June 7, 2026  

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ 

Lectionary: 167 

First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a 

Moses said to the people: 
“Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, 
has directed all your journeying in the desert, 
so as to test you by affliction 
and find out whether or not it was your intention 
to keep his commandments. 
He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, 
and then fed you with manna, 
a food unknown to you and your fathers, 
in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live, 
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. 
 
“Do not forget the LORD, your God, 
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 
that place of slavery; 
who guided you through the vast and terrible desert 
with its saraph serpents and scorpions, 
its parched and waterless ground; 
who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock 
and fed you in the desert with manna, 
a food unknown to your fathers.” 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 

R.  (12) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem; 
praise your God, O Zion. 
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; 
he has blessed your children within you. 
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. 
 

He has granted peace in your borders; 
with the best of wheat he fills you. 
He sends forth his command to the earth; 
swiftly runs his word! 
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. 
 

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, 
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel. 
He has not done thus for any other nation; 
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia. 
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. 
 

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 

Brothers and sisters: 
The cup of blessing that we bless, 
is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? 
The bread that we break, 
is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 
Because the loaf of bread is one, 
we, though many, are one body, 
for we all partake of the one loaf. 

Sequence — Lauda Sion 

Laud, O Zion, your salvation, 
Laud with hymns of exultation, 
Christ, your king and shepherd true: 
 
Bring him all the praise you know, 
He is more than you bestow. 
Never can you reach his due. 
 
Special theme for glad thanksgiving 
Is the quick’ning and the living 
Bread today before you set: 
 
From his hands of old partaken, 
As we know, by faith unshaken, 
Where the Twelve at supper met. 
 
Full and clear ring out your chanting, 
Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting, 
From your heart let praises burst: 
 
For today the feast is holden, 
When the institution olden 
Of that supper was rehearsed. 
 
Here the new law’s new oblation, 
By the new king’s revelation, 
Ends the form of ancient rite: 
 
Now the new the old effaces, 
Truth away the shadow chases, 
Light dispels the gloom of night. 
 
What he did at supper seated, 
Christ ordained to be repeated, 
His memorial ne’er to cease: 
 
And his rule for guidance taking, 
Bread and wine we hallow, making 
Thus our sacrifice of peace. 
 
This the truth each Christian learns, 
Bread into his flesh he turns, 
To his precious blood the wine: 
 
Sight has fail’d, nor thought conceives, 
But a dauntless faith believes, 
Resting on a pow’r divine. 
 
Here beneath these signs are hidden 
Priceless things to sense forbidden; 
Signs, not things are all we see: 
 
Blood is poured and flesh is broken, 
Yet in either wondrous token 
Christ entire we know to be. 
 
Whoso of this food partakes, 
Does not rend the Lord nor breaks; 
Christ is whole to all that taste: 
 
Thousands are, as one, receivers, 
One, as thousands of believers, 
Eats of him who cannot waste. 
 
Bad and good the feast are sharing, 
Of what divers dooms preparing, 
Endless death, or endless life. 
 
Life to these, to those damnation, 
See how like participation 
Is with unlike issues rife. 
 
When the sacrament is broken, 
Doubt not, but believe ’tis spoken, 
That each sever’d outward token 
doth the very whole contain. 
 
Nought the precious gift divides, 
Breaking but the sign betides 
Jesus still the same abides, 
still unbroken does remain. 
 
(The shorter form of the sequence begins here.) 
 
Lo! the angel’s food is given 
To the pilgrim who has striven; 
see the children’s bread from heaven, 
which on dogs may not be spent. 
 
Truth the ancient types fulfilling, 
Isaac bound, a victim willing, 
Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling, 
manna to the fathers sent. 
 
Very bread, good shepherd, tend us, 
Jesu, of your love befriend us, 
You refresh us, you defend us, 
Your eternal goodness send us 
In the land of life to see. 
 
You who all things can and know, 
Who on earth such food bestow, 
Grant us with your saints, though lowest, 
Where the heav’nly feast you show, 
Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia. 

Alleluia: John 6:51 

R. Alleluia, alleluia. 
 

I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; 
whoever eats this bread will live forever. 
R. Alleluia, alleluia. 

