I'm Getting into Bad Habits!!!!

Well folks, so sorry for the late posts! I was traveling for most of the time in between posts and then hit the ground running upon my return to Mexico.  So, what happened over the past few weeks?

Well, I went to St. Louis to attend Provincial Council meetings.  The meetings were long, but fruitful.  I am always happy to begin them, and after 2.5 days, very happy to finish with them!  I like to go to St. Louis because I am able to catch up with friends, community members, see doctors, and be a priest in English at the parish!  The pic above is the Cathedral.  Our Provincial Offices are right around the corner from the Cathedral.  I was on a lunch break and trying to get my "steps" in after sitting for hours and thought it would be good to take a picture of this space. 

I was very happy to be able to spend some time with my friend Becky and her husband Mike and my friend Fr. Tom one evening.  We sat around the kitchen and had a few drinks and "heavy pupus" (appetizers) as they say in Hawaii.  It was great to share stories and memories and to talk Catholic education "shop" with other long time educators.  I've known Becky since 1993 when I first went to LIFE Camp at Tecaboca outside of San Antonio, TX.  We shared many a long meeting and long hot 12 days at camp together over the years. 

Saturday night I was able to attend a reception at the parish that was the official Kick Off of the Capital Campaign for the parish.  Fr. Tom and his team have been working diligently for almost a year now to raise the funds necessary to make the needed improvements to the parish.  Now, the parish is in the "official" phase of the Campaign.  It was a great opportunity to see so many people.  Almost everyone came up to me and said, "Father, it is so good that you are here. What are you doing in town?" To which I responded, "I heard there was a party at Pillar!"  I was told by more than one person, that going to a party was very Marianist! 

The next day I had the 7am Mass and the people were very happy to see me, although some let me know that I cut into their sleep time with all my Amens!

Later that morning I hopped on a plane and headed to Orlando to visit with my dad.  I was in Orlando until Friday morning.  The weather was perfect.  I walked every morning and actually laid out by the pool one day.  I took my dad out to lunch 2 days and then visited after lunch another day.  As I said in an earlier post, it is just different visiting my dad now.  He has really adapted well to his new living space, but now he is very scheduled, and anything that goes against his schedule becomes worrisome for him.  So, I have to adapt.... The plus side was that I did get to spend some time with my brother Jimmy, his wife Donna and two of their children, Abigail and Jimmy.  The oldest, Emma, is rarely home.  She is your typical young adult, trying to juggle work, school, commitments and social life all at once.  We had some good times just talking and catching up on The Big Bang Theory and the survivalist show, Naked and Afraid.  So you can only imagine the conversations we were having!

I returned to Mexico on Friday afternoon only to face our typical Friday eve, Saturday classes with our professor.  Friday night was very difficult for me.  Change of time and travel all day to sit in a class in Spanish for three hours was almost more than I could bare....but bare I did! A good nights rest found me much better the next day.  After class we all ate La Comida together and then I needed to walk for a bit.  After my walk, I sat down to prepare the homily for Sunday.  I celebrated the 9:30am Mass on Sunday morning and I could hear some people saying, "Es Padre Amen" (It's Fr. Amen)

The beginning of this week found me tending to usual chores, laundry, food shopping, cooking, getting my haircut and preparing for me next trip to......Lima, Peru!   Yes, tomorrow I am headed to Lima, Peru for a meeting of Latin American Educators who work in Marianist sponsored schools in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador.  I will travel with another Mexican brother and we will meet up with an additional Mexican brother who is currently completing an internship with our schools in Peru.  I am very excited!  Br. Juan Pablo and I will spend some time traveling and visiting some of our schools in Lima and also doing some "touristy" things.  The conference begins next Thursday and will be held at a retreat center.  I am looking forward to meeting other lay and religious men and women who work at our schools in the various countries where we have membership.  My brain will certainly be on "overload" with translating, but I think I will be okay.  As I've said before, it is always an act of humility when I open my mouth to communicate in Spanish!  I am hoping that we will have internet service so that I can post while I am there, if not, you will have to wait until my return.

