We had about 20 people today at our last Zoom Mass and if you couldn’t be with us, we missed you but hopefully, the message here will be of comfort. –Pastor Kathy

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May 30, 2021

   My friends, my homily of three years ago has some thoughts which I don’t think I could say better, so will repeat today with some updates.  Each year, our Church sees fit to celebrate a Sunday that not only allows, but actually implores us to look deeply at who God is for us.  The word, “trinity,” we all know, speaks to the phenomenon of a God who is present to us in theology and in other ways too, as three distinct persons, yet comprising one God.

   We are asked to believe this whether we can fully understand it or not.  And when it comes to matters of faith, things that we can’t really get our minds around; I think it is best to come at them with our hearts.  Our hearts are wiser.

   Whether we can truly understand the concept of three persons in one God is not as important, I think, as understanding the idea that we are truly loved by our God.  And how do we know this? We know it because of Jesus, who as the second person of this Triune God became one of us humans in time.  That too; we can’t truly understand, but we can understand the motive behind the action—LOVE.

   Contrary to an older theology, still touted by some today that Jesus came primarily to redeem us from the fires of hell by dying on the cross; Jesus actually came as many present-day theologians suggest, and I agree, as a direct and pure expression of a God, who as Creator, loved creation beyond all measure.  Jesus lived, loved, taught, and shared life with us humans, always showing us the way to be our best selves. And in time, he died a cruel death designed for those who didn’t follow the rules. He died because of how he chose to live, demanding that all were equal and that we, as his sisters and brothers, must do the same. Understandably, his demands were met with some push-back, especially from those in power. 

   Now, to design a theology of errant humanity in need of redemption is perhaps an easier way to go than to give humanity the true picture of a God who loves over-the-top.  When we teach the later, that of a God who loves without end, our task in this world becomes much more pronounced too—we can hardly do less!

   Today’s readings give us three pictures of God.  It is important, I think, to see them in progression to get the full image of who God truly is for us.  If we were merely to stop with the first reading from Deuteronomy, we might tend to see our God as exclusive, choosing a small band of Israelites over all of creation. Better that we continue on through to the New Testament readings from Paul and Matthew to see the completion in Jesus who said upon leaving the earth, “I will always be with you, even to the end of the world!” 

   Now that having been said, the writer of Deuteronomy says this: “Know this today and take it into your hearts.”  And from there, the Deuteronomy writer seems to be saying, in my understanding, “God has basically walked with you and will remain with you.” 

     Paul fleshes this out for us in his letter to the Romans expanding the theology.  He says that through the Spirit, our God has adopted us, adopted us all—we are heirs, with Jesus, in the great family of God.

   Now the notion of God choosing us as a people in Deuteronomy is a good starting place as long as we see the completion of that in Jesus’ stories of the Prodigal and that of the shepherd leaving the 99 to go in search of the lost one. Both stories depict the over-the-top love of the Creator for the created! —a love intended for all!

   So, on this Trinity Sunday, a day that calls us to consider who God is for us; I will share who God is for me.  I often speak of God in the Trinity as Creator, Savior and Spirit.  This concept is devoid of gender, per se, except in the person of our brother, Jesus, who when you think about it, probably gave us the most androgynous view of the good of both genders, female, and male.  I can most effectively have a relationship with Jesus because of his presence, in time, as a human being, and I believe this was the wisdom of our God in appearing in human form—to tell us in a way that we could understand, how much we are loved and cherished, each one of us. 

   God as Creator, I choose to see in all of created life—in all the beauty, the joy, the attempts to be people of peace and understanding.  And when, in our world did we ever need those two traits more? The psalmist today speaks of God beautifully as the Creator and prays— “May your faithful love be upon us, O God, as we place all our hope in you.” 

   The Spirit, for me, is that force within that gives me the courage to say the hard things, to do what I might not always want to do for fear of being rejected.  The Spirit is really the life of Jesus, in a new form. 

   To this point I would like to give a concrete example out of my life.  You all know that the organization, GRASP (Great River Asylum Support Partners) is working diligently within our community to make safe and secure and loved, our first family from Honduras. 

   To this noble endeavor, each of us brings all that we have as persons. Some of us see the small picture (this family, which, by the way, is no small task) and others see a larger picture (helping more families in the future, thus planning facilities for them).  Some of us see that we can do both, others are more conservative and basically fear what we don’t know.

