disciples might take away a renewed desire to know and understand Jesus more fully, so as to share more zealously the blessing of salvation. If our faith and commitment could cause others to ask “What are we to do?” — how might this world be transformed?

1 Peter 2:20-25 Each Sunday this month we read selections from 1 Peter, and each selection directly or indirectly references the spirituality and innocent, vicarious suffering of the Isaian servant, casting the suffering, crucified Jesus in a similar light. Each also invites believers to unite their own suffering with his. Suffering for doing what is good is called a “grace” in today’s second reading.

The author of 1 Peter was aware that persecution for their shared faith might be in his readers’ future and was preparing them to face with courage whatever lay ahead. With the suffering Jesus as their guide and inspiration, the author was confident that the community of believers could survive, albeit not unscathed.

As it happened, their future was to be overshadowed by Emperor Domitian, who ruled over the vast Roman empire from 81-96 and whose reign proved to be a threat to the growing Christian community. Domitian’s cruelties were, in large part, one of the reasons that prompted the

PREACHING composition of 1 Peter as well as the Book of Revelation. Written in apocalyptic mode, Revelation, along with 1 Peter, could be regarded as the literature of the resistance, intended to bolster the persecuted or those being threatened by persecution. In both writings, Jesus is the champion of the oppressed, who are continually assured that in the end, they, like him, will be victorious — but not without paying the very dear cost of discipleship.

Infamous for his brutality and megalomania, Domitian pushed the Roman senate to bestow on him the title Dominus et Deus, or “Lord and God,” while he still lived. Ordinarily this honor was given only after an emperor died. Ironically, as Luke tells us in today’s reading from Acts, it was through his own death that Jesus was honored by God and made both Lord and Christ, or God. Adding to Jesus’ honorific status, the author of 1 Peter also affirmed that it was through his suffering that Jesus brought healing and, with it, forgiveness to sinners (a role reserved to God). Like God, he is both shepherd and guardian of souls.

Although, as Pheme Perkins has pointed out, Christ is the ultimate shepherd and guardian (the literal and more correct translation of episkopos is “overseer”) — readers of 1 Peter are also to recognize the pastoral presence of the shepherds of their own community (First and Second Peter, James, and Jude, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky.: 1995). These shepherds are to acknowledge their “sheep,” or those whom they are committed to serve, as special treasures. Sharing a relationship that is at once supportive, collegial and symbiotic, congregations and their shepherdguardians will witness to the world the love that Christ continues to have for the church. Only such a relationship will enable both pastors and people to reach out together to gather into the fold those who have strayed or who have been alienated through prejudice, apathy or some other form of injustice on the part of the community. As we shall be told in today’s Gospel, Jesus knows each

rESOURCES

of his least ones by name and opens the gate for them. Shouldn’t we do our best to keep it open?

John 10:1-10 Do you remember that old game show “Let’s Make a Deal”? Contestants who succeeded at playing the game were invited to choose among three doors. Prizes hidden behind the doors could be as valuable as a new car or a great vacation, or as worthless as a pile of straw. After choosing a door, the contestant would be tempted with another offer in exchange for the first choice. Then the bartering ensued, and more often than not, greed for better prizes won out over good judgment. In the end, because of their indecisiveness or desire for more, some contestants left with little or nothing at all.

In today’s Gospel Jesus also offers us a choice, but instead of three doors, there is only one: Jesus himself, who is the very door or gate through which those who choose to enter will be saved. As the Johannine Jesus has affirmed, Jesus will see to it that each who comes in shall find pasture — a pasture that will include not only the physical and spiritual nourishment that is needed on a daily basis, but also the leadership and care of a loving pastor.

Contextually, the claim of Jesus to be both the gate and the good shepherd of God’s people follows immediately upon a rather heated exchange between Jesus and some

4th Sunday of Easter

of the Pharisees. Jesus had given the gift of sight to a man who had been blind from birth; by his own choice, the newly sighted man also began to see with the spiritual sight of faith. His clarity of perception contrasted sharply with that of the Pharisees, who could see in a physical manner but chose to turn a blind eye on Jesus.

In today’s parable, the Pharisees are represented as the strangers to whom the sheep will not listen because they do not care for the sheep as Jesus does. Unlike the Pharisees, who kept their distance from those whom they judged to be sinners, Jesus sought out sinners and invited them to share in the relationship he shared with God. While the Pharisees were content to criticize and condemn, Jesus had compassion, called sinners to forgiveness and healed both body and spirit. Rather than ease the burdens of others, as Jesus did, the Pharisees complicated their lives with burdensome applications of the law.

When that law threatened to come between God and the people, Jesus, through his fresh interpretation of the law, opened the gate that enabled sinners to navigate beyond the law and come home to God. Eventually, Jesus even laid down his life for his sheep (John 10:17).

Contemporary pastors are invited to follow Jesus’ example — to become both the gate that opens the way to God and the shepherd who leads them through.

Sermon Starters Dick Folger In our computerized world, we don’t encounter many shepherds, but perhaps one modern equivalent is an airline pilot, who leads his little flock of passengers aloft and out across a distance to the next stop.

Imagine what might happen in the future, when everything is so digitized that we no longer even have these human shepherds to guide us. After the safety instructions play on a screen, we’ll hear an announcement from the flight deck say: “Welcome aboard Flight 110. There is no human pilot aboard this flight today. I am a computer programmed to fly you to your destination.”

Jesus is the way, the gate, and the real shepherd. He can never be phased out by newer, more efficient models. We can be assured that he’ll stay by our side — personally — to lead us to our final destination.

April 2008 | 3

April 13, 2008

PREACHING

Preaching to Youth Jim Auer KEY VERSE(S) / MAIN IDEA (Acts) “You must reform and be baptized … in the name of Jesus Christ, that your sins may be forgiven; then you will receive the Holy Spirit … Save yourselves from this generation which has gone astray.” Consciously embracing faith; recognizing real threats to faith.

HOW YOUTH MIGHT APPROACH THE READINGS Talking about spiritual dangers in our pop culture takes some tact to ward off a defensive response. This does not mean skirting or softening the issues.

STARTER Acts tells us, “Those who accepted his [Peter’s] message were baptized.” The statement indicates that not everyone did. Imagine you are back in time, listening to Peter’s speech. Someone your age in the crowd shouts at Peter, “You can’t prove any of that stuff ! It’s a scare story because you want to control people. You religion freaks are always doing that!” The shouter seems to be winning over some others. Would you say anything? What would you tell them?

LEADING QUESTIONS * Whom do you think Peter was referring to when he said “this generation”? * How do you see today’s culture: Full of evil? Harmless, but an easy target for scare stories from religious fanatics? Screwed up but in need of compassion, not blame? Other? * What situations could make you feel in danger for your life? in danger for your health? in danger for your soul and salvation? * If you discovered you had not been baptized after all, would you feel you need to be? Why? What would you expect from it?

DIRECTIONS TO EXPLORE * Getting re-acquainted with baptism. * Ways of completing the sentence: “Because I am baptized …” * Spiritual danger: just as real as other types of danger, but harder to detect.

MEDIA LINKS/QUOTATIONS “I’ve been offered a lot of things that celebrities do that I won’t do.” “We seal our fate with the choices we make” (Pop star Gloria Estefan).

