John 6:44-51 & Father Leo

Gregory Mussmacher, "A Prayer For Courage"
Dear God, give me courage,
for perhaps I lack it more than anything else.
I need courage before men against their threats
and against their seductions.
I need courage to bear unkindness,
mockery, contradiction.
I need courage to fight against the devil,
against terrors and troubles, temptations,
attractions, darkness and false lights,
against tears, depression, and above all fear.
I need Your help, dear God.
Strengthen me with Your love and Your grace.
Console me with Your blessed Presence
and grant me the courage to persevere
until I am with You forever in heaven. Amen!!!!


Daily Reading & Meditation
Thursday (4/30): "If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever"
Scripture: John 6:44-51

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."

Meditation: God offers his people abundant life, but we can miss it. What is the bread of life which Jesus offers? It is first of all the life of God himself – life which sustains us not only now in this age but also in the age to come. The Rabbis said that the generation in the wilderness have no part in the life to come. In the Book of Numbers it is recorded that the people who refused to brave the dangers of the promised land were condemned to wander in the wilderness until they died. The Rabbis believed that the father who missed the promised land also missed the life to come. God sustained the Israelites in the wilderness with manna from heaven. This bread foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers.

Jesus makes a claim only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience. The manna from heaven prefigured the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper which Jesus gave to his disciples on the eve of his sacrifice. The manna in the wilderness sustained the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land. It could not produce eternal life for the Israelites. The bread which Jesus offers his disciples sustains us not only on our journey to the heavenly paradise, it gives us the abundant supernatural life of God which sustains us for all eternity. When we receive from the Lord’s table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood and partakers of his divine life. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward.

Jesus offers us the abundant supernatural life of heaven itself – but we can miss it or even refuse it. To refuse Jesus is to refuse eternal life, unending life with the Heavenly Father. To accept Jesus as the bread of heaven is not only life and spiritual nourishment for this world but glory in the world to come. When you approach the Table of the Lord, what do you expect to receive? Healing, pardon, comfort, and rest for your soul? The Lord has much more for us, more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist or Lord's Supper is an intimate union with Christ. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more firmly rooted in the love of Christ. Do you hunger for the "bread of life"?

"Lord Jesus, you are the living bread which sustains me in this life. May I always hunger for the bread which comes from heaven and find in it the nourishment and strength I need to love and serve you wholeheartedly. May I always live in the joy, peace, and unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and in the age to come."

Psalm 66:8-20
8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
10 For thou, O God, hast tested us; thou hast tried us as silver is tried.
11 Thou didst bring us into the net; thou didst lay affliction on our loins;
12 thou didst let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet thou hast brought us forth to a spacious place.
13 I will come into thy house with burnt offerings; I will pay thee my vows,
14 that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to thee burnt offerings of fatlings, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. [Selah]
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
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Father Leo's Weekly E-Mail Blast!!!!
Instituted and Ordained to Feed!

Before Vatican II, men studying for the priesthood received minor orders, sacramental rites of passages, if you will, before being ordained a priest. While Vatican II changed the rites and ordination procedures, the Church retains the “institutions” of Lector, Acolyte, and the ordination of Transitional Deaconate. These steps are required before a man is ordained a priest.



At Mount St. Mary’s, all of this all happened in just one weekend! Talk about a busy but glorious weekend. The beautiful weather showed God’s favor on us and the joy among the community was heartfelt. On Friday evening, the First Year Theology Students received the Ministry of Lector, which means they are to read the Scriptures in the sacred liturgy with the blessing of the Church. While all Christians are encouraged to read the Scriptures, instituted Lectors have the responsibility to develop a rigorous theological appreciation of it and are commissioned to officially read the Scriptures during liturgies in the name of the Church.



On Saturday morning, our Second Theology Students received the Ministry of Acolyte, meaning they are charged to serve at Holy Mass and assist with the distribution of Holy Communion.



Finally, one of our Third Year Theologians was ordained a Transitional Deacon for one year, until he is ordained a priest for his Diocese.



Bishop Seratelli, from the Diocese of Trenton, officiated these rites. We sure kept him busy! His homily at the Lector Institution particularly resonated me. He told a beautiful story of a Jewish Rabbi Akiba (2nd century) who effectively encouraged the Jewish people to read the Torah, even when they were threatened with death if they were caught reading it. When asked if he was afraid of reading the Torah lest he be caught, he replied with a parable, which I will try to paraphrase:

A fox looked at the stream and saw all of the fish swimming frantically and agitated. He asked, “what was wrong?” “A fisherman comes this time each day and always catches one of our numbers,” replied the fish. The fox then said, “why do you not then leave these waters and hide in my den?” The fish responded, “Of fox, you are not as cunning as you think. Why would we leave the waters, which gives us life, only to go to your den where we would certainly die?”

I could never tell that story with the talent or the authority of the Bishop (or the Rabbi), but the point he made was crystal clear: the Sacred Scriptures is our source of life, and it is the soul of theology.



Reading the Holy Book for believers is like water for believers. If we are not fully immersed in it, we will die and put ourselves in even greater harm.

The Bishop also mentioned how the Scripture is the food for our souls – like water is necessary for the Fish. As the Word became Flesh to dwell among us, we are called to take in that word, make it take flesh in our being, and serve that word as food for the soul! He then reminded the seminarians, “People are hungry for the word of God!” These men who were instituted Lector, Acolyte and ordained a Deacon are now called to officially “feed” the people with God’s word and to serve at His Table.

A few seminarians remarked how his homily was a perfect tie in to our Grace Before Meals movement! It was a proud moment for so many people – parents and faculty included!



Perhaps your family can take a cue from what we celebrated here in our seminary family by “instituting” more time devoted to reading the Scriptures. Does your family spend time reading God’s word? Here are a few ideas to help develop more appreciation for it. Use the dinner time to ask questions about one of the readings proclaimed at Church last Sunday? Discuss what the priest or minister preached about (and remember to be nice). Perhaps, each Grace Before Meal at your family table can begin with a very brief antiphon, one or two line reading of the Scripture.

Our Grace Before Meals movement to bring people around the table cannot only be about food for the Body. It requires food for the mind and soul. These seminarians taking steps to becoming shepherds, i.e., ministers who feed God’s sheep, truly inspire all of us to make sure that God’s Word is the Food that gives us life!





The Lamb of God & Television Interview Information

Please tune in to Franciscan University Presents on EWTN on either EST Sunday, May 3, at 10:00 p.m.; Tuesday, May 5, at 2:00 p.m.; and again Friday, May 8, at 4:00 a.m.



In that show we discussed the relationship of food to our faith. I’ll admit, after doing those interviews I always get a little hungry. And, since we’re in the Easter Season, if there is one other food that characterizes Easter better than a chocolate Easter bunny or a colored egg, it’s Lamb!