   As one of the pastors in this group, I for one, challenge us toward “balance” (somewhere between fear and passion, fully expressed) and perhaps more importantly, faith, as most come out of some sort of faith background.  You will be hearing more on this in future. 

   Suffice to say that on this Trinity Sunday, when we are asked to reflect on who God is for us—how in fact God has revealed the Godhead as suggested above through Creation –Love-over-the-top in Jesus and the Spirit who, “keeps” as another writer has suggested, “Jesus’ presence before our eyes, in a new way; we might look again, and again at Jesus’ way in the world. 

   Jesus challenged systems that were unfair and unjust toward the poor, the marginalized—such as women.  The powerful of his time objected as they were content, but Jesus said basically, no, until all are content, I won’t be silent. 

   My friends, you know as I do, that there is much injustice in our world.  One of those injustices I addressed here—that of our fractured immigration system.  Our world and especially, our country, struggle with racism and all its ramifications.  We struggle too in our country defining what freedom is—on the one hand, as a friend said recently; we demand, and rightly so, that babies and young children be in secure and safe car seats and on the other hand, nearly everyone who wants to have a high-powered gun in this country, can have one!  We could go on…

   But on this Trinity Sunday, let us pray for each other that we can come to an ever larger idea of who our loving God is—first in Jesus and in how he attempted each day in his earthly life to challenge people to their best—because of a Creator God, he lovingly called, “Abba” –equivalent to our “Daddy or Mama” and then sent his Spirit, like unto himself, only different—to continually remind us of all that Jesus taught in his life among us.  Life can only ultimately be good for me; if in fact, it is good for all others too!   Amen? Amen!

Dear Friends,

As I said in the bulletin this week, Pentecost signals the time when we need to truly “walk the talk” of our journey with our brother, Jesus. The Apostles were strengthened in the Spirit and we should realize that we as confirmed followers of Jesus have that same strength to calm our fears and more fully do what is “right” in our world. My prayer for each of us is that we would always know that what we do that is good in this world is always supported by our brother Jesus, in his Spirit. Peace and love, Pastor Kathy

P.S. Never hesitate to give a call, 507-429-3616 or email me, aaorcc2008@gmail.com if I can help in any way, or even if you would just like to chat.

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Entrance Antiphon

The love of our God has been poured into our hearts by God’s Spirit living in us, Amen.

Let Us Pray

Opening Prayer

God of Light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds.  Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit, we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus lives and loves us with you and this same Spirit—one God, forever and ever—Amen.

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Readings:

• Acts 2: 1-11
• 1 Corinthians 12: 3-7, 12-13
• John 20: 19-23

Homily:

Friends, Pentecost is our clarion call to “walk the talk” of Christianity—Pentecost is for grown-ups in their faith—it is about action, about moving out of our comfort zones, not looking to anyone else for guidance, but our brother Jesus, who truly showed us the way to go, even to the cross. Now, you might be wondering, why would I want to do that, especially the cross part? And, I can only answer, because that was what you and I signed on for on our confirmation day! 

   That day was not just about getting a new set of clothes, having a party with family and friends, receiving gifts, but about making a conscious effort to live more from our hearts, than our heads.  The heart will lead us out of our comfort zones, whereas the head, alone, will never do that. If our confirmation day was the beginning of us as individuals, living more from the heart, then, that was something worth celebrating! And, it is never too late to start! What things in today’s world are in need of this “heart-kind” of living?

   I came upon a real, life example a few days ago that really threw me and I have to admit; I didn’t know how to handle it.  At the end of it all, my “head” was probably more in gear than was my “heart.” As I was leaving the grocery store, in a hurry to my next errand; I became aware of something out of the ordinary.  I heard running water and turned to see a disheveled man, dressed in probably all the clothes he had in the world, urinating on the ground in front of the store. I looked back a couple of times to confirm that I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.  When he was finished, he returned to a bench in the front of the store and sat down. 

   When I got to my car, I sat there for a bit and thought about so many things.  This was surely a homeless man, perhaps with some mental illness, apparently alone in the world, without family or friends.  I thought about whether he was hungry and about returning and giving him some money, which, by the way, I didn’t.  My thinking included, why didn’t he use the rest room in the store? Was that even part of his consciousness?  Had he lost all dignity about his personal self? And finally, how do we as a society, as individuals, let our people come to such an end?

