APRIL 29, 2012 : FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Fourth Sunday of Easter 

 (49th WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS)
Lectionary: 50

Reading 1 Acts 4:8-12

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said:
"Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

R. (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia. 
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia. 
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia. 
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his kindness endures forever.
R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.
or:
R. Alleluia. 

Reading 2 1 Jn 3:1-2

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.

Gospel Jn 10:11-18

Jesus said:
"I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father."

Scripture Study

Happy Easter! Yes it is still Easter. The farther away from Easter Sunday we get the more important it is to remind ourselves that the Church is still celebrating Easter. In fact the Resurrection is so central to Christianity that every Sunday, all year long, is a celebration of Easter. The Easter Season continues this week with the Fourth Sunday of Easter. This week the readings ask us to consider several questions. Do I hear and recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd? How well do I reflect the attitude of Christ when things don't go my way? Do I treasure the Gift of the Holy Spirit that was given to me at Baptism or do I ignore and forget it in my daily life?

NOTES on First Reading:

* 4:8-12 This is Peter's first discourse before the Sanhedrin and, like the second (5:29-32), it is an apologia rather than a sermon but it tends to follow the same schema as the apostolic mission sermons to the Jews. Because of the context, in verse 12 there is a replacement of the usual call for repentance with a declaration of the saving power of Jesus. 

The speech is a concise answer to the question asked by the interrogators in verse 7. 

* 4:8 The first words of the verse remind the reader of the promise of the Spirit's teaching. 

* 4:10 The last two clauses of this verse are a condensed restatement of 3:12-15. It is the tersest formulation of the Christological kerygma found in the apostolic sermons to the Jews. 

* 4:11 The early Christians applied this quote from Psalm 118:22 to Jesus. See also Mark 12:10; and 1 Peter 2:7. 

* 4:12 In the Roman world of the first century, salvation was often attributed to the emperor who was hailed as "savior" and "god." Peter's words deny that deliverance comes through anyone other than Jesus.

NOTES on Second Reading:

* 3:1-3 Jesus Himself is the greatest sign of God's love because He is the Son of God given for us that has made Christians true children of God. Although this relationship is already a reality, it will not be fully manifest until the life to come. True knowledge of God will ultimately be gained but Christians prepare themselves now by virtuous lives in imitation of the Son. 

There are three consequences of this affirmation: 
Christians do not belong to the world which failed to receive Jesus (John 15:18-19; 17:14-16). Christians will lead lives of holiness like Christ (John 17:17-19). Christians are confident of an even greater salvation in the future (John 17:24). 

* 3:2 The Him who will be revealed is most probably Christ. There was a common theme in Hellenistic religious literature "that like would know like." The human who knows God is Divinized. For the Johannine tradition this was mediated through Jesus. Jesus possessed the Divine name and equality with God (John 17:11-12). He has shared that name with His followers (John 17:6, 26). They in turn have shared Jesus' fate at the hands of the world (John 15:21) and will witness His glory (John 17:24). see also 1 Cor 13:12; 2 Cor 3:18.

NOTES on Gospel:

* 10:11-13 The Greek word, "kalos," which is translated as "good" means good in the sense of noble or ideal not simply "good at" something. The bad shepherd lets the sheep be eaten by wolves but the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Mark 14:27 refers to Zech 13:7 about the slaying of the shepherd and the scattering of the sheep. It seems that the good shepherd image was already part of the passion tradition and not a particularly Johannine image. 

* 10:14-15 This saying of Jesus is more characteristically from John's tradition. It emphasizes how the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is like the relationship between Jesus and the Father. This relationship is the basis for the sacrifice that Jesus makes for the sheep. John 15:12-17 uses the imagery of friendship to describe Jesus' death in the context of such a relationship. 

* 10:16 The mention of other sheep may refer to the Gentiles or possibly it may be a reference to "God's dispersed children" destined to be gathered into one in John 11:52. It may also be a reference to "apostolic Christians" at odds with the community of the beloved disciple. This term takes in all the communities founded by the other apostles. 

* 10:18 Notice the contrast between this statement and the role of the Father as the efficient cause of the resurrection in Acts 2:24; 4:10; etc.; Romans 1:4; 4:24. But even here is added: This command I have received from my Father.

