Your Shepherd Calls

"Precisely because He loves me, Jesus calls me by name:  He calls me when in prayer He opens to me new horizons of the spiritual life, or when He enables me to know my faults and weaknesses better;  He calls me when He reprimands me or purifies me by aridity, as well as when He consoles and encourages me by filling me with new fervor;  He calls me when He makes me feel the need of greater generosity, and when He asks for sacrifices or gives me joys, and still more, when He awakens in me a deeper love for Him.  Hearing His call, my attitude should be that of a loving sheep who recognizes the voice of its Shepherd and follows Him always."  -- from Divine Intimacy, #154.