4 | April 2008

rESOURCES HOMILY Fr. James Smith

Evil Is Hard to Understand God inspired Peter to explain why we have to suffer. In other words, why is there evil in the world if God is in charge of everything? He says that we suffer in order to follow the example of Jesus. Nice try, but not entirely convincing.

If we don’t like God’s answer to evil in the world, consider this human response. You come home from work to discover that Susie has scribbled red crayon all over the wall. When you ask your wife how that happened, she responds: “How dare you question the way I run this house? You don’t have to balance office work and house work. Where were you when Susie threw up on the couch? Where were you when she kicked the dog? When you do as much as I do we’ll talk crayon marks!”

Now, I am not suggesting that God and the wife are equal, or that crayon marks remotely approach the sufferings of the world. I am simply suggesting that neither God nor your wife is actually able to explain it.

Your wife could actually go through each second of that day which led to the wall artistry. But that would take another whole day, and even when we knew the facts second by second, we still could not experience them exactly the way she did. She could try to explain, but we couldn’t quite understand it.

God could also take us through every second of every evil in our whole life. But that would use up our whole lifetime, and we still could not experience it or understand it the way God does. In other words, evil makes sense to God, but we aren’t smart enough for God to tell us.

Does that mean that we should stop thinking about evil? That we

should just bear all the suffering that comes to us? No, that would be to play into the hands of evil and pain. What we should do is to look at evil and suffering with cool dispassion and deal with it realistically. For instance, we often try to escape evil or suffering. That seems reasonable. We ought to get away from evil when we can. But not if the escape brings only more suffering. Evil is trying to tell us something. As Jung said, every neurosis is just a legitimate suffering that we are trying to escape instead of dealing with it.

Sometimes, out of exhaustion, we simply surrender to suffering. It becomes too much for us, so we numb our souls against it. We may do it with alcohol or drugs or willpower, but the effect is the same. When we narcotize our souls against pain, we also numb it against the pleasures of life. We may continue to live and work and even play, but we are dead inside.

Once in a while we get the courage to rebel against evil. And it shows. We all know people who grin and bear it or grind their way through it. Their false smiles and set jaws betray the intense effort it takes. But that very rigidity and self-control takes away the freedom and spontaneity we need to enjoy life.

If God cannot make us understand the essence of evil, God’s Word does give it profound meaning. Paul wrote: “We carry in our bodies the dying of Jesus; but we do not lose heart because our inner being is renewed while our body is destroyed.”

And Jesus himself, in intense agony, said: “If possible, let this suffering pass. But let your great will, not my small wish, be done.”

April 20, 2008 — 5th Sunday

Easter Compassion, Solidarity, Service

I

Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource www.celebrationpubs.org ROMAN LECTIONARY 5th Sunday of Easter Acts 6:1-7 1 Peter 2:4-9 John 14:1-12 Revised Common LECTIONARY 5th Sunday of Easter Acts 7:55-60 1 Pet 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 Anglican LECTIONARY 5th Sunday of Easter Acts 17:1-15 or Deut 6:20-25 1 Pet 2:2-10 or Acts 15:1-15 John 14:1-14

Patricia Sánchez has been contributing to Celebration for over 25 years. She holds a master’s degree in literature and religion of the Bible in a joint degree program at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York.

n a few months, three years shall have passed since Hurricane Katrina wiped out lives and property and forever changed the topography and demographics of the American Gulf Coast. In her Through the Eye of the Storm, Cholene Espinoza has preserved sad and shocking statistics about this disaster (Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Jct., Vt.: 2006). Besides the 1,836 people who died and the estimated 700-1,000 who are still missing, 850,771 housing units were damaged, destroyed or rendered inaccessible. An additional 900 churches, synagogues and mosques were also damaged or destroyed.

In many instances, all that remained of some houses of worship was the concrete slab on which it was built. To date, countless churches are still just that — a slab and a memory.

On one of those slabs in one particularly devastated Mississippi town, someone posted a sign a few days post-Katrina. The sign read: “St. Clare Catholic Church meets here.” Each of the readings for today’s liturgy makes a similar point: The church is not the building but the people who gather together in Jesus’ name, regardless of all other extenuating circumstances.

In today’s second reading, the author of 1 Peter will describe the church as living stones founded on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. These living stones, insists the ancient writer, form a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are called God’s own. There is no talk here of pews or pulpit, bricks or mortar or stained glass. The church is, in its essence, the breathing, pulsating organism that forms when lives are intertwined by shared faith and service.

The first reading from Acts affirms a constitutive aspect of the church’s identity and mission: The living stones that come together as church because of Christ are thereby bound to one another in service.

Meeting the needs of all — and in particular the poor, who are God’s chosen — dictates the daily agenda of the church. To meet the needs of their contemporaries, the early generations of Christians had to allow what had been a strictly Jewish Christian church to develop a gentle complexion. Rather than impose one way upon all, they made adaptations to accommodate the differences that made the ethnically and culturally varied church so beautiful. The God of many faces and accents was able to speak the language of ecumenism because restrictions on God’s love were not to be imposed by parochial human beings.

The universal inclusiveness of the earliest living stones is a difficult ideal to attain. The 21st-century community of believers is challenged to continue this open-door, open-heart, open-mind tradition. As history readily attests, the early church itself often struggled to uphold this tradition. In those times, they re-centered on the one who chose to be revealed among them as the way to do what they were called to do; as the truth by which they were to live; and as the life in which they would be privileged to share — not only here, but for all eternity.

Centered on Jesus and keenly sensitive to the overtures of the Holy

There is no talk here of pews or pulpit, bricks or mortar or stained glass.

April 20, 2008

PREACHING

Spirit, the Second Vatican Council resolved to restore the church to its true identity as “all the people of God.” Whether the people of God meet on a slab of concrete in the open air of Waveland, Miss., or in the desert of Darfur, where violence and death are a daily experience, they are the church. Whether this people calls God “Adonai” or “Allah” or “Almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” those who gather in faith constitute church. Whether black, olive, white or ruddy in complexion; whether male or female, old or young; whether free to believe or struggling against empire — all are church. All are ekklesia; that is, all are called by name and called out of the morass of worldliness to live by faith in solidarity with one another.

As Albert Nolan has pointed out, “solidarity” is not a biblical word, but it best expresses the most fundamental biblical concept known as collectivity (Jesus before Christianity, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, N.Y.: 2006). Characterized by this solidarity, the church is a collective of living beings who work hard at overcoming the natural contradiction between neighbor and enemy, between outsiders and insiders, so that enemies become kin. The basis of this solidarity, insists Nolan, is love or compassion — that emotion that wells up from the pit of one’s stomach at the sight of another’s need.

Did the story about the sign on the storm-washed slab in Mississippi cause something to well up within you? Did the mention of the dead and dying in Darfur do the same? Then we are off to a good start.

Acts 6:1-7 Deacons in the early Christian community were initially appointed in order to meet the needs of the disadvantaged. Widows were especially needy; even their name spoke poignantly of their circumstances.

In Hebrew, the word for widow is almanah, from the root alem, which means “unable to speak.” Of course the widow had the capability of 2 | April 2008

rESOURCES

April 20, 2008

Easter 5th Sunday Compassion, Solidarity, Service

speech, but with no one to listen to her, she was relegated to her widowhood, her almenuth, which means “silence.” In Greek, the word for widow, chera, is derived from the root ghe, which means “forsaken” or “left empty.” Therefore, the first task of the earliest deacons was to be the voice that would speak out for the rights of widows and the hands that would tend to their needs and the needs of their children.