Meditation:  "I am the Good Shepherd"

Do you know the peace and security of the Good Shepherd who watches over his own? The Old Testament often speaks of God as shepherd of his people, Israel. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1). Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! (Psalm 80:1) We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 100:3). The Messiah is also pictured as the shepherd of God's people: He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms (Isaiah 40:11). Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd who will risk his life to seek out and save the stray sheep (Matthew 18:12, Luke 15:4). He is the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls (1 Peter 2:25).
Jesus made three promises to his followers. He promised them everlasting life. If they accept him and follow him, they will have the life of God in them. Jesus also promised them a life that would know no end. Death would not be the end but the beginning; they would know the glory of indestructible life. Jesus promised a life that was secure. Jesus said that nothing would snatch them out of his hand, not even sorrow and death, since he is everlasting life itself. Our lives are safe in his hands.
The words which Jesus spoke upset many of the Jewish leaders. How could he speak with the same authority which God spoke and claim to be equal with God? He must either be insane or divine. Unfortunately some thought he was mad even though he cured a man who was blind from birth. We are faced with the same choice. Either Jesus is who he claims to be – the Son of God and Savior of the world – or the world's greatest deluder! We cannot be indifferent to his claim.  For those who accept him as Lord and Savior he offers the peace and security of unending life and joy with God. Do you know the peace and security of a life fully submitted to Christ?
Cyril of Alexander, a 5th century church father comments on Jesus as our Good Shepherd:

“He shows in what manner a shepherd may be proved good; and He teaches that he must be prepared to give up his life fighting in defense of his sheep, which was fulfilled in Christ.  For man has departed from the love of God, and fallen into sin, and because of this was, I say, excluded from the divine abode of paradise, and when he was weakened by that disaster, he yielded to the devil tempting him to sin, and death following that sin he became the prey of fierce and ravenous wolves.  But after Christ was announced as the True Shepherd of all men, He laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16), fighting for us against that pack of inhuman beasts.  He bore the Cross for us, that by His own death he might destroy death.  He was condemned for us, that He might deliver all of us from the sentence of punishment: the tyranny of sin being overthrown by our faith: fastening to the Cross the decree that stood against us, as it is written (Colossians 2:14). Therefore as the father of sin had as it were shut up the sheep in hell, giving them to death to feed on, as it is written in the psalms (Ps. Xlviii.16), He died for us as truly Good, and truly our Shepherd, so that the dark shadow of death driven away He might join us to the company of the blessed in heaven; and in exchange for abodes that lie far in the depths of the pit, and in the hidden places of the sea, grant us mansions in His Father’s House above.  Because of this he says to us in another place: Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you a kingdom (Luke 12:32)."

Do you listen attentively to the voice of the Good Shepherd and obey his word?

"Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd who keeps watch over our lives. May I be ever attentive to your voice and submit fully to your wise rule for my life.  Draw me near to you that I may always find peace and joy in your presence.”

(Don Schwager)

The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone

‘The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.’
‘I am the good shepherd’ is one of seven statements in John’s Gospel in which Jesus defines his mission and the qualities needed to accomplish it. That it captured the imagination of the early Christians is evident from their many artistic depictions of Jesus in that role; and, in our own day, the popularity of the ‘shepherd psalm’ (Psalm 22/23) in funeral liturgies bespeaks a similar predilection.

Jesus returned to this image when he applied it to the mission of his disciples, especially those called to servant leadership. ‘Feed my lambs; feed my sheep’ is his command to Peter (John 21:15-17). 

Jesus’ words, ‘I know my own and my own know me’, are both comforting and challenging. There is no doubt that he knows and loves us intimately. But how well do we know him?

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

SUFFERING

When Christ was in pain we were in pain. All creatures of God's creation that can suffer pain suffered with him. The sky and the earth failed at the time of Christ's dying because he too was part of nature.

-         Julian of Norwich

(Daily Prayer Online)

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Shine Through Me
The presence of Jesus among us is just that—a widespread presence among all of God’s people. We are able to embed the wonders of the presence of God within us. Each of us can and must be the “Jesus Presence” in this world around us.
— from Eucharistic Adoration

April 29
St. Catherine of Siena
(1347-1380)

"St.Catherine's mystic communion" by Francesco Brizzi.

The value Catherine makes central in her short life and which sounds clearly and consistently through her experience is complete surrender to Christ. What is most impressive about her is that she learns to view her surrender to her Lord as a goal to be reached through time.

