Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 42
John 10:1-10
Worship Song
Entrance
Antiphon
Christ now
raised from the dead will never die again’ death has no longer power over him,
alleluia. (Romans 6:9)
Opening Prayer
Father,
through the obedience of Jesus, your servant and your Son, you raised a fallen
world. Free us from sin and bring us the joy that lasts forever.
Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia. I am the good
Shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me. Alleluia, alleluia.
(John 10:14)
I Am the Gate
1“Amen, amen, I say to
you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold* through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a
robber. 2But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the
sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has driven out all his
own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. 5But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” 6Although Jesus used this figure of
speech, they did not realize what he
was trying to tell them. 7So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep. 8All who came [before me] are thieves and
robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9I am the gate. Whoever enters
through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so
that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
Reflection
[Jesus said,]
“I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and
go out and find pasture.” ~ v. 9
When I saw
Derek, I knew right away that he was going through a hard time. He tried to
avoid me, but I stopped him and asked what was wrong. He didn’t want to talk
about it, but I knew he needed help, so I got him to sit down and talk it out.
“But Derek,” I said, “the Lord is guiding you through this.” All I got in
return was a blank stare. So I tried a different twist. “Derek, God loves you.”
Nothing again. No wonder he didn’t want to talk to me. All I had to offer was
the standard religious line. “Gee, this must be really difficult for you.” He
lifted his eyes a little and said, “Yeah, it is.” I asked him, “What are you
going to do?” He turned to me and said, “I don’t know.” I said, “Wanna go to
lunch and talk about it?” He said, “Sure.”
The gate to
Derek’s heart was love, not answers.
Prayer Response
Dear Jesus,
you always guide me to love. It was your love for me that first opened my heart
to your presence in my life. Your love sustains me and heals me every day. You
call me to love others as you love me. Teach me the ways of your love. Help me
always to lead others to you through love.
Suggested Action
Find somebody
in your life today who needs a good dose of love. Love that person the best way
you know how.
Credits: Fr.
Paul Boudreau, Between Sundays
Silencing
We
cannot know God unless we have listened to him in the silence of our hearts.
Rest in the loving arms of the Lord with an open mind and an open heart.
“I shall pass
through this world but once. Any good that I can do, or any kindness that I can
show to any human being, let me do it now. For I shall not pass this way
again.” ~ Stephen Grellet
No comments:
Post a Comment