I’ll bet a lot of you are getting tired of hearing about the Internet. Everybody’s writing about it, everybody seems to be talking about it and the electronic media is full of it. Hmm, maybe I could have phrased that better. In any case, it’s a big deal, but one that doesn’t seem relevant to many people.

Well, it’s about to become more relevant. St. Malachi’s new web site is now on-line. In itself, it may not be enough to compel people to go out and buy a computer, but it might be a deciding factor for others. There are many other benefits to Internet access, E-mail being the biggest one.

As the Communications Committee moves forward, the web site is the catalyst for various changes we are planning. Mainly, we need to expand participation in the opportunities we present — the Newsletter, Communio, the web site. On the inside, we need more people to work on these projects. From the outside, we need to involve other Malachi committees and ministries more regularly.

Volunteers beware: we need help with editing, writing, transcribing tapes, working on layouts, and just being liaisons with the committees and ministries.

Committee chairs beware: we will be bugging you to make communications more of a priority.

One concern of mine is providing access to the Internet. Now that we have a web site, we need to get people to use it. This may involve providing resources to get people to use computers they already own, or contacts for low-cost used equipment. We can’t forget that while the cost of computers has gone down significantly in the last year, they are still out of reach for many people, including members of the Community.

This issue came up during the recent bishops' conference on the Internet last month in Denver. "As I see it, the issue of access is the overarching new justice issue," said Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony. He advocated governmental action to address this, but I believe it is something we can take up locally.

For those who do have a computer, some are concerned about the possibility that their children might be inadvertently exposed to some of the Internet’s morally offensive content. One way around that is to sign up for an Internet service provider like Catholic Access, based in Englewood, Colo.

According to a letter Father Tony passed along to Communio, "Catholic-Access.net is offering unlimited Internet access bundled with filtering software which blocks entry to most unacceptable web sites." To contact this service, the web site is at www.catholic-access.net or call toll-free 888-298-9638. The fee is $19.95 a month plus a one-time setup charge of $15. Catholic Access donates $5 of each month’s fee to a charity designated by the user.

However, we are fortunate to be living in a city where the cost of Internet service is extremely low, less than $10 a month in some cases. Several of us now use the Stratos service (216-902-4330) that allows you to pay in advance. That brings the annual amount down to $100, quite a bit lower than the $240 for the $20 a month services. At that price, extras like filtering are not available, but there is software on the market that does the same thing. An even lower-cost option is to monitor the "history" function, which is found on the major browsers. That will tell you where on the web the kids have been, which can be an effective deterrent if they know you are checking.

A big thanks to Bill Kessel for all the hours he has put in designing the web site and shaping the content for it. Also thanks to Bill, Joan Nuth, Diane Brinich, Father Tony, Frank Schiros, and Rosemarie DeJohn for sending material in for this issue of Communio.

The next issue is May 10 with a May 3 deadline.

Throughout history, the church has relied on the written Word as a major conduit of the faith.

God delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses on stone tablets. During the middle ages, monks spent their entire lives transcribing a single copy of the Bible – by hand! – intended for only the very rich and learned or other monks and clerics. Finally, Gutenberg developed the printing press around 1450 A.D., creating a reliable and inexpensive means for disseminating information on a larger scale. Later developments in publishing centered on improvements on the press. And on political changes, most significantly the American Revolution and the installation of the U.S. Constitution, which established the right of freedom of speech and the press for all.

The latest significant development in publishing will do nothing less radical than change the way we live, work and worship: the Internet. It is now possible to create a document once requiring days or weeks to publish, and post it on the Internet in a matter of minutes. Once posted, anyone with Internet access can view the document within seconds – from anywhere in the world!

The Vatican recognized this potential some time ago and posted the Vatican Web site, <www.vatican.va>. The site is so large it has its own location extension <.va>! The Cleveland Catholic Diocese thought the Internet so important that it purchased one of the largest Internet servers in Cleveland for the entire Diocese. Further, they initiated the CDC-2000 project, designed to connect every parish within the Diocese to a wide-area network (WAN) and give each parish in the Diocese an Internet presence.

Under the CDC-2000 plan, parishes are free to create their own sites or have the Diocese create one for them. They can also opt for their own service provider, if they have the money. Either way, we are required to have a web page by Jan. 1, 2000.