Subsequent references in Acts as well as in the letters of Paul will reveal that deacons, both men and women, also served as evangelists and catechists. One, namely Stephen, would be the first to die for his faith and for the sake of the survival of the growing Christian community. As we look back to the life and times of those first deacons, it remains significant that the primary purpose of the deacon was to exercise the church’s preferential option for the poor.

Ignatius of Antioch once wrote, “The office of the deacon is nothing other than the ministry of Jesus Christ” (Ad Magnesios, VI, 1). Similarly, Polycarp of Smyrna called for deacons to “be moderate in all things, merciful, diligent, living according to the truth of the Lord,

who became the servant of all” (Ad Philippenses, V, 2).

The Second Vatican Council restored the permanent diaconate, wishing to reawaken the spirit of those earliest believers in Jesus and hoping to catch the contagion of their zeal. Deacons continue to be servants of others in the ilk of the Lord. Nevertheless, the church’s failure to admit women to the diaconate is a challenge to an authentic, full restoration of this ancient ministry. Until this restoration happens, contemporary women in the church remain like the widows of the first Christian century — almanah, “unable to speak.”

Chosen because they were reputable, filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom, the first deacons were presented to the apostles, eyewitnesses to Jesus, who laid hands on them. This gesture, adapted from Jewish tradition, signified the bestowal of authority and power. The laying on of hands also expressed the community’s willingness to support those who would serve in their name and on their behalf.

The Acts expert William H. Willimon has warned against reading too much into this text about the origins of the later ordained ministry (Acts, John Knox Press, Atlanta: 1988). However, Willimon thinks it is fair to draw the following conclusions about leadership within the Christian community: 1) The need for leadership arises from the community’s needs; 2) Leadership arises from “below” rather than from “above” — that is, from a grass-roots attentiveness to the needs of the community; 3) The ordained ministry in its present form is an adaptation of the church to its leadership needs.

1 Peter 2:4-9 “Let yourselves be built.” So says the author of 1 Peter in verse 5 of this exhortation. With the passive imperative verb oikodomeisthe, the ancient writer reminds readers that it is God who is the architect and builder of the edifice of living stones called church. Since it is a design

PREACHING of God’s own making, it is safe to presume that the edifice exists in order to do God’s will rather than its own and to tend to all, as God would, rather than a select or “deserving” few. The church of living stones is not an exclusive organization but is open to all who are willing to let themselves be built by God. In verses immediately preceding this pericope, the ancient author describes the proper attitude of God’s living stones, calling his readers to rid themselves of all malice, deceit, envy, insincerity and slander so they might long for pure spiritual milk and taste the goodness of God. Only when all these human penchants for sin are admitted and set aside will there be room for God to live within. Then, the church of living stones begins to breathe with the breath of God’s own Spirit.

At first reading, the imagery in this passage may seem exotic and even exclusive, says Beverly Gaventa, because of terms like “a chosen race” and “a royal priesthood” (Texts For Preaching, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky.: 1995). However, the author’s insistence on one spiritual house precludes selectivity. Because the intended recipients of this letter included displaced persons and those who were dispossessed spiritually, economically and politically (e.g. “sojourners of the dispersion,” 1 Peter 1:1), the notion of being built into a spiritual house that carried with it the promises of roots, family and belonging would appeal to someone who is always en route but never completely home. Although they were not in Jerusalem, the believers in the diaspora were nevertheless at home in God. That home was made possible because of the cornerstone of Jesus Christ upon whom God founded this new edifice of living stones. Because of Jesus, those who were rootless now have roots in God. Those who were outcast or alienated are now restored and reconciled. Those who were regarded as burdensome and worthless “hangers-on” in an empire that would rather have been rid of them are now described as “chosen” and “precious” in God’s eyes.

rESOURCES

As this text is read today, all these blessings are celebrated again so contemporary believers will remember that God “created the church to be a single household, taking its identity from Jesus” (Beverly Gaventa, op. cit.). The spiritual home we call church is a gift for all, not the possession of a few. There is within this household room for dissent, but not division. Mutual service, rather than hierarchic authoritarianism, is the order of the day.

John 14:1-12 This pericope is part of the lengthy discourse with which the Johannine Jesus said goodbye and prepared the disciples for continuing the mission he had begun. It is particularly revealing of Jesus’ tenderness and compassion for his own. Even though he was only hours away from death, his concern was not for himself but for those who would be forced to struggle with his death and with his subsequent physical absence. His advice for his first followers remains apropos: “Have faith in God … have faith in me.” This faith lies at the basis of every good work done for others in Jesus’ name: “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do … and even greater ones than these.”

Then, giving further guidance for life without him, Jesus promised that he would forever be the way, the truth and the life. Those in search of authentic meaning in their lives, as well as those burdened by doubt or fear, can find every answer to every question in him.

5th Sunday of Easter

Every question, that is, except one. Although Jesus promised, “I will come back again and take you to myself,” no one knows when that time will come. Because of that, there may be a tendency to falter in fervor; it may be difficult to muster the energy needed to prepare for Jesus’ return. It may seem futile to keep working zealously at the business of bringing others to him. In these moments, we look to Jesus in faith and to one another for support.

Ours is a communal effort. We were created purposely by God as social beings. The author of 1 Peter called us living stones, built together into a spiritual house. We are not alone in trying to make the way, the truth and the life of Jesus our own.

We are not called to worship in isolation; we do not eat alone at the table of his sacrifice and our salvation. We are church. In our varying degrees of dedication, with our different talents, with our faults and failings, we are the people who, when we gather in Jesus’ name, become the holy place where others should be able to experience God’s presence. Because of God’s presence with us, our efforts in the ministry of Jesus will go forward until he comes again.

Someone in John Wesley’s congregation once asked him, “What can I do to prepare to meet Jesus?”

Wesley replied, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

Sermon Starters Dick Folger A very wealthy man died and went to heaven. He was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter and led down golden streets to the residential section to claim his new home. They passed many mansions — huge, splendid, and with great green lawns in front. At the end of the street they stopped in front of a windowless shack built out of old plywood panels. The rich man asked St. Peter why he was getting this hovel when there were so many beautiful mansions he could live in. St. Peter replied, “I did the best with what you sent us.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us he is going to prepare a place for us.

Will it be a mansion or a shack?

April 2008 | 3

April 20, 2008

PREACHING

Preaching to Youth Jim Auer KEY VERSE(S) / MAIN IDEA (1 Pet) “Come to the Lord, a living stone, rejected by men but approved, nonetheless, and precious in God’s eyes.

You too are living stones, built as an edifice of spirit, into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” The supernatural, priestly reality of our lives, especially its communal dimension.

BACKGROUND NOTE Some of the Directions to Explore below will require a brief explanation of priest and sacrifice.

STARTER There are over 145 varieties of Lithops, which are cactus plants known as “living stones” because they are often indistinguishable in appearance from actual stones. According to the author of 1 Peter, however, there are over (estimate number of worshippers present) living stones right here.

LEADING QUESTIONS * If you were to name five people whose opinion of you really matters to you, who would make your list? Did God make your list? * At the end of a day, how would you answer the question, “What sacrifice did you bring to the Lord today?” * What kind of “edifice” do you want to help build?

A church? School? Hospital? Legal aid headquarters?

