How To Go To Confession - Part 1

How To Go To Confession - Part 2

6th Sunday of Easter

6^th Sunday of Easter A

(29 May 2011)

Fr James McTavish, FMVD

Prepare yourself for a great gift

When you are waiting for a gift as a child a common advice is “Hold out your hands and close your eyes.” The more ambitious you are the wider apart you hold your hands (as it means you are expecting a bigger gift!) In two weeks is coming a huge gift that is so great that the Son of God stretched his arms out wide on the cross for us and for our salvation. What or who is this gift? The Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? Once I went to celebrate a funeral mass for a woman in her 70’s who in her hayday was a Miss Philippines. I talked about the eternal life – the beauty that lasts for ever. Afterwards I asked a friend for some feedback. “How was the homily?” I asked him. He replied “the Holy Spirit is a great guy!” I think and hope he was telling me that the Holy Spirit through the preaching was able to touch the heart of each person. Or maybe my homily was so bad that he was telling me in a roundabout way! The liturgy of the Church today is all about the Holy Spirit because in two weeks we will celebrate Pentecost but we need time to prepare our hearts to receive such a great gift.

If we are able to talk about who is the Holy Spirit we have to give thanks to the so-called Capadoccian Fathers. There were three of them - Basil the Great, his brother Gregory of Nyssa and their friend Gregory Nazianzen. They came from a region called Cappadocia (modern day Turkey) and lived in the 4^th century. At that time some doubted that the Holy Spirit was really God but the Capadoccian fathers fought for the divinity of the Holy Spirit. They said that if he is not God that we can never be sanctified. Eventually they won and their doctrine was incorporated into the creed of Nicea-Constantinople “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, with the Father and Son he is worshipped and glorified and has spoken through the prophets.” The second reading of today (1 Peter 3. 15-18) asks us to give reasons for our faith if we are asked. Thanks Capadoccian Fathers for your hard work and perseverance and for giving reasons for the faith of the Church in the Holy Spirit.

Each one of us has to be ready to give reasons for our faith. Many parents are often asked challenging questions by curious children. Great! It is a chance for them to fulfil the promise they made at the baptism of their children to be responsible for their child’s education in the faith. And for those who are able, or who are more able, how wonderful when you see Christians who can explain why the Church says what she does on some issues as euthanasia. Each and every Christian has a responsibility to be able to share the faith of the Church. We must not just leave it to others. Remember that evil happens when good people do nothing. Do I study my faith so I can give an explanation of the hope I live in?

The first reading today (Acts 8, 5-8. 14-17) )describes the work of the early Church in spreading the Gospel. Philip is in Samaria doing great things – miracles, driving out evil spirits and curing paralytics and cripples. The people were so happy that “the rejoicing rose to fever pitch”! Wow, sounds like a real party going on down there. When a person starts to listen to the Word of God similar things happen. Maybe before the person was paralysed, inactive in their faith. Sometimes vices can be paralysing like gambling or drinking – they can really cripple family life. When people live with hatred and a lack of forgiveness these are modern day evil spirits which need to be driven out. What evil spirits do we live with? Maybe the voice of pessimism “I will never change” or “I cannot get out of this mess.” Don’t think the devil only goes round with a cape and two red horns – often the bad spirit will work in our thoughts. The gospel can help us to become much stronger as people. I have met so many people in twelve years as a missionary, working in different countries, whose lives really change and undergo a “miracle” as they start to listen to the Word of God, praying with it and trying to live it out.

The Holy Spirit which Jesus promises us comes to help us in our needs. Jesus calls him the Paraclete which means helper, guide and comforter - "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.” (See John 14:15-21) The Paraclete will comfort us, console us and of course give us strength for the battle. One main task of the Spirit in us is to help us to pray.

One Saint who understood this is St Patrick, the patron of Ireland. Once he had a vision of the Holy Spirit praying inside of him, strengthening him. He wrote about it in his Confessions (dated 450AD) “And on a second occasion I saw Him praying within me, and I was as it were, inside my own body , and I heard Him above me - that is, above my inner self. He was praying powerfully with sighs. And in the course of this I was astonished and wondering, and I pondered who it could be who was praying within me. But at the end of the prayer it was revealed to me that it was the Spirit. And so I awoke and remembered the Apostle's words: 'Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we know not how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for utterance.' And again: 'The Lord our advocate intercedes for us.'” How great to know the Paraclete helps us to pray! (See Romans 8, 26). Thanks St Patrick for that amazing insight and sharing your experience of the Spirit with us. May each one of us do our part to make the Spirit more known and loved.