That we have done, and more! Today, you can find St. Malachi On-Line at <http://www.cle-dioc.org/stmalachi/index.htm>. Alternatively, you can access the Diocesan site at: <http://www.cle-dioc.org>, and then follow the links to our site. But note that our page will be slowed down by the Diocese site banner at the top of the page. If you access our site from the longer address, the page will load faster and leave you more room to view our site. However, all this may change soon as we are looking into purchasing our own Malachi Internet address, which will be considerably shorter.

St. Malachi On-Line will bring you the news and events of the Parish and Community, St. Malachi Center, Malachi Mart, as well as links to Urban Community School, Malachi House, FutureChurch, and Bishop Anthony Pilla’s bi-weekly message — and much, much more.

St. Malachi’s web site is best viewed with a 486DX or faster processor, an SVGA monitor set to 800x600 resolution, a modem with a speed of 14400 bps or faster, a frames-capable Internet browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or Netscape 3.0 or higher) and a reliable Internet connection. But to make it accessible to as wide an audience as possible, we will soon provide a simpler, no-frames option for those with older computers or browsers.

St. Malachi On-Line is up and running today, but is far from complete, and it will always be a work in progress. Plans include: a complete archive of Communio and Community Bulletins, favorite homilies (if anybody has a tape of that wonderful Christmas Day 1989 homily by Bishop Lyke, please contact me), historical photos and artifacts, and more. Further, I plan on changing the site bit by bit to include backgrounds and colors created from images from the inside of the church – designed to give the user a familiar, "at-home" feel. I’ll even change the background colors and color schemes to reflect the official colors of the liturgical year!

If you would like to get involved with the Communications Committee, its publications and St. Malachi On-Line, we need people willing to transcribe taped homilies into a word-processor format (one that is capable of saving as text), reporters to write news or feature stories, do interviews and cover committee meetings. One future possibility is an on-line discussion area for parishioners and Community members to express needs, ideas and opinions.

So stop by the site and look around! Add your two cents worth via e-mail and enjoy the site. We’ll have new material weekly, so visit often – and watch us grow into the new millennium! By the way, Father Tony’s E-mail address is <malachi@mail.cle-dioc.org>.

What actually happened to Jesus in the resurrection? We can find a clue to the answer in Paul’s explanation in 1 Corinthians 15:42-57, where he talks about resurrection in general. Paul tells us that by being raised from the dead by God, Jesus was transformed from being perishable to imperishable, from a condition of dishonor to one of glory, from weakness to power, from being a "physical body" to being a "spiritual body." This means that Jesus underwent a complete transformation in his resurrection. He is no longer subject to the limits of space and time, but he has been transferred into God’s realm, beyond history, into God’s eternity, sharing in God’s power and glory.

It is perfectly clear, then, that the risen Jesus was not present to the disciples in the same way he had been before the resurrection. He is not to be thought of as a resuscitated corpse, as if his dead body got up out of the grave and began walking around the earth as he had done before. Jesus was not, in other words, a vampire or a zombie! No, his presence to them was vastly different from what it had been before his death.

This brings us to a second question: what actually happened to the disciples in their experiences of the Risen Christ? Scripture scholars have given us a history of the development of the resurrection narratives. In the beginning, the good news about the resurrection seems to have been a simple proclamation, similar to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. We know that this letter was written in the early 50s, making it one of the oldest pieces of writing in the New Testament. And Paul claims that he is passing down an even older tradition that has been given to him. So we are safe in assuming that in the beginning, teaching about the resurrection included a simple proclamation with no details: "that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures." To this Paul adds a list of people who experienced "appearances" of the risen Christ: Peter, the twelve, the 500, James, and himself. With the exception of himself, this list was doubtless also part of the tradition handed down to Paul. Interestingly, the women who figure so prominently in the gospel traditions surrounding the empty tomb are not mentioned by Paul.

Eventually, however, reflection on the meaning of the resurrection evolved into elaborately detailed stories, designed to make certain theological points. These stories fall into two distinct genres: the empty tomb tradition (Mk 16:1-8, Mt 27:62-28:15; Lk 24:1-12; Jn 20:1-18) and the appearance narratives (Mt 28:16-20; Lk 24:13-53; Jn 20:11-18, 20:19-31 and 21:1-19). Scholars are in disagreement over the historicity and dating of the empty tomb tradition. Some think it relatively early and historically founded. Others think it late with little or no historical foundation. Some of the latter see its origin in a liturgical rite celebrated by the early church in the vicinity of the tomb where Jesus was laid. In any event, the empty tomb by itself cannot create faith in the resurrection. It is a negative piece of evidence, creating more questions than answers: How did the tomb get empty? Did the disciples move the body of Jesus elsewhere? Did someone steal the body? Did the women go to the wrong tomb? The disciples based their belief in Jesus’ resurrection on something far more positive than this.

