Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; Ps. 4:2, 4, 7-9; 1 Jn. 2:1-5; Lk. 24:35-48
Jesus Christ, Advocate to the Father who is “expiation for our sins” that we may keep his word and “truly be perfected in him”. We are perfected in him when we “keep his commandments”. We are perfected in him when the Scriptures are opened to us to make our hearts “burn” in transformation to avoid the near temptation to sin. We are perfected in him when Jesus is made known to us “in the breaking of bread” as we celebrate his coming in the Eucharist. This is our Advocate who suffered, died, and rose again in victory.
As Jesus appears once again to the disciples he asks “Have you anything here to eat?”. Jesus not only rose from the dead but he has “flesh and bones” and an appetite. The sting of death is transformed into the glory of the resurrected human body perfected in love. The greatest hunger of the Lord is for souls to repent, to be converted and to return to holiness. He is waiting for us to take that first step and seek that we should find our Advocate. Why is it difficult for us to “ask” of him what he is waiting to give us? Perhaps we know not how to ask. Could it be that we ask for the wrong thing or that we simply cannot put aside our pride and have yet to repent?
“Ask” for the Lord to reveal to us what we are to seek and to reveal if we ask wrongly. We are to approach him with prayers and supplications. Jesus performed many miracles of healing to those who approached him in supplication. If those who were lost knew to seek, find, and ask how much more has the path been opened to the believers to approach our Advocate to God the Father who cannot be denied. It is time for us to rise up as believers and come to the table of the Lord in supplication for our needs and the needs of the world. We come not with wishful thinking but with the faith to believe our Advocate can do all things in us and in the world for his glory.
As baptized children of God we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit with the infusion of spiritual virtues of holiness to know to ask. It begins with faith, hope, and love to unite us to the Advocate. Ask our Advocate to increase our faith to believe in the mystery of our salvation, our hope to expect a revelation of truth, and our love to make an offering our ourselves. “Ask” for an increase in the gift of the moral virtues of justice for right judgment, fortitude for the courage to act rightly, prudence to choose wisely and temperance to live in moderation and abstinence according to his commands of life with all its temptations. The Lord is waiting for our “Ask”.
Perhaps then in asking for our Advocate to reveal his will for us we discover we have yet to repent of our sin out of our pride. We have judged incorrectly, having failed to respond courageously in the face of the attack from the enemy, and have to admit we have “acted out of ignorance” in our choices. We are now living the instability of our intemperance through the indulgence of our natural appetites and falling into the pit of darkness. Why wait for the casualty of death to come because we have held on to our pride and denied the Lord his place as Advocate for our sins. He stands at our side ready to give us forgiveness as he did to the thief on the cross by his side.
Jesus Christ, Advocate of mercy on the cross amends for our sins and
those of the whole world” if we but believe and repent. “If” is the barrier between our sins and his mercy. If first we “believe” what we profess that is that Jesus Christ is present to us and not a “ghost” of spiritualism. He is physically present in the Eucharist! This is a stumbling block to many, even those who profess to be believers of Christianity. He is the food of salvation we are to hunger for as he hungers for us. He multiplies himself to feed the world but the world does not accept him. His mercy returns to him for it finds few places to make its dwelling place a home in the souls of the professed believers and nonbelievers also known as “None”. Who are these who profess to be “None”?
“None” is the modern-day identity of those who follow no religious affiliation. They walk a journey of faith in themselves, as their own advocate of right and wrong professing their own righteousness. Their righteousness stands while things remain in control but when a power greater than themselves shakes their foundation of faith in themselves, they crumble and fall in despair alone to suffer in their own body and soul the weakness of a godless existence. There is “none” to advocate for them in their sins because they reach out to none. If the “None” cannot accept our mother Church as the visible sign of Jesus Christ how can they welcome him in the invisible mystery of his presence?
Jesus Christ, Advocate is a reminder we were created to be in unity and not in isolation. We don’t reach out to none we reach out to Jesus Christ, King of glory. We require the human touch to confirm our belief and strengthen our faith. Our seven sacraments provide us the physical presence of the invisible grace being manifested in our lives. Unity in physical presence is a “game changer” as it was when Jesus physically appeared to the disciples. Imagine having only a vision of a loved one but without the ability to touch and experience the warmth and nature of another in our presence. The sacramental life provides us a physical unity to be transformative. Without touch, unity becomes an exercise of mental exchange short of perfection.
In baptism the child is touched with the sign of the cross by the priest, parents, and godparents. The child is touched by the waters of baptism. The child is touched in the Ephphetha on the ears to receive the word of God and on the lips to proclaim their faith as believers and they are to see in the light of the candle the light of Christ which they receive and is held before them. The human touch is the sign and validation of unity.
Jesus Christ, Advocate is present for our touch. The world fears a pandemic from spreading by the closeness of our physical presence and our touch. It seeks to create the isolation that is worse than the disease separated by clear barriers and virtual worlds. Those who turn to the Advocate have the virtues to not fall prey to fears of the enemy under the guise of a “greater good” but moved by the spirit of the Advocate embrace each other with love and charity. Just as a vaccine is created to protect against a virus so is the Advocate there to protect against the near occasion of sin.
Recently having traveled into another diocese it was announced in Sunday Mass that the bishop of this diocese had earlier in the week issued a letter stating the Church of the Diocese would continue with maintaining the mask and social distancing mandates even if the State no longer was enforcing them. Then later in the week a new letter was issued stating the Church of this Diocese would no long require any mandates and each person and family was free to determine what measures to take. The only request was to respect the decisions of each parishioner. The day is coming when each bishop will issue a similar letter to the faithful and we are to trust in our Advocate to guide us in spirit and truth.
We live in times where “shaming” is a powerful weapon in the identified “cancel culture” which comes from the evil one. It is time to rise from the dead of “cancel culture” to the truth of the “Resurrected Culture” of everlasting life. It is time to fear not and determine personal risk factors with prudence in our decisions. Jesus Christ, Advocate is the source of life in our “Resurrected Culture”. There is a Spanish saying “El respeto al derercho ajeno es la paz” meaning the respect to others rights is the peace. Jesus was, is and always will be the truth, the way, and the life to the peace he brings us as faithful servants.
This is our Easter to rejoice and be glad. We belong to him, we belong to the “Resurrected Culture” and it is time to rise again in faith, hope, and love and go forth to live in the kingdom of God!
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