Homily for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Year B Acts 1:15-17, 20-26/ Psalm 103/1John 4:11-16/ John 17:11-19 THEME: United we stand, divided we fall

The period of Novena is a reminder to all of us that the Holy Spirit is a person and personhood presupposes a relationship. If we fail to relate to the Holy Spirit, our Christian journey will be fruitless. What is to become of Jesus´ followers when he has returned to his Father? What can they expect? Should they withdraw from the world? Should they disband and disperse? And if not, what spirit should animate them? In the wake of the Ascension, these are vital questions – questions, in the last analysis, about the Church – that today´s liturgy addresses. As we approach the great feast of Pentecost, Mother Church reminds us that united we stand, divided we fall. In his prayer to the Father the night before his death… it is clear that in Jesus´ mind and intention, his disciples are to remain together. Further still, they are to be so closely united as to be one, "as I and the Father are one". That the apostles understood this is witnessed to not merely by the fact that after the Ascension they all gathered together in the Upper Room awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, as he had commanded them, but that they immediately set about choosing a successor for Judas (First Reading). Jesus, in fact, chose twelve, and as "the Twelve" they were known in early Christian tradition. The number is specifically related to the twelve tribes of Israel, the fullness of God´s people (see Luke 22:29-30; Matthew 19:28). Becoming one, they are to call together all his people in one "gathering" (qahal, Hebrew, or ekklesia, Greek), which in English we call the Church. Jesus´ Church is not to hide itself away. In fact, Jesus has "sent them into the world", precisely so that through them others can come to believe (John 17:20). However, they are to be different ("not of the world"), animated by a different spirit: "consecrated (i.e., set apart)… by means of the truth". The world – in greater or lesser measure in different epochs – will value expediency, or fame, or pleasure, or popularity, or power, or wealth; but what sets his followers apart is their dedication (consecration) to teaching the world the truth about God, about man, about life and death. In the gospel reading of today, Jesus exercises his priestly character distinctly by interceding for his disciples. As a priestly people, our role as intercessors cannot be under-estimated. The emphasis in this section is on the safety of the believer; God keeps His own (John 17:11-12). Our safety depends on the nature of God, not our own character or conduct. When he was on earth, Jesus kept his disciples and they could depend on him. “I kept them in my name” (John 17:12). If the limited saviour in his humanity could keep them while he was on earth, should he not be able to keep them now that he is glorified in heaven? He and the Father, together with the Holy Spirit are surely able to guard and secure God’s people. We also have the fellowship of the Church: “That they may be one, as we are” (John 17:11). The New Testament knows nothing of isolated believers; wherever you find saints, you find them in fellowship. Why? Because God’s people need each other. Jesus opened his upper room message by washing the disciple’s feet and teaching them to minister to one another. No wonder the disciples discovered how weak they were and how they need each other. The believer, then, is secure in Christ for many reasons: the very nature of God, the nature of salvation, the glory of God and the intercessory ministry of Christ. A very ancient tradition about the apostle John –essentially transmitted to us in the entire letter from which today´s second reading is taken – tells that when the apostle was very old, his disciples used to carry him into the liturgical gatherings of the Christians at Ephesus, and ask him to speak, and that every time he would repeat the same few words: "My little children, love one another," over and over again. It was deeply ingrained in John´s memory that this was Jesus´ last will and the distinguishing mark he had willed for his Church: "by this all will know that you are my disciples" (John 13:35). The various "names and images" applied to the Church in Sacred Scripture (CCC 751-752) offer a mosaic that fills out our understanding of this mystery, of which we – in our local church – are a concrete realization. The Church was prepared for and instituted by Christ himself (CCC 763-766), in continuity with the Father´s plan of salvation (CCC 759-762). That it gathers around the "college" of the Twelve, and their constant, ongoing replacements, the bishops, is part in Jesus plan – the Church is not hierarchical by accident of history, but in its essence (CCC 874-887). (In the impossibility of dealing with all of these in any depth, they could form part of an overview, or some elements left for another occasion). The oneness that Jesus willed for his Church should manifest itself at different levels namely unity of faith with the Holy Father. With our bishop: among the very earliest post-Testament writers, St Ignatius of Antioch insists on nothing with greater frequency or urgency than the unity of all the members of each local church with their bishop. Unity in the celebration of the Church´s liturgy in our parish, setting aside personal preferences is what the Church stands for from its etymology ecclesia. Unity with other Christians in the spirit of ecumenism especially in this age and time of the proliferation of Churches cannot be over-emphasised. In conclusion, the Word of God which Jesus gives us today brings us joy, love and power to live a holy life. It also gives us what we need to serve Him as witnesses in this world. Jesus prayer that the Father should sanctify us is not for the purpose of selfish enjoyment or boasting; it is that we might represent Christ in this world and win others to Him. We are reminded that as the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, ours is not to become proud or adopt a holier than thou attitude. Instead, we are called to witness and we had better obey. How can we be overcome by the world when we have the Word of God to enlighten us, enable us and encourage us? All of these suppose faithfulness to the truth, and all are nourished, brought forward and sustained by living fraternal charity.

Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year B Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48/ Psalm 98/1John 4:7-10/ John 15:9-17 THEME: True love perfects our joy

The New Law is a law of love (Gospel) that is valid for everyone. It is universal and requires universal love, for theological love, by nature, cannot exclude. This is made manifest in the opening of the doors of the Church to non Jews (First Reading), in which Peter discovers that “the Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power” (Responsorial Psalm). Knowledge of God through faith leads to an all-giving love for God (Second Reading), and here we see that the fulfillment of the New Law is tantamount to a life of the theological virtues. Today's gospel gives us two models of personal relationship to Jesus: as a servant (in Greek doulos means "slave") or as a friend. At any given point in our faith journey one of these two models is dominant. Either we see our relationship to Christ mainly in terms of master-servant or in terms of friend-friend. With the exception of mystics, traditional lay spirituality in the church has usually followed the master-servant model. Jesus is seen more as a master to be feared, respected and obeyed than as a friend to love in intimacy and familiarity. The gospel reading, therefore, challenges us to rethink our relationship with Christ because, evidently, Christ himself prefers to relate with his disciples as friend to friend rather than as master to servant: "I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends" (John 15:15). Jesus says that he would no longer call his disciples servants. This seems to indicate that he called them servants until then. Our relationship with Christ goes through different stages. First it starts off as a master-servant relationship when we are new to the faith, but then as our relationship with Christ deepens it changes into a less formal friend-friend type of relationship. Why, then, do so many of us stick to the master-servant way of relating to Christ as if it were the only way? Today's gospel is a call for us to move beyond the infant stage, the servant-master relationship, and go over to the adult stage, the friend-friend way of relating to Christ. This will change the way we pray and the way we live. We shall begin to pray better (John 15:7) and to experience more peace and joy in our lives, as people do who are in love. One objection that is often raised by those who promote the master-servant model of relating to Christ is the concern that we are unworthy. Sure enough, we are not worthy. But Jesus has already taken that into consideration. He reminds us that "You did not choose me but I chose you" (John 15:16). If he has decided to chose us in our unworthiness and to love and accept us as we are, then we should not fix our gaze on ourselves and ask, "Who am I, Lord, that you should love me?" Rather we should fix our gaze on him and ask, "Who are you, Lord, that you love me so?" How can we tell the difference between the irreverence and disrespect shown by those who have no serious relationship with the Lord and true familiarity which grows out of a loving relationship with Him? The key is keeping the Lord's commandments. Yes, God loves and accepts us as we are, but God loves us too much to leave us as we are. We love babies as they are, yet we want them to grow up. God expects us, similarly, to grow in His love. The Lord's offer to us of friendship and intimacy with him should not be an excuse for callousness and indifference. Just as God showed His love for us in deed by sending his Son to die for us, so is true love for God always shown in deed by the way we keep the twin commandments of love of God and neighbour. By this we can know if we are truly Christ's friends, because, "You are my friends if you do what I command you" (John 15: 14). “God is love.” Such an affirmation is simple and absolute. Nonetheless, to enter into this mystery and truly understand it requires more than intellectual knowledge. To know that God is love requires our participation in his divine love. Authentic knowledge of God is only born in a simple heart that is open and attentive to him. Ultimately, this knowledge of God, of divine Love, is a personal experience. “Man”, says John Paul II, “is constantly tempted to distance himself from the source of love” (Veritatis Splendor). The harmony is broken, and man still searches for peace, life, and a solution to this tragedy. The solution is indeed, a personal relationship with Jesus.S Out of love Christ offers himself to the Father as innocent, expiatory victim for the sins of the world: “Yet he was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins. On him lies the punishments that brings us peace, and through his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Upon giving his life, he not only re-opens the gates of heaven, but he gives us a new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). This new commandment is a compendium of the New Law, which, like goodness itself, is given to creatures. And it is in living this new commandment that man rediscovers his happiness and peace, his very life. “Jesus asks us to follow him and to imitate him along the path of love, a love which gives itself completely to the brethren … to the end.” Nonetheless, “Following Christ is not an outward imitation, since it touches man at the very depths of his being…. To imitate and live out the love of Christ is not possible for man by his own strength alone. He becomes capable of this love only by virtue of a gift received. As the Lord Jesus receives the love of his Father, so he in turn freely communicates that love to his disciples” (Veritatis Splendor 20-22). In conclusion, I celebrate all mothers today in particular because I feel that mothers are the strongest personification of love and that we learn from them as our first teachers how to love. May we love each other as our mothers love us, and may the joy that Christ offers fill your hearts and stay with you each and every hour of the day, comforting you when inevitable suffering or pain passes by. And this is the Good News we need to share with each other every day!

Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B Acts 9:26-31/ Psalm 22/1John 3:18-24/ John 15:1-8 THEME: The Vine Dresser watches

The Christian life is a profound communion with Christ, the true vine, and with his body the Church. Anyone who is not united to him through faith and love (Second Reading) is no longer alive with the divine life, nor serves any purpose (Gospel). Those who remain united to Christ learn to reproduce his way of life in themselves and are fruitful, thus building up the Church. The Gospel reading today reminds us that being a member of the Church is something much more profound than simply subscribing to a series of doctrinal statements. It is a question of an internal communion of each believer with Christ, such that the life flowing through the trunk (Christ and the Church, his Body) and the members is one and the same. It is the life of the children of God, communicated to us in baptism, and by virtue of which “we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission” (CCC 1213). The gospel writer uses the word Abide or Remain eleven times (11 x) which is an indication that we cannot be fruitful Christians if we do not remain or abide in Jesus. Indeed, it is our being with him that will animate our ministry and give it life and vigour. Abiding in Jesus does not mean just been his companion. The word abide in this context means integration. We must be integrated in Christ. This is what will guarantee us salvation. The author of the fourth gospel reminds us again that apart from the Lord, we can do nothing. This is because the vine dresser cuts away the branch that does not bear fruit. What this cutting suggests is total annihilation of him who is cut off. However, he prunes that one that bears fruit so that it can bear more. A necessary suffering and discipline is needed for those who bear fruit so that they can bear more. This means that we are invited to abide in the Lord our entire life not just for a day or a year. There is always the temptation in every human being to become independent of the Lord especially in our moments of joy. However, the moment we become independent of Jesus, we are totally annihilated. We need to consciously and constantly depend on Jesus because the vine dresser is always watching and ready to cut off and prune. Indeed, we can do nothing without him. This is what the Psalmist emphasises when he says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain” (Psalm 127:1). Finally the author says, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you and that you joy may be complete. Indeed, “the resurrection of Jesus Christ has given hope to the yearnings of humanity” says Pope Benedict XVI. Life is not worth living without Christ. The kind of joy that Jesus invites us too is one that is not borne out of personal aggrandizement but one that Jesus himself gives. This means that our joy is incomplete without Christ. The allegory of the vine, therefore, reveals the common bond uniting all Christians brought about by baptism. “Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church …the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn” (CCC 1271). We are all under the watchful care of the Vine Dresser. Being a Christian does not just mean being part of the community of believers. It is developing a personal relationship with Jesus. Unlike trees, Christians who have the misfortune to lose the sap of divine life through sin can return to life through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. More important, however, is nourishing and strengthening that life through the Sacraments, prayer and the exercise of Christian charity. The Eucharist is the most privileged source in which we can seek to strengthen our unity with the Vine. God is the Father and divine Gardener who cares for the vine, and is constantly stripping the branches of excess growth that stops them from bearing fruit. That excess growth is evident when we are dedicated to adding surplus fat to our body, our spirit, our wallet, or our self-conceit. God’s intervention may come in the form of illness, disappointments, personal or business failures, and adversities of many other kinds. We are tempted to protest at his intervention: it is painful. In fact, we often fail to recognize what he is doing at all; “how can God allow this to happen to me?” But only if we accept it, even to the point of thanking him for it, will our lives overcome the sterility that threatens them and bear the rich fruit he has destined them to. In sum, we will be most fruitful if we become real disciples of Christ by learning to love as he has loved us. If we express it in deeds, it will be a visible sign of our belonging to him and a vivid invitation to others to join us. God changes His workmen, but His work goes on. And you and I are privileged to be part of that work today. The vine dresser is watching.