Father Paul Weinberger, Pastor
St. William the Confessor Catholic Church
Greenville, Texas
Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 7, 2006
Transcriber’s note:
I would like to make a comment about the way in which Fr. Paul delivers his homilies. There are many children at all the Masses at St. Williams so Fr. Paul speaks in a way that they will understand. Very young children are sitting quietly and paying close attention to what he is saying. It is amazing to hear a tiny child chuckle when he says something humorous or to hear a small child discussing the homily with a friend or parent after Mass. That is when you know they are actually listening. This homily was given during the 9:30 am Mass and there are a multitude of children who attend. Fr. Paul is indeed a “Father” to all his children, young and old.
Jesus said, “I AM the Good Shepherd.”
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
Several months ago my dad’s sister, his only sibling, Aunt Jo, who lives in Quinlan got a phone call from a friend. This friend raises sheep and at the birth of three new little lambs she needed to find a home for one of them. In talking to my aunt I learned something; the mother will nurse two but the third one will be allowed to die so she called Aunt Jo and asked her to take the third lamb. The lamb was so little it could fit in the palm of her hand, which is very small as well. She named the lamb Little Bit. Aunt Jo cared for the lamb and had to bottle-feed it.
About a month ago she turned Little Bit out to pasture so it could be with other sheep. Aunt Jo did a very good job raising the lamb because it is larger than all the other ones. It is a different kind of lamb but still larger than the others. That might explain what happened to me; she used to babysit me. [Laughter]
Aunt Jo also has a Yorkshire terrier name Scooter. The other day she took Scooter to see Little Bit because they had not seen each other for about a month. I guess there are visitation privileges for the dog and the lamb. Little Bit was out in the pasture and as Aunt Jo approached she carried Scooter in one hand and in the other hand she carried oats she’d picked that had grown wild along the fence line. When Aunt Jo got to the fence the lamb came over and she fed him the oats and then put Scooter on the ground outside to fence to see what would happen. She had no idea what if anything would happen.
Scooter was on one side of the fence and Little Bit on the other side and he poked his nose through the fence. Scooter must be part ant eater because he has such a long tongue. He just licked the nose of Little Bit, went under the fence and into the pasture with the lamb. Scooter probably thinks that Little Bit is a Yorkie. The other sheep were afraid of this little dog but Little Bit wasn’t.
This little lamb is part of the flock now; he is one with all the other sheep there. Like a sheep he is always looking for his next meal. That beautiful Psalm, 23;
The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want,
also has a line that says,
In verdant pastures He gives me repose.
I have heard that at so many funerals, I have read it at many funerals and I hope to have it read at my funeral. Consider the shepherd that goes before the flock; he is making sure the flock will get their next meal. They eat the grass roots and all. This is the reason cattlemen don’t like sheep; they lay waste to an area but a Shepherd understands this and they have to keep leading them to newer pastures so they will have their next meal.
Last week in a newspaper or in some magazine like Time or Newsweek, someone published a study that said if mothers received a paycheck they would earn a yearly salary of $132,000. I think that is a lowball figure. Mothers, they report, are worth a lot if they were paid a salary. This is no surprise to mothers or fathers but probably is a surprise to children. Mothers are very much like the Good Shepherd as well as fathers are like the Good Shepherd. Good parents are like the Good Shepherd. Our Lord makes reference in this Gospel to the fact that He is the Good Shepherd and not an employee or hireling and in the presence of the wolf He is not going to run away as the hireling or employee will.
Mothers especially are always amazed at how much their children can pack away. How many times at the breakfast table have mothers heard their children ask what they are having for lunch. Mothers usually ask the children to finish breakfast before they talk about lunch. Of course mothers usually already have planned what will be served for lunch and dinner etc. A mother is very much like a Shepherd in that since because they are always looking to the next meal for their family.
So, it is not surprising that Christ, Who is the Good Shepherd will make use of everyone so configured; every mother and father as well as His own Mother, He will use in helping to feed His flock. Why in the world would Christ deny this privilege and work to His best disciple; His own mother.
I mentioned last week that if you don’t have a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this is something that you really need to put on your “to get” list. Be sure you purchase the green one, which is the second edition. In this catechism there are four divisions. I’d mentioned the first division and it was concerning the Creed, the second was on the Sacraments, the third is on the Commandments and the fourth is a beautiful treatment on prayer. This book has many footnotes at the bottom of the page and it references Scripture, the lives of the saints, the teachings of the pope, the doctors of the Church etc. A lot is packed into one book. The only problem is that it is a little heavy but then again, so am I. [Laughter] There is nothing wrong with that. You can purchase the Catechism online or you can read it online…no charge. If you have a pencil please make a note of these paragraphs: 1391, 92, 93, and 1385. I am going to refer to these. This is the section on Holy Communion.
