Weekly Reflections
The Ascension of the Lord, June 1, 2025
Jesus promised us that we would not be left alone; we are now the witnesses to this promise
Gospel: Luke 24: 46–53
You are witnesses to these things
Jesus promised us that we would not be left alone; we are now the witnesses to this promise
Luke 24:46–53
He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
Music Meditations
- Nada Te Turbe--Mostar Taize
- Jesus Christ, Yesterday Today and Forever--Mayor McNugget
- Yahweh I Know You Are Near
- Be Not Afraid
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love others as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, you freed yourself from your earthly bonds for the last time as you ascended to your Father. Grant me the grace to have true freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Jesus, open my heart and free me from my selfish preoccupations so that I can hear the message of love and support you gave the disciples, and are giving now, to me. Let me not be distracted from this promise by my everyday cares and worries. Remind me that you are always there and that I can always call on you. Then, give me the energy and the courage to spread the hope of your promise in a world so broken by selfishness and violence.
Companions for the Journey
Commentary on the current gospel from John Kerrigan’s homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord 2012:
Did you ever wonder why the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus—albeit three notable events in his life—get so much attention and yet his ascension hardly ever seems to merit honorable mention? After all, this great ecumenical feast of the Church, which occurs 40 days after Easter, appears equally important even if it is far less well understood. It’s important because the Ascension has very little to do with the absence of Christ, and everything to do with his magnification. Pope Benedict tells us that Jesus was “not transported to another cosmic location.” Rather, his Ascension galvanized his disciples; they became witnesses who resembled thunderbolts in terms of the energy they brought to the task of proclaiming the Good News.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Allow me to take a step back, and ask you to picture with me three short vignettes. The first took place 16 years ago this week. It was Friday, May 24th, 1996, three days after our oldest daughter, Lauren, was born and time to leave the hospital and go home. After months of preparation, days spent devouring numerous books and articles—including the classic “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” putting time aside to baby proof our home, and the wonderful support of hospital staff and family, it was now time for Elizabeth and me to take full responsibility for this beautiful little girl. Among the many emotions I experienced that Friday morning was a genuine fear—one might even say panic—that I was utterly unprepared for this challenging task. Elizabeth and I looked at each other and I said, “It’s our baby, baby!” I suspect many parents have had a similar experience.
Vignette two: a few weeks ago, a Stanford student told me about the end of her first day as a freshman here at The Farm. Here are her words: “That first night, as I lay in bed, I thought to myself, I may never live at home again. I am on my own.” Can any of you identify with this thrilling, and at the same time, intimidating feeling?
This third vignette occurs at Stanford every year just about mid-June when thousands of black robed students in mortarboard hats flow past this Memorial Church, with beaming relatives trailing behind them decked out with cameras and bouquets. It’s graduation time, a time of great celebration. The students will be told many wonderful things, about leadership, about staying true to their ideals…. And implicit in all the speeches is this sobering point: now, perhaps for the first time in your life, you are going to be held responsible. After graduation parties have wound down, and academic gowns have been turned in, it may come as a shock for many graduates that from here on out the responsibility of making decisions and putting their lives together, getting jobs, paying off loans, even folding their clothes, rests no longer on parents or teachers, advisors or counselors, but on themselves. Life: “it’s your baby, baby!”
The joys and apprehensions felt by new parents, or a first-year or graduating student, are, I suspect, similar to the emotions experienced by the disciples described in today’s reading from Scripture. For a period of time after Christ’s death and resurrection, the apostles and disciples would encounter the risen Christ in unexpected places—in the upper room, or at the seashore of Lake Tiberius, or on the Road to Emmaus. But gradually these encounters grew less frequent, until finally they stopped altogether and the apostles realized that they were on their own. They couldn’t run to Jesus and ask “What do we do now?” Or “what’s next on the agenda? Where do we go next week to attend the sick or preach the Gospel?” No, now they had to figure that out for themselves.
This is the meaning of the feast of the Ascension: it marks that point in the mystery of Easter when the apostles realized that Jesus was now in the full embrace of God’s love, or as the readings put it, had been taken up into heaven. Neither they nor we are going to see him again until the end of time. This message is also clear: don’t stand there staring at the sky; the ball is in your court now! And whether they know it or not, the disciples are more than ready for the ball to be in their court. For over the past 40 days after Easter, we’ve been hearing about the transformation of Jesus’s followers from tentative, afraid and anxious men and women into persons who resemble thunderbolts in their zeal to proclaim and witness to the Good News.
Well, the ball is in our court too. The Feast of the Ascension reminds us each year that the apprenticeship is over; we’re the witnesses now. Whether you and I feel strong and firm in our faith, or like so many, have as many questions and doubts as answers—you and I are the ones chosen to make God’s love known, not throughout Judea and Samaria, but here in Palo Alto and the Bay Area, or in the daily asceticism of our academic disciplines and professional lives.
And when we do so with the vigor of these early disciples, these thunderbolts, we like Jesus before us will find ourselves more and more in the full embrace of God’s love.
Further reflection:
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
You are witnesses to these things
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- Have I ever felt bereft and abandoned by someone’s leaving my life?
Did my life change?
Did I turn outward to others and the world or did I withdraw into myself?
Which response is more like that of the Apostles? - Do I see Jesus’ ascension as his liberation of the smallness of a world which could no longer contain him?
Can I look at the death of someone I know or love in the same way and rejoice for them?
Why is this hard? - How well do you keep your promises?
Has anyone ever broken a promise to you?
Has Jesus? - What does it mean to me to “witness” something?
Is it a passive observation or a more active testimony?
Which am I more comfortable with? - I think of something I have experienced (religious or not) that I want to witness to.
- In what ways am I a witness (an active sign) of God’s presence in the world?
In what ways is my witness to Christ a declaration of faith, and in what ways is my witness a more active testimony?
How can I carry the reality of Christ to those around me? - Where does prayer fit in?
- In what ways is my Church a witness to the risen Christ?
In what ways could the Church do a better job?
Do I believe that I am Church; that witnessing to Christ is my responsibility as well that of the ordained or other leaders? - ”God has not called you to be a successful witness; God has called you to be a faithful one (adapted from Mother Teresa of Calcutta). Has a personal feeling of inexperience, lack of theological training or gift for ministry held me back?
What can I do to change this? - Jesus’ leaving could bring fear and doubt to the disciples, as expressed by another gospel account of this event. How is Joy an antidote to doubt and fear and a sign of trust in the promises of Jesus?
