June 23 , 2006
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS - 2006

I – My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred.  I will not give vent to my blazing anger…I will not let  the flames consume you.

R – You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

II – I kneel before the Father…that he may grant you…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones with is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

G – When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out…This happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says: They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

Last Sunday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ – recalling Jesus’ total gift of himself on Calvary – prefigured by his total gift of self in bread and wine to be our lasting spiritual food until the end of time. Today we celebrate the reality of the astounding and amazing heart of Jesus that was behind the actions of his total gift of self.

THIS IS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU! – Jesus cried out from the cross.  THIS IS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU!– Jesus cried out when he performed his greatest miracle of all – becoming one with the simple elements of ordinary bread and wine at the last supper! This is how much I love you!  – MY HEART IS OVERWHELMED WITH LOVE FOR ALL OF YOU! – love one another, as I love you!

The love of Christ surpasses knowledge, but when Christ dwells in our hearts through faith and we are rooted and grounded in loving one another – we have the strength to at least begin to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth of his love – and we begin to experience the fullness of God.

There is much in the world today for God to be angry with his children about. A great deal of the situation in which we find ourselves is the result of our own unwillingness to receive the fullness of the tremendous gifts of love that God wants so desperately to give us – and to have them cause a real transformation for the better not only in our lives, but in the lives of all those ours touches. Now, as in the days of Moses, the heart of God is overwhelmed, his pity is stirred, and he reassures us that he will not give vent to his blazing anger…he will not let the flames consume us.

From the pierced heart of his son, Jesus, hanging dead on the cross, we draw (blood and) water joyfully from the springs of salvation: the blood and the water signifying the forgiveness of our sins, and the gifts of the holy sprit which unite us in the bond of peace! 

The reason that none of his bones were to be broken was so that there would have been no distraction and no impediment at all to his total gift of self…Jesus freely gave it all, for us! Why?

because his Heart is a burning furnace of charity,
because his Heart is full of goodness and love,
because his Heart is a fountain of life and holiness,
because his Heart is our peace and reconciliation,
because his Heart is our life and resurrection!

And as he loves us with that astounding and amazing Heart, so too are we empowered, by our baptism into his death and resurrection, to freely, generously and truly to love one another with his own love!

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you!

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.

June 18 , 2006
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST 2006

I – All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.

R – I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

II – When Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, he entered once for all into the sanctuary not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

G – While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, as said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  He said to them: “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”

After having celebrated the three major solemnities of the church year and its summation celebration of the Most Holy Trinity last Sunday – before moving into the “green teaching Sundays of Ordinary Time” – the church has us pause one more time for a Solemn Feast – as a way of underscoring the importance of this one particular aspect – that of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.

Jesus himself said: There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. And there is no greater laying down than the God/Man laying down his life to redeem the entire human race from the depths, and ravages and horror of sin. We must never forget that that is why he went through the most brutal death one could imagine – he did it for us and for our salvation! When Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, he entered once for all into the sanctuary not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. That day on Calvary is the day the earth stood still!  It was an act of utter, courageous, generous, heroic self-gift – for the likes of us! We must never forget that it was the collective and personal sins of each person on the earth, then, now and in the future, that made his suffering so intense!  But he didn’t flinch!  He didn’t waver!  He stayed the course until the end. He gave his entire body and all of his blood – for us!  THIS IS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU!  - he cried out from the cross! This is how much I love you! Love one another – as I love you!

The only way that we could possibly do this is to be strengthened and nourished – empowered and sent by him! This is what happens at this and every Mass.  We are nurtured by his word – we retell the story of his life and death and resurrection – we feel him alive and active in his word!  Then because of what he, himself, commanded us to do, we break bread and eat it; and we drink wine from the cup that is given – (while they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, as said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  He said to them: “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”) – but these are no longer earthly food, no longer bread and wine – they are now – because of Jesus’ own consecration of them: his Body and his Blood – the very same Body and Blood, that, the next day would be given totally, freely and completely on Calvary! 

When we are at Mass, we are at Calvary! This is how much I love you! Jesus whispers in our hearts when we receive his Most Holy Body and Blood in the Eucharist – we must listen – we must hear him! – this is how much I love you!  Love one another – as I love you!

I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
All that the LORD has said, I will heed and do.

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.

June 11 , 2006
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY 2006

I – Moses said to the people:…This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other. You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today.

R –Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

II – Those who are led by the Spirit of God…received a Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,…and…hiers…with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

G – “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

Today we make three reflections.

The first is concerning the Advent-Christmas Season. We see God as Father at work giving his only-begotten Son to the world, through the action of the Holy Spirit.

The second is concerning the Lent-Easter Season. We see the Son of God, who is also Son of Man, listening to his Father’s voice constantly and doing his will in all things – including a self-sacrificing death, which brought redemption to the whole human race – and the destruction of sin and death by the power of the Holy Spirit.

These last couple of weeks we see the third reflection: concerning the Ascension-Pentecost event which recounted Jesus and the Father sending the promised Holy Spirit into the beings of the Apostles – transforming and consecrating them and their successors forever – thus inaugurating the church –  a community of those who would respond to the Good News proclaimed by these “sent” men – and who would be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – and who would experience the special  presence of God in their lives until the end of time. All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.

In each reflection was see the work of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And because we possess, by our baptism, the Holy Spirit who teaches us all truth – with the divine light itself illuminating our minds and hearts – we assent to the fact that God is a community of persons – FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT. They are three, yet one! They act independent of one another, yet not without one another. They are the one true model of self-giving which produces love!

