Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter - Feeding the Sheep

I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, increase my faith so that I may hear your voice and follow you despite the cost. Lord, increase my love so that I will never “work for pay, with no concern for the sheep.”

Petition: Lord make me self-sacrificing and generous in charity

1. The Good Shepherd. As Christians we are all called to be the “good shepherd” for others in imitation of Christ, as opposed to the hired man who “works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.” St. Augustine challenges us to be true to our call:  “Let us consider the unflattering words of God which Scripture addresses to shepherds who feed themselves and not the sheep. You consume their milk and cover yourselves with their wool; you kill the fatlings, but my sheep you do not pasture. You have failed to strengthen what was weak, to heal what was sick, and to bind up what was injured. You did not call back what went astray, nor seek out what was lost. What was strong you have destroyed, and my sheep have been scattered because there is no shepherd” (St. Augustine, On Pastors). 

2. Feeding the sheep. We are called to feed the sheep, to strengthen the weak, to heal the sick, to bind up the injured. Our Lord Jesus Christ did precisely that throughout his sojourn on earth. At the Last Supper, after washing the feet of the apostles, he said, “I have given you example, so that you may do what I have done.” Meditate on Christ as the good shepherd in the Gospel. How would Christ live your life today? 

3. Lay down your life for the sheep. Mother Teresa taught us to be good shepherds in the small occasions throughout the day, even when it hurts. “And so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once we begin to love each other naturally we want to do something. … What we have done we should not have been able to do if you did not share with your prayers, with your gifts, this continual giving. But I don´t want you to give me from your abundance, I want that you give me until it hurts” (Mother Teresa, Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, December 11, 1979 Oslo, Norway). 

Dialogue with Christ: Lord, you are the Good Shepherd who laid down your life for us. Only with your grace will I lay down my life and sacrifice myself for the good of others in each moment of my life.

Resolution: Lord, I will be another Christ for others today. 

Fourth Sunday of Easter - Christ Knows and Loves His Sheep

"Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So again Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you so much for your generosity and patience in being with me today. My only desire is to please you. My heart longs to be flooded with your grace so that I may fully accomplish your will in my life.

Petition:Lord Jesus, help me to know and love you.

1. Christ Knows Me: “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3). For the Jewish people, to call someone by his name was to touch his deepest identity, his inner core. For them, a name reflected who you were; your meaning as a person. Although, as human beings, we are the fruit of our parent’s love, our soul was made and shaped directly by God. Christ made our souls! Christ knows our innermost selves. He knows not only our names, but he knows our thoughts, feelings, dreams and fears, and even our deepest desires. This fact should be a source of great peace and confidence in my prayer -- Christ does truly know what is going on in my heart. But this knowledge is not all. Christ also loves me.  

2. Christ Loves Me: Through his Incarnation, Christ  emptied himself of his heavenly glory for me! What would life be like without the Mass, without the Eucharist, without confession, without the Gospel (where we discover the path to follow), without the Church and the teachings of the Magisterium? But there was a price, a terrible and costly price for all of these benefits. Christ was asked to pour out his blood on the cross for love of me. And now, Christ turns to each one of us without exception and asks us to do the same. He asks us to be witnesses of his love in a world of darkness and despair. 

 

3. Christ Offers Me Life in Abundance: By accepting Christ as my Good Shepherd I’m guaranteed to ‘find pasture.’ For a sheep this means sufficient food, safety from predators and peaceful relationships with other sheep. Jesus promises life in abundance for those who accept him. Obviously this ‘life in abundance’ doesn’t mean material wealth and success. The food, safety and peace that he promises are spiritual but no less real. Do I value what he values? Do I truly hunger for spiritual food? Or do I hanker after superficial and vain matters that could never satisfy my soul? The joy Our Lord wishes to pour into my heart can be received only if I permit my heart to be detached and emptied of whatever keeps me from him. Jesus warns us that we cannot serve two masters.

Conversation with Christ: Thank you Christ for reminding me of your great love and my vocation to imitate your love. Help me not to get in your way. Help me not to be afraid of  a life of generous service and self-giving to all the souls that you have entrusted to me.

Resolution: I will make some concrete commitment to increase both the quality and quantity of my Eucharistic life.

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter - Are You Going to Leave?

Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here and now as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.

Petition:Lord, help me to embrace fully all that you have revealed.

1. Hard Words to Swallow: Many of the Jews would not accept that Jesus was one with the Father—that he was God. For some, Christ’s divinity was a leap greater than they were ready to make. His message had not yet penetrated into their hearts. So when he explained how he would give himself to them in the Eucharist, they balked. The first act of faith (belief in his divinity) was crucial for them to be able to make the second act of faith (belief in his Eucharistic presence). Each truth that Christ reveals about himself is connected to other truths he wants to reveal about himself. If we don’t accept one, the others can become difficult, too. Conversely, as we grow in our knowledge, faith, and love of Christ, other difficulties in our spiritual life become easier. 

