May 25 , 2014 Sixth Sunday of Easter Gospel jn 14 : 15 - 21 Jesus said to his disciples : “ If you love me , you will keep my commandments . And I will ask the Father , and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always , the Spirit of truth , whom the world cannot accept , because it neither sees nor knows him . But you know him , because he remains with you , and will be in you . I will not leave you orphans ; I will come to you . In a little while the world will no longer see me , but you will see me , because I live and you will live . On that day you will realize that I am in my Fatherand you are in me and I in you . Whoever has my commandments and observes themis the one who loves me . And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father , and I will love him and reveal myself to him . ” Homily by : Deacon Augustine WonWe are called to love . We learn to love one another as Jesus teaches us with his . Jesus promises us that he will ask God the Father to send us the Holy Spirit who will stay with us throughout our life journey . What does it mean ? Why do we need Holy Spirit as life companion ? Jesus ’ incarnation – God becoming fully human – there ’ s the clue . We are presented to God to live in the empowering Spirit of God as Jesus did . If we live in the Spirit , we will no longer need to separate the time to pray from the time to live . Our life becomes a prayer . Karl Rahner , respected theologian of 20 th century said " When man is with God in awe and love , then he is praying . Spirit helps us to see with the eyes of a child which have been hidden deep inside of everybody . ” The Spirit helps to restore the vision and attitude of an innocent child . Rahner explains : “ Childhood is not a state which only applies to the first phase of our lives in the biological sense . Rather it is a basic condition which is always appropriate to a life that is lived alright . ” Holy Spirit comes and takes our hand like a childhood friend and leads us to experience the wonder of God . Photo : May 24 , 2014 : Angel Forest I go to the Twin Tower prison in downtown LA once a month to celebrate the communion service with the inmates . Every time I go , I don ’ t know what to expect as the security situation is constantly fluctuating . Sometimes you are turned around and not let in if a fight has erupted between the inmates . on luckier days , I ’ m allowed to set up an altar on the game table in the locked facility . There are no stained glass windows , no pipe organs or choir , and no flowers . The place is completely stripped of anything that would help it resemble a church . It offers few comforts or room for dignity . I place a small crucifix and a fake candle on the makeshift altar and wait for the inmates to come from their cells to celebrate the liturgy together . Although these are convicted felons who are serving time for various misdeeds , I have come to admire their genuine desire and longing for God and His mercy . When they say prayers , their words become outcry for God to come down quickly and that ’ s what is happening all the time . It is humbling to witness Jesus ’ work at hand . He becomes a sacrificial offering once again , so willingly . During the Communion , the Eucharist - Jesus ’ consecrated body leaves my hand for entering into their heart and soul . Love flows in that locked prison room . It gives me a taste of spiritual experience . Unlike the incarcerated , we enjoy our freedom and search for security amongst the comfort of our own homes . It is easy to forget what that kind of thirst for spirituality is like in the outside world where many of us are consumed with the pursuit of material happiness . Are we really interested in God and pay focused attention to what God is doing in our daily life ? A couple of weeks ago on my drive back from the Twin Towers , I was listening to a preacher on the radio who declared , “ We are not the people going to church . We are the church . ” Not only are we the church , but we are the vessels through which good news flows in the teachings that we strive to learn and live by . We are to become the good news to others , in any circumstances . Apostle Peter certainly had understood we are called to this kind of spiritual experience , since he was right there along with Jesus and witnessed all the atrocities and glory for an incarnated human God . That led Peter to say in today ’ s 2 nd reading : “ For it is better to suffer for doing good , if that be the will of God , than for doing evil . ” Let me quote Karl Rahner again . He asks : ‘ Have we ever experienced what makes a person a spirit ? ’ His questions continue : ‘ Have we ever once remained silent , though we wanted to defend ourselves , though we were treated unfairly ? Have we ever once forgiven , though we received no reward for it and people took it for granted ? Have we ever once obeyed , not because we had to or else we ’ d have had unpleasantness , but simply because of that mysterious , silent , unfathomable reality we call God and God ’ s will ? Have we ever once made a sacrifice , without thanks , without recognition , even without a feeling of satisfaction inside ? … Within this kind of life - experience we ’ ve had the experience of the Spirit that is meant here . ’ By acknowledging the sacred presence of the Father , Son and the Holy Spirit in our life , we live a life suffused with love . A spiritual life doesn ' t mean that we don ’ t have problems of our own and inner demons to deal with . Our spirituality is explored through humanity – in the good moments and the bad , we are with God . The Holy Spirit comes as a gift from God and remains a friend with us in our times of celebration and in need . The Holy Spirit , Jesus says , is misunderstood and never been accepted in the world . As God ’ s children , we can rely on this Divine friend – knowing that we will be comforted with Christ ’ s peace , even when we feel misunderstood or mistreated and become lonely and sad . His love won ’ t change . With St . Bede ' s family : at msgr . Antonio ' s Award Dinner