May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.

Knowledge of Him entails a lot. It is historical knowledge, knowledge of who He is, and knowledge that He is acting now, today, in our hearts and in the world. He is acting through the power of the Holy Spirit as He promissed.

This Solemnity is about the certainty of historical knowledge. It is a fact that Jesus died, rose from the dead, was seen by witnesses, and ascended into heaven before witnesses.

It was not ghost Jesus or a Jesus of the imagination or of hysteria as some scholars state nowadays. It was the Jesus who could be touched and held. It was the Jesus who ate with His Apostles and disciples, who broke bread with them in Emmaus. It was the Jesus standing by the seashore preparing a fried fish meal for His friends. It was the Jesus who questioned Peter about his love for Him.

The world is alive with doubt. We have doubts about our relationships, our jobs, our school systems, and the direction of our country. We doubt ourselves and our decisions. The world is all too happy to open a few more trapdoors for us.

Watch TV. We don’t have the coolest, fastest, sportiest, biggest, most fuel efficient cars. We don’t sleep, eat, or relate in the right ways. Our physical appearance and abilities are questioned. How about another trapdoor?

Jesus may have lived (its hard to refute independent testimony from the historians and religious leaders of the day) and Jesus certainly died. The rest, the world says, is doubtful.

There is plenty of evidence and many centuries worth of apologists to prove the case for the resurrected and ascended Jesus. But what about you and me? What are we to believe?

I welcome you to read the proofs for Jesus. To study the culture of the time and the value of witnesses. I’ve done that and more. What I learned was that all the studying in the world can only edify what I already know by faith.

If you trust in the fact of God’s inestimable, unconditional, all powerful, and overwhelming love then you trust in the fact that He would do what we profess He did. We would trust that, with great love, the Father sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world. He sent Him not just to show the way but to atone and sacrifice Himself for our redemption. We would trust that He loves us enough to die for us. That He loves us enough to want us with Him in heaven, that the world is not the end for us, ashes to ashes, but that the Kingdom of God is our destination. That God would rise from the dead, having sacrificed Himself for us He would show us our promised future, our bodily resurrection and our ascension to meet Him in glory.

If you and I trust in God’s love then no proof is needed, just faith.

With faith we are to go forward. We are to:

—Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved—

We are to be His witnesses, witnesses by faith and by our actions.

Your faith must precede your actions. Your actions must be molded and shaped by your faith. By your faith in the resurrected Lord you will be molded and shaped into that man or woman you are to become.

So with St. Paul I say to you:

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe

Amen.

For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines,
I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’
What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.
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,
nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything.
Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.

I think we’ve reached the stage of human existence where we know all of our gods. Or at least we think we do. Unfortunately, like the Athenians, too many still walk away when they hear the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ proclaimed. They are more comfortable with the gods they know, or their perception of the one true God, to hear about the reality of Jesus. They want the Jesus of acceptance, or persecution, or success, whomever the Jesus is that fits their needs and schedule. They want the Jesus who said ‘whatever you want —“ it’s ok.’ I don’t know that Jesus.

Rather I hear the words of Paul preaching in the streets of Athens:

God has overlooked the times of ignorance,
but now he demands that all people everywhere repent

I love the one true God, Father Son, and Holy Spirit, the God that challenges me to grow, to change, to set aside my comfortable sins and repent.

My brothers and sisters,

All of us are on a journey toward God. We must recommit to making the journey fruitful. You are here tonight to receive Jesus’ body and blood as food for the journey. You are here to worship the one true God in the person of His Son in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar.

How many Biblical passages speak to the fact that the teachings of Jesus are too hard to bear? When Jesus talked of feeding us with His body and that we need to drink His blood, many of the Jews walked away.

In today’s Gospel Jesus says it very plainly:

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”

Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit would come and that we would see clearly because of His gifts. Now we have the Spirit. Believers, those who have faith in the Jesus proclaimed by the Church, know that Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. Take it up, proclaim and teach it, evangelize, and continue on your journey.

—As the Father loves me, so I also love you.—

My dear children and all my brothers and sisters in Christ,

Every Sunday during the Holy Mass we are in heaven – where else would we want to be?

Isn’t it wonderful to be here with your family and friends, with all the people from our parish, some whom you know and others whom you do not know? That’s part of the miracle of today. It is the miracle of the Holy Eucharist you are about to receive.

Part of the miracle is that you will never be alone or unloved.

