“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.”

"What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like." -- St. Augustine of Hippo

Gospel Text: (JN 15:9-17)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
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.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”

An American writer once said that history — or at least all human history — is a record of the encounter between character and circumstance. I think that’s true. Life is the crucible where we discover what we really believe . . . as opposed to what we say we believe.

The first Apostles, mere fisherman and laborers, acted on the life of Jesus Christ. They witnessed and taught His Gospel . . . and they traveled all over the Mediterranean world to do it.

The point is, Christian love is an active verb. The believer is attentive to God, receptive to God — but never passive. One of the great sources of confusion in the world today, and even in the Church, is the way we so easily diminish love by mistaking it for a warm set of feelings. Those feelings are wonderful when they occur . . . but they’re also unreliable. They can even be misleading.

Real love is not something we consume like an entertainment or a drug. It’s something we co-create with God. It involves the will. It involves choosing to do a right action — a selfless action — and then actually doing it. That’s what changes human hearts. In the long run, people remember what we do, a lot more clearly than anything we say. The Apostles preached first with their lives, then with their words. People listened because they saw. In exactly the same way, if we live well and love well because of the Gospel...only then will people begin to listen to what we say about the Gospel.

How do we do this because you can bet that it can not be done by reading a self-help book from Barnes & Noble?

I think Mother Teresa put it best in her description of how we transform “Christian love” from a concept into an active verb:

When you look at electrical things you can see that they are made of small and big wires, cheap and expensive all lined up. Until the current runs through them there will be no light. Those wires are you and me and the current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us and produce the light of the world or we can refuse to be used and allow darkness to spread.

So in the final analysis, the first move is ours, we need to “plug in” to the “source” in order to produce “light”. If we refuse “Christian love” will remain a concept and from where I come from, talk is very cheap.

In silence and quiet the devout soul advances in virtue and learns the hidden truths of Scripture.

“I can see thanks to the sun light, but if I close my eyes, I cannot see; but this is not the fault of the sun, but mine.” – St Thomas Aquinas

Gospel Text: (JN 10:22-30)
The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.
It was winter.
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon.
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
“How long are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”

“How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” (John 10:24). How often do we ask God questions similar to this? We can often fall into agony and even desperation in wanting to know God’s will for our lives, an important decision or even just everyday events. We can also fall into the trap of thinking, you are omnipotent, you are God, please just tell me, just clearly tell me what Your will is and I will do it. Jesus’ response takes us aback when he says, “I told you and you do not believe.” You may find yourself, like myself, thinking, Jesus what have you told me? What have I not believed?

I heard a priest give a homily once asking people to think about how many times they read the newspaper or watched the news in the last week. Then he asked them to think about how many times they read the Word of God. What is going to impact your life more: the news from the media or the Good News of our Lord? Stated quite simply, how can we hear God’s voice if we don’t read His word, spend time in silence with Him daily, and know Him in order to “know His voice”?

Jesus knows his sheep and his sheep hear his voice. Faith allows us to connect with Jesus through prayer. What else is a prayer but a way to communicate with Jesus Christ, who loves us and takes us to the Father? The outcome and reward of this intimacy with Jesus in this life is true peace and joy. Isn’t that what everyone is looking for in the first place? Maybe its time to try something new, what do you have to lose?

“The ship that will not obey the helm will have to obey the rocks.”

”Naturally we all have an inclination to command, and a great aversion to obey; and yet it is certain that it is more for our good to obey than to command; hence perfect souls have always had a great affection for obedience, and have found all their joy and comfort in it.” -- Saint Francis of Sales, Doctor of the Church

Gospel Text: (JN 10:11-18)
Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and 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.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”

Unfortunately, shepherds and sheep are not very common or relevant in our high tech, computerized world. And we do not like to think of ourselves as dumb, submissive animals. We are sophisticated human beings. We have an intellect and a free will, we go where we will and do what we want. And we don’t like “sheep dogs” yapping and snapping at our feet. But perhaps we are more like sheep than we care to admit. Just like sheep we seem to be oblivious of everything except the plot of grass that surrounds us here and now. We spend all of our time feathering this little nest here as if it will go on forever. Just like sheep we are not conscious of the ravenous wolves that surround us in the counter-culture in which we live. To say nothing of the wolves that come to us in sheep’s clothing. And just like sheep we always think that the grass is greener on the other side, so we stray from the flock. Whether we appreciate it or not, the image of the Good Shepherd and his sheep is enshrined forever in the Bible and in Christianity. And in reality and truth it fits every generation, even our own.

