Peace and Presence: God Dwells With Those Who Love Him

6^th Sunday of Easter, Year C
St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 1pm and 4pm Masses

May 25, 2025

THEME: “Peace and Presence: God Dwells With Those Who Love Him”

This Sunday focuses on the promise of Jesus’ continued presence through the Holy Spirit, the gift of divine peace, and the Church’s call to remain united and faithful in love and obedience.

1^st Reading:     Acts 15: 1-2, 22-29

                              It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than what is

essential

Res. Psalm:      Ps. 67: 1-2, 4-5, 6-7 (R. 4)

                              Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you

2^nd Reading:    Rev. 21: 10-14, 22-2

                              I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.

Gospel:            Jn: 14: 23-29

                              Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

Introduction – The Promise of Divine Presence

A blessed afternoon/evening to all of you my dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

This Sunday’s Gospel passage comes from the Farewell Discourse of Jesus at the Last Supper, a continuation from last Sunday.  Liturgically, we are still in the joyful season of Easter and the Church continues to draw our hearts closer to the Risen Lord, who has conquered death and now offers us new life.

Today, on this 6th Sunday of Easter, we are invited to reflect on a powerful promise: God is not distant. He dwells among us. He makes His home in the hearts of those who love Him.

And the readings today resonate with a beautiful harmony. They speak of peace, guidance, and presence—three gifts that are inseparable when you have a relationship with God.

In the Gospel, Jesus prepares His disciples for His departure and since we will be celebrating His ascension next week, Jesus’ final departure from the earth, He also assures us - that though He is going to the Father, He is not leaving us orphaned.

He promises to send the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, who will remind us of everything He has taught. This is not just a theological truth—it is a personal, living reality.

This beautiful reality that God is with us. And not just with us, but within us, if we open our hearts in love and obedience.

The Gospel – Love, Obedience, and Peace

From the time of Moses to early Christianity, people believe that God’s presence is only found in the temple. But in the Gospel today, Jesus revealed a profound mystery - that the presence of God is not limited to temples or rituals, but that He dwells in the heart of every believer who lives in love and obedience.

I was kind of hoping that our angelic choir will remain true to the Liturgy and give us the right Gospel Acclamation and they did not disappoint.
In the Gospel acclamation that came from the Gospel reading itself, we have just heard Jesus says:

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him."

We become his temple. For those who love and obey - their bodies become the temples of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus adds a crucial element: peace.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”

"Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus Papam!" (I announce to you a great joy: We have a Pope!)

Three weeks or so ago, we have been given a new Pope – Leo XIV. He was elected on the 5^th balloting, the 2^nd day of Conclave. And I can imagine as his name is called – “Cardinal Prevost” over and over again as the votes are tallied, from the 1^st balloting to the last, that he would have felt some kind of fear and the overwhelming feeling of unworthiness.

This maybe a big moment in Cardinal Prevost, but his life has been marked by many occasions of saying yes to God. He has lots of experience facing God with love in his hear and saying yes.

You see brother and sisters - Love and obedience—these are not meant to be burdens. They are the fruit of a relationship with Christ. When we love someone, we naturally desire to please them, to honor their words, to live in harmony with their will.

This I think is the reason why Pope Leo’s first word as he steps onto the balcony and gives his first blessing, Urbi et Orbi ("To the City and the World"), to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square and watching around the world.

"Peace be with you all"

This is not the fragile peace of politics or the temporary calm of a stormy day. This is Christ’s own peace, rooted in trust, in presence, in the unshakable reality that God is with us.

This peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God amid trouble.
How many of us today long for this peace? In our families, in our hearts, in our world? Christ offers it freely, but it begins with a heart open to His presence.

The Early Church – Unity Through the Spirit

The First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows us a practical example of the Holy Spirit guiding the Church. The early Christians faced serious conflict—what was required of the Gentile converts? Must they follow the Mosaic Law?

Instead of division, the apostles, with prayer and discernment, listened to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They send Barsabbas and Silas with Paul and Barnabbas to Antioch with this beautiful message:

"It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than what is essential"

This phrase teaches us a deep truth: the Holy Spirit is not just a divine inspiration floating above us. He is active in the life of the Church, especially in moments of discernment, unity, and leadership.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide ourselves, our families, our parishes, or our personal decisions—we participate in this same divine wisdom. And it brings peace. It brings clarity. It brings communion.