Gospel: John 6:51-58 

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: 
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; 
whoever eats this bread will live forever; 
and the bread that I will give 
is my flesh for the life of the world.” 
 
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, 
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 
Jesus said to them, 
“Amen, amen, I say to you, 
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, 
you do not have life within you. 
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood 
has eternal life, 
and I will raise him on the last day. 
For my flesh is true food, 
and my blood is true drink. 
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood 
remains in me and I in him. 
Just as the living Father sent me 
and I have life because of the Father, 
so also the one who feeds on me 
will have life because of me. 
This is the bread that came down from heaven. 
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, 
whoever eats this bread will live forever.” 

Reflection 

Like Easter Sunday, which is the birth of the Church by the Coming of the Holy Spirit, this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi is also a feast of Holy Mother Church because it celebrates the Church’s constitution as the mystical Body of Christ (Ep 4: 11, 15 & 5:23: “…Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior”). 

Among man’s “bond and connection” with God, nothing could be more graphically rich than the image of being a member of the Body of Christ—which is the Church of Jesus, the Catholic Church. Christ is the Head of the Church and the Church is His Body and therefore, all those who enter the Church are bonded to God forever. This bond leaves an indelible mark upon those who enter the Church through baptism. However, a person marked with God’s seal may still lose his salvation through voluntary and willful rejection. 

Side Note: There are several reasons why we say “Amen” when we receive the sacred host, either at Mass or whenever it is offered to us like in hospitals run by Catholic religious groups. One of them is the fact that we declaratively and openly confirm that we are indeed members of the mystical Body of Christ and that the Jesus is our Lord and Savior. 

At Mass, the consecrated host is lifted up during the consecration and the epiclesis, not only for the whole congregation to see the host but for Jesus, who is truly present in the sacred host and who is one with His mystical body (which is the Church) is offered up and presented to His God and Father who wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of truth (see 1 Timothy 2:4).   

Please note that every Mass is a thanksgiving celebration of the Church to the Father through Jesus Christ, who incidentally and intentionally is both eternal high priest and victim. Today, we celebrate the Church’s constitution as the Body of Jesus and we the faithful are once again invited to ponder upon this dogma which says that we have become the mystical body of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, because such was already intended even before time only and through God’s mercy that we become so.   

Jesus didn’t need a mystical body because even before all creation, He was already God and was God who existed in simple perfection—without beginning and without end. By being incarnate, Jesus became true man and true God and the bridge to reconcile God with man by elevating the latter to the status of children in His mystical body. Jesus made this possible because it was the only means for mankind’s salvation. Jesus became flesh so that he could build His Church and give away His life to make the Church live forever. Our oneness with Jesus starts with our entry into the Church through our baptism and our stay is sustained by the Eucharist. Both baptism and the Eucharist are sacraments dispensed in the Church that Jesus built and nowhere else.  

With these premises, we can view here that the Church is a sacrament by itself and the means of mankind’s salvation because of its oneness with Christ. The Church is the congregation of the baptized who are both called to come inside and sent to go into the world and spread the Gospel. We are the Church and therefore we are the Body of Christ. Please take a little moment to reflect on this truth.  

The Mystical Body of Christ – The Church 

In his Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul clearly establishes the spousal relationship between Christ and his Church. This spousal relationship results in a mystical union where Christ is the head of his body which is the Church. In fact, the mystical union of Jesus and his bride is unmistakable when St. Paul puts forth this dogmatic principle in the backdrop of enjoining wives to subject themselves to the authority of their husbands, akin to the subordination of the Church to the head who is Jesus. St. Paul said:  

Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. (Ephesians 5:22-24) 

Therefore, all those baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit become children of God because Christ himself built and married the Church. 

The Church is the Bride which Jesus will present to the Father in Heaven at the end of time (Rev 21: 9-26). We were created by God and destined us to be children of his kingdom. However, we become his children by adoption because of our membership in the Church. Saint Paul confirms this by saying: “He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 5: 5-6).  

