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Looking for a way to live the Gospel in today's hectic world? Now available in podcast, here is the Focolare's Word of Life: one phrase of Scripture a month to...
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Looking for a way to live the Gospel in today's hectic world? Now available in podcast, here is the Focolare's Word of Life: one phrase of Scripture a month to guide and inspire our daily living. This commentary, translated into 96 different languages and reaching several millions worldwide, is also available online (livingcitymagazine.com) and in leaflet form.
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Focolare Word of Life
Focolare Word of Life
31 JUL 2024 · Focolare Word of Life — August 2024 “Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Mt 17:4).
13 JUL 2024 · 1. In the first experience, Linda Specht shares how after a serious accident she relied greatly on Psalms 23 to help her get through her ordeal.
2. The second experience is by Camille who shares how she shepherds her “flock”, the disabled members of the L’Arche community where she works.
3. In the third experience Dennis Clifford tells us about a neighbor that he and his wife helped get back on his feet as he encountered many challenges.
5 JUL 2024 · Giving control to the Shepherd
29 JUN 2024 · “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” (Ps 23:1)
Psalm 23 is perhaps the most well-known and best loved of all the psalms. It is a song of trust in God, but also a joyful profession of faith by someone who is part of the people of Israel, to whom God, through the prophets, had promised to be their shepherd. The psalmist also expresses his personal happiness in knowing that he is protected by the Temple, a place of shelter and grace.#_ftn1 And at the same time, because of this experience, he wants to encourage also other people to trust in the presence of the Lord.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
The image of the shepherd with his flock is very dear to all biblical literature. To understand it fully, we need to imagine the arid and rocky deserts of the Middle East. The shepherd guides his flock, who are docile and allow themselves to be led, for without him they would get lost and die. The sheep have to learn to rely on him and listen to his voice. Above all, he is their constant companion.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
This psalm invites us to strengthen our intimate relationship with God by experiencing his love. Some may wonder why the author goes so far as to say, “I shall not want”? In our daily life we encounter all kinds of problems and challenges - with our health, in the family, at work - not to mention the immense suffering of so many of our brothers and sisters due to war, natural disasters often caused by climate change, forced migration, acts of violence, and so on.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Perhaps the key to understanding this verse lies in the one that follows it: “for you are with me.”#_ftn2 This states the certainty of the love of God who always accompanies us and leads us to live our life in a whole new way. Chiara Lubich wrote: “It is one thing to know we can have recourse to God, who exists, who cares for us and has redeemed us of our sins, and totally another thing to live with the conviction that we are God’s beloved, for this banishes all loneliness, all sense of abandonment, any misgivings or any fear that may restrain us. (...) We come to realize that we are loved, and believe with all our heart in this love. We abandon ourselves trustingly to him and are ready to follow wherever he leads. Life’s circumstances, sad or joyful, are illuminated by God’s love that wills or permits everything that happens.”#_ftn3
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
The one who brought this beautiful prophecy to fulfilment is Jesus. In John’s Gospel he does not hesitate to call himself the “good shepherd.” The relationship with this shepherd is something special; it is very personal and intimate. “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.”#_ftn4 He leads his sheep to graze in the pastures of his Word, which gives life, particularly the Word that contains the “new commandment.”#_ftn5 And when this reciprocal love is lived by his followers, it makes “almost visible” the presence of the Risen Lord within a community that is gathered in his name, in his love.#_ftn6 Prepared by Augusto Parody Reyes and the Word of Life Team
#_ftnref1 See Ps 23:6.
#_ftnref2 Ps 23:4.
#_ftnref3 Chiara Lubich, Essential Writings – Spirituality, Dialogue, Culture, New City Press, New York, 2006, pg. 55
#_ftnref4 Jn 10:14.
#_ftnref5 Jn 17:21: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
#_ftnref6 See Mt 18:20.
Looking for a way to live the Gospel in today's hectic world? Now available in podcast, here is the Focolare's Word of Life: one phrase of Scripture a month to...
show more
Looking for a way to live the Gospel in today's hectic world? Now available in podcast, here is the Focolare's Word of Life: one phrase of Scripture a month to guide and inspire our daily living. This commentary, translated into 96 different languages and reaching several millions worldwide, is also available online (livingcitymagazine.com) and in leaflet form.
show less
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Author | Focolare Media |
Organization | New City Press |
Categories | Christianity |
Website | www.spreaker.com |
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