DIRECTIONS TO EXPLORE * The “priesthood of all believers”: This is what we are, even if we do not always fulfill the role. * A single building stone, regardless of its size, composition or beauty, cannot build an edifice. * “Acceptable sacrifices”: the everyday obligations of our lives, when performed without sin.

MEDIA LINK/QUOTATION “Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It’s not about winning.

It’s about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about being able to look your friends in the eye and know that you didn’t let them down” (Coach Gary Gaines, played

by Billy Bob Thornton, in the movie “Friday Night Lights”).

4 | April 2008

rESOURCES HOMILY Fr. James Smith

The Labyrinth of Life Myths of many ancient cultures include stories about the labyrinth or maze. The labyrinth symbol comes out of the Greek humanistic culture that presumed knowledge was the highest human achievement. It is an obstacle course of confusing patterns through which a person must find their way to the exit — or not. This is a parable of the life journey, which has long and short, straight and crooked stages, which offers both obvious and obscure choices.

In the middle of the maze, according to the stories, is a human/beast figure that each person invariably confronts. That mysterious figure asks each person a question and then ominously adds: “Respond or die.”

The truth beneath the myth is the reality of everyday life for each one of us. We are at birth thrown into a confusing, unintelligible world in which events seem random, with no obvious goal in sight. Life seems to be a maze, and our task is to make some sense of random events, find some pattern in the chaos. Our life purpose is to find a way to safety, to salvation.

Along the way, we are inevitably confronted by questions whose answers make our progress easier or harder. The questions come from people, challenges, failures, joys — they come in all disguises.

But the questioner is ultimately Jesus, and the question is really: “Who do you say I am?”

Any question of consequence ultimately involves a matter of truth. That is, what is the essence of reality; what is the way to a more intense life? And since Jesus is personally the way, the truth and the life, any questions about direction and truth and life are finally resolved only in him.

“Who do you say I am?” is a very personal question that involves both the questioner and the answerer. A wrong answer — that is, any answer that is not a personal commitment, an acceptance of Christ as personal guide — leaves us wandering in the labyrinth of life.

The correct answer: “You are the Son of God, God’s own real presence in our world” — that answer is also more than simply correct. It is a personal commitment to follow Christ. To recognize Christ is not only to know some person, but to know that one person who is our guide.

But to know Christ is just the answer to the first question, recognition of reality, of the way things are. Even following Christ is just the spontaneous response to knowing him. We have nowhere else to go, as the disciples said.

Although we have an intense desire to know and especially to be known, we have an even greater desire to love and be loved. After Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” he more pointedly asked, “Do you love me?”

Now, love is a risky affair.

It demands everything but can guarantee nothing. It calls for us to give ourselves completely into another’s hands without being certain we are safe there. True love is a gradual process of getting to know and trust each other. But since there is no final proof possible, we finally look for some sign, some indication from the other that it is safe to take that leap to love. There must be some mutual indication that we are in this labyrinth of life together for life.

God has already given his sign to us in Jesus. God is still patiently, hopefully waiting for that definitive nod from some of us.

April 27, 2008 — 6th Sunday

Easter Reasons for Hope

I

Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource www.celebrationpubs.org ROMAN LECTIONARY 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 1 Peter 3:15-18 John 14:15-21 Revised Common LECTIONARY 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 17:22-31 1 Pet 3:13-22 John 14:15-21

Anglican LECTIONARY 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 17:22-31 or Isa 41:17-20 1 Pet 3:8-18 or Acts 17:22-31 John 15:1-8

Patricia Sánchez has been contributing to Celebration for over 25 years. She holds a master’s degree in literature and religion of the Bible in a joint degree program at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York.

n the 1998 movie “Hope Floats,” Forest Whitaker directed Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. in a love story that was both happy and sad. Dumped on a TV talk show by her husband of several years, Bullock’s character, Birdee Pruitt, returned to her hometown with her daughter, Bernice. Only with difficulty did she adjust to life without her husband and to life again under her mother’s roof, among friends and acquaintances in the town of Smithville, Texas. Eventually, peace, acceptance and a new love came into Birdee’s life in the person of Justin Matisse (Connick Jr.). One day, not long after her mother’s sudden death, Birdee passed on to Bernice some of the wisdom she had learned from her mother when she was a girl: “Momma says that beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts the most. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up. And it will, too.”

A similar wisdom speaks to us in today’s readings. In the excerpt from 1 Peter, the early Christian author encourages the recipients of his wisdom to be ready to explain the reason for their hope to anyone who asks. The hope of believers lies in the person of Jesus Christ, who suffered for sinners to lead them to God. Jesus died in the flesh so as to live in the Spirit, and in that capacity, Jesus remains with us. This is the hope that buoys our spirits.

It had been sad to part with Jesus when he died; it had also been sad to lay him in the tomb. But as the disciples pondered their circumstances and all the possibilities that lay ahead, they drew great hope from the promise Jesus had made to them before he left. He had promised to send them an Advocate (Gospel, John) who would be with them in the beginnings that were scary, in the endings that were sad and especially in the middle that counts the most. In the power of the Advocate, who is the Spirit of truth, the disciples of Jesus would always know his presence. A source of strength and continuity, the Spirit enabled them to begin to spread the good news and blessings of salvation beyond Jerusalem and far from Judah.

One of the initial outreaches made by the nascent church was the work of Philip (first reading, Acts), a Greek-speaking Jew of the Diaspora who, along with Stephen and five others, was appointed by the community to serve the needs of the church. This was an auspicious but scary beginning made possible by the Spirit of Jesus and sustained by the hope that floated up like a life vest on an often chaotic sea. New beginnings evolved into the lengthy and productive middle in which we continue to live. Just as our ancestors in the faith were empowered

by Jesus’ own Spirit, so is the church of the 21st century.

This same Spirit enables the church to deal with what Walter Brueggemann has called the “out-in” tension that characterizes its mission (Texts For Preaching, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky.: 1995). While the Acts text and Responsorial Psalm for today represent the church’s journey “out” to the nations to welcome nonbelievers, the Gospel and excerpt from 1 Peter are a journey “in” to the life and needs of the believing community. This “out-in” tension seeks, at one and

Jesus died in the flesh so as to live in the Spirit, and in that capacity, remains with us.

This is the hope that buoys our spirits.

April 27, 2008

PREACHING

the same time, to take on the world mission with fervor while honestly acknowledging its own necessary distinctiveness.

We who live with this “out-in” tension, who are called to initiate new beginnings and to make new inroads continually, are to have hope in God’s power and presence.

This power and presence, affirms Brueggemann, can make a decisive difference in the nations who will accept it, as did the people of Samaria (Acts). This power and presence will give the church staying power and resilience in its struggles to do good (1 Peter). This power and presence are revealed decisively in Jesus and through his Spirit; it is the mission of the church to make that same power and presence operative everywhere (John).

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 With the martyrdom of Stephen, the seeds of the faith began to be sown outside Jerusalem. Philip the evangelist was among the first to bring the good news from Judah to Samaria. Philip’s success is amazing, considering the longstanding enmity between Jews and Samaritans (see 2 Kings 1, 20ff; Ezra 4:1-5; Sir 50:25-26). Although Jesus reached out to Samaritans (John 4) and featured one of them as a true neighbor in one of his parables (Luke 10:2937), he and his message were not welcome in Samaritan territory (Luke 9:51-54).

