“What I desire most is to be faithful and to finish the race. It doesn’t matter if I finish running or crawling; all I want is to finish and to hear the Father say to me, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ (Matthew 25:23). I can’t give up; I must keep going.”
Fr. Dave Pivonka, TOR
Hiking the Camino: 500 Miles with Jesus
Reflection:
Some of us may feel that the race is almost over with the school year quickly coming to an end, when in reality we have “only just begun.” In the recent past some of us have watched or experienced someone dear to us finishing their race. It has made ours a bit more challenging as we walk the path of grief. I am personally on that path right now as I watch my mom slip from life to what I know is a greater and fuller life. Still, it is dark, and it is the light of faith the Shepherd faithfully holds before me on which I must constantly fix my gaze; or I am sure to stumble. In this time I experience more acutely a deep gratitude for the Shepherd of the sheep who laid down His life for us that He might not be only our Shepherd but the sure path to eternal joy in the Father’s house.
As the school year comes to an end, let us all rejoice in the Shepherd – always present, ever faithful, full of mercy that “is new every morning.”(Lamentations 3) He is worthy of our trust. We can follow where He leads and be sure of good pasture.
