In today’s readings we see a clear transition from the Old Testament to the New Testament. In the Old Testament, only a handful of people heard the voice of God. In the New Testament, after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we see a transformation taking place. From a few people in the Old Testament, it moved to the apostles through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in
the New Testament, and from them to the whole world. This reminds me of the famous quote by St. Augustine of Hippo,“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until it rests in You.” This is the deepest cry of our hearts, that cannot be fulfilled by any worldly pleasures. The Psalmist echoes this same cry, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:2).

In the Gospel Proclamation, Jesus Christ describes Himself as the “gate for the sheep”,which also makes him the shepherd of the sheep (vs 2). The sheep know the voice of the shepherd only and he knows each of them by name. In other words, this sheep will not respond to anyone else other than the shepherd. He further describes the sheep finding pasture, that is “life in all its fullness”. Jesus Christ is telling us that we are these sheep; you and I. In the depths of our spirits, we are able to recognize this voice. This voice gives us “life in all its fullness”; that is a full package.

This experience is real even today. We see in the First Read- ing, how God called St. Peter to preach to the Gentiles. This was unheard of before the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are made to understand, this was God’s plan as described by the vision that St. Peter had. This Baptism of the Holy Spirit, as described by St. Peter is still freely available in our midst today. We are called to heed to the cry at the depths of our Spirits and say “yes” to this cry. It is only then that we could experience “life in all its fullness”, which will bring us peace of mind, joy in the midst of suffering, love in the midst of misunderstanding, and rest in the middle of chaos

Prayer: Abba Father, give us the grace to heed to the cry of our Spirits and say yes to You, the one true Shepherd. Amen.