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GOOD SHEPHERD PARISH
8200 GOLD COAST DRIVE, SAN DIEGO, CA 92126
271-0207 PHONE · (858) 271-0748 FAX
WWW.GOODSHEPHERDPARISH.NET
FR. MICHAEL ROBINSON
PASTOR
FR. PHIEN VAN PHAM AND FR. PATRICK MURPHY
ASSOCIATE PASTORS
FR. RICHARD HUSTON
SENIOR PRIEST
MASS SCHEDULE
DAILY 8:30 AM, 5:30 PM
THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
JUNE 28, 2015
You changed my mourning into dancing; O LORD, my God,
forever will I give you thanks.— Psalm 30:13
First Reading — God did not
make death, nor does God rejoice in the destruction of the living (Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24).
Psalm — I will praise you, Lord,
for you have rescued me (Psalm
30).
Second Reading — Your abundance should supply the needs of
the others (2 Corinthians 8:7, 9,
13-15).
Gospel — Your faith has saved
you (Mark 5:21-43
[21-24, 35b-43]).
The English translation of the Psalm Responses from the
Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights
reserved.
SATURDAY 8:30 AM,
5:00 PM (SUNDAY VIGIL),
7:00 PM (VIETNAMESE)
SUNDAY 7:00 AM, 8:30,
10:30, 12:15 PM, 5:00,
7:00 (SPANISH)
HOLY DAYS AS ANNOUNCED
CONFESSIONS
SATURDAY 3:00 PM—4:00 PM
LITURGY OF THE HOURS
LAUDS (MORNING PRAYER)
8:00 AM MONDAY-SATURDAY
VESPERS (EVENING PRAYER)
5:00 PM MONDAY-FRIDAY
PAGE TWO
GOOD SHEPHERD
JUNE 28, 2015
Mass Intentions for the Week
Directory
PARISH OFFICE
(858) 271-0207
Patty O’Dell
Receptionist ext. 1201
Fr. Michael
Pastor ext. 1202
Fr. Patrick
Associate
ext. 1203
Fr. Richard
Senior Priest ext. 1204
Fr. Phien
Associate ext. 1209
Bob
Business Manager
ext. 1205
Alma
Bookkeeper ext. 1206
Jed
Music & Liturgy
ext. 1210
Blanquita
Bereavement
ext. 1211
Pat
Youth Ministry
ext. 1212
Kathy Keller
Wedd. Coord ext. 1260
Jessica
Elem. & Jr. High F.F. ext. 1230
Glenn
D. C. M.
ext. 1232
Sister Norma Hisp. Min. Coord. ext. 1253
FAITH FORMATION CENTER
(RELIGIOUS EDUCATION)
(858) 271-8769
YOUTH MINISTRY
(858) 271-4128
GOOD SHEPHERD SCHOOL
(858) 693-1522
Sacraments
SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM
Come to the Parish Office to fill out a Baptismal form and
get class information.
SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE
Nine months preparation required in the Diocese of San
Diego. Call the Parish Office to pick up a Wedding Info
Packet before making an appointment with a priest.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION (Confessions)
Saturday - 3:00 to 4:00 PM in the Blessed Sacrament
Chapel or call the Parish Office for an appointment
SACRAMENT OF THE SICK
Call the Parish Office to make arrangements for anointing,
or to arrange for a home visit or communion.
FIRST COMMUNION and CONFIRMATION
Call the Faith Formation Office at 858-271-8769.
SUNDAY / JUNE 28
7:00 Ching Lay Giok†
8:30 Filomena E. Ventura†
10:30 David Katagiri†
12:15 Ciriaco & Remdios Espina†
5:00 Manuel Griengo†
7:00 Beatriz Rodriguez†
MONDAY / JUNE 29
8:30 Remedios Namoca†
5:30 Alejandro De Guzman†
TUESDAY / JUNE 30
8:30 Emma Valdez†
5:30 Olimpio & Victoria Abaiz†
WEDNESDAY / JULY 1
8:30 Frank Aquiningoc†
5:30 Nora Serna†
THURSDAY / JULY 2
8:30 Aurea Rivera Cordero†
5:30 Carrie Ann Valdez†
FRIDAY/ JULY 3
8:30 Alfredo & Pilar Villanueva†
5:30 Charlie Gonzaga†
SATURDAY / JULY 4
8:30 Jesus & Isavel Pimentel†
5:00 Aurea Rivera Corderp†
7:00 Rev. Joseph Viet Hoang†
Special Intention Masses for the Week
Paulita Porter, Rebecca Palma Perez, Robert Caldwell &
His Fireman Company, Aurea Almazan Ramos, Sim Dornonita, Ana Omar, Carolyn Ann Pascual, Celine Johny &
Johny Paul, Dominador Simon, Maria Jose Fina Etorovic,
Ben & Flora Limbos, Anthony Alexander Nguyen, Vivent
Dang Pham, Gregorio “Goyo” Flores, Cecille Peacock, William Tong Dao, Graciela Platero, Mildred Ledford, Teofilo
Garga, Ccilia Oljol, Guballa Family, Perry A. Beltran.