If you look at the way the Sanctuary is configured, it is to show that everything that is connected or has an association with the Risen Christ is going to produce much fruit. I know those are azaleas and they aren’t going to produce apples or strawberries, but they produce flowers. The idea is that this Sanctuary and the reference to the Risen Christ in his Glorified Body is a life giving Presence in the world today and anyone connected with the Risen Christ is going to produce much fruit and is expected to produce much fruit. The Lord Himself says,
Or that branch will be trimmed away and thrown into the fire.
These are Our Lord’s words in the Gospel of St. John. So, the Risen Christ in His Glorified body is present in this Tabernacle and the way the Sanctuary is arranged here is to show the connection with His Risen, life giving, Glorified Body there in the symbol of that statue of the Sacred Heart, whose hands and feet show the wounds or the nails and He has His hands situated in a position which shows He is directing us to His Heart, which was pierced by the soldier’s lance. Make no mistake; this is the crucified Christ who did in fact die but now lives. If you survive a crucifixion there is no way you are going to survive the loss of fluid around the heart. When the cardiac sac is pierced and the fluid around the heart escapes there is no way you are going to survive. So, this is the Risen and Glorified Christ and not the “dead” Christ. When we receive Holy Communion we are not receiving the “dead” body of Christ but the Risen and Glorified Body of Christ, which is a life giving Body.
It may help to explain also how Christ can be present in this Tabernacle, every Tabernacle in this Diocese and in every Tabernacle all around the world. If it were merely His “dead” Body, this would not be the case, but since it is His Glorified Body then this is in fact the case. Parents, this may be repetition for you but it may be news for your children so this is something which should be studied and gone over in the paragraph of the Catechism that I mentioned previously. Paragraph #1391 speaks on the fruits of Holy Communion.
Holy Communion augments our union with Christ. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus.
There is nothing more intimate you will do today or in your life that is more intimate than receiving the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. I challenge anyone to present me with something more intimate; there is absolutely nothing that is more intimate than receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion. Continuing with the paragraph…
Indeed, the Lord said: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him."
That is a reference to the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel. Maybe today when you go home you can pull out the Bible and read chapter six of St. John’s Gospel on the Bread of Life, on Holy Communion. Jesus is the Good Shepherd but unlike other shepherds He allows His sheep to eat His Body and drink His Blood in order to form the principal fruit, which is Union with Christ.
"As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me."227
This is a mandate by the Good Shepherd; that we eat His Body and drink His Blood.
Yesterday, on First Saturday the reading was again from St. John’s Gospel. Jesus was feeding the crowd with His Word. Do you remember when Jesus said this?
I have food of which you do not know.
The reference is to the fact that every man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. The Word of God is food for the soul and the preaching of the Word, the Word of God itself is preparation to receive the very Word of God in Holy Communion, the Most Blessed Sacrament, in the Eucharist. So in yesterday’s Gospel Jesus was teaching and as He was teaching the men were asking each other how He could do this, give His Body to eat and His Blood to drink. The men turned on their heels and walked away but Jesus didn’t run after them or tell them He would change His teachings. Those men could not bear His teaching. So, there are people who do not believe in Jesus or His teachings.
I have provided a prayer for you on page seven of your bulletin. It is the beautiful prayer taught to the children of Fatima by the angel the year before Our Lady of Fatima appeared to them.
O my God, I believe in You, I adore You, I hope in You and I love You. I ask Your pardon for all those who do NOT believe in You, do NOT adore YOU, do NOT hope in You and do NOT love You. Amen
This is a prayer, which is very appropriate to be prayed after receiving Holy Communion. It is also a prayer that bears our repeating every day because as Catholics we understand that we are called to an intimate union with Christ, but it is not merely Jesus and me. I cannot forget my neighbor. Whoever reads the parable of the Good Samaritan and would forget this would have been sorely misdirected. So that prayer that was taught to the children at Fatima remembers those who do not believe, adore, hope, or love Him. Don’t kid yourself; the world is full of people who would fit into that category.
In paragraph 1392 of the catechism we read,
What material food produces in our bodily life, Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life. Communion with the flesh of the risen Christ, a flesh "given life and giving life through the Holy Spirit,"229 preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism.
So the Eucharist gives life. It is flesh given life and giving life. Again, this is another reference to the fact that we receive the life giving flesh of Jesus and not his dead and buried body.
This growth in Christian life needs the nourishment of Eucharistic Communion, the bread for our pilgrimage until the moment of death, when it will be given to us as viaticum.
Viaticum means “food for the journey”. Jesus as the Good Shepherd tells all of us to plan on our next meal, but not the meal of earthly food but this Heavenly Banquet, which we refer to as Holy Communion in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If we live in a way that we are always preparing for our next meal, our next Mass and Holy Communion, when our last hour comes it will not catch us by surprise. By always preparing for our next meal, the Eucharist, at this Altar we are always ready for either the next Mass here or the next Mass that will not end in Heaven. It is very helpful if we stay focused and keep our eyes on the Good Shepherd and to follow Him from one pasture to the next. This is a way of assuring that when that last hour comes we will be able to follow Him from this life into the next.
Paragraph 1393 says,
Holy Communion separates us from sin.
