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I Lay Down My Life Fourth Sunday of Easter John 10:11-18 Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for this opportunity to be with you in prayer. Open my heart to listen to your words of eternal life so that I may choose to follow you more closely on the path of true love. Petition: Lord, may I be faithful to your will in my life so that I can be an authentic Christian. 1. I Lay It Down. The Father entrusted Christ with a mission: Christ was to bring about our salvation through a life of unlimited self-giving, even to the point of giving his own life. Being God he could repay the Father for our sins; being man he could identity with our fallen humanity and raise its dignity so that we might become the Father’s children. Christ is the perfect bridge between fallen man and an infinitely holy God. His mission of bridging this chasm came about through freely accepting the will of the Father. There was nothing Our Lord would receive in return, and yet he was faithful even to the point of death. 2. On My Own. Jesus was not ordered to give himself for our sins. He offered himself. Freedom is best used when it embraces the will of God, whatever the cost might be. We have to remember that Jesus knew what lay beyond his successful preaching and his miracles: the road to Calvary. He spent many nights in prayer on the Mount of Olives in preparation for his hour. He foretold his fate to his disciples and continued forward towards this end despite their misunderstanding. And in the end, when the hour came, he proved faithful. When the hour of darkness sought him, he stepped forward to say, “I am he.” Christ never flinched in front of God’s will. He felt its weight. Sorrow flooded his heart. An easier path tugged at his humanity. But he proved that love is stronger than death, that true freedom can defeat sin and master it. 3. A Life of Love. Perhaps offering ourselves to God frightens us. What will he ask? What will I have to leave behind? Will I be able to do it? However, fear vanishes when we live out of love, like Christ. We need to remember that the Father asked him to die for us and look at the fruits this bore. Taking on our humanity, he left behind the splendor of his divinity and raised us to a new level. He did the impossible by bearing the weight of all our sins. He trusted in the Father to give him strength. We might be asked today to die more to our self-love, to leave behind a vice we have been struggling with, or to trust that with grace I can live a truly Christian life in a world hostile to Christianity. In the end, if we love Christ, we will not be frightened because he has already shown us the way –– and he has already conquered. Dialogue with Christ: Lord, give me the courage to be a faithful Christian, at all times and in all places, with whomever I meet and in whatever I say. Help me to give testimony to who you are. Resolution: I will offer one concrete act of self-mastery for love of Christ today. |
Dear Salvation,
Here is an excellent Homily from Father James Farfaglia for "Good Shepherd Sunday".
http://www.goccn.org/diocese/spcl/reflect.asp
May 7, 2006
4th Sunday of Easter
A Homily Reflection with
Fr. James Farfaglia
St. Helena of the True Cross Parish
Corpus Christi, Texas
The Good Shepherd
One of my favorite movies is The Delta Force. American tourists are hijacked by Arab terrorists who hold the hostages in Beirut. Lee Marvin and Chuck Norris lead an elite team of U.S. Special Forces that rescue the endangered travelers.
At the beginning of the tragedy, the two Arab terrorists aboard the jetliner begin to separate the few Jewish tourists from the rest of the hostages. One of the most moving moments of the film is when Fr. William O’Malley, a priest from Chicago played by George Kennedy, gets up from his seat and walks into the First Class compartment where the Jews are being held.
Kennedy courageously walks into the compartment where he is disdainfully met by the leading terrorist.
The terrorist asks what his name is and Kennedy responds that his name is William O’Malley.Perplexed by the situation, the terrorist asks what the priest wants. He responds that since he is a Catholic priest and a follower of Jesus Christ, that he too is Jewish. “If you take one, you have to take us all”, answers the priest who willingly accompanies the Jewish hostages.
“I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10: 11).
The main part of the Holy Land was a large central plateau about 35 miles long. The ground was for the most part rough and rocky. It was impossible for sheep just to stay in one area for grazing. Large areas for grazing simply did not exist. Every flock had to have a shepherd who led his flock every day to places where the sheep could eat.
The life of a shepherd was very difficult. A flock of sheep never grazed without his presence and therefore, the shepherd was on duty every day of the week. Since the sheep always had to travel in order to find grass to eat, they were never left alone.
Sheep could get lost, or they could be attacked by wolves or stolen by robbers.
Sheep were seldom used for regular food by the people of the Holy Land; rather sheep were cultivated for the use of their wool. Thus, the shepherd was with his sheep for a very long time. He gave each one of them a name, and they all knew his voice. In fact, it is said that each shepherd had a peculiar way of speaking to the sheep that allowed them to know that he was their shepherd.
During the warm weather, it was common for the sheep to spend the night away from the village farm.
The shepherd watched over them throughout the night. In these circumstances, the sheep stayed in open areas surrounded by a low rock wall.In these areas, the sheep entered and left through an open space which had no door or gate of any kind. During the night, the shepherd would sleep stretched out within the empty space so that no sheep could get out except by crossing over his body. At the same time, a wolf or a robber could not get in, except by crossing over his body as well.
Here we can see a prime example of how the shepherd would give his life for his sheep.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The Easter Season is a continual celebration of the one central mystery of Christianity; that Jesus gave his life for us by dying on the Cross. He saved us from our sins. “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved” (Acts of the Apostles, 4: 12).
Applied to our practical lives, the message is clear. Whatever our state in life may be, we are all called to shepherd the sheep that have been entrusted to our care. This is most especially true for priests, parents and grand-parents.
Shepherding a diocese, a parish, or a family is very demanding. Dedication, commitment, sacrifice and vigilance are needed every day.Just like Jesus the Good Shepherd, shepherds are called to love unconditionally.
One of the many things that I admire about my own Bishop is the fact that he is always at his post.
Whenever I have a question or I need some advice or a word of encouragement, he either answers my call immediately or returns my phone call within a very short span of time. Before he ends his busy day, he gets back to me or invites me to visit with him personally in his office.
Rather than unveiling plans for massive parish closings, our diocese is creating new parish communities and even opening a new Catholic High School.Should not we be asking some vital questions?
Are homes being visited? Are priests being available for their people? Can they be reached for emergencies, even throughout the night?
If the majority of people have no church home or the demographics of a particular area have changed, it may seem more economical to close parishes, but is this what a shepherd should do?
Despite the many challenges of modern life, diocesan families, parish families, and families living in neighborhoods are vibrant, healthy, happy and strong when these families are led by people who are true shepherds, shepherds who lovingly tend their sheep.
If we are going to be true disciples of the Good Shepherd, we must forget ourselves completely and be totally dedicated. Jesus calls us to love one another unconditionally.
“I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10: 11).