St James Catholic Church

Hope all is well with you, your family, and your friends.  The Fourth Sunday of Easter has been called Good Shepherd Sunday.  In the cycle of readings for this day, all three years celebrate Jesus leading and caring for his flock.

Strangely John’s Gospel today identifies Jesus as the gate for the sheep.  I don’t particularly care for that title because it sounds so impersonable.  We think of a gate as part of a fence, wrought iron or wooden.  In that time and place villages generally had a common sheep's-field with a low stone wall in which several flocks of sheep would be kept when they were not grazing.  A gatekeeper would guard the sheep, sometimes, literally, laying across the opening.  Even sleeping there through the night.  As the gate, Jesus would be able to protect all the sheep from predators and keep the sheep from straying.  His forgiveness is the gate through which we can return to the flock, through which we can be welcomed into the pasture of eternal life.

There is a great bond between the sheep and their shepherd.  Willing to lay down his life for the sheep.  Since several flocks were gathered in the same sheepfold, sheep had to be able to pick out the voice of their own shepherd.  We sometimes struggle to distinguish the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, from among all the voices we hear in our lives.  With all the extra time we may have on our hands, let us become more attuned to Jesus’ voice and pray for the grace to recognize what he is calling us to do and be.

Today is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  Certainly, that means praying for more to enter the priesthood, religious life and lay ministries.  But we have all received a vocation, a calling through baptism to be a follower of Christ.  Being a good spouse, parent, guardian, laborer, professional or any job we are called to do, shepherding one another.  In other words going over and above the call of duty to lay down our lives in service of others.

Love, Peace, Joy

Fr. Bob