GospelJN 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 Gospel of the Lord! Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!
I love this Gospel reading and the image of the Shepherd leading the sheep, calling to them and protecting them!
Some reflections on this reading:
Do we take time to listen to the Good Shepherd!? Have we learned to recognize His voice!?
The ministry I feel that the Lord laid on my heart is named The Family of the Good Shepherd, with The Sisters of The Family of the Good Shepherd in the works.
It took prayer to hear the name the Lord was giving. There are so many children in need throughout the world. The Good Shepherd is an image recognized by most, even by those who have never heard of Jesus, or the parable of the Good Shepherd. They know the difference between a good and bad shepherd. The image of the Good Shepherd speaks volumes.
While I house children in need between the ages of 0-12 years at the moment, (I hope to serve more children one day.) The adults, their parents are “children of the Good Shepherd too! I pray to be able to reach out to them more and more over time.
Vocations are an important part of our lives. Do we “hear” the voice of the Shepherd calling us and do we respond to the call!
Our vocations prayer is one that is already in use:
Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd. You know each of us and you call us by name to serve in faith. Help us respond generously to your voice. Give courage and guidance to those you call to the priesthood and the diaconate, to religious life and lay ministry, So they may respond wholeheartedly and serve devotedly. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The beginning and the end of Pope Francis’ message on this 52 World day of Prayer for Vocations. I provide a link to the entire message on my Facebook and Twitter pages!
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Fourth Sunday of Easter offers us the figure of the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep: he calls them, he feeds them and he guides them. For over fifty years the universal Church has celebrated this Sunday as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In this way she reminds us of our need to pray, as Jesus himself told his disciples, so that “the Lord of the harvest may send out labourers into his harvest” (Lk 10:2). Jesus command came in the context of his sending out missionaries. He called not only the twelve Apostles, but another seventy-two disciples whom he then sent out, two by two, for the mission (cf.Lk 10:1-6). Since the Church “is by her very nature missionary” (Ad Gentes, 2), the Christian vocation is necessarily born of the experience of mission. Hearing and following the voice of Christ the Good Shepherd, means letting ourselves be attracted and guided by him, in consecration to him; it means allowing the Holy Spirit to draw us into this missionary dynamism, awakening within us the desire, the joy and the courage to offer our own lives in the service of the Kingdom of God.
The Virgin Mary, model of every vocation, did not fear to utter her “fiat” in response to the Lord’s call. She is at our side and she guides us. With the generous courage born of faith, Mary sang of the joy of leaving herself behind and entrusting to God the plans she had for her life. Let us turn to her, so that we may be completely open to what God has planned for each one of us, so that we can grow in the desire to go out with tender concern towards others (cf. Lk 1:39). May the Virgin Mary protect and intercede for us all.
Have a blessed week!
