May 1st – Monday of Week 4 of Easter (St Joseph the Worker)
May 1st – Monday of Week 4 of Easter
Optional Memorial: St Joseph the Worker (Gen 1:26-2:3 or Col 3:14-15, 17, 23024. Ps 89:2-4, 12-14, 16, R/ v 17. Mt 13:54-58. Lect 11:1013 – See below
1st Reading: Acts 11:1-18
By inspiration, Peter baptises the first pagan converts
The apostles and believers in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” But I replied, “By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” But a second time the voice answered from heaven, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.
At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, “Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.” And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
Responsorial: Psalms. 41: 2-3; 42: 3-4
R./: My soul is thirsting for the living God.
Like the deer that yearns
for running streams,
so my soul is yearning for you, my God. (R./)
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see the face of God? (R./)
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain
to the place where you dwell. (R./)
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God. (R./)
Gospel: John 10:1-10
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who keeps his sheep safe from harm
“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go 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.”
St Peter’s pastoral style
Saint Peter learned how to be a pastor from actual practice, on the hoof, as it were. Going out from Jerusalem to coastal Caesarea to tend Christ’s flock, he found himself addressing a gentile household. He discovered that their baptism was not their first time to receive the Holy Spirit, for he saw that they were already clearly guided by the Spirit. Although, like Jesus, Peter himself was an observant Jew who followed the laws and rituals of his people, he could not refuse baptism to people he recognised as chosen by God. So without hesitating, he baptized them!
What courageous leadership Peter showed, pointing the way forward for the church of future centuries. And he had to show his courage in another way, equally vital for today. When challenged by other members of the church for his daring initiative, Peter patiently explained why it was necessary and right. His leadership is not dictatorial but a blend of inspiration and dialogue. On the question of how gentiles could belong to the church, Peter had decisively opened the door. We can recognise that flavour of openness and encouragement also in pope Francis’ style of leadership; and of course, like Peter, he faces stiff opposition from those who should know better.
This process in the church, where questions are worked out in dialogue, was anticipated by Jesus in the parable of the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd knows each sheep by name, calls each one by a sound which reaches into the depths of the individual. Each life-changing decision, whether for the group or for the individual, must be in continuity with our past but also in union the one who promises a deeper life, the Good Shepherd who calls us by our name.
In our times too the Spirit may intervene surprisingly and lead our pope and bishops to new decisions that are needed, like Peter in the early days. Coming up to Pentecost, we and our leaders need to tune in to what the Spirit wants to change in our church, to make us more effective channels of the grace of Jesus for the men and women and young people of our day.
One could say, in a phrase of pope Francis, that Peter’s tendency was to build briges rather than walls. His mindset is revealed by the question, ‘Who am I to stand in God’s way?’ When the Holy Spirit came down upon Cornelius and his pagan household Peter realized that God was doing something in the lives of these pagans and that nobody should try to block what God was doing. Then, in the gospel, we see Jesus as the gate of the sheepfold. Far from getting in God’s way, Jesus was the gateway through whom God comes to us and we come to God. Jesus is the open gate into the kingdom of God. People can go freely in and out through him and experience God through him.
In a wonderful phrase Jesus says, ‘I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.’ There is a sense in which we all share in that role of Jesus to be promoters and enablers of life for others. We are to be channels of grace, like Peter, just as the Spirit of God entered the lives of Cornelius and his household through Peter’s message. At the very least, this will mean not standing in God’s way, or making faith harder for others to accept. We have a role to play in each other’s lives but we also have to leave room for God to work. There is a time to be the shepherd and a time to be the gate.
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This commemoration, instituted by pope Pius XII in 1955, proposes the example and intercession of Joseph as worker and provider. On this date many countries celebrate the dignity of human labour.
1st Reading: Genesis 1:26–2:3
God the Creator, source of all creative labour
God said:
“Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.”
God created man in his image;
in the divine image he created him;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them, saying:
“Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth.”
God also said:”See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it
to be your food; and to all the animals of the land,
all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food.”
