Fourth Sunday of Easter
Lectionary: 49
7 MAY 2017 A.D.



First Reading
Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
"Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified."

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,
and they asked Peter and the other apostles,
"What are we to do, my brothers?"
Peter said to them,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your children
and to all those far off,
whomever the Lord our God will call."
He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,
"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand persons were added that day.



Responsorial Psalm
Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6

R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.



Second Reading
1 Pt 2:20b-25

Beloved:
If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,
this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When he was insulted, he returned no insult;
when he suffered, he did not threaten;
instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.
For you had gone astray like sheep,
but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.



Alleluia
Jn 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.



Gospel
Jn 10:1-10

Jesus said:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

Bible Study--4th Sunday of Easter--Cycle A
(Courtesy of Vince Contreras, Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics)


"I, with Jesus, Who is always by my side and in my heart, should I be afraid?"---St. Rose of Lima

The last picture made me teary because of how beautiful it is! Thank you so much for posting this.

I have to admit this Sunday wasn't the norm for me. I usually read this wonderful post as preparation for mass on Sunday. It allows me to enter into mass with this great anticipation of the message of sacred scripture.
Doing a little prep work always allows me to be more attentive to the Lord. It's the difference between speed reading or glossing over what I am reading, like I do the technical models I have to read at work vs
reading, hearing or seeing something so extraordinary that it gives you chills, or moves you to tears. 
Today I had to do things in the opposite directions.

Sadly there was no prep for today. I drove to mass battling exhaustion, the kind sleep just can't take care of. I prayed on the way but really was feeling very empty and far away from God.
Mass was offered by Fr. Bead. His homilies are always a treat and when I got home, I couldn't wait to see what was posted here. It was better than Christmas morning as a child.
Fr. Bead is not a fan of sheep or dogs, or poodles, or sheepdogs. But when he reads the gospel its spell binding. He concentrated particularly on how we know the voice of the master and He knows his sheep.

And not to be let down the Holy Spirit endlessly working.... this incredible post!

I hope our Lord knows our names.

Thanks, BNA.
Let's pray for good shepherds.

Oh, He does, AF! Not only our names, but our souls--our BEING--right down to the last atom and molecule!

Hope you get better rested; we need you here! Bless you!

yes--cb73---we sure do need "Good Shepherds" these days.

Here's a chuckle for you all--I'm sure I told you guys this last year for "Good Shepherd Sunday," but here goes again:

Our Pastor, Fr. Ed, is a city boy. He's great, but he's really not in to rural or country things. So one year at Mass he starts his Homily for Good Shepherd Sunday by asking the whole sitting congregation: "Anyone here know anything about sheep?" And, of course, Fr. Ed expects everyone to keep still and listen to what HE thinks about sheep.

Bad move (in front of an audience, never ask a question that you don't already know the answer to--ask any good trial lawyer!) Although our parish is sandwiched between two big city metro areas, parts of our Township have been rural since day one--1799. Enter Ronnie P. and his family. Red flannel shirts and denims.

So good old Ronnie P. yells out: "Sure, Father! We've been raisin' and breedin' sheep for about four generations!" Ans then reluctantly, Fr. Ed asks Ronnie: "And what are sheep like?"

"Sheep are dumb as they come and smell like hell!" answered Ronnie. The entire congregation cracked up laughing.

But, Fr. Ed is a fast thinker and good on his feet--he "blended in" Ronnie's comments to his Homily and all was well.