So let us prepare our hearts each day and especially as we approach Pentecost to receive a most wonderful and precious gift, the Holy Spirit. Amen.

VI Pascua, REFLEXION Evangelio Semanal

Yo soy tu defensor (Misa de los jóvenes)

P. Luis José Tamayo

“Yo le pediré al Padre que os dé otro defensor, que esté siempre con vosotros, el Espíritu de la verdad. El mundo no puede recibirlo, porque no lo ve ni lo conoce; vosotros, en cambio, lo conocéis, porque vive con vosotros y está con vosotros.” Juan 14, 15-21

Llevamos todo este tiempo de Pascua diciendo que Jesús busca afirmar su presencia en la Iglesia de una forma nueva. El sabía que después de la resurrección ya no le íbamos a tener entre nosotros como hombre sino que su humanidad gloriosa iba a tomar otra presencia. Jesús nos prometió estar presente en nuestro corazón con el Espíritu Santo.

Jesús en el Evangelio de hoy nos habla de la promesa de un defensor que estará siempre con nosotros. Y así fue. El pidió al Padre que nos enviara al Espíritu Santo que es el que nos asiste y protege a la Iglesia. A veces lo hace hasta de forma milagrosa: El otro día alguien me decía de forma irónica: Realmente yo creo en la existencia del Espíritu Santo que guía y protege a la Iglesia… por que a pesar de todas las meteduras de pata de los curas, la Iglesia sigue existiendo.

Y quien no ha sentido que Dios, como defensor, protege también tu vida y de una forma especial te ha sacado adelante en una enfermedad, te ha protegido de una calamidad, o te ha sacado milagrosamente de un accidente. Yo mismo, cuando era un chaval tenía una moto vespa, y la verdad, creo que conducía un poco alocado… siempre me ha gustado la velocidad, la sensación de chaval de ir por la carretera adelantando a los coches… bueno… Mi madre siempre me decía, con lo alocado que vas tu tienes a tu ‘ángel de la guarda’ agotado, haciendo siempre horas extras.

¿Quién no ha tenido una experiencia de sentirse con dificultad y en un momento dado ser defendido por alguien? Los sentimientos que salen cuando eres defendido son los de gratitud y fortaleza. Hoy día es muy común enviar a un hijo a estudiar al extranjero por un año entero. Pero hace 25 años atrás no era tan común. Recuerdo que cuando tenía 17 años mi madre quería mandarme a estudiar a USA pese a la oposición de otros miembros de la familia. ¿Estas segura de lo que haces? Siempre escucho a mi madre como la gente le ponía reparos, sin embargo, ella siempre salía en mi defensa… es una experiencia única, seguro que lo va a aprovechar al máximo… etc. A mi me llenaba de satisfacción encontrar a mi madre que salía en mi defensa y me apoyaba en todo aquello que fuera para mi crecimiento y formación.

En cuanto a la fe, cuando Jesús nos prometió que el enviaría al Espíritu Santo como tu Defensor, era justamente para apoyar y defender tu vida de fe, el crecimiento y madurez como cristiano. El Espíritu Santo es defensor de tu integridad como persona, defiende el amor que hay en tu corazón. Jesús le llama el Espíritu de la verdad. Y dice en el Evangelio El mundo no lo ve ni lo conoce; vosotros, en cambio, lo conocéis, porque vive con vosotros y está con vosotros.”

Hablando con un chaval hace poco, me contó una experiencia que me llamó la atención: estaba en una fiesta en un local, lleno de chavales de su edad, la mayoría gente del colegio. Gente maja, chavales y chavalas de buenos colegios. Cuando salieron unos amigos a fumar un pitillo, entre ellos había uno que sacó unas pastillas del bolsillo y les ofreció. Eran éxtasis. El chaval me dijo que sintió una voz por dentro muy fuerte diciéndole, sal de ahí, no te metas en ese lío, déjales. Y me contaba que así lo hizo. Se fue como si nada. El me contaba que sintió que era una voz interior protegiéndole del lío. Y es que el Espíritu de Dios sabe bien protegernos, pues sólo busca que disfrutes la vida de una forma sana.