This leaves us with the appearance tradition, to which the story we read in today’s gospel belongs. How ought we understand a story such as this one? In his book "The Reality of Jesus," Dermot Lane provides us with what I think is a plausible explanation. The rest of this column is based upon his reflections.

First, we know that the stories of this tradition are all vastly different from one another, each one written by a particular author for a particular purpose to a particular community. They do not agree in all details. However, there does seem to be a consistent pattern present in all the stories, which might give us some clue about what happened to the disciples.

The first point of the pattern is that the disciples are sad, disconsolate, even despairing at the loss of Jesus. In our story today, they are back in Galilee, not quite knowing what to do with themselves, when Peter says, "I am going fishing." Several others decide to go with him, but they fish all night and catch nothing, symbolic, perhaps, of the emptiness of their lives without Jesus (vv. 1-3).

The next point of the pattern is that Jesus takes the initiative, usually uttering some sort of greeting. In this story, "just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach" and he addresses them as "children," a greeting with deep meaning in the Johannine tradition (vv. 4-5). This point is important, because we ought not to think that the experience of Christ’s presence after his death was simply wishful thinking or delusion on the part of the disciples. Something happened to them that changed their lives radically.

The next point of the pattern is particularly important for trying to understand the disciples’ experience. In many of the stories, the disciples do not recognize Jesus at first, but then something happens which causes them to recognize him. Here, for example, Jesus stood on the beach, "but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus." He tells them, "cast the net to the right side of the boat" and they catch so many fish they can hardly haul them in (vv. 4-6). It is then that the moment of recognition occurs. Here it is predictably the beloved disciple, the most important disciple for the Johannine community, who says "It is the Lord!" (v. 7). Subsequently, they all join Jesus on the beach where they share a meal.

We might ask at this point, why don’t the disciples recognize Jesus? If he had been physically present to them, or if they saw him with their physical eyes, surely they would have recognized him. They had traveled all over Galilee and Judea with him. Could it be that their experience of him was not available at all to their physical senses? But that something they did together, perhaps in his name, caused them to experience his spiritual presence? This is, in fact, the conclusion Lane and other scholars have drawn about these narratives. They are literary creations to help us understand what the experience of the Risen Christ was like. The fact that the disciples do not recognize Jesus is a literary device for revealing that Jesus is in a different form from previously. The fact that Jesus does something to reveal his identity is a literary device, making the point that this is the same Jesus the disciples knew before his death.

What do we know so far? After Jesus’ death, the disciples were depressed and despairing. They had unexpected experiences of Christ that caused them to know he was still alive and present with them, particularly when they repeated certain things that were in continuity with his historical presence. In today’s gospel story, two things provide the point of recognition: the miraculous catch of fish and the meal. We know that one of the historical Jesus’ most characteristic actions was eating and drinking with his disciples, an action he repeated with particular significance on the night before he died. Then he had told them to "do this in my memory." Doubtless, they did so. And in those celebrations of holy meals, where they remembered Jesus, they experienced him as present with them through the power of his Holy Spirit. We experience something similar to this whenever we gather for Eucharist.

The catch of fish in this story is interesting. There is a similar story in Luke 5:1-11, which is linked specifically to Peter’s call to apostleship. Today’s gospel story also involves Peter, as we shall see in a moment. Metaphorically, the story works to show that we can do much better with the help of Jesus what we might very well fail at without him.

The final point of the pattern we have been exploring is the call to mission that is often accompanied by the bestowal of the Holy Spirit. In today’s gospel, after the picnic on the beach, Jesus calls Peter to him and asks him three times, "do you love me?" Three times, Peter answers in the affirmative (thus making up for his threefold denial of Christ during the passion). Each time, Peter is told, "Feed my lambs, feed my sheep" (vv. 15-17). In the other stories, the commission is given to the disciples as a whole (Mt 28:18, Lk 24:49, Jn 20:22-23) or to another individual (Mary Magdalene in Jn 20:17). The point here is that belief in the resurrection is not simply something intellectual; nor is it something simply for one’s own spiritual growth and consolation. True faith in the resurrection is shown through spreading the good news to others. The disciples were called to witness to the continuing presence of the Risen Christ among them by living their lives according to the pattern of his, continuing his life of love, forgiveness and service in our world.

