Sunday Meditation: The Voice of the Good Shepherd

Sheep factored prominently last week but they are even more front and center on the Fourth Sunday of Easter.  Every Fourth Sunday of Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday.  Every Fourth Sunday of Easter we get a reading from the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel with the stipulation that each year it’s a different part of the tenth chapter.  In Year A, we get John 10:1-10 with Jesus being the “gate” to the sheepfold.  You can read about it here.  In Year B, we get Jesus claiming to be “the Good Shepherd” in John 10:11-18, and you can read about that here.  Today in Year C, Jesus tells us that all who hear His voice follow him.

 

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

No one can take them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,

and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.

The Father and I are one.”

~Jn 10:27-30

 

Today’s main homily will be from Fr. Tim Peters who connects the Good Shepherd to the Old Testament metaphors of the shepherd and contrasts with the very poor shepherds in Israel’s history.

And so, Christ’s voice says: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is One.  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart.” 

Today is also Mother’s Day, and Fr. Sam French, the Average Shepherd as he calls himself, has a homily that combines the Good Shepherd Sunday with Mother’s Day!

 

Actually, isn’t a mother just like a shepherd?  I think so.

 

Sunday Meditation: “My sheep hear my voice."

 

For Mother’s Day, I am going to stray from a hymn and embed this beautiful country song by Anne Wilson and Hillary Scott, “Mamas.”  

 

Here are the lyrics to this heart-tugging song.

 

Mamas

[Verse 1: Anne Wilson]

I don't know why God made one-bedroom apartments out of state

I don't know why He made hometowns if it's somewhere I can't stay

I don't know why He made growing up but I guess that we're all gonna

Yeah, I don't know a lot of things but I know why God made mamas

 

[Chorus: Anne Wilson]

For the open arms to fall into

For the when you don't know what to do

For the phone call sayin', "Don't forget, I'm always in your corner"

For the heart that makes a house a home

For the knowing that you're not alone

For the "Darling, don't you dare give up even when you wanna"

Yeah, that's why God made mamas

 

[Verse 2: Hillary Scott]

For putting band-aids on a scrapеd up knee and wiping tears away

For picking up the piecеs when that dream don't go your way

For always giving more than taking, always knowing what ya need

And showing you that fighting's always best done on your knees

 

[Chorus: Anne Wilson]

For the open arms to fall into

For the when you don't know what to do

For the phone call sayin', "Don't forget, I'm always in your corner"

For the heart that makes a house a home

For the knowing that you're not alone

For the "Darling, don't you dare give up even when you wanna"

Yeah, that's why God made mamas

 

 [Post-Chorus: Anne Wilson & Hillary Scott]

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh (Oh-oh-oh-oh)

Mamas, mamas

 

[Bridge: Anne Wilson & Hillary Scott]

I don't know why God made living life down here so hard to do

But I know why God made mamas 'cause He knew I needed you

Oh-oh, oh-oh

 

[Chorus: Anne Wilson & Hillary Scott]

For the open arms to fall into (To fall into)

For the when you don't know what to do (Know what to do)

For the phone call sayin', "Don't forget, I'm always in your corner"

(I'm always in your corner)

For the heart that makes a house a home

For the knowing that you're not alone (Not alone)

For the "Darling, don't you dare give up even when you wanna"

Yeah, that's why God made mamas (Mamas)

 

[Post-Chorus: Anne Wilson]

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh (Mamas)

Oh-oh-oh-oh (Mamas)

(Mamas)

Mm-mm-mm (Mamas)

 

Sunday Meditation: Easter Sunday, The Women at the Tomb

The day of Resurrection is here!  Blessed be God, He has risen!

 

I will post on the Gospel reading for the Easter Vigil Mass. The Gospel is always the same for each of the three years, the discovery of the empty tomb from St. John’s Gospel.  Easter Vigil Mass follows the Lectionary cycle, which for Year C is the empty tomb passage of Luke.

 

At daybreak on the first day of the week

the women who had come from Galilee with Jesus

took the spices they had prepared

and went to the tomb.

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb;

but when they entered,

they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were puzzling over this, behold,

two men in dazzling garments appeared to them.

They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground.

They said to them,

"Why do you seek the living one among the dead?

He is not here, but he has been raised.

Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee,

that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners

and be crucified, and rise on the third day."

And they remembered his words.

Then they returned from the tomb

and announced all these things to the eleven

and to all the others.

The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James;

the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles,

but their story seemed like nonsense

and they did not believe them.

But Peter got up and ran to the tomb,

bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone;

then he went home amazed at what had happened.

~Lk 24:1-12

 

Fr. Sam French offers us a homily in which faith and reason work toward understanding the resurrection.