We, who are baptized, are baptized into their life, beginning with our relationship with God as Father. Those who are led by the Spirit of God…received a Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” Their life is in us, and ours is in them. We share in their community with each other – and we share in a community with other baptized men and women and children.

We are MOST LIKE THEM – and they are MOST ALIVE AND ACTIVE in us – WHEN WE SELF-LESSLY LOVE ONE ANOTHER with all of our minds and hearts and actions! Moses said to the people:…This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other. You must keep his statutes and commandments that I enjoin on you today.

We have an amazing example of exactly how to do this in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God’s Son, and our very brother! He is like us, we are like him. And one day we will be completely like he now is in Risen Glory – if we endure with him to the end – if we suffer with him, joining ourselves to his Passion, so that he can join us to his resurrection! The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,…and…hiers…with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.  

This would not be necessary if life were simple, carefree and easy. But life is complex, with many cares and difficult. So, he gave us a way to make it all worthwhile – but we must freely and voluntarily and lovingly offer it him, in virtue of his passion – and then help others with all our might! He empowers us by the gifts of the Holy Spirit to do these things perfectly – out of love for God.  Thus, we know what it is like to have the Trinity of God Father, Son and Spirit alive and active within us – and we make excellent preparation for the time when we shall meet them face to face!

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

May God the Father be for you JOY! – now and always!
         May God the Son be for you HOPE! – now and always!
               May God the Spirit be for you PEACE! – now and always!

Amen. Amen. Amen.

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.  

June 4 , 2006
SOLEMNITY OF PENTECOST 2006

I – When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together……And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were……There appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them…..And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

R –Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

II – No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit…..There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone……To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit (as a body is one though it has many parts, so also it is with Christ.)

G – Jesus came and stood in the midst of the disciples (in the locked room) and said to them, “Peace be with you.”…..Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”…..As when he had said this he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Today is graduation day for the Apostles from their seminary days with Jesus.  Jesus prepared them in every way possible for the awesome task that lay before them.  He taught them the very ways of God as only he could, he showed them what to do to live a meaningful life and how to deal with people, gently, respectfully, lovingly – he made sure that they fully understood the true significance of who he was, why he came to earth, why he had to leave them and how they would be empowered and comforted and further instructed by a Paraclete that he and the Father would send.

Today, then, after promising the gift of the Spirit on many occasions – the occasion at the Last Supper of saying: This is my body! This is my blood! Do this in memory of me! – the occasion of Easter Sunday evening when he breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” – the occasion of his Ascension into heaven when he said: Go into the whole world, proclaim the Good News  and baptize…  – but not yet! Wait first and pray for the coming of the Spirit. And so they waited in the upper room, and they prayed for nine days.

And now, the time has arrived and with a tremendous display of power and majesty, awe and wonder – the Spirit arrived in the upper room (can you just see it! can you hear it? When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together……And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were……There appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them…..And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
and the graduation was accomplished, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and the church was born! The church, the special dwelling place of God, until Jesus comes again!

The Lord sent out his Spirit, and now the renewal of the face of the earth could begin in earnest.

The manifestation of the Spirit, beginning at Pentecost – for the church – is meant to be the life-breath of the Body of Christ – the living cells of which each baptized member is one. The entire membership, the entire body, the entire church is specifically and purposefully gifted for its optimum and most beneficial functioning. The one and the same Spirit fills and guides and moves each member to fulfill its function (to each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit) – for the good of the whole church.  This is what it means to belong to the church – it means that we are empowered to do good, useful, uplifting, self-sacrificial loving things for one another – in imitation of Christ Jesus who did it all for us first! 

There is much work to be done in the world. The mission of Christ is large and comprehensive! The Spirit is alive in the church and must not be stifled – it must be acknowledged, welcomed, celebrated and given permission to do what it will. And the face of the earth will be renewed.

Today we thank God the Father and God the Son for sending God the Spirit as they promised they would. And we pray that we may never do anything that will sadden them – we pray that we may always give ourselves totally to the Spirit who will use us in the most perfect way that we can possibly imagine – as the church moves forward to its fulfillment and glorious perfection in the Kingdom of Heaven!

Amen.

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.

June 3 , 2006
VIGIL OF PENTECOST 2006

I – Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves…….Then the Lord said: If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do. Let us then go down there and confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says….That is why the city is called Babel, because the Lord confused the speech of all the world.

R –Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

II – The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness…for we do not [even] know how to pray as we ought…but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings … according to God’s will.

G – Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink!...Rivers of living water will flow from within him who believes in me.

This afternoon we anticipate the celebration of Pentecost by celebrating its “eve” or its “vigil” – much like we did for Christmas, and Easter.  While not proclaiming the arrival of the Spirit – and the birth of the Church – we can nonetheless talk about the coming Spirit and its significance.

It is an understatement to say that we live in confusing times. But if we look at today’s first reading we get the sense that most times have been confusing times – and that God himself may have had something to do with the presence of the chaos. The story is a sort of alternate creation story and explanation of the Fall of Mankind. Man, somehow got the idea that he could go it alone, without the help of God! And so he used all his technical know-how and built a grand city with a tower that reached to the sky – so that he could make a name for himself. (Sounds kind of familiar!)  And so it happened. And so it was.