This one small sentence encapsulates what Holy Communion does for the life of the soul. How many people get up in the morning and knowingly decide to unite themselves with sin? Not at all! Holy Communion separates us from sin if received in a worthy manner.
The body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is "given up for us," and the blood we drink "shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins." For this reason the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins:
Cleansing us from past sins is a reference to venial sins.
Paragraph 1385 in the Catechism refers to the teaching that St. Paul includes in his First Letter to the Corinthians. This would be one to mark and go back and study.
To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself."218 Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion.
The beauty of this teaching is that it helps us always in preparing for the next Holy Communion, the next Heavenly Banquet, the next time the Good Shepherd will feed us with His Word and with His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
When Our Lady appeared to the three children at Fatima she did so for the first time on May 13, 1917. May is the Month of Mary and so is October. The last time she appeared to the children was October 13, 1917. How fitting that she began in a month dedicated to her and end in a month dedicated to her Rosary and her as well. Our Lady appeared to three children under ten years of age and in July of 1917 she gave the children a vision that would stay with them the rest of their lives. She showed them a glimpse of Hell. One of the children said that it was like seeing wood in the fire burning but instead of logs there were people. After having told the children that they would all go to Heaven, the Blessed Mother showed them this vision of Hell. She said,
You have seen Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save these poor souls God wishes to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart.
The message of Fatima is to direct out attention to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Of course the Immaculate Heart of Mary beats in unison or unity with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That is why the picture on the front of the bulletin is so configured; that is the Immaculate Heart of Mary. You can see her heart with the flames coming out of the top and the pink roses across and then the sword descending. The sword is a reference to the prophecy that the old man, Simeon, gave when St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother presented the baby Jesus for the first time in the Temple. He told the Blessed Mother that a sword would pierce her own soul too so that the thoughts of many would be laid bear.
We have a picture in Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is the last stained glass window on the left side as you walk in, at the back. You can distinguish that window from the one the other side of the Church because that one is a red heart with thorns across it and this one is red with pink roses surrounding it and a sword penetrating the heart from the top and going through it. So, that is the Immaculate Heart of Mary window. Our Lady’s apparition at Fatima was to direct our attention to the Sacred Heart of her Son, Jesus and to her Immaculate Heart.
Please look at the second prayer I have provided for you in the bulletin. The angel appeared a series of time to prepare them for Our Lady’s apparition. Once the angel carried to the children a beautiful Consecrated Host and below it was a Chalice. From the Sacred Host, drops of blood would fall into the Chalice. The angel prostrated himself, touching his head to the ground as the Chalice and Sacred Host remained suspended in the air. He then led the children in prayer, repeating three times,
Most Holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - I adore thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners. Amen
This prayer and the prayer above are very appropriate for an everyday prayer, but most especially at the moment after we receive Our Lord in Holy Communion. So parents and grandparents, please include these prayers when you are teaching the little ones to pray because an angel taught this prayer to three children at Fatima.
All the children were under ten years of age. There was one boy named Francisco and his sister Jacinta. The other child was their cousin and her name was Lucia. They are known as the three children of Fatima. The Blessed Mother singles out the boy and she tells him that they will all go to Heaven but that he will have to pray many rosaries. Right…exactly…she singles out the boy to offer these words. Over the following months Francisco started praying many rosaries.
I am just going to talk to the men here for a minute. The next time you or I try to talk ourselves into not praying the Rosary just remember that our Lady said this to a boy under ten years old. It kind of makes you a little hot around the collar doesn’t it? Of course you and I are steeped in praying the Rosary multiple times everyday, right? If only that were the case but we struggle to pray the Rosary once a day so we have to struggle to pray even more. Our Lady recommends the Rosary at Fatima, which seems like something vain to do to some people.
Now pray the Rosary because after the Mass, that is my second favorite prayer.
No, the Virgin Mary would not ask us to pray and make it sound like it is all about her. The Rosary is a meditation on the Life, Death and Resurrection of Christ, which that last prayer of the Rosary says. By Our Lady emphasizing reparation, especially prayers and sacrifices for poor sinners, what she is doing is connecting us with our brothers and sisters. There are Christians today that are nominal Christians who do not really believe in God, do not adore, hope in Him or love Him. That first prayer I gave you connects us with our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are lost sheep. The prayer is beautiful for it’s brevity and also for it’s scope, encompassing all; those who believe and those who don’t, those who adore and those who don’t, as well as those who love Him and those who don’t. At the same time, when we are praying for the conversion of poor sinners as in the second prayer, we are praying for ourselves because we also need conversion. So none of this is intended for puffing us up and rising above the fray.
The Good Shepherd wants to lead His flock through this dark valley.
For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evils, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they have comforted me.
He wants us to feed on his very Body. Blood, Soul, and Divinity; He wants us to eat His flesh and drink His blood because without Him we have no life and without His life we produce no life and we are not separated from sin. We are just like the Prodigal Son before his conversion. Jesus calls you and me when He says,
“I AM the Good Shepherd.”
In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit