Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel: John 10:1-10 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)
Jesus said:
“Truly,
truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs
in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by
the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The
sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When
he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him,
for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will
flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure
of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he
was saying to them.
So
Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door
of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did
not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be
saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only
to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it
abundantly.
Brother Richie Fernando SJI remember vividly reading of the death in Cambodia on 17 October 1996 of Brother Richard Michael R. Fernando SJ, known as ‘Richie’. As a missionary priest in the Philippines I felt both pride and sorrow that a young Filipino preparing for the priesthood had given his life for others without a moment’s hesitation at the Jesuit-run Banteay Prieb, 'Centre of the Dove', in Phnom Penh where the residents were young Cambodians who had lost limbs from the many landmines scattered around the country.
A young man named Sarom, who had been asked to leave the Centre, came
that day to a meeting. He entered a classroom where there were many young
people and took a hand-grenade out of his bag, intending to throw it. Brother
Richie, who had been assigned to Cambodia for two years as part of his
preparation for the priesthood, grabbed Sarom from behind. But the grenade fell
on the floor. Brother Richie covering it with his body. He died instantly but
nobody else was even injured.
The one
word used by those who knew Brother Richie well was ‘joy’, the joy that Jesus
spoke about the night before he died: I have said these things to you
so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete (John
15:11). These words echo those at the end of today’s Gospel: I
came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).
On 12 October, five days before his death, BrotherRichie wrote this letter to his friend, Fr Totet Banaynal SJ, who was then a brother:
I only have the will to cause things to happen.
Maybe my will is powerful enough. I know where my heart is...it is with Jesus
Christ, Jesus who gave His all for the poor, the sick, the orphan. I feel as if
I’m beginning to understand more when I say: I want to be like Christ; I will
follow Jesus; I’m Jesus’ friend and companion; I am a Jesuit; I know where my
heart is.
I remember you shared before that ‘I can die for
Cambodia.’ I honestly believe that to die for our poor friends here will be the
greatest gift that God can give us. And I continually pray for that grace every
day.
I discovered my life is not a project nor a
programme. I know I can choose and will things to happen. But in the end, my life
is a grace, filled with surprises. It becomes sweeter when I accept and
appreciate my life as it is... and our friendship... it wasn’t a project. It
was grace and we build on that grace.
Brother Richie wrote in his retreat diary on 3 January 1996: I
wish, when I die people remember Not how great, powerful, or talented I was But
that I served and spoke for the truth, I gave witness to what is right, I was
sincere with all my works and actions, in other words I loved and I followed
Christ. Amen.
The Jesuits in the Philippines have now initiated the process that may lead to the beatification and canonisation of Brother Richie. There is quite an amount of material about Brother Richie on the internet.
I came that they may have life, and have it
abundantly.
This Sunday is World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Nico
Lariosa SJ, the young Filipino in the video above who entered the Jesuits in
Australia, gave an interview some time after he
was ordained deacon. He spoke of learning about Brother Richie when he was
15: When I was 15 and in the seminary,
during a retreat, the retreat director spoke to us about the young Jesuit
missionary (Richie Fernando SJ) who had died in Cambodia. The story, his
humanity, really spoke to me. He was a jokester, he liked to tease people and
pull pranks on people. That spoke to me, because I’m that type of personality
too.
I just
remember saying to myself after hearing his story and later reading a book
about his life, ‘Whatever this guy had that enabled him to give up his
life like that I want for myself, too’.
Another young Jesuit martyr who was a 'jokester' was Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro, executed in 1927 in Mexico. Another Jesuit who liked to play pranks was Fr Willie Doyle SJ who was killed in the Great War in 1917 in Flanders, Belgium, where he was serving as chaplain to Irish soldiers in the British army. His cause for canonisation was officially launched last year. He wrote a book on the vocation of the priesthood which led many to answer God's call after the 1914-18 war. Another Irishman who liked to play gentle pranks was the Servant of God Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary. (Father Willie and Frank Duff both had a life-long struggle with their tempers, a struggle that with God's grace was part of their becoming saintly persons.)
Fr Christopher F. Amoroso MSP, who grew up in a
Columban parish in the Philippines, tells how an article about
Brother Richie in Misyon, the Columban magazine that I edited in
the Philippines from 2002 until 2017, was one of the signs that led him to the
priesthood. He joined the Mission Society of the Philippines and was assigned
to Japan after his ordination. Father Christopher's story illustrates what
Brother Richie wrote: But in the end, my life is a grace, filled with
surprises.
Traditional Latin Mass
Third Sunday After Easter
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 04-30-2023 if necessary).
Epistle: 1 Peter 2:11-19. Gospel: John 16:16-22.
