Jesus, Our Good Shepherd!

 Jesus  reveals himself in today's Gospel, John 10:11-18, as our good shepherd, saying: "I  AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD."  He then goes on to describe the qualities of a good shepherd, telling us that a "good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep....I know [my sheep and they] know me, just as the the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep....I lay down my life in order to take it up again." This power, Jesus tells us, he received as a command from His Father.

A good shepherd watches his flock carefully, looking for any danger that may be lurking in the area.  He also carefully watches each sheep, lest it stray from the herd and put itself in danger. So, too, does Jesus do so for us.  Jesus knows when we have strayed off the path that leads to eternal life. He knows when we have put ourselves in dangerous situations. He watches and brings us back to the Way, the Truth and the Life, that He is!  As our Good shepherd, Jesus offered His life for our redemption, pouring forth His blood upon the cross to give us eternal life with Him in heaven.  No greater love than this does anyone have for another except God for each one of us individually!

Sharing My Faith and My Strength with Others

 In today's first reading, Acts 9: 31-42,  Peter is visiting Lydda and comes upon a paralyzed man, Aeneas,  confined to bed for eight years. He says to him:   "'Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed!' He got up at once. All the inhabitants of Lydda  and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord."  A similar miracle happens when Peter is invited to Joppa, where a disciple of the Lord named Tabitha, a woman who was "completely occupied with good deeds and almsgiving," fell ill and died. When Peter arrives in Joppa he is taken to the place where Tabitha died. He enters her room where her body is and says to her: "Tabitha, rise up" and she "opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and raised her up, and when he called the holy ones and the widows, he presented her alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord."

WOW!  Similar miracles happen, I believe, every day some place in the world. Suddenly, a dying person takes the turn for the better and survives a serious illness because of medical intervention (not unlike Peter's interventions). An aging grandparent or an ill parent or spouse or child recover from an illness that led to long-term hospitalizations or residencies in a nursing home--recoveries made possible by the compassionate care delivered day in and day out by medical personnel and the persistent prayers and love of family members!

Who, today, needs my faith, as Aeneas needed Peter's faith? Who, today, needs my encouragement and faith in Jesus as Tabitha needed Peter to say:  "Tabitha, rise up?" Who, today, needs me to extend a helping hand, as Peter "gave his hand" to Tabitha, raising her up and presenting her to her loved ones?

Lord, Let Your Face Shine on Us! (Psalm 4)

 In today's first reading, Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19, Peter contrasts God's actions with the actions of the people as follows:                                                                   l

The people:

• Ignorant of God's will
• Denied Jesus
• Demanded that Jesus be put to death
• Killed the Author of Life 
• Freed a murderer, that is, one who destroyed life

God:

• Fulfilled the divine will that we be saved from eternal death
• Fulfilled the prophecy that Christ would suffer to restore us to life
• Raised Jesus from the dead
• Glorified Jesus

In today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 4, we pray:  "Lord, let your face shine on us!"  Without God's face shining upon us, we will continue to be ignorant of God's will. We will, without grace, continue to deny Jesus! In the psalm prayer, we  beg for mercy, thus heeding the call in today's first reading: "Repent...and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away!"  We say to God through the psalmist: "When I call, answer me, O my just God, you who relieve me when I am in distress; have pity on me, and hear my prayer!" The psalmist, then, says to us: "Know that the Lord does wonders for his faithful one; the Lord will hear [you] when [you] call upon him...[the Lord puts] gladness  into [your] heart. As soon as [you] life down, [you] fall peacefully asleep, for [the...Lord brings] security to[your] dwelling."

What an incredibly humble God! What a merciful God! What a compassionate God! What a loving God! God stoops down to us who have denied Jesus, condemned Jesus, demanding the release of a murdering and shouting to Pilate when he asked what we wanted him to do with our King, the Author of Life, and we responded: "Crucify him, crucify him!"

