The Spirit Lives In Us!

I know I said it before, but I will say it again.  The Apostles didn't get it.  They were so dull-witted at times that if Jesus had not been divine, He would have fired the lot of them and got himself a fresh crew.  But of course, the quotation comes from Our Lord speaking at the Last Supper, late in the game, as the very next day Jesus would redeem us by His death on the Cross.  He knew that these men, who were all good men, except one, of course, would panic.  He had to reassure them that what they had learned would not be forgotten and that the heavenly teaching that they had received from Him would continue.  No, at this moment the Apostles didn't get it but they would remember these words. 

We as modern day Christians don't get it either. We have been taught our faith either in school, religious education courses, private reading and while we accepted what we heard and today are trying to live out our Christian life we forget sometimes the guiding principles that are supposed to shine forth in our life.  I like the way Jesus uses the word "remind."  We send friendly reminders to people all of the time.  And to be fair, the Holy Spirit might send you a friendly reminder, He has done so in my life.  But I think that the Spirit is there to help keep us honest, to convict us of our errors and put our feet back on to the right path.  His work is deadly serious and sometimes He can be less than subtle. He is charged with keeping the flames of righteousness blazing in this world and today He has to work non-stop.

Praise God and Jesus whose great love for one another gives us the Holy Spirit;  The Spirit wants to work in our lives, to unleash powers that we can only imagine.  He knows the gifts that God has given us and will be there to help us use them to further the Kingdom. Be open to His promptings.  Be open when your conscience is speaking to you, that voice is powered by the Spirit that is within you, who came to you on the day of your confirmation.  Rely on Him and be at peace for He will guide you down the path you need to trod.  Let Him show you the way and your final step will be into the arms of Jesus when you take your last breath. 

I hope you had a chance to read yesterdays refection on Purgatory and I hope that you will set aside ninety seconds of your busy day and use it to pray for the poor souls.  Thank you! 

The Church Was At Peace

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him,

not believing that he was a disciple.Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him. And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on his way to Tarsus.

The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers.

You know that I fancy myself as a fairly decent wordsmith. But in this reading from Acts of the Apostles, I have to give credit to the author for his skillful use of the language so as to give me pause as to given the facts that he relates how he could state that the church was at peace.  I mean Saul (aka Paul) arrives and they do not know if they should trust him or not.  Then they get reports that he is on the home team and so they finally accept him.  Saul is on fire.  He cannot keep the news about Jesus quiet.  I can imagine how his friends in the temple felt about all of this. Then he decides to go and debate the Greeks, the Hellenists, and those jolly gentlemen respond by trying to kill him and Saul has to go on the lam, going to back to Tarsus.  This sounds to me like it would make a good television show, lots of action, but peace?  Strange usage of the word, "peace" for my money.  But, then again, the people that made up the Church were cooperating with one another, and it was growing and being built up and was following The Way of the Lord in unity and many souls were being added to their numbers. 

I think what I take-away from this reading is the picture of unity that is given to us. I normally do not pin my reflections on one word but in this case, I think that I can do so safely. I notice that although they are mentioning several locations, they use the word, "church" not "churches."  This implies that they were of one mind and one spirit under one leader.  I think that this is why they can say the Church was at peace.  When we are of one mind and spirit and following the Lord in obedience, there is no room for discord in our hearts. I can imagine how it must have been, people trying their best to live out the life that leads to life.  I can imagine how their terribly gray and dismal world took on a glimmer and luster as joy filled their hearts.  The joy of following the Lord is a reward in itself and that reward is peace of heart, mind, and soul. 

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ON PURGATORY  you will be glad you did! 

I want to write just a little about Purgatory today.  I know that there are those that do not believe that there is such a place, that when you die you go to heaven or hell and that there is no third choice open to us.  I could agree with that.  The ultimate destiny of man is to be in heaven with God unless the soul chooses otherwise.  Some of us, I think most of us, when we die are not properly disposed to live in a place where there is no discord, no evil, no sadness of any kind.  We are not quite ready to see the mighty majesty of God for ourselves for we, like the wedding guest who is not dressed for the wedding, are not ready to sit at the banquet table of the Lord.  We have attachments to sin.  We still never forgave so and so for stealing that pencil in second grade.  We never reconciled with so and so for what we did to them.  We are still angry at this one or that one.  There remains on our soul these blemishes, spots, and stains that have to be removed before we ourselves will feel ready to enter heaven.  It is, for this reason, we will choose Purgatory.  Think of it as the vestibule for heaven.  

