Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year A
In our reading, we hear how God is our shepherd who looks after his sheep (us). He will watch over us, feed us, give us rest, find the lost, heal the hurt, and judge us at the end of time.
In our gospel, Jesus was talking to his disciples about the end of the world. At that time, Jesus will tell those who fed others, gave them a drink, made others feel welcome, gave clothes, took care of the sick and those in prison will be welcomed into heaven. Every time we do something good for others, we do that to Jesus. We will be rewarded for our good deeds by spending the rest of our lives with God.
Special Saint - St. Dominic of Silos – December 20th
Dominic was a Spanish shepherd boy who was born at the beginning of the 11th century. He spent many hours alone tending his sheep at the bottom of the Pyrenees mountains where he developed a love for prayer.
Soon Dominic became a very holy monk and was appointed abbot of his monastery. He made many changes for the better.
One day, King Garcia III claimed that some of the monastery’s possessions were his but Dominic refused to give up what belonged to the church.
King Garcia ordered Abbot Dominic to leave his kingdom so he left with his monks. They were welcomed by King Ferdinand I who gave them an old monastery called St. Sebastian at Silos. The monks helped fix it up and made it one of the best-known monasteries in all of Spain.
Abbot Dominic worked many miracles to cure all kinds of sicknesses.
He died on December 20, 1073.
By his life St. Dominic of Silos shows us that prayer is as essential to us as breathing and eating. We can ask St. Dominic to remind us often each day that we need to spend time with God.