Look around you. Do you see everyone’s face, everyone that is smiling and happy. They are remembering their First Holy Communion. They are remembering their moms and dads and all the people that came to be with them on their special day. They are also remembering something that we all pray you never forget.

Never forget that you are not alone or unloved.

Jesus told us:

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,

You are not alone because Jesus chose you. You are not unloved because Jesus loves you. With all of His great love He chose you. It wasn’t an accident and it wasn’t a mistake. You are very important to Jesus and He loves you very much. He chose you because He knows you will be His disciples.

Jesus not only chose you, He made sure you would never be alone. Even if you were in a far away dessert or on a very high mountain, even if you were the only person on an island, you would never be alone.

You cannot be alone because Jesus will be part of you from this day forward. He will be part of you in a very special way, just like he is part of all the people around you, all the people who will receive Jesus with you today and from now on.

Remember when I said that the people around you are remembering their First Holy Communion? Remember that I said that you know some of them. You don’t know all of them do you?

The other miracle that happens today is that you will know all these people and many people you will never see or meet. How can you know people you will never see or meet? It happens because Jesus ties all of us together in His body and blood.

Jesus brings us together with people from all over the world. Rich people and poor people, happy and sad people, famous people and people you will never know about, even people you don’t like that much. Jesus brings us together when we all receive His body and blood. We all receive the same Jesus, the whole Jesus, 100%.

When you pray you should remember all those people. Even when you’re happy, remember that there are people who are sad. When you are sad they will remember and pray for you. Pray for those people you don’t like so much. Remember that you are with them, joined together in Jesus. Pray that God will watch over them and protect them. Pray that Jesus will take away the things we are mad or fighting about.

Remember, you are not alone. Jesus chose you, and loves you. He’s with you always. He and all His people are joined together in Holy Communion. Rich or poor, you have Jesus with you, anywhere, anytime you want.

Jesus’ gift to you will last forever. His gift will last forever because He told us it would, because He told us that He wants us to come in, to let Him feed us, to let Him serve us, and to let Him love us. All you have to say is ‘Yes – Amen.’

Every time you receive Holy Communion you will receive the best gift you could ever have. You and I will not always get what we want, but we will definitely get what we need. And what we need most of all is Jesus.

Receiving Jesus’ body and blood every Sunday during the Holy Mass is a moment in heaven – where else would we want to be?

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When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him,
not believing that he was a disciple.
Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles,

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus and most especially today all of you, our beloved mothers,

Poor Saul, fired up for the Lord. He arrives in Jerusalem and tries to join the disciples there. His Jewish friends have rejected him as a heretic and apostate. But Saul is on fire, ready to take on the world and convert all to the name of Jesus. He’s ready to bring them to Jesus’ Church. Saul met a cold, stony wall of silence, both from the Jews and from the disciples in Jerusalem.

Like Saul, our children are born into this world with hearts on fire for the Lord. They are full of hope and consummate wonder at the greatness of God’s creation.

Our children are born into a world that yearns and groans for the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom so easily seen in their love. Children see the Kingdom of God with a love and understanding that surpasses the learning of the sophisticated and the imagination of the theologian. Like Saul our children are called to make the name of Jesus known to all.

Saul, the new believer, on fire for the Lord, needed a friend. Barnabas took him under his wing and brought him to the Apostles. He introduced him to the Church. He not only made all the appropriate introductions, but he bore witness to Saul’s proclamation of the Lord.

Mothers, on this special day dedicated to your honor, reflect on this passage and on what Barnabas did for Saul.

You do the very same thing for your children, born into the world, and into your motherly care, with the fire of the Holy Spirit within them.

These, your children, are not known to the world and the world fears their innocence and love. Like Saul, your children are neophytes to the faith. Like Saul, your children’s coming here identifies them as heretics from the beliefs of and faith in the world.

You, by sacrificing from your very heart, have brought them into the world and, like Barnabas; have taken them under your wing. You protect them and love them. Doing right by them you bring them to the apostles, to the Holy Church. You bring them here and they bear witness to the way you raised them. They bear witness to your faith in Jesus Christ and His Church.

In the beginning their witness is the innocence of love that knows God so well. Their witness is the innocence of love that allows them to see the very plain fact that Jesus loves them and wants to be with them.

If you have listened to the words of the psalmist:

Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.

… then your children will do that throughout their lives. They will forge ahead, and with your love and guidance they will continue to proclaim Jesus Christ, the Messiah. In a time to come, and to a people yet to be born, they will bear witness to His name.

