The Good Shepherd Sunday

Acts 13:14.43-52, Rev. 7:9.14-17, Jn 10:27-30. On this Fourth Sunday of Easter also known as Good Shepherd Sunday, the Church invites us to understand that Christ, the Good Shepherd is willingly to lay down His life for us His flock. Today's Gospel speaks about the familiarity and intimacy between Jesus and His disciples, expressed as recognizing and knowing another's voice. It also speaks to us about the relationship between Jesus and the Father. Jesus identifies with the Father because they are one, such that, to know Jesus is to know the Father. Jesus does not just bring us closer to the Father, He puts us directly in contact with God the Father, removing all distance between us. Our relationship with Jesus is an invitation to share in the life of God.

Our vocation is a call to share in the life of God and become sign of God’s love and concern for us. Today, we pray that many will answer the call of God to give themselves to Him in the Priesthood and religious life. In today's first reading, we hear how Paul and Barnabas were called by the Lord to be shepherds, “a light to the Gentiles” and “an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47). The second reading tells us of the glory that awaits all who answers the call of God faithfully in whatever state of life: “I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language... These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb, they now stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary” (Rev. 7:14).

May the Lord grant us the wisdom and grace to continue to respond obediently to Christ our Good Shepherd! Amen!! Good morning and Happy Good Shepherd