A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 16, n. 21)
Easter Week 4: April 22-28, 2018
(The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY & WEEKDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year C from various perspectives. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: April 15-21, 2018, please go to ARCHIVES Series 15 and click on “Easter Week 3”.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: April 22-28, 2018.)
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April 22, 2018: FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Cares for His Sheep”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 4:8-12 // 1 Jn 3:1-2 // Jn 10:11-18
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 10:11-18): “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
A news report by Matthew Schofield in The Fresno Bee (Tuesday, April 22, 2003) gives us a tenderhearted picture of postwar Iraq. Here is the account.
Across town, by 10 a.m., the line outside Baghdad Bakery had grown to 1,000 people … People were leaving the bakery with bread, 20 long rolls for 500 dinars, or about 18 cents. Before the war, this couldn’t have happened. Baghdad Bakery made bread only for Saddam Hussein’s Special Republican Guard. Now, the bread was for the city’s poor. Amera Ibraheem counted the baked loaves and placed them in plastic bags. She’s worked for the bakery 30 years. She said people were worried about the bakery’s future. They were down to a three-day supply of flour and had no idea where to find more. But, she added, everyone was committed to keeping the bakery open.
As Baghdad fell and the bakery’s Baath Party manager fled with the workers’ salaries, the employees arrived for work. They set up a system in which they would sell the bread inexpensively and share the profits. On Sunday, the manager returned to the factory, escorted by two bodyguards. He demanded all the money the bakery had earned, and the bread. He planned to sell it to the city’s wealthier residents. The workers chased the manager and his guards away, warning them not to come back.
The enterprising employees of Baghdad Bakery, who work to ensure that the much-needed bread would reach the starving poor of the devastated city, have the heart of the Good Shepherd mentioned in the Gospel of John. Their selfless concern to help their own people contrasts with the selfish and detestable attitude of the manager who is bent on fleecing the helpless poor. This news account from war-torn Baghdad helps us understand the relevance of the Gospel reading (Jn 10:11-18) of this Sunday, called “Good Shepherd Sunday”. Indeed, this Iraqi situation gives us a glimpse of the antithetical roles mentioned by John in his account: the Good Shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for the sheep and the hired man who works only for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
The evangelist John’s account of the Good Shepherd and the hired man should be seen in the light of Ezekiel 34. In this passage, the prophet Ezekiel announces Yahweh’s indictment of the irresponsible and thieving leaders of Israel, who were feeding themselves upon the flock, rather than shepherding them. So Yahweh would take away from them the flock they have ill-treated and become the shepherd himself. The evangelist John sees all this accomplished in Jesus. The compassionate God has become the shepherd of his people in Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of David.
Jesus is the ultimate Shepherd, exceedingly loved by the Father because he lays down his life for the sheep. His act of total, loving self-sacrifice is in sharp contrast to the miserable shepherding of the false leaders of his time. Indeed, Jesus is able to accomplish his role as the Good Shepherd of the Father’s flock because he and the Father are one. Upon the cross, Christ’s pastoral mission is brought to fulfillment. The radical pastoral mission that the Good Shepherd completed on the cross needs to be actualized in the “here and now” by the Church, the flock that the glorified Jesus continues to shepherd. By virtue of our configuration to Jesus Master-Shepherd in the sacraments of Christian initiation, we assume the responsibility of taking care of the flock and gathering into one all his scattered sheep. As we lovingly and faithfully carry out today Christ’s pastoral mission, let us remember that his care for his sheep is a total ministry.
B. First Reading (Acts 4:8-12): “There is no salvation through anyone else.”
In November 2005 I was transferred from Fresno to our community in Monrovia to take care of our ninety-year old Sr. Mary Connie, who had cancer surgery. The normally vibrant and energetic little Sister was somber and in low spirits on account of her illness. What impressed me was the continuing intense prayer offered for her by the parish of Immaculate Conception where we belong. The kindly pastor would visit Sr. Connie to pray over her. The thoughtfulness and compassion he showed revealed that he has the heart of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
In the early morning of November 28, 2005, after the Pauline celebration of the death anniversary of our Founder Blessed James Alberione, Sr. Mary Connie declared: “Basta! Enough is enough! I don’t want to die!” Later in the morning, when I was getting things ready to give her a sponge bath, the doorbell rang. It was our pastor, Fr. Charles, who came to visit Sr. Mary Connie. She was not in her room and so I went looking for her. I was surprised to find her sitting in the sunlit workshop where Jubilee, our canary, was singing. Sr. Mary Connie greeted our pastor with a radiant smile. Then in a trice she stood up. With two arms dangling like those of a soldier in a military drill, she started to walk with resolute steps and proudly said: “Look, Father! No walker!” My eyes nearly popped out for I always had to assist her when she went from one place to other, and always with a walker. The equally astonished Fr. Charles threw his hands up in jubilation, exclaiming: “My God, my God! She can walk! She can walk!” His lips were filled with praise and thanksgiving. For sheer joy he could not stop praising and thanking the Lord for his healing power and for the wondrous work wrought in the life of Sr. Mary Connie, who recovered completely from her illness.
The pastoral quality of Fr. Charles and his readiness to avow the merciful work of God strongly contrast with the obdurate hearts of the Temple priests, elders and scribes in Jerusalem who do not welcome the grace of healing that God has carried out in the name of Jesus through Peter and John. Instead, they become hostile to the apostles. They resist their act of proclamation of the paschal event of Christ’s death and resurrection. As false leaders of God’s flock, they are inimical to the Easter message that the apostles Peter and John proclaim to the people. Abusing their authority, they attempt to silence the apostles, hoping to obliterate the miraculous sign of the cure of the crippled beggar near the Temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate.
