C - Second Sunday of Easter

The disciples find themselves behind a locked door for fear of the Jews. They had every reason to be afraid because what had happened to Jesus could very well happen to them. Jesus had given every indication that he was the Messiah but now they were being presented with a reality that perhaps he was just a very good man, a great teacher, a wonderful healer. The same attributes ascribed to Jesus by many today who are unwilling or unable to recognize him as the Son of God. The disciples had witnessed Jesus raising three people from the dead and yet even with these signs of Jesus’s divinity, they had lost their confidence due to the danger they now found themselves in.

And now Jesus appears to his disciples; all of them, but one. Is that not curious? Are we really to think that somehow the timing was off? Would Jesus not know when all the disciples would be gathered? We can rest assured that the timing was perfect. Thomas, forever known to us as doubting Thomas, would miss this first encounter. We should hold Thomas in great affection and appreciation. In his honesty and humble straight forwardness, he represents us and all those who have heard but not seen. Thomas gives us license to at times doubt also. But more than that, his story demonstrates to us that ‘doubt’ is part and parcel of the active spiritual and Christian life. In each life there are chapters, seasons of faith, if you will, that are woven into, and become part of, our journey to Jesus’s heart.

We can think of doubt in two ways. The first as questions that need answering. St., Anslem of Canterbury would describe this as faith seeking understanding. St., John Henry Newman would say, “Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt”. We can call this type of doubt questioning doubt. The other type of doubt is more cynical and says, “I don't need to hear anymore, for I have made up my mind.” There is little to be done with cynical doubt but doubt of the questioning variety is a good sign – a doorway we all pass through. Doubt is not the enemy of faith but rather is a partner that encourages questions, reading, research, prayer, reflection, bible study, listening to podcasts, finding faith companions, and so on. This is essential to our formation for, without it, how can we grow and develop spiritual muscles? How can we possibly offer support for those struggling with their own faith if we ourselves have not found ourselves, at one time or another, doubting and asking questions. And how can we lean on our faith when difficulties arise, or tragedy strikes? Timothy Keller, a protestant author would write, “A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it.” That is a helpful picture; we need antibodies to strengthen our physical bodies to be resistant to bacteria, viruses and toxins. And we need a little doubt to strengthen our faith life.

Jesus would time his visit to the disciples perfectly, so that Thomas would express his doubts, which we, sooner or later, may also experience. But now, see what Jesus does, listen to his invitation. “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Many of us, I am sure, have seen the Caravaggio painting of doubting Thomas. It is called, ‘The Incredulity of Saint Thomas’. The picture depicts Thomas putting his finger into the side of Christ while Jesus and two other disciples look on. Jesus, Thomas, and the two disciples are so very close – all four heads almost touching. This is such an intense and intimate scene, and it presents a truth that doubt, the type that asks questions, and strives for truth, leads to the intimacy of believe. It leads to an intimate encounter with the risen Lord. It leads to the peace that Jesus greets us with, and it leads to our joining our friend Thomas as together we acclaim, “My Lord and my God!” 

With the passing of Pope Francis, we are saddened, and we mourn. His death comes at the heels of our greatest celebration – the celebration of new life offered to us by Jesus Christ. Christ is risen, and whether we are the pope, an office worker, a plumber, or a home maker, if we are buried with Christ so also, shall we be raised with Christ. This is why we remain joyful despite doubts, despite difficulties and trials, and despite times of mourning and sadness. We remain joyful and hopeful for God is all merciful and in Jesus we trust. So, on this Sunday of Divine Mercy, and on this day when Pope Francis goes to his eternal reward, we pray – Jesus, I Trust in You.

Deacon Peter Bujwid
St. Agnes Church, Arlington, Massachusetts
Sunday 23rd March 2025

Palm Sunday Reflection - A Face in the Crowd

There is something about being in a crowd that can be so uplifting at times and yet so dangerous at other times. We see this so readily in the March for Life march when young and old come together bonded by the common cause for love and life. Yet we have also witnessed the destructive power of crowds when things get out of hand resulting in real damage and physical injury. In this case the crowd becomes unruly as the herd mentality takes over.

As we enter holy week we read about two crowds; those that would welcome Jesus as he rides into Jerusalem sitting on a colt, and those that would soon be shouting, “crucify him, crucify him”.

We know which crowd we belong in. We know we would welcome our Lord and King as he humbly rides towards us. Yet we also know that it is by way of our sin, our faults, our failings, in thoughts, words and deeds, that we are placed in the crowd that aims to extinguish the one who gives us life. At times we have chosen real damage and injury over love and life.

I recall often at this time of year that Jesus was likely crucified a short foot or two from the ground and not as we see him in so many depictions. This means his mother and John were right there, intimately close to him, almost eye to eye. We leave the jeering crowd, and we come into the intimacy of his being on the cross. We look at him and He looks at us. Quietly we utter our words of deep sorrow for our sins, and for our lack of faith and courage. We say sorry for running with the wrong crowd, whether in the street or in our hearts and minds. We come close and stay with our Lord, for the conquering King is gentle and humble of heart, and in him we find rest for our souls.

Deacon Peter Bujwid
St. Agnes Church, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA

A - Third Sunday in Lent - Scrutiny Mass

The readings we will hear in select masses over the next three Sundays are called the scrutiny readings and are part of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. They are meant in a special way for those who will be joining the family of God this Easter. The themes for the three scrutiny gospel readings are conversion, healing, and the promise of eternal life.

