"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."

"The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty." Abraham Lincoln

(Scripture Text: 1 Jn 4:7-10)

Beloved, let us love one another,

because love is of God;

everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

In this way the love of God was revealed to us:

God sent his only-begotten Son into the world

so that we might have life through him.

In this is love:

not that we have loved God, but that he loved us

and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

The world is filled with “sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36), the educated and the uneducated, the rich and the poor alike. Today, people respond to the idea that they need God as their shepherd in various ways. Some responses are unthinking and uncharitable: apathy, escapism, criticism, condemnation, exploitation, etc.

Look around you. Where are the sheep Jesus has put in your life?

Are they sitting at your dinner table, sharing your bedroom, in neighboring cubicles, houses, or pews? You can respond to them unthinkingly and uncharitably, or you can respond as Jesus did by loving them, as well as by putting gospel values into action.

We all know how easy it is to love the ones who love us back. But what about those people who disagree with our political views or who consider us backwards and old-fashioned? What about those people who rub us the wrong way or who have hurt us? Yes, we have to love them as well!

The only way we can show this kind of love is by embracing God’s love, by letting his perfect love “filter out” the harmful, toxic reactions we have to people we may not like. His love softens our hearts. It binds up our wounds. It heals our memories. It teaches us to love and to forgive. The same love that moved Jesus to the cross can move us to put to death resentment, indifference, hatred, and anger.

It would be nice if we could have a simple three-step method to overcome our lack of love in just one week. But it’s not so easy.

We need to seek God’s love and immerse ourselves in a daily pray life and frequent reception of the Sacraments (Eucharist and Reconciliation). The changes we seek may not happen right away, but they WILL happen. We may even find ourselves still struggling with a couple of difficult situations a year from now. But one thing we can be sure of: if we try our best to seek God’s love, He WILL find us. And as we are found by the Lord, we WILL become a channel of God’s love to the world around us.

The “sheep” are waiting for your response. "God's flock is in your midst; give it a shepherd's care" (1 Pt 5:2). Jesus said: " 'Do you love Me?' Teach and 'feed My sheep' " (Jn 21:17).

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.”

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. 
Martin Luther King, Jr.

(Gospel Text: Mt 4:12-17, 23-25)

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,

he withdrew to Galilee.

He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,

in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet

might be fulfilled:

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles,

the people who sit in darkness

have seen a great light,

on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death

light has arisen.

From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,

“Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

He went around all of Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,

and curing every disease and illness among the people.

His fame spread to all of Syria,

and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases

and racked with pain,

those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics,

and he cured them.

And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea,

and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

In today’s gospel reading, the prophet Isaiah was quoted from the Old Testament «The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in the land of the shadow of death, a light has shone» (Mt 4:16).

Many of us like to think that God’s presence manifested itself more in the past than it does now. We so easy forget that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). There was never a time in history where it was easy to be a practicing Catholic.

The sacraments of the Church and fostering a daily prayer life grant us pardon and peace and an opportunity to participate, once again, in the works of God in the world of today.

The forces arrayed against Christianity have always been daunting.  It seems as though the average person has no power or influence to change things for the better.  However, the Christian is not called to be "average," but to be a saint.

Don’t miss the opportunity!

“We are not yet standing in the full light but walking toward it full of trust.”

I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain. - Blessed John Henry Newman

(Gospel Text: Mt 2:1-12)

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,

in the days of King Herod,

behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,

“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?

We saw his star at its rising

and have come to do him homage.”

When King Herod heard this,

he was greatly troubled,

and all Jerusalem with him.

Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,

He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,

for thus it has been written through the prophet:

And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

since from you shall come a ruler,

who is to shepherd my people Israel.”

Then Herod called the magi secretly

and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.

He sent them to Bethlehem and said,

“Go and search diligently for the child.

When you have found him, bring me word,

that I too may go and do him homage.”

After their audience with the king they set out.

And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,

until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.

They were overjoyed at seeing the star,

and on entering the house

they saw the child with Mary his mother.

They prostrated themselves and did him homage.

Then they opened their treasures

and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,

they departed for their country by another way.

In their homeland, the Magi saw a great star at its rising. Greatly impressed, they set out on their journey to follow the star to greet the newborn King at Whom they believed the star pointed. After they had traveled for a time, they could no longer see the star. They were past the point of no return, and were not sure where God was now leading them. But the Magi did not give up on God's leading; they did not quit and return back home.

Have you ever started on a journey of faith?

When Jewish psychiatrist Victor Frankl was arrested by the Nazis in World War II, he was stripped of all of his personal possessions.  He had spent years researching and writing a book on the importance of finding meaning in life, concepts that would later become known as logotherapy. When he arrived in Auschwitz, the infamous death camp, even the manuscript hidden in the lining of his coat was taken away. Later, as Frankl reflected on his ordeal, he wrote in his book, Man's Search for Meaning, "There is nothing in the world that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions, as the knowledge that there is a meaning in one's life . . .'He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.'"

If you're in this situation, the Magi are a model for you. Persevere in trust, as they did, and believe that God will guide you in the proper time. "Walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7).

The quest of the Magi reminds us that God is truly with us.  Sometimes during our journey, clarity disappears and we begin to doubt. 

Let us remember that Jesus is always with us. 

“It is not hard to obey when we love the one whom we obey”

”Naturally we all have an inclination to command, and a great aversion to obey; and yet it is certain that it is more for our good to obey than to command; hence perfect souls have always had a great affection for obedience, and have found all their joy and comfort in it.”--Saint Francis of Sales, Doctor of the Church

(Gospel text: Jn 1:43-51)

Jesus decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip.

And Jesus said to him, “Follow me.”

Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.

Philip found Nathanael and told him,

“We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law,

and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

But Nathanael said to him,

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,

“Here is a true child of Israel.

There is no duplicity in him.”

Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered and said to him,

“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

Nathanael answered him,

“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Jesus answered and said to him,

“Do you believe

because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?

You will see greater things than this.”

And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

you will see the sky opened and the angels of God

ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

“Follow me.”

All of Christianity comes down to this: Follow Jesus.

It is so simple, yet we make is so complicated. Follow Jesus where?  Follow Jesus when?  Am I already following Jesus?  Or am I walking down my own path?  Will he let me know if I am not following him?  Who or what do I have to leave to follow him? 

Will our response be to question Jesus when he does call, or will it be to have faith and to just go where he leads?

As I read and reflect on this Gospel story/parable that John writes, I could interpret how easily one person, Philip, responded to follow Christ; he did so even when questioned and challenged by Nathanael.

Do each of us respond as easily as Philip?

Jesus will come to meet us like he does Phillip and Nathanael, often in ways we do not expect, and will call us to follow him. 

How fully we respond to that call will determine everything.