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The Easter Cycle
Formerly it was the custom of the Christians of Rome to assemble in the church of St. Peter
on the second Sunday after Easter. This is the Sunday of the Good Shepherd, who, after His
Resurrection and before His Ascension into heaven, appointed Peter to be the visible shepherd
of His sheep and His lambs. In spirit we gather today in St. Peter’s, safe under the protection
of the Good Shepherd. In the Introit we sing His praise with grateful hearts, remembering all
that He has done for us by His death, His Resurrection, and by sharing His divine life with us
through holy baptism. “The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. . . . Rejoice in the Lord, O ye
just” (Introit).
The Prince of the Apostles, in whose church we assemble today, tells us what Christ did
for us: “Dearly beloved: Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow
in His steps. . . . [He] bore our sins in His body upon the tree; that we, being dead to sins,
should live to justice” (Epistle). To this prevailing thought of the Christian at Easter time, St.
Peter joins the concept of Christ as the Good Shepherd, “by whose stripes you were healed.
For you were as sheep going astray; but you are now converted to the shepherd and bishop of
your souls” (Epistle).
Christ introduces Himself in the Gospel as the Good Shepherd. “I am the Good Shepherd.
The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. . . . I am the Good Shepherd, and I know Mine,
and Mine know Me. . . . I lay down My life for My sheep” (Gospel). We acknowledge gratefully
Christ’s description of Himself, as we recall what we have experienced during Holy Week. We
acknowledge this blessed announcement of Christ with a firm Credo: “I believe.” He is indeed
the true shepherd, the Savior of our souls. In the Offertory we cry out to Him, “O God, my
God, to Thee do I watch at break of day,” that I may be united to Thee; “and in Thy name I will
lift up my hands.” Thus in spirit we make our offering, and bring our gifts, and subject our will
to Christ, the Good Shepherd, so that we may follow in His footsteps to the altar of sacrifice.
In the Consecration the Good Shepherd will be personally present on our altar with His self-sacrificing
love. There He will renew in a mystical manner the offering of His life for His sheep, and
will confer on them the benefits and the fruit of His death. “I lay down My life for My sheep.”
Here in the Mass these words are realized. “I know Mine, and Mine know Me.” It is a recognition
full of efficacious and life-giving grace. Through the instrumentality of this most sacred offering,
all mercy, all grace, and all supernatural life come to us.
“And Mine know Me.” In the Mass we renounce all false gods and all perversity, and join
ourselves to Christ in a most intimate union, that we may become part of His sacrifice and thus
become one with Him in spirit and in intention. Having been united with Him, we live His
life and follow the path on which He has gone before us. Thus we shall be led to green pastures
in the sacrificial banquet of Holy Communion. He is the Good Shepherd who nourishes us
with His glorified substance and makes Himself entirely ours. “I am the Good Shepherd, and I
know My sheep, and Mine know Me” (Communion). Could He unite Himself to us in a more
intimate and loving way than He has done?
Meditation
Easter, the day of the Lord’s victory over sin and hell, the day of our resurrection to a new life
(through baptism and penance), today receives a new meaning. The risen Lord is the Good
Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. With her heart filled with gratitude, the Church
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