In the past two weeks I had the great fortune of having Lamb served at various venues: First was at the Metropolitan Club in NYC (hosted by good friend, Msgr. Nalty and his family). They served baby lamb chops with a mint relish as a finger food appetizer. Delicious!

.

The other time was at a priest celebration dinner where the lamb was crusted in pecans and served over a sweet potato puree. I could have eaten a full rack!

I used a special recipe that has also pleased many a palates in my time, which is so easy and flavorful.

But, if there’s one lamb that satisfies the hunger that sin creates, it is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (i.e., the empty hungry feeling of the world) – Jesus Christ! So go ahead and try a lamb chop recipe and be sure to talk with your children about how their hungers are fed when we feast on the Word of God and the Lamb of God!



Click Here for Recipe.



Be Immersed in the Food, the Word of Life

Bishop Seratelli was right: as fish need to be completely immersed in water, lest they die, we too must be immersed by the truth of God’s living word – made flesh for us. Believers long to live deeply in God’s love. At the same time, the Lord longs to live deeply within us!




Let us Pray: Jesus, may we fall deeper in love with you by our careful reading of the Holy Words of the Sacred Scriptures. May we recognize the truth that comes from your teaching, and more importantly, may these words become incarnate in us so that we can be loving examples who feed the hungry in our world. Amen.

Ask Fr. Leo for fatherly advice.
Any submissions may be used in future Grace Before Meals publications.


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John 6:35-40 & A Prayer For Courage

Gregory Mussmacher, "A Prayer For Courage"

Almighty God, who gives strength to the weak and upholds those who might fall, give me courage to do what is right, for those that trust in you have no need to fear.

Make be brave to face any danger which may now threaten me.

Give me the help that you have promised to those who ask it, that I may overcome my fears and go bravely forward.

Fill me with courage, that nothing which is my duty to do, may be too hard for me. Let me put my trust in your power and goodness.

Thank you my Lord. Amen!!!



Daily Reading & Meditation
Wednesday (4/29): "Him whom comes to me I will not cast out"
Scripture: John 6:35-40

35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; 39 and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

Meditation: Why did Jesus call himself the bread of life? The Jews understood that God promised them mana from heaven to sustain them on their journey to the promised land. Bread is the very staple of life. We could not live without food for very long. Bread sustains us. But what is life? Jesus clearly meant something more than mere physical existence. The life Jesus refers to is connected with God, the author of life. Real life is a relationship with the living God, a relationship of trust, love, obedience, peace, and joy. This is what Jesus makes possible for us – a loving relationship with God who created us for love with him. Apart from Jesus no on can enter that kind of life and relationship. Are you satisfied with mere physical existence or do you hunger for the abundant life which Jesus offers?

Jesus makes three claims here. First he offers himself as spiritual food which produces the very life of God within us. Second, he promises unbroken friendship and freedom from the fear of being forsaken or cut off from God. Third, he offers us the hope of sharing in his resurrection. Those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior will be raised up to immortal life with Jesus when he comes again on the last day. Do you know the joy and hope of the resurrection?

"Lord Jesus Christ, your death brought life and hope where there was once only despair and defeat. Give me the unshakeable hope of everlasting life, the inexpressible joy of knowing your unfailing love, and the unquestioning faith and obedience in doing the will of our Father in heaven."

Psalm 66:1-7
1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, "How terrible are thy deeds! So great is thy power that thy enemies cringe before thee.
4 All the earth worships thee; they sing praises to thee, sing praises to thy name." [Selah]
5 Come and see what God has done: he is terrible in his deeds among men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land; men passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might for ever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations -- let not the rebellious exalt themselves. [Selah]



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Daily Prayer for Protection and Strength & John 6:30-35

Gregory Mussmacher, Daily Prayer for Protection & Strength

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray this prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus Christ Your one and only Son who died and rose again for remission of sin, I bind, rebuke and render powerless: all division, discord, disunity, strife, wrath, murder, criticism, condemnation, pride, envy, jealously, gossip, slander, evil speaking, complaining, lying, false teaching, false gifts, false manifestations, lying signs and wonders, poverty, fear of lack, fear of spirits, deceiving spirits, religious spirits, hindering spirits, retaliatory spirits, occult spirits, witchcraft spirits, spirits of antichrist and all familiar and territorial spirits.

I bind all curses that have been spoken against me. I bless those who curse me, and pray blessings on those who despitefully use me. I bind all spoken judgments made against me, and judgments I have made against others. I bind the power of negative words from others, and I bind and render useless all prayers not inspired by the Holy Spirit; whether psychic, soul force, witchcraft, or counterfeit tongues that have been prayed against me.

I am God's child. I resist the devil and declare that No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

I put on the whole armour of God (my loins girt about with truth; and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and my feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; taking the shield of faith, with which I shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching with all perseverance and supplication for all saints) and declare it is an armour of light. I take authority over this day, Let it be prosperous for me Lord and let me walk in your love.

The Holy Spirit leads and guides me today and fills me with all needed gifting and graces. I discern between the righteous and the wicked and I take authority over Satan and all his demons and those people who are influenced by them. I declare Satan is under my feet and shall remain there all day.

I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I am God's property. Satan, you are bound from my family, my mind, my body, my home, and my finances. I confess that I am healed and whole. I flourish, am long lived, stable, durable, incorruptible, fruitful, virtuous, full of peace, patience and love. Whatsoever I set my hands to do shall prosper for God supplies all my needs.

God, I pray for the ministry You have for me. Anoint me God for all you have called me to do for You. I call forth divine appointments, open doors of opportunity, God ordained encounters and ministry positions.

I claim a hedge of protection, by the Precious Blood of Jesus, around myself and my loved ones throughout this day and night. I ask You God, in the name of Jesus, to send angels to surround us today and everyday, and to put them throughout my house and around our cars, souls, bodies, wills and emotions. I call on Your holy angels to protect my house from any intrusion and to protect me and my family and those I've named from any harmful demonic or other physical or mental attacks. I ask all of this in the name of Jesus.

"God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and He has been my Savior" (Isaiah 12:2 NAB)
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Daily Reading & Meditation
Tuesday (4/28): "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger"
Scripture: John 6:30-35

30 So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst."

Meditation: Do you hunger for the bread of life? The Jews had always regarded the mana in the wilderness as the bread of God (Psalm 78:24, Exodus 16:15). There was a strong Rabbinic belief that when the Messiah came he would give manna from heaven. This was the supreme work of Moses. Now the Jewish leaders were demanding that Jesus produce manna from heaven as proof to his claim to be the Messiah. Jesus responds by telling them that it was not Moses who gave the manna, but God. And the manna given to Moses and the people was not the real bread from heaven, but only a symbol of the bread to come.

