Special names are often given to significant feasts within the Church’s liturgical year. Following Easter we have Divine Mercy Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday; last week we celebrated Trinity Sunday. Today is the feast of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ. I believe we could also appropriately give today a new title: “Remembering Sunday.”

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the ChurchMt 5:38-42Jesus said to his disciples:“You have heard that it was said,An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.When someone strikes you on your right cheek,turn the other one to him as well."

Today, as the Church celebrates Trinity Sunday, we are invited to reflect upon a great truth of the Christian faith: we believe in a Trinitarian God: one God in three persons. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, living a life of communion and perfect mutual love.

Today, Pentecost Sunday, is an opportune moment to deepen our appreciation of the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. We can be guided by the profound thought of our Spirit-filled Pope Francis.

Today’s Gospel for the feast of Christ’s Ascension notes that after Jesus “was taken up to heaven,” his disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” They had experienced many remarkable events, ranging from Jesus’ public ministry, his passion and death to his resurrection. Now, just before his ascension, Jesus tells them: “you are witnesses of these things.” Yes, they are to be “joy-filled witnesses” of the entire Christ-event.

Monday of the Sixth Week of EasterJn 15:26—16:4aJesus said to his disciples:“When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,he will testify to me.And you also testify,because you have been with me from the beginning."

Today’s Gospel reading is taken from the “Last Supper Discourse” of Jesus in John’s Gospel; it extends for five full chapters (13-17). We hear Jesus saying: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you should also love one another.”

“Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life” is the refrain from a liturgical song by Marty Haugen. Frequently heard at Masses as the refrain of the responsorial psalm, it reflects the theme of today’s readings. In fact, today is called: Good Shepherd Sunday.

Our beautiful Gospel today narrates another of the resurrection appearances or encounters that Jesus had with his disciples. The dominant figure in this final chapter of John’s Gospel is Peter. In fact, Peter is mentioned well over 100 times in the Gospels alone. In addition, the New Testament highlights many images of Peter’s role in the early Church, images portraying the ongoing role of the Pope in the Universal Church.

What is the opposite of “faith” in the sacred scriptures? Many responses are possible: doubt, disbelief, mistrust, uncertainty, hesitation, skepticism, apprehension. You might even assert that the antonym of “faith” is “fear.” To be afraid often means doubting God is really with us or thinking his designs for our salvation will somehow be frustrated. Today’s Gospel reveals the character of the fearful, “doubting Thomas.”

Today we celebrate the Resurrection, the greatest of our Church’s feasts. That makes it the perfect opportunity to think about what I call “faith encounters.” There is a rich variety in the different Evangelists’ scriptural accounts of that first Easter. There are, to be sure, differences in the details of Jesus’ appearances to Peter, Mary Magdalene, the Emmaus disciples, Thomas, and various groups of apostles. Yet each Gospel writer seeks to communicate the same fundamental truth: the crucified one is risen. Surely, this was also the Virgin Mary’s experience!

Robert Ellsberg sits down with Author, Carolyn Y. Woo, to discuss Rising, Learning from Women’s Leadership in Catholic Ministries. Through reflection on first-person narratives of a range of women involved in leadership positions in Catholic ministries (social justice, LCWR and religious congregations, educational, media, diocesan, NGOs, etc.), Rising examines the range of leadership roles that women play in the Catholic Church, explores the particular challenge that women face, as well their distinctive styles of leadership, while also pointing toward an expanded understanding of ministry and leadership in the church. The contributors represent a broad range of women in leadership positions, ranging from the conservative Becket Fund, to Sr. Simone Campbell, Kerry Robinson, Kerry Weber (America media), Sr. Carol Keehan (Catholic Health Association), Kim Daniels (staff for USCCB), etc.