Spiritus Sanctus

Thursday of the 2nd Week of Eastertide
Acts 5:27-33 | Psalm 33(34):2,9,17-20 | John 3:31-36

Obedience to God comes before obedience to men (Acts 5:29)

It’s interesting just how many people would be offended by that statement, if you directed it at them. It’s as if they were thinking: “How dare you put your God before me? I am the power here!”

But to us Catholics, it’s a simple statement of fact…or at least it should be.

God tells us to love one another as He has loved us, to show mercy and compassion to all, without fear or favour. If that conflicts with greed, hatred and other foibles of our “superiors”, do we have the guts to stand firm?

When the cruel military of a mad dictator began their pogroms so many decades ago, one of “their kind” did what he could to hide and save as many victims as he could. His name was Oskar Schindler, and he was but one of many engaged in such acts of mercy.

We may never be called to be Schindlers in our lives, or we may be thrust into the role tomorrow.

When everyone around us is looting and pillaging, physically or otherwise, do we go along out of fear and greed, or do we step back and, in our own way, try to mitigate the damage being inflicted by others?

When a “bank error” is made in our favour, or a harried cashier gives us more than our fair change, do we quietly pocket our “they’ll-never-miss-it” windfall as so many others would, or do we set things right for the poor soul, who might otherwise lose her job over her mistake?

Obedience to God comes before obedience to men.

The simplest dictums are often the hardest to respect.

Lord, we know You love us deeply despite our imperfections. Help us navigate this world’s imperfections with faith and trust in that Love, and spread Your message of hope and mercy to all, especially when our fellow travelers are more focused on their own benefits. Amen.

Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Eastertide
Acts 5:17-26 | Psalm 33(34):2-9 | John 3:16-21

And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, for fear his actions should be exposed; but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God. (John 3:20-21)

I walked into my kitchen late last night to get a drink, snapped on the ceiling light…and nearly dropped my mug. A couple more steps, and I would’ve trod on a cockroach.

A roach. Why did it have to be a roach?

Evidently, the insect was just as startled, by my sudden footfalls and the blinding white light overhead. It immediately turned away and scurried underneath the kitchen cabinets, probably headed for the dank safety of the kitchen drainpipe.

I only realized how much I’d tensed up when I took a cautious step forward…and immediately crumpled from the pain of a pulled ligament in my foot. OW!!!

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The movie trope of a guilt-ridden man perpetrating some naughty deed, while nervously looking around him for curious witnesses, is familiar to us all. The Truth that we Catholics acknowledge deep in our hearts is that God is that curious witness, always watching, always knowing what we’re up to.

Dan Schutte reminds us of this with his classic hymn You Are Near, and with these words in particular:

Where can I run from your love?
If I climb to the heavens You are there;
It I fly to the sunrise or sail beyond the sea,
Still I’d find you there.

There’s no escaping God, and why would we want to? No matter what we’ve done, no matter how many times we’ve done it, He’s just waiting for us to stop, set aside our misplaced pride, and say: “Lord, you know what? You’re right, and I’m wrong. I can’t do this alone, please save me from myself.”

O Lord, I know you are near,
Standing always at my side.
You guard me from the foe,
And you lead me in ways everlasting.

As for cockroaches, I’ll screw up enough courage some day to swat them into oblivion. In the meantime, I’ll settle for reminding myself daily not to act like one.

Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAtfAZ4pcvQ

Saint Mark, Evangelist
1 Peter 5:5-14 | Psalm 88(89):2-3,6-7,16-17 | Mark 16:15-20

Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you up on the appointed day; unload all your worries on to him, since he is looking after you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

Many of my reflections are triggered by incidents and people I meet on the train. That shouldn’t surprise anyone; if we really paid attention to the goings-on around us, each journey is guaranteed to bring newness into our lives.

Yesterday was no exception. I helped a middle-aged man haul a marketing cart loaded with items onto the train, when the wheels got stuck in the gap between train and platform. He turned out to be an itinerant cobbler, but my initial impression was that he was carting a hoard of discarded items around, a veritable karung guni (rag-and-bone) setup.

Rather like this one, but with more stuff.

Would you believe that I’d just finished reading today’s scripture when this incident happened? I immediately made a connection with it, as I thought to myself: What am I still dragging around, that’s holding me back spiritually?

Ten minutes later, on a different train line, another commuter needed help getting his cart wheels unstuck. Two incidents, out of a daily average of zero.

I don’t know what the deal was with all those sudden cart troubles, but at least I got a blog entry out of it.

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I’m sure all of us have daily cares that seem to drown out God’s quiet voice of guidance.

I’ve so many things to do, that I don’t have enough hours in a day.

My boss is an absolute monster! I really want to beat his arrogant brains out, but I can’t feed my family from jail!

The kids are driving me up the wall! Why can’t they just do what I tell them?!?!

I feel a little weird comparing God to the kindly neighbourhood karung guni man, but perhaps it’s time for us to say, in the silence of our hearts:

Lord, these worries and frustrations are of no use to me. They’re just distracting me from the important things in life: family, friends, and You.

