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
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