April 26 th, 2026 (4 Sunday Easter A)

Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is the Good Shepherd the one who “has come to give us life and life in abundance.” Christ also says that he is the “gate of the sheep”, the sheep in fact recognize his voice and follow him. They do not recognize the voice of strangers or follow them, but they recognize the voice of the shepherd. We are called to recognize the voice of God calling us. Christ is the one who passes through the gate of the cross for us, he lays down his life taking it up again and calls us to pass through this gate following him. Everybody else who does not pass through the gate of the cross as Christ is a thief or a brigand and comes only to steal and to destroy. Many times, we do not want to go through this gate, we want to escape it and jump over it, but Christ tells us to pass by it, in it we will find this abundant life. We will find Christ himself. Let us recognize in the readings and the liturgy of today the voice of Christ the Good Shepherd calling us out of death. From the darkness of the netherworld and death Christ the Good Shepherd went to look for Adam and Eve and pulled them out. Like lost sheep he carried them on his shoulders and brought them back to heaven. This is what God does for us today, he calls each one of us by name to take us out of any darkness or any sin we may find us in, and brings us close to his Son to be united with him in heaven. Peace,

Fr. Nicholas