Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter May 10, Scripture: Acts 16:11-15; Psalm 149:1-6a, 9; John 15: 26; 16:4a

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1 Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter May 10, 2010 Scripture: Acts 16:11-15; Psalm 149:1-6a, 9; John 15: 26; 16:4a Reflection: How frightening it must have been for the disciples to first live through the Passion, which crushed their hopes and dreams, then the joy and excitement of embracing the Resurrected Christ, only to have Jesus begin to prepare them for his return to the Father. Jesus, acknowledging their fears and disappointment, promises to send the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth to be his witness to all humankind. Consolation and again challenge as Jesus also announces their mission to be his witness in counterpoint to those who reject his message. As we approach Pentecost, I find this promise of the Spirit both enlivening and testing. I am reminded that despite the media s daily trumpeting of political and judicial corruption, the latest casualties of war, the effects of greed that have brought us to our economic knees, the racism that continues to rear its ugly head and the hunger, homelessness, and lack of health care that are the rule for all too many in this, the richest nation on the earth, the Spirit is alive among us. Although but a media whisper, there is hope in the many unsung heroes whose silent acts of kindness, justice and mercy help to enlighten the darkness. Rather than curse the darkness, I need to find hope and joy in those who daily witness to the action of the Spirit among us, challenging us to continue Christ s work and be for others the revelation of God s preferential love for the poor and oppressed. Quickened by the Spirit, to herald anew, that the touch of God in our lives is a gentle healing touch, promoting justice and mercy beyond anything we could imagine or suspect. Suggested Action: Today, do not bemoan the darkness, rather, be for others that breath of life that illumines the darkness. Sister Margo McCormick, IHM Scranton, Pennsylvania

2 Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter May 11, 2010 Scripture: Acts16:22-34; Psalm 138:1-8; John 16:5-11 Reflection: Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved. Acts 16:31 But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. John 16:7 The report of an earthquake evokes feelings of pity in us. While we may feel helpless in the face of such misery, it often moves us to take positive action for its victims. It may be through prayer or it may be by making a monetary donation to alleviate the suffering. In today s reading from Acts we hear of the earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison in Philippi and loosed the chains of Paul and Silas. This earthquake had a very different outcome than those that unleash nature s fury. Instead of being a means of disaster and death for the jailer the rumblings of the earth became the means of his coming to faith in the risen Jesus and salvation for his household. John s Gospel is taken from Jesus instruction to his disciples the night before he died. His words left them puzzled and frightened. We can say that they were experiencing an emotional earthquake because their world, shaken by the prospect of being without the consoling presence of Jesus, was crumbling. How difficult it was for them to let go in order to grow into what Jesus was calling them to become the church. Suggested Action: Take some time to reflect on the goodness of God in leading you safely through the physical, emotional or spiritual earthquakes in your past. Like the jailer, did these experiences give you a deeper awareness of your relationship with God or like the disciples did they lead you to greater trust in God s providential design? Sister Mary Ann Adams, IHM Bethesda, Maryland

3 Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter May 12, 2010 Scripture: Acts 17:15, 22; 18:1; Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14; John 16:12-15 Reflection: As we near the end of the Easter season, it is good to ponder the words of Jesus in this Gospel and let them settle in our soul. I have more to tell you. My ministry enables me to be in touch with many people in parish life. Their spiritual needs are so evident and are revealed in a variety of ways. There is so much to tell them, so much they need to know about God s love to guide them in today s world. This happens in many ways: parents, seeking Baptism for a child and becoming renewed in leading that child to God; adults, needing to be inspired to learn more about their faith and how to nurture a life of prayer; the elderly, facing loss of independence and desiring to discover what more life can offer as they continue to seek God. We encounter the children who are spontaneous and open to what spirit-filled people reveal to them and the teenager confused by the mixed messages in today s society. We also meet the alienated and lost who are in need of someone to reach out and accept them. There is so much more to learn from the Spirit of truth, so that we can declare it to others. In Acts we hear he is not far from any one of us. What a consoling thought during these springtime and Easter days as the presence and beauty of God is revealed to us. We have been made to dwell on this earth and discover how we can find God in the depths of our being, in each other and in the circumstances of our lives. Suggested Action: As you prepare for the activities of this day, pause and reflect on the ways that God is close to you. Who has guided you and revealed the Spirit of truth to you? Be conscious today of some way that you can assist others who seek God. Sister Ann Parker, IHM North Beach, Maryland

