May 12th 2019–4th Sunday of Easter 12 de Mayo del 2019 – Cuarto Domingo de Pascua
In the month of Mary, 3-5 of May, our missionary sisters Loli, Elena and Alma coordinated the retreat for women in
Spanish at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, Long Island. 45 women attended, residing
in New York and come from diverse countries such as El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru,
Argentina and the Dominican Republic. For many them, it was an opportunity to put aside the busy environment of
the workplace and center their lives more on our Father in Heaven.
All the participants deeply meditated upon the Beatitudes, the state of prayer, and continuous prayer in the
spiritual life, learning how to apply them in the regular day to day routine.
During those three days of the retreat, the sacrament of Confession was available. In this same manner, the
women heard various personal testimonies by Olga, Mercedes, Emelia and Elsie. This time with Christ shared as a
family was a wonderful experience that left among them a peace that only God can grant. They expressed with great
joy their hopes to return to the next retreat!
“Las bienaventuranzas son el retrato de Jesús, su forma de vida, y son el camino de la verdadera felicidad” –Papa
Francisco.
En el mes de María, el 3-5 de mayo, nuestras hermanas misioneras Loli, Elena, y Alma coordinaron el retiro de
mujeres en español, realizado en el Seminario de la Inmaculada Concepción en Huntington, Long Island. Asistieron
45 mujeres, residentes en Nueva York de diferentes nacionalidades como El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Ecuador,
Guatemala, México, Perú, Argentina y la República Dominicana. Para muchas, era una oportunidad de dejar el
ambiente atareado del trabajo a un lado y centrarse de nuevo en nuestro Padre Divino.
Todas las participantes meditaron profundamente las reflexiones sobre las bienaventuranzas, estado de oración,
oración continúa en la vida espiritual y aprendiendo cómo aplicarlas en el día a día.
Durante estos tres días de retiro, el sacramento de la confesión estuvo disponible e igualmente se escucharon varios
testimonios personales de Olga, Mercedes, Emelia y Elsie. Este tiempo con Cristo que compartieron como familia
fue una experiencia preciosa que dejó una paz que solamente Dios mismo puede conceder. ¡Expresaron con alegría
volver al próximo retiro!
AMORIS LÆTITIA AMORIS LÆTITIA
OF THE HOLY FATHER DEL SANTO PADRE
FRANCIS FRANCISCO
TO BISHOPS, PRIESTS AND DEACONS A OBISPOS, SACERDOTES Y DIÁCONOS.
CONSECRATED PERSONS PERSONAS CONSAGRADAS
CHRISTIAN MARRIED COUPLES PAREJAS CASADAS CRISTIANAS
AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL Y TODOS LOS LAICOS FIELES
ON LOVE IN THE FAMILY SOBRE EL AMOR EN LA FAMILIA
126. In marriage, the joy of love needs to be cultivated. 126. En el matrimonio conviene cuidar la alegría del amor.
When the search for pleasure becomes obsessive, it holds us Cuando la búsqueda del placer es obsesiva, nos encierra en una
in thrall and keeps us from experiencing other satisfactions. sola cosa y nos incapacita para encontrar otro tipo de
Joy, on the other hand, increases our pleasure and helps us satisfacciones. La alegría, en cambio, amplía la capacidad de
find fulfillment in any number of things, even at those gozar y nos permite encontrar gusto en realidades variadas, aun
times of life when physical pleasure has ebbed. Saint en las etapas de la vida donde el placer se apaga. Por eso decía
Thomas Aquinas said that the word “joy” refers to an santo Tomás que se usa la palabra « alegría » para referirse a la
expansion of the heart. Marital joy can be experienced even dilatación de la amplitud del corazón. La alegría matrimonial,
amid sorrow; it involves accepting that marriage is an que puede vivirse aun en medio del dolor, implica aceptar que el
inevitable mixture of enjoyment and struggles, tensions and matrimonio es una necesaria combinación de gozos y de
repose, pain and relief, satisfactions and longings, esfuerzos, de tensiones y de descanso, de sufrimientos y de
annoyances and pleasures, but always on the path of liberaciones, de satisfacciones y de búsquedas, de molestias y de
friendship, which inspires married couples to care for one placeres, siempre en el camino de la amistad, que mueve a los
another: “they help and serve each other”. esposos a cuidarse:« se prestan mutuamente ayuda y servicio ».
