Sermon - Fourth Sunday of the Easter Season - Good Shepherd Sunday (April 26, 2026)

Today we are reading the Gospel in which Jesus presents himself as a good shepherd.

This is one of the visions in which Jesus attempts to help us understand who he himself is and the extent of his capacity for love towards us.

Jesus says that he is the gate for the sheep. The sheep pass through him, and he says, “Whoever enters through me will be saved; they will go in and out and find pasture.”

Those who enter through Jesus will be saved. Jesus came to give us life and abundant life. We are the sheep, and Jesus is the Shepherd.

However, Jesus was no ordinary shepherd. He is referred to as the Good Shepherd in other verses because he gave his life for the sheep and searched for the lost ones.

A good shepherd might give his life for his sheep. Because true love is proven not in an easy life, but in sacrifice.

We truly love someone when we are able to sacrifice ourselves for them.

In the culture of that era, a shepherd was not just someone who guided the flock. He was:

• He knew each sheep individually.

• It protected them from dangers (thieves, wild animals).

• It provided food and water.

• He would walk in front of them as an example.

Jesus wants to convey several ideas simultaneously by using this image:

• He is not speaking of a distant leader. The shepherd knows his sheep “by name.” This implies closeness and individual attention. Jesus knows each of us individually.

• Sheep recognize the shepherd's voice. Similarly, those who follow Jesus learn to discern His guidance among other "voices."

• The text illustrates the difference between a shepherd and "thieves and robbers." This is a critique of leaders who come to steal and do nothing.

• When he says he came to bring them to live "in abundance," he emphasizes that the shepherd's role is to bring them to fulfillment.

Furthermore, this image doesn't appear suddenly. It's already a traditional image in the Bible.

For example, in Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my shepherd”), God is already described as a guide and protector. Jesus revisits this tradition and applies it to himself.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and he has appointed bishops and priests as shepherds to guide the flock.

Therefore, today is a day when the Church prays for all priests, that we may all be guided by Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

The great French priest Saint John Mary Vianney said: “A priest is the love of the heart of Jesus.”

This priest loved God so much and desired the salvation of souls so intensely that he knew what great atonement he could offer to God.

He was placed in the Church of Ars in France. The city had been without a priest for a long time. Nobody went to church or even wanted to pray.

Saint John Mary Vianney lived in Ars for 40 years.

He slept about 3 hours a night, ate very little (always boiled potatoes), fasted a lot, and spent his days listening to confessions, praying, and preaching.

After 40 years of penance, prayer, and preaching, the entire city returned to praying and attending Church.

Therefore, this saint is the patron saint of priests.

It is Jesus who continues to love the world and wishes to be present in it through the priests.

And since love is proven through sacrifice, the priest must offer himself as a sacrifice to God for the salvation of all.

And the actual sacrifice offered by the priest is the sacred rite.

Pope Pius XII, in his document *Mediator Dei*, describes the priesthood as follows: “When the priest ascends the altar, he gives his tongue and hand to Jesus. The priest delivers the Mass for all people. In the Mass, the priest does the same as Jesus did at the Last Supper and also performs the act of surrender that was performed on the Cross.”

During the Holy Mass, the priest offers himself and all people to God.

Priests should be good shepherds, giving their lives for their sheep, just as Jesus teaches us in the Gospel today.

Let us ask the Father to give His Holy Spirit to the young, so that many of them may dedicate their lives to Him and offer themselves to serve the Christian congregation, so that the presence of the Good Shepherd may not be lacking in the congregations.

Thus, we will always have a priest with us who is ready to listen to us in the name of Jesus and to teach us the Word of God.

In today's service, let us ask the Virgin Mary to intercede for all the priests.