I Am The True Vine

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai, FMH

Fifth Sunday of Easter, April 29, 2018

Hospital Chaplaincy, Long Island, New York

Many of us are familiar with the American Indian story about a young man who found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of prairie chickens and grew up with them. 

All its life, the misplaced eagle thought it was a prairie chicken and did only what the prairie chickens did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. And it flew no more than a few feet off the ground with a thrashing of wings like other prairie chickens.

Years passed and the unfortunate eagle grew very old. One day, it saw a magnificent bird high above in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared gracefully on its strong golden wings. “What a beautiful bird!” said the unfortunate eagle to its neighbour. 

“That’s an eagle, the chief of the birds,” the neighbour replied, “But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.” So the poor eagle never gave it a second thought and it died thinking it was a prairie chicken.

This frightening story underlies the importance of what we identify ourselves with. Human beings are like vine branches; we need a vine in which to graft and root ourselves. The vine into which we are grafted and rooted conditions the way we see ourselves, the expectations we have of

ourselves, and the ceiling of achievement we place on ourselves. Vines come in many

shapes and colours each soliciting our primary allegiance. They come in the form of nationalism such as Nazism, ideology such as communism, and religion such as the cults. Materialism, pleasure and power are among the most popular vines of our times. Once we identify ourselves with a false vine, it immediately conditions and determines how we see ourselves and what we do with our lives.

The Jews whom Jesus was addressing in today’s gospel (John 15:1-8) knew very well the vine on which they were supposed to be grafted and rooted. Many times in the Old Testament the religious and national entity Israel was referred to as the vine (Psalm 80:8; Isaiah 5:7; Hosea 10:1) which the hand of God had planted (Psalm 80:15; Jer 2:21). The Maccabees even minted a coin in which a vine was used to represent Israel. So when Jesus claimed that he was now the vine they would understand that as an invitation to shift their primary allegiance from Jewish nationalism to the Person and message of Christ.  To make sure they get it, Jesus makes the claim that He is not just the

vine but the true vine. The word “true” (in Greek aléthinos) here signifies that which is real, authentic and valid, as opposed to that which is flawed, imperfect or false. To accept Jesus as the true vine into which our lives are grafted and rooted is to regard every human ideology or institution which recommends itself to us as an object of primary allegiance as flawed, imperfect or false.

The misguided eagle in our story was like a branch grafted on a false or imperfect vine. That is why it remained false or imperfect all its life. If a wise bird had told it the truth about itself it would have shifted its self-identification from that of a prairie chicken to that of an eagle. This radical shift in self-understanding would then enable it to produce in its life the marvellous feats for which eagles are known.

Today that word of wisdom is being addressed to us: to stop identifying ourselves primarily in terms of nation, social or economic status, race, gender or religious affiliation. Rather we should see ourselves in

terms of our oneness with Christ just as the branch and the vine are one. Then and only then shall we be able to bear good fruit, the same type of fruit that Christ Himself bears.

We know the pathetic story of Cardinal Wolsey who, under King Henry VIII of England, gave his primary allegiance to the state rather than to God. On his deathbed he left us these words of wisdom: “If I had served God as diligently as I have done the king, He would not have given me over in my gray hairs." His life was like that of the

unfortunate eagle in the story. The gospel invites us today to know better: to graft and root ourselves as  branches into the True Vine, Jesus Christ

A Deep Down Thirst

In Many Places, Africa Does Not Have Clean Water;

And Sometimes There is Nothing to Drink at All

by Susan Fox 

Imagine you are incredibly thirsty and someone offers you a glass of water. 

But you can visually see organisms moving up and down in the water, which is brown in colour. 

“But since you are thirsty you could only close your eyes and drink.” Those are the words of Fr. Joe Mungai, FMH,  who drank that water while serving in Awasi, Kisumu, Kenya. 

His first appointment as a young priest  after his ordination on June 7, 2014 was to this incredibly large parish, St. John the Apostle Awasi Catholic Church, Kisumu Archdiocese, Kenya, consisting of 7,000 families, 21 mission churches, 30 primary schools and 11 secondary schools. Father is a Franciscan Missionary of Hope, a relatively new congregation started in Nairobi, Kenya in 1993.