This is your heritage and your gift.

As mothers you hope, pray, and most especially work, non-stop, for the welfare of your children. You wish —“ and more than wish —“ you make possible your children’s ability to reach beyond themselves, to become the gift that God has given to the world from the very instant they were conceived.

You know, as mothers, that your children can achieve greatness, personal success, and perhaps even great fame. Perhaps they will achieve the sort of quiet fame most of us reach. It is the quiet fame of being a good provider, a faithful friend, a good husband or wife. Regardless, you have cooperated in bringing God’s gift to maturity.

Jesus Himself told us that the Father:

…takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

Mothers, you are the branches that have borne fruit. Not just the mere presence of a child, but the presence of a child, who with your love and care, matures into a man or woman of God. The Father has pruned you through the struggles, pains and sorrows you have faced, and has made you the instrument through which your children will become powerful witness for Jesus Christ. Remember to have faith in the fact that the Father makes you into the perfect instrument for the job you have to do.

St. John reminds us that the Father’s commandment is this:

we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.

You understand this well. You live this in your witness, your example to your children and to the world. Because of you your children will have life everlasting. Thank you for giving us this gift. Thank you mom for bringing us to the Lord.

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I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.

Amen, alleluia! This is good news! Jesus not only cares for us as our shepherd, but He knows us. He knows us through and through. He knows us, and even though we are weak and sinful, still loves us enough to voluntarily lay down His life for us.

If you were standing with Jesus the day He said this would you be amazed, confused, happy, or angry? What would you feel? What would you think? Why would you even be there? What are you looking for?

Well, you would know about sheep and shepherds. You would know about the dangers of shepherding. You might even know of someone who was killed by wolves or bandits while protecting his sheep. This wouldn’t be unfamiliar territory.

In John 9 and 10 Jesus is continuing His teaching. All the while He is being tailed by the Pharisees. He is engaged by them and there is a series of accusations and retorts. At one point, later in Chapter 10 the Jews say to Jesus:

“How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.

He’s told them, He’s shown them, and even if He said, right there and then, —I am the Messiah— they wouldn’t have believed Him.

They were not looking for honesty or the Messiah. They were looking for evidence.

This Sunday our parish honors the Blessed Virgin Mary. The young women of the parish will crown this image of the Blessed Mother.

Why?

You well know that our Church does not follow or proclaim dogmas about Mary. We don’t proclaim the ‘Assumption’ or the ‘Immaculate Conception’. At the same time this very parish honors Mary and is dedicated to her. We seek her intercession constantly.

The loyal few who show up on Wednesday evening for Holy Mass, Exposition, a novena to Our Lady of Czestochowa, and Benediction have first hand experience of our love for Jesus’ mother. Every Wednesday and on Friday’s in May we specifically pray for all of your needs and we pray for all the sick by name. We offer up those names to Jesus through Mary.

Why?

Because Mary wasn’t looking for evidence; Mary didn’t demand proof. Mary just said yes. She accepted God’s will and God’s request without asking all the ‘W’ questions.

This past week we read about Ananias. Ananias was the disciple in Damascus who was sent by Jesus to Saul of Tarsus. Ananias, like so many others said yes to Jesus. And, like others he said yes, but…

But Ananias replied,
—Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name.—

Maybe Ananias thought that he had to bring the Lord up-to-date with current events. You know Lord, since Your Ascension a lot of stuff has been going on —“ let me fill You in…

Mary simply said yes. Mary became the Theotokos —“ the God bearer. Mary bore Jesus to us in all His humanity and in all His nature as God.

So today, and every May, we crown Mary, Mary the God bearer, Mary who simply said yes. Mary —“ an example in human flesh of what we are called to be.

As you reflect on Mary’s example and as you reflect on the scripture of the day, recall the words of praise found in our psalm:

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.

Praise and bless the shepherd. Praise and bless Him:

“There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved.—

This is the Good News of our salvation. Rejoice in it.

Amen.

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While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
—Peace be with you.—
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.

Do you have the ghost of Jesus in your life? Do you possess a sort of ephemeral, see-through, not really there Jesus?

The disciples who were gathered together on this day had that kind of Jesus, at least until he appeared to them. They had a Jesus of memory. They remembered His face, maybe a few of His words, and probably were pondering a few of His promises. They had ghost Jesus.