JUST THE BEGINNING
The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation.—Woodrow Wilson
PAGE THREE
GOOD SHEPHERD
JUNE 28, 2015
From The Pastor’s Desk
The writings from the Book of Wisdom that we encounter in our first reading today show the development
of faith and knowledge of God in the centuries before the birth of Jesus. This journey of a greater knowledge
and understanding of God that the people of Israel experienced led them to a fuller understanding of God as a
God of life. God is the author of life and he created all things from the beginning to have being. All that he
created is good. All of creation has a basic goodness and order that reflects the goodness and love of God.
Everything that is good reflects the Divine order and loving presence of God the Father. The highest good and
the greatest reflection of God’s glory is the human person that God created in his image and likeness. This
teaching finds its fullest expression in Jesus when he points to God as the only source of the good. Everything
is good because it is created and gifted by God. Everything receives its goodness from God. There is nothing
good apart from God. Everything that is good in Jesus comes from the Father and is a share in the Father’s
good gifts. Jesus will tell his disciples that everything that he has given to them was first given to him by the
Father. Everything that Jesus the Son does he does in communion with God the Father. Jesus concludes this
observation with the truth, “The Father and I are one.”
Life is the greatest good and the supreme gift that God has given to human persons. He created them for
immortality. He created human beings to share in eternal life. The greatest desire of God is that all persons
might come to share in his divine, eternal life of love. The work of God is life. Everything that God the Father does he does so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Jesus affirms that this is his mission
to humanity. He has come that we might have life. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the Resurrection and the Life. Jesus died that we might not die. Jesus takes the power out of death and robs it of its
“sting”. In Jesus death becomes a passage to new life. Only in Jesus do we come to a full understanding of the
gift of life and the desire of God that we might all share in God’s immortality and inherit eternal life.
Today in the gospel we see Jesus doing the work of God. His work is to bring life where there is death. To
the woman with the hemorrhage he frees her from “a living death” that she has experienced in being outcast in
her society because she is unclean due to her issue of blood. The power of new life flows forth from him and
gives the woman a new life, healing her and restoring her to the fullness of life in the community. To the
daughter of Jairus he gives life as he raises her from death and restores her to her father and the community.
The work of healing and raising from the dead are signs of God’s presence in Jesus and witness to his mission
to accomplish the work of God by robbing death of its power and restoring all things to life. In Jesus all things
are made new again and there is a restoration of God’s creative plan and order for human beings.
The Wisdom writer tells us clearly that death is not the work of God. God’s work from the beginning of
creation is life. Where there is God, there is life. God never intended death to be a part of his creation. If we
are in communion with God then we will have life. Death comes from the devil. It is an evil that originates in
the jealousy and envy of the devil. Death does not have to be the final destiny of human beings. Death is only
the destiny of those who belong to the company of the devil. Those who are companions of Jesus will know
life and are destined for eternal life in God. This teaching allows us to see and understand that God does not
will the death of anyone nor does he cause the death of anyone. God does not inflict death upon anyone as a
punishment. Death is a result of the fall and God has sent Jesus into the world to overcome death and bring
new life.
Saint Ambrose is quoted by Pope Benedict in his encyclical Spe salvi: “Death was not part of nature; it became part of nature. God did not decree death from the beginning; he prescribed it as a remedy. Human life,
because of sin ... began to experience the burden of wretchedness in unremitting labour and unbearable sorrow. There had to be a limit to its evils; death had to restore what life had forfeited. Without the assistance of
grace, immortality is more of a burden than a blessing”. A little earlier, Ambrose had said: “Death is, then, no
cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind's salvation”.