So, have a great week all!  Keep me in your prayers as I travel to yet another country!  So far since I've arrived in Mexico I have visited Colombia, Ivory Coast, and now Peru!  My passport is really getting a workout!  Many hugs and peace.

Homily Fifth Sunday of Easter

Morning Church! Happy Easter!!! Yes, we are still celebrating the season of Easter.  The Church provides us with fifty days of inspiring stories of faith so that we can live our faith fully and inspired, Amen?  Now, you all know the difference between a noun and a verb, right? A noun is a person, place or thing.  A verb is an action word.  Many people think that Catholic is a noun.  Well, yes, a Catholic describes a person, so in fact it is a noun.  But, may I suggest that Catholic is also a verb.  Too many Catholics live their faith like it’s a noun, like it describes something.  That is far too passive.  We Catholics need to live our faith like it’s a verb, like we are people of action, Amen?  We need to be active.  The Easter Season is all about action.  If we are to be an Easter people, then we must be nouns and verbs, Amen?

And so, what are the verbs presented to us today in the Word of God? Are you ready?  Do you really want to know?  Okay, here goes….the Word of God challenges us to commit, to renew, and to love.  What are the three action words?  COMMIT, RENEW, LOVE.  Turn to the person next to you and tell them the words…..COMMIT, RENEW, LOVE.  You are doing great Church!

I love the Easter season because we have the chance to hear most of the Acts of the Apostles.  The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of what happened when scared, tired, lonely, insecure disciples of Jesus were enlivened by the action of the Holy Spirit.  They changed their lives and perspectives to be on fire with faith, energetic in preaching the word, confident, and never alone because they had one another and the promise of the Holy Spirit.  The disciples continued the work that Jesus started.  They fulfilled the mission because they COMMIT to a new way of life.  They gave their lives to the mission of Jesus.  They endured hardships and sacrifice, beatings and ridicule, misunderstanding and disagreements even among themselves, but they did not give up! They were committed! To whom and what are you committed? For whom and what do you sacrifice in your life? What are you committed to this Easter Season?  I think Catholics are much better at celebrating Lent than we are at celebrating Easter.  Easter is a commitment to joy.  Easter is a commitment to hope.  Easter is a commitment to possibilities.  Are you an Easter Catholic?  Are you a verb or are you a noun? We commit to someone or something.  It demands an action.  Parents, are you committed to having your children grow in their faith?  Are you committed to being an example to them by attending Mass and celebrating the sacraments of the Church?  If you don’t do it, your children will not do it either.  Children can spot hypocrisy a kilometer away.  Paul and Barnabus endured trial and hardships for the faith.  The preached to others who did not want to hear their message, and still to others who wanted to kill them for their message.  Paul and Barnabus were committed.  They kept the faith.  They did something.  Will you?  So, what is the first verb for today?  COMMIT

The next verb for an Easter people is RENEW. Turn to the person next to you and say, the word is RENEW It reminds us that every day is a new creation.  Every day we have a new possibility to live our lives in a new way.  Every day, we can change old attitudes in for new and improved attitudes.  The Book of Revelation gives us a wonderful vision: A new heaven and a new earth.  The writer takes concepts that the people understood, heaven and earth and stated that when we live a life in Christ we can envision a new heaven and a new earth.  New possibilities.  Better relationships with one another.  A caring community.  A place where all needs are met. A vision of hope and possibilities.  A vision that builds upon former concepts and makes them better.  That is a wonderful image for ourselves….that God wants to renew us.  God wants to take who we are and make better versions of who we already are.  God see’s the potential and possibility in each one of us.  This is the vision that God has for our lives.  When we RENEW, we imagine ourselves differently.  So, what do you need to RENEW in your life?  Is it your image of yourself?  Your marriage? Your commitment to a project? Your relationship with your teenagers? Your relationship with elderly parents?  Catholic is a verb.  What will you RENEW to live your life as a verb?  At the end of the reading we hear the promise that, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.”  The One who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”  That is quite a promise, Amen? And so what is the second verb for today? RENEW

