Reflection for the Sixth Sunday of Easter and Mother’s Day

I can’t give you all the answers.
Some things you have to figure out for yourself.

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

We have all likely had that experience with our mom. We have a question, or need an answer, and suddenly we are confronted with her challenge – that we figure it out for ourselves. That’s one attribute of a mother’s love. After spending years nurturing us, helping us, she recognizes that moment when we must attempt to fly on our own.

If our moms didn’t live by Jesus’ instruction on sacrificial love, they would hold on to us, think only of their needs, hobble us and keep us dependent. But here we are, strong, faith filled, independent adults who are strong enough to discern answers, to figure things out.

Of course mom stands by in the background, for if we were to reach out in genuine need, perhaps for a kind, reassuring, and loving word, she would be ready to generously offer what we need.

As we face our tomorrows, even those dark and difficult tomorrows after we loose our moms to eternal life, we face them prepared because of her love.

We know mom has done her utmost, not to simply make us independent, strong, and faith filled but to give us the one gift that make our lives perfect.

In their love for us, our moms gave us the gift of eternal life in the joy of heaven. They did this by baptism, their prayer on our behalf, the instruction we need to know and love Jesus, and the way they modeled and encouraged life within His Holy Church. We saw her pray and worship, finding the calm and reassurance that she needed. She heard Jesus speaking directly to her – “No one has greater love than this…” This is the commitment she lived.

Now it is time for us to step up, to figure this one out for ourselves. This is what my mom means to me. This is what she did to make my life so very special.

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We love you mom!!!

Bible Study for the Fifth Week of Easter
  • 5/6 – John 15:1-4 – Lord Jesus, thank You for the grace and inspiration that has brought me into Your Holy Church and grafted me onto the vine. Grant that Your word may continue to strengthen me and prune me for Your work.
  • 5/7 – Psalm 80:7-8,14-17 – Heavenly Father, David foresaw the path Your Son Jesus would follow. You in turn raised Him on high for He followed Your will. Watch over Your vine as we face all that challenges us in seeking to follow Your will.
  • 5/8 – Isaiah 5:1-7 – Father, when You come to seek the fruit of Your vineyard grant that we be found abundant and productive.
  • 5/9 – Jeremiah 2:21 – Father, forgive us when we fall into sin and error. Grant us the grace to return to You in sincere contrition and through Your grace imparted in penance.
  • 5/10 – Hosea 10:1-2 – Father, save us from false pride and haughtiness. Prune us again and again so that we may be strengthened to produce good fruit abundantly.
  • 5/11 – Revelation 2:1-7 – Lord Jesus, grant us the grace and resolve to return to the innocence of faith and love; that which we had when we were grafted onto your vine.
  • 5/12 – Hebrews 12:5-13 – Abba, Father, as you prune us grant that we may keep our eyes fixed on the reward that awaits Your fruitful and productive servants. Grant that we not despair when tested, but rather that we be strengthened.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, help us to grown and flourish as members of the vine.

Remembering our Holy Martyrs

We commemorate Bishop Joseph Padewski, who served our Holy Polish National Catholic Church in the United States, including locally in Albany, and in Poland this Thursday, May 10th. On September 1, 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west and the Soviet Union invaded from the east. The losses to Poland and to the Church in Poland during the Nazi German and Soviet occupation were devastating. Over 6 million Poles died including 3 million Polish citizens of the Jewish faith. Many priests were sent to concentration camps. In all, 28% of PNCC priests were killed.

The Nazis arrested Bishop Padewski, who shepherded the PNCC in Poland, in 1942. Many of the priests and leaders of our Church already imprisoned or sent to concentration camps. After 18 months, through the intervention of the Red Cross, he was freed and returned to the United States. After the war he returned to Poland resuming his duties as Bishop of the Polish branch of the PNCC. Shortly after his return, the Soviet Union completed its takeover of Poland and asserted Communist control. In this atmosphere of Stalinist terror, Bishop Padewski was arrested by the Communist Secret Police (UB) in Warsaw and was held at their prison on Rakowieckiej Street. Bishop Padewski died on May 10, 1951 as a result of Secret Police questioning and maltreatment.

