“Being inspired by the Good Shepherd Who sees, seeks and serves!”

(Based on Acts 11:1-18 and Jn 10:1-10 – Monday of the 4th Week in Easter)

There was a young teacher in a small town school.
>> She was the kind of person no one really minded…
… soft-spoken, simple, easily missed in a crowd.
>> But she noticed and she observed!

Every day, one boy came to school – quiet, polite, always keeping to himself.
>> However, every day at recess (break-time), he just sat there.
>> No lunch. No snacks.
>> He’d just sip from a small water bottle…
… and wait for the bell.

At first, the teacher wasn’t sure.
>> Maybe the boy just forgot his lunch.
>> Maybe it was just a day or two.

But the days became weeks.
>> And she realised, he was in need!

So, without saying a word, she started packing a little extra in her lunchbox.
>> One sandwich. One piece of fruit.
She would casually leave it on his desk before recess – no names, no notes, just… there.

The boy would look around. Hesitate.
>> And then, just eat.

Weeks passed.
One day, she found a note folded neatly beneath the sandwich wrapper: “You’re the only one who sees me. Thank you!”


Yes… you don’t need a staff and sandals to be a shepherd…
… just a heart that’s willing to care!

That’s what a true shepherd does:
>> Sees the invisible.
>> Loves without being asked.
>> Gives without needing applause.


The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus, the Good Shepherd, Who exhorts…
… to get involved in the lives of peoples and make a difference to them
… to be conscious of our own spiritual life and be zealous about it


Jesus speaks of Himself, as the Good Shepherd, who is close and intimate to the sheep.
>> It is this intimacy and closeness, that makes Him personally and affectionately concerned of His sheep.


The Lord also speaks of others, who are least interested in the welfare and safety of the sheep.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and robber” (Jn 10: 1) 


The difference in the attitude of the Good Shepherd and the thieves and robbers is this:
> The Good Shepherd has a deep intimacy with the sheep…
… others have no relationship!

>> The Good Shepherd is fully interested in the welfare of the sheep…
… others only care for their personal agenda and benefits!

>> The Good Shepherd will undertake any sacrifice, even of His life for the sheep…
… others will escape and run away from assuming any difficulties or hardships!


All of us in our lives are entrusted with “sheep” and we are to be shepherds to them…
>> This “sheep” could be anybody, based on our status and position in life.

They could be…
… family members, spouses, children
… students, work-colleagues, friends
… parishioners, lay faithful
… the needy, the wanting, those in distress
… our own selves


The question is:
In all such situations, of we being a “Shepherd,” do I fail to reach out to “our sheep”?


It is the Lord who has entrusted us with the “sheep” and He expects us to be good and faithful shepherds.

The responsibility is great…
>> The duty is immense…
>> But do we get lethargic and indifferent, and fail in our duty to be a true shepherd?


Jesus, the Great Good Shepherd, is our model and example…
… Let us become more concerned of the welfare of our “sheep”
… Let us be willing to take up any sacrifice for the good of our “sheep”


Indeed, sometimes, the holiest things we’ll ever do…
… “is to prepare a simple sandwich and leave it for a needy one, with a smile!”

Let us be “the one, who sees…
… and seeks
… and serves!”


God Bless! Live Jesus!


—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> As long as a child lives at home with his parents…
… the child should obey his parents in all that they ask of him when it is for his good or that of the family.
>> “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. (CCC # 2217)
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“Never forgetting that ‘Jesus Christ is precious and He loves us very much!'”

(Based on Acts 13:14, 43-52, Rev 7:9, 14b-17 and Jn 10:27-30 – 4th Sunday in Easter)

The city train station was bursting with noise – announcements echoed, luggage wheels rattled, and voices layered over each other like a storm of sound.

In the middle of it all stood a small boy – about 7 years old – alone, calm, quietly waiting.

A concerned passerby approached and asked gently, “Are you lost?”
>> He shook his head: “No, my dad just went to get something. He told me to wait.”

The man looked around. “But how will you find him in this crowd?”
>> The boy replied, “I won’t. He’ll find me. I just need to stay where I can hear him.”

