My brothers and sisters,

Traditionally, the month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This special month offers us an opportunity to thank God for the gift of Our Lady in our lives and in the life of the Church. In this Jubilee Year of Hope, the Virgin Mary stands as a model for us as she leads us to Hope, itself, her Son, Jesus. From the Annunciation to the foot of the Cross, Our Lady has faithfully responded to her call as the Mother of the Messiah, the Christ, and as Mother of the Church.

In today's Gospel (4th Sunday of Easter) Jesus tells us “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Jn. 10:27).

Listening to the Voice of God: How and where do we hear the voice of Jesus?

We hear the voice of God par excellence in the Holy Scriptures, through prayer, through the CCC, through the saints who have emerged in the Church, in the Eucharist, in the community, in images...

I eat breakfast. If I don’t have something substantial, I’m fading by midmorning. Breakfast is my key meal because it sets up my physical wellbeing for the rest of the day.

Spiritually speaking, we need sustenance to get us going. This is true for the Apostles in this Sunday’s remarkable Gospel reading. The risen Jesus makes his third appearance to them in the early morning light and calls, “Come, have breakfast” (John 21:12). The exhausted and cold fishermen sit, and he feeds them bread and fish as the dawn breaks.

This Sunday is the Second Sunday of Easter. Holy Mother Church exhorts us to continue to possess the joy and hope that is in our hearts because of the Resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear another resurrection narrative. St. John, the Evangelist tells us the story of the encounter of the disciples with the risen Jesus. It happened on the evening of the first day of the week. The disciples were gathered in a closed room because they were afraid that the Jews would persecute them just like what they did to Jesus. It was during this time when the Lord made His presence felt to His beloved disciples.

“Repent and believe in the Gospel!”

Do those words “ring a bell?” This command was given to us on Ash Wednesday. Well? “How are we doing?” Have we repented? Have we welcomed and opened our minds and hearts to the Gospel?

My sisters and brothers, the Lenten season, Holy Week, the Triduum, and Easter beg us to reflect on the necessity to be reconciled and restored in our relationship with the Lord before his Coming and the time of judgment. Be it the “resurrection of life” or the “resurrection of condemnation” as mentioned in the Gospel of John, Jesus reminds us: “I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just…”

Even though the buds on the trees have begun to open up, and the calendar says it's already Spring, we are still in the penitential season of Lent. New growth is visibly bursting outside, but inside the church it looks a little less celebratory. This should also be our spiritual life, we should be building up an interior anticipation, just like last Sunday-Laetare Sunday, we are almost there but not quite yet. We should be sensing some sort of interior conversion so as to be even more ready to celebrate the Resurrection!