Pilgrimage Guide. Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 1

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1 Pilgrimage Guide Introduction to the 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage On December 17, 2016 the Archdiocese of Toronto kicked off a year-long celebration of our 175th anniversary. Originally part of the Diocese of Kingston, on December 17, 1841, Pope Gregory XVI formally created the Diocese of Toronto and named Michael Power its first bishop. At that time there were 14 parishes and missions as part of the new diocese which are still in the Archdiocese. We wish to highlight and celebrate these first faith communities as pioneers of our Archdiocese as pilgrimage sites throughout the year. Although none of the original buildings of 1841 are standing, the continual life of faith, hope and love of these communities is part of our celebration. Pilgrimages, a sign of the condition of the disciples of Christ in this world, have always held an important place in the life of Christians. In the course of history, Christians have always walked to celebrate their faith in places that indicate a memory of the Lord or in sites representing important moments in the history of the Church Their pilgrimage was a process of conversion, a yearning for intimacy with God and a trusting plea for their material needs. For the Church, pilgrimages, in all their multiple aspects, have always been a gift of grace. - The Pilgrimage in the Great Jubilee from the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, 25 April 1998 For Young Children: A pilgrimage is a journey we take to remind ourselves that our lives are a journey towards God. We take time out of our everyday activities to travel to holy places where we spend time with God. We thank God for His many gifts. We recognize that He wants to be close to us, that He wants to lead us to the fullest life. We offer Him our whole self in return and ask Him to help us share His love with those who most need to see His light. Whether you visit one, a few, or all of the pilgrimage sites, this guide offers prayers and reflections to help you prepare for your pilgrimage. It is presented in three sections: Before the Pilgrimage, At the Church and Concluding Your Pilgrimage. This guide can be used by individuals, families or groups. May your journey help deepen your relationship with God, inspire you to serve those in need and follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before you. #archtoronto Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 1

2 Before the Pilgrimage: This section offers suggestions to help you prepare for the pilgrimage and prayers for the journey to the pilgrimage sites. 1. Watch Thomas Cardinal Collins video message for the 175 th Anniversary: bit.ly/archtoronto175video 2. Spend some time reflecting on the following questions: a. What is your hope for this pilgrimage? b. Do you see your life as a pilgrimage or a journey towards God? In what ways? c. How might this pilgrimage help enrich your faith? Now the LORD said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father s house to the land that I will show you. Genesis 12:1 3. For Young Children: You may use the following explanation to help them prepare for the pilgrimage: a. There is a time and place where we can be with Jesus completely. That place is the church and that time is the Mass. For 175 years, people in Toronto have been going to these churches to be with God. The same God that you know. As you prepare for your pilgrimage to one of these places think about the work that these people who have been here before have done to make our city and our country a place where God is known. We don t know their names, but they have prepared so much for us. b. Think about how you too can work to build the city of God in the time and the place where you live. c. You may also ask them these questions: What are you looking forward to in this pilgrimage? What would you like to learn or discover? 4. Entrust your intentions to Mother Mary by praying: Prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church and Mother of our faith* Mother, help our faith! Open our ears to hear God s word and to recognize his voice and call. Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps, to go forth from our own land and to receive his promise. Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith. Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross, when our faith is called to mature. Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One. Remind us that those who believe are never alone. Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that he may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying day which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord! - Pope Francis, Prayer to Mary at the conclusion of the Encyclical Lumen Fidei, 29 June On the way to the pilgrimage sites, some suggested prayers: a. Liturgy of the Hours (See bit.ly/liturgyofthehours) b. Stations of the Cross and/or Stations of Light c. The Rosary d. The Angelus usually prayed at 6 a.m., 12 noon and 6 p.m. (See bit.ly/angelusto) 6. You may also want to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) or attend Mass at one of the pilgrimage sites. (Confession resources at Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 2

