Mass readings, reflections and activities for Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C) The Fourth Sunday of Easter (May 10/11, 2025), or widely known as Good Shepherd Sunday is the World Day of Vocations.
This Sunday, we invite all the faithful to pray particularly for our seminarians below who are discerning the call to the priesthood and preparing to serve the Church through their formation.
Let us entrust them to the care of the Good Shepherd, that they may continue to follow His voice with courage and joy.
Reflection
In this Gospel reading Jesus declares that those who listen to his words “will never perish.” In the tradition of the Church this Sunday is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday”, and on the liturgical calendar it is highlighted as “World Day of Prayer for Vocations”, a Sunday which calls us to reflect on our own baptismal call and mission in life.
(Reflection: Diocese of Saskatoon)
Background on the Gospel Reading The fourth Sunday of Easter is also called Good Shepherd Sunday. In each of the three lectionary cycles, the Gospel is taken from the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John. This chapter of John's Gospel follows Jesus' healing of the man born blind and the rejection of this miracle by Jewish leaders who question Jesus' authority to heal. Jesus responds to this challenge to his authority by calling himself the Good Shepherd. He is criticizing the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders. Already, the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders are so angered that they attempt to stone and arrest Jesus (see John 10:31 and 10:39). This controversy with the religious leaders continues until Jesus' death. Set in a moment of tension and conflict in John's Gospel, today's Gospel reading is Jesus' answer to the question, “Are you the Messiah?” Jesus responds by saying, in essence, “If you have to ask, then you are not one of my sheep.” Then Jesus asserts his unity with the Father. At the conclusion of these words, John reports that the Jews intend to stone Jesus for blasphemy, but he escapes arrest. We may be less familiar with the metaphors of sheep and shepherd than those to whom Jesus spoke. The image of Jesus as Good Shepherd and the community of followers as his sheep has endured over the centuries as a primary image in our faith tradition. Its power to describe the relationship between Jesus and his followers transcends direct experience with sheep. The image speaks to us about the protection, security, and care that shepherds represent for their sheep. Today's Gospel speaks powerfully about the familiarity and intimacy between Jesus and his disciples, expressed as recognizing and knowing another's voice. Today's Gospel also speaks to the relationship between Jesus and the Father. In the Gospel of John, Jesus identifies so closely with the Father that he tells us that they are one—not just close, but actually one. To know Jesus is to know the Father. Jesus doesn't just bring us closer to the Father, Jesus puts us directly into contact with God the Father, removing all distance between us. Our relationship with Jesus is an invitation to share in the life of God. Source: Loyola PressReflections