She was the 23rd child of Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa and grew up as an intelligent, cheerful and intensely religious person. Catherine disappointed her mother by cutting off her hair as a protest against being overly encouraged to improve her appearance in order to attract a husband. Her father ordered her to be left in peace, and she was given a room of her own for prayer and meditation.
She entered the Dominican Third Order at 18 and spent the next three years in seclusion, prayer and austerity. Gradually a group of followers gathered around her—men and women, priests and religious. An active public apostolate grew out of her contemplative life. Her letters, mostly for spiritual instruction and encouragement of her followers, began to take more and more note of public affairs. Opposition and slander resulted from her mixing fearlessly with the world and speaking with the candor and authority of one completely committed to Christ. She was cleared of all charges at the Dominican General Chapter of 1374.
Her public influence reached great heights because of her evident holiness, her membership in the Dominican Third Order, and the deep impression she made on the pope. She worked tirelessly for the crusade against the Turks and for peace between Florence and the pope
In 1378, the Great Schism began, splitting the allegiance of Christendom between two, then three, popes and putting even saints on opposing sides. Catherine spent the last two years of her life in Rome, in prayer and pleading on behalf of the cause of Urban VI and the unity of the Church. She offered herself as a victim for the Church in its agony. She died surrounded by her "children."
Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church. In 1939, she and Francis of Assisi were declared co-patrons of Italy. Paul VI named her and Teresa of Avila doctors of the Church in 1970. Her spiritual testament is found in The Dialogue.

The Chapel of Saint Catherine with parts of her relics in the Basilica of San Domenico in Siena.

Comment:

Though she lived her life in a faith experience and spirituality far different from that of our own time, Catherine of Siena stands as a companion with us on the Christian journey in her undivided effort to invite the Lord to take flesh in her own life. Events which might make us wince or chuckle or even yawn fill her biographies: a mystical experience at six, childhood betrothal to Christ, stories of harsh asceticism, her frequent ecstatic visions. Still, Catherine lived in an age which did not know the rapid change of 21st-century mobile America. The value of her life for us today lies in her recognition of holiness as a goal to be sought over the course of a lifetime.

Quote:

Catherine's book Dialogue contains four treatises—her testament of faith to the spiritual world. She wrote, "No one should judge that he has greater perfection because he performs great penances and gives himself in excess to the staying of the body than he who does less, inasmuch as neither virtue nor merit consists therein; for otherwise he would be an evil case, who for some legitimate reason was unable to do actual penance. Merit consists in the virtue of love alone, flavored with the light of true discretion without which the soul is worth nothing."

Sarcophagus of Saint Catherine beneath the High Altar of the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Roma.

Patron Saint of:

Europe
Italy

April 29
Blessed Ludovico of Casoria
(1814-1885)

Born in Casoria (near Naples), Arcangelo Palmentieri was a cabinet-maker before entering the Friars Minor in 1832, taking the name Ludovico. After his ordination five years later, he taught chemistry, physics and mathematics to younger members of his province for several years.

In 1847 he had a mystical experience which he later described as a cleansing. After that he dedicated his life to the poor and the infirm, establishing a dispensary for the poor, two schools for African children, an institute for the children of nobility, as well as an institution for orphans, the deaf and the speechless, and other institutes for the blind, elderly and for travelers. In addition to an infirmary for friars of his province, he began charitable institutes in Naples, Florence and Assisi. He once said, "Christ’s love has wounded my heart." This love prompted him to great acts of charity.
To help continue these works of mercy, in 1859 he established the Gray Brothers, a religious community composed of men who formerly belonged to the Secular Franciscan Order. Three years later he founded the Gray Sisters of St. Elizabeth for the same purpose.
Toward the beginning of his final, nine-year illness, Ludovico wrote a spiritual testament which described faith as "light in the darkness, help in sickness, blessing in tribulations, paradise in the crucifixion and life amid death." The local work for his beatification began within five months of Ludovico’s death. He was beatified in 1993.

Comment:

Saintly people are not protected from suffering, but with God’s help they learn how to develop compassion from it. In the face of great suffering, we move either toward compassion or indifference. Saintly men and women show us the path toward compassion.

Quote:

Ludovico’s spiritual testament begins: "The Lord called me to himself with a most tender love, and with an infinite charity he led and directed me along the path of my life."