Father Matthew Wiering Podcast Unknown

Jesus uses several images to describe the Kingdom of God that involve planting seed. The seed itself is so small and humble. Its looks so insignificant yet contains within itself a generative power. A farmer must be faithful to the humble work of planning, and then he must let God do the rest. How much is this an analogy for our life! Serving God in small and hidden ways, in faithfulness and love, planting the seeds that, with God, can bear great fruit. Such is the Church and such is our lives!

Today's return to the Sundays in Ordinary Time gives us one of the foundational biblical texts: The story of the aftermath of the Fall. While God created the man and the woman in a state of perfect harmony with Himself and with one another, we see how quickly these relationships fall apart when the man and woman commit the original sin. May we be convicted that sin always brings disorder and seek to encounter continually the only One who can heal us from the disorders of our heart, the New Adam, Jesus Christ!

We go back to the basics today on this Corpus Christi Sunday with our Gospel reading from the Last Supper. The Apostles would not have understood Jesus when he took bread and said, "This is my body," and when he took wine and called it "the blood of the new covenant." Yet less than 24 hours later the Apostles would have seen Jesus shed blood and offer his body on the altar of the cross. At every Catholic Mass, which is done in response to Jesus's command, "Do this in memory of me," the Cross and Resurrection is made present again, and grace upon grace is poured upon all who are there for the mystery.

In today's Gospel, in the context of their loving relationship of deep friendship, Jesus invites Peter to make a gift of his life. In this homily from the last Mass with our graduating seniors, we explore what truly satisfies us in life.

On this Pentecost Sunday, the Church gives us as a second reading Paul's list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, self-control, etc. These are the signs that accompany the Holy Spirit. St. Ignatius of Loyola, in his "Rules for the Discernment of Spirits," gives us something very similar: A basis for how we can tell whether it is the Holy Spirit we are listening to or the Evil Spirit.

The Ascension of Jesus is a great mystery, and we realize this as we reflect on the reaction that the disciples have to witnessing their friend and lord Jesus depart from this earth. Instead of being downcast, the Gospels tell us that the disciples were joyful and immediately got to work preaching and witnessing to the Resurrection of Jesus. They understood that Jesus's visible presence was now passing into the Sacraments and, via the Sacraments, into them. May this be our cause for joy and action, too, that Jesus is Risen and we are his witnesses!