Nevertheless, when Philip went there to preach about Jesus, his success, as described here by Luke, bore remarkable testimony to the power and presence of the Spirit enabling him to do just what the Johannine Jesus had promised: “Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father” (Gospel, Fifth Sunday of Easter).

While it may seem inconceivable that we could do greater works than Jesus, believers are to remember that it is only because of the Spirit of Jesus that such works become possible. Those great works that 2 | April 2008

rESOURCES

April 27, 2008

Easter 6th Sunday Reasons for Hope

Philip and company were able to do attest powerfully to the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. A dead and buried Jesus could not have inspired or empowered such efforts, but a risen Jesus could and still does move the church to great acts of goodness, service and love.

Because of the healings of all sorts that Philip performed among the people of Samaria, and because of the power of the good news of salvation to inspire their believing, many were baptized. This sacramental action, as told by Luke, was overseen

by Peter and John, who went from Jerusalem to Samaria. Notice that even though Samaria was north of Jerusalem, their journey and all other journeys from Jerusalem are described as “going down” (vv. 5, 15), in order to emphasize the city’s central role. Also emphasized here is the authority of the Twelve (represented here by Peter and John); here and elsewhere in Acts, Luke was careful to describe all major actions and the forward progression of the church as taking place under their auspices.

For this reason, many scholars doubt the historicity of the events detailed in vv. 14-17 and regard them as a Lucan attempt to maintain one united Jesus-movement comprised

of those who were in communion with the apostolic witness to the risen Jesus (Acts 1:22).

This intention is further illustrated in the action of Peter and John laying hands on the Samaritan believers, there imparting the Holy Spirit. Here, as well as in Acts 10:4448 and 19:1-6, Luke has distinguished between baptism in the name of Jesus and the conferring of the Spirit.

In each case, the Spirit is conferred through one or two of the Twelve or by Paul.

While this may be Luke’s way of preserving the role of the church in regard to the bestowal of the Spirit, baptism and the gifts of the Spirit are more closely (and correctly) related elsewhere in Acts (see Acts 1:5; 11:16). The same Spirit who came upon the Samaritans that long-ago day continues to settle upon contemporary believers in Jesus, stirring our minds and hearts.

1 Peter 3:15-18 Theologian Johannes Metz once called the history of humankind a history of suffering because for all the great achievements that have been made, there have been millions who have suffered and died in the process (Theology of the World, Herder and Herder, New York: 1969).

Nor is the church exempt from suffering, said Metz, because the church is part of the world.

But in that world, with its history of suffering, the church must bear witness to hope for the sake of those who struggle. Indeed, the church “is the universal sacrament of hope for the salvation of the world” (Metz, op. cit.). Because of this, the church must be the liberating and critical force of this one society, revealing the truth that hope is living for the other.

When writing to encourage his suffering, struggling contemporaries, the author of 1 Peter attempted to stir in them a hope that would sustain and strengthen them.

His words reach out to us today with similar power.

Readers of 1 Peter are called to be ready to give an explanation for

PREACHING their hope. In Greek, the word translated as “explanation” is apologia and implies that we should be ready to defend our faith and witness to our hope. Earlier in this letter (2:15; 3:1-2), as Pheme Perkins has pointed out, the lifestyle of the believer was held up as the primary form of witness to others (First and Second Peter, James, and Jude, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky.: 1995). Here, there is more than the silent witness of one’s way of life.

In this text, the ancient writer calls upon his readers to engage others in an ongoing conversation. Their apologia must do more than explain and defend; its ultimate goal is to convert the other to Jesus.

The author of 1 Peter calls for believers to show gentleness and reverence in their demeanor in bringing others to conversion. Rather than threaten or criticize or attempt to frighten others into living an upright and holy life, believers are to go about their daily routines in such a way as to cause others to want to be a part of their world, to share the reason for their hope.

This witness to Jesus Christ, in both word and work, is not the mission of a few. It is not the mission of only the ordained clergy or professed religious. It is the proper work of every baptized believer. This had been the work of Jesus and the Twelve. It became the work of Paul and Stephen and the others. Through Philip, this work of witnessing and hoping began to be shared by the believers in Samaria. Now it is our turn.

John 14:15-21 In the sequel to his classic work Jesus Before Christianity, South African Dominican priest Albert Nolan has observed that deep down, most people today feel totally insecure (Jesus Today, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, N.Y.: 2007).

All the news seems to be bad news; wars, murder, abuse, violence, terrorism and the destruction of our own environment weigh heavily.

In the face of all this, feelings of hopelessness seem inevitable. Yet the Johannine Jesus reminds us that

rESOURCES

we have reason to hope, because, through it all, his own Spirit remains with and within the believing community. Because of the Spirit’s presence, believers have an ever-renewable resource of grace, enabling gentleness and kindness in the face of meanness and prompting peace and justice where there would otherwise be violence and hatred.

Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit, who in John’s Gospel is called the Advocate, was made near the end of his time with his own. Jesus made provisions and offered assurances to them like a loving older brother who had come to terms with his own imminent demise but was pained and concerned for those he would leave behind. He might be gone from their sight, but never from their hearts or minds. In the person of the Advocate, Jesus would remain — and even more than remain. In the words of the Johannine Jesus, “You will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you” (v. 20).

While believers may understand Jesus’ promise in a cerebral sense, we have to take his words to heart if they are to accomplish their true purpose. Jesus intended that the Spirit be our comfort, our companion and our chastiser, as well as our challenger in all things.

This same Spirit enables us to keep what Jesus has referred to as “my commandments” and thereby to show our love for him. To discover what these commandments are, we have only to review the wise counsel of the Johannine Jesus, who invited his own: “Love one another as I have

6th Sunday of Easter

loved you” (15:16). “Wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow so that as I have done for you, you should also do” (13:14, 25).

“Feed my lambs … tend my sheep” (21:15, 16). “Do not be unbelieving, but believe” (20:28).

In a world that Albert Nolan (op. cit.) has described as one that makes most people feel hopeless, these acts of love and service could prove to be powerful antidotes. However, for these antidotes to be effective, believers must become even more attentive to the workings of the Spirit within.

Each of us who claims to belong to Jesus will have to allow the Spirit to be unleashed among us. We have to be sensitive to the fact that the Spirit blows and speaks and enlightens in ways that may be unexpected, even unwelcome and untimely.

While the world in which we are to live, love and serve may not recognize the presence of the Spirit, Jesus’ disciples do know and recognize it, as the Johannine evangelist has attested (v. 17).

Therefore, insists Charles Cousar, the church cannot be complacent even in moments of uncertainty and confusion (Texts For Preaching, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Ky.: 1995). Nor can the church put its head in the sand or look the other way when the gap between its values and the world’s values continues to grow exponentially.

The church that is possessed by the Spirit of Jesus is responsible for bringing hope to this world.

Sermon Starters Dick Folger We have all experienced the pain of parting. Perhaps you can remember leaving home as a young person and finding an unsuspected note tucked away in your belongings. The note might have been from your mother, giving you some final instructions and telling you how much she loves you and will miss you.

Like a loving parent, Jesus says goodbye to us and his disciples in today’s Gospel. He tucks a note into our belongings when he promises that he will send the Holy Spirit to be with us always. What seems to be the end of something is really the beginning of something new.