Jesus then makes the claim which only God can make: I am the bread of life. The bread which Jesus offers is none else than the very life of God. This is the true bread which can truly satisfy the hunger in our hearts. The manna from heaven prefigured the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper which Jesus gave to his disciples on the eve of his sacrifice. The manna in the wilderness sustained the Israelites on their journey to the Promised Land. It could not produce eternal life for the Israelites. The bread which Jesus offers his disciples sustains us not only on our journey to the heavenly paradise, it gives us the abundant supernatural life of God which sustains us both now and for all eternity. When we receive from the Lord’s table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood and partakers of his divine life. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the "one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ" (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward. Do you hunger for God and for the food which produces everlasting life?

"Lord Jesus Christ, you are the bread of life. You alone can satisfy the hunger in my heart. May I always find in you, the true bread from heaven, the source of life and nourishment I need to sustain me on my journey to the promised land of heaven."

Psalm 31:3-8, 19-21

3 Yea, thou art my rock and my fortress; for thy name's sake lead me and guide me,
4 take me out of the net which is hidden for me, for thou art my refuge.
5 Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
6 Thou hatest those who pay regard to vain idols; but I trust in the LORD.
7 I will rejoice and be glad for thy steadfast love, because thou hast seen my affliction, thou hast taken heed of my adversities,
8 and hast not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; thou hast set my feet in a broad place.
19 O how abundant is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for those who fear thee, and wrought for those who take refuge in thee, in the sight of the sons of men!
20 In the covert of thy presence thou hidest them from the plots of men; thou holdest them safe under thy shelter from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the LORD, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was beset as in a besieged city.



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John 6:22-29

Gregory Mussmacher, Prayer by Padre Pio for After Communion
"Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You. Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak, and I need Your strength that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You I am in darkness. Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You. Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much and to be in Your company always.
Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You. Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love."Amen.


Daily Reading & Meditation
Monday (4/27): "Doing the works of God"
Scripture: John 6:22-29
22 On the next day the people who remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 However, boats from Tiber'i-as came near the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the people saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Caper'na-um, seeking Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal." 28 Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

Meditation: What do you most hunger for – wealth, peace, health, love, the good life? Jesus addressed this issue with those who sought him after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. Where they simply hungry for things which satisfy the body or for that which satisfies the heart and soul? Jesus echoes the question posed by the prophet Isaiah: "Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy" (Isaiah 55:2)? There are two kinds of hunger – physical and spiritual. Only God can satisfy the hunger in our heart and soul – the hunger for truth, for life, and for love.

Jesus also spoke about the works of God and what we must do to be doing the works of God, namely to believe in God's Son whom he has sent into the world. Jesus offers a new relationship with God which issues in a new kind of life: A life of love and service, and the forgiveness of others which corresponds to God's mercy and kindness; a life of holiness and purity which corresponds to God's holiness; and a life of submission and trust which corresponds to the wisdom of God. This is the work which Jesus directs us to and enables us to perform in the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you hunger for the bread which comes down from heaven and thirst for the words of everlasting life?

"Lord Jesus, you alone can satisfy the deepest longing and hunger in our hearts. May I always hunger for the imperishable bread, that I may be satisfied in you alone as the True Bread of Heaven. Nourish and strengthen me that I may serve you with great joy, generosity, and zeal all the days of my life".

Psalm 119:23-30

23 Even though princes sit plotting against me, thy servant will meditate on thy statutes.
24 Thy testimonies are my delight, they are my counselors.
25 My soul cleaves to the dust; revive me according to thy word!
26 When I told of my ways, thou didst answer me; teach me thy statutes!
27 Make me understand the way of thy precepts, and I will meditate on thy wondrous works.
28 My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to thy word!
29 Put false ways far from me; and graciously teach me thy law!
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness, I set thy ordinances before me.



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Mark 16:15-20 & My Son is Receiving Communion!!

Gregory Mussmacher,Prayer at a Child's First Communion
"Lord Jesus Christ, in the Sacrament of
the Eucharist You left us the outstanding
manifestation of your limitless love for us.
Thank You for giving our child the
opportunity to experience this love
in receiving the Sacrament for the first time.
May your Eucharist presence keep him/her
ever free from sin, fortified in faith,
pervaded by love for God and neighbor,
and fruitful in virtue, that he/she may
continue to receive You throughout life and
attain final union with You at death." Amen.
It is hard to find happiness with my depression over all the bad things going on, but I am very proud of him and love him dearly!!


Daily Reading & Meditation
Saturday (4/25): "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation"
Scripture: Mark 16:15-20 (alternate reading: John 6:16-21)

15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.

Meditation: In many churches in the East and West, Mark the Evangelist is honored today. Each of the four gospel accounts gives us a portrait of Jesus, his mission and teaching. Each is different in style, length, and emphasis. But they all have a common thread and purpose – the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ. Among the four gospels, Mark's account is unique in many ways. It is the shortest account and seems to be the earliest. Mark the Evangelist was an associate of Peter and likely wrote his gospel in Rome where Peter was based. Mark wrote it in Greek. It was likely written for Gentile readers in general, and for the Christians at Rome in particular. It is significant that Mark, as well as Luke, was chosen by the Holy Spirit to write the gospel account. Augustine of Hippo, explains: "The Holy Spirit willed to choose for the writing of the Gospel two [Mark and Luke] who were not even from those who made up the Twelve, so that it might not be thought that the grace of evangelization had come only to the apostles and that in them the fountain of grace had dried up" (Sermon 239.1).

Mark ends his gospel account with Jesus' last appearance to the apostles before his ascension into heaven. Jesus' departure and ascension was both an end and a beginning for his disciples. While it was the end of Jesus' physical presence with his beloved disciples, it marked the beginning of Jesus' presence with them in a new way. Jesus promised that he would be with them always to the end of time. Now as the glorified and risen Lord and Savior, ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven, Jesus promised to send them the Holy Spirit who would anoint them with power on the Feast of Pentecost, just as Jesus was anointed for his ministry at the River Jordan. When the Lord Jesus departed physically from the apostles, they were not left in sorrow or grief. Instead, they were filled with joy and with great anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus' last words to his apostles point to his saving mission and to their mission to be witnesses of his saving death and his glorious resurrection and to proclaim the good news of salvation to all the world. Their task is to proclaim the good news of salvation, not only to the people of Israel, but to all the nations. God's love and gift of salvation is not just for a few, or for a nation, but it is for the whole world – for all who will accept it. The gospel is the power of God, the power to forgive sins, to heal, to deliver from evil and oppression, and to restore life. Do you believe in the power of the gospel?