Is that the sort of Jesus you have? You might remember a few of His words now and then. You might think of His promises at times of tragedy. You might even recall some representation of Jesus, a cross, a picture, some distant memory from your days studying the catechism.

I prefer the real Jesus. The Jesus of the cross, tomb, and resurrection. I prefer the ‘fish fry’ Jesus. I love to picture myself sitting down with the Lord for some Dunkirk smoked whitefish. I think we’d have a great time.

Sure, it sounds funny, but that’s the reality. Jesus is real. He is not only real in the historical sense, but in the past, present, and future sense.

No, it is no ghost.

So, if He is not just a passing puff of smoke, but the real living God-man, what are we going to do about it? How are we going to react?

The only reaction that makes sense is to live our lives with His reality. To live our lives in a way that reflects the fact that He is standing right next to you and me. More than standing next to us, He lives within us. He has joined Himself to us through the everlasting gift of Himself in the Holy Eucharist. He joins with us to change us, convert us, and renew us.

It is a difficult burden. You would think that people would run from the Church knowing that they have to live with the reality of someone who places so many expectations on them. You would think that the reality of it all would be too much to bear, especially in light of our sinfulness.

St. John tells us:

But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.

Peter put it even more plainly:

Now I know, brothers,
that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did;
but God has thus brought to fulfillment
what he had announced beforehand
through the mouth of all the prophets,
that his Christ would suffer.
Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.—

Yes, we continue to act out of ignorance. It is a self imposed ignorance. It is the way we cover over the uncomfortable fact that God would die on the cross for us. That He would sacrifice His only Son so that we could be with Him one day in heaven.

Remember that He told us that He came not to condemn us but to bring us salvation.

Therefore, we need to set aside the discomfort of living with the real Jesus, and we need to act. We need to repent of our ignorance. We need to throw open the shades, break out the fish fry, and live with the real Jesus.

Once we have done that we will truly be His disciples, ready to follow His command:

And he said to them,
—Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.

You are witnesses of these things —“ proclaim your witness. Our sins are forgiven. Jesus is alive and real. Life in union with Him is ultimate and everlasting joy. We are changed by His body and blood – and we need to act on that reality.

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Poor Thomas —“ always the subject of today’s homily.

We subconsciously shake our heads and say, how could he not have faith in the Lord? Didn’t he trust his fellow Apostles?

But it wasn’t about faith nor was it about trusting his colleagues; rather, it was about belief.

Belief is more than faith. Belief is factual. Belief is the solid rock Jesus required His followers to stand on.

Sure, Thomas probably had faith, he probably had hope, and he probably trusted his friends, but what he lacked was belief. Belief is the surety. Belief is the absolute knowledge that something is true.

So Jesus said:

—Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.—

That is what we are called to do. To have absolute confidence that our Lord, Jesus Christ is God, was born, taught, suffered, died, was buried, rose from the dead, and established His Church.

My brothers and sisters,

You are called to be a know-it-all on this subject. You are called to arm yourself with the knowledge of Christ and a firm belief in His reality. You are called to believe even if it makes no sense. You are called to proclaim your belief even though it may be uncomfortable.

There are plenty of people in this world who hate a know-it-all. They especially hate people of faith, people who truly believe in the Lord, and proclaim that belief. There are even ministers, priests, and bishops in some Churches who do not believe in the reality of Jesus; they demure on the resurrection, on the Eucharist, and on basic morality. You would be in some pretty good ‘bad company’ if you didn’t believe.

P.T. Forsyth said:

The age, and much of the Church, believes in civilization and is interested in the Gospel, instead of believing in the Gospel and being interested in civilization.

We are called to be believers and to act on our belief, holding to the Gospel. We are blessed with the absolute knowledge of everlasting life, the way to live, the means to be separate from the world, to be in the world but not of it, and the world does not like that.

Jesus told us:

—Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.—

How true.

Now look at the Christian community in Jerusalem:

With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus

They did, and they converted the face of the earth, all because they believed.

John wrote in his letter:

Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The one who believes is victorious.

My friends,

You may be rich or poor, healthy or sick. You may dance though life or carry a heavy cross. Regardless, you must take your simple faith and allow it, through the mercy and grace of God, to be transfigured into true belief.

At the beginning of the Gospel of John we read:

He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

You, my brothers and sisters, are those people. You are those who were born of God in baptism and by the Spirit. You have the power; you have something special, because you believe. Therefore, put aside childish cares and believe.

Christ is risen, alleluia! Go and proclaim it.

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