There is a Longing

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. 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. The Father and I are one.” (John 10:27-30) Even though we have a short Gospel today, it's big enough to designate this day as Good Shepherd Sunday. According to the Collins Dictionary online, one of the definitions of a shepherd is, "One who protects, guides, or watches over a person or group of people." Jesus is our Shepherd who does indeed give us eternal life. Just as a shepherd in the field will do anything to protect his sheep, including risk & give up his life, Jesus did the same. Willingly, He suffered a violent death to save & protect us from our sins. How do we repay Jesus? Sadly, many times we don't. Our humanity encompasses our whole being & we often turn our backs to Him. We sh...

It's been said that the three times Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him are representative of the three times Peter denied Jesus during His Passion. Each inquiry into his love of Christ was a chance for Peter to redeem himself & fully accept the responsibility Jesus had bestowed upon him to lead as the first pope.  "Feed My lambs...Tend My sheep...Feed My sheep...Follow Me!" These directives, are not just for Peter, but are for all church leaders. I think of the bishop of our diocese & one of the great successes of his leadership. Since his installation as bishop in 2022, two of his primary focuses have been vocations & evangelization. That year saw no priestly ordinations in our diocese. In May 2023, we had one priest ordained & in May 2024, we had five. Next weekend, we will see three more ordained.  Since his installation as our bishop, the number of seminarians in our diocese has gone from 17 to 40. Vatican News even shared an article on this great achiev...