The First Reading (Acts 4:8-12) reports Peter’s first Easter address to the Sanhedrin. This episode comes after the healing of the lame beggar (cf. Acts 3:1-10) at the Beautiful Gate and the discourse made by Peter to the people in the Temple (cf. Acts 3:11-26), explaining to the astonished crowd the true origin of the cure: It is faith in the name of Jesus that has restored the crippled man to health. By catechizing the people on the meaning of the paschal event and its relationship to the cure, Peter invites them to repentance and to a faith response in Jesus the Risen Lord.
Anointed by the Holy Spirit, the apostles are able to experience the glorified Jesus as the font of healing and the sole source of salvation. In the name of Jesus and as Easter witnesses, they effect miraculous cures among the people and communicate to the distressed flock of Israel the abounding love and compassionate care of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Today’s modern apostles and Easter witnesses are called to follow intimately and effectively the Good Shepherd who saves. Harold Buetow remarks. “As sheep of the noble shepherd, we should follow him trustingly all the way. As having been made children of God in a special sense through our baptism, we should recognize our new dignity by growing, as did Peter and the apostles, into being willing to lay down our lives – meaning, in our case, to empty ourselves – in order to cultivate a meaningful, loving, personal relationship with Jesus.”
C. Second Reading (I Jn 3:1-2): “We shall see God as he really is.”
The Second Reading (I Jn 3:1-2) intensifies the beautiful message of Christ’s efficacious Easter sacrifice by proclaiming the astounding paternal love of God. In God’s supreme gift of his Son Jesus Christ – the love of God made flesh – we become the sons and daughters of the eternal Father. We can thus avow that we are “the children of God” by the power of Christ’s resurrection. The Holy Spirit, the astounding gift of the Risen Lord, is present in our midst and enables us to feel the power of the Easter event. The Holy Spirit assures us that we are indeed united with Jesus in his loving and intimate filial relationship with God the Father.
The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent comments: “Christ is the Shepherd of those who know God and have become his children. This relationship – being a child of God – is what God’s love for us has given us … When the Son of God appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is … We know what we really are, and we must live lives befitting men and women who are God’s adopted children. But the world does not see or understand what we know to be true. In fact, we ourselves, though knowing that we are God’s children, do not know in any clear way what we shall one day be; that will become clear to us only when Christ returns. In the interim, we must live our lives both apart from the world and in the world, since we have already been bidden to live for the things above.”
The following testimony of Archbishop Van Thuan, who was a prisoner in various Communist prisons in Vietnam for thirteen years, nine of them in solitary confinement, gives insight into what it takes to shepherd “God’s children” (cf. Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, Testimony of Hope, Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 2000, p.75-76).
At 9:00 in the evening of December 1, 1976, I suddenly found myself with a large group of prisoners. Chained one to the other in pairs, we were loaded by police onto a truck. A short trip brought us to Tan Cang (Newport), a new military port opened by the Americans a few years before. In front of us we saw a ship, but it was hidden in such a way that people would not be aware of what is happening. We boarded and went north – a voyage of 1,700 kilometers.
Along with other prisoners, I was taken to the hold of the ship where the coal is loaded. Our only light came from a small oil lamp; other than that, complete darkness reigned. A total of 1,500 people were forced to endure indescribable conditions. (…) The next morning, a little sunlight infiltrated the hold of the ship and, in that funereal atmosphere I could make out the distraught and despairing faces of the prisoners around me. Some of the prisoners called for me because a man had tried to hang himself with a steel wire. I spoke with him, and in the end he accepted my counsel. (Two years ago at an inter-religious encounter in California, I met this man again. Full of joy he came toward me, thanked me, and began to recount the whole incident while showing everyone the scar that still remains around his neck.)
During that trip, as the prisoners learned that Bishop Van Thuan was on board the ship, they approached me to tell me of their anguish. The hours passed, and I found myself sharing in their sufferings and comforting them throughout the day. The second night, in the cold of that December on the Pacific Ocean, I began to understand that a new stage in my vocation was beginning. I spent that three-day journey sustaining my fellow prisoners and meditating on the passion of Jesus.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
How concretely do we incarnate the love and care of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in the here and now? Like the Good Shepherd, are we willing to lay down our life for the “sheep”? Who are the “sheep” that need our special care?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Based on a prayer composed by Blessed James Alberione)
We thank you, Jesus Good Shepherd,
for having come down from heaven to seek out humankind
and bring it back to the way of salvation.
In you is fulfilled the promise:
I will raise up in the midst of scattered sheep
a shepherd who will gather them and care for them.
Have mercy on those who nourish themselves
on falsehood and vanity.
Recall sinners to your way.
Sustain the wavering; strengthen the weak.
May everyone follow you,
Shepherd and Guardian of souls.
You alone are the Way.
You alone have the words of eternal life.
I will follow you wherever you go.
Amen. Alleluia!
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“I am the good Shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” (Jn 10:11)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Today is World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Offer special prayers and sacrifices for the increase of priestly, religious and consecrated lay vocations in the Church who will carry out radically Christ’s pastoral mission in the world today.
