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And so here we are at the end of another school year. Summer is just around the corner. Vacations are being planned and everyone is looking forward to relaxing for a week or two. The parable of the growing seed identifies a mystery that even the advanced farmer or scientist has trouble comprehending. How does the process of germination work?

Jesus asks a tough question: “How can Satan drive out Satan?” There might be many answers to this question but they could be summed up into one short answer: love one another and help one another.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, historically known by its Latin name Corpus Christi, celebrates the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

As members of our Diocesan Family, we are called upon to love and serve our brothers and sisters, in our community and beyond. Your contribution to the Annual Catholic Appeal allows our diocese to continue to serve as a resource to the parishes and other organizations.

The Season of Easter concludes with today’s celebration, the Feast of Pentecost. On Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem; this event marks the beginning of the Church. The story of Pentecost is found in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

Do you see what Jesus promises us: that we are women and men, teens and kids, all consecrated in truth? We have this certainty: that we have God who is love and truth abiding in us. What other certainties are there in this world, so sorely in need of truth and joy?

Love means many different things to different people. To Shakespeare, “love is blind and lovers can’t see.” To Aristotle, “love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” To Saint Paul, “only these three things last: faith, hope and love—the greatest of these is love.”

In today’s Gospel from St. John, Jesus tells His disciples that He is the true vine and they are the branches. And, He warns them, “Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me … Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”

When we look at today’s Gospel, we see Jesus as the Shepherd at work. He came to free those held captive to sin. He rescued the sick, the infirmed, and the demon- possessed from the predator s that were stealing life from them.

The Emmaus story captures the excitement of the earliest followers of Jesus realizing that “the Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon.” But their recognition of Him was gradual, having walked along beside Him some distance, as He taught them the true meaning of the prophecies they had heard all their lives.

oday we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Sr. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, was God’s instrument to proclaim Divine Mercy toward every human being. Sr. Faustina was inspired by a vision in which Jesus told her that a painting should be made of his image with the invocation "Jesus, I trust in You."

April fool’s! No, really! He is risen!!! Did you know that the origin of April Fool’s Day is actually found in the Church? A lot of people don’t know this, so here’s how the story goes: On February 24, 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued the papal bull Inter Gravissimas which established the Gregorian calendar (which gets its name from this pope) as the official calendar for the Christian world.

hen you look around the church today, can you identify the weary? Who are the ones that are exhausted, worn-out, and burnt-out? Why are they weary? Sure, the demands of everyday life–work and family–can wear us out, but who are the ones whose spirits need healing because they have been so beaten down and discouraged? What will you say to rouse them?

This Fifth Sunday of Lent is also the Third Scrutiny for Catechumens in RCIA. These individuals challenge us in our own belief as their excitement grows to receive the life of Christ in the sacraments. Today’s Gospel challenges us in our own belief. Martha states publicly, “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God” (John 11: 27). However, Mary doubts as she says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32). The challenge now becomes, “Are you a Mary or will you be like Martha?”

Today we celebrate the Second Scrutiny which occurs on the fourth Sunday of Lent. The Scrutinies, which are solemnly celebrated on Sundays and are reinforced by an exorcism, are rites for self-searching and repentance and have, above all, a spiritual purpose.

Have you ever heard the expression: “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink?” The woman at the well in Samaria has come to the well for water. We all know the social implications—she came alone, a sign of her rejection by the community, a sinner, forced to draw water in the heat of the day, when others were not around.

For those of you who like to spend time in the mountains, the Gospel of The Transfiguration, especially in Lent, may be appealing. What would it have been like for us to be with the apostles to “see all that we might be?”

As we enter this most holy season of Lent, the Lord is calling us to repentance. We hear God calling Noah and his family in the same way he calls us in the Gospels: repent and believe.

Why does Jesus heal a leper immediately after deciding to focus on the proclamation of the Gospel? Didn't He just decide that He is not primarily a healer? Didn't He just leave dozens or perhaps hundreds of sick people so He could preach?

Our first reading today is such a downer! Job wallows in misery. Luckily, by the end of the Book of Job, he has found resolution to his thought-provoking questions and receives God’s reward. Sometimes we as clergy or lay ministers are discouraged, depressed, or just plain tired, and don’t feel like getting up on Sunday morning to be God’s minister.