127. The love of friendship is called “charity” when it 127. El amor de amistad se llama « caridad » cuando se capta y
perceives and esteems the “great worth” of another person. aprecia el « alto valor » que tiene el otro. La belleza —el « alto
Beauty – that “great worth” which is other than physical or valor » del otro, que no coincide con sus atractivos físicos o
psychological appeal – enables us to appreciate the psicológicos— nos permite gustar lo sagrado de su persona, sin
sacredness of a person, without feeling the need to possess la imperiosa necesidad de poseerlo. En la sociedad de consumo
it. In a consumerist society, the sense of beauty is el sentido estético se empobrece, y así se apaga la alegría. Todo
impoverished and so joy fades. Everything is there to be está para ser comprado, poseído o consumido; también las
purchased, possessed or consumed, including people. personas. La ternura, en cambio, es una manifestación de este
Tenderness, on the other hand, is a sign of a love free of amor que se libera del deseo de la posesión egoísta. Nos lleva a
selfish possessiveness. It makes us approach a person with vibrar ante una persona con un inmenso respeto y con un cierto
immense respect and a certain dread of causing them harm temor de hacerle daño o de quitarle su libertad. El amor al otro
or taking away their freedom. Loving another person implica ese gusto de contemplar y valorar lo bello y sagrado de
involves the joy of contemplating and appreciating their su ser personal, que existe más allá de mis necesidades. Esto me
innate beauty and sacredness, which is greater than my permite buscar su bien también cuando sé que no puede ser mío
needs. This enables me to seek their good even when they o cuando se ha vuelto físicamente desagradable, agresivo o
cannot belong to me, or when they are no longer physically molesto. Por eso, « del amor por el cual a uno le es grata otra
appealing but intrusive and annoying. For “the love by persona depende que le dé algo gratis ».
which one person is pleasing to another depends on his or
her giving something freely”.
REFLECTION
Acts of the Apostles 13,14.43-52; Book of Revelation 7,9.14b-17; Saint John 10,27-30.
He leads me beside the still waters
Our society emphasizes the value of individuality and egocentrism and is always telling you,
don’t be a sheep, don’t be a follower, be a leader, just be yourself.
But the truth is that we all follow someone. We all make decisions based on someone else’s
words or actions. Our past, present and future is built on how we respond to what others
have said. Some of us may say, I don’t follow a person, but a theory or an ideology. While
that may be true on some level, ideas or theories cannot be divorced from the people who
originally crafted them. Everything still ultimately boils down to a person.
This is confirmed by child development. The first objective for children is to get deeply
integrated into their small social worlds. As the weakest and most vulnerable members of
their communities, children need to follow their adult caregivers and having them
emotionally attached to them so that those caregivers will willingly protect them, nurture
them, feed them, carry them, and gladly sacrifice their lives, if necessary, for them. And
this is how values, ideas, beliefs and aspirations are conveyed and passed on.
This explains why Jesus said: Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such
as these (Mt 19: 14). Children are truly models of followership. Young people look for models. They need adults about whom they feel: When I
grow up, I want to be a person like you! On the other hand, like sheep, there is an inherent stubbornness and arrogance in all of us to do our
own thing, to go our own way. We pridefully want to rule our lives. But it does not work. We all need a shepherd to help keep us on God’s
righteous path.
We talk incessantly about leadership. In the real world, we need to know how to follow, too. Moreover, leadership is not something that is done
solely by the leader. Leadership is co-created by leaders and followers working together. In fact, it might be the other way around: followers
may be more important to leadership, and getting things done, than leaders.
Jesus described himself as a follower when He said things like: I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father, I have not spoken of my
own authority. In his last words, he commended His spirit to his Father. This is the example of the true follower that Jesus left for us. To be a
good leader (or apostle) I must be a good sheep. In order to be a good leader I must be a good follower.
The fourth Sunday during Easter Season is called the Good Shepherd Sunday because the gospel talks about good shepherd who is Jesus. He is
the One who goes before us, leads, guides, directs, and encourages us. Our calling and identity as Christians is first as his followers, not leaders.
Saint Paul was convinced of this:
For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos, “are you not mere carnal human beings? What is Apollos, after all, and
what is Paul? Ministers, through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. (1 Cor 3: 4-5).
We are only guardians of His flock. The sheep do not belong to us but to God. For that reason, we act as His guardians and take good care of
the sheep for Him. It also means that we are accountable to our Heavenly Father and we cannot dispose of the sheep as if they are our
property. At the end of the day, we will be held responsible if the sheep under our charge are stolen by the world or used as instruments for our
own purposes, needs and ambitions. We have a duty to safeguard our sheep, regardless of the state of life we are in.
The truth is that at times we forget what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel: My sheep hear my voice, I knew them and they follow me.
Knowing in the biblical sense of the term is more than intellectual knowledge. It also includes knowing them by their names, works,
sufferings, plans, feelings, sharing their life’s conditions, backgrounds and identifying oneself in their struggle. And this is not possible for us.
We lack the necessary vision and we badly need the view of a true shepherd. As our father Founder describes it, talking about the Myth of the
Cavern:
Behold one of these individuals of this cavern is freed and, placed facing the light, contemplates a new, deeper reality and ground of
the first made up only of appearances. This man is led toward the interior of the cavern through a rough and steep ascent. It is a
human being who is going to leave the cavern, the world of shadows, of interests, of intolerances, of the great misery that derives
from the mere fact of survival. After much effort, he manages to get out of the cavern and he finds himself in the Olympus –what we
would call heaven–. Naturally, this other world is of greater reality, it is a world of being that is marvelously existential. Here
everything is authentic, everything is ousia; here this is no opinion, everything is evidence. In this heaven, everything is what it is,
what it should be, what it must be, what cannot be any other way, simply because it is.
