“Being filled with Wisdom, let us be a true shepherd according to the Heart of the Good Shepherd!”

(Based on Heb 13:15-17, 20-21 and Mk 6:30-34 – Saturday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1)

The French have a proverb, which states: “A good meal ought to begin with hunger.”

It is usually pretty hard to to enjoy a meal when one is not yet hungry.

But, when one is hungry…
… anything tastes good.

This hunger is of course, not only about physical hunger.

There are many other areas of life where we experience hunger…

Hunger for love
Hunger for being wanted
Hunger on emotional counts
Hunger of the spiritual order

These aspects of hunger…
… may never have a scientific statistic
… may never have flowcharts and pie diagrams to measure them

But these areas of hunger are a great reality and challenge, especially in our world today!

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus who addresses not just “statistical” hunger but also such hunger of human needs which “may never get numerically counted”…
… with an invitation to always “hunger for God and to serve His people!”

“When He disembarked and saw the vast crowd, His Heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things” (Mk 6:34)

The Apostles, who were sent on the mission (Mk 6: 7-13) had returned back and reported all that they had done (Mk 6:30)

They had driven out many demons…
They had anointed many with oil who were sick and cured them… (Mk 6:13)

They would have rejoiced greatly, but they were also physically tired.

They would have been satisfied with their works, but they did not have even the time to eat (Mk 6:31)

The Apostles had done many works, but Jesus sensed that they were tired…
… and hungry

And so the Good Shepherd invites them to come away to a deserted place and rest (Mk 6:31)

Like these Apostles, many times, this can be our case too…

We may be doing a lot of things…
… but are we still feeling spiritually tired?

We may be happy with what we are doing…
… but are we still hungry deep within?

The Good Shepherd invites us…
… to take some rest in Him
… to relax in His Holy Heart

As in the case of the Apostles, so is the case of the people…

The people had seen many miracles, but Jesus sensed that they were still not truly filled

And so the Good Shepherd, with a moved Heart, feels compassion on them (Mk 6:34)

Like these people, many times this can be our case too…

We may have witnessed God’s wonders…
… but are we still spiritually found wanting?

We may be glad to doing the minimum in our spiritual life…
… but are we still missing something?

The Good Shepherd encourages us…
… with His Divine Word
… by His Compassionate Love

There is indeed a great hunger in the world.

Saint Mother Teresa said: “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty, than the person who has nothing to eat”

We may be hungering for love and acceptance…

Let us go to Jesus, the Supreme Lover of our lives

We may be dejected and depressed in life…

Let us go to Jesus, the Ultimate Happiness of our lives

We may be feeling ‘unlucky and ill-fated’ in life…

Let us go to Jesus, the Absolute Destiny of our lives

In turn, we also meet people who go through such “hunger”…
… for love, for acceptance, for encouragement, for hope, for basics of life etc…

Does my heart move in loving compassion for them?

Can I be a Good Shepherd, like Jesus, to them?

We also seek the intercession of St Bakhita, whose feast we celebrate today.

This saint from Sudan – canonised in the year 2000 – is a powerful symbol of love and forgiveness.

She rose above “hungering” characters in her society and displayed the fruits of love and forgiveness.

Let us be filled with the Lord’s Wisdom…
… and be a true shepherd according to the Heart of the Good Shepherd!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Ten Commandments – The Second Commandment

Promises made to others in God’s name engage the divine honour, fidelity, truthfulness, and authority.
They must be respected in justice.
To be unfaithful to them is to misuse God’s Name…

… and in some way to make God out to be a liar. (CCC # 2147)