3 At the Church: This section offers suggestions on what you can do when you are at the pilgrimage sites. 1. When you enter the church, pray: 175 th Anniversary Prayer Loving Father, we turn to you with gratitude for the many blessings you have generously bestowed upon the people of the Archdiocese of Toronto, who from the very beginning have arrived here from many nations to find and strengthen a community of faith, where we have been able to encounter your Son in our joys and sorrows. As the Archdiocese celebrates its 175th anniversary, we ask you to continue to bless your people with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the LORD! Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Psalm 122: 1-2 so that all clergy, religious and faithful may be gathered and strengthened in their mission of constantly proclaiming the wonderful works of salvation to all we meet. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. 2. Choose one or a few of the suggested reflection activities: Explore the church and reflect on the works of art and religious images a. What are you drawn to? b. What thoughts or feelings do the images bring forth? How are you called to respond in faith? Learn about the parish its patron saint, its history and its people, past and present a. What inspires you about the history of the parish? b. How did the patron saint live as a disciple of Christ? c. What are you thankful for? Use Bible verses (see Appendix A for suggested Bible verses) a. What word or phrase catches your attention? b. How might God be speaking to you through the word or phrase? c. How are you called to respond? Additional Activity Ideas for Young Children: a. Talk about the significance of the various candles throughout the church (see Appendix B for more details) b. Reflect on the Parable of the Good Shepherd (see Appendix C for details) c. Play I Spy as a way to point out features in the church (e.g. tabernacle, crucifix, altar, baptismal font, lectern, statue of the patron saint) d. Tell them the story of the patron saint e. Light a candle and pray for the people in the parish or a loved one f. Go to the missal and spend some time thinking about one line from the prayers of the Mass Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 3

4 Concluding Your Pilgrimage: Once you have visited all the sites you have planned for your pilgrimage, this section offers suggestions on how you can bring forward the fruits of your pilgrimage into concrete actions. 1. Spend some time in silence and meditate on what next steps you may be called to take to deepen your relationship with God, serve others and follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before us. Some examples could include: Regularly pray the 175 th Anniversary Prayer for the rest of the year Pray for the intentions shared by the Cardinal in the video message: a. Thanksgiving for the blessings received over the years b. That we become more faithful disciples of Jesus c. That we commit ourselves to serve others, especially those in need Keep a journal to note your reflections Reach out to a local Catholic Charities agency to volunteer (See bit.ly/catholiccharitiesagencies) Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 2. For Young Children: You may ask them some of these questions: What did you see in the church today? What do you think the people who went to that church when our Archdiocese was formed would think of your visiting there today? How can you help to make these churches strong and beautiful for children to visit 175 years from now, in 2192? What was your favourite part of our pilgrimage today? What is something interesting that you learned today? What s one kind thing you might do for someone else? 3. Close with a prayer: In Bishop Power s first pastoral letter, he named St. Michael the Archangel as the principal patron of the diocese of Toronto. He also consecrated the diocese to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and under the special protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Prayer to St. Michael (Patron of the Archdiocese of Toronto) St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defence against the wickedness and the snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen. A Short Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque I, (insert your name) give and consecrate to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, my person, my life, my actions, my pains and sufferings, so that I may be unwilling to make use of any part of my being save to honor, love, and glorify the Sacred Heart. It is my unchanging intention to be all His and to do all for love of Him. I renounce at the same time with all my heart whatever can displease Him. I, therefore, take You, O Sacred Heart, for the only object of my love, the protector of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my weakness and inconstancy, the atonement for the faults of my life, and the secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be then, O Heart of goodness, my justification before God the Father, and turn away from me the punishment of His just anger. O Heart of love, I put my confidence in You, because I fear everything from my own sinfulness and weakness. I hope for all things from Your mercy and generosity. Destroy in me all that can displease or resist Your holy Will. Let Your pure love impress You so deeply upon my heart that I may never forget You or be separated from You. May my name, by your loving kindness, be written in You, because in You I desire to place all my happiness and all my glory in living and dying in very bondage to you. Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 4