PAGE FOUR
GOOD SHEPHERD
JUNE 28, 2015
Pray for the Sick
Please remember in your prayers those who are sick in our community: Miguel Aldrete, Adriana Diaz, Familia Mahecha, Familia Montoya, Familia Perez, Familia Rivas, Familia Paez, Donald Brewer, Joe Black, Jorge Isaac Ortuno, Mellie De Peralta, Mary
Wagner, Martha Rosas, Dawn Eicher, Angelo Melevo, Vanessa Anclova, Maria Luisa Muro, Carmen Garcia, Silvia Medina, Daniel
Housley, Sandra Ligsay, Clarisse Fatilua, Cathy Cruz Freed, Francisco Ojeda, Aurea Venancio, Kevin Sexton, Gricelda Palma, Jane
Ann Marshall, Peregrino Gueco, Bee Abuet, Paula Roth, Purificacion Besa, Marilyn Gallardo, Mary Ann Edrington, Dan Vu, Ana
Lazo, Virgilio Oscar Visque, Josephine Dimaquibo, May Gregorio, Dominic Sevilla, Eufemia Jimenez, Michael & Barbara Finneran,
Eduardo Autus, Reynaldo Reyes, Lagrimas Reyes, Don Christopher P. Lee, Familia Argueta, Familia Hernandez, Familia Romero, Floralma Villar, Leonarda Gueco, Kieu Lam, Toni Ortiz, Toni Colombo, Raymond Serrano, Angelita & Emmanuel Tamayo, Mary Jane
Kemp, Concepcion Pena, Antonio Tovar, Ken Mc Atee, Gloria Navarro, Mildred Cordero, Virginia Parra, Olga Luque, Sally Lazaro,
Jorge Palacios, J. Alberto Ortega, Eduardo Ortega, Augustin Herrera Park, Gloria Ganzon, Dolores Edmunds, Leodegario Ortuño, Aurelia Baltazar, Tony Summer, Zoila Docena, Irma Ramirez, Andrew Le, George Barton, Ted Hickban, Miriam Pinilla, Edward Duenas
Sablan, Gladys Bonilla, Alicia Klimek, Anastacia Artap, Rosa Ramirez, Luzviminda McClaren, Minh Trulong, Catherine Daly, Peter,
Jen & Payton Brown, Neal & Laura Collins, Honorato & Florita Bangangadana, Imelda Magdalena Alonso, Michael Angelo Russo,
Alexander Lancaster, Carmen Balderas, Adrian Santiago, Andrea Hellu, Patricia Almaguer, Ilene Glimore, Gene Hahn, Aida Cecilia
Fulgar, David Velasquez, Silvia Garza, Beatriz Dizon, Nancy Palacios, Grace Arigo, Ramon Garcia, David Keller, Beatriz Ortiz, Emiliano Mendez, Oscar Binuya, Tricia Mariscal, Catherine Daly, Teresita Vallejo, Lucia Raymundo, Bertha Ortiz, Jesus & Miriam
Villalobos, Juana Michel, Familia Lugo, Fr. Lou Salca, Norma Montoya, Lucy David, Roland Legaspi, Dolores Joyce, Genoveva Limos,
Luz Vilar, Marina Salazar, Larry Ramirez, Juanita Estrella, Rosa Negrete, Gloria Quilang, Linaloe Ortuno, Steven Handy, Florence
Brand, Mary Lien Le, Sim Doronila, Rita Goldberg, Abraham Castro, Maria de la Cruz, Don Tran, Alma Segura, Ana Ascherfeld, Lena
Vanesse, Enoc Tolentino, Danilio Songco, Norma Ortuño, Maria Esther Hernandez, Maria Trevino, Joseph Tri Tran, Norma Brady,
Chris Smith, Bev Muse, Mary Koch, Concepcion Amos, Elena Calderon.
We are happy to list parishioner’s names who request our prayers in the bulletin. However, we have trouble in keeping the list up-to-date. Many people
forget to let us know when to take a name off the list and, as a result, our list becomes HUGE and outdated. We will list names for prayer request for
one month. After the last Sunday of the month the name on the list will be taken off and a new prayer request list will be published the first Sunday of
the month. If someone wishes to have a name remembered again, please call Alma at (858) 271-0207 ext. 1206 or email:
[email protected].
