The Meditation Good Shepherd Sunday The Second Sunday After Easter April 30 th - 2017 A.D. I am the Good Shepherd: and know my sheep and am known of mine. Alleluia. - St. John; Ch. 10 - Alleluia Verse for the Second Sunday After Easter
2. The Collect for the Second Sunday After Easter - A.D. 2017 Good Shepherd Sunday A lmighty God, who hast given thine only Son to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin, and also an ensample* of godly life: give us grace that we may always most thankfully receive his inestimable benefit, and also daily endeavor ourselves to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life. Through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, Who livest and reignest with thee, and the Holy Ghost. Throughout all ages of ages, world without end. Amen. The Lord is Our Shepherd The Lord is my Shepherd How often have we read or heard these first lines from beloved Psalm 23? Indeed, the Lord is our Shepherd, who has given us everything, even life itself. He calls us by our names... and we are His. We know His Voice; for He is one Shepherd in a billion, and He is ours! It seems that He can t do enough for us in His loving kindness. He knows our sinfulness, our selfishness, and our cold-heartedness well and yet, He still loves us. Perfection itself loving unconditionally that which is so imperfect. There is nothing greater! O Blessed Jesus, make us as self-forgetful as you are, that we may be all love for you! The Lord is our Shepherd who has given Himself for us; how then, can we lack anything? He calls us from the stresses and anxieties of our daily preoccupations that seem to us, so important; and even more, from those that are superfluous... that is, those that we impose upon ourselves. He calls us that we may, at day s end, slumber in His green pastures, in our peaceful repose of our union with Him. Into thy hands O Lord, I commend my spirit, Alleluia.... for thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, thou God of truth... Keep us O Lord, as the apple of thine eye, Alleluia., Hide us under the shadow of thy wings, Alleluia. The Easter-tide response at the office of Compline** wonderfully echoes the complete trust we put in our Lord-Shepherd at days end. Our Lord knows how weary we are, because we insist on going our own way in life, instead of being carried by Him. He follows us, even though we travel on our own way, and brings us back to His paths and His cooling streams. He refreshes and strengthens us and shows us the road which we must follow, a road in which every step glorifies God, and is an act of thanksgiving.
3. He shall convert my soul, and bring me forth in the paths of righteousness for his Name s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff shall comfort me. (Psalm 23, Vss.3 & 4). Even though, by our thoughts and actions, we oblige Him to chastise us, the rod and staff that He uses are those of the Shepherd who loves us. He doesn t let us go hungry and become thirsty when we are with Him, for His Love is our Food, and our drink is His Grace. He makes us come take our rest in the shadow of a mighty rock, the Rock of His salvation. The ravenous wild creatures can t harm us; and even death itself is but the passage to eternal life. The Good Shepherd spreads a banquet before us, at which our enemies look on with envy. He knows that nothing less can satisfy us and therefore breaks His Body for us, as though it were bread, and fills us, poor mortals that we are, with His glorified Being. He anoints our heads, wounded by the thorns into which we have strayed during our free roaming. He pours His balsam upon our heads, when it is we, who should be emptying all our perfumes on His Feet because we bear His Name, that is like the sacred oil poured out. Everything that can make us more worthy of Him, comes from Him, and Him only. We can do nothing, and are nothing of ourselves without Him. His generosity is so great that He fills our cups to overflowing and nothing can stop the stream of His love. It breaks down all human obstacles. The favor of His love pursues us all the days of our lives: through the long years to come (by God s grace), His house will be our dwelling place, and when at last he has carried us, His helpless lambs, through the narrow gate of death, all barriers will disappear and we shall see His gifts in the great measure of eternity. O Blessed Jesus, our Lord and our Saviour, we are bewildered by your love, and your gifts pass our human understanding. We ask ourselves what can be the cause of His incredible love for us, and we can t find an answer; for it is hidden in the unfathomable depths of His mercy! He feeds us with Himself, while so many others die of starvation on the hard road of this mortal life, but we too, have at some point or another in our lives, gambled away His love, while He staked all for us... even life itself to gain ours. We have at times turned our backs on Him, and yet, He pressed us to His Sacred Heart. Our lives should have been as the mountain tops, bathed in the brilliance of the sun; but He found us inhabiting the dark valleys of sin and death. There, He took us on His shoulders rejoicing, and not leaving us to ourselves anymore! He fills our days with light, and in the night-time we keep the vigil and wait for Him.
4. How can we thank our Good Shepherd? What reparations can we make to Him for all of our offences? He knows how powerless we are... and so we cry out for his help: O Lord come to my assistance! O Lord, make speed to save me! Every time that we receive Him in the most Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion, He pours His love into us in such a measure that we can become all- love for Him and for those who He presents to us each day. May that love burn up all things that stand in the way of such union! O Good Shepherd, Blessed Shepherd, our Shepherd, give us the grace to always hear your voice and follow thee! *Ensample : the archaic form of the word: example. **Compline: The seventh (in some breviaries, the eighth) Office of the Canonical day. It is the last prayer-office of the day, and is usually recited or chanted right before bed-time. The blessing by the superior of the community follows the conclusion of this office as all process in silence to their rooms. The Great Silence as prescribed by St. Benedict in The Holy Rule begins after Compline. Here at the Priory, this office is sung at 8:00 p.m. (2000 hrs.) and concludes with the singing of the Salve Regina.
