Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 279
Lectionary: 279
The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea
heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem
the circumcised believers confronted him, saying,
'You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them."
Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,
"I was at prayer in the city of Joppa
when in a trance I had a vision,
something resembling a large sheet coming down,
lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.
Looking intently into it,
I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,
the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.
I also heard a voice say to me, 'Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.'
But I said, 'Certainly not, sir,
because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
But a second time a voice from heaven answered,
'What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.'
This happened three times,
and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.
Just then three men appeared at the house where we were,
who had been sent to me from Caesarea.
The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.
These six brothers also went with me,
and we entered the man's house.
He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,
'Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,
who will speak words to you
by which you and all your household will be saved.'
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
'John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?"
When they heard this,
they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,
"God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too."
heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem
the circumcised believers confronted him, saying,
'You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them."
Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,
"I was at prayer in the city of Joppa
when in a trance I had a vision,
something resembling a large sheet coming down,
lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.
Looking intently into it,
I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,
the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.
I also heard a voice say to me, 'Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.'
But I said, 'Certainly not, sir,
because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
But a second time a voice from heaven answered,
'What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.'
This happened three times,
and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.
Just then three men appeared at the house where we were,
who had been sent to me from Caesarea.
The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.
These six brothers also went with me,
and we entered the man's house.
He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,
'Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,
who will speak words to you
by which you and all your household will be saved.'
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
'John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?"
When they heard this,
they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,
"God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too."
Responsorial
PsalmPS 42:2-3; 43:3, 4
R.(see 3a) Athirst
is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaJN 10:14
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 10:1-10
Jesus said:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, please
go here.
Meditation: "I came
that they may have life abundantly"
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 Shepherdwho 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).
The
Good Shepherd and Guardian of our souls
What can shepherding teach us about God and our relationship with him? At the end of each day the shepherd brought his sheep into shelter. They knew the voice of their shepherd and came at his beckoning. So familiar was the shepherd and his sheep, that each was called by a distinct name. In the winter the sheep were usually brought to a communal village shelter which was locked and kept secure by a guardian. In the summer months the sheep were usually kept out in the fields and then gathered into a fold at night which was guarded by a shepherd throughout the night. He was literally the door through which the sheep had to pass.
What can shepherding teach us about God and our relationship with him? At the end of each day the shepherd brought his sheep into shelter. They knew the voice of their shepherd and came at his beckoning. So familiar was the shepherd and his sheep, that each was called by a distinct name. In the winter the sheep were usually brought to a communal village shelter which was locked and kept secure by a guardian. In the summer months the sheep were usually kept out in the fields and then gathered into a fold at night which was guarded by a shepherd throughout the night. He was literally the door through which the sheep had to pass.
The
Scriptures describe God as a shepherd who brings security and peace to his
people. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this
time forth and for evermore (Psalm 120:8). Even the leaders of God's
people are called shepherds: they shall lead them out and bring them
in; that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep which have no
shepherd (Numbers 27:17). Just as a shepherd kept watch over his sheep
and protected them from danger, so Jesus stands watch over his people as
the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). Do you
know the peace and security of a life fully submitted to God?
Jesus
willingly laid down his life for us - the sheep he ransomed with his own
blood
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) writes: "He has accomplished what he taught us: He has shown us what He commanded us to do. He laid down his own life for his sheep, that within our mystery he might change his body and blood into food, and nourish the sheep he had redeemed with the food of his own flesh. He has shown us the way we must follow, despite fear of death. He has laid down the pattern to which we must conform ourselves. The first duty laid on us is to use our material goods in mercy for the needs of his sheep, and then, if necessary, give even our lives for them. He that will not give of his substance for his sheep, how shall he lay down his life for them?" (Tr. 46 in John). Do you look to Jesus the Good Shepherd, to receive the strength and courage you need to live and serve as his disciple?
St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) writes: "He has accomplished what he taught us: He has shown us what He commanded us to do. He laid down his own life for his sheep, that within our mystery he might change his body and blood into food, and nourish the sheep he had redeemed with the food of his own flesh. He has shown us the way we must follow, despite fear of death. He has laid down the pattern to which we must conform ourselves. The first duty laid on us is to use our material goods in mercy for the needs of his sheep, and then, if necessary, give even our lives for them. He that will not give of his substance for his sheep, how shall he lay down his life for them?" (Tr. 46 in John). Do you look to Jesus the Good Shepherd, to receive the strength and courage you need to live and serve as his disciple?
"Lord
Jesus, you always lead me in the way of true peace and safety. May I never
doubt your care nor stray from your ways. Keep me safe in the shelter of your
presence."
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: Green pastures and still waters,
by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The
pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled
you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green
things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which
as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your
pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown
as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God,
'How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in
my mouth!'" (excerpt from Sermon 366,3,1)
MONDAY, MAY 13, JOHN 10:1-10
Easter Weekday
Easter Weekday
KEY VERSE: "I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture" (v.9).
