V2 - 4/13/08 (A)

Volume II Archive

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Contents: Volume 2: Easter 4A 04-13-2008

1. -- Lanie LeBlanc OP

2. Musings: -- Fr. Michael Kennedy

3. -- Fr. Paul O'Reilly, SJ

4. --

5. (Your reflection can be here!)

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1.

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Subject: 4th Sunday of Easter

In this week's Gospel passage from John, Jesus tells us that He "came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." Although we know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, sometimes we walk, if not run, not toward Him but the other way. We eventually find that this other life does not measure up to a reasonable definition of "abundantly". Somewhere along this wrong path, someone, perhaps just like Peter did, says something that makes us feel like we "were cut to the heart". Thank God for those people and for those moments of grace.

Once we come to our senses, we might also ask "what are we to do?" That is an excellent and most proper response to this abundant grace we have received and the gate to receiving even more grace. Asking and listening allows us to hear the familiar voice once again which then allows us "to go in and come out and find pasture" . Sometimes this occurs through another's long term counsel or perhaps just through a particular phrase said in a homily. The initiator is God. We can be His messenger. We can be among those who hear the message and follow.

I think what seems to be most important here, however, is that we be able to be quiet enough to recognize the Voice as the Gate, no matter if it be through another or within ourselves. Availing ourselves of this gift will enable us to have this abundant life. Being able to "find pasture" seems almost unattainable at times in many of our lives, mine included, but, oh, what a peaceful and reachable goal to have... and one that is possible, a little at a time !

--

Blessings,

Dr. Lanie LeBlanc OP

lanieleblanc@mindspring.com

Dominican Laity

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2.

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MUSINGS AND OTHER ARTICLES AVAILABLE ON WEB SITE LINK LISTED AT BOTTOM Musings from Michael©

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Kit and Caboodle

(4th Sunday of Easter)

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After the way Jesus

Describes Himself as the

Gate through which the sheep

Pass and later when He calls

Himself the Good Shepherd

One might be tempted to

Say that disciples need to

Learn from animals and

It does make sense

Since we all know

That God spelled

Backwards is Dog

****

But His message is

More direct than that as

He describes how we get to

The Kingdom of His Father for

He is clear in saying He comes

So that we will have life and

Have it more abundantly and

In so many different ways

He confronts the Scribes

And Pharisees and us too

That getting to the

Fullness of life is

Through Him and

Is not always

Very easy

****

In short He reminds

Us that we cannot just

Take part of Him and His

Message for it only works

If we embrace all of Him

And His substance for one

Really cannot be part

Disciple for we have

To embrace the

Complete Good

Shepherd the

Whole kit and

Caboodle

****

MJK

©Michael J. Kennedy 2008

https://home.comcast.net/~michaeljkennedy/

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3.

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Year A: 4th Sunday in Easter (Good Shepherd / Vocations)

" I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full. "

Most people here will have just one vivid memory of Holy Saturday, the 26th March, 2005. It was the day Pope John Paul the Second died the greatest and best shepherd of our lifetime. That is the only thing that most people remember about that day.

However, there are two other things that I remember from that day. One is that it happened to be my (43rd) birthday. The other is that it was also the day I heard of the death of Dennis, the greatest church leader I have ever met personally. (Admittedly, I never met the Pope.) Two very great shepherds died that day.

Our Holy Father's story is well-known, but it bears re-telling one more time especially this bit.

Like most people my age, I grew up in fear.

It was not a fear that we thought about very much, but it was always there at the back of our minds.

That fear was called technically "mutually assured destruction" - the knowledge that at any moment either the Americans or the Russians could press one button and begin a nuclear war which could - no one really knew what would happen - but could annihilate the whole world.

All of our lives we lived on that knife age of mutually assured destruction.

That is no longer true. The fall of the Berlin wall, the collapse of atheism and communism in Eastern Europe have ended that fear. Of course, the world is not entirely safe today, but it is a lot safer than it used to be.

Many, many people contributed to that peace making. But I firmly believe that the person who contributed the most of all was the last pope.

It was his intervention at the head of the whole Polish church that brought about peaceful revolutions first in Poland, and then throughout Eastern Europe and finally in Russia itself.

With the collapse of atheism and communism, there was also the collapse of the barriers between people, most notably the Berlin wall in 1989. I think this great act of peace-making may well be the greatest achievement not just of that pope but of any pope there has ever been. Not to put too fine a point on it, I believe his faith and his fortitude may well have saved the entire world.

Obviously, his time has come to an end. But like every good Christian, he was committed to giving everything he had, right until the end. Like St Paul, he ran the race to the finish; he fought the good fight to the end. Let us pray for him that God may receive him into Paradise. And let us pray also of the current pope that he face the new challenges which threaten the world with the same faith and fortitude.

Dennis' story is not so well-known.

I met him four years ago when I was working in the Philippines.

He was the lay minister of a tiny church community in a small, previously un-evangelised fishing community on the east coast of Luzon; a remote inaccessible place beyond the Sierra Madre, on the dry arid Pacific coast.

In the daytime, he worked for the town council; in the evenings and weekends he worked for the Church. But, whatever time of day or night people came to him, and for whatever purpose they looked to him, they found him eager to help, eager to serve and eager to give the Glory to God. Day and night, he buzzed up and down the coast on his little two-stroke Yamaha, doing what ever he could to make the Lord loved and the people happy. No matter what the dangers on the road from bandits, terrorists, landslides or even plain old accidents. When the flood came in Eastern Isabella that cost 20,000 lives, he was the natural choice to co-ordinate the rescue in his area. I have worked in many countries and have met many local authority bureaucrats and church volunteers, but never one quite like him.

In the end, it was the plain old accident that got him. On the 24th March, 2005, he came off his motorbike, while going about his work; as the Americans say "in the line of duty". He lingered in hospital for two days and never recovered consciousness. For a time, his whole community felt lost, rudder-less, fatherless. Then his wife took charge and continued his work.

One of the Amerindian tribes I used to work with has a tradition. At funerals they make no show of grief. No weeping. No outward sign of sorrow. They say: "there is no need for sorrow when a good person goes to God. There is a need for each of us to help fill his place."

At the funeral of a great man, part of his cassava crop is dug up and the root is cut up and shared out among the mourners. And then each of them returns to their own homes and plants it in their own fields and continues his crop. And every time they harvest, they pray in memory of the man or woman whose traditions they carry on.

I ask each of you here to think of one good and holy person you have known one person who has died, that you hold dear. And in your heart off hearts, imagine taking a piece of her or his root and planting it in your own field.

Let us stand and profess our Faith in God who calls us all to live our lives to the full.

Fr. Paul O'Reilly, SJ <fatbaldnproud@yahoo.co.uk>

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4.

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5.

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Volume 2 is for you. Your thoughts, reflections, and insights on the next Sundays readings can influence the preaching you hear. Send them to jboll@preacherexchange.org . Deadline is Wednesday Noon. Include your Name, and Email Address.

-- Fr. John

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