REFLECTING ON GOD’S WORD
These two stories are quite touching, perhaps because they involve so much touching—forbidden touching, as a
matter of fact. The father starts it off by falling at Jesus’ feet and begging Jesus to help his dying daughter: “Come
lay your hands on her that she may get well and live” (Mark 5:23). Only touching her will do.
Then as Jesus is passing through the crowd, a woman suddenly appears on the scene, reaching out to Jesus and
saying to herself: “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured” (5:28). Jesus knows immediately that he’s been
touched: “Who has touched my clothes?” he asks (5:30). And the disciples wryly observe that the crowd is . . .
well, crowding him . . . so how can you ask “Who touched me?”
It is important to remember that because the woman was bleeding, a condition that made her “unclean” according to the law of Moses, her touch would have made Jesus unclean. However, her touching Jesus has the opposite effect: the bleeding stops and she is made clean once again.
When word comes that the little girl is dead, Jesus calls on the father to set aside fear and put on faith. Arriving
at the house, Jesus goes in and takes the child by the hand and says, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” (Mark 5:41).
Sixteen times in Mark’s Gospel Jesus touches or takes someone by the hand. She does arise and he tells them to
bring her some food. Again, touching her would have made Jesus unclean, but instead his touch cleanses her of
death’s hold.
Two desperate people—a dying girl and a bleeding woman. Jesus touches them and they both touch him—the
woman through her own faith, the little girl through the faith of her father. It seems that healing depends on a
flow between healer and the one being healed. The great news is that God allows a proxy.—James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R. Copyright
© 2014, World Library Publications. All rights reserved.
PAGE FIVE
GOOD SHEPHERD
READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Vigil: Acts 3:1-10; Ps 19:2-5; Gal 1:11-20;
Jn 21:15-19
Day: Acts 12:1-11; Ps 34:2-9;
2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18; Mt 16:13-19
Tuesday: Gn 19:15-29; Ps 26:2-3, 9-12; Mt 8:23-27
Wednesday: Gn 21:5, 8-20a; Ps 34:7-8, 10-13;
Mt 8:28-34
Thursday: Gn 22:1b-19; Ps 115:1-6, 8-9; Mt 9:1-8
Friday:
Eph 2:19-22; Ps 117:1bc-2; Jn 20:24-29
Saturday: Gn 27:1-5, 15-29; Ps 135:1b-6; Mt 9:1417;
or, for Independence Day, any readings
from the Mass “For the Country or a
City,”
nos. 882-886, or “For Peace and Justice,”
nos. 887-891
Sunday:
Ez 2:2-5; Ps 123:1-4; 2 Cor 12:7-10;
Mk 6:1-6a
JUNE 28, 2015
Baptism
Monday:
“For in one Sprit we were all baptized into one body…”
1 Corinthians 12:13
Noah Esekiiel Patwaran Martin
In Memoriam
Miguel Aldrete†
Jose Dansalan†
Luz Cinco†
Cecille Peacock†
Weddings
“So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined
together, no human being must separate.” Mark 10:8
Laurence Anthony Tuscano & Michelle L. Manalang
Parish Life
APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYER/
SACRED HEART
1st Friday of the month
7:00 pm in Room 212.
BEREAVEMENT COMMITTEE
2nd Thursday at 6:30 pm in
the Conference Room of
the Parish Hall.
BINGO
Thursday - Doors open at
5:00 pm. dinner available.
Early Bird starts at 6:45 pm.
Must be over 18 years old
to attend.
CHARISMATIC PRAYER
Tuesday at 7:30 pm in the
Mothers’ Room
CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF
ADULTS
For adults who wish to
become members of the
Roman Catholic Church,
call 271-0207.
CONTEMPORARY CHOIR
Thursdays at 7:00 pm in
Church
COUPLES FOR CHRIST
Fridays at 7:00 PM in Room 8.
DIVINE MERCY GROUP
Second Saturday - quarterly.
FIL-AM COMMUNITY MEETING
1st Sunday of the month at
7:00 pm in Conference
Room.
FILIPINO CURSILLO GROUP
Friday at 7:00 pm in Room 6
of the school.
GS YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY
Wednesday at 6:30 pm
Room 204
HISPANIC CHARISMATIC PRAYER
Wednesday at 7:00 pm in
Room 8 in School.
HISPANIC COMMUNITY MEETING
2nd Monday : 7:00 pm in the
Conf. Rm.
