4th Sunday of Easter – The Good Shepherd

Posted on April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 by Deacon Joe

Acts 2:14a, 36-41; Ps. 23:1-3a, 3b-6; 1Peter 2:20b-25; Jn. 10:1-10

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. His voice is what runs through our minds, hearts, and will to do the Father’s will. He leads us through right paths for he himself is the way the truth, and the life.

The Good Shepherd’s voice calls out to “Save yourself from this corrupt generation…which does not enter the sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.” When Peter stood up and proclaimed to his generation “this Jesus whom you crucified…they were cut to the heart”. Salvation comes through repentance and baptism but first the word of God must cut to the heart and reveal our sin before us. Sin is the thief and robber that climbs into our lives unsuspectingly to steal our hearts with temptation until we become “normalized” by a corrupt generation.

The sin of each generation is a thief and robber in search of souls for a self-indulgence trying to feed on the pleasure principle, “if it feels good then indulge” until it becomes toxic but by then the heart is compromised and it stands at the gate holding us in bondage to “steal, slaughter and destroy”. The thief lays the “feel good bag of goodies” to savor but it is our response that is the sin we possess. Fault always is personal to be rejected with virtue. Corruption came from the beginning, the genesis of sin after creation by free will and it remains “mia culpa” by our choice. “For you have gone astray as sheep” but now we hear the voice of truth to lead us back.

Truth leads to wisdom of a greater understanding beyond ourselves. It is not about “me” it is about salvation for “us”. Easter is this gift of salvation in Jesus giving of himself for us in his passion, death and resurrection that all may be saved through the “good shepherd”. Jesus proclaims “I know my sheep, and mine know me.”

How does Jesus recognize his “sheep” and how do we recognize our Lord? We are recognized in being “patient when you suffer for doing what is good, this is a grace before God”. Jesus is the example we should follow that he may see himself in us. In this Jesus recognizes his own who are responding to evil with good. How then do we know Jesus? Jesus’ revelation comes in the voice of truth that cuts to our hearts “and the sheep follow him”. The voice of the shepherd burns in the hearts of his sheep and it cannot be denied.

“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want”. The people of Israel sought freedom he gave them salvation. They sought a king for this earth and he gave them a kingdom in heaven. They wanted someone to rule over them and he gave them a shepherd to follow. They wanted to conquer other people and he gave them the power to conquer their own corruption.

What do we “want” from the Lord? We seek freedom from disease and pandemics he gives us salvation from sin. We want to preserve our kingdoms we have built and he promises one in heaven. We want leaders for nations to rule and he gives us himself calling us to follow his example. We want to conquer in this world all our enemies and we are given the power to conquer the enemy of the world and victory over death. Jesus is the promise of life more abundantly.

The abundant life in Jesus Christ is the good news! In him is our courage to “walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil”. The corruption of each generation remains in a kingdom not our own but the Lord has called us by name and if “today you hear his voice harden not your hearts” salvation is at your doorstep.

Our heads are anointed with oil of salvation at baptism and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to keep our hearts burning for truth, goodness, beauty and unity in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Open the doors of hearts to “dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come”. Today we pray for the doors to the church to be opened and a return to the banquet of the Lord in the Eucharist until we enter the heavenly banquet closer to us than we recognize in the mystery of faith.

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Third Sunday of Easter – Faith and Hope

Posted on April 18, 2026April 17, 2026 by Deacon Joe

Acts 2:14, 22-33; Ps. 16: 1-2, 5, 7-10, 11; 1 Peter 1: 17-21; Lk. 24: 13-35

Easter time is our reminder that “Your faith and hope are in God”. This is our “final time” in which he reveals himself to us as human and divine, in the sacrifice of the lamb, and in the breaking of the bread. He is true God and true man that we may come to believe and live in the faith and hope of our salvation and eternal life. This is the time of our “sojourning to live our works of faith and hope that we may pass this final test and come into his glory.

A house divided cannot stand so in times of crisis, war, and the cry of the suffering the first crisis is of faith to stand the test of faith amid the fears and to never lose hope. This Sunday’s readings reveal the disciples’ crisis of faith at the death of Jesus and the continuation of Jesus’ formation of church in his real presence, “the breaking of bread”.

Three areas of “church” division among Christianity in our times are addressed in our reading summarized as “sola scriptura”, church “authority”, and salvation by “faith alone”. Jesus opens the scriptures to us but it is in the breaking of the bread that he is made known to us. How often have we read scripture or listened to the same passage and yet our spirit seems dormant. Then one day it speaks to our heart and our eyes are opened to how it speaks to our life.

On the road to Emmaus the eyes of the two disciples were prevented from recognizing him. The word becomes revealed to their life situation, it “burn(s)” in their hearts and they come to believe in the risen one as their eyes are opened to recognize him the breaking of the bread. Jesus vanishes but now their faith is strengthened and their hope is renewed as they come to realize the significance of the breaking of bread in which Jesus remains burning from within their soul.

