Archive for April, 2010

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Monday, April 26th, 2010

April 25, 2010
Our Good Shepherd 

Catacomb of Domitilla/Domatilla,
c 200CE
The King of love my shepherd is,
where goodness fails me never;
  I nothing lack when I am his, and
  he is mine forever.
Where streams of living water flow, to
rest my soul he leads me,
   Where fresh and fertile pastures
   grow, with heavenly food he
   feeds me.
And so through all my length of days
your goodness fails me never;
   Good Shepherd, may I sing your
   praise within your house forever.

Celebrating: Our Good Shepherd

It is always a delight to discover that the simplest things in life are the most profound; the humblest, the most rich. That was my realization as I contemplated the theme for this Sunday. I always loved the idea of shepherds. The scene is usually calm and pastoral; that is in pictures. In my younger life, I actually had the opportunity to care for real sheep. By nature they are nervous, lack a sense of direction and the rams have an annoying penchant for butting the “shepherd” and sending the care giver into a nasty tumble. It is hard work and not always like the paintings.

Another issue, can be that we, as intelligent ,independent beings, do not like being compared to sheep. That word indicates a follower; one who does not think for oneself.

In the Gospel for today, Jesus says emphatically, “I am the Good Shepherd.” If we are the “sheep”, we would be well off to hear those words as a both a declaration and an invitation. Jesus wants to care for us. He lived our life. He knows life can be scary. Illness is scary, the loss of loved ones in death or abandonment is frightening. Aging can be scary.

Jesus in his humanness had frightening moments; moments of unsurety, moments when he questioned even the presence of his Abba.

Go to the Shepherd. Let him hold you, hear his voice. Once in a while it is good to follow! There is learning in following the Teacher. You will find that when you are strengthened, you will be have the desire and the ability to go out , to reach out to other “sheep” ; in the fields or far afield who are in pain. When you reach out to touch and hear the pain of others your own can take on new meaning.

Jesus does not see his “sheep” as mindless followers , but as ministers; God’s Potters, who have joined Him in the joyful art of healing.

Go Gently and Well with the Shepherd!

Elizabeth Lowe, Chaplain

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Third Sunday of Easter

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41 Rev. 5:11-14 John 21:1-119

This Sunday’s Gospel reading describes one of the most beautiful and poignant of the Easter apparitions of Jesus. It is my favorite and I call it “The Breakfast Picnic on the Beach.” Since Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Apostles no doubt had lived in fear, felt an emptiness and had some questions. What happens next? What do we do now? In that state of mind and with some degree of restlessness, Peter decides to do what he knows best: go fishing. Some of his companions join him in the venture. They do not have much success until they see someone on the shore who tells them to cast the net over the right side of the boat. An enormous catch results! They realize it is Jesus and Peter in his excitement jumps into the sea to reach him sooner.

Jesus has prepared a breakfast of bread and fish for his friends on the beach and asks for some of their huge catch to grill as well. What a treat! To be with Jesus and to have breakfast on the beach with him after a long night at sea… Jesus can do that for us as well, invite us and surprise us with special gifts and special moments. Are we willing to respond? Peter responds quickly, certainly with some sadness in his heart for his recent denial of Jesus on Good Friday, but even more so with great love and friendship. Peter’s sin was grave but caused by fear and weakness, I suspect, and not by maliciousness.

After breakfast comes the famous question that Jesus asks Peter three times: “Do you love me?” Some interpret these questions as Peter’s opportunity to be forgiven for his triple denial. But Jesus had already forgiven him. Jesus was giving him the opportunity to express his love and to receive his mission: “Feed my sheep.” What a special time of intimacy and friendship between Jesus and Peter!

Jesus may be asking each one of us that same question. “Do you love me?” What do I feel hearing that question? What might I answer? Do I have an answer? What mission do I have and fulfill here at the hospital, at d’Youville Pavilion or in the other ministries of St. Mary’s Health System? Jesus’ question “Do you love me?” might be a good beginning to a time of prayer during this Easter season.

In the first reading from Acts which occurs after Pentecost, after the Apostles have been strengthened by the Holy Spirit, we can see Peter is a new man, no longer weak and fearful, but strong and courageous. He is able to preach Jesus Christ to others with love and with no fear, able to say: “We must obey God rather than men.” As Christians today, are we able to witness to others that Jesus Christ is Savior and friend, the one who forgives us and the one who is always there for us?

May you have many moments with Jesus like “The Breakfast Picnic on the Beach…”

Sr. Suzanne Beaudoin, SSCh
Director of Pastoral Care

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Second Sunday of Easter

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

John 9:19-31

When I read and re-read familiar Gospel passages, I tend to pay attention to small details that others never seem to notice. In the current Gospel reading of the 2nd Sunday of Easter, the following detail caught my attention.