The time to do all of the reconciling and detaching from sin is while we are on earth.  We can eliminate the need for a stop in Purgatory if we consciously work at getting rid of the baggage we are carrying in our souls.  On earth, we do this through prayer and sacrifice and actively forgiving the ills done to us. Once we arrive in Purgatory, we have to begin to rely on others for we cannot pray ourselves out of Purgatory.  Others, our loved ones, and even complete strangers, on the other hand, can have a positive impact on our time there, shortening through their offering of prayers and sacrifices.  

I think of all of the people in my life that have passed on to the next life.  I wonder if they are enjoying the bliss of heaven or if they are still working things out in Purgatory.  I dearly miss those who have gone before and I am making no assumptions as to where they are.  It may make me feel better to think that Mom is in heaven but my comfort does her no good if she is not. That goes for my father, grandfather, grandmother, and aunts, and uncles who have left this world.  We do not know the effect that sin has on our souls, what expiation is needed for even the least serious venial sin.  

I also think of the millions of souls who are there who come from the Protestant tradition.  Truth is the truth no matter if it is believed or not and they are subject to the same things that we who know that Purgatory exists are.  The main difference is that they definitely, being of the Protestant tradition where, "once saved, always saved" is taught and believed, in their mind, the effect of evil actions on their soul are of no consequence because once you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you have heaven as your eternal destiny no matter what actions you take in life, good or evil.  So, when they die, if they die without mortal sin on their souls, they too will choose Purgatory.  Their fellow believers will all believe that they went immediately to heaven and so will not be praying that they are delivered from Purgatory.  A Protestant in Purgatory has no one at all to pray for them!   

In charity and in love it is our duty to pray for the dead, to mitigate their sufferings and shorten the time they have to spend in Purgatory.   

Purgatory is a painful place.  The pain comes from the fire of God's love and your longing to be with Him in heaven.  Purgatory is also a joyful place because all of the people there know that at one point in the future this suffering will end and they will be with God in heaven.  The souls in Purgatory pray unceasingly. The sad part is that they cannot pray themselves out of Purgatory.  The time for making up for temporal punishment for sins is while we are on earth through our prayers and sacrifices.  So the Poor Souls, some who have been there for centuries as we reckon time, need our help, our prayers, and our sacrifices to help them escape Purgatory and enter heaven earlier than they might if depending on themselves. Purgatory is a joyful place.  If you were to offer a poor soul the chance to come back to earth, he or she would reject that choice because of the great happiness they feel at being assured that they cannot offend God anymore and that soon they will be with Him face to face. That joy is greater than any joy we can experience on earth. 

How can we help them?  Well, we can offer our own prayers and sacrifices and we can offer them our mass attendance and the grace from every time we take the Holy Eucharist. The Mass and the Eucharist are the most efficient ways.  From the website "Our Catholic Prayers"  

In purgatory, the souls of many of those who have died in God’s grace undergo purification so that they may enter heaven. The Prayer of St. Gertrude, below, is one of the most famous of the prayers for souls in purgatory. St. Gertrude the Great was a Benedictine nun and mystic who lived in the 13th century. According to tradition, our Lord promised her that 1000 souls would be released from purgatory each time it is said devoutly.

 

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen

Just Show Me - Then I Will Believe

Jesus said to his disciples: 
"If you know me, then you will also know my Father. 
From now on you do know him and have seen him." 
Philip said to Jesus, 
"Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." 
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip? 
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. 
How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? 
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. 
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. 
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves. 
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father. 
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it."

Well, Once again the apostles prove that they just didn’t get it.  Philip says to Jesus, “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”  Really, Phillip?  This conversation took place at the Last Supper, quite late in the game and you would not blame Jesus very much if he started banging His head on the table.  These men had been with Him for about three years, day in and day out.  They had heard every word that He said, had received explanations of parables that were outside of their understanding, they have seen miracles and Philip tells Jesus to show him the Father. Jesus, who had the patience of Job, carefully explains to Philip that if they are seeing Jesus, they are seeing the Father. After this explanation, did they now understand?  I don’t know if at this moment they realized the importance of what had just been told to them.  Jesus, knowing that the game clock was running down and that he had no more timeouts continued to tell these good men what they needed to hear.  Jesus would have to rely on the Holy Spirit to remind them of things and as we can see from how the Church grew, these simple men, ordinary in every respect, people just like you and me, planted the Church everywhere that they went. It cost them dearly in the end, all but John would be martyred for the faith but see all of the good that they were able to do with the help of the Holy Spirit.  We too are called to build the City of God.  We too are the planters of the seed. Our duty is to plant seeds in the garden we have been given. Our missionary journies may take us from the living room to the kitchen but they are no less important than the mission journies of the Apostles. They went and said, “Full speed ahead and damn the torpedos.”  They planted where they went and they nurtured the seeds when they could but they remembered that they were the sowers and God was the reaper.