But what they did not count on was the fact that God did not like the idea of being ignored and replaced. And being God, he chose to do something about the plans of men – he simply confused their language. They could no longer communicate successfully with one another, and thus their plans and their great city fell apart. And they made a different kind of name for themselves: we all know the story of their tower of Babel.

In a sense, God was not too happy about what he did. The idea of one family, with one language, and one voice appealed to him. But the people did the right thing for the wrong reason. And so he had to teach them a lesson. In fact, he devised quite an elaborate plan of his own – to teach the members of humankind what it was really like to be a family, what it was really like to be of one voice, to be of one faith, what it was really like to live solely for the good of the other, to sing praise and thanks to the one God for all his graciousness and blessings.

And so he inaugurated a plan with Abraham, the father of faith, to one day send the Holy Spirit to renew the face of the earth – to create one family – who care for and love one another selflessly - having one faith, and one voice to praise and thank the one God. This could not be accomplished though until the sending of His Son – Jesus – into the world to reconcile Fallen Human Nature and to restore it to a splendid life modeled after his own Risen Life. His passion, death and resurrection were the most significant events in all of human history. They enable all of us to be children of faith, gathered in one family, to love and care for one another without counting the cost, to raise our voices in song and prayers of thanksgiving to God the Father, in the Holy Spirit. This is doing the right thing for the right reason!

The effects of the tower of Babel, the effects of the first sin, the effects of personal selfishness are still very much present in the world: it seems that men and women still want to build a grand city for themselves, (yes, this sounds familiar), with towers reaching to the skies, thinking for the most part only of themselves and their own comfort, success and glorification. And the confusion, the chaos, the inability to focus as we should on what truly matters and what will lead us to everlasting life, the inability to pray and praise as we should – it remains! and it would seem like it will never get any better!  But the presence of the sent Holy Spirit in our lives makes all the difference for us who are baptized into Christ Jesus. Jesus cries out from the baptismal font: Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. As Scripture says: Rivers of living water will flow from within them who believe in me….The river of living water is the Holy Spirit! And when you drink you will find life, you will find refreshment, you will find faith, you will find your family, you will be empowered to love, selflessly as you never have before, and you will join your voices as one and offer prayer and praise to God, perfectly, both now and forever!

Let us open ourselves! Let us drink! Let us never be thirsty again! 
COME, HOLY SPIRIT!

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.

May 28 , 2006
SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

I – My brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus….May another take his office…Then they prayed…show us which one of these two you have chosen, then they gave them lots and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.

R –The Lord has set his throne in heaven.

II – Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.  No one has ever seen God.  Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.

G – Jesus prayed saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name. so that they may be one just as we are one. I do not ask you to take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is the truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.

TRUTH! TRUTH! TRUTH! Ever since mankind realized that it had the powers of reason, and evaluation and judgment: it set out on an amazing journey – that is not yet complete. It is the search for the truth, and the search for TRUTH itself. What it has come up with so far is a lot of the truth, and an unexpected encounter with real TRUTH! itself! The second part, illuminates the first.

God the Father spoke only one word: and it was: WORD – it was the second “part” of himself – the second person of the Trinity. This WORD contains ALL TRUTH. St. John describes to us in the prologue to his gospel how this WORD became flesh, and made his dwelling among us. And this is how we can get to know all there is to know about truth, by getting to know this Word made flesh, this Son of Man, who is also Son of God: this Jesus the Christ. 

Every bit of human seeking and searching is ultimately based on the search for Jesus, and all he has to say, and communicate to us – which he receives from his Father in heaven. He is the solution to every question, the solution to every problem, the solution to our every need.  And there is one way to prove this: by fully disposing ourselves to the gift of the Father and the Son: the Holy Spirit –dwelling in our very hearts (through baptism) who – affirms, confirms and verifies everything that Jesus ever thought, taught and did. (But the commemoration of the arrival of that Spirit is next week’s celebration.)

Today is the Sunday within the Novena for Pentecost. Christmas and Easter have octaves (8-day celebrations leading away from the celebrations), Pentecost has an anticipatory watching, waiting, listening period of nine days (after the Feast of the Ascension) which leads up to the celebration! This is where we get the term Novena of Prayers from (novem diem), nine-days, of prayer.

And so as we reflect on the coming gift of the Spirit of which Jesus spoke, we listen to how he asks his Father in prayer to protect the chosen apostles who are about to take over his mission – how he wants the Father, he and them to be as united as possible so that they would carry out the work with great joy in their hearts – come what may. And he wanted to personally consecrate them in truth! He wanted to give them truth – the truth that was himself – so that they would have it always – throughout the centuries – until the end of time. Jesus prayed saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name. so that they may be one just as we are one. I do not ask you to take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is the truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth. And so it was. When the Spirit finally came it activated the consecration of TRUTH in the them and the apostles began their ministry of WORD – the word of the TRUTH, the WAY, and the LIFE – the ministry of proclaiming JESUS: which has never stopped to this very moment.

Yes, with our limited human minds we can approach truth more and more deeply, we can penetrate it more nearly, and be motivated to make changes in our lives because of it: but we are never free to alter it, falsify it, distort it, dilute it or in any way cause it to lose its original integrity. This is the mission of the pope, the bishops, the priests and the people of the church – to guard, to cherish, to preserve and defend the truth -  who is: THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE: JESUS CHRIST! just exactly as He is! Come what may!  Come, Holy Spirit! TEACH US!
 

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.   

