Pastor's Message

This Fourth Sunday in the Easter Season is also known as "Good Shepherd" Sunday and also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations based on the Reading (John 10:11-18) in which Jesus declares, "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

"I am," or Greek from the original, "ego eimi." These are the same words that God speaks to reveal the divine identity. "I am who I am" are God's words (Exodus 3:14) to Moses when asked for the name of God.

When Jesus says, "I am", He is saying "I am God", God the Son. It's God who is speaking. We hear this elsewhere in the John's Gospel where Jesus says:

I am the Bread of Life, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist (John 6:35).

I am the Light of the World (John 8:12).

I am the Gate (John 10:9).

I am Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).

I am the True Vine (John 15:1).

I am the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).

This statement declares His divine identity. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He lays down His life for the sheep. They know and follow Him.

It is also a statement of our own identity. If Jesus is the Shepherd, then we are the sheep. This probably isn't the highest form of a compliment and some use this image of sheep as a sign of contempt toward religious believers. To them, only the foolish, weak, and unintelligent believe in God. The enlightened and strong are above such outdated superstitions, or so goes the argument.

Allow me to suggest that to accept that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and that we are the sheep points to something different. We are indeed sheep, but not unintelligent, weak, or foolish, provided that we long to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd guiding us.

To be sheep means to be the Church. It means we, together, long for holiness. We long for community that is a spiritual home, goodness, beauty, truth, and an ultimate meaning to our lives, which end all too soon. It also means that we admit our own powerlessness and limitations.

To say that Jesus is the Good Shepherd is to say that we are created to hear, listen, and follow His voice and to be one with Him. He gives us our identity. We accept His reality.

Congratulations to the Loeffler family, who presented a child for baptism last Sunday.

Congratulations to the Gomez family, who will present a child for baptism at the 9:00 AM Mass this Sunday.

Commissioning for the ACTS Retreat Team will be at the 5:00 PM Mass this Sunday.

The parish finance committee will be preparing the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. A financial report will made available after the end of the current fiscal year on June 30.

Marina Eklund and Cameron Palmer will be united in the Sacrament of Marriage at St. Benedict on Saturday, April 27.

There will be brunch for all new families in McGuire Hall following the 9:00 AM Mass this Sunday. We invite all new parishioners to come.

Our next Night of Mercy will be on Wednesday, April 24. Sponsored by the ACTS Retreat Core Team, it will start at 6:30 PM and include a Holy Hour of Adoration and Confessions.

Weather permitting, the north and east side parking lots will be sealed and repainted sometime in the next two weeks. We plan for it during the weekdays so that disruption for parking on the weekend will be minimal.

Over the next few weeks you will notice changes in the church commons. Our hope is to make a space more inviting to parish community. More details to come!

Repairs to the roof and heat/air units over the church sanctuary should happen around May/June. We will give more details when they are available.

We are celebrating First Holy Communion at the Saturday Vigil Mass on April 27 and the 12:00 PM Mass on April 28. Please keep these children and their families in your prayers.

Fr. James Porter, a former associate pastor of our parish, will be returning on Saturday, May 4. He will be at the 5:00 PM Vigil Mass. Afterwards, there will be a dinner in McGuire Hall where he will speak about the campus ministry at St. Philip Neri University Parish at the University of Tulsa, were he is pastor. All parishioners are invited, especially those with high school children looking to attend college.

God bless and keep you safe.

Fr. Bryan