   For all the groups in this town that I have been part of, trying to make a difference in getting the basics of a home, food, clothing and healthcare, to our sisters and brothers who share this community with us; here was yet another one who had fallen through the cracks. 

   I have been reflecting on this poor man, realizing that giving him some money would only be a temporary fix to his problems and would have worked at easing my conscience more than it would have helped him.  Additionally, it comes to me, as I write this—should I/we look at the problems of others as simply their problems, or should we see them as ours too, in the whole scope of our lives as Christians? 

   So, when we think about leading with our hearts, instead of our heads, what do we come to?  “Walking the talk” about being Jesus’ followers, as a true, “grown-up” in the faith—what does that truly mean? 

   Many of us support organizations that help with food and overnight shelter, especially in the colder months and while good and certainly something that we should continue to do, should we not also support legislation and legislators in our city and country that get at the root causes of poverty, homelessness, and all the scourges associated with the above two?  Yes, we should and we must! Unless we didn’t take our confirmations seriously and then, I guess, we don’t have to worry. At the very least, it seems to me, that people living without the basics in this incredibly rich country, should trouble us!

   Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians today, says, “To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”  In other words, if we are going to claim “Christianity” as our own, then our baptisms and confirmations call us to do our part!

   So, this causes me to wonder—if each person is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good—are some of us not accepting the gift? 

• When people are in positions of power, like our Congress and fail to work for the common good, for law and order and safety for all, many of them supposedly Christians, what is going on there?
• In our world, is the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, an ages-old dispute by supposedly religious groups, over the right to a respective homeland, something that should continue over-the-ages with no permanent fix?

Wouldn’t these be places for “hearts” to kick in over “heads” and justice be realized for all?

   Luke’s account in Acts today speaks of many different people gathering in Jerusalem all speaking in differing tongues, yet all being able to understand what the apostles were saying about the wonders of Jesus, the Christ. It would seem, in the presence of Jesus’ Spirit, there can be, “understanding,” when we truly “listen” to each other—probably the larger message here for all of us to grasp—when we take the time to hear another’s story, find out why they feel and act as they do, perhaps more understanding and peace can come.

   So, my friends, with so much in our lives as Christians and deciding what might be the right thing to do in any given situation, we can look to our brother Jesus for guidance.  Where Jesus leads the way, the end result is usually, “peace” – maybe not at first, but throughout the struggle – peace does come. 

   In John’s account of Pentecost, Jesus simply “breathes” out his Spirit upon them, with the words, “peace be with you.”  Shouldn’t we too, as Jesus’ followers bring peace and well-being into the places and spaces that we live?  A huge task, we might think, but together and with Jesus’ Spirit—my hope and dream is that we can all become more “heart” and less “head” people in our response to our world.  Amen? Amen!

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Prayers of the Faithful:

Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”

1. Jesus, thank you for the gift of your Spirit among us—help us to always remember that in this gift you fulfill your promise to always be with us, we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”

• O God, let peace reign in our hearts and give us the strength and grace to be people of peace, we pray in your Spirit—Response:  “Come, Spirit, Come!”

• Jesus, you who said that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend, give us hearts that strive to love unconditionally, we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”

• Jesus, give the gift of hope and a light at the end of the tunnel for those suffering from job loss at this time, also be with all new college graduates looking for work, we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”

• Jesus, you have called us friends—enable us to extend that relationship in our world to those who most need friendship, we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”

• Jesus, you no longer have a body in this world except through us—help us to be your hands and eyes and ears and heart for our world , we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”

• Jesus, your words in Scripture today remind us that we are sent forth—give us the strength to follow your lead in our world and speak truth to power through your Spirit, we pray—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”

• Jesus, in your loving Spirit let us as members of this community, All Are One, always find room at our table for all your people, we pray—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”

•  Loving Jesus, be with all families who have lost loved ones this week, from COVID and all other causes—give them your peace, and help them to find their way through their grief,  we pray—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come”

***Let us pray for the silent petitions on our hearts—pause—we pray, then response

Let Us Pray

   Jesus, be the strength we need each day to be Pentecost people –true to our calling to be people of peace and of love. Let us never falter in our commitment to you and your world. Let us look at your people, always with love, remembering that you have called us friends—that you have given all that we might have eternal life with you. Let us always remember your never-failing love for each person and that because you have loved us so fully, we too must love fully in return.  We are grateful for the gift of your loving Spirit in our lives. Through that same Spirit, give us renewed hearts, strong in our commitment to speak truth to power wherever and whenever needed. Give us what we most need today so that we can more effectively be your body in our world. We ask all of this of you, our Brother and with the Creator and your loving Spirit— all, one God, living and loving us forever and ever, Amen.

