Feed My Sheep

Click: (Readings for the Third Sunday of Easter)

The Apostles were again back to where they were before: fishing. But all of them there, especially Peter, will be reminded by the Risen Lord of the mission He called them for: being fishers of men. The miracle of the bountiful catch in today's Gospel must have reminded Peter of how he met the Lord. He and all the other disciples have been through a lot with the Lord. Peter, most especially, have been shown to have a wavering faith - strong now, then weak the next time. Everything, including his calling and his denial of Jesus, is probably coming back to him in today's Gospel story.

The beloved disciple also makes an inspiring remark in today's narrative: "It is the Lord!" He was the first to believe when He saw the empty tomb. Now he is the first to recognize Jesus. He recognized Jesus whom He saw on the cross. He recognized Jesus whom he saw die and pierced with a lance. The Apostle who witnessed the Lord's Passion and Death becomes the Apostle who first believed and recognized the Lord.

The Apostles' encounter with the Lord, their closeness to Him ever since they were called, and even their moments of failure in keeping the faith become their source of strength in their apostolic ministry. Jesus gives Peter the command, "Feed my sheep" thrice, after Peter professes his love for Him thrice. Peter's love for the Lord becomes a "making-up" for the three times that he denied him before; Jesus asks Him now to extend  to others this love he has for Him, not just as their brother, but as their shepherd.

The Apostles, with Peter as pope, became the shepherds of the Church which sprung from Christ's side as He was hanging on the cross. They truly became "fishers of men". Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost converted more than three thousand people. The Apostles' preaching reached many nations.

As shepherds, it was their duty to feed the Lord's flock. They are to nourish them with instruction in the faith, with a faithful witnessing of their encounter with Jesus and of His Words, with the celebration of the sacraments, especially of the Most Holy Eucharist in which Jesus is fed to us, and with exhortations on Christian life and prayer. Even to this day, the successor of Peter and of the Apostles continue to nourish us, bringing us the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and teaching us about faith and morals.

As Catholic faithful, as sheep of our Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we must heed the voice of our shepherds here on earth. Our pope, bishops and priests are commissioned by Christ to tend us and to feed us. We must humbly accept their instruction even as we strive to form our own consciences.

The Lord, in our Gospel today also foretells Peter's martyrdom. True enough, being servants of the Lord would mean having to face persecution and rejection. The First Reading today gives us a glimpse of how Peter and the Apostles were persecuted. There we see Peter with a faith strengthened by the Holy Spirit, proclaiming Jesus even amidst persecution. This is far from the Peter who denied Jesus thrice. Peter became brave because he had to feed the lamb. He had to proclaim the Word to those who hunger for it. He had to proclaim the name of Jesus and the salvation He has brought about. He was ordered to feed Jesus' sheep; he had to "obey God rather than men", even though these men (the Sanhedrin) threatened them.

Christians are indeed no strangers to suffering and persecution. The martyrs who have shown obedience to God even under the threat of death join in the suffering of Christ who was "obedient unto death" and they give witness to Jesus' Paschal Mystery. We too can offer our sufferings and unite them with Christ's, especially in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Suffering for the sake of Jesus' name, for the sake of obeying God's commands is a way of witnessing to Jesus to the people around us.

When we think about it, like Peter, we also have "sheep" entrusted to us. We have our family, the people around us, friends and colleagues or people directly under our care. What do they get when they interact with us? Do we exude negative things like apathy and selfishness? Or do we "feed" them with the Word of God at work in our lives? We might not all be preachers, but we must all be witnesses to the people around us by our words and deeds. We might not be all bishops and priests commissioned to "feed sheep", but we are all Christians mandated to "love one another".

Habemvs Papam! Cardinal Bergoglio is Pope Francis!

After white smoke arose from the Sistine Chapel, the whole world awaited to see the new Supreme Pontiff. Cardinal Protodeacon Jean-Louis Tauran, gave the announcement: "Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: habemus papam!" He continued to announce amidst cheers that the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit, has chosen the name Francis.

