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The distinction between the words “real” and “true” may seem to be pedantic and unimportant. I disagree, and I base my judgment on the far more intelligent judgments of two very important figures in my life: JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis (the latter having learned this distinction from the former).

Jesus’ frustration in today’s Gospel reading is obvious— “You got it, but you didn’t get it!” The crowd is basically saying, “We’re back!” And Jesus is saying, “But why?”

I write this because of the ancient principle of the Church: Lex orandi, lex credenda: the way we pray reveals the “what” in which we believe. If we cannot worship together, do we believe together? And is there any more important way of worship (spoiler alert: no) than our celebration of the Eucharist?

This weekend is the “prelude,” so to speak, of the 5-Sunday “interlude” into our Cycle from Mark, when we add 5 Sundays’ worth of the Gospel of John, chapter 6—the “Bread of Life” discourse. We do this, in part, because Mark’s Gospel is too short to cover all of a year’s worth of “Ordinary Time.” But there’s more to it than that, especially for us this year.

There cannot possibly be a better Gospel reading for Missionary Co-op Sunday than today’s, with Jesus sending the disciples out, two-by-two, to prepare the way for His own preaching visits. They were to “take nothing for the journey” (a passage that deeply impacted Francis of Assisi). But in fact they did take something critical for the journey: the authority Jesus gave them—no small item!

The words of this title have “baggage”—they carry connotations that can be positive or negative, based on context. This weekend is a good time to explore the intricacies of grammar and meaning, at least in terms of these words.

This is an unlikely duo to be celebrated together, at least as we read the New Testament. It seems they were regularly at odds, even if and when they could work, if not together, at least not in opposition. But this Tuesday is their great joint Solemnity—the patron saints of the Church in Rome.

Yes, today we honor our Dads, as best we can. We let them grill out (so we can eat, of course!); we let them wear the shirts and shorts and socks they want (so long as we aren’t within 3 miles of them!); we say we love them and give them a present (yes, another tacky tie…). For some of us, the best we can do is trim around the headstones, lay flowers, and pray. But nevertheless: long live Father’s Day!

The Bible is filled with images of trees of paradise, and it’s really worthwhile exploring them for what they reveal.

My suggestion is that any divinity we can totally comprehend is simply not God—it is at best a construct of our imagination, and at worst a ruse to mislead us. I cannot (and therefore do not) try to “explain” the Trinity; I simply adore (love and serve) the Triune God. Although the following words of St Thomas Aquinas were written with regard to the Real Presence in the Eucharist, they apply here, too: Praestet fides supplementum/Sensuum defectui (“Faith stands ready as a helper/When the senses fail to see”).

So for myself, the suggestion I need to follow much more is to turn off my own leaf-blower, to see where the Spirit wills to blow, and follow.

In keeping with the Archbishop’s recommendations and the CDC guidelines, this is what Mass will look like at Our Savior, beginning Pentecost weekend:

Recently, Pope Francis announced the imminent canonization of a number of Beati, or “blesseds”—including Br Charles de Foucauld. He’s not quite on the level of Cardinal Newman or Francis of Assisi or Ignatius Loyola in my personal pantheon of inspired witnesses, but he’s close. Why do I revere him? Why would I want to be at his canonization?

These are random (or not so random) thoughts that I want to share with everyone.

So: Jesus is kalos—beautiful, worthy of imitation, a model. Are we ready also to imitate Him, to let Him be our model? Are we ready to be beautiful?

Let me repeat: if the Resurrection is true, then the Incarnation is true, and the Eucharist is true. And I can pretty well demonstrate to you that the Resurrection is true. “They came to know Him in the breaking of the bread.” Do we?

This weekend we celebrate Divine Mercy—the incomprehensible gift of love that comes to us from God—Father, Son, & Spirit. One of the prayers before Communion at Mass expresses it in this way: “…by the will of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit, through [the Son’s] death [you] gave life to the world…” Our redemption is specifically through Christ, but it is the work of the Blessed Trinity.

Easter has arrived: the day of our salvation in the risen Christ. I want to share some poems with you to celebrate this greatest of days. They come from the 17th century Anglican clergyman and poet, George Herbert. First: “Easter”—

Holy Week is upon us—the most sacred, solemn, and important time of our entire liturgical year. It is the time of marking our atonement and salvation in Christ.

It’s a simple enough request, on the surface: we’d like an introduction to your Master for a get-to-know conversation—can you arrange this for us, please?