Deacon Tom's Homily for Sunday, April 16th - The Second Sunday of Easter

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IMAGINE THAT ST. THOMAS THE Apostle is speaking to us here this morning. “Hi, Everybody. Everybody good? Nice Church!

IN TODAY’S GOSPEL, I’M CALLED “Didymus” which means “twin” in Greek, because I do have a twin. Each one of you here today is my twin!

I’VE BEEN TOLD YOU HAVE THREE questions for me. First, on that first Easter Sunday evening, why wasn’t I there in that locked room with the other Apostles? Second, why didn’t I believe what the others told me about that evening? And, third, what was it like to put my fingers into Jesus’ nail marks and into His side?

WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THE REASON I wasn’t in the upper room with the others was because everything I believed in, everything I gave myself to had collapsed! My Beloved Leader had just been arrested and horribly crucified! How could God allow this man who showed only compassion and forgiveness, who taught only kindness, how could God let Him be brutally executed as a common criminal?

I WAS DEVASTATED, COMPLETELY overwhelmed. I just had to be alone.

TO ANSWER YOUR SECOND question, when the other Apostles told me that Jesus had appeared to them that first Easter evening, it was just too much to be believed! Impossible! No one had ever come back from the dead! Were they out of their minds? I refused to believe it unless I saw it with my own two eyes! But, deep down, a part of me was hoping beyond hope that it was really true!

AS FOR THE EXPERIENCE OF placing my finger into Jesus’ wounds, each of you will one day have this same experience when you first enter heaven. You will see the Risen Jesus standing there in front of you, dressed in a long white garment, His Glorified Body aglow. His voice is surprisingly familiar as He says: “Peace be with you.” You feel His Peace entering your heart, just as I did, filling you with His Gentleness, warming you, calming you, healing you. His Hands reach out to you and you see His Glorious Wounds.

BUT IT’S WHEN YOU LOOK INTO His eyes, my twin, then you will finally understand everything. You too will see God there. This changes everything! As you fall to your knees, these words will come rushing out of your mouth, just as they did out of mine, “My Lord and My God!”

RCIA Blog: Enlightenment and Illuminations

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Enlightenment and Illuminations are words that describe the weeks before Easter in the RCIA process. Easter is the culmination of our enlightenment. They are ancient in their use and meaning. They convey the power in the sacramental life of the Church and acceptance of Jesus Christ as redeemer. It is no accident that the historical period ushered in with the scientific revolution and renaissance was labeled the ‘Enlightenment’. The sacramental term, enlightenment means the power of the light of Christ entering our body and soul. It conforms us to Christ. The historical period, ‘Enlightenment’, had both revolutionary ideas and great beneficial impact on all lives that followed, but did not enlighten the soul. That ‘Enlightenment’ preferred to distance us from the personal and loving God who Jesus preached.

We cannot ignore the amazing progress made during and after the historical period called the ‘Enlightenment’. We all benefit everyday by the inventions and sciences championed then. What we can do is to discern what evils it propelled forward once the Medieval mindset was found lacking in the face of scientific discoveries. The medieval mindset was generally unanimous, that is, generally accepted throughout Christendom, and was hierarchical. God at the very top and man at the near bottom. In a sense our only true path was up. It was believed as a physical reality as well as a metaphysical one. The thinkers and writers of the ‘Enlightenment’ showed clearly that it in no way did the Medieval worldview represent nature’s reality. What followed was the aggressive dismissal of all Medieval understanding of the world and our place in it. The metaphysical reality reflecting what Jesus taught of the true order of the universe, was dismissed as not scientific and therefore not true.

This is an over simplification but useful. The tactic used successfully by ‘Enlightenment’ writers, still used today, is to falsely equate unequal things as if they were equal.

False Equivalence works by emotional persuasion, plays on feelings and lacks logical rigor. That is why it is successful and will always be in play. It is very widely used in politics and by every political activist. It is helpful to recognize it and then see it for what it is: a tactic.

