Feast of Ss Peter & Paul  Acts 12:1-11; II Tim 4:6-8, 17-18 Mt 16:13-19     

Quo Vadis Domine Church in Rome commemorates the experience which followed St. Peter’s decision to avoid persecution and death by going to another city rather than remaining in Rome.

According to tradition Peter was leaving Rome with his friend, Nazarius, during the height of Nero’s persecution of Christians. He met the risen Jesus on the outskirts of the city. Jesus, however, was walking into, not out of Rome. "Quo vadis, Domine?" ("Where are you going, Lord?" he asked.  "I must go to Rome to be crucified once more, Jesus said. Peter understood that Jesus was going in as he was going out of Rome. Peter turned and went back to Rome to be crucified in AD.64.

Today we observe the feast of the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul. 

Peter was son of Jonah and brother of Andrew. He might have been a follower of John the Baptist. It was his brother Andrew who introduced him to Jesus, and Jesus changed his name from Simon to Cephas or Peter. With James and John he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of a dead child to life and the agony in Gethsemane. Peter is willing to accept Jesus' doctrine of forgiveness, but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on the water in faith, but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus wash his feet, then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will never deny Jesus, and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off Malchus' ear, but in the end he runs away with the others. In the depth of his sorrow, Jesus looks on him and forgives him, and he goes out and sheds bitter tears. The Risen Jesus told Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep (John 21:15-17). He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus' death. His name is first on every list of apostles. Jesus made him the leader of his apostles and the rock on which he would build his Church. He also convened the first Church Council in Jerusalem and wrote two epistles to the whole Church. From the earliest days of the Church, Peter was recognized as the Prince of the Apostles and the first Supreme Pontiff.

Paul, the fanatical Pharisee and scholar of Judaism was miraculously converted and chosen by the Holy Spirit to be the “apostle to the Gentiles.” Paul's experience of the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus was the driving force that made him one of the most zealous, dynamic and courageous ambassadors of Christ the Church has ever had. The dying Christ was in him; the living Christ was his life. He wrote 14 epistles, made several missionary journeys and spent his final days in prison in Caesarea and Rome.  He was beheaded in Rome. Over his grave was built St. Paul’s Cathedral in Rome.

After Jesus, Paul is the most prominent person in the New Testament. 14 of the 27 books of the New Testament are letters attributed to Paul and more than half of the Acts of the Apostles is devoted to Paul’s conversion and to his apostolic activities in spreading the Good News. Paul’s greatness lies in his passion for the Good News about Jesus and his desire to share it. That is why Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed the period from June 29, 2008, to June 29, 2009, as the Pauline Year to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of the apostle’s birth.  

Peter and Paul were not saints when they answered the call of Jesus; in fact, they were also sinners and they made a lot of mistakes just like us. Peter even denied Jesus Christ to save himself. He abandoned Jesus in his last days. He said that he would give his life for Jesus, but when he was confronted with the reality of life, he cowered. Paul, on the other hand, tortured and persecuted the Christians. But in the end Peter and Paul were humble enough to admit their weaknesses and worked very hard to build a church by converting thousands of people to Christ and shepherding the flock assigned to them by Jesus Christ.    

What made Peter and Paul  do sacrifices of their lives ?
Because, in the words of Apostle Paul, they were held captive by the words and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is Paul’s way of saying they were slaves to Christ.

We are called by Christ and commissioned to go out like Peter and Paul to preach the gospel, and if necessitated give our lives as a libation for him. Have I given myself to Jesus so much as to say I am ready to die for him?  Paul said: for me to live or die is the same in Christ. I can do everything in Christ who strengthens me. Do I try to do everything IN Christ and For Christ  as Paul did?