¡Cuántas veces cuando uno se ha enfadado con sus padres por un ataque de orgullo, uno siente como esa voz interior que te empuja a pedir perdón! Y cuando lo haces te llena de satisfacción y alegría. El Espíritu es el de la fortaleza, el de la alegría, el del entusiasmo… Cuántas veces cuando uno quiere tirar la toalla, y sientes al Espíritu trabajando dentro de tu corazón como una ráfaga de ánimo y fortaleza que te lleva a seguir luchando y dar pasos hacia delante…

Por eso Jesús dijo: Yo me voy, pero no os dejaré solos, os prometo un Defensor… El Espíritu que defenderá el amor en tu corazón, que llevará la verdad en tu vida por delante, que te ayudará a alcanzar la madurez como persona y, en definitiva, como cristiano. vosotros, en cambio, lo conocéis, porque está con vosotros.

No sofoques la voz del Espíritu en tu corazón, no lo acalles!

V Pascua, REFLEXION Evangelio Semanal

“Yo soy el camino, la verdad y la Vida. Presencia en la oración”

P. Luis J. Tamayo

En aquel tiempo, dijo Jesús a sus discípulos: «…Que donde estoy yo, estéis también vosotros. Y adonde yo voy, ya sabéis el camino.»

Tomás le dice: «Señor, no sabemos adónde vas, ¿cómo podemos saber el camino?» Jesús le responde: «Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida. Nadie va al Padre, sino por mí. Si me conocéis a mí, conoceréis también a mi Padre. (Juan 14, 1-12 )

Vamos explicando en todos estos domingos de Pascua que cuando Jesús resucitado dice: “YO SOY!” Jesús mismo quiere reafirmar su presencia en la Iglesia de una forma nueva. Ya no le vemos en la carne de la humanidad sino que su humanidad gloriosa toma otra presencia que supera nuestros esquemas. El resucitado está presente en la historia, en la Iglesia, de una forma nueva. Jesús está presente (ver los domingos anteriores de Pascua) en el sacramento de la reconciliación, en medio de la Comunidad de fe y por medio del sacerdote. En este domingo Jesús nos dice: Yo me hago presente por medio de la oración.

La oración es el deseo de Jesús del encuentro personal: que “donde estoy yo, estéis también vosotros”. El encuentro de corazón a corazón. Cuando hay amor lo que quieres es estar con la persona amada. Recuerdo, hace años, el día que marchaba a filipinas de misiones. En el aeropuerto, al despedirme de mi madre, sentí como si ella se hubiese querido venir conmigo. Así es el amor, que le cuesta la distancia, que llora la separación. El amor desea la cercanía, la presencia del amado.

Es lógico que uno le pregunte al resucitado lo mismo que los discípulos: ¿dónde estás para estar yo contigo? En el silencio de la oración, presente en tu corazón, y como diría algún santo: en los latidos de tu corazón.

Jesús afirma su presencia en la oración diciendo: “Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida. Nadie va al Padre, sino por mí”. Yo soy el camino al Padre.

San Agustín añadía en boca de Jesús: “Yo soy el camino que conduce a la verdadera vida”. Esta mañana hemos ido a ver una casa de espiritualidad de las Agustinas, y a la entrada tenían un gran cartel de palabras de San Agustín (de las Confesiones): “Nos hiciste Señor para Ti, e inquieto está nuestro corazón hasta que descanse en Ti”. Él es el camino que conduce a la verdadera vida. Él es el camino que conduce al verdadero descanso.

Pero fijaos es sorprendente que el camino no lo inicia el hombre, sino que es él quien da el primer paso, que tiene la iniciativa, que inicia el camino. El Catecismo, haciendo referencia al encuentro de Jesús con la Samaritana, lo expresa muy bien (n. 2560) “Cristo va al encuentro de todo ser humano, es el primero en buscarnos y el que nos pide de beber (…) La oración es el encuentro de la sed de Dios y de la sed del hombre.” La oración no es sólo el esfuerzo del camino que yo tengo que hacer, sino que es un camino donde el da el primer paso y me toma de la mano para caminar.