Not only did he deal with traveling a vast territory in the Western part of Kenya initially without a car, but he also had to learn a new language and deal with a new culture. “In Kenya we have 43 different languages and my mother tongue is Kikuyu. But  where I was sent, they speak Luo,” Father Joe said.  

“But the main challenge which still remains is accessibility to clean drinking water. People would walk for miles to get water from rivers

Hauling water over great distances in Kenya

and dams which was not clean, so there were a number of diseases associated with dirty water and I feared for my life.”

In Awasi, they built  more reservoir tanks and supplied water filters through Water With Blessings, Middletown, Kentucky.

“Where I come from, my birth village, we still face the same challenge of accessing clean drinking water but unlike my former parish, we do not have any river flowing or any lake near by. The only way to access this water is to drill a borehole which is extremely expensive to do,” Fr. Joe explained. 

Fr. Joe’s birthplace is in Central Kenya —  Gatura,Thigio in Kiambu County, about  25 miles from Nairobi and 250 miles from Awasi. Groundwater is the only available source of

water in Thigio. Currently, it rises to the

Water collection in Gatura,Thigio, future site of borehole 

surface during certain months of the year and can be scooped out, but during the dry season, the people don’t have water to drink. Their health suffers. And some die.  

Fr. Joe hopes to raise $25,000 for a borehole that will drill down to the groundwater on his grandfather’s land. Then he will need to install the electricity, buy a water pump, build a water tower, and  lay underground pipes, etc. He estimates the total cost of the water project will be $80,000 when completed. 

The borehole will provide clean water to 2000 families, a primary school and a secondary school in the Thigio neighbourhood. Fr. Joe

Lucy Nungari Mungai

has already paid for a geological report that shows the feasibility of the project. The borehole will be drilled in honour of his mother Lucy Nungari Mungai, who died last December because she lacked access to safe water.

Lucy Mungai's funeral

Fr. Joe is now fulfilling his new assignment from the Franciscan Missionaries of Hope as a hospital chaplain in Long Island, New York. He has been a regular contributor to this blog since September 2016, and his sermons are universally enjoyed by our readers. 

Fr. Joe behind the gravestone of his grandfather Njoroge Mungai.
The borehole will be drilled on his grandfather's land

If you would like to donate to digging a bore hole for Fr Joe's home village, please go to WaterWithBlessings

This is an update from Fr Joe Mungai. They are beginning the project: 
I would like to appreciate your efforts and energy spent towards fundraising and setting up of the mobile cause https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/WWBLUCY and Go Fund Me pages. Many known and unknown friends have donated towards this noble course of drilling a water bore hole in honour of my late Mother Lucy. Looking at what God has given us through these friends I am of the opinion that we can begin the work. Last evening I talked with the contractor and asked him how far we can go with what we have at hand. He agreed with my suggestion that we can do it in three phases. First will be to sink the borehole, second phase will be to install the pump and installation of the water tower and Third phase will be to distribute water to homes around my village. We have enough funds to sink the water borehole. So we are beginning the project, as we look for more funds either through donations or through my little stipends that I get monthly. I have  asked my uncle Fr. Boniface Mungai, a priest in the Archdiocese of Mombasa (Kenya), to be the liaison with the Contractor to supervise the work.  

A thousand mile journey begins with a single step.

  

Though Others May Fleece Us, The Lord is my Shepherd

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai, FMH

Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 22, 2018

Hospital Chaplaincy, Long Island, New York

The pastor of a rich suburban parish was speaking to the children at Sunday school. He told them that as the pastor he was like a shepherd and the members of his congregation were the sheep. He then put this question to them: “What does the shepherd do for the sheep?” A little fellow in the front row raised his hands and answered, “He fleeces them.” 

True enough, shepherds go into the business for the purpose of fleecing, milking and feeding on the sheep. But when the Bible speaks of the leaders of God’s people as

shepherds, it envisions leaders who feed, protect and feel with the people as a good shepherd does for his flock.

