The Good Shepherd – Shepherd Sunday. April 26,2026

 

Three friends were talking - a lawyer, a doctor and a priest. They were discussing as to what profession is the most important. The lawyer comes in quick: “Mine is the most important. If I lose the case, my client goes to jail.” The doctor cannot be outdone: “Well, if my diagnosis is wrong and I don’t give the right medicine, my patient goes to the cemetery.” The priest had the last word: “My job is the most critical. If I give a wrong advice or teaching, my penitent goes to hell!” 

Priests may not anymore be considered important in a secularized society like ours. But the Church continues to remind us of the vital role that priests play in society, especially in the formation of spiritual and moral values of the people. And so today, the fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. It seeks to remind us of our responsibility to foster vocations to the priestly and religious life. The late Pope Benedict XVI said, “Particularly in these times, when the voice of the Lord seems to be drowned out by "other voices" and his invitation to follow him by the gift of one's own life may seem too difficult, every Christian community, every member of the Church, needs consciously to feel responsibility for promoting vocations.” We have the vocation chalice going around each family. I hope you will consider and sign up for it to pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

There was  barber was cutting the hair of the priest. He said, “Father, barbers and priests will never run out of job.” “Why is that?” the priest asked. Because, he said, “the hair keeps on growing, and people keep on sinning.” If many people go bald then no more business for barbers. That is true. 

Because people will always have need of God, even in an age marked by technical mastery of the world and globalization: they will always need the God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ, the God who gathers us together in the universal Church in order to learn with him and through him life's true meaning and in order to uphold and apply the standards of true humanity.”

One time, a young couple sponsored the Mass, and I dined with them later. It was the first time they had a priest in their home. During dinner, the wife said to me, “Father, I’m so happy. Right now, I feel like I am in the presence of God.” Those words sent shivers down my spine, leading me to a humble realization of my unworthiness. At the same time, it was a major eye-opener for me. Despite my human frailty and sins, there are still people who, in their simple faith, look at the priest as concrete extensions of God’s presence in the world. We are not perfect; we make mistakes and sometimes some parishioner doesn’t like us if we don’t agree with what they want. We are evil to them in other words. Have you heard of the saying the priest is always wrong. 

No matter how they try to ignore God as they blindly pursue material things and their worldly ambitions, they will always realize later on in life that they need Him after all. No matter how strong and successful we are right now, the time comes when we will eventually succumb to the forces of nature and lose our power, wealth and health. Then we realize, we are weak and vulnerable after all. Towards the end no matter how much they hate the priest, they will need them for the sacraments. 

The Gospel this Sunday is, indeed, good news for us. Before we totally get lost in the wilderness of this world, we hear the words of Jesus: “I am the Good Shepherd.” And we are the beloved sheep of his flock. This should give us a complete sense of security: “The Lord is my shepherd. There is nothing I shall want.” He takes care of us, protects us and gives us nourishment. 

The image of the Good Shepherd perfectly captures the mission of Jesus. He offers his life as nourishment for his sheep. He is also ready to protect and defend his sheep from all possible harm at all cost, even to the point of risking his own life. He gives both protection and nourishment for the sheep under his care. This is better illustrated in another image Jesus used in the Gospel this Sunday. He calls himself the gate of the sheepfold. The shepherd serves as the gate. He sleeps in the opening of the sheepfold. Nobody enters the sheepfold without his knowledge and consent. He keeps the unity of the sheep strong, as no one enters the sheepfold that does not belong to the flock. The wolves keep their distance, knowing that the shepherd is there. The sheep, therefore, are kept united and secure under the protection of the good shepherd.

When Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope, many people were telling the joke that the Catholic Church has now a German Shepherd. Of course, he is not a dog. But being the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for many years, he was known as the watchdog of the Church’s doctrinal and dogmatic teachings. He keeps watch and protects the faithful from false and erroneous teachings that can be harmful to the spiritual life of the faithful. That is one major task of a true shepherd.

However, more than the role of protection is that of nourishment, which the shepherd as the gate provides. Jesus said, “I am the gate. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day” (Jn 6:54).