In the olden days of my youth and before, children would follow their parents into whatever church that the parents went to.  Catholic children would end up being Catholic adults and Baptist kids would be Baptist adults, etc. Today, this is not as true as it was before.  Take for example in my family. I have one sister that has gone over to Willow Creek, which is a megachurch that I call a “Church of What’s Happening Now.” My other sister has abandoned the faith altogether and both of my sisters, who were the pride and joy of St, Joseph and St. Anne School, have adopted an “I am a survivor” type attitude when the nuns were absolutely in love with them.  I am the one that should have had trouble following my faith because I had nothing but nun troubles in school.  As far as I know, I am the only one from my family that has gone on and followed my Catholic faith.  As a matter of fact, I thank the nuns, they taught me the faith well and while I could not understand math, I understood that Jesus loved me. 

But today, I hear of good Catholic parents who have done what they can to bring their children up in the faith, but the kids once they have a choice go another route.  This has to be painful for the parents.  But we have to remember, as long as we plant the seed, God will do what He can to make sure it sprouts, but even God has to allow His children to use their free will.  Here is what we should do.  When you are in an airplane, if you’ve paid attention to the safety briefing, you will note that they say if you suddenly see an air mask drop down, put yours on before you put on your children. That is what we must do when it comes to our family members that do not seem to want to follow the faith.  We must take care of our souls first and God will give us the strength we need to prevail against all adversaries.  We must remain a good example for those around us for bringing someone back to the fold is not a matter of shaming them back, it is a matter of loving them back.  Our kindness and out loving attitude will do more than a dozen Sunday sermons. Eventually, they will see Jesus in us and they will want what we have.  God bless!

Pray for the poor Souls in Purgatory Today!

Heavenly Real Estate

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. 
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.  In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places. If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.”  Thomas said to him, 
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?” 
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. 
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I find this passage from John the most comforting passages in all of scripture.  There is nothing nebulous about it at all.  Jesus comes right out and states that He is going to prepare a place for us and He will come back and get us for wherever He is we also may be.  A heavenly home!   A place that lasts.  There will be no sorrow, only joy.  Every person you meet will be a friend and there will be no secrets between friends. You will know everyone by name and each of us will know and feel like we never did before, the love of God.  Where God is, there is heaven.  

There are probably as many definitions of what heaven will be like as there are people who have lived on earth.  We all know what we like.  Unfortunately, heaven is not going to have anything that we like.  That is because we will love everything about this place.   What it is actually cannot be described by the words of man.  We do know that it will be a place of great joy.  Can you imagine meeting some of the hot shots in heaven, people like Peter and Paul?  I am going to make it a point to look up Adam and Eve if only to ask them what in the world were they thinking of!  I will also be looking up Francis of Assisi and Clare to share how much I took their stories to heart. 

But, what will my personal heaven be like?  I think I will no longer feel like a stranger when in a group of people.  I will not be shy as I am today. I may lose my ability to write but gain an ability to speak and be understood.  I have a much easier time marshaling my thoughts by writing them down and my inability to do the same verbally as well makes me afraid that I will say the right thing in the wrong way.  I do not want to hurt peoples feelings so for me quiet is better.  In heaven, all of our defects will fall away.  Our artistic side will bloom and we will spend our time doing things that enhance the beauty of heaven. 

The beauty of heaven comes from the beauty of God himself. His Spirit imbibes all that is there in ways that are subtle and yet pervasive.  His great love fills the air with a great peace and this peace fills us to the brim with love for Him and for all of His creation. 

Finally, we will know everything there is to know. Like the scarecrow on the Wizard of Oz, we will know why the ocean is near the shore. My inability to understand advanced math will be cured and I will correct Einsteins equations and make them even more precise than the old boy could do here.  And I will meet my family.  Not only Mom and Dad and Grampa and Grandma, but all of the relatives that came before me and whose DNA enriched mine and made me who I am.  I will spend eternity thanking God for His great love and for creating me, a fallible creature, and by allowing me to spend eternity with Him. 

The Poor Souls in Purgatory are waiting for your help.  Please, there are millions of people needing our prayers. Please remember them today, especially at 3:00PM local time which is the Hour of Mercy.   God bless you for all that you do for my friends in Purgatory. 

