Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday and Mother's Day 2022)

It is remarkable how much can change within a week. We should know this truth as Christians who have borne witness to the death and resurrection of the Lord, a truth which we still celebrate in this Easter season. Yet it can still be quite surprising to see this happen in real life. Standing up here last week, I did not imagine that I would return to this pulpit to declare that the mood against Christians has increased ten-fold within such a short span of time. And why has this happened? Why this increase in vitriol? You can probably guess, but it has to do with the leak from the Supreme Court over the potential of overturning Roe v Wade.

The amount of rage and anger that has exploded from liberals this week at the possibility that abortion will no longer be protected on a federal level has indeed been a marvel to behold. From politicians calling for impeachment of justices to the media types expressing anger at any barely to the right of them to numerous online people making threats and calling for riots and revolution, the anger has been beyond palpable. This last point about threats has been so great that many dioceses and parishes are on high alert due to threats of storming churches and protesting during Mass. It may feel like the situation we encounter in the first reading.

Paul and Barnabas are preaching  to both Jew and Gentile the Good News of Jesus, His resurrection, and His gift of salvation to all. Many received this news with joy and were converted, joining the Church in the way of Christ. But St. Luke writes how the disbelieving Jews worked up a persecution of Paul and Barnabas to get them expelled from the territory in which they worked. Yet the passage does not conclude with the disciples feeling bitter or angry, but overjoyed that they suffered for the name of Jesus. Why would they rejoice when people have risen up against them? They rejoice because they are the sheep of the flock of the Lamb who suffered the same anger and was killed because of it, yet rose from the dead in triumph against His enemies.

The way of the Christian is not one of ease and comfort, but one of struggle. Struggle against sin from within ourselves as well as from without. Struggle against the wiles of the devil who prowls about the world, seeking the ruin of souls. And struggle against a world that has always been against Christ and His Church. We should not be surprised that the rage of the world exists or that it increases; we should instead be surprised that we are still in an easy position to live our faith without earthly consequences.

There is no victory without struggle; there is no triumph without conflict; there is no winning without fighting. As much as it is true in every other realm, it is most true in the life of the Christian. We will be hated for saying that there is only one God, that Jesus is the Word incarnate who died and rose from the dead, and that there is one Church filled with the Holy Spirit through which we receive salvation. We will be mocked for rejecting the ways of the world which pursue lust, greed, and hatred in rejecting God in the multitude of manners we see today. We will be pressured to conform, to join in with the flock of Satan who gleefully give in to every form of sin so that they may be satiated here without knowing the consequences that will come when they plummet into eternal damnation.

Yet the Good Shepherd calls to us: the few who listen, the few who have the opportunity to hear, the few who have hearts open to hearing. While it is true that the Good News is meant for all, we know that so many reject it each day in favor of following the wicked pastors of this age. This is why we hear Jesus pray over the chalice, declaring it to be the Precious Blood spilled out “for many” instead of “for all”. Not all will conclude their lives being sheep in the one flock of the Redeemer, but will remain outside forever when the Shepherd returns to gather His flock for the last time.

This is the vision which St. John beholds in the second reading: the great multitude who are clothed in white and wave palm branches in honor of the true King of the universe. They have survived the “time of great distress” which is every age of persecution and wickedness brought upon faithful souls. Purified by the blood of the Lamb, they have entered into everlasting glory to be freed of sorrow-hence why the elder says that “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” This could only happen because they were the faithful sheep of the Good Shepherd, because they heard His voice and followed Him no matter the difficulties, because no one can take them from His hand.

But we should not act as if we have already obtained this victory in union with Christ. We are still here below, surrounded by enemies who hate us, who wish to corrupt us and our children, who even desire our deaths if it satisfies their lust for sin. We must be strengthened by the grace of eternal life given us by our Good Shepherd to fight for Him and win the victory over sin, over Satan, over all His enemies and ours. There can be no compromise for we are all ultimately sheep, sheep who need a pastor. Either we shall follow the Good Shepherd who leads us to eternal life, or we shall obey the wicked pastors who draw us away from God and plunge us into eternal perdition.

Brethren, heed the voice of the Good Shepherd calling you to follow Him. Do not be afraid to bear witness to your fellowship in the flock of Christ to all you meet, even to those who reject and despise Him. Pray for the grace to remain united with Him in times of trouble or tribulation, and be close to Him in the sacraments He gives us through His one Church. If you want an example of how to do so, look no further than she whom we crown this Sunday in our parish: the blessed Virgin Mary.

