I was in awe once again of you parents.

Yesterday was our First Reconciliation Retreat. The West Hall was full of almost 100 families, so it was a bit loud. Near where I was standing a child called for their mom and I thought there is no way their mom would hear them. The child was in the front row and their mom had gone back to the sign in table. The child called out, “Mom” twice. I saw their mom turn right away, recognizing her child’s voice calling her and she could tell that her child’s call was a bit urgent. (I think the child didn’t realize their mom had gone back to sign in and was a bit scared.)

How do you parents know your child’s cry or recognize they are calling you even in a huge crowd? I think it’s because you love them.

I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me… John 10:14

Parents can really understand what Jesus is saying in this coming Sunday’s Gospel.

He uses the analogy of a shepherd when talking about how we recognize His voice and when talking about how He knows us and we know Him.

A shepherd would stay with their sheep 24/7. They ate with them, slept with them, and walked with them through the day. As they held baby lambs, the lambs would even grow to recognize the sound of the shepherd’s heartbeat. The sheep knew their shepherd’s voice, they would not go with anyone else. The shepherd knew the sounds and smells of their own sheep, they never mistakenly took other sheep.

It’s an analogy of love, like the love I saw between a mom and her child yesterday.

We are not shepherds, nor are we surrounded by shepherds and their sheep here in Simi Valley.

But many of you are parents, and we are surrounded by parents and children. Just as parents know and love their children, God knows and loves us. If we spend time with God, we too will recognize His voice in our lives.

Blessings of Easter Love!