“My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me.” (John 10: 27) We should have a quiet time each day. Turn off the radio, TV, internet, cell phone, put everything on the back burner and learn to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd. What a great blessing it is to be able to recognize the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and to follow him with great joy and confidence wherever he may lead us.

“He who wants to do good knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the gate open.”

“Confession is the gate of Heaven. O truly the gate of Heaven and the gate of Paradise, since through it the penitent is invited to kiss the feet, hands and face of God: the feet of His mercy, the hands of His grace and the face of His pardon. O house of God, O gate of Heaven, O confession! Blessed is he who dwells in you! Blessed is he who humbles himself in you! Humble yourselves therefore dearest brethren, and enter through this mystical gate.” - St. Anthony of Padua

Gospel Text: (JN 10:1-10)

Jesus said:

“Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate

but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.

But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,

as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has driven out all his own,

he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,

because they recognize his voice.

But they will not follow a stranger;

they will run away from him,

because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”

Although Jesus used this figure of speech,

the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

I am the gate for the sheep.

All who came before me are thieves and robbers,

but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the gate.

Whoever enters through me will be saved,

and will come in and go out and find pasture.

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

This morning we hear comforting words from Jesus concerning being both a shepherd and a gate. Jesus describes himself as the shepherd who enters by the gate. The sheep know him by the sound of his voice. The shepherd knows each sheep so well that he can call them by name. Furthermore, as they hear their name the sheep respond by following him. What is described is a very intimate relationship. The sheep and the shepherd know each other so well that the sheep will not follow anybody else. They will not turn away from the shepherd they trust. 



However, that doesn't mean there are not other voices. Actually, it implies there are other voices calling to the sheep. These are the voices of “strangers” who try to lead the sheep away. We see there are those who are dangerous in this world. They call to us constantly and they try to confuse us continually. But as long as we respond to Jesus' call we are safe. 



Following Jesus means putting one's own needs as last. Following Jesus means praying for those who hurt us. Following Jesus means forgiving, caring and loving. Hearing Jesus' voice is exemplified by these characteristics.

The bottom line is, there are a lot of different kinds of “gates” in our world and we all must choose which one to pursue. Sadly, some look “good” at first but ultimately will leave us empty and alone. In stark contrast to the many “gates” the world reveals to us, Jesus tells us today at the Mass, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." That's what he meant when he said, "I am the gate."

“To disbelieve is easy; to scoff is simple; to have faith is harder.”

“I am weak and frail, my dearest Margaret, but I will not distrust God’s goodness. If I become so terrified that I am in danger of defecting, I shall remember Peter beginning to sink because his faith was weak, and I shall cry out to Christ as he did, ‘Lord, save me.’ I hope that he will stretch out his hand and take hold of me and not let me sink. But even if he lets me play Peter’s part to the full and reject him, I hope that he will look on me with mercy as he did on Peter and raise me up to profess the truth.” – (These words come from a letter that St. Thomas More wrote to his daughter as he reflected on his likely execution by order of England’s King Henry VIII.)

Gospel Text: (JN 6:60-69)

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said,

“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,

he said to them, “Does this shock you?

What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.

The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.

But there are some of you who do not believe.”

Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe

and the one who would betray him.

And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me

unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this,

many of his disciples returned to their former way of life

and no longer walked with him.

Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”

Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

We have come to believe

and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

This saying is hard, who can accept it?” In my opinion, there is an equivalent of the saying in today’s gospel reading in today’s society. Life is hard. There really is no denying it (and if you do deny it, we need to have a chat because I’d like to know your secret). Unexpected things come at us from every imaginable angle and we have to find a way to decipher them and keep moving.

St John writes, “The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat” (John 6:52-62)?  Like the Samaritan woman at the well, they take him literally, thinking that he is referring to some kind of cannibalism. But then Jesus continues to use challenging language and that leaves many of his disciples just as confused as our Jewish brothers. Finally, Jesus offers some help in understanding that language that at first sounds like cannibalism: “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son Man ascending to where he was before. It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail.” The mention of the ascension evokes the reality of the transformed, risen Christ. So the participation in the physical meal of the Eucharist, is also the appropriation of the transformed reality of the risen Christ, in which we become what we consume, part of his risen body, the believing community.

