Homily - 4th Sunday of Easter, Year C (2004)

-- Fr. Timothy W. Castor

"My sheep hear my voice;" says the Lord, "I know them, and they follow me." Every year on this, the fourth Sunday of Easter, Holy Mother Church invites us to contemplate Jesus as the Good Shepherd by giving us for our Gospel reading a portion of the 10th chapter of John, the Good Shepherd Discourse. It is a beautiful and touching image of Christ; and certainly one of the most popular. Even the ancient Catacombs in Rome contain frescoes of the Good Shepherd, and one of the earliest representations of Christ in sculpture is of a young shepherd tenderly carrying a lamb on his shoulders.

It's a meaningful symbol for us because, for all our independence and pride, deep down we realize that we are not much better than simple sheep, desperately in need of a good shepherd's care. It is especially meaningful during the Easter season because it so perfectly captures the Paschal Mystery: Jesus saves us from sin by laying down his life in our stead; and, as the young shepherd David protected his sheep from the bear and the lion, our Good Shepherd conquered death once for all in his glorious resurrection from the dead.

Of course, as with all of our Lord's words and deeds, there's so much more here for us to discover and savor. As I was meditating on today's Gospel, it occurred to me that this is not the first time we encounter a shepherd in Scripture, either in reality or by way of figure. And the thought came to me, God must have a very special love for shepherds! Think of the many times they have been chosen vessels of grace in salvation history: As we have already mentioned, David, the greatest of Israel's kings, was a shepherd; before him, Abraham belonged to a nomadic race of shepherds, an occupation which became a fundamental part of Hebrew life; Moses received his call from God in the burning bush while he was tending sheep; we read of great prophets who were shepherds; and, most importantly of all, God compares himself on many occasions to a shepherd caring for Israel, his flock.

When we turn to the New Testament, we find shepherds at the birth of Jesus. Of all the people to whom God could have sent his angels that night, he chose a humble group of shepherds to receive the proclamation of Messiah's birth.

It would seem that God's predilection for shepherds did not end in biblical times, either. Later this month, on the 13th, the Church will celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, commemorating that day in 1917 when our Blessed Mother Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Portugal. Two of these children, Francisco Marta and his sister Jacinta, died at the beginning of the 20th century before they were 11 years old; and recently our Holy Father has declared them Blessed (the third visionary, their cousin Lucia, is still living as a cloistered Carmelite nun). Jacinta and Francisco, however, were not beatified because they had received a message from Mary. Rather it was because they lived the message they received.

It was not a new message—indeed it could not be because general revelation ceased with the death of the Apostles. It was an old message which people were beginning to forget—a message which could be summed up in one word: pray. Pray for peace, Mary told them; pray for the conversion of sinners; pray every day, especially the Rosary; pray by offering your sufferings to God in union with the sufferings of Jesus; pray, pray, pray.

In the few short years which followed this extraordinary event, as their health failed and they approached death, little Francisco and Jacinta did indeed deepen their commitment to prayer. Before their visit from Mary, the children used to pray the Rosary simply by repeating the words, "Hail Mary, hail Mary, hail Mary" while running the beads through their fingers as fast as they could. This would give them more time to have fun. Fr. Paolo Molinari, the postulator of their cause for beatification, commented on this habit:

This reflects all the authenticity of childhood [he said]: they remained real children although, after the apparitions and resulting docility to the movements of grace from God, they intensified their way of praying and, consequently, not only prayed the Rosary correctly, but even found time to dedicate to meditation on the Lord's mysteries.

Fr. Molinari went on to say:

The children's message seems decisive: the intensification of the spiritual life and, therefore, of real prayer, directed, however, to others: it is not about spiritual privacy, which, of course, is not real Christianity. Everything they did, including their prayer and sacrifices, was for the good of others and to change the world, to transform society, so that people would not give in to their evil instincts and egotism, but think more of living according to God's will.

