MY daily reflection and prayer:
Sunday , April 17, 2016
Fourth Sunday of Easter
The Sunday of Vocation
Dear my friends,
Here is the Gospel for us today according to St. John 10:27-30
Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
***
TODAY is the Vocation Sunday for us. We are praying thankfully especially for our vocation. First of all vocation for being the followers of Jesus Christ in the Catholic Church. Secondly, we thank to God for the special vocation of being priests and religious members.
These vocations make us all joy as proclaimed in the first reading today. Today’s first reading tells us that the people in Antioch were filled with joy.
In his Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudiu” (EG), Pope Francis encourages us writting, “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.” (EG 1)
Indeed, joy is the hallmark of Christianity. It is the gift of this Easter season that we’re still celebrating today. During this Easter season, the Church is reminding us to celebrate our joy in Jesus Christ. We are truly sunk in the joy of Jesus Christ’s resurrection.
Again, Pope Francis writes, “I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light, born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.”
Of course, we all have moments of suffering and sometimes they seem to last for a long time, more than 50 days of our Easter season. Joy, however, is possible in every situation, because it comes from the certaint experience that, we are infinitely loved by Jesus Christ.
The gospel today tells us about Jesus Christ who says, “I know my sheep and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.” This is our joy as Jesus says, “No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.”
So our joy is the certainty of being loved by God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. God himself loves us. His love cannot change. His love cannot let us down forever and ever.
In the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist we worship Jesus Christ who doesn’t promise an easy life but he always gives us true joy. He doesn’t say “You will never have problems. But you’ll never walk alone!”
Let’s pray: Lord Jesus Christ, you are the only Son of God. You are one with the Father, and in you we are happy and safe. In you we are loved. Thank you for your vocation as a Catholic and even as your priest. May we always trust in you now and forever. Amen.
Kredit foto: Ilustrasi (Ist)
