SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - MAY 25, 2025

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

In the city of Rome, the center of the Catholic faith, there are approximately 900 different churches which all celebrate the Mass, offer the sacraments, and serve as a place of worship for pilgrims and citizens. Even in Utah, which has a significantly smaller Catholic influence and population than other states, there are 48 different parishes that serve the needs of the faithful here. In every corner of the world, wherever you may find yourself, the Catholic Church has been able to establish a community, and even if it might not be possible to attend Mass in a church publicly, we should be heartened to know that authentic Catholic communities can be found even deep within the shadows of governmental persecution around the world. The Catholic Church is expansive, and we can joyfully look at the worldwide Church community and be assured that we have carried out Christ’s message to go out into the world and to make disciples of all nations.

READ THIS SUNDAY'S MESSAGE

Before Christ, those who wanted to practice their faith in the One True God needed to travel to Jerusalem in order to worship in the Temple, to offer sacrifices, and to get as close as possible to the Holy of Holies, God’s residing place on earth. Jerusalem was where Heaven and earth touched. It was the access point by which humble human beings could approach the divine. As a firstborn Jew, Christ was immediately dedicated to God in the Temple after his birth; God left the confines of the Temple and physically went out into the world through the person of Christ. Even after his death and resurrection, the Church in Jerusalem had a special role: the Gentile converts approached the apostles and elders within the city to be instructed on how they must conform to the Judaic roots of Christianity. In this “Council of Jerusalem”, representatives were sent to Antioch to deliver the message to the Gentiles there. Interestingly, it is understood that Peter, the first leader of the Church, was first bishop in Antioch before moving to Rome. In the first reading, we see the movement and flourishing of the power of the Church from its origins in Jerusalem to the rest of the known world. In the vision of heaven we hear from the book of Revelation, Jerusalem has been renewed; there is no temple anymore because God’s presence has permeated throughout the Heavenly City through the figure of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. In the Gospel, our understanding is solidified: the persons of the Holy Trinity have made Their dwelling not in a building or a temple, but in the hearts of the members of our Holy Church.