And finally we come to our last verb.  Can you remember the word?  LOVE.  A small word with a powerful meaning, Amen?  Turn to the person next to you and say, “I know about love.” This small word can be so difficult at times, Amen?  If we are to be an Easter people, we have to live our Catholic faith as a verb and love others, Amen?  Jesus even goes as far as telling his disciples that love is not a suggestion, it is a commandment!  A commandment! So Catholics have eleven commandments, Amen?  The Ten Commandments given to Moses by God and the Eleventh Commandment given to us by Jesus: Love one another.  And Jesus just does not say to love in a romantic way.  He tells his disciples and he tells us, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”  And how did Jesus love his disciples?  He saw the good qualities in each of them.  He forgave them when they did not understand or did not do things correctly.  He remained faithful to them when they were not faithful to him.  He gave his life for them.  Now that is some kind of love, Amen?  That’s what the Eleventh Commandment is all about.  It is a sacrificial love that does not expect anything in return.  Wow!!!  Like anything else in life, LOVE takes practice.  Sometimes we LOVE well, and other times we do not.  The Easter Season is a reminder of one of the basics of our faith- LOVE.  If we call ourselves Catholics and we do not LOVE others, then we are liars and hypocrites, then we dishonor the name of Jesus.  Yes, those are strong words, but the small word of love holds much power and expectation.  Jesus commanded us to love one another.  It was not a suggestion.  If we are to be Catholics who are verbs and nouns then we must put our words into action, Amen?  And so what is the last verb for today? LOVE

The Easter season prepares us to be Catholics who are nouns and verbs.  We need to be both in our life.  The Easter season is a time of joy, hope, possibility and promise.  The way in which these words become a reality in our own lives is if we live our faith as verbs.  We will see joy, hope, possibility and promise when we COMMIT, RENEW AND LOVE, AMEN? This is the season of action, what will you do today to be a person of action? When we live in Christ, action is not a challenge but a commandment, Amen? Go do something good for the Lord today!

Homilía Quinto Domingo de Pascua

Buenos días Iglesia! ¡¡¡Felices Pascuas!!! Sí, todavía estamos celebrando la temporada de Pascua. La Iglesia nos ofrece con cincuenta días de inspiradoras historias de fe para que podamos vivir nuestra fe y totalmente inspirados, Amén? Ahora, todos ustedes saben la diferencia entre un sustantivo y un verbo, ¿verdad? Un sustantivo es una persona, lugar o cosa. Un verbo es una palabra de acción. Mucha gente piensa que es un sustantivo Católica. Bueno, sí, un católico describe a una persona, por lo que en realidad se trata de un sustantivo. Pero, puedo sugerir que católica es también un verbo. Demasiados católicos viven su fe como si fuera un sustantivo, como se describe algo. Eso es demasiado pasiva. Nosotros los católicos necesitamos para vivir nuestra fe como si fuera un verbo, como somos gente de acción, Amén? Tenemos que estar activo. El tiempo de Pascua es todo acerca de la acción. Si queremos ser un pueblo Pascual, entonces debemos ser sustantivos y verbos, Amén?

Y así, cuáles son los verbos que se nos presenta hoy en la Palabra de Dios? ¿Están listo? ¿Realmente Uds. quieren saber? De acuerdo, aquí va ... la Palabra de Dios nos desafía a comprometerse, renovar, y amar. ¿Cuáles son las tres palabras de acción? COMPROMETERSE, RENOVAR,  AMAR. Gira a la persona a tu lado y les dirá las palabras ... ..COMPROMETERSE, RENOVAR, AMAR. Que están haciendo muy bien Iglesia!

