The Holy Grand Prince Volodymyr, Equal-to-the-Apostles, named Basil at Holy Baptism; The Holy Martyrs Cyricus and Julitta.
Galatians 1:11-19; John 10:1-8.
Read John 10:1-8
We commonly know the image of Christ being “the Good Shepherd,” but we don’t often reflect on Him being “the door of the sheep” (Jn. 10:7). A sheepgate not only allows sheep to enter their sheepfold but also to exit it. Sometimes the sheep need a place of refuge from danger, but at other times they need to be let out of their sheepfold to go to pasture for refreshment. Christ is both our refuge and our nourishment. As His sheep, we hear His voice and know we can trust Him. We follow Him. We are His. When we hear outside voices, we recognize them as the voices of strangers and know to flee from them.
Let us pray that we grow in our trust and faith in God. Jesus laid down His life for us, just as the Good Shepherd lays down his life for His sheep (Jn. 10:11). Let us hear His voice and harden not our hearts, remembering that “He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand” (Ps. 95:7-8).