This is certainly an exciting time in the Church, isn’t it!?! We have a new pope and he’s an American with local roots. As I’m sure you have all heard, he studied right down the road at Villanova University. He may even have come to Mass here! We rejoice and pray that God will give him the strength to be the Good Shepherd who leads the entire Catholic Church ever closer to God.
And, it’s also very exciting for us here in the local Church of St. Katharine of Siena parish as some among us will receive Holy Communion for the first time. It’s great to see you all dressed up and excited. I’m delighted that so many members of your family are here, as well, and I hope you know that all of us – everyone here at Mass – is praying for you as you take this important step in being even more a part of our worshiping community. On this, the eve of Mother’s Day, I also want to wish all of you mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers a very Happy Mother’s Day; we are so blessed to have you here with us.
We have this wonderful tradition here in our parish of celebrating First Holy Communion at the regularly scheduled Sunday Mass because you are now able to join in communion with the rest of us in receiving our Lord and becoming part of the Body of Christ. Congratulations to all of our first communicants!
Speaking of tradition, today – the Fourth Sunday of Easter – is traditionally called Good Shepherd Sunday because the Gospel at Mass on every Fourth Sunday of Easter speaks of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. We hear in today’s Gospel that we are called to hear the voice of Jesus – as he calls his sheep – and follow him. What does that mean? Well, in Jesus’ time, most families had sheep, as well as a little farm, to help them grow the food they needed for themselves. This was before the days of ACMEs, Giants, Whole Foods and Wegmans and every family had to grow their own food. And, some families would keep their sheep in a community sheepfold at night. Fathers and older sons would take turns guarding the sheep in this sheepfold every night, keeping them safe from foxes and thieves. Naturally, these sheep would mingle together in the pen overnight. But, when the morning came, each family would come and take their own sheep out of the sheepfold for a day of grazing in the nearby hillside. The shepherd would call his sheep – by name – and they would recognize his voice. Each family’s flock would emerge from the big herd of sheep in the sheepfold, following the sound of the voice of their own shepherd.
As a good shepherd, Jesus calls each of us by name and we, who are saved in the name of Jesus, hear his voice and follow him. So, where does Jesus lead us? Like every good shepherd, Jesus leads us to a place where we are able to find good food and the springs of life-giving water that we hear about in this evening’s first reading.
Of course, the place is not McDonalds or Rita’s and the food and drink that Jesus gives us is not a hamburger or a water ice. The place is right here around our Lord’s Table and the food is the Holy Communion that some of us here will receive for the first time this evening.
Just as we need good food to keep our bodies healthy, so we need the right food to keep us healthy spiritually. Jesus gives us that food; his own holy Body and Blood. With this spiritual food, we become Jesus’ disciples and, like St. Paul and St. Barnabas – who we heard about in this evening’s first reading – we are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
And that is the message we learn in this evening’s readings. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who loves and cares for each one of us, calls each of us by name and leads us safely through this life, nourishing us with his own Body and Blood. How privileged we are to be part of his flock. And, as he did at the Last Supper, he does for us every time we gather around his table – he nourishes us with his life-giving presence. We rejoice in a special way today as some among us will receive it for the first time. And, as we pray that our new pope will follow in the footsteps of Jesus and, as the Good Shepherd, care for his flock of 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, we pray that our First Holy Communicants will come around the Table of the Lord throughout their lives to receive this same nourishment to eternal life. Let us all, with gratitude for God’s love and Christ’s saving actions in our lives, rededicate ourselves to listening for Jesus’ voice, hearing and heeding his teachings and following him.