5. From Pope St. Gregory the Great: ( On the Good Shepherd) Dearly beloved, ye have heard from the Holy Gospel what is at once for your instruction, and our danger. For behold what Christ saith concerning goodness! He himself is good, not from any gift of nature bestowed upon him, but by the very essence of his being, and he saith : I am the Good shepherd. And then he said what is the character of his goodness, even of that goodness of his which we must strive to copy : the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. As he had foretold, even so did he ; what he had commanded, that he exemplified. The Good Shepherd gave his life for the sheep and made his own body and his own blood to be our Sacramental Food, pasturing upon his own Flesh the sheep whom he had bought. - ( Homilia 14 in Evang. ) The Lesson from the third Nocturn of the Office of Vigils for the Second Sunday After Easter Priory Kalendar For the week of: April 30 th to May 7 th A.D. 2017 In Eastertide Sunday, April 30 th... The Second Sunday After Easter - (Good Shepherd Sunday) - Comm. St. Catherine of Sienna; V. tert. O.P. - 14 th cent. Italy Monday, May 1 st.....sts. Philip & James; Apostles & Martyrs. 1 st cent. Tuesday, May 2 nd.... St. Athanasius; Bp, Conf. & Doct. - 4 th cent. Alexandria, Egypt Wednesday, May 3 rd..patronage of St. Joseph ( St. Joseph the Worker) Thursday, May 4 th.. St. Monica; Widow & Mother of St. Augustine of Hippo - 5 th cent. Africa Friday, May 5 th.... Conversion of St. Augustine of Hippo; 5 th cent. Abstinence Saturday, May 6 th.....finding of the Holy Cross Sunday, May 7 th....third Sunday After Easter Comm. St. John of Beverly; Bp. O.S.B. 8 th cent. England KALENDAR KEY Abt. = Abbot, Abs. = Abbess, Abp = Archbishop, Anc. = Anchorite, Ancs. = Anchoress, Ap. = Apostle, Bl. = Blessed, Br. = Brother, Bp. = Bishop, Card. = Cardinal, C. or Conf. = Confessor, Comm. = Commemoration/Commemorate, Dcn. = Deacon, Doct. = Doctor of the Church, Ev. = Evangelist, H. = Hermit, LBr. = Lay Brother, LSr. = Lay Sister, K. = King, Mat. = Matron, M. = Monk, M.M. = Month s Mind ( Requiem for the recently departed on the 30 th day after death or burial). Myr. = Martyr, N. = Nun, Obl. =
6. Oblate, P. = Priest, Po. = Pope, Pr. = Prior, Prs. = Prioress, R. = Recluse, RM = Requien Mortuorum, ( Mass and Offices for the departed once a month as designated on Kalendar). SDcn. = Sub Deacon, Q. = Queen, Ven. = Venerable, Vir. = Virgin, W. = Widow. FASTING KEY: A = Abstinence, F = Fast, F & A = Fast and Abstinence RELIGIOUS ORDER ABBREVIATIONS: C.O = Congregation of the Oratory (Oratorians), C.P. = Congregation of the Passion (Passionists), C.S.J. = Congregation of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Er. Cam. = Camaldolese Hermits, F.P. O. = Franciscans of the Primitive Observance, O. Car. = Carmelite Order, O. Cart. Carthusian Order, O.C.D. = Order of Discalced Friars (Carmelites), O.F.A. = Augustinian Order, O.F.M = Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans), O.F.M. Cap = Capuchin Order, O.P. = Order of Preachers (Dominicans also called Blackfriars ), O. Praem. = Order of Cannons Regular (Norbertines), O.S.B. = Order of St. Benedict (Benedictines), O.Ss. S. = Bridgettines, O.S.U = Ursulines, O.C.O. = Order of the Cistercian Observance (Trappists/Trappistines), O.C.S.O. = Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (Trappists/ Trappistines). Tert. = Tertiary (Third Order religious). About the Meditation and About Us The Meditation is an online apostolate of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory in Raymond, Maine, USA. We are an Anglican-Catholic Benedictine contemplative community that follows the Holy Rule of St. Benedict, the 5 th century Father of Western Monasticism. We are resident within the Diocese of the Northeast (DNE), of the Anglican Church in America (ACA), a member of the worldwide Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC). The Meditation is a weekly online offering that is sent out free of charge to anyone who desires to receive it. Subscribers may copy and pass along The Meditation to their families and friends, or send us their e-address (with their permission) to add to our subscription list so they may receive it directly from us. Each issue is sent out as a BCC (Blank Copy) in respect to subscriber privacy and online security. To subscribe, contact us at: klamarre@maine.rr.com To read past issues of the Meditation, please go to our website at: www.ourladyofsorrows.org and you can find them in the section marked Meditations on the homepage. PLEASE NOTE: In respect to our contemplative vocation and the animals in our rescue and rehab center, we do not have guest or bathroom facilities and do not regularly receive visitors. Fr. Kevin is available to hear confessions and give spiritual direction by appointment only. Please contact via email to make an appointment. Priory News Br. Raymond A. Crowe, O.S.B.