What happened to the disciples? They experienced in a deeply profound way the presence of the Risen Christ among them whenever they acted in accordance with his example and commands. Some of these experiences clearly resemble our experiences of the Risen Christ in the sacraments. When they gathered for a meal in his name, Christ was there among them, similar to our experience of Eucharist. When they went out to preach in his name, Christ, through the Holy Spirit, was with them, empowering them and giving them courage and zeal for the gospel. This is similar to our experience of the graces of confirmation. They also experienced the forgiveness of the Risen Christ, as we heard in last Sunday’s gospel, an experience that they were to pass on to one another, similar to the significance of the sacrament of reconciliation. In short, the powerful presence of the Risen Christ through the Holy Spirit changed the disciples from being fearful, weak and despairing to being Christ’s ardent workers for the fullness of God’s reign among us.

Reading the resurrection narratives this way can help make the resurrection as real in our own lives, as it was in the lives of the first followers of Jesus. Doubtless, their resurrection conversion experiences were more intense and surprising, because they had known the historical Jesus. But they were in direct continuity with the way we experience the Risen Christ today. They were not essentially different. What happened to the disciples in the first century continues to happen to us at the close of the 20th. Let us pray for the grace to recognize more clearly Christ’s presence and call to us, and to respond with eager hearts.

A wonderful event will take place on May 3 at 11:00 a.m. Mass: children of St. Malachi will celebrate their First Communion. I hope that the Community will welcome their presence as they participate in the body of the Mass to make this sacrament more meaningful to them. I believe that a community needs to support their members as they experience such major steps in their lives.

The ongoing debate about the length of Mass concerns me as we bring our children to the Table of the Lord. Will the congregation be looking at their watches instead of being spiritual support for our children?

The decision to have sacraments of Baptism and First Communion at the Mass was a way to embrace our families with the strength of the commitment of the Community of St. Malachi. Please come to Mass on May 3 with a joyful heart as we help these children become more fully a part of our church.

When evangelization starts moving beyond the family circle, some people tend to get uncomfortable. After all, no one wants to be thought of as a wild-eyed fanatic. So the best place to start evangelizing is with your friends-those who cut you some slack. We all have friends who are "unchurched" or ‘barely churched." During the coming year, try to convince just one of them to consider returning to the faith.

Sometimes a program in your parish helps. "Come Home for Christ" is often used. Build on the trust and love you already have with those persons. Ask the Lord to provide you with just the right opportunity to speak to your friends about the faith.

Wait a minute, you might be saying! My faith story? Yes, yours! The Lord has touched the hearts of each one of us with His truth and love. So take a minute and think of the ways God has touched your life.

• Some convert from other faiths.
• Some convert from "don’t know, don’t care."
• Some cradle Catholics to whom one day the faith took over.

Then write down some of those highlights, don’t be afraid to share them when you’re talking to family or friends. You’ll be able to speak personally about your faith. Don’t underestimate the power of personal testimony. We use it every day in the world of business or in law or medicine. We should use our own story of conversion to an active Catholicism to spread the faith to others. People will think more seriously about their faith if we’re willing to say what it means to us.

It’s not against the law to speak about God. No one can order you to leave your faith at home when you go to work in the morning. Be conscious of God’s presence in your daily life-in decisions great and small. Don’t be afraid to mention, even to your colleagues, how God works in your life. Doing so helps raise people’s awareness that God is very much alive in our midst.

When a family member, friend or colleague seems ready, speak to them about Jesus! You don’t have to be a theologian to do this, but you do have to know and love Jesus! And you have to be able to express, in clear and concise terms, Who Jesus is and what He did to save us. Think of yourself as making an introduction to an important friend! You do it all the time at home, at work and in social situations. In evangelizing, you are simply introducing a well-disposed person to Jesus.

More than a few of the adults I’ve baptized over the years told me they took this step because a friend brought them to Church. If you work downtown, ask a friendly co-worker if he or she would like to attend noon Mass with you. Invite your friends.

When Catalino Vazquez was introduced to the other clients at the Hispanic Senior Center on Cleveland’s near west side, he received warm and enthusiastic applause. He knew he was at home. Before joining the center, Catalino, age 70, found himself home alone all day.

"For four years, I was locked up in my house, locked inside myself," he says. This is common for many older adults, particularly those who have language and cultural barriers that can lead to isolation.

