Blessed on This Good Shepherd Sunday by My Father! I Hear His Voice, I Listen and Follow Only Him!

 


We are truly blessed on this Good Shepherd Sunday by our Father! Especially when we hear His voice and listen and follow only Him. Listen to Him, know His voice, follow Him, He will protect you, look after His flock, care for you, love you as one of His own when you obey and listen only to Him! What a beautiful message to keep in mind always about our Father!  Today I feel like Paul and Barnabas, when they were expelled  from a territory they were not accepted by those people, so they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium. The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. Although my spouse and I are often mistreated, even by the man of the clothe, who ignore, avoid, and dismiss us, we feel like Paul, Barnabas, and Jesus when they are expelled, betrayed, or dismissed by others like Peter and Judas,  you thought they would be the ones to welcome you and shepherd you, but they didn't, how sad for humanity, but humans are human, they are not God! We need to only recognize God, he is our Good Shepherd always there for us, never to forsake us, like humans will.  For I know that "the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” We need to listen to Him always, trust in Him, and only follow Him alone! We need to listen and trust and know His will be done, not ours!  We are His people, the sheep of His flock! Jesus died for our sins, it is already been defeated and we no longer have to worry about anything anymore, no enemy has any power over us! So every force against us has been defeated by Jesus, He is now our Shepherd and He looks over His flock! The Gospel this week is short and very powerful, it says, "Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” I am awakened and filled by the Holy Spirit in Christ. All we need to do is listen and trust in our Father!    I am so blessed to be one of God's sheep! 



Fourth Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 51



Reading I
Acts 13:14, 43-52

Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga
and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered the synagogue and took their seats.
Many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them
and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.
On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered
to hear the word of the Lord.
When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy
and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.
Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,
“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,
but since you reject it
and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,
we now turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us,
I have made you a light to the Gentiles,
that you may be an instrument of salvation
to the ends of the earth.”
The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this
and glorified the word of the Lord.
All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,
and the word of the Lord continued to spread
through the whole region.
The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers
and the leading men of the city,
stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas,
and expelled them from their territory.
So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them,
and went to Iconium.
The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.



Responsorial Psalm
Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5
R (3c) We are His people, the sheep of His flock.



or:
R Alleluia.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
            serve the LORD with gladness;
            come before him with joyful song.
R  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R  Alleluia.
Know that the LORD is God;
            he made us, his we are;
            his people, the flock he tends.
R  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R  Alleluia.
The LORD is good:
            his kindness endures forever,
            and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.
or:
R  Alleluia.


Reading II
Revelations 7:9, 14b-17

I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
Then one of the elders said to me,
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
            “For this reason they stand before God’s throne
                        and worship him day and night in his temple.
            The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
            They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
                        nor will the sun or any heat strike them.
            For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne
                        will shepherd them
                        and lead them to springs of life-giving water,
                        and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
 

Alleluia
John 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.



Gospel
John 10:27-30

Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”



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