I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me. JN 10:14
First reading
ACTS 13:14,43-52 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
No one is excluded from God's plan of salvation in and through You, His Son, except those who want to be excluded.
What prompts cradle Catholics to leave the Church into which they were born? How extraordinarily privileged we are to have been born of Catholic parents and to be raised Catholic and yet so many of us turn our backs on the greatest gift we will ever receive.
While it is heartening to note that so many enter the Catholic Church it is also heartbreaking that so many leave her - some for the flimsiest of reasons, some through sheer ignorance of the faith, some, because they were sinned against gravely and have been wounded terribly by those whom they and their parents trusted.
Those of us who are aware of the great gift freely bestowed on us will be called to give a strict account of how we used this gift of faith. May we too, like Paul and Barnabas be uncowed, unafraid, and burning with zeal to do Your will and live the Good News of the Gospel powerfully so we too are a light to the nations. May we strive zealously to do our part to ensure that God's saving power reaches the ends of the earth.
Second reading
REVELATION 7:9,14-17 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
What a great and glorious destiny awaits all who believe in You, all who hope in You, all who trust You, and above all, all who love You.
We a signed, sealed, and marked for heaven by virtue of our baptism. We are drawn into the Covenant of Love that God has made with all who acknowledge You as their Lord and Savior. As Catholics, we have to actively and unceasingly live our faith in the public square by virtue of our lives. We must be a people who live the Beatitudes and our lives must be a sign of contradiction against the culture of death prevalent in the world.
Then and only then will be counted among those too numerous to count from every nation, race, tribe, and language standing before Your throne and offering You unending praise, thanksgiving, adoration, and worship.
Grant us O Lord, the courage that is required to belong to those who are steadfast in the time of great persecution and whose robes are washed white in the Blood of the Lamb.
JOHN 10:27-30 ©
My Soul's Beloved,
How blessed I am Lord to know You, to be called by Your Name, to hear Your Voice in the Church, in Your Word, and in all creation. To know You Lord is to cease to be anxious about anything in my life no matter what sorrow, what trouble, what tragedy, what loss, what cross is laid upon me if I lie still in Your arms I will be able to endure all with grace. You will always supply all I need to withstand and to become braver, stronger, wiser, and more amenable to God's will for my life.
It is the Father's will that I belong to You. It is the Father's will that I receive eternal life. It is the Father's will that no one will steal me from You.
Jesus said:
‘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.’
‘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.’
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