YOU ARE BOTH A SHEPHERD AND A SHEEP

 Saturday, February 4, 2023
BVM on Saturday
Office: Memorial. Psalter Week 4

First Reading.  Hebrews 13: 15-17, 20-21
Psalm.. 23: 1-6 (R. 1)
Gospel. Mark 6: 30-34

TOPIC FOR REFLECTION 

YOU ARE A SHEPHERD AND A SHEEP 
I guess we all know that the word shepherd used for a person who takes sheep (animals) out for pasture, and bring them back home. 
So, Jesus is regarded as a shepherd who had come down from heaven to gather us together, feed us with heavenly banquet and to lead us back home to heaven. 
Therefore, with the above brief explanation, we could simply apply the word shepherd to all aspects of our human activities. 

So... 
As the head of a family.........  You are a shepherd. 
As the head of your places of work.....  You are a Shepherd 
As the head of any societyyou may belong to....... You are a shepherd 
As the head of a Church..... You are a Shepherd. 

On the contrary, we all are under one person's authority or another, and that also qualifies us to become a sheep. 
Invariably, no one is a Shepherd without being a sheep, and no one is absolutely a sheep without being a Shepherd, no matter how little. 

Today's first reading emphasizes both the duties of a leader who is also a Shepherd, and that of the followers who  is also a sheep. 

As a Shepherd...
*** Never to get tired of doing good 
*** Never neglect one another 
*** Be charitable constantly 
*** Lead the people joyfully
*** Acknowledge God always 
Remember, you will give account of your activities. 

To the sheep... 
*** Obey your leaders and be submissive 
*** Do not make your leaders sad 
*** Do not take advantage of your leaders weaknesses. 
*** Be obedient and accept correction with love. 

More so, in the Gospel, Jesus and His disciples could not have private time to rest, rather Jesus sacrificed His rest to attend to the crowd. 

He said He felt for them, because they are like a sheep without a Shepherd. 
Jesus, our master is a great shepherd we must emulate. We need to learn to sacrifice for one another we are all intertwined in this life. 

Truly we need to observe rest as Jesus demand in the Gospel, but our time for rest should not over shadow our sacrificial charitable activities to one another. 

Peace ✌️ be with you. 

Rev. Fr. Segun Oladeji, CRS. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DO YOU KNOW WHY AND HOW JESUS OVERCAME HIS TEMPTATION?

Image
 Sunday, February 26, 2023. FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT (A) First Reading. Genesis 2: 7-9; 3: 1-7 Psalm. 51: 3-6, 12-14, and 17 (R. cf. 3a) Second Reading. Romans 5: 12- 19 Gospel. Matthew 4: 1-11 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  YOUR DESIRE IS YOUR TEMPTATION.  Do you know why JESUS did not fall into temptation? It is because...  1. He is divine and not of the flesh; remember, only flesh is tempted and not the Spirit.  2. He came from Heaven, and not from the earth.  3. He is in the world, but not of the world.  4. All that exists on earth was created THROUGH HIM, AND WITH HIM, AND IN HIM. So, how can what he creates tempt Him the creator? 5. He came to save and to teach us how to be saved, by extension, how to overcome temptation.  I will like to quickly remind us that all temptations in life fall under 3 categories. They are...  1. PLEASURE  2. POWER  3. POSSESSION.  Jesus was tempted by these 3 categories.  They are as follows:  1. The temptation of pleasure: Turn these stones into bread. Jesus did
Read more

IF JESUS WAS BAD, CAN YOU FOLLOW HIM?

Image
 *Sunday, October 22, 2023*  29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A  *MISSION SUNDAY*  First Reading. Isaiah 45: 1, 4-6 PSALM 96: 1, 3-5, 7-10 (R. 7b) Second Reading 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 Gospel. Matthew 22: 15-21 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *IF JESUS WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE, WILL YOU FOLLOW HIM?*  Today is mission Sunday, and for anyone to live a fulfilled missionary life, such ought to be a responsible person. No one can survive on a mission land if he lacks good character. I hope you know that Jesus' good character attracted us to follow Him in His mission. So will anyone with good character on a mission influence or attract people to God? Good character attracts, while bad character repels. Jesus is a good man because his ways of life are good. Christianity is a good religion because it is Jesus' way of life. Therefore, Christianity is a way of life. So, since Christianity is a way of life, it teaches how to live a good responsible life filled with a high sense of responsibility.  A Chr
Read more

DO NOT BE A HYPOCRITICAL PERSON

Image
 *Friday, October 20, 2023*  Weekday (28) Ordinary Time A First Reading. Romans 4: 1-8 Psalm 32: 1-2, 5, 11 (R. see 7). Gospel. Luke 12: 1-7 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  *TRUST GOD, BUT AVOID HYPOCRISY*  Jesus said, "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy".  It simply means if you know anybody with the under-listed attributes, please in your interest and for the sake of your future, avoid them. If you can't avoid them, learn to manage them. Do not keep such persons as friends, unless you want to ruin your future. So, avoid: 1. The people who are not real, fake by nature. 2. Those who teach the wrong doctrine 3. Those who blackmail and slander people. Note: Be aware that those who gossip to you about others have already massacred you to other people before coming to you. Avoid them. 4. Those who are pretenders  5. Those who are full of eye 👀  service 6. Those who live and dine with envy and jealousy. etc. Jesus went further to say, that ev
Read more