Redemptorist News
Soul Food for Hungry Adult Communities: Trinity Sunday, May 26, 2013.
Soul Food for Hungry Adult Communities:Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, May 26, 2013.
Do you ‘know’ God, your heavenly Father? (‘Know’ in the Scriptures means ‘knowing
Andrei Rublev's 'Trinity'.
with your heart, you whole being’: Adam ‘knew’ his wife Eve, and they had children. ) Do you know your heavenly Father who ‘knows the number of hairs on your head’? (Matthew 10). Do you know the Father of the prodigal son, who, when he saw his far-away son, ran to him, kissed him, and threw his arms around him (Luke 15)? Do you know the One who gave his name to Moses as ‘I AM’? The one who leads us ‘with leading-strings of love’, as Hosea says? The One who said ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love! I am constant in my affection for you!’ (Jeremiah 31).
If you do, then you’re on the way to ‘knowing’ the Holy Trinity better!
Do you know Jesus,- ‘know’ him intimately, as friend? Know the one who grew up in Nazareth and lived there until he was 30 years old? The one who gathered disciples around him. The one who to whom sinners and outcasts flocked, to listen to him? The one who was nailed to a cross for you, and for us all? If you ‘know’ Jesus, the Christ, then you’re on the way to ‘knowing’ the Holy Trinity better.
Do you know the Holy Spirit who was poured into your heart at Baptism and at Confirmation? The Spirit who is our constant companion, a ‘Comforter’, one who stands by our side always, who is a fire in our hearts when we open the Scriptures? If you ‘know’ the Holy Spirit of God who flows in your veins, then you’re on the way to ‘knowing’ the Holy Trinity better!
So, on this Feast, it is a feast, a banquet, a celebration when we make a song and dance together about our heavenly Father, about Jesus his Son, about the Holy Spirit, – three persons in one God.
Maybe the word ‘Trinity’ now means a bit more,- a Trinity of Persons in One God, a ‘Most Holy Trinity’ that is our life.
We live and move and have our beings in that great Mystery, that community of love that is the community of the most holy Trinity. We are part of that family, because we are baptized into Christ, we are all ‘one person’ in Christ, and so we are caught up in the love and life and laughter and tears of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are IN the Trinity
Live it! Love it! Celebrate it! Make a song and dance this weekend about who we are and where we are!
God bless!
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R.
Find a poem called ‘In Dwelling’, a reflection on the Trinity (‘sometimes it’s ecstasy, sometimes porridge’) written a few years ago. Click here, or go to www.emptifulvessels.com, a selection of reflections by Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R.
To learn more about Andrei Rublev’s ‘Trinity’ icon, click here
SOUL FOOD for Hungry Adult Communities: Pentecost 2013.
Soul Food for Hungry Adult Communities, Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013.
See Mass Readings for this Sunday. Click here.
‘I WILL ASK THE FATHER AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER HELPER AND HE WILL STAY WITH YOU FOREVER…THE HELPER, THE HOLY SPIRIT WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, WILL TACH YOU EVERYTHING AND MAKE YOU REMEMBER ALL THAT I HAVE TOLD YOU…PEACE IS WHAT I LEAVE YOU, IT IS MY OWN PEACE THAT I WILL GIVE YOU.’ (John Chapter 14)
There’s the NIAGARA Falls on the Canadian border with the United States. There’s the
Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina
VICTORIA Falls on the Zimbabwe/Zambia border. There’s the IGUAZU falls in South America, on the Brazil/Argentina border. None of these compares with the power of what happened at Pentecost, and what is still going on in every corner of the world,- the power of God the Holy Spirit working in the hearts and lives of individuals and communities who are open to this. This is the power of the immense love of God’s heart, working in the world.
Things happen in societies. Changes occur that are for the good. Gay and Lesbian people are welcomed in society, a far cry from years ago. And that’s great. The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in London 2012 was a wonderful celebration of human beings and communities, with great sensitivity to the damage that industrial and commercial greed can do to communities. The Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games in London 2012 was a powerful celebration of the talents and abilities, the determination and achievement of people facing every kind of physical challenge. They weren’t ‘disabled’, they were PEOPLE, first and foremost. In moments such as these, is the Holy Spirit changing hearts and societies, around the world. I believe so.
