I've said it before, but it's the truth! These Sunday Readings were made for our time as a parish family, and praise Jesus for his comfort through them. Our Gospel from John this week says, "The sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." Fr. Krizner used to fondly talk about his time as a new Benedictine Monk in Boston before coming to St. Andrew's in Cleveland. Part of his duties were to tend the sheep and (no surprise), it was the joy of his life! One of the amazing things that he shared was that the sheep had many human onlookers, but only responded to the call of their shepherd. Anyone else who tried the same call signs and sounds had no success. This story strikes a tender chord in my heart for a number of reasons, among them being that no matter the noise and distractions of whatever may be going on in our lives on a personal or parish level, when the Shepherd calls, we'll know His voice.... we'll just know. When we "fix our eyes on Jesus" and go wherever he leads, we enter through his Gate of security and peace until, like Fr., we're led home.
In my imagination I like to think of Fr.'s first glimpse of heaven as a parallel to his monk/sheep story: that he's RUNNING with a body no longer broken or in pain, through a field of the most lush, green grass, playing with the lambs... and as he runs to the gate, the shepherd turns to greet him, and it's Jesus. God love you this week! ~Sara