Before his ascension into heaven, Jesus promised, “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt 28:20). He continues to fulfill this promise through the ministry of the human shepherds that he has chosen – the Pope, the bishops and priests. As members of Christ’s flock, we should feel secure since through these human shepherds, Jesus continues his mission of protecting, caring and nourishing his people until he comes again. Let us, therefore, pray in this Mass for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life. May the Lord send more workers into His abundant harvest. And we pray that He may give us holy and zealous bishops and priests who will lovingly care for His flock after the example of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Fr. Nony,CRM

 

 Palm Sunday

A kindergarten teacher challenged her children in class: "I'll give $5 to anyone of you who can tell me the name of the most famous man in history." An Irish boy quickly stood up and said, "St. Patrick "The teacher said, "Sorry Ronnie, that's not correct." Then an Indian boy put his hand up and said, "Mahatma Gandhi." The teacher replied, "I'm sorry, Rahja, that's not right either." Finally, a Jewish boy raised his hand and said, "It’s Jesus Christ." The teacher said, "You got it right, Halel! Here is your $5." As the boy came up to her, she said, "You know Halel, you surprised me. You are Jewish, yet you answered ‘Jesus Christ’”. Halel replied: "Yeah, I know. My heart tells me it is Moses, but business is business.”

Jews are well known for being excellent businessmen. Jesus was a Jew, and He also meant business. As early as twelve years in age, when Mary and Joseph found Him in the Temple, He already knew His mission. He asked them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49). The translation of the Douay-Rheims Bible says: “And he said to them, Why is it that ye have sought me? Did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father's business?” He has come into the world, not to enjoy the popularity and adulation of the crowd, but to do the Father’s business.

This Sunday we commemorate the triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. He knew He would suffer and die there. That is the core of the Father’s business that He sought to accomplish. He has to do it. And the appointed time has come. There is no turning back. For after all, He said, "My food is to do the will of the one who who sent me and to finish his work” (Jn 4:34). this day marks the formal start of the passion of Jesus – His sufferings that will culminate in His death on the cross. Hence, we call this day Passion Sunday.

This is also known as Palm Sunday. That is because of the palm branches that are blessed during Mass. Palm branches were the ancient symbol of victory. Palm trees are not known to grow in Italy. When the Roman soldiers come home from battle, they would bring with them palm branches from the conquered territory as souvenir of their victory. 

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people cheered and greeted Him as they waved their palm branches. He was greeted as a victorious king. Rightly so, for, indeed, Jesus is the only true King! 

But His kingship is not what the world knows. At the praetorium, Jesus would tell Pontius Pilate: “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants [would] be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here” (Jn 18:36).

The worldly kings and leaders of the time clearly misunderstood Jesus’ claim of kingship. They sought to take Him out of the picture for they were bothered and afraid of Jesus. They should be, because for one thing, His is a kingship that is the antithesis of the world’s kingship. 

The kings of this world follow the rules of the game of chess. If you know how to play it, It is a game that revolves around the king. Everybody serves the king; everybody is dispensable in order to save the king. The pawns, and other officials, including the queen, can be sacrificed. It is all about saving the king at all costs. That is the kingship that the world knows.

But the kingship of Jesus is the opposite. In His case, it is the king who is willing to sacrifice himself in order to save the lowly pawns. It is a kingship based not on power and dominion, but on love and total self-giving: “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly” (Jn 10:10). 

Jesus enters Jerusalem as a victorious King. The people rejoiced and chanted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Mt 21:9) as they waved their palm branches. What they did not realize was that the victory of Jesus will come at the price of His own blood. At the age of twelve, He already knew He had to be in His Father’s business, and He knew fully well what it meant: shedding His own blood on the cross, giving up His own life that others may live.