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April 23, 2018: MONDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (4); SAINT GEORGE, Martyr; SAINT ADALBERT, Bishop, Martyr
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the True Shepherd-Gatekeeper … He Calls Us to Life-Giving Repentance”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 11:1-18 // Jn 10:1-10
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 10:1-10): “I am the gate for the sheep.”
Using the metaphor of shepherds and the imagery of a door or a gate, today’s Gospel reading (Jn 10:1-10) presents Jesus as the legitimate Shepherd of the flock and the gate of the sheepfold. Jesus’ fidelity to his sheep and his sacrifice for them are in contrast to the failure of the stumbling, blinded, bullying Pharisees and temple authorities. Jesus is the Good Shepherd loved by the Father because he lays down his life for the sheep. It is this act of total, loving self-sacrifice that makes him the true shepherd and the “gate of life”. Jesus gives us access to the fullness of life. He came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. Jesus’ pastoral mission of giving life to his flock is fully achieved in his paschal sacrifice on the cross and glorious resurrection.
In today’s world, Pope John Paul II crystallized the ministry of the true shepherd and incarnated the profound meaning of a sheep gate. Cardinal Ratzinger, who later succeeded him as Pope Benedict XVI, reiterated this at the funeral Mass for Pope John Paul II: “The Holy Father was a priest to the last, for he offered his life to God for his flock and for the entire human family, in a daily self-oblation for the service of the Church, especially amid the suffering of his final months. And in this way he became one with Christ, the Good Shepherd who loves his sheep.”
B. First Reading (Acts 11:1-18): “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
The PDDM congregation (to which I belong) takes care of the Souvenir Shops at Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. When I was assigned in Rome, I also had the privilege of helping at the Souvenir Shops. There we meet pilgrims and tourists from all continents of the world. One Japanese Sister met a young man from Japan, a non-Christian. She became God’s instrument for his conversion. When he returned to Japan the youth enrolled in RCIA and became a Christian.
In today’s episode from the Acts of the Apostles (11:1-18), the Holy Spirit presses irresistibly toward the integration of all nations in Jesus Christ, and the apostle Peter is a principal instrument of that divine saving plan. Peter reports to the Church in Jerusalem what happened in Cornelius’ household in Caesarea. To those who criticized him for visiting and eating with the Gentiles, Peter justifies his conduct and attributes to God’s action the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Cornelius and his Gentile household, the same gift that was outpoured upon them at Pentecost when they believed in Jesus Christ. Peter asks rhetorically: “Who was I to be able to hinder God?” Peter’s critics are pacified and conclude that God has also granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles. Though the early Christian community now recognizes officially the evangelization of the Gentiles as God’s initiative, the battle is not wholly won: the issue of whether Christianity should be bound to the Jewish practices or not would recur (cf. Acts 15).
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we truly thank the Lord for the gift of Jesus, the true Shepherd and the sheep gate that gives us access to eternal life? Do we listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd? Do we also thank the Lord for the Pope, bishops and priests he has given us that we may experience abundant life?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
though your people walk in darkness
no evil should they fear
for they follow in faith the call of the Shepherd
whom you have sent for their hope and strength.
Attune our minds to the sound of his voice.
Lead our steps in the path he has shown,
that we may know the strength of his outstretched arm
and enjoy the light of your presence.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord
who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen. Alleluia!
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“I am the gate for the sheep.” (Jn 10:7) // “God has granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.” (Acts 11:18)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Express your gratitude to priests and all those who have truly carried out the ministry of the Good Shepherd in your local faith community. // Do what you can to promote world mission.
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April 24, 2018: TUESDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (4); SAINT FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN, Priest, Martyr
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Gives His Sheep Eternal Life … He Is the Good News Proclaimed to the Nations”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 11:19-26 // Jn 10:22-30
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 10:22-30): “The Father and I are one.”
The following true story, published in Poverello News (March 2004), tells us how a desperate and hopeless young man, Rick McNiel, found “life” through the pastoral ministry of the staff of Poverello House, who believe in the dignity of every human being and provide care for the homeless, the poor and the disadvantaged. In 2002, Rick found himself living on the streets, in tremendous spiritual and emotional pain. His marriage had fallen apart, and he had been terminated from two drug rehab programs. He came to Poverello House in order to survive. Rick, however, made the mistake of breaking the community’s zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol. Getting kicked out of a homeless mission was perhaps his lowest point, but sometimes good can emerge from brokenness and humiliation. The guard who found him drinking a bottle of vodka suggested that he come back the next day and try to get in the Resident Program. Rick had hit his bottom and was willing to listen. The miracle began at that moment. He did what was suggested. Rick narrates: “Something started happening … I faced things that I didn’t think were possible to deal with. Poverello really came through for me. The staff got to know me well enough that they saw when I needed a push, or when I needed to be confronted … There’s a lot of acceptance, but also accountability; if you mess up, you pay the price.” Rick is now a Poverello staff driver for donation pick-ups. He is in his own apartment, paying bills, and learning to be a responsible citizen all over again. Rick has come a long way since getting kicked out for that pint of vodka two years ago.