TO KNOW: The figure of God as a shepherd who guides and protects the flock was taken from Israel's pastoral life. Sheep, which belonged to various shepherds, were brought together in a sheepfold at night. At daybreak, the watchman would open the gate. The shepherd knew his own sheep and he would call each one by name as he led them out to pasture. The sheep recognized the shepherd's voice and would follow no one else. The shepherd would walk ahead of his flock as they followed him to a place where they would be safe from Jesus is the gateway for the sheep. In the evening, the shepherd would bring his sheep into the fold. He would lay down in front of the gate to protect the sheep from predators, and thieves who might "steal and slaughter and destroy" (John 10:10a). Those who enter through Jesus will be safe and have abundant life.
TO LOVE: Pray for Pope Francis and all bishops, the shepherds of God's people.
TO SERVE: Risen Lord, help me to follow you as you guide me day by day.
Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima
The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared six times in the small village of Fatima in Portugal to three shepherd children: Lucia, 9, and her cousins Francisco, 8, and his sister Jacinta, 6, between May 13, and October 13, 1917. Our Lady repeatedly emphasized the necessity of praying the rosary daily, of wearing the brown scapular of Mount Carmel and of performing acts of reparation and sacrifice on the Five First Saturdays of five consecutive months. Our Lady requested the solemn public consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. In the last apparition she revealed her name: “I am the Lady of the Rosary.” That same day, 70,000 people had turned out to witness the apparition. They saw the sun make three circles and move around the sky in an incredible zigzag movement in a manner which left no doubt about the veracity of the apparitions. By 1930 the Church approved the apparitions as authentic. The assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981 took place on May 13, the 64th anniversary of the apparitions. The Holy Father attributed his escape from certain death to the intervention of Our Lady. Two of the children, Jacinta and Francisco Martos, died shortly after the apparitions. Pope Francis presided over their canonization. Sr. Lucy Dos Santos, the eldest of the three, died after a long illness at the age of 97 on February 13, 2004. The case for her canonization is still being studied.
Monday 13 May 2019
OUR LADY OF FATIMA.
Acts 11:1-18. Psalm 41(42):2-3; 42(43):3-4. John 10:1-10.
My soul is thirsting for the living God – Psalm 41(42):2-3;
42(43):3-4.
‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’
There is a reminder in today’s gospel of the need to be in
relationship with God in order to recognise God’s voice calling us. Jesus said,
‘The sheep hear his voice. They follow because they know his voice. They do not
recognise the voice of strangers.’
It is sometimes difficult to hear God’s voice amidst the
cacophony of daily life. With news, emails, to-do lists, calendar commitments,
and social media, we often feel we need to disconnect from our technology in
order to reconnect with God. That is unless we use our technology to support
our life of prayer with scripture and our spiritual exercises of reflection on
experience.
Today let us spend time in prayer, attending to God’s presence,
and listening for the invitation of the Spirit within our hearts. May our souls
thirst for God, so that we can recognise God’s voice when he calls.
Our Lady of Fatima
Saint of the Day for May 13
The Story of Our Lady of Fatima
Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three Portuguese
children–Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia dos Santos–received
apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of
Lisbon. Mary asked the children to pray the rosary for world peace, for the end
of World War I, for sinners, and for the conversion of Russia.
Mary gave the children three secrets. Following the deaths of
Francisco and Jacinta in 1919 and 1920 respectively, Lucia revealed the first
secret in 1927. It concerned devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The
second secret was a vision of hell. When Lucia grew up she became a Carmelite
nun and died in 2005 at the age of 97.
Pope John Paul II directed the Holy See’s Secretary of State to
reveal the third secret in 2000; it spoke of a “bishop in white” who was shot
by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows into him. Many people
linked this vision to the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in
St. Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981.
The feast of Our Lady of Fatima was approved by the local bishop
in 1930; it was added to the Church’s worldwide calendar in 2002.
Reflection
The message of Fatima is simple: Pray. Unfortunately, some
people—not Sister Lucia—have distorted these revelations, making them into an
apocalyptic event for which they are now the only reliable interpreters. They
have, for example, claimed that Mary’s request that the world be consecrated to
her has been ignored. Sister Lucia agreed that Pope John Paul II’s public
consecration in St. Peter’s Square on March 25, 1984, fulfilled Mary’s request.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prepared a June 26, 2000,
document explaining the “third secret.”
Mary is perfectly honored when people generously imitate her
response “Let it be done to me as you say” (Luke 1:38). Mary can never be seen
as a rival to Jesus or to the Church’s teaching authority, as exercised by the
college of bishops united with the bishop of Rome.
Lectio Divina: John 10:1-10
Lectio Divina
Monday, May 13, 2019
Easter Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord God, our Father,
the Spirit of Jesus calls us, as He called your Son,
to abandon our old selves and our old world
to be free for new life and growth.Forgive us our fear and hesitations,
lead us out of our worn-out phrases and habits,
and our self-made certainties,
steep us in the gospel of Your Son,
that His good news may become credible
in our times and our world.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
the Spirit of Jesus calls us, as He called your Son,
to abandon our old selves and our old world
to be free for new life and growth.Forgive us our fear and hesitations,
lead us out of our worn-out phrases and habits,
and our self-made certainties,
steep us in the gospel of Your Son,
that His good news may become credible
in our times and our world.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading - John 10:1-10
Jesus said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not
enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a
robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The
gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own
sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks
ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But
they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do
not recognize the voice of strangers." Although Jesus used this figure of
speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said
again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who
came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I
am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go
out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I
came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
3) Reflection
• In Jesus we have the model of the true shepherd. In Him is
fulfilled the expectation of the Good Shepherd promised by God: the “Great
Shepherd”, greater than Moses (Hb 13:20).
