In the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite this Fourth Sunday of Easter is commonly known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.”
It is important that sheep learn the voice of their shepherd. Thus wherever the voice of the shepherd leads the sheep will follow. And so we were told in our Gospel “the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” Further we were told: “But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
In our world it is very easy for us to get caught up in many activities which cause us to forget about Christ. It is easy for us to push Him off to the side and thus we fail to make use of prayer. For example the priest cannot go through life without prayer by simply using the excuse that I have offered Mass and prayed the Liturgy of the Hours and therefore have done my part. We must do more then the letter of the law. Under ordinary circumstances there would be the obligation to attend Mass each Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, but we must do more to enter into relationship with the Lord. There is the necessity for us to pray in order that the voice of the Lord may become apparent for us.
Depending on how we choose to order our life on this earth has an effect upon our ability to hear this voice of Christ the Good Shepherd. If we give ourself the excuse to enter into sin we will muffle this voice from our ears. If that sin is deemed to be mortal in nature it will go as far as to destroy that voice from being heard. For this reason we must come to cultivate virtue in our life, for the more we cultivate virtue the more we will come to hear and follow after the voice of the Lord.
In this period of separation from the Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass it is important that we evaluate our practices of prayer. In what ways have we been too caught up in activities at home that have come to push prayer away in favor of something else? What ways have you or your family come together in this period of separation in order to keep the flame of faith alive and well? Again it is important that we hear and follow the voice of Christ the Good Shepherd.