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Let Us Pray—Again, we can’t be together to receive from the table, but do know that Jesus is always with us!

Prayer of Communion

Loving Jesus, keep within us the vigor of your Spirit and protect the gifts you have given to your Church, Loving Creator—all one God living and loving us forever and ever—Amen.

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Dear Friends, as we continue in the Easter Season, not surprisingly, the continual theme is, “love” –that which is given, first by God, and then, with the expectation that we would love in return. We do that best by loving those all around us, when it is easy and when it is not so easy. We probably are able to love in these ways best, if we keep our eyes on our brother, Jesus, who truly has shown us the way. This week we remember the gift of our parish and that against many odds, we were called into existence nearly 13 years ago–a gift truly to be grateful for! I know that I am grateful for all of you. So, today, let us pray that our good God would continue to bless us and show us how to love well in our world. And lastly, let us remember all the women who have loved us, “mothered” us during our lives!

Please don’t hesitate to be in touch if I can help you in any way–to listen, to chat, whatever the need might be . 507-429-3616. or email, aaorcc2008@gmail.com. Peace and love, Pastor Kathy

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Entrance Antiphon

Speak out with a voice of joy; let it be heard to the ends of the earth: Our loving God has set us free, Alleluia!

Let Us Pray

Opening Prayer

Ever living and loving God, help us to celebrate our joy in the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ and to express in our lives the love we celebrate. We ask this in Jesus’ wonderful name, who now lives and loves us in a new way with the Creator and the Spirit—all God—living and loving us forever and ever—Amen.

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Readings:

• Acts 10: 25-26, 34-35, 44-48
• 1 John 4: 7-10
• John 15: 9-17

Homily  

As we age my friends, the thought comes to many of us, that we don’t want to be, “just spinning our wheels,” doing those things that don’t matter as much—and the fact is that for many of us, we endeavor, to become, “the change” we want to see!

   It would seem, according to Peter, in the 1^st reading from Acts that the only thing that can stop us, who have received the Spirit, is our “unwillingness to love,” and in every situation, to do the most loving thing.

   Think for a moment how it would be in our world if we tackled some of the most serious problems from a standpoint of love—first.

• Think of issues around “policing” in our country.  If part of the training of police officers was to be cognizant first and foremost that their role in society is to be about service, not power-over or control.  Too many law officers come charging into a scene, guns out and loaded—ready to fire, voices raised—often shouting, escalating rather than de-escalating whatever is happening, and most unfortunately, as is evidenced by too many recent killings at the hands of police officers, targeted at our Black brothers and sisters. 
• Think of the disparity between the rich and the poor in this country as far as the basics of daily living go—when some people need to work three jobs to keep food on the table as compared to the 1% in this country along with the wealthiest companies, who made huge profits during this past year of the pandemic.  Love applied?  I think not!
• Think too of those in our Congress who continually fight to protect the wealthiest in this country from paying their fair share of taxes, often allowing them to pay none at all.  Public servants should be about service, not greed, not power, not control, if and when, love is applied. 
• Think of those in Congress, given the privilege of that office by the voters, who continually do nothing for the betterment of the people they represent—who are only, ultimately, interested in being re-elected.  It is this most, unloving attitude and concern that is behind the present push to unseat Liz Cheney, Republican, in the U.S. House from her leadership role.  She will not lie and is willing to lose her power in order to do the right thing! 
• Think of our Catholic church leaders, bishops, priests—ordained to serve, the People of God, voiceless, many of them, in the face of Black/White disparity, in wages, in positions of power, that we know as racism, voiceless to speak for justice where women are concerned in calls to priesthood, and to leadership, because their power, and control of their system is paramount.  What, indeed, would our beloved Church look like if “love” were the guiding principle?  Someone once said, “It would be like discovering “fire” for the second time!”

   My friends, I don’t know about you, but I personally so long to hear within our Church leadership, that the reason for any particular action is based on the memory of Jesus of Nazareth!  We do follow him, correct?!

