Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062815.cfm

          Everything has an intended purpose.  Some things might have a wide variety of uses, but everything has at least one purpose that it was intended to be used for.  I’ve noticed that it can make for good, clean comedy when a character in a movie uses an object for something other than its intended purpose.  Maybe she uses a dinner fork to comb her hair as the other characters look on in surprise.  Or a crazy doctor uses a chainsaw for surgery with a large hammer for anesthesia. 

          These are all humorous examples of misusing things, but I’m sure we can all think of examples where using a tool or other object correctly is important for safety.  I remember being in middle school shop class and hearing multiple times each day to be safe and to use the correct tool in the correct way for the correct job.  Of course, these are all very important reminders for a room full of teenagers surrounded by electric tools.  However, I learned those lectures on being safe so well, that I actually became afraid to use many of the tools.  After hearing all the things that could possibly go wrong with a band saw or a spinning lathe, I had no desire to be near those things.  I had to slowly build up my confidence until I finally felt confident using them.

          Our readings today bring up an important point for us to remember:  God made us to be imperishable; to have everlasting life.  Our purpose, from the very day of creation, has been to live with God for eternity in Heaven.  The Book of Wisdom is very clear on this.  “God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him.”  We are made in the image and likeness of God, as we are told in the Book of Genesis.  That means that we have an intellect and a will and an imperishable soul.  We are also told that death was not an original part of God's plan for us.  “By the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who belong to his company experience it.”  Just to be clear, we are not talking about the physical death of the body that we all have to go through at some time.  The writer of the Book of Wisdom is not saying that we are supposed to have immortal bodies or that our own physical body isn't going to die at some point.  Rather, we are talking about a spiritual life versus a spiritual death. 

          As I said before, God wanted us to have everlasting life.  The devil, or Lucifer, was envious, as the Scripture tells us, however.  Lucifer mean light bearer, and he thought he was the prettiest angel and the greatest thing that God created.  But then he found out that God created us, and that He made us in His own image.  God was very pleased, but the devil was envious.  The devil and his angels fell from Heaven and death entered into the world.  He offers us many temptations and other gifts of pleasure to try to lure us away from our God given right to everlasting life. 

          One of the biggest temptations that the devil puts in our way is the lie that there is no such thing as everlasting life and that once we die then that's the end.  We might not hear this lie spoken in quite that way or quite that bluntly, but we can see it all that time in advertisements and TV shows.  They make it seem like we only have this one life and that we have to have the most fun before we die.  The focus is on death and that we should live out our lives having fun and not worrying about what comes later.  It's very popular right now to have a “bucket list”: it's supposed to be a list of all the things that a person wants to do before they “kick the bucket”.  If you have one of those lists, that's fine.  I'm happy for you.  But I think they're so morbid.  The focus is again on death.  What earthly riches and fading glory can I gain before I die?  Some of these bucket list things might be fun, but the happiness from that fun is going to pale in comparison to the joy that we will experience in everlasting life.  You want to know what's on my buck list?  I have one thing and that is to go to Heaven.  I want to live my life here on Earth so that I am worthy of life everlasting.  That should be our goal.

          Our Gospel today gives us a story to help us reflect on this very topic.  We hear the story of the curing of Jairus' daughter.  The story is interrupted briefly by the story of the woman with the hemorrhages.  The important thing for us to understand about Jairus and this unnamed woman is that both of them have run out of options.  They have tried everything else, and now they are coming before Jesus.  The woman, we are told, has been afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.  She has gone to many doctors for a cure and yet her symptoms have only grown worse and she continues to suffer.  For Jairus, we don't know how long his daughter may have suffered before this point, but now she is at the point of death.  Being a synagogue official, he no doubt could have afforded to have a doctor or two try to help his daughter.  On top of all that, as he is bringing Jesus back to his house, he is told of his daughter's death.  Despite these difficulties, both the woman and the man come before Christ as their last hope.

          A cynical look at these two stories might claim that they were there only because they had nothing left to loose.  On might say this is just one last desperate attempt at a cure.  Our Christian faith tells us differently, however.  They seek Christ because they have faith in Him.  They know that there is more to life than just completing a few goals here on earth and then you die.  They know that they have an everlasting soul that makes them imperishable.  Knowing this, they are able to hand themselves over to Christ completely.  The woman reaches through the crowd just to touch his clothes, knowing that will be enough.  Jairus pleads with Jesus to heal his daughter and still brings him to his house when he hears the bad news, knowing that he will make the difference. 

