4th Sunday of Easter, Cycle A (2026)

Jesus says he is the Good Shepherd and that his sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. But sheep, even as there is a sweetness about them, are pretty stupid animals. They are not prone to recognizing a voice and inherently trusting, in the way that a dog or a cat does. Sheep have to be coerced, forced, by fear. Sheepdogs move them by chasing them from behind and nipping at their heels. Without that imposed and fear-based guidance, they would otherwise be just passive creatures.^[1]

But Jesus’ sheep are neither passive nor stupid. Instead, they are active and wise. Further, they are not motivated by fear but instead by love. They freely choose to follow him. They are active, not passive.

There are three things that Jesus’ sheep must nurture—three things that ordinary sheep do not have. wisdom, trust and freedom.

• Wisdom means discernment and therefore discerning the voice of Jesus.

• Trust means faith in him even when we don't understand him entirely.

• And freedom means choice. We choose Jesus recognizing that sometimes that choice comes with hardship and sacrifice.^[2]

Jesus’ sheep different than ordinary sheep, but even more, he is a different type of shepherd. He does not walk behind the sheep and push them. He walks ahead of them and they actively choose to follow. What this reveals is that he does not shepherd through the power of fear, but instead through the power of love.

The political philosopher Machiavelli advised anyone who wants to become a successful political prince to use fear instead of love. He said others will love you when choice is left to them, but they will fear you when you are the one who is choosing. Fear is a force that comes from outside ourselves, a force that comes from another person. But love is the opposite: it’s a force that comes from within us. It reminds us that love cannot be forced, but instead always appeals to freedom. Jesus uses love and freedom rather than fear and force. But even more, real love drives out fear.^[3]

But what's different also with Jesus as a shepherd, is that his goal is to serve the sheep. He does not sacrifice us, but instead spills his own blood for his sheep, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

The character Dracula is a symbol of the Antichrist—the opposite of Jesus. He does exactly the opposite of what Christ does. Dracula sucks your blood, he takes your life and uses it for his own benefit. Instead, Jesus gives his blood. He gives his life away and puts it into us. In this Mass we receive a sort of transfusion of blood. Jesus gives us his divine life. And then we are sent out to do his work.^[4]

But to do so, we have to get to know our Good Shepherd, to learn to recognize his voice. How do Jesus’ sheep recognize his voice? It’s the same question of asking, “How do we come to know Jesus?”, because the more we get to know him, the more we recognize his voice. To do so, I recommend the following:

1. Have the habit of daily prayer, particularly that allows for self-reflection.

2. Read one chapter of the Gospels daily.

3. Stay close to his Mother, our Mother (at a minimum, pray one decade of the Rosary daily).

4. Attend daily Mass at least once a week.

5. Make a sacramental confession monthly or quarterly.

6. Make a Holy Hour each week before the Blessed Sacrament (preferably before the exposed Eucharist, at least one uninterrupted hour: reading, praying, listening, stillness and silence).

7. Live in imitation of Jesus (bring love in place of hurt and brokenness; living in simplicity and humility; focused on building God’s Kingdom).

Get to know Jesus the Good Shepherd. Learn to recognize his voice, so that you can then echo that voice to others. We are Jesus’ sheep, but we are to leave this place to imitate Jesus the Good Shepherd by our lives.

^[1] Kreeft, Peter. Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings (Cycle A) (Food for the Soul Series Book 1). Kindle Edition.

^[2] Ibid.

^[3] Ibid.

^[4] Ibid.