News - April 2023 RSS Feed

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday because the gospel is taken from John 10, the "Good Shepherd" chapter. Jesus is the "shepherd and guardian of your souls," as the second reading says. The Good Shepherd is always out looking for lost sheep and those who have strayed. The call of the liturgy today to them and to all of us is, "return to the Shepherd."

Where can we find "the path of life?" People all over the world are searching and want to know. "Lord, you will show us the path of life," says Psalm 16, our Responsorial today. This psalm is an unabashed act of faith in the Lord and a prophecy of the Messiah's resurrection.

I have heard it said that the most difficult article of faith to accept is that God loves each of us personally with an infinite love and extends his gracious mercy to us even after all our sins, infidelities, and betrayals. Today's liturgy, one week after Easter, emphasizes the great truth of Divine Mercy and the need to exercise our faith and trust in the salvation purchased by the Precious Blood of Jesus.

In many ways, that is exactly the key question about Jesus. I heard a story about a theology professor at a Catholic college, who would ask his freshman students to list the ten living persons they most admired. The name of Jesus Christ never appeared on anyone's list! When the professor remarked about this, the students' responses were always the same - not one student in his Catholic theology class thought of Jesus as being a living person!