This is the great commission which the risen Christ gives to the whole church. All believers have been given a share in this task – to be heralds of the good news and ambassadors for Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world. We have not been left alone in this task, for the risen Lord works in and through us by the power of his Holy Spirit. Today we witness a new Pentecost as the Lord pours out his Holy Spirit upon his people to renew and strengthen the body of Christ and to equip it for effective ministry and mission world-wide. Do you witness to others the joy of the gospel and the hope of the resurrection?

“Lord Jesus, through the gift of your Holy Spirit, you fill us with an indomitable spirit of praise and joy which no earthly trial can subdue. Fill me with your resurrection joy and help me to live a life of praise and thanksgiving for your glory. May I witness to those around me the joy of the gospel and the reality of your resurrection.”

Psalm 115:1-6

1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to thy name give glory, for the sake of thy steadfast love and thy faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"
3 Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.



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John 16:29-33

Gregory Mussmacher, “Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”


When it rains it pours! As some of you know I am suspended without pay and have no medical benefits. We are struggling financially to say the least. While this happening our washing machine died, our dryer died yesterday and my lawnmower died beyond repair on Wednesday. Sometimes these small normal things that occur seem very overwhelming to me but I know that with the strength of Jesus, The Holy Spirit, and Mother Mary I will some how endure. Yesterday I was arraigned in Federal Court for something I am innocent of and can only pray that the truth is heard and believed!!
Greg

Daily Reading & Meditation
Monday (5/25): "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world"
Scripture: John 16:29-33

29 His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure! 30 Now we know that you know all things, and need none to question you; by this we believe that you came from God." 31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? 32 The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, every man to his home, and will leave me alone; yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

Meditation: How did Jesus convince his disciples that he was the Son of God? Jesus could read their hearts like an open book. He answered their questions before they could even speak them out. And he showed them the glory of God. For a Christian, believing in God cannot be separated from believing in the One he sent, his "beloved Son", in whom the Father is "well pleased". We can believe in Jesus and in the words he speaks because he is himself God, the Word made flesh. Since he "has seen the Father," and is "one with the Father," Jesus is the only one who knows the Father as he truly is and can reveal him to us. Our faith is "certain" because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie. Faith is already the beginning of eternal life. Basil the Great says: "When we contemplate the blessings of faith even now, as if gazing at a reflection in a mirror, it is as if we already possessed the wonderful things which our faith assures us we shall enjoy one day." Do you nourish and strengthen your faith with the word of God?

In spite of their belief, Jesus warned his disciples that their faith would be put to the test and that they would fail. Jesus spoke plainly about the tragedy of betrayal and the triumph of the cross. Jesus knew the hearts of his disciples better than they knew. He knew they would desert him in his hour of trial. Such knowledge could have easily led to bitterness and rejection. Jesus met the injury of betrayal and disloyalty with supreme love and trust in his disciples. He loved his disciples to the very end even when they left him alone to die on the cross. He knew that the cross would not bring defeat but victory over sin and death. Jesus speaks the same word to us today. "My love for you is unconditional and I will never abandon you." While we cannot avoid all pain and suffering in this life, Jesus, nonetheless assures us that he will guide us safely through any difficulty or trial we may have to undergo for his sake. Jesus calls each of us to take courage, because he has overcome the world. The Holy Spirit gives us a living hope in the power of the resurrection and a confident trust in God's abiding presence. Nothing can overcome this faith and hope in Christ's victory – no trial, suffering, temptation, or testing. The Holy Spirit gives us the strength and courage we need to overcome adversity and to persevere in faith. Do you believe that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus (see Romans 8:38-39)?

"Lord Jesus, help me to trust in your saving power, especially when I meet adversities and trials. Give me your peace when I am troubled and let me know the joy of your victory over sin and death."

Psalm 68:2-7

2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before fire, let the wicked perish before God!
3 But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy!
4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds; his name is the LORD, exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
6 God gives the desolate a home to dwell in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when thou didst go forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness, [Selah]



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John 17:1-19

Gregory Mussmacher, "O Lord,
In this time of need, strengthen me. You are my strength and my shield; You are my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. I know, Father, that Your eyes go to and fro throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts long for You. The body grows weary, but my hope is in You to renew my strength.
I do not fear, for You are with me.
I am not dismayed or overwhelmed, for You are my God. I know You will strengthen me and help me; that You will uphold me with Your righteous hand. Even as the shadows of evil cover me, I feel the comfort of Your strength, Or Lord."
Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death." Amen.

Daily Reading & Meditation
Sunday (5/24): "Sanctified and consecrated in God's truth"
Scripture: John 17:11-19 [alternate reading for the Feast of Ascension: Mark 16:15-20]

11 And now I am no more in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me; I have guarded them, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you did send me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth.

Meditation: Do you know why God created you – what purpose and mission he has entrusted to you? Jesus' aim and mission was to glorify his heavenly Father. All he said and did gave glory to his Father. On the eve of his sacrifice and in the presence of his disciples, Jesus made his high priestly prayer: "Holy Father, keep them in your name that they may be one as we are one". Jesus prayed for the unity of his disciples and for all who would believe in him. Jesus' prayer for his people is that we be united with God the Father in his Son and through his Holy Spirit and be joined together, in unity with all who are members of Christ's body. Jesus saw glory in the cross rather than shame. Obedience to his Father's will was his glory. Jesus kept his Father's word even when tempted to forgo the cross. His strength was not in himself but in his Father who kept him. We, too, must take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus whever he may call us. He will give us the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to live as his disciples. John Henry Newman wrote: "God has created me, to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission – I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for nothing. Therefore, I will trust him. Whatever, wherever I am. I cannot be thrown away." Do you trust in God and in his call and purpose for your life?

Jesus prayed that his disciples would be sanctified and consecrated in God's truth and holiness. The scriptural word for consecration comes from the same Hebrew word which means holy or set apart for God. This word also means to be equiped with the qualities of mind and heart and character for such a task or service. Just as Jesus was called by the Father to serve in holiness and truth, so we, too, are called and equipped for the task of serving God in the world as his ambassadors. God's truth frees us from ignorance and the deception of sin. It reveals to us God's goodness, love, and wisdom. And it gives us a thirst for God's holiness. The Holy Spirit is the source and giver of all holiness. As we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, he transforms us by his purifying fire and changes us in the likeness of Christ. Is your life consecrated toGod?

"Lord Jesus, take my life and make it wholly pleasing to you. Sanctify me in your truth and guide me by your Holy Spirit that I may follow you faithfully wherever you lead."

Psalm 103:1-2,11-12,19-20

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word!