   Our good Pope Francis is the most consistent one in leadership to speak from the memory of Jesus of Nazareth, but even he falls short where women and our LGBTQ community is concerned.  We should pray earnestly for him who has spoken most beautifully in Fratelli Tutti about protecting all of God’s created life, and even in, Laudato Si, where a, “change of heart” is called for as one of the key points and that he soon can walk back his inability to truly love and care for the two groups named above.

   Our God’s love is intended for all, not just for us and our family—even the first apostles struggled with this idea of whether Jesus’ love and message of right living was just for the Jews—or in fact, the Gentiles—everyone else too.

   On Monday, our parish will celebrate 13 years of existence and we have been an experiment in Winona as to if a Vatican II parish is possible.  I humbly believe that the experiment is working! 

    This ministry of 13 years, the 10^th of May, has always been about what we do here together, as equals.  This is reflected in the invitation that I repeat at the beginning of our Eucharistic Prayer when we have new people among us, reminding all present that by praying the beautiful words of consecration together, we do make Jesus present!  We must remember that we are all celebrants here—I have the privilege of presiding, but it is together that we make Jesus present among us by our jointly prayed words.

   Peter, again from the 1^st reading today, in response to those around him, wanting to show him, “honor,” says, “Get up!” [I am but a human like you and the Spirit works through all of us who want that gift of power and strength].

 It would seem to me, that our Catholic leaders need to have the mind of Peter and realize their awesome calling to lead and to do that leading, not in a “power-over” fashion, but, “with” the People of God, all empowered by the Spirit.

   As the weeks of Easter are winding down, it is good for us to remember that for the past six weeks, the “message of love” has been almost redundant in the Scriptures.  The purpose, my friends, in my mind, is that in the busy-ness and distractions of our modern lives, we won’t allow ourselves to forget this one simple message of love.  Our brother Jesus speaks this message in the Gospel today and it is echoed in the 2^nd reading, also from John, that our God has first loved us, and our task is to, “love God back” through all of our daily encounters, day in and day out throughout all of the precious days of our lives.

   Jesus’ words, “Love one another as I have loved you,” along with his desire that we would call each other, “friends,” remembering that, as he said, “no greater love can be found than that you would lay down your life for a friend. These ideas, it would seem, must always be present to us, on our hearts and minds so as to better live our lives—in his memory.

   Today is also Mothers’ Day and ideally, most mothers would and do, give their best for their children.  When this isn’t the case, many in this world have found “mothers” who have given them the emotional, and spiritual love needed to become whole people.  For all these women, physical, emotional, and spiritual moms, we give our undying love and gratitude today for the places they have held in our lives.

   In conclusion then, as we remember this week, our 13 years of being a parish, let us keep in mind the ways we have grown as a community of faith, one that has generously given of its surplus time and talent in countless ways to our city, country, and world.  We have stood up for the right and privilege of women as well as men being able to answer their God-given calls to priesthood and for the right of all individuals, regardless of lifestyle choices to be welcome at our table.

   Additionally, as a community of faith, we have, these 13 years, stood for inclusivity, for welcome and for the message of Jesus.  We are grateful for the responsibility of being a true Vatican II parish in this our hometown of Winona, MN.  May we, with God’s grace continue to be true to this call now, and into the future.  Amen? Amen!

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Prayers of the Faithful

Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

1. Jesus, in your risen state, be our guide to live out your loving example toward all people, especially the least among us, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, let peace reign in our hearts and give us the strength and grace to be people of peace, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, you who said that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend, give us hearts that strive to love unconditionally, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, grant each of us a renewed faith during this Easter Season to remain true to you living our lives in truth and justice and love, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, give hope to those who continue to suffer now due to the selfishness of others in our world economies, and be with those who can truly make a difference in producing more equity in our world, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, you call us friends—help us to always remember that you desire a relationship with us that is close, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, help us to see you every day in the faces of all we meet—help us to see your face in all the ordinary events of our lives, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, you who never turned anyone away, be with our community, All Are One—soon to be 13 years old—continue to bless us and assist us to be open to all of your people and guide us to always make a place of welcome at our table, but more importantly, in our hearts, we pray—      Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, send your Spirit into the lives of all your followers to enable them to do all within their power to renew your church so in need of that renewal, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”
• Loving Jesus, be with all families who have lost loved ones this week, from COVID and all other causes—give each one your peace and help them to find their way through their grief, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

***Let us pray for the silent petitions on our hearts—pause, we pray, then response

Let Us Pray

   Jesus, be the strength we need each day to be people of the resurrection—true to our calling to be people of peace and of love. Let us never falter in our commitment to you and your world. Let us look at your people, always with love, remembering that you have called us friends—that you have given all that we might have eternal life with you. Let us always remember your never-failing love for each person and that because you have loved us so fully, we too must love fully in return.  Give us ever more open minds that we might see your face in each person we meet and therefore cease to judge others, but simply try and understand, to put ourselves in another’s shoes and then to simply look on them with love. We ask all of this of you, our loving Brother and with the Creator and your loving Spirit— all, one God, living and loving us forever and ever, Amen.