Moments later, through the blur of voices, the boy’s ears perked up.
>> His face lit up with joy.
>> He ran across the platform straight into the arms of a man calling his name.

“Daddy!” he shouted.
>> His father knelt and hugged him tightly.
>> “I told you I’d come.”


That boy wasn’t panicking.
>> He wasn’t trying to shout over the crowd. >> He knew his father’s voice, and he trusted that his father would find him.


Just like that, Jesus, our Good Shepherd, calls us by name…
… even when life is noisy and confusing, when we feel small or forgotten
… His voice will break through.


Have we discovered and tasted the deep Love of God in our lives?

God our Father loves us so much that He goes to any extent to ensure His protection, care and love.

Jesus, in today’s Gospel, tells us, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand!” (Jn 10:29)


All the pages of the Bible speak to us one important Truth: God is intimately involved with our lives!
>> He is not far away.
>> He constantly and consistently longs to have us with Him.


Jesus reminds us that as His sheep, we ought to “hear His Voice, know Him and follow Him!” (Cf. Jn 10:27)

This imagery of the Lord, as a Good Shepherd, is a very consoling, assuring and encouraging one


Sheep in the times and areas of Jesus were often reared for their wool, rather than the meat.
>> The sheep would be with the Shepherd for some time – and an affinity would develop among them

The shepherd would make all the efforts – even at the cost of comforts – to take care of the sheep…
… the sheep, would remain in submission to this affection, and faithfully follow the Master


As a Good Shepherd, the Lord looks at us, not as a flock – a group
>> Instead, we are seen and cared for, very uniquely – as individual sheep!

In the Presence of the Lord, we don’t need a ‘nametag!’
>> He knows us by name!

My worth is not in what I do…
… but in whose hands I rest.


It’s this awareness that I am loved, and uniquely cared for, that will strengthen us in moments of strife!

When we feel hurt, rejected, unloved, or lost, it can be overwhelmingly difficult to see God’s light.
>> When we go through temptations or times of distress, we may stray away and feel unworthy

But the protective care of the Lord is always with us, as He assures us, “no one shall snatch them out of My Hand!” (Jn 10:28).

Yes, we are invited to be His ‘own people!’
>> We are called to be His ‘inescapable people!’


The Merciful Father – our Good Shepherd – is waiting for each one of us…
… Whatever be the mess, that my life may be in!

Let us run into His embrace of Love, with sincere repentance and contrition of heart
>> And pledge to live for Him, and with Him… forever!


Let us never forget that “Jesus Christ is precious and He loves us very much!”
>> Let these words be repeated constantly in our life…
… with deep piety, profound conviction and committed service to one another!


Let’s remember: “I am not a statistic in God’s book…
… I am a heartbeat in His chest!”


God Bless! Live Jesus!


—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.”
>> A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. (CCC # 2216)
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“Rising up to the challenge to remain loyal and faithful to the demands placed on us by Christ, our Powerful and Mighty King!”

(Based on Acts 9:31-42 and Jn 6:60-69 – Saturday of the Third Week in Easter)

There is a challenging incident that goes thus…

A Parish Priest, after the Holy Mass on a Sunday, was standing outside the Church, when he came across a young girl.

This girl had been in the hotel plaza and had missed the Sunday service.

“Good Morning!” greeted the Priest.

“Good Morning too, Father,” came the reply from the girl.

“Are you well this morning?”

“Oh, I am so tired!” she explained, “I blistered my feet dancing, the whole night!”

And then she had a query, “By the way, Father, what do you think about dancing?”

With a grave seriousness, the Priest replied, “You call yourself to be a Christian, isn’t it?

Have you ever blistered your feet for God?”

That question hit her like a lightening!

She turned away, with guilt and shame displayed on her face.

A few days later, she spoke to the Priest again, saying, “I have hardly slept since you asked me that question.

I want to tell you honestly… I have never blistered my feet for the Lord.
But to the best of my abilities, I will seek to work for Him, hereafter!”

Has our Christian Life ever caused us…
… blisters on our feet?
… aches in our hands?
… tensions in our minds?
… anxiety in our hearts?

It pays to be a Christian!

It costs much to be a Follower of Christ!