This does not mean that the adoption bestowed upon us is subordinate or with inferior rights. Remember, God’s Kingdom existed merely as a consequence of His act of creating the Angels and human beings. There is no kingdom to talk about if there are no subjects or in this case, no children to constitute as heirs. Therefore, the Kingdom of God or Christ’s mystical body was never required until the Angels and human beings came to be. God’s existence is perfect and simple. He had no need to create angels and man. But because he did, His Kingdom of priests, of royal blood due to the cleansing blood of the Lamb, became necessary. It is in this context that we who are of His Kingdom should be so grateful to be part of.   

It also proves that God can only beget God. This is the reason why in the Nicene Creed, we say: “God from God, light from light, true God from true God. Begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father.” The rules of human childbirth do not and cannot apply to God and it is when we try to analyze matters of the divine using human standards that we get confused.  

We are mere human beings created by God. But with baptism, we are elevated to children of God. God can only beget God, as human beings can only beget humans. Therefore, without our entry into the Church through baptism, we remain mere creatures. Because of our baptism, we have become children of God by adoption because Jesus and the Church have been mystically united. In other words, baptized Christians are married to Christ. And because we have become children of God, we too have become heirs of His kingdom like Jesus, the Angels and Saints in Heaven. 

The Bread of Life: “…not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3, also in John 6:22-59). 

Allow us to start this by saying that Jesus is both the Word of God and the Bread of Life. In the Mass, we first listen to the Word of God to prepare ourselves to receive the Bread of Life in the Eucharist during communion. In other words, we first listen to Jesus so that we can have the proper disposition to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.  

Therefore, salvation and holiness in our lives must be all about absorbing, imbibing and living out every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD, which includes the command uttered at the Last Supper: “Take and eat, this is my body; take and drink, this is the cup of the Covenant in my blood. Do this in remembrance of me.” 

The words of our Lord in today’s Gospel, about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, cannot get any clearer than this: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:54-55). 

And in today’s Second Reading, St. Paul points to the reality that when we eat His flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, it is a communion of the Body of Christ because all who partake of the bread and drink from the cup are linked as brethren to brethren, through Jesus who is the Bread we all partake. From a spousal relationship necessarily came the expansion into a family communion because of the Eucharist. This is how significant the Mystical Body of Christ is and our incorporation into it means salvation, holiness and life as God wants it to be.  

Gospel 

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51) 

What do we normally do with bread? 

This is not a trick question. The answer, of course, is we eat it. In rare case, breads are photographed for ads. Stale bread even gets recycled into a different product like bread pudding, salads and other dishes. 

As to why Jesus chose bread to be associated with His flesh that we should eat is something only He knows. It is probably the familiarity and availability of it as a staple of many cultures and countries that our Lord decided as He did. 

The declaration is clear: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven…” Jesus is the living bread and His address is Heaven. If He says He’s the living bread, then he can be eaten or more accurately, he’s setting us up for a scenario that will eventually lead to the Last Supper and the Eucharist: “Take this all of you and eat it. This is my body which is given for you.”  

Then, the invitation: “whoever eats this bread will live forever”. Here, Jesus makes it an invitation to eat him, which must have sounded odd and cannibalistic to the people who heard it. But at the Last Supper, the invitation turns into a command to eat His flesh in the appearance of unleavened bread which was transformed into His flesh, because He has the power to do so and will it.   

Then comes: “the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world”. His flesh is the life of the world. Now, the invitation travels along the linear path of eating His flesh which results in everlasting life. His incarnation was meant for His Mystical Body as the sustaining life for those who believe that He is indeed the Bread of Life, which was meant to be broken, blessed, shared and eaten, so that the union between Jesus and His Church could be real and forever. 

The Mystical Body was purposefully willed by God because of His undying, unlimited and unconditional love for those He created in His own image and likeness – angels and human beings. Because of this, St. Paul said: “He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:5). Let us always be thankful that we are part of Jesus’ Mystical Body. 

Second Reading: “We are what we eat.” 

There is a saying: “We are what we eat.” This may very well be applicable in reflecting on today’s feast of Corpus Christi because, as members of God’s family and the Body of Christ, we are called to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ. This is the very reason why we are Catholics – we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist; this is what differentiates us from the two other major monotheistic religions namely Islam and Judaism, and the other polytheistic religions and faiths.    