Me encanta la temporada de Pascua, porque tenemos la oportunidad de escuchar la mayor parte de los Hechos de los Apóstoles. Los Hechos de los Apóstoles narra la historia de lo que ocurrió cuando los discípulos estaban asustado, cansado, solos, inseguros,  fueron animadas por la acción del Espíritu Santo. Ellos cambiaron sus vidas y perspectivas estar en llamas con la fe, enérgico en la predicación de la palabra, confianza, y nunca solo porque tenían el uno al otro y la promesa del Espíritu Santo. Los discípulos continuaron la obra que Jesús comenzó. Ellos cumplen la misión, ya que se comprometen a una nueva forma de vida. Dieron sus vidas a la misión de Jesús. Ellos soportaron penurias y sacrificios, golpes y burlas, malentendidos y desacuerdos incluso entre ellos mismos, pero no se dan por vencidos! Estaban comprometidos! A quién y qué estás comprometido? Para quién y qué se sacrifica en su vida? ¿Qué estás comprometido con este tiempo de Pascua? Creo que los católicos son mucho mejores para celebrar la Cuaresma que estamos en la celebración de Pascua. Pascua es un compromiso con la alegría. Pascua es un compromiso a la esperanza. Pascua es un compromiso de posibilidades. ¿Son ustedes un católico Pascua? ¿Son ustedes un verbo o un sustantivo? Nos comprometemos a alguien o algo. Exige una acción. Los padres, ¿Están comprometido a tener a sus hijos a crecer en su fe? ¿Están comprometido a ser un ejemplo para ellos, asistiendo a misa y celebración de los sacramentos de la Iglesia? Si no lo hacen, sus hijos no lo harán tampoco. Los niños pueden detectar la hipocresía de un kilómetro de distancia. Pablo y Bernabé soportaron el juicio y dificultades para la fe. Ellos predicaron  a otros que no quieren escuchar su mensaje, y aún otros que querían matarlos por su mensaje. Pablo y Bernabé fueron cometidos. Se mantuveron la fe. Ellos hicieron algo. ¿Podrían Uds? Así que, ¿cuál es el primer verbo para hoy? COMPROMETIRSE

El siguiente verbo para un pueblo Pascual es RENOVAR. Gira a la persona a tu lado y decir, la palabra es renovar. Nos recuerda que cada día es una nueva creación. Todos los días tenemos una nueva posibilidad de vivir nuestras vidas de una manera nueva. Todos los días, podemos cambiar viejas actitudes en las actitudes nuevas y mejoradas. El libro de Apocalipsis nos da una visión maravillosa: Un nuevo cielo y una nueva tierra. El escritor toma conceptos que las personas entendidas, cielo y la tierra y declaró que cuando vivimos una vida en Cristo podemos imaginar un cielo nuevo y una tierra nueva. Nuevas posibilidades. Mejores relaciones con los demás. Una comunidad solidaria. Un lugar donde se cumplen todas las necesidades. Una visión de esperanza y posibilidades. Una visión que se basa en conceptos antiguos y los hace mejores. Esa es una imagen maravillosa para nosotros mismos... .que Dios quiere renovar. Dios quiere tomar lo que somos y tomar mejores versiones de lo que ya somos. Dios es ver el potencial y la posibilidad en cada uno de nosotros. Esta es la visión que Dios tiene para nuestras vidas. Cuando renovamos, nos imaginamos a nosotros mismos de manera diferente. Por lo tanto, ¿qué necesidad de renovar en su vida? ¿Es su imagen de sí mismo? ¿Su matrimonio? Su compromiso con un proyecto? Su relación con sus hijos jóvenes? Su relación con los padres de edad avanzada? Católica es un verbo. Lo que te renovará a vivir su vida como un verbo? Al final de la lectura escuchamos la promesa de que, "Dios les enjugará todas sus lágrimas de sus ojos, y ya no habrá  muerte ni duelo, ni penas ni llantos, porque ya todo lo antiguo término”. El que estaba sentado en el trono dijo: "Ahora yo voy a hacer nuevas todas las cosas." Ese es un promesa, Amén? Y así, lo que es el segundo verbo para hoy? RENOVAR