Service Please!

When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, he said to them:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master  
nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
I am not speaking of all of you.
I know those whom I have chosen.
But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.
From now on I am telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. 
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send
receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."

Well, I for one am happy that it seems that we have left the sheep metaphors behind us for a while.  But look where we have gone instead.  We are no longer celebrating the Resurrection but we are back into the upper room at the Last Supper.  We are being shown by God Himself that we are here to provide service.  God Himself stooped down and served His creation by taking on the lowest job that there was in the land.  He did it willingly.  He did it tenderly.  He did it because of the love that was burning inside of His soul for these followers.  He even washed the feet of the one who would in several hours time, betray Him.   

We could spend hours of our time speculating of what heaven will be like.  I do not know the particulars of what our home will be like once we leave this earthly abode, but I do believe that it will be a place where service is something that we will do as a matter of course.  We will be watching for ways that we can share our happiness, our joy, our life with those who might need something.  Since we are in heaven and all of our needs and wants will be automatically fulfilled, our joy will be the knowledge that we will be happy to give up we what we have in joy and service to anyone we see in need.  

The joy of being a giver outlasts the temporary joys we may feel when we accumulate the things of this world.  This is because of how we were made as images of our heavenly Father whose joy comes from being of service to us.

Please remember to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory today.  

Roar Like A Lion !

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.

Today is the feast of St. Mark, the Evangelist.  Mark was not one of the twelve apostles but he was good friends with Paul and Barnabas and accompanied them on the first missionary trip but he abandoned them in Cyprus, Mark, returned home.  It is said that he had grown homesick.  This caused Paul to question his suitability for being a missionary but the rift between them was soon healed.  Mark was referred to by Peter as "his son" so it appears that he was beloved by those early Christians.  He wrote the Gospel that bears his name and although he wasn't an apostle it is believed that he is the young man described as running away when Jesus was arrested. He died a martyr, he was put to death by being dragged through the city streets. 

There is something very human about Mark.  Some people in the Bible are the stuff that legends are made of.  Mark is portrayed as a young man who ran away in fear and who got homesick and quit his job a missionary and returned home.  In spite of these two remarkable "failures," he is the one that wrote the Gospel that preserved the story of Jesus for those who would believe in the future.  He must have been a good Christian because he was rewarded by being martyred for the faith

We can learn a lot from Mark.  We can be fully human, make mistakes, and return to the graces of God.  God knows we are not perfect creatures and He uses our imperfections to show His glory.  So, don't worry too much if you feel you are not perfect.  You were not meant to be.  You were meant to be "you" and God would have it no other way.  When darkness comes, know that the light is nearby, maybe just steps away and have the courage of a lion as you follow the path that God has planned out for you. 

On this day in 1991 Violet Spoula, my mother passed away at 7:11 P.M.  May I ask a special favor to all who may read these words that they pray for the repose of her soul.  The years have passed and I still miss the person that taught me that it was okay to fail as long as you learned from what went wrong and who taught me that no matter what I was to hold my head up high and be proud of who I am for God loves me just as I am.  

Light of the World

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. 

And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. 
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
"How long are you going to keep us in suspense? 
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." 
Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father's name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.
My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me. 
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. 
No one can take them out of my hand. 
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father's hand. 
The Father and I are one."

The children of Israel were in bondage and they were being forced to worship pagan gods. The Maccabees arose and led a rebellion and won and freed the Israelites so that they could worship at the temple again.  The problem was that when they got there, there was only one bottle of oil left that had not been profaned by the pagans.  It would be enough oil to light the menorah of only a single day.  Trusting in God, they light the eight lamps using the oil and the oil lasted for eight full days, enough time for them to secure an additional supply.  This was seen as a miracle of God and this was to be remembered in the festival of the Dedication or as we know it today, Hanukkah.  So it is at this festival that Jesus is asked straight out if He was the Christ.  He responds that He has told them and that they do not believe.  He tells them that the works that He does testify that the Father is at work in Him.  He observes that they refuse to believe.  He tells them that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him and they will never perish because no one can take them out of the Father's hand.  Then He goes ahead and says it, "The Father and I are One."  

Jesus went and did it here.  He said plainly that He and the Father were One, making Himself equal with God.  The crowd is aghast at what they just heard and they pick up rocks to stone Him for declaring Himself as God,  I hope the Church picks up the story from this point because I don't want to spoil the story for you. 