CORPUS CHRISTI (Deut 8: 2-4, I Cor 10: 16-17 Jn 6: 51-58)  

The Church celebrates one of the deepest mysteries of our faith with the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. During the liturgical year there are at least two feasts that invite us to meditate on the mystery of the Eucharist: the Maundy Thursday and the Feast of Corpus Christi.  On Maundy Thursday, the reflection on the Eucharist is centered on the memorial of the Passover meal and the institution of the priesthood.  The feast of today gives us yet another opportunity to contemplate the mystery of the Eucharist and what it offers us. 

We believe in the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist because 1) Jesus promised it after miraculously feeding the 5000. 2) Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist during his Last Supper. 3) Jesus commanded his disciples to repeat it in his memory. 4) “Nothing is impossible for God.”

 In the First Reading Moses recalls the way in which God fed the people of Israel in the desert with manna, that miraculous food which Christians were later to see as a pre-figuration of the Eucharist.

There are three things we should always keep in mind about this wonderful sacrament: what it is, how it happens, and why Christ gave it to us.

The Eucharist is not just a symbol of Christ's spiritual presence.  It is not just a reminder of Christ's self-offering in the past. No, Jesus Christ is truly present in this sacrament.  This is why St Paul, in today's Second Reading, calls Holy Communion a "participation" in the body and blood of Christ. And this is why Jesus himself, in today's Gospel reading, repeats six times - SIX times - that his flesh is real food and his blood is real drink.

He loves us so much that he wants his own life to flow through our veins; he wants to accompany us always and everywhere, until he leads us home to be with him forever in heaven.

Most non-Catholic Christians believe that the Eucharist is, just a symbol of Christ's presence, not the real thing. But the Catholics and the Orthodox Christians believe that Christ is not just symbolically present in the Eucharist, he is truly, really present. 

Just as Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana, at every Mass he turns bread and wine into his own body and blood. Only God can do that kind of thing - only God can perform miracles. Unlike at the multiplication of the bread, at Cana a transubstantiation took place. Substance of water was changed into wine, not just multiplication or amplification of some wine into more wine.

In some cases, at Mass, not just substance but even the accidents were also changed. History is full of numerous documented cases of consecrated hosts miraculously turning into bleeding flesh. Last year when I was on the pilgrimage to Fatima, I visited a Eucharistic miracle that happened in 1200s. Still 800 years later, it is visibly present for people to observe, verify and believe.

Heb.9:22 says: there is no forgiveness of sins without shedding blood. A person’s life consists in his/her blood. You cannot take all the blood from someone and have him or her live. If that were possible, I think, blood cancer could be easily healed, by completely changing the blood. The imagery of blood also recalls the idea of sacrifice, and Jesus’ sacrifice for humanity. Among other religions, the Jewish religion also contained sacrifice. A lamb was sacrificed in the temple at Passover as an expiation, to atone for the sins of the people since the last Passover. For us, Jesus became that Lamb of sacrifice, once and for all times; uniting us with God: creating communion between us and God.

Jesus’ body brings healing and his blood brings forgiveness of sins.  The consecration words says, blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

The Holy Eucharist is given to us by the Lord in His Infinite love towards our continued and complete healing.”  Recently I heard, a lady in Canada who had toothache received Holy Communion and told Jesus I will not leave you unless you heal my toothache. And she got immediate healing. Isaiah says: By his wounds we are healed. Jesus’ body was lacerated at the crucifixion. And he heals us and gives us everlasting life by his death on the cross. But the blood that he poured out forgives our sins and frees us from all diabolic forces. So we need to ask the Father to purify us in the blood of Jesus and fill us with the Holy Spirit at the time of the Mass.

Any time we pray asking the Father to purify us in the blood of Jesus and fill us with the Holy Spirit He will drive away all fears and worries and negative thoughts from us. If you suspect somebody is against you, you may pray: Abba Father, purify (name) in the holy blood of Jesus your Son and fill him with the Holy Spirit. Then all the evil plans he would contrive against you will be neutralized by the power of the blood of the lamb. When you come into the Church you need to pray: Abba Father, purify the celebrant all the congregation in the blood of Jesus and fill them with the Holy Spirit.

