Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C: Vocation/Good Shepherd Sunday – 11 April 2025.
Readings – Acts 13:14, 43-52; Responsorial Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5; Rev. 7:9, 14B-17 & Gospel Jn. 10:27-30.
The first reading recounts how the persecuted apostles Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly while making inroads among the gentiles who received the Word of God. In the second reading, St. John presents us with a glimpse of the beatific vision of a great number of Saints dressed in white, who endured the trials, tribulation and temptation and washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. The gospel reveals Jesus as a shepherd who pays attention to the voice of his sheep because he knows them and they follow him. He assures of eternal life and emphatically states that no one can steal them from him because they were given by the father, who is greater, with whom he is one. While we pray for vocations to the priestly and religious life, let us commit to being partners in witnessing.
Introduction
Friends in Christ, today the Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. We are presented with the Sacraments of Christian vocation or communion – Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony. The Church invites us to pray for an increase in priestly and religious vocation. She calls us to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage which breeds vocations. It is our prayer that those who have embraced the vocation to the married life would nurture their children in the faith to embrace working in the vineyard of God to meet up with the deficit of priests in the West. We commend missionaries who have left everything to follow Christ, that the Lord may renew their commitment to the evangelising mission of the Church.
Background & Summary of the Readings
The first reading (Acts 13:14.43-52) recounts how the persecuted apostles, Paul and Barnabas spoke out fearlessly while making inroads among the gentiles who received the Word of God. The Word of God spread throughout the countryside. This made the Jews jealous especially some leading men and women who started persecuting the apostles and expelled them from the territory. At this, the apostles shook the dust from their feet and went to Iconium, but the new converts were filled with the Holy Spirit.
In the second reading (Rev. 7:9.14b-17), St. John presents us with a glimpse of the beatific vision. He sees a great number of Saints dressed in white, who have endured the trials, tribulation and temptation and washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. He assures that they will never hunger or thirst again and the scourging wind will not plague them because the Lamb would be their Shepherd and would guide them through springs of living water even as he wipes away their tears.
The gospel (John 10:27-30) reveals Jesus as a Shepherd who pays attention to the voice of his sheep because he knows them and they follow him. He assures them of eternal life and emphatically states that no one can steal them from him because they were given by the Father, who is greater, with whom he is one.
Story of Vocations
As a seminarian, in 2005, I had an unforgettable experience while undertaking apostolic work under a missionary priest from Congo in one of our parishioners. A parishioner lost one of his sons. The priest invited me for a condolence visit to the house of the said parishioner. When we got there, there was commotion. The man was in tears and so were his wife and three other children. As expected, Father tried to console the man and encouraged the family to take the loss as the will of God.
But the man refused to be consoled and cried profusely. While in tears, he told the priest that he wanted to “donate” the son who died to God to work in his vineyard as a priest. Father who was still trying to comfort him said, “But you have other sons that you can give to God.” The man who became more serious now cleaned his face and said, “No father, I cannot give God any of these ones. It is the boy who died that I wanted to give God.” This story tells how some parents are either unwilling to promote vocations or play pranks with God. This brings us to the two sacraments of Christian vocation or communion in the Church.
The Sacraments of Christian Vocation
Pastoral Lessons
Summary Lines
Conclusion
We are charged to pay for priests and religious who are facing challenges in their ministry, those who may have left active ministry and those who are suffering from guilt or shame – That God may restore their anointing. We also pray for an increase in vocations by asking God to raise genuine young men and women who would work towards the path of truth, faith and love. We are challenged to support the Church financially by choosing to sponsor a seminarian, or a religious brother or sister. God knows each one of us by name and desires that we serve him through either of the two vocations. May the Good Shepherd direct all priests, religious and laity to green pastures. Amen. Happy Vocations Sunday!
