I am the gate of the sheepfold

Fourth Sunday of Easter Year A - 3rd May 2020 - "Good Shepherd Sunday"

Before we turn our attention to this coming Sunday's gospel, have a look at the "pages" tabs above. I've put a couple of new ones there today, to celebrate the beginning of Our Lady's month of May. There's The Rosary - A Letter from Pope Francis and an invitation to May Magnificat - A Day with Mary.

Gospel John 10: 1–10

Jesus said: 'I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers'. Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.

So Jesus spoke to them again: 'I tell you most solemnly, I am the gate of the sheepfold. All others who have come are thieves and brigands; but the sheep took no notice of them. I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be safe: they will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full'.

Reflection - from St Beuno's Outreach 

Today, I come to spend some quality time with the Lord; I settle down. What are the issues which keep coming to my mind today? Gently but  firmly, I put them aside. They will wait.

Slowly and deliberately, I read the text. It may be familiar, but there may be a phrase which strikes me anew. I stay with it and ponder.

The gatekeeper protects what is most valuable to him: his sheep. Whom or what do I consider to be most valuable to me?

Do I, like the Pharisees, adhere rigidly to rules and regulations to keep out those I consider to be brigands and thieves?

Or do I simply trust the Lord to look after my treasures and myself, as the shepherd looks after his flock?

I take  me to listen to his voice speaking to me through his words. What do I hear him say to me? How do I feel?

I may come to realise that in the past I have been lured by other voices which I did not recognise, yet still followed. I tell the Lord about this. I also tell him how I want to respond to his voice today.

In time, with gratitude for any insights I’ve received, I close with Glory be...

Did our hearts not burn within us?

Third Sunday of Easter Year A
26th April 2020

Gospel Luke 24: 13–35 (abridged)

Two of the disciples were on their way to Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they talked, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, “What matters are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped short; their faces downcast. Cleopas answered, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who does not know these things.” “What things?” he asked. “All about Jesus of Nazareth, who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: some women from our group went to the tomb in the early morning, and they did not find the body, they saw a vision of angels who declared he was alive.” He said, “You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?” Then starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the scriptures that were about himself. When they drew near the village they pressed him to stay with them. While they were at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us? ”They returned to Jerusalem where they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.

Duccio - Christ on the road to Emmaus (detail)

Reflection - from St Beuno’s Outreach

I come to my place of prayer and give time to entering gently into God’s presence. I then read this long but beautiful text slowly.

Perhaps I can imagine the scene, and walk with the disciples.

I try to enter into their feelings which may be, or may have been, mine – feeling aimless, lost, downcast, discouraged, disappointed, grieving …

Jesus walks with them. How am I aware of this in my life?

How have I been helped by him in the guise of a friend, a teacher…?

I join the disciples at table. I may give thanks for the gift  of the Eucharist, for companionship, for receiving strength to return to my family, my community with a new heart.

Doubt no longer but believe

Second Sunday of Easter Year A, 19th April 2020

Gospel John 20: 19–31

In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ After saying this he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’

Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. When the disciples said, ‘We have seen the Lord,’ he answered, ‘Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe’. Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you’, he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand: put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God’. Jesus said to him: ‘You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.’

There are many other signs that Jesus worked and the disciples saw, but they are not recorded in this book. These are recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing this you may have life through his name.

"My Lord and my God!" Note the locked doors.
St Thomas is a good patron saint for us right now!

Reflection - from St Beuno's Outreach

I read the Gospel slowly. Using my imagination I enter into the scene, standing with the disciples in the upper room, cut off and isolated as many are just now. What is the mood of the gathering?
I wonder... what are they afraid of?

What are my own fears at this  me of global crisis?
How do I feel when I listen to yet more alarming statistics on the news?

I imagine Jesus suddenly being present, standing alongside me... looking deeply into my being; knowing, loving and accepting me just as I am. Even in my doubt, Jesus is sending me to spread his love.

What words of encouragement do I need to hear Jesus speak to me?
What do I want to say to Jesus?

I close my prayer – like Thomas, with my own declaration of belief.

He must rise from the dead

Easter Sunday Year A, 12th April 2020

Gospel John 20: 1–9

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,’ she said, ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’

So Peter set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple, running faster than Peter, reached the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter, who was following, now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and believed. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Resurrection - He Qi

Reflection - from St Beuno's Outreach

I slowly begin my prayer by concentrating my inner a en on on the Lord’s presence in my life and being. In the deepening silence, I hand over my joys and troubles, and ask God for the grace of a spirit of gratitude and wonder.

I read the Gospel meditatively. In whatever way I can, I enter the scene, allowing the narrative to touch my imagination.

Is there something here that particularly attracts my attention?

Perhaps Mary of Magdala, her heart  filled with grief, going faithfully to attend to her Lord in the darkness ..?

Or guilt-ridden Peter, who goes right into the tomb?

Or ‘the one Jesus loved’: the disciple who sees the empty tomb and believes? I allow myself to be present with each one.

Maybe I stand here in the empty tomb. How do I feel and react now? How deep is my belief in the power of the Resurrection?

Maybe there are areas of my life where I am invited to a deeper faith?

I open my heart and soul to the Lord, speaking to him as I would to a beloved friend.

I pray for all those who are imprisoned, in self-isolation, or grieving today, and for those suffering without faith and hope in the loving God.

When I am ready, I slowly draw my prayer to a close.