This morning it was 53 degrees when Robert picked up Sister Mary Claire, Mini, and me at the mailbox for Holy Mass at St. Mary’s.
At Mass, Father LeRoy read today’s holy Gospel from Saint John, where Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” Father said that Our Lord did not only say He would watch over His sheep, but that He would lay down His life for them. That made the whole church feel very still to me, because it means Jesus did not love us from far away. He came close to us, knew us, and gave Himself for us.
Father LeRoy explained that a hired man runs away when danger comes, because the sheep do not really belong to him. But Jesus never runs away from us. He sees every wolf that frightens our souls, every temptation, every sorrow, and every danger. He stays. He guards. He calls us by name. Sister Mary Claire said that is why we must learn His voice in prayer, in the Gospel, and in our conscience, so we will not follow strange voices that lead us away.
On the way home, Robert said he liked how Father LeRoy explained that Jesus laid down His life freely. Nobody forced Him. He gave His life because He loved us. Sister Mary Claire said that is one of the most beautiful parts of the Gospel, because Our Lord is not only strong enough to save us, but loving enough to want to save us.
I held Mini close and thought about sheep knowing their shepherd. Mini knows my voice even when I speak softly, and she comes running when I call her. I hope my soul can be like that with Jesus. I hope I will know His voice right away, and not wait until I am lost or frightened.
Tonight I am thankful that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep, and He knows me too.
Evening Prayer
Dear Jesus, my Good Shepherd, please keep me close to You. Help me hear Your voice and follow You every day. Do not let me run after strange voices or wander away from Your love. Watch over Sister Mary Claire, Robert, Father LeRoy, Mini, and all Your sheep tonight. Amen.
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.
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