- A theme of this week’s reading is JOY. How do I radiate the joy of the Gospel?
- In the Lord’s Prayer, we wish that God’s will be done here as well as in heaven—we wish for a meeting of heaven and earth.
How does this come about, and what is my role in the transformation of the world?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
Adapted from Praying with Julian of Norwich by Gloria Durka, pp 64-66:
Julian of Norwich: Just so [Our Lord] said in the last words with perfect fidelity, alluding to us all: You will not be overcome, And all his teaching and this true strengthening apply generally to all my fellow Christians, as is said before and so it’s the will of God.
And these words: you will not be overcome, were said very insistently and strongly, for certainty and strength against every tribulation which may come. He did not say: You will not be troubled, you will not be belabored, you will not be disquieted; but he said: you will not be overcome. (Showings, p. 315)
I reflect on the stresses and anxieties of my life and ask myself which are truly important. What can worrying do to alleviate the situation? I pray this litany in such times:
In all my anxious moments, O God.I know I shall not be overcome.
In all my fears, O God,
I know I shall not be overcome.
In all my attempts at peacemaking, O God
I know I shall not be overcome.
In a world where there is so much suffering,
You will overcome, O God.
In a world of dying hopes,
You will overcome, O God.
(Continue the litany with your own worries, and concerns, ending each with your statement of trust in God.)
Spend a few minutes of silent communion with the God who loves you so very much and cares for you absolutely, followed by the Lord’s Prayer, in which we say “Your will be done”.
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
Read the following spectacular apocalyptic scene by the prophet Daniel (7:13-14) and the adapted commentary from the Irish Jesuits:
I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed.
If we were to think very schematically, we might say we have two styles of Christian living here: let’s call them Resurrection-Christianity and Kingdom-Christianity. (I am sketching here ‘ideal types’ for the sake of reflection and these should not be taken as applying to any individual or group in particular, still less as criteria for some kind of orthodoxy.) Resurrection-Christianity would focus, obviously, on the Resurrection, on the fact that Christ has overcome death and won eternal life for those who believe in Him. Kingdom-Christianity is more attentive to the arrival of the Kingdom of God, in other words a state of affairs abroad in the world, such that a new source of power and of ultimate authority is enabling and challenging human beings to allow themselves to be transformed, to receive ‘eternal life.’
What, for me, are the implications of a focused and prolonged imaginative effort to contemplate the world under the aspect of the Kingdom of Christ?
How do I discern in depth the difference that this truth makes: i.e. that it calls me to become a servant of Christ’s mission? Specifically, to what am I called as guardian of The Kingdom here on earth? How am I living out this mission?
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
Imagine that you are one of the disciples, returning from that scene on the mountain where Jesus disappeared forever. What do you remember about his final words, and how you felt to see him leave? What questions are in your mind at this point—such issues as “Is it really over?”, or “Who will lead us now?”, or “Am I willing to commit to this group to complete what Jesus started?”, or “Is it time for me to go back home, to my former life?” What joy do I feel as I move forward with our mission? What gives me that joy? What do I say to my friends? What do I tell our followers? How do those in the temple receive our message?
In my own 21st-century life, all I have is the story of Jesus that those before me have told. Do I believe it? If so, how do I live out my call to carry on the work of Jesus and the early disciples? Compose a prayer, asking Jesus to give you the tools you need to spread the joy of the gospel, and to give you the energy you need to change the world, to make a difference.
Poetic Reflection
How does this poem comfort us with an understanding that a) there is life after death, and b) that Jesus is with us still?
“Ascension”
And if I go,
while you’re still here…
Know that I live on,
vibrating to a different measure
—behind a thin veil you cannot see through.
You will not see me,
so you must have faith.
I wait for the time when we can soar together again,
—both aware of each other.
Until then, live your life to its fullest.
And when you need me,
Just whisper my name in your heart,
…I will be there.—Colleen Hitchcock
Poetic Reflection:
This poem by Mary Oliver examines what our role is now that Jesus is no longer among us. Do you see yourself in this description of someone who carries a deeply joyful message of God's goodness and love?
“Messenger”
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.
Closing Prayer
Let me not be afraid of joy, O Lord, and help me to live that joy every moment. Help me to move beyond fear to hope. Hope in your love, hope in your presence among us, hope in our world. Help me spread joy and hope.
Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 25, 2025
Jesus brings peace; trust Him and preserve His legacy
Gospel: John 14: 23–29
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you
Jesus brings peace; trust Him and preserve His legacy
John 14:23–29
Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.
“I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”
Music Meditations
- Be Not Afraid—John Michael Talbot
- Make me a Channel of your Peace--Susan Boyle
- A Gaelic Blessing (Deep Peace) John Rutter--performed a cappella by Julie Gaulke
- Hold me in Life—OCP Session Choir
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love others as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love, in peace and harmony with those around me. Give me the freedom of spirit to love those I really do not like
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
—St. Francis of Assisi
Companions for the Journey
It is hard to leave a place where you have been for a period of your life, especially when you have formed close ties. Someone said to me recently, “I hate goodbyes. I find them very difficult.” She said it in a way that suggested this was unique to her and not what almost everyone feels. Who doesn’t “hate goodbyes?” Unless a person is glad to get out of a destructive relationship, or a very difficult situation, I don’t know anyone who finds farewells easy. Most of us look forward to them with sadness and dread. Even people I have known who are moving to a promising future---marriage, a better job, a new home---still feel pain about packing up and leaving. They know they are leaving a known world behind for an uncertain future. Anyone who has invested themselves in friends and place knows the poignancy of saying “farewell.” When the time comes for parting we try to soften the pain of the moment. “I’ll visit when I can.” “I’ll call you often.” “We’ll spend vacation time together.” “You’ll have to visit the first chance you get.” Though we do intend to do just what we say, we often have a fear that time and distance will make it hard to maintain the close ties with family and friends we have known. We will do our best to adapt to new circumstances and relationships and in doing that we may have to let go of at least some of what once was. It’s dreadful! One positive note, though: those we have loved in our past make it possible for us to leave and give us the courage to set down roots again.
