Fourth Sunday of Easter

Thoughts from Fr. Bill…….

Dear friends, the Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd
Sunday. The image of Jesus the Good Shepherd reminds us
just how much we are loved by the Lord. It is also a day to pray for
priestly and religious vocations, as we celebrate World Day of
Prayer for Vocations. The Church of Greensburg will be blessed
with 3 new priests on June 1, 2013: Tyler Bandura, Matthew
Morelli and Daniel Ulishney. Pray for them and for all people discerning
God’s call in their lives.

Monday is Earth Day. Folksinger Tom Paxton wrote these lyrics
for the first Earth Day 43 years ago. “Whose garden was this? / It
must have been lovely. / Did it have flowers? / I’ve seen pictures of
flowers, / And I’d love to have smelled one. / Ah! Tell me again, I
need to know: / The forest had trees, the meadows were green, /
The oceans were blue and birds really flew, / Can you swear that
was true?” Do these times and names, made popular by John Denver,
sound merely nostalgic? So the words sound simplistic? Sentimental?
Old-fashioned? On the contrary, they are as urgent as
“love one another.” “love your neighbor as yourself,” and “follow
me.”

Thursday is the Feast of Saint Mark. He is the author of the earliest
and shortest gospel account in the Bible. Like him, may we find
new ways to proclaim the good news and share Jesus’ story with
others.

In the wake of this week’s bombing at the finish line at the Boston
Marathon, the city’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley OFM shared the following
words: “ in the midst of the darkness of this tragedy we turn
to the light of Jesus Christ , the light that was evident in the lives of
people who immediately turned to help those in need. We stand in
solidarity in our commitment to witness the greater power of good
in our society and to work together for healing.” This growing
culture of violence in our world and even in our country calls for
both wise security measures by government officials and an examination
by all of us to see what we can personally do to enhance
peace and respect for one another in our world. Our Lady of
Mercy, Pray for us.  This week’s psalm response, We are God’s people, the sheep of
God’s flock, reminds us who and whose we are.

LET’S GO PENS!

Fr. Bill
Peace

Trying to live a full life in the service of the Lord,
failing frequently and falling on the mercy of God each time….