Fr Kevin Kilgore

***

Gospel: John 5: 17-30

Jesus answered the Jews: 
“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus answered and said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent him.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will come out,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wicked deeds
to the resurrection of condemnation.

“I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Perhaps the most famous love story in literary history is William Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet.

You may remember the famous balcony scene when Juliet gazes down upon Romeo and says, “Romeo, the more I give to you, the more I seem to have.”

***

Juliet learned to see the world through Romeo’s eyes.

She dreamt her lover’s dreams and sought to please her lover’s needs, because the happier Romeo was, the happier Juliet became.

The more she gave, the more she had.

That’s the essence of love.

***

Jesus is describing a similar love with his Father in today’s Gospel.

“I do not seek my own will,” he says, “but the will of the one who sent me.” 

The more Jesus gives himself away – the more he preaches the truth, the more he loves, the more he heals, the more he forgives those caught in sin – the more he seems to have.

***

The same is true for us.

The more we give ourselves to God in love, prayer, fasting, and charity, the happier we become.

In what ways might we love and serve the Lord today?

***

***

Image credits: (1) Canyon Lake United Methodist Church (2) Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo (3) FaithGateway

***

Gospel: Luke 5: 1-11

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening  to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them.
They came and filled both boats
so that they were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

On the surface, we may associate this day with parades, dancing, Guinness, soda bread, and even the Chicago River dyed green.

But behind this feast is the remarkable story of a man whose life and legacy still speaks to us today.

***

When he was a boy, Patrick was kidnapped by Irish raiders and sold into slavery. He spent the next several years suffering terribly from hunger and the cold.

Eventually, he escaped and made his way back to Britain, where he entered the seminary and became a priest, serving locally for 20 years.

One night Patrick had a dream. A voice with an Irish accent pleaded with him, “We appeal to you, to come and walk among us.” Patrick knew the call came from the Lord, so he returned to Ireland as a free man.

Imagine the courage it took for Patrick to return to the land that once enslaved him as memories of hunger and the cold raced through his mind. But he went anyway, spending the final 28 years of his life spreading the Catholic faith amongst the Irish.

With the help of his friends and the grace of the Holy Spirit, he converted an entire nation. Today 90% of Ireland still identifies as Catholic!

***

Imagine what the Church could do, locally and at large, if we embraced Patrick’s courageous spirit, sharing our faith with others one word, one gesture, one invite at a time. 

If humility were our daily bread.

If we did not allow memories of rejection or mistreatment to freeze us; rather, we let love thaw our hearts, spurring us onward. If we developed a spirit of obedience to the Lord, eagerly following him from sea to shining sea. 

Together, we would – and can – rebuild the Church. 

Saint Patrick, pray for us!

***

***

Image credits: (1) The Week (2) Krystal Craven Christian Music (3) Prayer of Saint Patrick, Amazon.com

***

Gospel: John 4:43-53

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast.

Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
“Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
The royal official said to him,
“Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.”
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
“The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.”
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
“Your son will live,”
and he and his whole household came to believe.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea.

The Gospel of the Lord.

***

***

It’s been said the most profound anguish a human being can experience is the death of a child.

In today’s Gospel, a desperate father approaches Jesus, begging him to heal his son. Adding to the anguish of the story, this man has traveled from Capernaum to Cana in search of the Lord, a wrenching 20-mile journey. 

Imagine walking – or likely running – that distance, knowing your child is deathly ill at home. Time is of the essence.

Upon finding Jesus, this father begs him for a miracle. So, the Lord tells him plainly, “You may go; your son will live.” This father believes what Jesus says and begins his journey home – a journey filled with incredible hope.

***

That 20-mile return – some 40,000 steps – serves as a beautiful image of the Christian life.

***

Our Christian journey begins at baptism, when we first encounter Christ. This divine encounter is meant to forever change our perspective on life, as Jesus assures us, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.”

The rest of our days are meant to be like that father walking home. The anxiety and fear he once experienced looking for Jesus have been replaced by hope. And when he arrived home, his entire house came to believe – a sign that faith was spreading.

Lent is a time for us to consider, how is my own faith journey going? Am I like that father anxiously searching for healing, searching for God? Or have I had an encounter with Christ that has forever changed my perspective?

***

May the Lord stir up the waters of baptism within us, guiding our feet into the way of peace.

***

***

Image credits: (1) Church Sermon Series Ideas (2) Baptism of Christ, David Zalenka, 2005 (3) A Deeper Word