Fourth Sunday of Easter

Today's Mass Readings

In today’s brief gospel passage, Jesus is speaking about his sheep. In this midst of this, he asserts, “No one can take [my sheep] out of my hand.” The implication is that he has a tight grip on us. He makes a similar assertion about the Father’s hand, that no one can take them out of the Father’s hand either. Knowing that God loves us, and cares for us makes these assertions about being held in the hands of both Father and Son very comforting. The implication is that we are under God’s watchful care, and particularly, that nothing can separate us from this care.

This is very similar to what St. Paul says in chapter 8 of his Letter to the Romans, in particular verses 38 and 39: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor death, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord.” In short, nothing outside of ourselves can separate us from God.

As witness to this, we have the testimonies provided by the lives of the saints, and especially the martyrs. One good example that comes to mind is St. Maximilian Kolbe. St. Maximilian was being held in Auschwitz concentration camp, and when the Nazis were selecting a group of prisoners for punishment and death, St. Maximilian volunteered to take the place of one prisoner who pleaded that he had a family. While the group of prisoners was being held, St. Maximilian led them in hymns and prayers to keep up their spirits while they awaited death. St. Maximilian Kolbe is someone who experiences that he is held in the hands of Christ even in the direst circumstances. We should pray and reflect on his example and those of so many others to prepare us for when we face our own difficult situations, so that we may remain faithful and confident as did they.

Reflection by Fr. Aquinas Keusenkothen, OSB