Pastor’s Letter: May 8

Pastor’s Letter: May 8

6 May 2022 | Posted by: chadmin

The May 8 bulletin is available online.

Dear friend,

On this second Sunday in May we have already reached the 4^th Sunday in Easter. The fifty days in the Easter Season give us an extended time to reflect on all the many Old and New Testament themes that come to fulfillment in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Resurrection proves life after death. The Resurrection validates the promises of Jesus and His claims to His Divine Nature. The Resurrection offers us a share in where Jesus has gone before. The Gospel reading this weekend offers us first-century imagery to establish the point of unity between God and His faithful.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the Good Shepherd.” “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” The life and vocation of a shepherd was familiar to the first century middle-east. While we don’t have daily examples of this in Peoria, we can understand the relationship between a shepherd and the sheep. Anyone who has owned an animal knows the familiarity that exists between a pet and its owner. Jesus uses this reality to get at the heart of the relationship between His followers and Himself. Groups of sheep will leave a pack and follow the shepherd at the call of his voice. It is this reality that Jesus invites us to reflect in our own daily living of Christianity. He invites us to hear His voice, to trust His call, to follow where He leads us. The Gospel is essentially about revelation of Divine truth. The word “Gospel” literally means “good news.” The more we know the word of the Gospel, the more Jesus wants us to understand that it helps us to know and follow Him. The beauty of this Gospel reading this weekend is not only that we can hear and know the voice of God, but also that we can be one with Him, just as Jesus and the Father are one. Our celebration of the Mass allows us to hear the Word of the Gospel and receive the Real Presence in the Eucharist, which is a living out of this week’s Gospel reading.

Not only are we continuing our celebration of Easter during May, but the Church calls us to reflect on the Motherhood and protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Rosary gives us a unique opportunity to reflect on the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, as well as the importance in Mary’s yes to God. As the calendar prepares us for summer and the end of another school year, may we find time this May to recite the Rosary in our daily trust of Mary’s intercession. Have a great week.

God bless,

Father David