Just nine years ago, in May 2004, about ten nations of Eastern Europe became full members of the European Union. I deliberately sat and watched that whole ceremony of
The Berlin Wall, pre-1989.
joining, and the different flags being raised, one by one. What moved me deeply is that, just fifteen years earlier, not one person in Europe could have dreamt that this might happen. In 1989, the Soviet Union was still in place, the Berlin wall still standing. Who would have dreamt that, in a very few short years, countries that were once at the heart of Europe, would now be back again in the European Union. It was a ‘Niagara’ of a change. Was the Spirit of God at work in all of this? I believe so.
I am writing this while in Birmingham, England. There are two Redemptorists, Fr Derek Meskell and myself, conducting the annual Novena to the Mother of Perpetual Help, in St. Francis’ Church in Handsworth, north-west of the city centre. On the opening Sunday, last weekend, there was a Mass of All Nations, and people were there whose origins lay in many far-distant places: from Vietnam, many parts of India, Pakistan, the Punjab, Bangladesh; people from France, the Caribbean islands, Columbia, Poland, Ireland,
The Saturday Market at the Bull Ring, Birmingham, UK
England.- and other places beside. In the city centre, at the Bull Ring, today, it was like Pentecost Sunday,- every language, every nation, all milling about good humouredly, and you could get every kind of ethnic food. And that’s what Jerusalem was like, that Pentecost Day, full of visitors from all parts, when that ‘Niagara’ of the power of God came on the previously frightened men and women,- about 120 of them, according to the Acts of the Apostles,- and they all went out fearlessly into the market place, filled with God’s very own love for every person and nation and people. They brought burning love to the societies they met. They spoke of the love of the Creator for people; they spoke of the healing of hearts and lives, the opening of eyes, the forgiveness of past failures, which Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Risen Crucified Lord,the Redeemer, brought to every one and nation. They witnessed the courage, the fire, the enthusiasm, the fearlessness, the bigness of the Spirit of the Most High God that was now at work in them and available to every society and family and person. They entered into a love-filled, respectful conversation with people of every culture and belief system.
And all who saw it were astonished. This was the ‘Big Bang’ moment when the Church was born, and a powerful centrifugal force drove those now-willing disciples of Jesus in every direction, eventually to every corner of the world.
The ‘torrent’ that is the Holy Spirit, the ‘cauldron of fire’ that is the Holy Spirit, the ‘gentle breeze’ that is the Holy Spirit, the mighty river or the tiny stream,- all are but images of what God’s Spirit, the ‘Promise of the Father’, is continuing to do in the world, in societies, in families, in individual hearts.
‘All over the world, the Spirit is moving’ says the song. The Spirit is larger than all of the created universe, and is as personal as a new-born baby.
Let ‘the love of God, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 5), be a POWER-full centrifugal force in our communities. ‘Caritas Christi urget nos’,- ‘the Love of Christ drives us on’, says St. Paul. We too are called to enter into loving, respectful conversations with people and cultures and sub-cultures, with different age-groups from our own, and let the Spirit of God radiate from us. ‘Each new generation is a new continent to be won for Christ’, said Pope John Paul 2.
‘Give us once again all the miracles and gifts of Pentecost’,- Pope John 23’rds Prayer for the World, before the Council began those 50 years ago. ‘Give us again all the miracles and gifts of Pentecost’ is our belief and prayer for our Church and world in 2013. God wants Pentecosts in every generation of the Church. ‘I want it all, and I want it now!’ said one participant at a seminar on the Holy Spirit.
Image of the Holy Spirit, from over the High Altar in St. Peter's, Rome.
‘Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and we shall be recreated, and You shall renew the face of the Earth.’
“And all the people said ‘AMEN!’ ”
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R.
Soul Food for Young Adult Communities: Pentecost Sunday, May 19 2013.
Soul Food for Young Adult Communities, Pentecost Sunday, May 10, 2013.
Sinead, Mark and Friends are young adults. A community is two, three or more people, sharing their faith and questions and search.
Dear Sinead, Mark and Friends,
LOCKED IN? LOCKED OUT? RUNNING AWAY? The pressure society places on us can limit our spontaneity and participation in life. For example the fear of being judged or compared to can leave us feeling locked out of life. When our life is paralysed by the harshness of peer pressure, we take a step back instead of forward. It’s a natural and healthy reaction sometimes to run away from our problems.