In the Eucharist, Christ is truly present in the transubstantiated bread and wine which, after consecration by the priest, has become the body and blood of Jesus. Partaking of the bread and wine means that we are one with our Lord and the entire Church. It is a communion of the Body of Christ because what we partake to Christ himself. To eat Christ is to be one with Him because He sealed the Covenant with His blood. 

The Body of Christ & The Bread of Life: A Postscript 

We reiterate that it is our baptism that incorporates us into the Body of Christ, thereby making us royal citizens of Heaven and heirs of the Kingdom. Saint Paul says: “As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1Corinthians 12:20 & 27). To be baptized does carry with it lifetime consequences. Therefore, to be baptized in the “right” church is important.  

In the First Reading, God “purposely” starved the Israelites in the Sinai desert to test their resolve – whether or not they will stay faithful to Him even in want and deprivation of two (2) very basic human needs – food and water. When they experienced hunger, they didn’t hesitate to complain to God, instead of humbly begging for his mercy. God satisfied their complaining by sending ‘manna’ or the bread from heaven, as a foreshadowing of the arrival of the Bread of Life in the New Testament, all in fulfillment of the promised salvation in Jesus the Christ. The test was supposed to humble them to always seek God’s mercy and long for the ‘bread that comes from heaven’. Sadly, they failed the test like a spoiled, privileged and entitled child. There was still “too much Egypt” in the hearts of the Israelites. 

Remember that Corpus Christi, which is the Church and the individuals that make up the Church via baptism and the Eucharist might be different words with different meanings and significance, and may even appear as different concepts. But they are actually one and the same, like a man and woman are one in marriage, which is what the Mass and Eucharist are about. 

When Jesus built his Church through Peter, he became one with it by virtue of a real marital union. In other words, Jesus became one with us, with you and me. St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, Chapter 5: 23, reveals Christ spousal and covenantal relationship with his Church: “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” 

A blessed Corpus Christi Sunday to everyone. 

– Gospel reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry

April 26, 2026

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary: 49

First Reading: Acts 2:14a, 36-41

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,
and they asked Peter and the other apostles,
“What are we to do, my brothers?”
Peter said to them,
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your children
and to all those far off,
whomever the Lord our God will call.”
He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,
“Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand persons were added that day.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b4, 5, 6

 R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Second Reading: 1 Pt 2:20b-25

Beloved:
If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,
this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called,
because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When he was insulted, he returned no insult;
when he suffered, he did not threaten;
instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.
For you had gone astray like sheep,
but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Alleluia: John 10:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: John 10:1-10

Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Reflection

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) and we are the sheep. More accurately put, those who believe that Jesus is the Good Shepherd earn the right to be part of His sheepfold. To be clear, the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord completed the work of salvation for all mankind. There is no sin on earth that has not been paid for by the blood of Christ and there is no sin on earth that cannot be forgiven because God’s mercy is limitless, except for the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: “whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (see Matt 12: 31-32). But those who do not humble themselves and ask for forgiveness from the Lord, those who do not believe that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the only way to the Father, cannot be part of His flock.

Please note that Jesus didn’t come for the sheep inside the flock but for the lost sheep of Israel. Kindly note further that when Jesus said that He came for the lost sheep of Israel, it was also a notice and a warning that He shall build and inaugurate a new Church, under a New Covenant, for a new way of worshipping God, led and administered by His Apostles and a new priesthood. Our Lord, if He had a hundred lambs, will leave the ninety-nine (99) behind just to look for one lamb which is lost.

The Church built by Christ upon Peter is the new flock and the new Israel. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and all those who enter into his sheep pen—which is the Church—become part of the flock. Wherever the Good Shepherd is, so must His flock be and wherever Jesus is, so must Israel be; Israel—the nation and kingdom of God; the Church is the New Israel.

This may look like a radical departure from the old dispensation of Temple worship and the Levitical priesthood but a critical unpacking of this will lead us to the realization that everything that the nation of Israel believed in about God finds perfected continuation by the coming of the Son of Man, the one sent by the Father to fulfill the promised salvation for Israel and the whole world.

