Newsletter Fourth Sunday of Easter / Good Shepherd Sunday / Vocations Sunday / April 26th, 2026

In today’s Gospel, Jesus identifies himself as the “Gate for the sheep.”

This is a profound image of both protection and access. In the ancient Near East, a shepherd would often sleep in the opening of the sheepfold, literally becoming the door—the physical barrier between his flock and the dangers of the night.

As we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter, the Church invites us to pause and reflect on the nature of our relationship with the Risen Lord.

We live in a world saturated with noise. We are bombarded by voices – the voices of social media, the pressures of career, the anxieties of the future, and the loud, often demanding echoes of our own insecurities. These voices frequently promise us fulfilment, but they often leave us feeling scattered and restless.

Jesus tells us, “The sheep follow him, because they recognise his voice.”

Recognition is not an intellectual exercise; it is an intimacy born of time spent in presence. We learn the voice of the Good Shepherd not by reading about him, but by sitting with him in the silence of prayer. We learn his voice by looking for his movements in the people we encounter, in the breaking of the bread, and in the quiet promptings of our conscience.

The Gospel warns us that a stranger’s voice leads only to division and theft—the theft of our peace, our joy, and our sense of purpose.

But Jesus offers something drastically different: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

This “abundant life” is not always a life of material ease or constant sunshine. It is a life of deep, unshakable belonging. It is the realisation that no matter how dark the valley becomes, we are never truly lost, because we are known by Name.

This week, let us practice the art of listening. In the midst of your daily commute, your work, or your family life, take a        moment to stop.

Ask yourself: Whose voice am I following today? Is it a voice that steals my peace, or is it the voice of the Shepherd leading me to green pastures?

The Gate is open. The Shepherd is calling. And you – yes, you – are known by name.

Listen closely, and follow him into the light of his abundant life.