In the first reading from Acts, and in the Gospel of this Pentecost Sunday, we witness fear, doubt, and anxiety. The disciples are afraid, so they have locked themselves in a room. Thomas even doubts that Jesus appeared to them! We see an utter transformation when they witness Jesus’ presence and peace. Just like the disciples I sometimes feel fearful and doubtful. The Holy Spirit gently guides and provides strength in facing up to difficulties in our lives. The disciples in the Upper Room are utterly changed,- no more fear, or hiding; they head out boldly into the middle of many cultures, and speak out the great News, about Jesus of Nazareth, about his death, his resurrection, and his promise of the Holy Spirit to all the world,- a spirit of love and community, a spirit of joy and life-to-the-full, for all peoples and races.
‘MY PEACE’? And then, there’s that word ‘peace’. ‘My peace I leave with you!’, the Risen Lord said to the frightened disciples. Peace? Happiness? The world believes that happiness in life is measured by our cultures obsession with image and material possessions. Jesus said that His Peace it is not of this world. The peace the world gives can be destructive. The Dove campaign for Real Beauty revealed that more than 90 percent of girls aged 15 to 17 wanted to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance. It also revealed that nearly a quarter of young women considered undergoing cosmetic surgery and 13 per cent acknowledged an eating disorder. Our cultures narrowness in the way it perceives success and beauty is a pressure that imprisons rather than frees. The statistics show how our obsession with “beauty” affects the self-worth of young women.
The disciples ran away too and locked themselves in the upper room away from the Jews.
'As the Father sent me, so I am sending you! Receive the Holy Spirit!'
Jesus’ action is no less relevant today from the evening he appeared to his apostles. He said “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” and with this He breathed the Holy Spirit on them. He says to you too “receive the Holy Spirit.” You are never alone in your problems. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can provide effects of faith far beyond our own capabilities and imagination. The LORD will give us the courage to free us from the chains that drag us down. Locked in? Locked out? Running away? Never again! The peace of Jesus is with you.
John.
(Editor’s Note: John Doone is a student in his 20′s. Thanks for writing this for us, John!)
Soul Food for Hungry Adult Communities: May 5, 2013, Ascension.
SOUL FOOD FOR HUNGRY ADULT COMMUNITIES: ASCENSION SUNDAY: MAY 12, 2013.
Find the Mass Readings on Homepage, or click here.
‘Where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope.’ ‘We …in spirit dwell already in heavenly realms.’ (from the choice of two Opening Prayers).
A dear aunt of mine, Bridget, used always to say, as we parted at her little house up on the mountain-side, ‘May God hold you in the palm of his hand!’ I always loved it. And we used these same words for herself, at her funeral Mass,- ‘ Bridget, May God hold you in the palm of his hand!’
And Jesus is telling our faith communities that HE will hold us in the palms of his hands, always,- in the same palms that carry the wounds of his outpoured love.
‘Are we there yet, camel? Are we there yet?’ (from a popular ad for Bothar, the charity organisation). We are already there, yes,- but we cannot quite see it. We are already, in and with Jesus, at the right hand of the Father, – in the deepest intimacy of love with our God and Father, our Creator. ‘Are we there yet?’ Yes, we are!
Familiar with the Sound of Music? -
‘So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu
Adieu, adieu, to you and you and you
So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, Goodbye’
Jesus is saying farewell,( fare well !),- but he is not leaving us as orphans. ‘I am with you all days, yes, to the end of time.’ (Matthew 28).
We say many farewells in life, some for a short while, some for a long time, and some permanent, at least for this life. Mothers bring their 4 or 5yr old to school, and they say farewell to one another. Young adult sons or daughters emigrate, and the farewells are very painful, yet nothing like they used to be in previous ages of travel. Later, they leave home to begin their own homes. Farewell. And then, there is the leave-taking of family or friends by the deathbed of a loved one,- if you are blessed to have the chance to say your farewells. Life is full of those letting go’s, as we move on to new phases.
And the twelve apostles let Jesus go, also. ‘As he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven.’ And what did they do? ‘They worshipped him, and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; they were continually in the Temple praising God. Why? Because he had promised them: ‘I am with you all days, yes, to the end of time.’ And also, ‘When two or more of you are gathered in my name, there I am in the middle of you.’ That’s the promise of his continued presence.
The Son is at the right hand of the Father, -and so are we, with him, one body with him. We are already there, in reality.
And the Son of God, the Son of Mary, the Risen LORD, is still with us, the whole time,- in our communities, in our families, in each of our hearts, and in our whole world. He is there, and he is here!