Bishop Joseph, pastor and shepherd of our Holy Church, and martyr for the faith, pray for us.

Reflection for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

Hand me a shovel,
I’ve got to find the source of this vine.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit”

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? There are many versions of this question that we could propose, was it the tree or the seed, the ocean or the rain?

As we work through our week we are confronted with this question more often than we think. Consider the fact that we live in community, in a family, in a neighborhood, in an apartment building. If we work we face the community of our workplace. Whether we belong to a club, go out to a movie, go shopping, or prepare to vote later this year we are constantly confronted by differing versions of community.

Now consider where we are this morning, in church. Certainly the family of faith is a community, and our unity with God and each other is a shadow of the perfect community for which we are all destined. But is this community of faith somehow estranged from the rest of our communities? Is it an endpoint?

We need to ask ourselves that all-important question, what came first, all these other communities or the community of God? When we come to church do we extract ourselves – is church something we do at the “end” of the week, or do we see our church community as our place of beginnings?

Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus. This meeting brought him into the community of faith. It was his beginning, a beginning that would change the world; the character of the Church from one limited the near east and the Jewish people, to full inclusiveness for all.

We need to pick up our shovels and dig into what is for us the foundation of everything we do. In digging in do we see the Church, our baptism, our weekly worship, as our beginning, our starting point? Is this where we start or where we end?

Jesus tells us that we are intimately connected to Him, as much as branches are connected to the vine. As long as we stay connected to the source of our strength and direction, as long as we know our starting point, we will have joy. We will be most productive by defining everything from our attachment to the vine. If we do we will “bear much fruit and become His disciples.”

St. Paul told the Ephesians that the secret to loving is living loved. “May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.” Just as a tree draws nutrients from the soil, we draw nourishment from our starting point – God and His community, all joined in one source, one vine.

Help our local state parks

On May 2nd Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced an exciting statewide volunteer initiative – “I Love My Park Day” – that will take place at State Parks across New York State this Saturday, May 5th.

“Our parks are one of the hidden treasures of our state,” Governor Cuomo said, inviting New Yorkers to participate in the first ever “I Love My Park Day.”

“I Love My Park Day” is a statewide event to enhance the state’s parks and historic sites and bring visibility to the entire park system and its needs.

Join thousands of your fellow New Yorkers this Saturday, May 5, and volunteer to help improve our state parks. Click here to sign up.

Volunteers will celebrate New York’s state park system by cleaning up park lands and beaches, planting trees and gardens, restoring trails and wildlife habitats, removing invasive species, and working on various site improvement projects. There are more than 35 participating state parks and historic sites.

Bring your friends and family to your favorite park this Saturday and help preserve the beauty of this great state.

Opportunity for Schenectady Area Teens

Community Cultural Documentation for Schenectady and the Mohawk Valley

A collaborative project of the New York Folklore Society and the Schoharie River Center, with support from the William Gundry Broughton Charitable Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts

The New York Folklore Society is pleased to announce that it will be launching an ongoing out-of-school documentation program for Schenectady-area teens. If you are between the ages of 12 and 18 and are interested in exploring your community’s history and culture, and would like to learn real-life skills of interviewing, video and audio documentation, this program is for you!

Please call the New York Folklore Society at (518) 346-7008 or send an E-mail to receive updates and further information.

Bible Study for the Fourth Week of Easter
  • 4/29 – 2 Samuel 7:8-9 – Lord God, You have always chosen worthy shepherds for Your people, finally sending Your Son Jesus to be our Good Shepherd. Grant Your every grace to the men appointed to shepherd over Your Holy Church and keep them in Your care.
  • 4/30 – John 10:15-16 – Lord Jesus, You are our one Shepherd. Grant the grace of conversion to all who do not know You. Bring them into Your flock.
  • 5/1 – Ezekiel 34:23 – Lord Jesus, You are our one Shepherd. Grant that Your Church may not place any one man as shepherd in place of You. Continue to bless the collegiality of all successors to Your apostles.
  • 5/2 – Jeremiah 23:1-4 – Heavenly Father, continue to protect us from those who abuse Your flock. Grant that all who follow Your Son be good, generous, loving, and caring shepherds.
  • 5/3 – Psalm 23 – Lord, You are our Shepherd. Grant us restoration, remove want, destroy fear, and bring us to righteousness.
  • 5/4 – 1 Peter 5:2-4 – Lord, You call each of us to service in Your Holy Church. Grant that many may respond generously to Your call and bring those that have responded willingly and eagerly to Your promised reward.
  • 5/5 – Acts 20:28-29 – Lord Jesus, grant us safety and refuge from the wolves of the world. Grant too the strength of conviction so that we may respond with courage to the threats and evils we are confronted with.

