This guide is offered for your prayer and reflection.
 


The joy of the Easter season is still with us as we rejoice
in the risen Christ.  As Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus
with the disciples, he walks with us, too, in our daily lives. 
May we recognize him in the blessing of each day.
 
 
 
SIGN OF THE CROSS
 
SONG:  Jesus, You Call Me Friend and Disciple
Commissioned for St. Richard's Catholic Church, Richfield, Minnesota
 
J esus, you call me friend and disciple,
walking beside me day after day.
How may I serve you? Help me to hear you.
Ready and willing, three things I pray.
 
May all who seek you know you more clearly,
learn from the Gospel what you intend:
healing, forgiving, showing compassion,
kindness to fam’ly, refugee, friend.
 
May all who know you love you more dearly,
finding your likeness in every face;
seeing our planet beautiful, fragile,
caring for creatures none can replace.
 
May all who love you follow more nearly,
trusting the God in whom we believe:
living more simply, sharing abundance,
giving as freely as we receive.
 
 
OPENING PRAYER
      Almighty ever-living God, lead us to a share in the joys of heaven,
      so that the humble flock may reach where the brave Shepherd as gone before.
      Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God,
      for ever and ever. Amen
 
 
 
SCRIPTURE 
 
FIRST READING:  Acts 2: 14a, 36-41
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
“You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.
Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
You who are Israelites, hear these words.
Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,
which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.
This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.

But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
For David says of him:
I saw the Lord ever before me,
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.
 
“My brothers, one can confidently say to you
about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,
and his tomb is in our midst to this day.
But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him
that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,
he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,
that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld
nor did his flesh see corruption.
God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father
and poured him forth, as you see and hear.”
 
PSALM 23:  Shepherd Me, O God
  REFRAIN: Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears,
                     from death into life.
1. God is my shepherd, so nothing shall I want; I rest in the meadows of
    faithfulness  and love; I walk by the quiet waters of peace. (refrain0
2. Gently you raise me and heal my weary soul; you lead me by pathways of  
    righteousness and truth; My spirit shall sing the music of your name. (refrain)
3. Though I should wander the valley of death, I fear no evil, for you are at my side;
    Your rod and your staff, my comfort and my hope. (refrain)
4. You have set me a banquet of love in the face of hatred, Crowning me with love
     beyond my power to hold. (refrain)
5. Surely your kindness and mercy follow me all the days of my life;I will dwell in the
     house of my God forevermore. (refrain)
 
 
SECOND READING: 1 Peter 2:20b-25      
Beloved:
If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,
this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.
When he was insulted, he returned no insult;
when he suffered, he did not threaten;
instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.
For you had gone astray like sheep,
but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
 
 
GOSPEL ACCLAMTION: Easter Alleluia
 
 
GOSPEL READING: John 10: 1-10
Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
 
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”

So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
“The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.
 
 
MEDITATION: Pan de Vida
 
REFRAIN: 
      Pan de Vida, cuerpo del Señor,* Cup of blessing, blood of Christ the Lord.
      At this table, the last shall be first, Poder es servir, porque Dios es a mor.**
1. We are the dwelling of God, fragile and wounded and weak. We are the body of
    Christ, called to be the compassion of God.
2. Ustedes me llaman “Señor, me inclino a lavarles los pies. Hagan lo mismo,
    humildes, sirviéndose unos a otros.***
3. There is no Jew or Greek, there is no slave or free: There is no woman or man;
    only heirs of the promise of God.
 
*Bread of Life, body of the Lord.
**power is for service, because God is Love.
***You call me “Lord,” and I bow to wash your feet; you must do the same, humbly serving each other.
 
 
UNIVERSAL PRAYER

1. That all Christians, baptized in the name of the one Lord, may hear and respond to the voice of the shepherd who calls us to unity. Let us pray to the Lord…
2. That politicians, legislators, and government officials may have the wisdom and courage to find new ways of providing for the welfare of all the earth’s citizens. Let us pray to the Lord…
3. That those suffering the financial and physical stress of the effects of COVID-19 may receive the help they need. Let us pray to the Lord…
4. That all who care and provide for the health and well-being of others will be kept safe. Let us pray to the Lord…
5. That those in hospice care, especially [your intention], may know strength and hope. Let us pray to the Lord…
6. That researchers and scientists working tirelessly for a resolution to the COVID-19 pandemic will be rewarded in their efforts. Let us pray to the Lord…
7. That all people of faith will continue to commit ourselves daily to nurturing our relationship with God. Let us pray to the Lord…
8. That all who have died, especially [your intention], may they know the joy of eternal life. Let us pray to the Lord…

 
LORD’S PRAYER
 
PRAYER FOR PEACE
       Loving God, please grant me peace of mind and calm my troubled heart.
       Give me the strength and clarity of mind to find my purpose and walk the path
       You have laid out for me. I trust your love God, and know that you will heal this
       stress. Just as the sun rises each day against the dark of night, may hope rise
       against anxiety and worry. Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.
 
BLESSING
        May God bless our days and our deeds with peace, in the name of the Father, 
     +  and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.
 
SONG: Christ is Risen! Shout Hosanna!  (Verses 1 and 3)
          Christ is risen! Shout hosanna! Celebrate this day of days!
          Christ is risen! Hush in wonder;  All creation is amazed.
          In the desert all-surrounding,  See, a spreading tree has grown.
          Healing leaves of grace abounding  Bring a taste of love unknown.
 
          Christ is risen! Earth and heaven  Nevermore shall be the same.
          Break the bread of new creation  Where the world is still in pain.
          Tell its grim, demonic chorus:  “Christ is risen! Get you gone!”
          God the First and Last is with us, Sing Hosanna ev’ryone!

A MESSAGE FROM FR MARK PAVLIK
         
 
COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Reprinted with permission under OneLicense.net #A-704119.  All rights reserved.
JESUS, YOU CALL ME FRIEND AND DISCIPLE.  Text: Delores Dufner, OSB, © 2018, Sisters of St. Benedict, 104 Chapel Lane, St. Joseph, MN 56374.  Source: Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester. Used with permission of the composer.  PSALM 23: SHEPHERD ME, O GOD. Psalm 23; Marty Haugen. Music: Marty Haugen, © 1986; GIA Publications, Inc.  EASTER ALLELLIA.  Text: Marty Haugen, b. 1950. Tune: O FIII ET FILIAE, 10 10 10 with alleluia; adapt. By Marty Haugen, b. 1950 © 1986, GIA Publications, Inc.  PAN DE VIDA.  Text: John 13:1-15, Galatioans 3:28-29; Bob Hurd, b. 1950, and Pia Moriarty, b. 1948. Tune: Bod Hurd, b. 1950; acc. by Craig Kingsley, b. 1952 © 1988, Bob Hurd and Pia Moriarty. Published by OCP.  CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS.  Text: Revelation 19: 12; st. 1,3-5, Matthew Bridges, 1800-1894; st. 2, Godfrey Thring, 1823-1903. Tune: DIADEMATA, SMD; George J. Elvey, 1816-1893.