Rick McNiel’s inspiring story gives us a glimpse into what is presented in today’s Gospel (Jn 10:22-30) regarding the interpersonal relationship that exists between the life-giving Shepherd and the sheep that are called to follow the Shepherd. The Shepherd’s gift of eternal life demands a positive response from the recipients. Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10:27). The interpersonal “knowledge” that exists between them necessitates receptivity in listening and obedience in following after Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Those who hear his voice and follow him obediently and lovingly are truly known by Jesus, the Good Shepherd. To the obedient and loving flock of disciples, whom he knows intimately and upon whom he would bestow the Easter gift of eternal life, Jesus gives the solemn assurance of divine protection. The perfect assurance given to the disciples comes not only from his solicitude and devotion as the Good Shepherd. Rather, the Son of God and Shepherd of the sheep can assure them of complete protection because the Father and he are one. Since the Father and the Son are one, no one can frustrate the divine saving plan, that is, the gift of eternal life for those who believe.
Today’s Gospel passage contains Christ’s astounding revelation: “The Father and I are one” (verse 30), which is the basis for the life-giving pastoral ministry of Jesus. The profound mystery of unity between the Father and his Son Jesus, the victorious paschal Lamb, is the source of the latter’s incomparable power and unimpeachable authority as the Good Shepherd. He answers our most profound human longings and intense spiritual needs. Eternal life is the Good Shepherd’s most beautiful gift to us, the flock he shepherds.
B. First Reading (Acts 11:19-26): “They began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.”
In 1984 one of the best professors at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome suddenly died of a heart attack. The Benedictine Daniel Gelsi was a monk at the Greek Byzantine monastery of Chevetogne in Belgium. He was the foremost liturgical scholar specializing in the “Liturgical Traditions of the East”. At his funeral both the monks from the Roman Latin tradition and those from the Greek Byzantine rite participated. That was one of the most fascinating liturgical celebrations I have ever witnessed. Listening to the monks pray and chant for Fr. Gelsi, I felt that his soul was in the bosom of God, relishing the infinite beauty of the heavenly liturgy. I also felt blessed to experience the liturgical traditions of both the East and the West and the richness of a multi-cultural Church.
Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles (11:19-26) depicts the proclamation of the Gospel to the “Greeks” in Antioch by the Greek-speaking Christian Jews from Cyprus and Cyrene (in African Libya). They do not limit their proclamation to Jews, but reach out also to the Gentiles. The Lord’s power is with them and many believe and turn to the Lord Jesus. When the news reached the church in Jerusalem, they send Barnabas to Antioch (the largest town in ancient Syria). What he sees makes him rejoice and he encourages the new Christians to be faithful and true to the Lord with all their hearts. As official representative of the Jerusalem church, the Cyprus-born Barnabas has the task of incorporating the Christian “Greeks” into the fold. He also engages Saul of Tarsus to help in the building up of the Gentile church through catechesis. Antioch is where the believers are first called “Christians”.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we hear the voice of the Shepherd? Do we open our hearts to his call? Do we follow as true disciples? Do we incarnate in our life the life-giving ministry of Jesus, the Good Shepherd? Do we truly recognize and avow in the witnessing of our life the solemn revelation of Jesus, the Good Shepherd: “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30)?
2. Does the example of the enterprising Christian believers from Cyprus and Cyrene inspire you to be more pro-active in the ministry of evangelization in today’s world?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(From the prayers composed by Blessed James Alberione)
Jesus Good Shepherd,
who brought from heaven the fire of your love,
give us your heart.
Inflame us with the desire for the glory of God
and with a great love for our brothers and sisters.
Make us sharers in your apostolate.
Live in us,
that we may radiate you
in word, suffering, in pastoral action,
in the example of a good life.
We offer you ourselves as docile and faithful sheep,
to become worthy of cooperating
in your pastoral mission in the Church.
Dispose all minds and hearts
to receive your grace.
Come, divine Shepherd, guide us;
may there soon be one flock and one shepherd.
And/or:
Loving Father,
we thank you for the missionary zeal
of the first Christian believers in Cyprus and Cyrene
and for their enthusiasm
in proclaiming the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ
to the “Greeks” as well.
Help us to be receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit,
who propels us to evangelize all the nations.
We bless and praise you,
now and forever.
Amen. Alleluia!
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“My sheep hear my voice … I give them eternal life.” (Jn 10:27-28) // “They began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 11:20)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Make an exercise in “silence” that you may hear the “voice” of the Shepherd. If possible, spend some moments of quiet prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and pray for Christian unity and the task of interreligious dialogue.
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April 25, 2018: WEDNESDAY – SAINT MARK EVANGELIST
“JESUS SAVIOR: Saint Mark Proclaims Him to All Creation”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Pt 5:5b-14 // Mk 16:15-20
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mk 16:15-20): “Make known the Good News to every creature.”
In the Gospel reading (Mk 16:15-20) we hear that the Risen Lord is present in the lives of his apostles and strengthens them in the missionary mandate: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” The Church’s missionaries have nothing to fear because the glorified Christ is with them in their preaching. He confirms their message with special signs of his protection and power. Indeed, our celebration of the Easter mystery is a call to actively spread the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The “Gospel” to be proclaimed to every creature refers not to a doctrine, but to the very person of Jesus. With the Risen Lord Jesus as the content of the proclamation, the apostles of then and now are empowered by the Holy Spirit in their task of evangelization.
Saint Mark, the evangelist, is a sterling example of one who has used the oral tradition and written form to spread the Easter Good News. The following prize-winning story by an eighth-grader at St. John Vianney School in San Jose, California, illustrates how we can use the means of social communication and other means to make the Good News alive in our own time (cf. Clarissa Vokt, “Good News Alive Today” in Maryknoll, May/June 2011, p. 47-49).