Yes, Christianity demands…
>> And only the ones who are willing to respond to these demands are worthy of being the followers of the Lord.

The Lord is pretty straight-forward and candid in His challenging requirements and would even ask us, as He asks His disciples in the Gospel of the Day, “Do you also wish to go away?” (Jn 6: 67)


We are at the concluding portion of the 6th Chapter of the Gospel of St John – known as the chapter on the Discourse of the Bread of Life.

The hearers of Jesus, from the beginning of this Chapter have been taken through a very intriguing path…

It began with the fragrance of compassion and mercy being radiated by the Lord in the multiplication of the loaves (Jn 6: 1-15)
>> This fragrance developed into an aura of authority and power that was displayed in the incident of the walking on the water (Jn 6: 16-21)

This aura began to radiate more gloriously through His teachings on He being the Bread of Life (Jn 6: 22-59)
>> This glorious splendour was further revealed and explained when He declared Himself as the Son of Man who would ascend to where He was (Jn 6: 61-62)

The Chapter, as its nears the conclusion, finds many of the hearers abandoning Christ.

Therefore we read, “As a result of this, many of His disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him” (Jn 6:66)


It seemed nice and wonderful to be the followers of Christ, when He provided food to their satisfaction
… But when there was a demand made by Christ, the “goody-goody” feelings disappeared and they began to reject Him!

Is this not the attitude that is prevalent among many of the Christians… including we, perhaps?

As long as the ground of our lives, receives the continual showers of favours being granted and prayers being instantly heard, we feel nice with the Lord.
… But in the times when the ground has to experience the drought of delays in prayers and absence of the rains of consolation, we feel to do away with the ways of the Lord!

As long as the garden of my life, is blessed with the flowers of prosperity, security and comforts, we remain happy to be with the Lord
… But in the circumstances when the garden goes dry and the weeds of misery begin to crop up, we feel to abandon the presence of the Lord and tread our own wills!


And therefore the Lord asks us, “Do you also wish to go away?” (Jn 6: 67)

Faith in the Lord is no cheap thing!
>> It indeed costs to be faithful!


The book of the Acts of the Apostles beautifully recounts many incidents of people following the Lord – willing to give up their past life, and live a new life in Christ…

The healing of the paralyzed Aeneas through the instrumentality of Peter, made “all the residents of Lydda and Sharon… to turn to the Lord.” (Cf. Acts 9:35)
>> The healing of Tabitha, in Joppa, also caused many people to “believe in the Lord!” (Acts 9:36-42)


What is it costing us to be faithful to our Lord and King?

Often times, our practice of Christian faith enters, tiptoed and slyly, into the halls of comfort and coziness…
>> A few Church obligations completed once in a way…
>> Some occasionally unavoidable practise of piety and devotion…

This is all that sometimes it “costs” us in being a Christian!


But the Lord today powerfully seeks to shake off the dusts of lethargy and casualness and confronts us, “Do you also wish to go away?”

Our remaining with the Lord, ought not to be in mere words, but also in deeds and actions

Being with the Lord demands…
… that we grow in our zeal and love for the Lord
… that we become an extension of Christ to the needy
… that we strive to be passionate proponents of His love and mercy


We have to be ready and willing, to let our “feet be blistered”, bear “aches in our hands”, go through “tensions in our minds”
… battle “anxiety in our hearts” for the sake of the Lord and His Kingdom
… and remain loyal and faithful to the ‘love-demands’ placed on us by Christ, our Powerful and Mighty King!


God Bless! Live Jesus!

—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> Filial respect is shown by true docility and obedience.
>> “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. (CCC # 2216)
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“Growing in the Love for the Holy Eucharist and deepening our faith and conviction in Him!”

(Based on Acts 9:1-20 and Jn 6:52-59 – Friday of the Third Week in Easter)

In the early 1970s, during the Vietnam War, Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was the Archbishop of Saigon.
>> The Communists saw him as a threat.

On the Feast of the Assumption – 1975 – he was arrested and shipped off to a prison in North Vietnam.

He stayed there for thirteen years, nine of them in solitary confinement.
>> During his imprisonment, he couldn’t celebrate Mass or receive the Eucharist.