In today’s gospel Jesus and his disciples are at table. It is the Last Supper and we are in the midst of the Last Discourse (chapters 13-17). From what Jesus has been telling them the disciples can’t miss the solemnity, indeed the heaviness, of the moment. He is going away and they will no longer have him with them in the ways they have become accustomed . He says he is going “to prepare a place for you” (14:3). Just before today’s passage Jesus reassures them, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come back to you.” When we say our farewells we try to assure the ones we are leaving that we will stay in touch. And we do our best to do just that. We don’t want to lose those we love. Jesus is expressing the same kind of sentiment; but he will keep his promise to “stay in touch” in ways the disciples cannot imagine at this point. “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Jesus doesn’t want us to have to rely just on his disciples’ recollections of him---who he was for them and what he taught them. He knows that being the mere humans they and we are, these memories will fade and weaken over time, especially when life tests our faith and hard times threaten to break our ties with him.
Jesus is saying a very unique goodbye. He is leaving his beloved band of followers, but promises to be with them in the future in a new way. He has to go, he tells them but, “...I will come back to you.” Jesus isn’t just saying, “Cheer up, things won’t be so bad.” Actually things are going to get quite bad for him and them. But he is assuring them that the coming of the Holy Spirit will keep their relationship vibrant because the Spirit will be the bond that holds them together in love with him and his Father.
When will Jesus return? Isn’t that the question long-suffering Christians have asked through the ages? Who knows how and when he will. But in his farewell to his disciples he assures them that he will return and he so he does, because God sends them the gift of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit, Advocate and Comforter brings Christ’s presence to us, helps us understand who he is, what he is doing among us and what he expects of us. Jesus promises that God will send the Spirit and what Jesus was to them, the Spirit will be to the Church. Jesus taught his disciples much; the Spirit will continue teaching the Church. Jesus showed his disciples how to love; the Spirit will make that love possible among them. Jesus’ words are in danger of being forgotten; the Spirit will “remind” the disciples of what Jesus taught and continue to teach them in succeeding generations.
What is extraordinary about Jesus’ farewell is his gift of peace to his disciples. The disciples are not having an ordinary meal together; nor is Jesus bidding them, “Good night. Peace, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Instead he offers them peace in the light of the chaos about to enter their lives with his capture and death. He says he doesn’t give them the peace the world offers. That’s good because when things fall apart the world can give us nothing to sustain our spirits and calm our fears. Jesus’ peace take a very specific form: he will return to be with them. His Holy Spirit will strengthen them for what they are about to face and what we, their descendants, will face in the ages to come.
We know the kind of peace we need these days and it is a peace only Jesus’ Spirit can confer. We need wise leaders who can bring God’s peace despite the failures at peacemaking we are encountering in the world. We need the Spirit to bring healing to our troubled and wounded Church. We need a peace-rendering Spirit to draw together our parishes that are divided by arguments large and small. We need a Spirit that will renew our conviction that our Savior is the Prince of Peace, so that we can bring his peace into our families, schools and workplaces. We also need the Spirit’s vision to appreciate the peacemaker and non-violent folks in our midst whose voices and actions are often ridiculed as being naive or ignored because their ways seem “impractical in our modern world.”
No, we don’t have Jesus’ physical presence with us the way the first disciples did who sat around the table, witnessed his washing their feet and listened to his reassuring promises. His farewell to them was a true farewell. He would no longer be with them as he had been. But they and we would have to believe that he is present in a different way with us in the Holy Spirit, God’s gift to us, just as Jesus promised. If we can trust in the Spirit’s presence with us now, then we will have peace in whatever turmoil we or the church face. Easier said than done! This peace is not something we can manufacture for ourselves. It is a gift, or inheritance from Jesus who doesn’t want to “lose touch” with us. Can we be open to that Spirit now and receive the gift that keeps our ties with Christ strong? That’s something we pray for at this Eucharist and in these days leading up to Pentecost.
Further reflection:
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- This discourse from the Last Supper, is Jesus’ long goodbye to his faithful friends of three years.
How hard has it been for me to say goodbye to either persons or to a time in my life from which I had to move on?
What promises did I make to those I was leaving behind?
Have I kept in touch with them or forgotten them? What does that say about me? - How does clinging to the past make it hard for us to let go, to embrace the “new” in our lives?
How does nostalgic clinging to the past or over-anxiety about the future keep us from living in the present? - Do I think Jesus ever had moments of anxiety, of worry, of fear, of loneliness?
What do I think brought Him peace?
What can bring me peace? - What does “peace” mean to me?
Is peace just the absence of war?
What do I think is the connection between peace and justice? - Is peace something we passively receive as a gift from God?
- How is the word “peace” related to my right relationship with God?
Just what IS a right relationship with God? - Do I see keeping Jesus’ word as a challenge or as a joy?
- From Walter Burghardt, S.J.:
Peace is your communion with God. Evaluate this definition in terms of your own personal life:
What wars have you ended in your backyard or your bedroom? - Do others think of me as an agent of peace?
What landmines of enmity and hate have I defused in my dorm, home, or office? - Jesus said “Do not let your hearts be afraid”. What am I fearful about?
Have I ever experienced the presence of Jesus in the midst of fear?
Have I tried? - Even the church of the disciples was plagued by divisions and rifts. Can calm and conflict be two different ways of the Spirit speaking to the Church?
What disturbs the peace of my church right now?
How am I helping to be a peaceful presence in the life of the Church? - Is anyone freer to laugh because you have swallowed your pride?
- Who was hungry for food or affection that you have personally fed?
- Who thirsts for justice and feels more human because you are there?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
In order to experience the peace of Christ, to feel His real presence, we need to open our hearts to others. Pick one concrete action you can perform this week to really SHARE the peace of Christ with another. Pray for the insight to see where your Christian heart is needed and go the extra distance to change a situation or a person you encounter. Especially pray for Ukraine and the suffering that they are enduring. If you can think of some small way to help, do so.
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
Adapted from “Sacred Space” 2022, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
Spend a few moments and let these words of Jesus speak to the deepest part of your heart, your life:
“Do not let your heart be troubled.” What worries me right now? What makes me sad right now? Is there anything I can do to mitigate the situation? I pray for guidance, for acceptance, for trust that Jesus is with me now and forever. I just sit with that notion, thanking Jesus for his ongoing presence in my life.
“Peace I leave you.” What do I mean by peace? What particular kind of peace am I praying for at this moment? Whose peace am I praying for right now? Can I believe that Jesus brings peace because Jesus IS peace?
I breathe quietly, in silence, without words, just resting in the presence of an all-loving God who desires my happiness.
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
In Murder in the Cathedral, written by T.S. Eliot, Thomas Becket in his Christmas sermon said: “Does it seem strange to you that the angels should have announced Peace, when ceaselessly the world has been stricken with War and the Fear of War? Does it seem to you that the angelic voices were mistaken, and that the promise was a disappointment and a cheat?”
