Vol. 37 No. 29           APRIL  25,  2010            Cycle C          4th  SUNDAY  OF  EASTER                  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them       ENTRANCE ANTIPHON The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord; by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, alleluia. PENITENTIAL  RITE Today, the Good Shepherd Sunday is also Vocation Sunday. In today’s Gospel Jesus, the Good Shepherd, tells us: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life”. What does belonging to him entail? It entails listening to his voice and following him. Let us reflect for a moment on our failure to respond to the love and care of Jesus. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God... OPENING  PRAYER Almighty and ever-living God, give us new strength from the courage of Christ our shepherd, and lead us to join the saints in heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. FIRST  READING (The Gospel is not exclusive to any particular community, but it is for all people. We have a brief description of St Paul’s missionary work in Antioch.) A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (13:14,43-52) Paul and Barnabas passed on from Perga and came to Antioch of Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted what was spoken by Paul, and reviled him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth’.” And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord spread throughout all the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM      (99) Response: We are his people, the sheep of his flock. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy. R./ Know that he, the Lord, is God, He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock. R./ Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age. R./ SECOND READING (God who is the author of salvation is not partial and does not have any special liking for any particular group or language. The passage also describes the new life of the saints who have merited heaven.) A reading from the Book of the Apocalypse   (7:9,14-17) I, John, looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. And one of the elders said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION     (Jn 10:14) Alleluia, alleluia! I am the Good Shepherd, says the Lord, I know my own and my own know me. Alleluia! GOSPEL (In the Gospel of today Jesus is portrayed as the true shepherd and giver of eternal life. As sheep of the Lord we are invited to remain with him, safe and secure, so that no one can harm us.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John   (10:27-30) Jesus said to the Jews, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe... PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, God our loving Father has expressed His love through the person of Jesus Christ, His only Son. Jesus, the Good Shepherd will not allow anyone to snatch from his care the sheep the Father has given him. Hence, with confidence let us pray to him for our needs and the needs of all people: Response: Father, teach us to listen and follow Jesus your Son. 1. Lord, we pray for our Holy Father, bishops, priests, religious and the lay leaders: that they may faithfully and lovingly watch over the flock of Christ and live a life worthy of their vocation. R./ 2. Lord, we pray for all social workers and those who are involved in promoting justice and peace in different communities: that they may be strengthened and encouraged both by the Lord and the people around them. R./ 3. Lord, we pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life: that the Lord may inspire men and women to devote their lives to the cause of caring for his flock. R./ 4. Lord, we pray for Christians all over the world: grant us the grace to forgive one another and to be compassionate to others, and thus show to the world that we are Christians by our love. R./ 5. Lord, we pray for doctors, nurses and all in the caring professions: that the Lord may fill them with a strong and unselfish love, dedication and compassion. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Loving Father, we thank and praise you for your love and concern for each one of us. May your Spirit help us to recognize Jesus as our Good Shepherd and listen to his voice. Grant us the grace to carry out your plan of salvation for all the people. We make our prayer through Christ our Good Shepherd. PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, restore us by these Easter mysteries. May the continuing work of our redeemer bring us eternal joy. We ask this… PREFACE   (23) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. We praise you with greater joy than ever in this Easter season, when Christ became our pachal sacrifice. He is still our priest, our advocate who always pleads our cause. Christ is the victim who dies no more, the Lamb once slain, who lives for ever. The joy of the resurrection renews the whole world, while the choirs of heaven sing for ever to your glory: All: Holy, holy, holy… COMMUNION ANTIPHON The Good Shepherd is risen! He who laid down his life for his sheep, who died for his flock, he is risen, alleluia. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Father, eternal Shepherd, watch over the flock redeemed by the blood of Christ and lead us to the promised land. Grant this...     LITURGY  AND  LIFE   About the middle of the 19th century St John Bosco began to work for poor and endangered youth in the Italian city of Turin. The young people soon realized that in him they had a true friend. They so loved him that once when he got seriously ill, they stormed heaven with their prayers, and some went so far as to offer their lives to God in his place. As it happened, John Bosco recovered. This kind of bond cannot exist unless there is closeness, and closeness involves knowing and being known. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, says, “I know my sheep.” He knows his sheep precisely because he is a good shepherd. There are various levels of knowing. We know some people just as a face or a name. Others we know as acquaintances. And others we know as friends. There is something we miss in not knowing people. The Jewish writer, Elie Wiesel, was very attached to his father, who died in Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. Yet when he came to write his autobiography he declared: “I never really knew my father. It hurts to admit that. I knew little of the man I loved most in the world, the man whose merest glance could stir me. I wonder if other sons have the same problem. Do they know their fathers as someone other than the authoritarian figure who leaves in the morning and returns in the evening, bringing bread to the table?” In our own times it is a common cry. Children don’t know their parents; parents don’t know their children. To know takes time and effort, but bears great fruit. When this knowledge is absent a great loss results. Life passes by so quickly. We barely know each other. You can’t love someone you don’t know. However, this knowing has to be a two-way affair. Jesus, the Good Shepherd knows his sheep intimately. But they also know him: ‘My own know me.’ Jesus wasn’t afraid to let himself be known. But we sometimes are. We refuse to let others into our lives. No one will know what our true feelings, needs, hurts and hopes are. Jesus is a good shepherd to us. He wants us to have life here and eternal life hereafter. But it has to be a two-way affair. We have to respond to his love. The faithful sheep listen to the voice of the shepherd and follow him. We have to get to know the Lord, listen to his word and do it. Every Christian is called to be a loving and caring person. Caring means getting close to people, as Jesus, the Good Shepherd, got close to us. The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd of the Father’s flock is one of the most beautiful images we have of him. And we owe it to Jesus himself. This is how he described himself and his mission. The feeling of belonging to Jesus, and of being known and loved by him, is enormously comforting and reassuring. Who would not want to belong to his flock? But how can we tell if we truly belong to his flock? What does belonging entail? Essentially three things: The first and basic requirement is to believe in him. We enter the flock by becoming believers. But belief is only the beginning. The second requirement is to listen to his voice: ‘My sheep listen to my voice.’ To listen to his voice is to heed his teachings. And the third requirement is to follow him: ‘My sheep follow me.’ To follow him is to do his word. Obviously the relationship has to be a two-way thing. The sheep have to choose to belong. Jesus won’t or can’t save people against their will. But it is wonderfully consoling to realize that if we do sincerely want and try to belong to him, then he will take care of us in life and death. He promises to give us eternal life. —Fr Flor McCarthy, sdb     =============================================================   April/May  2010 READINGS  OF  THE  WEEK Psalter  Week   4 26   Mon (W)     Act 11:1-18; Ps 41:2,3;42:3,4; Jn 10:1-10 27   Tue (W)     Act 11:19-26; Ps 86:1-3,4-5,6-7; Jn 10:22-30 28   Wed (W)   Act 12:24-13:5a; Ps 66:2-3,5,6&8; Jn 12:44-50 29   Thu (W)    St Catherine of Siena (mem)                             Act 13:13-25; Ps 88:2-3,21-22,25&27; Jn 13:16-20 30   Fri (W)      Act 13:26-33; Ps 2:6-7,8-9,10-11; Jn 14:1-6 01   Sat (W)    St Joseph the Worker Gen 1:26-2:3 or Col 3:14-15,17,23-24;                                                             Ps 89:2,3-4,12-13,14&16; Mt 13:54-58