Early life experiences teach us much about the value and importance of our name. In today's Gospel we hear the Lord Jesus tell his followers that sheep learn to recognize the voice of the shepherd. They will not follow a stranger's voice. In the rite of patism the very first question put to the parents is, "What name do you give your child?" In a sense we learn to hear our name called by GOD from the moment of our rebirth in the water of baptism. The Lord Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is constantly at our side. He calls us each by name, beckoning us to a deeper relathionship with him. That call, issued to each of us at the moment of our baptism, carries with it the promise of the Good Shepherd: "I came so that they may have life and have it more abundantly." Every Sunday we gather as a community of faith to find strength and support from GOD. Each week we gather to break bread and offer the greta prayer of thanksgiving, actions that manifest the very presence of the risen Christ in our midst. Let any doubts melt away and be replaced by hopeful anticipation of encountering the Lord each week. |