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Monday, May 8, 2017

Called by name




Jesus calls each of us by name. I have been hearing Jesus call me by name and ask me, "Helen, do you love me?" Then, with a commentary by Michael Simone, S.J. on the Fourth Sunday of Easter published in America, I began to think of what it really means to be called by name. Here is the quote that started my own reflection:
"When Jesus calls his followers personally, this summons transforms them and also gives them a place in the community of disciples. This is how Jesus fulfilled his duty to heal and restore the flock."
I am staying with the image of the Good Shepherd as I have so often experienced Jesus as a good Shepherd who has gone looking for me and when I have been too far away, He has carried me tenderly back and is with me always.
The commentary on the readings I quoted above is titled: "I will call you each by name." At the end, Simone says: "It is time to reflect on our own efforts to live Jesus' mission. We do Christ's work when people encounter us as trustworthy guides and not as strangers...Just as Christ heals, protects and provides for us, so too must we for a scattered and anxious world.

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