The ways that I share the Good News are posting and reading articles on the social network websites about men and women doing good deeds in our community, to encourage others to do the same. I also send messages to others telling them to go to church on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist, and learn all about the Good News.
I spread the Good News almost all the time when I help out at places in my community. Sometimes I volunteer to help at the park, where I help clean up after the animals and wash their feeding bowls so they always have clean water, because they are also God’s creation and should be treated so.
If I am not doing community service, then usually I will go around the house and search for items that we no longer use, and donate them to organizations such as The Salvation Army to help those in poverty who do not have the luxuries we take for granted each day.
I experience the Good News being spread when I listen to the radio. There is a radio station called Catholic Radio that my mother and I listen to almost every day, and it is always talking about the Gospel, answering questions about our beliefs, and telling us about campaigns and upcoming Catholic events in our community.
One such campaign is called “40 Days for Life”. This campaign draws attention to the evils of abortion with a three-point program including prayer and fasting, constant vigil and community outreach. My family joined this campaign together and we have blue wristbands we wear to show our support and spread the Good News everywhere we go.
Catholic Radio has expanded my knowledge of the Gospel and inspired me to share this Good News with my friends and neighbors. This radio station has their own page on Facebook, so I decided to join it and share the Good News with my friends on the social network, who did the same.
The Good News is being spread everywhere, from the radio to popular websites, and through community service, and is spread by everyone, including teenagers and older men and women. The ways in which the Good News is being spread may have changed over the past 100 years, but the meaning still stays the same, and today it is as alive as ever.
B. First Reading (I Pt 5:5-14): “My son, Mark, sends you greetings.”
The First Reading (I Pt 5:5-14) is from the concluding part of Saint Peter’s first letter to Christians scattered throughout the northern part of Asia Minor. The main purpose of the letter is to encourage those who are experiencing persecution and suffering for their faith. The persecution is referred to as an attack from the Devil who prowls like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Saint Peter encourages them to resist by being solid in their faith. They are to put their total trust in God who cares for them. Indeed, the loving God is powerful and trustworthy. No adversary can withstand God – not sin, nor death, nor Satan. The suffering of the Christians is a sign of communion with the passion of Christ. It is a privileged manifestation of the “true grace” of God who will bring them to their eternal glory in Jesus Christ after this momentary affliction. The present suffering is likewise a communion in “the brotherhood of believers” undergoing the same experience.
In his final greeting, Saint Peter extends the greeting from “the church of Babylon” and Mark’s greeting. “Babylon” is a cryptic name for Rome, which has taken the classic characteristics of a world power hostile to God – just like the Babylonian empire, whose king destroyed Jerusalem and the Solomon Temple in 587 B.C. The persecuted Church in the West is united with the suffering Church in the East. The “Mark” mentioned in the letter, presumably John Mark, the evangelist, is in communion with them as they share in the passion of Christ and in Risen Lord’s gift of love and peace.
The following article, circulated on the Internet, gives us a glimpse of the spiritual and apostolic power that animated Saint Mark, whose feast we celebrate today.
Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the seventy disciples and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the four main Episcopal sees of Christianity. (…) When Jesus explained that his flesh was “real food” and his blood was “real drink”, many disciples left him, presumably including Mark. He was later restored to faith by the apostle Peter. He then became Peter’s interpreter, wrote the Gospel of Mark, founded the church of Africa, and became the bishop of Alexandria.
According to Eusebius of Caesaria, Herod Agrippa I, in his first year of reign over the whole Judea (41 AD), killed James, son of Zebedee and arrested Peter, planning to kill him after the Passover. Peter was saved miraculously by angels, and escaped out of the realm of Herod. Peter went to Antioch, then through Asia Minor (visiting the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, as mentioned in I Pet 1:1), and arrived in Rome in the second year of Emperor Claudius. Somewhere on the way, Peter picked up Mark and took him as travel companion and interpreter. Mark the Evangelist wrote down the sermons of Peter, thus composing the Gospel according to Mark, before he left for Alexandria in the third year of Claudius.
In 49 AD, about 19 years after the Ascension of Jesus, Mark traveled to Alexandria and founded the Church of Alexandria, which today is part of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Aspects of the Coptic liturgy can be traced back to Mark himself. He became the first bishop of Alexandria and he is honored as the founder of Christianity in Africa. (…)
According to the Coptic Church, Saint Mark was born in Cyrene, a city in the Pentapolis (now Libya). This tradition adds that he returned to Pentapolis later in life, after being sent by Saint Paul to Colossae, and serving with him in Rome; from Pentapolis, he made his way to Alexandria. When Mark returned to Alexandria, the pagans of the city resented his efforts to turn the Alexandrians away from the worship of their traditional gods. In 68 AD they placed a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets until he was dead.
His feast day is celebrated on April 25, and his symbol is the winged lion.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we imitate the apostolic zeal of Saint Mark to proclaim the Gospel and his desire to share the saving Word to all generations?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(cf. Opening Prayer, Mass of St. Mark, evangelist)
Father,
you gave St. Mark
the privilege of proclaiming your gospel.
May we profit by his wisdom
and follow Christ more faithfully.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Go into the world and proclaim the good news to all creation.” (Mk 16:15)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
St. Mark is patron of Egypt, of Venice, and of notaries. Offer special prayers for these and for those engaged in the evangelization through the printed and digital media. By your kind words and charitable deeds, let the Gospel be proclaimed in a “living” way to the people around you.
