Happy Easter! I pray that these weeks celebrating our Lords resurrection have been filled with many graces and joys.
I've been hearing nothing but good things about Father Graham, who graciously agreed to substitute while I was away. Thank you for your support of him as he visited our parishes to celebrate the last couple of Sundays with us.
For those who have raised or dealt with sheep, the parables of the Good Shepherd may bring some mixed feelings – because it turns out that sheep just aren't that bright of animals! Those who attend sheep find the limits of their patience tested, sometimes less successfully than others.
When we consider our humble designation as the Lords flock, we might in that same humility recognize some similarities between ourselves and often clueless sheep.
Yet how patient the Lord is with us, whom He has chosen to be His own. To spend too much time lamenting our sheepy (sheepish?) nature is to miss the point. Rather we are invited to exult in the joys of haven been chosen. Not only that, but chosen by a shepherd who has braved the pains and sorrows that we suffer so that we might be more than we are now.
In the midst of our struggles, we often forget to look at the great success of Christ's Passion, Death and Resurrection! May we use the celebration of Easter to be renewed in the joy of being loved by Jesus.