Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 12, 2025
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.”
It’s easy to get tangled up in the imagery of John’s Gospel…the shepherd and sheep seem clear, but who is the gatekeeper? And hold on, Jesus is the actual gate? Like the Pharisees, I need the story restated. Even then, I’m so focused on tracking the characters that I almost miss the promise in his words.
The sheep and gate imagery is vivid and important to the story, but the last line provides the key message: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” What does Christ mean? How can we have life more abundantly? We can certainly imagine having some things in abundance (time, wisdom, money), but he speaks of something else.
Jesus is most likely referring to the eternal life he promises after death. But maybe he also wants us to have a more abundant life here on Earth. Not a life measured by unlimited material possessions, but by the generous love we give each other. If God’s love is infinite, can ours be as well? Does giving love more abundantly lead us to having life more abundantly? Christ says, “Yes!”
Today, let us love more generously in our hearts, in our prayers, and in our actions. Showing love in ways large and small is how we “come in and go out” the gate that is Jesus and leads us to the abundant life he offers.
Prayer
Lord, we know that you are our true hope. Help us to know the sound of your voice and to recognize it in others. In tuning our ear to your sound, may we work to share your life with those whom we meet. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Sts. Nereus and Acheilleus were soldiers in the Roman army who were killed for refusing to participate further in persecuting Christians.
The Church has long honored these two saints, and the only certain history we have about them comes from an inscription that was placed above their tomb by Pope St. Damasus. Though it has worn away, we have records of what it said from pilgrims who visited their tomb and copied down the inscription. It describes the two soldiers who followed orders to persecute and kill Christians until they followed the truth they saw in Christ:
“The martyrs Nereus and Achilleus had enrolled themselves in the army and exercised the cruel office of carrying out the orders of the tyrant, being ever ready through the constraint of fear to obey his will. O miracle of faith! Suddenly they cease from their fury, they become converted, they fly from the camp of their wicked leader; they throw away their shields, their armor, and their blood-stained javelins. Confessing the faith of Christ, they rejoice to bear testimony to its triumph. Learn now from the words of Damasus what great things the glory of Christ can accomplish.”
We do not know how the two were martyred, though they were probably beheaded because they were Roman citizens. We can suppose that they, more than most Christians of the day, knew what consequences they would face because of their profession of faith.
A later legend arose about these two martyrs, which stated that they served Domitilla, the grand-niece of the emperor who was exiled for professing her faith. It is likely that this story is inaccurate, though, and simply comes from the fact that they were buried in a cemetery named after Domitilla.
Relics of these two martyrs do rest in reliquary chapel of the Basilica, however. They are depicted here with Domitilla, who used to be listed as a saint, but was removed due to a lack of historical evidence.
Sts. Nereus and Acheilleus, you were martyred for refusing to follow orders to kill Christians—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Sts. Nereus and Acheilleus is in the public domain. Last accessed March 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
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