May 25 , 2006
THE SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION

I – He enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

R –God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

II – I urge you to live in a manner worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace…..Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift…for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

G – Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes will be saved….After he spoke to them, the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven and took his seat the the right hand of God…..They went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them.

God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord. Can you see it? Can you hear it? It must have been a very exciting moment both in the life of Jesus, and his Apostles. For Jesus it meant returning home, to his Father – who must have been very eager to have him home again; for the Apostles it meant that their new mission in life was about to begin – soon – but not just yet.  He enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Their “seminary days” were just about complete but the final ordination ceremony had not yet occurred. In a few days – nine to be exact – they would become fully equipped to do their work.  And they would do it with great enthusiasm.

They were to go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. This they would do and the church would begin to take shape. The body of Christ would begin to function with living members, members who would use the grace of God’s Spirit to live in all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace….. They would do their part in building up Christ’s body into mature manhood and full stature. And many would give their very lives eventually as a tremendous sign of the reality of the importance of their mission and work.

For us, here today, the Ascension of Jesus means that we cannot see him, hear him, touch him – but it does not mean that we cannot have a very real relationship with him, both individually, personally; and as a member of his mystical body: the church. It is by faith that we are related to him. It is by faith that we see him, hear him, touch him, talk with him, are encouraged by him, blessed and fed by him – as he uses the sacramental life of the church – as he provides the Apostles and their successors down to our own bishops today – as he lives within each of us who are baptized and confirmed and fed by the Eucharist. It is by faith that we walk and live!

Be not afraid: I am with you always! Jesus, is never far from us! Jesus is right here, right now! Thank you, Jesus!  Amen.

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.

May 21 , 2006
SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

I – In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.  Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him….The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles also…(thus ending the dispute as to whether they should be baptized) so he ordered them to be baptized.

R –The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

II – Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.  Whoever is without love does not know God for God is love…..In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us [first] and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

G – This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

In the first weeks and months and years of the brand new Christian community of faith there was naturally a sorting out time, a figuring it out time, a time of testing the validity of the new truths that were fast becoming the foundation for a whole new religious expression. One such matter to be discussed and figured out was whether the non-Jewish Gentiles, if they wanted to become Christian, would have to be converted to Judaism first – since the blood line of Jewish descent was seen to be a very important point for them.  Peter and Paul were divided on this issue. But it was in the setting of the first reading today that the matter was solved by God himself when he sent the Spirit down upon the whole lot of them who were gathered, Jews and Gentiles alike. The Jews were astonished that the Spirit fell upon the Gentiles as well as them, and so Peter immediately ordered that the Gentiles be baptized without any temporary detour through the Jewish observance. This emphasized the fact that it is no longer the physical bloodline that was important, but the spiritual line of faith which extended back to Abraham, that was important, and could include anyone and everyone. In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.  Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him….The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles also - so he ordered them to be baptized.

Another very foundational point that was established at that time was the primacy of LOVE.  St. John tells us in the second reading that when you love you are begotten by God and you know God. The converse is also true.  Whoever is without love does not know God for God is love.  But then John goes on to put the cart back behind the horse where it belongs.  In talking about this love, he says, what comes FIRST, always and every circumstance and situation is that GOD FIRST LOVES US! This simple phrase cannot be underscored enough! It is that first, originating love which thought about us before we were created, which brought us into being, which sustains us, nurtures us, guides us and leads us – and because he loved us so much as to send his own Son to free us from our sins, he guarantees our eternal life with him – IF WE REMAIN IN HIM!!! if we love him back, if we love others as Jesus did, as Jesus taught. It is very frightening to think that we can reject this magnificent love of God – but we can – and many do!

And so Jesus himself in the gospel passage gives us the one basic commandment that we need to base our whole lives on: LOVE ONE ANOTHER, AS I LOVE YOU.  Love one another self-less-ly, untiringly, unceasingly, to the extreme, even to the point of death, if needs be.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. This is how I love you. And when you love this way then you experience my presence within you and the Father’s presence, and our Spirit empowers you to know that this is all true, and to give more and more.

If we stop to think about it, for Jesus, heaven is he giving himself continually and forever to his Father and us – heaven will be the same for us – continually giving ourselves to him, to the Father, and to our brothers and sisters who will be there with us – that is why it is so vitally important for us to learn how to do it HERE, and NOW, TODAY!!! – if we have never really given it a shot before – NOW is a VERY GOOD TIME to BEGIN! The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power – and it is self-sacrificing LOVE!

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.   

May 14 , 2006
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - (MOTHER'S DAY)

I – The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.  It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

R – I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.

II – Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.  We should love one another just as Jesus commanded us.  This way we know he remains in us.

G – I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.

Today we celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter in the church calendar and Mother’s Day in the secular calendar.  The readings today lend themselves to both celebrations.

In the first reading from Acts of the Apostles we see that the fledgling church was at peace! The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.  It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers. Paul had begun his turnabout career as the Apostle to the Gentiles. He, who once, not long before, vehemently persecuted the church, was now speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord, and debating with the Hellenists: the Greek speaking Jews.  All were singing the praises of the Lord, in the assembly of the faithful.

But, not only were they singing, they were also speaking of the love of God - a new kind of love – not only a kind of love that had to do with word or speech, but also in witness of deed and truth. Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.  We should love one another just as Jesus commanded us.  This way we know he remains in us…..They believed in Jesus who lived in them and felt the presence of his Spirit when they in fact loved one another in deed and truth. 

