Welcome to Day 23 of What Do You Seek, our Lenten reflections on the gospel of John.  Thanks so much for joining us!  To subscribe by email, go here. 

A Reflection on John 10:22-42

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.” (v 27-28)

Jesus: Do you hear this, child? Do you hear the promise? No one shall snatch you out of my hand. You are mine, little one. The Father has given you to me and I to you. If you will come with me, I shall take you by the hand and we shall go to my Father’s House.

I am the Light for you to see, the Door for you to enter, the Way for you to follow, the Truth for you to abide in, the Life for you to live forever. It will not always be easy. There will be times when you forget the feel of your hand in Mine. You will look up and not be able to see Me. The way will appear dark and difficult. Your feelings will deceive you, and perhaps even your hope will fade to nothing. Your heart will feel low and anguished, or nothing at all. You will feel as if you cannot possibly go on, and you will look back upon the Way you have walked and wonder if it was all for naught.

Do not let your heart deceive you, child. For though you may not feel my Presence, I am with you always. And it is in those darkest moments that I am able to come closest to your heart, and you are able to come closest to My Heart in its agony, and together we will cry out, “Abba, Father!” “And no one is able to snatch (you) out of the Father’s hand.” (v 29)

Prayer: Oh Jesus, when the way is hard I lose sight of you so easily. I lose hope of getting back on track and feel as though I am completely alone in the world. In those times, grant me just enough faith to remember that You are with me and that I am never truly alone. Let me rest in my Father’s hands with you by my side and trust that whatever it is I am facing, you will bring me through it.

Scripture quotations are from The Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright ©1965, 1966 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.