April 21, 2024: Fourth Sunday of Easter/Good Shepherd Sunday

We have a Good Shepherd in Jesus Christ, Who, out of love for us, His flock, laid down His life and then, took it back up again, as we celebrate throughout this Easter Season.

And He did it not just for His own flock, but for other people in the world, to build up His Body.

That's why St. Peter declares before the authorities that the Name of Jesus is the only Name by which all in the world are to be saved, because He made possible the salvation of all.  He was disowned like the stone rejected, yet has become the cornerstone of our faith.

Jesus not only saved us, but is transforming us as God reveals Himself to us, and we become like Him as we follow our Good Shepherd into the way of Eternal Life.

It's a day that, in history, speaks to many important leaders, like the day John Adams became the first US Vice President, and Queen Elizabeth II's birthday.  Yesterday and last weekend Saturday, bishops visited the Oak Park parishes for Confirmation Masses, including Cardinal Cupich.  Let us give thanks to God for the many leaders He has chosen to serve us as priests and bishops, who live out their vocation by leading us into the ways of Eternal Life.  As we are transformed in this way, let us open ourselves to how we can lead others closer to God.

I furthermore offer thanks to God because this weekend marks 100 years since Resurrection Sunday, April 20, 1924, when the first Mass was celebrated in the partially completed National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  It is a marvelous space that draws those Who come deeper into the presence of God Who was born of Mary, the Patroness of the USA.