Y finalmente llegamos a nuestro último verbo. ¿Pueden ustedes recordar la palabra? AMAR. Una pequeña palabra con un significado de gran alcance, Amén? Gira a la persona a tu lado y decir: "Yo sé sobre el amor." Esta pequeña palabra puede ser tan difícil a veces, Amén? Si queremos ser un pueblo Pascual, tenemos que vivir nuestra fe católica como un verbo y amar a los demás, Amén? Jesús incluso va tan lejos como diciendo a sus discípulos que el amor no es una sugerencia, es un mandamiento! Un mandamiento! Así que los católicos tienen once mandamientos, Amén? Los diez mandamientos dados a Moisés por Dios y el undécimo mandamiento que nos ha dado Jesús: Ama unos a otros. Y Jesús simplemente no dice que el amor de una manera romántica. Él le dice a sus discípulos y nos dice: "Como yo los he amado, así ámense también ustedes los unos a los otros." Y cómo amó Jesús a sus discípulos? Vio las buenas cualidades en cada uno de ellos. Los perdonó cuando no entendían o no hicieron las cosas correctamente. Se mantuvo fiel a ellos cuando no eran fieles a él. Él dio su vida por ellos. Ahora que es una especie de amor, Amén? Eso es lo que el undécimo mandamiento se trata. Es un sacrificio de amor que no espera nada a cambio. ¡¡¡Caramba!! Al igual que cualquier otra cosa en la vida, el amor requiere práctica. A veces nos encanta así, y otras veces no lo hacemos. El tiempo de Pascua es un recordatorio de uno de los fundamentos de nuestra fe: AMAR. Si nos llamamos católicos y no lo hace el amor a otros, entonces somos mentirosos y los hipócritas, a continuación, deshonramos el nombre de Jesús. Sí, esas son palabras fuertes, pero la pequeña palabra de amor lleva a cabo tanto poder y la expectativa. Jesús nos mandó a amarnos unos a otros. No fue una sugerencia. Si hemos de ser católicos que son los verbos y los sustantivos entonces debemos poner nuestras palabras en acción, Amén? Y así, ¿cuál es el último verbo para hoy? AMAR

El tiempo de Pascua nos prepara para ser católicos que son sustantivos y verbos. Tenemos que ser a la vez en nuestra vida. El tiempo de Pascua es un tiempo de alegría, esperanza, posibilidades y promesas. La forma en que estas palabras se convierten en una realidad en nuestras propias vidas es si vivimos nuestra fe como verbos. Veremos la alegría, la esperanza, la posibilidad y promesa cuando COMPROMETERSE, RENOVAR y AMAR, AMEN? Esta es la temporada de la acción, lo que Uds. van a hacer hoy para ser una persona de acción? Cuando vivimos en Cristo, la acción no es un reto, sino un mandamiento, Amén? Ir y  hacer algo bueno para el Señor hoy!

Do You Love Me?

I know you all do, lol, but that was the question posed by Jesus to Peter today.  Today we celebrated the Third Sunday of Easter! Wow!!! Time is sure flying.

Last week was a busy week for me.  I had many meetings and this past weekend was our Education class which was held Friday eve from 5-8pm and Saturday from 9am-2pm.  Needless to say, by 3pm on Saturday my head is mush...actually the last hour of class is really difficult for me....trying to pay attention while my brain starts shutting down and I can't translate fast enough to keep up with things.  Yes, the struggles of my life here!

I head to the US on Tuesday.  I will be in St. Louis for Council meetings until Sunday.  I will get a chance to see the people in the parish and see members of my community as well.  On Sunday afternoon I head to Orlando to visit with my dad and my brother Jimmy and his family for 5 days.  I will be happy to see my dad who moved into an Assisted Living Center back in November.  I was there the week after he moved in, and now I am happy to say that he has made the adjustment to his new living space and I think he enjoys being there.  I will take him out a few times just to get him out of the place.  I will return to Mexico just in time for another Fri/Sat class!

