Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter Year A.
We are called to be good shepherds for others.
1. Summary of ideas of today’s Sunday readings
Today, the 4th Sunday of Easter year A, is Good Shepherd Sunday. This is the reason why today’s readings revolve around the truth of faith that Christ is our Shepherd and we who form part of his Church, are his sheepfold, his flock called to participate in his admirable victory over sin and death (cf. Opening Prayer). He is also the gateway to salvation and eternal pasture such that Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
- How do we form part of his sheepfold?
- Through the sacrament of baptism we enter into His sheepfold, we are integrated into His flock which is the Church He established with Peter as His vicar (1st reading: Acts 2: 14a, 36-41) who together with the apostles started proclaiming the necessity of repentance from our sins and of being baptized in order to receive the forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Holy Spirit and form part of Christ’s flock.
- Our Lord, who suffered for us and “bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness” and made it possible for us to return to God, the “Shepherd and Guardian of our souls” (2nd reading: 1Pt 2:20b-25).
- Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd “calls his sheep by name and leads them out.” That is why we can always exclaim with joy and confidence in Christ: “The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want,” for He not only gives us his grace in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, whose abundant table He prepares for us every Sunday (Resp. Psalm) but also promised that we “might have life and have it more abundantly.”
2. Christ the Good Shepherd and His instruments.
- Christ’s plan of salvation is being carried out and perpetuated throughout time through His Church and His instruments: the pope, bishops (as successors of the Apostles), and priests.
- That is why we should always pray for the holiness, fidelity and apostolic zeal of all priests, and also for more vocations to priesthood, so that all be holy, faithful, apostolic instruments of Christ the Good Shepherd.
- However, not only the priests are the Good Shepherd. Each one of us has the task and responsibility to lead Christ’s sheep to the green pastures: parents to their children, siblings, friends, teachers to their students, leaders to their subordinates, those who hold public office to their constituents…everyone is called to be a good shepherd for others.
3. Are we good shepherds?
Are we good shepherds? Who is the good shepherd? ‘He who enters by the door’ of faithfulness to the Church’s doctrine and does not act like the hireling ‘who sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees’; whereupon ‘the wolf snatches them and scatters them’” (St. Josemaria, Christ is passing by, 34).
If we have to be good shepherds, we should lead them to Christ, to salvation and eternal life and we could do this only when we enter by the door who is Christ.
- What does entering by the door which is Christ mean? It means entering by the door of His Sheepfold (the True Church) in order to know, love and identify ourselves with Him and love His life.
- Do we have this intimate relationship with Christ by dealing frequently with him in prayer, in the sacraments, Gospel meditation?
- Do we know Christ’s doctrine as taught by His One True Church? For we cannot give what we do not have.
- We could not teach others ideas which are incompatible with the teachings of Christ through the teaching body of his Only Church: the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Need to have a Catholic sense of smell to avoid being deceived and separated…
- If we need to be good shepherds according to Christ’s example, we need to know his life and strive to imitate him. Thus we could nourish others not with our criteria but Christ’s criteria, virtues, and good example.
- Christ as Good shepherd has these characteristics:
- he lays down his life for his sheep (total self-giving); he calls them by their name (intimate knowledge and union with his flock); he is concerned not only with his sheep but also those which do not belong to his fold) sincere concern and at the serviceof unity among all men.
- TOTAL SELF-GIVING: has to be carried out not just once, at the moment of death. We must give it day by day. as Christ does in the Holy Eucharist. Mothers wake up at 2 or 3am to feed a crying baby…
- KNOWLEDGE: I KNOW MY SHEEP. But then there is no true knowledge without love, without an inner relationship and deep acceptance of the other. Not just by knowing names. One must know the heart so that one can help the other. Father son 4th year college in a private university, year of graduation, then son opened up, he did not pass not even 1 subject…father sad and after initial and logical disappointment, he did not abandon his son…Reminds us of the father of the prodigal son who never abandons us in spite all our failings.
- SINCERE CONCERN AND SERVICE TO ALL MEN, knowing that Jesus has come in order to save us all: not only the just, but above all, the sinners; not only the Jews, but the Gentiles as well. This can be translated by asking God to grant us a huge and merciful (forgiving) heart where all can fit in, not only our family and loved ones, but those whom we don’t know and EVEN those who are against us or who have caused us harm, or those who do not belong to the Catholic faith.
- Priest who introduced a Muslim studying in a Spanish university who wanted to learn Spanish faster…frequent dealings, friendship, Muslim got interested with the Catholic faith, and years later, received the grace of conversion and vocation from God. And it all started with this apostolic zeal of the priest in introducing the young man to a Catholic layman.
- he lays down his life for his sheep (total self-giving); he calls them by their name (intimate knowledge and union with his flock); he is concerned not only with his sheep but also those which do not belong to his fold) sincere concern and at the serviceof unity among all men.
4. At the same time, we are called to be good sheep.
At the same time, we are called to be good sheep. How? Through docility and obedience to the Good Shepherd: the teachings of Christ and his Church, and all the virtuous commands of the faithful instruments God gave us to guide us to his eternal pasture.
May we always remember of this great task and responsibility which Our Lord placed on our shoulders to bring the people around us to heaven by being good shepherds to others and good sheep at the same time through our prayers, sacrifices, good counsel and example and coherent Christian life and apostolate of friendship. For in the end, our life will be a failure if we do not reach our heavenly goal which Our Lord gained for us and to which He wants to lead us through His Church and His instruments.
And may we always support and pray for all the holiness, fidelity, and apostolic zeal of all the priests and vocations to the Church.
A Blessed Sunday and week ahead!
Fr. Rolly Arjonillo
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