This Saturday and Sunday we celebrate Pentecost.  Depending on which mass you attend, either the Saturday Vigil mass or the Sunday mass during the day, you will hear either from the Gospel of John Chapters 7, verses 37-39 OR Chapter 20 verses 19-23.

The similarities and differences between these two gospel readings is simple.  First, the similarities are that both readings describe receiving the Holy Spirit.  The gospel reading during the vigil mass refers to the Spirit that is to come to Jesus’ believers:

“Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink.
As Scripture says:
Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.”

He said this in reference to the Spirit
that those who came to believe in him were to receive.
There was, of course, no Spirit yet,  (JN 7:37b-39a)

In the gospel reading during the Sunday mass during the day Jesus showed the disciples his wounds on his hands and side. He said twice “Peace be with you”.  Then he said “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. (JN 20:21b-22).  The big difference is that in the gospel reading during the vigil the disciples are promised the Holy Spirit, and in the gospel reading at mass during the day the disciples actually receive the Holy Spirit.

After receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples are also charged with the awesome divine responsibility to forgive or retain sins:  “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (JN 20:23).  For us Catholics, this is the introduction to the sacrament of Penance that was finally defined by the Council of Trent in 1551 A.D.  Our Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “Christ instituted the sacrament Penance for all sinful members of: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grade and wounded ecclesial communion.  It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as “the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace.” (CCC para 1446).

Jesus instructs his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. He assured them of His constant presence through the Spirit. After ascending to the Father, He calls us to be witnesses, empowered by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. As echoed in today’s psalm—”Shout to God with cries of gladness”—we are encouraged to live lives worthy of our calling.

The period from the weekdays following Ascension until the Saturday preceding Pentecost serves as preparation for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Throughout this upcoming week, the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus is frequently sung at Mass, during Holy Hours, and particularly at Vespers, reflecting its appropriateness for these observances.
Our Paschal (Easter) candle will remain in place between the altar and ambo and continues to be lit through the last mass on Pentecost day.

The Psalmist says that we should live in a manner worthy of the call that we received. In the Gospel, Jesus gives the simple command that the apostles receive: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

The term ‘worthy’ sticks out to me. During my ordination in 2020, the rector of the Seminary stood at the ambo before the bishop and answered a series of questions about me that the bishop had asked. In some dioceses where the diaconate candidates do not attend a seminary, a Dean of Deacons stands in for the Rector. The most important question that the bishop asks is “Do you deem this diaconate candidate to be worthy of the office of Permanent Deacon, and do you deem him worthy as a deacon to baptize in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit? I cannot remember my rector’s exact reply. As he coached my classmates and me in the weeks before ordination, he jokingly told us that, when the bishop asked this question about us, he could answer NO. But thankfully, he answered YES.

But the word “worthy” still sticks out to me this Sunday because Jesus is finally making a very public statement that the apostles are finally worthy of what they are being called to do. But at the end of the day, Jesus gives them a vote of confidence: “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” That is why if we obey the greatest commandment “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,” He will be with us always, until the end of the age.

If each generation could describe how they learned to revere the Sacred traditions of our Church, how would you describe your generation.  I’m a late baby-boomer born in the early 1960s.  My sense of reverence was learned during a period when the Church was just starting the reforms of post-Vatican II.  I remember receiving my first communion kneeling at an alter rail with the alter server holding a patten beneath my chin and I received the communion host on my tongue.  Everybody who received communion received it on the tongue.  Everybody knelt.  There were no blessings given during communion.

Out in the community we did other things with reverence too.  When a funeral passed by, my dad would stop the car.  If you were walking when the funeral procession passed, we bowed with respect for the deceased.  Today people cut in the middle of funeral processions all the time.

Many formalities have disappeared, much like the values of my childhood. Even church traditions of reverence are fading. Saint Peter urges us to honor the Lord in our hearts, and this reverence should inform all aspects of our relationships. Without it, nothing remains truly sacred.  When we demonstrate our reverence to the sacred things and traditions in our Church, we are not doing it for our own recognition.  We are doing it because we recognize that through His godly suffering, Jesus brought us to God.

Peter advises those debating religion (especially online), to argue with courtesy and respect—qualities often missing in political and social discussions. Respect for God and others is essential; while not all courteous people follow Jesus, no discourteous person truly follows His teachings.

In Sunday’s Gospel, we hear Jesus speaking in one of the last supper discourses. We hear Jesus talking about the many dwelling places (rooms) in his father’s house.

How do we get to one of those rooms in the Father’s house? Jesus told us how; he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Jesus is the way; he is to be the foundation of our lives. How do we live the Way of Jesus?

Last week I had the pleasure of assisting Bishop Pohlmeier at our confirmation mass where thirteen of our teenagers were confirmed.  In the Bishop’s homily the bishop spoke about what Jesus said at the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  We hear Jesus say, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.” (Matt 7:24-25). The bishop explained that Jesus is the way to the Father, so his words are the foundation for our lives. If we do not build our lives on Jesus, we have a weak foundation.

Jesus is the way. When we make his words the foundation of our lives, we are on a sure foundation. I think Bishop Pohlmeier said something like this in his homily: “if we continue to build our lives on the foundation that is Jesus, we are building our lives on the rock”. He is the truth who liberates us. He is the life who restores people in every way possible.