The title “shepherd” in the Hebrew Bible refers primarily to God who shepherds His people. This is brought out in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd.” Here God is portrayed as a faithful and good shepherd who leads the flock into well-being and abundance ("green pastures") and keeps them safe from every danger (“valley of darkness”) such that they want for nothing and fear no evil even as they are surrounded by their foes (wolves and lions). 

Kings, as God’s anointed deputies, were also referred to as shepherds. But some of them only got the title and not the qualities of a shepherd. Instead of feeding the sheep entrusted to their care they fed on them. 

God raised up prophets like Ezekiel to denounce such shepherds: "Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them." (Ezekiel 34:2-6)

Who says the Bible is out of touch with modern reality? Does this not sound like a description of Christ’s flock today? Don’t we still have career pastors and evangelists who

are more interested in their own comfort than in the spiritual advancement of their congregations? Don’t we have white-collar ministers who would pontificate in their offices or churches and never take a step to reach out to the weak, the sick, the strayed? Don’t we still have church authorities who “rule” with force and harshness? Are the people of God not scattered over the mountains and hills in search of spiritual nourishment?

On account of the infidelity of the shepherds to their divine calling, God made this promise to his people that He Himself was going to be their shepherd, their good shepherd (Ezekiel 34:15-16). This promise was fulfilled in Jesus who declared himself to be the Good Shepherd who has come “that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). 

He is the Good Shepherd who lays down his own life to protect His flock. In those days, shepherds guarding their flock by night would

gather their flocks into an enclosure and sleep literally by lying across the entrance so that before a wild beast would attack the sheep it would have to attack them first.

Before Jesus left the world, He commissioned Peter to feed His lambs and tend His sheep (John 21:15-16). The work of shepherding God’s flocks is an ongoing task that is entrusted to the whole church with Peter as head. 

Since today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, we need to ask ourselves two important questions. (1) Am I a faithful member of God’s flock? Only those sheep who follow the guidance of the shepherd could ever hope to arrive at the green pastures or be safe from the ravenous wolves. (2) How could I participate more closely in the work of shepherding God’s flock? Bishops and pastors, as well as Sunday school teachers and ushers – all participate in various forms of shepherding God’s flock. How can I be a better shepherd in my own state, reaching out with understanding and compassion to the weak and misguided dropouts of church and society, so that through me they may hear the loving voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd? 

Fr. Joe is asking us to asking us to donate to Water With Blessings for clean water in poor rural communities in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America & the U.S.A.

Raised From the Dead!

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

3rd Week of Easter, April 15, 2018

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Tucson, AZ

What a joy it is for us Catholics to celebrate

Jesus pulling Adam & Eve from the Grave
after His Resurrection

this Easter season of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead! What a grace it is that we are called to be resurrected people! 

Today’s readings call us to reflect on the new life we are given through the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

In today’s first reading (Acts 3:13-15, 17-19), Peter boldly proclaims to the people that Jesus is the One who fulfills all biblical revelation in that “the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus whom God has raised from the dead.”

Peter wastes no time proclaiming what to do with the revelation of our resurrected Lord! He says, “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away." This theme of repentance is the message of today’s other readings as well. In today’s Gospel (Luke 24:35-48), Our Lord appears to His disciples after He had risen from the dead. He proclaims that He is the One who fulfills the words of the prophets of old that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day; and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

My brothers and sisters, today’s message of

Fr. John Paul Shea

conversion and repentance proclaimed after the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the essential message of our faith. This is why Jesus suffered and died. He died so that we would repent and be forgiven of our sins so that we could have eternal life!

Today’s second reading (John 2:1-5a) teaches us that Jesus is the expiation for our sins, “and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world...” John encourages us to keep Our Lord’s commandments. He says, “The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments.” For “whoever keeps [God’s] word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.” It is only by keeping God’s commandments that we live in Truth. John says in the beginning of today’s reading that he wrote these so that we may not commit sin. John understood as did the other early disiples of Our Lord that the goal of our Christian life is to be reconciled with God and strive to sin no more!

In today’s Gospel, as we hear of the appearance of Our Risen Lord, we hear that the disciples thought they were seeing a

ghost. Our Lord shows them that He is not a ghost. He shows them His hands and side -- that a ghost does not have flesh and bones as He does. Our Lord eats with His disciples.

