Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Saturday of the fourth week of Easter, May 2nd, 2026, Memorial of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Delivered by Bella from the Parish of Kristus Raja in the Diocese of Surabaya, Indonesia. Acts of the Apostles 13: 44-52; Rs psalm 98: 1.2-3ab.3cd-4; John 14: 7-14. THE GOOD SHEPHERD BRINGS US THE HEAVENLY FATHER Our meditation today has the theme: The Good ShepherdBrings Us the Heavenly Father. Our meditation yesterday showed the lack ofunderstanding of the apostle Thomas on the true identity of Jesus Christ, towhich Jesus resolved the problem by revealing Himself as our only mediator toGod the Father. Today, the apostle Philip, who represents many people, showsanother type of lack of understanding,that is the question on the identity of the heavenly Father. The answer of Jesus is the most decisive or the keyanswer to this problem, because it shows the purpose of all our searches andefforts of our journey on earth. Jesus reveals the existence of the heavenlyFather whom He represents because the Father actually embodies in the person ofJesus. That is why, He says in this testimony: "Whoever has seen me hasseen the Father." This also means that hearing Jesus is hearing theFather, living with Jesus is living with the Father. In essence, we believethat the Father exists and works in Jesus. The Father and the Son Jesus areone. The unity of the Father and the Son takes place in arelationship of love through communication between them, and this relationshipis known as the Holy Spirit itself. So, the answer given to Philip and all thosewho seek to find the ultimate purpose of life is actually the Trinity, the trueand final identity of God. There is no better or greater answer than this one. Tomeet and live with the Father in Jesus Christ, and in unity of the Holy Spirithad become the commitment of the apostels, and they persevered it until death. Jesus shows us the heavenly Father with the purpose ofmaking us know the reality of God as He is. God comes to our knowledge throughall works of love, kindness and compassion, while we humans are taken up byJesus Christ to the level where we can encounter the Father. At the moment ofincarnation, the Trinity was present in the Son conceived in the womb of theVirgin Mary, born and was under the care of the modest family of Nazareth.Throughout the public ministry of Jesus, the Trinity was also there to work forour redemption. At the end of our journey in the world, the Trinity in heavenwelcomes us for eternal life, the best reward already awaiting us. For us the followers of Christ, such questions fromPhilip and Thomas are not supposed to be our questions too. We are not in theposition to question or even doubt whether Jesus and the Father are one. Ourposition is actually what Jesus had determined when He was still on earth.Jesus had made us His brothers and sisters; therefore, He taught us His ownprayer the "Our Father" to be our basic prayer. This prayer trulymakes us beloved children or sons and daughters of our most loving Father.Jesus is really our good Shepherd, because He knows what we badly need: to bethe beloved sons and daughters of the heavenly Father. We need only to followJesus! Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O most loving Father, we praise and thankYou abundantly for our being beloved sons and daughters by our participation inthe life of Your Son Jesus Christ. May we continue to live with this dignityuntil our death. Hail Mary, full of grace ... In the name of the Father ...