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Father Leo's E-Mail Blast & John 16:23-28

Gregory Mussmacher, Prayer for Hope in the Midst of Destruction
"God of mercy,
you know the secrets of all human hearts,
for you know who is just and you forgive the repentant
sinner.
Hear my prayer in the midst of destruction;
give me patience and hope,
so that under your protection and with you as my guide,
I may one day be reunited with my family and friends
in peace, tranquility, and love.
Grant this through Christ our Lord." Amen

Daily Reading & Meditation
Saturday (5/23): "Ask in Jesus' name, and you will receive, that your joy may be full"
Scripture: John 16:23-28

23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. 24 Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 25 "I have said this to you in figures; the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures but tell you plainly of the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name; and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from the Father. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father."

Meditation: Do you pray with confidence to your heavenly Father? Jesus often taught his disciples by way of illustration or parable. Here he speaks not in "figures" (the same word used for parables), but in plain speech. Jesus revealed to them the hidden treasure of the heavenly kingdom and he taught them how to pray to the Father in his name. Now Jesus opens his heart and speaks in the plainest of language: "The Father himself loves you!" How can the disciples be certain of this? Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus makes it possible for his disciples to have a new relationship with God as their Father. No one would have dared to call God his Father before this! Because of what Jesus has done for us in offering his life for our redemption we now have a new relationship as the adopted children of God. Paul the Apostles says that "when we cry, ‘Abba! Father!' it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:15-16). We can boldly approach God as our Father and ask him for the things we need. In love he bids us to draw near to his throne of grace and mercy. Do you approach the Father with confidence in his love and with expectant faith in his promise to hear your prayers?

"Heavenly Father, your love knows no bounds and your mercies are new every day. Fill me with gratitude for your countless blessings and draw me near to your throne of grace and mercy. Give me confidence and boldness to pray that your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Psalm 47:2-9

2 For the LORD, the Most High, is terrible, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. [Selah]
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
9 The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted!
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Father Leo's weekly E-Mail Blast
Ad Quem Ibimus?

No, it’s not a typo. It’s the Latin Phrase, “To Whom Shall We Go?” That’s the famous line uttered by St. Peter after Jesus asks, “Will you also leave me?”

This exchange is from John’s Gospel. Jesus talks about being the “Bread come down from Heaven” (i.e., the “Bread of Life Discourse”), and He calls this bread, “real flesh and real blood.” Many of the people who heard Jesus thought he was full of bologna and so they left him.



Peter and the other disciples, however, believed Jesus was – IS – the Bread of Life. The Bread of Angels. Jesus is the only One who can satisfy our hungry souls. That’s why Peter responds to Jesus’ question with a powerful response definitely worth our meditation. “To whom shall we go? Only You have the words of everlasting life!”



I meditated on this phrase because it’s the Episcopal Motto of the New Archbishop of New York, Archbishop Timothy Dolan. I attended the celebrations for his Installation as the 10th Archbishop of New York. He was the Rector at the North American College when I was a student. For many years thereafter, he has also been a mentor who possesses great administration skills, sincerity that leads people to prayer, and powerful techniques to preach the Word of God! He’s good…real good!



These days of celebration were incredible! I had the chance to talk about Archbishop Dolan at Sirius radio for the popular show, “The Catholics Next Door.” I also invited a few friends to join me. It was on that show Msgr. Nalty and Fr. Hamilton unofficially called the three days of celebration, “Dolan-palooza!” And so it was!





And despite the incredible fanfare, humungous lines of priests, cheering crowds, and all the pomp and circumstance only New York can provide, one thing remained constant. Archbishop Dolan was so perfectly clear that no matter where God asks him to go, he would do it. Why? To whom else shall we go? Who else has the words of Eternal Life?

It’s a question worth considering ourselves. We are now in the midst of the Easter Season. And since our fasting and penance have ended, we may find ourselves wandering in our prayer, or without the intense spiritual focus Lent provides. This a difficult time of year for the seminarians as well. Steeped in the world of finals exams, some question, “Why do I go through the stress of exams and seminary formation?” Or more simply, “What am I doing here?” Fourth Year Deacons are also asking similar questions. They are currently preparing to leave seminary and begin a new assignment somewhere – known only by the Bishop. Where will they go? I personally feel the sense of being pulled in so many different directions that I’ve asked that same question: Where, or to whom, shall I go?



Fourth year deacons preparing for procession.

Ultimately, we are reminded to live our life headed in Heaven’s direction. That’s where Jesus is, and He is the only one who has the words of eternal life. Perhaps we can ask a similar question to the young people in our families, especially if they are preparing to graduate. “What do you want to do with your life?” “What direction do you want to live your life?” The fact is, there are many voices that vie for our attention. Who do we listen to? Who do we think has the words of eternal life? And are we listening to the right voice? When we take time to pray, and have the spiritual focus to try and listen to God, He will lead us to the place that satisfies our hungering souls.



Some Members of the North American College Class of 1999 at a Reunion on Msgr. Natly’s Family Tree Farm.

This past week was a real reminder of the tremendous graces we received from Archbishop Dolan’s leadership as the Rector of the Pontifical North American College. At one point during the celebration, Archbishop Dolan spotted me in the crowd and screamed out, “Leo, do you want to cook for me?” Well Archbishop, if the Lord calls me to that service, “Here I am – ready to serve!” How much fun would that be?



His affability, while standing firm in Catholic Teaching has even seemingly convinced the media to say only “nice things” about the man and the church! It was one of the first major church events that didn’t have negative media stories or protestors. Perhaps the new Archbishop’s motto will even help others, especially the media, see that only God has the real news – The Good News – worth reporting!

At one of the events, the new Archbishop – always ready with a joke and seemingly always hungry – commented on the Gospel passage that day. It was the post resurrection account where Jesus asks the disciples if they caught anything to eat? To which Archbishop Dolan said, “That’s my favorite line in the whole Bible!”

That’s my kind of Archbishop! He knows that if we go to Jesus and listen for His voice, He will always lead us to the Heavenly Banquet, where every desire will be fulfilled!





Food for the Body: A New York Feast!

At one of the celebrations, our class was invited by the parents of Msgr. Christopher Nalty. He’s a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. His parents are generous people who welcome seminarians to retreat at their Tree Farm in Alabama. This time, they “moved us on up!” They hosted our class for a dinner at the private Metropolitan Club.



It was truly a “Dolan-Palooza” event! A bagpiper greeted us at the door, the wait staff brought out incredible hors d’vours, the setting was so dignified, and company was well . . . us, brothers and sister in Christ, i.e., family!

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One of the dishes featured a beautiful chilled crab salad over marinated avocado. I’d love to make that dish sometime!



But for now, it reminded me of a dish I made for a classmate that combined a chilled salad – perfect for the summer. It’s a combination of Salmon and avocado, dressed with a light lemon and olive oil vinaigrette.



