Claire Smith

Scripture:

Acts 4:8-12
1 John 3:1-2
John 10:11-18

Reflection:

Jesus as the Good Shepherd appears very early in Christian art, as early as the 3^rd century in the catacombs of Rome.  From the beginning, the passage from the Gospel of John, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10.11), resonated with the early Christian community that must have taken great comfort in that image.  They knew what shepherds were, what kind of life they lived, and what dangers sheep and shepherd alike faced.

The early Christians faced the same dangers at the hands of their persecutors from the time of Nero (64 A.D.) until Constantine forged the Edit of Milan in the 4^th century that legally recognized Christians.  The Good Shepherd was there for them as they hid or were martyred.  Jesus laid down his life for those entrusted to his care.

Pope Francis often refers to this image of the Good Shepherd when he urges priests and bishops to be good pastors.  “Pastor” is the Latin word for shepherd, but the image of shepherd Pope Francis offers is not the one presented in traditional religious art far too often.

Like many of us in the 1950s and 1960s, I had hanging on the wall in my bedroom a lovely image of Jesus the Good Shepherd.  He was so handsome, long blond hair, draped in spotless white robes, staff in hand, and a few obedient sheep at his feet.  In reality, shepherds lived very hard lives.  They lived out in the fields to keep constant watch for anything or anyone who might steal or kill the sheep.  And as Pope Francis reminds us, the shepherds smelled like…sheep. And sheep really stink.  Really they do.

Jesus deeply and totally loves us, enough to take on the messy and smelly side of our lives.  He chooses to live with us, to search us out when we go wandering, to carry us when we are tired, and to lead us always to green pastures.  He loves us enough to lay down his life for us.  Maybe when he says to us who say we are disciples, “Follow me,” he wants us to be shepherds to those sheep given to us – sheep that are not always obedient, smart or freshly washed.  How do we lay down our lives for the sheep we are given to shepherd?

 

Robert Hotz is a consultant with American City Bureau, Inc. and is the Director of The Passion of Christ: The Love That Compels Campaign for Holy Cross Province.

Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist

Scripture:

1 Peter 5:5b-14
Mark 16:15-20

Reflection:

The Easter Season is filled with stories of vitality and growth of the early Christian community. Earlier this week, we heard of Philip. Yesterday we heard of the dramatic turn of events in the life of Saul. And today, we celebrate the evangelist, Mark.

Tradition has it that Mark accompanied Peter to Rome where he also met Paul and faithfully put Peter’s teaching into writing. What a gift Mark has been to the Church! The Gospel according to Mark was the first Gospel written; it is also the shortest one. Mark doesn’t say anything about the birth of Jesus and the years he spent in Nazareth. If we look carefully at the last paragraph of the gospel (Mk 16:9-20), we will be surprised to see that Mark’s early text concludes with the discovery of the empty tomb and it doesn’t mention the appearances of the risen Jesus.

Probably, Mark’s intention behind writing the gospel was to give to the believers the essence of what Jesus had said and done. It is now up to the evangelizer, us, to give witness to the resurrection and proclaim Jesus Christ as savior, beginning with the scandal of the cross.

The stories of people and events that we read from the Acts during the Easter season unfolds for us the dynamism and vitality with which the early Christian community were filled with a sense of mission: “Go and proclaim.” In as much as we are filled with joy listening to or reading these stories, they are also an invitation and a challenge to us in our own times.

“Hey, you.”

“Who? Me?”

“Yes, you.”

The Easter season continues to remind us of our own mission. We recalled and celebrated our Baptismal call as God’s children at Easter. Being a Passionist Priest is for me a ‘call within the call’. Being a parent, spouse, daughter, son, friend, neighbor, colleague – these are all ‘call within the call’. Each day the ‘call’ keeps coming. Just imagine if the disciples or Saul or even Mark had not responded to the call…

We cannot keep our experience of the risen Lord to ourselves. The commission of Jesus to the disciples at the end of Mark’s gospel is the invitation for us to “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News to all creation.”

 

Fr. Bruno D’Souza, CP, is on the staff at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

 

 

Scripture:

Acts 9:1-20
John 6:52-59

 

Reflection:

 Who are You, Lord?

Some questions are of practical interest to us, but of little value. “At a movie theater which arm rest is yours?”  There are other questions upon which our destiny depends.   Paul’s question in today’s liturgy is the most important one of our life:  “Who are you, Lord?”.