5th Sunday of Easter

Don’t be afraid to ask directions!

Fr James McTavish, FMVD

St Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, was a man who discovered many secrets of the spiritual life in a self-imposed exile in a cave. He learned to discover the movements of the Spirit within and eventually produced his now famous, spiritual exercises. Many people have benefited from the insights of St Ignatius by attending Ignatian retreats. The focus of such a retreat is to put order in the inner life. Sometimes we are a little disordered externally because inside is a little chaotic! If you listen to the love life or emotional life of many people today it is quite disordered! Why? It can often be a reflection that inside all is not quite in order.

One important insight that St Ignatius had was the importance of asking. This may seem rather obvious and it is often overlooked. How vital it is on our Christian lives. Often we limit our asking to asking only for material gains – but we have to ask will this actually help us to love God and our neighbour more when we already have more than we need and are still not satisfied. Maybe it is better to ask for a sense of gratitude for all we already have and the gift of knowing how to enjoy it more. We should never be afraid to see what is lacking in us and then to present our petitions to God.

In the gospel of John today (John 14, 1-12) the disciples are asking Jesus all sorts of things and he responds to them. Thomas tells Jesus that he does not know the way and Jesus gives him that well known reassurance “I am the Way.” Surely a prayer that our Father will endeavour to respond to is when we ask to be able to follow Jesus more in our everyday lives. Asking helps you not to get lost. They say, well most women say, that men do not like to ask. They say that men would rather be lost, struggling to find their way with the map, than ask directions. We should try hard to overcome this tendency as we do not know the way to heaven by ourselves!

When Jesus says he is the Way it reminds us that he became man for us and for our salvation. Everything he said, lived and suffered is for us and for our salvation. The challenge for us is to live the very mysteries of Christ’s life in our flesh, or rather to let him live them in us. It is not just to look at Jesus and admire him. He wants us to join him. There is a film by Woody Allen where a bored woman goes to the cinema to watch a film about a handsome man who is dancing. Every time the man is searching for a partner she cries as she wishes it could be her. The amusing thing is she goes to watch the film every day until one day – a big surprise. The protagonist of the film steps out of the screen and invites her into the film to dance with her. In a sense, this is when we really start to grow in our following of Christ –when we don’t merely remain as spectators but we really enter into the drama. That is why Jesus makes the invite to those who love him, “Follow me!” This invite is ever relevant for every follower even today because the Lord is alive.

Of course we have a lot to learn so that we can truly let him live in us and love in us. One thing is fascinating – life takes on a new meaning when we really make an effort to follow the way Christ shows us. It is not that we totally change and become holy in one instant but every step counts. He can build us up step by step or brick by brick. In fact in the second reading today (1 Peter 2, 4-9) St Peter says “like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.” And Jesus is a wise builder – he can use every experience even the ones that we find negative or would want to reject for not being of good enough quality – “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This refers first and foremost to Jesus as he was the first one to be rejected but it also applies to the way he works. He is the world’s greatest recycler! Even our sins, which really are our garbage, when it is presented to him can be transformed by his mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation, and actually make us more humble and stronger people.

How can we know the answers to the questions we have then? Why to keep asking if there are no ready answers? The first reading gives us a clue – the disciples dedicated themselves to the Word of God – “they dedicated themselves to prayer and ministry of the Word” (see Acts 6, 1-7). How many treasures and pearls there are hidden in the Word of God. How many answers to the many questions we have are hidden there. Will we spend some time each day reading the Scripture? How about increasing your prayer time by 5 minutes each day? Don’t say you don’t have time. An easy solution is to take 5 minutes off our TV time or Facebook time! Wow, that can be a real sacrifice. Good luck and I wish you well.

Don’t be afraid to ask directions – God has given us a Way in Jesus. There is no need to be lost any longer, just follow the Way indicated. Of course, to really know the way we need to pray, to spend time daily with God’s word. If not we reach old age singing the old song of Frank Sinatra “And now, I’ve reached the end, I did it my way”! Let us not do it our way but God’s way – and this is to follow Jesus, the Way. Amen.