Last Monday I was going for a retreat in New Jersey. From last Monday we have only one Mass here on weekdays. So, I thought, I will not con-celebrate here and when I get there, if we have a mass there I will join that. You know what happened when I got to the airport at 10.30 am?  US airways flight in which I was supposed to travel, got delayed for over an hour. Then that flight was cancelled. I thought I would cancel my plan and come back here. Since Fr.Baiju was with me and he wanted to go, I stayed on for his company. Then the customer service gave us a boarding pass to for a United airways flight to Newark. After waiting for over an hour and a half the flight came. Then when we showed the boarding pass to board, I was told, I could not go by that flight as the US airways did not pay the United airways. We tried to contact the customer care but meanwhile the flight also left. Then with apology they issued another boarding pass for a flight that would come 2 hours later. Long story short we got 5 hours delayed. And during the retreat the preacher said, if we miss Mass or fail to protect ourselves with the power of the holy blood of Jesus, we are sure to meet with obstructions. And then it really came home to me why I missed all those flights.

Today is the feast glorifying the power of the blood of Jesus and the healing effect of the body of Christ. With faith and a worthy attitude let’s receive him and be strengthened in our resolve to live for him. Judas had a bad resolve to cheat the Lord when he received the communion and so he was strengthened in that evil intention, rather than abandoning that resolution. Let’s resolve to live for him who shed his blood for us and adore and joyfully receive the healer of our souls, in this Holy Mass.

Pentecost : Acts. 2:1-11; I Cor. 12:3b-7, 12-13; Jn 20:19-23

Today is the Solemnity of Pentecost. For the ancient Jews, Pentecost was one of the top three religious holidays. It had two important meanings. First, on Pentecost, 50 days after the Passover (the word "Pentecost" comes from the Greek for "fifty"), the first fruits of the spring grain harvest were offered to God in a special sacrifice at the Temple. In this sense, it was highly appropriate that God sent the Holy Spirit to his Church in a public way on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is the first fruit of the harvest of the New Covenant. The New Covenant is Christ giving us a new, redeemed life of grace. This life begins here on earth under the action of the Holy Spirit, but it will only reach its fulfillment - the full harvest - in heaven.

But there was a second meaning to the Jewish festival of Pentecost. It commemorated God giving Moses the Ten Commandments on Mt Sinai. Soon after the Israelites had miraculously escaped from Egypt, God sent them the Law, a guide for how they should live now that they were freed from slavery to Pharaoh. In this sense too, it was appropriate that God sent his Church the Holy Spirit during that Festival. The Holy Spirit is the bond of unity between the Father and the Son. And the Law of the New Covenant, the Law of the Church, is unity. On Pentecost 3000 people speaking different languages were unified when they all listened to the Apostles speaking one language, while they listened in their own languages.

As St Paul says, the Church is a body with many parts, but it remains one, united body. It is the Church's mission to reunite the human family that has been torn apart by sin. That's why as soon as the risen Jesus breathes on his Apostles; he instructs them to forgive sins. Forgiveness brings reconciliation and unity.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the love between the Father and Son lived so intensely that he is a person himself.

When we are baptized, that same Spirit takes up residence within our souls, and he brings Jesus and God the Father along with him - because where one is, all three are. The influence and action of the Holy Spirit in our lives increases when we are confirmed. This gift surpasses all other gifts.

