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I am not a patient person. I do not like to wait. When I am excited about something, or angry about something, I find it hard to wait. I am a “Type A” person, and I get impatient with things when they do not move at the pace I like them to move. So the initial reaction of the disciples seems counter-intuitive to me. Jesus has shown them so many miraculous things, it would seem like they would really want to get on with things right away.Yet, what do they do? In the first reading, they gather together, this small band of close believers, and they put themselves in the Upper room. To wait. The very thing I find it hard to do. But how wise a decision that was!

Dominican life is a balance between action and waiting, between ministry and contemplation. We are active contemplatives. It seems like those two things, action and contemplation, could not find themselves in the same person. Indeed, most of us Dominicans will tell you the challenge is the balance. I find in my own life, i focus on one at the expense of the other too often.

There are two things I believe are important to consider from today’s reading, and from Dominican life. What we do externally in ministry is grounded, or must be grounded, in what exists internally where the presence of God makes a home in our hearts. And in Dominican life, contemplation is the noun, activity is the adjective. In other words, we are first contemplatives. Then, we are active — we are a special type of contemplative, but we are contemplatives indeed.

When asked whether active priests (like diocesan priests) or contemplative priests (like Benedictines) were the ‘”better vocation”, St. Thomas Aquinas answered that both were worthy vocations in the Church. But not surprisingly as a Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas answered that the best expression of this life was the lifestlyle that incorporated both. And just who would that be? Why, Dominicans, of course!

Obviously every vocation in the Church is of inestimable value, since every vocation comes from God. So it is quite important that every vocation receives the high dignity it deserves. Perhaps an important consideration is that for everyone, trying to keep the balance between active and contemplative aspects of spiritual life is a good thing to do. It is certainly the lesson of the apostles and the devout followers of Jesus in the first reading.

I must admit that I am not a fan of moving the Feast of the Ascension to Sunday, though I clearly understand the practical pastoral reason it was done. But the move to Sunday does take away some historical devotion and understanding that might make it eaiser for us to celebrate fully the Easter Season. This year it is simply that I like the readings for both days, the Ascension, and the Seventh Sunday of Easter. Each celebration in its own way provides us with plenty to think about during this Easter season.

It is the second reading, especially, that caught my attention today. This reading discusses the fruits of the Ascension of Jesus, namely that it can provide believers with a road map, directing us to what awaits us fully in heaven. But, in another way, it serves as a challenge, or a checklist of things we might do to open ourselves up to receiving these gifts.

Since we have been given such tremendous promises by God, it behooves us to listen carefully to what we might need to do, or what attitude we may need to have in order to receive this great gift. While the Ascension does focus our attention on the end of time, our lives now are a mix between the kingdom of God that is not yet fully realized, and one that is already in our midst. So, to fully be in this time that is already here, not yet realized, we can use such readings like today to help us to get there.

For example, the prayer of the second reading is that we might be given a spirit of wisdom and revelation. But just how does this happen? What is it we need to do to place ourselves in a place where God’s abiding love becomes real for each one of us? I would suggest we might make a greater effort to read the Word of God more consistently. How might our lives change if we took a few minutes each day to read the word of God? Imagine more the fruit of this pledge if we had a bible that was filled with great footnotes and helped to make the connections to other similar or related parts of the Bible. There is no greater source of God’s revealing Word, than reading the Scriptures. Perhaps today serves as an invitation to do just that.

How is it that the “eyes of our heart” might be enlightened? I think the phrase can rightly describe the spiritual life. We are told elsewhere we walk by faith, not be sight. We are reminded that often God sees differently than we do, with different priorities. When God chooses David it is because God sees with the heart. So, this is a different type, a deeper type of seeing that we are gifted with, the ability to see the world as God does. This can often be called wisdom, or seeing as God sees. Just imagine if we were able to see as God sees! And, in fact, we can!

But how? We live in a world, in a time, where seeing in this way has been questioned like never before. Increasingly we are finding explanations for many things that take God out of the process entirely. We can find that religion and religious expression give way to something that is only practical and useful. Loving enemies, praying for persecutors, giving what we have to those in need, require heart type seeing, They do not always appear to be practical, helpful, or useful. But to see with the heart, we need to contantly put ourselves in places where we can see as God sees, think as God thinks, love as God loves.

Fortunately the Feast of the Ascension helps us by reminiding us that the pathway to such “seeing with the heart” has been given to us in the person of Jesus. He shows us the way, because he is the Way. We can hold out hope for our future, becuase as the Way, he shows us our destination too. And he gives us the means ot get there. Seeing with the heart. Thank goodness Jesus has given us the way to do this.

