4th Sunday of Easter

 This Sunday is often referred to as Good Shepherd Sunday. It is helpful for us to remember that in the liturgy we do not act in the absence of the Lord. The priest, who acts in persona Christi capitis, that is, in the person of Christ the Head, is not a substitute for Christ. The people, the Word and the Blessed Sacrament are also presences of Christ in the liturgy. Taken together these presences make Christ liturgically tangible while he continues, in his risen power, outside of time. Thus, the sinfulness or shortcomings of the priest do not impede the validity of the sacrament but sadly they can affect the effectiveness of the graces received as people are damaged by scandal. The members of the Church know their Master. They have, in the sensus fidelium (sense of the faith) an understanding of what it means to follow Christ. They turn away from heresy, schism and apostasy when other malicious voices try to lure them away from the true faith which has been revealed to them: "He (Jesus) calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers." (Jn 10: 3-5) Let us take it seriously that we believe, as we say in the Nicene Creed: "... in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." That when we gather for Mass it is indeed in the Lord and that He is present to us, teaches us and feeds us. The Good Shepherd, even in our times of pain and suffering, does not abandon us but rather gives us the strength to overcome. Saint Paul tells us: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God." (2 Cor 1: 3-4)