In the light of this Gospel we may wonder: where have I placed my love? what faith and what obedience have I to the Lord and to what the Church teaches? What kind of docility, simplicity and trust do I live with regards to God's things?

“When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God’s light shines upon you.”

If a man does what he can and is truly penitent, however often he comes to Me for grace and pardon, "As I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live"; I will no longer remember his sins, but all will be forgiven him. -Thomas à Kempis (Imitation of Christ)

Scripture text: (ACTS 9:1-20)
Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,
if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,
he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
He said, “Who are you, sir?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but could see no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.
For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,
and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”
He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight
and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is there praying,
and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight.”
But Ananias replied,
“Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name.”
But the Lord said to him,
“Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”
So Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.
He got up and was baptized,
and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.

He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,
and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God.

In our first reading today at Mass we hear perhaps the most miraculous (and certainly most imitated) story of conversion in all of human history. Paul – who is still Saul at this time – enters the story still “breathing murderous threats” against the new way of Jesus and exits it with scales falling from his eyes. It’s a complete turning around of a life that we witness today, one that requires much from Paul: openness, trust, courage, and enormous humility in admitting the prior misdirection of his life. It’s a beautiful story.

But it’s not the only beautiful thing happening in that reading. In fact, I think it’s not even the most beautiful. That’s a label I would give to the story of Ananias tucked snugly inside St. Paul’s.

I say this because it’s Ananias – who was himself going to be one of the targets of Saul’s murderous threats – who finds it possible to trust God, and not only to trust God but to forgive, and not only to forgive but to bless the very one at whose hands he would have otherwise suffered.

It must have been a shock for him to be asked by God to accept, forgive, bless one who was willing to use jail and torture to enforce religious unity. It was so much a shock that Ananias, obedient though he was willing to be, actually asked God whether he had it right, “are you sure it’s this man you want me to accept?” he asks. But despite a stammering beginning Ananias goes and accepts and forgives and blesses: “Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,” he prays, “that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

We are often seduced by the instantaneous nature of Paul’s conversion – or at least I am. I feel like if I were getting this Christian life right I wouldn’t, after so many years, still have to resist the temptations to breathe my own version of murderous threats. But I do. I still do.

Which is why I think our Christian life is a lot more like Ananias’ than Paul’s. It’s not very often that scales fall from our eyes and our whole lives are turned around. Much more often what this Christian life consists in is being willing to forgive, bless, accept those who have wounded us. Much more often our task is the task of Ananias, the daily task of one who has been and is still being converted to God.

“The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white Host.”

“As a man must be born before he can begin to lead his physical life, so he must be born to lead a Divine Life. That birth occurs in the Sacrament of Baptism. To survive, he must be nourished by Divine Life; that is done in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.” - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Gospel text (Jn 6,44-51): Jesus addressed the crowd, «No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets: They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me. For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; He has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Though your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, they died. But here you have the bread which comes from heaven so that you may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of the world».

As preschoolers and Kindergarteners, we are taught to share our toys with our classmates. This is an extremely important lesson, but it is a difficult one, too. Children naturally are a bit selfish. They think, “Why should I share when it is much better for me to keep everything for myself?” Good teachers will strive to persuade these “little ones” to take their minds off themselves and consider the other’s needs.

Pope Francis has challenged Catholics to consider allowing our lives to be transformed by Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.

Speaking recently to a congregation of about 20,000 people outside the Basilica of St John Lateran in Rome, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to ask if the Eucharist is a “moment of true communion with the Lord, but also with my many brothers and sisters who share at this same altar?” and if when “adoring Christ truly present in the Eucharist, do I allow myself to be transformed by him?”

Pope Francis went on to say: “The Eucharist is the sacrament of the communion that takes us out of our individualism so that together we live our discipleship, our faith in him.” At the same time, the Holy Father said, in receiving the Eucharist faithfully “the Lord leads us to follow his path — that of service, sharing and giving; and that little that we have, the little that we are, if shared, becomes a treasure because the power of God, who is love, descends to our poverty and transforms it.”

The greatest miracle in the world happens at each Mass. Jesus becomes present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. Those who receive him in a state of grace (All Baptized Catholics are one confession away from that state) receive strength for the journey which is truly “out of this world.” Jesus is present eternally with the Father in heaven, and he becomes our nourishment in Communion. Heaven unites itself with us poor creatures.

Each time we as Catholics eat of this Bread, we will go deeper into the very love of God! If we do so, we will no longer live for ourselves and the world will be a better place because we are in it.