I call upon her in particular for the women of our parish, especially the young women who are still growing up. Do not look to the ways of the world, which tries to subvert femininity to make women to be nothing more than pleasure seekers and birthing objects. Look to Mary to find the true model of femininity and discipleship: not rejecting of life, but open to the God who is life and desires life for us. She is the most faithful follower of the Good Shepherd and we should learn by her example. May the holy Mother of God pray for all of us to be true sheep who belong to the Good Shepherd in this life of tribulation and distress so that, with the Shepherd who is also the Lamb victorious over all, we may remain in the flock which shall not perish but shall rejoice for ever. 

Good Shepherd Sunday - First Communion

My dear children, today is indeed a special day. It is the first day that you will join us in receiving Holy Communion. You will approach to receive that most precious food that we can ever eat: the Most Holy Eucharist. You may be asking, “Why is this so important?” Hopefully, your teachers have helped you to understand the greatness and importance of what you are beginning to do today. You are not receiving any normal food, but you are receiving Jesus Christ Himself, who gives us His Body and Blood to be our spiritual food.

Why is it that Jesus does this? Why does He want us to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood? That is because Jesus wants to draw us closer to Himself. If we want to be near our parents, our friends, or anyone we care about, we move closer to them. But we can’t normally do this with someone who is so far away as to be incapable of touching. This is the great marvel of the Eucharist: although Jesus is very far away in Heaven, He comes near to us in the Eucharist, nearer than anyone else can be to us, because He is inside us whenever we eat the Eucharist.

And what does Jesus do while He is in the Eucharist? He tries to lead you to be good, to be holy, to be what you were created to be from the beginning. We call this day Good Shepherd Sunday, because we hear Jesus in the Gospel calling Himself by this title. A shepherd leads the sheep to where they can eat and be safe, and Jesus wants to do the same thing for us, we who are His sheep. In the Eucharist, we can hear Jesus tell us what it is that He knows is best for us, so that we may join Him completely in Heaven.

My dear children, rejoice that Jesus calls you to join the rest of us in receiving the gift of the Eucharist. Treasure this day as the day you began a new phase of your relationship with our Lord by the Holy Communion you are about to receive. Pray to Him today, and every day you receive Him, for everything you need to be holy, to be with Jesus in this life and the next. Ask Him, our Good Shepherd, to tell you your future so that you may live it out as best as you can. Let us not receive Communion lightly, but treasure each reception so that we may enjoy it here on earth, and rejoice completely in it in Heaven.

First Post - Pastor Bonus

This is the first post of what I pray will be a little work done for love of God and in service to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I entrust this and all my activities to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Clergy, that she will perfect it in her own wondrous way and present it to her loving Son for His honor and glory.
It is appropriate that this blog begins on what the Church calls Good Shepherd Sunday, for it is begun in the hopes of drawing souls back to God through the intercession of Christ the Good Shepherd.  Let us investigate this title of Our Lord and encounter what He desires to tell us.  We read in St. John's Gospel (10:11-16; Douay-Rheims):

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. But the hireling and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and flieth: and the wolf casteth and scattereth the sheep, and the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd: and I know mine, and mine know me.  As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep.  And other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must bring. And they shall hear my voice: And there shall be one fold and one shepherd.

Let us enter into the Scriptures and see what Jesus desires us to know of Himself.

What does it mean to be a shepherd?  It means to be the protector and the guardian of the sheep.  It is the shepherd who must protect the sheep against the intrusions of wolves and other ravenous beasts out to gobble down upon the sheep.  The shepherd is the one who guards the sheep at all times, not merely during the day.  In the days when Christ roamed this earth, a shepherd did not leave his sheep for any reason.  He even slept near them!  Finally, the shepherd is the guide, the one who leads the sheep through thick and thin to restful waters and green pastures.
This is the model for the priesthood of Jesus Christ that must be lived out today.  The priest must be the protector of the flock of Christ, guarding them against the temptation of sin.  The priest must save the flock from the wolves of modern culture and the ravenous beasts who are the devils, desirous of drawing souls into the eternal sufferings of Hell.  The priest must lead the people to the restful waters that flow from the heart of Christ Crucified, and to the green pastures where they will be fed on the Eucharist to strengthen them on their journey.
Please pray for the priests of the Church, most especially the Pope and bishops who are our chief shepherds in union with the Good Shepherd.  Pray especially for the men who are becoming priests, that they will imitate the Good Shepherd and not the hireling.  Let us also give thanks to the gift of God in His Son the Good Shepherd, who has given us shepherds to follow in these last times and has not left us alone.  Give thanks that He cries out to you, that He beckons to you, and that you hear His voice calling above the noise of the world.  Let us answer that cry that He makes for each of us: "Come, follow me, and I will give you eternal life."