Jesus was many things.  He could do all things well except He really needed to consider hiring a publicist.  Jesus was getting himself into trouble with what He said.  But let's face it, He did not have time to dilly-dally when it came to getting His mission done.  Time was marching on and the moment of His glorious act of obedience to the Father was getting ever closer.  For this reason, He had very little time for the niceties of formal debate.  He had to deliver the truth and be ready to stand by what He said. 

It is not as if the people didn't have proof for what He said.  All they had to do was look at what was happening through Him.  The deaf could hear. the dumb tall, the lame were dancing through the streets, and even the dead have been risen because of what Jesus did.  But the people He is speaking to now, most likely Pharisees from the temple, are not really interested in a Messiah.  With the Romans, a Messiah is one thing that they do not need especially since Jesus was from Galilee and the Messiah would not be from Galilee but from David's town of Bethlehem.  So they were sure that Jesus was nothing more than a magician of some sort, probably in league with the devil. 

Sit back and close your eyes for but a few moments and think about all of the signs and wonders that Jesus has wrought in your life.  Do you believe in coincidence, do you believe in happenstance?  Is that why it seemed like your prayer was answered, just dumb luck?  Think back now and review those times when it was that you received the Grace of God in such abundance that you were astonished and perhaps thankful to tears.  Jesus is Lord, the Father and Jesus are One.  Praise God for this mystery of faith. 

Pray for the poor souls in purgatory! 

Have Your Hearing Checked !

Jesus said:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, 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."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

There is only one way to heaven.  That is through the gate we call Jesus.  Sheep are rather dumb animals but they do learn that if they want to stay safe they will stay in a group and not just in any group but their group.  They also know, through experience, the voice of the man that is their leader, their shepherd.  Their shepherd has taken care of them their whole life and they have come to trust that voice.  Other men might try to call them to follow them but since they do not recognize the voice of the stranger, they ignore it and listen patiently for the one voice that they know has their best interests at heart. 

Jesus is our shepherd. We have to listen for His voice.  In today's world, there is a cacophony of voices all demanding our attention. If we stop listening for the voice of Jesus, we run the risk of leaving the flock and finding ourselves outside of the pasture where a wrong step in an unfamiliar pasture might send us tumbling down a hill or even off of a cliff.  The major responsibility in the relationship between sheep and shepherd is that the sheep will listen and the shepherd will care for the flock.  We have a faithful shepherd to guide us, so just keep your ears tuned to the sound of His voice. 

Do you realize all of the Protestant loved ones that are at this very moment in Purgatory with no one to pray for them?  Their friends and relatives do not believe in Purgatory so millions of them are there without anyone to pray for them.  There too are our relatives and friends who have passed on before us.  Are they too waiting for our prayers for them?  Those in Purgatory cannot help themselves, they rely on us to pray for them and mitigate their time in this place.  You can make a best friend forever by praying for and making sacrifices for a poor soul in Purgatory.  They will always remember those that helped them.  Dedicate your day to the Poor Souls, offer up the little disappointments that happen, the aches and pains of your arthritis can even be offered for them.  Waste nothing that happens to you.  Everything can be paid on account of a soul in need.  The soul who becomes a saint will remember and help you in your times of need.

Why Does the Good Shepherd Carry A Stick?

Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd.                         

A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and
 has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father."

For those that know me, it is no secret that nuns and I did not get along too well when I was under their tutelage.  But, I have to say, that I am forever grateful for the sister that taught me about Jesus.  That first lesson, I will always remember.  It was how Jesus was like a shepherd and loved me so much that He would come to find me if I ever got lost. She had this flip book and it showed a picture of Jesus with a lamb around His neck and a staff in His hand.  I remember thinking how wonderful it was to have a friend like Him watching out for me.  Oh, how wonderful it would be for me to be as innocent and trusting as that boy who heard that story back in 1958.  I admire that child's trusting nature and I look at pictures of him from that time and wonder why he chose to squander all of that innocence!   Let's move away from the past and discuss Jesus as the Good Shepherd 

Jesus, for all of the metaphors he uses about Himself, is a man of action. All shepherds are men of action, they have to be, it comes with the job. I got hung up on the notion of Jesus carrying me back when I wandered away.  Well, a shepherds job, if he is doing it right, is to keep the sheep together in the first place.  That staff he carries is curved at the top, not for some artistic reason, no, that crook in the staff is there so the shepherd can use it to trip up a lamb that is walking away, and walking away when you're a lamb means you are walking from the safety of the flock into isolation and danger.  That staff is also there to ward off predators that attempt to get in amongst the sheep, a blow from that staff could knock a wolf senseless and the Good Shepherd knows how to use the staff to keep the predators at bay. 