This is the same Spirit Jesus promised in the Gospel, and He continues to speak in the Church today.

The Heavenly Jerusalem – A Vision of Fulfilled Presence

Finally, in the Book of Revelation, we are given a vision of the New Jerusalem. It is a radiant city, but what makes it truly glorious is not its walls or jewels, but the fact that God dwells in it.

“I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.”

This vision is not just about heaven; it points to what we are already called to become: a people in whom God dwells. Every Mass, every act of love, every time we obey Christ’s word, we allow that heavenly Jerusalem to take shape in us.

The Church, even in her imperfections, is meant to be a sign of that future city, a foretaste of heaven, where peace reigns and God is fully present.

Conclusion – Living as Dwellings of God

So today, dear friends, let us open our hearts anew to the promise of Christ:

• Let us love Him by keeping His word.

• Let us welcome His peace, not as the world gives, but as a gift of the Spirit.

• Let us live as the early Church did—guided by the Holy Spirit, building unity and truth.

• And let us become, more and more, a people in whom God dwells.

May our lives reflect the joy of Easter, the presence of the Risen Lord, and the peace that comes only from Him.

And may we say with confidence: “Come, Holy Spirit, dwell in us. Make our hearts Your home.”

Amen.

 

6^th Sunday of Lent, Year C
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, April 13, 2025
 
Gospel:                 Luke 19: 28-40
                              Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
1^st Reading:         Isaiah 50: 4-7
                              I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. I know that I shall not be put to shame.
Res. Psalm:         Psalm 22: 7-8, 16-19, 22-23 (R. 1)
                              My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
2^nd Reading:        Philippians 2: 6-11
                              Jesus humbled himself. Therefore God highly exalted him.
Gospel:                Luke 22: 14 - 23: 56
                              The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ

 

My dearest brothers and Sisters, today we are gathered to celebrate the sixth Sunday of Lent. For us Catholics in the Latin West, this Sunday is both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday, the beginning of the Holy Week. This is the time of the year when we pause ….. the same way we do during the liturgy to observe sacred silence, pray and thank God for this great gift of salvation he has given us.

There is no time of the year in the life of the Church that is more important than the Holy Week. If we are to borrow the Hebraic expression of acknowledging that we are in the holiest of all weeks – we will say: Holy, Holy, Holy Week.

For the reason we have hope for heaven is because of what we celebrate this week. And this week ….. things will become ugly …. awful …. and really bad. As we enter Holy Week, we want to remember how ugly, awful and bad it got not because we want to feel sad about Jesus, of how much he suffered for us. But to be reminded that this happened because somebody loves us so much.

If I am to tear the pages of the gospel we have just read and give it to people who do not know and have not heard about Jesus nor have ever read a bible, they may find it difficult to believe this ever happened. Why would a man endure such things ….. For what reason???

For us, as we have grown accustomed with the story of Jesus’ passion and death year after year, it may be easy to overlook the significance and importance of these events. Because we know how the story ends, we have the tendency to skip the horrific details of Jesus’ passion and death and proceed with the glorious ending of his Resurrection.

However, for people in Jesus' time, it is not the case. Imagine the Blessed Mary standing at the foot of the cross, alone (almost) ….. she could have been beating her chest and uttering the prayers, Oh God, o God why have you allowed these horrible things to happen to my son ….. your Son?

And maybe our own human experiences are the same. That there are moments when we feel abandoned, betrayed, left alone, ignored and our prayers seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Thus, many don't find the value of pain, suffering, hardship and many more other negative circumstances that life throws at us.

Our liturgy today and the rest of the liturgies this holy week leading to the Sacred Triduum, does not just aim that we commemorate and relive Jesus’ dying and rising, but our own dying and rising in Jesus, which will result in our healing, reconciliation, and redemption.

We were not redeemed at a discounted rate; we were paid in full including the exorbitant interests. On resurrection Sunday as the cross and the rest of the sacred images are unveiled for us, we will see once again the image of God’s Justice and Mercy on the cross.

Did I say Justice? ….. Yes! As St. Paul said in his letter to the Romans in 6:23: “for the wages of sin is death.” This death, in the biblical language is not just the separation of our immortal soul from our body, but it is our eternal separation from God.

This is the same separation we experience when somebody we do really love, and care is taken away from us ….. and multiply that by a gazillion times. This is when you wake up the following day and realize that the one so dear to you was taken away by death and the very things this person does every day to annoy you are now the things you long to see and experience. And now you live in this reality that they are not coming back.