On a personal note, I rejoined Weight Watchers (I can't count which time this is!!!!!) and have been slowly losing weight since the beginning of January.  It is hard here because the diet is not full of vegetables, but full of fried food and lot's of oil!  I have to make choices and for the most part I am doing well.  I'm not losing at a fast rate, but I am losing.  So far I am down 28 lbs.  I am part of a Memorial Day Challenge and I hope to lose at least 9 more pounds by Memorial Day.  It may not seem like a lot, but I have two big trips coming up and I don't always do well when I am away, so I am taking that into account as I press on with my weight loss.  Another difficulty for me is that I do not go to a gym.  Now, I've had a gym membership since I've been 23 years old, and I actually used it all the time!   So, I have to walk outside and close by there is a park that has some equipment where you just use your body weight as resistance.  So, I am not pumping iron, but I am getting some work out in.  I am also counting steps.  I downloaded an app that tells you your steps each day and how many calories you burned.  My goal is to walk 100,000 steps each week.  So far since I've started counting steps over the past 2 weeks, I've achieved my goal.  Not sure if I will hit the mark this week as I developed a blister on the bottom of my foot and it put me out of commission for almost 2 days.  When I was able to return to walking any distance, I had to adjust the number of steps I had in my daily goal until I was back to "normal".  I have changed my weight loss mentality from a sprint to a marathon.  I'm in it for the long haul and I will get there when I get there.  This is a big step for me and my competitive personality.  But, I have been down this path many times before and my former thinking did not bring me success....as they say, "What is the definition of insanity?"  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  In the words of Susan Powter (1993) : STOP THE INSANITY!

So, I am trying to physically get it together here, and that really helps with my emotional well being. It does help that the weather is good and I can do things outdoors.  I try to walk outside before it gets too hot here!

I hope all of you are doing well in your lives too.  I look forward to seeing each of you one day soon.  Until then,  all of us must answer the question for ourselves...."Do you love me?"

Homily Third Sunday of Easter

Morning Church! Happy Easter! Yes, we continue to celebrate the fifty days of this great season of Easter.  Are you still filled with joy?  If you have joy in your heart, turn to the person next to you and say, “I am full of joy”

Well, the word of God today gives us great reason to be filled with joy.  Today the Gospel invites us to reflect upon forgiveness and redemption.  Who here in this Church wants a second chance?  Who here in this Church ever made a mistake?  All of our hands should be raised, Amen? Well the Gospel today reminds us that Jesus can forgive anything and can take our shame away so that we can live our life as redeemed people.  That is Good News, Amen?

So, how does this happen?  Let’s go back in time a few weeks ago as we celebrated Good Friday.  Jesus was arrested and all of his disciples fled.  Jesus’ best friend and leader of the disciples, Peter, denied Jesus how many times?  Yes, three times.  Not just one time did he say that he did not know Jesus, he said it three times!  One time is a little mistake, but three times?  Peter knew what he was doing. Now think about your own life. Think about the person who means the most to you, your friend, your mother, your father, your wife, your husband.  Imagine that they denied knowing you three times to someone else.  Let me tell you, I would not be a happy or forgiving person if this happened to me.  But, Jesus is not me…thank God for that! Jesus gives Peter an opportunity to redeem himself that morning on the Sea of Galilee.  After fixing the disciples something to eat, Jesus and Peter engage in a dialogue.

Now, if I were Peter, I would be ashamed at my actions.  I would be ashamed at telling others that I did not know Jesus.  I would not even want to look Jesus in the eye.  I am sure that all of us in this Church have felt shame about something in our life, Amen?  Shame is a terrible feeling.  It is debilitating.  It prevents us from acting.  It prevents us from seeing things clearly.  Shame can cloud our vision of ourselves and of other people.  Jesus will not allow Peter to live in shame.  He wants to set Peter free of his shame.  So, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?”  Three times is the same number of times that Peter denied Jesus.  Each response of Peter, “you know I love you Lord” wipes away each time Peter said, “I do not know the man.”  Wow! That is forgiveness, Amen?  That is redemption, Amen?  If this encounter between Jesus and Peter did not happen, we would never hear of the great things that Peter was able to do after Jesus ascended into heaven. The forgiven and redeemed Peter is a different man than the Peter we find at the end of the Gospels.  When shame is taken away, a person can walk taller, be more confident, and take more risks.  Peter does all of these things in the Acts of the Apostles.  The redeemed Peter is courageous and faithful.  That is what God wants for each of us.  God wants us to know and act like we are redeemed, Amen?