How beautiful is the thought that the Holy Spirit lives within us!  Saint Paul reminds the Corinthian community of this fact when he asks, "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16).  It is the Holy Spirit who develops our intimacy with God.  "God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba!' ('Father!’)” (Gal 4:6).  "God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). "No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit" (I Corinthians 12:3).  Moreover, we know that it is the Holy Spirit Who teaches us to pray (Romans 8:26).  By the power of the Spirit, we also know the Lord Jesus through his Church.  Pentecost Sunday is the birth date of the Church.  It is the Holy Spirit who enlivens, enlightens, guides, and sanctifies the Church. The Psalm refrain for this Sunday says it so well, “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.”  We know Jesus through the Sacramental Mysteries of the Church, and Holy Spirit is at the heart of the sacramental life of the Church.  Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders are the Sacramental Mysteries through which people receive the seal of the Holy Spirit.  It would be impossible for us to receive Jesus in the Eucharist without the descent of the Holy Spirit at the Epiclesis of the Divine Liturgy.  Even the forgiveness of sins comes through the Holy Spirit (John 20:21-23).  The Holy Spirit both confirmed the apostles in Holy Orders as priests and empowered them to forgive sins by His power, a work which He continues today in each of our priests. 

We need to permit the Holy Spirit to direct our lives:  1)By listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us through the Bible and through the good counsel of others 2) By fervently praying for the gifts, fruits and charisms of the Holy Spirit. 3) By renewing our lives through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. As Saint Paul exhorts us, "Walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16, 25). 

Pentecost is not just one day, but every day.  Without breath, there is no life.  Without the Spirit, the Church is a field of dry, dead bones.  Fulton J. Sheen once said about the Church, "Even though we are God's chosen people, we often behave more like God's frozen people--frozen in our prayer life, frozen in the way we relate with one another, frozen in the way we celebrate our faith."  Today is a great day to ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle in us the spirit of new life and enthusiasm, the fire of God's love.  Let us repeat Cardinal Newman’s favorite little prayer, “Come Holy Spirit:”

 “Come Holy Spirit 

Make our ears to hear 

Make our eyes to see 

Make our mouths to speak 

Make our hearts to seek 

Make our hands to reach out 

And touch the world with your love.  AMEN.”

ASCENSION (ACTS 1: 1-11; EPH 1: 17-23; MAT 28: 16-20)

Today is the feast of Ascension. Jesus ascended to heaven, body and soul, assuring us that heaven is a real place, not just a nice idea, a myth, or wishful thinking.

One of Aesop's Fables shows just how new this Christian revelation really was. Aesop was a Greek slave who lived before the time of Christ. He was renowned for his natural wisdom, which was recorded in his famous fables, or short stories with deep lessons. One day he was ordered by his master to go to the public baths and get things ready (in ancient times public baths were like country clubs). On his way, he was stopped by one of the official judges of the city. The judge asked him where he was going. Aesop, thinking that it was none of the judge's business, answered, "I don't know." The judge was offended by this reply, which he considered disrespectful, and marched him off to prison for punishment (disrespectful slaves could be punished without a trial). When they arrived at the prison, Aesop turned to his captor and said, "Judge, when I told you, 'I don't know where I am going,' I was speaking the truth. Little did I think that I was on my way to prison! You see, it is true indeed that we never really know just where we are going." Faced with this explanation, the judge had no choice but to let Aesop go free.

This ironic story illustrates the absolute uncertainty of pre-Christian humanity about what happens after death – they just didn't know. Neither science, nor philosophy, nor pagan religion could pull back the curtain on the afterlife. Only Jesus Christ has shined a light on this mystery, by his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.

The Ascension is the establishment of his Kingship and his Kingdom on absolutely unshakable ground. Earthly kings and emperors always remain vulnerable; if their enemies don't usurp them, death surely will. But Christ's reign will never come to an end. He is no longer vulnerable. Because he has ascended into heaven, his Kingdom is firm; his Church will never be destroyed.  As St Paul put it in the Second Reading, God made Christ the everlasting King, "raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named".

Ascension is a crucial part of Christ's mission and message. It is the culminating moment, the finale, the final whistle, the moment in which his victory will be enshrined in heaven for ever. Jesus ascends into heaven as the living sacrifice that will continue to be the bridge between God and humanity until the end of time. His words at this moment, therefore, are critical. And what does he say? Two things. First, he sums up the message of salvation.

