By Fr. Rocco Marra, IMC
Acts 4: 8-12
This passage is a sequence of what was described in the last Sunday’s first reading. Peter had cured a cripple-from-birth and told the people that it was not by his own power that he did this, but through the power of Jesus of Nazareth.
The word of Jesus: “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities: do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Lk.12:11-12) became reality with the preaching of the Apostles, after his resurrection.
1 John 3: 1-2
For the mystery of the Incarnation, we are children of God. That is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God a new relation is a reality among the human. The Grace of God, his Love, Mercy and Care became human experience. To test this divine newness, let us trust God as a child trusts his mother.
John 10: 11-18 The parable of the “Good Shepherd” is at the center of John’s Gospel.
Many of us like the image of Jesus Good Shepherd, carrying an injured sheep on his shoulders, because we know that He is always ready to go after us when we stray too far. John in this passage emphasizes the relation of Love between Jesus the Son and God the Father. The same Love is the one of Jesus, Good Shepherd, for his sheep. This Love, he showed to humanity on the Cross, dead and resurrection. Always, Jesus is accompanying the individual and the community journey of the people of Israel and of the nations of the earth.
Be friend of humanity as Jesus is.
Be a companion on his journey.
Be security in his struggles.
Be an inspiration in his uncertainties.
Be a consoler in his sufferings.
Touch the heart, the feeling of the most profound human reality.
Move with the caress of the Spirit.
Be a guide in his discernment.
Rejoice in his life’s choice.
Be a life giver for the birth of a new humanity.
“The joy of the Gospel, which makes us open to encountering God and our brothers and sisters, does not abide our slowness and our sloth. It will not fill our hearts if we keep standing by the window with the excuse of waiting for the right time, without accepting this very day the risk of making a decision. Vocation is today! The Christian mission is now! Each one of us is called – whether to the lay life in marriage, to the priestly life in the ordained ministry, or to a life of special consecration – in order to become a witness of the Lord, here and now”. (from the message of Pope Francis)