A Moment To Pause: Wednesday 1st July 2026

You are welcome to the reflection today with Mary O'Brien from our Lourdes Team in Dublin. Good morning and welcome to our Oblate time of Reflection.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.  Today’s gospel is from John 10:11-16  Our gospel today is the story of the Good Shepherd.   Jesus starts off by comparing himself to a person who is hired to look after someone else’s sheep.  This person feels no real connection to the sheep.  When the sheep are threatened – in the scripture text, by a wolf- this hired person runs off and leaves them to their fate.    Jesus cares for his sheep – for each and every one of them – we know the story of when he goes after the one sheep that is lost.  He knows each sheep, each one of us …and he’ll do anything to keep us safe to the point of laying down his life, which of course he does. No greater love ..than that a man lay down his life for his friends.    We pray:  the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he makes me down to lie, near restful waters he leads me, he restores my soul.     Amen.