Fourth Sunday of Easter (John 10:1-10)
Today, we are presented with the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The Risen Lord is ‘the way, the truth and the life’.
Jesus comes ‘so that we may have life and have it to the full’. The Easter season is a prolonged celebration of the gift of life which we received from the moment of Baptism, and the anticipation of our full sharing in it in the life to come.
How effective is the image of Jesus as the ‘good shepherd’?
Does the evangelist’s use of images confuse or enlighten you?
Pray Psalm 22 (23) and ask for a deeper awareness that ‘the Lord is my shepherd’.
We support by our prayer all those called to priesthood and the religious life.
Fifth Sunday of Easter (John 14:1-12)
Thomas asks about the way to the place where Jesus is going. ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’ says Jesus. The words of Jesus in John’s gospel constantly underline that in him truth and life are to be found. Philip. On the other hand, is impatient to see the Father. Jesus’ reply echoes the constant teaching of this gospel that ‘the only Son has made God known’. Both the answer to our searching and the satisfaction of our longing are found in Christ. To know Jesus is to know the Father. To see Jesus is to see the Father.
Do I recognise Jesus as the Way or do I reduce him to a talented prophet and healer?
How often do I give In to despondency and anxiety?
Pray for a deeper faith in the person of Jesus, our Lord and our God.
Pray for confidence in the continuing presence of Jesus in his Church.
Sixth Sunday of Easter (John 14:15-21)
In the speeches of Jesus his references to the Spirit prepare us to celebrate the feast of Pentecost., which concludes the Easter season.
‘Love one another as I have loved you’. This Spirit-inspired love, shown in living he commandments and loving the brothers and sisters, keeps us fully alive in the new life of the Risen Jesus, drawing us deeper into the life of the father.
These precious words of Jesus are like a symphony in which the different themes are played and played again in their various forms. The words of Jesus, with the Eucharist and the priesthood, are treasured parting gifts of the Lord to his friends, gifts which maintain his presence in a troubled and unbelieving world.
Which of these words of Jesus speak to you most powerfully?
How might you be more prepared to receive the Spirit of truth?
Pray that you may experience the bond every disciple has with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Pray for all those who seek to bring God’s love to a suffering world. Fr Adrian Graffy