God our Father is the Gatekeeper (John 10:3). He alone decides who enters or does not enter through the Gate and into the sheep pen. Jesus is both the Gate (John 10:7) and the Good Shepherd. Let us not forget that Jesus is also the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). The elect who have been destined to inherit salvation and divine sonship have been and are all anointed by the Holy Spirit, who is Lord and giver of life.

At the Last Supper, Jesus prayed to the Father saying: “When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12).

Question: Lord, of all the images that you could associate with, why did you choose to be the Good Shepherd?

Is it because we are like lambs which are timid, could easily go astray and off the righteous and lighted path? And when we get lost, we become fair game to predators-the forces of evil. Please note that the greatest predator of the Lord’s flock of sheep isn’t a wolf or bear but a snake, the one who is called Ancient Serpent, especially the Books of Genesis and Revelation. This is the reason why we need a Good Shepherd who is unlike any other shepherd we know because He lays down His life for His sheep, lambs which He already considers friends and feeds them with His own body and blood in the Eucharist.

There is a war that has been going on since the dawn of earthly time and it is between the forces of good against the forces of evil. The fight is for the souls of each and every human being. The forces of good are led by Jesus and His heavenly hosts a.k.a. army of angels. The enemy is the Ancient Serpent and his group of fellow fallen angels who rebelled against God before creation.

Make no mistake folks, there is a war going on but hidden from our sight and it is between supernatural forces: good versus evil. It is this force of evil that has been fueling all the sin in the world. The leader of the forces of good is both the Lamb of God and the Good Shepherd, and His name is Jesus, our Savior and High Priest.

Our Lord’s compassion for those who are lost and have gone astray is evident in St. Matthew’s Gospel: “At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt 9:36).

We are all called to be shepherds to others.

Because of the war between good and evil, we are all called to be shepherds to others. More accurately put, we are called to be shepherds by obeying, imitating and listening to the voice of our Lord who is the Good Shepherd. We can only be shepherds to others if we have the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus said: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20), it was a call about shepherding others so that they would have the faith and not squander it by choosing sin and evil.

Jesus makes us instruments of His good news and salvation and this is the reason why the faith must be strong in our hearts and minds, with total conviction to be disciples of Jesus so that we too can be instruments of handing the faith to others through our shepherding, all in imitation of Christ our Lord.

Christianity is all about believing in Christ and our faith has to be spread to the ends of the earth by being ambassadors of the faith. People have to see that Christ dwells in us so that they too can believe and see. This is shepherding at the very basic. Preaching Jesus, the Word of God, must be as basic as the air we breathe every day. Remember, shepherding others can be as basic as being a loving father to your family members or a brother to your siblings. It can be as basic as being a good boss or officemate in the office. Everybody needs shepherding because we are creatures who have been broken by sin and can easily lose our way to righteousness. 

What makes a shepherd good at his job?

The obvious answers would be to multiply the flock and not to lose any sheep to predatory animals, falling off a cliff, trapped in a thicket or similar situations. In our Lord’s case, it was Him who lost His life because He deliberately or voluntarily gave it up for the sake of His flock; so that those inside it may live forever. It was in giving up His life that enabled Him and the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life at Pentecost to animate and inspire the Church—the flock of the Good Shepherd, the family and the Kingdom of God. 

Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). This laying down of one’s life is the same posture Jesus had when he said at the Last Supper: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15: 13-14).

This is an all-encompassing quality or attribute of the good shepherd: someone who is willing to lay down his life for the sake of others. Why? A shepherd who is willing to lay down his life for his sheep must have unconditional love for his sheep. We are the sheep who entered the sheepfold. Once inside, we are protected from the enemy for so long as we remain inside. Jesus laid down his life for us to make sure that salvation is available for all mankind and the Church is our vehicle of salvation because in the Church, Jesus is present.

Again, the way into the sheep’s pen is Jesus because He is the only Way to the Father (John 14:6), he is the Good Shepherd and he is the Gate. The Father is the Gatekeeper because only He decides who enters the sheepfold.