Pope Francis, appearing on the balcony of St. Peter's, then gave his message urbi et orbi. He prayed the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, together with the assembly, for his immediate predecessor Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Then, before he gave his Apostolic Blessing, his first as pope, he asked everyone to pray for God's blessing upon him. This was a touching request which everyone granted in a solemn silence.

Those who received his Apostolic Blessing, even through the media, receives a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions of Sacramental Confession, Holy Communion and prayer for the pope's intention.

The following prayer is also indulgenced. Let us continue praying for Pope Francis!

V. Let us pray for our Sovereign Pontiff Pope Francis.

R. The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. (partial indulgence)

Our Father. Hail Mary.

Let us pray.

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Francis, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Pope Francis is the 266th Vicar of Christ.

Conclave na! Ano'ng dapat nating gawin?

Magsisimula na ang Conclave. Ano nga bang pwede at dapat nating gawin?

Payo sa atin ni Blessed Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis:

During the vacancy of the Apostolic See, and above all during the time of the election of the Successor of Peter, the Church is united in a very special way with her Pastors and particularly with the Cardinal electors of the Supreme Pontiff, and she asks God to grant her a new Pope as a gift of his goodness and providence. Indeed, following the example of the first Christian community spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 1:14), the universal Church, spiritually united with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, should persevere with one heart in prayer; thus the election of the new Pope will not be something unconnected with the People of God and concerning the College of electors alone, but will be in a certain sense an act of the whole Church. I therefore lay down that in all cities and other places, at least the more important ones, as soon as news is received of the vacancy of the Apostolic See and, in particular, of the death of the Pope, and following the celebration of his solemn funeral rites, humble and persevering prayers are to be offered to the Lord (cf. Mt 21:22; Mk 11:24), that he may enlighten the electors and make them so likeminded in their task that a speedy, harmonious and fruitful election may take place, as the salvation of souls and the good of the whole People of God demand.

Universi Dominici Gregis 84 

We can do this individually by praying that the Lord may inspire the Cardinal electors. Marami sigurong gagawa nito by keeping awake and praying habang nanood ng live coverage ng Conclave. (Tip lang: As much as possible, choose to watch on EWTN or on other Catholic media coverages) As a liturgical assembly, we can do this by celebrating the Votive Mass for the Election of a Pope, offered at the direction or with the permission of the diocesan bishop.

Praying that God may provide for His flock a pope who, in His judgment, is best for the Petrine ministry is really the best thing we can do. As members of the Church Universal, this is our duty and this should be our prayer.

Ito dapat ang panalangin natin para sa buong Simbahan. 'Di ba sabi nga nila, dapat kapag nagdarasal tayo, we should always have a Your-will-be-done attitude? Ganun din dito sa pagdarasal natin for the next pope.We should not pray that this or that cardinal become elected. We should pray that God's will be done.

We should not...

...like or create pages like this:

and support or create things like these:

Honestly, these posters and videos are insulting to the whole solemnity and holiness of the Conclave! The Conclave is done in the spirit of intense prayer because the Cardinal electors must discern carefully the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Tapos may lalabas na mga ganito?

Ang sabi nga ng mga critics ng mga ito, tila mas marunong pa ata o pinangungunahan ng mga gumawa nito ang Espiritu Santo na siyang dapat pinakikinggan at tinatawag.

There is nothing wrong with having opinions, tama naman. Pero sa mga propagandang tulad nito, tila binababoy naman natin ang Sacred Tradition ng Simbahan dahil ibinababa natin ang Conclave sa level ng political campaigns. Imagine that? True, the Church is both human and divine kaya't "hindi daw maiiwasan" ang politika. But isn't it obvious from the way the Conclave is done that the Church wants to make the election of the pope as divine as possible?

