Message from Fr. Rensch (14 April, 2020):
Mass Intentions:
I offered Mass today for all of you, the parishioners, and the living and deceased members of the CDA Court St. Anthony #1231.
Important Updates:
As I mentioned yesterday, this coming Sunday is concludes the Octave of Easter and is also Divine Mercy Sunday. I’m scheming some more confession plans; stay tuned.
A reminder about the flowers around the rectory. We have tons of irises and daffodils (I think) as well as some hostas (sp?). If anyone would like some, swing on by and start digging! I’m planning on transplanting some to around St. Anthony’s, as well.
Reflection of the Day
(http://www.usccb.org/bible/
The scene of today’s first reading is the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and they immediately started preaching the Gospel message to the world. The fearlessness of the Apostles is striking, especially considering their previous timidity. Even more striking, at least to me, is the way that St. Peter brings to a close the first sermon on record:
“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Can you imagine a public relations office allowing this message to be printed or proclaimed? You might image that the press office would have suggested going easy on the whole “the crucifixion is your fault” piece. But St. Peter does not beat around the bush. And earlier in his preaching he drives home the same point: “This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.”
St. Peter, you might say, comes out swinging. And yet the message is supposed to be “good news.” It’s the Gospel, the news of salvation. What kind of winsome news is this? How can the good news begin with a somber and sever accusation?
The people of Jerusalem reply with concern. Their first response includes trepidation and sorrow. They are cut to the heart and ask what they are to do. It is only then that St. Peter replies: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Forgiveness and mercy are close at hand and are freely offered.
From the very first public presentation of Christianity, then, we learn that the good news of Christianity is not unqualifiedly pleasant news, but the news of remedy, a response, a medicine, a counter-attack. It is not a message that all is well. It is the reminder that, even though much is wrong, the possibility of being made right is ready at hand. It is the news of a saving prognosis after a devastating diagnosis.
What a miracle of grace! What a shower of divine generosity! As the Easter Exultet jubilantly sings, to ransom a slave, you gave away your Son. That God would suffer on account of our sin in order to release us from sin is a miracle of grace. We can never ponder it enough. Like a deep pool, even a concentrated effort brings us only so far. Its profundity seems to resist our ability to plumb its depth. Yet true it remains. God’s goodness initiates a rescue mission to save us from our sin.
St. Peter’s preaching on sin reminds me of something that C. S. Lewis noted towards the beginning of his book Mere Christianity. He starts the book by talking about our sin and guilt, and then explains why. He says he does so because Christianity makes no sense until one can have some sense of one’s sins. Christ offers forgiveness of sin. Without a recognition of sin, of our failures, of our selfishness, of our tight-hearted miserliness in relation to God’s exceeding goodness, then Christianity simply cannot make any sense. As Christ says, It is the sick need a physician, not those who are healthy.
Note the difference this makes. To one who understand and fear the disease, the life-saving medicine, however bitter, is eagerly sought and applied. Whereas to the one who thinks he is healthy, any medicine at all, even a sweet medicine, is not bothered with. So too with Christianity. Christ and his apostles proclaim the forgiveness the sins and the repair of our relationship with God. To appreciate the good news, we must recognize sin. To enter into the good news, repentance is a key ingredient. To take the medicine, we must see the disease.
To the degree that we peaceably, humbly accept our lowliness, we can more sincerely proclaim with the Easter Exultet:
O wonder of your humble care for us!
O love, O charity beyond all telling,
to ransom a slave you gave away your Son!
God bless you all!
Fr. Rensch