Sunday reflections

The responsorial psalm begins with an important question; “Lord, who shall dwell on your holy mountain?” One of the main themes of the Old Testament was determining how human beings, separated from God’s holiness due to sin, can once again “live in the presence of the Lord.”

The late Pope Francis reflected on the Parable of the Good Samaritan as a “ray of light” for our contemporary world where people too often fail to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable. Francis presented the Samaritan – whom he called “a stranger on the road” – as a symbol of fraternity and social friendship creating “a culture of encounter” that builds bridges of love among all people [“Fratelli Tutti”, No. 2].

In

Do we think of ourselves as missionaries? Probably not, though occasionally we may hear it said that we all have a vocation, a calling that is not only for priests and other religious. Whatever hesitation we may have, however, at the end of Mass we are asked to spread the word. That is the peace of Christ: it is our mission.

In this week’s gospel reading (Matthew 16:13), Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”. The disciples offer various answers, including that some believe Jesus to be John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah.

Fifty days after Easter we celebrate the events of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples who were gathered. They were alone, waiting and wondering. Jesus had ascended into heaven. Now, at Pentecost, there was the coming of the Advocate, the Paraclete, as promised by Jesus at the Last Supper before his death.

Catholics and many other Christian communities believe in one God, who is Father, Son, and Spirit. St Augustine expressed the understanding this way: God is Lover, Beloved, and the Love between them.

Fifty days after Easter we celebrate the events of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples who were gathered. They were alone, waiting and wondering. Jesus had ascended into heaven. Now, at Pentecost, there was the coming of the Advocate, the Paraclete, as promised by Jesus at the Last Supper before his death.

The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini wrote famous operas such as La Boheme, Madama Butterfly and Tosca. It was during his battle with terminal cancer in 1922 that he began to write Turandot, which many consider his best work.

We are still in the Easter season celebrating a new creation. But John’s gospel takes us back before the Easter event as we hear another part of the farewell spoken by Jesus before his death.

John’s vision of a new heaven and a new earth speaks of a time when sorrow, death and suffering will be no more. Some two thousand years later we might think that John’s utopian vision is little more than wishful thinking. Moreover, if we take the words of Jesus in this week’s Gospel – “You must love one another as I have loved you” – we can also recognise that Christians honour this commandment more in the breach than in reality.