10

SPIRITUALITY

April 4 , 2017 | The Valley Catholic

By Father Brendan McGuire

Pastor of Holy Spirit Parish , San Jose , and Vicar General for special projects , Diocese of San Jose . Email him at bmcguire @ dsj . org .

What Would We Do Sunday , April 9 , 2017

In listening to the passion of Christ in its totality , we can be affected in different ways because there are so many layers to the story . If , for a moment , we imagine ourselves in that story , somewhere in the crowds , for example , we see Jesus somewhere along the way . Where and what role do we think we would play ? Just think about it for a couple of seconds .

There is a TV show called , “ What Would You Do ?” The show creates scenarios for testing moral or ethical behavior . All the cameras are hidden , and most of the team are actors , except for a few unsuspecting people whose characters are tested . Sometimes it happens in a store or a restaurant , and they see what other people would do in certain circumstances .

Recently , a show depicted a woman who is on food stamps , but she is not able to pay for the food , as she is short a few dollars . What did the people behind her in the line do ? Everyone was an actor , including the cashier , except for the people behind her in the line . It is surprising how some people reacted and maybe even embarrassing ! In a situation like this , we ask ourselves “ what would we do ?” Most of our hearts would be tugged , and we would do something . But in other situations , we might just go along with the crowd .

In today ’ s first Gospel reading that we heard outside before Mass , we heard how the crowds welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem . But just five days later that same crowd called “ Let him be crucified ! Let him be crucified !” It is the same crowd , so what happened ? I suspect it was sort of a crowd mentality .

The challenge for us as Christians is to step out of the crowd and to do the right thing . That is the call to be a Christian . In our secular society , we are told life is about us as individuals – society says we can pull ourselves up by the bootstraps ; if we need help , we have to go out and help ourselves . It is all in our hands . And largely our society is built on that .

But that is not the way Christ envisioned the world . Christ said we ought to help each other . There are times when one person needs help , and there are other times when somebody else needs help . Sometimes that other person is ourself !

Jesus makes it clear : we have to help one another . That is what we are called to do . The will of the Father for us is that we pour out ourselves constantly , even to the point of death , for others . That is what Christ demonstrated today . We need to speak out and step up .

Today , we are called not to blend in with the crowd ; we are called to be Christians , to follow Christ , and to step up and do the right thing . For every one of us it will be something different . But the question he asks us all – what would we do ? – what will we do this very day to be called a Christian ?

Here Comes the Resurrection Sunday , April 16 , 2017

“ Go to Galilee , and there you will see him .” Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb because they believed what Jesus had told them . The angel appeared to them and said , “ Go tell the disciples that he is risen from the dead ; go to Galilee , and there , there they will see him .” And on their way , Jesus appeared to them as well .

Pope Francis reminds us that they are called to go back to where they first encountered Jesus Christ in Galilee . It was where they first saw Jesus , where they first heard Jesus , where they first experienced Jesus . It was there they came to believe in Jesus , and they followed him . He promised that he would rise from the dead and that he would be the fulfillment of all that they had heard .

Now as the risen Jesus , he is telling them to go back to Galilee , to go back to where he first met them and to re-create every little thing they said or did together in light of the Resurrection , and to experience everything anew .

Think for just one moment , when and how you first encountered Christ ? When did you have the first clarity of Christ ? Was it through a person ? Was it because of a place ? Or was it a circumstance ?

For me , it was when my father bought a large piece of bog land in Ireland . It was swamp that could be cut with a plow and then planted with trees . I was 12 years old at the time when the first tractor appeared on the bog land to plow , but it completely sank into the bog . He then hired the best tractor man in the town to lift out the first tractor . As the second tractor approached , it sank as well . Now there were two tractors in the bog land . I remember him looking at me and saying , “ I don ’ t know why this has happened , but the Lord will provide a solution .”

Two weeks later , we waited for another tractor to arrive . My father had hired a rather inventive farmer , who had creatively put a plank of wood like a railway sleeper on every single one of the tracks of his tractor . Basically , his tractor floated !

When my dad looked into the horizon with the new tractor coming , he said , “ Here comes the Resurrection .” And in rolled the new tractor ; it looked like it was floating on top of the bog land . The man steps out , sinks down to waist high , buckles up one tractor , pulls it out . Buckles up the second tractor , pulls it out , and then says to my father , “ Ah , sure , while I ’ m here now , why don ’ t I plow out the land for you ?” I will always remember him looking down and saying , “ Here comes the Resurrection .” That was one of my first moments of faith .

All our lives are different , and some have had “ tractors sink in our life .” The Lord promises us that , if we can believe in the Resurrection and go back to our Galilee , where God first visited us , that first experience will illuminate a new way . If we choose to believe , then every moment can be transformed . Every single moment !

We must promise that no matter what happens in our darkest hours that we will always say , “ Here comes the Resurrection .”

Your Dignity Memorial ® professionals are dedicated to helping families honor the heritage of the Catholic faith with a meaningful memorial that truly celebrates the life it represents .