‘Goodbye’ is from the old English ‘God be wi’ ye!’ What a nice blessing as we take leave of one another,- God be with you!
Are we there yet? Yes, we are. As God’s people, as the Spouse of Christ, as the Body of the Lord, we are with him already, in the heart of the Father.
Can we show it on our faces? Are you ‘full of joy‘ like the twelve, after he left them?
Share this with your community,- whether of two people, three, or many. Show the radiance on the face of Christ, in you.
Listen here to the hymn ‘God be with you till we meet again’
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R. seamus.devitt@redemptorists.ie.
Take time to read again some of these lines from today’s readings:
‘He gave instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven.’
‘He had shown himself alive to them…for forty days he had continued to appear to them…When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for what the Father had promised.’
‘…but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit’.
’You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses…to the ends of he earth.’
‘Why are you standing here…? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’
Ephesians 1:17-23. ‘He has put all things under his feet, and made him…the head of the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation’
Alleluia: ‘I am with you always, yes, to the end of time.’ Mt.28.
‘It is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this. And now I am sending down to you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city then until you are clothed with the power from on high.’
‘As he blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven…they worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; they were continually in the Temple praising God.’
Soul Food for Young Adult Communities: Ascension Sunday, May 5, ’13.
SOUL FOOD FOR YOUNG ADULT COMMUNITIES: ASCENSION SUNDAY, May 5th, 2013.
See Mass Readings here, or read Acts of the Apostles Chapter 1, verses 1 to 11, and St. Luke’s Gospel, the very last chapter, Chapter 24, verses 46-53.
Dear Sinead, Mark and Friends,
‘Are we there yet, goat? Are we there yet?’ (from a popular Irish ad, for the charity
‘Bothar’ pronounced Boh-Har, that exports live animals to needy families in African countries). We are already there, yes,- but we cannot quite see it. We are already, in and with Jesus, at the right hand of the Father, – in the deepest intimacy of love with our God and Father, our Creator. ‘Are we there yet?’ Yes, we are!
Why? Because, we are ‘Made for More’! (See here on Youtube by Tommy Bowe and Tomas O’Leary, two Irish Rugby Players, about their trip to Uganda and Rwanda with Bothar, the Irish charity that sponsors the ‘Are we there yet?’ ad. Or see the ‘Bothargoat’ here on Twitter @bothargoat)
‘You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts will not find rest until they rest in you!’ is a famous saying of St. Augustine around the year 350AD. There’s that restlessness in every human being, because we are all made for more! (a bit like in the Guinness ad,- we’re made of more!)
So, even right now, in our present human existence, as we go about our daily lives, each of us, we know for a fact that we have arrived, we are truly in the very heart of our God, ‘at the right hand of God’, why? because JESUS is there, he’s one of us, and he brings us all with him,- we are his ‘body’ and he is our ‘head’. Olé!
So, live you days this week knowing that you are in the heart of God, and God is in your human heart. ‘We will come’, said Jesus, ‘and make our home in you’,- himself and the Father, our Maker,- inside in us! Wow.
‘I will not leave you orphans’ said Jesus to the Twelve (meaning us, today). ‘See, I am with you all days, yes, to the end of time.’ ‘When two or more of you gather in my name, there I am in the midst of you.’ So, even while he is there (with his Father and the Spirit), he is here with us. We cannot see him, but he promised to be with us. That’s enough.
Notice these words in the Gospel (Luke 24, the end): ‘As he blessed them, he withdrew from them… They worshipped him and then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the Temple praising God.’ No broken hearts here! They were filled with joy, and were praising God.
Just change the names, and the story is about ourselves!
And the week ahead? Between Ascension and Pentecost,(the Coming of the Holy Spirit), the disciples of Jesus gathered in the Upper Room, ‘together with Mary the Mother of Jesus and the other women‘, praising, and praying for the Promise of the Father, the gift of the Holy Spirit to come as promised by Jesus. And again, that’s us, -hearts filled with praise and thanks, and asking for a great outpouring again of the Spirit of God on all of us, the whole people of God, and on our own little communities, of two or three or many. Make it a real week of prayer, with a few friends. And watch out!
Our prayer? ‘COME, HOLY SPIRIT’. Here it on Youtube here,- a rockin’ song calling for the coming of the Holy Spirit!
