Good Shepherd Sunday

 

“The good shepherd walks upfront,

and the sheep follow him.” (Jn. 10:4)

 

Good Shepherd Sunday 

4^th Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2013,

Acts 13:14, 43-52    Revelation 7:9, 14b-17    John 10:1-5, 27-30

 

Alleluia, alleluia.  

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus said: “I tell you the truth: the man who does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. But the man who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought them , he walks up front, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.  My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (Jn. 10:1-5, 27-30)

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction

A good shepherd walks upfront.

The fourth Sunday is always Good Shepherd Sunday. The gospel for the fourth Sunday in all three liturgical cycles of A, B and C is from the 10^th chapter of John, which is a long disquisition on the various qualities of a good shepherd.  Among those qualities is upfront shepherding: a good shepherd walks upfront, and his sheep gladly follow him because they recognize his voice. (Jn. 10:4) The same upfront shepherding is indicated in verse 27: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (Jn. 10:27)

 

An upfront shepherd does not lead the sheep by directives, commands or threats. Rather, he leads the sheep by being so attractive that the sheep are willingly drawn to follow the shepherd. An upfront shepherd does not drive the sheep from behind but draws them as he walks upfront.

 

A pope who walked upfront as a good shepherd

On the day of his `coronation’ Nov. 4, 1958, Good Pope John XXIII told the  crowds gathered in St. Peter’s: “People have different ideas about what the new pope should be: diplomat, scholar, statesman. Your new pope has in mind St. John's example of the Jesus, the Good Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve.” The next day, Good Pope John went forth to shepherd his flock; he sped out of elaborate Vatican portals to visit prisoners in a Roman jail and to console aging priests in nursing homes. During his very short term of shepherding the Universal Church (1958-1963) Good Pope John lovingly knew his sheep, and the sheep, in turn, lovingly knew him. He walked upfront and the whole Church willingly ran after him. And when John lay dying, fifty years ago this June 3, 1963, it’s no exaggeration to say that the whole world was there kneeling at his bedside.

In that world kneeling at his bedside was Australian writer Morris L. West (1916-1999), famous especially for his books The Devil’s Advocate and The Shoes of the Fisherman. Though West was and always remained a Catholic, his various writings contained an amount of criticism of the Church, and the Church was not always pleased with him. West was, however, a sheep who lovingly knew the good shepherd, Pope John. In a little volume entitled A View from the Ridge he writes,

I believe I can say with certainty that I remained in communion with the Church even when the Church itself excluded me, and I remain there still, principally because of the presence of John XXIII, the Good Shepherd, whom I never met, though I did meet his predecessor and his successor. Goodness went out from this man to me. I acknowledged it then. I acknowledge it again. We had had a surfeit of princes and politicians and theologians – even of conventional saints. We needed a man who spoke the language of the heart. We had John too briefly.

A bishop who walked upfront as a good shepherd

Bishop Kenneth  Untener (1937- 2004) was shepherd of the Diocese of Saginaw from 1980 until his death in 2004. Bishop Untener was indeed a beloved shepherd who walked upfront and the sheep gladly ran after him. His first words as bishop to the people of Saginaw were: "My name is Ken, and I will be your waiter for a long, long time.” Then he sold the bishop's mansion, and proceeded to live in 69 rectories over the next 24 years. His office was the trunk of his car. The year 1993 was the twenty-fifth anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter Humanae vitae (1968), which reaffirmed the Church's stand against artificial birth control.  Bishop Untener invited the Church to use the occasion to start a new, honest and open discussion on birth control. His invitation displeased Rome, and so Untener never climbed higher on the ecclesiastical ladder; he died `a simple bishop.’ The faithful, on the other hand, thought differently: his funeral Mass was attended by 1,800 grateful sheep, and the service evoked tears and laughter, audible "amens" and a standing ovation.