As we begin the Holy Week, we also wave our palm branches, declaring the victory of Jesus. Unlike the people of Jerusalem, we know that His victory comes from His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. So, as Christians, we should also be preoccupied with the Father’s business – the business of love, self-giving and self-sacrifice. It is only in dying to our selfishness, it is only in total self-giving, it is only in genuine love, that we can also join in the victory of Jesus in our world today and for eternity. Nony,crm

4th Sunday of Lent Cycle A

 

Fourth Sunday of Lent (A Cycle)

The Blind man 

I was invited to a dinner by a parishioner couple who was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. While we were eating, I talked to the wife and asked her about their secret why they stayed together for 50 years and counting. She just told me that it’s a secret. But I was not contented with her answer. I continued asking her and told that may be they stayed longer because she is in loved with her husband. She laughed. So, I asked her about her understanding of the word ‘love.’ She told me: “Love is blind that lovers cannot see.”

I asked her to explain further why love is blind. She told me that love is blind because a true love cannot be seen by our naked eyes but it can bee seen through our hearts. So love cannot be from our eyes but love is from our hearts. And I nodded in agreement with her.

In today’s gospel, Jesus met and cured a man born blind. If I am going to ask you, how many blind men are in our gospel today. I am sure that your answer would be one because there is only one identified blind person. But I would rather say that it is more than one if we go deeper with our reflection. I think there are four of them.

The first group of blinds is the apostles. They are blind because they asked Jesus: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? Instead of asking the most important question: How can we help this blind man?

The Jewish people believe that sickness and even more such a sickness would be a punishment for sin either pre-natal sin or sin of the embryo. Or the child born blind was punished for the sins of the parents. Jesus rejects both opinions.

It is the same with us. We are surrounded with so many injustices, poverty and even exploitation and even suppression but we just say: “They are poor because they are lazy and inutile.”

The second group of blinds is his parents, relatives and neighbors. Even though they witnessed that it was Jesus who cured blind man but they refused to say it. It is because of their fear of being expelled from the synagogue by the Pharisees. They are afraid to say that this man was cured by Jesus Himself whom this blind man considered as the prophet. They are like those Catholics who don’t have backbones. Their personal interests, cowardice and fear blind them.

The third group of blinds is the Pharisees. They refuse to acknowledge that Jesus had performed the miracle of restoring sight to the blind man.  They suspended their belief because of their prejudices and biases against Him. Instead they call Jesus as a sinner because He violated the law of the Sabbath. So, they are blind to the truth already in their eyes.

The fourth blind is blind man himself who was cured by Jesus because of his faith and trust in Him. Though he was blind physically, he could see with his heart. The other three could see with their eyes but not with their hearts as fear, cowardice, prejudices, biases and their own selfish interests blinded them.

If we are these four types of blinds, we can have two different kinds of blindness: physical blindness as represented by the blind man himself and spiritual blindness as represented by the other three groups.

Spiritual blindness could be that we could not see it with our own hearts. For instance, an old man in his 70s said: “If you are afraid to die, you are not free to live.” This could be like this. Lenten season is a season of light that one can cure his blindness through this season. I don’t see any blind person here, but I am sure you are blind like the apostles, Pharisees, relatives, parents and neighbors of blind man who was cured. If you are, then, recognize and ask the Lord: “Lord, I want to see.”

Samaritan woman

 3rd Sunday of Lent

March 08, 2026

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I remember this story about a mother and child

The mother sends her small boy to bed. A few minutes later: "Mommy...""What?" "I'm thirsty. Can you bring me a glass of water?" "No. Drinking water before bed is not good for a bed-wetter like you. Go to sleep." Five minutes later: "Mommy...! I'm thirsty. Can I have some water?" The mother was annoyed. "I told you no! If you ask again, I'll have to spank you!" But a few minutes later... "Mommmmyy...""What!?" Now she was angry. But she suddenly cooled down when she heard the sweet voice, "Mommy, when you come in to spank me, can you bring me a glass of water?"

The poor little boy must really be thirsty. He was willing to suffer some spanking just to have a glass of water. It is said that we can survive for weeks without food, but we cannot last a day without water. The composition of the human body is 80% water. Hence, water is necessary for the proper functioning of our body. In fact, losing only 2% of water will make us sick, and can cause the breakdown of the vital organs. Indeed, thirst is a concrete and universal human experience.

