Christ is the good shepherd who has left pastors and bishops to share in his grace and priesthood, and the Eucharist represents his presence guiding and nourishing us.

• 00:00 Christ is the good shepherd who loves us so much that he was willing to lay down his life for us, and he has left two Shepherds to share in his grace and priesthood.
• 00:56 God has gifted the church with pastors and bishops to heal and raise up the church.
• 01:30 The Eucharist represents the past, present, and future presence of Christ, guiding us and nourishing us as the Good Shepherd.

Jesus, as the good shepherd, exemplifies sacrificial love by laying down his life for his followers, and we should strive to imitate this love by serving others with our lives.

• 00:00 Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep, unlike a hired man who runs away when danger comes.
• 00:45 Jesus is the good shepherd who teaches and acts as a caring and protective guide for his followers.
• 01:29 Jesus is often depicted as a gentle shepherd, but there are other important aspects of his role that should be considered.
• 02:21 Sacrifice is the truest form of love, as shown by Jesus laying down his life for us.
• 02:58 Strive to imitate sacrificial love by putting others first and serving them with our lives, reflecting on the images of Jesus.
• 03:41 Jesus, as the good shepherd, sacrificed his life out of perfect love for us, and we should strive to offer the same sacrificial love to others.

2021 Archive / View More

Jesus is the ultimate good shepherd, and Christians are called to follow his example by being good leaders and caretakers for others.

• 00:00 The Good Shepherd is a primitive and enduring image of the Lord, found in the Old Testament and focused on in John chapter 10.
• 01:24 God is like a shepherd who cares for his people, as described in the book of Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Micah, and Psalms.
• 02:11 Parents often mistreat and torture their children, similar to the story of soulmates who were molested in various ways.
• 02:38 Parents install hidden cameras to monitor abusive behavior of caretakers towards their children while they are at work.
• 03:18 Midwife abuses 18-month-old girl in shocking video that went viral on social media.
• 04:02 Jesus is the good shepherd who cares for his sheep and has good plans for us.
• 05:34 Bishops, parents, and leaders are called to be good shepherds, showing true leadership and leading the way for the faithful.
• 06:15 Jesus is the good shepherd and every Christian has a duty to act as a good leader and shepherd to others.

2021 Archive / Recent Reflections

Embracing sacrifice as an act of love for God and because of God, and caring for and praying for those who are less privileged, are important aspects of living out the kind of God we believe in.

• 00:00 Sharon Kugler shares her experience as a Jesuit volunteer and the impact it had on her life.
• 01:15 We were eager to make a difference, but didn’t consider the notion of sacrifice until asked what we were willing to die for.
• 02:14 Sacrifice and faith are high stakes, and we must consider what we are willing to die for and if we are paying attention to the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
• 03:07 Embracing sacrifice as an act of love for God and because of God.
• 04:14 We are reminded of the importance of caring for and praying for those who are less privileged and whose voices are often unheard.
• 04:57 We are all sheep, noticed by God, and called to love and tend to each other in this world of pain.
• 06:04 A cherished memory from the speaker’s chaplaincy days at Yale is an annual trip to Washington DC with sophomores to explore different houses of worship, volunteer, and experience radical hospitality, starting with a visit to a Sikh Temple.
• 07:00 We gather in community to be fed by the spirit and then sent out to care for one another, living out the kind of God we believe in.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep out of love, and we are called to recognize his voice and love him and each other through the Holy Spirit within us.

• 00:00 Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep, showing the greatest love, and we are the Sheep of his flock.
• 00:32 The sheep knew the shepherd’s voice and felt comforted when they heard it.
• 01:05 Jesus lays down his life for us out of love, and we are called to do the same for God, Jesus, and each other, recognizing the words of Jesus through the Holy Spirit within us.
• 01:52 Jesus is within us through the Holy Spirit, recognizing himself and every person of the Trinity, so ask for the Holy Spirit and love Jesus because all things are possible with God.

Our hearts are influenced by different voices, but through prayer and discernment, we can choose to listen to the voice of the shepherd and respond with courage, love, and joy.

• 00:00 Our hearts are like a choir with four main voices: the Holy Spirit, the good human spirit, the bad human spirit, and the spirit of evil.
• 00:53 Positive and negative voices impact our hearts, but prayer helps us discern which to listen to.
• 02:01 Listen to the voice of the shepherd, practice sacred silence, and respond with courage, love, and joy.

Jesus’ resurrection fulfilled scriptures and demonstrates that death is not the end, but rather a defeat that is overcome through God’s love and plan for resurrection and the kingdom of God.

• 00:00 Jesus’ resurrection fulfilled scriptures and sparked debate about the nature of death, with some viewing it as a release from suffering.
• 01:05 Death is viewed differently in Greek philosophical thought, with some seeing it as liberation and others as a bad thing, but the biblical view is that death is an evil that has entered into creation.
• 02:22 The concept of human immortality comes from the conviction that God’s goodness and love of creation cannot be defeated.
• 03:21 God’s love for creation is shown in the Old Testament through the belief in resurrection, with the idea of bodily life after death being different from the concept of life after death.
• 04:47 Jesus appears to his disciples after his resurrection, demonstrating that he is physically alive and not just a disembodied spirit.
• 05:56 God’s plan for resurrection was always present in scripture, even though it may not have been obvious, and Jesus helps us understand this.
• 06:53 God’s plan is to bring forgiveness and heal the world, and Jesus’s resurrection is tied to reigning with God and the real kingdom of God has already begun.
• 08:09 Keep God’s commandments, cling to the goodness of life, and believe that death is defeated.

We should persist in our faith and mission to spread the word of God, as the Risen Lord persistently guides and strengthens us in our journey.

• 00:00 The Risen Lord appears to his disciples, assures them, eats with them, and commissions them to give witness to him, showing divine persistence in renewing persons and the world.
• 03:26 Keep faith and persist in following God’s commandments, for His love is perfected in those who do so.
• 08:20 God’s persistence in saving us, as seen in Peter’s transformation and Jesus’s resurrection, is the promise of Easter, despite our ignorance or rejection.
• 12:13 Despite our sins, we have an Advocate in Jesus, so we should persist in turning to Him and learning to love as God does, as Jesus appeared to his disciples, proving he was not a ghost, and opened their minds to understand the scriptures.
• 16:34 God persistently saves us, even when we give up on Him, through the Triumph of the Risen Lord and the offer of repentance in Jesus’s name, as shown in the gospel of St. Luke.
• 19:54 Jesus persistently convinces his disciples of his resurrection, guiding them to be witnesses to his word and calling us to be persistent in hope.
• 24:49 The Risen Lord strengthens and guides skeptical disciples to proclaim his resurrection, opens the scriptures and breaks bread with us, and sends the Holy Spirit to assist us in our mission.
• 29:20 Pray for continued strength and support in fulfilling our mission to spread the word of God.