The Good Shepherd

Today's Gospel is short, but full of comfort and promise. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He promises eternal life to His sheep and they hear His voice and follow Him. We hear His voice through Scripture and the teachings of the Church because Jesus told His apostles "those who hear you, hear me."
Jesus promises in today's Gospel that no one can take us out of His or the Father's hand. He is faithful and will never abandon or forsake us. However, by freely choosing to commit mortal sin, we spiritually separate ourselves from God, because this type of sin destroys the life of God within us. Mortal sin is the only thing that can do this. God honors our free will even when our choice is to commit mortal sin which drives Him out of our souls. We don't have to fear losing our salvation by accident or without our knowing it or against our will, because "mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent (CCC 1859). "For a sin to be mortal, three conditions together must be met: 'Mortal sin is sin whose object is a grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.' (CCC 1857).
Even if we should lose God's grace by committing mortal sin, we must never lose hope in God's love and mercy. God has said that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that they turn back from evil ways and live (Ez 33:11). No matter how great our sins may be, God's mercy is greater, and we need never despair of receiving His forgiveness. He has said "though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow." (Is 1:18)
In the revelation of His Divine Mercy to St. Faustina, Jesus encourages sinners to trust in His mercy. "Let the sinner not be afraid to approach me." (Diary 50). "The greater the sinner, the greater right he has to my Mercy" (Diary 723). Our God is love and He delights in being merciful to souls who trust in Him. Let us hate sin and avoid any person, place, or thing that will lead us into sin. This is an important part of repentance. We must turn away from sin and the occasion of sin.
St. Paul summarized the Gospel when he said, "I preached he need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance." Let us always remember that Jesus has promised never to reject anyone who comes to Him (Jn. 6:37). This knowledge gives us the confidence to place our complete trust in God's mercy so we can say with all our hearts, "Jesus I trust in You." Father Richard Miles - church bulletin 5/15/11