1. INTRODUCTION
 On our journey of Easter, today we meet the Risen Lord as the Good Shepherd. It is the Good Shepherd Sunday: “The Lord is my Shepherd…†Ps 22)
 2. LITURGY OF THE WORD
 First Reading, Ac 4:8-12. We proclaimed the Sermon of Peter after he cured the crippled man who was begging at the gate of the temple. He tells his owed audience:†I did not do it, Jesus did, He is the name that heals, “the only name by which we can be saved.” Throughout the Gospels and Acts, we find two clear signs of an authentic follower of Christ, namely, courage and joy: joy in being persecuted for the sake of Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of Mary, our Brother.
Second Reading, 1 Jn, 3:1-2. Before his Ascension to heaven, Jesus told his disciples: “I am going to my God and to your God, to my Father and to your Father.†Jesus the Lord is the Son of God; we are the adopted children of God. This is our greatest title: we are not only creatures of God; we are also sons and daughters of God, and we try to behave as good children of God after Jesus Christ, the only name that saves us and as respectful and in Jesus compassionate brothers and sisters of one another.
Third Reading, Jn 10: 11-18. The lovely allegory and parable of the Good Shepherd, Jesus as our Shepherd: “I am the good shepherd. “I am†– the name of God (“I am He who is,†God said to Saint Catherine of Siena, and “You are-she-who-is notâ€). Jesus knows his sheep, He calls them by name and loves them and gives his life for his sheep – for all of us. (Coming from a small town in Avila, El Oso, I know well how hard it was to be a good shepherd. I admired them a lot! But what turned me off when I was a child was that the shepherds could not celebrate feasts or holidays – for them no holy or holydays!)
 3. REFLECTION: “WE ARE THE LORD’S SHEEPâ€
 What does it mean to be the Lord’s sheep?
It means, in the first place, to know him, that is, to believe and to love him: faith finds its expression in love. Not merely knowing him, but mainly loving him ; this is the best way of knowing  him – and  others. The Little Prince said: “It is only with the heart that one can see clearly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.†(A.Saint-Exupery). To have faith in and to love the Good Shepherd imply not only to study books on Christ, but mainly to encounter him in prayer, to tell the world of his love, to show by our words and deeds that “we have seen the Lord,†that we are his sheep, his followers. Jesus says: “I am the good shepherd, I know my own, that is I love them; and my own know me, that is they love me, and those who love me are willing to follow me†(St. Gregory the Great. 4th Sunday of Easter, 2nd Reading).
To be a member of his flock entails to listen to his voice – to his teaching. Jesus says: “He who listens to these words of mine will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.†Jesus’ words to us today: “God is love…,†“Love one another,†“Love your enemies and pray for them,†“I was hungry and you gave me food…â€Â “What you do the least of my brothers and sisters, you do it to me.†We truly listen to our Good Shepherd! “The only listening that is worthwhile is that which hears and learns; and that is the only way to listen to God†(W. Barclay, In Jn 6:41-51).
To know and love Jesus, to listen to his voice imply to follow him. Jesus is the Way to be followed, the Truth to be preached, and the Life to be lived.â€Â To follow entail to follow him in suffering and joy; in Lent and in Easter; on Good Friday and on Easter Sunday: To follow Jesus by the path of our vocation, by obedient fidelity to our call.
Is it hard to follow Jesus today? By ourselves, we can do nothing for we are sinners and weak; but with God in us – as the Psalmist tells us – we can scale any wall. Jesus continues healing us and, if sick he, the Good Shepherd, carries us on his shoulders.
4. CONCLUSION
Is Jesus our Good Shepherd? “The Lord is my shepherd…†I love this story that some of you already know well. There was a famous British actor who used to give a grand party on his birthday. After dinner he liked to recite some emblematic texts and poems by English authors, and other great writers. His guests were also invited to ask him to recite a poem or other literary texts. Once, an old priest asked him to recite the Good Shepherd Psalm (23). The actor obliged, but with one condition: the priest must also recite it after him. Regretting his request, the humble priest also obliged. After the actor recited it with his booming and vibrating voice, the audience gave him a standing ovation. The turn of the priest came. He began to recite it slowly, prayerfully: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; besides restful waters he leads me, he refreshes my soul…† When he had finished, there was a talking total silence. You would have heard a pin being dropped! You could hear some sobs, and see tears in the eyes of many. To break the silence, the actor said: “I hope you have seen the difference! I know the Psalm; he knows the Shepherd.â€
We are in Easter. We are Easter People and Alleluia is our song. To be followers of the Good Shepherd means to be witnesses of the resurrection of Christ: dead to sin and selfishness and pride; and alive for God in love and compassion.
Today is also Vocation Sunday. We pray in our Eucharist for more vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life. We also pray, in particular for the priests and religious men and women in the Diocese of Macau, where it is also the Thanksgiving Day for priests and religious who celebrate their Golden or Silver Jubilees of Ordination or of religious Profession.
May the Good Shepherd heal us all with the prayers of Mary our Mother and our angels and saints! We praise the Lord for He is good and his love endures forever!
                                               FAUSTO GOMEZ, O.P.
                                               Macau, April 29, 2012  Â
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