In Matthew 15:24, Jesus told the Canaanite (Syro-Phoenician) woman: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel“, because Jesus is a Good Shepherd who looks for the lost sheep. In that episode, the Canaanite woman became part of Jesus’ flock when she exhibited tremendous faith by saying: “But even the dogs eat the scraps from their master’s table.

In the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matt 18: 10-14), it tells of a shepherd who leaves behind his ninety-nine sheep “on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray.” Those who are in Jesus’ flock but have gone astray will always be pursued by our Good Shepherd because each and every one of us is precious to the Lord. 

One Shepherd, One Flock (John 10:16)

There is only one shepherd and it is Jesus. He does not have many flocks. He only has one flock. Salvation is for all of mankind. When Jesus died on the Cross, it was to pay for all the sin of the world and for the benefit of all mankind.

But Jesus has only one flock. This is clear when he said: “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16). Therefore, those who believe that Jesus is the Good Shepherd but do not belong to his fold must be brought into the one flock. This highlights and emphasizes the role of the Church which Jesus built on Peter. There is only one Church built by Christ because it was intended to be the one flock of the Good Shepherd. Those who are outside of the flock must be brought in by those who are already in the flock. This is the reason we need to tell the world that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and work at Church unity. The mission order from Christ is to unify His flock towards one communion. Saint Pope John Paul II wrote about his desire to unify the two (2) traditions of the Church, the East and West, stating in his 25 May 1995 Encyclical Ut unum sint (Latin: ‘That they may be one’ [John 17:21]): “…that believers in Christ, united in following in the footsteps of the martyrs, cannot remain divided.”

Remember, the word “church” comes from Greek and it means “to call”. Those who enter the Church are “called” to come in because they have heard the voice of the Good Shepherd when they were still outside and will hear His same voice once inside. Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10: 14-15). There is one Good Shepherd, who is shepherding one flock, because there is one faith which partakes of the one Bread of Life and that bread is the Lamb of God.  

The New and Everlasting Covenant was already sealed and in existence since Holy Thursday and it is mediated by the Eternal High Priest between God and the one Church built by Jesus, who is both priest and victim, for the worship of the one true God of us all.

A blessed Good Shepherd Sunday to everyone.

– Gospel reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry

April 12, 2026

Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy)

Lectionary: 43

First Reading: Acts 2:42-47

They devoted themselves
to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life,
to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
Awe came upon everyone,
and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
All who believed were together and had all things in common;
they would sell their property and possessions
and divide them among all according to each one’s need.
Every day they devoted themselves
to meeting together in the temple area
and to breaking bread in their homes.
They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart,
praising God and enjoying favor with all the people.
And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24

 R. (1) Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.

Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.

I was hard pressed and was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
The joyful shout of victory
in the tents of the just:
R. Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.

The stone which the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
By the LORD has this been done;
it is wonderful in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love is everlasting.

Second Reading: 1 Pt 1:3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you
who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith,
to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.
In this you rejoice, although now for a little while
you may have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,
may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Alleluia: John 20:29

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are they who have not seen me, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: John 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

Reflection

The Second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday.

Wait a minute! Why do we have a separate celebration for Divine Mercy Sunday? Isn’t Good Friday the day of divine mercy? Is there any other day that compares to what Jesus did on Good Friday insofar as mercy is concerned?

Also, aren’t all masses offered throughout the world, in all days of the year, liturgies which allow us to ENTER into the perpetual heavenly liturgy which, among other things, which makes the saving work of our Lord Jesus eternally present before God and atones for all the sins of the world? In other words, isn’t it that all masses are thanksgiving celebrations of the divine mercy of God?

To better understand the impact of these questions and what they imply, it would be best to take a dive into what Good Friday and Easter brought about and what it is that really resulted when our Lord Jesus rose from death as He promised.

First, kindly note that we start the novena of the Divine Mercy on Good Friday because, and rightfully so, it is the day of absolute goodness and mercy: When the only Good in this world freely gives up His life just to ransom and save a slave to sin (which is man), that is undoubtedly, unequivocal and unmistakably the highest good mankind has ever witnessed. Good Friday is “good” because the Good offered His life in exchange for our lives by hanging on the Cross.