Jesus further explains in the gospel passage this intimate union and call for loving action.  He says:  – I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. Jesus can’t get any more clear than this.  YOU ARE BAPTIZED.  YOU ARE IN ME.  I AM IN YOU.  STAY IN ME by believing in me and loving all others selflessly to the extreme as I did – then you will have a rich, green, abundant, fruitful life in all you do both here and hereafter.  I have prepared a place for you in my Father’s house.  Stay with me so that I can escort you to that place one day!  What is frightening is that any one of us is capable of choosing NOT to stay with Jesus – I pray that that is not our decision.

There is another way of speaking of this unity and call for self-sacrificing action: an analogy which corresponds with the secular festival of the day: Mother’s Day.  Just as Jesus is the vine, our mothers were a vine for us.  When we lived in their womb before our birth, they lived in us, and we in them.  It is obvious that apart from them, we would have ceased to be.  Throughout our lives we need to live in Jesus, as we did in our mothers – until that day when we are “born” into a new world: a world of eternal life because we loved one another as both Jesus and our mothers taught us.  Then we shall be with our mothers again, and we, with them, will thank God forever for all of his wondrous blessings and motherly care for us!  Amen.
 
- Father Willliam Steven Dinga, Jr.

May 7 , 2006
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

I – It was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…this man stands before you healed…there is no salvation through anyone else.

R – The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

II – See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God…what we shall be has not yet come to light.

G – I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.  These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. It is a day, following upon the Easter celebration in which we reflect upon one of the most endearing and understandable images of the Risen Jesus – the Stone Rejected who became the cornerstone.  Even though, in our contemporary world, not many of us know a great deal about sheep-herding, what Jesus has to say about it still makes perfect sense to us. We envision a flock of sheep, who are needy in many ways. We envision a human personage who is present to them, who knows their needs and who does everything in his power to provide for those needs. We envision a loving relationship between sheep and shepherd – which in its purest form would involve the shepherd even giving his life for the welfare of the sheep.  We can hear his calming, gentle voice even when he is fetching back the strays…and there are always strays. We envision the one who knows the way for the sheep to go which is safest and surest; the truth about the realities of life that they must deal with; the life to which they are ultimately called. 

I am the good shepherd. Jesus is our shepherd. We are his flock. He is present to us, always. He knows our needs, all of them.  He does everything in his power to provide for our needs, while still maintaining our sense of freedom and individuality. He has a deeply loving relationship with us – which he took to the extreme of giving his very life not only for our temporal welfare, but our eternal salvation. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… And I will lay down my life for the sheep. We can often hear his calming, gentle voice moving us along right paths, I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and fetching us back when we have gone astray- and we all go astray from time to time. He not only knows the way that we should be traveling, the safest and the surest: HE HIMSELF IS THE WAY; He not only knows the truth about the realities of life that we must encounter: HE HIMSELF IS THE TRUTH that will set us free; He not know knows about the eternal life to which we are all called: HE HIMSELF IS THE LIFE, the eternal life to which we are all, each and every one called!

Quite obviously there are several differences between us, as human beings, and sheep, as wild animals, cute though they might be. A major difference is that we are human persons endowed with free-will, the ability to weigh evidence, and to make decisions regarding our own welfare – but we also have the ability to use our reason and transcend our human limits and encounter God on his own level-using the gift of faith that God freely gives us. And so - as Jesus is most graciously our good shepherd, he can do nothing for us without our cooperation and assent of faith. He respects us too much to force anything on us…even eternal life.

We, then, ask ourselves the question today: are we willing members of the flock (children) of God? – See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God…what we shall be has not yet come to light - are we willing to be led by Jesus according to the way known by him (the safest and the surest)? are we willing to listen to his voice speaking the truth to us? are we willing to go into the eternal life of happiness and joy that he has prepared for us? There is no salvation through anyone else. I pray that our response be yes! and that our actions follow our response! The action of living a life of charity for others, empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, modeled on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

We pray too for those who are also of God’s flock - but are not yet in their rightful place who are invited to the One fold, with the One shepherd. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.  These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. That these may hear his voice calling them; and that they respond affirmatively with joy and wonder in their hearts, we pray! GRACIOUS GOD MAKE US ONE! ONE FLOCK! WITH ONE SHEPHERD! WHO IS ALL GOOD!

_____________________ 

Today is also World Day of Prayer for Vocations to the priesthood and religious life.  To ensure his presence as Head and Shepherd of the People of God: the Church, until the end of time: Jesus appointed the Apostles who were filled with the Holy Spirit, and sent on a mission of pastoral charity: to bring the Good News and its consequent Way of Life to every creature on the face of the earth. These men were configured in a special way to Christ who wanted to do the work himself through their instrumentality! This configuration to Christ the Head (and Shepherd) is the true meaning of ordination to the priesthood. Once configured, the priest forever pledges himself to living out the life and mission of Christ in an exemplary way. When we see the priest (either as bishop or helper), we see Christ the Head, Christ the Shepherd of his people! Today we pray that men of any age, listen, consider and answer the call to such a commitment in their lives. The flock will never be left unattended – but this includes the active discernment of those eligible and capable of saying “Yes” to God’s invitation. May we be blessed with dedicated, generous, holy, self-sacrificing priests!

 
- Father Willliam Steven Dinga, Jr.

April 30 , 2006
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

I – You denied the Holy and Righteous One…and the author of life you put to death (but God raised him from the dead)…you acted out of ignorance…repent and be converted that your sins may be wiped away.