Sabi nga ni Blessed Pope John Paul II, "In the same way, I wish to confirm the provisions made by my Predecessors for the purpose of excluding any external interference in the election of the Supreme Pontiff. . .

I intend this prohibition to include all possible forms of interference, opposition and suggestion whereby secular authorities of whatever order and degree, or any individual or group, might attempt to exercise influence on the election of the Pope." (Universi Dominici Gregis 80)

See? Opinyon na kung opinyon, pero kailangan pa ba ng posters o video? Para kanino yung mga yun, for the Cardinal electors to see? And where does this come from? Is this from a genuine concern for the entire Church or from a false sense of national pride? Oo, Pilipinong Katoliko tayo, pero hindi ba't "universal" ang ibig sabihin ng Katoliko? So dapat ang concern natin ay para sa buong Simbahang Katoliko, hindi yung para magkaroon ng first Filipino pope! If God wills one of these cardinals to be pope, why do we need propaganda and campaigning?

These days, we are invited to prayer. We are asked to join the College of Cardinals in invoking the Holy Spirit for such an important undertaking of the Church. The Conclave, as we can see, is one of the cleanest election processes; it is definitely the most prayerful election process. As Catholic lay persons, let's get into the spirit of it. Let us just pray!

Veni Creator Spiritus!

Conclave begins on March 12, 2013

This article is from: News.va

The College of Cardinals

(Vatican Radio) The eighth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals meeting in the Vatican Synod Hall Friday has decided that the Conclave for the election of the Pope will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013.

A “pro eligendo Romano Pontifice” Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica in the morning. Then Tuesday afternoon the 115 Cardinal Electors will gather in the Pauline Chapel for a moment of collection and prayer and from there they will process in order of precedence through the Sala Regia to the Sistine Chapel invoking the Holy Spirit.

There they will take their seats, again observing the order of precedence, to elect the 265th Successor to St Peter. Once they have taken their seats they will hear the second meditation established by the Apostolic Constitution governing the papal transitions. It will be given by the Maltese Augustinian, Cardinal Prospero Grech.

Following the mediation, the 115 cardinals will swear an oath to observe the rules of Conclave which include to maintain fidelity to the election of the Pope, to maintain secrecy, never to support or favor interference. The Cardinal Dean Angelo Sodano, reads aloud the formula of the oath, the Cardinal electors respond: I do so promise, pledge and swear.

After all the Cardinals have taken the oath, the Master of the Papal Ceremonies, Msgr. Guido Marini orders all individuals other than the Cardinal Electors and conclave participants to leave the Sistine Chapel. He stands at the great wooden doors and pronounces the phrase: "Extra omnes!" He then closes the door.

According to the Apostolic Constitution, on the afternoon of the first day, one ballot may be held. If a ballot takes place on the afternoon of the first day and no-one is elected, four ballots are held on each successive day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon. If no result is obtained after three vote days of balloting, the process is suspended for a maximum of one day for prayer, meditation and reflection. A two thirds majority is required for the election of a Pope.

Of the 115 Cardinal Electors, more than half are European with the largest single nationality represented by the 28 Italian Cardinal Electors. In a geographical breakdown: 60 come from Europe, 19 from Latin America, 14 from North America, 11 from Africa, 10 from Asia and 1 from Oceania.

The average age of the Cardinal Electors is 71 while 67 of the Cardinals who will enter in the Conclave Tuesday were appointed by Pope emeritus, Benedict XVI.

There were eight Conclaves in the 20th century, only three of which lasted longer than three days. The longest Conclave in the last two hundred years was 1830-1831. It lasted 50 days for a total of 83 ballots resulting in the election of Gregory XVI, the last religious elected to the papacy. The shortest Conclave in the 20th century took place in 1939. Eugenio Pacelli was elected Pius XII after just three ballots.

Let us continue praying and praying, that the Holy Spirit may guide and inspire our College of Cardinals!