Dear Friend,
This past week, the many peoples of our mutually inhabited planetary spaceship celebrated Earth Day. May we always remember that our Catholic faith calls us to care for the environment. We are called to be good stewards of the Earth and keep her wellbeing in our prayers and our actions. For a mindful reflection of this moral responsibility, read the summary of Ladato Si found on the last two pages of our Sunday bulletin.
You are invited, if you are able to safely do so, to join us for Mass in person on Sunday morning. Attendance at Mass on Sundays requires a reservation. Make your reservation to attend Mass at www.standrew.org/mass-reservations
The Mass at 11:00am on Sunday mornings has been reserved for families grouped in relationship to their child’s class at school and Religious Education. The 11:00 am Mass will resume for all parishioners starting on Sunday, May 9, 2021.
If you cannot attend in person, please participate by watching the live stream of Mass at Saint Andrew at www.standrew.org/sundaymass. It is available in real time and also as a recording.
The reminder of this webpage is the Your Sunday Connection which is provided for you to pray at home with your household the prayers and readings of Sunday Mass.
The remainder of this webpage is the Your Sunday Connection prayer guide.
Opening Prayer
Almighty ever-living God, lead us to share in the joys of heaven, so that the humble flock may reach where the brave Shepherd has gone before. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. AMEN.
![Jesus as a shepherd](https://standrew.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/jesus-as-a-shepherd-vector-26969221.jpg)
The Readings
Reading I Acts 4:8-12
Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: “Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
Reading II 1 Jn 3:1-2
Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Gospel Jn 10:11-18
Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father.”
The Homily
Please click on the video link below to watch the homily for this week.
The Prayers of the Faithful
For the Church, that we may always look to Christ as the cornerstone of our faith, our world, and our lives as we live out the gospel he preached.
We pray to the Lord LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER
For bishops and pastors and all who shepherd the Church through the challenges and difficulties of the twenty-first century, that they may exercise good judgment and wisdom as they care for their flock.
We pray to the Lord LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER
For increased respect for all of God’s creation, that we may treat the earth and all that is on it with love and care.
We pray to the Lord. LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER
For all who are receiving First Holy Communion today, especially:
Olivia Colletti, Jack Coyne and Paige Shaffer, that as Jesus welcomes us to His Table, He may fill us with many blessings and spiritual gifts.
We pray to the Lord. LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER
For all who have been affected by COVID19, may God’s healing presence be comfort to them and bring health and well-being.
We pray to the Lord. LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER
For the departed, who remain with us in our prayers and our memories, and for the promise of a joyful reunion, and especially for:
Our departed Parishioners
We pray to the Lord LORD HEAR OUR PRAYER
Sunday Offertory
Spiritual Communion
Sometimes, receiving Holy Communion is not possible. Catholics in these cases are encouraged to make “Spiritual Communion.” St.Teresa of Jesus wrote about this practice:
“When you do not receive communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a spiritual communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you”
![49F9AAA2-D729-4A9E-A44E-D94B3454803E](https://standrew.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/49F9AAA2-D729-4A9E-A44E-D94B3454803E.jpeg)
Closing Prayer
Look upon your flock, kind Shepherd, and be pleased to settle in eternal pastures the sheep you have redeemed by the Precious Blood of your Son. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. AMEN.
Announcements
Wearin’ the Green
Live Stream Mass
Please click on the button below to see a copy of the Sunday Bulletin.