O God, have mercy on us!  Every day, we continue to crucify you in unjust killings, in homicides committed in the name of self-defense, people murdered out of jealous rage, thousands dying of covid-19 because of refusals to take measures to lessen the spread of this disease; children dying of starvation and so on!  "Lord, let your face shine on us" that we might be saved from eternal death and restored to life!

                                                                                                 

"Do not be afraid; it is I" (John 6: 20)

 In today's Gospel, John 6: 16-21, "the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. the sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. when they glad rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, 'It is I. Do not be afraid.'"

At all times, Jesus knows where we are! He knows when we are in darkness and comes to bring us light. He knows when we are being blown about by a storm and are in danger. The storm might be anger or depression or mental or physical illness that is taking control of our lives, tossing us about  wildly, destroying our peace of mind, playing havoc in our relationships, in our marriages, in our communities and/or our priestly lives.  Jesus approaches. Jesus finds us wherever we are and comes to bring light, to calm the storms, to bring peace. "Do not be afraid," He says to us, "It is I."

What storm is overwhelming us? Where do we need Jesus?   With the psalmist in today's responsorial psalm, Psalm 33, we pray:   "Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you." 

To Whom, or to What, Am I Obedient? Where Do My Loyalties Lie?

 In today's first reading, Acts 5: 27-33, the Apostles are brought  to the Sanhedrin and reprimanded for speaking about the Risen Lord:   The high priest questions them: "'We gave you strict orders did we not, to stop teaching in [Jesus'] name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man's blood upon us.'  But Peter and the Apostles said in reply, 'We must obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.'"

Who am I in this passage? The high priest objecting to other people who live by their faith?  Or am I Peter, who boldly gives testimony to his faith in Christ Jesus and His teachings by word and deed? To whom am I obedient?  God or human beings?  

Jesus, we know, was obedient to God His Father even unto death.  He was hung on a tree, left to die. However, "God...raised Jesus and exalted him at his right hand...to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins." Repentance and forgiveness of sins are also offered to Gentiles, to you and me.  We are called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to repent of our sinfulness and to be obedient unto death: death to sin on a daily basis and accepting our final death when God calls us to return to our eternal home. Especially in our final dying to life here on earth may we be witnesses to our faith, as Jesus was on the cross!

Being Drawn Up to God by the Spirit of God

 In today's Gospel, John 3: 7b-15, we read: "No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, he Son of  Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent  in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."  Who, we might ask, believes in him and therefore is destined for eternal life?  The answer to that question might be what was said in the beginning of this passage:  "The wind blows where it wills,"  the wind of the Spirit, that is! But, John tells us,  we "do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it  is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."   We are born of the Spirit of God when we are baptized.  The majority of us did not choose baptism; it was chosen for us by our parents or our guardians!  A coincidence? Or a providence of God?  And in our baptism, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon us in the anointing that is part of the sacrament of baptism. We did  not see where the Spirit came from nor did we see the Spirit Herself/Himself enter into us.  In faith, though, we believe! And where did our faith come from? We saw that neither. But we know it in ourselves. We simply believe and continue to believe in God the Spirit, God the Son and God the Father: the Trinity--three persons in one God!

"Receive the Holy Spirit"

 In today's Gospel, John 20: 19-31, on the evening of the first day of the week,  following Jesus' resurrection from the dead, the disciples had locked themselves in a building out of fear of the Jews. Would the leaders of the Jews seek them out and put them to death as they did Jesus was their fear.  All of a sudden the Risen Lord appears in the locked room--no one had unlocked the door but there was their Master. He says to them: "Peace be with you!" And he shows them his pierced hands and side. the disciples are all excited. Jesus then says again:  "'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.'  and when he has said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.'"

Imagine that morning!  Afraid of the Jews, these disciples have locked themselves away from the public and, suddenly, there stands in front of them Jesus. Wow! The words of the psalmist are fulfilled: "I will turn their sadness into joy!" But God does more than that: He changes their fear into courage and their weakness into power! Jesus does not come to them emptyhanded, nor does He to us!  He comes with peace: "Peace be with you!" He comes with a purpose: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you!" And He comes with power: "Receive the Holy Spirit." God never asks us to do something without giving us the means to do it!

