The gospel for the 7th Sunday of Easter (which we do not hear in the U.S., because we celebrate the Ascension on that Sunday), reveals Jesus’ deep faith as he gets ready to leave this world. As he prepares for impending death, resurrection and ascension, John’s gospel tells us that he leaves the mission in our hands. He promises to pray for us, but the passages reveal a secure and reassuring posture as he prays to God, “I will no longer be in the world, but they will be in the world.” We are often so busy trying to grow our faith in God, that we forget God’s faith in us. The struggles of life, and of the present days, are not the universe coming off its axis. Sometimes God’s (Jesus’) faith in us is maddening. We sort of wish someone a little more divine than us could take the wheel. Our trials don’t just “build character”, they reveal God’s trust in us. “In us God trusts.” How’s that for a cultural motto?
For our song this week, I quickly recorded a contemporary Christian song that I’ve really liked for a few years now. This song, “Blessings” by Laura Story, reminds us that even dark moments reveal God. I’ve never heard this piece as a glossing over the deep pain that comes with such moments, but simply a reminder that suffering doesn’t reveal an absence of God in our lives, and that sometimes it is exactly the opposite. We are reminded that God doesn’t run in and fix everything because of God’s trust in us.
If God can trust humankind to raise Jesus, to build the Church and to continue the mission of Christ, how great must that trust be? I hope you all feel God’s faith in you as we continue to build one another’s faith in God.
God Bless. Be Safe. Be Well.
Fr. Pat
P.S. - I hope you will join us tomorrow for our Zoom Mass. All parishioners are invited to be a part of the
"safer-at-home" virtual assembly. Sign up today
HERE and you will be sent a Zoom videoconference link and instructions by Saturday morning. "Seats" are limited to 450 households per Mass.
A reminder that
I have set up a special email account where I’m asking parishioners to send photos. I would ask you to
send all of these photos or videos to fpdden@gmail.com and in the
subject line simply put one of the following:
- Sacrament or worship oriented: “MPB prayer”
- Parish activities (formation, outreach, music, etc…): “MPB parish life”
- Home life: “MPB family life"
- Nature, cityscapes or architecture shots: “MPB photographers”
- And if your file is too large to send, just send us a note with the “would have been” subject line and we can get you a link to a shared space to drop it.
Thanks to all of you who can participate in this!
Fr. Pat