Jesus said he is the truth. What does this mean for you?  Jesus helps us understand who we are in the eyes of God. He is the one who shows us our how precious we are because he died to liberate us from sin. Standing before Pilate, Jesus said, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice. (John 18:37) Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to the voice of Jesus. Jesus is the one who liberates us, not only by giving his life in exchange for our sins but also by his teaching, for example, when he told us that when we return to God after being away, there is great joy in heaven—“there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” (Luke 15:7) His truth who sets us free from the past to live His new life.

Jesus is the life. Those who met Jesus had a new life afterwards. Lepers and a hemorrhaging woman who were cured in other gospels found a new life and were able to return to their families and continue to worship in community with their new life. We cannot reach out to touch Jesus’ cloak but in John 6 we read these words from Jesus about the Eucharist: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. (John 6:53-55)

Welcome to the Deacon’s Corner.  This is the first bulletin for the reinstituted Deacon’s Corner.  A deacon’s reflection will be in every bulletin going forward.  Based mostly on the Sunday readings, but will also contain information on Catholic issues and current events that affect our Church.  It is written from a Deacon’s perspective.  That means that I will try to write from a theological perspective but also from that of a husband, father and grandfather.   So let’s jump right into the subject of this Sunday:  Divine Mercy.

In the year 2000, upon the canonization of Sr. Faustina Kowalska, Pope John Paul II instituted Divine Mercy Sunday to promote the message of Divine Mercy. Sr. Faustina was a Polish nun who witnessed visions of Jesus.  In these visions Jesus asked her specifically for a feast day on the Second Sunday of Easter.  He asked that the feast day be dedicated to God’s mercy.

When I was growing up and as a younger man, Holy Week and Easter Sunday was a special time.  My parents always dressed to the nines on Easter Sunday.  We always made the day special with a big feast and I won’t forget the certain favorite types of candy we got. I really just enjoyed the chocolate.  But it always seemed that after Easter Sunday, things went quickly back to normal.  We returned to school and if we saved our candy, mom would add a few pieces to our lunch box.  But other than that, the next week was business and usual.

But Jesus did not want us to return to normal just yet.  He wanted us to participate in the joy of the resurrection a little while longer, rather than just celebrating the resurrection on one day.  Certainly, the timing of the feast makes sense. Liturgically, we have just come through Lent. Jesus’s post-resurrection experiences, especially in the Gospel of John (from which this Sunday’s gospel reading comes), are filled with his acts of mercy.

Jesus’ disciples were still feeling the guilt and anxiety of giving up on their master when He needed them most.  On one level, the apostles did not acquit themselves in ways that would have made them proud of themselves when the authorities came for Jesus.

On another level, consider first his initial words to the disciples, “Peace be with you.” On one level, we can read this as a recognition of the anxieties that Jesus’s disciples must surely have been feeling after watching their teacher suffer crucifixion. This is peace in the sense of calming.  Against this backdrop, Jesus’s offering of peace was an offering of an olive branch, a reassurance that he was not going to hold their conduct against them. He was presenting mercy in the classic sense of forgiveness.

Again, Jesus shows mercy to Thomas, whose doubts were met with kindness.  Jesus responds in mercy to Thomas, insisting that Thomas’s prior acts do not define him in Jesus’s eyes any more than the disciples’ desertion defined them.

We should go forward with these lessons of Divine Mercy, continue to celebrate the resurrection by trusting in God’s mercy and sharing it with others.

Sharing a meal can create a deep sense of togetherness. Most of us carry memories of table fellowship. Many are joyful moments of celebration, laughter, and love given and received. Others are marked by sadness when the absence of someone dear is felt more strongly than the presence of those at the table. Jesus often shared meals with his disciples, and in those moments, he likely shared with them his vision of God’s kingdom. Around the table, they absorbed something of his mind, heart, and spirit. Of all those meals, the one they remembered most was their final meal together, later called the Last Supper. In today’s Gospel, Mark offers his portrayal of that meal.

This final meal Jesus shared with his disciples remained vivid in their memory and has stirred the hearts of believers ever since. He did more than speak about his vision; he gave himself to them in a new way, anticipating the death he would suffer for them and for all the next day. In offering himself through the bread and wine, he declared himself to be their food and drink. By inviting them to take and eat, to take and drink, he was calling them to stand with him and to give themselves to him just as he was giving himself to them.

Because of that supper and what took place there, is the reason we gather in this church today. Jesus meant his last supper to be a beginning, not an end. It was the first Eucharist. Since then, the church has met regularly in his name to do what he did at that meal: take bread and wine, bless them, break the bread, and give both for his disciples to eat and drink.

Jesus continues to give himself to his followers as food and drink. He also calls them to stand with him, to embrace what he stands for, and to live by his values and walk in his way, even when that leads to the cross. Whenever we come to Mass and receive the Eucharist, we make important commitments. We acknowledge Jesus as the bread of life, the one who alone can satisfy our deepest hunger. We also declare our desire to follow him and remain faithful to him throughout our lives, in response to his faithfulness to us. For that reason, we do not celebrate the Eucharist lightly. Familiarity with the Mass and its regular celebration can dull our awareness of its full meaning. Yet each time we gather for the Eucharist, we are brought again to that upper room with the first disciples, and the Last Supper with all it meant becomes present to us once more.