The Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday because in the three-year cycle of the Lectionary, the Gospel for each cycle is from the tenth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel in which Jesus teaches that He is the Good Shepherd.

During the Easter season, we hear how the disciples encounter the Risen Christ at different times and in different ways—all the while trying to understand the meaning of the Resurrection. In today’s Gospel from the Gospel of Luke, two disciples recounted their experience of the Risen Christ on the road of Emmaus and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread—an early understanding and connection to the Eucharist. We too are called to contemplate the implications of the Resurrection and consider how we see the Risen Lord in our lives. It helps us gather at Church, where we can seek the presence of Christ as we worship: in the assembly, in the ministers, in the Word of God, in the Holy Sacrifice, and in the Eucharist. This week let us pray that we may better discern the Lord in our midst.

As an Easter people we continue to celebrate the Good News of Jesus’ Resurrection— today, we celebrate God’s unparalleled mercy. Today is also known as Divine Mercy Sunday. In the Acts of the Apostles, we witness the life-changing difference Jesus’ Death and Resurrection made for the first Christian community. They no longer cling to things they thought would bring them security—possessions, wealth, status, proof. When they received Jesus’ blessings of Peace from His own breath, saw the nail marks with their own eyes, and touched His wounds with their own hands, everything changed. Now, their mouths would carry Christ’s message of mercy to the ends of the earth. Their eyes would see one another differently. Their hands would heal and forgive, and they would be believed because they were “of one heart and mind.” Because of that community who committed their lives to one another in Christ, here we are. Because of us and how we commit ourselves to live together of one heart and mind in Jesus, others may also come to believe. For we belong to one another because all belong to Christ.

HAPPY EASTER! We sing with joy ALLELUIA! The Lord is Risen! We gather in joy to celebrate the most wonderful of days—Easter Sunday. Easter is more than the Easter bunny, or Easter egg hunts, or Easter candy. It is the fact that Christ is Risen! Not even death could keep Him from us. So mighty is His love that He transformed the evil of the cross into a blessing through which He can eternally unite us to God. He is here! He is Risen! Alleluia!! Alleluia!!

Today, we begin the holiest of weeks in the Liturgical Year with Palm Sunday. We begin under the portico calling down God’s blessing upon the palms that we will carry into church. On the first Palm Sunday, the crowds accompanying Jesus cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David!” We, too, sing Hosannas today as we enter the holiest week of the year—the week when we recall Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

As we draw closer to Holy Week, we hear Jesus talk about His approaching death. Today, Jesus uses the image of a grain of wheat. He says, “unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” Jesus’ message to His disciples is not so much about His death as it is about eternal life. As Christians, we know that as difficult as death is, our true focus—our true hope—is eternal life, trusting that our Lord is our source of eternal salvation. During this final week before Holy Week, let us keep in mind that just as our Lenten journey will not end with Good Friday, but with Easter, so too does our own life’s journey end not in death but in new life.

The most famous quote of Sacred Scripture is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” It is the most important belief in the Christian message. The Holy Spirit draws us here each week to allow us to express our love for God in the way that we worship God and the way that we treat each other. As we enter the Fourth Week of Lent, we are reminded of God’s unparalleled love, mercy, and ultimate purpose for each of us.

On this Third Sunday of Lent, we hear God deliver the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Chosen People. The commandments provide a way for them to live up to their part of the covenant. We face the same challenge today. Lent is a wonderful opportunity to examine our consciences and recall times when we have failed to follow one of God’s commands and determine which one of the commandments we find difficult to obey consistently.

As we continue our Lenten journey, we hear stories of two significant journeys in the history of our faith. First, Abraham travels to a distant land with his son, Isaac, where his devotion and obedience to God will be put to their greatest test. Secondly, Jesus leads His closest disciples up a high mountain where He will be transfigured in glory. As we continue our journey this Lent, may fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, transform us into more loving and devoted disciples of Jesus.

Ashes and rainbows make a strange combination. Ashes are dirty, messy, and ugly. Rainbows, on the other hand, are beautiful and inspiring. We encounter both ashes and rainbows at the beginning of Lent this year. On Ash Wednesday, ashes were put on our foreheads as a sign of our mortality and sinfulness. Today, we hear that God set a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the covenant with us. As we begin this season of Lent, let us recognize both truths: we are always in need of repentance, but God stands ever waiting to forgive us. As ashes reminds us to repent of our sins, may rainbows remind us of God’s eternal forgiveness.