A chaplain in combat boots who walked upfront as a good shepherd

America traditionally bestows the Medal of Honor on those who display uncommon valor on the battlefield. But sometimes heroism doesn’t use a weapon. This past Thursday, April 11, President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Fr. Emil Joseph Kapaun (April 20, 1916 – May 23, 1951), a US Army chaplain who gave his life for his fellow prisoners in a Korean POW camp. Kapaun’s story is one of self-sacrifice so noble that surviving vets still speak of him with great awe. And the Vatican is considering making him a saint. In captivity, he gave away his own rations and stole grain to feed others. He picked lice off men too weak to do so themselves. He traded his watch for a blanket which he cut up to make socks for those whose feet were freezing. He defied his Communist captors by saying Mass on Easter. He succumbed to the effects of starvation and neglect in 1951 at age 35, and was buried in a mass grave. At the moment of their liberation, Fr. Kapaun’s fellow prisoners began a campaign for this Medal of Honor, but his story eventually was forgotten until some in Congress recently began pressing his case. President Obama put it well at Thursday’s ceremony. Fr. Kapaun was “an American soldier who didn’t fire a gun” yet carried “the mightiest weapon of all: the love for his brothers so powerful that he was willing to die so that they might live.” 

A pope who walks upfront as a good shepherd

Pope Francis, when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires walked upfront of his flock when he daily took the bus to work. That’s shepherding without saying a word. Pope Francis walked upfront of his flock when he paid his own hotel bill in Rome, right after he was elected pope. That’s shepherding without saying a word. Pope Francis walked upfront of his flock when he chose a very simple place to live, instead of the papal apartments. That’s shepherding without saying a word. Pope Francis  walked upfront when on Easter Sunday in St. Peter’s Square he stopped the pope mobile so that he could embrace and kiss little Dominic Gondreau. That indeed was powerful upfront-shepherding without saying a word, and the story and the picture of Pope Francis hugging and kissing Dominic went viral.

Conclusion

Good Shepherd Sunday

Good Pope John, Bp. Untener, Fr. Kapuam, Pope Francis are all good shepherds. They were not in the back driving the sheep; rather they were upfront drawing the sheep.  Good Shepherd Sunday is not only about popes, bishops and priests; it’s about all of us who sooner or later are called to shepherd others by walking up front, by leading them into green pastures.

 

"Preach the Gospel, and if Necessary use words."

St. Francis and St. Dominic meet in Rome in the summer of 1215

 

Francis and Dominic meet in Rome in the spring of 2013

"Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.”

(St. Francis of Assisi)

April 14, 2013, Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 5:27-32, 40-41    Revelation 5:11-14     John 21:1-14

Alleluia, alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Glory to you, Lord.

At that time, Jesus revealed Himself again to his disciples at Lake Tiberius[1]. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others disciples of Jesus. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He said to them, “Young men, have you caught anything?” “Not a thing,” they answered.  So He said to them, “Throw your net out over the right side of the boat, and you will find some fish.”

A net full of 153 large fish

So they threw their net over the right side of the boat, and they couldn’t pull it back in, because they had caught so many fish. The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he was stripped to the waist) and jumped into the water and swam ashore.  The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish. They were not very far from land, only about a hundred yards away. When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore, full of big fish - 153 in all.[2]  Even though there were so many, the net did not tear. Jesus said to them, “Come, and eat.”  None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus went over, took the bread, and gave it to them. He did the same with the fish. This, then, was now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after He was raised from the dead.    

The Gospel of the Lord

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
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Introduction

One whole month

It is one whole month yesterday, March 13, that Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the Church’s 266^th pope.  It seems like only yesterday that white smoke appeared from a makeshift chimney on the Sistine Chapel, announcing “Habemus papam!” “We have a pope!” And the new Pope took the name of Francis – the name of that poor man from Assisi who, when he was praying before a crucifix in the dilapidated chapel of San Damiano, heard a voice from the crucifix say: “Francis, repair my Church!” There is much hope and there are good signs that the new Francis is going to repair the Church.