If you are a parent, this is the same experience of loosing a child or a child being  taken away from you in a crowded mall and you do not know if that child is now in some other part of the world being sold to slavery and you will never going to see your child anymore.

It is like being left alone on the scorching heat of a desert by yourself. No familiar faces, no company to talk to and walk with. You are isolated and separated from all the people you have ever love and care, you are separated from God. You will be there by yourself. You don’t know where to go, the desert does not seem to end ….. for all eternity ….. alone. That is the biblical meaning of death. Dead to our sin and selfishness.

And as Fr. Jerome said last Friday, there is no forgiveness of sins if there is no shedding of blood. And by dying on the cross, Jesus has paid the price so we may live. That this curse of forever be separated from God and from one another has now been lifted up.

The ransom and the penalty for this curse is his life and all his blood. That is God’s justice – his death for our life. It is like walking out of prison for the crime we have been convicted of and found guilty of. But we don’t walk out because of a stroke of a presidential pen issuing a presidential pardon, we walk out because somebody took our place.

Justice demands payment for the crime. And Jesus’ life and all his blood are the payment. Not our death but his death. Not us hanging on the cross, not us drained of our blood – but his life and his blood ….. that my friends ….. brothers and sisters is mercy.

On the Cross, we see the justice of God and the mercy of God. This is the reason why we don’t eat meat on Friday and also eat only 1 meal on this day. It is because we remember what happened on Good Friday. It used to be all 40 days of Lent, but now it is relegated to only the Fridays of Lent. And yet for many, we go through this Fridays of lent just like any other Fridays of the year. I hope we remember that as we only have one Friday left before us, this Friday – the Good Friday.

 

But Jesus in respect to our free will can’t force us to walk out of our prison cell. Remember that there are two thieves who were crucified with our Lord on Good Friday, but only one received the promise of heaven. Did Jesus not die for all of us?

 

We will have to make that choice in the same way the thief on the right did. That is to accept this love from God and maybe again, we may want to look into going to confession if we have not done so this Lent.

 

Sometimes, we also need to remember that God invites us to make a leap of faith as what St. Paul, at the end of his life has said: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). His faith was trust that life has a goal, and it is realized in the eternal existence offered by the Creator who made us in his image.

 

Today brothers and sisters, let us start praying to Jesus to get our hearts ready. Let us ask him to help us not to hesitate to do whatever he wants us to do even if they are something beyond our human understanding. Even if we are so ashamed we have not gone to confession for 15 years.

 

For we now know that it is part of how God saves us, that is, the surrender of our will just as Jesus surrendered his will to the Father that costed him his life and all his blood.

 

The prison gate is now open and all we must do is walk out. May the experience of the Holy week renew and restore our faith in God. That all these things are not empty shows, empty promises, old broken tradition. That we realize our prayers don’t fall on God’s deaf ears.

 

May we receive the grace to be a better child of God. May it strengthen us in moments of difficulties. May we see beyond our sufferings the victory that lies ahead.

 

Brothers and sisters, if this week is very special, then we need to prepare for it. We need to be ready for it. For the glory of the resurrection does not happen without Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

This week, we are going to celebrate the worst and best things that ever happened to us. And let us thank God for it.

 

I keep you and your family always in my prayers. Amen.

When Pandemic Ends

When you reach the end, it seems that there is nowhere to look but back, but as you look back it appears as if the end had been present all along the way. God created the world as a manifestation of his glory. God is good and everything he created is good (cf Gen. 1:31). He created us so that in the end we will share in his goodness. But human beings without fail sinfully reject God’s purpose, and this has been the story of our lives. When this pandemic end, and we go back to our old routine, we will soon see that all the virtues we have acquired during this time of quarantine, e.g. family time, praying together, getting in touch with friends and love ones will all soon go away little by little as we start to go back to our usual “ dog eat dog” way of life.

When he was praying at the garden and hanging on the cross, God knew it. Nonetheless and even more, he pursues us in righteous and steadfast love. He knows our weakness and our wickedness, but his love is so great that he is willing to overlook all those. This same burning love makes him reach out to us and the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection we celebrate in the Liturgy will keep on reminding us and give us the strength to believe in God’s purpose. In the end the goodness of his creation will triumph. Even if the gate to life is narrow, a few will still find it (cf. Mt. 7:14). I am hoping you and I will be among those few who will find it.