The original Greek even rhymes tis ae Kupiae. Tis is an interrogative reference to someone or something—‘who? what?’ It is an often repeated question addressed to Jesus in New Testament.  “And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What (tis) is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” Mk 1:27    “And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who (tis) is this, that even the wind

and the sea obey him?” Mk 4:41   “And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?” Mk 6:2  This last question came from

people who grew up with Jesus in Nazareth!  Some were his relatives!  Surely these people thought they knew Jesus well.   And yet they seemed not to have a clue to the real identity of Christ! So we also who grew up with Jesus in culture and closeness might be appalled to see how little we grasp Christ!

With Paul we can ask a thousand times a day: who are you Lord?

Paul came to understand with the help of the Church in “a man named Ananias” who came in and laid his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.  “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; There is a long biblical tradition that tells of eyes that cannot see the world of God.   Human eyes are often covered as with scales (lepis) so they do not see the Divine.  “Now Samuel did not yet (teh’-rem) know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet (teh’-rem) been revealed (galah) to him.” 1 Sam 3:7   In the history of man’s journey to God there are many “not yets”.   Samuel’s eye had to be uncovered (galah) so he could see God’s call.

There will always be a “not yet” in our efforts to really know Christ without the Holy Spirit. It is the role of the Holy Spirit to uncover the Impenetrable and stunning reality of the Risen Christ.

 

Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.

 

 

Scripture:

Acts 8:26-40
John 6:44-51

Reflection:

Our first reading from Acts is, among other things, a lesson in humility for ministers. After an angel tells him to travel on a certain road, and then the Spirit tells him to catch up to a chariot on that road, Philip proceeds to explain Isaiah 53 to an Ethiopian eunuch, and later on baptizes him. Right after this, the Spirit snatches Philip away. But the Ethiopian doesn’t seem to be fazed at all by this. He continues on his way, “rejoicing.” There isn’t even a Lone Ranger-type ending where someone asks, “Who was that masked man?”

What happens here, of course, is not about diminishing Philip, but to highlight what’s really important – The Good News has spread beyond Judah or Samaria! The Ethiopian continues his life with joy because he has received something the world cannot give. He has received the news that there is Someone who loves him enough to sacrifice Himself for him! He has received new life in Christ!

This is the Good News that we find Jesus trying to tell the people in our Gospel reading. He is trying to tell them that God has again sent down bread from heaven in order to feed His people. But this bread is not about feeding the body as it is about feeding the soul. The love of God in Jesus Christ is the only thing that can fill that longing in our hearts that no amount of money or possessions or power or even good health can satisfy. It is what leads us to eternal life!

This “bread of life” that we have been given is to be shared with others. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit for sharing it. The important thing is that it is shared. We know the world is reeling from hatred and fear. We know that so many people in the world are desperate to have their physical needs met. But they also need to know that they are loved, no matter their origin or present situation. Jesus gave Himself “for the life of the world.” May we share that gift of life with others.

 

Fr. Phil Paxton, C.P. is on staff at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan. 

 

 

Scripture:

Acts 8:1b-8
John 6:35-40

Reflection:

Many families have great and long standing traditions.  In the movie “Blindside” (a true story), the family had a tradition of having a very informal Thanksgiving dinner around the television with Ole Miss playing a football game.  Then “Big Mike” was invited to stay for Thanksgiving.  Following the inspiration of a Norman Rockwell painting and reflecting on the possibility of having something he had never before imagined possible, Big Mike fixed his dinner plate and went to sit at the formal dining room table to eat.  Taking his lead, the mother turns the game off and ushers the entire family to the dining room table where they pray together and then share thoughts, hopes, and stories.

In this simple moment, a great shift took place.  What was once considered set in stone suddenly developed into another possibility, another understanding of the meal and the day, another way of being together for that moment.  This happens more frequently than we might imagine.  I am able to remember some very strong and unchangeable Christmas traditions from my family going back to Ireland and England.  Then, one year, I was away and would always be away on Christmas Day (it is a “work” day for us !!!).  All of those immoveable traditions went sliding down the hill once my mother decided Christmas would not be celebrated until I came home to visit over New Year’s.  It happened – a change, a shift, a new way of celebrating Christmas and a new way of being present to one another as family.

