Who and What helps you to recognize the voice of Jesus as the Good Shepherd of your life?

Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday -- the 4th Sunday of the Easter Season.  This is what Jesus says about himself:  "I am the Good Shepherd...My sheep know my voice.  They hear my voice and follow me."

Think about the voices in your life.  What is the dominant voice that you listen to?  Whose voice do you recognize and then know you are safe and very much loved.  Who are the good voices in your life?

I pray that you are clearly able to identify the voices in your life in which which you know that you are safe and very much loved.  Who in your family speaks words of unconditional love to you?  Treasure and value highly the people you love and the people who love you.  Who in our faith community speaks words to you to assure you that you are very much loved.  We are to be the witnesses to each other of God's unconditional love.

As we reflect on Jesus as the Good Shepherd of our lives, we affirm that our spirituality is primarily about relationships -- our relationship with God and with one another.  Yes, there are rules to be kept  -- no doubt about that,  but more than that, the imagery of the Jesus as the Good Shepherd reveals the depth of intimacy that the Lord Jesus has for each of us.

On  this First Communion Day in the life of the parish, we pray for and celebrate that our First Communicants and their families are even more deeply rooted in the sacramental life of our parish community.  Thanks  be to God.

Have a Blessed Day.