Ignatian
Spirituality: Set the World Ablaze
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Fourth Sunday of Easter
April 26, 2015
Acts 4:8-12; Psalm 118; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18
Pope Francis once addressed 1,600
Cardinals, bishops, and priests during the Chrism mass that precedes the Holy
Week liturgies and called on the world’s priests to bring the healing power of
God’s grace to everyone in need, to stay close to the marginalized, and to be
“shepherds living with the smell of the sheep.” Those priests who do not go out
of themselves by being mediators between God and the people can “gradually
become intermediaries and managers.” When a priest “does not put his own skin and
own heart on the line, he never hears a warm, heartfelt word of thanks from
those he has helped.” The Pope emphasized that he wants people to sense that
the priest is not just concerned with his own congregation, but always seeks to
bring others into the fold.
The type of priesthood the Pope
wants is one where the priest goes to the outskirts where there is suffering,
bloodshed, blindness that longs for sight, and prisoners in thrall to many evil
masters. He is not to grow weary of people’s requests despite how banal, inconvenient,
or purely material they may seem because he needs to look deeper at what is
driving the encounter – the person’s underlying hope and desire for divine
comfort, for being anointed with fragrant oil, since they know the church has
it. When the priest has a vibrant life with God and the people, grace passes
through him and he becomes a mediator of God to them. The power of grace comes
alive and flourishes to the extent that priests go out and gives of himself and
the Gospel to others – giving what little they have to those who have nothing. People
are to leave mass “looking as if they have heard good news.”
While it is true that many priests
today have complex responsibilities thrust upon them, the people need to see
that he is credible. Many priests are saddled with running two or three
parishes at a time and have little real time to give to the real needs of the
people. Not all priests are equally gifted in music, liturgy, giving homilies,
or balancing the parish’s checkbooks, but the people want to see his humanity,
not his excellence. People do not necessarily care if a priest is dressed in
cufflinks and Roman collars because they want to know if they mean something to
the priest, that their real concerns are heard and honored. People want to see
if the priest is a man of prayer and happy in his vocation. For too many
people, their priest does not smile. He does not light up when he sees
parishioners. The smile conveys if he really cares for them. Words matter
little, except when they are offensive, but a genuine smile and spending some
time with the person communicates all that is needed.
The priest is not the only one under
scrutiny as a Good Shepherd. As pastoral ministers and lay associates have
taken on greater leadership of the churches, their style of ministering must
also be one that calls to mind shepherds who live with the smell of the sheep. Often
a priest spends time trying to calm down the culture of the parish because
people are often upset with the way someone spoke to them. He cannot simply be
a manager because his job is outside the parish just as much as it is inside.
Many parishioners are uncomfortable
being referred to as sheep. Good. It was once adequate analogy, but our
maturity makes us too complex today. Some parishioners have greater academic
and theological training than priests and bishops. As fully alive members of the
church, we need to increase our maturity levels and use our learned resources
and skills to mediate conflicts and figure out ways to bring the church
forward. We have all the resources we need; we simply need to realize our power
and authority with greater confidence. We cannot change church structure, but
we can make our lives felt within the church community. This leads to a primary
point of Pope Francis: we need to act joyfully as if we have heard the good
news.
The Gospel keeps everything in
perspective. When we really appreciate the power of the Gospel, life becomes
simplified because we act trustingly towards God and others. We radiate the joy
that the Gospel has touched our hearts and that we know the Good Shepherd will
keep us from all harm and will lead us to even greener pastures. We will trust
ourselves more because we trust God in prayer. The petty divisions of the world
are easily solvable and we focus our time on what makes us happy because it
makes God happy. This happiness that we want to see in priests, we need to get
it for ourselves. This happiness makes us credible because God’s joy is evident
in our smiles. If you really believe in the good news, you will show the world
a confident, assured smile. You will be a Good Shepherd to others.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First
Reading:
Monday:
(Acts 11) The Apostles include the Gentiles into the community after solemn
deliberation. Peter lifts the Jewish dietary laws for them declaring that, “God
granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
Tuesday:
(Acts 11) Those who had been dispersed since the persecution that followed
Stephen’s stoning began proclaiming the story of Jesus Christ to their new
communities. The number of converts increased dramatically.
Wednesday:
(Acts 12) The word of God continued to spread and the number of disciples grew.
At Antioch during prayer, the Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”
Thursday:
(Acts 13) In Perga in Pamphylia, Paul stood up and told the story of God’s
deliverance of the chosen people from bondage and slavery. God’s work continued
in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.