The other thing that impresses me about this reading is that we can find evidence in scripture that Jesus did all of the things that He says he will do.  As I said He is a man of action and not just of words.  He laid down His life for His sheep, the crucifix showing the dead body of Jesus nailed there reminds us of what He did.  He also states that He gave His life up and that no one took it from Him.  We see this in the Garden of Gethsemane.  In the confusion of that moment, He, like He had done before, could have simply walked through their midst to freedom, thus foiling the scheme of the High Priest.  But, He did not do this.  In fact, He calmed the situation down, telling Peter to put down the sword and He healed the man who had been injured.  Then there was the kiss and He allowed Himself to be bound and taken away.  I think He saw in that garden while He was praying, all of the things that would happen and He was afraid, and yet when the time came, He took the action that was required and allowed the horrors of that day to take place. 

Using hindsight we can see this, but what else is there in this reading that is of great importance to us.  Jesus says that there are sheep out there that belong to other flocks and He promises us that they too will hear His voice and he gives us His guarantee is that there will be one flock and one shepherd.  I used to carry a prejudice against all things Protestant.  I felt superior that I belonged to the Catholic Church that had it all, the entire treasury of faith, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and I wondered if the Protestants knew that they were on their way to hell.  On the other hand, the Protestants thought similar thoughts about Catholics!  Sure is a nice religion we are in isn't it?  Fortunately, Jesus, the Man of Action, left nothing to chance.  He knew that in spite of our best efforts that some sheep would wander off and form new flocks. He would be the shepherd of them too and when all was said and done, he would reform the flock into one and there would be one flock and only one shepherd. 

Jesus is a man of action.  He told us here that He would lay down His life, that no one took it from Him.  We read the story in our Bible and in testimony to this when He dies on the cross, he utters a loud cry.  A person undergoing death by crucifixion would not have the wherewithal to yell loudly right before death.  Jesus did so in testimony to the voluntary nature of his death and on the third day, this Man of Action defeats death itself as He takes up His life again. 

Michael in 1959 - the start of First Grade

So, that young child that heard and believed sister when she told about the Good Shepherd has grown up now and the years hang heavy on his shoulders and he longs for the days of innocence where a simple picture could produce an unshakable faith.  The boy grew and doubts came and sins entered his life, but he always remembered the truth that sister taught, that no matter what, Jesus would go and find you if you ever got lost.  The boy took comfort in those words back then and the man takes them to heart and takes comfort in them as he ages and gets closer and closer to standing before Jesus, the Good Shepherd. 

Someday, perhaps soon, I will be among the Poor Souls in Purgatory.  My family are not believers or have wandered to one of the "mega-churches of what's happening now" so I cannot depend on them to pray for me once I die.  I pray for the Poor Souls therefore with the hope that they will befriend me once they reach heaven.  There are millions of people that receive no prayers after they die. They are poorest of the poor.  Take a moment of your day and pray an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be for the poor souls and everytime you pass a cemetery, pray for those within by praying, "May the souls of the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen."  It will only take a minute, won't you help out?

They Couldn't Take It

As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. and are convinced  that you are the Holy One of God."

My reflection today is short and sweet.  Jesus has just told the people that they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood or they would not have life within them.  Many of those that had been walking with Him and were excited that here was the Messiah, the promised one of the ages.  Jesus was popular and his popularity was rowing.  Then He had to go and give the Bread of Life talk and he lost many of his followers.  They could not take it. Jesus wanted them to eat His flesh and drink His blood. They were sickened at the thought of this.  The word Jesus uses here is the word meaning to chew or gnaw and they cannot be understood in any other way.  His followers left and He did nothing to call them back.  He did not tell them it was a metaphor.  No, he let them go, saddened at their departure, to be sure, but he had no correction, no spin that he could put on His words that would make them any more palatable.  He turned to His Apostles and asked if they too would be leaving Him.  There was one of history's most important moment of silence and Peter confirms that they will stay, that they are convinced that He is the Holy One of God.

So, this week, when you enter the church, search out that red lamp gleaming near the tabernacle and remember what it means.  Then, instead of reading the bulletin or speaking your neighbor, spend a moment thanking Jesus for the gift of his Flesh and Blood, the spiritual food that our souls need and then just be present to Jesus in silence for a moment and prepare your heart for His entrance into it when you receive.

Remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory! 

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