What is to keep me from doing God’s will? What excuses do I put in the way of doing God’s will? Each one of us has something in our life, or maybe more than one thing in our life where we know we need to do something and we do not do it, or maybe we simply put it off. It may be confronting a co-worker, having a tough conversation with a parent, or avoiding the time needed to pray. Philip in today’s reading is not that kind of person. No, Philip simply cannot wait to proclaim the gospel, which leads to the new life of baptism.

A few short weeks ago, many churches had people every bit as eager as those who heard Philip to receive the new life of baptism at the Easter vigil. In churches all over the world there was the grace filled life of baptism, the powerful recognition of all God could do for those who, like those in the town whose rejoicing rose to fever pitch, could not wait to receive baptism.

These new catechumenates are the witness that those of us who have been Catholic a long time may need. Their enthusiasm, their dedication, their appreciation and thanksgiving for what God has done for them is a great reminder of what we should all experience. In my years as a priest, being able to baptize during this time is indeed one of the greatest privileges I have had. It is not that I have done anything really, but rather that the grace poured out by God is so outstanding it cannot help but bring joy and excitement into everyone’s life. While I am not sure I raised the excitement of my hearers to “fever pitch”, I can say that the Spirit of God, as happened in the first reading, is still active today.

But what led to this excitement? What caused Philip to proclaim the good news so compellingly? Is this indeed the same Philip who has such a hard time knowing that Jesus and the Father were one? Yes! We see yet one more instance of a life transformed by the powerful work of the Spirit of God. This is not the same Philip who cannot see clearly the work of Jesus for what it is. No, this is now the Philip who can preach so convincingly about the new life of Jesus that others become eager to follow. It was the important role of the preacher, who was able to help the crowds to understand the word of God and its high place in the life of a Christian, and to desire Jesus. How is it that we proclaim the good news? In Dominican life, it is not simply that preaching can only occur in the pulpit. No, the sacred preaching occurs in a variety of ways, anytime Jesus, the Word, is made more known by increasing the awareness of God’s presence in people’s lives?

So, what do you do to make people aware of God in the world? How is it that you help people to come to know all that God has done for you? God is active and alive in the world. When you are aware of the proximity of God to you and your life, and share that with others, maybe the excitement of people in your town will rise to fever pitch too.

“You’d be amazed at how much they can do when you are not around.” I remember a priest giving me this advice when I was complaining that there were too many things to do. His point was not to neglect anything, but to suggest that part of the baptismal call in any community was the reality that the people of God, moved by God’s grace, are indeed capable of great things. Indeed, the pastor attentive to baptismal calls and God’s presence is that pastor who can create and facilitate the activity needed to build up the Kingdom of God.

So, it is not to be taken as an insult that the widows were complaining their needs were not being met. It was rather an invitation to see a chance for others to be called into the ministry. Out of this need arose deacons, those called to service for the Church. The word of God must be preached. People’s needs must be met. God can call disciples to do both. How great and glorious God is!

There is a danger when we hear a complaint. We can sometimes, almost automatically, see any complaint as something that makes us defensive. The apostles were not like this. Rather than see in the complaint a personal attack that they were not doing enough, the apostles saw this as an opportunity to make the whole community aware of their baptismal call.

The apostles did not see the call they had received as the call to “do it all”. Rather, they saw their call as one to proclaim the word. They saw their role as the chance to proclaim to those in need of salvation all that God could do for them. They saw in the generous response of the deacons, and a new ministry was born.

Do we facilitate God’s call in our lives and in the lives of others? Do we see the events of our life as a chance to grow in holiness, or do we resent that people would question what we do? Are we the type of person who can empower others to be part of the team, or not? Do we take the time to sit, think, listen to the call of God?

If we have children, are we able to “let go” and give them appropriate opportunities to try new things, for the betterment of themselves and others? Can we let them try to accomplish something in their own way, or do we insist our way as the only way? And what if the apostles had belittled the complaint? A whole and critical aspect of living the Christian life could have been lost?

There is another aspect to this reading. Serving the poor is not always easy. Why were the greek widows being neglected? Could there be some type of prejudice at work here? Is it possible their needs were not seen as important? Was their being neglected a sign of something sinful? Were there other motives at work here?

The situation can be quite complex. I remember a prayer which pleaded with God to make the person aware of the sin so deep they are not still aware of it. Was that the question that was also at play? And was the action of the disciples one that was to emphsize that the call to serve, to do something, to help others, is indeed a call for everyone?

Fortunately these complex questions have an easy answer. Jesus is the way. Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the life. And with that, we don’t need anything more.