5 Appendix A: Suggested Bible Verses for Reflection Psalm 51 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. 5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. 6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. 17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, 19 then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar. Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 5

6 Psalm Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. 8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. Luke 15:11-32: The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother 11 Then Jesus said, There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me. So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself he said, How many of my father s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands. 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 22 But the father said to his slaves, Quickly, bring out a robe the best one and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found! And they began to celebrate. 25 Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound. 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him! 31 Then the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found. Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 6

7 1 Corinthians 13: The Gift of Love If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Peter 1:3-9: A Living Hope 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Psalm 23 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 7

8 John 10: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father. John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Luke 1:26-45: The Birth of Jesus Foretold 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. 34 Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin? 35 The angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God. 38 Then Mary said, Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her. Mary Visits Elizabeth 39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 8

9 Luke 1:46-55: Mary s Song of Praise 46 And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. Luke 1:68-79: Zechariah s Prophecy 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us. 72 Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. 78 By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 9

10 Luke 24:13-35: The Walk to Emmaus 13 Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, 16 but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, What are you discussing with each other while you walk along? They stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days? 19 He asked them, What things? They replied, The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. 22 Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, 23 and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him. 25 Then he said to them, Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! 26 Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory? 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. 28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over. So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us? 33 That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. 34 They were saying, The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon! 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. Psalm 67 1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, 2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. 6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us. 7 May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him. Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 10

11 Appendix B: Candle Activity (children aged 2-6) From the Archdiocesan Office of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd There are so many candles in the church. Walk through the church with your child. Let them find the candles. Talk about how the candles differ. There are tall ones around the altar. There is a red one near the tabernacle. One, very big one has special markings on it. Some are grouped together in front of statues You might sing This little light of mine, I m going to let it shine with your child. Candles to note: I am the light of the world. John 8:12 1. The Paschal or Easter Candle, which shows us the resurrected life of Christ, a new life stronger than death. But this new life was not just for Him. When you were a baby or maybe when you were older, your baptismal candle was lit from the Paschal candle in your church and you heard these words: (child s name), receive the light of Christ. You carry that light inside you still today. I wonder how that light shines in the world. 2. The Sanctuary Lamp: the red lamp near the tabernacle that shows us when Jesus is inside. Jesus, always there in the tabernacle, waiting for us. 3. The Altar Candles, to show that we know Jesus words: I am the light of the world (John 8:12); A people who walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2). 4. The Vigil Candles: our prayers for others. I wonder how the light grows when so many little candles shine together. Draw a Baptismal Candle next to the Paschal Candle and write your name on it. Talk about the symbols on the candle. Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 11

12 Appendix C: Reflection on the Parable of the Good Shepherd (children aged 3+) From the Archdiocesan Office of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Reflect on this parable with your child in preparation for the pilgrimage. At the church, read the passage again and look for signs of the Good Shepherd in the Church. How do those signs help us reflect on certain aspects of the passage? Your child may want to draw or sing a response to what has been seen and heard. The sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. - John 10: 3b-5, 10b-11, (with an older child, look up and read the entire passage) Points for reflection: 1. These words are the answer to a question. People were asking Jesus: Who are you? How does Jesus answer them? I wonder how they felt when they heard Jesus say, I am the Good Shepherd. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I wonder what an abundant life could be like. What might it be full of? Jesus answer is for all of us, for each of us. What must it be like to be a sheep of the Good Shepherd? Do you think that Jesus was speaking of sheep that we see in the fields? Who could these sheep be, who are so loved. 2. Walk around. What signs in the church remind us of the way that God s cares for us and offers us life in abundance? Baptismal font; paschal candle; altar; lectern; confessional; stained glass windows. 3. What signs in the church remind us of how we can respond to those gifts? In song (the organ, the songbooks); in prayer (the vigil candles); in almsgiving (poor box). Archdiocese of Toronto 175 th Anniversary Pilgrimage Guide 12