The Samaritan woman, like anybody else, needed water. So, she had to go to the well everyday. But her thirst was not only physical. She was also thirsty spiritually. She was looking for happiness and meaning in life, and this led her to go from one man to another. She now lives with the sixth man, and since she had no intention to marry him, she must already be in search for the seventh man in her life. In biblical symbolism, the number six stands for imperfection and deficiency, while the number seven symbolizes completeness and perfection. At the well, she met the seventh man, Jesus. He declared to her, “Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst.” She has found the solution to her thirst: God. 

Saint Teresa of Calcutta frequently said that the worst poverty is not being able to know Christ, and that if we would just open our eyes and look around, we could see that people are thirsty for God. Nothing else in this world can ever satisfy this deepest longing of our soul. As the Catechism puts it: “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for” (#27). It is but natural for us to long for God because our thirst does not come from ourselves, but from Someone who thirsts for us. St. Gregory Nazianzen said, "God thirsts for the one who thirsts for Him!" 

And that is the truth: God thirsts for us! It is God who always initiates everything. Jesus said, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.” (Jn 15:16). The Apostle St. John said, “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and has sent his Son as an offering for our sins” (1Jn 4:10).

While hanging on the cross, Jesus said, “I thirst.” They gave Him sour wine or vinegar to drink. It was considered a thirst-quencher. But he refused to drink. It must be a different and much deeper kind of thirst. In the Gospel this Sunday, He asked the Samaritan woman, “Give me a drink.” But He spent a long time talking with her. He must not really be thirsty for water after all. In saying, “Give me a drink” and “I thirst”, Jesus was actually thirsting for the love of His own people. He longs to offer us His life-giving water: “The water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

A man was lost as he was walking across a vast wasteland. After walking for miles without a clear direction, he was already dying of thirst. Fortunately, from a distance he saw something. Coming closer, he saw a man in front of a table selling neckties. “Please, sir!” he begged. “I am dying of thirst. Give me some water.” The vendor replied, “I have no water here. But if you buy a necktie, I can help you get some water.” The man was angry. “What on earth is the matter with you?” he shouted. “I am asking for water, and you are offering me those ugly neckties!” “Okay,” said the vendor. “It’s alright if you do not buy. I will tell you where you can have water. One mile from here to the east, there is a restaurant.” The man hurriedly left. But half an hour later, the man returned exhausted and dehydrated. “Please, sir,” he implored, “let me buy one of those neckties! They would not let me in unless I wear a necktie!”

In this story, the restaurant abundant with life-sustaining food and water, represents God’s kingdom. We are the weary travelers in this vast wasteland we call world. Jesus is our only access to the heavenly kingdom. He offers to us for free all the gifts of the Spirit that enables us to enter the kingdom of God. As He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  

Lent is a season for more meaningful prayer and self-examination. Like the Samaritan woman who discovered the life-giving water in Jesus by conversing with Him, so may we also spend more time in intimate and constant communication with Him in silence and prayer. Through this, we will discover in our hearts the thirst for God that has its source in God’s thirst for us. As the Psalmist sang, “As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God” (Ps 42:2). 

God Bless you all

Does Praying for the dead erase sins?

 DOES PRAYING FOR THE DEAD ERASE SINS?

“If someone has died… does my prayer still matter?”

At death, a person’s time of choosing ends. No more repentance. No more new sins. Earthly freedom is complete.

But here’s the part many people don’t know 

Not every soul who dies in God’s friendship is instantly ready for heaven. Sins may be forgiven, yet their effects remain. The soul still needs purification.

This final healing is what the Church calls Purgatory — not a second chance, not condemnation, but preparation to meet God face to face.

So what happens when we pray for the dead?

Our prayers do not rewrite their past

They do not erase guilt like Confession

But they help cleanse the soul and hasten its journey to heaven

That’s why the Holy Mass for the dead is the greatest gift we can offer. That’s why the Church has prayed for the dead from the earliest centuries.That’s why love does not end at the grave. 

When you pray for the dead, you are saying: “You are not forgotten.” “You are still loved.” “I trust God’s mercy for you.”

And heaven listens.

The dead are not beyond love

Prayer still reaches them

Charity is stronger than death

Fr. Nony, CRM