Prayer is the strength of a good shepherd. It was through prayer that David conquered Goliath. It was through prayer that Our Blessed Lord found strength to undergo his Passion for our salvation. And it is through prayer that each one of us will find the strength to fulfill the ministry which God entrusts to us.

This particular Lord's Day has been designated by the Pope as "World Day of Prayer for Vocations." On this day we are asked to pray that more young men and women would respond to God's call to enter the priesthood or the consecrated life. These are wonderful vocations, and I for one would not trade mine for the world. But sometimes our vocation makes demands upon us which might be painful and contrary to our own will. The vocations which Msgr. Woster and I have received are now calling us away from the people we have loved and served here in Hermosa and Rapid City. I imagine this might be difficult for many of you; I know it is extremely hard for us as your pastors. We will be praying for you, and we ask you to pray for us that we might fulfill our vocations with willing and faithful hearts.

Jesus, our Good Shepherd, in order to fulfill his vocation had to lay down his life for his sheep. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed to his Father that, if possible, he might be spared the cup of suffering and death to which he was called. But he immediately added, "Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done." I am trying to make this my prayer. I hope you will do so, as well.

We face some difficult days ahead. So let's commit ourselves to pray for each other as we seek to follow God's holy will. And may he turn our sorrow into joy.

© 2004, The Rev. Timothy W. Castor

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The Children and the Message of Fatima

First Beatification of Children Who Are Not Martyrs

VATICAN CITY, MAY 9, 2001 (ZENIT.org).- For the first time in the history of the Church, John Paul II will beatify two children who are not martyrs this Sunday. The Holy Father is travelling to Fatima to honor Jacinta and Francisco, two of the children who saw the Blessed Virgin in 1917.

The third child, Lucia, is still living, a cloistered nun. The two children were very different in character. Francisco was reflective, reserved, good, flexible, conciliatory, and always ready to give in to avoid conflicts. Jacinta, on the other hand, was vivacious and sensible but also, as Lucia herself describes, touchy and temperamental; she very easily withdrew into herself upset whenever there was a quarrel. According to Lucia, who is a cousin of Francisco and Jacinta, except for their appearance, her cousins did not seem to be brother and sister.

However, given their spiritual growth, so important in connection with the beatification, they both have something very important to say to their contemporaries. They spoke as children, and remained child-like, as they grew in maturity and depth of the Christian spirit. Fr. Paolo Molinari, Postulator of their cause for beatification, explained to Vatican Radio that their "example tells us that children have their heart open to God, they can and must grow constantly in real personal love for Jesus Christ, with sincere and active love for other people."

The Fatima children loved to play and graze the flock entrusted to them.

In keeping with a family tradition, they prayed the Rosary. With the spontaneity and simplicity of children, in order to have more time to play, they found an easy and quick way to recite the Rosary, by simply saying "Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary." They would get through the beads in no time and go off to play.

"This reflects all the authenticity of childhood: they remained real children although, after the apparitions and resulting docility to the movements of grace from God, they intensified their way of praying and, consequently, not only prayed the Rosary correctly, but even found time to dedicate to meditation on the Lord's mysteries," explained Fr. Molinari.

This was especially true of Francisco, who was very affected by Jesus' sorrow in Gethsemani for human sins. Francisco developed a personal love for the Lord, feeling intensely the need to keep him company and console him in his sorrow, and to make sacrifices in reparation, and work for the conversion of souls.

Jacinta, with her heartfelt delicacy, felt compassion for people and offered sacrifices and prayers, intensifying her entire Christian life to enable those who were offending the Lord to change their lives, and to have the punishment due to sin reduced. Both prayed and offered their own lives especially for peace: their lives in fact included the last years of the First World War.

"The children's message seems decisive: the intensification of the spiritual life and, therefore, of real prayer, directed, however, to others: it is not about spiritual privacy, which, of course, is not real Christianity. Everything they did, including their prayer and sacrifices, was for the good of others and to change the world, to transform society, so that people would not give in to their evil instincts and egotism, but think more of living according to God's will," Fr. Molinari explained.

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