February 11, 2015

Feb. 11

February 11, 2015:  Wednesday, 5th week, Ordinary Time

  • 'Tree' pin:  God made various trees grow in the garden of Eden (1st reading)
  • 'Hand' tie pin:  When you open your hand, they're filled with good things (psalm)

  • 'Earth' tie:  When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth (psalm)

  • 'Hearts' suspenders:  "What comes out from your heart defiles you" (gospel)
Listen

Pope Francis
For World Day of Prayer for the Sick:  “Eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame”
Consider Job 29:15 from the perspective of sapientia cordis (wisdom of heart).  This 'wisdom' is  “pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits...” (Jas 3:17), a way for us to see Spirit-infused things.  “Teach us to number our days that we may gain wisdom of heart” (Ps 90:12).
Serve others.  “I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame” points to how Job served those in need, including the poor, orphans, and widows.  Many Christians serve the sick; it can become tiring and burdensome.  It's hard to look after someone for months or years, often without thanks.  Rely on the Lord's closeness....
Be with others; time spent with the sick praises God who conforms us to his Son, who came to serve and to give his life.  Appreciate the time; thanks to our affection, many feel more loved and comforted.  Lives affected by grave illness are worth living!
Go forth.  We're rushed, our world forgets the value of time with the sick, and we forget about giving ourselves, taking care of others, and being responsible.  ‘Going forth’ grounds moral norms and is a clear sign of spiritual growth.  The Church's missionary nature is the wellspring of charity and compassion.
Show solidarity without judging.  Charity takes time, time to visit and care for the sick.  Job’s friends judged him, thinking his misfortune was God's punishment for sin.  Charity is sharing which doesn't judge or demand others' conversion; it's free of false humility that, deep down, is self-satisfied.  Job’s suffering finds response only in Jesus' cross, the supreme act of God’s solidarity.  This love-response remains on the risen Christ's body; his wounds are proof of faith.  Even when it's hard to reach out, suffering can transmit grace and help you grow in sapientia cordis.  We come to understand how Job eventually said to God:  “I'd heard of you, but now my eye sees you.”  People immersed in suffering, when they accept it in faith, can become witnesses of faith, embracing suffering, even without understanding it.
Seek the maternal protection of Mary, who gave birth to Wisdom incarnate, Jesus our Lord.  Mary, Seat of Wisdom, intercede for the sick and those who care for them!  Grant that, through our service, and the experience of suffering, we may receive and cultivate wisdom of heart!
Audience:  "Look; they come to you—your sons from afar, your daughters in the arms of their nurses.  You'll see and be radiant, your heart shall throb and overflow"(Is 60:4-5a).  What a beautiful image of the happiness realized in reunion of parents and children, walking toward a future of freedom and peace, after a period of separation.  There's a close bond between hope and harmony between generations.
Children are a gift and joy, each unique but tied to their roots, carrying the memory and hope of their parents' love.  A child is created by us but destined for the good of family, society, humanity.  Being a child allows us to discover the gratuitous dimension of love; we're loved without deserving it, even before coming into the world!  In every child God puts the seal of this love, a personal dignity nothing and no one can destroy.
Our Father leaves us free but never alone.  When we fail, he's patient and keeps loving, wanting us to progress.  Children shouldn't fear the commitment to build a new world!  The fourth commandment comes right after the ones concerning God; it contains something divine and at the root of all human respect.  
The virtuous link between generations is a guarantee of the future.  A society of children who don't honor their parents is one without honor, destined to fill itself with greed; a generation that doesn’t want children is depressed and selfish.  Life rejuvenates and acquires energy when it multiplies! Children learn to take charge, mature in sharing sacrifices, and grow in appreciation of  gifts.  The experience of joyful fraternity animates parents' respect and care.  Jesus, eternal Son, made child in time, help us find the way of a new outpouring of experience of being children, so simple and great....
Read
  • Gn 2:4b-9, 15-17  When God made the earth and the heavens, the Lord formed man out of clay gave him the breath of life, so man became a living being.  Then the Lord planted a garden in Eden and placed there the man he'd formed and made trees grow, delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  The Lord settled the man in the garden, to care for it, ordering, “You may eat from any tree but the tree of knowledge of good and evil; if you eat from it, you're doomed.”
  • Ps 104:1-2a, 27-30  "O bless the Lord, my soul!"  You are great, clothed with majesty, robed in light.  All creatures look to you to give them food.  When you send your spirit, they're created, and you renew the face of the earth.
  • Mk 7:14-23  Jesus to crowd:  “Nothing entering you from outside can defile you; but what comes out from within defiles.”  To disciples:  “What goes into a person from outside can't defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out.  But what comes out from the heart defiles:  evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy....”
Reflect
    • Creighton:  Today’s gospel comes after Jesus scolded the Pharisees for setting aside God's command to uphold their tradition;  Jesus says that what really counts is what comes out of our hearts.  As Lent approaches, reflect on how to change to be more open to God.
    • One Bread One Body:  "God is good":  God freely and lovingly created us and gave us life, food, and an environment delightful to look at. God appointed man to "care for" the earth, but man "didn't care."  Even our tragic choices don't change God's nature of God.  God is good and loving and provides what we need.
    • DailyScripture.net:  The religious leaders were concerned about avoiding ritual defilement, but Jesus says defilement is from within; sin springs from our inner thoughts, intentions, and desires.  When Cain became jealous, God warned him: "Sin is couching at the door; its wants you, but you must master it."  Cain allowed his jealousy to grow into hatred. When sinful desires knock, how do I respond?  God gives us the grace and strength to resist and overcome temptation.  The Lord wants to set us free from guilt and sin, to purify and our hearts and renew our minds so we can freely choose to love and do what is right, good, just, and wise. The Lord Jesus is ready to change and purify us through the Spirit's help. Like a physician, God brings sin into light that we may recognize it and call upon his mercy and grace.  The Spirit is our Counselor and Helper; he enables us to choose good and to reject evil.
    • Universalis:  Our Lady of Lourdes:  Mary appeared to poor Bernadette Soubirous, 14, near Lourdes, calling sinners to change.  She's inspired great love of prayer and good works, especially service of the poor and the sick; see Catholic Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.  St. Gobnait:  see Wikipedia. 
    Blessings to and prayers for the communities at
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    February 10, 2015