In the history I recall, where has the promise clashed with reality? In the news I consume daily, where has the promise clashed with reality? Why is that? Where do you spy peace on earth? Is peace really possible? Is peace another word that allows us to live at ease with the great divide between the hope and the reality, without looking at our role or our county’s role in the anger and hate that fuels so many conflagrations, international, national, and personal? How easy is it to blame “the other” for lack of peace? Where does forgiveness fit in? I spend some time praying for insight, courage and generosity of spirit which would help me be a better missionary of peace.
Poetic Reflections:
Most of the poems we run across, unfortunately, are describing or lamenting all the ways in which peace has been absent in human history. Here are a few:
“Tragic Error”
The earth is the Lord’s, we gabbed, and the fullness thereof– while we looted and pillaged, claiming indemnity: the fullness thereof given over to us, to our use– while we preened ourselves, sure of our power, willful or ignorant, through the centuries. Miswritten, misread, that charge: subdue was the false, the misplaced word in the story. Surely we were to have been earth’s mind, mirror, reflective source. Surely our task was to have been to love the earth, to dress and keep it like Eden’s garden. That would have been our dominion: to be those cells of earth’s body that could perceive and imagine, could bring the planet into the haven it is to be known, (as the eye blesses the hand, perceiving it form and the work it can do).”
—Denise Levertov, from The Evening Train
“Land of the Death Squads”
The vultures thrive, clustered in lofty blue above refuse-dumps where humans too search for food, dreading what else may be found. Noble their wingspread, hideous their descent to those who know what they may feast on: sons, daughters, and meanwhile, the quetzal, bird of life, gleaming green, glittering red, is driven always further, higher, into remote ever-dwindling forests.
—Denise Levertov, from a Door in the Hive
“We Are Saviors”
We have saved the world from political systems or economic systems or social systems of which we do not approve. We call it “our national honor”.
We have saved the world From oppression by people we do not like by giving our young people guns and allowing them to commit unspeakable atrocities on ordinary, everyday people in the name of liberation. We call it “the price of freedom”.
We have saved the world From evil regimes in country after country, from Flanders fields to Vietnam, from Ancient Palestine to Iraq, and left each place worse than when we found it. We call it “collateral damage”.
We have saved the world from sin and error from age to age, from the Spain of the Inquisition to the ovens of Auschwitz, and purified the world by taking people out of it. We call it “doing God’s work”.
At the end, we have saved nobody not this current generation not the children of the future not even ourselves, who have become what we have hated in others. We never learn.
Poetic Reflection:
Poet, environmentalist, farmer (and a former Stanford Stegner Fellow), Wendell Berry seeks nature as an antidote to his anxiety about his future and that of his family:
“The Peace of Wild Things”
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the woodrake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.—Wendell Berry from Collected Poems
Closing Prayer
From “Sacred Space”:
This is how you work with me, Lord. The Holy Spirit does not whisper new tidings in my ear, but rather reminds me of you, of your life and your words, so that gradually I put on Christ. We only learn what we already know. Help us to know your peace.
Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 18, 2025
Our final command from Jesus: we are to love others as Jesus loved us
Gospel: John 13: 31–33a, 34–35
Love one another as I have loved you
Our final command from Jesus: we are to love others as Jesus loved us.
John 13:31–33a, 34–35
Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately. Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Music Meditations
- Love One Another --Bob Dufford, SJ
- Ubi Caritas-Ola Gjeilo
- Love One Another-Mormon Tabernacle Choir
- Hold Us Together--Matt Maher ( Christian Rock)
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2015
Presence of God:
I bring myself into your presence, O God.
May I always take time to notice and enjoy
the beauty you have created
for my pleasure.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
I try to let go of any prejudices and narrow mindedness
That may be clouding my vision at this present moment.
I hand them over to God’s merciful care,
So I can pray in freedom at this time.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Grant, O Lord, that I may be conscious
and grateful for all the good things you have given to me.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Lord, help me to understand what it means to love, to understand that love is not a sentimental feeling but an action. Give me the grace to spend time with you and your disciples in this post-resurrection season learning how you loved them, and how in turn, they loved others after you were gone. Give me the generosity of spirit to think of others beside myself and to show them the compassion Jesus showed Peter, John and the rest of humanity.
Companions for the Journey
From “Living Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
In the Gospel Jesus speaks of the foundation and heart of his teaching and message. These are his parting words to his disciples before he goes to his passion and death. What is this message? Is it to be faithful in keeping the Ten Commandments and leading a moral life? Not exactly. Does he warn us to be sure to be in church every Sunday and to go to confession regularly? Not really. Does he tell us to use all our energies in loving God? Surprisingly, perhaps, no!
What he does tell us is to love other people—and to love them as he has loved us. This, he says, is a “new” commandment. The Hebrew Testament told us to love God with our whole heart and soul and so on; and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus has added a new element in telling us that the true test of discipleship is to love other people in the same way that he has loved us. And we might remember that these words lead the way to the “greatest possible love” that a person can show, that is, by letting go of one’s very life for others. This Jesus will very dramatically portray in the terrible suffering and degradation which he will submit to out of love for us, out of love for ME.
The only valid test: To incorporate that level of love in my life will surely call for a new way of thinking, of seeing, of behaving and of interacting with other people. And it will be the test, the only valid test, of whether I truly love God as well. Is this really the way, is this the frame of mind in which I live my normal day? Or rather, let me say, is this the way we—who dare to call ourselves Christians—live our normal days?
For it is clear that the disciple of Christ is not primarily an individual person but an inter-person. I am defined as a disciple not by how I individually behave, by my personal moral life, but by how I inter-act with other people. The solitary Christian is a contradiction in terms because the Christian is only to be measured by the way he/she loves and that love, by definition, involves other people. I am my relationships.
What is love?: The word “love”, of course, can lead to misunderstandings. The word is used by us mainly in contexts which imply deep affection, emotional attraction and a good feeling when the beloved is around or even just thought of. That is not quite the meaning of the word in this context. The word that is used by John in this passage is agape (pronounced ‘aga-pay’ (Greek: ἀγάπη)). This is not, strictly speaking, love in the mutual or romantic sense. Rather, it implies a reaching out to others in a caring attitude for their wellbeing, irrespective of whether there will be a similar response by the other. It is the compassion that Jesus shows for the sinner and the evil person. It would be difficult for me to love a Hitler, a Stalin, a serial rapist killer or child abuser in the first sense. It would have no meaning and Jesus does not expect me to create such an artificial attitude.
