God is our Shepherd, who Pastures Us, Protects Us and Commissions Us to Do Likewise

In today's Entrance antiphon, we pray:  "I will look after my sheep, says the Lord, and I will appoint a shepherd to pasture them, and I, the Lord, will be their God."  In the second alternative  we pray:  "This is the steward, faithful and prudent, [St. Alphonsus Liguori, today's saint] whom the Lord set over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time."

The sheep over whom God watches include all of God's creatures: human beings, animals, fishes of the sea, birds of the air, all of the galaxies, each element of the universe.  No one  and no thing is excluded!  Every one and every thing that exists is here by God's creative will and love.  And all of creation reflects God's nature, God's beauty, God's strength, God's initiative, God's creativity, God's love, God's life! All we need to do is look and listen, contemplative and meditate upon what is and God will reveal Himself to open minds, open hearts, open wills!  How open am I to God's revelation in all that He brought into being and all with whom I  share this universe?

God's message from the trees might be: Look! You have the same strength we have to weather storms, to shelter those in need of protection, to bring about a balance in the universe, to create, to be of use in a way that no other can be! The animals that roam the face of the earth, the birds that fly in our sky, the fishes that swim in our bodies of water may say to us:  Look! You have the same agility that we have, the same strength to find and share food as we do, the same compassion and love for your own as we do, the same "wisdom" to ward off danger as we do for ourselves and our offspring!  Plants and animals, birds of the air and fishes of the sea may remind us that the same God that cares for them cares for us!

Truly, God looks after his "sheep"--all of them! He "pastures" all of us! He is God of all!

Let us, like St. Alphonsus Liguori, give other "their allowance" of food, both spiritual and physical, emotional and psychological that is need to thrive, to be creative and effective stewards of God's many graces!

Witnesses of the Risen One

Today we celebrate the conversion of St. Paul the Apostle.  Saul is on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them in chains to prison to be punished for following Jesus. On the way to Damascus when, nearing the city, Saul is knocked off his horse and hears a voice saying to him:  "'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'"  Saul asks:  "Who are you, sir?"  The voice responds: "I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting!"  Saul asks: "What should I do,sir?"  Jesus responds:  "Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do."  

Do you and I realize that the way we treat another person is how we are treating Jesus the Nazorean?  Do we realize, in fact, that we are Jesus in the world!  First of all, if we realized that other persons are Jesus, we certainly would, I believe,  treat them with respect and love; and, second of all, knowing that we, too, are Jesus in the world would we not then do as Jesus did: reach out to the poor, the oppressed, say healing words to the sick and crippled, the troubled and distressed?  Would we not, then, seek ways to bring light into the darkness of another person's life, hope into areas of hopelessness, love where there is hatred and forgiveness to those whom we have hurt or who may  have hurt us?

Like Saul, baptized Paul, the Lord says to us through others:  "Get up and go (to wherever we are being called) and there you will be told about everything appointed for you to do."  And, also like Saul, we often need others to restore our sight, as Ananias did for Saul at God's bidding.  Sight restored, we will be able to recognize what God is asking of us and how we, too, are called to be His witnesses in the world around us.