    Scholastica

    February 10, 2015:  St. Scholastica, Virgin

    See 12+ connections with today's readings and celebration?
    Legend below


     Listen


    + Hear yesterday's 10+ "creation" tracks
    Pope Francis homily
    God created us in his image.   We can't find the image of God on a computer or in an encyclopedia; the only way to find it and so understand our identity is to set out on a journey, or else you won't find the face of God.  Sedentary, lethargic Christians don't know God.  You need to be restless to set out on the path; God made us restless to bring us to him. 
     
    Setting out and allowing God and life to test us is a risk, like Elijah, Jeremiah, and Job's; they braved danger and felt defeated.  If we're stationary, we falsify our search.  In the Gospel, Jesus met people afraid to set out on the path and who were content with a caricature of God, a fake ID.  They silenced their restlessness, replacing God with commandments; in doing so, they turned from God instead of journeying towards God.  People like that travel a path that goes nowhere, a slumberous path.
    Today's readings are two ID cards we all have:  one saying, "Set out and you'll discover your identity, because you're God's image.  Get up and seek God," and the other, 'Fulfill all these commandments, and that's the face of God."  May the Lord give us courage to set out on the path, to seek the Lord's face, the face we must seek here and hope one day to see.
    Read
    Wordle: Readings 2-10-15
    • Gn 1:20—2:4a  God:  “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly.”  God created sea monsters, swimming creatures, and birds and blessed them:  day 5.  “Let earth bring forth creatures:  cattle, creeping things, and animals.”  God made animals, cattle, and creeping things and saw how good it was.  “Let us make man in our image.  Let them have dominion over fish, birds, cattle, animals, and crawling creatures.”  God created man in the divine image, male and female.  “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth.  I give you plants and trees with fruit as food.”  God looked at everything and found it very good:  day 6, completing heavens and earth.  Finished with the work, he rested on the 7th day; God blessed the day because on it he rested from the work of creation.
    • Ps 8:4-9  "O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!"  When I behold your heavens, moon, and stars—who are we that you should be mindful of us?  You've made us little less than the angels, crowned us with glory, and put everything under our feet.
    • Mk 7:1-13  The Pharisees and some scribes, observing some disciples ate with unwashed hands, asked Jesus why they didn't follow tradition.  Jesus:  “Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites:  They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they worship in vain, teaching human precepts as doctrine.  To uphold your tradition, you've set aside God's commandment!
    Reflect
      • Creighton:  Creation isn't to be taken literally or rejected;  it could have taken eons but still have been directed by God.  The authority God gave us over creation is tempered by responsibility to care for creation.  We must find it good as God did.  At times it's easy to find God in it and be moved to gratitude and stewardship, but other times it may be less obvious or convenient.  “Creation isn't some possession for our pleasure, nor is it property of only some; it's God's marvelous gift for us to take care of and harness for the benefit of all, with respect and gratitude.” [Pope Francis audience 5-21-2014, paraphrased]
        Day five/ Bargmann
      • One Bread One Body:  "New creations":  God continues to create through the Spirit, Word, and light.  Our lives are a "formless wasteland" in need of God's order and peace.  We separate things in our life, as God separated light from darkness and land from sea.  Re-ordering is necessary for re-creation.  For God to create in us, we must "be fertile," bearing fruit for God's kingdom by leading others to new life in Christ.
      • Passionist:  I see the creation story as one of incarnation:  God's love and creative energy were too strong to be contained, so God created the universe.  The highest form of expression was when God created us in the divine image, and the ultimate form of incarnation was Jesus, but all creation are incarnations of God.  We know this when we experience God in a pet, a sunset, mountains, or oceans.  Saints Anthony of the Desert and Thomas Aquinas said Genesis is the natural world created as an expression of God:  "God brought things into being so creatures might communicate and represent his goodness; and because one creature can't represent it, he produced many, so another might supply what one lacks in representing it" (Summa Theologica).  If all creation embodies God, then I need to treat everyone and everything with respect.  What can I do to show more respect to God's creation?
      • DailyScripture.net:  The Scribes and Pharisees, upset with Jesus because he allowed his disciples to break with traditions, sent a delegation to confront him.  Jesus responded by looking at God's purpose and pointing out how they perverted commands to excuse themselves; he accused them of hypocrisy and of abandoning God's word by substituting clever arguments and interpretations.  If we hear God's word with faith, it'll enlighten and purify us so we may love and obey God.
      Clothing legend
      • 'Fish,' 'bird' tie pins:  God created swimming creatures, winged birds. (1st reading)
      • 'Animal' pins and tie:  God made wild animals, cattle, creeping things...  (1st reading)
      • 'Stick figures' tie:  God created people in his image, male and female...  (1st reading)
      • 'Plant' and 'tree' pins [oops, forgot to put these on]:  “I give you every seed-bearing plant and every tree...”  (1st reading)
      • 'Hand,' 'star' tie pins:  I behold the work of your fingers,... the stars you set in place (psalm); Pharisees noticed disciples ate with unwashed hands (gospel)
      • 'Angel' pin:  You made us little less than the angels (psalm)
      • 'Precious feet' pin, 'sheep' tie bar:  You put everything under our feet:  sheep, birds, fish... (psalm)
      • 'Heart' tie bar:  "Their hearts are far from me" (gospel)
      • Green and white shirt:  Ordinary Time season; St. Scholastica, virgin
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      February 9, 2015

