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Gospel: (Mark 16:15-20)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature…These signs will accompany those who believe in my name, they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. So they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

Prayer:

Jesus is ever present with God, and ever present with us, and so we pray, Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth, We ask for strength to continue as your faithful disciples, may we seek to speak your word and your healing presence. We ask for the grace to live our motto “No work of charity is foreign to the Society”, may we be aware of the poorest among us and seek to assist them. Amen.

Gospel: (John 15:9-17)

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you  do what I command you….I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.”

The Gospel reading boils down to something really quite simple: Remain in Jesus’ love. Love one another as he loves us. Yes, the command is simple, but the demand is imposing, because Keeping God’s commandments is laying down our lives for others, we surrender our will to doing God’s will and this is the dying. Caring for and reaching out to others, by doing little things every day, not because we have to but because we see the other as the beloved of God, is dying. We do all these things because we know this is the cost of discipleship, and is why we need the gift of the Spirit; as we prepare to celebrate Pentecost. 

As members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, we are able to love people who are disfigured by the effects of poverty and injustice, and who are often so unattractive in their poverty. As you work for and visit the poor, take heart from the thought that you are reflecting into this dark world the light and the love of God.

Reflection question: How have you seen Vincentians reflecting the love and light of Christ into this dark world?

Gospel: (John 20: 19-21)

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.

Saint Gianna has demonstrated to us an example of listening to God’s plan and doing His will. Words of Gianna’s son, Pierluigi, at her beatification. “My mother knew how to live her earthly daily existence with simplicity, balance and constant service, with the peace of the Lord, all in a beautiful harmony, first as a young student and professional person as a woman, then as wife and mother. Her generous commitment to and involvement in Catholic Action and to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, along with her joy of life, was crowned with her love of piano, painting, tennis, mountain climbing, skiing, the symphony, theater and traveling.”

How can the Society celebrate and imitate its own Saint Gianna? Saint Gianna, Pray for us!

In the gospel of John today, Jesus reminds us that he is the Good Shepherd, and a Good shepherd, cares for, and protects the sheep even to the point of laying down his life for the sheep. Jesus also said, (“I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father”) is the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep. As Vincentians, let us pray for God’s grace to follow Jesus’ example of being a good shepherd to our neighbors in need.

How are we “Good Shepherds” to each other and to the poor?

 Prayer

Lord Jesus, give us the grace to be “Good Shepherds,” strengthen us to be hope for others. For those who live in loneliness, may they know the healing bond of friendship. For those whose labor is burdensome and whose wages are inadequate, may they receive employment worthy of their dignity. For the sick and the dying, may they know Christ’s healing through all Vincentians. Amen

Gospel: (Luke 24: 35-48)

Jesus stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” Forgiveness is an encounter with the risen Christ. When we offer and receive forgiveness, we encounter the risen Christ within us. This is a resurrected life for us as well, because saying “You are forgiven” can be hard at times, but as people of God we remember that forgiveness is the virtue that enables us not to allow past hurts to determine our decisions and actions in the here and now. Think of a time when you forgave someone or yourself, how did you feel?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, your resurrection brought forgiveness to the disciples, fill us with your peace! For the grace to labor in your name, fill us with your strength! For the grace to forgive and to be forgiven, fill us with your compassion! For the grace to bring your peace to all Conference meetings, fill us with your trust! For the grace to be witnesses to your resurrection, fill us with your joy! Amen

Gospel: (John 20:19-31)

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace, be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” We call Thomas “doubting Thomas” and so he was. Truth be told, so are we. There come times in our lives when we are simply overcome with emptiness and absence, perhaps the death of a loved one, the painful illness of a small child, loss of a job etc. At these times doubt or unbelief are natural. This doesn’t mean we have lost our faith, it means that at these times we need to keep our eyes focused on the risen Christ, stay in prayers for his grace, and at the right time, we know the Lord will invite us to belief. Blessed Frederic Ozanam wrote“… the poor we see with the eyes of flesh; they are there and we can put finger and hand in their wounds and the scars of the crown of thorns are visible on their foreheads; and at this point incredulity no longer has place and we should fall at their feet and say with the Apostle, Tu est Dominus et Deus meus (You are my Lord and my God!). You are our masters, and we will be your servants. You are for us the sacred images of the God whom we do not see, and we will love him by loving you.

Closing Prayer:

Risen Lord, your resurrection brought joy to all believers, give joy to those who live in sadness. Risen Lord, your resurrection brought hope to all believers, give hope to those who live in despair. Risen Lord, your resurrection turned unbelief to belief, give faith to those who live in doubt. Risen Lord, your resurrection gifted the fearful with peace, please give peace to those who live in suffering. Amen

Prayer:

Lord, in your resurrection you brought joy to the disciples, filling us with joy.

Lord, in your resurrection, there is hope for a world suffering from injustice, enliven our hope.

Lord, in your resurrection, you turned unbelief to belief in the hearts of your followers, increasing our faith.

Lord, in your resurrection, you gifted the fearful with peace, deepening our peace. Amen

Happy Easter!!

The gospel of John says, when the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him, and they cried out: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel.” 

 Prayer:

As we enter the mystery of the passion of Christ, may our hearts be touched anew by the depth of his love, and so we pray: Christ, our Savior, hear our prayer. That this Holy Week may deepen our understanding of the cross, Christ our Savior, hear our prayer. For all who suffer injustice and abuse, may we help them carry their cross, Christ, our Savior, hear our prayer Amen.  Happy Palm Sunday!!

In the gospel of John, Jesus answered them, “Amen, Amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever serves me, must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

 Following Jesus means serving. He taught us to be like him, and some of the ways to be like Jesus is those who lay down their life in service to the poor. For example, with gifts of time, money, food, clothes and more. Blessed Frederic once said: “Sons and daughters of Saint Vincent de Paul, let us learn from Jesus to forget ourselves, to devote it to the service of God and for the good of others. How do we see Jesus in those who lay down their life in servanthood…?

Prayer:

Jesus, keep us close to you. For the grace to be your servant, Jesus, keep us close to you. For all members of the Society who model a life of service, Jesus, keep them close to you. For our families and friends who teach us how to be compassionate, Jesus, keep them close to you. For all those who are suffering, especially the sick and the dying Jesus, keep them close to you. Amen

In our prayer today let us remember that Jesus came down from heaven to set us free from sin, to set our hearts on fire with his love, and to share this love with others.

We pray

Jesus, when we look into the wondering eyes of a child, Help us to set their hearts ablaze. When we reach out to the homeless, Help us to set their hearts ablaze. When we walk with those caught in poverty, Help us to set their hearts ablaze. When we listen to the fading voice of the aged, Help us to set their hearts ablaze. Amen