          Have faith, brothers and sisters.  Our purpose is not to just live for awhile and then die.  God has made us imperishable so that we may live for ever with Him.  That is our purpose.

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062115.cfm

The readings today give very clear images of the immense power that is behind storms and water and wind. This is especially true when all three are combined when we experience a storm over a large body of water. Even though we live in the Midwest, a far distance from the closest ocean, I think it is safe to say that we know something of the power of wind and water. We have all witnessed, I'm sure, what happens when the wind picks up over that rather large lake at the bottom of the hill. We have seen the waves crashing on the rocks down at the canal and even felt the bite of the wind as it whips across the lake in the winter time. We have all heard or read stories about the shipwrecks on Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes and have heard Gorden Lightfoot sing of the tragedy of the “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. I've seen what happens when a storm comes up on a small lake, so I am glad I have not experienced that on the big lake.

It doesn't even have to be a storm for us to experience this raw power of water. In the summer of 2012, many people in this area were victims of flooding and saw first hand the damage that water can bring. Every few weeks the TV news channels show us a new natural disaster that has taken place in the world, usually involving water. Whether it is flooding, mudslides, or tsunamis, water is able to bring destruction just as easily as it brings life to plants and animals. We have even seen that when a tropical storm or hurricane makes landfall, sometimes the greatest threat isn't the storm itself but the massive storm surge that comes with it. Huge waves come crashing in, flooding communities, causing damage, and taking human lives.

When it comes to water and wind and storms and other natural forces, there is really only so much that we can do. We can damn up rivers and control the water level in certain bodies of water. We can construct buildings that can better withstand the forces of nature. We can even predict the weather more accurately than ever before so that we can warn communities of possible danger. However, when the storms come, the waves crash, the wind blows and all of nature seems to rear its ugly head, all we can really hope to do is to try to stay out of danger. Only God can set the limits of the water and control the winds and the storms. God alone has the power to create such things and the power to set them according to His will.

In the first reading from the Book of Job, God speaks to Job from a storm while describing the creation of the seas. Perhaps Job was watching a storm rage on the Mediterranean Sea as God described how He formed the mighty waters and put them in their place. At this point in the story of Job, God is proving to Job that He, the Lord, is the one who is all just and all knowing and all powerful.

God starts out his speech by speaking from a storm. Many times is the Old Testament (but not always) God is depicted as speaking from a storm cloud. Perhaps the Old Testament writers wanted to illustrate God's power. Not only is the storm strong and powerful, but God is so powerful that He can create a storm through which He is able to speak to the main character in the story; Job is this case.

God goes on to describe the creation of the sea. He uses the imagery of the birth of a child to talk about forming the sea. Just as a birth is a new creation and a gift from God, so also the waters were given to us by the power of God. They “burst forth from the womb”, were given clouds as garments and thick darkness as swaddling bands. But God didn't just create the waters to be its own little place of chaos on earth either. He gave it limits, as He goes on to explain to Job. The image is used of doors being put is place and barred and the sea being told to come no further. This is of course all figurative speech to talk about the formation of the sea and the land in creation. It also clearly shows that God is the one who is in charge.

The Gospel for today relates the well known story of the calming of the storm. This takes place on the Sea of Galilee. Now, they call it a sea in Israel, but it is what we would call a fresh water lake. It is nowhere near the size of Lake Superior, but it is still large: about 64 square miles in size. That is about the size Lake Vermilion, but without so many islands and bays. The lake is also surrounded by mountains and hills that give the surrounding land a bit of a bowl shape. This shape really seems to help storms come in and allow winds to churn up the water and produce bad conditions on the water. That seems to be what happens for the Apostles and Jesus on the boat that day.

It seems that Jesus wants to point out two important facts with what happens here. One is that God is all powerful and able to control the sea and the wind and the storm and that as the Son of God He has that power as well. The other fact is that because God is all powerful, we need to have faith. Faith is what allows us to stay connected with God. Faith is what allows us to trust that God will be there for us, even when the forces of nature seem unbearable. If the Apostles had truly understood who was with them in the boat, if they would have had faith in who He is, they would have know that He would not allow them to perish, even while He was asleep.