      Feb. 9

      February 9, 2015:  Monday, 5th week, Ordinary Time

      See 6 connections with today's readings?
      Legend below

      Listen

      Pope Francis
      Today's homily:  God creates and sustains the universe.  In the gospel we see God's other creation, of Jesus, who came to re-create what sin ruined.  Those who touched Jesus were saved; it's the 're-creation,'  more wonderful than the first.  There's another job, perseverance, the Holy Spirit works on.
      How shall we respond to God's love-born creation?  To the 'first creation,' assume the responsibility the Lord gave us to take it forward and let it grow, nurture it, nurture Earth, making it grow; we're creation's lords, not masters.  Protect Creation and make it grow; a Christian who doesn't, doesn't care about God's work, work born from God's love for us. 
      St. Paul says about the 'second creation,'  "be reconciled to God":  go on the road of inner and communal reconciliation; it's Christ's work.  The Spirit is within us and works in us.  We believe in God, the persons of the Father, Son, and Spirit:  all three are involved in creation, re-creation, and perseverance in re-creation.  And to all our response is to preserve and nurture creation, being reconciled with Jesus every day, not driving the Spirit away; he's the host of our hearts who accompanies us and makes us grow.  May the Lord  give us grace to understand he's at work and to respond appropriately to this labor of love.
      Sunday parish visit and homily:
      • To the homeless:  That people don't know your name and call you homeless is your cross, and your patience.   The Holy Spirit is in your heart!
      • To parents of newly baptized:  Teach the faith well; some Christian children can't make the sign of the cross.
      • To older children:  The devil is the father of war, hate, and lies and seeks disunity.  But God wants unity.  If you feel jealousy, it's the beginning of war.
      • Homily:  It's sad when brothers don't speak because of something stupid.  The devil takes stupidity and makes a world, then enmities continue and multiply.  It destroys the family:  parents suffer because children don't speak to each other.  The devil sows jealousy and envy, and only Jesus can drive out demons and heal.  Let Jesus heal you; listen to him in the Gospel and ask what he's telling you.
      Read
        Wordle: Readings 2-9-15
      • Gn 1:1-19  When earth was a dark wasteland, a wind swept over the waters.  God:  “Let there be light,” and there was.  God separated light from the darkness:  day 1.  “Let a dome separate bodies of water.”  God made it, separating land and sky:  day 2.  “Let dry land appear.”  Water was gathered, and dry land appeared:  'earth' and 'sea.'  “Let vegetation come forth.”  Earth brought forth plants and fruits:  day 3.  “Let lights separate day from night, mark days and years, and shed light on earth.”  God made sun, moon, and stars.  God saw how good it all was:  day 4.
        Day One/ Leavitt
      • Ps 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35c  "May the Lord be glad in his works."  Bless the Lord!  You're great, clothed with glory.  You fixed the earth and covered it with waters.  How manifold your works; in wisdom you wrought them all.
      • Mk 6:53-56  Jesus and his disciples came to land.  As they left the boat, people immediately recognized him.  They brought in the sick and begged him that they might touch his cloak; those who touched it were healed.
      Reflect
          Day Two/ Legarde
        • Creighton:  The miracle of creation continues.  In the Gospel, Jesus continued the tradition, healing the sick, making wellness where it wasn't.  Let him create wholeness in us. Every day is creation.
