The Sheepfold and the Voice of the Shepherd

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Stone sheepfold John 10:22-30 Recently my boys have been spending a great deal of time outside in the area that will soon be transformed into our garden. They spend endless hours digging in the dirt for worms. They then promptly take those worms and throw them to the chickens. It amazes me how even chickens can learn to recognize sounds or voices. My oldest makes this funny high-pitched sound when he comes out of the house and heads toward the coop. The chickens practically fall over themselves running toward the fence or out of the coop when they hear him making his sound. They know there is food to follow! In Sunday's Gospel Jesus tells us that, "My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me." and "I am the gate for the sheep." Today, again, Jesus mentions that His sheep know His voice and follow Him.  In these few verses we learn that Jesus is both gate and shepherd for the sheep. In those days and even today in some places, a sheepfold w
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The Best Endorsement

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A few weeks before Christmas I was speaking with a co-worker who wanted to buy copies of my rosary book for Christmas presents for her family. She told me that she had given copies to friends who had lost children during pregnancy and that the meditations had helped them a great deal. I was very glad to hear that and I have heard many stories like that over the years since I first wrote the book. She was surprised when I told her that I had hardly touched the book since I wrote it and I often forget what I wrote.

That night I decided to get the book off the shelf and use it for our regular Sunday evening rosary with the kids, grandparents, and uncles. I wanted to use some meditations that I thought might keep the boy's attention so I went with the First Person Meditations where I explore the mysteries through the eyes of the various people who were part of those events. For instance, the Joyful Mysteries* are presented as seen through the eyes of St. Joseph. The boys absolutely loved them. In fact, my oldest asked if he could take the book to bed so he could read the other First Person Meditations.

Now, each Sunday, the boys request to use those meditations. Last night we met again to pray and we meditated on the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary as seen through the eyes of the Blessed Mother. When we were finished my oldest told my mother that, "I like those because they are like stories and they make it fun." I couldn't ask for a better endorsement.

*For those of you not familiar with the Rosary, the Rosary is a set of prayers that are said while meditating on different aspects of the life of Jesus. Each set of mysteries is made up of 5 meditations. For instance, the Joyful Mysteries focus on the angel Gabriel's visit to Mary, Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Jesus being presented to Simeon in the Temple, and finally the loss and finding of Jesus in the Temple. In my book, I try to help the reader see aspects of daily life within the mysteries. You may find samples of the meditations here.

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