God bless! His Love to you and your friends!
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R. seamus.devitt@redemptorists.ie
Soul Food for Young Adult Communities: April 28, 2013, 5th Sunday of Easter
Soul Food for Young Adult Communities: Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C: April 28, 2013.
See Mass Readings for today, click here: Have a quick look at the first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles 14:21-27, where Paul and Barnabas come back with great accounts of their first missionary journey into pagan lands. Then, the Gospel is from a very early part of the Last Supper, in John 13, where Jesus tells us what’s about to happen to him, and how we should love each other like he loves us,- for all the world to see.
Dear Sinead, Mark, and Friends:
First, we remember this week the several hundred people dead or missing, in the tragedy in Bangladesh, and the thousands injured. They are part of us.
Do you know that seven billion doors need seven billion different keys?
OPENING DOORS: How do you open a door???? Can do from inside. Can do from
'Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in and share a meal at that person's table.' (Revelations 3:20)
outside, provided you have a key, or if turning the handle will open it for you.
You can open a door for someone. Someone can open a door for you.
And Opening Doors is an image we find in the first reading, this Sunday: we are told that God ‘opened the door of faith to the pagans’. How does God ‘open the door of faith’ for any person?
Well, there are 7 billion people on our planet right now, and each single one of that seven billion people comes to God in different ways. You have your way. I have mine. Others have theirs. Opening the door of our hearts is something that only God and ourselves can do together.
Some people see suffering and injustice, and respond to it. Others reach out to other people, and that’s the door that may open for them. Sometimes it’s a moment of joy, like the birth of a baby, or a glorious sunset. Others ask many questions about the meaning of things. Others meet someone and life changes for them. Others meet a community and they feel welcomed and at home. Others start to love people as Jesus does. Others come to come through their knowledge of science,- astro-physics, maybe, or sub-atomic particles, or the wonders of biology. Its amazing what can open doors. Others do it for us, and we do it for others.
When God ‘opened the door of faith to the pagans’ (first reading) , many different keys were used,- words, images, questions, wonder, music, art, compassion, suffering, belonging… God has seven billion keys to use!
AHA! MOMENTS: Jesus said, in his final hours (in today’s Gospel from John 13): 
‘The Son of Man has been glorified. God will glorify him very soon.’ In other words, people will come to have an Aha! moment about Jesus,- they will see who he really is,- that Jesus of Nazareth, the Rabbi in Galilee, is the Son of God! And you see him best in his glory, on the cross! Arms out wide, his heart bursting, Love totally revealed to us. The cross is his greatest moment of glory! A cause of great rejoicing,-for us! ‘I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me!’ cried Paul. The Risen Lord gladly shows us the wounds in his hands and feet and side. That’s the One we follow.
Have a great week. Spread the Word!
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R. (contact at seamus.devittcssr@gmail.com )
P.S. For reading these, you could invite one other or two others to share the reading with you and talk about it, argue about it, fight about it even, and then- pray about it. ‘When two or more are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.‘ He’ll be there when you share!
Soul Food for Hungry Adult Communities: 5th Sunday of Easter, April 28, 2013
Soul Food for Hungry Adult Communities, Fifth Sunday of Easter, April 28th 2013: Year C, the Year of Luke.
For Mass Readings for this Sunday, click here. (Some Lectionaries have the first reading as Acts of the Apostles 14:21-27, and others have it as Acts 11:1-18, from ‘the revised Common Lectionary). The Psalm is Psalm 148. The Second Reading is Revelations 21:1-6, and the Gospel is John 13:31-35.
Some parts of this Sunday’s Readings, put before us:
‘Paul and Barnabas put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith.’ (Acts 14) (Note: Barnabas’ real name was Joseph, but the Apostles nick-named him Barnabas, meaning ‘Son of Encouragement’ !)
‘They assembled the church and gave an account of all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith to the pagans.’ (Acts 14)
‘The Lord is kind, full of compassion…abounding in love… compassionate to all his creatures. (Psalm 144)
‘Your friends… shall speak of the glory of your reign…the glorious splendour of your reign.’ (Psalm 144)
‘Here God lives among people. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is ‘God-with-them.’” (Revelations 21)
‘The Son of Man has been glorified…God has been glorified in him. God will glorify him, very soon.’ (John 13:31,32)
‘Love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another. By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples.’ (John 13:35).
