Third Sunday of Easter- A Reflection from Erin O’Leary
Today’s First Reading sees the apostles in conflict with the Jewish leaders for speaking about and in the Holy Name of Jesus. Teaching in Jesus’ name meant that belief in Jesus continued to grow. As we celebrate our Centennial Year at Holy Name, we see the name and work of Jesus continuing to grow right in our own community! One example - our recently initiated RCIA participants. Another- our Candidates for Confirmation on April 19th. These are visible, annual, Eastertime signs, but in reality, we are all called to be continually learning and teaching in the name of Jesus and to be signs of Him in our community.
Our on-going call to learn and grow in our faith is called “Mystagogy.” Many of us don’t think of ourselves as being in a life-long process of faith formation- but we are. After each of us are fully initiated into the Church (for most of us, at Confirmation) we enter the period of Mystagogy- living in the mystery of God.
Mystagogy means we spend time in reflection and explore more deeply our connections with God through Christ. We discern what the Spirit is calling us to in our daily lives and look for the connections between scripture and our lived faith. And, through this reflection process, we decide how we can more deeply live out our Baptismal mission. In a way, mystagogy is a kind of holy or spiritual heart knowledge that comes as we actively live our faith.
In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis calls us to “mystagogic initiation… a progressive experience of formation involving the entire community…” that is meant to lead us to active mission. In the early Church, mystagogy called for guides within the community to help others delve deeply into the mysteries of our faith. Mystagogy is something we don’t have to do alone and something we can encourage one another in doing.
Our Centennial Year Easter Season is a good time to consider how we are experiencing the mysteries of God together- a chance to reflect on who we are, whose we are, where we have been and where we are going in Jesus’ Holy Name. One of Pope Francis’ Easter Tweets said, “To live Easter means to enter into the mystery of Jesus who died and rose for us.” Embrace the Mystagogy this Easter!