«
We continue the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
«
This coming Sunday, 4th of Easter, the universal Church invites us to
meditate and to pray for vocations especially to the priesthood and religious
life.
«
The Pope in his message says that the vocation comes from the
unconditional love of God, the Creator. He invites us to pass this message on to
the younger generations.
«
The three readings tell us that Jesus has given his life for us and in
turn invites us to do the same for our brothers and sisters.
«
The Good Shepherd calls us to unity.
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The responsorial psalm says that He is the stone rejected by the
builders.
¡ALELUYA, JESUS THE LORD IS RISEN!!!!
FIRST READING – Acts 3:
13-15. 17-19
«
Peter filled with the Holy Spirit speaks to the leaders of the people to
let them know that they(Peter and John) did not do the
miracle they just have seen, they have done it in the name of
Jesus.
«
In each one of the Sundays of the Easter season we have heard as a
refrain: This Jesus Christ whom you killed, the Father raised him.
«
He is the cornerstone rejected by the builders, and it is now the stone
which supports the building.
«
Peter repeats again that, there is no salvation in any other name, but
in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Psalm 118:1.8-9,21-23,26,21,29
Ø
This is a psalm of thanksgiving and praise for the wonderful works that
God has made.
Ø
Most probably this psalm was used
in the liturgical celebrations of the people of Israel.
Ø
The refrains speak of two actions of the liturgy: the entrance into the
Temple and the procession to the altar.
Ø
The psalmist gives thanks to God for his wonderful actions, for having
listened to him, because THE LORD IS
GOOD, HIS MERCY IS EVERLASTING.
Ø
¿For which of the wonderful
works of God in our life, do we want to thank him and sing his mercies?
SECOND READING: 1 Jn 3:1-2
It is a very short Reading, only two verses, but rich in meaning.
The author speaks of the love the Father has shown to us.
Since we are not only called sons and daughters, but we really are.
This is the reason that the world does not know us, and does not accept
us, because they have neither known nor accepted God as Father.
The author says that we already are children of God. Yes, we are children
of God from our baptism.
But everything is in shadows, without being able to see clearly.
When “he appears” we will be like Him, and we will see him as He
is.
What is the meaning of this words
“he appears”, does John mean the Second Coming of the Lord? or does he mean our
personal encounter with the Lord at the end of our earthly journey?
GOSPEL
JOHN 10:11-18
« The Reading for this coming
Sunday is taken from the discourse of the Good Shepherd.
« In the first part Jesus
says that he is the door of the flock, a beautiful image but we will not read
this part on Sunday.
« In the second part of this
discourse Jesus says “I am the Good
Shepherd”
« And he describes what it
means to be the good shepherd:
o The good shepherd gives his
live for the sheep. This is what Jesus has done, He loves us so much that he has given his life for us. Like the shepherd that lays
at night at the entrance of the fold to protect the sheep from the wolfs, from
evil. (the
fold did not have a door, thus the shepherd slept at the entrance of the fold
and in so doing he was like the door of the fold.)
o The two verses that follow
describe the difference between the shepherd, owner of the sheep and the hired
hand who works for a salary.
o Jesus repeats what he said
in verse 11“I am the good shepherd”
o The Good Shepherd not only
defends, protects and gives his life for the sheep, but
o The Good Shepherd knows his
sheep, and the sheep know him.
o Let us reflect for a moment
on the biblical meaning of the verb to know:
§ To know is not only an
intellectual action
§ In the knowing the mind,
the heart, the passion, the affection, the will, the intelligence, the
imagination and the action are involved.
§ It is the verb that the Old
Testament uses to describe the loving intimacy between a couple, a man and a
woman.
The sheep have an intimate and deep relationship
with Jesus his or her shepherd; a relationship similar to the relationship
between the Father and the Son in the Most Holy Trinity.
o Because of this “knowledge”,
to this deep intimacy between Jesus and the sheep, He gives his life so the
sheep may have abundant life.
o What a beautiful
image! Our Shepherd invites us to enter
into the intimacy between the Father and the Son in the Most Holy Trinity.
o For this he has died and
rose again, and has ascended to the Father taking us with him and giving us his
Spirit his love.
o
THANK YOU GOOD SHEPHERD!
« After that Jesus says that
he has other sheep which are not yet in the fold.
o They are all our brothers
and sisters who do not know yet their Shepherd, who have not yet entered into
the fold.
o But the Good Shepherd has
to find them and teach them to recognize his voice.
o The voice of the Shepherd,
it is not an audible voice. It is the voice which resounds in the mot inner
recesses of our being, and leads us to the “knowledge” of our Shepherd.
o All the sheep that hear,
listen to, and know the Shepherd form one fold, because the voice of the
Shepherd resonates within him or her, and this unites us to the only Shepherd
and among ourselves. We are no longer estrangers to each other or enemies, we
are THE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE RISEN LORD and of ONE ANOTHER.
« Jesus says something that
makes us wonder: the Father loves Jesus because He lays down his life to take it
again.
« Nobody takes his life from him;
He has the power to give it and the power to take it again. He is the Lord.
« This is the mission he has
received from the Father.
« We have a long way to go as
followers of Jesus, our Teacher and Shepherd we need
o A welcoming heart to seek
the lost sheep, those that are not yet in the fold with us, those who do not
know the voice of the Shepherd, and to accept them as part of our family, our
church.
o A rejoicing heart because
our brother or our sisters has come into the fold with us.
o A generous heart willing to
give his or her life for the brothers and sisters, as Jesus did.
o A patient heart because
each one enters into the fold at his or her own time.
Then, speaking of infidels in general,
she(St. Mary Magdalene of Pazis) would say, "If I could, I would
gather them all together and bring them to the bosom of the Church, that She might
purify them of all their infidelities and regenerate them as her children,
drawing them to her breast and nourishing them with the milk of the sacraments.
How well she would feed and nurse them at her breasts! Ah, if I could bring
them to her, how gladly would I do it!"San Antonio María Claret, Founder of the Claretian
Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 260.
BIBLIOGRAFÍA
CLARET,
Antonio María. Autobiography.
FLOR
SERRANO, Gonzalo. Los Salmos en Comentario al Antiguo Testamento II. La Casa de
la Biblia 1997.
PARIS,
María Antonia. Autobiografía en Escritos(Writings),
with commentaries by Juan Manuel Lozano.
RAVASI,
Gianfranco. Según las Escrituras. Año B. Ediciones
San Pablo. Bogotá 2005.
SCHÖKEL,
Luis Alonso. Commentaries to the BIBLIA
DE NUESTRO PUEBLO. Ediciones Mensajero. China 2010