We too are called to have trust and faith in Jesus and in the Father. We know from the stories we just heard and from all that we have learned about God, that He will be there for us to protect us. We should not let fear overwhelm us, but instead allow ourselves to put our complete faith in Him. We do this by continuing to pray, to follow His commandments, and by worshiping Him alone. Let us have faith in our all powerful God!

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/061415.cfm

          There is a folk story that I once heard.  I think that it has been retold and edited over the years.  The story is about three trees that grew on a mountain overlooking a village.  The first wished that one day it would be made into a treasure chest.  It would be a finely crafted chest, decorated with gold and jewels.  Inside it would hold the most expensive treasures the world had ever seen.  The second tree wished to be made into a large ship.  This grand ship would sail the mighty oceans and travel to distant lands.  It would carry kings and queens and other royalty to wherever they wished to go.  The third tree, however, did not wish to be made into anything.  It simply wanted to continue to grow on the top of the mountain.  It wanted to grow straight and tall until it became the tallest tree in the land.  When people would look at the tree, they would see that it pointed directly to Heaven and to God and they would marvel at what God had done.

          Many years past and the trees continued to grow straight and tall on the mountain top.  One day, three men came up the mountain and chopped the three trees down.  The first tree was taken to a carpenter.  It thought that it would finally be made into the finely crafted treasure chest that it had dreamed about.  Instead, the carpenter fashioned its wood into a simple feeding trough.  It was taken to a barn and filled with straw.  Various farm animals would come and eat from it.  The second tree was taken to a shipbuilder.  The tree thought that it would be made into the grand ship that it had dreamed about.  Instead, the shipbuilder made its wood into a simple fishing boat.  The boat was taken to a lake and its only passengers were fishermen and piles of fish. The third tree was deeply saddened that it had been cut down and could not continue to grow as it had dreamed.  It was made into large timbers and were stacked in a storage room and left there.

          More years past, and the three trees had nearly forgotten about their dreams.  One evening, a man and his young wife showed up at the barn.  It was really nothing more than a cave.  They had nowhere else to stay.  The woman gave birth to a son, and with no crib available, she laid him in the trough made from the first tree.  As night fell, the light from a single star shown on the manger.  The first tree realized it was holding the greatest treasure the world had ever known. 

          Many years later, a man and his twelve friends came to the lake and got into the boat made from the second tree.  As they crossed the lake the man fell asleep.  Soon a storm began to rage on the lake.  The boat was tossed and jostled by the fierce waves.  The second tree knew that it had not been made to handle such bad weather and that it would soon sink.  Just then the man awoke and rebuked the storm.  The wind and the water became calm in an instant.  As it reached the opposite shore, the second tree realized that it had just carried the King of kings. 

          Not long after this, on a Friday, some men came and took the timbers that were from the third tree.  They fastened the timbers together and forced a man to carry the wood through the city.  The man was beaten, whipped, cursed and insulted.  The tree was in anguish that this man was treated in this way, but could do nothing about it.  After dragging the heavy timbers through the city, the man was cruelly nailed to the wood.  Others walked by and looked upon the man as he hung on the blood soaked wood.  The tree could not understand why it was used for such a cruel act.  The man died and was taken down.  On Sunday morning, the man rose from the dead, triumphant!  The tree realized that the Cross that it had been made into would no longer be a symbol of death, but a sign that would point tall and straight to Heaven and to God.  All those who would look upon it would worship God for what He had done.  In a sense, the tree had become the tallest tree after all. 

          Sometimes we dream big dreams.  Whether we are young or old, we hope to do something great, but things do not always turn out the way we hoped they would.  Circumstances change or reality hits and we realize that we aren't able to do what we thought we could.  Sometimes what we do become seems too small or too insignificant to do things we hoped to do.  We might not even feel fully equipped to take care of all that life happens to throw at us.  The trees all had big dreams, but when they become a trough, a boat, and a couple of timbers they thought they were far too insignificant to accomplish anything of importance. 

          God, however, is able to work through all of that.  Even though we are unable to accomplish all our lofty goals and ambitions; even though we might feel small and insignificant compared to those lofty dreams we once had; God is able take us in our smallness and form us into the proper instrument that He can use to accomplish great things.  Through God's work, we are able to be a part of something we never would have considered otherwise.