In doing this, He convinces them that it was the same living body which they had seen, touched, and felt, yet it was at the same time a body that was glorified. In His resurrection, Jesus has given us a preview of the resurrected life that all faithful Catholics are called to share. Each one of us has been given a body and a spirit. We have been born into this world in the flesh but our spirit lives inside us. Our bodies and our spirit are

intimately connected. This intimacy of our body and souls is not only of this world we live today, but this intimacy is eternal. After our lives in this world and our bodies die we will be given a new body. Yet, where our bodies and souls will go for eternity depends on how we have lived the message of conversion and repentance that Our Lord has come to give.

This Easter our Church has celebrated the Sacrament of Baptism for the initiation of new Christians into our Church. (And today at Mass we will celebrate some baptisms).

These new Christians and each one of us are baptized into the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In baptism, we become one body and one spirit in the Church of God which will come to its perfection at the end of time.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, let us make every effort to allow God to transform our hearts so that we can be found worthy to live in the new world that is to come. Let us persevere in the salvation that has been won through the death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ so that we may be found worthy to attain eternal life. For, this world of sin and death is passing away and a new world is coming into light. What is not of God’s Kingdom will be thrown into fire and burned. But what is holy, pure, True, and righteous will be raised up in glory in the Kingdom of God.

May God bless each one of us and keep us faithful until the end. Amen.

It Can Happen to You! In fact, It Has!

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai, FMH

Third Sunday of Easter, April 15, 2018

Hospital Chaplaincy, Long Island, New York

A New York cop named Charley is having coffee in a little diner. When he is finished, he reaches into his pocket to pay

the tab and leave the usual tip—but he finds that he has just enough
money to pay for the coffee.

Embarrassed, he offers the waitress a choice. He promises to return the next day with
double the usual tip or, taking a lottery ticket out of his billfold and holding it up, he promises to split the winnings (if any) of the lottery ticket he just purchased for that evening’s drawing.

Now, this was one day when Yvonne, the waitress, really didn’t need to hear all this. She has had a bad enough day without losing a tip on the job. In fact, her life has been in the pits for a while. She has come to hate her job as a waitress. Her runaway husband has run up her credit card balance so high that, just that afternoon, she had been in court to declare personal bankruptcy. Could things get any worse than this?

Still, she decides to be good natured about Charley’s proposition. She smiles helplessly at all of her bad luck, forfeits the cop’s promise of tomorrow’s pocket change and jokingly takes Charley up on his offer of half the lottery ticket’s potential winnings. 

Well, if any of you saw this movie, then you know that the lottery ticket beats the incredible odds and brings in four million dollars! Charley comes to the diner the next morning to give Yvonne the good news. Her tip for serving a cup of coffee is not a mere two bits—but two million dollars! Well, you can most imagine Yvonne’s reaction to this good news. At first, utter disbelief covers Yvonne’s face. She exclaims: “No. No. Why are you doing this to me? Is this some sort of cruel joke? No. It couldn’t happen!”

Then, as Charley insists he is not joking, a tiny flicker of hope registers deep inside Yvonne. She dared, just for a moment, to believe that Charley’s good news for her might be true. “Yes? Yes?” she asks with her eyes widening with joy. “Can it really be true?” 

But disbelief quickly wedges its way back into Yvonne’s mind. She had, after all, only yesterday accepted her fate: personal bankruptcy. “No! No!” she says, shaking herself back to reality. Her emotions are a slowly congealing mix of belief and disbelief. But, facts are facts. Charley’s gift was really, genuinely hers. So, ultimately, we spectators know that her joy will eventually overshadow and overcome all her doubts. 

Yvonne’s glimmer of belief grew stronger as Charley’s smile and excitement gradually thawed her skepticism. Charley’s smile was saying: “It could happen. It did happen. It has happened to you!” With her doubts finally cast away, Yvonne’s question now turns into cheerful exclamation: “Yes! ” As the largeness of Charley’s gift grips her, the waitress suddenly finds herself dancing, swirling through the tables of customers, contemplating her new life—a life forever changed by Charley’s free gift. This little New York diner is now the scene of unexpected, overwhelming, hard-to-believe joy.