4 Ascension of the Lord May 13, 2010 Scripture: Act 1:1-11; Psalm 47:2-3, 6-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Luke 24:46-53 Reflection: After listening to the readings for today s Mass ask yourself: What am I doing? Today s message is an excellent example of: let go let God. The apostles had to let go of the Jesus they knew: the Jesus who taught them, the Jesus who died on the cross, the Jesus they buried. The Jesus they knew was leaving. The Jesus they knew would not be with them. The apostles needed to have new life breathed into them. They had to let go of the old and let God s new life rescue them. The apostles had to begin to share this new life with others. Why stand here looking to the heavens. Spread God s love and peace. With the uncertain times we are now experiencing, it is very difficult to let go of anything that gives us some sense of security. If we do not let go of the old, we cannot experience the new. New life begins when we let go and let God work through us. Then we become instruments of peace. Suggested Action: Today, let new life seep into us. Let God work through us. Only then can we become instruments of peace. Sister Marion Tarone, IHM Kingston, Pennsylvania

5 Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter May 14, 2010 Scripture: Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Psalm 113:1-8; John 15:9-17 Reflection: Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love. John 15:10 Remain in Me love bear fruit are the key points that drew my attention immediately in this reading from John s Gospel. Remain in me. What does this mean to me? Just to contemplate the enormous love God has for me produces an overwhelming gratitude. Just to ponder that it was not I that chose God, but that God chose me first. What a gift! There is this certitude of being loved by God in every event and in every moment. How do I remain in his love? Jesus is very specific on this point. I must keep his commandments, especially by loving others as he has loved me. This is the hard part. This is the challenge if I am to remain in God s love. Thomas Keating, in his book, Awakenings, emphasizes that I must love others in their individuality and in the things that drive me up a wall. It gets even more difficult. I have to love my neighbors just as they are with unbearable habits, unreasonable demands, and impossible characteristics. This commandment means I have to accept others unconditionally. I must love them in the way Jesus loves me. Then I will remain in his love. As I was chosen, so I am appointed to go and bear fruit that will last. St. John of the Cross said, Where there is no love, put love and there you will find love. So that is my mission if I desire to remain in God s love. Suggested Action: Let this mantra be in your heart and lips today: God, teach me to love like you. Then, look for opportunities today to show your love for others. Sister Geraldine Dranginis, IHM Scranton, Pennsylvania

6 Saturday of the Sixth Week of Easter May 15, 2010 Scripture: Acts 18:23-28; Psalm 47:2-3, 8-10; John 16:23-28 Reflection: I once heard the word intimacy pronounced as in-to-me-see and I think about that every time I read John s Gospel. It is here that Jesus talks most openly about his desire for deep, intimate relationships and it is where he invites us into the circle of divine intimacy that he enjoys with God The Father loves you because you love Me. As we continue to read the discourse, Jesus repeats his desire for us to be united intimately with God as he is. May the love with which you love Me be in them and I in them. We often experience the two extremes of intimacy: either we want instant intimacy or we are totally fearful of any intimacy with anyone including God. Jesus breaks through all of that. When we respond to his loving invitation he continues to encourage us to go deeper, to ask, ask, ask for anything, and it will be given and our joy will be complete. It all seems too good to be true, but it is! Suggested Action: Find some quiet time and place today and allow your desire for intimacy with the Divine to be satisfied. Sister Maria Regina Loures, IHM Manhasset, New York