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Let Us Pray—Again, we can’t be together physically, but always remember that Jesus is with us! 

Prayer of Communion

Loving God, you restored us to life by raising Jesus from death.  Strengthen us by the Easter knowledge: may we feel it in our daily lives—we ask this in Jesus’ wonderful name, Amen.

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Dear Friends, we continue on in the Easter Season and “Alleluia” truly is our song! The readings for this week are about the challenge, in love, to not just speak about it, but to do the loving thing. We hear of our loving God’s desire to be one with us, in Jesus, in the beautiful story of the vine and the branches and the invitation to be “one with God, living in God as God does, indeed, live in us.” Pastor Dick Dahl has given us some wonderfully engaging, challenging and comforting thoughts for this Sunday. Thank you Dick!

Please know that I am here for you if need be, to help, to listen, even to chat–I am a bit behind on my regular calls with some commitments to our new Honduran family in town. For those of you in the Winona area who might wish to help with an evening meal and if you didn’t receive the newest signup tool, let me know and I will send it out. My contact information is: aaorcc2008@gmail.com or by phone, 507-429-3616. Peace and love to all, Pastor Kathy

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Entrance Antiphon

Sing to our God, a new song, for God has done marvelous deeds!  Our loving God has revealed to the nations saving power, Alleluia!

Let Us Pray

Opening Prayer

Good and gentle God, look upon us with love. You have revealed to the nations your saving power and filled all ages with the words of a new song.  Hear the echo of this hymn, sung in love and praise to you in this season of joy.  We ask this of you, and with the Spirit, in Jesus’ wonderful name—Amen.

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Readings:

• Acts 9: 26-31
• 1 John 3: 18-24
• John 15: 1-8

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Homily from Pastor Dick Dahl

Recently Father Richard Rohr had a week of meditations on “Friendship and Grace.” I’m taking the following statement out of context from one of them, but it is still accurate: “… free and gratuitous love is the only love that validates, transforms, and changes us at the deepest levels of consciousness. It is what we all desire and what we were created for. Once we allow it for ourselves, we will almost naturally become a conduit of the same for others. In fact, nothing else will attract us anymore or even make much sense.”

In today’s Gospel-reading Jesus expresses his desire for this kind relationship with us. He says that just as branches share the life of a vine, so it is with him and his followers. How amazing is it that we can not only imagine but can actually share such a life-sharing intimacy with him! He desires it…with you and me. “Remain in me” he says eight different times.

This living bond with him is not experienced in isolation. We may experience it most often through our relationships with other people, and even other creatures such as cherished pets or the beauty of birds or trees and the awesome reflection of his presence in all of creation.

 He says we remain in him when we let his word, his example, guide us. He seemed to always reach out to those whom others rejected or feared—the sick, the disabled, tax collectors, prostitutes, Roman soldiers, foreigners, and the list goes on. Our previous President told people to fear strangers and immigrants. He described them as rapists and murderers. Strangers and outcasts, however, are people whom Jesus welcomed and loved. Or to put it another way, as Matthew’s Gospel does, at the Last Judgment Jesus himself will say, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

Several in our community, including many of you, very recently welcomed a family who had fled terror in their homeland. In them we met, as it were, other branches of the vine who is Jesus. What we have in common is not the same language or nationality, but the dignity we share as human beings. They are enriching us by the example of their courage, their warm gratitude, and the humility they show in accepting the love and support offered them by those of us who are at first strangers but almost immediately become friends.

Today’s first reading from the acts of the Apostles describes how the first Christians learned to become open and welcoming to the man they greatly feared. They knew of him as one who sought to capture and imprison them. Saul the fervent Pharisee must have seemed to them the way an undocumented immigrant family would feel if they heard a person from ICE or the Border Patrol knocking on their door. Saul, however, was transformed into Paul by an intense encounter with the resurrected Jesus. With the help of Barnabas as intermediary, the early Christians opened themselves to accept and welcome Paul into their community. And what a difference he was to make!