Thank You, Lord!

In Jesus' Name

 In today's first reading, Acts 4: 13-21, the leaders, elders, and scribes are amazed at Peter and John's boldness in speaking in the name of Jesus. Everyone was aware that the man standing with Peter and John had been healed in the name of Jesus, which Peter and John preached.  Not long prior to this incident the apostles hid from the Jews, locking themselves in rooms out of fear of being put to death. Here they are no longer afraid of being seen as companions of Jesus. In today's Gospel, Mark 16: 9-15,  people who report seeing the Risen Jesus are not believed, much less do people voice amazement at Jesus' risen presence and continued healing of the sick through intermediaries.

Jesus, Paul tells us, is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow!  Do I believe? Am I proud and unafraid of being recognized as a companion of Jesus, Jesus' friend?  Is my faith as strong as Peter and John's that I, like them, heal others through my preaching in the name of the Lord or my witnessing to Jesus' presence in my life and the life of other believers?  On the contrary,  am I afraid to be recognized as a companion of Jesus? If so,  of what am I afraid?   Do I hesitate to call upon the Lord's name for the healing of the sick? If so,  what is stopping me from doing so?

Jesus: A Revelation of Who God is for Us!

 In today's Gospel,  John 21: 1-14, Peter and his friends go fishing! What else do you do when you may be bored and not sure what the next step is!  Your loved one is out of sight! Yes, they have seen the Risen Christ. He appeared to them behind locked doors. Scared the heck out of them. They thought He  was a ghost until He said: "Fear not! It is I. Peace be with you!" And then vanished! 

They fished all night and caught nothing!  As they approached the shore that morning, Jesus is standing there, but they do not recognize Him. He asked them: "'Children, have you caught anything to eat?' They answered Him, 'No.' So he said to them, 'Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.' So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish." One hundred and fifty-three large fish were in that net and the net was not torn!  John immediately recognizes Jesus and says to his fellow fishermen: "'It is the Lord.' When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he...jumped into the sea." The other disciples rowed to shore and noticed that Jesus was preparing them breakfast!

Jesus reveals who God is: a caring God , a compassionate God, a God who is concerned about our successes, failures, disappointments, whether or not we have a meal, and so on!  God is a hands-on God, as in Jesus preparing the disciples a meal! God walks with us! "Fishes" with us!  Anticipates and meets our needs!  God also hides from us, as in the disciples not initially recognizing Him;  but God does not hide Himself permanently!

What an intimate God, a trusting God, a loving God! And He is that for every single one of us, no matter our past. 

Our Emmaus Moment

 In today's Gospel, Luke 24: 13-35, two disciples are on their way to Emmaus, having left Jerusalem following Jesus' death. They are discussing and debating all that happened "when Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him."  Jesus asked the two disciples what they are discussing as they walk along. Downcast, they say to Jesus: "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?"  Still remaining incognito, Jesus asks: "What sort of things?"   "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him.  But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his Body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive."  Jesus is exasperated at the foolishness of these two disciples and proceeds to explain all of the Scriptures to them that pertain to Him, beginning with Moses and all the prophets.  When Jesus finished, the disciples invited Him to stay and have a meal with them. And he did. In the breaking of the bread, the eyes of the disciples were opened and they recognized the risen Lord.   He then  left them.  Astounded, they said to one another: "'Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?'  So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the  Eleven and those who were saying, 'The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!'"  The two disciples then when on to tell the Eleven what happened to them on their way to Emmaus and how the risen Lord "was made known to them in the breaking of the bread."