Second, when Jesus rose from death, this wasn’t a resuscitation to life of a corpse by the power our Lord, like what happened to St. Lazarus (John 11). This was no less than marriage union of the temporal order into the divine, because now God lives with his people (see. Rev 21:3). Jesus truly bridged the divide between earth and heaven in His very person because He proved that there is indeed life after death, not just any other life but eternal life or the very life of God. By rising from death, Christ defeated death, the last and greatest hindrance to life eternal. Jesus is the very proof because He indeed is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  “Christ is the firstborn of many brethren” (Rom 8:29). Jesus took preeminence in His resurrection into a new life by ascending into heaven with His glorified body to open the gates of the Kingdom of the Heaven and lead the brethren who inherited life everlasting.

Third, the Mass that we celebrate daily throughout all the Churches in the world is our worship to God, and our thanksgiving for His salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who, by His passion, death and resurrection, complies with the everlasting command to perform the Passover in the new Passover of the Lord’s Supper. It is also the Festival of the Unleavened Bread because our Lord identifies himself as the Bread of Life, which needs to be blessed, broken and eaten for eternal life. Jesus’ body and blood, presented as bread and wine in the Eucharist, is our expiation and Atonement, because He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.         

Gospel: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (John 20:29)

To believe is to see! To accurately put it: To believe allows us to see. More accurately put: To believe allows us to see with the ‘eyes of faith’. To believe requires faith and faith comes from the grace of God with one indispensable element – our DECISION to accept God’s will for us. Obviously, St. Thomas the Apostle decided wrongly. If he probably prayed before doubting, he could have been graced with the power to believe in our Lord’s resurrection without the Lord showing himself to him with His nail marks and all.

There is a direct relationship between believing in God and God’s mercy, on the one hand, and Jesus and his passion, death and resurrection, on the other. On its face, this statement looks simple but there’s more than meets the eye. In other words, the mercy of God is all about believing in the resurrection of Jesus. Those who do not doubt that Jesus is the Messiah – the one who died for our sins and save mankind for the eternal sonship that awaits all of us in heaven, including living out our baptismal vows, they are truly children of the resurrection or children of the perpetual Easter. 

Mind you, during the time of Lord on earth, there were those who believed in God but didn’t believe in life after death. There were also those who believed in God but didn’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Today, the mutations of these have been many and these are heresies that have merely been recycled from antiquity. They have all been convincingly rebutted by the Church because the fullness of the faith is reposed upon her.

In today’s Gospel, St. Thomas, who wasn’t present in the Cenacle Room on Easter night, was being told by his brother Apostles that they have already seen the resurrected Lord because He appeared to them a week ago.

St. Thomas, in his doubt, sets aside the witness of his brothers, asks for physical evidence and demands to see the wounds of Jesus for him to believe in the resurrection and that He is truly risen. Imagine that! Like a faithful Jew, he believes in God. He also believes that Jesus is from heaven by the works and signs performed by our Lord, and some of them were performed before his very eyes, especially raising Lazarus to life. As an Apostle, Thomas had the privilege to be with the Jesus up close and personal. Now, he does not even believe that Jesus has the power to rise from death as He himself promised.                                                                                                                                                                               

If St. Thomas, an Apostle, failed in his faith because he didn’t initially believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and didn’t believe the declaration of his brothers that they have seen the Lord (and he apparently forgot what Jesus said about his passion and resurrection), how much failure would it be for us who are ordinary mortals and who live in this neo-pagan world of secularism, materialism and hedonism (among others)? If St. Thomas failed, we all can easily fail.

There is that component in faith which expects us to believe in things even in the absence of physical proof. Otherwise, physical proof would even serve to negate or hinder our belief and faith. In Hebrews 11:1, faith is defined as follows: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen“.

In other words, to believe in God requires his grace through the Holy Spirit. God’s grace will always be sufficient for hearts and souls to want to draw closer to him. But it will always require our accent and decision to believe in God and everything that the Church proposes for our faith. That is why we are “a” universal and “the” universal Church. There are those who believe in God but don’t believe that Jesus is God. A lot of people believe that Jesus is God but don’t believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. Grace alone may be sufficient for us to tackle matters of faith but it still needs our assent to and about the faith for faith to really matter in our lives and create an impact in this world which Christ ordered to be evangelized and make disciples of all nations.

