THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST, YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Exodus 24:3-8; Psalm 126:12-13, 15-18; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26

At some point in every important relationship, a covenant becomes necessary. Such a covenant is a well worded agreement, oral or written, and some form of symbolic act, recited or performed to concretize the relationship. Everyone involved in the relationship is required to be faithful to the covenant. We are in a covenant relationship with God. We are God’s covenant people.

When the Israelites reached Mount Sinai, God invited Moses to the top of the mountain and gave him the Commandments and instructions on how the people would make a covenant with him. The first reading tells us how Moses carried out God’s instructions: “Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls; the other half he splashed on the altar. Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people, who answered, ‘All that the Lord has said, we will do.’ Then he took the blood and splashed it on the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words’” (Exodus 24:5-8).

God promised the Israelites, “Now, if you obey me completely and keep my covenant, you will be my treasured possession among all peoples, though all the earth is mine. You will be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Exodus 19:4-6). God’s directive and promise extend to us.

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he made a covenant with the apostles who represented the Church. We read in today’s gospel, “While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many’” (Mark 14:22-24). When the apostles received and consumed the body and blood of Jesus, the covenant was ratified on behalf of the Church and all of us.

The second reading from Hebrews calls the covenant of Jesus and his Church “a new covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). The new covenant is different from the old covenant: “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ … cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God” (Hebrews 9:13-14). Our relationship with God is purified and sealed by the Blood of the Lamb (Hebrew 9:20); “For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28). St. Paul writes, “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins …” (Ephesians 1:7). St. Peter cautions us, “Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct … not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ …” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, it is important to re-emphasize why the Catholic Church believes and teaches the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. During the Last Supper, Jesus did not say, “It is like my body.” Or, “It resembles my body.” Or, “It represents my body.” He said, “This is my body.” “This is my blood.”

The Catholic Church believes and teaches that the mystery of transubstantiation takes place during the Eucharistic celebration at the prayer of consecration. At that time, bread and wine become the Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ.

This is why we adore the Body of Jesus in the tabernacle. When we come into a Catholic Church and see a tabernacle and a tabernacle light, we know, immediately, that the Eucharist is present in the tabernacle. We are required to genuflect in reverence. Jesus is no longer physically with us, but he has left himself spiritually with us in the Eucharist.

Therefore, we are to receive the Eucharist reverently and worthily. We must not disregard St. Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 11:28-29, “Let each one, then, examine himself before eating of the bread and drinking of the cup. Otherwise, he drinks his own condemnation in not recognizing the body.” This is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation helps us to prepare for the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Before the Israelites left Egypt, God instructed them to celebrate the Passover, which was a sign of spiritual nourishment for the journey to the Promised Land. The Eucharist is food for our spiritual journey. We who celebrate it and receive it need to know and experience its power. Eucharistic miracles and testimonies are countless. We are, therefore, encouraged to participate actively and attentively in the Eucharistic celebrations, adorations, and pilgrimages, and receive the Eucharist worthily. As we do these, may we experience our own Eucharistic miracles. The greatest Eucharistic miracle is to be transformed and become Christ-like. St. Augustine of Hippo challenges us when he says, "Behold what you are; become what you receive." The Eucharist we receive should make us exclaim like St. Paul, “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

THE MOST HOLY TRINITY YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40; Psalm 33:4-6, 9, 18-20, 22; Romans 8: 14-17; Matthew 28:16-20

The descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, celebrated last Sunday, brings the work of the Most Holy Trinity to its fullness. God the Father is the Creator. God the Son is the Savior. God the Holy Spirit is the sanctifier.

In today’s gospel, Jesus authorized his apostles to baptize in the name of the Trinity. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Therefore, Jesus commands us not only to baptize in the name of the Trinity but to do all things in the name of the Trinity. That is why all Catholic prayers begin with the invocation of the Trinity and end with the blessing of the Trinity. We invoke the Trinity each time we profess the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirt, and each time we sign ourselves with the Sign of the Cross. It is important that we profess the holy names and sign ourselves reverently.

The Sign of the Cross was known in Christian liturgy as early as about 3rd century AD. St. Basil in the 4th Century AD wrote that the Sign of the Cross originated in apostolic time. The exact date is not recorded.

The Trinity is one of the most important mysteries in Christianity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three persons, but one nature, one God, equal, undivided, and inseparable. We are not invited to fully understand the dogma because it is a mystery. We are, rather, invited to live and move and have our being in the Trinity, and so become instruments of unity. Division comes from the Evil One. It is often said, “Where there is unity, there is strength, and there is victory.” “United we stand, divided we fall.”

There is perfect harmony in the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit relate in harmony from creation to the descent of the Holy Spirit. We are invited to work harmoniously with one another. Disagreements and bitterness hinder progress.

