May 22: Fifth Sunday of Easter

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel.

Gospel:  Jn 14:1-12

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where (I) am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth   and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.

“Do not let your heart be troubled” When I read this coming Sunday’s Gospel those words stood out to me the most. How often do we allow ourselves to be troubled? Even with the smallest of things in our lives we worry. For example, writing this reflection was difficult for me. I was worried about what people might think of what I wrote. Am I doing this right? OMG what did I get myself into? Those were the thoughts going through my head.

Then I remembered those words, “Do not let your heart be troubled” Everything we do is an opportunity to grow closer to Christ and an opportunity to believe in Him, to let go and let God.

How often do you find yourself troubling yourself with the smallest of things? What are some things you can do to help strengthen your relationship with Christ and to be more willing to let go and let God?

Mary Vizcaino
Our Lady of Assumption, Claremont

May 15: Fourth Sunday of Easter

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel.

John 10: 1-10

Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.  But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.  The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice.”…”Amen, amen I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep… whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come and go out and find pasture.  I came so that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”

Reflection:

Jesus is the gate, the only entrance to eternal life.  Jesus, the Risen One, always recognizes us and cares for us, he is our Shepherd.  Jesus is truly here for us, he knows us by name.  He is with us through the moments where we feel the most alone, moments of hardship, of worry, or pain.  We must abandon ourselves in perfect confidence and let Jesus be our Shepherd.  He is with us and leads us to life. 

Meditative Question:

What is keeping You from abandoning yourself and allowing Jesus to be your Shepherd and lead you to life?

Annette Galarreta
St. Raymond, Downey

May 8: Third Sunday of Easter

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel.

Gospel: Lk 24:13-35

“The Suffering Messiah”…. Incognito

Living in a world of billions and billions of human beings, how hard is it to think that Jesus himself, flesh and blood, might be next to you in line at the supermarket, or reading peacefully on the couch next to you at Starbucks, or best yet driving next to you fighting traffic on the 10 freeway as you race home after work to make the 5:30pm Mass?

Luke describes this in his Gospel as Jesus makes one of his appearances after his Resurrection to two men on their long walk to a village named Emmaus.  Jesus simply strolls into the lives of these two men, Cleopas and the other “Unnamed,” and begins to fulfill his prophesy among the hesitant believers.

Now when Jesus returned from the dead, he did not show himself so that he would be easily recognized.  Jesus had a plan and a very unique strategy to evangelize his true self to people and most notably to the twelve Apostles.  When I think about it, it kind of plays out like Clark Kent in the Superman franchise.  Superman’s earthly appearance to cover up his famed status as Superman was a simple human being living a normal life with an alias of Clark Kent, journalist for The Daily News.  Now when you think of the costume Clark Kent came up with to hide his identity, you have to chuckle at the idea that it was merely a pair of black rimmed glasses and a suit. That was all it took to keep his friends and believers in the dark.  Even when face-to-face with him, no one would put two and two together and figure out that the person behind those glasses was in fact Superman.  Sounds very comical, right?

As for our Superhero God, Jesus himself with his ultimate power, I think his costume is harder to distinguish.  See, as the viewers of the movie Superman, we know that Clark and Superman are the same person, but the characters in the movie don’t.  It’s easy to assume that these people don’t have a clue, but really they are blind to Clark’s true self. They are unable to see Superman as he truly is, because their eyes have not been opened or their faith tested. Jesus makes it a lot harder for us, the viewers and characters in this movie called “LIFE.” He makes it hard because he wants us to really find HIM.  He wants us to use the script of our God-given life to have a connection with him and find the reason why he would need to come in contact with us, as many of us pray to one day do.

As Catholics we solidly and fully believe that God is present in the Sacrament as we approach the altar, as well as in the Church he created. But can you look at that person sitting next to you at Starbucks and fully give them the same respect and love that Jesus deserves, and give them the same glory as if you had been in the presence of our King in the flesh?  Can you look into that person’s eyes so deeply that you see Jesus, and get that same warm, full feeling that most of us get walking out of confession?  I’m sure Jesus would want you to smile and greet that person as if you and he secretly knew that you were the special one who at that moment was able to figure out that his incognito cover or disguise was blown.  And then you move on knowing that you met Jesus and knowing that he can use the varieties of race or gender to make us understand that he made us in his Image.

In the Gospel of Luke, Cleopas and the other man weren’t fully on board with the thought of Jesus as a suffering Messiah; they were under the assumption he would redeem Israel.  To help them understand, Jesus had to step into their lives; then they had to invite Jesus to stay overnight with them and eat dinner with them.  Once invited, Jesus unveiled himself by the breaking of the bread, and then the two men fully understood this complete stranger was Jesus…God Almighty!!!

Once we can see one another as a “possible” Jesus in flesh, then we are focused on the grand idea of God being present in one another and we are not focused on the wrong things.  As I type this, I’m wondering if Jesus is sitting next to me in a Starbucks, smiling…high fiving God, and saying to himself, “Thanks be to God” that there are Young Adults interested in proclaiming the Word, connecting to each other, and keeping their faith strong and their eyes open to a future that will grant them to life everlasting.  AMEN!!!!

Christopher Galvan
St. Mary’s, Whittier
www.stmarysyam.com

May 1: Second Sunday of Easter

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel.

Gospel: Jn 20:19-31

In recent days, the disciples have experienced two monumental life transitions--the crucifixion and resurrection.  They hid in fear with the doors shut. I can only imagine how uncertain their future must have felt.  As young adults, we also experience major transitions in our lives.  These changes may or may not be as revolutionary as what the disciples experienced, but they do transform our lives.  We evolve with every big decision we make regarding school, the economy, our careers, family, and relationships.   Just like the disciples, I admit that I have not handled every tough life decision with grace and have often laid low, fearing the consequences and hating the uncertainty.

