What Do You Wish To Find?
“Easter Egg hunts are proof that your children can find things when they really want to.” ~ Unknown
Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter. We are well into the Easter Season and we reflect upon the joy that was won for us by Christ’s resurrection from the dead. The Church positions itself to celebrate that Easter Joy for several weeks (until the celebration of Pentecost). I think one of the main reasons it does so is to remind us of what we should be celebrating each day of our lives.
Sadly, our human nature often distracts us from our spiritual lives. Our human nature tends to lean more toward the tangible than the intangible. Our human nature wants what it can see, touch, or taste. We need to get our senses involved in order to make things “real” for ourselves.
Our spirituality, itself, is a sense of sorts. We are, after all, souled creatures. Our souls yearn for God and our souls do their best to steer us clear of the hazards of this life in order to keep us on the path to God. Our souls hear the voice of God calling us to deeper relationship with Him. Our souls, however, often get overruled by our physical senses. That is why we need someone to help guide us in life.
Today is often called Good Shepherd Sunday. In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus declare Himself as the gate through which the sheep enter. He told us that He would shepherd His sheep, providing for them and caring for them. He would give them the access they desired with the rest of the flock.
We all desire access to the Kingdom of God. As I stated earlier, our souls dearly long for that. We need the direction of others at times in our lives so that we might remain on the path that leads to the Kingdom. God has given us all shepherds to lead and guide us.
We pray in a special way this day for Pope Francis who has been entrusted to shepherd the universal Roman Catholic Church and for our bishop, Robert, who has been selected to shepherd the flock of the Diocese of Gary. May God pour his abundant graces upon them as they continue to lead us.
It would behoove us to pray, as well, for our very local shepherds, our priests, that God keep them strong in their faith and provide them the insight and wisdom that they need to guide us. We pray for the deacons who assist our priests and we pray for our seminarians as they discern the call to priesthood. God calls us to faithfulness. Let us do our best to respond to His call that we might find ourselves entering His Kingdom along with the rest of His flock.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for all who shepherd God’s flock, that they remain faithful to their call.