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April 26, 2018: THURSDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (4)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Calls Us to Service … He Is Israel’s Savior”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 13:13-25 // Jn 13:16-20
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 3:16-20): “Whoever receives the one I send receives me.”
In today’s Gospel (Jn 13:16-20), Jesus reinforces the meaning of the foot washing as a prophetic action, describing the call of all Christians to be humble servants and to be totally immersed into his paschal destiny of death and resurrection. No slave is greater than the master; no messenger is greater than the one who sent him. Jesus exhorts his disciples to put his example of humble service into practice. At the moment, however, Judas Iscariot seeks to betray him. At this initiation into the final conflict, Judas decries his share with Jesus and refuses to believe in the “I AM”. Jesus manifests total control of the situation. He announces the betrayal as congruent with the divine saving plan: so that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Jesus then underlines the principle of the unity of the disciple with the Divine Master: Whoever receives the one I send receives me.
The call to be a humble servant has been heeded by the newly canonized kindly Pope, Saint John XXIII. He exercised his pastoral ministry on “bended knees” and with refreshing humor, a tool of humility. The following article by Father James Martin, SJ, circulated on the Internet is insightful.
The Humor of Saint John XXIII: When the Pope was innocently asked by a journalist how many people worked in the Vatican, he deadpanned, “About half of them.”
John XXIII visited a hospital in Rome called the “Hospital of the Holy Spirit” run by a group of Catholic Sisters. The Mother Superior, deeply stirred by the papal visit, went up to him in order to introduce herself. “Most Holy Father”, she said, “I am the Superior of the Holy Spirit.” “Well, I must say you’re very lucky”, replied the Pope. “I’m only the Vicar of Christ.”
It was that somewhat frivolous story that in an instant drew me to John XXIII. How wonderful to keep one’s sense of humor, even while holding a position of such authority, when one could have easily become distant, cold or authoritarian. How wonderful to have a sense of humor at all! A requirement of the Christian life, I believe.
Anyway, who couldn’t love a Pope who had a sense of humor? Who couldn’t feel affection for a man who was so comfortable about himself that he constantly made jokes about his height (which was little), his ears (which were big), and his weight (which was considerable).
When he once met a little boy named Angelo, he exclaimed, “That was my name, too!” And then, conspiratorially, “But then they made me change it!”
When he was a Nuncio, he was at a dinner where a lady had a plunging neckline. One complained to Roncalli how scandalous it was. “All the men are looking at her.” Roncalli said, “Oh, no. The men are looking at me to see if I am looking at her.”
Believe it or not, it was the revelation that a saint could have such a sense of humor – that began my devotion to this great and holy man, who is now a saint. The need for humor in the spiritual life is often underplayed in Catholic circles. But as John XXIII and so many of the saints show us, it is an essential requirement for a healthy Christian life.
Some of the denigration of humor and laughter comes from a misunderstanding of not only the saints (many of whom had a well-developed sense of humor, contrary to the morose portraiture we see in churches) but also of Jesus. There are multiple signs of Jesus’ sense of humor in the New Testament – even though we can overlook them. Many of the parables, for example, are no longer amusing to us because we don’t live in the first-century Palestine and so fail to “get them”. The late New Testament scholar Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, told me that the original listeners would likely to have found some of them “hilarious”. Theologically, we also need to remember that Jesus was fully human, and part of being fully human is having a sense of humor. Jesus laughed. So can we. So should we!
A sense of humor about oneself also enables one to maintain a healthy perspective on life. Saint John XXIII was able to take God seriously, to take the Church seriously, but not to take himself too seriously. Humor, therefore, is a tool of humility. The Pope often used to recount what he would say to himself when concerns about the Church kept him up at night.
Pope John confessed that he had some difficulty in falling asleep on the night of the memorable day that he announced the convocation of the Second Vatican Council. He said that he talked to himself in this way: “Giovanni, why don’t you sleep? Is it the Pope or the Holy Spirit that governs the Church? It’s the Holy Spirit, no? Well, then, go to sleep, Giovanni!”
B. First Reading (Acts 13:13-25): “For this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.”
Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles (13:13-25) depicts the first missionary journey of Paul and his companions as they sail from the island of Cyprus to Asia Minor. Luke’s narrative now focuses on Paul. The apostle Barnabas, who earlier had played the leading role, is mentioned merely as one of Paul’s “companions”. At Perga, John Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, leaves them and goes back to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas move on to Antioch in Pisidia. Their visit to the town’s synagogue gives Paul his first real opportunity to address a discourse to the Jews. We hear today a part of Paul’s inaugural address, which summarizes the main Christian preaching to the Jews and is based on scriptural precedents and arguments. Paul recalls the history of Israel from the Exodus to Samuel, Saul and David, who is a type of Jesus and his ancestor. Paul’s radical message to the assembly is that God has made Jesus, a descendant of David, the Savior of the people of Israel, as promised. In this awesome missionary sermon, he delineates salvation history as under the guidance of God who brings it to fulfillment. Paul, the evangelizer and preacher, is here at his best!
The following personal testimony gives insight into what it means to proclaim the Gospel in today’s world (cf. Karen Barber in Daily Guideposts 2010, p. 209).
On the last day of our second mission trip to a remote village in Honduras, we were surprised when the villagers asked us to join them for a picnic beside a shallow river littered with rounded rocks and boulders.
