FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – 2015
«
On This fourth Sunday the Church will
meditate and pray for vocations.
«
The vocation comes from the unconditional
love of God our creator. He invites us to pass on this message to the new
generations.
«
The readings remind us that Jesus has given
his life for us.
«
He is the corner stone rejected by the
builders, as we read in the psalm.
ALLELUIA! JESUS THE LORD IS RISEN!!!!!!!
FIRST READING – Acts 4:8-12
«
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit speaks to
the leaders of his people to explain the miracle which they just have
witnessed. They did not do the miracle in their own name, but in the name of
Jesus.
«
He reminds them also that they condemned
Jesus to death, but God raised him.
«
All these Easter Sundays we hear a refrain,
as if it was a background melody: Christ
Jesus whom you killed and the Father has raised.
«
This Jesus is the cornerstone which the
builder rejected, and which is now the stone which supports the building, the
church.
«
Peter repeats over and over again “there is
no salvation in any other name, but only
in the mane of Jesus.
Psalm 118:1.8-9,21-23,26,21,29
Ø
This is a psalm of thanksgiving and praise
for the wonderful works which God has made.
Ø
In
this psalm we find individual and also communal expressions.
Ø
It seems to be a liturgical psalm.
Ø
The psalmist gives thanks to God FOR HE IS GOOD, FOR HIS MERCY IS
EVERLASTING.
Ø
For
what wonderful work of God in our life, do we want to thank him and sing his
mercy toward us?
Alleluia!
Give
thanks to the Lord for he is good
For
his mercy endures forever
It
is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than
to trust in man
It
is better to take refuge in the Lord
Than
to trust in princes.
I
will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
And
have been my savior
The
stone which the builders rejected
Has
become the cornerstone.
By
the Lord has this been done
It
is wonderful in our eyes
Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord
We
bless you from the house of the Lord.
I
will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
And
have been my savior
Give
thanks to the Lord for he is good
For
his kindness endures forever.
SECOND READING : 1 Jn 3:1-2
This reading is very short but very rich in
meaning.
The author speaks of how great is the love
that the Father has shown to us.
Because he has called us his children,
because we really are.
For this same reason the world does not know
us, and does not accept us, as it did neither
recognized nor accept Him as Father.
We already are children of God.
But all of this is like in a shadow; we
cannot see him clearly.
When he appears, we will be like him and we
will see him as he is.
“When he appears” may be a reference to the
second coming of the Lord or to the encounter of each one of us with him at the
end of our earthly journey.
GOSPEL OF JOHN 10:11-18
« The
reading for this coming Sunday is taken from the speech of Jesus on the Good Shepherd.
« In
the first part, which we will not read today, Jesus speaks
of the gate for the sheep.
« In
the second part he says “I am the good shepherd”
« And
he continues saying what to be a good shepherd means:
o The
good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. This is precisely what Jesus has done;
so much great is his love for us, his sheep. Like the good shepherd who lies
down at the entrance of the gate becoming himself the gate, to protect the
sheep from the wolf, because the sheepfold did not had a gate to protect the
flock.
o The
next two verses describe the difference between the mercenary and the shepherd.
o He
says again “I am the good shepherd”
o The
Good Shepherd defends the sheep and gives his life for them
o He
knows his sheep, the sheep know him.
o Let
us reflect on the biblical meaning of the verb “to know”
§ To
know someone is not only to know intellectually
§ In
this knowing the mind, the heart, the passion, the feelings, the will, the
imagination are involved.
§ This
verb is used when the bible speaks about the deep love and relationship in
marital life
o The
sheep have an intimate and deep relationship with their shepherd Jesus; very
similar to the relationship between the Father and his Son (Jesus)
o As
a consequence of this knowledge, this intimate love between Jesus and his
sheep, He gives his life so that they may have abundant life.
o What
a wonderful image! Our shepherd invites us to enter into the deep intimacy
which he has with the Father in the Trinity.
o For
this he has died, he is risen and he has ascended into heaven taking us with
him, as a warrior takes the spoils of war with him.
o THANK YOU GOOD SHEPHERD!
« In
the next section Jesus says that he has other sheep which do not belong to the
same fold.
o These
are all our brothers and sisters who do not know yet our Shepherd, they are not
yet part of the flock.
o But
the Good Shepherd has to find them and they will listen to his voice
o The
voice of the Shepherd, it does not mean only a voice heard with our ears. It is
the voice which resonates in our heart, and which leads us to the knowledge of
the Shepherd.
o In
the same way as the human love between a man and a woman. It begins with an external attraction between
the two of them, and as they relate to each other this attraction leads to the
intimate knowledge between them.
o All
the sheep that hear, listen to and know the Shepherd form one flock, because
the knowledge of the Shepherd, his voice resonates in their most inner being,
and bonds us to the Shepherd and among ourselves. We are strangers no more, we
are enemies no longer, we are BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE RISEN LORD AND AMONG
OURSELVES.
« Jesus tells something that makes us wonder:
the Father loves him because he gives his life to get it back again.
« Nobody
takes his life from him; He himself gives it because he has the power to give
it and to take it back. He is the
Lord.
« This
is the mission he has received from the Father.
« We
have a long way in front of us, as followers of Jesus, our Teacher and
Shepherd.
o The
openness of our heart, to seek, with him, the sheep who are not yet with the
Shepherd and with us
o The
welcoming so that they feel part of our faith family.
o This
openness and welcoming cannot have any limits caused by resentments, vengeance,
judgments on the life of our brothers and sisters who are not yet with us.
o The
joy experienced when a brother or a sister comes back or comes for the first
time to our family.
o Each
one of us may look into his or her own heart to discover the doors closed so
often by our vindictive justice.
o Each
one of us needs to work in a close relationship with our Shepherd to learn how
to give life, like he has given his life for the lost sheep, which all of us
are.
o
The reality is that each one enters into the
flock at our own pace, time and process. Who welcomes us is the Shepherd who
invites all of us to be also welcoming of those who have not yet begin the
journey or are at the beginning or at any other moment of their journey.
CLARETIAN CORNER
I had made many acts of
abandonment and self- offering in the arms of the Divine providence in
the
midst of so many perils, being certain and most sure that God is never short of means to help his
children in their necessities even in that immense space of waters where we had
no other refuge than the violent waves . This faith so alive, that God has put
in my soul made me rest in the midst of so many fights. And in this way God
willed to show that the one who puts all his hope in his infinite power would
never be confounded.
María
Antonia París, Foundress of the Claretian MIssionary Sisters. Autobiography 152.
Then, speaking
of infidels in general, she 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!" Anthony
Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography 260.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CLARET, Antonio María. Autobiografía.
FLOR SERRANO, Gonzalo. Los Salmos en Comentario al
Antiguo Testamento II. La Casa de la Biblia 1997.
PARIS, María Antonia. Autobiografía en Escritos, con Comentarios por Juan Manuel Lozano.
RAVASI, Gianfranco. Según
las Escrituras. Año B. Ediciones San Pablo. Bogotá 2005.
SCHÖKEL, Luis Alonso. Comentarios en la BIBLIA DE NUESTRO
PUEBLO. Ediciones Mensajero. China 2010