Today in our gospel reading we read about the Samaritan woman. Quickly we may recognize ourselves in this woman. Like her we go about our lives as if nothing is up, everything is fine, we stay busy with the normal things of life. Yet something is amiss since sin has condemned us to being less than fully alive. Sin, big and small, can bring us low and limit us to a life that never quite takes off, because the chains of sin can be so very heavy. We were designed to soar like an eagle, but sin has made us crawl on the ground. The Samaritan woman would have to go to the well at noon – the hottest part of the day, so no one would see her. She was embarrassed, felt awkward, felt the weight of sin, perhaps even unacknowledged sin, and so had separated herself from her own community. Persistent sin requires us to make accommodations for it – to live differently than we would otherwise do. Like the Samaritan woman we may ostracize ourselves or go out in the noonday sun unable to even consider the possibility that we can soar.

But God wants us to soar and to be perfect just as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48). To confess our sin and to seek forgiveness in confession is but a step in the right direction but it does not end there. God’s desire is for us to be a new man or a new woman, not only free of sin, but healed, whole, complete and transformed; brokenness repaired, tears of sadness - now tears of joy, isolation - now full communion. Our heart ache is remade into something powerful and positive. “Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” What is this water if not the Holy Spirit – the source of spiritual life and of the transformation of the believer. We are to drink deeply from this well and to allow the Spirit to do his work in us. We give the Holy Spirit access to the deepest recesses of our souls, so forgiveness can be accompanied by healing. This is the perfection God is looking for - our perfection, our wholeness, our completeness, with the wounds of life healed over. But we have to let the Spirit in, to let Christ in.

Pope Saint John Paul II said we are all like that rich young man who followed all God’s commandments but was sad because he was told to sell what he had and to give the money to the poor. Like the rich young man, we are a little afraid to go “all-in” with Jesus. A little afraid to give him everything. To fully trust him.

Jesus knows us completely and does not turn away but rather meets us in the heat of the noonday sun. He offers to us water that itself then becomes a spring, that wells up into eternal life. By means of this water we are forgiven, we are healed, we are transformed, we are born anew. The heavy chains of sin are broken and the path to perfection, wholeness, completeness, opens before us. Like the Samaritan woman, we now run joyfully into Town and acclaim that truly He is our savior, and the savior of the world. So, we turn to him, or return to him, and then, as Pope Saint John Paul II, gently encourages us, we go, “all-in”.  

Deacon Peter Bujwid
St. Agnes Church, Arlington, Massachusetts
Sunday 23rd March 2025

C - Third Sunday in Lent

Today is the third Sunday of Lent and so we draw near to the midpoint of our Lenten journey. Before we know it, Holy week will be upon us. Having made the effort to keep to our disciplines, to pray, fast and to be more charitable, we may have changed - even if only a little. We may have learned a little about ourselves. Do we have the stick-to-itiveness to remain disciplined? Are we able to be resilient in the face of many and varied forces, both spiritual and other, that pull us away from encountering the graces that appear to be abundant at this time? If not, the simple solution is always to start again.

By means of the disciplines we may experience two things: a desire to know God in a deeper way while interestingly, we recognize ourselves to be only less perfect, less worthy. For example, we want to pray more and to experience God more intimately, but prayer becomes difficult, distracted, or not how we thought it would go for us. We can draw comfort that perhaps this may be the expected experience. We begin to see ourselves for who we are, as we begin to recognize God as Holy God. Our readings today confront our modern-day idea that God is, but a friendly face and I don't have to worry so much, since God will forgive me, right? That is not wrong, we are loved, but the reality and impact of mortal sin is very real, and it can destine us for hell. In our first reading Moses encounters God and God tells him to remove his shoes for he is standing upon holy ground. God is holy, and nothing dirty will trespass on holy ground. Just as nothing unclean will enter the New Jerusalem or heaven, as we read in Revelation (21:26). God is Holy and we are his creatures. Because God is the great I AM we must acknowledge his holiness, and respect the holy places, such as this very sanctuary.

Our second reading from Corinthians warns us, not to be complacent, satisfied with ourselves, or to feel secure just because we are part of the church. The reading notes that the blessings of God were on all the ancestors, all were baptized, and all ate the spiritual food, and all drank the spiritual drink, just as we are and just as we do. Yet God was not pleased with many of them and so many were struck down. The reading goes on to say that this was an example for all and for us. God requires us to leave sin and evil behind. To believe we are somehow preserved due to just being catholic, would be the same mistake the Pharisees and Sadducees made by assuming that because they were descendance of Abraham, their salvation was assured. John the Baptist calls them to repentance and to show the fruit that corresponds to it. Just as we are called to repentance and to show the fruit of being a true disciple of Christ.

The Gospel reading reinforces this point. “Those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them, do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?” “No, they weren’t.” Jesus tells us, and goes on to warn us, that if we do not repent, we too will perish as those who died in Siloam. Bible scholars, reading the Gospel of Luke in Greek, tell us that the two uses of the term, “if you do not repent”, use two different verb tenses, with one noting a need to repent once and for all, and the second referring to a continuing repentance.

God is perfectly Holy; God demands repentance if we are not to be lost. Being simply a declared catholic is not enough. These are stark truths. Our Lenten practice can make us more sensitive to them. But the Lord is Kind and Merciful as we all just declared in the psalms. He pardons our inequities and heals our ills. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. And so, He holds back the hand of the gardener who is ready to cut down the fruitless tree. Graces will abound to help each of us become trees that bear fruit.

“Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling”, we read in Philippians 2:12. Repent and believe in the Gospel, we heard spoken to us on Ash Wednesday. So, we return to the sacrament of reconciliation often, we eschew complacency and make of our catholic life one that bears much good fruit. Our continued Lenten practices, despite the challenges, help us to do just that.

Deacon Peter Bujwid
St. Agnes Church, Arlington, Massachusetts
Sunday 23rd March 2025