4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (World Day of Prayer for Vocations)

     In light of this Sunday’s Readings that center on the Good Shepherd, allow me to share with you my story: ‘A rich man, with hundreds of sheep, is disturbed by the outburst of thunderstorm. His hired men secured most of the sheep, yet a number were just too terrified and scampered everywhere, at the mercy of predators. Now the hired men are reluctant to search further.
     ‘Deeply troubled, he decided he would seek the lost ones. But they can’t even recognize his voice. Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind: “I would wear a sheepskin and act like a sheep” and he did just that.
     ‘The sight of a ‘fellow’ sheep braving the storm finally inflamed their drooping spirits and encouraged them to follow him, thus finally securing their safe return to the fold where a celebration awaited them.
     ’This is precisely what Jesus did. He renounced his divinity and embraced fully our humanity thus giving us new hope to start life anew with a clearer vision, that of life everlasting in the company of the Blessed Trinity. And this is the essence of Easter.
     May the love, peace and joy of the Risen Christ reign in our hearts!
                                                             Rev. Jimmy B. Hababag