4th Sunday of Easter (C)

 Acts 13:14, 43-52; Rev. 7:9, 14b-17; Jn. 10:27-30

The passage from John 10:27-30 encapsulates the heart of Jesus’ message: a relationship of intimacy and security between the Good Shepherd and His sheep. Jesus’ voice calls us to follow Him, offering eternal life and the assurance that no one can take us out of His hand. This message resonates deeply across ages.

The imagery of the shepherd is deeply rooted in the Old Testament. God is depicted as the Shepherd of Israel in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” David, the shepherd-king, foreshadows Christ as the ultimate Shepherd who knows His flock intimately and leads them to safety. Ezekiel 34 speaks of God’s promise to search for His sheep and care for them, an echo of Jesus’ mission.

Consider the calling of Samuel (1 Samuel 3). As a young boy, Samuel heard the voice of God calling him by name. Initially mistaking it for Eli’s voice, Samuel eventually responded with the words, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” This readiness to hear and obey mirrors the call Jesus extends to His sheep.

3rd Sunday of Easter (C)

Acts 5:28-32, 40b-41; Rev. 5:11-14; Jn. 21:1-19

In Japan during the 1920s, a professor named Hidesaburō Ueno of the University of Tokyo had a pet Akita dog named Hachiko. Every day, Hachiko would accompany his master to the Shibuya train station and wait there until the professor returned from work in the evening. This routine went on for years and became a familiar sight to commuters.

However, one day in May 1925, tragedy struck—Professor Ueno suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage while at work and never returned home.

But Hachiko didn’t know that. Every day for the next nine years, until his own death in 1935, Hachiko returned to the station at the exact time the train was due, waiting faithfully for his master who would never come back.

Hachiko’s loyalty moved the hearts of people across Japan. A bronze statue was erected at Shibuya Station in his honor, and it remains a symbol of unwavering loyalty and love to this day.

This story of Hachiko teaches about commitment, loyalty, and love—values that transcend even the boundaries of species. It’s a simple yet profound reminder of what it means to stand by someone, even when the world moves on.

Divine Mercy Sunday (C)

 Acts 5:12-16; Rev. 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; Jn. 20:19-31

During the first part of today's Gospel Reading, we heard that the apparition of Jesus to His disciples took place on the first day of the week, that being a Sunday. The apparition took place on the evening of the same day that Jesus had resurrected. It is important to notice on which day of the week that these events were instituted by the Lord Jesus in order to understand how, in the early days of the Church, the Sabbath was replaced with Sunday.

On that evening, living in fear of the authorities, the disciples had gathered together in a house and they had locked the doors. Suddenly, Jesus stood among them. 

Then Jesus said, "Peace be with you." And He showed His hands and His side to His disciples. This Bible passage is very important. It is explicit proof from the Gospel of John that Jesus was truly nailed to the cross. He was not tied to the cross as was often the custom in those days.

Having said this, Jesus breathed on the disciples and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (Jn. 20:22-3)