The image of our Lord as Good Shepherd is a challenging one.   It means that we Christians are sheep.  Our pride and self-sufficiency naturally bristle at this image.  Only with deep humility, and contemplating Jesus the Lamb of God, can we embrace being sheep and having a Shepherd.

The two disciples' encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus teaches us so much about prayer and faith.   Jesus walks with us whether we realize it or not.  He is interested in what is happening in our lives and also in how it affects us.  His presence in the dialogue of prayer, in the Eucharist and in Scripture should be places where we regularly seek his companionship and counsel.  

When he appears to his apostles on Easter Sunday, Jesus's first and consistent message to them is one of peace.  The very presence of Jesus brings us peace as it did the fearful Apostles.  Union with the person of Christ is also another source of peace.  This is promised to us by Jesus himself, "Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you."  Trust in God, especially in God's mercy, is a key to receiving this peace from Christ.  

Lent is over and with it comes the expectation of Easter Joy.  Holy Saturday invites us to anticipate the joy and wonder of the Resurrection of Jesus.  The Resurrection is a powerful reality that continues to give life and joy to the world and especially the Church.  

As we enter Holy Week, we can ponder Jesus's fundamental motivation.  Whether growing up in Nazareth or preaching throughout Galilee and Judea, whether acclaimed by the crowds or nailed to the Cross, Jesus is always doing one thing: fulfilling his Father's will.  This is at the crux of our own identity as sons and daughters of God in Christ 

Jesus's death on the cross is the supreme revelation of God's love.  St. Paul tells us that nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ.  Christ's death shows us how much he loves us and what the Father's love for Him, and for us, is like.  This is a  reliable love, upon which we can firmly plant all of our problems and our whole life.  The cross fills us with confidence in God and our own crosses are a sign of God's confidence in us. 

In saving us from sin Jesus does more than relieve us of an unpayable debt.  He actually pays the debt himself.   He buys us back, redeems us, with the price of his precious blood.  The wounds of Christ are thus mysterious sources of confidence and consolation for us, worthy of our continual contemplation. 

To pray is "to lift up our minds and hearts to God."  Often, however, we lose a proper sense of the grandeur and awesome nature of God.  Routine makes us used to prayer and God becomes something taken for granted, ordinary, and even boring.  Reflecting on God's power and transcendence can spark us to a renewed love for him and new horizons in our prayer life.  

Jesus gives two clear conditions for following him: deny yourself and take up your cross each day.  Lent is a clear invitation and opportunity to do this. 

Lent is a wonderful opportunity to find our peace, joy, and comfort in God.  We do this by denying ourselves our usual sources of support, distraction, and pleasure.   To be filled by God is to run the risk of emptying ourselves out of other things.  This takes trust, courage and patience.   God always responds to this kind of personal faith, even when it is imperfect and needs to grow.