HISPANIC YOUTH ADULTS
GROUP
Friday at 7:00 pm in Room 4
HISPANIC YOUTH GROUP
Wednesday at 7:00 pm in
Room 4
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
1st & 3rd Wed. of the month
at 7:30 pm in the Parish Hall.
SQUIRES meet at 6:30 pm in
Room 12.
LAY CARMELITES
1st Saturday at 9:30 am in
Conference Room
LEGION OF MARY
Sundays at 10:00 am Room
4 & 5 & Friday 6:30 pm in the
Conference Room.
LOP MISSION
Last Saturday at 7:00 pm in
Room 7
MARIAN ROSARY GROUP
Every Tuesday @ 9:30 am in
the Conference Room
PERPETUAL HELP DEVOTIONS
After Masses on Tuesday.
RCIA
Please call Glenn Valois
858-271-8769 (Faith Formation Office)
SPIRIT OF GOD PRAYER GROUP
2nd & 4th Wednesday at
7:00 in Room 7.
TRADITIONAL CHOIR
Wednesdays at 7:00 PM in
Church
VIETNAMESE CHARISMATIC
PRAYER GROUP
Wednesdays at 7:15 PM in
Room A
VIETNAMESE CHOIRS
Ca Doan Giang Sinh
Saturdays at 4:30 pm in
the Conference Room
Ca Doan Magnificat
Fridays at 7:00 pm in
Room A.
VIETNAMESE LEGION OF MARY
Saturday after morning Mass
in Rooms 7 & 8
VIETNAMESE MOTHERS
1st Sunday at 3:00 pm in
Room 8
VIETNAMESE SACRED HEART
2nd Sunday at 3:00 pm in
Room 8
VIETNAMESE RELIGIOUS
EDUCATION
Saturday at 5:00 pm. Call
the Religious Education
Office at 271-8769.
WOMEN’S CLUB
Last Monday at 5:00 pm in
Room 12.
PAGE SIX
GOOD SHEPHERD
JUNE 28, 2015
We will re-open August 3rd and be glad to register your family for the
2015-2016 cycle then.
Feel free to call us and leave a message and we will return it promptly!
This Week, We Celebrate: Blessed Junípero Serra
Feast Day: July 1
José Miguel Serra was the son of a farmer in Spain, and was rejected from the
Franciscans the first time he applied because he appeared frail. He later joined at
age seventeen. He took the name Junípero from Juniper, the beloved companion of
St. Francis. He taught philosophy, got a doctorate in theology, and taught theology
at a university, but then asked to be a missionary: “All my life I’ve wanted to be a
missioner. I have wanted to carry the Gospel teachings to those who have never
heard of God and the Kingdom he has prepared for them.”
In 1749 Fr. Serra sailed for Mexico with other Franciscans for 98 days over rough
waters and low food supply. After landing in Mexico, Fr. Serra and another friar
walked 300 miles to Mexico City. On the way, Fr. Serra was bitten on left leg by a
poisonous insect, which made him lame and caused him pain the rest of his life. The travelers stopped at the
shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, where Fr. Serra dedicated to her his work among the Indians.
Fr. Serra worked with the Pamé Indians for eight years; then, he worked as a traveling missionary in many
cities. In 1767 the viceroy of Mexico forced all Franciscans to leave, and Junípero was made president of the
14 missions in Lower California. When the Spaniards took over Upper California in 1769, Junípero went with
them: at 56 years old, with swollen foot and leg, he traveled 900 miles on mule to San Diego and founded the
first of the 19 missions he had planned. Junípero established nine of the 21 Franciscan missions along the
Pacific Coast: San Diego, San Carlos Borromeo, San Antonio de Padua, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, Sa
Francisco, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Clara, San Buenaventura.
In the missions, everything was held in common. The Native Americans who made up these communities
were taught how to grow crops and raise livestock. They learned to read and write, tossing, and to paint.
Most exciting for Fr. Serra, they learned about the faith and asked to become Catholics. He baptized about
6,000 Native Americans. When Fr. Serra was dying, ne insisted on walking to chapel for Holy Communion.
Indians stayed with the body throughout the night, and it was recorded that at the funeral the weeping
drowned out the singing. Fr. Serra is buried at the Carmel mission, was beatified in 1988 by Pope John Paul II,
and will be canonized this September by Pope Francis.
