Our Good Shepherd: The Fourth Sunday of Easter

                                                    Our Good Shepherd

The Fourth Sunday of Easter

May 8, 2022

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Acts 13:14, 43-52; Psalm 100; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:27-30

 

          On this Good Shepherd Sunday and Mother’s Day, we turn to the Spirit of Christ to help us discern how to navigate difficult circumstances. In Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas hit stumbling blocks along the way of building up the faith by internal divisions. They see that the traditional Jews will not accept Jesus as the Son of God and they work hard to tear down the two Apostles, but the Lord was able to open the faith to the Gentiles, who were delighted to worship freely and to be accepted as full citizens of the faith. The church was rejoicing, though it carried sadness that not everyone would not accept Jesus.

 

          The whole worldview of the church changed overnight with the Resurrection of Jesus, that led to the inclusion of Gentiles. However, we read that the traditionalists incited the women of prominence to begin a persecution of Paul and Barnabas. False claims were made against the disciples to cause them harm, and these were supposedly faithful people. Speaking the truth of the faith was dangerous, and people who cannot accept the truth will do everything in their power to get their own way. We see that in our contemporary contexts today in which people cling to ideologies rather than to inspiration by the Spirit. 

 

          With all the social upheavals in society today, we need to rely upon the Good Shepherd to guide us in these complex realities. It means that we have to be open to what the Spirit of God is asking us to consider. It means that we are to enter into a process of discernment with other people who hold different thoughts from us and to hear their logic and to speak from their experiences. It means that we inform our consciences by listening to studied reasoning, to hear the emotional responses of those within and outside our faith, and it means that we take it to prayer with the openness to learn from the Lord Himself. 

 

          There are many so-called shepherds who claim to possess the truth and to have the right answer, and that is where we have to be careful. We have experience with the Good Shepherd who will lead us to the right answers, but in a way that is counter-cultural to the values of society. This Shepherd is gentle, cares for all souls, has a warmth that we can trust, and where our soul and informed conscience communes with the Shepherd’s heart. Following this shepherd does not often lead to bliss in this life; in fact, it leads to hardships, but when our the Shepherd’s heart speaks to ours, it is unmistakable, and sometimes we have to let our long-term values be turned upside down, so we can accept the worldview of the Kingdom, a kingdom of peace and goodness, a kingdom of understanding and compassion, a kingdom of mercy that we do not understand, and a kingdom of radical openness that leads to our personal growth. The Shepherd will take care of the rest.

 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

 

First Reading: 

Monday: (Acts 11) The Apostles include the Gentiles into the community after solemn deliberation. Peter lifts the Jewish dietary laws for them declaring that, “God granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.” 

 

Tuesday: (Acts 11) Those who had been dispersed since the persecution that followed Stephen’s stoning began proclaiming the story of Jesus Christ to their new communities. The number of converts increased dramatically.  

 

Wednesday: (Acts 12) The word of God continued to spread and the number of disciples grew. At Antioch during prayer, the Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

 

Thursday: (Acts 13) In Perga in Pamphylia, Paul stood up and told the story of God’s deliverance of the chosen people from bondage and slavery. God’s work continued in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

 

Friday (Acts 13) The whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord, but strict Jews opposed Paul and Barnabas and claimed they told the wrong story. 

 

Saturday (Acts 13) The Gentiles were delighted when Paul and Barnabas opened scripture for them and those them of their inclusion as God’s elect. Salvation was accessible to them too.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 10) The Good Shepherd tales continues as Jesus describes to his friends the characteristics of a self-interested person who pretends to be a shepherd. The sheep know and trust the voice of the good shepherd. 

 

Tuesday: (John 10) During the feast of the Dedication, Jesus declares he is the good shepherd and that he and the Father are one.

 

Wednesday (John 10) Jesus cries out, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me.” Jesus speaks and acts of behalf of the Father.

 

Thursday (John 13) Jesus makes “I am” statements and he shows he does the work of the Father when after he washes the feet of the disciples, he says, “I am.” 

 

Friday (John 14) In his farewell discourse, Jesus consoles his friends. He tells them that the is going away but will soon return to take away their fear. 

 

Saturday (John 14) He reassures that that since they know the mind and heart of Jesus, they also know the mind and heart of the Father.   

 

Saints of the Week

 

May 10: Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i, priest (1840-1889), was a Belgian who entered the Congregation of the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He was sent on mission to the Hawaiian Islands and was a parish priest for nine years. He then volunteered as a chaplain to the remote leper colony of Moloka'i. He contracted leprosy and died at the colony. He is remembered for his brave choice to accept the mission and to bring respect and dignity to the lepers. He was canonized in 2009. A statue of him stands in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

 

May 12: Nereus and Achilleus, martyrs (early second century), were Roman Imperial soldiers who converted to Christianity. They left the army and were martyred when they refused to sacrifice to idols during Emperor Trajan's reign.

 

May 12: Pancras, martyr, (d. 304) was a Syrian orphan who was brought to Rome by his uncle. Both soon were killed after being converted to Christianity. Pancras was beheaded at age 14 during the Diocletian persecution and buried on the Via Aurelia. A cemetery was named after him, but his remains were sent to Northumbria in England where six churches are dedicated to him.

 

May 13: Our Lady of Fatima is a name given to Mary after she appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal between May 13 and October 13, 1917. During her appearances, Mary stressed the importance of repentance, ongoing conversion, and dedicated to the heart of Mary through praying the Rosary. 

 

May 14: Matthias, Apostle (first century) was chosen after the resurrection to replace Judas who committed suicide. In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter, quoting a psalm, told 120 people who gathered that they were to choose a new apostle - someone who had been with them from the baptism of Jesus until the resurrection. Two names were put forward and the assembly cast lots. Matthias was chosen.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• May 8, 1853. The death of Jan Roothan, the 21st general of the Society, who promoted the central role of the Spiritual Exercises in the work of the Society after the restoration. 
• May 9, 1758. The 19th General Congregation opened, the last of the Old Society. It elected Lorenzo Ricci as general. 
• May 10, 1773. Empress Maria Teresa of Austria changed her friendship for the Society into hatred, because she had been led to believe that a written confession of hers (found and printed by Protestants) had been divulged by the Jesuits. 
• May 11, 1824. St Regis Seminary opens in Florissant, Missouri, by Fr. Van Quickenborne. It was the first Roman Catholic school in USA for the higher education of Native American Indians 
• May 12,1981. A letter of this date, from Secretary of State, Cardinal Casaroli, speaks positively of Teilhard de Chardin in celebration of the centenary of his birth (May 1,1881). 
• May 13, 1572. Election of Gregory XIII to succeed St Pius V. To him the Society owes the foundation of the Roman and German Colleges. 
• May 14, 1978. Letter of Pedro Arrupe to the whole Society on Inculturation.