Bob Jensen

I am currently reading The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks. He speaks of the joy of herding and caring for sheep, a job that has been in his family for several hundred years. His farm is located in the northwest part of England, known as the Lake District. The great attachment that the shepherd has for his sheep epitomizes the description that we have in John’s gospel as we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday this weekend. Jesus is one with his sheep. He knows each by name. He is familiar with each one’s foibles. The sheep in turn respond only to their shepherd’s voice and none other. What a beautiful reminder of how Christ loves each of us in a unique way! May we be attuned to his voice especially in this unsettling time. May he calm our fears and lead us to peace of mind and heart.

Just a reminder that I am hearing confessions in the church on Saturdays from 4 to 5 pm

 

With the library closed I have been forced to read from my own bookshelves. As I write this I am halfway through Paradise Lost by John Milton-not the easiest four hundred page poem to read. Other books on my spring reading list are Dracula and Frankenstein for my comfort (ha, ha), Eager to Love By Fr. Richard Rohr, The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks, the eighth book of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Pattern Recognition by William Gibson, and the 2014 Best American Travel Writing edited by Paul Theroux. I hope to fit working on a jigsaw puzzle in there as well, something I haven’t done in years. Keep the faith, my friends.

 

Our gospel reading today focuses on doubting Thomas. I would like to concentrate on believing Jerry. Our longtime parishioner Jerry Spring died on Wednesday evening, April 8th, from complications due to the coronavirus. His gentle smile belied a fierce commitment to the poor and needy in our area and beyond. On returning from a 2007 trip to Guatemala, which I also was on, he was determined that our parish provide smokeless stoves for the villages in our sister parish Union de las Aldeas Corpus Cristi. And so it was that 125 stoves were provided. He lived and breathed Matthew 25 - “as long as you have done it for the least of my brothers and sisters, you have done it for me.” Our prayers go out to his wife Joan and the family. May he rest in peace of God’s kingdom. His funeral will be held on a future date.

 

Halleluiah! He is risen even as he said. Although these words may not give us the warm comfort of previous years, I do hope that this Easter allows us some hope. My prayer is that through these weeks of confinement we may have grown in our love for our family, for our work colleagues, for our classmates, indeed for everyone. The norm has shifted and has forced us to take a new outlook on life. Hopefully the ideologies that have divided us may heal and that we look at each other as fellow beloved daughters and sons of a God who brings new life out of chaos. Yet, it is Easter! We may not be celebrating as we want or like to. As of this writing I don’t know if I will be with family or alone on Easter day. But I do know that I have grown through all this and that Christ is my Redeemer. And that makes all the difference.

Welcome to Holy Week! I think it’s safe to say that this is the strangest Triduum we’ve ever encountered. We will be recording the rites of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil but in an abridged format. On Thursday we will not record the washing of the feet but you may do it for each other at home. On Friday you may wish to venerate your crucifix. At the Easter Vigil we will forego the Liturgy of Baptism until a future day (perhaps the Vigil of Pentecost). Regardless, I pray that each of us enter this time with an openness to relive the passion and death of our Savior so that we may rise to new life with him.

As I mentioned at the end of last week’s mass, Archbishop Etienne has asked me and the other priests transitioning to other parishes or retirement this year to stay another year at their respective parishes in light of the coronavirus. I concur with his decision and am happy to be able to be with you another year. May the Lord bless us all.

 

I’ve been going a bit stir crazy for the past couple of weeks. Many of you may feel the same. Our gospel reading this weekend focuses on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. To Martha and Mary, Jesus personifies the resurrection and the life. In calling forth Lazarus from the tomb he offers new life. During this time of bearing with effects of the spread of the coronavirus may we know deep down that Jesus is call us out of the tomb of fear of the unknown. He will see us and our loved ones through the days and weeks ahead. May his blessing be on us all.