GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

" I am the GOOD SHEPHERD;I know my own sheep, 

and they know me "

IMPORTANT FACTS:

The Feast of the Good Shepherd is celebrated on the 4th SUNDAY of EASTER.
When you hear the word Good Shepherd, we always have a picture of Jesus in our mine 
carrying the sheep close to His Heart or upon His shoulder. Why do we call Jesus the 
Good Shepherd?We are able to call Jesus the Good Shepherd because when Jesus was first
born, the Angels announced it to the Shepherds who were taking care of their flock. This was 
God’s sign to men to make known that His Son was born to the world to lead the flock of His 
people to the promise land.He made the world know that the main title of Jesus is the 
GOOD SHEPHERD then only the rest of Jesus’ titles will follow behind.

Jesus is the greatest Shepherd in History because He never abandoned His flock but rather died
for His flock in order to gain the redemption of the world. He loves each of His sheep and He
never abandons any of them. He takes care of each one as His own and when He puts forth 
all His own,He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice.
He protects all with love, compassion and full of gentleness. He knows all their needs and how 
they each feel each day.

One word to explain the GOOD SHEPHERD is GREAT PATIENCE .Jesus’ patience is 

unexplainable for He waits for all His lost sheep daily and when they return; He rejoices 

with tears of Joy! Jesus is the SHEEPGATE and only through Him,we shall enter the Heavenly
Kingdom. 

From the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas about 
the GOOD SHEPHERD:

I am the Good Shepherd. Surely it is fitting that Christ should be a shepherd, for just as 

a flock is guided and fed by a shepherd so the faithful are fed by Christ with spiritual 

food and with his own body and blood. The Apostle said: You were once like sheep 

without a shepherd, but now you have returned to the guardian and ruler of your souls. 

The prophet has said: As a shepherd he pastures his flock.

Christ said that the shepherd enters through the gate and that he is himself the gate as 

well as the shepherd. Then it is necessary that he enter through himself. By so doing,he

reveals himself, and through himself he knows the Father. But we enter through him 

because through him we find happiness.

Take heed: no one else is the gate but Christ. Others reflect his light, but no one else is

the true light. John the Baptist was not the light, but he bore witness to the light. It is said

of Christ, however: He was the true light that enlightens every man. For this reason no 

one says that he is the gate; this title is Christ’s own. However, he has made others 

shepherds and given that office to his members; for Peter was a shepherd, and so

were the other apostles and all good bishops after them. Scripture says: I shall give

you shepherds according to my own heart. Although the bishops of the Church, who 

are her sons, are all shepherds, nevertheless Christ refers only to one person in saying: 

I am the Good Shepherd, because he wants to emphasise the virtue of charity.Thus,

no one can be a good shepherd unless he is one with Christ in charity. Through this 

we become members of the true shepherd.

Jesus finding the lost sheep,He reaches out with love to bring it closer to Him...

The duty of a good shepherd is charity; therefore Christ said: The good shepherd 

gives his life for his sheep. Know the difference between a good and a bad shepherd: 

the good shepherd cares for the welfare of his flock, but the bad shepherd cares 

only for his own welfare.

The Good Shepherd does not demand that shepherds lay down their lives for a real

flock of sheep. But every spiritual shepherd must endure the loss of his bodily life for

the salvation of the flock, since the spiritual good of the flock is more important than 

the bodily life of the shepherd, when danger threatens the salvation of the flock.

This is why the Lord says: The good shepherd lays down his life, that is, his physical 

life, for his sheep; this he does because of his authority and love. Both, in fact, are 

required: that they should be ruled by him, and that he should love them.

The first without the second is not enough.Christ stands out for us as the example 

of this teaching: If Christ laid down his life for us, so we also ought to lay down our 

lives for our brothers.

                                           
                                       Jesus the Good Shepherd from John 10: 1-21

PRAYER TO JESUS,THE GOOD SHEPHERD:

O Jesus the Good Shepherd, let us not stray away from the flock which you care most.May we

not hurt you with our own selfish reasons by leaving the flock to satisfy our own worldly needs. 

May we not stray from that Heavenly vision which you have placed in our minds by being 

deceived with the pleasures of this world. Teaches us to keep faithful and to follow the flock 

even through the silence of our sufferings; may we never lose sight of the flock which you are

leading that brings us to our eternal rest with you and the whole Celestial Heavenly Family 

in Paradise.Amen.

Jesus, Our Shepherd, may we never lose sight of Thy flock, Have Mercy on us!