Now, let me take you to another scene of unexpected, overwhelming, hard-to-believe joy. This story comes—not from New York City via Hollywood—but from the Sacred Scriptures. It comes from the Book of Luke and it is our Gospel Reading (Luke 24: 35-48) for this 3rd Sunday of Easter. The scene here is not unlike that little New York diner. 

We find the apostles re-gathered in an Upper Room in Jerusalem. They had been in great confusion Easter Sunday night. Jesus’ tomb was empty. Some of the women who were

Jesus’ followers had talked with an angel who assured them that Jesus had risen. Mary Magdalen herself had seen Him early that morning in the garden. Later that same day, the risen Jesus had appeared to two other disciples, walked and talked with them, and then broke bread with them and revealed the Scriptures to them. Then He disappeared.

All these reports were more than what the apostles could comprehend—in light of what had taken place that tragic Friday night. Their leader was dead. Their hopes that Jesus would redeem Israel were bankrupt. Although they were found gathered together for some refreshment, they had really come together to accept their fate. Like Yvonne, the waitress in the New York diner, there was nothing else for them to reach for. The only thing left to do was to accept things just the way they were.

The two who were on the Road to Emmaus, having just returned to Jerusalem were giving the rest something new to imagine. 

With excitement growing in the conversation about this latest report, Jesus suddenly appears in their midst. All of them were surprised, shocked, caught in disbelief, even embarrassed, realizing that they had all abandoned Jesus when he was arrested. 

No wonder the first thing Jesus says to them is: “Peace be with you!” He has come to dispel their doubts about whether they could believe what they were seeing; to assure them that they were not seeing a ghost by inviting them to touch Him and feel real flesh and bones; to break bread with Him after He is risen just like He broke bread with them before he was arrested. He was not beating on the door of their Upper Room, but knocking on the doors of their inner hearts to let them see that he is risen just as he had promised. He also wanted to let them know that they, too, will rise some day just as he had promised them.

This first appearance of the risen Christ to His  followers makes a very clear statement: “It could happen! Not only could it happen, but it has happened and it has happened to you!”

How were the disciples to receive such glorious news? “In their joy,” Luke writes, “they were disbelieving and, still, wondering.”

Pay close attention, if you will, to exactly what Luke is describing about what was happening in the hearts of the disciples. Their minds may have been confused about what was going on, but their hearts were filled with joy! No matter what had happened—no matter what they were thinking—no matter what fears and worries may still be abounding—the appearance of Jesus before them instilled within them instantly a joy! 

Church, let it be known that the apostles were experiencing, for the first time,what “Easter joy” is really all about. You see, this Easter joy is the joy I’m talking about when we sing about a joy–joy—joy—joy deep down in my heart; when we tell somebody: “He’s the joy of my salvation! Yes, he is;” when you hear somebody say: “I get joy when I think about what He’s done for me;” when the saints of God stand up and testify: “This joy that I have, the world didn’t give it to me! Since the world didn’t give it, the world can’t take it away!”

I’m talking about a joy, Church, that’ll make you jump up when you’d rather sit still! It’s a joy I’m talking about that’ll keep you smiling in the midst of suffering! A joy that’ll help you

hold on to your hope in the face of despair! A joy that assures us we don’t
have to worry about the gravity of death ‘cause what awaits us is the glory of resurrection! It was the heavenly Easter joy they had two thousand years ago, and it’s the same Easter joy we have two thousand years later. 

It is most important for us to know why this particular text has been selected for us to hear on the Third Sunday of Easter in the Church’s liturgical year. Centuries ago, this Sunday became known as Jubilant Sunday. This Sunday was seen as Easter’s Encore Sunday—a time for the Church to celebrate all over again the joyous news of Easter.This is Easter re-visited! It’s as if, in the tradition of the Church, this wobbling between disbelief and joy is re-enacted. Last Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, was known as Low Sunday. At that point, the wonder of Easter morning was just so staggering—so hard to believe. In the familiar Gospel text of the doubting Thomas story, we were reminded

of the difficulty in believing such impossible news, of wavering between faith and futility, of how hard it is to accept that the impossible has come true. 

