Today on this fourth Sunday of Easter, we focus on Christ as the Good Shepherd.  Today is commonly referred to as Good Shepherd Sunday.  We see this in our readings, especially with the psalm. The responsorial psalm today is well known by all christians, one of the most beautiful passages we will find in the bible, that of Psalm 23.  The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. This psalm reminds us that with the Lord as our shepherd, we will be rested and restored. We will be guided along the right path, protected and comforted. We will enjoy the blessings of the Lord and we will one day rest in His presence. This psalm, this short chapter of only six verses, is what gives many christians the hope and the strength to carry on, not only in moments of trial or tribulation, such as what it may seem through which we are passing now, but in life in general.  The hope of the Shepherd is in the promise of the future as well.

In the Gospel Acclamation, we reflect upon the words spoken by Christ, a reinforcement and realization of psalm 23 .  I am the Good Shepherd, He says.  The Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and mine know me.

How comforting it is to know that the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Saviour Jesús Christ, knows us. He goes on to tell us in the Gospel that the sheep know the voice of the Good Shepherd and that he calls His sheep by their name, each and every one of them, each and every one of us. The sheep recognize His voice and they follow Him. We recognize His voice and follow him.  The shepherd walks before us, leading us, guiding us, looking out for us.  He leads us besides restful waters. He guides us along the right paths, the safe paths, the paths that lead us home.  Even when we move among through dark valleys, through places of uncertainty, with him at our side we have nothing to fear.  The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and they know Him.

But we must take caution in this world these days and listen for His voice and His alone.  As He is the Good Shepherd, this would imply that there are those who are not like Him, those who are not good, those who are not looking out for us like the Shepherd of Psalm 23. Christ warns us of this in the Gospel. He tells us that whoever does not enter through the gate but climbs over into the fold of the sheep is but a thief and a robber, strangers to the sheep.  There are many of these thieves and robbers, these false or bad shepherds who call out to us, trying to lead us astray.  People who intrigue us with their promises of health and wealth, prosperity preachers, new age gurus. And at times, that voice we hear even comes from within ourselves, a voice telling us that we can guide ourselves, that we are capable of being our own shepherd. We must be ever vigilant and not be led astray by false promises. 

The Good Shepherd, though, will always bring us back into the fold if we allow it and if we desire it. If we repent we can be saved from the influences of this corrupt generation.  If we seek Him out we will be saved.  The Good Shepherd watches over our souls and He offers us life in abundance.

We just have to listen for His voice, listen to His voice and follow that voice.

Today we also celebrate the world day of prayer for vocations. Christ tells us in the gospel reading that he is the gate through which enter the shepherds. We pray for vocations in response to Christ instructing us to pray for more laborers in the harvest.  We need more shepherds, ready to enter through that gate, ready to labor in the harvest, especially these days when people are feeling lost and abandoned, a feeling many had even before the virus now affecting us. We pray that more men may hear the call to the priesthood, hear the call and heed it.  We pray that the Lord gives us the strength to support our sons if they themselves hear it.

So on this Good Shepherd Sunday, on this world day of prayer for vocations, let us pray for all vocations to the consecrated life, to the vocations of ordained ministries such as that of the priesthood and the diaconate, to the religious life, societies of apostolic life or secular institutes. Let us ask our Lord to send us men strong in faith and virtue, to lead us, to guide us, and to instruct us.  Let us ask the Lord to send forth those laborers in the harvest, those shepherds faithful to the flock of the Good Shepherd, those who enter through the gate that is Christ.

I am the Good Shepherd, Christ said.  I know my sheep and mine know me. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.