My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me.
St. John had a vision of what he described as “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.”
When he asked who these multitudes were, an elder replied, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9, 14-17). The blood of the Lamb obviously made all the difference in their lives and destiny.
How do we show that the blood of Jesus actually makes any difference in our lives today? Let us reflect on some of the ways that we show this difference.
We live as people who belong completely to Jesus Christ.
We are deeply convinced that the price of Christ’s blood had been paid for us to belong to Him, for “He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14). We belong to the kingdom of Christ not by anything that we do but by the power of His blood from the very moment of our Baptism.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is always faithful to the flock that belongs to Him. Even though the Father “has given us to Him,” the Good Shepherd will still take the form of a Lamb, climb Calvary, and shed His last drop to make us His own and to share His life with us, as He said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”
We fear nothing in this life because we know God holds on to us in life and in death as Jesus attested, “No one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one” (Jn. 10:27-30). This bold and confident attitude in the face of all evils is a good sign that Jesus has not shed His blood for us in vain.
We listen to the voice of Jesus to the very end of our lives.
We listen attentively to the voice of Jesus because we belong to Him; “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me.” We listen to the voice of Jesus in the scriptures we read and in the magisterial teachings of the Church that He founded with His blood. We listen to Him in our well-formed consciences cleansed by the power of His blood in the sacrament of Reconciliation.
We listen to Him because we want to act on His words and follow in His footsteps. We listen attentively because we know that He who has shed His blood cannot but wish the best for us in all things. So, we listen to His voice in good times and in bad all the days of our lives.
There are so many voices that clamor for our attention in this world: social media, the many expectations and opinions of others around us, the constant temptations from the devil and the world, and our own selfish and sinful desires. What price have any of these paid to make us belong to them? What have they sacrificed for our eternal good? What lasting benefit have we received from any of them? None! This is why we listen to the voice of Jesus alone if His blood has any value to us.
We live a life of sexual purity.
The very nature of the blood of Christ demands from us a completely new way of living in this world, different from what we have seen in others around us. Consider these words from St. Peter:
Conduct yourselves with reverence throughout the time of your exile, realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb. (1 Pet. 1:18-19)
Our bodies are now temples of the Holy Spirit, making it possible for us to avoid sin and live holy lives pleasing to God in our fallen world. As St. Paul confirms, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
The blood of Jesus has value in our lives when we refuse to conform to or partake in the many forms of sexual immorality of our times. For the sake of this blood, we are not afraid to live contrary to seductive lifestyles. Instead, we reverence Christ in our bodies and in the bodies of others and seek to make Him sovereign master of all. We undervalue the blood of Jesus when we give in to sexual immorality without any remorse on our part.
We give witness to Jesus before all, even to the point of personal suffering.
We show that we belong to Christ and affirm that His blood has value in our lives by our readiness to do or endure anything to bring others to His liberating power. This blood of Jesus in our souls becomes the source of our holy zeal for the salvation of souls. We share in the deep desire of Jesus to bring all souls into His Father’s kingdom.
Saints Paul and Barnabas had the success of their evangelizing mission in Antioch interrupted by the jealous Jews who “with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.” The “women of prominence” also “stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory” (Acts 13:43-52). But the disciples were “filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” because they were on mission for the sake of the One who shed His blood that they belonged to Him.
We have this deep joy of evangelization when we know that we have done all that we can do for the sake of saving souls. Like the saints in heaven, we have enduring joy from giving witness to Jesus and suffering for Him in distressing times.
Our Eucharistic Lord draws us deeper into His kingdom and its saving power through His sacred Body and Blood. In each Eucharist, the Good Shepherd humbly takes the place of the innocent Lamb so that His blood can make us more completely and forever His own and so that His flesh can give us grace to live as His faithful flock.
May His blood in the Mass make all the difference in our lives so that we can be with our Good Shepherd in heaven for all eternity.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Photo by VENUS MAJOR on Unsplash