“Sola Scriptura” meaning the “Bible alone” is a main source of division between Catholic and Protestant faith. Today many Christian denominations follow “Sola Scriptura” as the only infallible source of authority for Christians. The “breaking of the bread” is seen as the revelation of the word of God to open the eyes of the disciples but not his real presence. Jesus revelation to the disciples on the road to Emmaus came first as a revelation of scripture and then as he breaks the bread to his real presence before them to remain with them body, blood, soul and divinity in the bread.

Today in the Catholic church we celebrate both in the Mass with its two parts called the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This journey of faith on the Road to Emmaus is our journey of faith “on the first day of the week”, resurrection Sunday. It is the confirmation of the “Last Supper” to be continued in Tradition. The Eucharist is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ’s revelation to this very day. Jesus remains with us in the Eucharist to strengthen our faith and hope in his mercy and love despite our weakness for sin.

Church “authority” closely follows in a “house divided among itself” for Christianity. “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: ‘You…indeed all of you…Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.’ Peter is given the keys to the kingdom by Jesus after Peter denied him during the Passion. The primacy of Peter is the “authority” to follow in Jesus’ self-sacrifice as a “Holy Father”. The word without the authority of the church to bring unity is a house divided among itself. Left to our own authority we divide into our “denominations” with what interpretation of scripture we identify with as our “truth”.

The disciples on the road to Emmaus knew the scriptures as faithful Jews but it is the person of Jesus who “interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures”. This gift of interpretation is passed on to his disciples to build the Kingdom of God in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church. Today it is the “Chair of Peter” passed on to each Pope to carry forth into generations to come.

Salvation by “faith alone” is the third major pillar of division among the Christian “house” filled with rooms called denominations. Peter proclaims, “If you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works…as of a spotless unblemished lamb”. Powerful authority to declare not by “faith alone” does the Father judge impartially but “according to each one’s works”. Faith is the seed of salvation and works the fruit of salvation. The seed without works dies but the works produced by the seed are the works of God through us, not our own. The principal argument made against “works” is the conception that they are “our works” to merit heaven as if there is a scale that tips the works in our favor earning our justification. Far from it for to be Christian is to surrender ourselves to the works of God as instruments of his grace working in us for the salvation of souls. It is God’s grace, his gift of love, mercy, faith, and hope to be witnesses and bring forth the good news. These are the works of God that bring salvation who the Father judges how we fulfilled them.

It is believed that Martin Luther could not reconcile personal sin because of his own scrupulosity and thus came up with the theory of salvation by “faith alone”. He lost hope of the human capacity to fulfill the call to be “perfect” as God is perfect. Our hope is in the mercy of God to be washed clean of our sins with God’s perfect love. Our works reflect our cooperation with God’s grace as we participate in God’s salvific work.

Finally, the goal of the Christian is to come before the Lord as a “spotless unblemished lamb” that is without sin. Who then will be saved? This past week we recall the Lord’s promise of mercy to the whole world in Divine Mercy Sunday. In confession and the breaking of the bread we receive atonement for our sins when we come to Jesus. This is our redemptive gift but we must respond or carry our sin with us into the fire of purification, our purgatory in this life or in the next. Let our eyes be opened to his revelation from the foundation of the Church. The pandemic of death is not a virus but a house divided among itself in a crisis of faith. I believe in one God and in one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

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Homily

Second Sunday of Easter – “Receive the Holy Spirit”

Posted on April 11, 2026April 10, 2026 by Deacon Joe

Acts 2:42-47; Ps. 118: 2-4, 13-15, 22-24; 1 Peter 1: 3-9; Jn. 20: 19-31

It is the evening of the resurrection referred to as “the first day of the week” and Jesus appears to the disciples ready to deliver a great gift. The gift is wrapped with a bow he declares as “Peace be with you”. The bow of peace brings joy to the disciples in order to be ready and open to receive the greater gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the gift that comes with power to give witness to the resurrection of Jesus. This is the gift that transforms the lives of the disciples into vessels of authority to forgive sins, to heal the sick, to cast out demons, to offer up the body and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.

The resurrection brings us the joy of peace. It is the peace to know his victory over death. It is the peace of eternal life. It is the peace to live in peace regardless of what this world brings us. It also is the peace to open our minds and hearts to receive the Holy Spirit and give testimony to the resurrection of life. Even in this life we are to become a new creation through the sacramental life of the church. The Lord offers us his peace which we can accept by the act of trusting in him or we can refuse by holding onto our own worries and anxieties. This day is also the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday in which the words he gives us to accept are “Jesus, I trust in you”.

We are all familiar with the expression Let go and let God”. The mercy of God requires our trust in him. It does not mean we sit still waiting for life to happen, to the contrary it means we go forth in peace trusting the guidance of the Holy Spirit to direct our hearts, minds and actions towards the will of the Father. The disciples devoted themselves to “teaching” and to “communal life, the breaking of bread and to prayers”. They had a mission to fulfill and it started with understanding their purpose in building up the church. The mission remains the same to add to the number being saved. It is our mission and it begins with bringing our children to the sacrament of baptism and being raised in the faith.