R – Lord, let your face shine on us.

II – If anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one…He is the expiation of our sins.

G – Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…”Thus is it written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

It is characteristic of our contemporary society to be certain, to be right, to be correct, to be stubbornly insistent that for the most part we are above reproach, and incapable of making any serious mistakes about practically anything at all.  We live in a society that excuses dishonesty, cheating and cutting corners – sometimes to the extent of even making them a virtue. “Everyone is doing it” is pretty much a by-word of this day, moreso than any other time in history!  This applies not only to politicians – but to us all. 

The same person who lives in contemporary society also lives in the church.  And it is here that one can only go so far without jeopardizing one’s whole future life – a life that will last forever. What might “get by” in sharing contemporary life in the earthly city, will not “get by” when accountability is demanded by the One who will determine, out of justice, where we will spend eternity in the new dispensation.

The society/religious group of the time put Jesus, the very Messiah and Liberator they had been waiting for, to death. They were stubbornly “correct” – or so they thought - in their assessment of him as a “rabble-rouser” and a “blasphemer.” You denied the Holy and Righteous One…and the author of life you put to death (but God raised him from the dead)…you acted out of ignorance…repent and be converted that your sins may be wiped away.
 
When we stand in our ignorance, we lose sight of the reality of the sin that we are capable of, and indeed do commit. We assess ourselves incorrectly. Proverbs tells us that “even the just man sins seven times a day!” Honesty tells us that we are sinners, and that we need God’s mercy, and his forgiveness: constantly! And how we get this mercy and forgiveness is to: re-pent (fr. re-pensir) to re-think certain situations through (we know the ones, we can’t fool ourselves), and then to make necessary changes – giving up our stubbornness, our hard-heartedness, our blindness and insensitivity to the reality that we are constantly tempted, and that we must constantly be on guard, and constantly turn ourselves toward God: especially in the source of his mercy: the Sacred Heart of His Son, Our Risen Lord, Jesus. If anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one…He is the expiation of our sins.

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…”Thus is it written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem A most marvelous fact: that “forgiveness of sins” was indeed preached throughout the whole world, beginning in Jerusalem – all the way down to our present day, time and place, right here, right now!  

We are exhorted, then, and encouraged to STOP, RE-THINK THINGS THROUGH (WHEN NECESSARY), REALIZE THAT IT IS PERFECTLY ALRIGHT TO CHANGE ONE’S MIND - THEN, ACTUALLY TURN AND MOVE ONCE AGAIN IN A DIRECTION THAT LEADS STRAIGHT TO JESUS. We can do this several times a day!  We can do it when we come to Mass.  We can do it when we go to Confession – for Jesus is the expiation for our sins – and he wants to shower us with his grace and his mercy – but we must be in the vicinity in order for Him to do so!

Last week we celebrated the Mercy of God, this week we celebrate its application in heartfelt repentance!  

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.

April 23 , 2006
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER or DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

I – With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all.

R – The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

II – For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments.

G – Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, whose sins you retain are retained.

Today we celebrate the octave day of Easter – the eighth day of continual proclamation of the Lord has been raised – it is true! Alleluia! Alleluia! We also celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday.

Since the time of Adam, mankind has longed for re-conciliation, res-toration, re-newal and res-olution to its age old problem and questions of: “Who am I?  Why am I here? What is life all about? Why is it so difficult? What happens when I die?

Throughout the centuries answers, solutions, remedies have been sought, attempted and proposed with various levels and depths of success and satisfaction. But it was not until the coming of Christ – who became the stone rejected by the builders, that a real cornerstone regarding the situation was laid – that cornerstone being Jesus himself.

A “cornerstone”  the dictionary tells us, is “the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained.” Jesus – the Incarnate Word of God, the Crucified Son of Man, the Risen Lord of Glory certainly is such a stone. The entire reality of redemption – everything about it: its inception, its development, its calculated growth, its explanation – all are found in Him. The more we learn about Him, the more we learn about it! He is our salvation! His death, destroyed death – and is our death. His rising, restored life for all of us! By the shedding of His Blood – Who is the very Lamb of God  – we have forgiveness of our sins, and direct access to the Divine Mercy.

THERE IS NO GREATER SOLUTION!  THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS!  THIS IS OUR  PASSOVER FEAST!

With great power – after having received the Holy Spirit – the apostles – sent forth by Jesus – bore witness to the Resurrection of the Stone Rejected – and great favors were accorded them. Two such favors were:  1) the establishment of vibrant core communities of believers who truly “loved one another” after the example of Christ Jesus – the example of limitless self-gift; 2) the sense of peace which pervaded those who became recipients of the Divine Mercy – through participation in the life of the community, the breaking of the bread, the forgiveness of their sins (whose sins you forgive are forgiven them),  charitable works of mercy to any who were in need. God wants more than anything to offer His immense mercy to anyone who asks for it – especially sinners. He knows that mercy is our deepest need.  It is His delight to distribute it freely and generously.

On this day – the week after Easter we celebrate the Mercy that God has for us all – which originates in the wounded Heart of His beloved Son, the mercy that will be available to us all the days of our life, until the day that Jesus returns to be our Judge. Then the time for mercy will be over, and the time for accountability will have arrived.

Let it be our daily preparation to pray expressly for God’s mercy upon ourselves, upon our loved ones, upon all those in the world who need it, especially those who don’t think they do – for these are the ones who need it most. We ask this outpouring of mercy through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus her son.