          Day Three/ Leavitt
        • One Bread One Body:  "New creations":  Spirit, Word, and light are the first three movements of God's new creation in our lives:  God began creation with the wind of the Spirit; stir into flame the gift of the Spirit.  Next, God spoke and the heavens were made.  Know God's Word; expect new creation.  God first created light.  As plants need light to bear fruit, so we need God's light to become fruitful.  We received the light of Christ at baptism; let it shine to let God create something new in our lives.
          Day Four/ Legarde
        • Passionist:  Patience!  As Jesus' disciples learned patiently, we're always being schooled in our missionary calling.  At times Jesus seems impatient, like when he said he came to light a fire and how he wishes the blaze were already ignited, but listening and discerning God's will invite our patience.
        • DailyScripture.net:  When Jesus disembarked, people immediately recognized him.  When they pressed on and touched his garment, they were made well.  Do I recognize Jesus and approach him with faith?  God gives us faith through the Spirit.  We grow in faith by listening to God's word and persevering.
        Legend
        • 'Earth and sky' tie:  God created earth and sky (1st reading, psalm)
        • Blue shirt:  God created the sea (1st reading, psalm)
        • 'Plant' pin:  God created plants (1st reading)
        • 'Star' tie pin:  God made the stars (1st reading)
        • 'Owl' tie pin:  in wisdom you've wrought your works (psalm)
        • 'Boat' tie bar:  As they left the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus.
        • Green socks:  Ordinary Time season.  (I didn't count this one above since you can't see it.)
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        February 8, 2015

        5th Sun., Ordinary Time

        February 8, 2015:  Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

        Look for 7 connections with the readings and season; legend below.

        Listen

        • Fever/ Cooley, Blackwell (gospel-inspired)
        Angelus:  Preaching and healing is the principal activity of Jesus in his public life, announcing God's Kingdom  and showing it's in our midst.  Jesus saw Peter's mother-in-law with a fever, took her by the hand, and healed her; then he healed the multitude brought to him.  He shows a predilection for the wounded; he's the doctor of souls and bodies, our Good Samaritan, true Savior.
        Wednesday, Our Lady of Lourdes' memorial, is World Day of the Sick.  Christ's saving work continues through the Church, the sacrament of God's love and tenderness.  As Jesus commanded his disciples to announce the Gospel of salvation and heal the sick, we've always considered helping the sick integral to our mission.  The Church always finds the poor and sick and considers them a privileged way to encounter, welcome, and serve Christ; the sick person is the flesh of Christ.
        Suffering raises questions about the meaning of illness and sorrow and the reason for death; we must respond with the light of faith, remembering the Crucifixion, where out of love God didn't spare his own Son.  Each of us is called to bear the light of God's Word and the power of grace to the suffering and those who help them, so service to the sick may be better accomplished with more humanity, generous dedication, evangelical love, and tenderness.  Mother Church, through us, caresses sufferings and cures wounds with a mother's tenderness.  Mary, Health of the sick, may every sick person experience, thanks to the care of those close to them, the power of God's love and the comfort of his tenderness.
        Homily:  see here 
        Read

