Gospel Reflections for May 7 2017
Be a Shepherd, not a sheep!
I grew up in Ventura County which used to have thousands of sheep in the hills right near our home.
One afternoon years ago, I watched a flock of sheep grazing peacefully on the hillside. Then I saw the shepherd stand up and simply start walking. All the sheep noticed him and immediately followed. No commands shouted or even sheep dogs at all. Why did that work?
That shepherd must have had a good track record of always finding the best grass and water. The sheep followed because they trusted they were in the hands of a professional who knew exactly what he was doing.
You are lucky if you have a wise “shepherd” in your own life who also knows where the good “food and water” that provide for your happiness is located. You will follow someone like that! You may have no idea what is in your future but you can trust Our Lord, the Good Shepherd, to lead to a good place. If you follow Him closely, and live and love as He has loved you, you will find that fulfillment and peace.
This week, we celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation for over 100 young people at St. Bruno. Confirmation is all about this Good Shepherd theme. Receiving Confirmation means so much more than deciding to a follower of Jesus. Your Baptism already started that journey. Confirmation means you will be a good shepherd yourself …and will lead others to Christ!
It is one thing to follow …and quite another to lead. Confirmation is about leadership, and guiding others to the person of Jesus and His Church.
Why would anyone do that? Honestly, our only motive is that we deeply believe that the person of Jesus and His Church is precisely that good food and water that nourishes souls for lasting happiness. Coming to Mass each week is a great way to receive that grace for yourself.
A powerful way to grow in faith is to try to explain it to someone else. It may be awkward at first but it gets easier with practice, and can deepen your own understanding quickly. You will find it brings a profound sense of joy to yourself …the same joy our Good Shepherd feels while guiding you every day.
Bring someone else to the Lord!
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
Our precious Jesus said ” Come follow me” and we are beautifully following our Jesus in love!!! Our Faith is sooooooooooooooo precious and we must share in love and lead others to our Jesus as you do Father Dave!! You are a loving good Shepherd leading us in love!! Dick and I will in love share our precious Jesus with others!!!Loveeeeeeeeeee it and loveeeeeeeee you!!!
Loveeeeeee, franca and Dick
Thank you!
Thanks Father Dave,
Your words , no matter how expressed, always bring me closer to Jesus, to my good Shepherd, that I can still have a little role in bringing the family together for Mass and brunch. This simple homily touched me very deeply today. I too took care of a few sheeps on a little hill on our farm growing up in Italy after WW2, as the eldest child born after my dad returned as a prisoner of war from No Africa . I remember how hard I had to work as a child to keep the sheeps together. I can’t believe how strong that memory is still today and it teaches me to never give up or give up on anybody for Jesus is always there with me.
Know that I do read your words every weekend though I may not always comment.
Thank you so much! I am glad you find my words helpful. Thank you also for sharing your post WWII memories.
I have been around Thousand Oaks long enough to have seen those sheep on the hills. How appropriate that the parish is called “St. Paschal Baylon”, who was a shepherd. Thank you for your reflection on the spiritual meaning of sheep and shepherds.
Yes, it was very meaningful that the Archdiocese named St. Paschal parish after a shepherd saint.
Hi Father Dave,
Most likely you know of Mother Miriam on Immaculate Heart radio here in California on 1260 A.M. radio. Raised in a Jewish family, she once remarked on her program that when we see the pictures of Christ carrying a lamb on his shoulder it is because when a Jewish shepherd went out to find that one stray sheep, he broke the legs of the sheep and had to carry the stray back that way to instill in it that lesson about the cost of straying. The .lamb does not stray again. I wondered if you’d ever heard of this explanation.
That comment on her program really made an impression on me and I never look at that familiar picture the same way since then. It’s as if the merciful Lord rescues us despite our sinfulness and is always hounding us to return to the fold. He shows us the way.
I am not actually familiar with that explanation.I rather like much more the example of the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son, who throws a wonderful party when the straying “sheep” returns home!
Being pre-Vatican II children, our cradle Catholic upbringing was a private relationship with God. We were never expected to be shepherds.. Attending the University classes, have made Pete and me more confident about our religion. Thank you Father Dave for being a good shepherd and teaching us to shepherd as well.
I can affirm that you are both wonderful shepherds!
What an inspiration are cradle Catholics to us who are converts! The Fowlers are an unending gift to our community.
I heartily agree!
I love this gospel, especially since it resonates so much with my life. I was baptized at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills. I also attended Good Shepherd Catholic School, which instilled in me strong Catholic values of hard work, charity and selflessness. For a time during my college years, I strayed from the Church to explore existentialism and remove myself from religion and other social constructs my anthropology professors had discussed in class. For a while I felt liberated and contented. That all changed the day I met my husband and I realized I wanted to be married in the Church. It just seemed innate as though I was being called by our Lord. After several daunting calls to local churches who would not marry us on a Sunday, we called St. Paschal of Baylon. Father Dave immediately availed himself to meet with Rick and I to discuss our marriage plans. I realized how out of touch with the Church I had been after many years and I felt ashamed, expecting rejection, but I found only acceptance and encouragement. Father Dave warmly received Rick and I and impressed us with his Thomas Aquinas approach to answering our faith-related questions. We were ecstatic and honored that Father Dave would marry us several months later. From that day forward, I attended mass every Sunday and enriched my faith taking classes in the University Series. Rick, who struggled with a long history of vascillating faith, found a sense of renewed purpose attending mass with me. This week, he will leave his job to care for his elderly father who is suffering from advanced dementia and Parkinson’s Disease. I anticipate it will be an opportune time for Rick to connect with his faith and foster a deeper connection with our Lord as he tends to his father, essentially becoming his father’s shepherd.
I am deeply humbled and honored by your message! Thank you for sharing it here. Please be assurred of my prayers for Rick’s father, and Rick’s role as a shepherd now. Beautiful message!