Monday, May 4, 2015

Deacon Steve's Homily - Being Connected to Jesus - Fifth Sunday of Easter, Cycle B


On this 5th Sunday of Easter we come together to worship God and to thank God for the gift of his Son, Jesus.  And we are here to pray together and to feed our souls with Jesus. Our readings this weekend remind us of the importance of being connected to Jesus.  As I reflected on this theme of ‘being connected’, I thought about how we communicate today. In the past century the world has become a much smaller place, and the ability to communicate is nearly instantaneous. We have radio and television. We have cell phones and smart phones. We have computers and the internet.We have email, texting, skyping, facebook and twitter. These work because we have telephone lines, cell phone towers, satellite dishes, wi-fi, and hot spots that help us stay connected with each other wherever we are. With technology we can stay connected with people who are close by or half way around the world.
A few weeks ago, Fr. Vince led a group of parishioners on a pilgrimage to Italy. This is not the first time that he has led pilgrimages, but on this one Fr. Vince used Twitter a lot. Fr. Vince ‘tweeted’ pictures and his thoughts along the way. I followed Fr. Vince’s ‘tweets’, and, although I wasn’t on the trip, I felt, as though, I was connected with him and the others. Here they were, 6 time zones ahead of us, and they were able to stay connected with all of us through technology.  Staying connected is really important.  When we are connected, we don’t feel isolated, and we are able to be part of something much bigger than ourselves. 
Jesus had over 100 names attributed to him in the scriptures. In last week’s gospel, Jesus was called the ‘Good Shepherd.  In today’s gospel reading from John, we hear another name for Jesus. This week Jesus is called the true ‘Vine.’ Jesus says: “I am the vine, you are the branches. ”The relationship that we should have with Jesus is compared to the branch of a vine.  While the vine takes its nourishment from the ground, the branches receive their food and water from the vine.  The vine is the source from which the branches receive their living water. And that’s what gives them life and makes them bloom.  If the living water was to be cut off from the branches, they would dry up and die. My friends, Jesus is telling his disciples and us that in order to live, in order to have a fruitful abundant life, one must be connected to Jesus himself. When we are connected to Jesus, we can do things that might surprise us.
We just read Jesus words: “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” Like the branch that produces an abundance of grapes, we can do much good for God’s kingdom here on earth.  We can praise God in our daily living, especially here at Mass. We can help others, especially the poor and the needy.  We can say “No!’ to the evils around us. We can speak up for the truths that we Catholics believe. But, when we’re not connected to Jesus and our relationship with God is strained, we are limited, and we’re not as fruitful as we can or should be.
My friends, we need to stay connected to Jesus.  How do we do that? Here are some of my thoughts: We stay connected when we take our faith and our relationship with God seriously. When we listen to and follow mother Church. When we read and reflect on God’s word in sacred scripture. We stay connected when we follow the 2 great commandments. When we love God with all our mind, with all our heart, and will our soul. And when we love our neighbor as ourself.

We stay connected when pray and when we spend time with Jesus in the adoration chapel - please consider being an adorer on Wednesdays and First Fridays. We stay
connected when we go to mass regularly and when we receive our Lord in Holy Communion. Last weekend over 100 children of our parish received their 1st Holy Communion.   Our prayer for them is that they always hunger for Jesus and connect with Him in this holy sacrament for the rest of their lives. Just prior to 1st Communion, 88 of our youth were confirmed by Archbishop Tobin at the Cathedral. Our prayer for them is that they will remain steadfast in their faith and realize the importance of staying connected to Jesus. What a blessing it was to witness these events. 

In just a few short minutes we will approach the altar to receive our Lord in Holy Communion. As we do so, let’s imagine that this is our 1st Holy Communion. Let’s receive Jesus with the same reverence, the same wonder and awe that our first communicants did last week. May we remember that Jesus is the true vine that feeds us, the branches.  And being connected to Jesus gives us great joy and leads to everlasting life. God bless you all!

Staying connected to the vine during your busy week - Deacon Ron's Homily - 5th Sunday Easter, cycle B - 5-3-2015



In today’s Gospel Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches to illustrate how we need to stay connected to him if we are to be his disciples and bear fruit with our lives.  If we stay connected to the vine we’ll bear much fruit, but if not we’ll wither and be kindling for the fire. 

We’re all off to a great start being connected to Jesus by being here at Mass.  The Mass is the greatest prayer offered to God. Through the Mass we pray, hear God’s Word, and receive the sacrament of the Eucharist. When we’re dismissed from Mass we’re sent off to put into practice what we’ve received by loving God & our neighbor.  We may leave Mass with good intentions to stay connected with Jesus, but it’s easy to get distracted with the business of our lives.    So how can we stay connected to Jesus so we can bear fruit and not get distracted?  Through prayer, God’s word, and the sacraments.

A great way to pray is what we did this morning: praying the rosary. 
Image from USCCB Website
The rosary is a prayer that keeps us connected to the life of Jesus and it only takes about 15 minutes to pray.  As we pray the rosary we focus on events in the life of Jesus based on the mysteries for the day. Today we prayed the Joyful mysteries, which are the Annunciation of the birth of Jesus, the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, the Nativity of Jesus birth, the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, and the finding of Jesus in the temple.  You’ll find the other mysteries: the Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries listed in this bulletin and on prayer cards in the back of church.  If you have a Smartphone it’s very easy to get an app that will help you pray the rosary.  
Just search for “Mary” in the app store and it will find rosary devotion with audio you can pray along with. As we pray the rosary we can also pray for some particular need: a person who may need our prayers or something you need help with.  I try to pray the rosary myself on my daily commute.   It sure makes the drive more peaceful as it’s hard to get mad at someone while your praying.

Another good way to stay connected with Jesus is by stopping in a church to be with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.   There’s some real power by praying in the presence of
Image from USCCB website
the Blessed Sacrament.   Many churches have special times where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration. We have opportunities for adoration every Wednesday and the first Fridays of the month.  If you have availability there are times you can sign up for an hour of prayer each week, just call the parish office to sign up, or you can stop in for whatever time you have available.  There are even some parishes close by that have adoration available 24 hours a day.   Even if you only can stay five minutes it can be a powerful way to stay connected to Jesus throughout the week.

Reading God’s word can also keep that connection to Jesus strong.  A great way to do this is by reading the scripture for the upcoming Sunday. The readings are printed each week in the bulletin and can be easily found them on the web. There’s also a reflection on the readings printed in the Criterion each week. You can get daily readings sent to you by email, listen to a podcast, or even watch a video of the reading at the USCCB Website.

Attending a daily Mass can also keep you connected to Jesus.  
A Mass during the week is usually only half an hour long.   It’s a much more intimate experience and can be a very peaceful break in a busy week. We have Mass daily, and even have a 6:30 am Mass every Wednesday that may fit in before going to work. You may even have a parish close to your work that may have a daily Mass you could fit in your schedule. I know if you work downtown there are two churches that have 12:00 pm Masses that you can get spiritually fed in over lunch. 

By keeping connected Jesus throughout your week through prayer, God’s Word, and sacraments you’ll be able to bear the fruit in your life by living as his disciples showing love for God and neighbor. 

God bless you!