Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
4th Sunday of Easter

April 26, 2026
John 10: 1-10
The Fountains, Tuckahoe
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

Good Shepherd mosaic
(Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna)

“The shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10: 3).

From all the Scripture readings today, you may have figured out that today’s Good Shepherd Sunday.  It’s also World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

God gives everyone a vocation, a particular, personal path by which we are to come to the “verdant pastures” and “restful waters” where we shall be secure for eternity, “dwelling in the house of the Lord” forever.

For most of you, that vocation is marriage and family life.  For some, it may be a single life devoted to serving Christ as a teacher, medical professional, or some other form of contributing to the welfare of society, however glorious or humble that service may be, so long as it’s done in Christ.

But our prayer today is especially for those vocations that directly serve the Church, vocations that take up Christ’s role of shepherding his sheep and leading them to those green pastures and pure waters.  We pray for priests, sisters, deacons, brothers, and other men and women who are consecrated to God’s service.

God chooses such people; they don’t decide it on their own.  Our prayer is that they may recognize his choice and respond “yes” to it; and that after responding they may follow his path faithfully.  We pray, then, for the men who are already bishops, priests, and deacons, the women and men who already belong to religious orders and other forms of consecrated life.  And we are grateful to them for their commitment to the Lord.

And we pray that more young women and men will hear God’s call and answer it, to become shepherds like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who thru them will care for God’s flock, keep it safe from thieves and wolves and the enemy of our souls, and lead the sheep to heaven.

You know every well how much Jesus needs priests, nuns, deacons, and religious brothers to lead parishes, teach the faith, care for the sick, counsel the troubled, preach the Gospel in places where Jesus is unknown.  You see how parishes are being closed or consolidated because there aren’t enuf priests to serve them all.  It’s far, far worse in many parts of the world, where priests travel over huge territories to bring the sacraments to the faithful perhaps once a month.  You see how Catholic schools have to close because there aren’t enuf sisters and brothers to staff them at a cost working families can afford.  (When I was in Catholic elementary school in Tampa ca. 1960, I think my parents paid $5 or $10 a month for tuition; the internet tells me that’s equivalent to about $55 or $110 today—which won’t get you even a week in Catholic school now.  We have to admit that one reason tuition was so affordable is that nuns were grossly underpaid back then.)

Is God not calling young people to his service now?  Or are we not listening?

Church vocations arise out of Catholic families, for the most part.  That means that Catholic families have to foster them, encourage them.  If you want priests and nuns, do more than pray that someone else’s children will answer the call.  Plant the thought in your own children or grandchildren.  Bring them to church, teach them to pray, and explain our faith to them.  Hold up the noble example of priests, sisters, and deacons you know or know about.  Encourage, but don’t pressure—in any direction, whatever their inclinations or talents might be.

Of course, priests, deacons, and sisters, for their part, have to try to be noble examples—in spite of being sinners, as we all are.  And that’s why it’s important that you pray for us, as we pray for you.

God doesn’t call men to be priests or women to be sisters because they deserve it or because they’re talented or because they’re good-looking or for any such reason.  He calls for his own reasons, which we can’t fathom.  And then he supplies the grace the individual needs so that he or she may be ready and able to call the Lord’s sheep by name and lead them out, walking ahead of them (John 10:4), guiding and protecting them.