        • Jb 7:1-4, 6-7  Job:  Our life is drudgery; we're slaves.  I've been given misery, restlessness; I won't see happiness.
          'Thermometer' cloud
          (animate)
        • Ps 147:1-6  "Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted."  The Lord is good, gracious, wise, mighty; he gathers the dispersed, binds wounds, calls by name, sustains the lowly...
        • 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23  Preaching the gospel is my obligation; I offer it free.  I've made myself a slave to win many over.  I've become all things to all, to save at least some.  I do this for the gospel's sake, so that I may have a share.
        • Mk 1:29-39  Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.  Jesus grasped her hand, and helped her up; the fever left and she waited on them.  They brought him the sick and possessed; he cured many and drove out demons.  He rose early and left to pray, then went with his disciples to nearby villages to preach and drive out demons.
        Reflect
          • One Bread One Body:  Job's fortunes collapsed, family members died, and health declined; unfortunately many today suffer multiple tragedies too.  Job's negative assessment was true, but now we can hope in Jesus and his love, forgiveness, and healing.
          • Passionist:  Jesus must have been exhausted, but he rose early to pray.  He knew his work depended on renewal through rest and prayer.  We're called to "active contemplation":  work, prayer, and rest.
          • DailyScripture.net:  "Imagine staying asleep with Jesus standing before your bed.  Jesus is here offering himself to us, but you don't recognize him.  'His kingdom is in your midst.'  Faith beholds Jesus among us.  If we can't take his hand, let us prostrate ourselves at his feet and wash his feet with our tears.  Our repentance is his perfume" (St. Jerome).  Do I take my troubles to Jesus and allow him to be Lord and healer?  God restores us to health, service, and care of others.
          • Today's saints, from Universalis (though trumped by Sunday):
            • Josephine Bakhita, rescued slave, religious; see Wikipedia.
            • Cuthman of Steyning, shepherd, builder, man of prayer, begged to support mom
          Attire legend
          • 'When I grow up...' tie:  "I became all things to all..." (2nd reading)
          • 'Pierced hearts' suspenders:  "Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted" (psalm)
          • 'Star' tie pin:  The Lord tells the number of the stars (psalm)
          • 'Owl' tie pin:  There's no limit to our Lord's wisdom and power  (psalm)
          • 'Hand' tie pin:  Jesus grasped her hand and helped her up (gospel)
          • 'Kneeling person' tie bar:  Jesus rose early and left for a deserted place to pray (gospel)
          • Green shirt:  Ordinary Time season
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          February 7, 2015

          Feb. 7

          February 7, 2015:  Saturday, 4th week, Ordinary Time

          See 8 connections with today's readings and celebration?
          Legend below

          Listen


          For the psalm
          Pope Francis

          To business leaders:  Our first concern is the human person and the hungry.  It's deplorable that there's enough food for everybody but many don't have access to it while some consume it excessively and use it for other means.  Concrete approaches:
          • Set priorities:  Resolve structural causes of poverty, remembering the root of evil is inequality.  Reject total autonomy of the markets and financial speculation.
          • Be witnesses of charity:  Human dignity and the common good are the starting points for healthy economic policy and political decisionmaking.  Support and uphold this to make the earth’s treasures more accessible. 
          • Be custodians of the earth, not masters:  Mother Earth asks for respect, not violence or arrogance.  Hand it on to our children improved.  Take care of ourselves and don't fear tenderness; safeguard the earth with goodness and tenderness.
          To Council for the Laity:  Cities present opportunities and risks for the Church:  they can be spaces of freedom and fulfillment, but also dehumanization and unhappiness.  Reach out to the forgotten and abandoned, breaking the wall of anonymity and indifference to show God is never absent.  By becoming joyful announcers of the Gospel, you discover there are many the Spirit has prepared to receive your witness, closeness and attention.  Cities are fertile ground for apostolate; live a humble leadership and become leaven of Christian life.  Announce the liberating message of God's love with strength, beauty, and simplicity.
          To Council for Culture:  Women should be full participants in social and ecclesial life.