The Gospel explained

JMJ / WYD 2011 Madrid

REFLECTION Sunday´s Gospel

4^th Sunday Easter A (15 May 2011) Fr James McTavish, FMVD

We have a good shepherd!

I remember once being at school and feeling totally lost. I was a new boy in the school and felt alone. I remember making a prayer to Jesus to help me and immediately after a fellow pupil approached me who was later to become a great friend. In Jesus, we really have a good shepherd who knows us, who knows all our needs and when we are lost he comes to find us. He will leave the 99 sheep of the flock in search of the lost one and when he finds it he carries it joyfully home on his shoulders. How many times Jesus the good shepherd has come to rescue us – in that moment of being lost in sadness and he sends a friend to cheer us up, or going astray like a lost sheep and we encounter a person like a teacher or a priest who can give us good advice to set us on the right track again.

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday and it is also a day when we pray for vocations. How great to respond to our vocations, the vocation we all received in our baptism. We are not meant to be lost sheep all our lives but can enjoy participating with Jesus as shepherds. Two days ago we celebrated the lives of three little shepherds – Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia, the little shepherds of Fatima. They were only 7, 9 and 10 years old so age is no barrier to being a shepherd. Sometimes in our modern world we struggle to envisage what it is like to be a shepherd as the only sheep we see are on TV or in the movies. Recently I went on a pastoral visit to Australia and was able to visit a real Aussie sheep farm. It is hard work to be a shepherd!

Each one of us has sheep that are entrusted to us. If you are a parent then perhaps you have little sheep to take care of to nourish in the faith. Some occupations really have shepherding as a component like being a teacher and having to guide a flock of school kids. Even some of our friends and relatives can be like lost sheep. It is interesting that often people are “lost” do not at first appear to be so. I met a man at a birthday dinner. I asked him how he was. He told me he was fine. He was well dressed, had a gold watch and was smiling. Then he reassured me that he was fine which I found interesting as it was as if he was trying to convince himself not me. Before we sat down at the table he said “Really my life is fine.” I told him that that was great. When we were at the table he said “Actually just between us two, my life is a total mess.” Many people are lost in money, lost in vices like alcohol or gambling, lost because they do not know what their life is for. We all need a shepherd to guide us!

Jesus declares himself to be the good shepherd because there are many bad shepherds around. He said “I am the good Shepherd and the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.” The figure of God being a shepherd was very common in the old Testament and we are all quite familiar with the famous psalm 23 – “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” We have a good shepherd in Jesus, who suffered for us. The second reading today declares that “Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:21-25)

Let us be joyful this day. We may be a little foolish at times and go astray like lost sheep but we have a good shepherd who is vigilant, who loves us and cares for us. He will give his life for us. Let us show that gratitude by trying to be shepherds to others remembering what he said to Peter “If you love me, feed my sheep.” Amen.

IV Domingo de Pascua

Yo soy el Buen Pastor. La fe en los sacerdotes como puerta abierta al encuentro con Cristo.

P. Luis J. Tamayo

Desde el Domingo de resurrección hasta Pentecostés tenemos los 7 domingos que dura la Pascua. Ya os comenté que para este tiempo quiero proponer un camino en el que podamos renovar y confirmar nuestra fe en la presencia del resucitado en la Iglesia. A través de la afirmación contundente de Jesús resucitado cuando dice: YO SOY! El busca reafirmar su presencia en la Iglesia de una forma nueva.

Si hace dos domingos Jesús afirmaba su presencia mediante el “Yo soy la divina misericordia” (Jn20, 19-31) y la posibilidad de encontrarle vivo en el mismo sacramento de la reconciliación, el domingo pasado afirmaba su presencia en nuestras comunidades de fe mediante el “Yo estoy (soy) en medio de la Comunidad” (Lc24, 13-35).