However, the Archbishop was allowed one luxury: to write letters to friends outside prison.

When he did, he often asked them to send him what he called “his medicine.”
>> They knew what he meant.

They sent him cough medicine bottles…
… filled with wine and small bits of bread.

Sympathetic guards smuggled him some wood and wire, and from that he made a small cross, which he hid in a bar of soap.
>> He kept all this in a cardboard box.

That box became his own private altar.
>> Every day, at 3:00 p.m. – the hour of Christ’s death – he would place drops of wine in the palm of his hand, mingled with water, to celebrate Mass.

The greatest ongoing miracle in history was able to take place.

That cramped prison cell became as beautiful and as blessed as any cathedral…
… a sanctuary for the glory of God.

He did this for thirteen years…
… till he was finally freed in 1988.


This is a man who understood – with every fibre of his being – how precious Holy Communion is.

What about us?

How deep is my understanding, faith and love for the Most Holy Eucharist?


The Holy Eucharist – the Body and Blood of Jesus – is the greatest treasure that the Church offers to Her children…

Yet, the Holy Eucharist sometimes, also becomes the great barrier for people to misunderstand and misinterpret the Church.


The same was true even in the time of Jesus.

The mention of His Body and Blood caused great division, misunderstanding and led to the misinterpretation of Jesus.


The Gospel of the Day is an account of the Lord declaring the necessity of being partakers of His Body and Blood to be having a share in eternal life.

Jesus continues His discourse on He being the “Bread of Life”.

The Lord surprises His hearers by saying that He is “the bread that came down from heaven” (Jn 6:51a)

He shocks them even further by saying that “the bread that I give is my flesh for the world” (Jn 6:51b)


This caused a dispute among the people, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” (Jn 6:52)

The bold declaration of the Lord that He would give His Flesh and His Blood as food and drink, caused a huge scandal among His listeners and it cause deep divisions and disputes.


The same is so much true in our own world, when the Church declares the Holy Eucharist to be the True and Real Body and Blood of the Lord, there is so much dispute and division caused.

Not many are able to accept this understanding
>> Not many are convinced of this teaching
>> Not many even believe this to be true
>> Not many are passionate either


The Catechism of the Church declares that “the mode of Christ’s presence under the Eucharistic species is unique”

“In the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.”


Questions now arise before us…

How is my belief and understanding of this most Precious and Treasured Gift of the Holy Eucharist – “the source and summit of Christian Life”?
… Do I believe with conviction that Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Eucharist?
… Do I celebrate and participate in the Holy Mass with this Divine Fervour?
What is the effect that this Sacrament of Total Self-giving on me?

… Does the reception of Jesus, the Love Incarnate, make me in turn to be more loving towards others and do I make deliberate choices to extend love to all?
… Does the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist impel me also to make sacrifices – even tiny, insignificant, unnoticed – for the cause and good of others?

How is my contribution to spread the Good News of the Holy Eucharist to others?
… Am I being a person who radiates the love of the Eucharist to others, by my conscious efforts to be respectful, reverent and devoted in the Chapel or Church and also become aware of the Lord’s Presence, when passing by Churches or handling Sacred objects?
… Do I tell to other people about this exciting, real presence of God in the Holy Eucharist, to other people, especially the sick, the suffering and those in distress, that they may experience the Real and True healing presence of the Lord?


May we understand that in the Most Holy Eucharist – the greatest ongoing miracle in history – takes place.

It is this miracle that can turn even a cramped prison cell to become as beautiful and as blessed as any cathedral…
… a sanctuary for the glory of God.


Let us grow in the Love for the Holy Eucharist and deepen our faith and conviction in Him.

May Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist always be praised…
… and may our Blessed Mother Mary, the Mother of the Eucharist, intercede for us!


God Bless! Live Jesus!

—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> With all your heart honor your father, and do not forget the birth pangs of your mother. >> Remember that through your parents you were born; what can you give back to them that equals their gift to you?” (CCC # 2215)
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“Growing in our love for Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist – the Bread of Life!”

(Based on Acts 8:26-40 and Jn 6:44-51 – Thursday of the Third Week in Easter)

Saint Mother Teresa was known for her immense devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.

