This Sunday’s readings are full of movement, clarity, and decision. In the first reading from Acts, Peter stands before the crowd and proclaims Jesus Christ with boldness. The people are cut to the heart and ask, “What are we to do?” Peter gives a clear answer: repent and be baptized. In Psalm 23, the Lord is the Shepherd who guides, feeds, protects, and leads his people on right paths. In the second reading, Saint Peter reminds us that Christ shepherds us not by domination or threat, but by patient, sacrificial love. And in the Gospel, Jesus tells us that he is both the Shepherd and the Gate. His sheep know his voice. They do not follow every voice, and they do not enter through every opening. What stands out in all of this is the way the readings urge us toward greater clarity: a clearer voice, a truer path, and a more decisive way forward.

Happy Easter! Yes, we are still celebrating Easter! One of the challenges of writing bulletin columns around the holidays is that they often need to be written well in advance so they can be printed and delivered on time. As I write this, it is the Monday after Easter. Looking back on our celebration of the Easter Triduum and Easter Sunday, I find myself filled with gratitude.

Happy Easter to all of you! This weekend I will be away leading a parish retreat in North Carolina on the theme of God’s mercy. That is especially fitting, because this weekend is Divine Mercy Sunday. In those retreat talks I will be drawing from St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Aquinas teaches us that God’s mercy is not simply God feeling sorry for us. It is God acting to heal what we cannot heal ourselves. If Aquinas gives us a theology and ethics of mercy, Bernard gives us a spiritual psychology of mercy. He helps us see why so often we fail at mercy and how God can reform our hearts.

Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! Happy Easter! To all our parishioners, and to all our guests, family members, friends, and visitors joining us this weekend: welcome! We are glad you are here. Easter is the heart of the Christian faith, the day when the Church proclaims with joy that death, sin, and the grave does not have the final word. Jesus Christ is alive. Alleluia!