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For Children:
Gospel Reflection and Saint of the Week with Miss Heidi
For Adults
More than fifty years ago, a photo of children fleeing an attack during the Vietnam War became famous worldwide. “The Terror of War” was the title, but the photo subsequently became known as “Napalm Girl” for its depiction of a terrified, naked 9-year-old fleeing a deadly napalm attack. This was a graphic depiction of the horrors of war, of a people “troubled and abandoned.”
People are still being taken advantage of on a regular basis. Countless people are like sheep without a shepherd. Are we moved with pity as Jesus was in today’s Gospel? Though we may answer yes, we often feel powerless to stop the tragedies of our broken world.
Maybe we aren’t called to save the whole world. Maybe someone we know has recently experienced the death of a spouse or other loved one. Maybe someone lost their job or suffered a mental health crisis. Do we have a friend who has abandoned their faith? Even as we rely on the Good Shepherd ourselves, we are all called to shepherd others.
To do that, we sheep need our shepherd, who is always there for us. Jesus’ heart is moved with pity. And he often relies on us to ease the troubles of his sheep.
While The Gospel at Home takes a break in the summer months, we’ll be drawing our weekly reflections from Exploring the Sunday Readings.
Image credit: Sr. Maria-Magdalena R. from Pixabay; “The Terror of War” by Nick Ut, Associated Press, public domain in U.S.A. from Wikipedia, cropped