April 2008 | 3

April 27, 2008

PREACHING

Preaching to Youth Jim Auer KEY VERSE(S) / MAIN IDEA (1 Pet) “Venerate the Lord, that is, Christ, in your hearts.” (John) “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Paraclete … he remains with you and will be within you … I am in my Father and you in me and I in you.”

The indwelling of the Trinity.

BACKGROUND NOTE It may help to review briefly the doctrine of the Trinity and the Incarnation as it relates to the Trinity.

HOW YOUTH MIGHT APPROACH THE READINGS Why doesn’t it feel as momentous as it sounds?

STARTER A young girl asked her mother, “Is it really true that God is inside us?” Her mother answered, “Of course, honey. God is really inside you.” “Well then I hope he likes spaghetti and meatballs,” she said, “because that’s what he’s getting.”

LEADING QUESTIONS * Where is God? * Why are we slow to take God’s presence within us seriously? * Would we behave differently if we really believed this?

DIRECTIONS TO EXPLORE * Note that none of the passages says God is within us “sort of,” “in a way,” “a little bit” or “figuratively speaking.” * 1 Peter assumes that we will encounter some disbelief or resistance for believing God is within us. * “Sanctifying grace” is a participation in the life of God and the root meaning of grace is God’s immeasurable favor. * God loves us and therefore shares the divine life, whether we feel it or not. * God’s presence in others has ramifications on our behavior.

MEDIA LINK To many people, the divine indwelling seems more an inspirational fantasy than a reality. The film “Enchanted” seems to begin this way. The princess Giselle falls from her fairy-tale world of Andalasia into the real world of New York City. But in the end, everything comes together into one reality and a celebration of who we are. The indwelling of the Trinity likewise is not fantasy, but, thanks to grace, is an integral part of who we are.

4 | April 2008

rESOURCES HOMILY Fr. James Smith

Loneliness Should Not Be Jesus promised not to leave his friends orphaned because he knew the pain of loneliness.

Loneliness tends to grow on us with age. We gradually lose our colleagues at work and recreation; then our friends fade away or die.

We lose interest in things that used to energize us, so we slowly reduce the size of our world. If we are not careful, our real world can be reduced to a chair in front of the television. We can become so alone that we don’t even know we are lonely.

But loneliness can occur at any age, to anyone. A child’s birthday party is over, and she thinks: “All my friends went home and now I am alone.”

A thousand people pass through this church on Sunday morning; then I am left alone in an empty church.

You make love to your spouse and then think: “I have been as close as humanly possible to the one I love most, yet I am still alone.”

What is wrong with being alone?

Rocks are alone, trees are alone, animals are alone — with no apparent ill effects. In fact, a lonely rock is a symbol of integrity; a lone tree against the horizon is a sign of permanence; a wolf is proud of being a loner.

Nevertheless, loneliness is one of the greatest human pains. The very fact of loneliness proves that it should not be. It is like evil: The only way we know there is evil is by contrast with goodness. If there were no such thing as truth, then lying would not be bad. If there were no such thing as beauty, ugliness could not exist. And if we were meant to be alone, loneliness would not hurt.

Ah, there’s the secret! As God once said: “It is not good for

human beings to be alone.” It is unnatural, inhuman for us to be utterly alone in the world. We cannot bear the burden of life all by ourselves. We cannot by ourselves maintain our position in this vast, impersonal universe.

One is a cruel number.

What we need, what we desire, is to be part of someone else. Our greatest human pleasure is to be embraced, enfolded, cuddled, cared for, sustained, supported, appreciated — that is, to be loved.

But there is a difference between pleasure and joy. Animals have pleasure through their bodies, but can have no joy without a soul. Angels can have joy of spirit but no physical pleasure. Only humans have the dual benefit of pleasure and joy.

It begins like this. God who is spirit has the joy of creating us humans. We have the pleasure of being loved by God. Then we experience the joy of loving God in return. Which gives God great pleasure. It is an infallible plan.

Then why are there so many lonely people? Because so many people refuse to love or be loved.

Because love can be as painful as loneliness. To be loved is to allow another person to have a controlling influence in your life. To be loved is to depend on another person for your happiness.

And to love is to be active, assertive, to insinuate yourself into the privacy of another person. It is to influence their decisions and actions, to further their good in ways they may not like. To love is to make the happiness of someone else dependent on you.

The choice between love and loneliness is the hardest choice we ever have to make. It is fortunate that love is good and loneliness is not.

April 2008 Second Week of Easter (cont.)

Tues., Apr. 1: Acts 4:32-37; John 3:7-15

Homiletic starters and scriptural reflection points for each day of the month

The community of believers was of one heart and mind. Given today’s political, religious and social climates, such an idealized image of any community, religious or not, seems unlikely. It’s easy to dismiss such a picture as a remnant of the past, only possible in the very early days of the church when believers were filled with zeal and urgency. But we’re only saying that to let ourselves off the hook. We think that working for the good of all is impossible, so we don’t even try. We accept divisions as inevitable. We focus on our own narrow interests, rationalizing that we’ll take care of ourselves and others can take care of their own. We are reluctant to impose our views or our will. But we are not called to do those things; we are called to deny ourselves, to reject antagonism and to reconcile. We will never achieve a unified community when competition and individuality are the norm. That we may glorify God in one voice, we pray. PR

Wed., Apr. 2: Acts 5:17-26; John 3:16-21

Francis of Paoli, hermit Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned. God did not offer the sacrifice of the Son to have us perish. The gift of salvation is ours. We simply must believe and accept it. We do not work for it; we cannot earn it, but, sadly, many choose to reject it. If we are condemned, it is not through God’s will. Damnation comes from our own choosing to deny the precious gift of God’s love. We must not take this gift for granted, however. Each day we must choose to accept God’s grace and to testify to what we have seen and heard. Our Messiah came to eliminate the darkness. We must conduct ourselves in a way that reflects the light. That we may gratefully, continually accept the gift of salvation, we pray.

PR

Thurs., Apr. 3: Acts 5:27-33; John 3:31-36

Celebration: A Comprehensive Worship Resource www.celebrationpubs.org The Lectionary provides a kind of spiritual script for the universal church that keeps us, literally, all on the same page as we journey through the liturgical seasons.

These short reflections, written by four authors who meet regularly to share the readings, are intended to help daily preachers and others who pray from the assigned scriptures each day to orient themselves to the Living Word addressed to the church in the world. Authors are identified by their initials, with short bios provided on the last page.

He does not ration the gift of the Spirit. Our God is generous beyond our comprehension. We receive more than we need and surely more than we deserve.

We cannot measure the Father’s love, but we can certainly see evidence of how giving our God is. John tells us that everything has been given over to the Son; in our belief in the Son, we receive the greatest gift imaginable: eternal life. May we always strive to use the many gifts given us for the glory of God. In gratitude for all good things that come from the Father, we pray. PR

Fri., Apr. 4: Acts 5:34-42; John 6:1-15

Isidore, bishop and doctor of the church But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them. If we act in Jesus’ name, we need not fear failure or rejection. God’s light and truth will prevail.