Do you feel any sense of urgency these days? The early listeners to Peter did. When they heard Peter state categorically that Jesus was the Messiah, they concluded the end was in fact here. “What are we to do?”It is hard to know what they were doing before, or how they came to believe that Peter spoke as a trustworthy witness of Jesus. But his words shook them. By hearing someone they respected indicate Jesus was the Messiah, it spoke to them the end of the world. And it got them thinking about their lives, and their priorities.

The story reminds me of how I tend to see things. When I was little, I tended to wait until the assignment was almost due before starting it. It was like I lived by the following statement, uttered a lot by a fellow seminarian. Don’t put off until the last minute . . . what you can put off until the last second! This can be the case in our spiritual lives as well. We can put off the key things that will make us better people.

Today’s gospel is often used in conjunction with vocations. Indeed, this fourth Sunday of Easter can be known as Good Shepherd Sunday. I am not sure how many city dwellers are familiar with sheep, but sheep are community animals. They live and work in a herd. If you are the caretaker of the sheep, the shepherd, then you know that you only need to convince one sheep to follow you, as the rest of the herd comes your way. It is imperative, then, for the shepherd to know the sheep. To be successful, the shepherd is attentive to the sheep from the first moment of their life.

There are great benefits if the shepherd knows the sheep from the start, and the work of the shepherd is much easier. The images Jesus uses are really true. The shepherd knows the sheep. The sheep recognize the shepherd’s voice, and come when he calls. And the image is so appropriate when we think of God.

God first called us by name, and as our legitimate shepherd he seeks to help us hear his voice, so that we may have life, and have it in abundance. Imagine how abundant this life could be if we did not put off making ourselves available to God until the last minute. Think of what God could accomplish through us if we heard the call by our own name.

The great message of Easter is that we really can hear the call of God, anytime, anywhere. Beacuse we truly have a shepherd who loves us, we can always hear the call and God can help us to thrive. For when we talk about vocations, we are not mentioning only being a priest, sister, brother, monk or non, we are talking about the call each one of us has received by God to be his disciple. For I believe if we truly open our hearts to the sound of the voice of God, to hear his call, then indeed the Church will be filled with holy people who are priests, nuns, sisters, brothers, monks and more! We will be a Church filled with people who have answered the call to be followers of Jesus. And if we are attentive to God’s call of holiness, then indeed, we’ll all know just what to do.

Oddly enough, many of the readings during the Easter season are about doubt. We heard about Thomas last week, the initial despair from Mary Magdelene the week before. Today, we encounter two disciples who are doing what people do when they mourn — they are talking about the one they loved, sharing their sadness, and looking for hope. Then, along comes Jesus.

But they don’t recognize him. Often when we are in the deepest part of suffering, our sight becomes quite limited. I am not referring to our physical sight, but our emotional and spiritual sight. When we are overwhelmed, either by grief, loss, suffereing or some type of emotional distress, we can often only see our own immediate situation. We can be so focused on ourselves, and our loss, that we do not recognize that around us there is a lot of support and care. In extreme situations, we need people to get our attention.

Such was the case with the two disciples traveling to Emmaus. They were so caught up in the disappointment and loss of Jesus, they could not recognize Jesus. They were so hoping he was going to be the one, that when he died, their disappointment was quite deep and profound. It was deep indeed. They were devastated.

We too can become quite devastated. Life is very hard. One of my favorite aunts, when I was first ordained, encouraged me to remember that about people. There lives were really hard, and more than anything, then, they needed to know that God was very close, his love was very powerful, and he expected great things from us.

For the two disciples, even the privileged teaching session on the road was not enough. Even the careful explanation of the long promise of God in the Scriptures did not convince. No, it was only when the truly experienced Jesus, in the breaking of the bread, that their eyes were open and they could see clearly.

What a revelation. Once they knew that Jesus was risen, they needed to tell. Than ran back those two miles from Jerusalem, and when they told, they heard that others too had powerful encounters with Christ. Just think about what this might teach us. We too need to tell, but we need to also listen to others who have had experiences with God.

It is not hard to see the connection between the gospel reading and the structure at Mass. We hear the readings, encounter Jesus in the Gospel, and experience him in the breaking of bread. Then we “go forth”, just like these two disciples. We hear the story, we break the bread, we tell what God has done to anyone we meet. Wow!

The first reading today can serve as an interesting way to understand Dominican life. The early follower of Jesus, “devoted themselves to the apostles’ instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Moreover, they held their things in common, and they preached the Good news in such a powerful way that each day those who experienced the salvation of Jesus grew and grew.