As I started to walk toward the picnic, I noticed a tiny girl named Julia with Down syndrome looking up at me. The year before, she had shyly hidden behind her mother Gloria’s skirt. Now she held her hand up to me as if she’d known me all her life. I took her hand, and we made our way across the rocks together.
When we reached her mother, Gloria unfastened the small beaded necklace with a shiny rock in the center from around her neck. I froze as she reached up and firmly fastened the necklace around me. I shook my head, protesting, “No, no!” My mind told me, I can’t accept this! I have plenty of necklaces at home, but she has only one. Yet my heart answered, You can’t refuse her gift.
I smiled and gave Gloria a big hug, knowing that I had received more than a necklace; I’d been given the grace to receive a gift of love.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we ready to share in Christ’s paschal destiny? Are we willing to emulate him as the humble and faithful servant of God?
2. Are we willing to give witness by our life that Jesus is our Savior? Do we commit ourselves fully and personally to Christ Savior?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O Risen Christ,
you are sent by the Father as our saving Lord.
You too send us into the world
to proclaim the joy of Easter and God’s saving power.
Help us to be faithful and fruitful
in our evangelizing ministry.
You live and reign forever and ever.
Amen. Alleluia.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Whoever receives the one I send receives me.” (Jn 13:20) // “God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.” (Acts 13:23).
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Today emulate in a very special way the example of Jesus as the humble servant and, by this act of discipleship, enable the people around you to have a taste of the joy of the Gospel.
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April 27, 2018: FRIDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (4)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Way, the Truth and the Life … God Raised Him from the Dead”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 13:13-25 // Jn 14:1-6
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 14:1-6): “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
Dan Griffin, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner, narrates a charming incident when someone had to show him the way (cf. Maryknoll, January-February 2005, p. 8).
Tanzania is a big country with few roads and even fewer road signs. One day as I was driving along in a remote area of Shinyanga in the pouring rain, I saw a woman alongside the road. I thought I would be a Good Samaritan and give her a lift. As she climbed into the truck, she asked me where I was going. I told her I was headed to Mwadui Mine. “Good,” she said. “Then we can help each other.” Puzzled, I asked what she meant. “I’m going to Mwadui,” she replied, “and you’re going to Mwadui, but we are going in the wrong direction.”
Today’s Gospel reading (Jn 14:1-12) underlines that we need someone to show us the way to the Father, and that Jesus, the true Shepherd and the Gate for the sheep, is precisely the true and living way to him. In the way he lives, in the truth of his word, and in the quality of new life that he brings, Jesus reveals the Father and leads us to a life of loving intimacy with him. Indeed, if we wish to know what God is like and if we long to have an access and participation in the divine life, we need to look to Jesus, the way, and the truth and the life – at his life of service and public ministry, at his transforming and prophetic words, at his paschal mystery of passion, death and resurrection.
B. First Reading (Acts 13:26-33): “God has fulfilled his promise by raising Jesus from the dead.”
Today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles (13:26-33) is the second part of Paul’s major sermon in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. Paul proclaims to the assembly the Good News: that God’s promises to their ancestors are now fulfilled in the death and rising of Jesus Christ. Paul identifies the crucified and risen Jesus, a descendant of David, as the Messiah. He proclaims that the fullest meaning of the prophets and the psalms is revealed in the light of this Good News. The apostles’ proclamation about Jesus as the Messiah creates a great impact on the people. They invite Paul and Barnabas to come back the next Sabbath and tell them more about these things.
Like Paul and Barnabas, today’s Christian disciples are called to proclaim the Gospel to the nations. The life of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925) is an example of a living Gospel proclamation (cf. Bert Ghezzi, “Spending this Advent Season with the Saints” in Our Sunday Visitor, December 2, 2012, p. 23).
Blessed Pope John Paul II celebrated Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati as a man of the Beatitudes. Athletic and strong, he devoted himself to the weak and malformed. He was wealthy, but he lived in poverty so he could give everything to the poor. He was gregarious, but a lover of solitude. He was rambunctious, the life of every party, and a practical joker, but at prayer he was solemn, reflective and quiet.
As a teenager, Pier Giorgio made friends with the poor in Turin’s back streets and gave them whatever he had – his money, his shoes, his overcoat. “Jesus comes to me every morning in holy Communion”, he replied to a friend on why the hovels did not repulse him. “I repay him in my very small way by visiting the poor. The house may be sordid, but I am going to Christ.”
Pier Giorgio saw the need for social change to relieve the causes of poverty. At the university he decided to major in mechanical engineering so that he could work with miners, who were especially disadvantaged. He was a leader in student political organizations and actively opposed Mussolini and the Fascists. At the same time, he was the organizer of student parties, games and ski trips to the Alps, where he would lead his friends in prayer. Afterward, they relaxed and enjoyed food, wine, cigars and songs.
Blessed Pier Giorgio has become the hero of contemporary young Catholics. They recognize his high Christian ideals still help while pursuing the same pleasures that they enjoy. They gravitate to this handsome and charming saint who delighted in reciting the poetry of Dante, praying the Rosary in a booming voice and spending a night in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. How do we personally experience Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life? In our word and deed, do we replicate the person of Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life?
2. Like Paul and Barnabas, do we endeavor to proclaim the Gospel with every means and opportunity at our disposal?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Father of holiness, Lord of heaven and earth,
in the Word made flesh
you have spoken your words to us
and you call us to follow him.
He is the way that leads to you,
the truth that sets us free,
the life that makes our joy complete.
