by Sister Elise Cholewinski
This Sunday is commonly known as Good Shepherd Sunday. In the Gospel Jesus speaks about His sheep hearing His voice and following Him. In our fast-paced world, where life is very shallow and lived on the surface, we are reminded today to really take time for silence, to ponder the words that the Shepherd speaks, to listen to the Voice that leads us into the depths.
It is interesting to note that John’s Gospel is 20 chapters long. (The 21st chapter was added later.) If we go to the exact midpoint of that Gospel, we are at chapter 10, verse 10, which reads, “I came so that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” Let us then go to the center of our being, and in the core of our hearts listen intently, that we may know the richness of a life pastured by the Good Shepherd.
This Sunday is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. We are asked to pray for an abundance of priests in the Church, who will guide God’s people with the love and compassion of Jesus, and to pray for an increase in the number of men and women who will devote themselves to the consecrated life, which is focused on a deep personal relationship with God, enriched through solitude and communal prayer. Let us pray that those who are being called will respond, and in their unique lifestyles will model the pattern of the Good Shepherd.