 We can almost imagine the thinking of the disciples at that time. “How can this be? Such a glorious thing is impossible. It could not happen.”

This Third Sunday of Easter, however, is a time when the good news is just now sinking in and we begin in jubilation (on this Jubilant Sunday) to dance among the tables like Yvonne in the movie, realizing that our lives are forever changed.

Why? Because, not only could it happen, it did happen to you and to me! The Good News of the Resurrection is just beginning to sink in. The Good News that the agony and death of Jesus, the darkness of the tomb, the glory of His resurrection all happened for you and for me! As that message sinks in, our joy and celebration will not be quelled.

This is why, when Easter finally comes, we “pull out all the stops” in our celebration. We really cannot allow the happenings of church worship to be too ordinary, too common, too everyday. The Church is alive and we need to show ourselves alive with Easter joy, conveying a truth so great that the world can only wonder at the overwhelming generosity of God’s gift.

So, let us celebrate with joy, with jubilation, with exaltation—the fact that Jesus is alive!

Occasionally, someone desperately sensing the bankruptcy of their heart, hears with wonder the glorious message of God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. They can’t believe that God would be so overwhelmingly generous to them. They “disbelieve with joy.” 

In the movie, when Yvonne finally accepted Charley’s message, she asked: “Why? You don’t have to give me this gift. Why are you doing this?” Charley’s reply is classic: “Because a promise is a promise.”

Church, this is the best part of the Good News that we can take home with us today! When we accept God’s great gift, we might ask a question similar to Yvonne’s.“God, why are you doing this for me? I am so unworthy of such a gift.” Listen to God’s response to our questions and to our situations: “Because I have promised—and a promise is a promise. Long ago, in the Garden of Eden, your parents fell into disobedience. As a result, death came upon all humankind. Even then, I promised to send a Savior—the seed of the woman—to crush the head of the serpent. It has now come to pass. It has happened. Death is defeated. Death has been swallowed up in victory! It could happen—and it did happen—to you!”

Fr. Joe Mungai

My brothers and sisters, we are a people of the Resurrection! We must know that death has been swallowed up in victory! Whatever the problem we are going through, know that there is a victory because a promise is a promise!

With this kind of Easter joy, each and every one of us can stand up and say: “Every time I feel like life is becoming too burdensome to bear, I’ve decided that I’m gonna keep on livin’ anyway—because Jesus told me that he came that I might have life—life to the full—and a promise is a promise!”

Each and every one of us can stand up and say: “Every time I face another disappointment because of somebody
else’s mess, I’ve decided that I won’t stop singing and I won’t stop smilin’ because

Jesus said: ‘Rejoice and be glad, for the kingdom of heaven is yours!’—and a promise is a promise!”

Each and every one of us can stand up and say: “Every time I have to deal with those who are into putting self over the Saviour  every time I encounter resistance to the ministry I’ve decided that I’m gonna keep on serving because Jesus said: ‘Whoever places themselves last in this world will be first in my kingdom!’—and a promise is a promise!”

Each and every one of us can stand up and say: “Every time I find myself pressured to live by the social standards of others, offended by the insensitivity of others, accosted by the evil tactics of a few, avoided by the blind ignorance of the fearful, opposed by the selfish intentions of the powerful, I’ve decided that I’m gonna hold on and hold out—because I want to get to that place Jesus talked about when he stood in trial before Pilate and told him: ‘My kingdom is not of this world!’—and a promise is a promise!”

With this kind of Easter joy, each and every one of us can stand up and say: “Every time I see myself dealing in doubt, wallowing in weakness, hangin’ with the hoodlums, every time I find myself sinking into sin, I gonna turn to Him and give it all to Him 

‘cause I need to hear him say: "This day, you shall be with me in paradise!’ —and I know that a promise is a promise!” 

Yes, Lord, it can happen to us! It has happened to us! It, still, happens to us because a promise is a promise! So, you can be sure that I’m gonna
—sing when the Spirit says sing!
—shout when the Spirit says shout!
—laugh when the Spirit says laugh!
—serve when the Spirit says serve!
—run when the Spirit says run!
—preach when the Spirit says preach!
—rise when the Spirit says rise!
—live when the Spirit says live—because a promise is a promise! 

