My Good Shepherd

He calls his own sheep by name.  ~John 10:3

Each soul can say: Jesus knows me and loves me, not in a general abstract way, but in the concrete aspects of my needs, of my desires, and of my life; for Him to know me and to love is to do me good, to encompass me more and more with His grace, and to sanctify me. Precisely because He loves me, Jesus calls me by name: He calls me when in prayer He opens to me new horizons of the spiritual life, or when he enables me to know my faults and weaknesses better; He calls me when He reprimands me or purifies me by aridity, as well as when He consoles and encourages me by filling me with new fervor; He calls me when He makes me feel the need of greater generosity, and when He asks me for sacrifices or gives me joys, and still more, when He awakens in me a deeper love for Him. Hearing His call, my attitude should be that of a loving little sheep who recognizes the voice of its Shepherd and follows Him always.  ~Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. in Divine Intimacy

Dear Jesus, how sweet it is to hear You call my name!

How happy I am to be Your little sheep!

I love you, my dear Good Shepherd,

and I beg You for the grace

to love You more and more.

Amen!  Alleluia!