St. John the Baptist Catholic Church/ Iglesia Católica de San Juan Bautista, Joliet

“The way, and the truth, and the life”  

In this Easter Season we continue to seek out and celebrate the Risen Lord in our prayer.  Last Sunday, we reflected on the image of Christ as shepherd.  He protects us and gives us direction.  He gave his life for us so that we may have life.  In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear Jesus as “the way, and the truth, and the life”.  We can understand that living in Christ is a matter of following his way because we recognize him as the truth of God’s love for us.  And, in so doing, we have new life in him.  As we hold this teaching in our lives we are assured that Christ will protect us and guide us.  

Christ invites us to encounter him.  In “The Joy of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium) Pope Francis describes the experience in this way: 

 Thanks solely to this encounter – or renewed encounter – with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being. Here we find the source and inspiration of all our efforts at evangelization. For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others? #8 E.G.  

Pope Francis reminds us that the presence of Christ in our lives is not simply a self absorbed experience but an invitation to share Christ’s love with others.  We hear of this invitation this week in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, in the establishment of the order of Deacons in the early Christian community.  The story teaches us of the dimension of service as an integral part of the life of the Christian community. Another message of the story is that the dimension of service was vital as the community grew and developed. A characteristic of the followers of Christ was the authentic love that they shared for one another.  That love was raised to a social level as they shared what they had for the benefit of others and that it didn’t make a difference whether one was Jew or Gentile.   

On this Sunday, it gives me great joy in recognizing our parish deacons, Jose Lopez, Jim Janousek, Artemio Martinez, and Salvador Huerta.  The Order of Deacon was re-established in the Catholic Church some 50 years ago.  Our parish deacons serve us by preaching, presiding at Baptism, parish devotion, and Quinceano celebrations.  We wish to thank these men for their service to the parish.  

………………. a note about Mother’s Day 

The depth of our commitment to God is expressed in our response to God’s calling. A very special and unique call to demonstrate God’s self-giving love is the call to motherhood. We are deeply grateful everyday of our lives for the love and dedication of our mothers.  It is one of the most significant influences on our lives.  We ask for God’s special blessing on them this day.  

Fr. Larry