The three persons of the Trinity are equal. None is superior to the other. Therefore, we are invited to provide equal treatment and equal opportunity for everyone. Partiality is unjust.

The Trinity is bonded in love. Unity, harmony, and equality can only be possible where there is genuine love. We pray that we are bound together in such love. Everything is possible with genuine love.

The Trinity is holy. As we celebrate and worship the Most Holy Trinity, may the rays of their holy light shine on us, dispel forces of sin and darkness, and bring us to conversion. May the rays of their holy light bring us healing. May the rays of their holy light guide us to the path of truth and righteousness. May the rays of their holy light guard and protect us. Amen.

Any family, church, community, organization, institution, or country that is rooted in the nature of the Trinity (unity, harmony, equality, love, and holiness) will experience peace, tranquility, and progress. The dissension, crises, violence, and wars we have everywhere are due to human beings’ rejection of the nature of the Trinity but prefer human’s nature and the Evil One’s nature.

St. Paul writes how God made the human body to function in a trinitarian way, “God has so constructed the body … so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy” (1 Corinthians 12:25-26). “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I do not need you’” (1 Corinthians 12:21).

It is in this same trinitarians interconnectedness that God made the world. Whatever each person does affects the person’s environment and other people. Whatever happens in any part of the world affects other parts of the world. God’s gifts, talents, and resources are for the benefit of all. But it is human beings’ bad will and greed that bring disconnection, destruction, suffering, and death; resulting to the unfortunate existence of first world and third world, developed and underdeveloped, rich and poor, superior and inferior, strong and weak, powerful and powerless, advantaged and disadvantaged, privileged and underprivileged, affluent and slum, and so on. To remain in control and unchallenged, the first world perpetuates the third world, the developed perpetuates the underdevelopment, the rich perpetuates poverty, the superior perpetuates inferiority, the strong perpetuates weakness, the powerful perpetuates powerlessness, the advantaged perpetuates the disadvantaged, the privileged perpetuates the underprivileged, the affluent perpetuates slums. Humanity’s bad will and greed have turned the “very good” world God created (Genesis 1:31) to the ‘very bad’ world it is now.

We pray for a change of heart of those who perpetuate evil. However, we can help to return the world to “very good” by starting with ourselves. Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying, “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.” Are there things I am doing that are against unity, harmony, equality, love, and holiness?

Let us live and move and have our being in the Most Holy Trinity,  and all will be well. Amen.

PENTECOST SUNDAY YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

 Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1, 29-34; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23

The Church was conceived when Jesus said to Peter, “You are the rock, upon you I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18). But the Church was born on Pentecost Sunday with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and empowered them to witness Christ.

Among the Jews in the Old Testament, the feast of Pentecost was when Jewish pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem from various parts of the world to celebrate the festival of thanksgiving for the first fruits of their harvest (Numbers 28:26). It was on such a feasting time that God chose to send the Holy Spirit so that people from various parts of the world would become witnesses of the event. 

The first reading shows that while the crowds were celebrating, the apostles were in the upper room and stayed in prayer: “And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. Now, there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language.”

One of the great miracles of the descent of the Holy Spirit is that God translated and transmitted the message of the apostles in Aramaic to the understanding of those who spoke other languages. The world is excited about Artificial Intelligence. We believers should be excited about Divine Intelligence which existed before the creation of the world. Imagine the Divine Intelligence behind the creation of the world!

The Pentecost event takes us back to Genesis, where God used language to disperse the builders of the Tower of Babel (Genesis: 11:1-9). On Pentecost, God used language to unite all peoples. One of the lessons of the events of the Tower of Babel and Pentecost is that what we communicate has the power to build or destroy, unite or scatter, give life or take life. What is the effect of my tongue? “Some wound as they speak, like swords; but the tongue of the wise heals” (Proverbs 12:18). Where do I belong? Wounding tongue or healing tongue?

The Holy Spirit in some people is either inactive or minimally active. Although many of us have received several Sacraments, we are like the believers in Ephesus whom Paul asked, ‘“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ They answered him, ‘We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit’” (Acts 19:2). The celebration of Pentecost Sunday is a prayer for our individual Pentecost experience. St. Paul urges us, “I invite you to fan into flame the gift of God you received through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6).

Unfortunately, some people have driven the Holy Spirit completely away from themselves and from their environment by their works of evil. We pray that such people may come to conversion.

In today’s gospel, the disciples locked themselves up in a room for fear of the Jews. But Jesus passed through the locked doors, stood in their midst, and blessed them with peace and the power of the Holy Spirit. He replaced their fear with strength and courage. They were liberated from self-imprisonment.