Thomas came to believe in the mercy and forgiveness of God, even though he had many questions and doubts. We can believe and obtain the richness of God’s mercy too – all we need do is ask! At 3pm this afternoon – The Hour of Great Mercy – as Jesus himself promised to St. Faustina Kowalska, no request will be refused to those who make their prayer in virtue of the Sacred Passion of Jesus. “I desire that the Feast of Mercy, be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.  On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open.  I put out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy… On that day are open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow.” Let us pray at that hour for the conversion and transformation of all sinners!

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.

April 15/16 , 2006
HOLY SATURDAY / EASTER SUNDAY

Because Jesus rose from the dead – the Enemy has been destroyed…
                        the enemy is sin and death!

Because Jesus rose from the dead – Anything is possible…
                        everything is fixable!

Because Jesus rose from the dead – Suffering is redemptive…
                        pain is a means to wholeness and health!

Because Jesus rose from the dead – Time is on our side…
                        sometimes “waiting” can produce the best results!

Because Jesus rose from the dead – Everything is hopeful…
                        there is nothing so bad as to despair!

Because Jesus rose from the dead – Rejoicing is our song…
                        and ALLELUIA! is it’s name!

HAPPY EASTER!

- Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.

April 14 , 2006
GOOD FRIDAY

There is no greater source of meditation at a Good Friday celebration than the reflection on the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross.  Traditionally they have come down to us as points of focus – as words of great import and value:

Placing ourselves at Calvary, before Jesus on the Cross, we consider:

The first word: “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”
            Jesus forgave his executioners and the crowd calling for his death. If Jesus could do that, I can do the same to those who persecute me in so many ways. After all Jesus died for me, and for them.

The second word: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise!”
            What an exciting moment. Heaven is a reality, and we are all invited to live there.  All I need do is say “I’m sorry” and accept the forgiveness of Jesus.  From this awareness comes great peace and strength, enabling me to face the future with confidence.

 The third word: “Woman, behold your son.”
            Jesus says this to the disciple John, who represents all of us.  Then he completes his though saying to all of us: “Behold your mother.” Jesus gifts us with his mother.  His concern for us reaches beyond his death.  The mother of God is now also our mother.  The mother who gave birth to him will re-create his life in us.

The fourth word: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
            At time, we all feel that God is hidden. The newspapers, the newscasts, our own personal experiences tell us that there are a variety of human tragedies that can plunge us into darkness. “Where is God in all this?” we often cry out! Turning to scripture – as Jesus did with this sentence from Psalm 22 – can always help. If I lock myself in my room with the lights off and the blinds closed, that does not mean the sun has stopped shining. Opening the scriptures is like opening the blinds. That’s where the light is.

 The fifth word: “I thirst!”
            Doctors tell us that patients die an agonizing death from dehydration.  They explain that since every part of the human body needs water, when there is a deprivation of water, then every single part of the body suffers.  We can think that when sin infects some ‘cells’ of the mystical body, then every single part of the body suffers.  Jesus’ thirst for souls, then becomes my thirst, calling me to pray for all the members of His body, the Church – especially those who dealing with sin, and don’t even care.

The sixth word: “It is accomplished.”
            This ‘word’ can be seen as a victory cry.  Humanly, Jesus may have seen how much more there was to do, but he humbly places the completion of his mission in God’s hands. This is a wonderful example for us.  We do the best that we can and allow God to complete our mission, whether it is in our family, our professional or our personal life.
The seventh word: “Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit.”
            This is the climax of a very dramatic scene.  For three hours darkness has covered the earth to due an eclipse.  The veil of the temple is split.  And then the LOUD voice of Jesus cries out these words, and then he dies. We pray that our last words may reflect such profound trust and love of God.

May these prayerful reflections on Jesus’ last words lead us to a deeper union with our suffering Savior and someday to our unending union with him in eternity.

• Father William Dinga, Jr.
• Father Don Driscoll, SJ

April 13 , 2006
HOLY THURSDAY

I – I will go through Egypt, striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt – I , the LORD.        

R – Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.

II – This is my body that is for you…This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this in remembrance of me.

G – Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me….I have given you a model to follow so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

There are several urgencies being brought to the forefront in the scripture readings for this celebration of the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

The first urgency details the history-making deliverance of the enslaved Hebrew people from their Egyptian taskmasters. At a specially orchestrated and designated meal, they were to eat with their loins girt, sandals on their feet and staff in hand, like those who are in flight. For it is the Passover of the Lord.

At the conclusion of the meal the blood of a lamb would save their lives as the second urgency finds the people spreading blood on their door posts – at the instruction of God -    so that the angel of death would not invade their houses. I will go through Egypt, striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt – I , the LORD. One of those firstborn would be pharaoh’s own beloved son – it would be the final straw that would result in pharaoh immediately expelling the captive people.

The third urgency has to do with the Blood of the New Lamb of God – Jesus Christ – who, at a Passover supper - many centuries later - celebrated with his friends the night before his life-giving, blood-draining death - inaugurates a new covenant in his blood – thus nullifying the old covenant between God and his people -  establishing a new and everlasting one. This event was so significant that he associated his death of the following day with the elements of the bread and wine that he shared with his disciples that night. He asked them to remember him always in the breaking of the bread – which actually and substantially became him; and the drinking of the cup of his blood  – which applies the grace of his death on the cross – until he comes again. This is my body that is for you…This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this in remembrance of me.

