FURTHERING OUR EASTER EXPERIENCES OF THE NEW AND RISEN LIFE OF JESUS.............

We like the Apostles and first Disciples are initiated into embracing the fullness of Jesus on this Third Sunday of Easter 2013.  In fidelity to the ministry Jesus commissioned them to carry out, Peter, John, and the other early Christian leaders fervently witnessed to the wholistic Christ, the crucified and the risen Jesus, despite the threat to their own livelihood and well being it presented.  They did so imbued with the Gifts and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit to guide and sustain them.  We too, as Disciples who actively follow the Risen Christ bear the same Grace that God's Spirit bestows on us, to proclaim in Living Faith actions that witness to our belief in our Call to exemplify what it truly means to be Easter People.  The closing chapter of John's Gospel emphasizes that the Paschal Mystery of Jesus' Death and Resurrection is an event to be shared by all people.  Just as our First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles 5:27-32, 40 b-41; speaks to our belief and actions in the Risen Jesus bearing fruits for ourselves and others, so too does Revelation 5:11-14; symbolically present the purpose of the number 7, as the sign of completion and perfection.  Thus the 7 Apostles perfectly represent the complete 12 Apostles ministering in the Faith of the Risen Jesus The Christ.  In the same way the multiplicity of fish caught by the Apostles in the Gospel passage today numbered at 153, mirrors the total number of species of fish Greek zoologists found to exist, underscoring God's Call is to all People, not just some of the World's population.  What this means is that all of us are meant to share in Easter Experiences of Evangelization and Faithful Witnessing.  What we do makes a difference and furthers the spread and effectiveness of the Good News, Christ Is Risen, Alleluia !!!  How will you take that responsibility beyond the walls of Sunday Worship today ?  God's Spirit and the New and Risen Life of Jesus is prompting us to act.  Do so without delay.............Fr.  Troy