2. Do You Also Want to Leave? Christ’s invitation to accept his truth and his love is always just that: an invitation. He doesn’t force himself on us. Each saving truth he presents is free to be accepted by us, or left aside. But we are impoverished by rejecting any truth about Christ, since he is truth itself. It is the same with each grace he offers us. After this discourse on the Eucharist, many of Christ’s disciples left and no longer accompanied him. As he had invited them to follow him freely, so were they free to go. But would they be able to share in the joy of his resurrection? Would they receive the fullness of life that he had promised them? Would they find what their hearts needed and wanted most if they no longer walked with Christ? All judgment is left to God’s mercy alone.

3. To Whom Shall We Go? Peter already believed in Christ’s divinity. “We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” Anything else Christ might teach or say Peter could accept, even if it was something he couldn’t fully understand. Peter’s confidence and trust in Christ enabled him to cut to the chase: What could he possibly gain by going anywhere else or to anyone else? Even if the path with Christ is strewn with obscurity and great suffering—as it would be—what other direction could Peter possibly take that could be better? 

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I too have come to believe and am convinced that you are the Holy One of God. How could I possibly find meaning and peace of soul anywhere except in you? Your words and your presence in the Eucharist are life for my soul. 

Resolution: Today I will accept any suffering that comes my way, confident that it is somehow part of God’s loving plan. 

Friday of the Third Week of Easter - Seeking to Have Your Heart Filled

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here and now as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.

 

Petition: Lord, help me to face challenges and continue to follow you in faith.

1. What is it I Truly Seek? On the preceding day Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes to feed the multitude. The Jews realize there is something special here, that Jesus may be the Messiah, or at least a prophet. They are curious enough to continue following him and asking him questions. They have liked everything he has said up till now. Some of it they have not understood completely or correctly, but it has been close enough to what they are used to hearing that it causes them no great difficulty. They continue to ask questions, looking for understanding, especially understanding they can be comfortable with. What is my attitude when I question Our Lord about events and challenges in my life? Am I seeking to understand so I can embrace God’s plan better, or does my response depend on how much I comprehend?

2. Opening Our Horizons: Now Jesus has said something truly shocking. He wants them to eat his flesh and drink his blood! Up to this point, most of the crowd has been willing to accept him as a bread-provider. He fed them yesterday. Maybe, if they hang around long enough, he will do it again. Their ideas about the Messiah are too materialistic, based only on the re-establishment of David’s Kingdom at the expense of the Romans. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to take them to a new level. He wants to take them into the mystery of the loving generosity of God. As good as the manna in the wilderness was, he wants to give something much better. As wonderful as David’s Kingdom was, he wants to give a greater kingdom. This is so far beyond what they are looking for, they will not be able to understand what he is offering. It will have to be accepted in faith.

3. Great Gifts Come in Small Packages: We can understand many things, even many spiritual things. In his goodness, God has given us intelligence so that we can understand some of the truths about him. But these simpler truths don’t reveal the full glory of God. They are not as fulfilling as some of the more important truths about him. Jesus wants to give his flesh to eat and his blood to drink. He reveals this to the crowds, and since they lack faith, they don’t understand. Some straggle off to find another “wonder-worker”. Others, looking for understanding, go off to look for a “teacher” who makes sense to them. Hopefully, some are looking for the revelation of the mysteries of God, the greatest gifts that God can offer. They are not looking to fill their stomachs or their minds. They are looking to fill their hearts. These are the kinds of gifts that Jesus intends to give – and in abundance.

 Conversation with Christ: Dear Lord, so often I am looking for material gifts from you. Help me to realize that the greatest gifts you give may be beyond my understanding. Yet, if I am willing to accept them on faith, they will fill my heart. Perhaps with time, it will be possible for me to understand something of them as well, but greatness of faith lies in my trusting in you.

Resolution: What spiritual gift I am most in need of? Faith? Charity? Humility? Something else? Today I will set aside some time to ask God in prayer to grant me that gift.

Thursday of the Third Week of Easter - The Great Gift of God

Jesus said to the crowds: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: ‘They shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” 

Introductory Prayer: Lord I praise you for your goodness. You have given me life and grace. What can compare to the greatness of your love?

Petition: Lord, lead me to a greater understanding of your love for me in the Eucharist.

1. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” 

How easy it is for us to take our faith for granted! Many of us are cradle Catholics, born into a certain religious tradition. That can make it easy to see our faith more as a family inheritance than a gift from God. Yet Jesus clearly affirms that no one can come to him unless the Father draw him. To make a true act of supernatural faith, God is working in our soul. When we say to Jesus, as Thomas did, “My Lord and my God,” grace is definitely at work. We should constantly thank God for the gift of our faith.

2. “Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God” 

Through faith, this wonderful gift of God, Jesus is leading us into the very heart of the ultimate mystery, the divine life of the Triune God. At the Last Supper Jesus will say to Philip, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus’ human face reveals the invisible mystery of the Father. God is love (1 Jn 4:16). We are invited into this mystery of eternal, mutual love of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. To speak of the Godhead is, I know, like trying to cross the ocean on a raft or trying to fly to the stars on a little bird’s wings (St. Gregory Nazianzen). 

3. “Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.” 