The fourth urgency has to do with action. The action of service. The action of washing.  The action of self-giving.  Jesus is very insistent that he wash his disciple’s feet. Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me…. He is telling them three important things here: 1) that action necessarily follows reflection – one must put into practice what one celebrates  2) that the washing or cleansing he performed was to be linked to the baptismal washing and cleansing which would soon follow for those who wanted to be united with his life – this washing is the initiation into life in Christ both here, and hereafter 3) that  the very act of self-giving – which would be brought to an entirely new depth the next day on the cross – was like a summary of Christ’s whole mission: he came to give himself absolutely, totally, completely, to his last breath and drop of blood. And because he did this perfectly as the Son of God and Son of Man – it becomes efficacious for all of humanity. Which leads us to the fifth and final urgency of our consideration this evening. What does this have to do with us: here, now, today – as we await Jesus’ return as judge of us all?

If there was no immediacy to what we are celebrating tonight, nor any practical and long-lasting application – then it would be senseless for us to keep remembering and re-presenting each year what happened two-thousand years ago.  But, in fact, there is a great deal of immediacy, urgency and pressing necessity in what we are considering here. 
From what we have just reflected on:

As we sit and meditate for a little while after Mass tonight – spending an hour with Jesus, as he asked his friends to do – while he went and prayed and thought things over - may we open ourselves to the depth of the riches of the generosity and commitment of Jesus to His Father’s Will – which he obediently submitted to even though he was visibly distressed in contemplating it – that – even though these great events occurred once and for all times 2000 years ago – they are just as valid, just as felt, just as efficacious, just as salvific this very night! for you – and for me and for all those who are waiting for us to wash their feet.

April 9 , 2006
PALM SUNDAY

I – The Lord God gave me a well trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.

R – My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

II – Christ Jesus – did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at.  He emptied himself taking the form of a slave – becoming obedient to the point of death – on a cross.

G – Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord – blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come.

Today we begin the celebration of the great events which led up to the most significant moment in all of human history. All that went wrong in the Garden of Eden was now to be made irrevocably right again by the obedient submission of Jesus Christ to death on a cross. We are familiar with the story, we have heard it all before, but this year is different from all other times of our hearing because we are different than what we were at the last hearing. This year has been a year of change – great and small, and so we are not the same people we were last Palm Sunday.

This makes what we do here today different, but it also remains the same – for though we may be different – Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today and for ever. What he did, he did once and for all time. His magnificent sacramental gift to the church is that through the Liturgy of Holy Week – we can spiritually, yet truly be present at the same events that happened on our behalf two-thousand years ago. No person of faith has any advantage over any other regarding a front row seat at the Palm Sunday entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples, the way of the Cross ending with his Crucifixion, and the Resurrection – Jesus triumph over sin and death.

Today then, we join the crowd, pick up our palm and welcome Jesus into Jerusalem. Something within us makes us cry out with the rest of the crowd: (G) “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord – blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come.” We can join our voices to that of the crowd because we too are of the family of faith which began with Abraham, continued through Moses and the prophets, then  extend through the line of kings which included David – on whose throne the Messiah, Jesus, would descend, and sit and reign forever. These events are the fulfillment of that promise made to David and his royal line. The Messiah, Jesus, is really here and we are about to watch him fulfill the prophecies.

Jesus, for his part has just finished his public ministry – a ministry of announcing the arrival of a fully inaugurated kingdom of God. (I) “The Lord God gave me a well trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.” When he spoke to us, he spoke only of restoration, and healing; of love, compassion, forgiveness and truth – words that were meant to rouse and turn about the well-worn members of God’s chosen people – who after centuries of trial and subjugation were selected to be the ones who would receive God’s word in fullness.

Because their history of relating with God had been so erratic and rebellious, God, in order to finally convey his message of love, and accomplish the necessary reconciliation between him and his people - which extended back to Adam in the garden – sent part of himself to our world, in the person of Jesus (who was true God, and true man at one and the same time): (II) “Christ Jesus – did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at.  Rather he emptied himself taking the form of a slave – becoming obedient to the point of death – on a cross.” The obedience of Jesus erased the disobedience of Adam. It was the only way that it could have ever been accomplished. Later this week we will spend more time intimately examining just how the act of obedience was executed! Though Jesus was God, having set all of that aside, he really and truly underwent a very disturbing human death by means of the most cruel form of capital punishment known to the Romans at the time, short of being fed to the lions – crucifixion. It will drive Jesus to cry out from the cross: (R) “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”  It was very real. It was very painful. It was very redemptive.

For today, however, let it suffice to be among those who welcome Jesus into their city, who want to be near him, who, though maybe not completely sure they understood what he was all about at that stage – still knew that there was something very different about him, very loving, very comforting, very healing, very peaceful, very joyful. That is the Jesus who always was, was then, and would always be.  That is the Jesus that is here with us now at this, and every mass. That is the Jesus who will never, ever abandon us. He promised to be with us all days, until the end of the world. We believe and we trust in his promise!

Would it be too much for us to promise Jesus that we, who have changed since last year at this time, will not forget nor abandon him, that we will be there spiritually and faithfully for him, as we recall this week the great events that brought about our very salvation? Our attention given him can be very real, and very effective, and very helpful - for we do it in faith, in hope, and with love!

-  Father William Steven Dinga, Jr.