To all mothers, your untiring, unconditional and sacrificial love is ever cherished with unalloyed gratitude. May Christ the Good Shepherd reward you all with abundant graces and blessings. I send my prayerful wishes and kind regards to you all today. Keep smiling!
Sunday Readings
The discordant, dissident, and cacophonic voices emanating from the masses and media have shut many off from hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd. We must filter out these many voices and listen advertently to the Voice that resonates and brings peace to our souls.
— Clem C. Aladi
My Dearest Friends in Christ,
I welcome you to yet another Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection. Today is a very special Sunday that reminds us of the urgency to listen to the Voice of the Shepherd and the need for us to be good shepherds of God’s Flock entrusted to our care. It is also a Mother’s Day in the US.
It is an unarguable fact that the people we listen to and the kind of information we assimilate, impact our decisions and actions in life and the type of activities in which we indulge. There is hardly anyone who has not at one point in his or her life, listened to the advice or directives of parents, friends, relatives, superiors, etc. In our world today, with technology creating such a variety of avenues of information dissemination, many people have become dependent on social media and mainstream media to make decisions about their life. We are in a generation that listens no longer to the Voice of the Shepherd but the lies of the masses/media and this explains why many have been led astray. If we are to become good shepherds of God’s flock, we must listen to the Voice of the truth which is the voice of the Shepherd. If we want to approach Christ we must listen to the Father. “Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from Him comes to Me. ( cf. John 6:45) Those who don’t listen go astray. Christ our Good Shepherd speaks to us through His Words in the Bible, through His Church, and through people around us who have the fear of God.
The religious leaders in the first reading were filled with jealousy and contradicted what Paul and Barnabas had preached. In other words, They refused to listen to the voice of these shepherds and deprived themselves of the opportunity to be saved. Like those leaders, many do not want to be told the Truth. They would rather persecute anyone that challenges them with the Truth. When we harden our hearts and close our ears from accepting the message of the Gospel we drift into immorality, egoism, and selfishness that ruin our lives. The salvation of the Gentiles came with their listening, openness, and acceptance of the truths of the gospel.
We listen to learn and faith comes from hearing. (cf. Rom.10:17) There is no doubt that there are many bad shepherds just as there are bad parents, friends and relatives. To be a good shepherd, one must first listen in obedience to the Voice of the Shepard. A child that does not listen to the parents, or a student that does not listen to the teachers can never be a good adult or good teacher. Good shepherding is a responsibility that is seriously diminishing in the egoistic and materialistic society of today. “In the quest to satisfy their desires, ambitions and needs many people today tend to think more of themselves than care about those around them.”
Characteristically, good shepherding implies an altruistic and not an egoistic disposition. Jesus the Risen Lord exemplified such an altruistic disposition by offering Himself to die for His flock. Jesus is the Good Shepherd in obedience to the Voice of the Father and in turn, delivers to us the message from the Father. We are called to imitate His example.
A distinction needs to be made between
good shepherds and hired laborers. In the Old Testament God lamented the bad shepherds, “Doom for the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed and scattered.”(Jer 23:1) “Trouble for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shepherds ought to feed their flock.” (Ez 34:2) This distinction between good shepherds and hired laborers helps us to reflect deeply on our various vocations. Anyone, who has someone or some people entrusted to their care, by way of their trade, employment, volunteer work, or vocation is called to be a shepherd. Experience has shown that not everyone discharges their duties with the compassion, disposition, patience, tolerance, availability and meekness of a good shepherd. Many prey upon, instead of praying for those entrusted to their care. For many, their motive is far from caring for others, but on wages. These uncaring people work as hired laborers who have no sympathy nor affection for those they serve. They lack the commitment to their duties. When they fulfill those duties it is because the wages are attractive. Look at what is happening in the sphere of public service today. We have leaders who care more about themselves and their family than those they lead. Is this not one of the causes of the bad leadership in the world today? In the business sphere, we live in a world where surveillance cameras and technological equipment are deployed to monitor and checkmate excesses from those working in various institutions.
In whatever position you find yourself, be a good shepherd. Let us also be good sheep in our parish communities. Let us be sheep that listen to the voice of their shepherds and jointly participate in building up the Church of God. Let us pray always for more vocations to the diaconate, priesthood, and religious life so that God will in every generation find worthy pastors and ministers of His Church.
May we eschew every form of selfish ambition in religious and civil service. Every opportunity to work, lead and teach is a call to serve others. “There is joy and fulfillment in our work when we truly offer ourselves in sincere service to others as good shepherds.” May God strengthen you as you care for others and may the Good Shepherd reward you unceasingly.
I keep you and your family always in my prayers. ©Clem C. Aladi (2024)
