The Shepherd and The Lamb

Good Morning, dear reader! Happy Mother's Day to all you moms! I hope your day is blessed with love! 

Yesterday, we saw Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus. Today, we see God has chosen Paul (Saul) and Barnabas to spread the word of Jesus among the people of Greece. They visit the various churches, but, in some, they are not well received. The Jews are a hard crowd. They don't want to hear about Jesus. They consider this blasphemy against God. However, Paul and Barnabas are not flustered by this. They basically tell the Jews "Fine, go off and believe what you want. You are denying yourselves eternal life, but whatever...." So, off they go to preach to the Gentiles, who are more than receptive to our friend's message. They joyfully receive this and praise Jesus's name. The Jews, however, still are angry. They try to incite others, who carry more clout in the community, to get rid of Paul and Barnabas. "This can't continue. We must band together and get rid of these two rebels before they stir up trouble." They begin their protest and manage to push Paul and Barnabas out of the city. But this did not upset our two disciples. They accomplished their task and are filled with joy. 

Our reading in Revelation and in John shows Jesus as both the Great Shepherd and the Lamb. This can be confusing. How can He be both? It is because these are
metaphors. The Lamb symbolises Jesus's death upon the cross, His sacrifice for our sins. The Shepherd is symbolic of Jesus's love for us, and how He cares for each and every person. 

The reading in Revelation gives us a glorious picture of heaven! It inspires hope and feelings of comfort. To think we will all be in heaven with no pain, no infirmity, no loneliness or feeling cast aside. 

"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress" (v14) refers to the Christians who were persecuted by the Romans. But, it could also mean those who have survived just about anything. It's our reassurance that no matter what we have suffered through in our lives, it will all be redeemed once we get to heaven. God will know each of our stories. Our sins are wiped clean, and our hearts are made pure. And, forever we will remain a nice human. 😇

Father Greg Friedman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, gives us his reflection on today's readings: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video/2022-05-08-reflection-51

I have chosen a video that really goes with our readings. "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe. It's a song about what we would do when we see Jesus. Will we dance or be so overwhelmed by His majesty that we sit in complete adoration? It gives you something to think about, that's for sure. https://youtu.be/N_lrrq_opng

 

The Crucifixion and Forgiveness

Good Morning, dear reader. Happy Sunday! We embark on our journey into the third week of Easter. The resurrection was so glorious and miraculous that we celebrate it for 50 days, ending on Pentecost Sunday. As a matter of fact, the Easter season is more important than Christmas!! 

We have touched upon the book of Revelation in previous posts. As you will recall, Revelation is mostly symbolic in nature. It is not to be taken literally. There really isn't much explaining needed for this passage. In today's reading, you will see Jesus Christ referred to as the Lamb. We also hear this at mass when we pray "Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us." just before we receive communion. Equating Jesus with a lamb means that He is the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin. (There's a longer explanation, having to do with Passover and its celebration, but this is it in a nutshell.) All the creatures in heaven and on earth rejoice and honour God and His Son, Jesus.   

Now, on to John. Jesus asks Peter three times if he truly loves Him. He asks this because Peter was the one who denied Jesus three times before His crucifixion. So, now, Jesus is a little doubtful about how faithful Peter is to Him. However, Jesus is willing to forgive Peter and the role he played in His death. As we have seen throughout the Gospels, Peter becomes the most favoured and important Apostle. Probably because he did feel guilty about what he did to Jesus and now wants to make up for it. 

I think what this passage is trying to convey is that no matter how bad our actions are, Jesus is always willing to forgive and give us another chance. This doesn't mean you should keep doing something you know is bad just because you know that Jesus will forgive you. He can sense when you are insincere, and He will dole out punishment. I'm just saying, that in our everyday, imperfect lives, we mess up. We're all sinners. It's comforting to know that I can never be so awful that Jesus won't forgive me and bring me back to His care. This is our assurance of salvation through His death and resurrection. This is what Easter is all about. So, dear reader, you can rest assured that Jesus will never stop loving you or caring about you. Just try to be a nice human, though. The world will appreciate it. 😇

**I have omitted the video today because Father Bill doesn't upload any on Sunday. Also, it seemed today's readings were ones we have done previously, so I picked the second reading. You'll just have to make do with my thoughts! lol 

Divine Mercy Sunday

Good Evening, dear reader! I hope your day has been blessed. I do apologise for the lateness of this post. We have a lot to work through, so let's get started!! 

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. Here is a little bit about how Devine Mercy Sunday came about:

"In a series of revelations to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, our Lord called for a special feast day to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. Today, we know that feast as Divine Mercy Sunday, named by Pope St. John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina on April 30, 2000. The Lord expressed His will with regard to this feast in His very first revelation to St. Faustina. Divine Mercy Sunday

is NOT a feast based solely on St. Faustina's revelations. Indeed, it is not primarily about St. Faustina — nor is it altogether a new feast. The Second Sunday of Easter was already a solemnity as the Octave Day of Easter. The title "Divine Mercy Sunday" does, however, highlight the meaning of the day." (1) 

In Acts, we see people from all over coming forward to be healed. People are laid in the street, awaiting the arrival of Peter. Word had spread of his healing of the disabled man and now these folks are hoping that even if a shadow of Peter falls on them, they will be healed. And this exactly what happens. But, this is not of Peter's doing. He is the vessel of Christ, granted the power through the Holy Spirit, to be able to heal all those who have come. This was truly an extraordinary day! So many of Jesus's faithful followers were blessed, converted and healed just by being near Peter. 

I will admit that when it comes to disecting the book of Revelation, I find it a bit tricky to understand. One has to know that pretty much everything written in the book cannot be taken literally. The work is entirely symbolic. According to the study guide in my Bible, verse 9 "suggests that John is on the Greek island of Patmos as a punishment for his witness to Jesus.", John is recounting a vision he had. It is this vision that brings him comfort during his punishment. It also is also seen as an encouragement to all who are opressed at this time. 

In this first vision, John is commanded to write what he sees, to the seven churches. He sees Christ in glory, whom he depicts in great imagery, John hears Jesus describing Himself in terms meant to encourage Christians by emphasising His victory over death. (2)

In John's Gospel, we once again see Jesus making an appearance to His followers. It is assumed that they were in Jerusalem at the time. The fact that they were in a locked room when Jesus appeared illustrates the fact that He was not in human form, but neither was He an apparition or a ghost. But His disciples understand that this is the risen Christ who stands before them. In verse 22, it states "He breathed on them and said to them 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" This refers to when God breathed on man and gave him life and now the disciples are given new spiritual life through Jesus Christ. 

"Thomas", this passage is how the phrase "Don't be a doubting Thomas" came to be. It literally means that unless you see something for yourself, you won't believe it. So, again, Jesus appears in a locked room, this time Thomas is present. Jesus allows Thomas to poke around Him so that he will believe that this is Jesus, that He has risen as He promised, and He was here with him now. But, you can see that Jesus is a bit put off by Thomas's doubts. He tells Thomas that the only reason he believed that Jesus was here was because he had seen Jesus, touched His wounds. If it weren't for that, Thomas would still be doubtful, 

This is the whole foundation of our faith. We do not need physical proof for us to believe. That is why it is called faith. Yes, on ocassion we may receive signs or symbols of Jesus in our lives, but we don't need those to believe in Him. We KNOW He lives. We know He is with us always. 

Let us pray for those who do not know the wonder of Jesus Christ. Pray for those whose very lives have become uprooted due to war. Pray that our world can find peace. And, remember, dear reader... be a nice human.😇