Amazing! Jesus joins them on their walk to Emmaus and asks them what they are discussing, as though he did not know!   He acts dumb! "What things," He asks!  And the two disciples respond: "What? You don't know? You must be the only visitor to Jerusalem this weekend who is ignorant of what took place!"  Imagine that scene!  But also know that what happened here between the two disciples and Jesus happens between Jesus and us and our friends. When we are debating our faith or troubled about what is going on in our lives and around the world, Jesus joins us, as well. He is interested in what troubles us, what causes us confusion, what is difficult for us to understand.  "What things are troubling you," Jesus asks. "What don't you understand?" 

The Scriptures of our lives refer to Jesus as well as to us! So, Jesus  walks beside us, sits at table with us, and waits for the right moment to open the Scriptures for us, both the Scriptures that reveal Jesus Himself and those that reveal God at work in our lives! All we need to do is give Jesus an opportunity to talk with us and sit at table with us! In His timing, He will open our eyes and reveal Himself to us. 

Holy Saturday: Reflection--Number 2

 Holy Saturday!

Only silence!

Left with an empty feeling!

Yet we know that death has no power over You, Lord!

Seeped in sorrow, we wait in faith! 

And, knowing that we will see You again, we do not lose hope!

Tomorrow, we tell ourselves, You surely will reappear,

Undaunted by evil around You!

Ready are You, O Lord, to again calm troubled seas,

Dry up tears of sadness

And remind us of what you said before your death: "Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days" and "Be not afraid of those who can destroy the body but of those who can destroy the soul."

Yield not to that person, the Devil, for "I am with you always until the end of time" to protect you from the Evil One!    

Holy Saturday: Reflection Number 1

 Holy Saturday:  a day that seems empty! A desert! A wilderness!

"What now," we ask!

Our Master has been slaughtered!

He opened not His mouth!

He offered no resistance!

He did not walk away as He had done other times when the crowd tried to kill Him!

Why not this time?

Why did He surrender?

What was he submissive?

No anger!

No wrath!

No shouting!

No condemnation of their murderous behavior, their killing of an innocent man!

Mary, Your mother, and a few other women, as well as Your beloved disciple John, follow You to Calvary. All  Your other disciples fled out of terror of what was happening to You and could happen to them!  Matthew, wearing only a loose cloth wrapped around himself and grabbed by one of the Romans, fled naked! Judas, thinking his sin was unpardonable, went out and killed himself. A murderous crowd sneered at You on the cross, taunted You and shouted: "If you are the Son of God come down from that cross! Then we will believe."  And a few loyal disciples with Mary, Your Mother, stood beneath the cross in awe as You surrendered Your life to Your Father and prayed for your executioners and us!

And now, Holy Saturday,  You are gone, out of sight!

O God, have mercy!

Christ, have mercy!

Lord, have mercy!

The Good Friday's Scripture Readings

In the first reading of today's liturgy, Isaiah 52: 13-53:12, Isaiah prophesizes about Jesus, the Messiah, saying that He was:

• "Spurned"  and "avoided by people"--people hid their faces from Jesus because he looked so awful
• "Held in no esteem"
• "Had no stately bearing to make us look at him"
• "Had no appearance that would attract us to Him"

Yet, Isaiah reminds us in this same passage that Jesus:

• "Bore our infirmities"
• "Was crushed for our sins"
• Was chastised "to make us whole"
• "Pierced for our offenses"
• Scourged "for our healing"
• Bore "the guilt of us all"
• "Justified" us
• "Won pardon for us our offenses"
• "Took our sins away"

And, according to the prophet Isaiah, Jesus:

• "Was silent"
• "Opened not his mouth"
• "Submitted"
• "Gave His life as an offering for sin"
• "Surrendered himself to death"
• "Accomplished the will of God"--our salvation
• Showed us the depth of God's love for each one of us individually

 And what did we do:

• "Cut him off from the land of the living"
• "Assigned him a grave among the wicked" and "a burial place with evildoers"

In today's second reading, Hebrews 4: 14-16; 5: 7-9, St. Paul says to us:   "[L]et us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help" because "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin."

