The Second Sunday of Easter: Choice and Free Will At the Vigil Mass of Easter, which we celebrated on Holy Saturday night, we welcomed a new catechumen—a 18-year old man to be Baptized—and 6 candidates, those already baptized and now to be welcomed fully into the sacramental life of the Church through Confirmation and First Holy Communion. They came into the Church through a program called RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.

The RCIA program is one of study and conversation about the teachings of Jesus Christ in-and-through His Church; it is about Church History, the sacraments, and the role of faith in everyday life to name a few. Once those instructed in the faith through RCIA receive baptism, confirmation and Holy Communion, then they come to a period known as Mystagogy, which comes from the Greek word meaning, “to lead through the mysteries.” The Catechism describes mystagogy as “a liturgical catechesis that aims to initiate people into the mystery of Christ” (CCC 1075). It is a time of further study through additional conversations but also primarily through the Sunday Mass readings. This year, Year A, our readings give us the First Letter of St. Peter (second readings), which is a perfect instructional course for this Mystagogy period that ends at Pentecost, coming of the Holy Spirit or the “birthday of the Church”.

This period of mystagogy comes to us as our parish celebrates well the Mass, with music, Word and reverence, i.e., the acknowledgement of sacred space; and, the righteous practice of our faith as a community—by way of instruction through our faith being brought to life in the daily activities of life. Moreover, by way of individual care and compassion offered to all.

St. Peter tells us in today’s second reading of the value of our faith as gifted to us in Christ; how precious it is—more valuable then precious stones and jewels, undefiled and retained in Heaven, and, that it too is something that might cause us suffering in everyday life. Today’s second reading suffering points to that for Thomas in the Gospel, by way of doubt or unbelief. This is something that afflicts all of us; I am sure, from time to time. How then, are we to deal with the suffering of faith” in both our personal lives as well as our collective life as a nation?

Clearly, one challenge of our faith calls us to be formed well in the faith, meaning to really know what we believe. It is not easy, nothing worth knowing is—it takes interest, desire and effort. To be well versed in faith is to understand the meaning and purpose behind the “Thou shall nots…” What does Christ mean by forgiveness? What does He mean by going deep into the waters of faith? He does not call us to follow the whims of the day, with the twists and turns of culture, which are founded on “wants and desires,” but rather Christ calls us to know and count on Truth. And so we get back to perhaps one of the most striking and loving gifts of God: Free Will.

As I have said from time to time in homilies, God loved us so much He not only gave us human life, our families, the wonderfully created earth and universe, the gift of human love, the power of a mind and conscious; but He gave us the ultimate gift of Divine Love, which is illustrated in Free Will. To choose Him or not. To follow the Lord or to follow some other human leader. He formed us in Truth and then said, “You choose…”

Yet, Free Will may causes suffering in everyday life. We too can choose to follow the righteous way or the not so righteous way: Good or evil, convenience or truth, temporary happiness or Eternal Joy. It is, as the saying goes, “up to me.” In the words of Consecration at the Eucharistic prayer, we hear at every Mass, “…Poured out for you and for many…” as not all will choose Him. Let us remember Judas for, it is not God who turns people away from Eternal Happiness!

Free Will was given in love and we are called to exercise our free will not directed by law(s), but rather emanating in love from the heart—always freely choosing to do the noble good, “the righteous thing.”

In today’s modern and divisive world, one prime example of the gift of Free Will is the discussion of abortion, the killing of innocent human life. For a human egg and human seaman cannot become anything but human. But, and again that is a very important word, it cannot be God’s hope that our understanding of human life is the end result of a law, but rather that it is formed out of love for the righteous. That the human mind steeped in Truth understands the noble good of the sacredness of human life. It is a big discussion for sure. But, there is that word again, it must be had and had honestly, well formed in Truth, and with a compassionate and caring heart.

May a new, honest and hope-filled conversation come about on this important topic outside of the divisive and mean-spirited political arena, rather in the midst of science and Faith, which tells us how things work and faith, which tells us why they are.