          Our first reading today from the Prophet Ezekiel talks about how God will take a tender shoot from the top of a cedar tree and will plant it on a mountain in Israel.  Cedar trees were considered very tall and majestic trees in that part of the world.  A tender shoot would seem quite insignificant compared to a fully grown tree.  But God describes how He will plant the shoot on a mountain and will take care of it.  The tree will grow large branches and bear fruit and all kinds of birds will nest and find shade in its branches.  The prophet sums all of this up by saying that God will make great whatever has been lowly.

          The Gospel of Mark continues on this line of thought.  The mustard seed is perhaps the lowliest of seeds.  They are barely the size of a period in a book.  But God is able to make it grow into a large shrub that is home to many birds. 

          If God can take small seeds and shoots and make them into great plants, how much more will God be able to work wonders in any of us despite our shortcomings?  Trust in God's plan for you.

The Most Holy Trinity

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/053115.cfm

There is a very old phrase that we have all heard before: “You can’t give what you do not have”. When we look at that saying in a literal application, it makes perfect sense. If we go to the grocery store and ask the person at the meat counter for some pork chops and they’re actually our of pork chops, they’re obviously not going to be able to give us what they don’t have. The phrase can also refer to the passing on of knowledge since we can’t teach what we do not know.

A couple decades ago (I think I was in junior high at the time) I went with my mom and sister to the Minnesota Zoo. We decided to go to an outdoor program that they were doing that featured various birds that were kept at the zoo. The presenter and several assistants brought out several different birds and told us about them. At one point a parrot was brought out, one of those that is able to mimic human voices so that it sounds like it’s talking. The presenter then asked for a volunteer from the audience. He added, “Someone who is very good at math”. A young boy was picked and he came onto the stage. The presenter told him that this parrot is also very good at math and that they are now going to have a competition to see who is better. The presenter would give a basic math problem and they would see who would answer first, the boy or the parrot.

The presenter said, “Okay, we’ll do addition first: What’s one plus three?” Immediately the parrot said, “Four”. Everyone laughed as the boy looked confused at what had just happened. The presenter just grinned and said, “It’s quick!” He made sure the boy was ready and then said, “Okay let’s try subtraction. What’s seven minus three?” “Four!” the parrot quickly said. Again this poor child stood there amazed that this parrot was beating him. The presenter then tried division. He said, “What’s twelve divided by three?” “Four”. This time the boy tried to say it first, but the parrot was still faster. The boy was clearly starting to get frustrated with the bird. Finally the presenter said, “Okay, this is the last one. This will be multiplication. What’s two times two?” This time the boy quickly yelled, “Four!” but the parrot remained strangely quiet. The boy, along with all of us in the audience, was surprised by the silence.

The presenter then explained: the parrot didn’t actually know math or even recognize numbers. It had been trained to say “four” whenever it heard a human say “three”. All but the final math problem had ended with the number three and so the bird said, “Four” just as it was trained to do. The last problem didn’t have a three so it remained quiet. The presenter also explained that the parrot responded to words that sounded like “three” as well. He said to the parrot, “What do you say when you hit a golf ball over a tree?” “Four!” Obviously the bird made for a very funny show.

I bring this story up to help illustrate my point that we can’t teach what we don’t know or give what we don’t have. That parrot at first sounded like it was a regular math wiz. We didn’t find out until later that it actually didn’t know any math, or numbers for the matter. It didn’t even know what it was saying; it was just mimicking the voice of a trainer. It never hung out with other parrots and taught them numbers or how to do addition or multiplication. “Hey, let me teach you this cool trick. We’re never going to have to beg for crackers again”. You can’t pass on what you don’t actually have.

When we look at this idea of giving what we have, we can also apply it to relationships. For instance, if we never experienced what it means to have a friend, how could we be expected to be a friend to someone else? If a child was never taught what it means to be loved by his or her parents, how can he or she ever learn to love?

Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday. It is a special feast day, inviting us to consider the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. We believe that the God who created us and redeemed us and sanctifies us is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that God the Father, out of His immense love for all of us, sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sake and to rise again to new life. After the Son Ascended, the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit to come upon the Church and be our Advocate. We believe the Spirit teaches us what to say and blesses us to bring us ever closer to holiness.

The Father and the Son love each other, as a father and a son should. From this perfect love comes the Holy Spirit, which the Church has long referred to as the Spirit of Love. Therefore, when we receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism, Confirmation, and the other Sacraments we receive those special blessings and that special love of God. We ourselves learn how to love.

