Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The theme for this Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday, can be found in the first reading when Peter spoke to the people in the temple: “Jesus, who is rejected by you, the builders, has become the cornerstone.” Jesus, rejected by the builders, becomes a cornerstone of a new spiritual temple, a new church and through the church, Jesus continues to shepherd the flock. The church continues the mission of Jesus, to preach in His name, to forgive sins and to make His body and blood present.  That mission continues until the day when the whole world is one and under one shepherd, Jesus the Lord.

We are called to be like Jesus. As followers of Jesus we may be rejected by the world, we may be rejected by our friends, even by our family, but we are called to become good shepherds for our family, for our community, for our neighborhood and our workplace. We become good shepherds when we try to imitate our Lord; when we care for each other, when we reach out to the needs of our brothers and sisters, when we come together to celebrate the Eucharist, to make the Body and Blood of Jesus present, when we continue to sacrifice ourselves for others.

May God bless us all!

Fr. Joe