Fr. Patrick Santianez, SX
Today the Catholic church celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday, an image that is popular and much-loved by many. At the same time, it is also the Vocation Sunday when we are encouraged to pray for more vocations to Priesthood and religious life.
In the Gospel today, Jesus describes himself as the Shepherd and we are the sheep. The sheep of the shepherd are characterized by the readiness to hear the voice of the shepherd and after hearing him they follow him.
How has this relationship with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, become possible? The answer is simple, “The Father who gave them to me...” According to Jesus the sheep are really God’s gift to him. The Father gave us to Jesus. Have we ever considered that we are a gift of the Father to Jesus? We are used to think that Jesus is the gift of the Father to us. But Jesus claims that it is the Father who give us to him. We must be precious in the eyes of the Father for us to be given as gifts to Jesus. And because Jesus knows that we have been entrusted to him by the Father, He will take care of us.
There is a corresponding responsibility of being a gift to Jesus that is to listen and to be docile to the voice of the Shepherd. If we want to remain part of the flock of the Shepherd, we should be ready to listen to his voice and docile, which means allowing ourselves to be led by the Shepherd and not to be afraid to led where he wants, because he will not allow those given to him by the Father to perish.
The challenge for us today is to be discerning, because there are many competing voices pretending to be the voice of the shepherd, and they are attractive. Unfortunately many people follow these voices, but they end up in misery. Do we want life in abundance here and now? Let us listen to the voice of the Shepherd and follow him alone.
I remember the time of Ebola here in Sierra Leone... It was a moment of crisis for me. The Filipino government offered repatriation program to the Filipinos in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Shall I leave or stay? That was the dilemma at that time. I listened to the different voices and some of them sounded very attractive, but in prayer and in silence I listened to the “voice” that said, “Do not go, do not be afraid and remain with your people”. I definitely believe that it was the voice of the Shepherd, who assured me that with Him I would be safe and he would not allow me to come to any harm.
On this Good Shepherd Sunday, let us listen to the voice of Jesus and allow ourselves to be guided by him, the Good Shepherd.
Today the Catholic church celebrates Good Shepherd Sunday, an image that is popular and much-loved by many. At the same time, it is also the Vocation Sunday when we are encouraged to pray for more vocations to Priesthood and religious life.
In the Gospel today, Jesus describes himself as the Shepherd and we are the sheep. The sheep of the shepherd are characterized by the readiness to hear the voice of the shepherd and after hearing him they follow him.
How has this relationship with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, become possible? The answer is simple, “The Father who gave them to me...” According to Jesus the sheep are really God’s gift to him. The Father gave us to Jesus. Have we ever considered that we are a gift of the Father to Jesus? We are used to think that Jesus is the gift of the Father to us. But Jesus claims that it is the Father who give us to him. We must be precious in the eyes of the Father for us to be given as gifts to Jesus. And because Jesus knows that we have been entrusted to him by the Father, He will take care of us.
There is a corresponding responsibility of being a gift to Jesus that is to listen and to be docile to the voice of the Shepherd. If we want to remain part of the flock of the Shepherd, we should be ready to listen to his voice and docile, which means allowing ourselves to be led by the Shepherd and not to be afraid to led where he wants, because he will not allow those given to him by the Father to perish.
The challenge for us today is to be discerning, because there are many competing voices pretending to be the voice of the shepherd, and they are attractive. Unfortunately many people follow these voices, but they end up in misery. Do we want life in abundance here and now? Let us listen to the voice of the Shepherd and follow him alone.
I remember the time of Ebola here in Sierra Leone... It was a moment of crisis for me. The Filipino government offered repatriation program to the Filipinos in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. Shall I leave or stay? That was the dilemma at that time. I listened to the different voices and some of them sounded very attractive, but in prayer and in silence I listened to the “voice” that said, “Do not go, do not be afraid and remain with your people”. I definitely believe that it was the voice of the Shepherd, who assured me that with Him I would be safe and he would not allow me to come to any harm.
On this Good Shepherd Sunday, let us listen to the voice of Jesus and allow ourselves to be guided by him, the Good Shepherd.