3rd Sunday of Easter (Cycle C, Year II)
Community Word: The Risen Christ calls us to believe in Him and receive His mercy and compassion.
Theme: We believe in the Risen Christ when we obey His word and minister to the needs of His people.
Promise: “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” (Jn 2:6)
Reflection:
On many occasions, Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection. The gospel from John recounts how Jesus reveals himself to them, this time at the Sea of Tiberias where the disciples have been fishing all night without bringing in a catch. It seemed that for them, it was business as usual, as if nothing had happened to change their lives.
At daybreak, Jesus is standing on the shore, but none of His disciples recognize Him. He advises them to cast their net on the other side for a catch and they caught so much fish, their nets were tearing. Fishermen go out to sea at night because that is when fish are easy to catch, not in daylight. The Lord was giving His apostles the gift of a second chance. On the shore, meanwhile, Jesus is cooking some fish over a charcoal fire and invites them to breakfast. Again it is in the breaking of bread and sharing of a meal that the Risen Christ reveals himself.
Jesus takes Peter aside and asks him the same question thrice, corresponding to Peter’s three-
time denial of Christ when He stood before Pilate. “Do you love me?” he asks, and Peter answers “I do.”With each answer from Peter, Jesus gives him instructions: “Feeds my lambs,” “Tend my sheep,” “Feed my sheep.” Peter was being asked to take care of the flock, giving him an opportunity to proclaim and prove his love and loyalty to the Risen Christ, and reclaim the authority he lost with his denial. He is given the commission to guard and care for the whole flock in Christ’s name. And Peter will do exactly that for the rest of his life as the Vicar of Christ, the chief shepherd through whom Christ will always be present in his Church, guiding it through the hierarchy, and drawing all men to himself.
Two thousand years ago, the Church was commissioned for her great work by the Lord, while
30 years ago, our BLD Community was made a vessel by which the Lord may manifest his presence among us, giving us the task and active role to be fishers of men, assisting the Church in her evangelization work.
One of the gospel’s sub themes is Care, the biblical foundation of BLD’s Pastoral Care Program
through which, members of the Community express or respond to God’s covenant of love by
nurturing and caring for one another, and bringing to full maturity in Christ all those whom the
Holy Spirit has entrusted to us. BLD’s Pastoral Care Program empowers disciples and aspiring
disciples to live the life of the Spirit by:
• Shepherding them to maturity in Christ through the exercise of their natural and spiritual gifts;
• Enabling them to overcome problems and afflictions in their daily personal, family, vocational and community life.
• Training them to minister to one another’s material, psychological and spiritual needs.
• Cultivating Christian stewardship in their personal, family, vocational and community life;
developing sound personal relationships based on sacrificial love born of the fruit of the
Spirit.
The Word Sharing Circle (WSC) is the primary forum in the Pastoral Care Program where
the spirit of intimacy is best promoted among people who have learned to regard each other
with openness and respect. We are called to care for our portion of the flock – our family, people at work, in community, and those whom the Lord calls for us to care for. We show our love not through what we say, but what we do.
The challenge Christ presented to Peter – “Do you love me more than these others do?” is the same challenge facing us. Like the apostles, we are all summoned by Jesus to extend God’s kingdom everywhere. To be faithful to the ideals of the gospel requires courage because it is never easy to do. All of us can find some way, whether modest or spectacular, important or insignificant, in which wecan be helpful to others.It only requires our wholehearted obedience and trust in the Lord, without any argument, complaint or regret. And on this Sunday the Lord leads us to His promise: “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something,” (Jn 2:6).
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, people who listen to your word follow the Risen Christ. Grant us the courage to believe and trust that You are with us, as we respond to Your call to cast our nets and care for our share of the flock. In Jesus name. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
1. Are you a believer of the Risen Christ? How do you respond to the challenge to care for
others, especially those who are entrusted to you?
2.As a disciple of Christ and member of the BLD community, have you exercised your basic role in the pastoral care program? How does it affect you?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
April 10, 2016 (Sun) Acts 5:27-32,40-41/Ps 30:2,4,5-6,11-12,13/Rv 5:11-14/Jn 21:1-19
April 11, 2016 (Mon) Acts 6:8-15/Ps 119:23-24,26-27,29-30/Jn 6:22-29
April 12, 2016 (Tue) Acts 7:51-8:1/Ps 31:3-4,6,7,8,17,21/Jn 6:30-35
April 13, 2016 (Wed) Acts 8:1-8/Ps 66:1-3,4-5,6-7/Jn 6:35-40
April 14, 2016 (Thu) Acts 8:26-40/Ps 66:8-9,16-17,20/Jn 6:44-51
April 15, 2016 (Fri) Acts 9:1-20/Ps 117:4,2/Jn 6:52-59
April 16, 2016 (Sat) Acts 9:31-42/Ps 116:12-13,14-15,16-17/Jn 6:60-69
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
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