          • Balance equality and difference:  Ideology can impede seeing reality well.  See the equality and difference of women—like men—from the perspective of “with,” of relationship, not “against”.  We've overcome models of subordination and mere absolute equality to find reciprocity and equivalence in difference.  Man and woman are necessary; they possess an identical nature but with their own modality.
          • "Generativity" as symbolic:  Mothers' transmit and protect life, not just biologically:  desiring, giving birth, caring for, and letting go.  Encourage the contribution of women who work in the family, faith education, pastoral activity, education, and social, cultural and economic structures.  Women show God's tender face and mercy, give time, and welcome.  The feminine dimension of the Church is a welcoming womb that regenerates life.
          • The female body recalls for us the beauty and harmony of the body God gave women but also the wounds inflicted on them.  Symbol of life, it's attacked and disfigured.  Defeat this slavery; many poor women are forced to live as victims of a culture of waste in dangerous, exploitative conditions, relegated to the margins.
          • Women in Church life: Offer them spaces and welcome them.  Foster widespread  female presence, in pastoral ministry, accompanying persons, families and groups, and in theological reflection.  Women are irreplaceable in family and society; their gentleness, sensitivity, and tenderness radiate peace.  Encourage women's presence in the public sphere, the workplace, and decisionmaking, while upholding their presence and preferential attention for the family.  Ensure their freedom of choice, so they can take on social and ecclesial responsibilities in harmony with family life.
          Read
          • Heb 13:15-17, 20-21  Through Jesus, offer God a sacrifice of praise, fruit of your lips.  Do good and share what you have.  Obey your leaders; they keep watch over you.  May the God of peace furnish you with all that's good, that you may do his will.  May he carry out in you what pleases him....
            Offer God a sacrifice of praise,
            fruit of your lips (animate)
          • Ps 23:1-6  "The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want."  You lead, guide, and anoint me, giving me repose and refreshment.  You're at my side, giving me courage.  You spread the table before me.  Goodness and kindness follow me, and I'll dwell in your house.
          • Mk 6:30-34  The Apostles reported what they'd done and taught.  Jesus:  “Come away by yourselves and rest.”  They went off in the boat, but people saw and hastened there.  When Jesus saw them all, he was moved with pity—they were like sheep without a shepherd—and began to teach them.
          Reflect
            • One Bread One Body:  When Jesus called the apostles, all hell broke loose:  his relatives said he was mad, and religious leaders claimed he was possessed.  When he sent them out two by two, Mark believed all hell broke loose again, for he gives the account of the beheading of John the Baptist.  When John XXIII, summoned bishops, apostles' successors, at Vatican II, all hell broke loose again, but that doesn't bother Jesus who continues to call, gather, shepherd, teach, and feed.  He works through his Church, against which the gates of hell can't prevail. 
            • DailyScripture.net:  Shepherding came even before farming; the Chosen People had to move their flocks as they themselves traveled.  It was hard; herds could number in the thousands, and shepherds put their life on the line, battling with hyenas and wolves, to defend their flocks and bring back strays.  Sheep and shepherds lived together, and sheep recognized their shepherd's voice and come when called.  God leads us like a good shepherd; do I submit my life to the Good Shepherd and trust in his help?
            Outfit legend
            • 'Peace sign' tie bar:  May the God of peace furnish you with all that's good... (1st reading)
            • 'Sheep' tie bar:  God raised the great Shepherd (1st reading); The Lord is my shepherd (psalm); they were like sheep without a shepherd (gospel)
            • Green shirt:  verdant pastures (psalm), Ordinary Time season
            • 'Cups' tie:  My cup overflows (psalm)
            • 'Stick figures' tie pin:  People coming and going in great numbers (gospel)
            • 'Boat' tie bar:  They went off in the boat to a deserted place (gospel)
            • 'Precious feet' pin:  They hastened on foot (gospel)
            • 'Hearts' suspenders:  Jesus' heart was moved with pity (gospel); God's merciful love (First Reconciliation is today at St. Bede)
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