This extraordinary man, a kind of saint, hero, scientist, feels obliged to go back down again into the interior of the cavern to free his
old companions, and tell them to make the same effort to get out of the cavern so they can see what he has seen: the purest
existence, immutable, what is always the way it is; in a word, the true life. Life is outside, it is what he saw; what you live inside the
cavern is death.
The reaction of that poor humanity is to laugh at him, to be incredulous: It’s not possible! It’s not true! The light has blinded
him.Why such disbelief? Now, I get into my own interpretations of the myth. Because the supreme truth and goodness oppose our
interests, our egoisms, that mental condemnation we are living, even though we recognize that we are getting on badly. I prefer the
bad already known to a hypothetical good that I don’t yet know, says a Castilian proverb. His old companions end up killing him at
the earliest possible chance (En el Corazón del Padre).
When someone stands up for Jesus and the Gospel, those whose lives are affected by our values will attack him vehemently. Usually, under the
guise of disagreement over a truth, the underlying reasons have to do more with ego, pride, jealousy and most of all, loss of money, power and
influence.
To sacrifice ourselves for the sheep is not a possibility, but a necessary and permanent situation. The world will do anything to silence the
apostles from the past and today. The First Reading tells us how the Jews incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and the
leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. At the same time, apart
from standing ready to be persecuted, a good shepherd must always be prepared for the ingratitude of the sheep and has to be careful not fall
into the trap of discouragement or lack of patience.
Are we able to listening to Christ and recognizing His voice in the midst of the many voices se are hearing, especially our own?
As Saint Augustine said, if you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.
The intellectual acceptance of the Gospel is the first indicator of our spiritual hearing ability.
A true shepherd, a spiritual director, rector, or spiritual formator, is exclusively dedicated to the needs of the persons entrusted to his care, in
order to bear ever increasing witness to Christ by his/her life, works and words. You can be a part-time professor; you cannot be a part-time
formator or shepherd. This exclusive nature of the good shepherd’s task is a distinguishing mark of his authenticity. Trust and
confidence is not just a matter of competency and ability in leadership, but more than that, whether we really care for them. In fact, young
people, parishioners or students can forgive us for the lack of leadership skills, but they cannot forgive us if we are self-serving, putting our
interests and convenience before theirs.
Sometimes we do not let them know us. We do not spend time with the young people in training periods, like the shepherd who lives with
them. They feel that we regard them as a mass rather than as individuals with different strengths and weaknesses, needs and difficulties. We do
not listen to them at lunch time because we live in our ivory tower and immersed in our own struggles. We do not know them by name, that is,
personally, and therefore cannot share their sufferings, hopes and expectations. Perhaps we know very little about their health, families and
personal stories. Sometimes they do not know what we are doing because we do not take time to explain to them our vision, mission, our plans
and concerns. They are just receiving commands and orders from us.
Shepherding connotes actions like guarding, mentoring, guiding, providing for and protecting those in one’s care. We can see that richness in
the metaphors of Psalm 23, where the shepherd provides water and green pasture for his flock, is a guide who knows and leads them safely
even through dark valleys. Then is a host who prepares a meal for his guests and offers them hospitality for the rest of their lives. Are we
allowing bringing rest and peace in the relationships between them? Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall the called the children of God.
In the moments of betrayal, lies and repeated faults, let us remember that the lost sinner, like a lost sheep, is important to God. The Good
Shepherd leaves the flock of the righteous to search for a lost sheep. When He finds it, the Good Shepherd carries his sheep home, full of joy
and rejoicing. There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
On one occasion, a lady was visiting a well-run nursing home, where good food, medical care and other facilities were offered to the elderly. As
she moved among the old people, she noticed that none of them smiled unless she touched them and smiled at them first. She also noticed that
many of them kept glancing expectantly towards the door while listening to her. When she asked one of the nurses why this was so, she was
told: They are looking for a visit from someone related to them. But, except for an occasional visit, birthday gift or a ‘get well’ card, this never
happens. Jesus invites us to show concern, mercy and compassion for such sheep without a shepherd.
We need to continuously walk in the truth by listening to Jesus if we were to lead others in the truth. The disciples, though they did not always
understand, when Jesus asked them, will you leave me too? one of them said, who will we go to? You alone have the words of eternal life.
Isaiah summarized in a verse all our salvation history: We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the
Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Is 53: 6). When we live in state of continuous prayer, meditate on the Word of God and celebrate
the Eucharist with devotion and love, then will we be able to say with Jesus that the Father and I are one.
A few weeks ago, a young missionary told me this about one of his Superior: After meeting him, I believe more in Christ. So many things I had
heard about Christ, I see in him.
A man came to visit Mother Theresa in Calcutta, where she worked with the poorest of the poor, and asked to join her in her ministry. But
instead of inviting him to join her, she said, Find your Calcutta.
Find your Calcutta. Find the people around you who need love, and by love I mean spiritual and material food and our presence. Find where
God is calling you to love.
Encuentra tu Calcuta. Encuentra a las personas a tu alrededor que necesitan amor, y al decir amor me refiero al alimento material y espiritual y
a nuestra presencia. Encuentra dónde Dios te está llamando a amar.
Luis Casasús
Superior General de
los Misioneros Identes