Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 10, 27-30

Jesus said:
“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.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”

We are His!

1. My voice. Learning to listen to Jesus is a process. Just as the sheep learn to recognize the owner’s or the shepherd’s voice, you and I must go through a learning process in our lives to recognize Jesus and listen to Him. I dare say that there are many who have not yet heard him or don’t recognize him, just as there are others who are in the flock and follow him but have not actually listened to him. I would say a part of this process is recognizing that God is God, and you are you. So don’t put on the wrong jacket, one that doesn’t fit you, and recognize that you must listen to him.

2. I give you. Jesus comes to give life and eternal life. He wants you to live, to be alive. For the person who truly listens to Jesus and remains with him has life and gives life. Those who follow God are called to love life, to enjoy it even in spite of all the painful things that may come their way. I believe that Christians who have Christ in their heart are never defeated by the things that happen to them. You are an eagle, not a chicken. God gave you big wings to fly high not to just stare at the ground.

3. We are one. This is the way we are invited to walk and pray, being one. The great crisis that the Church is experiencing is not merely the lack of priests, the abuses, the scandals; the great crisis is the lack of unity among us, as if we were throwing stones at one another. This comes from the desire for power so many people have, and that destroys us. We belong to the good Shepherd; we all belong to Him. And by that I mean those who think the same as us, as well as those who think differently.

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus is the gate and the Good Shepherd. Let us ask the Shepherd to give us shepherds after his own heart, so that together we may go to Heaven.  It’s a day when we especially pray for priesthood and religious vocations. Let’s ask the Lord to touch the hearts of those who’ve consecrated their lives to God so that they may have the heart of shepherds and be attentive to the sheep. We also pray to God for so many wounded and tired shepherds; shepherds who have got lost in life, perhaps because they’ve gone out to save sheep who’ve got tangled up in their life. Let’s also pray for them.

Remember that something good is on the way.

God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.