Loving enemies: On the other hand, in terms of deep caring for the good of another, I can certainly “love” Hitler, Stalin, the murdering rapist or any other person who causes me difficulties, who I believe has hurt me or failed me or who simply behaves in a way which I cannot accept as good. This is what makes it possible for me to “love” my “enemies” and to pray for them and to wish God’s blessings on them so that they may change their ways (not to suit me but for their own wellbeing and bring them back into harmony with God’s way). It is why the true Christian disciple does not in fact have enemies. This is what Jesus is doing in praying for forgiveness for those who were nailing him to the cross. He loves them then not as close friends obviously, but as people who truly needed enlightenment about what they were doing not just to him but to themselves. Jesus cared, he had a deep sense of agape at that moment. In the First Reading, from the Acts, we see another form of agape on the part of two early missionaries, Paul and Barnabas. They went through all kinds of hardships and misunderstandings so that the message and vision of Jesus might be communicated to as many people as they could reach. And to those who were already Christians they gave support and encouragement to persevere in their Christian convictions. In this sense, then, can people say of me that I am a truly loving, caring and forgiving person? A redeeming person, a person who makes hurt people whole again? It is all that Jesus, on the threshold of his suffering and death, asks of me and nothing else. It is not impossible, it is not hopelessly idealistic, it does not require massive willpower and self-control. What it does require is a change of attitude, of the way I see the world, others, myself. It is through this constant love-centered interaction among each other that the “new earth, the new heaven and the new Jerusalem” can begin to come into existence. It is in our hands. And we have a perfect example in Jesus our Lord. As disciples of Jesus, imbued with his message of agape, loving in the way that he loved us, we are called to do the same—to give support to our fellow disciples and to share our faith and our love with as many people as possible.
I might reflect today on the ways I personally fail to be a loving, caring, compassionate and understanding person. Who are the people I really love and care for? Who are the people I cannot bring myself to love and care for—and why? Who are the people I never even think of loving and caring for—and why? Do I only love the people of my own race, my own class, my own religion? Do I care for anybody outside the circle of my family and immediate friends? Do I love and care for my family members? Whom do I regard as my friends and why? Do I love and care in any tangible way for people who need my care—however indirectly—even though I do not know them and they can give me nothing in return, e.g. the poor, the addicted, the exploited and marginalized in my own and other societies? Finally, do I really love myself? A great deal of our difficulty in extending love and especially forgiveness to others is our own insecurity, the fragility of our egos, which can be so easily hurt. Only those persons who are fully convinced that they are themselves lovable can reach out comfortably and unconditionally to love others.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
Love one another as I have loved you
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- Have you ever been in a life situation (marriage, having a child, divorce, serious illness, losing someone you love, graduating from school, moving to a different location far away etc.) that made you feel as though you were leaving one phase of your life and entering another?
Was it difficult?
Were your sad about leaving some folks you loved behind?
Did you stay close to them anyway? - Has anyone you loved moved on to a new situation which took him or her away from you physically or emotionally?
Did you feel sad, lonely, abandoned?
How did you manage to stay close?
Was the effort one sided? How does that work? - How do you think Jesus felt when Judas left the group in order to betray Jesus?
What is the “darkness” that Jesus might have experienced, knowing that He had “lost” Judas?
How could he continue to love Judas? - Have I ever felt I had to be rich or beautiful or accomplished in order to be recognized or loved?
- Have you ever had anyone in your life whom it was difficult to love?
Have you ever been difficult to love at times in your life? - How does it feel to contemplate that God makes a dwelling with the human race (Revelation reading)?
- How do you describe “love”? Can you love someone you don’t actually like or admire?
What do you think is the difference between love and affection?
Is your idea of love a feeling that is reciprocated?
How do you deal with having your attempts at love rejected by someone? - We witness to the love of Jesus by who we are, by what we do with our lives and how we treat others. In what ways is my life a witness to the love Jesus talks about?
In what ways can I improve? - Have you ever had to employ tough love with a friend or relative?
- Someone said that love without justice is sentimentality. Do you agree or disagree?
- Jesus (Luke 8) said: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” Father Bausch said love is not repaid, is passed on. Can you think of an instance where you passed on to another love that was freely extended to you?
- When is love tough?
- Love in community has its own set of challenges: Choosing the collective good over individual good Loving those you don’t like Forgiving those who hurt you or others Being an active witness of this community love (”See how they love one another”) Actually doing justice Which of these do I find the most difficult to live out?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
Adapted from Living Space 2022, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
The word “new” appears several times in today’s readings. The passage from Revelation speaks of a “new” heaven, a “new” earth and a “new” Jerusalem. Jesus in the Gospel speaks of a “new” commandment. What’s supposed to be “new”? A new life in Christ, of course, is something that can come early or late into the life of a person. For many saints it came after quite a long period of loose and immoral living without God. St Augustine and St Ignatius Loyola come to mind. For others, like Therese of Lisieux, it came relatively early. She was already a saint when she died at the tender age of 24. For most of us, it is something that may come in waves. In other words, it will not be a once-for-all experience but something that comes at different stages in our life, each time bringing us to a deeper level of understanding, insight and commitment.
Easter is the time when we both remember and celebrate the new life which has come to us through our Risen Lord. The “new life” that the Scripture speaks of is also referred to as “conversion”, a turning round, or, in Greek meta-noia (μετάνοια). It means a radical change of vision, of our priorities in life. It means new attitudes, new values, new standards of relating with God and with people and indeed with our whole living environment of which we are a synergistic part.
What do you understand this “new life” to mean ? Can you say that you have experienced this “new life” this Easter or, for that matter, in any previous Easter? Are you aware of becoming changed in any way—for the better—over the years? Or has the Easter experience simply passed you by? Speak to Jesus about his promise of a new life, and what your response might be.
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
The Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke the Evangelist, chronicles the ups and downs of the Church Jesus left behind, and a little later, of the Church the apostles left behind. Can you recall any examples of disagreements among various members of the early Church? How were they handled? What are some examples of ways in which the early Church communities lived out the command of Jesus, in spite of some real differences? Today’s first reading illustrates that Paul and Barnabas, through their love for Jesus and his message, spread the good news over 1200 miles, and still answered to their fellow Christians about their successes and failures.
Thomas Bokenkotter’s A Concise History of the Catholic Church is not so very concise at some 430 pages, but you might find some chapters very interesting and informative. And remember, we are dealing with over 2000 years of history, with theological and personal differences which at times the Church was unified and cohesive and at times rendered it riven by animosity and even violence.