She found her strength for her services of mercy, by being united and spending time with the Eucharistic Lord…
… everyday!

She has spoken very beautifully about the Holy Eucharist:

She says: “When Jesus came into the world, he loved it so much that he gave His Life for it.

He wanted to satisfy our hunger for God.

And what did He do?
>> He made himself the ‘Bread of Life.’

He became small, fragile and defenseless for us.
Bits of bread can be so small that…
… even a small child can chew it!
… even a dying person can eat it!”


Have we discovered our Love for this “Precious Bread of Life?”

The Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of St John can be called as “the great discourse on the Bread of Life”


Jesus declares Himself as the “Bread of Life” (Jn 6:35), Who came down from heaven.

On hearing this statement of the Lord, the Jews “murmured” about Him (Jn 6:41)

They knew that Jesus was only the son of Joseph.
>> They knew the father and mother of Jesus.
>> They were very familiar with His human origins

Therefore, the statement of Jesus that “He was the bread, Who came down from heaven” caused a great deal of “murmur”.


The Greek word that is used here for murmur is a word, “gogguzo”…

This “gogguzo” means…
… any low, continuous sound as of a brook, the wind, trees etc or low indistinct voices
… a mumbled or private expression of discontent
… to show “smouldering discontent”, droning on in a low, constant murmur


A similar “gogguzo” was also expressed by the Israelites, in their long journey in the desert.

When Moses led the large multitude of the Israelites through the desert, the impatient crowd, raised their voices in complaint against Moses and Aaron:
“Would that we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread” (Ex 16:3)

The Israelites also “murmured!”


In response to this “murmuring” of the people, God Yahweh provided them with the “flesh of the quail” and the “bread of the Manna” (Ex 16: 4-15)

In the Gospel, when the Jews “murmured”, Jesus provides them with a reply of the “flesh of His body” and the “bread of His Life”


Jesus tells – as we see in today’s Gospel also – “Stop murmuring among yourselves… I am the Bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
>> This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die.” (Jn 6: 43, 48-50)


The Israelites were given perishable flesh of the quails and they who ate the Manna, died.
>> But Jesus, now gives His imperishable flesh of His Own Body and offers the Eternal Manna as the Bread of our life!


It is in the Holy Eucharist, that the Lord offers this imperishable food and salvation to each of us.

What is our perception and passion towards this True Life that Jesus offers in the Holy Eucharist?


The Israelites in the Old Testament as well as the Jews in Jesus’ time, “murmured”…

Do I also “murmur” and remain indifferent to believing in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist?

Do I also “murmur” and fail to prepare myself well to receive Jesus, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?

Do I also “murmur” and become unmindful or even disrespectful to the Presence of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, in the Chapels and in the Churches?


May this lengthened meditation on John 6 – the “the great discourse on the Bread of Life” – help us to deepen our faith and zeal for Jesus, in the Most Holy Eucharist.

It is this devotion and union with the Lord, alone, that can make us also, in turn, a Eucharistic people – breaking and giving ourselves – for the welfare and salvation of the world!


In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, Philip…
… inspired by an Angel of the Lord reaches out to a royal official – an Ethiopian eunach – and delivers the Word of God and the Salvific Message of the Risen Lord.

When we have a deep passion for the Lord in our hearts, we too will reach out the Message of God’s Love and Mercy to the world around us.


May the words of St Francis de Sales inspire us:
“When the bee has gathered the dew of heaven and the earth’s sweetest nectar from the flowers, it turns it into honey, then hastens to its hive.

In the same way, the priest, having taken from the Altar, the Son of God (who is as the dew from heaven, and true son of Mary, flower of our humanity)…
… gives Him to you as Delicious Food!”


Let us seek to satisfy our hunger for God…
… by growing in our love for Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist – the Bread of Life!”


God Bless! Live Jesus!


—————————–
📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
MAN’S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT – GOD’S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE – The Fourth Commandment – The Family and the society
>> Respect for parents (filial piety) derives from gratitude toward those who, by the gift of life, their love and their work, have brought their children into the world…
… and enabled them to grow in stature, wisdom, and grace. (CCC # 2215)
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