GOOD FRIDAY: THE DAY OF JESUS' CRUCIFIXION

 GOD INCARNATE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR OUR SALVATION

OH,THE PAIN JESUS SUFFERED FOR US!

OH, THE UNBELIEVABLE AGONY OF THE CRUCIFIXION!

DAILY, JESUS SHOWS US THE DEPTH OF GOD'S LOVE FOR US!

FREELY, JESUS SURRENDERED TO HIS EXECUTIONERS' CRUEL TREATMENT!

REELING WITH EXCRUCIATING PAIN ON THE CROSS, JESUS SAID: "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM. THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY ARE DOING!"

IN PAIN BEYOND BELIEF, JESUS CRIED OUT:   "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU ABANDONED ME!"

DEMANDING HIS CRUCIFIXION, THE CROWD DELIVERED JESUS TO HIS EXECUTIONERS. THEY LED HIM AWAY TO CALVARY.

ALREADY WEAK FROM THE LOSS OF BLOOD FROM THE SCOURGING, JESUS FELL SEVERAL TIMES ON THE WAY TO CALVARY.

YIELDING TO THE HORRIBLE NAILING OF HIS BODY TO THE CROSS AND LIFTED UP TO DIE, JESUS GAVE UP HIS LIFE TO RANSOM US FROM DEATH, SAYING: "INTO YOUR HANDS, FATHER,  I COMMEND MY SPIRIT!"  HE THEN SAID:  "IT IS FINISHED" AND  BOWED HIS HEAD AND DIED.

Judas' Betrayal: The Initiation of the Passion and Death of Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God

 Today is Holy Thursday.  It was the Passover, the time when the Jews celebrated being set free of Egyptian slavery. It was the night of the tenth plague--the angel of death would slay the first born of both man and beast--this plague would be what led Pharaoh to agree to let the Israelites leave Egypt. The other nine failed to move Pharaoh's heart to cooperate with God's plan. 

The Jews were instructed to kill a lamb, either of the goats or the sheep, and sprinkle its blood on their door posts. Seeing the blood the angel of death would pass over the houses of the Israelites. That night, the people were to eat the Passover meal and be ready immediately to flee Egypt. God would part the Red Sea so they could pass on the dry river bed.  As this is happening, however, Pharaoh changed his mind and and sends his army to pursue the Israelites. As the Egyptian warriors are driving their chariots and charioteers through the Sea, the waters rush back and all of the Egyptians are drowned!  The Israelites are safe and  free from being Pharaoh's slaves!

In celebrating the Passover with his disciples this night, Jesus institutes the Eucharist: He takes bread in his holy and sacred hands, blesses it, gives thanks and says: "Take and eat of this; this is my body given up for you. He then takes up the cup of wine and says: Take and drink of this; this is the blood of the New Covenant poured out for you. Do this in remembrance of Me", which we were doing this night at the  Holy Thursday Sacred Liturgy and which we Catholics do at every Liturgy!  

At the Last supper, "after psalms had been sung, [Jesus and His disciples] left for the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, 'You will all lose faith in me this night, for the scripture says: I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered,  but after my resurrection I shall go before you to Galilee'" (Mt 26:30-31).   Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing that His time had come to be glorified by His Father and to give His life as a ransom for the many, for you and me, to save us from our slavery of sin, from Satan who is out to destroy us of living in grace. Sorrowful to the point of death, Jesus, in His agony, prays: "My Father, if this cup cannot pass by without my drinking it, your will be done" (Mt 26: 42)!  

Judas, who betrayed Jesus this night 2000+ years ago,  had left the Last Supper after receiving Communion from Jesus--Satan had entered him and it was night, the Scriptures tell us (See  John 13: 27-30).  In the Garden, Judas approaches Jesus and says: "Greetings, Rabbi," and kissed Him" (Mt. 26: 50)--this kiss was the sign to the soldiers that this was the one they were plotting to kill. Judas, in short, was saying to the chief priest and elders who came to out to the Garden that night: Arrest Him. And Jesus was led away in chains!