Because of everything You have done for me, Lord, this is the everything I’m gonna do for you! Church, let it happen for you! Let it happen for me! Let it happen for all of us—because a promise is a promise! God promised it—I believe it—and that settles it! You see, a promise is a promise! Amen.

God is Merciful for that is His Nature

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai, FMH

Divine Mercy Sunday, April 8, 2018

Hospital Chaplaincy, Long Island, New York

We cannot talk of the mercy of God without believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who accomplished this mercy in its purest, highest and most loving form.

"Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1John 5:5) In the divine mercy chaplet we repeat the phrase "for the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world." The entire Easter celebration is about the mercy of God. 

Christ came through water and blood and from these we have the fountain of mercy.

(John 19:34) This mercy of God has been extended in time and space and in eternity; "for his love endures for ever." All sacraments acclaim this mercy particularly Baptism, Eucharist and Confession/Reconciliation.

Jesus himself mandates His Apostles to extend the Mercy of God to people. "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven , and whose sins you retain are retained." (John 20:23) Any Christian who believes in Jesus and in God must also believe in the Sacramental Mercy of God exercised by Jesus Himself through the Holy Spirit in the person of the ordained minister. 

Many Christians, Catholics and non-Christians continue to be doubting Thomas's. They don't believe in the Sacrament of Confession/Reconciliation which is truly the work of the mercy of God. While Thomas doubted that Jesus was alive, visible and risen; we in our turn doubt the same. If we

don't believe in sacramental absolution for our sins or approach the sacrament with fear, then we fail to recognize the risen Lord. And if Christ never rose from the dead it means the mercy of God was in vain.

The mercy of God becomes a mission of being sent out. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (John 20:21) Pope Francis -- in the concluded Year of Mercy 2016 -- appointed priests from all over the world and sent them as "missionaries of mercy." These were to be "living signs of the Father's readiness to welcome those in search of His pardon." (Misericordiae Vultus). 

As God shows us His mercy, we also go forth looking for those who need God's mercy. Every now and then we are invited to come for confession. The priests visit the parishes and churches to offer the possibility of the mercy of God. The mission applies also to those who are not ordained ministers. All who are children of God ought to love one another and forgive each other. This is obedience to this mercy of God. "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by him." (1John 5:1)

"In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments." (1John 5:2) Celebrating the mercy of God does not mean sinning so that his mercy may be shown upon me. It means striving to be obedient to God's command and allowing His mercy to overpower us when --due to our human weakness -- we fall.

The mercy of God is the greatest victory over death, sin, darkness, evil and satan. We are therefore conquerers of the 

mercy of God. "For whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith." (1John 5:4) The fact that we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to save us from our sins, then already we are victors and fruits of this mercy. How do we become sharers of this mercy of God? 

Since we are followers of Christ we must be witnesses to the society, church, family, nation and the entire world. We must be merciful to those in need and share the God given resources with others.

Being merciful doesn't mean sympathizing with sin, but the sinner; nor sympathizing with falsity, corruption, injustice, but truth, justice and peace. The first Christian community had one soul and one mind. "With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all." (Acts 4:33) It needs a merciful heart to

sell ones possessions and share them with others. It needs a person of strong faith in the risen Lord to do so. "My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior."(Is.12:2) Christians have power to conquer the world through Him who conquered it first.

The Resurrection of Christ is the source of all unity, forgiveness and peace. The first words to His disciples are "Peace be with you." What is peace if not foremost reconciliation and mercy of God. Even when today some nations remain at war, terror within or from

Fr. Joe Mungai

outside, the peace of God still prevails. God was not pleased in those days by the blood of any animal/human sacrifice to bring peace and forgiveness to the world. There is no need therefore to continue shedding human blood as if it is to save anyone from their sins. Only the blood of Christ son of God is sufficient. 

Be merciful on us Lord.

Readings for the  DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY -- 2nd Sunday of Easter. (Acts 4:32-35; Ps 118; 1Jn 5:1-6; Jn 20:19-31).