But, let’s go back to the dialogue between Jesus and Peter.  Something interesting happens between Jesus and Peter.  Jesus asks Peter, do you love me?  In Greek, Jesus uses the word agape, which is an unconditional love. Peter responds to Jesus, “ Yes Lord I do love you.”  Peter uses the Greek word for love, philo, which is more of a brotherly love.  In his resurrection, Jesus forgives Peter and invites him to a deeper kind of love than he knew before.  Jesus wants Peter’s unconditional love.  Peter continues to respond with brotherly love to Jesus.  But, we can see in the Acts of the Apostles, that Peter was willing to risk his life for the spread of the name of Jesus, that is agape love.  So, the redeemed and forgiven Peter is drawn more deeply into an intimate loving relationship with Jesus.  When we are redeemed and forgiven, that is the kind of love that Jesus wants us to express to him and to others in faith. 

Besides the word play on love, another interesting thing happens in the dialogue between Jesus and Peter.  After each time Jesus asks Peter if he loved him, Jesus responded, Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my lambs.  Interesting! Feeding and tending are the responses that Jesus wants from Peter.  Interesting that the approach with the lambs is feeding, and the approach with the sheep is tending.  So, while tending the flock is important, it is not the most important.  The most important thing is to feed the little ones.  In other words, to nurture them, to help them grow, the tending happens only after the lambs have been fed.  This is an interesting concept for me for leadership.  It is an interesting concept for leadership in the Church.  Feeding is more important than tending….the Church needs to be more involved with feeding than tending.  This is an interesting concept for leadership in a family.  Feeding is more important than tending.  Feed the little one’s so that later on you can pastor them.  The role of the leader is feeding and pastoring, and feeding is more important.  Jesus gives us a great example of how to be a leader in this Gospel, Amen?

So, today is about forgiveness and redemption, love and leadership.  So Church, Do you love Jesus? Feed his lambs.  Do you love Jesus? Pastor his sheep.  Do you love Jesus? Feed his lambs.  When we are forgiven, redeemed, fed and pastored, then we are an Easter people, and we are filled with joy, Amen?

Buenos días Iglesia! ¡Felices Pascuas! Sí, seguimos celebrando los cincuenta días de esta gran temporada de Pascua. ¿Todavía está lleno de alegría? Si ustedes tienen alegría en sus corazónes, gire a la persona a tu lado y decir: "Estoy lleno de alegría"

Bueno, la palabra de Dios hoy nos da una gran razón para estar lleno de alegría. Hoy el Evangelio nos invita a reflexionar sobre el perdón y la redención. Quien aquí en esta Iglesia quiere una segunda oportunidad? Quien aquí en esta Iglesia ha cometido un error? Todas nuestras manos debe plantearse, Amén? Bueno, el Evangelio de hoy nos recuerda que Jesús puede perdonar cualquier cosa y puede tomar nuestra vergüenza de distancia para que podamos vivir nuestra vida como pueblo redimido. Eso es una buena noticia, Amén?

Así que, ¿cómo sucede esto? Volvamos en el tiempo hace unas semanas ya que celebramos el Viernes Santo. Jesús fue arrestado y todos sus discípulos huyeron. El mejor amigo de Jesús y líder de los discípulos, Pedro, negó  a Jesús cuántas veces? Sí, tres veces. No sólo una vez te dijo que no conocía a Jesús, lo dijo tres veces! Una vez es un pequeño error, pero tres veces? Pedro sabía lo que estaba haciendo. Ahora piensen en sus propias vidas. Piensen en la persona que significa mucho para ustedes, su amigo, su madre, su padre, su esposa, su marido. Imagine que ellos negaron que saber tres veces a otra persona. Déjeme decirle, yo no sería una persona feliz o que perdona si esto me pasó a mí. Sin embargo, Jesús no soy yo... gracias a Dios por eso! Jesús da a Pedro la oportunidad de redimirse por la mañana en el Mar de Galilea. Después de fijar los discípulos algo de comer, Jesús y Pedro se involucran en un diálogo

