4th  SUNDAY  OF  EASTER I came that you may have life and have it abundantly   Entrance Antiphon The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord; by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, alleluia. Introduction Today we rejoice that Jesus is exalted as the Lord and Christ by the Father. For us he becomes our good shepherd who sacrificed his life to save us from sin and death. At our Eucharistic celebration he also feeds us with fullness of his life. PENITENTIAL RITE My brothers and sisters, Jesus our good shepherd has saved us by his suffering and death on the cross: “by his wounds you have been healed”. Let us repent of our sins and prepare ourselves to accept his loving mercy and healing grace. (Pause) Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord, Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. Opening Prayer Let us pray. Almighty and ever-living God, give us new strength from the courage of Christ our shepherd, and lead us to join the saints in heaven, where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever. FIRST READING (Peter declares to the Jewish people Jews that God has made Jesus, whom they had crucified, both Lord and Christ, and he asks them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.) A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (2:14,36-41) Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed the multitude, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him.” And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (22) Response: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name. If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort. You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever. SECOND READING (Peter encourages the suffering Christians to be submissive to their masters with all respect because Christ suffered for them too.) A reading from the First Letter of St Peter (2:20-25) What credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it patiently, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Jn 10:14) Alleluia, alleluia! I am the good shepherd, says the Lord, I know my own and my own know me. Alleluia! GOSPEL (Jesus is the true and good shepherd who has come to give life in abundance. His sheep hear his voice and follow him.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (10:1-10) Jesus said to the Jews, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Jesus is our true shepherd who leads us to an abundant life. Let us today pray to our heavenly Father for the grace to hear his voice and follow him every day of our life: Response: Loving Father, hear our prayer. 1. For the shepherds of the Church that they may boldly follow the self-giving and self-sacrificing example of Christ and thus lead us on the way to abundant life in Christ. 2. For Christians of other denomi-nations that they may give heed to the call of our shepherd Jesus Christ to be one Church and put all the resources together in the evangelization work. 3. For the estranged and lost members of the Christian community that they may hear the voice of Jesus their shepherd and return to the fold with true sorrow and arrive at the fullness of life and truth. 4. For the suffering and the sick, the poor and the needy, the oppressed and the persecuted, that they may be comforted by the healing and empowering grace of Jesus the good shepherd. Cel: Loving Father, you invite us to the fullness of life by sending Jesus your Son as our good shepherd. Help us to hear his voice and come to share the life you have promised us. We ask this… Prayer over the gifts Lord, restore us by these Easter mysteries. May the continuing work of our redeemer bring us eternal joy. We ask this... PREFACE (22) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. We praise you with greater joy than ever in this Easter season, when Christ became our paschal sacrifice. He has made us children of the light, rising to new and everlasting life. He has opened the gates of heaven to receive his faithful people. His death is our ransom from death; his resurrection is our rising to life. The joy of the resurrection renews the whole world, while the choirs of heaven sing for ever to your glory: All: Holy, holy, holy… Communion antiphon The Good Shepherd is risen! He who laid down his life for his sheep, who died for his flock, he is risen, alleluia. Prayer after communion Father, eternal shepherd, watch over the flock redeemed by the blood of Christ and lead us to the promised land. Grant this... The very name Jesus means Saviour. Salvation and abundance of life is found only in Jesus. To put it in other words, Jesus is our reconciliation, resurrection and life. “I have come,” says Jesus, “that they (we) may have life in abundance.” This promise of Jesus makes him a unique spiritual leader the world has never seen before or will ever see in the future. Only a God who is the source of life, can ensure life to others. All spiritual gurus show you the way to life and they might lead you to the source of life. They cannot ensure life to you. Jesus does not lead you to life, instead he gives life itself as he is the Life, and gives you not in small measures but in abundance. Jesus is the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd does not just lead his flock to the abundance of life, but he himself is the abundance of life. Again, Jesus is not a shepherd who shows us the way to the Father and to eternal life. But he is the way to the Father as he claims “I am the Way” (Jn 14:6), and “I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” (Jn 10:9). Therefore he is not one of the ways to have life and salvation, but he is the door as well as he is the life. Therefore he is the means and the end. We have access to the abundance of life through the sacraments. In the sacraments we encounter Christ and experience his life especially in the forgiveness of our sins and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. After the resurrection when he appeared to his disciples and breathed his Spirit upon them Jesus said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:22-23). Jesus commission led his disciples to be his mediators and channels of this fullness of life. Faith is what opens our minds and hearts to Jesus to drink deeply from the inexhaustible riches of life and forgiveness. “Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving one blessing after another” (Jn 1:16). The people hearing Peter’s speech on Pentecost day asked “What shall we do?” Peter answered, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). The rivers of God’s life flow into our lives when we open the channels by our humble faith and conversion from the values that are against God. “Come to me…” Jesus invites us, “I will refresh you” (Mt. 11:28). Come to me, I will satisfy and feed you…I will quench all your thirst…I will fill all your emptiness and powerlessness… I will heal and strengthen you in your sickness and sorrow… I will teach you and enlighten you in your ignorance and darkness…I will give you life eternal when you die. April 2008                  READINGS OF THE WEEK                            (Psalter Week 2) 14 Mon (W) Acts 11:1-18; Ps 42:2-3; 43:3-4; Jn 10:11-18 15 Tue (W) Acts 11:19-26; Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7; Jn 10:22-30 16 Wed (W) Acts 12:24–13:5a; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6 and 8; Jn 12:44-50 17 Thu (W) Acts 13:13-25; Ps 89:2-3, 21-22, 25 and 27; Jn 13:16-20 18 Fri (W) Acts 13:26-33; Ps 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab; Jn 14:1-6 19 Sat (W) Acts 13:44-52; Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4; Jn 14:7-14