Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord It is with great joy to share with you that Pope Francis appointed a new bishop for our diocese. Bishop-elect Erik Pohlmeier is a priest of the Diocese of Little Rock, and currently serves as pastor at Christ the King parish in Little Rock, and as director of the diocese’s continuing education for clergy, the permanent diaconate formation program, and the office of faith formation. Please join me in prayer to welcome the new shepherd of our diocese.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” The sixth Sunday of this Easter Season directs us to the message of the resurrection and the joy it brings. Today’s readings are about the effect of the abiding presence of God in His Church and of His indwelling in each one of us. Particularly, in today’s Gospel Jesus talks to us about Love, Peace and the Advocate – the Spirit of Truth. Our hearts were made for love and peace and will remain restless until we have them. The daily news reminds us each morning of how much our world needs this real peace and love. But love and peace are not things we can just wish into existence; no matter how many songs and poems we write about them, no matter how long we talk about them, we will not truly experience them until we follow the means Jesus describes in the Gospel. As with the new love commandment, this peace is also new. It is not sentimental, complacent, secure, or even conflict-free. It is new because Jesus says, “My peace” is a peace that comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. It is a gift given not in the context of cozy table talk, but on the eve of His death when one friend has already become an enemy and left the companionship of the table, and Jesus is saying goodbyes to those who, with one exception, will fail to stand by Him during the time of His trial and death. He assures them that they should not be afraid but find new courage in His peace. This peace is shalom, the right relationship that flows from our loving union with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
This Sunday, we are brought back to the Last Supper, when Jesus was gathered with His closest companions and opened His heart to them. It was the night when His heart overflowed with love as it never had before. In the five short verses of this Gospel, two words are constantly repeated – glory and love. The Lord speaks to them only after Judas –His disciple who betrayed Him – has gone into the darkness of the night that has totally consumed his soul. This is also time for Jesus’ hour to come – the hour of His glory and love that will become His ultimate self-sacrifice and journey to the resurrection – His new glory, life, and love that He will share with His disciples.
On this beautiful day dedicated to motherhood, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will renew the hearts of all mothers so that they can live out their calling to motherhood with a deeper and more generous love within the daily circumstances of their lives. I pray that the Holy Spirit will fill all women with the gift of love and that they may fully understand their true dignity as daughters of the awesome God of love. “Every vocation to the priesthood comes from the heart of God, but it passes through the heart of a mother” -St. Pius X