PAGE SEVEN
GOOD SHEPHERD
JUNE 28, 2015
Parish News & Announcements
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCIL 9076
Is sponsoring a Health and Wellness Program through Dancing/Line Dance for Good
Shepherd Parishioners and Community Friday nights (when the hall is available) at Good
Shepherd Parish Hall 6:30 pm—9:00 pm. Donation $2.00
per person (ALL proceed goes to the Capital Campaign Fund)
For more information, please contact Carlos Bituin at 858-525-2686, Pablo
Sacro 858-382-5849 or Rey Abrenica at 858-689-8959. All are Welcome!!
ALTAR SERVERS NEEDED
We will start training soon for Altar Servers. If you are interested in becoming an Altar
Server please stop by the parish office to pick up a registration packet.
SANTO NIÑO PRAYER GROUP BENEFIT DANCE
Saturday, August 8, 2015 6:00PM – 10:00PM
Good Shepherd Parish Hall
Donation: $ 20.00
Light dinner will be served from 6:00PM – 8:00PM
Proceeds to be use for the Santo Niño Fiesta “Karakol” Band. Monetary donations are accepted.
Please make check payable to Santo Nino Prayer Group
For more information: Mel Franco (858) 382 – 3480 Pablo H. Sacro (858) 621 – 8714
Good Shepherd Catholic School
Who we become starts where we begin . . .
Consider Catholic Education
Good Shepherd Catholic School is on summer vacation.
Please feel free to leave messages with the school office as necessary.
All messages and emails will be returned in a timely manner.
The school office will re-open on Monday, August 3, 2015
9am to noon, Monday through Friday.
First day of 2015-2016 school year is Monday, August 31, 2015.
Good Shepherd Catholic School
welcomes new enrollment.
Call us at (858)693-1522
Email us at [email protected]
Check out our website at www.goodshepherdcatholic.net
PAGE EIGHT
GOOD SHEPHERD
JUNE 28, 2015
Parish News & Announcements
PETER’S PENCE COLLECTION 2015
Today , we are supporting Pope Francis in his charitable works. The Peter’s Pence Collection is taken up
worldwide to support the most disadvantaged: victims
of war, oppression, and natural disasters. This is an opportunity to join with our Holy Father, Pope Francis,
and be witness of charity to our suffering brothers and
sisters, please be generous in today’s collection.
Parish Office will be closed Friday, July 3 in observance of Independences Day. We will reopen the office
Monday, July 6 at 9:00 am. Please note that no keys will
be issue for the weekend of July 3 to July 5. Thank you
for your understanding.
Adult Faith Formation
PAGE NINE
GOOD SHEPHERD
JUNE 28, 2015
Parish News & Announcements
THE LORD OF LIFE
At this bountiful time of year, our Sunday readings teem with life and abundance. Both the
first reading, from the book of Wisdom, and the Gospel passage from Mark assure us that God
did not make death or even will us to be ill. Illness and death entered the world through the
presence of evil, the Wisdom author tells us. Mark’s stories of Jesus healing a hemorrhaging
woman and resuscitating a dead little girl make it clear that Jesus is from God. As the Son of
God he does not will that anyone suffer illness or death. In the face of such power, the second
reading, from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, provides a stark contrast. Jesus, who
could raise the dead to new life, “though he was rich, for your sake he became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Our gift of new life from Christ demands our response in charity.
Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.
GIVE ELECTRONICALLY!
Good Shepherd offers the option to give electronically. For more details go to
www.goodshepherdparish.net and click on the “blue give now” button or scan the QR
Total Collection for Sunday, June 28, 2015 $20,815.10
PAGE TEN
GOOD SHEPHERD
JUNE 28, 2015
Catechism of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
The family - 19. Death
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
In the course of our catecheses on the family, today we take direct inspiration from the episode narrated by Luke the Evangelist, which
we have just heard (cf. Lk 7:11-15). It is a very moving scene, which shows us Christ’s compassion for those who suffer — in this case a
widow who has lost her only child — and it also shows us Jesus’ power over death.
