Saturday, May 10, 2025
Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord.
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Sunday, May 11 // Fourth Sunday of Easter
Monday, May 12 // Optional Memorial of Saints Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs; Optional Memorial of Saint Pancras, Martyr
Tuesday, May 13 // Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima
Wednesday, May 14 // Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle
Thursday, May 15 // Optional Memorial of Saint Isidore [in the dioceses of the United States]
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
This Fourth Sunday of Easter is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday is our first with our newly elected shepherd Pope Leo XIV. He is the successor of our first pope, Saint Peter, and continues the mission of all the Apostles to evangelize the world. As members of the Church, we are a part of this mission, “For so the Lord has commanded us, I have made you a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth” (Acts 13:47). In his first papal homily, Pope Leo echoed these words of Saint Paul, “This is the world that has been entrusted to us, a world in which[. . .] we are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Christ the Saviour" (source).
All throughout the Old Testament, God draws a parallel between His relationship with His chosen people Israel and that of a shepherd and his sheep. “Know that the LORD is God,” the Psalmist writes. “He made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends” (Psalm 100:3). Jesus is the Good Shepherd and His sheep hear His voice: “I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). He came to Shepherd all humanity back to Him, and He does this through His Church. Let us pray for our new holy father, that under his leadership “the word of the Lord [will continue] to spread” (Acts 13:48). Let us trust in the care of our Good Shepherd who has given us the Church to help us “remain faithful to the grace of God” (Acts 13:43), for He the Lamb Who has washed us white in His blood has come for “every nation, race, people and tongue” (Revelation 7:9). May our lives be witnesses of joyful faith.
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter:
First Reading // Acts 13:14, 43-52
Psalm // Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5
Second Reading // Revelation 7:9, 14b-17
Gospel // John 10:27-30
Prayer Practice // What was the last thing the Good Shepherd spoke to your heart?
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Devotions Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer and editor and a teacher. She lives with her philosopher husband, three teen daughters, one pre-teen son, and a miracle baby girl in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology and novels, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew , Listen to Him: A Meditation on Mark, Preach in His Name: A Meditation on Luke, and Abide in His Love: A Meditation on John. She was the contributing author and editor for our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. She was the Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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