The word “shepherd” comes through strongly this morning. We hear the word a total of five times in the Gospel, and it’s a familiar image – Jesus as a shepherd is frequently depicted in scripture and art. Psalm 23 The Lord is my Shepherd is the most familiar psalm, Most of us don’t regularly interact with sheep – certainly not as often as those who lived in Jesus’ time. When we think of the image, it’s likely one of a clean Jesus dressed in a white robe, carrying a lamb on his shoulders. The reality of sheep of course is quite different. For example – sheep are not easy to train. They are simpl ..read more

https://fscc-calledtobe.org/2024/04/12/marinette-holy-family-women-visit-franciscan-sisters-convent/ A special Easter Season Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity highlight was a Holy Family Parish, Marinette, Wisconsin Women’s Day at Holy Family Convent, Manitowoc ..read more

The season of Easter was always used in the early church as the time to instruct newly baptized people in the sacraments which they were now able to receive. This practice is still carried on frequently in the contemporary church. It is helpful, because all of us need to be reminded of the meaning of our sacramental relationship with God in the Eucharist. in all three readings, the Scriptures are interpreted to serve and advance the Church’s mission—to reveal the truth about Jesus, to bring people to repentance, the wiping away of sins, and the perfection of their love for God. This is how we ..read more

New podcast by the Irish Dominican Friars on what Religious Life is. "The World is Our Cloister" https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-world-is-our-cloister/id1725114546 ..read more

Can someone please tell me if this letter by Pontace Pilate to Caesar is the real deal or not!? Any help would be appreciated! Letter of Pilate to Caesar about Jesus, His Crucifixion & Resurrection If this is real, why are we not talking about it more ..read more

In today’s gospel reading, St John describes the reaction of Jesus’ followers in the first days after the events of Holy Week and Easter. We might imagine those frightened and confused disciples as the earliest post-resurrection community. Seeking to regroup following the loss of their beloved leader, they have gathered in shock and despair. Imagine their astonishment when Jesus, whom they have seen dead and buried, appears among them. Yet here is the proof: seeing the wounds in his hands and his side with their own eyes, they cannot disbelieve their truth. Jesus lives! Their response to the g ..read more

Going into my local supermarket on Boxing Day I couldn’t help but notice that there were Hot Cross Buns on the shelves, then the chocolate bunnies and eggs appeared so, it must Easter! Not really, as we know. As with most Feasts of the Church the secular world not only misuses them but misunderstands them as well. For most people in our country the Festivals have become associated with an abundance of chocolate things, and not with what we are actually celebrating, how the Love of God the Father in Christ Jesus His Son conquers all in the power of the Holy Spirit. Two images should be in our m ..read more

https://fscc-calledtobe.org/2024/03/30/easter-message-heaven-is-not-complete-without-you-by-fr-timothy-ekaitas Fr. Timothy Ekaitis serves as Vicar General in the Diocese of Marquette, Michigan. This upper peninsula of Michigan is home to two sainthood causes: Venerable Bishop Frederic Baraga and Francis Irving Houle. These two men give us cause to hope in our own calls to be a saints. The title of the podcast comes from a quote from St. Gertrude. ‘Heaven is not complete without you.” Indeed, we pray “may Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as in heaven ..read more

“Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep…” So begins an ancient homily for Holy Saturday. The text dates to the 4th century and was written in Greek; the author is unknown. In it he describes Christ’s descent to the dead, where he grasps Adam and Eve and frees them from sorrow: “He (Christ) took [Adam] by the hand and raised him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light… I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the ..read more

Three times in the New Testament, we see the phrase “before the foundation of the world”. We find it John chapter 17, in the Letter to the Ephesians, and in the First Letter of Peter. In each instance, it means the same thing: that God chose to be incarnate in Jesus before there was any creation. In fact, it means that God’s intention to become incarnate in Jesus was the reason for creation. That all sounds fine, until you realise what else the phrase means but doesn’t actually say — that Jesus couldn’t have come to fix the results of the fall, because God’s decision to become incarnate in Jes ..read more