St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, talks about the special relationship that we all share with the Holy Trinity. When we receive the Holy Spirit and allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit we become sons and daughters of God. We receive a Spirit of adoption that allows us to truly call God “Abba”, which translates as “Daddy”. And since we are the true sons and daughters of God, we are truly “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ”. We have a special relationship with each person of the Trinity.

So what do we do with this? We are called to pass it on, so to speak. When Jesus Christ appeared before the Eleven Apostles after His Resurrection, He told them, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. He sent out the Eleven and now He sends all of us out to spread the love of God to all peoples.

We can’t give what we do not have. Know, therefore, that we have been given a very special relationship with God. Let us go out, sharing what we know of the love of our Triune God. Let us bring others closer to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost Sunday

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052415.cfm


Please note: My homily for Pentecost Sunday makes reference to readings from both the Vigil Mass and the Mass of the day.  Therefore the link above directs you to both sets of readings.

Imagine, if you will, a time when you were made speechless because of what was happening around you. It may be because you saw something so amazing or perhaps so beautiful that you were at a loss for words. Something might have also surprised you or perhaps even frightened you into being speechless, though I hope it wasn't the latter. We get into situations sometimes where we just can't find the proper words. We don't know how to describe how we are feeling right at the moment, nor can we explain any better later on.

I had an experience like that when I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Holy Land three years ago. One of the places that we visited was the room that tradition says is the Upper Room where Jesus met with His disciples for the Last Supper. Tradition also says that this was the room where the Apostles were gathered when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost. I believe I have described being there before in a homily, but please allow me the chance to describe it once again.

The room itself is not all that spectacular; in fact it is really quite simple. There are several Gothic style arches around the room, held up by some Roman style columns. Most, if not all of the columns and arches are not original to the place, but were probably added by the crusaders who made it into church. And it would have been a small church at that, as the room is smaller than most parish churches. There is very little color in the room: mostly gray, white, and brown colored stones and the white of plaster on the walls and ceiling. Sometime in the 15^th Century, the Muslims took over that place and made it into a mosque. They installed a stained glass window that is often found in mosques with blue and green and words in Arabic.

I mention all of this to explain that with all the changes and remodeling that have happened to this room, there is really nothing left in the room to suggest that anything special or that any miracles took place there. If it weren't for our tour guide telling us where we were, we could have easily passed through the room thinking it nothing more than an interesting study in medieval architecture. The room itself is unremarkable. Yet, I experienced something in that room that still leaves me speechless when I attempt to put it into words.

I was fortunate to go on this pilgrimage to the Holy Land with Fr. Mike Schmitz from our diocese. He had been there a few times before then, so he was able to add some wonderful reflections and insights from Catholic tradition and spirituality that we might not have had otherwise. When our tour guide had explained that we were in the Upper Room and had reminded us of what had taken place there, Fr. Mike asked our group to lay hands on me and pray for me. He explained that there is a tradition there for priests to be prayed over in this room by the people. This is the room of the Last Supper, which means it is the birthplace of the Eucharist. Since Jesus gave the Apostles the commandment to “do this in memory of me”, which all priests do on a regular basis, it is also the birthplace of the priesthood. In addition, the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles in that room just as He comes upon the clergy when we were ordained. So it is quite appropriate that a priest be prayed over in the place were it all started. As they finished praying over me, I couldn't quite explain how I felt, and as I mentioned before I still can't. I can say that there was a feeling of peace, knowing of the support I had of those around me and just being in awe of where I was.

That wasn't the only significant thing that happened there, however. After praying over me, we spread out in the room to look around and to take some time for personal prayer. At the same time, a group of men came in and started looking around as well. It turned out that this was a men's choral group and they had decided elsewhere that they would sing one of their songs in the room. Once they had all spread out, one of the men started singing, “Ubi caritas, et amor. Ubi caritas, Deus ibi est.” The other twenty or so men began joining in, while adding various tenor, baritone, and bass parts. The Latin words mean, “Where charity and love prevail, there God exists”. It refers for to the events of the Last Supper and Christ's commandment to love one another, but it is also appropriate for Pentecost since the Holy Spirit is the spirit of love. As I heard these words I was again speechless, but filled with the peace and love of God. The words so beautifully sung seemed to hang in the air like a sweet and pleasant perfume.