He reminds his Apostles that he had come to earth in order to preach salvation, and then to make it into a reality by his suffering, death, and resurrection. Only because of Christ's preaching and passion is it possible for mankind to experience the salvation from sin and ignorance that they desire, the peace of soul that they yearn for.

Second, he gives his followers a job. He calls upon them to be witness of these things. They will not be able to carry out their witness all by themselves, they will need the Holy Spirit, and so he promises that at Pentecost they will be "clothed with power from on high." But then they are to go to "all the nations" as Christ's witnesses. So, in the Ascension of our Lord, we come face to face with the core of the entire Gospel: Christ's saving message being transmitted to all people through the witness of the Church. 

Jesus tells us right before he ascends into heaven: "that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name." It is a mandate to every Christian who believes in him.

There is the funny story of the raw army recruit standing at attention on the drill field. The drill instructor yells, "Forward, march!" And the entire ranks begin to move, all except this one raw recruit. He's still standing there at attention. So the drill instructor strolls over to him and yells in his right ear, "Is this thing working?" "Sir, yes, sir!" The recruit yells. Then the drill instructor walks around to the other ear and yells, "Is this thing working?" "Sir, yes, sir!" The soldier says. "Then why didn't you march when I gave the order?" "Sir, I didn't hear you call my name."

Some of us are like that soldier, standing around waiting for God to call our names. But the great commission given by Jesus on the day of his Ascension is a blanket order. It has everyone's name on it. And you can be sure that the man in charge says, "Go! Make disciples! Teach!” It is your mission and my mission.

To be a Christian is to be a proclaimer and an evangelizer.  There is a difference between preaching and proclaiming.  We preach with words, but we proclaim with our lives. St.Francis says proclaim gospel at all times, use words when necessary. Jesus may have ascended, but his ties with us did not end. He continues to rely on us to share his concern, love, and mercy with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. May we sustain his mission with utmost generosity and enthusiasm. Next Sunday is the feast of Pentecost. Let us ask the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help us bear witness to Jesus by our transparent Christian lives.

V- Easter : Acts 6: 1-7, I Pt 2: 4-9, Jn 14: 1-12            
When St. John Chrysostom was summoned before the Roman Emperor Arcadius and threatened with banishment, Chrysostom replied, “You cannot banish me, for the world is my Father’s house.”  “Then I will kill you,” exclaimed the Emperor angrily.  “No, you cannot,” retorted Chrysostom, “because my life is hidden with Christ in God.”  “Your treasures shall be confiscated,” the Emperor replied grimly. “Sir, you can’t do that because my treasures are in heaven as my heart is there.”  “I will drive you from your people and you shall have no friends left,” threatened the Emperor.  “That you cannot do either, Sir, for I have a Friend in heaven who has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’”

We all inevitably encounter troubles, difficulties and abandonments. Jesus knew his disciples would have to face trials and persecution after he left them to return to his Father in heaven. Adversity can make them lose hope and become discouraged. So, Jesus told them in advance, do not be afraid, I will never leave you or forsake you. I will be with you as your Way, Truth and life.

How do we deal with our troubles ? Do we handle it alone or ask Jesus to be part of it ?

J. Arthur Rank was one of the early pio­neers of the film industry in Great Britain, and he also happened to be a devout Christian. He had a good system of dealing with problems. 

Rank found he could not push his worries out of his mind completely; they were always slipping back in. So he finally made a pact with God to limit his worrying to Wednesday. He even made himself a little Wednesday Worry Box and he placed it on his desk. Whenever a worry cropped up, Rank wrote it out and dropped it into the Wednesday Worry Box.

When Wednesday rolled around, he would open that box to find that only a third of the items he had written down were still worth worrying about. The rest had managed to resolve themselves. 