EYE-OPENERS or AHA! MOMENTS. Glory be!
St. John’s Gospel has been described as being in two halves. From the beginning up to Chapter 12, it is the Gospel of Signs. From Chapter 13 to 21, (from the Last Supper to the Resurrection) it is the Gospel of Glory,- when the real glory of who Jesus is, is shown to us, best of all on the Cross.
‘The Son of Man has been glorified…God has been glorified in him. God will glorify him,
very soon.’ (John 13:31,32)
To grasp the ‘glory’ of Jesus is to come to an ‘Aha!’ moment about him, when the penny drops, so to speak, and we come to realise who Jesus of Nazareth is,- God among us, a human being like ourselves, God-with-us, the One who was SENT to us by the FATHER- his Father and our Father! We are left breathless, and can only say ‘Wow!’,- or maybe, like our friend of a couple of weeks back, ‘Doubting Thomas’, the moment might come when I cry out from the heart ‘My Lord, and My God!’
Or we remember when Jesus took his three closest friends, Peter, James, John, and went up a high mountain,- probably Mount Thabor, in Galilee. There, while praying, he was ‘transfigured’ before them. His whole appearance changed, and they glimpsed for a brief few moment the ‘glory’ of their friend, Jesus. And then, it was quickly back to ordinary again. But that glimpse changed them forever.
At the start of St. John’s Gospel, in what is called The Prologue, we find these words: ‘The Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us. We saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father, as the only Son of the Father.’
‘To grasp the truth about Jesus is to ‘see his glory’ as the only Son of God, the Word made flesh.’
Jesus tells us in today’s passage, from Chapter 13, just after the washing of the feet and the departure of Judas into the night, that through Jesus himself we will come to see the glory of the Father. And then he adds that, through what the Father will shortly do for Jesus, in raising him from death, we will come to see the glory of Jesus, as the Anointed One or Chosen One (-‘the Christ’), who is one with the Father. (‘I and the Father are one’)
(From St. Clement's Redemptorist College, Limerick, Ireland)
‘When I am raised up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.’ (John 12)
‘The Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us. We saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father, as the only Son of the Father.’ (John 1:14)
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R., Redemptorists, Esker, Co. Galway.
SOUL FOOD FOR HUNGRY ADULT COMMUNITIES: April 21, 2013, Fourth Sunday of Easter
SOUL FOOD FOR HUNGRY ADULT COMMUNITIES: April 21, 2013, Fourth Sunday of Easter.
‘Good Shepherd Sunday’:
SOUL FOOD FOR HUNGRY ADULT COMMUNITIES: April 21, 2013: Fourth Sunday of Easter.
If you would like ‘10/10 Vision’, go to John 10:10, where Jesus tells the disciples (=us) ‘I have come that you may have life, and have it to the FULL!’
(And if you want ‘20/20 Vision’ that will light up your eyes and your face, go to John 20:20 – ‘The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the LORD.’ The ‘disciples’ are us, today, in our generation and world. The Risen Lord is with us, too.)
This Sunday, the Fourth of Easter time, our reading is always from John Chapter 10, that
chapter that is so full of images of shepherding, and where Jesus speaks of himself as ‘the Good Shepherd’, and as ‘the Gate of the sheepfold.’ For Jesus’ Jewish listeners, the image was all too familiar. God ‘shepherding’ his people was a thread through all their history. And it was an image that they kept very alive,- the covenant that declared ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.’ – the heart of their Jewish faith. The Lord is their shepherd.
The Mezuzah, on a Jewish doorpost, a reminder of faith and of identity,- like our Holy Water Font on our doorpost.
THE MEZUZAH is a parchment scroll that is placed in a special container and attached to the doorpost of a Jewish house. It is a daily reminder ― and a public declaration ― of Jewish identity and faith. (It is like our HOLY WATER FONT, also a reminder of our faith and identity). The Mezuzah refers now both to the scroll and to the container.
The scroll contains the first two paragraphs of the “Shema” prayer, declaring the oneness of God, and commanding us “to write [these words] on the doorpost of your house and on your gates” (Deut. 6:4-9). The second passage (Deut. 11:13-21) teaches that Jewish destiny, both individually and nationally, depends upon fulfilling God’s will.
This is the first passage on the scroll: (Deuteronomy 6:4-9): 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
This is the second passage on the scroll,- Deuteronomy 11:13-21) 13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. 18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
On the reverse side of the mezuzah scroll is the Hebrew name of God, Shaddai. This name is an acronym for “Guardian of the Doors of Israel.”