Grant us the grace to know the truth,
to follow the way
and to share your eternal life
in Jesus, the way, truth and life.
Together with Saint Paul,
we wish to proclaim your saving love
to all the nations.
We adore you and glorify you, now and forever.
Amen. Alleluia!
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6) // “What God promised our fathers he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.” (Acts 13:33)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Participate in the saving mission of Jesus Christ by trying to be yourself “way, truth and life” for a neighbor who is troubled, lost and confused. By your spirit of joy and charity make the people around you experience that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah.
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April 28, 2018: SATURDAY – EASTER WEEKDAY (4); SAINT PETER CHANEL, Priest, Martyr; SAINT LOUIS GRIGNON DE MONTFORT, Priest
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Image of the Father … He Is Preached to the Gentiles”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 13:44-52// Jn 14:7-14
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 14:7-14): “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
In today’s Gospel reading (Jn 14:7-14), Jesus makes a very important statement: “If you know me, then you will also know my father.” Jesus is the true image of the Father. He radically reveals the nature of the Father as the fullness of love. Our daily living must be a reflection of God in Jesus. Our mind, will and heart, our thoughts, words and deeds must reflect who God is in his inmost being. Indeed, Jesus is the “great sacrament” of the self-giving, loving God. Since the Father is reflected in the Son, we get to know God the Father through his beloved Son Jesus Christ.
The following charming story illustrates the saying, “Like father, like son” (cf. Fay Angus in Daily Guideposts 2010, p. 154). It also gives insight into the awesome affinity and intimate relationship of God the Father and his Son Jesus, sent as our Savior.
During the heat of the California summer, we invite our neighbors to come over anytime for a dip in our pool. Van is a favorite; he loves to cycle up and down our hills, his forehead dripping under his protective helmet, and it’s great to see him park his bike by the pool and plunge in, staying under so long that it’s a relief when he eventually surfaces.
This particular weekend his son was with him. On leave from his base in San Diego, he was tall, with the upright, straight-as-an-arrow deportment typical of the military, a firm handshake and steady eyes that locked into those of the person talking to him. I liked him. I liked him even more when he peeled off his T-shirt to take a swim, for across his upper torso, under his collarbone, was a tattoo: Carpe Diem, Latin for “seize the day”. I was fascinated, “Tell me about this”, I asked. “I want to make every moment of my life count”, he said, giving me his father’s wide smile. “My service to God, to my country and to making the world a better place: this is a daily reminder of my commitment.”
He sprang from the diving board and swam the length of the pool in one swoop, like a torpedo. On the return lap, his arms were turbojets churning the water. Wow, I thought, if he represents the caliber of our military, we’re in good hands!
B. First Reading (Acts 13:44-52): “We now turn to the Gentiles.”
In the reading (Acts 13:44-52) we see the people’s response to the Gospel: it is received both positively and negatively. The first reaction to Paul’s preaching in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia is positive. Many are converted. Nearly everyone gathers to hear the word of the Lord on the next Sabbath. But other Jews, full of jealousy on account of the interest and crowds the apostles are generating, contest what Paul is saying and insult him. But Paul and Barnabas speak out even more boldly and assert that since the Jews are rejecting the Gospel, they will turn to the Gentiles. In obedience to God’s commands, the apostles will be – in imitation of Jesus Christ – “a light for the Gentiles” so that all may be saved. The Gentiles rejoice and praise God’s message and they believe. But as the word of the Lord spreads everywhere in that region, the Jews incite violence against the apostles. They start a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, who shake the dust off their feet in protest. The apostles head off to Iconium to continue their work of evangelization. Meanwhile, the believers in Antioch are full of joy and the Holy Spirit.
The Christian disciples are called to continue the work of evangelization. The Parish of the Sacred Heart in Manila, where I grew up, was under the pastoral care of the Capuchin friars. One of the priests serving there, who became my spiritual director, was born in Goa, India. Before being assigned in Manila, Fr. Alexis Felinto worked as a missionary in Portuguese Angola, in Southwest Africa. He shared with us that when he viewed the movie “The Nun at the Crossroad”, about a nun who was sexually assaulted by African rebels, tears ran down his face. He had a first-hand experience of the violence the missionaries suffered from the Angolan rebels. He narrowly escaped death, but some of his colleagues were tortured and killed. The rebels plucked their beards, tearing off patches of skin from their faces, creating raw wounds and terrible pain. They have replicated in their life the trials Paul and Barnabas endured for the sake of the Gospel. Indeed, their afflictions were a participation in the saving passion of Christ.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we believe that if we know the Son we will know also the Father? How do we show our love for both God the Father and his son Jesus?
2. What do we do when we meet obstacles and trials, especially for the sake of the Gospel?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O loving Father,
your Son Jesus is the full revelation
of your saving will and life-giving love.
Let us be totally configured to Christ Jesus
and fully united with you through the Easter mystery
of his death and rising to glory.
Give us the grace to proclaim him to the nations.
We give you praise and glory, now and forever.
Amen. Alleluia!
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“If you know me, then you will also know my Father.” (Jn 14:7) // “We now turn to the Gentiles.” (Acts 13:46)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
By your life of virtue and service to the poor and needy, manifest to the world the love and goodness of God the Father in his Son Jesus. // By the way you respond to daily trials and difficulties, manifest to the world that Christ, the Risen Lord, is the center of your life and the font of strength.
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Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US