This faith constantly needs nourishment. The Israelites during their desert sojourn ate manna. It provided physical nourishment, but our spiritual lives need an infinitely greater bread. Jesus provides it in the Eucharist. Let us go to him frequently and allow him to feed our famished and weary souls.

Dialogue with Christ: Lord, I thank you for the great gift of my faith, and thank you for nourishing it with the Eucharist. Help me to never grow cold or indifferent before the great mystery of your love. 

Resolution: I will try to be more keenly aware of God’s presence.

Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles - Seeing God Face to Face

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ´Show us the Father´? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

Introductory Prayer: Christ, I thank you for the gift of faith. You know that I believe, but I want my faith to grow. In knowing you I find meaning, rest and strength. I need you, Lord. I trust in your loving mercy. You know what I need the most today. All I ask is that you remain at my side throughout this day. That is enough for me. I want to spend this day making you happy, pleasing you with my every thought, word and action.

Petition: Christ, help me to know you and love you more each day.

1. I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Christ is the answer to our problems. Since he is fully God and fully man, his very reality unites humanity to God in a way never before hoped. It is in following Christ that we find our way. It is in believing in Christ that we discover truth. It is in accepting Christ that we gain life. Christians don’t simply follow a set of rules or believe in some doctrines, we follow a person: Christ. As Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote, Christ’s “doctrine was himself” (Life of Christ, p. 153).

2. Show Us the Father: “Seeing is believing”, the saying goes. Yet this seems to go contrary to the faith. Didn’t Christ tell “doubting” Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (John 20:29)? Here again, Christ seems to be chiding Philip for wanting to see. However, Christ isn’t correcting Philip for wanting to see; rather, he didn’t see in Christ what he was supposed to: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” At the core of the doctrine of the Incarnation is that now the “face” of God is made visible in the person of Christ. Answering the man born blind whom he had just healed when asked who the Son of Man is, Christ said, “You have seen him” (John 9:37). The Second Council of Nicaea, in the year 787, reaffirmed against the iconoclasts the validity of using sacred images, linking religious pictures and art to the Incarnation (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 476). Man has a need to see God, and the Incarnation was God’s response.

3. Believe Because of the Works: Christ helps Philip’s faith by pointing to the works he has done. The faith cannot be proven in an empirical sense, but there can be many signs which assist our reason in that act of faith. Christ’s miracles, his moral stature, his words and ultimately his resurrection are strong arguments in favor of the faith. Nevertheless we must still decide to believe. Once we decide, then even greater works than Christ performed in his earthly life can be worked through us. Don’t wait to understand everything to believe, rather believe and you will begin to understand.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, let me see your face in prayer, in the Eucharist and in my neighbor. Be my way, my truth and my life. Be my model, my point of reference and my strength. Without you I can do nothing; with you I can do all things.

Resolution: I will do a conscious act of charity for my neighbor, making an effort to see Christ in others.

Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church - The Unbearable Sign

The crowd said to Jesus, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.´" So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here and now as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.

Petition: Lord, increase my faith in you and in your Eucharistic presence. 

1. God Sets the Table: For the Israelites in the time of Exodus, the manna from heaven was a saving gift. It descended daily from heaven so that they would not starve on the journey, but be sustained and strengthened to be able to reach the Promised Land. The passage through the desert was arduous and long, but every morning there was enough manna to collect and sustain them well for that day. The true bread from heaven that the Father gives us—Christ in the Eucharist—does just the same for our souls: It nourishes us that we might not starve here, where spiritual food is scarce. It sustains and strengthens us, so we will be able to reach our eternal promised land. 

2. In the Church we are Truly Fed: Those with no hunger need no bread, so they do not ask for it. Those who are hungry make or buy the bread they need. However, every man hungers in his soul for a bread that he cannot produce on his own and that no one can make for him. His only recourse to receive this sustenance is humbly to ask the only one capable of giving it; he must come before the Lord with open hands and an open heart. “Sir, give us this bread always.” It is a bread both from eternity and for eternity. It satisfies our deepest hunger. But the “bread from heaven” is no bread made by human hands. Christ can give himself only to those who recognize their need for him and who ask, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

3. Beyond Our Wildest Dreams: Could anyone have dreamt that God would descend among us as a man? Could anyone have imagined that he would descend further still to be our bread? Is there anything left that he would not do for us? To receive this unimaginable gift of his bread requires two things: “Whoever comes to me…” and “Whoever believes in me….” Coming to Christ requires moving—getting up from where we are, going to where he is, letting go of whatever our hands clench, and turning our palms up to be filled with his gifts. To believe in Christ is to place our faith and confidence in him. It is to take him at his word and to accept in awe the truth of his real presence in the Eucharist. 

Conversation with Christ: Lord, your real presence in the Eucharist is something I need to believe more with my heart. I do believe that with your bread I will never hunger and that with faith in you I will never thirst. Help me to grow in faith in your Real Presence. I know you will lead me to love you more through this precious gift of yourself. 

Resolution: I will stop by a Catholic church to spend a few moments with Christ in the Eucharist, speaking with him, asking for a stronger faith in him.