If you have a troubled heart, ask God to give you a new perspective. Also ask him to give you patience so that you do not jump ahead and worry about a problem that may never come. But most important of all, ask God for more faith. Faith in God is the best remedy for all our problems. Jesus put it plainly, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me."

Believing in Jesus will help us to walk in the Way of Jesus. Early Christians called themselves the people of the Way. The central message of John’s gospel is that Jesus is the Way to the Father, he is both the revealer and the revelation of God. If we wish to know who God is, what God thinks and what God wants of us, we must attend to Jesus the Word of God. Jesus is the "Way" because he is the visible manifestation in human form of all that his Father is. To those who teach that all religions lead us to God or that religion is immaterial provided man lead a good life, Jesus has the answer that he is the safest and surest way to God because he came from God and he can lead us to his heavenly Father.  The founders of other religions had either wrong ideas about the way to God or they were not sure guides.  Lao-Tse (604-531 BC), the founder of Taoism said: “Get rid of all desires, you will have a contented life on earth, but I am not sure about the next life.” Buddha taught people to reach self-realization through total detachment and “nirvana”, but he was not sure if these would lead one to God.  Confucius confessed that he did not know of an eternal life or the way to attain it.  The founder of Islam, Mohammed Nabi, admitted that he himself had no hope of the future unless Allah should put His mantle of mercy on him.  However, Jesus claims that he is the only way to God.

Christianity is not a theology or philosophy, but it is about a life of faith centered on Jesus as the Way, the truth and the life.

When a Person is a Way for us to get to the Father and everlasting life, that Way is found only in our relationship with Him, that is, in our union with Him in mind and heart, in will and action. To follow the Way of Jesus is to become a special kind of person, a person whose whole being reflects the Truth and the Life that Jesus reveals to us.  It is to be a person of Truth and Life who is totally identified with the vision and the values of Jesus.

He personally is the way to the Father's kingdom, and we cannot miss it if we follow him. He accompanies us on our daily journey and watches over us as the good shepherd who leads and sustains us each and every step of the way.

Jesus is the truth, the word of God. To seek the truth elsewhere is to stumble and fall, to deal in falsehood and lies. Jesus promised his disciples that if they continued in his word, they would learn the truth and the truth would set them free" (John 8:31). The truth which Jesus proclaims has power to set us free from ignorance, deception, and sin. Moral truth requires more than mere words or ideas because the person who speaks them must be true - true in thought, speech, deed, example, and action. Jesus claims to be one with the Father and to speak the truth which proceeds from the Father.

Jesus is the Life and he allows us to share in God’s Life through the sacraments. Christ rose from the dead for two reasons: first, to give us eternal life; second, to make us fully alive now. His Spirit animates every moment of our lives. To be fully alive is to be in God.

When we're confused about decisions we should make, Jesus Himself will show us the Way. When we don't know what is true and what is false, what is right and what is wrong, the Holy Spirit through the Church will enlighten us. And when we are drawn into false pleasures that promise us life, Jesus will bring us back to real living and the joy of that life through the power of His love. As we continue with this Eucharist, let’s ask Jesus to help us always remain in him who is our way, the truth and the Life.

IV-Sunday of Easter: Acts 2: 14a, 36-41; 1Pt 2: 20b-25; Jn 10: 1-10  

Do you remember playing "Follow The Leader" when you were a kid? The "leader" called the shots. Whatever way the leader went, whatever the leader did, the "followers" were supposed to imitate. It was a fun game until some "leader" decided to do something, not very smart. Jumping over a ditch was an adventure until someone didn't quite make it and tumbled down and got hurt. "Following the leader" goes bad when the leader goes bad, when the "leader" doesn't consider the welfare of the led.

