Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Monday of week 31 in Ordinary Time
Gospel John 10:11-16
This is the passage where Jesus gives us this great consolation that He is our good Shepherd. How beautiful that we Jesus as our good shepherd. He says that He knows His own and He lays down His life for us. This is true. Jesus gave up His life for us. But this relationship is not a one-way relationship. Jesus says, “I know my own and my own know me”. That means, we as His sheep must know Him, His voice, to follow Him. But often that’s not the reality because we are not in this logic of an interpersonal relationship. Faith in Jesus is entering into a dynamism of interpersonal relationship with Jesus. This is a dynamic, reciprocal relationship. Faith, then, is not simply believing in His existence or His teachings; it’s stepping into an ongoing, living relationship with Him. It calls us to move beyond mere religious practices and into a responsive, attentive connection where we seek to know Him more personally. In this relationship, faith becomes more than belief—it becomes a shared journey. This passage invites us to be in a continuous state of openness and awareness, truly living as His “sheep,” fully trusting and knowing that He has already laid down everything for us. Let’s reflect: In what ways am I actively cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus, truly listening for His voice and responding to it?
Don Giorgio