It won’t be anything like we had at this Big Apple-styled dinner, but it’s definitely something worth trying for your family.

Click Here for Recipe.



Going to God!

For this week’s prayer, I thought it would be good to suggest a book published by the Archbishop, based on his Episcopal Motto. As a way to grow in prayer, let’s make sure as families, we talk about the direction we choose for our lives. Are we following the right voices? Are we going to the One who feeds us with the Bread of Eternal Life – His Body and Blood?

Lord, help us to hear Your Word. Help us to take the steps that lead us to You. When we are overwhelmed with the many voices that try and get our attention, keep us ever safe in your care so that we will never leave You, and instead, follow wherever You call us. Amen.Sphere: Related Content

John 16:20-23

Gregory Mussmacher, A Prayer Of Protection Against Evil
"Most Precious Lord Jesus…
Gentle And Wonderful God…
Truly Awesome And Ever-present Holy Spirit…
Bring your holy angels down and surround me with your love to protect me against the evil seeking to attack my body.
Bring your holy angels down and surround me with your love to protect me against the evil seeking to attack my heart.
Bring your holy angels down and surround me with your love to protect me against the evil seeking to attack my mind.
Bring your holy angels down and surround me with your love to protect me against the evil seeking to attack my family.
Bring your holy angels down and surround me with your love to protect me against my weaknesses.
Bring your holy angels down and surround me with your love to protect me against my doubts, questions, and misgivings.
All these things I humbly pray in the name of my most Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, my Mighty God, and my Ever-present Holy Spirit upon whom I can rely.
Amen"



Daily Reading & Meditation
Friday (5/22): "No one will take your joy from you"
Scripture: John 16:20-23
20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name.

Meditation: Why does Jesus tell his disciples to weep and lament and be sorrowful? Jesus was neither a pessimist nor a masochist, and he was certainly more than a realist! The way to happiness and joy in the kingdom of God is through the cross. Sin must be brought to the cross of Jesus Christ and evil can only be completely mastered by the power of God's redeeming love. Jesus told his disciples that it was more blessed to mourn for sin because it would yield the fruit of peace, joy, and righteousness. Jesus knew that the cross would be a stumbling block for those who refused to believe in him.

The cross for Jesus was not defeat but victory – victory over sin, over the forces of evil in the world, and over the devil – the arch-enemy of God and humankind. Through death on the cross Jesus won for us new life and freedom over the power of sin, despair, and death. The Easter victory of Jesus teaches us courage in the face of suffering and death. In the resurrection of Christ our fears are laid to rest. His resurrection is total, final triumph, and for us peace and joy at the end. We will have troubles in the present reality. Through the eyes of faith, we know the final outcome – complete victory over sin, suffering, and death in Jesus Christ. That is why we can pray confidently now, knowing that the Father will give us everything we need to live as his children and as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know the Easter joy of Christ's victory over sin and death?

"Lord Jesus, we are an Easter people, and alleluia is our song. May we radiate the joy of Easter and live in the reality of Christ's victory over sin and death."

Psalm 47:2-7

2 For the LORD, the Most High, is terrible, a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves. [Selah]
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!



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John 3:7-15

Gregory Mussmacher, "O my God, relying on Thy almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
Amen.


Daily Reading & Meditation
Tuesday (4/21): "You must be born anew"
Scripture: John 3:7-15

7 Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born anew.' 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit." 9 Nicode'mus said to him, "How can this be?"10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."

Meditation: Do you know the power of the cross of Jesus Christ? Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of the power of his cross and a "new birth in the Spirit." The Hebrew word for "spirit" means both "wind" and "breath". Jesus said to Nicodemus: "You can hear, feel, and see the effects of the wind, but you do not know where it comes from. In like manner, you can see the effects of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those the Spirit touches." Jesus explained to Nicodemus the necessity of the crucifixion and resurrection by analogy with Moses and the bronze serpent in the desert. When the people of Israel were afflicted with serpents in the wilderness because of their sin, God instructed Moses: "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live"(Numbers 21:8).

The bronze serpent points to the cross of Christ which defeats sin and death and obtains everlasting life for those who believe. The result of Jesus "being lifted up on the cross" and his rising and exaltation to the Father's right hand in heaven, is our "new birth in the Spirit" and adoption as sons and daughters of God. God not only redeems us, but he fills us with his own divine life and power that we might share in his glory. Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit that we may have power to be his witnesses and to spread and defend the gospel by word and action, and to never be ashamed of the Cross of Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us his seven-fold gifts of wisdom and understanding, right judgment and courage, knowledge and reverence for God and his ways, and a holy fear in God's presence (see Isaiah 11) that we may live for God and serve him in the power of his strength. Do you thirst for new life in the Spirit?

"Lord Jesus Christ, your death brought life for us. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may walk in freedom and joy as a child of God and as an heir with Christ of an eternal inheritance."

Psalm 93:1-5

1 The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed, he is girded with strength. Yea, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
2 thy throne is established from of old; thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice, the floods lift up their roaring.
4 Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty!
5 Thy decrees are very sure; holiness befits thy house, O LORD, for evermore.



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Holocaust Remembrance Day & John 3:1-8

Gregory Mussmacher, Dear God, Jesus, Holy Mother Mary, and all the Angels and Saints have Mercy on me. Give me the strength to fight the evil that is the force behind all the trouble I am currently having!! Amen

Daily Reading & Meditation
Monday (4/20): "Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God"
Scripture: John 3:1-8

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicode'mus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him." 3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicode'mus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born anew.' 8 The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit."

Meditation: Do you nourish your faith with regular reading and prayerful reflection of the word of God? Nicodemus was hungry for God's word and became a closet disciple of Jesus. He sought Jesus out, though surreptitiously in the dead of the night. Why? Nicodemus was a "leader of the Jews", "a teacher of Israel" (John 3:10), and a member of the religious party most opposed to the teaching of Jesus. In fact, John’s gospel account states that it was Nicodemus' own group, the Pharisees, which intimidated the authorities against confessing Jesus (John 12:42).Instead he engaged him in a seemingly unrelated topic of conversation. Jesus said that rebirth was necessary to enter the kingdom of God. Of course, Nicodemus the Pharisee had already found religion, so he thought that Jesus must have referred to physical rebirth. No, Jesus responded, someone who is reborn spiritually knows the experience as surely as one who has been refreshed by an invisible breeze. How can a respected rabbi among the Jews not know this? And that is precisely the point. Nicodemus is the first of what we might loosely call the official clergy with whom Jesus has personal engagement. The Gospel portrays Nicodemus as a defender of Jesus' right to a fair trial (John 7:-51). Nicodemus also helped to bury Jesus with honor. Nicodemus did not understand the new birth which Jesus spoke of until after the resurrection.

