I wish to reflect with you on two words that are very relevant this week.

First, Shepherd: Today, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is known as ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’ since the focus is on Jesus who has accorded that beautiful title of ‘Good Shepherd’ to himself.

I believe that all of us are aware of and horrified at the senseless criticism President Trump levelled against Pope Leo XIV. Trump posted on Truth Social April 12 that Pope Leo was "terrible for foreign policy," and that "Leo should get his act together as Pope." Trump also wrote that the pope should be "thankful," for him:

Happy Easter! Yes, Easter is such a foundational feast of our faith, that the Church continues to celebrate it for about seven weeks. These Sundays are named 2nd Sunday of Easter, 3rd Sunday of Easter, etc. The power of Easter has transformed the face of the earth as believers began to increase and Christianity began to spread all over the world.

Easter Blessings to you and your dear ones!

Father Basil Pennington, a Catholic monk, has written about an encounter he once had with a teacher of Zen. Pennington was at a retreat. As part of the retreat, each person met privately with this Zen teacher. Pennington says that at his meeting the Zen teacher sat there before him smiling from ear to ear and rocking gleefully back and forth.