St. Thomas had all the “evidence and tools” before him to just believe anything and everything about Jesus rising from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection is at the very core of our faith. But at that moment requiring him to take that leap of faith, he doubted and he was admonished for it by the Lord: “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Let’s always pray that Jesus doesn’t have to show himself to us with a rebuke saying that His grace is more than sufficient for our faith and for us to stop doubting Him.

The Eucharist: “Blessed are those who see bread but believe that when consecrated, see the real presence of Jesus and blessed are those who know that in the Eucharist, Jesus is really present—body, blood, soul and divinity.”

Next week, the Third Sunday of Easter, the Gospel will be the Road to Emmaus episode from St. Luke. The story goes something like this: Towards dusk, our resurrected and unrecognizable Lord Jesus, walks towards Emmaus with St. Clopas and another fellow who was unnamed. Since nighttime was upon them, the typical Middle-Eastern hospitality kicked-in for them to invite Jesus into their homes, who at this point, was still unrecognized. Our Lord was prodded by the two men to remain and break bread with them. Fast-forward to dinner – “…while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him but he vanished from their sight” (Luke 24:30-31).

St. Clopas and friend recognized Jesus only in the breaking of the bread. Therefore, when Jesus vanished from their very eyes during the meal, our Lord wasn’t doing it for show. He wanted us to believe that he is present with us in the Eucharist; he makes himself sacramentally present to us in the Eucharist and this even connects with his promise that he will be with us until the end of time (Matt 28:20).

Going back to today’s Gospel, St. Thomas is asking for empirical proof before he believes in the resurrected Jesus. However, to be with Jesus requires a lot of faith because He is absent from our physical eyes.  But like the incident at the Road to Emmaus, we too are being asked to just to take a giant leap of faith and not doubt like St. Thomas.

Our physical eyes might not see Jesus because he already ascended to heaven. But there is such a thing called ‘eyes of faith’ and this allows us to see what can’t be seen by human eyes. Through baptism, and reinforced by confirmation, we are given grace to see with the eyes of faith the deepest mysteries of God and His Bride the Catholic Church, IF ONLY WE BELIEVE. Our eyes of faith, together with tradition and the magisterium, allow us to see that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist and those who believe are truly blessed because they didn’t require physical and empirical evidence to prove it, unlike St. Thomas. Besides, our faith has enough mysteries that simply can’t be explained. That is why faith is an integral part for man to be able to just trust and believe in God.

Jesus not only rose from the dead like he said He would or ascended into heaven just to leave us orphans or play hide-and-go-seek. He didn’t leave us just to confuse our focus on Him because He is in the Eucharist and He makes himself present to us in a most unique and special way. Jesus is indeed Immanuel – God with us!

Conclusion

To believe is to see! It can’t be the other way around. Christianity DOES NOT TEACH ‘to see is to believe. If it did, there will be no need for faith. To have faith is to see and to have faith is a matter of grace because one can’t have faith without the power of the Holy Spirit!

To simply believe that there is a God is a matter of grace and may be a good place to start with our journey of faith. But it is not enough for spiritual growth. We need to increase in our faith through daily conversion into the image of Jesus and this comes with the reception of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist.

To believe in God is already a matter of grace. To have faith in God, to believe in God and in the one He sent is already a cause for so much rejoicing in our lives because we can count ourselves as justified and saved: “God our Savior, desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1Timothy 2:3-4)

Saint Peter could not have said it any better in our Second Reading:

“In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:6-9)

The Church specifically designated the Second Sunday of Easter to celebrate God’s mercy because everything in this world is about God’s mercy. In the same way, all the masses being offered and celebrated every hour of the day, all over the world is about God’s mercy. Jesus has put so much emphasis on his mercy, as that one attribute of his salvation that He even appeared to St. Faustina Kowalska and asked that the devotion to His divine mercy be perpetuated at the hour of great mercy, 3:00 PM every day. Jesus, King of mercy, we trust in you!

A blessed Divine Mercy Sunday to all.

 – Gospel Reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry