The Good Shepherd And His Sheep (FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER / GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY - A)

APRIL 30, 2023 SUNDAY

Fourth Sunday of Easter (White)

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

CYCLE A - YEAR I

Lectionary: 49

Reading 1

Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,

raised his voice, and proclaimed:

"Let the whole house of Israel know for certain

that God has made both Lord and Christ,

this Jesus whom you crucified."

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,

and they asked Peter and the other apostles,

"What are we to do, my brothers?"

Peter said to them,

"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,

in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;

and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is made to you and to your children

and to all those far off,

whomever the Lord our God will call."

He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,

"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."

Those who accepted his message were baptized,

and about three thousand persons were added that day.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

or:

R. Alleluia.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In verdant pastures he gives me repose;

beside restful waters he leads me;

he refreshes my soul.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

or:

R. Alleluia.

He guides me in right paths

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk in the dark valley

I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

With your rod and your staff

that give me courage.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

or:

R. Alleluia.

You spread the table before me

in the sight of my foes;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Only goodness and kindness follow me

all the days of my life;

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

for years to come.

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Reading 2

1 Pt 2:20b-25

Beloved:

If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,

this is a grace before God.

For to this you have been called,

because Christ also suffered for you,

leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.

He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When he was insulted, he returned no insult;

when he suffered, he did not threaten;

instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.

He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,

so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

For you had gone astray like sheep,

but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Alleluia

Jn 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;

I know my sheep, and mine know me.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 10:1-10

Jesus said:

"Amen, amen, I say to you,

whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate

but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.

But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.

The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,

as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

When he has driven out all his own,

he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,

because they recognize his voice.

But they will not follow a stranger;

they will run away from him,

because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."

Although Jesus used this figure of speech,

the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,

I am the gate for the sheep.

All who came before me are thieves and robbers,

but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the gate.

Whoever enters through me will be saved,

and will come in and go out and find pasture.

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Our prayer trains us to recognise the voice of our good shepherd. We learn to distinguish the voice of the Lord from the other voices that appeal to us. Our cultures speak to us in authoritative ways, advertisers do everything they can to make their message compelling, national identities flatter and it is easy for us to be lured away to another flock.

PRAYER:

Lord, let me hear your voice, so that I may open the gate of my heart for you. Draw me to the pathways of life. May others then see me as a safe gateway leading to abundant life.

The Gate Of The Sheepfold (FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER - C)

MAY 08, 2022, SUNDAY

Fourth Sunday of Easter (White)

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

CYCLE C - YEAR II

Lectionary: 51

Reading I

Acts 13:14, 43-52

Paul and Barnabas continued on from Perga

and reached Antioch in Pisidia.

On the sabbath they entered the synagogue and took their seats.

Many Jews and worshipers who were converts to Judaism

followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them

and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.

On the following sabbath almost the whole city gathered

to hear the word of the Lord.

When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy

and with violent abuse contradicted what Paul said.

Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,

“It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first,

but since you reject it

and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life,

we now turn to the Gentiles.

For so the Lord has commanded us,

I have made you a light to the Gentiles,

that you may be an instrument of salvation

to the ends of the earth.”

The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this

and glorified the word of the Lord.

All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,

and the word of the Lord continued to spread

through the whole region.

The Jews, however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers

and the leading men of the city,

stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas,

and expelled them from their territory.

So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them,

and went to Iconium.

The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5

R (3c) We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

or:

R Alleluia.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;

            serve the LORD with gladness;

            come before him with joyful song.

R  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

or:

R  Alleluia.

Know that the LORD is God;

            he made us, his we are;

            his people, the flock he tends.

R.  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

or:

R  Alleluia.

The LORD is good:

            his kindness endures forever,

            and his faithfulness, to all generations.

R  We are his people, the sheep of his flock.

or:

R  Alleluia.

Reading II

Rev 7:9, 14b-17

I, John, had a vision of a great multitude,

which no one could count,

from every nation, race, people, and tongue.

They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,

wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

Then one of the elders said to me,

“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;

they have washed their robes

and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

            “For this reason they stand before God’s throne

                        and worship him day and night in his temple.

            The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.

            They will not hunger or thirst anymore,

                        nor will the sun or any heat strike them.

            For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne

                        will shepherd them

                        and lead them to springs of life-giving water,

                        and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

 

Alleluia

Jn 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;

I know my sheep, and mine know me.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Jn 10:27-30

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear my voice;

I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

No one can take them out of my hand.

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,

and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.

The Father and I are one.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

“The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice....”  It is not easy to listen: we get distracted by things around us or we are focused on what we want to say, that it is hard to have the openness to listen someone else. It also takes time and I may be in a hurry.  Are there people I should be giving time to listen to?

All this is also true about listening to the Lord. God has so arranged that The Word of God is close at hand in the scriptures. But it requires time to read, to read again, to ponder, mull over, so that the Word of God sinks in and we allow ourselves to hear this “voice” that speaks of peace, that teaches and consoles us.  “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening”.

PRAYER: 

Lord, thank you that you always know me. I am forever held in your hands in a deep and intimate relationship. I pray for those sick folk who no longer recognise the ones they loved, and for those who care for them. Be their Good Shepherd in their valley of darkness.

I AM The Good Shepherd

April 25, 2021, Sunday
Fourth Sunday of Easter (White)
GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
CYCLE B - YEAR I
LECTIONARY: 50

Reading I
Acts 4:8-12

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said:
“Leaders of the people and elders:
If we are being examined today
about a good deed done to a cripple,
namely, by what means he was saved,
then all of you and all the people of Israel should know
that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead;
in his name this man stands before you healed.
He is the stone rejected by you, the builders,
    which has become the cornerstone.
There is no salvation through anyone else,
nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

 

Responsorial Psalm
118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29

R.  (22) The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

or:

R.  Alleluia.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in princes.

R.  The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

or:

R. Alleluia.

I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
    and have been my savior.
The stone which the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
    it is wonderful in our eyes.

R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD;
    we bless you from the house of the LORD.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
    and have been my savior.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
    for his kindness endures forever.

R. The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.

or:

R. Alleluia. 

Reading II
1 Jn 3:1-2

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.

Alleluia
Jn 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;

I know my sheep, and mine know me.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL
Jn 10:11-18

Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”

REFLECTION:

The love of Jesus is love for death. It is the self-sacrificing love that we see on the cross. It is the love that never sits down under feelings of failure but can always see the resurrection ahead in some form or other. In caring for all people, Jesus knew something of the resurrection, for in love are the seeds of resurrection. We rise above the self-centredness that confines and narrows us, to the outgoing love which expands our hearts and minds, as our hearts and minds grow to be like the heart and mind of Jesus.

PRAYER:

I am being invited to trust Jesus in all the events of my life. I think about those areas of my life where I find it hard to trust God. I talk to Jesus about these things, and I listen to what he says to me.