Spiritus Sanctus

Wednesday of the 5th Week of Eastertide
Acts 15:1-6 | Psalm 121(122):1-5 | John 15:1-8

There’s a whole lot of cutting going on in today’s scripture, though anyone who’s expecting rapier wit in today’s reflection will be sorely disappointed.

Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved. (Acts 15:1)

The Jews cut themselves as an enduring sign of God’s Covenant with Abraham, but we Catholics endure a different sort of cutting:

I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes to make it bear even more. (John 15:1-2)

Even as “fruitful” children of God, we still need to be “pruned” regularly to get rid of dead or overgrown stems, those that suck nutrients away from the task of bearing fruit.

So we are called to partake of the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly, to make us reflect on aspects of our lives that draw us away from God and from others.

So we are called to reflect on daily scripture, and pray fervently and often, so as to give us the inspiration and moral strength to discard all things that run counter to our call from God.

All the temptations, all the distractions, all our sins; these must be pruned from our lives, so that our central focus remains on sharing the life-giving love of God with our neighbors, and thereby help them to draw closer to the Almighty.

With the pruning shears of confession and absolution, and the guidebook that is the Holy Bible, let us be trim and slim, and thus be fruitful and multiply in faith.

Amen.

Tuesday of the 5th Week of Eastertide
Acts 14:19-28 | Psalm 144(145):10-13a,21 | John 14:27-31

Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you,
a peace the world cannot give,
this is my gift to you. (John 14:27)

Such a precious gift it is, the peace of Christ. Freely given in love, limitless in scope.

Are we keeping it for ourselves, or sharing it with others?

Our local bus drivers seem to have been coached to greet passengers as they board, though some do this better than others.

Do we ignore them when they greet us, treating them like they don’t exist except as peons to serve our needs?

Or….

Do we greet them in return? Do we preempt them with a “Good morning!” from our hearts?

When we head out to lunch at the local food court, we often find the only unoccupied tables piled high with dirty plates and bowls. We behold tired cleaners struggling to keep up with the task at hand, while office workers ignore the “Please Clear Your Tables” signs and rush off after wolfing down their meals.

Do we imperiously beckon the nearest cleaner to work on our chosen table tout de suite? Do we then unload our meals from their trays, then proceed to dump prawn shells and meat bones all over the table?

Or…

Do we quietly clear the table ourselves, taking some care not to spill leftover gravy and soup? Do we eat carefully, dropping the inedible portions into our trays? Do we bus our trays after eating?

In short…

Do we suck peace from other people like spiritual vampires?

Or…

Do we give peace to others, enlivening them and easing their troubles just a little?

Lord, You shared Your merciful peace with Your disciples, and with us who are their spiritual brethren. Remind us always not to hoard that peace, but to share it with others in this troubled world, so that all may know the love and hope that flow from You. Amen.

Monday of the 5th Week of Eastertide
Acts 14:5-18 | Psalm 113B(115):1-4,15-16 | John 14:21-26

“Friends, what do you think you are doing? We are only human beings like you. We have come with good news to make you turn from these empty idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that these hold.” (Acts 14:15)

No one is willing to admit to idolatry, but most of us practise it to one degree or another.

TripAdvisor: “St. Peter’s statue – touching his feet brings good luck.”

Poor St. Peter, getting an unwanted pedicure.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

When we touch a statue of Mother Mary, or even the foot of Jesus on His cross, what goes through our minds?

Wah, touch statue liao, tomorrow sure get job one!

Sounds a lot like He-Man drawing from the power of Grayskull:

But when we don’t get that job, do we stop touching Mother Mary, or Jesus? Now that we’ve proven to ourselves that this statue can’t work miracles, do we move on to St. Joseph, or St. Francis of Assisi, or something else?

Hey, look! That statue over there must be lucky, otherwise shoulder won’t be rubbed smooth, right?

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

Or do we think to ourselves, as we gently press our fingers against the feet of Mother Mary, or Christ Himself:

My God, You know what I truly need in my life,
so let it be done unto me according to Thy word.

There aren’t enough idols on this planet if we’re only concerned about our good fortune, but when we turn to God and abandon ourselves to Him, we’d be carrying our own “statue” within us, to touch and be touched at every hour of every day.

[…] the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all I have said to you. (John 14:26)

Come, Lord Jesus, send us Your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. Amen.

5th Sunday of Easter (Year A)
Acts 6:1-7 | Psalm 32(33):1-2,4-5,18-19 | 1 Peter 2:4-9 | John 14:1-12

The Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you too, the holy priesthood that offers the spiritual sacrifices which Jesus Christ has made acceptable to God, may be living stones making a spiritual house. (1 Peter 2:4-5)

It bears remembering that a church is not just a building of concrete and glass.

It bears remembering that a church without an active faith community…is just a building.

It bears remembering that we are the church.

We are the walls made of living stone, building with each other an edifice to the glory of God, with Christ as the keystone.

We gather together, bonding tightly against the assailing winds of worldly temptation, moving together against the earthquakes of secular assaults, always linked in one faith, one baptism, one God who is Father of us all.

We may live independently in this world, each journeying through life as best we can, choosing different directions that could change at any time.

But when we come together as a church, all these I‘s are subsumed in an all-encompassing WE, one voice hailing the great I AM.

✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞

My parish is currently going through a rocky period, as we all try to adjust to our “new management”. When “Wait, you want us to do what? WHY?!?!” becomes a distressingly familiar anthem, it can be hard to remember our place in God’s plan.

We are living stones.

We gather around Christ.

We form one church.

Let us build a house where prophets speak,
and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek
to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness
and as symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus.
All are welcome, all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.

https://youtu.be/Sba9cHv9TG8?t=76

Amen.