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Article 138 - Catechism of the Catholic Church Series Paragraphs 1846-1853 A friend of mine recently introduced me to an English word I had never heard before. The 34-letter word, hyperpolysyllabicsesquipedalianism, refers to the practice of a person who likes to use big words in excess. I couldn’t help but think that people could accuse me of this if I told them often that my first parish assignment as a newly ordained priest was in a town near a lake with a 45-letter name called Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.

Over the past months, Catholics of our diocese have been tuning in to the virtual liturgy of their choice every Sunday.  While the benefits of the virtual Mass cannot be denied, it does have its limitations.  First and foremost is the fact that watching Mass and being there are two different things. The participation of those watching the liturgy on YouTube, Facebook or TV is done in isolation, not in community.  From apostolic times, what distinguished Christians from their neighbors of other religions was the emphasis on community. Religion was never perceived as an individual affair, albeit does contain an individual component which we call “personal prayer.” From the earliest records, we have learned that Christians gathered in groups for worship, whence arose the concept of “Assembly of the faithful” or “Ecclesia” in Greek. From this term, the German  “Kirche” translates into the English word “Church.” 

In our Gospel passages in these last weeks of Easter, we start to see a shift from the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, to meditations about the ongoing presence of the Risen Christ in the life of His Church through the Spirit. We hear Jesus promise the Apostles the Paraclete, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. This Gospel beckons us back to the Last Supper and Jesus’ last words with His disciples before being arrested and put on trial. How long Jesus must have thought about what He wanted to share with His dearest friends at this last chance to speak privately with them. He knew what was ahead for Himself with His crucifixion, and what was ahead for the disciples and their ministries. He must have wanted to reassure them that even though things might not appear to be so in the eyes of the world, all would work out well in God’s plan. As they watched His arrest, torture and crucifixion, the Apostles must have felt that evil did have the upper hand, but Jesus did not want them to believe this.