Week of June 5, 2011
Greetings from the Pastor
Seventh Sunday Of Easter:
Prayer: The First Thought
Today we gather together to celebrate the Mass for the Seventh Sunday of Easter and we find ourselves in the first Sunday of June. Time, as it often does, has a way of flying by. Our only hope is that we use our time wisely and make the most of it.
That is what God wants us to do. I can remember that someone once said we should make our time used in a purposeful way. Good advice as we try to serve God each day.
In the first reading, we find the Apostles for the first time alone without the presence of Jesus to be with them. Their initial response is one of fear because they had to rely on Jesus being there. They had witnessed the Ascension of Jesus back to Heaven and as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit, they didn’t exactly know what to do. There are times like that in our own lives. We find ourselves without hope and really don’t know what to do. That is the time for us to turn to prayer for help. Jesus doesn’t let us down, He is always there to be our strength.
The Disciples themselves used this time between the Ascension and Pentecost to make the first Novena. We can learn a lot from what we see the Apostles doing. They are our models on how we should live our lives. They get strength in their beliefs and so will we.
In the reading from the First Letter of Saint Peter, our second reading today, we are taught to rely on the Name of Jesus in our lives to give us strength. If we truly believe in Jesus, then He will be the one we rely on. This is what faith is, belief in God, and the strength to love Him and serve Him all the days of our lives. We are asked to simply do that and all else will follow.
The Gospel reading today centers on Jesus’ Prayer for all who will follow Him as believers. We are included in that prayer because we are the believers of today. Do we ever think of ourselves as the followers of the early followers of Jesus? We have a special role and we are asked to be faithful to it.
–FR DAVE
