This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday. It’s a day when the whole Church reflects on an array of vocations, with special emphasis on the priesthood and religious life.

If you Google “Good Shepherd,” you’ll find images of Jesus with a plethora of sheep surrounding him as he holds his staff. You may even find him at the edge of a cliff, reaching out toward the one lost sheep who has left the herd.

This weekend, I found myself resting in the twenty-third psalm, and two specific phrases anchored my heart. I hope these words offer you the same peace as you meditate on them.

Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side. With your rod and your staff that give me courage. Many of us have been through the terrains of the dark valleys in life. They often reveal themselves as failures, disappointments, sickness, ruptured relationships, and in my own life, the death of an unborn child or the natural end of some lifelong friendships.

The psalmist says he fears no evil in this dark valley for the Good Shepherd is at his side. When I put this in the Christian context, it is a prayer of immense trust as I behold my Risen Lord. I see his wounds, and I know that he has gone ahead of me in every dark valley of life, physically, psychologically, and emotionally. Jesus has been through everything I have been through. All I am invited to do is trust him, for he knows the way through the terrains of every valley. His rod and staff are symbols of this certainty and trust.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life … In another translation, the text reads, “Only goodness and kindness pursue me all the days of my life.” That, to me, is the relentless love of Jesus. He desires my ultimate good so deeply that He will chase us down with his grace, refusing to give up until we are crowned with his goodness. Jesus is the ultimate guardian of my life’s highest good, ensuring I am surrounded by His love now and in the life to come.