A Shepard's Care
Weekly Column

This Spiritual life that we are all called to live is important for us as Christians. It is a gift, a grace of our Baptism and Confirmation. Just as the Holy Spirit dwells in the Soul of Christ Himself, so He dwells within us. The third person of the Holy Trinity is the manifestation of the Love of the Father and Son. A love so complete, where the mutual self-giving from all eternity, bears fruit in the Spirit of that love to all of creation. In Light from Light, all things are.

The Easter Season is coming to a climax—this weekend we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord and next weekend is Pentecost. These two events are closely related as Jesus tells his apostles right before he ascends to heaven: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The apostles probably felt intimidated by this mandate to go “to the end of the earth!” But after they received the Holy Spirit on Pentecost they were, indeed, empowered to give witness to Jesus wherever he sent them. And successive generations of Christians have done the same eventually establishing the Archdiocese of Denver in 1887.

The Book of the Psalms is one of the most loved books of the Old Testament. For centuries, it has served both Jewish and Christian communities as a songbook for public worship, as a prayerbook for personal devotion and as a guidebook for wise living. Today’s responsorial psalm is described as a thanksgiving psalm. Psalm 66 was sung in the Jewish temple annually at the New Year feast when the ark of the Lord was installed anew in its place. This was met with shouts of joy and prayerful gratitude to the Lord.

After reading today's Gospel, I had to be honest with myself: I was just like Thomas. I grew up Catholic my entire life, and I have spent the last 21 years learning and teaching the faith. Yet I still ask almost the same question as Thomas: “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” I even know Jesus’ answer to Thomas’ question, and I still struggle at times to understand how I ought to follow Jesus.

Hello my friends! I love you! This weekend, I'm looking forward to speaking about our Children's Faith Formation program. We have the largest program in the diocese*, and I love to brag about the amazing children, families, and volunteers who make everything possible.

I did it again! I opened up my phone and looked at the news. It didn’t fill me with joy or peace; instead, it left me feeling disheartened, discouraged, and even a little angry. And those feelings are on top of my own personal anxieties and struggles! So why do I do it? Why do I continue to open up my phone and go down the rabbit hole that is the news? I realize with today’s Gospel that I am in good company. I imagine that the disciples on the road to Emmaus were feeling very similar feelings, since I know that only last week I, too, “stopped, and [looked] downcast.”

Did you notice in the recent World Baseball Classic there was a mercy roll for the early rounds of the tournament? A game is called if a team leads by 15 or more runs after 5 innings or 10 or more runs after 7 innings. When I hear of this mercy rule, it tells me the tournament organizers are giving up on the losing team because they think the team doesn’t have a chance of winning the ballgame. I remember the mercy rule when I played baseball in Little League. I hated it. I did not want to concede until the final out of the game. I didn’t want anyone to give up on me!

Happy Easter everyone! Today and for the next fifty days we celebrate the greatest event in human history. Jesus Christ rose from the dead and He continues to rise in the lives of his followers. The evidence of his resurrection is compelling and stunning. Not only is it reported in all four of the gospels but, according to St. Paul, the risen Christ “appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at once" (1 Corinthians 15:6). His appearances compelled Christians to spread this Good News around the world for twenty centuries. They were not only proclaiming that Jesus had risen from the dead, but also that we can rise with him to everlasting life.

Welcome to the holiest week of the liturgical year. From Palm Sunday to the Easter Vigil, we accompany our Lord from his jubilant entrance as the Messiah/King into the royal city, though his Last Supper with his disciples, his rejection, crucifixion and resurrection. Each year we are invited to find our place in the greatest story ever told, as it continues to unfold in and through us. Let us journey together with Jesus through his Passiontide, “For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection” (Romans 6: 5, Easter Vigil Epistle). Here are a few highlights from the story of this earth-shattering week.

Dear Lord, I read this Sunday’s Gospel story from John on how you raised Lazarus from the dead. I must be honest Lord; I didn’t know at first why you waited a few days before you traveled to Bethany. Mary and Martha’s faith was being tested. I know my faith is tested a lot too. I think it’s because I don’t always understand.