This weekend the Church celebrates the Fourth Sunday of Easter, commonly referred to as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Our gospel reading is from John 10, the chapter in which Jesus refers to himself by that title. Most people are aware of the fact that, without a shepherd, the sheep are helpless. They have no one to guide them; they have no one to protect them from the hungry wolves. And so, sooner or later, the wolves get themselves a free meal!
As the Lord’s sheep, we face “wolves” every day — whether we are conscious of it or not. These are the spiritual wolves of pride, greed, envy, anger, gluttony, lust and sloth. We also have to deal with the “offspring” of these seven wolves: confusion, despair, hatred and the like. For strength and protection, we need to draw close to our Good Shepherd constantly.
The coronavirus crisis, as terrible as it is, gives us a great opportunity to do this, since many of us are currently out of school and/or work, and thus have more free time available for personal prayer and reflection. So take advantage of the opportunity! Give the Good Shepherd some quality time each and every day — because, even though the coronavirus will not always be a threat to us, the spiritual wolves of this world always will be.
