I will never forget the sad eyes of a 10-year-old boy in Bethlehem. He was following our 21 pilgrims together with some friends selling shawls and wallets. In every pilgrimage, I constantly remind our fellow pilgrims: NO SHOPPING! I do not want our wasting precious spiritual time by being continually harassed at every street corner... I noticed that the 10-year-old boy was staying close to me...He was holding a sheep on his frail shoulders ...and suddenly, he put his sheep on my shoulders and shouted to our pilgrims in broken English: TAKE PICTURES! GIVE ME MONEY!

Of course, our pilgrims obliged. They love to take pictures ... And then they had no choice but to give some money to the sad-looking young boy...I was totally surprised and kept the four paws of the sheep strongly in my hands (see picture below). I smiled! I was joyful that this young child was getting some help. But I also felt bad for having initially rejected someone in need, a little poor Shepherd in Bethlehem. I will never forget the sadness in his eyes!

I was reminded of this encounter with a poor shepherd in Bethlehem when meditating on last week's Gospel of the Good Shepherd (John 10:27-30): "...My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. NO ONE CAN TAKE THEM OUT OF MY HAND". When I felt the presence of this little sheep on my shoulders, there was no way that I was going to let this sheep fall off my shoulders. How much more Jesus the Good Shepherd and Son of God will do to keep us safe on his shoulders. Nobody can take us away from the Hands of the Good Shepherd. As God created us in His own image and gave us FREE WILL, only ourselves can choose to be separated from the hands of Jesus: Let's choose to keep our hands in HIS good hands!

One could interpret the above encounter between pilgrims and a poor young shepherd as a mini-parable. We the pilgrims had first rejected the request of this young boy for help. But in a very surprising way, God led us to provide some limited help. God is always in charge! God always gives priority to the humble, the poor, the marginalized, the stranger, and the afflicted with major suffering... Let us not forget the poor! We are blessed in our parish with a very active Outreach Committee! Let us support them through the Poor Box in the Narthex.

At the personal level, I need to change my own, stubborn attitude toward the poor while on pilgrimages! There was a good reason why I had become relentless against allowing pilgrims to shop: in our first pilgrimage to France 12 years ago, our bus suddenly stopped in the middle of a busy, small street in Paris, creating chaos. I asked our guide 

named "Jesus" (a common name for a Spaniard): what is going on? "- " Jesus" responded: "One of our pilgrims had decided to buy some pastries in an elegant "patisserie"!!!” I could not believe it. I was angry at "Jesus" (our guide) for having agreed to this request. From then on, I had kept repeating this message of "No shopping" in our annual pilgrimages. TIME FOR ME TO CHANGE AND ALLOW PILGRIMS TO HELP THE POOR: buying from those selling goods in the streets is a little way to provide them some income and peace. It is doing God's will: HE wants us to see the face of His Son Jesus in all in need. HE wants us to think of the "other" and not of ourselves.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your generosity in helping our parish Youth to go on camp to Georgia end of June (17 of them) and to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in July! (13 of them) . This is a blessing for our entire parish, Helping all our youth is a top priority for our parish! A gentle reminder: join our own parish Youth of the NeoCatechumenal Way in their TALENT SHOW this Sunday from 11 am to 2 pm in the Father Martin Hall. You can also come and celebrate with our High Schoolers " Lifeteens Group" for their End of Year Party and Pot-luck from 4 pm to 6:30 pm.

May we all keep our hands in the hands of the Good Shepherd!
May we all feel THE PRESENCE OF HIS LOVE IN OUR HEARTS!
May the HOLY SPIRIT keep guiding all of us to reach out to the poor and assist all our parish children and youth!

One in Christ,
 

Father Alain