Sunday, April 26, 2026

Dear brothers and sisters

This weekend’s Gospel presents Jesus as the Good Shepherd, who loves, cares, and willingly lays down His life for His flock. He walks with us through every difficulty, protects us from daily dangers, and gently leads us toward the heavenly Kingdom. We follow Him as we find in Him profound lessons of love, trust, surren-der, and total reliance. He is also the righteous gate through which we enter the House of God, the dwelling place of lasting peace and true happiness.

Through this beautiful image of the Good Shepherd, we are reminded of three essential responsibilities when we trust, submit, and cooperate wholeheartedly with Him as members of His flock.

First, we are called to deepen our relationship with God, who compassionately leads our lives with uncondi-tional love, steadfast faithfulness, and self-giving sacrifice. In response, we are called to listen attentively to His voice, to respond with generous hearts, and to follow Him faithfully each day of our lives.

Second, we are called to nurture our relationships with one another. As sheep of one flock, we journey togeth-er under the care of the same Shepherd toward the fullness of joy. We must not allow division to take root among us. Just as a flock depends on unity to withstand danger, we are called to support, encourage, and care for one another. Rather than giving in to jealousy, envy, or conflict, we should strive to live in harmony, share burdens, offer compassion, and walk together in faith. We lean on one another so that we may hear the Shep-herd’s voice more clearly, follow His will more closely, and remain on our journey more sincerely.

Ultimately, we also have the responsibility to complete the journey, worthy to pass through the main gate to enter the perfect, peaceful, and happy world in God. To do that, we must follow only the guidance of our God, the Good Shepherd, instead of the lies of worldly individuals; we must live according to God's Word to over-come all the devil's schemes and traps, and we must renounce all the temptations of the material world to fo-cus on the enduring graces in our Father's house.

Finally, we are called to complete the journey, to persevere to the end, and to enter through the gate into the fullness of life with God. In other words, we must remain faithful to the guidance of our Good Shepherd ra-ther than the false promises of the world; we must live out our faith with integrity rather than yield to the pull of temptation; and we must keep our hearts set on eternal life rather than settling for the fleeting satisfactions of the material world.

Sincerely yours in Jesus Christ and Our Lady of La Vang!

Reverend Kiet Anh Ta.