What does it mean to be reborn? The new birth Jesus speaks of is a spiritual birth to new life and relationship with God as his sons and daughters. This new birth is made possible when one is baptized into Christ and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. God wants to renew all his people in the gift of new life in his Holy Spirit. This new life brings us into God's kingdom or heavenly rule. What is God's kingdom? God's kingdom is that society in which God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven. To be reborn is to enter that society in which God is honored and obeyed, to live as his son or daughter, and to enter into possession of that life which comes from God himself, a never-ending life of love, peace, joy, and freedom from sin and the fear of death. Do you know the joy and freedom of new life in Jesus Christ?

"Lord Jesus Christ, you offer us a new birth in the Holy Spirit. Renew in me the gift of faith and new life in your Holy Spirit. Help me to draw near to you and to believe in your life-giving word. May your kingdom come and may your will be done in my life today and always."

Psalm 2:1-9

1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
3 "Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us."
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the LORD has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 "I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill."
7 I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son, today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."



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(c) 2009 Don Schwager

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Every Name in Every Nation
Holocaust Remembrance Day
For Sunday April 26, 2009
Lectionary Readings (Revised Common Lectionary, Year B)
Acts 3:12–19
Psalm 4
1 John 3:1–7
Luke 24:36b–48


Raphael Lemkin.
Armenia. Auschwitz. Cambodia. Kurdish Iraq. Bosnia. Rwanda. Srebrenica. Kosovo. And now Darfur. Thanks to a person who died fifty years ago this year, and who has been all but forgotten to history (see below), this week the world pauses to consider man's inhumanity to man. The readings this week explain why, of all people, Christians should be leaders in this vigil.

After his resurrection, Jesus told his followers to spread his message "to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:48; cf. Matthew 28:19). In his parallel passage, Mark renders the universal scope more emphatic by writing "to all the world [and] to all creation" (Mark 16:15). Similarly, in Luke's sequel to his gospel, Jesus told his timid followers, "you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

In the lectionary this week, Peter concludes his sermon by proclaiming that in Jesus "all peoples on earth will be blessed" by God (Acts 3:25 = Genesis 22:18, 26:4), which global promise was first made to Abraham 4,000 years ago (Genesis 12:3). The story of Jesus, says Luke, anticipates the "restoration of all things" (Acts 3:21). God remembers every name in every nation.

Two radical corollaries follow from this robustly global vision — the decentralization of your geography and the reorientation of your politics.

First, Christians are geographic, cultural, national and ethnic egalitarians; for them there is no geographic center of the world, but only a constellation of points equidistant from the heart of God. Proclaiming that God lavishly loves all the world, each person, and every place, the Gospel does not privilege any country as exceptional. No one can say they are forgotten, and no one can claim special favor.

Much has been written about American exceptionalism. In terms of economic, political, military, scientific and cultural dominance, America is unrivaled, and in that sense "exceptional" (although there is no reason to think that will last forever). But from a theological or Christian point of view, America is no more "exceptional" in God's eyes than any other country. While allowing for a natural and wholesome love, even pride, in your own country ("there's no place like home"), geo-political egalitarianism subverts the claim of absolute allegiance to any one nation. The claims of the gospel are absolute and unconditional; the claims of the nation and state are relative and conditional.

Second, because of this, Christian global vision asks that we care as much about any and every country and its people as we do our own. Christians grieve the deaths of Iraqis as much as Americans. We lament the tragedy of the Iranian and Pakistani earthquakes as much as Hurricane Katrina. This implies that our politics become reoriented, non-aligned, and unpredictable by normal canons. No state or political party, says Garry Wills, can indulge in the self-sacrifice that Jesus demands when he asks his followers to place the interests of others ahead of our own.

This week the world commemorates the genocide of six million Jews in the Holocaust by observing Yom Hashoah — Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 1951, Israel's parliament designated the 27th day of Nissan as Holocaust Day, a day to remember the Jews who perished and those who heroically resisted. In 1959, the parliament designated Holocaust Day as formal law. Since 1989, the Knesset, in cooperation with Yad Vashem — The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, performs a ceremony called "Everyone Has a Name" in which the names of all of the Holocaust victims are read aloud.

The term “genocide” has a specific history. The word was coined by the eccentric and brilliant Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew who almost single-handedly thrust the issue of genocide onto the world stage. On October 16, 1950, after seventeen years of Lemkin’s tireless labor, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was finally ratified by the United Nations. The United States signed thirty-six years later on February 11, 1986, after ninety-seven nations had already ratified the convention.

When Lemkin died of a heart attack at the age of fifty-nine on August 28, 1959, he was penniless. Before he died he broadened the notion of genocide beyond the extermination of six million Jews. "Lemkin had nearly completed a magisterial analysis of a long list of historical cases and themes of genocide, which remains unpublished." He expanded genocide to include "the attempted destruction not only of ethnic and religious groups but of political ones, and [thought] that the term should also encompass systematic cultural destruction" (Kiernan).


Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
No person or people is immune from the horrors of holocaust, either as a perpetrator or a dissenter. Solzhenitsyn once observed in his Gulag Archipelago that it would be nice if we could neatly divide the world between the insidiously evil and the obviously good. Instead, he wrote, “the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” A Holocaust survivor once told me that he didn't believe in the "collective guilt" of an entire people.

There can be good "bad" people. A Holocaust survivor once described to me how a young Nazi guard secretly gave him a sandwich, and as he did, tears streamed down the soldier's cheeks. Conversely, there can be bad "good" people. In his book Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People: The Dynamics of Torture, John Conroy says that we tend to caricature torturers as sadistic monsters. But “there is ample evidence that most torturers are normal people, that most of us could be the barbarians of our dreams as easily as we could be the victim.” Consider the following example from Christian history.

The Spaniards came to America for gold and glory, but they also came for God, to spread the Gospel. In a letter to Pope Alexander VI, February 1502, Columbus wrote of his goal in the new world: “I hope in Our Lord to be able to propagate His holy name and His Gospel throughout the universe.” The natives they encountered were deemed pagan and subhuman, as their cannibalism and human sacrifices surely "proved." Oviedo, a 16th-century conquistador and historian of the five volume work Natural History of the West Indies, describes the solution to the problem of Indians who did not want to convert:

God is going to destroy them soon. . . . Satan has now been expelled from the Island [Hispaniola]; his influence has disappeared now that most of the Indians are dead. . . . Who can deny that the use of gunpowder against pagans is the burning of incense to our Lord?

The results of these evangelistic efforts? Tzvetan Todorov estimates that the Spanish conquest of the Americas killed 70 million people by murder, maltreatment such as slavery, and disease — about 90% of the population. These "good" Christians construed the wholesale genocide of "bad" Native Americans as wholehearted piety.

Genocides don't have to happen. We are not destined to slaughter our neighbor. But when we reduce people to a singular identity (Jew! Gay!), it feeds a sense of fatalism, resignation, and a sense of inevitability about violence. Simplistic labels partition people and civilizations into binary oppositions. They ignore the plural ways that people understand themselves, and obscure what Amartya Sen calls our "diverse diversities." In particular, Sen objects to the "clash of civilizations" thesis made popular by Samuel Huntington. No, we should never concede that civilizations have to clash.

Sen argues against identity violence caused by the illusion of destiny in three ways. First, he appeals to our common humanity; everyone laughs at weddings, cries at funerals, and worries about their children. More important than any of our external differences, even though these are powerful and important, is our shared humanity. Everyone has a name, a name known and loved by God. Every one of us, Paul affirmed, is "God's off-spring" (Acts 17:29).

Second, all people enjoy plural identities. To understand a person one must consider factors of civilization, religion, nationality, class, community, culture, gender, profession, language, politics, morals, family of origin, skin color, and a multitude of other markers. Plus, these diverse differences within a single individual depend on one's social context, whether the trait is durable over time, relevant, a factor of constraint or free choice, and so on. People are complex; we shouldn't reduce them to a single trait.


Elie Wiesel.
Finally, Sen urges us to transcend the illusion of destiny and identity violence by "reasoned choice." Instead of living as if some irrational fate destines us to slaughter others who are different, a person needs to make a rational choice about what relative importance to attach to any single trait. Although Sen never explains why rational people succumb to the irrational violence of identity, instead of choosing enlightened self-interest, economic incentives, and geo-political peace, he reminds us of the obvious: "We can do better."

I pray to move to the place described by the Yale theologian Miroslav Volf in his book Exclusion and Embrace: “The theme of divine self-donation for the enemies and their reception into the eternal communion of God. . . . As God does not abandon the godless to their evil but gives the divine self for them in order to receive them into divine communion through atonement, so also should we — whoever our enemies and whoever we may be.” Thus the embrace beyond exclusion — “the will to give ourselves to others and to ‘welcome’ them, to readjust our identities to make space for them, is prior to any judgment about others, except that of identifying them in their humanity.”

For further reflection

* Consider the words of the German pastor Martin Niemoeller (1892–1984), who protested Hitler's anti-semitic measures in person to the fuehrer, was eventually arrested, then imprisoned at Sachsenhausen and Dachau (1937–1945). He once confessed, "It took me a long time to learn that God is not the enemy of my enemies. He is not even the enemy of His enemies."

* Consider the poem ascribed to Niemoeller (although its different versions and exact origins are debated), First They Came. The poem describes the passivity of German intellectuals as the Nazis purged group after group of targeted people.

First they came for the Communists,
- but I was not a communist so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists,
- but I was neither, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Jews,
- but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.

And for further reading see below. Except for the books by Wiesel and Todorov, all of the following are reviewed in the book and film review pages of JwJ.

* Philip Gourevitch, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families; Stories From Rwanda (1998).
* Samantha Power, A Problem From Hell; America and the Age of Genocide (2002).
* Amartya Sen, Identity and Violence; The Illusion of Destiny (2006).
* Brian Steidle, The Devil Came on Horseback; Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur (2007).
* Tzvetan Todorov, The Conquest of America: The Meaning of the Other (1984).
* Elie Wiesel, Night.
* Watch the films Forgiving Dr. Mengele; Paper Clips (about a school project to collect one paper clip for every victim of the Holocaust); and Promises(about Israeli and Palestinian children).


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Image credits: (1) P.O.V. at pbs.org; (2) Shelf Life by Laura T. Ryan; and (3) MedalOfFreedom.org.Sphere: Related Content

John 20:19-31

Gregory Mussmacher, Dear Lord have mercy on me, Dear Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, Dear Holy Blessed Mother Mary have mercy on me. May all the angels and saints protect me this week and help me have the strength to go through my valley of darkness. Please forgive me for all my sins, for no one is without sin. Jesus You are my savior and protector, I love You!! Amen

Daily Reading & Meditation
Sunday (4/19): "Unless I see in his hands the prints of the nails, I will not believe"
Scripture: John 20:19-31

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe." 26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

Meditation: Do you know the joy of the resurrection? The Risen Jesus revealed the glory of his resurrection to his disciples gradually and over a period of time. Even after the apostles saw the empty tomb and heard the reports of Jesus' appearance to the women, they were still weak in faith and fearful of being arrested by the Jewish authorities. When Jesus appeared to them he offered proofs of his resurrection by showing them the wounds of his passion, his pierced hands and side. He calmed their fears and brought them peace, the peace which reconciles sinners and makes one a friend of God. Jesus did something which only love and trust and can do. He commissioned his weak and timid apostles to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. This sending out of the disciples is parallel to the sending out of Jesus by his Father. Jesus fulfilled his mission through his perfect love and perfect obedience to the will of his Father. He called his disciples, and he calls us to do the same. Just as he gave his first disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit, so he breathes on us the same Holy Spirit who equips us with power, grace, and strength.

The last apostle to meet the resurrected Lord was the first to go with him to Jerusalem at Passover time. The apostle Thomas was a natural pessimist. When Jesus proposed that they visit Lazarus after receiving news of his illness, Thomas said to the disciples: "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). While Thomas deeply loved the Lord, he lacked the courage to stand with Jesus in his passion and crucifixion. After Jesus' death, Thomas made the mistake of withdrawing from the other apostles. He sought loneliness rather than fellowship in his time of adversity. He doubted the women who saw the resurrected Jesus and he doubted his own fellow apostles. When Thomas finally had the courage to rejoin the other apostles, the Lord Jesus made his presence known to him and reassured him that he had indeed overcome death and risen again. When Thomas recognized his Master, he believed and exclaimed that Jesus was truly Lord and truly God! Through the gift of faith we, too, proclaim that Jesus is our personal Lord and our God. He died and rose that we, too, might have new life in him. The Lord offers each of us new life in his Holy Spirit that we may know him personally and walk in this new way of life through the power of his resurrection. Do you believe in God's word and the power of the Holy Spirit?

"Lord Jesus Christ, through your victory over sin and death you have overcome all the powers of darkness. Help me to draw near to you and to trust in your life-giving word. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and strengthen my faith in your promises and my hope in the power of your resurrection."

Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 23-24

2 Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures for ever."
3 Let the house of Aaron say, "His steadfast love endures for ever."
4 Let those who fear the LORD say, "His steadfast love endures for ever."
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
15 Hark, glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner.
23 This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.



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