In its best sense, this is the heart of dominican life. Living in common, the breaking of bread, the prayers. Contemplation. And the preaching: proclaiming the Good News i such a way that people cannot help but desire the way of life we follow. They follow because Jesus is worth following. We witness authentically to what Jesus has done in our lives, and while our witness is not without its flaws, it is a witness nonetheless of our way of life, to the way in which we can work to make known how God “makes all things new.”

As Thomas shows us in the Gospel, it is simply not that easy to do this, however. Often the struggles, the difficulties and the challenges of the world get us down. We want real proof. Our struggles can cause us to be cynical. How can I believe that God will help me when so many people experience violence, famine and oppression. How can I believe in God when there is illness among those I love, people who have lived such a powerful life, such a good life, such a life directed to helping others and faith in God?

This is the quesiton of Thomas. In many ways, he only wanted what the other disciples have experienced already — the concrete proof that Jesus was alive! And that despite their betrayals, to know that Jesus still loved them. And don’t we want to know the same? That despite the suffering that is a part of our lives, despite the sin we commit, that really, we are profoundly loved by God?

I would like to suggest that today’s first reading helps us to find a path to this type of assurance. And, as a Dominican, whether professed or not, I would like to offer the unique Dominican balance of active ministry and contemplation. How often, really, if we are honest, do we contemplate? Do we carve out some time to consider, thoughtfully, prayerfully, with depth, the words of the Bible, the teachings of the apostles, the writings of great spiritual thinkers? Do we pray, publicly and privately, each day, so that we might better get to know God?

What is interesting about the story of Thomas is that today’s encounter in the Gospel gave him a nickname: doubting Thomas. But in reality, Thomas did not doubt, he believed! Some scholars suggest Thomas was the Apostle to India, and indeed, some of the oldest parishes exist there. While it may have taken him a little time at first to believe Jesus was truly risen, once he believed, he believed with his whole life!

What about us? Do we believe? And do we act? And when we encounter the presence of Jesus, does our faith get expressed, or do we still doubt? And do we share this great faith? Or do we hide it, like the apostles when they were locked in the room, frightened. Can we be like them, experiencing Jesus and boldly proclaiming their faith?

I think part of the secret of the Christian life, and the arrival at this level of believing, is to find that quiet place, so that new life may abound from our prayer. So, seek to find that quiet desert place, ask for God to become present, and to open your heart. And then, just watch what wonderful and awesome things happen.

Are you worn out? The celebrations of the highest holy days of the Church year should have that impact on us. If we really enter into the events we celebrated these past few days we really should be worn out. More than anything, I hope we have experienced just how close God has been, is, and will be to us. How amazing are our lives because of God!

While we did not directly experience the first events of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter, in a literal, historical sense, we did really experience the events of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Because of the power of God, we delved as deeply in these events as possible. We were part of the power and mystery of the service of the Gospel and the power of the Eucharist. We not only experienced in a profound way the part each of us has played in the sins that caused Jesus to die on Good Friday, we were also reminded that because of sin we too suffer injustice. And, our lives too, are lives where we experience the profound new and eternal life God pours out to us again and again. Wow! These are powerful events.

And, if you were blessed enough to welcome new members into the Church, hopefully you witnessed the profound outpouring of the faith in people’s lives in a dramatic way as they embraced the faith for the first time (at least publicly).

Yet, we know that while the promise of new life is active, real, powerful and life giving, the world also still has its Good Fridays too. In fact, if there is a lesson in Easter it is our profound need to reach out to be witnesses to new life. Because, the world desperately needs it!

How is it we can do this? On so many levels, on a a day like today, the first step is awareness. As Mary Magdelene, Peter and John became aware, they told. Mary Magdelene told Peter and John, and we know they told others. But it began with awareness. They needed to become aware not just of life as they hoped it would be, but first as it is. Jesus was dead. They were going to ritualize this event because for generations this is how people make sense of death. They needed to accept this powerful truth.

Only that wasn’t the truth. No, as they worked a little more on becoming aware, they realized that things were not as they seem. We too can have moments where we think we know something, but upon becoming more aware we realize we are not right. The disciples needed to learn this, and so do we.

But, as we become aware, like the disciples, we too must be moved to action. We must witness the awareness we have received. We must witness that not by our own efforts alone, but more importantly through the works of the God of surprises, of grace, and of new life, together, with God’s inspiration, we can do really amazing things! We can witness to the life of the world to come in a way that moves us to work to make that part of the kingdom more present, more alive, more real.

We Catholics do not always like to witness and to tell. We can like to keep our faith private, to ourselves, something personal with God. But the message of Easter is that the resurrection of Jesus is just too much to be kept quite. Become aware! Witness! Tell! People should see in our lives the power of our belief to be sure. But we should commit to sharing the greatest news of all: Jesus is risen! He is truly Risen! Alleluia!

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