What grabs me is the phrase that God is within each one of us. Thus we can find the Good Shepherd in each one of us. We can summon the Good Shepherd to the surface whenever the wolf appears in our lives. In my life it seems almost daily. Even if I am a coward, the hireling who wants to run, I can count on the Good Shepherd who willingly pops up because I have simply asked for His help. He is more than willing, but I do have ask! I do have to recognize that God is within me and available. Not only the Good Shepherd but every aspect of good that we know is available to me. Christ the healer, Christ the story teller, Christ the lover of sinners and tax collectors, etc. This is the month of the Eucharist and we Catholics believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. So if we have trouble finding God within each of us (see St. Teresa and the “Interior Castle”) then we certainly know that when we receive communion, that God the Good Shepherd and all other aspects of God come into our body and soul at that moment. All we have to do at that moment is ask for the Good Shepherd to come into our lives and fight off the wolf who seeks to kill all that we know about this wonderful God within each of us that loves us so much that He laid down His life for us. With that kind of courage in each of us, how can we be cowards and run away?