I offer them to You, in the hope that You can make something of them, and offer in return some small inspiration, or smidgen of courage, or coin of wisdom, that would lead me to a better relationship with my family and friends, and especially with You whom I would dearly love to love more. Amen.

Cast your cares on Christ and be sure of His help.
Trust that He will comfort you.

Joyful and trusting we come to You, O Lord,
Ready to give all to You.

Monday of the 2nd Week of Eastertide
Acts 4:23-31 | Psalm 2:1-9 | John 3:1-8

As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked; they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)

When I read this passage, I was instantly reminded of a hip-hop hit by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince from my younger days. The latter rapper is better known as actor Will Smith these days, and the song does attract modern crazies who interpret its lyrics as literal support for terrorist bombings.

I’ll now connect it to something that may seem like sexual innuendo, but really isn’t: When you last prayed, did the earth move?

Boom! Shake-shake-shake the room!

And was it good for you?

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I’m quite fascinated by the frenzy that affects some people when praying, or being prayed over. I’ve never witnessed a “slaying” or “speaking in tongues”, but I’ve heard from people who have seen it. They said it was both frightening and rather awesome.

I’ve also had the earth literally move under my feet, 20 floors above ground level back in 1989. And yes, the Loma Prieta earthquake was terrifying while it happened, but because I survived the experience with no injuries, I also look back on it as an awesome display of the power of nature.

And just this past Easter Vigil, when we welcomed the newly-baptised back into the main church hall, it happened again, to the sound of music.

Let us build a house where all are named,
their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed
as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter,
prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter.
All are welcome,
all are welcome,
ALL ARE WELCOME IN THIS PLACE.

I’d like you, brothers and sisters, to now imagine the frenzy that overtook me when I conducted the combined choir for this verse of Marty Haugen’s All Are Welcome. Let the bolding and italicizing be your guide.

I know I wasn’t dribbling saliva or anything so dramatic, but my face must’ve been a picture at that point, and my arm muscles were wound up so tightly that they were rather sore afterwards.

I think a couple of choristers in the front row might have been a little terrified, but I know I felt awesome!

Oh yes, brothers and sisters, it was good for me. It was really good for me.

(And why are you still thinking about sex at this point? Kidding.)

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Easter comes but once a year, but I think Fr. Cornelius told us how we could experience this terrifying awesomeness as often as we can stand it, when he pointed to the confessional during his homily yesterday.

Examining our failings, and admitting to them? Terrifying as hell.

Having the weight of our everyday sin-burdens be lifted by God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation? AWESOME!

The day everyone accepts this is the day this house of God will proclaim from floor to rafter. That day, the house will rock with Spirit, as it did for the early disciples.

It may be a long day coming, but we can hope and pray, and reconcile early and often. How else could we…

BOOM! SHAKE THE ROOM!

Amen.

2nd Sunday of Easter (Year A)
Divine Mercy Sunday
Acts 2:42-47 | Psalm 117(118):2-4,13-15,22-24 | 1 Peter 1:3-9 | John 20:19-31

As the modern world accelerates each year, we keep trying to save time by shortening our communications with each other, relying increasingly on acronyms, txtspk, and just plain dropping “unnecessary” words.

FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) is one such acronym, and in these turbulent times, we experience it in spades, what with worldwide political and economic unrest, made worse by “fake news” and unpleasant people unreservedly spewing their vitriol online.

Thomas the Apostle must’ve felt like he was being pranked in today’s Gospel, when his fellow disciples kept telling him “WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD! Why don’t you believe us?”

We experience the opposite problem today, besieged by unbelievers who keep telling us “you fools, there’s no such thing as eternal life, you’re wasting your time preparing for it! You sure you don’t want to fornicate, do drugs, get drunk? Your loss, and where’s this God of yours anyway?”

Fear of missing out. Uncertainty of our own beliefs. Doubt in the deposit of faith we were given. The esteemed science-fiction author Frank Herbert coined an apt phrase to describe these phenomena: mind-killers, “little deaths” that lead to psychological and spiritual oblivion.

Brothers and sisters, let’s replace this FUD with a different one:

• Faith bolstered by regular communion with our fellow believers at church
• Understanding through daily contemplation of scripture
• Deeds of kindness and mercy, impelled by the revelation of Christ’s all-consuming love from the cross

May this trinity of belief keep us on the narrow path that is God’s loving plan for our salvation, leading in time to the Holy Trinity.

May we take inspiration from today’s First Reading, and remain united as a faith community that pours out its collective love for others.

May this FUD sustain us in the trials that St. Peter alludes to in the Second Reading for today, till we attain our unsullied inheritance in heaven.

Faith, Understanding, Deeds. They may be difficult to achieve under the relentless assault of this unforgiving secular world, but we too have our “secret weapon”.

Jesus, we trust in You!

Amen.