One Minute Reflection – 2 May – The Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C, Gospel: John 10:27-30 – Good Shepherd/Vocations Sunday
“I give them eternal life”...John 10:27
REFLECTION – “The Lord says: “My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me; I give them eternal life”. A little earlier He said to them: “Anyone who enters by me will be saved, he will go in ou, and will find pasture”. (Jn 10:9) He will go into faith, he will go out from faith to vision, from belief to contemplation, will find pasture in eternal refreshment.
The Good Shepherd’s sheep will pasture because whoever follows Him with a guileless heart is nourished with a food of eternal freshness. What are the pastures of these sheep but the eternal joys of an evergreen paradise? The pasture of the elect, is the face of God always before us. When we see Him perfectly, our hearts are endlessly satisfied with the food of life…
Let us seek these pastures, dearly beloved! There we may enjoy the celebration of so many citizens. Let the festival of those who rejoice attract us… Let us enkindle our hearts, my friends, let our faith grow warm again for what it believes, let our desire for heavenly things take fire. To love thus, is to be already on the way. Let no adversity recall us from the joy of inner festivity, no difficulty on his journey, alters the desire, of a person wanting to go to some particular place. Let no seductive good fortune lead us astray, he is a foolish traveller who sees pleasant meadows on his journey and forgets where he is going.”… St Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) Father & Doctor of the Church – Homilies on the Gospel, no15[14]
PRAYER – Almighty, ever-living God, bring us to the joy of Your heavenly city, so that we, Your little flock, may follow where Christ, our Good Shepherd, has gone before us, by the power of His Resurrection. May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin, guide us, that we may always follow our Shepherd and thus reach our heavenly home, to praise Him forever. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God now and for all eternity, amen.
AnaStpaul 