We’ve had a very short Mardi Gras season this year. That meant we had less time to eat King Cakes. This is the last weekend before the big day on Tuesday. Let’s pray for everyone’s safety during the last few days of the Carnival season. For the rest of the nation, it will be a typical Monday and Tuesday, but for us it’s Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras. The church and cemetery offices will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, February 12 th & 13 th .

As we conclude Catholic Schools Week, the annual St. Peter School Alumni and Friends Reunion will be on Saturday, February 3, 2024. The celebration will begin with all alumni and friends of St. Peter School attending the 5:00 P.M. Vigil Mass, where the Distinguished Graduate will be introduced.

Catholic archdioceses and dioceses throughout the United States, are celebrating Catholic Schools Week. The theme this year is “Catholic Schools: United in Faith and Community.” Catholic schools have an important role in the Church’s evangelizing mission, building on the central goal of Catholic schools to form saints. Catholic schools teach and embrace the whole person, body, mind, and spirit. We have been very fortunate that our own St. Peter School has been providing quality Catholic education to the students of the River Parish area for over 94 years.

Today, we celebrate Sunday of the Word of God. Several years ago, Pope Francis designated the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time as Word of God Sunday. The annual observance is aimed at helping all of us grow in a deeper appreciation of the Sacred Scriptures. When we gather for Mass, God speaks His word to us through the Sacred Scriptures. Let us pray that our ears may be opened to hearing God’s Word proclaimed in Sacred Scripture.

Last Sunday, on the Feast of the Epiphany, we heard the familiar story of the Magi, who, directed by the star of Bethlehem, find the baby Jesus. Today, as we begin Ordinary Time, we hear the first disciples, who, directed by John the Baptist, encounter the adult Jesus. That initial encounter changes the entire course of their lives, for, as Andrew insists to his brother Simon, “We have found the Messiah.” May our encounter with the Lord influence the way we live our lives.

Today is the Feast of the Epiphany. The Christmas season will conclude with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord on Monday, January 8th. We know very little about the Magi. They come from the East and journey to Bethlehem, following an astrological sign, so we believe that they are astrologers. As the Magi journeyed from a distant country to find the Christ, so we are also called to make our own journey to the Lord. We are called to receive Jesus, the Light of the World, so that we in turn can share His Light with others. As we heard in the first reading: Then you shall be radiant…your heart shall throb and overflow. Jesus has come to give us all the love we need, all the wisdom called for, and all the virtue necessary to be a light to others.

On this last Sunday of the year and the last day of the year, we are still celebrating the Christmas season. Today, we can celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. This celebration is assigned to the Sunday within the octave of Christmas. When Jesus was born into the world, He was born into a family—a model for us all to imitate. As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, here are a few questions for our personal reflection. Do we love and respect our children as Joseph and Mary did their Son? Do we love and honor our parents as Jesus did His own? Do we nurture the bonds in our family as the Holy Family did? On this last day of 2023 let us pray to the Holy Family for guidance and support in the year ahead.

We have a very short Fourth Week of Advent this year—only twenty-four (24) hours. This Sunday we read the story of the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary about the birth of Jesus. This story is found only in Luke’s Gospel. On this fourth Sunday of Advent, the liturgy shifts our attention from John the Baptist to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Both John and Mary serve as important figures for our reflection during the season of Advent; they both played instrumental roles in preparing the way for Jesus. Last week we reflected on John the Baptist’s announcement that the Savior was among us, although not yet recognized.

This Sunday’s Gospel invites us to continue our reflection on the person and mission of John the Baptist. Today we depart from the Gospel of Mark and read a selection from the Gospel of John. The Gospel for today combines a brief passage from the prologue to John’s Gospel with a report about John the Baptist. As in Mark’s Gospel, the Gospel of John contains no birth narrative. Instead, John’s Gospel begins with a theological reflection that has come to be called the “prologue.” This prologue places the story of Jesus in its cosmological framework. It speaks of Jesus’ existence with God since the beginning of time. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the culmination of the Word, the light that is coming into the world’s darkness.

Today’s Gospel is taken from the beginning of Mark. Unlike Luke and Matthew, Mark does not include any details of Jesus’ birth. Instead, Mark begins with the appearance of John the Baptist in the desert. On this Second Sunday of Advent, we are invited to reflect upon the role of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus and the salvation that He would bring to us. John the Baptist is presented to us as a model during Advent. We, too, are called upon to prepare a way for the Lord. Like John the Baptist, we are messengers in service to one who is greater than we are. Our Baptism commissions us to call other to life as disciples of Jesus.