Fourth Week of Easter : GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY (B), 21st April 2024

On the 4th Sunday of Easter, the Church celebrates the theme of Christ Jesus as the Good Shepherd.’ It focuses on the fact that the Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. We continue to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Jesus freely chose His fate in order to complete the mission the Father had given Him — to lay down His life for us so that we might be saved from sin and its consequences.

Enduring His suffering and laying down His life, He loves us till the end. Elsewhere Jesus urges us to love one another as He has loved us. Do we really comprehend what Jesus is asking of us?

Then, we hear Jesus speak of the intimate relationship that exists between Him and those who follow Him. He knows us deeply and invites us to come to know Him better. Merely prayer and reading of Scripture are not enough. We have our vocations—to evangelise through laying down our prejudices as individuals and as a community, in sharing the Good News of the Risen Christ with others who doubt their roles in life. The Lord calls us to be bridge builders within the Church and among all Christians. At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed to the Father that ‘all might be one.’

And so we pray, Lord, that our vocation to reconciliation and healing continue, that communion among all those who follow Christ may one day be restored.