Death is an experience which touches all families, without exception. It is part of life; yet, where familial love is concerned, death never
seems natural. For parents, surviving their own children is particularly heartbreaking; it contradicts the fundamental nature of the very
relationships that give meaning to the family. The loss of a son or daughter is like time stopping altogether: it opens a chasm that swallows both past and future. Death, which takes away a little child or young person, is a blow to the promises, to the gifts and the sacrifices of love joyfully brought to the life we gave birth to. Frequently parents come to Mass at Santa Marta with the photo of a son, a
daughter, a baby, a boy, a girl, and they say to me: “He’s gone, she’s gone”. And their faces are filled with grief. Death touches us and
when it is a child’s, it touches us profoundly. The whole family is left paralyzed, speechless. And the child left alone by the loss of one
or both parents suffers in a similar way. She asks: “Where is my daddy? Where is my mama? — Well, she is in heaven” — “Why can’t I
see her?”. This question covers the agony in the heart of a child left alone. The emptiness of abandonment that opens up in him is
made all the more agonizing by the fact that he doesn’t have the life-experience to even “give a name” to what has happened. “When is
daddy coming back?” When is mama coming?”. What do you say when a child suffers? This is what death in the family is like.
In these cases, death is like a black whole that opens up in the life of the family and for which we have no explanation. And at times we
even go so far as to lay the blame on God. How many people — I understand them — get angry with God, blaspheme: “Why did you
take my son, my daughter? There is no God, God does not exist! Why did he do this?”. We hear this so often. But this anger is basically
what comes from the heart in great pain; the loss of a son or of a daughter, of a father or of a mother, is a great sorrow. This happens
over and over in families. In these cases, I said, death is like a hole. But physical death has “accomplices” even worse than itself, which
are called hate, envy, pride, greed; in short, the sin of the world which works for death and makes it even more painful and unjust.
Family bonds seem to be the predestined and helpless victims of these helping powers of death, trailing the history of mankind. Let us
think of the absurd “normality” with which, at certain moments and in certain places, events adding to the horror of death are provoked by the hatred and indifference of other human beings. May the Lord keep us free from being accustomed to this!
In the People of God, by the grace of his compassion granted in Jesus, many families prove by their deeds that death does not have the
last word: this is a true act of faith. Every time a family in mourning — even terrible mourning — finds the strength to guard the faith
and love that unite us to those we love, it has already prevented death from taking everything. The darkness of death should be confronted with a more intense work of love. “My God, lighten my darkness!”, is the invocation of evening prayer. In the light of the Resurrection of the Lord, who abandons none of those whom the Father entrusted to him, we can take the “sting” out of death, as the
Apostle Paul says (1 Cor 15:55); we can prevent it from poisoning life, from rendering vain our love, from pushing us into the darkest
chasm.
In this faith, we can console one another, knowing that the Lord has conquered death once and for all. Our loved ones are not lost in
the darkness of nothing: hope assures us that they are in the good and strong hands of God. Love is stronger than death. Thus, the way
is to let love grow, make it stronger, and love will guard us until the day that every tear shall be wiped away, when “death shall be no
more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more” (Rev 21:4). If we allow ourselves to be sustained by this faith, the
experience of grief can generate even stronger family bonds, a new openness to the pain of other families, a new brotherhood with
families that are born and reborn in hope. To be born and reborn in hope, this gives us faith. But I would like to stress the last phrase
of the Gospel which he heard today (cf. Lk 7:11-15). After Jesus brought the young man, the only son of a widow, back to life, the Gospel says: “Jesus gave him back to his mother”. And this is our hope! All our loved ones who are gone, the Lord will give them back to us
and we will be together with them. This hope does not disappoint! Let us remember well this action of Jesus: “And Jesus gave him back
to his mother”, thus the Lord will do with all our loved ones in the family!
This faith protects us from the nihilist vision of death, as well as from the false consolations of the world, so that the Christian truth
“does not risk mixing itself with myths of various types”, surrendering to superstitions beliefs (Benedict XVI, Angelus, 2 November
2008). Today it is necessary that Pastors and all Christians express in a more concrete way the meaning of the faith in regards to the
family experience of grief. We should not deny them the right to weep — we must weep in mourning — “Jesus wept” and was “deeply
troubled” by the grave loss of a family that he loved (cf. Jn 11:33-37). We can draw from the simple and strong testimony of the many
families who have been able to grasp, in the most arduous transition of death, the safe passage of the Lord, Crucified and Risen, with
his irrevocable promise of the resurrection of the dead. God’s work of love is stronger than the work of death. It is of that love, it is
precisely of that love, that we must make ourselves hard-working “accomplices”, with our faith! And let us remember Jesus’ deed: “And
Jesus gave him back to his mother”, so he will do with all our loved ones and with us when we meet again, when death will be definitively conquered in us. It was conquered by Jesus’ Cross. Jesus will give us all back to the family!