The changes and persistence in the apostles and disciples after the Resurrection that something as earth shaking as Jesus rising from the dead is what really convinces me. 

Fr. Timothy Dore OFM Cap of the Companions of St. Anthony provides a pastoral homily.

Alleluia, He is risen!

 

 

Sunday Meditation: "Why do you seek the living one among the dead?  He is not here, but he has been raised."

 

 

Let us rejoice with the Victimae paschali laudes, which you should have heard on Easter Sunday.  I really like this simple rendition in English by Corpus Christi Watershed.

 

 

The choir at our Mass performed it in Latin.  I have posted on it in Latin and analyzed its beauty.  I’m going to capture this English translation attributed in the video to a Father Fortescue.

 

Sing to Christ your paschal victim

Christians sing your Easter hymn

The sinless Lord for sinners

Christ God's son for creatures died

The sheep who stray the Lamb of God redeemed

Then death and life their battle

Wonderfully fought and now

The King of life once dead forever lives

Tell us Mary we pray

What you saw on Easter day

Empty was the grave and looking

I saw there the glory of his rising

The angel witnesses I saw and folded linen

Christ my hope is risen truly in Galilee

He goes before you

We know he rose from death indeed

And so to him we pray

Great king and Lord of life

Bless us this day

Amen

Hallelujah

Have a blessed Easter!

Sunday Meditation: The Mountain of Transfiguration

Last week, the First Sunday of Lent, the Lord took us with Him to the Desert where we saw Him overcome three temptations from the Devil.  On the Second Sunday, the Lord takes us up a mountain to reveal to us the Glorification of our future bodies.

 

Jesus took Peter, John, and James

and went up the mountain to pray.

While he was praying his face changed in appearance

and his clothing became dazzling white.

And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,

who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus

that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,

but becoming fully awake,

they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,

“Master, it is good that we are here;

let us make three tents,

one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

But he did not know what he was saying.

While he was still speaking,

a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,

and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.

Then from the cloud came a voice that said,

“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”

After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.

They fell silent and did not at that time

tell anyone what they had seen.

~Lk 9:28-36

Three years ago on that Second Sunday of Lent, I highlighted how Luke is the only Transfiguration account that mentions that Jesus spoke to Moses and Elijah on Jesus’s exodus that was to come.  I had Dr. Brant Pitre’s video embedded to explain it.  You might want to check it out.  

This week Bishop Robert Barron provides the best exegesis of this passage.

 For the pastoral homily I’m going to hand it over to Fr. Sam French from Australia. 

 Fr. Sam calls himself The Average Shepherd.  He's not so average, he's above average.  ;)

One of the details of this passage that neither of the two homilies touched on that caught my eye in this reading is the moment of darkness that comes upon the three apostles.  God in the cloud descends upon them and they are frightened.  Look at the first reading and the darkness that frightens Abraham.

 

Sunday Meditation: “While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.”

 

For a hymn, let’s turn to John Michael Talbot’s “Sing to the Mountains”

 

Have a blessed Sunday.

Sunday Meditation: Into the Deep

Having jumped over the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (because it was replaced with the Feast of the Presentation) we come to Year C’s Fifth Sunday, and we see the apostles in their original vocations as fishermen.  The scene is interesting.  Jesus is standing by the lake preaching and when two boats float by, He jumps into Simon Peter’s boat.  He convinces Peter to go back out and cast their nets into the deep.  The lake is referred to as Lake Gennesaret, which is another name for the Lake of Galilee.   One can get confused with the different names for the same places.  The symbolism of a boat for the Church is keen here.  Jesus jumps into Peter’s boat and guides Peter to catch fish.

 

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening

to the word of God,

he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.

He saw two boats there alongside the lake;

the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.

Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,

he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.

Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,

"Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."

Simon said in reply,

"Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,

but at your command I will lower the nets."

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish

and their nets were tearing.

They signaled to their partners in the other boat

to come to help them.

They came and filled both boats

so that the boats were in danger of sinking.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,

"Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."

For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him

and all those with him,

and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,

who were partners of Simon.

Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid;

from now on you will be catching men."

When they brought their boats to the shore,

they left everything and followed him.

~Lk 2:22-40

 

I found that Fr. Cajetan Cuddy’s exegesis to be more insightful than the typical reading of this passage.  Fr. Cajetan points out two visions that come to head twice.  That of Peter and that of Jesus’s on fishing and then on the two visions of Peter’s potential.  Notice how he points out the intersection of the two visions.

 

For a pastoral homily I came across this very young looking priest from Australia, Fr. Sam French.  He gives a great homily.

 

He barely looks over twenty!  Nice looking young man too.

 

Sunday Meditation: "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."

 

Let’s get back to a John Michael Talbot hymn.  “The Jesus Prayer” is most appropriate for today.