Only Jesus is the Good Shepherd
4th Sunday of Easter
“The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.”Ps. 118
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”John 10:27s
Because of disobedience and rebellion, we lost paradise, but the same thing happens every day in our hearts: we lose God’s peace by exalting ourselves and trusting more in ourselves than in Him. And Christ shows us with His life the same thing that history demonstrates to us in a clear way: if we obey God, we’ll fare much better; we can already enjoy in this world the Kingdom of God and the paradise of His love, joy, and peace in our hearts, if we believe and trust in Him.
When the world was Christian and governments respected the Christian faith, there was harmony and peace as also described by the acts of the apostles when referring to the early Christians; communities of faith that had one heart and one soul, shared what they had, and persevered in prayer, fraternal communion, the teaching of the apostles, and the breaking of bread; these are the necessary means to grow in our faith.
Many still alive experienced what it means to leave doors open without fear of theft, and they lived the joy and peace that comes from faith in God with the Christian people of the towns. As the world removed God from public life, there has been a widespread worsening at every level, a culture of death never before seen: abortions approved as rights, suicides, homicides, widespread loss of well-being, insecurity, crime, as humanity had never known. This makes it clear that God knows much better than us what is good for us; we fare much better and suffer much less when we listen to Him and let ourselves be guided by Him.
“…the sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”John 10:4s
In the same way that children who listen to their parents will fare better than rebels who refuse to go to school or to the doctor, who do not want to eat or take their medicine, who trust more in themselves and want only to do their own will. Parents know better than children what is good for them and what benefits them, and they will bring out the best in them, just as God wants to do with us.
We cannot understand many things, as we are still in this world as a consequence of sin, in clumsiness and limitations, therefore we must trust in God, for He is the one who knows and deserves our total trust, since He reveals and manifests His love capable of giving life for each one.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”Psalm 23
Weekly Readings
Sunday: Acts 4:8-12/Ps 118: 1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29 (22)/Jn 3:1-2/Jn 10:11-18
Monday: Acts 11:1-18/Ps 42:2-3; 43:3, 4/Jn 10:1-10
Tuesday: Acts 11:19-26/Ps 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7/Jn 10:22-30
Wednesday: Acts 12:24-13:5a/Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6 and 8/Jn 12:44-50
Thursday: 1 Pt 5:50-14/Ps 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17/Mk 16:15-20
Friday: Acts 13:26-33/Ps 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab/Jn 14:1-6
Saturday: Acts 13:44-52/Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4/Jn 14:7-14
Next Sunday: Acts 9:26-31/Ps 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32 (26a)/1 Jn 3:18-24/Jn 15:1-8
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 4th Sunday of Easter; World Day of Prayer for Vocations
Monday: Earth Day
Tuesday: St. George, Martyr; St. Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr
Wednesday: St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Priest and Martyr; Administrative Professionals’ Day
Thursday: St. Mark, Evangelist
Friday: Arbor Day
Next Sunday: 5th Sunday of Easter