In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus calling himself the “good shepherd.” He explains that when a shepherd is hired to take care of someone else’s sheep they take no ownership. At the first sign of trouble, the shepherd runs and leaves the sheep to fend for themselves. However, the good shepherd knows his sheep and they know Him, and He will lay down his own life for the sheep. He acknowledges that some sheep do not belong to the common fold. However, Jesus will lead them just as well, and in times of trouble and despair they too will hear His voice.

Throughout my life, I have come to face many hardships. I have unfortunately lost a lot of close family members, and struggled to make new friends wherever I went. However, I always felt God was there. In fact, God was the only constant thing in my life. No matter what I was going through, I knew there was someone who understood  me and was listening to me when I prayed. When I came to Neumann, I was blessed to be involved in the community and make such life long friends. Jesus never lost sight of me. This year has been especially hard on countless people across the world and it has been very difficult for many to find even a glimmer of hope. Sometimes He can be hard to find, but I find solace in the signs that show us He is still with us. The extraordinary efforts of creating multiple vaccines in record time, and the fact that we are still here gathering in the Chapel to celebrate Mass are two signs that tell me God is still here in our hearts.

I know everyone has gone through times of sadness and despair not only in the past year, but maybe a few times throughout their life as well. But I cannot express enough that God is here present in each and every one of our lives’. There are many people who feel lost and cannot see the signs of His presence. In this week’s second reading we hear a line that defines our faith so perfectly and gives hope to those people who may have lost it. “ What we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is.” When we describe our religion, we usually use a particular word. This word is even said by priests during mass. We describe our religion and what we believe in as faith. Now this is completely intentional. Faith is defined as complete trust or confidence in someone or something. However, John is telling us in the second reading that we do not know or fully understand God, yet one day we will. And that is what our faith is. We believe in a loving and understanding God that sent His only son to die for our sins because even though He knows us, there is nothing more that God wants than for us to know Him as well, even though we have not seen God.  When listening to the Liturgy of the Eucharist, you will hear the priest speak the words that Jesus spoke to his Apostles on the eve of his crucifixion at the Last Supper. We are told that Jesus drank from the cup of wine, gave it to his Disciples saying this is my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant. You see, by laying down his life, Jesus began a new covenant with God and His people. He promised that whoever were to turn to him would find love and forgiveness. As I stated earlier in my reflection, tonight’s Gospel reminds just how important Jesus’ death and resurrection was. It reminds us that no man could ever take the life of Jesus Christ and that he knowingly and willingly gave it up not only for just those people who choose to live in the path of Christ but for the whole flock, all of mankind.

Through all the difficult times of my life, this is what got me through it. God was always there because he has never broken the covenant he made to us over two thousand years ago. It can be hard to find signs that He is with us especially in times of darkness. I challenge everyone who reads this reflection to open their eyes and their hearts and hear the voice of the good shepherd because there is no doubt that He still sees and hears us.