Our Scriptures today invite us to visualize a great sea change in understanding God’s life with God’s people after the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  In Acts, we have before us two groups of people, i.e. those of Jerusalem and those of Samaria.  Jerusalem was the bastion of tradition and understanding how revelation of God’s life worked.  This was a sophisticated people who could quote chapter and verse of every book of scripture as well as dictate the manner and purpose of every ritual and form of prayer.  The protectors of the tradition lived here.  At the same time, in Samaria, we have those who are poorly educated, they are the poor relatives of Judaism who are neglected, oppressed and shunned.  A great tension existed between the Israelites and the Samaritans.  Yet, we see that Jerusalem violently rejects the disciples and the Word of God while the Samaritans listen intently, accept the Word of God, become believers in great joy and wonder.  The traditions and the protection of these had become so hardened for those of Jerusalem that no other possible development, not even the fulfillment of those very traditions, could impact their faith life while the Samaritans maintained openness to other developing possibilities in faith.

Our Gospel reading puts it all into Easter context for us.  Jesus is the bread of life, i.e. the source of life, i.e. the staff of life.  He Himself is the  nourishment and the strength of life.  Relationship with the Risen Lord Jesus is the core of our faith, our theology, our spirituality, and even our movements of the heart like poetry and song.   The personal, saving relationship with the Risen Lord rather than any verbal formulation or ritual way of doing things must be the starting point for our experience of faith, prayer and living the disciple’s life.  Our formulations and rituals must be built upon and grow out of that rich, wondrous, and mysterious relationship with the Lord Jesus which is ours through the gift of our baptism.  From that moment on, we were invited to listen to God’s Word attentively, accept and believe in continuing joy and wonder, always ready for some surprising way that God makes Himself known to us in life. This is the primary fruit of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus – we live as brothers and sisters with Him and one another.  Let us rejoice and be glad !!!

 

Fr. Richard Burke, CP, is a member of St. Paul of the Cross Province and also serves on the Provincial Council of Holy Cross Province.  He lives at St. Ann’s Monastery in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

 

 

Scripture:

Acts 7:51-8:1a
John 6:30-35

Reflection:

So much of the Scriptures is devoted to the search for and appreciation of signs, that is, indications from God about the direction of our lives.  We may regard this as rather quaint, or at least notably different from how we spend our time, since we may devote relatively little time and effort, on our own, to this exercise.  And this may be true, at least so far as God is concerned, but it’s certainly not true in other kinds of terms, since, factually, we spend a great amount of time either searching for or encountering signs, as we make our way through life.

For instance, the readings of “apps” on the screens of our electronic equipment pieces has become an art form, at which we spend a considerable amount of time guiding ourselves by the “apps” we have engaged.   And, in driving a car, we know, upon reflection, how we are constantly on the lookout for signs, especially when we’re in a strange place—unless we rely on a GPS system to guide us.

But these kinds of signs are qualitatively different from the signs that preoccupied so many of the characters filling the pages of the bible.  For, almost invariably, these kind of signs have a Godward orientation to them.  This we notice, as we read the scriptures the church assigns for this day, for we find this kind of preoccupation with signs forming the heart of the message presented in them.

For instance, we listen to the final testimony of the deacon, and first martyr of the church, St. Stephen.  He is giving his witness about the person of Jesus Christ against the background of a whole host of prophets foretelling the coming “of the righteous one”, and he ends his testimony by personally witnessing to what he sees at that very moment: “the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God”.  Stephen sees these as appeals to signs about God’s workings among the Jewish people, but the Sanhedrin, whom Stephen is addressing, become furious, and stone him to death, while Saul, the future Paul the Apostle, stands by, approving this incident.

Stephen presented these as signs of God operating at that moment in their lives, but these signs were rejected.  And, as we reflect on the very next reading for this day, from John’s Gospel, we hear of an encounter of Jesus with those gathered around Him to hear what He had to say about Himself, and it becomes an issue again of signs: “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?”  And they cite the gift of manna from heaven given their ancestors, which they regarded as a great sign of God’s favor toward them.  So Jesus picks up on this remark, and provides them a comparable sign, far greater than manna, in saying: “I am the bread of life…”  And, of course, this sign too was ultimately rejected, or at least misunderstood, by His interrogators.

