To print, click on the settings button located in this upper right corner ⇑

Caracas (Venezuela), Sr. Nícida Díaz Leal, April 30, 2023.- Love and care.

GOSPEL

John 10, 1-10

Truly I say to you, He who does not go through the door into the place where the sheep are kept, but gets in by some other way, is a thief and an outlaw. He who goes in by the door is the keeper of the sheep. The porter lets him in; and the sheep give ear to his voice; he says over the names of the sheep, and takes them out. When he has got them all out, he goes before them, and the sheep go after him, for they have knowledge of his voice. They will not go after another who is not their keeper, but will go from him in flight, because his voice is strange to them. In this Jesus was teaching them in the form of a story: but what he said was not clear to them. So Jesus said again, Truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and outlaws: but the sheep did not give ear to them. I am the door: if any man goes in through me he will have salvation, and will go in and go out, and will get food. The thief comes only to take the sheep and to put them to death: he comes for their destruction: I have come so that they may have life and have it in greater measure..

STUDY OF THE TEXT

In the text, Jesus is not only the shepherd, but he is also the door through which the sheep must necessarily pass. “He who enters through the gate is a shepherd of the sheep. To him, the gatekeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice; and he calls his sheep one by one." “I am the gate of the sheep” (V2.7b). Also, Jesus is abundant life "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly" (V10).

The shepherd faithfully lives his mission, is vigilant, accompanies, walks with the sheep, cares for them, protects them, knows them, and loves them. His voice is unmistakable, his love is a personalized love: he knows his sheep. He gives them his life so that they live fully.

The sheep know that they are guarded and loved by their shepherd whom they know, listen to his voice, and follow him.
The door is one of welcome and freedom: the sheep can come and go. “I am the door; if one enters through me, he will be safe; it will go in and out and find grass” (V9).

We ask ourselves who are the sheep and who is the shepherd?

Between the shepherd (Jesus) and the sheep (us) fraternal, constituent, and free relationships are woven, these dynamics open space for the process of authenticity and personalization to take place, where each one learns to live human, fully human, and divinely human.

Human: as humans, we need others to grow, love, and feel loved; to serve and give life. In short, the human person is not conceived if not in constant reference to others. (Conf. Gen 2, 18-23; C 5). Being human is an urgent learning; One only grows in alterity, it means, in the relationship, in the encounter with others.

Fully human: This means taking my life into my own hands, becoming the subject of my own history, and discovering that I am not a number, a part, a member of a community, a group, or a family, but a person capable of living in fidelity, freedom and responsibility the commitment assumed, aware that nothing and no one can replace my decision to take my life into my own hands.

Divinely human: The process of recognizing ourselves as human and fully human, disposes us to integrate our life in God, to the point of saying, "I no longer live, it is Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2, 20). It is a process that can only be achieved when the determining factor in our life is our personal relationship with the living God, who gives us life and life in abundance.

MEDITATION “I am the door; If someone enters through me, they will be safe"

In contemplative silence and in the light of Jn 10,1-10, let us evoke our General Rules, where we find attitudes that help us to live shepherding in the different services we perform: charity, obedience, tenderness and vigilance, gentleness , fraternal correction, inclusion, prudence, patience, kindness and modesty, prayer for each other, and with each other. All these attitudes are opening the door that allows the communities, and in it each sister, to live listening to the voice of the One who calls us, knows us and wants to give us His Life so that ours may be full and abundant for share it in the unconditionality of love.

We give our grateful hearts to God for having inspired in Marie Poussepin the art of shepherding her community in simplicity and humility, and leaving in our hands the continuity of her work, following "the life that Our Lord led on earth" (R I)

PRAYER"I have come that they may have life"

Oh God, give us the strength and grace of your Spirit so that our communities, like Jesus and Marie Poussepin, are an open door for all those lost, discarded, heartbroken, sore, desperate little sheep because they cannot find where to lay their heads. Communities that offer the fraternal and merciful embrace of a God who goes out to meet his sons and daughters to make them human, fully human, divinely human until reaching full life.

CONTEMPLATION