Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
R: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; 3 he refreshes my soul. (R) He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. (R) 5 You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (R) 6 Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. (R)
2ND READING - Ephesians 2:13-18
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.
Mark 6:30-34
30 The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. 32 So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. 33 People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.34 When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
| SABBATH | ||
SERENITY IN THE MIDST OF COMPLEXITY
Jeremiah’s world was complex. There were shepherds who led righteously, and shepherds who not only misled but scattered the flock. St. Paul refers to a “dividing wall of enmity,” and to the reality that at some point in our lives we were far off from God. The Gospel of Mark alludes to a busy band of 12, who, along with their Master, “had no opportunity even to eat,” caught up by the many demands of people who “were coming and going in great numbers.” Christ, we are told,“was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
But the Lord did more than just pity them. First of all, He showed Himself as the fulfillment of the promise given through Jeremiah the prophet: “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock... and bring them back to their meadow... I will appoint shepherds for them so that they need no longer fear and tremble...” Secondly, as our peace, He “broke down the dividing wall of enmity... thus establishing peace... He came and preached peace to [those] who were far off and peace to those who were near....” Thirdly, He invites us today and every busy day to “come away by [ourselves] to a deserted place and rest a while.”
Sunday, like today, is the Good Shepherd’s gift for us to have some quiet, rest, reflection and prayer. Today, the Liturgy invites us to re-appropriate Sunday for what it was meant to be: a day for the Lord, as much as a day for ourselves. Rather than seeing Sunday as a day for self-absorption and self-preoccupation, it is to be seen as a day for legitimate rest and solitude, not for one’s selfish motives but eventually to get closer to God and Christ through prayer and reflection. Through intimate communion with the Lord, we may rise victorious amidst the complexities of life in this globalized world. Such intimacy with God, in and through this Eucharistic celebration, ought then to make us capable of proclaiming sincerely and more effectively: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SSP
REFLECTION QUESTION: How do you spend your Sundays?
Thank You, Good Shepherd, for the peace that Your presence gives me. May I always seek Your presence in my daily life.
St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us.
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