Este domingo, Jesús afirma su presencia en la vida de la Iglesia de una forma preciosa, como pastor de su rebaño, por medio del sacerdote cuando dice: “Yo soy el Buen Pastor” (Jn10, 1-10). Hablando del buen pastor. Jesús dice: “las ovejas atienden a su voz, y él va llamando por el nombre a sus ovejas y las saca fuera. Cuando ha sacado todas las suyas, camina delante de ellas, y las ovejas lo siguen, porque conocen su voz; a un extraño no lo seguirán, sino que huirán de él, porque no conocen la voz de los extraños”.

Este texto es una llamada tanto para la fe de los fieles en el sacerdote, como para el sacerdote en el encargo de su ministerio. Si para el sacerdote nos pide caminar por delante, por medio de la palabra y las obras, dando ejemplo y animando - como una puerta abierta de encuentro hacia Dios; para los fieles es importante ver en el sacerdote aquel a quien pedir consejo, o donde acudir en busca de luz, apoyo o ánimo. El pastor debe de conocer a sus ovejas, pero la oveja debe dejarse conocer.

Muchas veces me ha ayudado a valorar más mi vocación al sacerdocio, el aprecio y valor que otras personas me han mostrado. Yo ya intentaba valorar mi vocación, pero he llegado a ver seglares con tanto amor y aprecio por el sacerdocio que para mi ha sido siempre motivo de conversión. En mi primera misa, después de ordenado, cuando tuve el “besa manos” y vi a esa madre que me besaba las manos con tanta reverencia… o aquella persona que me dijo: “Padre nunca abandone su ministerio, no sabe la necesidad de sacerdotes que tenemos. Rezaré por usted siempre. Usted es representante de Cristo”.

Pio XII en la encíclica Mediator Dei dice: “El ministro posee en verdad el papel del mismo sacerdote, Cristo Jesús… goza de la facultad de actuar por el poder de Cristo mismo a quien representa”. Y el Catecismo (n.1549) nos enseña que “por el ministerio ordenado, especialmente por el de los obispos y los presbíteros, la presencia de Cristo como cabeza de la iglesia se hace visible en medio de la comunidad de los creyentes”.

Estas palabras de Jesús son una invitación a poner nuestra confianza en el sacerdote, no sólo como la cabeza visible de la comunidad de fe, como algo distante que celebra los sacramentos y nos sirve, sino como un don de Dios para el crecimiento de tu vida cristiana, como una puerta siempre abierta de acceso al encuentro con Dios, como un regalo para ti como muestra del amor de Dios, como un acompañante para la vida de fe… si de hecho estamos en los momentos más importantes de la vida de ana persona, desde que nace por el bautismo, luego la primera comunión, la confirmación, el matrimonio, cuando uno está enfermo, y en la muerte… La pena es que uno relegue la presencia del sacerdote en su vida sólo a estos pocos momentos. ¿Y por que no traer al sacerdote al día-día de la familia? Que bonito cuando se le invita a bendecir una casa, a participar de una comida familiar, a ver un partido de futbol, o a salir a montar en bicicleta. Así como Dios te muestra su amor poniendo a tu alcance a la persona de Cristo por medio del sacerdote, tu también puedes expresarle tu amor Dios por medio de cuidar a tus sacerdotes.

Para concluir, el Catecismo dice una cosa preciosa (n.1550) “Esta presencia de Cristo en el ministro no debe ser entendida como si éste estuviese exento de todas las flaquezas humanas... Si bien Dios garantiza en él su presencia viva y real por medio del sacramento, también es cierto que el sacerdote es un ser humano, y por lo tanto con flaquezas. Quizás si esto lo entendiéramos, nuestra labor sería más que la de criticar, la de apoyar, sumar, ayudar en la labor apostólica de la comunidad parroquial. El sacerdote no lo puede hacer todo, se cansa, como cualquier otro. Qué grande es sentir que uno ayuda a Cristo cuando se pone a disposición del sacerdote de su parroquia o comunidad para cualquier labor.

- Para los próximos domingos nos queda ver las afirmaciones de Jesús: Yo soy el camino, la verdad y la vida Jn14, 1-2 (la oración); Yo soy tu defensor (dirección espiritual); Yo estoy (soy) con vosotros todos los días Jn14, 15-21 (el apostolado) (la Ascensión); y, finalmente, Yo soy quien os envío de la mano del Espíritu Jn20, 19-23 (Pentecostés).