BECOMING WHO WE ARE MEANT TO BE
“[The church] was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.” --Acts 9:31
Today’s first reading and really every page of the Acts of the Apostles drives home a very important lesson: we can all change in real and substantial ways. Saul (the Jewish form of the Greek name Paolos) had a past and a reputation which made it hard for the early Christians to believe that he could ever become a disciple of Christ. They were skeptical and afraid of him because they imagine that someone who did the things they knew he had done could never really be transformed. Only as Barnabas and the apostles listen to his sincere testimony and observe his behavior and preaching are they able to come to grips with the authentic conversion which has taken place in his heart.
Said in another way, our past does not ultimately define us. Certainly, a person’s past is part of them and they continue to be marked by it, but Christ’s power is much greater than our past history and sinfulness. This is one of the miracles of the Church on display in every generation: that she possesses and stewards the fullness of the means of transforming grace.
The young people who this Sunday receive Holy Communion for the first time at our 9:30 am Mass encounter the transforming power of Christ in an altogether new way! They experience for the first time what it means to remain in Christ like a branch on the vine (Jn 15). As they feed upon the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, they discover the source of transformation for their young lives that will allow them to truly become who they are meant to be. ¡Felicitaciones and congratulations to them!
The love of God at work in the Sacramental Life of the Catholic Church is a transforming love that allows us, by the working of Sanctifying Grace within us, to become true children of our Heavenly Father who “love not in word or speech but in deed and truth” (1 Jn 3:18). This grace is open to each and every one of us who allow, especially through the awesome graces of the Sacrament of Penance and frequent and reverent reception of Holy Communion to be a great cause of our ongoing growth unto the likeness of Christ Jesus. If we stay away, we wither, but if we draw close, we are made new!
In this Easter Season of Sacraments through Baptism, Confession, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick the Church in our day and in our parish is made strong and built up as was the Early Church that we read about in the Acts of the Apostles. May our First Communicants and their families learn that apart from Him they can do nothing, but that in Christ who strengthens them they can do all things! (see Jn 15:5 and Phil 4:13).
Speaking of abiding in Christ, I am personally very excited to have my annual silent retreat coming up from May 5-13. I am always so thankful to enter the silence to listen to the Lord and to be refreshed and encouraged by the Father’s love. Please pray for me during my time away as I will remember all of you in prayer!
Jesus, present in the Blessed Sacrament, lead us to possess the virtues of your Sacred Heart!
Fr. Howe, Pastor