Fear, or guilt, or shame, or self-pity, or anger, or unforgiveness, or failure, or inadequacy, or sin, or despair can keep us self-imprisoned. Someone may have been locked up by spiritual or physical forces beyond his or her control. May our celebration today bring us Pentecost experience and free us from every imprisonment. St. Paul declares for us, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). May we receive God’s peace, which surpasses all understanding to guard our hearts and our minds in Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:7).

Jesus breathed on the apostles and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:23). Today’s gospel explains the power given to priests by the Church, at the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to declare a person’s sin forgiven by God. The priest prays for the penitent: “God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

 Also, we have the power to forgive or to retain sins. If we refuse to forgive, we retain the sins in us. Some people’s huge burden, weighing on them, is not only their own sins but the retained sins of other people they are carrying. Retained sins prevent Pentecost experience. Therefore, let us purge ourselves not only of our own sins but also of other people’s sins we have retained so that we can have Pentecost experience.

SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Psalm 103:1-2, 11-12, 19-20; 1 John 4:11-16; John 17:11-19

We see in the first reading that St. Peter, now transformed by the power of the resurrection, took charge of the Christian community. The words of Jesus have come to fulfillment, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). St. Peter recalled the prophecy concerning Judas and his replacement in Psalm 109:8, “May his days be few; may another take his office.”

St. Peter proceeded to give the community the directives and the criteria for electing Judas’ replacement: one of the men well known to them, who had been a disciple the whole time, beginning from the baptism of John until the resurrection. Two men, Justus and Matthias, who met the criteria, were put forward. The disciples prayed and cast lots, and Matthias was chosen. The result was accepted by all. No deceiving and lying campaigns, no election irregularities, no controversial result, no violence. The election of Matthias stands as a model for all elections, civil or religious. The lack of integrity surrounding elections everywhere is a far cry from the election of Matthias.

St. John tells us in the second reading, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another” (1 John 4:11). Those who want to lead others must eschew self-interest and love those they want to lead by having their best interests at heart. Jesus gives the following rule, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45).

Scripture scholars refer to John chapter 17 as Jesus’ Great Intercessory Prayer or The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. The entire chapter is Jesus’ prayer in which he commended his disciples and all believers to his Father as his passion and death drew near. There are, at least, four prayer points in the gospel reading:

One: “Keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are” (verse 11). Jesus prays that we remain united in his name. We, therefore, pray for Christian unity and unity in our homes, communities, churches, and country instead of suspicion and antagonism. We pray for peace and unity in our world instead of war and destruction.

Two: “I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely” (verse 13). It is the prayer of Jesus that we share in his joy. Jesus prays in John 15:11 that his joy may be in us and that our joy may be complete. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” May nothing take away the joy we have received from the Lord.

Three: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one” (verse 15). 1 John 5:19 acknowledges, “We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one.”  St. Paul, also, says, “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens” (Ephesians 6:12).  However, Jesus encourages us, “In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33). Let us remain in him (the true vine) who is able to deliver those who remain in him.

Four: “Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth” (verse 17). Jesus prays that we are consecrated or sanctified in the truth. God’s word is the best cleansing agent for our soul and body. Therefore, if we ‘soak’ ourselves in God’s word, we will be sanctified. Jesus says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Further, he says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:16). May Jesus the word made flesh (John 1:14) and the truth free us from all falsehood and all entanglements that we may live new life in a new way.

Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday when we will celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit. We are all encouraged to be drawn to the wonderful celebration. Everyone is invited to participate in a parish spiritual program for the celebration or a personal spiritual exercise. Remember the promise of Jesus, “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the holy Spirit to those who ask him?” (Luke 11:13).

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

 Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47:2-9; Ephesians 1:17-23; Mark 16:15-20

The idea that Jesus was a political messiah remained in the minds of Jesus’ disciples, even up till his last moments on earth. We read in the first reading, “When they had gathered together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?’” I guess that Jesus’ answer astonished them further. He replied to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The disciples might have wondered, “What’s the man talking about? We are talking about the restoration of the kingdom of Israel, and he is talking about the Father and the Holy Spirit and witnessing. What’s the connection?” Perhaps, that was why when Jesus disappeared into the cloud, the apostles stood in bewilderment and gazed intently at the sky until the angels came to minister to them. Then, they returned to Jerusalem and “went to the upper room … [and] devoted themselves with one accord to prayer…” until the descent of the Holy Spirit on them (Acts 1:12-14).  

What does the Ascension of the Lord mean to us?

First, Jesus ascended into heaven and is at the right hand of God interceding for us. In today’s second reading, St. Paul writes, “… the exercise of [God’s] great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens…” (Ephesians 1:19-20).  In Romans 8:34, he writes, “Christ who died, and better still, rose and is seated at the right hand of God, interceding for us?” Jesus himself says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  The author of the Book of Hebrews writes, “Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). 1 John 2:1 tells us, “We have an intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One.”