Similarly, I can relate with doubting Thomas.  Thomas needed to experience seeing and touching Jesus to know that He was with the disciples.  As I struggle through my own difficult transitions, I need a sign to let me know Jesus is with me. Interestingly, He has sent me so many today.  I saw him in the sunshine-filled day, in my friends who brought me coffee, and even in the stranger that was incredibly accommodating with my many of loads of laundry that consumed our shared washer and dryer.  God is here and He is with us.  

God has given us so many blessings to help us with our transitions and to ease our doubts.  We are seeing and touching God in the midst of His blessings and His people who are part of our lives.  However, His presence goes even beyond those senses.  He is all around us.  If we can embrace that idea, then we can be set free of any uncertainty that our transitions bring.

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

Michelle Cantu
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles

April 24: Easter Sunday

Gospel: Mt 28:1-10


That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire and of the comfort of the Resurrection
A poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ

CLOUD-PUFFBALL, torn tufts, tossed pillows ' flaunt forth, then chevy on an air- 
built thoroughfare: heaven-roysterers, in gay-gangs ' they throng; they glitter in marches. 
Down roughcast, down dazzling whitewash, ' wherever an elm arches, 
Shivelights and shadowtackle in long ' lashes lace, lance, and pair. 
Delightfully the bright wind boisterous ' ropes, wrestles, beats earth bare
Of yestertempest’s creases; in pool and rut peel parches 
Squandering ooze to squeezed ' dough, crust, dust; stanches, starches 
Squadroned masks and manmarks ' treadmire toil there 
Footfretted in it. Million-fuelèd, ' nature’s bonfire burns on. 
But quench her bonniest, dearest ' to her, her clearest-selvèd spark
Man, how fast his firedint, ' his mark on mind, is gone! 
Both are in an unfathomable, all is in an enormous dark 
Drowned. O pity and indig ' nation! Manshape, that shone 
Sheer off, disseveral, a star, ' death blots black out; nor mark 
                Is any of him at all so stark
But vastness blurs and time ' beats level. Enough! the Resurrection, 
A heart’s-clarion! Away grief’s gasping, ' joyless days, dejection. 
                Across my foundering deck shone 
A beacon, an eternal beam. ' Flesh fade, and mortal trash 
Fall to the residuary worm; ' world’s wildfire, leave but ash:
                In a flash, at a trumpet crash, 
I am all at once what Christ is, ' since he was what I am, and 
This Jack, joke, poor potsherd, ' patch, matchwood, immortal diamond, 
                Is immortal diamond.

April 17: Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel.

Gospel: Mt 26:14-27:66

“The greatest and most overwhelming work of God’s love.” 

- St. Paul of the Cross – description of Jesus.

I’m personally a huge fan of St. Paul of the Cross.  I’m not sure why, but I just am.  When I saw this quote from him describing who he thought Jesus was, it got me thinking.  What was the greatest act of love that was ever shown for us?  You’ll hear scholars say it was the Crucifixion…but, I tend to think it’s the whole Passion of Jesus. 

Jesus knows what is going to happen.  In fact, he says it when he’s in the Garden of Gethsemane “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will.”  Jesus knows how much suffering this is going to be…and yet, even though our Father will not take this away from him, he’ll still go through everything because of that love he has for us. After all the trials, beatings, and suffering Jesus experiences, he is crucified on Golgotha.  We, as Christians, are called to look at the cross, and to realize that tremendous love that Jesus went through for us…his saving love as it were.  It goes beyond this though.  

"Love is filled with struggle, pain, and moments of real darkness. When we gaze upon the cross of Jesus, there we see God’s love revealed to us in the concrete, in flesh and blood. We perceive with our own eyes the lengths to which God would go to reach out to us, to redeem us and raise us up.”

– Fr. Robin Ryan, cp.

As we enter into Holy Week, let us all remember that Jesus died for us, not just so the prophecy could be fulfilled, but to show how much God loved us. 

Michele Fanara
St. Martin of Tours, Los Angeles

April 10: Fifth Sunday of Lent

Each week during Lent and Easter, a young adult from the Archdiocese offers a reflection on the upcoming Sunday's Gospel.

Gospel:  Jn 11:1-45

While reading thru this passage I can’t help but notice that Jesus already has a plan. When they came to notify Jesus he didn’t run to Lazarus right away, He waited for 2 days because rushing to Lazarus’s side would not fit with God’s plan. We must also wait on Jesus sometimes, just like the two sisters had to. Jesus is working according to His schedule, so that it will all fit with the Father’s plan. The waiting is usually the difficult part, and there is no indication on how long it will take. That’s one of the problems with our generation. We want everything NOW; if it’s not NOW I don’t want it. Sound familiar? Brothers and sisters, we must be patient with God, for He is working on his schedule. We must stay strong in faith that Jesus will also come through with a miracle in our own lives.

The part of the story that touched me the most is when Jesus wept. Even though Jesus knows what the plan was and that Lazarus would soon be resurrected from death, he is still deeply touched by their sorrow. He cried with them, He cries with you. I wish my hands could express what my heart feels when I read that. Jesus cries for us, cries with us. When we are going through a difficult time and when we are hurting and in pain, he cries with us. He knows the plan that God has for us, and like this story there might be a breakthrough just around the corner. Something that we can all learn from this story is that we must have faith in Jesus and be patient for we are living on his time.

Vidal Gutierrez

St. John Vianney, Hacienda Heights

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