Two mighty catches of fish

One day when Jesus was in Peter’s boat on Lake Tiberius, and the fishing was very poor, He commanded Peter to launch off into the deep, and let his nets down for a catch. Peter lowered his nets and caught such a mighty catch of fish that the nets were about to break. The miraculous catch made Peter fall to his knees and exclaim, “Depart from me, oh Lord, for I am a sinful man!”He and the others were amazed at the large number of fish they caught. Jesus said to Peter, “Do not be afraid. From now you will be fishers of men.” (Lk. 5:1-10)

In today’s gospel there is another mighty catch of fish. The Lord’s death seemed to put a dismal end to everything, so Peter said to the other apostles, “I am going fishing.” He wasn’t saying, “I’m going to take a day off and go fishing;” He was really saying, “I’m going back to my old job of fishing.” After Jesus’ death, the apostles went back to their old job of fishing. One night when they hadn’t caught a thing, the risen Lord suddenly appeared to them from shore, and told them to throw their nets over the right side of the boat. They obeyed, and they made such a mighty catch of fish that they couldn’t pull the net into the boat; they had to drag it to shore where the risen Lord was stoking up a charcoal fire to fry the fish.  St. John says they caught 153 big fish in all.” (Jn. 21:1-11)  

Fishers of men

When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope, the Cardinal Camerlengo placed a newly crafted ring on the finger of the newly elected pope. The ring bears the image of St. Peter in a boat fishing, and it also has the new Pope’s name of `Francis’ engraved on it. It’s called the Fisherman Ring. The ring with it imagery alludes to the time when Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee and saw Peter and his brother Andrew catching fish with a net, and Jesus said to them, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mk. 1:17)

Pope Francis – a good fisher of men

Right off the bat Pope Francis emitted very promising signs to the City of Rome and the World (Urbi et Orbi) that he was going to be a good `fisher of men.’ On Easter Sunday, March 31, he celebrated Mass in the company of more than 250,000 people in St. Peter's Square. After Mass Pope Francis mounted the pope mobile which made its way through that huge sea of humanity gathered in the square. At a very poignant moment, Francis stopped the pope mobile in order to cradle and kiss a physically disabled boy passed to him from the crowd. The boy’s name is Dominic Gondreau. He is eight years old and has cerebral palsy. He is the son of Christiana and Dr. Paul Gondreau - a faculty member of Providence College in Providence, RI. Little Dominic struggled to hug the Pope, and when he succeeded, a huge smile of satisfaction suffused his face.

The  full story

The full story of what happened is heart-warming. As the pope mobile was making its way through St. Peter’s Square, an usher signaled to Dominic’s mother Christiana to get her disabled son from his chair, and to follow him. As the pope mobile approached, the usher motioned to the Pope’s driver to stop. Then with the help of Christiana, he held Dominic up to Pope Francis who took the boy in his arms and kissed him

Dr. Gondreau was not in the section reserved for the impaired and for one other person only, to be in attendance of the one impaired. His wife Christiana was the one chosen to be in attendance of Dominic. So Dr. Gondreau was not aware that Dominic was being embraced by the Pope, until his other son Lucas (who saw it all on a giant video screen) screamed, “It’s Dominic!” When Lucas said a second time, “The Pope is holding Dominic,” Gondreau looked at the video screen and saw the two embracing. “Wow! I was speechless, and I was moved to tears, along with Lucas,” said Gondreau who described the moment as “an incredibly moving encounter between a modern Francis and a modern Dominic.” (Biographers tell us that in the summer of 1215 St. Francis met St. Dominic in Rome.)

The story went viral

The story of Pope Francis kissing impaired Dominic went viral: many of the major television news outlets in America showed the video images in their news reports, including CNN, NBC, ABC, and Fox. Still images were carried in newspapers worldwide including Le Figaro, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Conclusion

Without saying a word

 

“Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.” That saying is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi - the new Pope’s patron saint. Without saying a word Pope Francis preached the Gospel when as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he daily took the bus to work. Without saying a word Pope Francis preached the Gospel when he paid his own hotel bill in Rome, right after he was elected pope. Without saying a word Pope Francis preached the Gospel when he chose a very simple place to live, instead of the papal apartments. Without saying a word Pope Francis preached the Gospel `to the City of Rome and to the World’ (Urbi et Orbi) when on Easter Sunday in St. Peter’s Square he stopped the pope mobile so that he could embrace and kiss little Dominic Gondreau.

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[1]Also called the Lake Galilee or Lake  Gennesaret,

[2] Ancient zoologists claimed there were 153 kinds of fish in the sea; so 153 is John’s way of saying the apostles that day made a mighty catch of all different kinds of fish.

 

Easter Break - No Homily