Second, Jesus says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may be where I am” (John 14:3). Preface of Ascension 1 says, “Mediator between God and man, judge of the world and Lord of hosts, he ascended, not to distance himself from our lowly state but that we, his members, might be confident of following where he, our Head and Founder, has gone before.” We are, therefore, to be ready for his return and go with him. The Lord speaks of his coming in the Book of Revelations, “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed” (Revelations 16:15). “Remains clothed” means to be prepared and to be ready.

Third, Jesus is no longer physically in the world. As his followers, we are to continue his good deeds by witnessing him to the world. He commands us in today’s gospel reading, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Jesus remains in the world through us, who are his disciples, ambassadors, and witnesses. St. Teresa of Avila appeals to us: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

Jesus says, “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” (John 14:12). The works and greater works of Jesus are for us to become his body, his hands, his eyes, and his feet.

Fourth, when Jesus ascended into heaven, the apostles went to the upper room and devoted themselves with one accord to prayer until the descent of the Holy Spirit on them. We are invited to leave the noisy ‘lobby’ go into the quiet “upper room” of prayer, and pray for our personal new Pentecost. St. Paul prays for us in the second reading, “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, …” (Ephesians 1:17-19).

The surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe is as Jesus promises in today’s gospel, “These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons; they will speak new languages; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18). May these signs accompany us as we witness him in the world. Amen.

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B, 2024 BY FR. MARTIN EKE, MSP

 Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; 98:1-4; Psalm 98:1-4; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17

Acts of the Apostles Chapter 10 contains God’s directives that the Good News be preached to non-Jews, the Gentiles. They were to be baptized and welcomed among the believers. God’s directives were through two visions, the vision of Cornelius and the vision of Peter.

Cornelius was a Roman centurion but devout and God-fearing along with his family. His vision was to send for Peter (Acts 10:5-6). Peter’s vision was not to call any person profane or unclean (Acts 10:9-16). In the vision, God directed Peter to accompany the centurion’s messengers without hesitation.

“When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage. Peter, however, raised him up, saying, “Get up. I myself am also a human being” (Acts 10:25-26). Peter’s humility is a challenge to us when we demand appreciation or respect, or recognition. To be appreciated or recognized or respected gives encouragement and gives a good feeling. But when there is a failure of our expectation, let us not be upset or discouraged. God’s appreciation is greater than human’s appreciation. His recognition is greater than human’s recognition. Whatever we are is by God’s grace; not by human thinking! Therefore, humility and goodwill accompany our gifts and talents.

In Cornelius’ house Peter preached, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call any person profane or unclean” (Acts 10:28).  “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation, whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.” There was an immediate effect from Peter’s words. “While [he] was still speaking these things, the holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word.” (Acts 10:34-35, 44-46).

The first reading reminds us of the painful past and present atrocities and evils of racism, tribalism, discrimination, slavery, holocaust, ethnic cleaning, genocide, xenophobia, and so on rooted in prejudiced judgement of fellow human beings as ‘profane,’ ‘unworthy,’ ‘worthless,’ ‘soul-less,’ ‘heathen,’ ‘outcast,’ ‘less human,’ and so on.

Unfortunately, too, sometimes, we discharge unwelcome and biased attitudes on one another in our homes, groups, churches, communities, neighborhoods, places of work, gatherings, institutions, organizations, and so on. The way out of these sins is for us to see one another with eyes of love that see each person as created by God in his image and likeness (Genesis 1:27). For this reason, St. John writes to us in the second reading, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).

The admonition continues in the gospel reading. Jesus says to us, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you” (John 15:9). “This is the commandment: love one another as I love you” (John 15:12). Jesus repeats, “This I command you: love one another” (John 15:17).

Jesus uses himself as an example. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). St. Paul tells us that love does not seek its own interests (1 Corinthians 13:5). Love without sacrifice is like a balloon. It does not endure. May God bless people of goodwill who have made or make various degrees of sacrifices for love of God and human beings.

We hear it often said that love is blind. The saying, in a positive way, means the love that does not discriminate; the love that treats everyone impartially. It is the love that is color blind, status blind, and blind to leanings and inclinations. St. Paul writes, “Let your love be genuine; … love one another with mutual affection …” (Romans 12:9-10).

Let us conclude with this story:

A rabbi once asked his pupils how they could tell when the night had ended and the day had returned. “Could it be,” asked one student, “when you see an animal in the distance and tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?” “No,” answered the rabbi. “Could it be,” asked another student, “when you can look at a tree in the distance, and you can tell whether it is a fig tree or a peach tree?” “No,” replied the rabbi. “Well, when is it then” demanded his students. The rabbi replied, “It is when you look at the face of any man or woman and see that he or she is your brother or sister. If you cannot see that, then no matter what time it is, it is still night!”