Did you know that the good news has a gate?
The Gospel makes clear that not only is there a gate, but that Jesus, who everyone knows as the good shepherd, is himself the gate: “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved … I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:9-10).
Regarding this salvation and abundant life, we witnessed on Holy Saturday the baptism and full initiation of so many around the world. In our own archdiocese, we witnessed 1,736 new members joining the Catholic faith. The number of catechumens was 605 and the number of candidates receiving the sacraments of initiation was 1,131. For these individuals, as in the days of the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit likely inspired them to ask, “What are we to do?”
For those who may not be able to enumerate seven points of the good news — which give witness to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection — I list them below. The fourth point you might notice is the subject of our first reading for this Fourth Sunday of Easter. It is also the answer to the question, “What are we to do?”
- God loves you and has a plan for your life.
- Sin separates us from God.
- Jesus Christ died to save you.
- Repent and believe the Gospel, the good news.
- Be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.
- Live a new life in Christ, through his body, the Church.
- Go forth and make disciples.
As the good news has a gate, Jesus promises that “Whoever enters through me will be saved.” With those newly initiated this Easter, we are called to live all seven points of the good news and so ultimately, “Go forth and make disciples.” Lest we think that the good news is something we can do ourselves apart from the Holy Spirit, it might be good for us to remember who the Good Shepherd really is. He is the second person of the Trinity, loving the Father, and the Father loving the Son, with the same Holy Spirit they share. Truly indivisible, and it is awesome to believe that the Son was with the Father as space and time came into being through God’s love! On the Lord’s Day, no wonder we praise God for all the beauty he created. And in our praise of God, we seek to reclaim the Lord’s Day.
This beauty of God’s creation that we continue to contemplate not only in prayer but also through the lens of the Hubble and the James Webb space telescopes. It is wonderful to see that the observable universe is estimated to be 93 billion light years in diameter — and expanding at speeds that defy comprehension. Not only is what God created big, but it moves fast!
Though the Trinity is beyond space and time, Jesus still allowed himself to be confined in the womb of Mary for nine months. He wore sandals for 33 years. And he allowed nails through those feet to hold him fast to the cross until his death. In the tomb, he was held for three days. On Easter morning, we gave witness that Jesus rose from the dead to refresh the hearts of God’s people.
While the tomb could not hold Jesus, our hearts can. Even more, we can all be held within his heart as surely as he holds us all in the consecrated host. Pope Leo XIV articulates this in his motto, “In the One we are one.” St. John Paul II writing about the Good Shepherd also invites us to believe this: “In that little host is the solution to all the problems of the world.”
Father Perkl is pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church in Burnsville.
Sunday, April 26
Fourth Sunday of Easter
- Acts 2:14a, 36-41
- 1 Pt 2:20b-25
- Jn 10:1-10