• John 10:1-6: The gate of the sheepfold. In Jn 10:1-10 it is
said that Jesus is the “gate” to get to the sheep and to be led to the pastures
(10:7.9-10). The image of the gate has several connotations. A gate protects
what is inside, the sheep, from the evils outside. The gate is what keeps the
sheep in community together inside. The gate is also the way into this
community of sheep (the Church).
The theme of the sheep had already been introduced in John 2:15
and in a particular way in 5:2 where it is told that there was a pool with five
porticos along which were laid the sick to be healed. In this last context, the
sheep indicate the people who were oppressed by their leaders. In Jn 10:1,
Jesus links the theme of the sheep to the atrium or inner courtyard of the
Temple, the Jewish institution administered by men of power who trampled on the
rights, justice and exploited the people. Such individuals were called by Jesus
“thieves and bandits”.
Jesus begins His long presentation before the Pharisees, who
were closed up in their unbelief and insufficiency (9:40-41), with a general
affirmation: the proper way to enter into contact with the sheep is by entering
through the gate of the enclosure in which they are kept. Anyone who enters in
a different way is not motivated by love for the sheep, but is there to exploit
them for his own interest. This is the sin of those who direct the people: to
take hold of everything that belongs to all for themselves. Jesus uses the term
“thief”. This was precisely the accusation that Jesus addressed to the chief
priests of the people during His first visit to the Temple (2:13ss).
Another term that Jesus uses to indicate those who take away
from the people what belongs to them is: “bandit”. Such a term indicates those
who use violence. Therefore, the chief priests of the Temple oblige the people
to submit themselves to the violence of their system (7:13; 9:22). The effect
of this is that it produces a state of death (5:3.21.25).
The shepherd enters through the gate to take care of the sheep,
not to oppress them or maltreat them. In fact, the sheep recognize his
authority (voice) and follow him. The voice of Jesus contains a message of
liberation for them that is typical of the Messiah. Besides, His voice is not
addressed to an anonymous group of people, but rather calls each one
personally. For Jesus, no anonymous crowd of people exists. Each person has a
face, a name, and dignity. The Temple (the enclosure of the sheep) has become a
place of darkness, characterized only by economic interests; money has replaced
the exclusive attention to God: the Temple has become a business or trading
house (Jn 2:16).
Jesus leads the people to take them out of darkness. He does not
do this in a fictitious way, but in a real way, because this is the work which
the Father has entrusted to Him. The fundamental strokes of this mission are:
to enter and to call. Those who respond to that call, the call to liberty,
become a new community: “Those who are His own”.
• John 10:7-10: Jesus is the new door. Jesus again uses the
symbolism of the gate in vv. 7-8: applying it to Himself. He is the new door
not only in regard to the old enclosure of Israel represented by the chief
priests of the people, but also in regard to those who follow Him. He reminds
the first ones of His legitimacy - the only place of access for the sheep
because He is the Messiah ready to give His life for the sheep. It is not by
domination that one can approach the sheep to have a relationship with them,
but rather by the attitude of one who gives his life for them. His words are an
invitation to change mentality, the way of thinking, and way of relating.
The entrance through Jesus signifies the good of man as a
priority. Anyone who attempts to do the contrary is an oppressor. The reader
finds that the words of Jesus addressed to His contemporaries, and in a
particular way to the chief priests of the people who have used domination and
violence to exploit the people, truly hard and strong.
He is the new gate in regard to every person. But for men and
women of today, what does it mean to enter through the door which is Jesus? It
implies to “get close to Him”, “to trust Him” (Jn 6:35), to follow Him, and to
allow ourselves to be guided by His message (8:31. 51). It means to
participating in the dedication of Jesus so that the true happiness of man may
be accomplished.
4) Personal questions
• Jesus is the Good Shepherd because He always knows you, but do
you recognize him? He is a Shepherd who comes to your life as a door to go out
and to enter: do you allow Him to lead you when you relate with others?
• In the world today, are there bad shepherds who exploit those
looking to surrender themselves to Jesus as sheep of the fold? Can we discern
this by looking at the lives of these so-called shepherds and whether they are
profiting from the trust given them?
• Who would you say are proper shepherds today? Do you see the
distinction in their lives and their total giving to their sheep (communities)
as a way of discernment?
• In your community and in your family are you also a door? Are
you a door that is open to guiding others in, are you a door that seeks to
protect what is inside, or are you a door which keeps others out and closed
off?
5) Concluding Prayer
Lord, send out Your light and Your truth;
they shall be my guide,
to lead me to Your holy mountain
to the place where You dwell. (Ps 43:3)
they shall be my guide,
to lead me to Your holy mountain
to the place where You dwell. (Ps 43:3)
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