He Calls Each of Us By Name

Morgan Jones

April 30, 2025

Reading

But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.
John 10:2-3,14-15 & John 20:16

Reflection

“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

Using the image of a shepherd, Jesus explains to his disciples that those who follow Jesus learn to recognize His voice. In turn, by recognizing His voice, we learn to recognize Him in the world. Mary’s experience with the two angels and the risen Jesus (whom she mistakes for the gardener) shows us how we, too, can experience this intimacy with Jesus—but sometimes we need a little help learning to hear His voice.

Over the last year, I have been participating in an online community that is working our way through the Spiritual Exercises developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola. The Exercises consist of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices designed to help participants deepen their relationship with God, particularly by learning to recognize God’s voice and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Using the book “The Ignatian Adventure” written by Kevin O’Brien, SJ as our guide, we are moving through thirty-two weeks of daily prompts.

By far, one of my favorite new practices from this experience is St. Ignatius’ version of contemplation which he calls “praying with imagination”. In this spiritual practice, after inviting the Holy Spirit to guide your meditation, you visualize the event as if it were a movie. Using your five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch) to ground your imagination in the reality of the narrative, you then place yourself in the event. As the story unfolds, you explore the feelings that arise and the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Action Step:
I invite you to try this exercise of “praying with imagination” with Mary Magdalene’s story from the Gospel of John. Read John 20:1-18. Then, imagine approaching the tomb only to find that it is empty. Notice how Mary mistakes Jesus for the gardener until he calls her by name. Imagine the emotions that must have stirred inside her. Hear how Jesus commissions her (and you) as a result of this intimate naming.

You can learn and discover more about “praying with imagination” here.