    • Pray the week: Lord Jesus, shepherd us and teach us to trust and follow Your way.

    Reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday

    Baaaaaaaa!
    I’ll be right there.

    “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me”

    Some of us may remember that time where we cried out for our parents only to find that they didn’t come right away. Perhaps we heard them say ‘wait,’ or ‘I’ll be right there.’

    Whether we can actively recall that moment or not, just the mention of it makes us uncomfortable. We realized that there would be those times where we will be utterly alone.

    Or, so we thought…

    Today we are reminded that we are never alone and without assistance. We also become acutely aware that the One who stands with us has done everything possible to heal any brokenness that exists in our lives, curing us of every sin. Today, Jesus comes to us in the form of the Good Shepherd.

    Peter and the Apostles standing before the Sanhedrin (the same one that had brought Jesus to Pilate to be crucified) strongly proclaim that the cripple was healed through the power and proclamation of Jesus. They go on to say that no one may be saved except through Jesus’ name. Were they a little afraid? Perhaps, not knowing everything that might happen to them. Yet they acted and spoke with absolute confidence that their Shepherd was at their side, protecting, feeding, supporting, and strengthening them. Their confidence was not their own, but from the One who comes every time we call on Him. The One who listens to us and speaks to us.

    So here we are. Perhaps our parents don’t come running every time we cry out. Perhaps we don’t even talk to them about our little (and sometimes larger) hurts. Perhaps they are no longer with us in bodily form. But we do have someone we can always turn to. Someone we should speak to about our joys and hurts, our thoughts and questions. That is Jesus.

    Having laid down His life for us, we must know that we are totally valuable to Jesus; that the smallest thing in our lives is of concern to Him.

    Jesus promises us that He knows us and that we will know His voice. Listen as He says: “I know mine, and mine know me.” To make this true requires some effort on our part. We have to reach out and talk to Jesus. Then we have to listen. Jesus does speak to us, to our conscience, to our needs, and He does come to render assistance, to give that hug, and to guide us back to the straight and narrow path when we stray. Finally, we need to live like the Apostles we are, with a spirit of confidence. Live with confidence because Jesus hears us and comes to us every time, right away.

    Bible Study for the Third Week of Easter
    • 4/22 – Numbers 22:31 – Father, open my eyes so that I may see the truth that is right in front of me. Grant that any opposition to Your way that is within me be ended.
    • 4/23 – Numbers 24:4 – Lord God, grant that I may constantly keep my vision on You, and my ears attuned to Your Word.
    • 4/24 – Numbers 24:16 – Lord God, having heard and seen You, may I fall down in adoration and thanksgiving, then grant that I may get up to make You known to all who disbelieve.
    • 4/25 – 1 Corinthians 2:12 – Lord Jesus, I know You because the Holy Spirit has inspired me to faith and belief. I praise and thank You for opening me to Your revelation.
    • 4/26 – 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 – Lord Jesus, grant me a spirit of freedom and distance from the allures and ways of the world that I may know You more; that I may grow in spirit and truth.
    • 4/27 – 1 Corinthians 2:6-15 – Lord Jesus, You have given me, in great love, knowledge of Your way. Grant that I may not count maturity as defined by the worldly, but as defined by Your Holy Spirit.
    • 4/28 – Ephesians 1:17 – Lord Jesus, I long to know You more and more. Grant that my prayer, worship, and daily work may may continue to reveal Your ways to me, and that I may reveal them to others.

    Pray the week: Lord Jesus, open my heart and mind to Your truth. Grant that I may share Your revealed truth.