The Good Shepherd Leads Us Home to the Father

The fourth week of the Easter Season focuses on the image of Jesus as the “Good Shepherd” who leads His flock on a path of unity that reflects His union with the Father. Our salvation and our vocational path draw us into the eternal life of God who is a Communion of Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, whose Mystery is written on the depths of our hearts. In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.

“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father” (John 10:15-18).

“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one” (John 10:27-30).