If we speak the words of God and testify to his power, we will share in the glory of the Resurrection. We cannot be timid. We can do anything with God at our side. Who better than Jesus to calm our fears? What better to guide our ways than the strength of our convictions and unwavering fidelity? If we truly believe what we profess, we can depend on God to guide and protect us. God is our only source of unfailing hope. Nothing can destroy that. Relying on Christ, we pray. PR

Sat., Apr. 5: Acts 6:1-7; John 6:16-21

Vincent Ferrer, priest ‘It is I. Do not be afraid.’ We waste a lot of time in needless worry and fear. There are certainly legitimate reasons to be afraid, but we tend to fear many things over which we have little or no control. When we are caught in the turmoil and tumult of such fear, we need only look to the Lord and trust in his goodness and mercy. The Lord hears our prayers and knows the secret terrors of our

April 2008

DAILY

hearts. Through the Resurrection, Jesus conquered fear and death. We need to surrender our fears to Jesus and to be courageous in faith. In letting go of our anxieties, we open ourselves to a deeper relationship. We acknowledge that God is with us in our times of chaos. We may still find ourselves in frightening situations, but if it is God who calls us there, we must trust that we are safe. That all who live in fear may find peace and comfort in the Lord, we pray. PR

Third Week of Easter Mon., Apr. 7: Acts 6:8-15; John 6:22-29 They could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. The story of Stephen, the first martyr, continues today. Last Saturday we heard that he and six others were chosen to tend to the material needs of the community. They were the first deacons. Suddenly Stephen is not only working in the first-century food pantry, but his preaching has caused him to be brought before the Sanhedrin. Commentators point out that Luke is intent on showing Stephen to be like Jesus, even down to the charges brought against him: blasphemy, threatening the temple, challenging Mosaic law. This first martyr was not a great scholar or a priest. He was one who told the simple truth and ministered to the poor. We’re called to do the same. O God, bless those called to be deacons and inspire all of us to testify to the truth when we speak and serve others when we act. pbs

Tues., Apr. 8: Acts 7:51-8:1a; John 6:30-35 You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it. Stephen’s story continues. The Lectionary doesn’t include his great speech in Acts 7, in which he provides a quick summary of Jewish history — Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David — and a scathing commentary on those who persecuted the prophets, right down to those who murdered Jesus, the one foretold by all the prophets, and who are now persecuting the disciples of Jesus.

Enraged, they stone Stephen to death. Among them is a Pharisee named Saul. This is the beginning of the separation of the Christian Jews from institutional Judaism. O God, open our ears and our hearts to your truth so that we may recognize your prophets among us. pbs

Wed., Apr. 9: Acts 8:1b-8; John 6:35-40 Saul was trying to destroy the church. By his lights as a Pharisee, Saul was doing God’s will when he dragged those early Christian men and women out of their houses and sent them to prison. We know what happened on the road to Damascus as Saul-become-Paul saw the light.

One wonders how this man trusted his own perception ever again. Perhaps the memory of those Christians he persecuted haunted him in his darker hours. Meanwhile, Philip was preaching in Samaria and those outcasts, the enemies of temple Jews, were joyfully turning over their lives to Jesus. If Jesus comes for outcasts and sinners, where does that place us? In pretty interesting company.

O God, save us from complacency and self-righteousness and fill us with the joy of turning over our lives to you. pbs 2 | April 2008

BREAD

Thurs., Apr. 10: Acts 8:26-40; John 6:44-51 ‘Look, there is water. What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ This passage has a special place in my heart. I happened on the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch as I was trying to decide if I was ready for baptism.

I wasn’t really, but it didn’t stop me or the charismatic priest who performed the honors. Too high a percentage of converts, including those who enter through the RCIA process, cease to practice their faith within a year or two. They join the second-largest religious group in the United States — lapsed Catholics. The church of the RCIA process is vibrant, relevant, meaningful to our day-to-day lives. Perhaps it is not the challenges of our faith, but the lack of challenge that allows so many to drift away. O God, give us the faith of our ancestors and the opportunity to live out that faith in our daily lives. pbs

Fri., Apr. 11: Acts 9:1-20; John 6:52-59 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. Try to imagine the mind of Ananias. He, along with other disciples in Damascus, is waiting in fear for Saul, the persecutor of Christians. The Lord appears to Ananias and tells him to walk into the arms of this terrorist, announce that he’s a Christian, and lay hands on Saul to heal him of his blindness. Who can blame Ananias for questioning: “Uh, Lord, you know who this guy is, right?” Ananias did as he was told. It was an act of faith and obedience that changed the course of history, an act of love and forgiveness that marks the disciple of Jesus. Lord Jesus, help us to hear your voice and follow your command to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors. pbs

Sat., Apr. 12: Acts 9:31-42; John 6:60-69 The church … was at peace … and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit, she grew in numbers. Paul has been received as a brother among the Jerusalem Christians, albeit with some understandable trepidation. Luke now turns his attention to the ministry of Peter, who visits two major cities — Lydda and Joppa — where there are growing Christian communities. In each of these communities, Peter performs a miracle — the healing of Aeneas and the raising of Tabitha. Paul the former zealous persecutor of Christians and Peter the former cowardly denier of Jesus — these are the two whom God chose to lead our church.

In the Gospel, we hear Peter’s words that should be our own: ‘Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ pbs

Fourth Week of Easter Mon., Apr. 14: Acts 11:1-18; John 10:11-18 ‘What God hath made clean, you are not to call profane.’ We sometimes act as if we know better than God. (We don’t.)

How surprised, not to say shocked, Peter must have been to realize the major changes God was working in the way he had always lived! For most of us, change is often either much too sudden or much too slow. If we are to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in building God’s Kingdom on earth,

DAILY we must remain open, attentive and malleable. Change for the better will come, in God’s time, not ours. Meanwhile, we should “Pray as though everything depended on God; work as though everything depended on us.” Come Holy Spirit, remake us into the dynamic, active community of love that Jesus came to establish on earth. mew

Tues., Apr. 15: Acts 11:19-26; John 10:22-30 My sheep hear my voice. Have I heard the radical Gospel message so often that I no longer take it personally? Do I truly consider the meaning of “I have come to cast fire on the earth” or “Love one another as I have loved you” or “Whatever you do to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you do to me”? The Lord not only speaks to me in the scriptures, but through the church, through the faith community in which I worship, and through the faces and voices of all people who hunger — for bread, for hope, for peace in the world or in the family, or perhaps only for a kind word. Lord, grant that I may see your face and hear your voice in all I meet. mew

BREAD

Ordinary Time

take comfort and courage from this promise and continue working for the Kingdom with renewed strength. Lord Jesus, you are the Way that leads to eternal life. Remind me that my goal is perfect union with you, now and forever. mew

Sat., Apr. 19: Acts 13:44-52; John 14:7-14 Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. The first Pentecost ushers in the last act of the Great Drama. The spread of God’s Kingdom is to be accomplished through God’s people — including me! The good words and deeds of my life, dedicated to Christ through the Holy Spirit, become part of “greater works” of which Jesus speaks, even though it might never seem so to me.

Let us remain watchful, always ready to do the work of Christ. My word, my smile, my vote, the stand that I take can bring the Kingdom of God on earth closer to fulfillment. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. mew

Fifth Week of Easter

Wed., Apr. 16: Acts 12:24-13:5a; John 12:44-50

Mon., Apr. 21: Acts 14:5-18; John 14:21-26

The word of God continued to spread and grow. We do not know when Jesus will return for us in glory, but we don’t need to. We need, rather, to live each day attuned to the Gospel challenge. Missionaries are not just those heroes, past or present, who travel to distant places to spread the Gospel. The word of God within us burns to be heard everywhere, not only to the ends of the earth but to the height, breadth and depth of our spheres of influence.

