Dear brothers and sisters, traditionally, this forth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, because each year the church presents us with our Lord's beautiful description of himself as the Shepherd who has tender and merciful love for his sheep.
The Church has also designated this Sunday as a World Day of prayers for Vocations. So we pray today in this Holy Mass that God will call (form Latin word, "vocare" meaning "
to call") many more men and women to the great adventure of being Shepherd for his flock.
In the old Testament the image of the Good Shepherd is rooted deep in it. In the prophets and psalms, God is the Shepherd; the people of Israel are his flock. Israel's priests were the Shepherds entrusted by God with feeding and guiding his people in the ways of holiness and service.
The first reading of to today's Mass is about the ministry of St. Paul and St. Barnabas. They are called to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. So St. Paul and Barnabas are Shepherds. They are a sign for us in our mission of the new evangelization. We heard how they evangelized Antioch and how they faced protests and violence. We witness their courage and also their joy. They faced so much opposition and hardships but they were filled with joy and holy spirit. They are a beautiful example for us in our work to spread the good news about Jesus. We should be joyful and be filled with hope in every situation of our life especially, when we are trying to be faithful to the gospel.
In the gospel passage today, Jesus the Good Shepherd promises us that our life are in his hands, he knows each one of us by name, knows our hearts and we are his people. We know that if we follow him, he will lead us the way in which we are called to be his disciples, his followers. So this Easter season is a wonderful time to learn how to live with and follow the risen Christ.
Our second reading from the book of revelation we heard about that beautiful scene of heaven. That is where Jesus the Good Shepherd is leading us. This is where he wants us to lead others. John saw many people from every nation, race, people and tongue. This is the Catholic Church, the family of God's people. And that is what the mission of the Church is all about, to bring everyone into the family, Jesus so that he can lead them .
So let us ask Jesus for the grace to take him as our model for our lives And let us ask Mary, Our Queen and blessed Mother to help us to always follow her son, our Good Shepherd, and to always listen to his voice in our lives. Amen.
Readings;
1st, Acts 2:14a, 36-41. 2nd, 1 Pt. 2:20b-25 3rd, Jn.10:1-10
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