One of the earliest images of Christ,- found in the catacombs in Rome: a youthful Jesus as Shepherd of his people
There is a covenant of love, of total giving, of un-limited love or agapé, between God’s people (us) and our God- ‘our Father’. That’s what the ‘shepherding’ is all about, in God and in our communities: we are a people, a community, a parish where the Lord our God is ‘the guardian of the doors’ of our hearts and eyes and ears and thoughts- of our whole person. And we are a community committed to the same agapé towards one another and towards the whole world and all aspects of human life,- in love with intellectual life, political life, economic life, with art, music, imagination and creativity. ‘I consider nothing human to be alien to me’ ( ‘Nil humanum a me alienum puto’) said the Roman writer, Terrence, in one of his plays,- to the great rejoicing of the gathered crowd.
And in every faith-community of the disciples of Jesus, we have a care for the charism, the gift, of shepherding among us, and give encouragement to those among us who have the gifts for that kind of service of our community,- those currently acting as our ‘pastors’ or shepherds, and those with gifts who might become future ‘pastors’ or shepherds in the community. We pray constantly that the LORD will send us the shepherds we need, here and in other places. ‘Pray the Lord of the harvest that he will send labourers into his harvest.’ (Luke: 10:2)
The Lord is our shepherd. We are shepherds to each other, gathering each other to fullness of ordinary life, along with Jesus our shepherd.
Pope Francis in audience with the media
Click here if you would like to read the text of Pope Francis’ homily when talking to priests on Holy Thursday morning, at the Mass of Chrism: it is a wonderful reflection on the meaning of priesthood in the Christian community.
For more on the Mezuzah in Jewish tradition, click here: http://www.aish.com/jl/m/mm/48948731.html
Soul Food for Young Adult Communities: 4th Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2013.
SOUL FOOD FOR YOUNG ADULT COMMUNITIES, April 21, 2013: Fourth Sunday of Easter.
Gospel for this Sunday: John 10: 27-30
LETTER TO SINEAD, MARK AND FRIENDS,- young adults together.
Dear Sinead, Mark, and Friends,
‘The Lamb will be their shepherd’.
There was a Pope who was greatly loved by many of an older generation; he was John the Twenty Third,- loved like our new Pope Francis is. He was only in the job for a few years before dying of cancer, but he began a great renewal in the Catholic Church. He called a world-wide council of all the bishops of the world. It began just over 50 years ago, and, because it took place in the Vatican, it is known as the (Second) Vatican Council. Why do I mention this? Because Pope John wrote a letter to all the Catholic bishops of the world, before the Council began. He encouraged the bishops to be ‘Good Shepherds’ to their people,- but then added ‘but remember, your people are not sheep!’
I mention all this because this Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, the Gospel is about
A very early painting of Jesus, the Good Shepherd,- in the catacombs in Rome. See how young Jesus is!
Jesus, the Good Shepherd. And we’re not sheep, either, – we are people, intelligent, questioning, searching, creative, and sometimes lost. A good ‘shepherd’ of people listens to them, knows them by name, knows their needs and questions and doubts and struggles,- and the shepherd never leaves them, but rather would give his very life for them, if needed. And the Latin word for ‘shepherd’ is Pastor! And that’s what any priest is about,- with his people in God’s name, among them, knowing them, having a care for them at all times, and praying for them and carrying them, even as they pray for him and carry him.
The Gospel today,- from Chapter 10 of St. John,- is very short,- just four verses, vv.27-30.
The whole chapter is full of ‘shepherd’ imagery- including the words of Jesus ‘I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD’ (verse 14). Today we hear Jesus saying to us: ‘the sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life (-that’s full life, even now!-); they will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me. The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone, and no one can steal from the Father.’
And then Jesus adds: ‘The Father and I are one’. Simple as that! It’s a Wow statement for us,- Jesus and the Father are one! Later, in John’s Gospel, at the Last Supper, Philip says to Jesus, in exasperation almost: ‘Jesus, show us the Father and we will be satisfied!’ And Jesus responds: ‘Philip, have I been with you all this time, and you still do not know me? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me’: (That’s in John Chapter 14, verses 8 to 10).