Friday
(Acts 13) The whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord, but strict Jews
opposed Paul and Barnabas and claimed they told the wrong story.
Saturday
(Acts 13) The Gentiles were delighted when Paul and Barnabas opened scripture
for them and those them of their inclusion as God’s elect. Salvation was
accessible to them too.
Gospel:
Monday:
(John 10) The Good Shepherd tales continues as Jesus describes to his friends
the characteristics of a self-interested person who pretends to be a shepherd.
The sheep know and trust the voice of the good shepherd.
Tuesday:
(John 10) During the feast of the Dedication, Jesus declares he is the good
shepherd and that he and the Father are one.
Wednesday
(John 10) Jesus cries out, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but
also in the one who sent me.” Jesus speaks and acts of behalf of the Father.
Thursday
(John 13) Jesus makes “I am” statements and he shows he does the work of the
Father when after he washes the feet of the disciples, he says, “I am.”
Friday
(John 14) In his farewell discourse, Jesus consoles his friends. He tells them
that the is going away but will soon return to take away their fear.
Saturday
(John 14) He reassures that that since they know the mind and heart of Jesus,
they also know the mind and heart of the Father.
Saints of the Week
April
28: Peter Chanel, priest, missionary, martyr (1803-1841), is the first
martyr of the Pacific South Seas. Originally a parish priest in rural eastern
France, he joined the Society of Mary (Marists) to become a missionary in 1831
after a five-year stint teaching in the seminary. At first the missionaries
were well received in the New Hebrides and other Pacific island nations as they
recently outlawed cannibalism. The growth of
white influence placed Chanel under suspicion, which led to an attack on the
missionaries. When the king’s son wanted to be baptized, his anger
erupted and Peter was clubbed to death in protest.
April 28: Louis of Montfort, priest (1673-1716),
dedicated his life to the care of the poor and the sick as a hospital chaplain
in Poitiers, France. He angered the public and the administration when he tried
to organize the hospital women's workers into a religious organization. He was
let go. He went to Rome where the pope gave him the title "missionary
apostolic" so he could preach missions that promoted a Marian and
Rosary-based spirituality. He formed the "Priests of the Company of
Mary" and the "Daughters of Wisdom."
April 29: Catherine of Siena, mystic and doctor of the Church (1347-1380), was the 24th
of 25th children. At an early age, she had visions of guardian
angels and the saints. She became a Third-Order Dominican and persuaded the
Pope to return to Rome from Avignon in 1377. She died at age 33 after receiving
the stigmata.
April 30: Pope Pius V, Pope (1504-1572), is noted for his work in the
Counter-Reformation, the Council of Trent, and the standardization of the Roman
Rite for mass. He was a fierce conservative who prosecuted eight French bishops
for heterodoxy and Elizabeth I for schism. The Holy League he founded defeated
the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto whose success was attributed to the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
May 1: Joseph the Worker was honored by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in an effort
to counteract May Day, a union, worker, and socialist holiday. Many Catholics
believe him to be the patron of workers because he is known for his patience,
persistence, and hard work as admirable qualities that believers should adopt.
May 2: Athanasius, bishop and doctor (295-373), was an Egyptian who
attended the Nicene Council in 325. He wrote about Christ's divinity but this
caused his exile by non-Christian emperors. He wrote a treatise on the
Incarnation and brought monasticism to the West.
This Week in Jesuit History
·
Apr 26,
1935. Lumen Vitae, center for catechetics and religious formation was founded
in Brussels.
·
Apr 27, 1880. On the occasion of the visit of
Jules Ferry, French minister of education, to Amiens, France, shouts were
raised under the Jesuit College windows: "Les Jesuites a la guillotine."
·
Apr 28, 1542. St Ignatius sent Pedro
Ribadeneira, aged fifteen, from Rome to Paris for his studies. Pedro had been
admitted into the Society in l539 or l540.
·
Apr 29, 1933. Thomas Ewing Sherman died in New
Orleans. An orator on the mission band, he was the son of Civil War General
William Tecumseh Sherman. He suffered a breakdown, and wanted to leave the
Society, but was refused because of his ill health. Before his death he renewed
his vows in the Society.
·
Apr 30, 1585. The landing at Osaka of Fr. Gaspar
Coelho. At first the Emperor was favorably disposed towards Christianity. This
changed later because of Christianity's attitude toward polygamy.
·
May 1, 1572. At Rome, Pope St. Pius V dies. His
decree imposing Choir on the Society was cancelled by his successor, Gregory
XIII.
·
May 2, 1706. The death of Jesuit brother G J
Kamel. The camellia flower is named after him.
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