Jesus used the metaphor of the vine and its branches to reveal not only how we live vitally connected with him and others. He used it also to teach us that just as pruning is necessary for branches on a vine to grow back with greater vitality to produce more fruit, so it is for us. He used it to teach us about those aspects of life that none of us like to face or think about. Jesus does not hide us from the painful part of life anymore that he hid from it. Suffering takes many forms. It can be anxiety and soul-crushing depression or the slow crucifixion of addiction. It can be physical illness, pain, or mental and emotional confusion and loss. It may shake us to our core from disappointments, failure, betrayal, deaths of those we love most dearly making us question whether we can or even want to go on.

 We likely do not feel blessed when we have such experiences. We don’t want them any more than Jesus did. However, even if we feel alone and abandoned, the Spirit never leaves us. The Holy Spirit is the life force that makes us one with Jesus, just as a vine nourishes its branches. The love that binds us to Jesus is powerful; it is the Holy Spirit…promised and given to us.

This is what it means to be connected to the vine and to remain in him. Pruning is never fun, but, like branches on a vine, it can free us and transform us in ways we would never have expected.

This is the paradox of sharing in his passion, his death and resurrection.

In today’s second reading John writes: If at times your sense of unworthiness leads you to question God’s love for you, John assures us that God knows us better than we know ourselves. Our faith in the Lord and love for others are the sure signs of God’s gratuitous love that transforms and validates our lives.

So, in summary, today’s readings proclaim the here and now personal relationship that Jesus wants and has with each of us. He repeats to us, “Remain in me.” His Spirit enables us to do this by living his word, through openness to others, especially those in need, those who seem different and at first “other.” But just as the early Christians overcame their fears of their former persecutor Saul, we can challenge ourselves to seek beyond the differences that divide us to find what we have in common with others.

And finally, Jesus prepared us for the pruning that our lives may experience. He called blessed those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; those who hunger and thirst for justice (righteousness), for they shall be satisfied; those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Prayers of the Faithful

Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

1. Jesus, in your risen state, be our guide to live out your loving example toward all people, especially the least among us, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, let peace reign in our hearts and give us the strength and grace to be people of peace, we pray—Response:  “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, you who said you are the vine and we are the branches, we ask that you would always remain close to us guiding our lives in the ways of love, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, grant each of us a renewed faith during this Easter Season to remain true to you living our lives in truth, justice and love, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, give hope to those who continue to suffer now due to job loss and for those who live daily with the threat of losing their jobs—show them all the way through this painful time, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, help us to look to Mary, your mother that she might be a guide for us toward compassion, strength and care for our world, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, help us to see you every day in the faces of all we meet—help us to see your face in all the ordinary events of our life , we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, you who never turned anyone away, be with our community, All Are One—especially now as we celebrate 13 years of existence on May 10, 2021—continue to bless us and assist us to be open to all of your people and guide us to always make a place of welcome at our table, but more importantly, in our hearts, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”

• Jesus, send your Spirit into the lives of all your followers to enable them to do all within their power to renew your church so in need of that renewal, we pray—Response: “Loving God, hear us.”
• Risen Jesus, be with all families who have lost loved ones this week, from COVID and all other causes—give them your peace, and help them to find their way through their grief, we pray—Response:  “Loving God, hear us.”

***Let us pray for the silent petitions on our hearts—pause, we pray, then response

Let Us Pray

   Good and gentle God, our source of all strength and wisdom.  We ask that you would give us peace—filled and loving hearts—the energy to always seek after peace through the gifts of lovingkindness and mercy.  Help us to remember that our real task in this world as followers of Jesus, our brother, is to love your people and this world. Help us always to look for inspiration from your mother Mary, a pillar of strength, faith, gentleness and courage. We ask that we might have the strength for these great tasks.   All this we ask of you, Creator God, Jesus, our Brother and your Spirit, one God, living and loving us, forever and ever, AMEN. 

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Let Us Pray—Again, we can’t be together in person, but do always remember, that Jesus lives on in and with and through us!

Prayer of Communion

Jesus, be with us each and every day. We believe as you told us that you are the vine and we are the branches and that if we live in you, you will live in us and bear much fruit.  Give us the grace to follow your lead—we ask all of this in your loving name, Amen.

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