At Mass this past weekend everything finally aligned correctly for us. The Sunday Scripture started with Part Two of Ordinary Time, the summer heat and wonderful weather became more consistent, and finally life in general eased up with all the sunlight which makes life better. The Ordinary Sundays which run through the summer are filled with scripture that allows us time to pause and reflect upon ourselves, our lives, our journey in faith and what everything in many ways is all about. Ordinary Summer Time is a great time to ponder quietly and without undue stress our lives and where we are going. However, this Sunday in this year we take a step off our path of reflection to celebrate the birthday, aka Nativity, of John the Baptist. His actual birth date is unknown, but because he was a very hot and fiery prophet, his birthday is plunked down right in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere's hot and sunny season of summer. Our spring lasted quite a length this year, so that the dryness of summer and the scorched earth lacking water have yet to appear around us. In fact, this year, most of us are quite happy that summer has finally arrived, even if water limitations and high heat will soon start.

Welcoming Stephen May: This past week Stephen May, our new Pastoral Associate (PA) began his ministry and service to our Parish. Nan Rafter, our outgoing Parish Nurse and Pastoral Associate, has been assisting him in his transition. Our Parish has been blessed by the work of Nan and now we wish her great health, many blessings and a wonderful retirement. Stephen May will now begin the work of ministering to our many, many parishioners. He will be involved in caring for the sick and homebound, those in assisted care facilities and nursing homes and also, at times, in hospitals. He will also help in the pastoral care for our dying, bereaved and mourning. He will be a liaison and work with our Health Ministry Committee.

This is a wonderful season of the year to attend Sunday Mass, the weather turns so nice these next three months complimented by the Sunday scripture readings helping us to understand our lives and our relationship with God. We listen in particular to the Gospel to hear the words of wisdom and insight that Jesus offers us and to hear and envision his miracles and healings in what they can mean in our actual lives today. We are not following "the narrative of Jesus" as much as we are listening to, meditating upon and pondering the Wisdom Sayings and graced Actions of Jesus. In the readings this weekend, we find the theme and image of a leader. We expect our leaders to have personal magnetism, a clear sense of purpose and an aura of power. We simply presume good intentions. Our readings today highlight the magnetism, purpose, and power of a leader who is all-good. The readings charge us to recognize him and to follow.

The longer days of sunlight and the increasing, but the still inconsistent warmth makes our days so much easier in so many and various ways, although there is much more to do now that the ice and bitter cold have departed. In addition, the speed at which everything takes place is unbelievable. From watching HGTV, folks seem to be convinced that everything in life takes only one half hour, or at worst one whole hour! You can renovate an entire home without dirt and dust and have it finished in 60 minutes! Not weeks not months or one year, but mere minutes! Besides the huge social issue we have, that unfortunately so many things have to happen at the same time and thus no one can be in two or three places at one time. As you are aware, choosing to say "yes" to someone and their event, often means saying "no" to someone else's also very important event. I find as my family moves down through the generations of family with the additions of in-laws and their in-laws with all their very important commitments and schedules of family celebrations and events, it gets harder and harder to be able to go to all the family events.

Our theological belief and concept of the Trinity, or more plainly God, is confusing and distracting to many people. Folks try to think about the meaning of Trinity, but quite quickly, if they are religious and catholic just call it a "mystery." We do say that the Trinity is a mystery, meaning something quite holy and beyond total comprehension and understanding, but this "mystery" is really an important part of our lives. Clearly the idea of trinity delves into the world of relationships, which we all know are often hard to understand, frequently confusing or frustrating and many times just plain old bewildering. Indeed understanding God is often the same! Today's Feast and its scripture helps us to celebrate that unique holy relationship, that mysterious relationship, and invites us to join in.

There is no way that we are able to contain the Holy Spirit. This Spirit is much larger thanus, or our minds or imaginations. In John’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit comes on the very first evening of Easter, Easter Sunday night. In this version the Spirit is a commissioning Holy Spirit, apeace-bearing, forgiving Spirit, quiet but powerful. We all know the larger story of how the firstChristian Pentecost began in great fear and ended in ecstatic joy. However, we realize that the reality of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit, has not yet ended because we now in this momentof today, and every moment, live in the time of this powerful Spirit.