The genuine shepherd "goes ahead of the sheep and they follow him."  He does not stand back, indicating the gate; he “goes ahead.” The shepherd goes before the sheep into the crises and the mysteries, and he tells what to do. The good shepherd would suffer for you;  would lay down his life.  If he is reluctant to do this, then beware of him, Jesus says, he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Jesus uses two metaphors to teach His listeners how He sees His role in the world. He calls Himself both the "good shepherd" and "the gate to the sheepfold." When Jesus called Himself the "gate," it brought up the image of a shepherd stretching his own body over the entrance to the sheepfold. No beast could harm the sheep before attacking the shepherd first.

This is Good Shepherd Sunday.  Today, the Church calls us to reflect on the meaning of God's call and to pray for vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate and the consecrated life, reminding us that the entire Christian community shares the responsibility for fostering vocations. Both the Old and New Testaments use the image of a Shepherd and His flock to describe the unique relation of God to Israel and Christ to Christians.

The Responsorial Psalm introduces Yahweh as the Good Shepherd of Israel and describes all of the things the Lord does for us, His sheep, providing for our needs.

For a long time, the Jewish people had used the Good Shepherd image for God. Such imagery was used by Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Zechariah, and of course by David in his Psalms. The psalmist addresses Yahweh as his Shepherd.

 Ezekiel foretells what the Messiah will do as Good Shepherd.  “I myself will tend My sheep …I will search for the lost and bring back the strays.  I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak” (Ezekiel 34: 15-16).  In short, God is the ultimate Shepherd of the people, providing guidance, sustenance and protection (Psalm 23), and He intended their Kings and other leaders to be their shepherds as well.

In this parable Jesus compares himself to the Shepherd and to the Gate. The first title represents His ownership because Shepherd is the true owner of the sheep. The second title represents His leadership. Jesus is the Gate, the only Way. He is the One Mediator between God and mankind. All must go through Him, through His Church, in order to arrive in Heaven. By identifying Himself with the sheep-gate, Jesus gives the assurance that whoever enters the pen through Him will be safe and well cared-for.  Jesus is the living Door to His Father’s house and Father’s family, the Door into the Father’s safety and to the fullness of life. It is through Jesus, the Door, that we come into the sheepfold where we are protected from the wolves of life. There is safety and security in being a Christian. There is a spiritual, emotional and psychological security and safety when we live within Jesus and his Church, within the protectiveness of Christ, Christian friends and a Christian family.

Shepherds always want their sheep to be healthy and happy. They want them to have the best grass, fresh water, and safety, so that they can grow and multiply as much as possible. A sheep has no greater friend than a good shepherd, and we have no greater friend than Christ.  He does not claim to be one good shepherd among many good shepherds, but the only one: "All others who have come are thieves and robbers." 

 Everyone who is entrusted with the care of others is a shepherd.  Hence, pastors, parents, teachers, doctors, nurses, government officials, caregivers, among others, are all shepherds.  We become good shepherds by loving those entrusted to us, praying for them, spending our time, talents and blessings for their welfare, and guarding them from physical and spiritual dangers.  

Today is mother’s day. Self sacrificing Mothers truly reflect Jesus the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep. Mothers wear many hats. Typically, mothers are in charge of taking care of the home, raising and disciplining the children, and teaching them how to live a God honoring life. There is no greater responsibility for mothers than the responsibility to make certain their children arrive safely in heaven. God is our true mother who cares for his children like a mother hen protects her young ones under its wings. It is said that, for a mother, the children are pieces of her heart moving outside her body. Let’s pray that all mothers may impart the protective love of God the Father to their children.  In the month of May we honor Mary our heavenly mother.  Let’s pray to her that all women may value the vocation to motherhood and carry it out as Mary did with her son.

III- Easter :  Acts 2:14, 22-33 1 Pt 1:17-21, Lk 24:13-35    

Karl Barth, one of the twentieth century's most famous theologians, was on a streetcar one day in Basel, Switzerland, where he lived and lectured. A tourist to the city climbed on the streetcar and sat down next to Barth. The two men started chatting with each other. "Are you new to the city?" Barth inquired.

"Yes," said the tourist.

"Is there anything you would particularly like to see in this city?" asked Barth.