Sometimes God leaves us speechless. Sometimes we are just blown away by the beauty of something. Sometimes it is the power and the glory of God that amazes us. Much like a parent who has to punish their child so that they have to think about what they have done, so also God has to put us in our place. Hopefully at those times we learn to stop our speech so that we can learn something. At other times, however, God, the Holy Spirit comes upon us and inspires us to speak; to no longer be speechless but to speak to those around us about our faith and belief in Jesus Christ our Lord and to preach the Good News to all.

Such is the illustration that God wishes to show us, I believe. For today, the Feast of Pentecost, is often seen as the day that reversed what happened at the Tower of Babel. It was at the Tower that God punished the people for their pride and selfishness of wanting to make a name for themselves by confusing their language. God was putting them in their place and made them speechless. At Pentecost, however, God heals that rift in humanity by sending the Holy Spirit and prompting St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles to speak all the languages of all the people who were there so that they could understand what was being said. Now the Good News of Jesus isn't just for those who speak Hebrew, but all people from all nations. Pentecost is an amazing Feast Day, but we are not to remain speechless. Rather, we are to rejoice and tell others what we know. Tell them our Easter proclamation: Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

The Ascension of the Lord

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051715-ascension.cfm

Even though they aren't my absolute favorite genre as far as movies go, I do enjoy from time to time watching a good spy or espionage type of film. One group of movies that are a part of this genre are the Mission Impossible movies that are based off of the classic TV show by the same name. I've never watched a whole episode of the TV series, but I have seen a couple of the movies. The series and the movies are pretty much about the same thing: a group of highly skilled agents work for a U.S. government run agency. They are sent on various secret missions around the world with an arsenal of high tech gadgets to help protect the United States. These missions usually include spying and espionage while stopping the bad guys from getting a hold of sensitive information or carrying out terroristic threat. If you enjoy this type of thing, it gets pretty exciting.

As many of you know, the story line of the episodes and movies typically starts with one of the agents seeming to having a regular day: going to work, traveling, having lunch, et cetera. Someone who appears to be a complete stranger to the agent, comes up and gives him an object. Many times the object looks fairly normal, but the agent always knows that it contains an audio recording of his next mission. The classic episodes have a mini tape player while the more recent movies have a smart phone that plays the recording. The recording gives some vital background to the mission followed by some famous words: “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is...”. We then hear the actual mission goal which is quite dangerous and, as the title suggests, sounding quite impossible. Despite the danger and impossible nature of the mission, the agent always accepts the mission. The message ends with another famous phrase: “This message will self destruct in five seconds”. Then the action begins, accompanied by the catchy theme music.

Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. We recall how forty days after His Resurrection, Jesus Ascended on a cloud up to Heaven. We believe that He is in Heaven, body and soul. The Readings for today actually give us two versions of the same story, which is rare. We hear about it in our First Reading from Acts and then again from the Gospel of Mark. Both accounts have their own unique way of telling the story with different details. But the most important thing I want to point out is that this is not the end of story. In both accounts, Jesus gives clear instructions that the Apostles are to go out beyond Jerusalem; “Throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” and “Proclaim the Gospel to every living creature”. One does not have to be familiar with Mission Impossible to see that Jesus is sending the Apostles on a mission. I'm sure to all of them, it seemed like a daunting, and dangerous, if not an impossible, mission to spread the Good News of the Gospel to everyplace on Earth. Yet if we continue reading the Acts of the Apostles from where we left off, and if we go from there and read through the lives of the saints, we will see that that is exactly what happened. So many Apostles, and disciples, and prophets, and bishops, and priests, and deacons, and married couples, and catechists, and martyrs have all worked together to complete this impossible mission!

We are all a part of this mission as well. It is important that we understand our role in all this. There might be a temptation to think that we are not a part of this incredible mission. We might think that we are not important enough in the eyes of God to merit inclusion in this great adventure. You might say to yourself, I'm just a father or a mother or a kid. I have an ordinary job, I take care of the kids or the grandkids, I go to school, I go to Church on Sunday or Saturday night, I volunteer at Church, I teach religious ed, I help usher, I'm a knight, or I'm a member of St. Teresa's Circle. I'm just a regular person, why would God send me on a mission? The answer is, “BECAUSE YOU'RE EXACLTY WHO GOD IS LOOKING FOR!!!”

God called ordinary tax collectors and fishermen and other ordinary men and women to be the first to go out and spread the Good News. Don't be afraid that he is now calling you. This mission is not impossible, because God is on our side.