The Hispanic Senior Center is a place where this population gets help overcoming these barriers while, more importantly, finding friendship and support. The Hispanic Senior Center also offers hot meals, transportation and health screenings.

Tammy Cooper claims she has always been a single mother — even during her brief marriage. At least that is how she feels about the father of her children, who walked out on them before her children could recognize him.

Tammy’s road to healing began with Divorce Recovery class for children offered by Catholic Charities Services, Summit County. The children also go to Catholic Charities Services’ after-school program where they receive tutoring and participate in safe, structured, recreational activities.

These support services have helped Tammy and her children build a foundation for a better future. After her first semester at the University of Akron, where Tammy is working on a degree in nutrition, she earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

A gift to Catholic Charities can help turn despair into hope for someone in your community. In 1997, Catholic Charities served 600,000 people and raised $13.7 million — $10.5 million through the Annual Parish Appeal and the generosity of people like you.

Without these funds, people in our Diocese would be lacking basic emergency services, such as food and shelter. Plus other services for people with disabilities, older adults, and children and families — services that yield hope in a world that sometimes seems hopeless.

This year’s overall fund-raising goal is $14 million, including a record $12 million for the Annual Parish Appeal. Give generously. Give hope.

English title: A Call to Action

Author: Pope Paul VI

Date: May, 1971

Main Points: Addresses urbanization and the new social problems it has created — such as a new loneliness and specific problems for youth, women, and the "new poor." ("New poor" includes the elderly, the handicapped, and the cities’ marginalized — people disadvantaged because of urbanization.)

Notes lingering discrimination because of race, origin, color, culture, sex, and religion. Stresses personal responsibility on the part of Christians in seeing that injustice is challenged.

In combating injustice, need to focus on political action — not just economic action. Encourages individual Christians and local churches to apply gospel principles of justice to contemporary situations and take appropriate political action.

Context: The world is verging on a recession, so the "new poor" are especially vulnerable. Follows a decade of action in the U.S. on behalf of civil rights, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Coincides with the women’s movement of the early 1970s and continuing student protests against the Vietnam War.

Innovation: The role of individual Christians in responding to injustice.

Trivia: This was an open apostolic letter to Cardinal Maurice Roy, president of the Pontifical Commission on Justice and Peace. Commemorates the 80th Anniversary of Rerum novarum.

I encountered a young fox cub. He was alone in a dread universe. I crept on my knees around the prow of a fallen tree and crouched beside him. It was a small fox pup from a den under the timbers who looked up at me. God knows what had become of his brothers and sisters. His parent must not have been home from hunting. He innocently selected what I think was a chicken bone from an untidy pile of splintered rubbish and shook it at me invitingly. There was a vast and playful humor in his face. Here it was in the midst of the bones, a wide eyed, innocent fox inviting me to play, with the innate courtesy of its two forepaws placed appealing together, along with a mock shake of its head. The universe was swinging in some fantastic fashion to present its face, and the face was so small that the universe itself was laughing.

Gravely I arranged my forepaws while the puppy whimpered with ill-concealed excitement. I drew the breadth of a fox’s den into my nostrils. On impulse, I picked up clumsily a whiter bone and shook it in teeth that had not entirely forgotten their original purpose. Round and round we tumbled for one ecstatic moment. It is the gravest, most meaningful act I shall ever accomplish.

The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.

Evening massage — 6 p.m.

The pastor would appreciate if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.

The audience is asked to remain seated until the end of the recession.

Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. Please use the back door.

Ushers will eat latecomers.

The third verse of Blessed Assurance will be sung without musical accomplishment.

For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

The Rev. Merriwether spoke briefly, much to the delight of the audience.

The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth into Joy."

During the absence of our pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.

A song fest was hell at the Methodist church Wednesday.

Next Sunday Mrs. Vinson will be soloist for the morning service. The pastor will then speak on "It’s a Terrible Experience."

Due to the Rector’s illness, Wednesday’s healing service will be discontinued until further notice.

The music for today’s service was all composed by George Friedrich Handel in celebration of the 300th anniversary of his birth.

The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the church basement Friday at 7 p.m. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

The concert held in Fellowship Hall was a great success. Special thanks are due to the minister’s daughter, who labored the whole evening at the piano, which as usual fell upon her.

Twenty-two members were present at the church meeting held at the home of Mrs. Marsha Crutchfield last evening. Mrs. Crutchfield and Mrs. Rankin sang a duet, The Lord Knows Why.

Today’s Sermon: "How Much Can A Man Drink?" with hymns from a full choir.