Some examples of False Equivalents:

  • Christians believe in an invisible soul. Science believes in observed reality. Therefore, Christians don’t believe in reality. Taken another step, If you are a believing Christian, you cannot believe in the truth of scientific findings.

  • Women deserve a safe method of healthcare. Abortion is women’s healthcare. Therefore, Anti-abortion advocates are against safe healthcare for women. Then next step, Anti-abortion advocates are anti-women.

  • The Catholic Church refuses to accept the reality of gender identity independent of physicality. Failure to accept gender fluid people is hate based ignorance. Therefore, the Catholic Church is an international hated based organization.

Each of these popular statements are False Equivalents because:

  • They draw false conclusions by carefully omitting information.

  • They are used to provoke emotional response.

  • They do not bear up under scrutiny but they provide quick and easy arguments that appeal to people on an emotional level.

  • They are very powerful and sow confusion in the faithful.

It is no wonder Jesus prepared his disciples to face such seeds of lies and confusion.

“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” (Matt 10:16).

God bless and Happy Easter!

Frank Miller

JerseyCatholic.org Feature: Saint Thomas the Apostle Church creates special place to hold eucharist after Holy Thursday Mass

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“Saint Thomas the Apostle Church in Bloomfield has a beautifully renovated new altar of repose which was ready for Holy Thursday Mass to hold the Eucharistic Bread that was distributed in Communion on Good Friday.”

Click here to read full article
 

Beyond Cornerstone Soup Kitchen Ministry - Updates

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  • There will be a meeting on Thursday, May 11th at 7PM in the Parish Center to discuss our many commitments to the St. Augustine Soup Kitchen run by the Missionary Sisters of Charity in Newark. Anyone who wishes to participate in any of our activities are welcome.

  • Thanks to everyone who participated in the donation and delivery of the Easter hams and chickens. Over thirty families will receive them for Easter dinner.

  • Thank you to the September club for their recent generous donation to our Ministry. It is this support that enables us to keep our commitment to supply a hearty meal one Sunday of each month to about one hundred twenty homeless people.

  • The Bloomfield chapter of UNICO, an Italian-American service organization collected at ShopRite over 70 bags of food, toiletries and cleaning products for Saint Augustine soup kitchen in Newark. Saint Augustine serves up to 150 people daily in addition to providing a women’s shelter where these items will be greatly appreciated. A special thank you to Tina Buontempo for organizing this Unico project.

  • Joan and Bob Urbanovich will supply and serve the March 26th meal.

  • Joanne Walch Romeo and Pat McDonald will be doing the meal for April 23rd.  

  • Joanne Recinello and Dene will do May 21st.  Please contact them if you wish to help cook or serve.

  • We will participate in the St. Augustine Summer Day camp on July 14th. The Sisters run a day camp in July for the benefit of the children of the people they serve. Each summer we supply food and activities for one day at the camp. Tiffany Engram and a team of volunteers supply an attractive meal, treats and activities to make this day very special. A highlight of the day will include an ice cream truck. This year we hope to involve our parish teenagers. We depend on donations to support this day. Tiffany Ingram has again volunteered to organize the day.

Individual parishioners’ consistent and prayerful donations of time and money are the foundation of our ministry and allow us to continue our mission. Please consider placing a donation in an envelope marked SOUP KITCHEN in the collection basket or in the lock box at the parish center.  In the memo line, please indicate that the donation is for the soup kitchen.

Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults – Come Join Us!

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We are blessed by our RCIA Candidates for Confirmation this Pentecost.  Jennifer, Maureen, Alissa, and Brianna have faithfully participated in deepening their knowledge and commitment to the faith in Jesus Christ and His Church since October 2022.

Are you baptized, confirmed, and receive Holy Communion? If no, what is holding you back?

Jesus calls each of us to come follow him. Come learn and participate in the sacramental life of His Church.  Contact us at rcia@stachurchbloomfield.org and join us for the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults this year, beginning October 2023.