"Yes," he said, "I'd love to meet the famous theologian Karl Barth. Do you know him?"

Barth replied, "Well as a matter of fact, I do. I give him a shave every morning."

The tourist got off the streetcar quite delighted. He went back to his hotel saying to himself, "I met Karl Barth's barber today."

Doesn’t that amuse us ?. That tourist was in the presence of the very person he most wanted to meet, but even with the most obvious clue, he never realized that the man with whom he was talking was the great man himself.

It reminds me of Mary Magdalen’s  reaction on Easter morning. In her grief, she thinks the man she is speaking to is the gardener.  Two of the disciples walk 7 miles with the resurrected Jesus, and they, too, had no idea with whom they were conversing.

They began to speak to Him about all that had occurred in the Holy City during the previous week. Most probably, Cleopas and his companion were husband and wife, residents of Emmaus and disciples of Jesus who had witnessed His crucifixion and burial.  The two disciples chose to leave Jerusalem on the third day after the death of Jesus – the very day they had received news that the tomb was empty.  They were “prevented” from recognizing the Stranger, Jesus, perhaps partly by preoccupation with their own disappointment and problems. As they journeyed on, Jesus showed them how the Scriptures had foretold all that He had done and suffered, including his death and its purpose.  

We have not heard of Cleopas before this (or will again, in fact). These two disciples’ knowledge of Jesus breaking the bread was learnt, not experienced. They were not part of the 12 Apostles. This means that they did not recognize him because they saw Jesus take, bless and break bread before, but rather, because the risen Jesus is made present in this Eucharist. And, as he breaks bread for them in their turn, their journey through the scriptures is complete and all comes together when they saw the Lord.

The Church continues this pattern to the present day. The Emmaus story explains the Catholic Mass completely. The first part is about Jesus explaining the scriptures to them from Moses through the Prophets showing them how the Messiah was to be their foretold savior. This takes place on this ambo in the Church. The purpose of this service is to burn our hearts with love and passion for the Lord to recognize him in the breaking of the bread. The Churches that do not have a real Mass are the people who let Jesus go when he pretends to go farther. We should urge the Lord to stay with us so that he will break the bread for us. And in listening to the Word of God we get only the appetizer, not the main course. Our hunger is whipped up; as the disciples said: weren’t our hearts burning as he explained the word to us. But only in the breaking of the bread that we fully encounter the Lord. In the breaking of the break Jesus disappeared from their physical sight but was spiritually and really present in the broken bread to satisfy the longing of their hearts. And as the disciples left at night to share the good news of encountering the Lord, we are told at the end of the Mass to go and announce the gospel of the Lord.

So, this episode tells us that we should listen to the word of God and attend the Mass as far as possible if we really want to encounter the Lord. Attending the Mass every day is not a convenient thing always for working people. But reading this Scripture is a thing which we can always do. 

The word of God should burn the heart of everyone who reads it. Abraham Lincoln said: “The greatest gift that God gave to human beings is the Bible.”  We should make use of this gift.  St Jerome, the great biblical scholar, warns that ‘ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ’ and this is exactly what Jesus thinks on the road to Emmaus. Goethe, the great German philosopher, said that the beauty of the Bible grows as we grow in our understanding of it.  

Vatican II (Dei Verbum 21), tells us that Jesus is to be equally venerated in the Eucharist and in the Bible.  Therefore, we need to study the Bible, learn the Bible, memorize the Bible and meditate on the word of God.   We need to read the Scriptures daily to meet and converse with Jesus Christ.  It should be a daily habit because people either read the Bible daily or almost never.   So, we must continue always to listen to the scriptures – for in them we shall find Jesus and ourselves too.

Study the Bible, learn the Bible, memorize the Bible and meditate on the word of God. It will burn our hearts. In that fire we will remember his promises in our mind, to be with us always. Let’s pray that we may recognize him as he breaks the bread today with us.