Apr 22, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of the 4th week of Eastertide
Saint George, Martyr
Gospel – John 10:22-30
“The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life; they will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me. The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone, and no one can steal from the Father. The Father and I are one”. In this passage we can find the whole dynamics of our relationship with God. Jesus became the Good Shepherd so that He can lead us to His Father. To be with the Father is the desire of Son. God the Father has given each one of us to Jesus, so the Jesus the Good Shepherd leads each one of us to the Father. When we understand the Jesus is the Good Shepherd, we will listen to His voice. And then we will follow Him. And He will give us eternal life and we will never be lost. Because we receive the life of the Good Shepherd and in His life we get the Eternal life and we will never be lost or no one can steal us from Him. This bond of relationship is what we have in our relationship with the Good Shepherd. And this dynamism begins from the unity between the Father and the Son. The will of Father to save us coincides with the will of the Son to give His life to save us. Let’s reflect: Easter is recognizing the voice of the Good Shepherd and following Him.
Apr 21, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of the 4th week of Eastertide
Gospel John 10:1-10
“I am the gate of the sheepfold”. Yesterday we celebrated the Sunday of the Good Shepherd where we meditated about Jesus being the Good Shepherd. But in this passage, we are finding out another identity of this Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd is not only a Shepherd but, in the sheepfold, He is the gate. When all the sheep return to the sheepfold, the Shepherd is not going to get rest as He was travelling with the sheep all day, but He becomes the gate of the sheepfold. This shows how much this Shepherd is connected to His sheep. Practically His life is a life with the sheep. In the sheepfold, He is the gate. He protects the sheep; He protects each one of us from being attacked by the thieves and brigands. He is the Shepherd in the field, and He is the gate in the sheepfold because the sheep belong to Him. There is a personal relationship between the sheep and the Shepherd. There is this personal relationship between Jesus and us. Let’s reflect: Easter is living the personal relationship between Jesus and me.
Apr 20, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
4th Sunday of Easter
Gospel – John 10:11-18
Good Shepherd Sunday
World Day of Prayer for Vocations
The image of Good Shepherd comes from this passage when Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep”. This passage is so beautiful when our relationship with Jesus Christ is explained in a personal relationship with Good Shepherd. A Shepherd who knows me and who is ready to lay down His life for me. Jesus loves me as I am as He knows me. He loves me as a shepherd. The shepherd has a protective love. A protective love which protects me from all my enemies. The love of the Shepherd is special because when the shepherd knows when a sheep is weak, he gives special attention. A shepherd is not judgemental. He loves the sheep as they are. The love of this shepherd is identified with his voice. His words, His voice, is the assurance of His presence. That is Jesus, the good Shepherd. A love which even the death can’t stop. A love which continues forever with Resurrection. Nothing can stop the love of this good Shepherd. Let’s reflect: Easter is recognizing the voice of Jesus, the good shepherd.
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/vocations/documents/20240421-messaggio-61-gm-vocazioni.html
Apr 20, 2024 | POSITIVE IMPULSES
It’s important to find out what we are. Only an encounter with God the Infinite you can discover who truly are! Because all our other encounters in our way with others, confine us to the schemes and frameworks of the one whom we meet. But with the Infinite, there are no schemes and frameworks, He is infinite, and He puts no limits in our unfolding into our truth. Only before the Infinite I can find the truth about myself. Encounters with the infinite lead us to confront the depths of our own being and understand our place in the grand scheme of existence. In these encounters, there’s a sense of liberation from the constraints of societal norms and personal limitations, allowing for a more authentic exploration of one’s truth. It’s transcending the limitations of our finite existence. It transcends our individual identity and fosters a profound sense of interconnectedness with the whole universe and all living beings. This interconnectedness is the foundation of compassion, empathy, and love. This liberation which gives us the glimpse of the truth about ourselves is discovery of our vocation.
Don Giorgio
Apr 19, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Saturday of the 3rd week of Eastertide
Gospel – John 6:60-69
“It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life”. This statement of Jesus made a great reaction among his disciples. According to the Gospel, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him. What is the reason? The reason is that Jesus said that the flesh has nothing to offer. Many of the disciples of Jesus who were following Him, wanted to see the victory of the flesh. The victory of one of the powers of this world gaining power over the rest. But the victory which Jesus speaks is completely different. This is the victory of the spirit. The victory of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Love. The victory of the flesh is power and strength, it’s about domination and muscle, it’s about command and authority. But the Spirit is about humility and service, it’s about selflessness and meekness, it’s about life and love. Jesus is the source of that. That is what Simon Peter is confessing, “Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we know that you are the Holy One of God.” Easter is recognizing Jesus as the source of Holy Spirit who is the source of life.
