Readings
Reading I: Acts 2:14, 36-41 |
Preaching TipEncyclical Dilexit Nos – The Heart and Preaching
Pope Francis's encyclical, Dilexit Nos (He Loved Us), offers valuable insights for preaching.
The document opens with a reflection on the human heart, noticing that the heart is “a coordinating center that provides a backdrop of meaning and direction to all that a person experiences” (DN 3). Pope Francis writes very plainly that all of us can say, “I am my heart, for my heart is what sets me apart, shapes my spiritual identity, and puts me in communion with other people” (DN 14).
The preaching style that springs from taking Dilexit Nos seriously is one that speaks to the heart. This would be wonderfully symbolized by St. John Henry Cardinal Newman’s coat of arms: “Cor ad Cor loquitur”.
A homily is not primarily an exposition of theology or a discourse on Church history. While a homily may contain these elements, we can’t forget to share the Kerygma, to speak from the heart, and to emphasize the importance of the heart in our relationship with God.
It is there, in the unique and personal arena of my heart, that God speaks to me, that God loves me, and where I can, in turn, speak to God and love him and my neighbor. In the end, what matters is the heart.
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A Pascua IV
"LA VOZ DEL PASTOR"
En medio de tantas voces y tantos ruidos de la calle hoy podemos distinguir la voz de Cristo que se atribuye a sí mismo las características del buen pastor y que el pueblo reconoce como funciones divinas. Jesús es el Señor, y como tal es la norma de todo esfuerzo de realización humana; es el buen pastor que ha dado la vida por los suyos. Nosotros, sus ovejas, estamos llamados a escuchar su voz, a reconocer el camino de la vida y a recorrerlo con Él.
Hermanas y hermanos:
1. Jesús es el pastor, pero también la puerta del redil. Puerta significa entrada, mediación: En un mundo que se plantea interrogantes urgentes, Jesús es la respuesta que da sentido a nuestra existencia, el maestro que nos enseña la auténtica verdad, la única puerta de acceso a la felicidad y a la vida. "El que entra por mí se salvará", nos dice claramente. Entrar por esa puerta supone, no sólo la pacifica posesión de un certificado de bautismo, que es el sacramento de entrada en la Iglesia, sino oír su voz y seguirle.
2. El mundo de hoy necesita al Buen Pastor; necesita su presencia, su amor y sus cuidados, porque se está muriendo de sed. Abundan los asalariados que están con las ovejas por dinero, por intereses personales. Abundan los lobos que hacen estragos irreparables entre niños y adultos, en la televisión y en los medios de comunicación contaminados con basura y armas de destrucción masiva de valores, sin caminos de verdad y vida; lobos de corrupción, leyes que pervierten, políticos que implantan leyes de muerte. Abundan los pozos de aguas envenenadas de materialismo y consumismo. Abundan las ideologías vacías de sentido. Ahora más que nunca necesitamos rezar con el salmo: "El Señor es mi Pastor, nada me falta. Aunque vaya por cañadas oscuras, nada temo".
3. Jesús nos conoce por nuestro nombre como el pastor a sus ovejas: Conoce a todas y a cada una, en sentido bíblico, es decir, con el corazón. "Con amor eterno te amé". Para Dios no somos un número, somos un nombre y apellidos, un hijo. Cuando nos sintamos solos en medio de la multitud, pensemos en Aquel que nos conoce personalmente. No estoy solo en el mundo, hay alguien que siempre piensa en mí, que me ama, que me mira, que vive pendiente de mí. Decía con razón San Juan de Ávila "Sus ojos tiene puestos en sus ovejas. Y su corazón también. Mírenle ellas a Él, que Él mira a ellas".
El momento en que los cristianos "escuchamos su voz" es en la Eucaristía. Allí ponemos atención a lo que nos dice y allí nos alimentamos con su Cuerpo y Sangre, cuando Él como Buen Pastor, "nos da la vida eterna". Examinémonos para ver si somos "buenas ovejas", buenos discípulos de Cristo, si tenemos una relación vital e interpersonal con él, no sólo creyendo en él sino siguiéndole e imitándole. Cristo nos dejó su ejemplo para que podamos seguir sus huellas. Que así sea.
Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A)
"The Voice of the Shepherd”
In the midst of so many voices and so much noise all around us we can still pick out the voice of Christ saying, “I am the good shepherd.” The people recognize that the characteristics of the good shepherd are divine functions: Jesus is the Lord and the model for all of man’s undertakings. He is the Good Shepherd that has given his life for his sheep. We, his flock, are called to listen to his voice, to recognize the way of Life, and to travel it with him.
Sisters and Brothers:
1. Jesus is the Shepherd, but also the gate of the sheepfold: the word “gate” implies entrance and mediation: In a word full of urgent, existential questions, Jesus is the answer that gives meaning to our existence, the teacher that teaches us authentic truth. He is the only gate that leads to happiness and life. “He who enters through me will be saved,” he says so clearly. To enter by this door means much more than passively holding a baptismal certificate, the sacrament signifying our entrance in the church; it means hearing his voice and following him.
2. Today’s world needs the Good Shepherd: This world needs his presence, his love, and his care, for it is dying of thirst. There are plenty of mercenaries among the sheep, looking for money and seeking their personal interests. There are plenty of wolves making irreparable breaches between children and adults through television and the means of communication. The media are often full of senseless garbage and weapons of mass destruction, fighting against true values, with no sign of truth or life. There are wolves of corruption, laws that pervert the truth, politicians laying down laws of death. There are plenty of ideologies empty of all semblance of truth. Now more than ever we must pray the psalm, “the Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. Even though I pass through a dark valley, I have no fear.”
3. Jesus knows each of us by name, as a shepherd knows his sheep: He knows each and every one of us, and he knows us in the biblical sense: knowledge of the heart. “With eternal love I have loved you.” We are not just a mere number for God; we have a first and last name, we are a son or daughter. Whenever we feel alone in the crowd, we must think of the One who knows us personally. I am not alone in this world; there is someone who is always thinking of me, who always loves me and looks at me and lives for me. Saint John of Avila was right to say, “His eyes are upon his sheep. His heart as well. They all look at Him, and He gazes at them.”
As Christians, the celebration of the Eucharist is when we “hear his voice.” There we pay attention to his words and are nourished by his Body and Blood, when He, the Good Shepherd, “gives us eternal life.” Are we truly “good sheep”, good disciples of Christ who have a vital and personal relationship with him? Do we not only believe in him, but follow and imitate him? Christ left us an example for us to follow in his footsteps. Amen.