Ahora, si yo fuera Pedro, estaría avergonzado de mis acciones. Me da vergüenza de decirles a otros que yo no conocía a Jesús. Incluso no desee ver a Jesús en el ojo. Estoy seguro de que todos nosotros en esta Iglesia han sentido vergüenza por algo en nuestra vida, Amén? La vergüenza es un sentimiento terrible. Es debilitante. Esto nos impide actuar. Se nos impide ver las cosas con claridad. La vergüenza puede nublar nuestra visión de nosotros mismos y de otras personas. Jesús no permitirá que Pedro a vivir en la vergüenza. Él quiere establecer Pedro gratuita de su vergüenza. Por lo tanto, Jesús pregunta a Pedro tres veces, "¿Me amas?" Tres veces son el mismo número de veces que Pedro negó a Jesús. Cada respuesta de Pedro, "usted sabe Te quiero Señor" borra cada vez que Pedro dijo: "No conozco al hombre." Wow! Es decir perdón, Amén? Esa es la redención, Amén? Si este encuentro entre Jesús y Pedro no fue así, nunca oír hablar de las grandes cosas que Pedro fue capaz de hacerlo después de que Jesús ascendió al cielo. El Pedro perdonado y redimido es un hombre diferente que el Pedro nos encontramos al final de los Evangelios. Cuando se quita la vergüenza, una persona puede caminar más alto, tener más confianza, y tomar más riesgos. Pedro hace todas estas cosas en los Hechos de los Apóstoles. El Pedro redimido es valiente y fiel. Eso es lo que Dios quiere para cada uno de nosotros. Dios quiere que sepamos y actuar como somos redimidos, Amén?

Pero, volvamos al diálogo entre Jesús y Pedro. Sucede algo muy interesante entre Jesús y Pedro. Jesús pregunta a Pedro, ¿me amas? En griego, Jesús usa la palabra ágape, que es un amor incondicional. Pedro responde a Jesús: "Sí Señor te quiero." Pedro usa la palabra griega para el amor, el filo, que es más de un amor fraternal. En su resurrección, Jesús perdona a Pedro y le invita a un tipo más profundo de amor de lo que sabía antes. Jesús quiere que el amor incondicional de Pedro. Pedro sigue respondiendo con amor fraternal a Jesús. Sin embargo, podemos ver en los Hechos de los Apóstoles, que Pedro estaba dispuesto a arriesgar su vida por la difusión del nombre de Jesús, que es el amor ágape. Por lo tanto, el Pedro redimido y perdonado se dibuja más profundamente en una relación amorosa íntima con Jesús. Cuando somos redimidos y perdonados, que es la clase de amor que Jesús nos quiere expresar a él ya otros en la fe.

Además del juego de palabras con amor, otra cosa interesante sucede en el diálogo entre Jesús y Pedro. Después de que cada vez que Jesús pregunta a Pedro si lo amaba, Jesús respondió: Apacienta mis corderos, pastorea a mis ovejas, apacienta mis corderos. ¡Interesante! La alimentación y el cuidado son las respuestas que Jesús quiere de Pedro. Es interesante que el enfoque con los corderos es la alimentación, y el acercamiento con las ovejas es pastorea. Así, mientras que detrás del ganado es importante, no es el más importante. Lo más importante es alimentar a los más pequeños. En otras palabras, para nutrir a ellos, para ayudarles a crecer, la pastorea ocurre sólo después de que los corderos han sido alimentados. Este es un concepto interesante para mí para el liderazgo. Es un concepto interesante para el liderazgo en la Iglesia. La alimentación es más importante que pastorea... la Iglesia tiene que estar más involucrados con la alimentación que pastorea. Este es un concepto interesante para el liderazgo en una familia. La alimentación es más importante que pastorea. Alimentar a la pequeña es para que después puedas pastor les. El papel del líder es la alimentación y pastorear, y la alimentación es más importante. Jesús nos da un gran ejemplo de cómo ser un líder en este Evangelio, Amén?

Por lo tanto, hoy es sobre el perdón y la redención, el amor y el liderazgo. Así Iglesia, ¿Ustedes aman a Jesús? Alimentar a sus corderos. ¿Ustedes aman a Jesús? El pastor a sus ovejas. ¿Ustedes aman a Jesús? Alimentar a sus corderos. Cuando somos perdonados, redimidos, alimentados en pastoreo y, a continuación, somos un pueblo Pascual, y estamos llenos de alegría, Amén?