Jesus is now resurrected. He’s got a resurrected body and it appears He’s not used to it. A resurrected body is no longer limited by time and space. Jesus visits his disciples – friends who are in a locked room because they’re afraid. The doors were locked and suddenly, without knocking, He is in their midst. He can now go through locked doors and He seems to be enjoying this. In fact, in this short Sunday gospel reading, Jesus goes through locked doors twice. He seems to really enjoy this new way of entering.

Now think of this. When stories of the empty tomb first went around through Mary Magdalene, nobody is said to have been glad. In fact, it is said that they were afraid. That’s why the doors where they were gathered were locked. Don’t forget that all his followers had betrayed Him. Peter had even sworn that he did not know Him! The others had run away.

Now that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, what was He going to do? What was He going to do? Then Jesus started to visit His friends, to talk with them and to be friendly with them. (Always, it seems, through locked doors.) It is only then that it is reported that they could not believe their eyes . . . They could not believe their ears. What startled them was how friendly Jesus was . . . as if they had not betrayed Him. The resurrected Jesus seemed to have completely forgotten. “Shalom Alechem”! He said “Peace be with you!” Then He breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive will be forgiven.” After that the apostles were said to have been filled with joy so great they could not believe it. The resurrection was terrific, but being forgiven and accepted was really personal and so important to each one of them.

And then, there is the detail of doubting Thomas. When Thomas was finally satisfied that the risen Jesus was for real, Jesus said to him: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and believe!” Now, that’s about you and me. We believe but we have not seen. So we are blessed!?

Here are a few ways that I’ve been blessed.

  • All my sins have been forgiven.
  • I’ve had 2 heart attacks, 20 years apart, and both took place inside a hospital building. I’ve “flat-lined” twice and twice was revived. Oh yeah, I’ve been blessed!
  • In October of 2008, I had 2 strokes, again inside a hospital building. The swelling in my brain was in the back and the front . . . so I had no left side nor right side weaknesses or paralysis. I’ve really been blessed because I can still work full-time.
  • My son and my daughter are adults now and we are very close to each other. Our love is mutual and frequently expressed. I have two lovely granddaughters. Oh yeah, I’ve been blessed.

Many of you who read this, “believe and have not seen”. . . You’ve been blessed too. Try to reflect how you’ve been blessed. Try a “blessing diary”. Every day you are challenged to name at least one blessing. If you are faithful to that diary, at the end of only one year, you will have become actively aware of 365 blessings that are uniquely yours. Sounds like a plan to me!

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care at St. Mary’s Health System

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Easter Sunday

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

The great Easter feast, the resurrection of Jesus, is about a reversal of expectations: life coming from death, freedom out of fear, love out of rejection. Who discovered this amazing reversal of expectations on that Easter morning? It is the women who loved and followed Jesus, who go to tend to his body in death. The irony is that the women, who are not afraid to go to the grave or to be among the dead, are terrified when they encounter life in the form of two dazzling beings who ask them, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?” The irony is that we, too, sometimes seem more terrified of life. Why is it so easy to forgive our family members in death but so difficult to love them in life? Why is it so natural to lament about what is wrong rather than to take action to try something new? Why can we find money to fund mass destruction but cannot afford to try to heal the planet? And why, as one homilist suggests, are we “so eager to bury Jesus in history and so unready to live with him and his teachings today?”

Easter is not simply an event that occurred once in history. This very day we are offered new life available to us in the form of freedom. And like the women at the empty tomb, we are charged with bringing the good news of new life and hope to others. Even when people don’t believe us, or want to hear it. Even when we ourselves don’t want to hear it. We may prefer safety, comfort and control to freedom. We may gaze longingly at the old ways, rather than embrace new life. We may even get used to being in the tomb with our pride, old hurts and shame to keep us company. It takes courage and the risk of vulnerability to come out of the tomb. The promise is not living happily ever after (in safety, comfort and control); it is fullness of life in the here and now, which includes laughter and tears, joys and sorrows, hope and pain, but above all, love. Love that even death cannot contain. And God with us through all of it. We witness this and participate in this every day at St. Mary’s Health System for patients, residents, students, families and ourselves. John O’Donohue, the Irish writer and poet, offers this blessing from his “Morning Offering.” It is a profound reflection for Easter and for every morning:

May my mind come alive today
to the invisible geography
that invites me to new frontiers,
to break the dead shell of yesterdays,
to risk being disturbed and changed.
May I have the courage today
to live the life that I would love,
to postpone my dream no longer
but do at last what I came here for
and waste my heart on fear no more.

Elizabeth Keene, Mission Effectiveness

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