Sharing Guidelines
*Sharing is not a time for teaching or debate; it is a time to sense the marvelous work of the Holy Spirit who leads the gathering.
*Reflection sharing is not meant to teach others but to share the meaning you personally have discovered. Therefore, do not criticize or debate another person’s sharing. Avoid boasting of your own understanding or knowledge.
*Respect the grace of the Holy Spirit, who reveals the meaning of the Word while dwelling among us, and listen attentively to others’ sharing, holding it in your heart.
*Keep confidential any personal reflections or stories shared in the group; practicing brotherly love means not passing along private matters outside the meeting.
*When speaking, always use the first person singular (“I”). Be careful not to distance or generalize your story by using the third person (“he,” “they”) or the first person plural (“we”).
*Keep it short.
Reading 1
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,
and they asked Peter and the other apostles,
“What are we to do, my brothers?”
Peter said to them,
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your children
and to all those far off,
whomever the Lord our God will call.”
He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,
“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand persons were added that day.
Reading 2
1 Peter 2:20b-25
Beloved:
If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,
this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.
When he was insulted, he returned no insult;
when he suffered, he did not threaten;
instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.
For you had gone astray like sheep,
but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
Gospel
John 10:1-10
Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.
So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
-The Gospel of the Lord -Praise to you Lord, Jesus Christ
Today’s Reflection
In today’s Gospel, Jesus compares himself to a door. In the Greek language, the word “door” does not only mean something that separates inside and outside. It means a place where people come and go and meet each other.
A door of connection gives us freedom to move in and out. In that freedom, Jesus and believers can recognize each other’s voices, become more like each other, and share life together.
So the door becomes a path to one another. When we walk on the right path, we reach our destination. There, the shepherd and the sheep meet and enjoy the happiness of green pastures. But if we leave the path, the journey becomes hard and uncomfortable. We may not reach the destination, and we may even begin to doubt ourselves. We may say,
“Why am I not good enough?”
“Nothing I do works.”
When we keep thinking like this, we may feel alone and trapped in our own thoughts.
If we want to be truly free through Jesus, we must look for the right path. It should not be a path we make only for ourselves. It should be a path open to communication, connection, and life that helps others grow.
It is natural that people think differently. But instead of stubbornly trying to force everyone to think the same, we should open our hearts to each other. This is how we find Jesus.
When we do this, we receive life—life in abundance—and we can live with lasting joy. Faith should not be reduced to satisfying our own desires. True faith grows when we listen carefully to one another and make room for others, and in that openness, life becomes rich and full. (박병규 요한 보스코 신부)
