In the "church world"—not only in the Catholic Church but in many other faith traditions—we often use the word "mystery." This word appears when we are unable to clearly and totally explain or define a religious reality or truth. Some folks see this as a failure, excuse, or flaw in a religion, but others see it differently. Although I do understand computers a little, I really do not understand them sufficiently or completely. I know that computers work, indeed they are quite complex, and certainly even the one at my desk is beyond my understanding, nevertheless trying to understand a "quantum computer" used for the most advanced scientific projects is impossible for me. However, I "believe in computers" and their power in our lives. It is striking how people want an absolute perfect definition or explanation about God, but settle for far less in their lives about computers, which often hold their physical lives in balance or critical safety. Lest I wander too far from today's scripture, the reality of Most Holy Trinity is a mystery, both somewhat understood and also a lot not understood. Perhaps it is because the three persons in the singular Trinity exist in a relationship of persons and human persons actually have great difficulty understanding relationships among or between people.

Many years ago when I was a young boy, I thought the time between Pentecost and Easter Sunday, all 50 days, was a very long time. It seemed that the passing of time took forever to creep along before we finally came to the great Feast of Pentecost. I remember we always sang "Come, Holy Ghost!" on that Sunday with great gusto and enthusiasm. My motivation for this desire to celebrate Pentecost was not really religious; it was because this Feast meant that going to school every day would be ending because the first weekend in June was coming soon. Religious feasts and holydays helped mark the passage of time for me. We studied about the meaning of the special Feast in school so I knew what it was about religiously, but also knew what it meant educationally!

It is difficult to believe that time has passed so quickly that this week we are standing in between Ascension Thursday and the Feast of Pentecost. Holy Week, with its glorious conclu­sion of Easter Sunday, the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus, is now far back in our rearview mirror. The Feast of the Ascension is past and Pentecost is ahead. The Feast of the As­cension is meant to direct us to understand that we have a responsibility and a mission as follow­ers of Jesus Christ. The Feast of the Ascension tells us that our role and purpose started with the apostles and now have over time been handed on to us, to you and me.

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We older baby boomers remember well when the major reform of the Church began with the Vatican II council. When the Liturgy (Mass, mainly) was reformed and put into English, we all could then know and be part of it in a conscious, knowing, and active way. Much like the older Latin Music of our Tradition, some of the newly composed English language music was good and some of it was poor. When we think about it, only a very few Latin hymns have survived the test of time; this is also true for modern English language hymns. I remember from way back then the hymn "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love". It is not sung very often anymore, though its meaning has stayed very true through the decades. The scriptures this weekend with their focus on the theme of the love triggered this memory.

I read many books and articles on gardening. Some of the reading is for inspiration and some is for knowledge about plants and the skill to grow and properly care for them. Although the Gospel this weekend comes from the "Discourse of the Last Supper", the images in it are most appropriate to this season of new plant growth and the greening of our land and countryside. It is important to know that during the time of Passover the Last Supper occurred and that the Passover is always every Spring. This is the time of trees budding, plants starting to sprout from the earth, and vines beginning to grow and spread their branches. This is a very critical season for caring for plant life. What happens at this point in time influences the whole of plant life and growth onward. IN our passage this weekend, when Jesus speaks to the apostles about being grafted onto him as branches similar to a vine, they know he means he is the strong vine that will support them and always give them life. At this point Jesus is not addressing his concern over their relationship to one another; rather he is laser-focused on their relationship to him. He is to be their source of life, and indeed of all their relationships.

In the very long history of the Christian faith, the image of the shepherd has been constant. Since we were very young, we often saw pictures and statues of Jesus as a shepherd. Oftentimes there would be a young lamb sitting astride his shoulders. Pictures often have Jesus standing among fluffy sheep. We celebrate this Sunday with the name "Good Shepherd Sunday". This title for the Fourth Sunday of Easter goes way back in church time. We know that when we think about and ponder the meaning of Jesus as a Good Shepherd we can deepen our faith and relationship with Our Lord.

In the readings for Mass this weekend we learn that a holy mission has been entrusted to us by the risen Lord and that this mission is defined with the words such as reconciliation. Indeed it is not the great Feast of Easter "the great celebration of reconciliation"? In following the words and actions of Jesus we learn that His mission was one of reconciliation, and thus we who are His followers and witnesses have the mission of reconciliation.

On the days these past two weeks when the sun was gloriously shining and the air had a gentle warmth to it, it become quite easy to believe in the goodness of life and also in our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus. Yet on other days when something horrible or evil has happened such as shootings, the spewing of racial or anti-immigrant hate, or other despicable acts, it becomes hard to believe in the goodness of life. This also happens when a child is seriously ill or someone dies tragically in a car accident. We ask: How can these things happen? How can this God who has so loved us, who sent His Only Begotten Son to die on the cross and rise from the dead allow all these terrible things to happen? How can we believe in resurrection with all these various types of "deaths" around us?

When we think about it, the beautiful verse we sing at Mass on Easter during the responsorial psalm - "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad" - certainly expresses it all. With the Resurrection of Jesus Christ all new life has begun. We now have a "New Creation". Our lives are now different and new because of the Risen Christ. How great it is to sing of this truth.

Our church uses the image of a "journey" during the Lenten Season. We are traveling to Jerusalem for the great events of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. During this journey we come to understand that the Passion and Death of Jesus is a necessary part of the journey and that we must share in these events in order to come to the full meaning and power of Easter Sunday and the Resurrection. We must in a significant way share in the Passion of Jesus Christ, if we are to share in His Resurrection. Although we share only in a symbolic way, it is also real and authentic for us. Our sharing requires us to go through the struggle and passion of letting go in particular of our natural narcissistic and egocentric desires, of always taking without giving, and of false pride and delusions. The great Passion of Christ calls us to become vulnerable as Jesus was vulnerable, to be actively open to being compassionate without understanding, to forgive rather than to measure and seek revenge, to advocate for unity not division and separation, and also to give ourselves over completely to live authentically.

We often have “church or religion words” that we do not use in ordinary everyday life. Church leadership tends to think that everyone knows them and their meaning, but in fact specialty words are specialty words and are not normally comprehended words or concepts. For ex- ample, the church leadership thinks that every Catholic should understand the issue of Divine Presence according to scholastic medieval philosophy. People do not. Communication needs to be clear and comprehensible and oftentimes church concepts and language are not. This is very similar to the world of computers and software and in particular the people who build, run, and maintain all this arcane and distinctive machinery and computer code. The computer world speaks about concepts with a language that most people do not really understand, but the leaders in technology expect us to comprehend. Just try and use an instruction manual! Or worse: the help question on a computer screen!

In the Catholic and Christian Churches, we write and talk about Salvation so much. We announce to people that Salvation is impossible completely to comprehend and describe. We say that Salvation is an unconditional and no strings attached gift of love from God. It is really the gift of love from our God to us who have not earned this gift. In fact, this gift actually transforms our earthly life.

In Catholic or Christian theology, we use the word “Revelation” frequently when we are thinking about or discussing God and life. This word comes from the Latin language which uses the preface “re” to reverse the meaning of the main part of the word. Instead of covering up, it means showing. God and his sacred Word are revealed to us, i.e. God and his message are shown to us.