FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – CYCLE A - 2020

INTRODUCTION

Ø  During the second part of the Easter season the Gospels are about the person of the Risen Lord.

Ø  The central theme of today’s Gospel is Jesus, the good Shepherd, who is the gate of the sheep  and for the sheep. 

Ø  In the first and second readings Peter reminds us that Jesus has suffered in the hands of sinners.  

Ø  The theme of Jesus’ suffering is present during the whole time of Easter.  

Ø  The Risen Lord has the marks of the nails and of the spear, so that we do not forget his death even during the joyful time of Easter.   

Ø  Today the universal Church prays for vocations of special consecration, let us ask the Lord to send laborers into his field. Let us ask the Lord that young men and women may follow his call to work in his vineyard as priests, deacons, religious men and women.      

FIRST READING  – Acts 2: 14a, 36-41

« Peter is with the eleven, this means that Matthias had already been elected in the place of Judas. 

« It is the Jewish festival of Pentecost. All are surprised by the noise they have heard and for what they see. Those men, scared are now full of energy.       

« Peter announces solemnly that they crucified Jesus whom the Father has made Lord and Christ, 

« On hearing that they were deeply distressed.   

« Are we so distressed when we hear these words? We have also crucified the Lord many times during our life, especially when we have hurt anyone of our brothers and sisters. With our indifference before the suffering of those who die from hunger, the homeless, the children separated from their parents by unjust laws, the immigrants that seek a better future for their family, and some of them  seek to be able to eat  the scraps that fall our abundant tables.

« But we always have hope; Peter invites them to repent, to be sorry for their sin and to be baptized.  

RESPONSORIAL PSALM  Ps  23

The Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want

The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want

In verdant pastures he gives me repose

Besides restful waters he leads me

He refreshes my soul.

The Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want

He guides me in right paths

For his name’s sake

Even though I walk in the dark valley

I fear no evil; for you are at my side

With your rod and your staff

That give me courage

The Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want

You spread the table before me

In the sight of my foes

You anoint my head with oil

My cup overflows

The Lord is my shepherd there is nothing I shall want

Only goodness and kindness follow me

All the days of my life

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

For years to come.

v Psalm 23 is one of the most beautiful psalms. 

v It speaks about unbound and filled with peace trust in the shepherd.  

v The shepherd is always there, with his staff which gives security and trust.   

v The shepherd who leads the sheep to peaceful places of repose, where pasture and water are abundant.   

v The shepherd who accompanies the sheep until the end of its life.  

v There is an author who says that this description of the shepherd cannot make us forget that the shepherd is  someone strong, sometimes even rude but that risks his life for each one of his sheep.  

v Is that our trust in our Shepherd, Jesus? 

SECOND READING  1Pe 2:20b-25

Ø  We continue reading the first letter of Peter.     

Ø  Peter says to his community that to suffer being innocent is a grace, is a gift.  

Ø  Because to this we have been called in order to be like Christ.  

Ø  He suffered and has left us and example so that we may also learn to suffer like him.   

Ø  He did not insult, or threaten, but he handed himself over to those who judged him unjustly, and for whom he also offered his sufferings.  

Ø  Is this our behavior when we are treated or judged unjustly?  

Ø  He carried our sins in his body nailed to the cross, so that on being liberated from our sin we could serve God faithfully.   

Ø   Is the thought of his love and presence in our life, consolation and comfort for us?

GOSPEL – Jn 10:1-10

ü  Jesus says that whoever does not enter through the gate of the sheepfold is a thief and a robber.  

ü  The shepherd enters through the gate     

ü  Jesus says more, he not only enters through the gate, but he is the gate.

ü  The image of the door is very eloquent and very beautiful:  

o   The sheepfold did not have a gate 

o   It was a circular place with an opening to enter and to leave.   

o   The shepherd allowed the sheep to enter at night and he slept at the entrance thus being the gate himself. 

o   If a robber or a wild animal wanted to enter into the sheepfold, it would have to be through the shepherd.   

o   This is the image, which Jesus presents to us when he says that he is the gate.   

o   We may be at peace and secure because our shepherd takes care of us, and he has come so that we may have abundant life.      

o   Are we at peace when we are with him? 

  

ü  The whole passage has an exceptional beauty, and it transmit a peace which only the Lord can give.   

ü  Why do we still fear? Has he not given us enough proofs that he loves us? 

ü  Some time ago the Pope in one of his short daily messages said:   “Do not be afraid, open  the doors to Christ.”  

CLARETIAN CORNER

On reading both writings, we see differences and at the same time similarities: 

The Plan for the Renewal of the Church  of María Antonia  is a series of  simple points addressed to her Spiritual Director, to Claret… to concrete persons with  whom she shares her ideals of the Renewal of the Church and in which she mentions some means to accomplish it.  

The Notes of a Plan is a more theological document, addressed to the Bishops.  In it Claret shares his own experience as Bishop.  Although Claret entitles  his document  Notes, on reading them for the first time, it looks more as Points. However it is an authentic Plan to accomplish the Renewal of the Church, with a profound ecclesial foundation. 

The similarities between both Documents are  their practical nature, the theme of the Renewal of the Church in her members and the means to renew the Church. 

It is difficult to decide which one  influenced the other. If it is true that Claret had the Plan of María Antonia with him when he wrote his Notes while he was on the ship, it is also true that when María Antonia wrote her Plan for the Renewal, she had seen, incarnate in the life of Claret as Archbishop of Cuba, all that she puts down on writing,  p.71

BIBLIOGRAPHY  

BARKER, John R. ofm. BELLINGER, Karla J. Living the Word, Tear A (12/01/19- 11/22/2020)

MUÑOZ, Hortensia & TUTZO, Regina, Claretian Missionary Sisters. Two Pens Guided by the Same Spirit. 2010. 

POPE FRANCIS, Vatican web page.

STOCK, Klemens. La Liturgia de la Palabra – Ciclo A