St. Mary Catholic Church-Shaw

The abundance of ‘’vocations’’ in the Church, during periods when this is held in high esteem and widely acclaimed, should be looked upon with some of suspicion. The readings of today show us some episodes of ‘’vocations’’ that took place during difficult times. The first reading describes how Elisha readily and generously responded to the call of Elijah. It was the period that Ahab and Jezebel were persecuting the believers. The gospel describes Christian life as a journey done in the following of Christ. The goal of the Master is not the triumph, but the sacrifice of self in Jerusalem. Along the way he meets people who either ask or are invited to join the group of his disciples and so Jesus explicitly and clearly presents to them what is expected according to their call. The second reading tells us that to follow Christ is a free choice. The disciple is not bound to any law except the law of love. For ‘’we have been called to live in freedom, but not a freedom that gives free rein to the flesh.’’ Says St. Paul. This ‘’free rein’’ is actually a slavery. If we are addicted to drugs, to illicit sex, to avarice or violence, we are not free. Matters need not be that grave. When we allow a habit of gossip, the vice of arrogance, or a spirit of selfishness to rule us, we have in effect abused our freedom. Sin is a slavery and the opposite of freedom. In our Eucharistic acclamation we acknowledge that Jesus paid a great price for our freedom: ‘’Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free.’’ Jesus freed us from sin so that of our own free will we may love him unreservedly.

Today we celebrate the solemnity of the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ that is the ‘Eucharist’. Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum – giving his disciples his body and his blood. Jesus’ passing over to his Father by his death and resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the last Supper and celebrated in the Lord’s Supper, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of God’s kingdom. This is the significant meal of Jesus. In this meal Jesus identifies the bread as his body and the cup as his blood. And so, when he commands his disciples to eat his flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very center of our being. That life that he offers is very life of God himself. Jesus’ death on the cross, his gift of his body and blood in the supper, and his promise to dine again with his disciples when the kingdom of God comes in all its fullness are inseparably linked. He also instructed his disciples to “do this in remembrance of me.’’ These words establish each celebration of the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist as a ‘’remembrance’’ of Jesus’ atoning death, his resurrection and his promise to return again. Our celebration of the Lord’s Supper anticipates the final day when the Lord Jesus will feast anew with his disciples in the heavenly marriage feast of the lamb and his bride. When we receive the body and blood of Christ from the Lord’s table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ. We receive healing, pardon and rest for our souls. Do we ‘celebrate’ the Eucharist knowing that it enables us to be firmly rooted in the love of Christ? ~~Fr. Paul Materu

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“Pentecost Day’’ The feast of Pentecost reminds us the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus of sending of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles to help them carry out the mission entrusted to them. Just as Jesus was anointed with the Spirit at the beginning of his ministry so also the apostles needed the anointing of the Spirit to be effective in their mission. The Holy Spirit is therefore given to all who are baptized into Christ to enable them to live a new way of life–a life of love, peace, joy, and righteousness. The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with the love of God and he gives us the strength and courage we need in order to live as grace-filled disciples of Jesus. The Spirit helps us in our weakness and guides us in our pilgrimage. When we pray, the Spirit is at work in us, helping us to pray. God wants us to know him and love him and the Spirit helps us to do that. But because the Spirit works within us, we are not aware the Spirit is even there. For we cannot know much of ourselves, we cannot know Jesus Christ either, without the help of the Spirit. As Paul tells us in today’s second reading: ‘’No one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit.’’ Without the Spirit God is really unknown to us. The Spirit makes us constantly aware of God’s presence with us and God’s love for us. The Spirit helps the Scriptures come alive for us because through them God speaks to us. And so the same Spirit gives each of us different gifts to help us to know and experience God and God’s love. If we want to experience the fullness of the Spirit, then what should we do?  We need to come together, we need to worship together, we need each other, we need to share our gifts with one another. Without the Spirit we are trying to breath without air, think without light, love without fire. May this great love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with each of us. Amen. 'Wish you all Happy feast of the Holy Spirit, our Pentecost Sunday''