7. Circus Train Adventure! Fr. Kevin is quite diligent about maintaining his monastic stability i.e. honoring his vow to live in the Priory and not make trips that may be superfluous. He is very generous however, in granting to the rest of us dispensations for travel if it is for a legitimate reason, for which me and my confreres are most grateful. Our readers have read of our adventures, ah, I mean sojourns in past issues of the Meditation! Fr. Kevin has two main interests; he s a passionate historian and a life-long fan of the Maine Central Railroad. When the two subjects come together as they rarely do, it gets his attention! As many of you may know, the famous Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus is making its last tour in the U.S. this year forever. After June this famous Circus will be no more. The circus itself travels in two trains across America; the Red Train, which travels throughout the East, and the Blue Train which travels in the West. This past week, the Red train made its furthest trip North, to Manchester, N.H. where the circus performed. Mr. Al Dumais, a former Maine Central signal electrician, and friend of Fr. Kevin invited him on a trip to locate and follow the circus train and get some photos this past weekend. Last Saturday, they spent the day nosing around places in New Hampshire tracking down the train which had been broken into two parts the equipment on flatcars was housed in Manchester, and the hotel cars, where the performers live, in Nashua in the safety of a rail-yard. The trip proved to be fruitful, and even held a surprise for Fr. Kevin! A second expedition was mounted on Monday when Al and Fr. Kevin left Maine in the wee hours of the morning to spend the day chasing and photographing the train as it made itself up in Nashua, N.H. and headed to Worchester, MA. The two travelers, with the aid of a portable scanner were able to follow the train and catch it at about a half-dozen places. Photos and videos were recorded for posterity at each stop. They even were able to watch the train do a power swap when Pan Am handed the train over to two powerful locomotives belonging to the CSX Rail corp. A big deal to railfans! They followed the train all the way to Ayer, MA. Where it was time to find their way back to Maine. On the way home they stopped in Lowell, MA. where a trolley operates in a restored mill complex and gives free rides to patrons. Fr. Kevin is researching the story of the little Fairfield, Waterville, and Oakland Railroad a trolley line that ran when his Dad was a kid, and riding this trolley afforded a great photo op! Both of our travelers got back to Maine safely, very tired after a day of train chasing, but deeply content that they had seen and recorded for posterity an event that will be no more. An elderly gentleman who was photographing the train turned to Fr. Kevin after it had passed and said that train contained a lifetime of circus memories for him, and it was hard to hold back tears. Fr. Kevin replied, that so far, he s not impressed with the twenty-first Century at all.
8. The Red Train being pulled by Pan Am power as it departs Nashua, N.H. on Monday, April 24 th. The train consisted of over 57 cars and was nearly a mile in length. These are the hotel cars, where the performers stay while on the road. Many of them stood in the doorways waving to the folks who watched the train pass by and snapped photos of something that will never be seen again. Trolley trip in Lowell
9. Lookey what we found! While tracking down the parts of the circus train on Saturday, Fr. Kevin and his friend Al wound up in the old Boston and Maine R.R. yard in Nashua, N.H. (Now owned by Pan Am Railways). Lo and behold! This old Russel snow plow, still in its old Maine Central colors and numbers awaited them! This plow (still in service), used to be kept in the Waterville, Maine yard, where Fr. Kevin used to hang out when a youngster and teen. He remembered this old winter workhorse, and just couldn t get enough photos of this old friend from past good times and fond memories! A Maine Central fan Forever! Waterville Shop marks from Oct. 1979!
10. Animal News Sr. Mary Francis, O.S.B. Feed my Sheep In the Gospel account, Jesus asked Peter three times, Peter do you love me? Peter answered, Yes Lord. Jesus then said to Peter, Feed my sheep *** We here, at the Priory are feeding sheep literally!!! (L to R) Kahlua, Casper and Half-pint will be a month old by the end of next week and are doing wonderfully. They will be in our care until they are weaned, about mid -May. Peanut, who was with us for about a month and a half went home recently, and during shearing it was discovered that she had an udder full of milk. She, against odds, had a baby lamb last night (Wednesday), and has turned out to be a good mother. This explains why she was so thin when she came to us and why, with good food and care she plumped up so fast. The miracle here is that the owner had given her a shot in December to prevent her getting pregnant / carrying to term, as he was afraid that she would die giving birth where she was so small. She had pneumonia twice and in spite of everything managed to carry to term and deliver a healthy baby. She is also fine. God does indeed work in mysterious ways, and when he wants life to happen, so it shall be! Blessed be God! ***See St. John: Chap. 21, Vss. 15-17. PAX