From Jude Siciliano, O.P.:
What is the situation in our local churches? How are we like or unlike the community in Acts? Are the poor, uneducated, ill, disabled, unemployed, at home among us? Do some people come to church for years and never feel like they really belong? Some people say the hour in church on Sunday is the most segregated time of the week. Do minorities, refugees, and others feel a part of us? Are convicts visited by our faithful?
What are some of the issues in the contemporary Church that sometimes seem divisive? If you have attended any of the Synod listening sessions, you may have seen some differences of opinion in those very discussion groups. Can you think of any?
What are some constructive ways to handle the deeply different opinions and visions of the Church without slipping into divisiveness and hostility?
Does it help to remember that none of us gets to say who is the real Catholic in the room?
Does it help to assume the integrity, intelligence and good will of the person with whom I disagree?
Does it help to give the other person’s opinion the respect it deserves?
Can we have a discussion without becoming argumentative, or worse, enemies?
Can others say of us: “See how they love one another…”?
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
Has anyone in my life been a mirror of God’s love for me? Have I ever told that person how much his or her unconditional love means to me? Have I ever withheld love from someone who clearly wanted my love? What was the reason—I disapproved of his actions, or her personality irritated me or I simply saw that it gave me power over another? What do I do now?
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
Imagine that you are one of the disciples, and it is becoming clear that Jesus will not be with you for very much longer. How do you feel about having him go out of your life at this point? What are the things you want to say to him? What do you want to ask him? Are you comforted by the words of today’s gospel? Sit with Jesus a while and share your feelings about your desire to stay close to him and to do his will.
Literary Reflection:
Read the Following poem by Thomas Centolella. What does it say to you about Jesus’ exhortation to love one another?
“In The Evening We Shall Be Examined On Love”
-St. John of the CrossAnd it won’t be multiple choice,
though some of us would prefer it that way.
Neither will it be essay, which tempts us to run on
when we should be sticking to the point, if not together.
In the evening there shall be implications
our fear will turn to complications. No cheating,
we’ll be told and we’ll try to figure the cost of being true
to ourselves. In the evening when the sky has turned
that certain blue, blue of exam books, blue of no more
daily evasions, we shall climb the hill as the light empties
and park our tired bodies on a bench above the city
and try to fill in the blanks. And we won’t be tested
like defendants on trial, cross-examined
till one of us breaks down, guilty as charged. No,
in the evening, after the day has refused to testify,
we shall be examined on love like students
who don’t even recall signing up for the course
and now must take their orals, forced to speak for once
from the heart and not off the top of their heads.
And when the evening is over and it’s late,
the student body asleep, even the great teachers
retired for the night, we shall stay up
and run back over the questions, each in our own way:
what’s true, what’s false, what unknown quantity
will balance the equation, what it would mean years from now
to look back and know
we did not fail.(from Lights & Mysteries)
Closing Prayer
Lord, there are so many in this world who need the kind of love Jesus showed his disciples: the lonely, the ill, the poor, the depressed, those suffering from war and violence in their lives. Help me to move from sentimental pity to actually putting my feelings into action, Open my eyes to those in my life who are in need of my generous, and maybe even sacrificial, love. Help me to reach out to those outside my own circle of friends and family to address the vast needs of a world broken by hate and greed. Help me to be your love in my world.
Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 11, 2025
I know Jesus’ voice and I follow Him
Gospel: John 10: 27–30
My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me
I know Jesus’ voice and I follow Him
John 10:27–30
“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.”
Notes:
- [10:29] The textual evidence for the first clause is very divided; it may also be translated: “As for the Father, what he has given me is greater than all,” or “My Father is greater than all, in what he has given me.”
- [10:30] This is justification for Jn 10:29; it asserts unity of power and reveals that the words and deeds of Jesus are the words and deeds of God.
Music Meditations
- Psalm 23—John Rutter
- Shepherd Me O God—Marty Haugen
- My Shepherd will supply my need—BYU choir or Mormon Tabernacle Choir
- Prayer of St Patrick for Chorus-—Cambridge Singers (John Rutter)
- Even When You’re Running—Casting Crowns
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your care for me, constantly shepherding me to what is good for me and for this world. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. May the freedom I desire never encourage me to step away from your loving guidance.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with Jesus? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of Jesus and of those whom I have hurt. Jesus, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always fully conscious of your presence in my life.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
“Speak Lord your servant is listening”.
Help me to make my daily prayer be the same as that of the prophet Samuel. Help me to be open to your voice, even when it says thinks I do not want to hear, but need to hear. Help me to trust you as one who cares for me utterly and who ultimately provides all that I need for this life. Help me to trust in your goodness and love.
Companions for the Journey
Reflection from the Torch Project Campus Ministry at DePaul University:
As Catholics, we know that God is always there, but there are certain times when it is easier to be aware of this than others. Let’s face it, when we feel hurt, rejected, unloved, or lost, it can be overwhelmingly difficult to see God’s light. Similarly, when we follow through with various temptations or fail to come to God in times of distress, we may end up straying away with him, like the single lost sheep that escaped from the shepherd, only to end up feeling shame and unworthiness.
However, there is a beautiful song by Casting Crowns titled “Even When You’re Running” that focuses on these very times. The chorus goes like so:
His love is inescapable. His presence is unshakable. Right now you don’t believe it’s true. A better day is coming. And you don’t need another place to hide. He’ll find you in your darkest night. His love is holding on to you. Even when you’re running.
See, we may run, but God will follow. We may make mistakes, but absolutely nothing you confess could make Him love you less. Truly, you are His child and no one, no person, no temptation, no sin, can ever take that away from you. After all, “Your fear isn’t dark enough, Your pit isn’t deep enough, Your lie isn’t loud enough, to keep Him away from you.” Let me share some insight from my youth minister, Amy Hodson. She once asked me: “Is the (Father, Son,) Holy Spirit present in this room? Right now?” I said, “Well, yeah.” She said, “Okay. Was the Holy Spirit present in this room 10 minutes ago?” “Yes,” I said. She said, “Exactly. The Spirit is always present, but we are not always mindful or conscious of this. However, when we take the time to be mindful, and to simply remember this, we can truly grasp the fact that we are never alone.”
And so, as long we get up and try. And try. And try once more to be mindful of this presence throughout the course of our lives, we will be rewarded by the Father with everlasting life. In your next time of loneliness or struggle, I encourage you to do this: Close your eyes and pray. Pray, and look for your shepherd. Do you see Him? He is waiting right in front of you with his arms wide open.