We hear today that our “inheritance” is kept in heaven “safeguarded through faith” to be revealed in the final time. In other words, we must persist in faith and not lose heart because of the trials we encounter in this life. Each time we are “tested by fire” we have a choice to turn from God asking “where were you God when I needed you” or responding with “Jesus, I trust in you”. We are weak but the power of God is waiting for us to stand by our faith and persevere through our trials.

Thomas represents all of us when our faith questions God even though we have already accepted Jesus by faith. Our faith wants to see evidence of his presence in order to believe. Thomas wanted to see the nailmarks in his hands and the wound on his side. We start with prayers that are conditional “if you do this for me Lord, I will believe, I will go to church, I will stop committing this sin”. God hears the prayer of an unconditional heart who surrenders to his love and remains hopeful for God’s time as the right time.

Here we are 2000 years later believing in Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Is this the faith of our parents who we follow simply by tradition or is this the faith built on a strong foundation of trust, trials, and having a personal relationship with the one we love? The life we have by faith comes with the power of the risen one who is opening the window to his mercy or we remain wandering in the desert still searching for what is this life all about.

“Jesus, I trust in you.”

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Easter – A Triduum of sacrificial love

Posted on April 2, 2026April 2, 2026 by Deacon Joe

Easter is a Triduum of love in the person of Jesus Christ. The mystery of the Jewish Passover is revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, his passion, death and resurrection. Through his sacrifice of love, Jesus brings us salvation and passage into heaven.

Holy Thursday seen as the institution of the priesthood and the eucharist comes with the words “Do this!” Good Friday, the only day without the celebration of the Mass is the paradox of being “Good” when at the same time the Lord is being crucified and proclaims on the cross “It is finished!” Holy Saturday is the “Proclamation of the Exultet” from darkness to light with the lighting of the Easter candle, a sign of the Lord’s resurrection and the conquering of death concluding with Easter Sunday. Thus, Easter is not a day or a moment but a living out of life through a process of love that begins with a command “Do this!” and so by doing it we enter into the life of Christ, his sacrifice, death, and resurrection.

“Do this!” Jesus command to his disciples to follow “the way”, his way before his death was to take his high priesthood as son of God and bestow it to his disciples. It is the call to his royal priesthood. This was not a public proclamation but a solemn event to those he called to be his disciples in order to give them a mandate of love through an act of charity by washing their feet. This was “the way” of continuing to multiply the “loaves” of bread to feed his sheep and tend to his sheep through his body and blood in the Eucharist. Jesus taught publicly many lessons but he reserved to these disciples a call to a life apart, a sacramental life, and a sacrificial life for the stranger making disciples of all nations.

How is it that on a day when “sin” tries to claim its victory over God in the crucifixion of Jesus we recall it as a “Good Friday”? Is there anything more of a paradox in life than to see Jesus crucified and call it “good”? It is good that Jesus remained obedient to the Father through all his suffering even till death on a cross. It is good that “it is finished” in bringing us the final victory over sin and death so that at the name of Jesus sin and death can have no power over us. “Death, where is your sting?” It is good that we never forget this day in the life of faith so we may endure our own suffering knowing grace and patience until the day of our deliverance. Yes, it is good to recall “God doesn’t give us what we can handle, God helps us handle what we are given” by our “cries and supplications” and by his grace to the God of deliverance.

Exult for we have come from darkness to light, from death to life, and from sin to holiness. Exult for the history of salvation is revealed to us in order to give us wisdom and understanding of the mysteries of faith. Exult because now is the time of deliverance from the power of evil from the days of Adam and Eve to a new creation in Jesus Christ. Let us exult for we now are transformed into the creation of the temple God longs to live in when we surrender into the waters of our baptism to rise again as he did from the darkness of death. This is the “Proclamation of the Exultet” to rise again from our darkness.

Rejoice children of God in Easter Sunday as the temple is raised again as promised in three days. Rejoice because in rising from the dead he appeared to his disciples with a new command to forgive sins with the power of the Holy Spirit that is to come into them. Rejoice children of God for our Shepherd is with us as we listen for his voice. From the day of birth of mother church in the institution of the priesthood to the rising of the Son of God we rejoice for we are not alone, never abandoned nor forsaken by the Lord who suffered his passion in order to remain with us until the end of time.

Easter, a Triduum of love has been called the “silent times” in which we have offered our sacrifice of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during our Lenten season in order to experience the resurrection of the Lord in our own mind, body, and spirit. In these silent times God speaks and his words are both universal to the world as they come also to each of us to say, “Do this for love of me.” In the quiet of our hearts, we now come to Lord to receive his glory and to celebrate our own victory as we pass through from death to life in Christ.

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4th Sunday of Easter – The Good Shepherd

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Third Sunday of Easter – Faith and Hope

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Second Sunday of Easter – “Receive the Holy Spirit”

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Easter – A Triduum of sacrificial love

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