Today, I will read the scriptures prayerfully and ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to spread the Gospel where I find myself, if necessary in words, but especially in actions.

Lord, shine in my life so that others may be warmed by your light. mew

‘Master, [then] what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?’ Our lives are steeped in mystery. We ask what seem to be legitimate questions of God. But what do we do when our questions are met with not-an-answer? We should listen carefully and humbly acknowledge what God knows about us: We don’t even have the right questions. Let us quit barking up so many wrong trees and, rather, keep our focus solely on knowing and loving God. With St. Anselm, let us pray: “O God, let me know you and love you so that I may find my joy in you; and if I cannot do so fully in this life, let me at least make some progress every day.” For progress in knowledge and love of God, we pray. ecw

Thurs., Apr. 17: Acts 13:13-25; John 13:16-20

Tues., Apr. 22: Acts 14:19-28; John 14:27-31a

‘Truly, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master.’ Rejection is hard to bear. Like John the Baptist, we often work hard to witness to Christ in word and action, but as often as not, find ourselves misunderstood, ignored, ridiculed or even in some way penalized for our fidelity to the Lord’s word. “It’s not fair! I’m trying to do the right thing.

Why don’t people listen?” The answer to our perfectly legitimate question takes us to the cross, because that’s where it led our Master, and we are his servants. But if we are faithful, the same hard road leads us beyond the cross to the Resurrection. Dear Lord, teach me to follow you in all things and to trust you to bring me safely home. mew

Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. None of us wakes up in the morning and says, “I want to spend this day troubled and fearful.” Yet for many of us, being fearful and troubled has become our habit, and finding and accepting the peace of Jesus may well depend upon our developing an effective practice of letting go of fear and worries. We may need to wake each day and tell ourselves firmly: “I will not be troubled and fearful today. I will remember to be happy and confident in the Lord.” Let us seek the peace the Lord gives and replace bad habits with good ones. In Jesus, we can trade troubles for contentment and fear for gratitude. For the grace to let go of troubles and the fortitude to say “no” to fear, we pray. ecw

Fri., Apr. 18: Acts 13:26-33; John 14:1-6 ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.’ Our heaven begins here in this life as we join Jesus, our Lord and brother, in the “family business” of spreading God’s Kingdom of peace, love and justice. Jesus reminds us that he wants us to be happy with him now on earth, on our journey in him who is the Way here as well as after death, when we join him with our loved ones in the fullness of the Resurrection. Let us

Wed., Apr. 23: Acts 15:1-6; John 15:1-8 He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

Many a would-be athlete knows the pain of being cut from a team. Those who do survive cuts also may come to know more pain than they had anticipated. Discipleship, likewise, is no picnic, but everything worthwhile has its price. Once on the team, the athlete is expected to be part of a winApril 2008 | 3

April 2008

DAILY

ning strategy. For the true disciple this entails remaining in Jesus. How do we maintain a strong, deep, abiding relationship with the Lord? Let us pray, study the sacred scripture, join in fellowship with other believers and work in service to others that we might bear much fruit and so glorify the Father. For ever-deepening love for Jesus, we pray. ecw

Thurs., Apr. 24: Acts 15:7-21; John 15:9-11 ‘I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.’ “Joy is the surest sign of the presence of God,” wrote Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and joyful people certainly convince us of this. Even in the midst of great difficulty, they are confident of God’s love and care. Joy is a holy fire within them, inexplicable strength. Moreover, their strong sense of God’s presence in their life is matched by a fervent desire to share that experience with others. We miss an important point if we think we will grow in faith by grim determination. Rather, our need is for greater joy in the Lord, joy that will help us grow ever more faithful to his teachings and obedient to his law of love. For joy that is complete, we pray. ecw

Fri., Apr. 25: 1 Pet 5:5b-14; Mark 16:15-20 Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. To be human is to be acquainted with suffering. We may be afflicted with physical pain, mental anguish or emotional distress. Financial or relational difficulties may plague us. From within the dark holes of our pain we may easily imagine the whole world as happiness and light. But, of course, we are not alone in what we suffer. As we endure personal hardships today, let us pray for those whose suffering is especially grievous or intense. Let us also seek the intercession of St. Mark, evangelist, who highlights for us the suffering of Jesus and the cross as our means of salvation. For unity with Jesus in the trials we face … for the poor and the destitute, we pray. ecw

Sat., Apr. 26: Acts 16:1-10; John 15:18-21 ‘If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.’ The bad news about the Good News is that those who carry it inevitably become targets of persecution. We may think that we are the lucky Christians who deal with little or no overt hostility. Let us not be mistaken: We face real threats, but we are fooled by their subtlety. Hatred often wears the guise of seduction. Do we know where to draw the line on consuming and pleasure? Have we forfeited compassion in our pursuit of power? Generosity in our quest for wealth?

Each new day carries the challenge to be in the world but not of it. Let us renew our commitment to be authentically countercultural followers of Christ. For strength to resist the seductions of wealth, power and pleasure, we pray. ecw

Sixth Week of Easter Mon., Apr. 28: Acts 16:11-15; John 15:26–16:4

Louis Mary de Montfort, priest; Peter Chanel, priest … and the Lord opened her heart. Amazing things happen when we allow the word of God to take root within us. Al4 | April 2008

BREAD though she was considered a worshipper, when Lydia truly listened, the Lord prompted her to act on what she heard.

Her belief was no longer merely internal. Her household was baptized, and she welcomed Paul and his company into her home, offering hospitality and waiting on them.

Let this be our prayer today — that we, too, can open our hearts to all God’s people, that we may work for unity and healing, that we may offer peace and hope and that we may show hospitality, generosity and love. That we may graciously serve others, we pray. PR

Tues., Apr. 29: Acts 16:22-34; John 16:5-11

Catherine of Siena, virgin, doctor of the church For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. The apostles should rejoice, not grieve, at the imminent departure of Jesus. He has fulfilled the Father’s will and returns to him triumphantly. Jesus has risen in glory. What better way to prove the indictment against Jesus false than to conquer the death his accusers tried to impose? They are all witnesses to his victory. Death has no hold. Satan has no power. Come, Holy Spirit, teacher and comforter. Guide us in the ways of the Lord, we pray. PR

Wed., Apr. 30: Acts 17:15, 22–18:1; John 16:12-15

Pius V, pope The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands. We will never fathom the immense power of God. It is fruitless to apply our inadequate imagination and vocabulary to such a task. In doing so, we only limit our understanding and trivialize whom we believe God to be.

We cannot compartmentalize God as a Sunday endeavor or as a comforter in times of sorrow to be dismissed when something better comes along. We do an even greater injustice to our Creator, as well as to creation, when we lay claims to God. If God created the whole human race, then God is a part of all of us. Our God cannot be contained and must be shared with all. In awe, we pray. pr

Daily Bread Authors Patricia Russell graduated from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Mich., with degrees in English and secondary education.

Paige Byrne Shortal earned a bachelor’s degree in theology at Saint Louis University and a master’s degree in pastoral studies at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.

Mary E. Waldron received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in theology from Marquette University in Milwaukee.

She later earned a doctorate in American studies from Saint Louis University.

Elizabeth C. Williams has a bachelor’s degree in education from Southeast Missouri State University and a master’s degree in theology from Aquinas Institute of Theology.