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made,
and he found it very good. Evening came,
and morning followed-the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing,
God rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.
Or: Colossians 3:14-15, 17, 23-24
Charity, the bond of perfection
Brothers and sisters:
Over all these things put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
And be thankful.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Whatever you do, do from the heart,
as for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that you will receive from the Lord
the due payment of the inheritance;
be slaves of the Lord Christ.
Responsorial: Psalm 89: 2-4, 12-14, 16
R./: Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
Before the mountains were born
or the earth or the world brought forth,
you are God, without beginning or end. (R./)
You turn men back into dust
and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’
To your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday, come and gone,
no more than a watch in the night. (R./)
Make us know the shortness of our life
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
Show pity to your servants. (R./)
In the morning, fill us with your love;
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Show forth your work to your servants;
let your glory shine on their children. (R./)
Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offence at him. But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honour except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
A man of strong and constant faith
(from Pope Francis’ general audience on the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, 2013)
Today, on the 1st of May, we commemorate St. Joseph the Worker and begin the month traditionally committed to the Virgin Mary. I would like to share with you two little reflections on these two vital persons in the life of Jesus, and of our own lives: the first, about work, the second about the contemplation of Jesus.
1. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, one of the times when Jesus returns to his native region, to Nazareth, and speaks in the synagogue, the Gospel underlines his fellow villagers’ astonishment at his wisdom, and the question they ask one another: is not this the Carpenter’s son?” (13:55). Jesus takes part in our history, he comes into our midst, being born of Mary by the work of God, but with the presence of St. Joseph, the legal father who defends him and even teaches him his trade. Jesus was born and resided in a family, in the Holy Family, picking up from St. Joseph the carpenter’s trade, in the workshop of Nazareth, sharing with him his dedication, hard work and fulfilment, in addition to each day’s troubles.
This brings to mind for us the dignity and relevance of work. The Book of Genesis tells how God gave a creative role to the first man and woman by handing over to them the task of populating the earth and subduing it, which does not mean to exploit it, but to develop and protect it, to cultivate it with their own labour (cf. Gen 1:28; 2:15). All human work is part of the strategy of God’s love; we are called to plant and safeguard all that earth produces and in this way we take part in the work of creation! Work is essential to the dignity of an individual; it “anoints” us with dignity, so to speak. It makes us resemble God, who has worked and works still, for He is always at work (cf. Jn 5:17). By our work one can maintain oneself and one’s family, and contribute to the development of one’s nation. On this point I am thinking of the problems faced by the world of work and enterprise in various countries. I think of the number of people, and not just young people, who are jobless, mainly because of an economic model of society, based on the selfish quest of gain, ignoring the needs of social justice.
I want to mention another particular work scenario that bothers me: what we could call “slave labour”, work that enslaves. How many people, worldwide, are victims of this kind of slavery, where the person is at the service of work, rather than work serving individuals so that they may have dignity. I would ask my brothers and sisters in faith and all men and women of goodwill to make a definitely reject the trafficking of individuals, which falls within the category of “servile labour.”.
My second thought for today is about about the contemplation of Jesus. Amid the silence of his everyday activity, St. Joseph shared with Mary a unique and constant focus of attention on Jesus. With loving commitment, they accompanied his developments, reflecting on everything that happened in his life. In the Gospels, Luke mentions twice the mindset of Mary, which is also that of St. Joseph: “She treasured all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (2:19.51). To listen to the Lord, we have to discover, to ponder His consistent presence in our lives; we have to stop and talk to Him, give Him space in our lives through prayer. Every one of us, even you adolescent boys and girls, and young people, so numerous right here this early morning, should ask yourselves: what amount of space do I offer the Lord? Do I stop to discussion with Him? Ever since we were bit, our parents have actually accustomed us to begin and end the day with a prayer, to teach us to feel that the friendship and the love of God accompany us. Let us remember the Lord more often in our days!
Let us ask St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary to instruct us to be faithful to our everyday commitments, to live our faith in daily actions and to give even more space to the Lord in our lives, to stop to contemplate his face.