Second Sunday after Easter.
THE Church continues to praise God for the resurrection of Jesus, and the graces thereby procured for us, and sings accordingly, at the Introit of the Mass : “The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord, alleluia. By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye just; praise becometh the upright.” Glory be to the Father, etc.
Prayer.
O God, Who by the humility of Thy Son hast raised up a fallen world, grant to Thy faithful everlasting joy, that those whom Thou hast delivered from the evils of eternal death Thou mayest make to enjoy everlasting happiness. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, etc.
EPISTLE, i. Peter ii. 21-25.
Dearly Beloved: Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow His steps ; Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. Who, when He was reviled, did not revile: when He suffered He threatened not: but delivered Himself to him that judged Him unjustly: who His own self bore our sins in His body upon the tree : that we being dead to sins, should live to justice : by Whose stripes you were healed. For you were as sheep going astray, but you are now converted to the shepherd and bishop of your souls.
Practice.
Aspiration.
GOSPEL. John x. 11-16.
At that time Jesus said to the Pharisees: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep.But the hireling and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep, and flieth : and the wolf catcheth and scattereth the sheep : and the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling, and he hath no care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd: and I know Mine, and
Mine know Me. As the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father: and I lay down My life for My sheep. And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold : them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.
How does Christ show that He is the good shepherd?
I By taking all pains to seek, to find, and to bring back to the right way the lost sheep---that is, the sinner; finally, that He offers up His life for His flock, and gives Himself to be their food, and a pledge of eternal life
( I. John v.10; Rom. V.8)
How do we know the sheep of Christ?
By their hearing and following the voice of Christ. By their willingly receiving and striving to fulfil His teachings. By their obeying the Church and her ministers, for whoever hears her, hears God Himself, and, as S Augustine says, he who will not have the Church for his mother cannot have God for their Father. By receiving, often and gladly, the food of the Good Shepherd---the holy communion. By being patient and meek, forgiving their enemies readily and willingly. By loving their fellow-men, and by seeking to bring into the one fold those who are out of it.
WHAT WE MUST BELIEVE CONCERNING HOPE.
“ I lay down My life for My sheep” John x. 15.
In what does eternal happiness consist?
In the clear contemplation and perfect love of God.
What is necessary to obtain eternal happiness?
Before all else, the grace of God, which enlightens our faith, confirms our hope, inflames our love, and, through the holy sacraments, imparts the strength required to do good.
Have we nothing more to do?
We must pray for the grace of God, and zealously cooperate with it, since, as st. Augustine says, though God has created us without our concurrence, yet will He not save us unless we work with Him.
When should we make an Act of Hope?
1. In time of tribulation, and of temptation against this virtue. 2. At receiving the holy sacraments.
3. Frequently during our ordinary life, and at the hour of death.
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Next: Third Sunday after Easter
