6th Sunday of Easter, Year A
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Readings http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/6th-sunday-easter-a.html
“I will not leave you orphaned; I will come back to you.”
The gospel for this 6th Sunday of Easter, Year A, is taken
from the gospel of John. In the gospel, Jesus speaks about
His impending Ascension into heaven. However, He assures
the apostles and his community of disciples that He will ask
the Father to send another Paraclete to be with them always:
the Spirit of truth. He tells them that although the world
will not see Him no more, the apostles should not feel
orphaned by His departure. This is because the Spirit whom
the Father will send will remain with them and will be within
them. They will recognize that it is indeed the Spirit of
truth who will be with them, because the spirit of love shall
govern their minds and their hearts, and make them one family
in Christ.
This gospel prepares us for the Feast of the Ascension of
the Lord and for the Feast of Pentecost on May 11, 2008. In
some local churches, Ascension is celebrated on a Thursday
while the 7th Sunday of Easter is celebrated after it. In
other local churches, Ascension is celebrated on a Sunday
instead of the 7th Sunday of Easter. The reason why some
local churches celebrate Ascension on a Sunday is because
their faithful often cannot go to Mass on a weekday. And
so it is celebrated on a Sunday. Whatever the local practice
of the church, what is really intended by these feasts is
the victory of Christ over sin, corruption, and death, and
the promise of God’s Holy Spirit to found His Church on
earth.
The season of Easter is a very important liturgical season
in the Church. It teaches us the very essence of our
Christian faith: that Christ died for us and rose again so
that we may share in the victory of His resurrection. What
we hold in faith is that, as we learn to be faithful in
our following of Jesus and obey His commandment of love,
we too shall share in His glorious resurrection. But before
we do share in the glory of His victory, we must be aware
that we have to share in the pain of His suffering and
death on the Cross.
As we go through life with all its troubles, sufferings,
pain and problems, we die to ourselves daily as we offer
everything that we do good to the Lord - despite the pain
and the struggles. We may fall at times and err in certain
areas of what we are and do, but if we keep faith in the
victory of Christ, we shall share in His triumph over sin
and death. So, what is important is to pray that we may
be given the strength to conquer our sinful selves and have
faith that even despite our failings, Christ will assure
us of His victory; and that He will never leave us. He
will not leave us orphaned. Rather, He promises the Spirit,
so that we will do His will and obey His commandment of
love for God, for our neighbor and for ourselves.
