WEBVTT 00:00:13.479 --> 00:00:23.359 So that we could come to this day and enjoy it 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:28.679 spiritually, profit from it. We spent no little 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:32.939 time The time of Great Lent, time preparing for 00:00:32.939 --> 00:00:38.939 Great Lent, the time of Holy Week. So that the 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:43.539 spiritual lesson, the spiritual lesson in this 00:00:43.539 --> 00:00:47.320 gospel, that there's a stone over the tomb, the 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:51.179 women are coming to anoint Christ. How will they 00:00:51.179 --> 00:00:54.979 possibly move this stone? It is very great. And 00:00:54.979 --> 00:00:58.039 it's gone when they get there. It's moved by 00:00:58.039 --> 00:01:00.829 the angel. It's not that Christ kind of got up 00:01:00.829 --> 00:01:03.729 and moved the stone. He passed through as he 00:01:03.729 --> 00:01:06.609 came to the apostles in the upper room and the 00:01:06.609 --> 00:01:11.189 doors were locked. The stone was removed. All 00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:14.430 the lessons, the work we did, the hymns we sang, 00:01:14.489 --> 00:01:19.150 the prayers, the vigils, is so that as St. Ignatius, 00:01:19.189 --> 00:01:23.209 this great bishop of the 1800s in Russia said, 00:01:23.370 --> 00:01:30.290 that stone... is a stone of insensibility. Well, 00:01:30.370 --> 00:01:33.629 what's that? Sounds like something you need some 00:01:33.629 --> 00:01:39.390 kind of cream for. The heart, the heart of the 00:01:39.390 --> 00:01:44.569 baptized man, woman, or child is to be the altar 00:01:44.569 --> 00:01:51.530 for God, where he is enthroned. Our body is the 00:01:51.530 --> 00:01:54.329 temple of the Holy Spirit, and within that temple 00:01:54.329 --> 00:01:59.579 is this altar. Insensibility, says Saint Ignatius 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:07.060 Brianchanadov, is when our spiritual feelings 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:12.300 are deadened. When we feel bored when we pick 00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:16.860 up the scripture and we can't concentrate. When 00:02:16.860 --> 00:02:20.759 we have continuous distractions, both within 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:26.030 ourself and from outside. Constant, yes, voluntary 00:02:26.030 --> 00:02:31.449 sins in which we don't oppose ourself. Forgetfulness 00:02:31.449 --> 00:02:36.090 of God, forgetfulness of what it said about Joseph. 00:02:36.169 --> 00:02:42.289 He awaited the kingdom. Inattention, superficial 00:02:42.289 --> 00:02:46.849 attention, boredom with spiritual things, even 00:02:46.849 --> 00:02:49.689 lack of attendance in church, lack of prayer 00:02:49.689 --> 00:02:56.580 at home. That's insensibility. All Lent, we spent 00:02:56.580 --> 00:03:02.020 begging God to remove that stone from the covering, 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:06.479 the heart, so that we could rejoice, so that 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.479 we could get over all of that. We could feel 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:17.680 compassion and mercy and love towards God. That's 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:20.020 what we need to have accomplished to come to 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:24.800 today. Well, as the Lord said about the Pharisees, 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:31.259 whatever they say, do, but as they do, don't 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:35.520 follow them. I'm speaking of myself here. So 00:03:35.520 --> 00:03:38.639 follow what I say, just don't do what I do, and 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:45.400 you'll be fine. Let me get to this gospel now, 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:50.860 having cleared the way spiritually. I'm intrigued. 00:03:51.699 --> 00:03:56.159 I'm always amazed. And I'm very much comforted 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:59.159 that the church gives us such accounts as we 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:01.560 had today. If you were paying attention, you 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:03.659 know, sometimes we don't pay attention during 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:07.099 the gospel reading. But if you were paying attention, 00:04:07.460 --> 00:04:11.699 you heard this amazing ending. The angel spoke 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:15.560 to the women. See the fresco up there? They were 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:18.279 afraid. They were told to speak to the disciples. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:22.579 They went away and said nothing. They did exactly 00:04:22.579 --> 00:04:28.459 the opposite. They were so confused. The church 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:33.519 wants us to return to the experience of Joseph 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:37.060 and Nicodemus, the secret disciple, and the myrrh 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:43.279 bearers because they had lost their hope along 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:48.459 with the apostles. Who were in hiding and did 00:04:48.459 --> 00:04:50.540 not believe the women when they did tell them. 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:58.100 You know, if we don't feel like utter failures 00:04:58.100 --> 00:05:02.319 in our life sometimes, we don't have a very realistic 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:06.300 view. I don't mean all the time. But we follow 00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:09.959 the Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ, who chose 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:15.639 that path to save us. The women and the Apostle 00:05:15.639 --> 00:05:18.560 John, whose memory we celebrate today, were at 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:22.319 the cross at the worst, the most devastating, 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:28.000 disappointing, and dark time. Utter, complete 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:31.620 failure is what it looked like. So if we sometimes 00:05:31.620 --> 00:05:34.660 feel that way, we go to the cross and we see, 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:39.379 Jesus, you passed through that way, and you lift 00:05:39.379 --> 00:05:45.310 us up. The women went to the tomb of Christ out 00:05:45.310 --> 00:05:51.389 of love on that first Pascha. In the darkness. 00:05:54.009 --> 00:05:57.730 Spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and actually. 00:05:58.730 --> 00:06:02.250 Knowing they were unable to roll that stone away. 00:06:02.589 --> 00:06:05.189 Knowing that they could not anoint the body of 00:06:05.189 --> 00:06:07.350 Jesus and that's where they came. They were afraid. 00:06:07.430 --> 00:06:11.149 They were in tremendous grief. But they were 00:06:11.149 --> 00:06:16.949 not timid because they came despite the obstacles 00:06:16.949 --> 00:06:21.569 and they knew the soldiers were there. Those 00:06:21.569 --> 00:06:24.350 women were there from the start of Jesus' ministry. 00:06:26.089 --> 00:06:30.189 They remained with him always to the end. They 00:06:30.189 --> 00:06:32.689 were not only there with him when he was speaking 00:06:32.689 --> 00:06:37.860 and doing miracles and attracting crowds. but 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:43.220 when he was abandoned by everyone else. Our Christian 00:06:43.220 --> 00:06:47.120 life is like that sometimes. They were there 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:49.240 when he was arrested, when he was crucified, 00:06:49.620 --> 00:06:51.939 when he was put on the cross as a criminal. They 00:06:51.939 --> 00:06:54.120 remained at the foot of the cross and stood by 00:06:54.120 --> 00:06:57.819 him as he was taken down. They were there for 00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:01.899 the burial by Joseph and Nicodemus. Then they 00:07:01.899 --> 00:07:05.759 returned to that tomb on Sunday morning before 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:10.670 the dawn. They would not allow fear or threats 00:07:10.670 --> 00:07:14.610 to keep them away from the Lord. And such is 00:07:14.610 --> 00:07:18.589 the nature of our Christian life. Look at that 00:07:18.589 --> 00:07:25.310 fresco. I see three figures, basically. The soldiers, 00:07:25.509 --> 00:07:30.750 the angels, and the women. Look how the soldiers 00:07:30.750 --> 00:07:35.129 are huddled together. What's that tell us? That 00:07:35.129 --> 00:07:40.410 tells us that, yes, The world has power to harm 00:07:40.410 --> 00:07:46.009 and to hurt us. But it means nothing because 00:07:46.009 --> 00:07:49.269 Christ has overcome death, and death does not 00:07:49.269 --> 00:07:52.069 separate us from God, no matter what the threats 00:07:52.069 --> 00:07:54.889 are. Look at the women standing there. They stand 00:07:54.889 --> 00:07:59.610 over those soldiers. Spiritually, those soldiers 00:07:59.610 --> 00:08:03.800 have no power whatsoever over them. The world 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:07.000 has no power over us. Don't think that the world 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:10.199 is going to, at some point, if we are only good 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:13.779 enough or educated enough, things will be great 00:08:13.779 --> 00:08:16.899 and we'll hit some kind of utopia. The world 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:22.160 is in darkness. Men prefer the darkness rather 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:25.839 than the light, says Jesus, our Savior. Expect 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:30.779 it to continue in that way with violence and 00:08:30.779 --> 00:08:35.139 hatred. And craziness. But look at the women. 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:40.559 That's us. Being ministered by the angel. He 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:44.379 is not here. He is risen. Go tell the disciples. 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:49.840 You know, the gospels also don't give us psychological, 00:08:49.899 --> 00:08:54.879 emotional portraits or information. But one might 00:08:54.879 --> 00:09:01.350 claim that even in their grief, They didn't complain 00:09:01.350 --> 00:09:06.529 about and condemn the apostles who weren't there, 00:09:06.690 --> 00:09:09.830 who had abandoned the master. Where are those 00:09:09.830 --> 00:09:12.950 guys anyway when we need them? They all ran away. 00:09:14.850 --> 00:09:18.990 None of that. This tells me that we need also 00:09:18.990 --> 00:09:25.110 to do our Christian duties, our Christian ministry, 00:09:25.289 --> 00:09:29.460 our tasks, to accomplish them. our own ministries 00:09:29.460 --> 00:09:32.559 without worrying about what others are doing 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:39.220 or not doing. You know who you are. Or judging 00:09:39.220 --> 00:09:44.539 them for their lack of devotion. My first point 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:49.179 after all that is to say let us maintain our 00:09:49.179 --> 00:09:54.700 devotion to Jesus Christ to the very end. To 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:59.110 his holy body, the church. Because we love him. 00:10:00.070 --> 00:10:04.230 Because if we love him, we love those that he 00:10:04.230 --> 00:10:09.490 created. And the church is his body. And if there 00:10:09.490 --> 00:10:12.690 are those within his body, and in the creed, 00:10:12.690 --> 00:10:15.250 by the way, what do we say? We say we believe 00:10:15.250 --> 00:10:17.970 in one holy Catholic and apostolic church. We 00:10:17.970 --> 00:10:20.570 believe in it. If there are those within the 00:10:20.570 --> 00:10:23.029 body of the church that may betray the Lord, 00:10:23.230 --> 00:10:28.879 that may be seeking a place out of pride, who 00:10:28.879 --> 00:10:32.240 may deny him, that may be fearful and run off 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:34.460 when the going gets difficult. And I'm only talking 00:10:34.460 --> 00:10:36.600 about the apostles. I'm not even talking about 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:44.639 us. Those within the body have no fear. We remain 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:48.860 in love and focused on Christ and ministering 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:55.110 to his body in love, in action. It's not something 00:10:55.110 --> 00:10:59.009 you can accomplish by thinking about it. Prayerful 00:10:59.009 --> 00:11:02.830 action equals faithfulness. Last week was about 00:11:02.830 --> 00:11:07.769 faith. This week is about faithfulness, which 00:11:07.769 --> 00:11:11.250 leads to knowledge, which leads to trust in God's 00:11:11.250 --> 00:11:14.049 providence, which leads to firm discipleship. 00:11:14.090 --> 00:11:17.570 Do not be timid about your faith, about what 00:11:17.570 --> 00:11:20.190 you can say to others. Don't be arrogant either. 00:11:21.129 --> 00:11:27.210 Be humble. On this Sunday of the Mary bearing 00:11:27.210 --> 00:11:30.929 women and Joseph and Nicodemus, we also have 00:11:30.929 --> 00:11:33.950 this reading from the Acts of the Apostles about 00:11:33.950 --> 00:11:38.350 the institution of the Holy Diaconate. The word 00:11:38.350 --> 00:11:43.389 deacon simply means servant. The Apostle said 00:11:43.389 --> 00:11:50.370 to those gathered, you choose. Seven men of good 00:11:50.370 --> 00:11:56.259 report, good reputation, full of wisdom, and 00:11:56.259 --> 00:11:59.519 full of the Holy Spirit. These were not dummies. 00:12:01.259 --> 00:12:05.659 Just read what St. Stephen says in the next chapters 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:10.840 when he preaches. Deacons were chosen to manage 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:15.500 the charitable work of the church so that the 00:12:15.500 --> 00:12:18.740 apostles could remain. focus on witnessing to 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:21.580 what they saw in Christ, what they heard from 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:24.379 him, and what they knew. That is, it tells us, 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:26.879 the word of God. When you hear the word of God, 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:29.679 you think maybe Bible study? There was no Bible. 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:34.179 It was preaching the word of God, witnessing 00:12:34.179 --> 00:12:37.860 to the kingdom of heaven. Acts chapter 2 tells 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:42.440 us that 3 ,000 converted on the day of Pentecost. 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:48.759 Acts chapter 4 tells us 2 ,000 converted after 00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:51.779 that and so on and so forth. So the deacons were 00:12:51.779 --> 00:12:54.960 not serving meals like they might do in our parish 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:59.559 hall. Thousands of people were being ministered 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:02.679 to. They were managing offerings, food distribution, 00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:06.299 care, love, attention to the many, many poor 00:13:06.299 --> 00:13:10.519 people and the widows and the orphans. Incredible 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:15.149 work. Think about it. Ministry Sunday. That's 00:13:15.149 --> 00:13:17.830 for us today. How it will work out, only God 00:13:17.830 --> 00:13:21.389 can tell us, will show us later. But it's about 00:13:21.389 --> 00:13:24.970 being inspired by the apostles, by the women, 00:13:25.149 --> 00:13:32.370 by the deacons, to care for the church. So we 00:13:32.370 --> 00:13:34.690 read that after the deacons began their ministry, 00:13:34.789 --> 00:13:39.639 what happened? The word of God spread. and the 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:43.039 number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:46.159 And a great many priests, that is Jewish temple 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:51.399 priests, were obedient to the faith. The church 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:56.320 grew. Let's ask ourselves, how are we doing in 00:13:56.320 --> 00:14:02.159 comparison to this reading from Acts? How are 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:06.279 we doing in comparison to the reading from the 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:12.370 Gospel of Mark? Clearly, today's readings, the 00:14:12.370 --> 00:14:15.009 memory of the myrrh bearers, the fact that today 00:14:15.009 --> 00:14:19.710 is Mother's Day, and I congratulate you on that 00:14:19.710 --> 00:14:24.110 precious, admirable, and holy thing that you 00:14:24.110 --> 00:14:30.230 are. This is about today, ultimate examples of 00:14:30.230 --> 00:14:38.169 sacrificial giving. Compelled by, inspired by, 00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:42.779 If Christ is in the heart, if the stone has been 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:46.039 rolled away from us, from the tomb of the heart, 00:14:46.220 --> 00:14:49.879 if we are alive with God's love, then it will 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:52.720 be a healthy sacrificial giving. It will not 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:57.460 be one in which we burn out. It will be from 00:14:57.460 --> 00:15:02.799 God himself. Consistent. Humble service to the 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:05.820 Lord for the building up of his church, for the 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:09.240 care of his body. Not a body in a grave, but 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:12.840 his living, continuing incarnation in the form 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:15.440 of the members of the church by living lives 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:19.759 that bear witness to the victory of the resurrection. 00:15:21.419 --> 00:15:25.379 Over sin, over death, over self -centeredness, 00:15:25.500 --> 00:15:29.320 over laziness, and that we don't have any excuse 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:33.299 now to serve the Lord, the church, our families, 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:36.879 the people around us, every day of our life. 00:15:37.659 --> 00:15:38.860 Christ is risen.