4th Sunday of Easter

05-12-2019Weekly Reflection©2018 Liturgical Publications, Inc.

We all face obstacles in life. Perhaps it's a lost job, the death of a loved one, a sudden accident that places an unexpected dent in our finances. Sometimes the challenges are of our own making. Perhaps we've developed patterns of sin in our personal lives or our family relationships. We've all felt the jolting shock of, "This is all my fault." How do these things affect our relationship with God? Or, perhaps more poignantly, how do we now view God's relationship to us?

In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus' words to us are encouraging ones. " No one can take them out of my hand." Did you catch that? In case you didn't, Jesus reemphasizes the point again a few verses later. "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father's hand." God's grip of providential care and mercy is so strong that nothing can separate us. We might think things take us out of God's hand - life circumstances, tragedy, our lukewarm attitudes towards faith - but Jesus tells us otherwise. Nothing, no one, can take us out of the Father's hand, and we can't take ourselves out! We can't remove ourselves from Him, not entirely. Even when grievous sin hardens us to grace, His love is still sustaining us in existence. And His mercy is always awaiting our repentance.

"My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish." This Sunday, let us heed the voice of the Good Shepherd. Whatever we feel might take us from God's hand, we can turn back to Him. God is always inviting us to follow Him and to trust in His care and be sustained by His hand.

Cuarta Semana de Pascua

"Mis ovejas escuchan mi voz; yo las conozco y ellas me siguen. Yo les doy la vida eter na y no per ecer án jamás; nadie las arrebatará de mi mano. Me las ha dado mi Padre, y él es superior a todos, y nadie puede arrebatarlas de la mano del Padre. El Padre y yo somos uno." (Juan 10: 27-30). Así se describe el Buen Pastor a sí mismo. Cuida, proteja y acompaña. El escritor español Javier Prat Cambra describe al Buen Pastor de la siguiente forma: "Escuchar al pastor, y viceversa, entender al pastor, y viceversa, dejarse acompañar por el pastor y viceversa?la reciprocidad entre el pastor y su pueblo supone de una comunicación continua."

Si, una comunicación continua y un discernimiento adecuado necesitan la sociedad de hoy en día. Vivimos llenos de falsas y engañosas noticias; la mentira se esparce como si fuera verdad. Las personas buscan afanosamente quien les de un consejo, una guía para encontrar la verdad. Pero la realidad es que solo Jesucristo es "...el camino, la verdad y la vida." (Juan 14:6). Nuestro Buen Pastor, nos cuida y protege; confiemos en Él al escuchar su Palabra; resta tan solo la fidelidad de parte de todo bautizado. Existe una urgencia de volver a nuestro Pastor que nos inspira luz, animo, y sobretodo, consuelo en el sufrimiento. ¿Qué respuesta daremos? Sea cual sea la respuesta, nunca olv idemos que en la Eucaristía tocamos la presencia del Pastor que se hace alimento para el camino. ¡Entréguenosle el corazón sin reservas!

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