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
- Do I really feel that Jesus knows me, and loves me as I am?
- What does Jesus’ presence in my life mean to me?
- Do I feel that I have to do all the work in this relationship I have with Jesus?
What needs to happen for this belief to change?
Is there anything I can do to be more aware of Jesus’ love and concern for me? - People under stress can feel very insecure and may even doubt that God is watching over them. What events in the world may cause people to be stressed?
What events in my life can make me feel stressed?
Have I ever suffered failure and/or rejection? How did I handle it? - Reflect on what it means for you to be in Jesus’ care, and what it means for our world to be in Jesus’ care. Then think of Jesus’ request to Peter in last week’s gospel: “Feed my Sheep”. What sort of shepherd are you called to be, now, today?
- Sometimes, the reference to non-clergy as “sheep” and the clergy as “shepherds” seems to imply that we are too stupid to think for ourselves; our job is to do what we are told. Some find this demeaning. Do you?
In what ways are the priests and bishops that I have met been good shepherds of the people in their care?
In what ways have they failed?
We need to be honest about this if we are going to take Jesus seriously. - Do you think that salvation is personal or communal. Or both?
- Do you have a sense of “belonging” to a group of friends, your family, or your church community—(your flock)?
How do you contribute to the whole of each group? How are you accepted and treated by each group?
Which group do you feel most a part of?
Why is that?
Is there any group that you feel left out of?
Why is that, do you think? - Can I hear the Shepherd as he speaks to me in our world through modern prophets and witnesses, as well as through those closest to me—those in my very household, or school, or place of employment?
- Can I hear the Shepherd’s voice in our church community?
- Can I BE the Shepherd’s voice in my community?
Will this synodal process we are engaging in help me to answer this question?
Meditations
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
This gospel reading presents a very popular image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. And what a lovely image it is! Immortalized also in the beautiful Psalm 23 from Jewish scriptures, it depicts a God who watches over me: He leads me, he guides me, he soothes me, he prepares a table for me he anoints me. How wonderful it is to be loved and to be taken care of this way. But we cannot live forever in that idyllic and childlike space where we have no cares, no worries, no responsibilities. Life just is not like that. After a while, we grow weary of being sheep—needy, simple, passive.
This image of dependency has, unfortunately, been one which has been encouraged by religion, even the Catholic religion. Over the centuries, says Father Jude Sciliano, O.P., we have paid less attention to the voice that speaks to the entire community/flock and instead have placed the major responsibility for hearing God’s Word and teaching it on the clergy and hierarchy. This often allowed religious leaders to think of themselves, not as shepherds, but as sheepdogs, barking and snarling at those who strayed, biting at the heels of those who might be getting out of line. The end result is a timid and tentative people of God who think of themselves as recipients rather than as participants. We have become consumers of the religious experience, having others think and act and sometimes pray in our stead.
This consumer mentality is played out this way: We go to church. We pray prayers that have been written for us, with highly scripted and memorized responses, we listen to a homily delivered by an ordained minister who, it is presumed, has a closer connection to God and greater insights that we in the cheap seats might have. We receive communion, we listen to a sung meditation after the Eucharist, and we are dismissed and leave. This can give us the impression that we are recipients, observers, on the outside looking in. We are not owners, stakeholders, required to do something with our gifts for the sake of the Kingdom. Sometimes I think that we don’t really hear the words of Dismissal: in the exact translation of the Latin “Ite missa est” we are told: “Go! You have been sent forth”.
Maybe it suits us to be passive, because it is comfortable and comforting. Maybe it suits us to be passive because, then, nothing is expected of us. Do I think of myself as a consumer of the religious experience or as a true disciple? Do I believe my baptismal call as priest, prophet, and king? What are MY baptismal responsibilities, then?
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
What are my priorities? For most of us, the first two are those we love, and personal success/happiness, however that is defined. And then we stop there. We often say that we are just too busy to help out. But ask any psychologist and you will learn that we are never too busy to make time for those things we want to make time for. We are never too old or too young, too tired, too stressed, too poor to be exempted. There is no time in our lives when we will have more time than we do now, or more energy than we do now. If we only live to serve ourselves and our own needs, we are missing the point of Jesus’ message. If we do well without doing any good, we are not living fully or graciously. We are not living the gospel. Where is the voice of the Shepherd directing me to service? How can I serve this Catholic Community at Stanford? How can I serve the larger community apart from my friends, my family, my career?
A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:
In this gospel passage, Jesus asserts that those who belong to him listen to His voice. because He knows them and gives them eternal life. Think of times in our history when human beings have listened to the wrong "shepherds"--military or religious leaders who have preyed on the weak, the poor, have waged war on countries, ethnic groups or nationalities which threatened their sense of security in some way. Have there been any leaders you can think of who have really shepherded their people and protected them without harming others in the process?
Do I think of Jesus as being my personal “shepherd”?
Do i listen to him?
Am I truly open to what Jesus is telling me right now?
What is He saying to meat this moment?
What can I do to remind myself of the nearness of Jesus?
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
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 LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. —Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude
When Merton wrote these words he had lived through seventeen years of monastic discipline and contemplative prayer as a Cistercian. It is helpful for us to reflect that if such a man could be confused or insecure, there is little reason to blame ourselves for our own perplexity. What shines through the confusion and insecurity is the profound trust in the are of the good shepherd Pause now and in silence consider these points: 1. To know the outcome of the journey is to trust God less. 2. If the Spirit leads us, the journey is not ours alone. 3. A journey of clarity and ease cannot reach a God of mystery and love. 4. The experience of uncertainty brings us closer to our companions on the journey. 5. No matter how unsettling the journey may be at times, God will not permit us to be lost. —Adapted from A Retreat with Thomas Merton by Anthony Padovano, p.10
Poetic Reflection:
Read the following poem by Denise Levertov. What does it tell you about the Spirit of the Good Shepherd in your life?
“The Avowal”
As swimmers dare
to lie face to the sky
and water bears them;
as hawks rest upon air
and air sustains them,
so would I learn to attain
freefall, and float
into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace,
knowing no effort earns
that all-surrounding grace.
Closing Prayer
Excerpted from Thomas Merton, Passion for Peace, 227-229 Almighty and merciful God, Father of all, Creator and Ruler of the universe, Lord of History, whose designs are inscrutable, whose glory is without blemish, whose compassion is inexhaustible, in your will is our peace. Teach us to be long-suffering in anguish and insecurity. Teach us to wait and trust. Grant light, grant strength and patience to all who work for peace, To this Congress, Our President, our military forces and our adversaries. Grant us to see your face in the lightning of this cosmic storm, O God of holiness, grant us to seek peace where it is truly found. In your will, O God, is our peace!
Third Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2025
Feeding, forgiving, and helping others move on with their lives; that is the job of a follower of Christ
Gospel: John 21: 1–19
Do you love me?
Feed my sheep
Feeding, forgiving, and helping others move on with their lives; that is the job of a follower of Christ
John 21:1–19
After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.”
So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards, dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Notes:
- [21:1–23] There are many non-Johannine peculiarities in this chapter, some suggesting Lucan Greek style; yet this passage is closer to John than Jn 7:53–8:11. There are many Johannine features as well. Its closest parallels in the synoptic gospels are found in Lk 5:1–11 and Mt 14:28–31. Perhaps the tradition was ultimately derived from John but preserved by some disciple other than the writer of the rest of the gospel. The appearances narrated seem to be independent of those in Jn 20. Even if a later addition, the chapter was added before publication of the gospel, for it appears in all manuscripts.
- [21:2] Zebedee’s sons: the only reference to James and John in this gospel (but see note on Jn 1:37). Perhaps the phrase was originally a gloss to identify, among the five, the two others of his disciples. The anonymity of the latter phrase is more Johannine (Jn 1:35). The total of seven may suggest the community of the disciples in its fullness.
- [21:3–6] This may be a variant of Luke’s account of the catch of fish; see note on Lk 5:1–11.
- [21:9, 12–13] It is strange that Jesus already has fish since none have yet been brought ashore. This meal may have had eucharistic significance for early Christians since Jn 21:13 recalls Jn 6:11 which uses the vocabulary of Jesus’ action at the Last Supper; but see also note on Mt 14:19.
- [21:11] The exact number 153 is probably meant to have a symbolic meaning in relation to the apostles’ universal mission; Jerome claims that Greek zoologists catalogued 153 species of fish. Or 153 is the sum of the numbers from 1 to 17. Others invoke Ez 47:10.
- [21:12] None…dared to ask him: is Jesus’ appearance strange to them? Cf. Lk 24:16; Mk 16:12; Jn 20:14. The disciples do, however, recognize Jesus before the breaking of the bread (opposed to Lk 24:35).
- [21:14] This verse connects Jn 20 and 21; cf. Jn 20:19, 26.
- [21:15–23] This section constitutes Peter’s rehabilitation and emphasizes his role in the church.
- [21:15–17] In these three verses there is a remarkable variety of synonyms: two different Greek verbs for love (see note on Jn 15:13); two verbs for feed/tend; two nouns for sheep; two verbs for know. But apparently there is no difference of meaning. The threefold confession of Peter is meant to counteract his earlier threefold denial (Jn 18:17, 25, 27). The First Vatican Council cited these verses in defining that Jesus after his resurrection gave Peter the jurisdiction of supreme shepherd and ruler over the whole flock.
- [21:15] More than these: probably “more than these disciples do” rather than “more than you love them” or “more than you love these things [fishing, etc.].”
- [21:18] Originally probably a proverb about old age, now used as a figurative reference to the crucifixion of Peter.
Music Meditations
- If You Love me, Feed my Sheep--Pamela Stewart and John Purifoy
- Feed My Sheep--Don Francisco--folk song style
- Do you Really Love Me?-Cary Landry
- The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor
Preparation / Centering
If done in a group setting, the prompts are read aloud by the leader; otherwise a silent meditation.
Presence of God:
Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your forgiveness in my life, and more receptive to that forgiveness. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Freedom:
Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by selfishness, shame or fearl Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live freely in your love.
[1-2 minutes of silence]
Consciousness:
Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. Help me to do the same for others I encounter along the way.
[2-3 minutes of silence]
Opening Prayer
Teach me to go to this country beyond words and beyond names. Teach me to pray on this side of the frontier, here where these woods are. I need to be led by you. I need my heart to be moved by you. I need my soul to be made clean by your prayer. I need my will to be made strong by you. I need the world to be saved and changed by you. I need you for all those who suffer, who are in prison, in danger, in sorrow. I need you for all the crazy people. I need your healing hand to work always in my life. I need you to make me, as you made your Son, a healer, a comforter, a savior. I need you to name the dead. I need you to help the dying cross their particular rivers. I need you for myself whether I live or die. It is necessary. Amen.
From Thomas Merton, A Book of Hours (p. 67). Ave Maria Press – A.
Companions for the Journey
Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session…
Do you love me?
Feed my sheep
Living the Good News
What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?
Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:
Reflection Questions
Meditations
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:
A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:
Literary Reflection:
This poem seems to capture Peter’s growth into the man God wanted him to be:
In The Book
In the book is told the story of Peter--- he who denied Jesus— Peter whose extravagant love bloomed like Sunday breakfast. Also is told how he cried, a glory credited to him as to none other. Peter cried to know his denial; how perplexed he was by love, how undone like a shoelace. torn by love of him called Jesus who loved incomprehensibly, till it seemed even the rocks around him sang blessings. But Jesus told Peter what his heart had long known: you are weak and shall be harvested like a field of wheat ripe in October. Around you the weeds and flowers cluster eager to gather in your strength. Said Jesus further: Peter, be cut, sifted measured out. Let love be your source and their ground, In you let them find root.—Rev. Ed Ingebretzen,S.J.
Literary Reflection:
Enjoy this poetic version of the gospel story by Father Michael J. Kennedy, S.J. (3rd Sunday of Easter)
Too Good to be True
Though it was An expectedly tense Meeting of the betrayed And his embarrassed traitor Still the scene at the fish fry at The shore where the Master Waited for the disciples Took a surprising turn For no penalty was Enforced or even hinted Just the suggestion of fish And Peter must have been Astounded that it looked like He might not be punished Or even scolded one Teensy weensy bit Again and again He asked him To share In the Feast And the author makes a Nice showing of balance For Peter is given the chance To tell him three times that he Loved him just as three times He had denied him yet there Really is no balance at all For the Lord simply gives Undeserved or earned Forgiveness showing Yet again that this Good News Really is too Good to be True.
Closing Prayer
From “Sacred Space 2022”, a service of the Irish Jesuits:
Jesus you meet me at the water’s edge of my ordinary life. You accept me lovingly, you encourage me, you invite me to abundance. Nourished by the food of your word, warmed by the fire of your unfailing love, May I, in turn, nourish, heal, and love those I meet today.