So, should we sort through the signs that dot the landscape of our lives, we should be prodded by these readings to explore whether any of them convey the significance of the signs presented by Stephen or Jesus to those crowded around them.    For, tragic though it was that these signs were ultimately dismissed, they at least showed people who were looking for more than electronic or highway information in the signs they encountered.  They were looking for signs suggesting the finger of God operative in their lives, indicating a direction for them to pursue.

When we next study the horoscope or graphology, we may move into a stage of sign analysis that moves us a bit closer to the levels that the signs conveyed in today’s scriptures provide, but, in the last analysis, it is not until we sense the finger of God active in the variety of signs that appear along our life trajectory that we are endowing signs with their fullest meaning.

 

Fr. Sebastian MacDonald, C.P. is a member of the Passionist formation community at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago.

 

Scripture:

Acts 6: 8-15
John 6: 22-29

Reflection:

In today’s Gospel, John tells us that on the day after Jesus had fed the 5000 a crowd of people sought him out.  They had to travel across the Sea of Galilee to find him.  When they found Jesus they had one question for him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”

Perhaps they wanted to be able to do the amazing things that Jesus did.  Perhaps they were asking Jesus if he had any tasks for them to do.  Jesus answer seems quite simple, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”  Jesus asks them, and us, to believe in him.  Simple enough, I suppose.

Before we get to sure of ourselves, we should look at the first reading for today.  Clearly, Stephen believed in Jesus, the one God sent.  He was more than willing to stand up and witness to his belief in Jesus.  It gets him into a lot of hot water.  First the Pharisees try to debate with him.  When they lose the debate, they find some men to claim that they heard him blaspheme God.  When brought to trial, they then hire false witnesses against him.  It’s clear that few believe the false testimony, nonetheless, his fate is sealed…and he will become the first martyr for his belief in Jesus.

This reading from Acts reminds us that belief in Jesus has consequences.  Truly, belief in Jesus changes the way we look at our world and forms our responses to it.  Trust in God, compassion for and forgiveness of the sins of our brothers and sisters, hope in the face of human tragedy and love even for those who injure us are all expressions of believing in the one God sent.

During this joyful season of Easter, we pray for the gift of believing in Jesus and the courage to publicly witness our belief.

 

Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.

 

Scripture:

Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
1 John 2:1-5a
Luke 24:35-48

Reflection:

My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
I John 2:1 -2

Divine Mercy Sunday was introduced into our Church calendar by St. John Paul II, when he was Pope. This Sunday, the scriptures continue the theme of Divine Mercy.

Earlier this week, I read an article about a wrongly convicted man who spent over 30 years on death row because of false testimony given by a 13 year old boy. A vicious murder took place in his neighborhood. The police took statements of some onlookers and a 13 year boy told them he saw what happened. He lied. He identified an 18 year old man who was not even present at the crime. The District Attorney provided the witness with all the “facts” that he gave at the trial. Even then, the inconsistencies were many.

The Innocence Project finally got involved, and the witness confessed his false testimony. The witness said that he had the courage to come forward after his pastor asked him if he had lied on the stand. The wrongly convicted prisoner said that he had long come to terms with this injustice, in fact, early in his sentence. He said he realized he needed to forgive his accuser or he would become a bitter man.

The one having the most trouble is the one who gave false witness. He is having trouble believing that he has been forgiven. He said in a statement that he does not know how this man has the courage to forgive him when he cannot forgive himself.

Mercy is a grace. Sometimes, it is easier to forgive someone who has hurt us badly than to forgive yourself. I remember talking to a young woman who could not accept the fact that God could forgive her. She left, unconvinced.

In order to forgive oneself, we need to recognize our own sinfulness, our own need for God’s mercy. If we do not begin there, we become judgmental, condemning others for minor offenses while we live with our deep, dark secret, our sin.

When Jesus forgave those who had betrayed or condemned him, He was releasing them from the burden of their sinfulness. They first had to accept the gift of Jesus’ forgiveness before they could go and forgive others. For me, these Easter Scripture readings are all about God’s Mercy. They are about facing my own sinfulness with faith in God’s Love and Forgiveness. God first loved us, while we were still sinners!

This is how the Gospel ends up for today: “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations.” Isn’t this beautiful?

Alleluia! Jesus is risen from the dead! May our forgiveness lead to forgiveness of others!

 

Fr. Clemente Barrón, C.P. is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Chicago, Illinois.