Christians of all faith traditions spend a lot of time talking about love. Our tradition often seems to be one that can win first prize in the talking department about love. This very small word carries a lot of responsibility for its size. We use this word in all sorts of contexts with all sorts of meaning. The word love invites equivocation. From loving a person, to loving a color, or loving a book or even loving oneself we use the word love. The word love has many meanings and very many nuanced understandings of the word. However, in the Christian context and in the Catholic Way of Life as disciples of Jesus on mission, love is for us a powerful and demanding word. And, more importantly, we need our four Gospels to help us understand its deepest meaning and how to live that meaning out in our lives.

Christians of all faith traditions spend a lot of time talking about love. Our tradition often seems to be one that can win first prize in the talking department about love. This very small word carries a lot of responsibility for its size. We use this word in all sorts of contexts with all sorts of meaning. The word love invites equivocation. From loving a person, to loving a color, or loving a book or even loving oneself we use the word love. The word love has many meanings and very many nuanced understandings of the word. However, in the Christian context and in the Catholic Way of Life as disciples of Jesus on mission, love is for us a powerful and demanding word. And, more importantly, we need our four Gospels to help us understand its deepest meaning and how to live that meaning out in our lives.

We will shortly see along the rolling hills of country Massachusetts all sorts of farm people at work trimming the branches of our fruit trees or our grape vineyards. Spring is the most important season to tend to the special care of tree branches and vines. Weak or sick branches and vines are pruned out and thrown away or into a fire. This also went on in the day and times of Jesus. He saw all this work and action every year in his land. He knew that this necessary work in the long run produced good things for everyone, wonderful full-tasting fruit or rich-tasting grapes for wine. The Gospel for this Sunday is drawn from Jesus' long Last Supper discourse which is in the Springtime when the signs of beginning life in plants, vines and trees are showing everywhere. Jesus uses these images to speak of his relationship to the apostles. They must be tightly grafted to him, as branches are to the vine. He is the strong vine from which they all draw their life.

The image of a shepherd with his sheep is a beautiful pastoral image that we see as a child and gives rise to thoughts and feelings of light, peace and beauty. A few weeks ago in reading the Sunday papers I came across an article about shepherds that older folks might relate to better. It appears that shepherds live much longer than most people. The isolation and outdoor weather does not bring limitations to their life spans, but rather the healthy outdoor life along with organic food, quiet and also lack of pressure and stress provide the conditions for a longer life. Although the life span of a shepherd is not what the scripture readings are about, I thought it would be nice to know that if you do not see me around, I could be on a mountainside tending sheep!

In reading and listening to the scriptural passages this weekend, we discover that the risen Lord has given us a mission and this mission is one of reconciliation. Easter is the magnificent and great celebration of reconciliation. All things are made new, since everything is now reconciled to God in Jesus Christ the risen Lord. Because Christ's mission was essentially one of reconciliation, so is it the mission for all of us who die and rise with Christ and who seek to witness his life and words in our daily actions.

We can feel and tell that Spring and beautiful weather is on the way. The now early morning sunlight and the later setting sun tell us that the wonderful mild days of early summer will soon be upon us. This season makes it a lot easier to believe in a God because the beauty of his creation is coming alive again in New England. Trees and shrubs are sprouting and crocuses are blooming in many places. Yet, when the suddenness of tragedy strikes, be it the death of a young person or sudden fast job loss putting someone's home in jeopardy, or people losing their retirement savings due to the unbridled greed of elites, then wonder and confusion rise up in us in rippling waves. We ask how this can have happened. How can God allow this to happen?

On Easter Sunday at Mass we sing with great and joyous voice the responsorial psalm's antiphon "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad." Indeed, a brand new day, the first of days has come upon us as we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus. This day is the absolute key to understanding the meaning of all our days. The evil of sin is banished, death itself is conquered, and all of life opens onto life. Our wonderful Easter morn celebrates the new creation. On this day, the old gnarled tree of destruction has become the living tree of life, whose opening blossom is Christ and whose blossoms show us that we are growing free in Jesus Christ.