Earlier, John had written, about Jesus of Nazareth: ‘The Word was with God. The Word was God… and the Word became flesh and set up his dwelling among us.’ (John Chapter 1, the very start.) That’s Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Mary, Son of God, we’re talking about,- the Risen Jesus who is among us in our communities and families and hearts, with the wounds in his hands and feet and side. He is LORD!
And by the way, in the first reading for this Sunday,taken from the last book of the Bible,
'From his heart will flow rivers of living water' (John 7:38); detail from window in St. Clement's Redemptorist College, Limerick.
there is this phrase: ‘the Lamb…will be their shepherd and will lead them to springs of living water.’ That’s Jesus for you!
Hope you like this image of Jesus for yourself, a shepherd who will give his life for us, his ‘sheep’/people/friends.
Thanks! Have a great week! Jesus is Risen!
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R. seamus.devitt@redemptorists.ie
P.S. You can listen on Youtube to all of Chapter 10, in John’s Gospel, about the Shepherd. Click here.
Soul Food for Young Adult Communities: 3rd Sunday of Easter, April 14, 2013
Soul Food for Young Adult Communities: 3rd Sunday of Easter, April 14, 2013.
Letter to Sinead, Mark and Friends,- young adults; (and a ‘community’ can be 2 people or twelve or any number!)
Dear Sinead, Mark, and Friends,
Hope Easter time is going great for you, and that you are ‘filled with joy’ like those disciples were ‘when they saw the Lord’. (John 20:20)
Today’s Gospel is from John Chapter 21, the last chapter of John’s Gospel, a kind of Second Conclusion to his Gospel.. He tells us of the Third appearance of the Risen Lord to some disciples, on the shore of Lake Galilee. Have a read of it for yourself, first.
‘IT IS THE LORD!’ – and Peter dived into the water to swim to Jesus
Today’s Question: Why do we call Jesus ’OUR LORD’ ? And, are you ‘captivated’ by him?
‘Lord’ is not a word we like to use much nowadays. For many people, it reminds us of Land Lords, people of power and wealth who sometimes or often abused/abuse their tenants. Then, there’s the House of Lords in the U.K.,- traditionally also because of wealth, power, influence, inheritance, and sometimes because of merit and good work done.
'it is the LORD!'
Yet, we speak of Jesus as ‘Our Lord’. And Simon Peter dived (or is it ‘dove’?) into the water as soon as he heard his companion John say, about the man standing on the shore, ‘IT IS THE LORD!’ Simon Peter LOVED Jesus,- even after he had denied him three times, and he literally went overboard for him.
In the Gospels, the title ‘LORD’ is scarcely ever used about Jesus until after his death and resurrection from the dead. The Greek word for it is ‘KYRIOS’, and it was a title only used about God. The Jewish people would not utter the name of God, the Most Holy One: they would use instead ‘The Lord’, or KYRIOS in Greek. And after the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples and many who became disciples of Jesus, recognized him not only as The Anointed One (‘CHRISTOS’), but also as Son of God, to whom was given this title ‘KYRIOS’ or ‘LORD’. This ‘Lord’ was the very one who had hung helpless and willingly upon a cross, for us. This ‘Lord’ is the one said ‘Greater love than this no one has, that a man would lay down his life for his friends’. The disciples knew that he loved them greatly, and they in turn loved him greatly, and for them he was their ‘Lord’,- their Master, the Christ, the Son of the Most High God. For them, ‘Lord’ was a title for one they loved. Thomas (remember last Sunday’s Gospel from John 20), called out to him ‘My Lord and my God!’
St. Paul says in one of his letters ‘the Jewish leaders did not know, otherwise they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory’.
We call Jesus ‘our Lord’ because we are captivated by him! His love for us takes hold of us, and fills us with great joy.
But then, we can also ask ourselves ‘is he truly my Lord?’,- that is, does he really rule my heart and life? For a little reflection on this see ‘Jesus is Lord,.- well, kind of …’,- just click here.
If you have a little time to put your feet up, and sit back, I’ll tell you the story from the point of view of the net that caught all those fish ! Maybe the net saw something that we don’t see. It’s called ’A NET, BURSTING’. And if something grabs you in the reading of it, if something moves you, let me know,- let us know, and we can share it. Thanks! Click here to read it.
Fr. Seamus. seamus.devittcssr@gmail.com
A modern-day fisherman, on the Lake of Galilee, where today's Gospel event took place.
A Redemptorist Ireland Website