Wednesday - 6th Week of Easter

Gospel – John 16: 12-15

Make Me Proud!

St. Joseph Church, Nazareth

Over the years since my Dad’s passing, there have been a number of events in my life (Ordination, a heartfelt homily or just being a good husband, son or grandfather) where Ginger would say to me “Your Dad would be so proud of you.”

I’d like to think that was true; I hope it is!  Many are the times when I would look up into the heavens and wonder – did you see that, Dad?  Am I making you proud?  There are certainly moments when I realize I sound/act just like my Dad, especially my corny punny sense of humor.  And that makes me smile!  And so I wonder how much of my Dad is in me!  His compassion, his sense of humor, his love of family, his self-sacrifice and his calm in the midst of the storm!  And now I guess I have a couple more ‘parents’ looking out for me from above.  And I certainly hope I am making them proud as well.  I certainly hope that there is a good deal of their qualities living on in my life.

Which leads me to today’s Gospel.  “Everything that the Father has is mine.”  It echoes Jesus’ words earlier in John – I am in the Father and the Father is in Me!  And so I wonder too – how much of the Father (in heaven) is in me!  In each of us?  How loving and compassionate are we?  How truthful and respectful?  How self-sacrificing?  How just and honest?  How forgiving?  How often do we look up into the heavens and wonder – is our heavenly Father proud of me!  How much of Our Father is in us? 

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