I am the gate of the sheepfold
According to John
Sunday 26 April 2026
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Fr Adrian refers the information below
He Knows You Know
Scientists looking at animal behaviour have found that it is true: sheep do indeed recognise individual human beings.
They seem to do this partly by facial recognition and partly by voice.
The sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
These words of Jesus accurately describe the way a flock behaves.
Those boffins discovered something else. Sheep are so sensitive to the sound of the shepherd’s voice. They understand his mood and feelings.
It may seem an obvious thing to us – we can tell by the way a person speaks whether they are upset, annoyed, calm or even happy.
For sheep to be able to do this means they must have considerable intelligence.
This story of sheep and shepherd tells us something deeper; it gives us an insight into our relationship with Jesus.
We are told that Jesus understands us through and through. He is God and so is completely aware of how we are at any moment. He sees our joys and sorrows and is close to us when we need him most.
Faith assures us of his love for us but sometimes we need something more than this often repeated truth.
To know in our hearts how someone feels there is need for a closeness. If we draw near to Jesus then we can develop this special sensitivity.
Sometimes Christians are dismayed that they do not feel the closeness or the embracing love of God. It can lead them to wonder about their faith or feel that they are in some way ‘not doing it right’. There is no quick-fix answer to this.
All we can do is try to be open, to listen and keep trying to pray.
Every moment in which we feel love or comfort – perhaps prompted by the words of another person or a simple message of care – we can try to see Jesus reaching out to us.
The more we trust the more we shall realise that we can trust, the more we love the more we shall understand we are loved.
I am the Good Shepherd, I know my own and my own know me.
First reading - Acts 2:14,36-41
'God has made him both Lord and Christ'
On the day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed the crowd in a loud voice: ‘The whole House of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.’
Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘What must we do, brothers?’ ‘You must repent,’ Peter answered ‘and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call to himself.’ He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments, and he urged them, ‘Save yourselves from this perverse generation.’ They were convinced by his arguments, and they accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number.
Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 22(23)
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
Alleluia!
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
Alleluia!
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
Alleluia!
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
Alleluia!
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
Alleluia!
Second reading 1 Peter 2:20-25
You have come back to the shepherd of your souls
The merit, in the sight of God, is in bearing punishment patiently when you are punished after doing your duty.
This, in fact, is what you were called to do, because Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow the way he took. He had not done anything wrong, and there had been no perjury in his mouth. He was insulted and did not retaliate with insults; when he was tortured he made no threats but he put his trust in the righteous judge. He was bearing our faults in his own body on the cross, so that we might die to our faults and live for holiness; through his wounds you have been healed. You had gone astray like sheep but now you have come back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
Gospel - John 10:1-10
I am the gate of the sheepfold
Jesus said:
‘I tell you most solemnly, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold through the gate, but gets in some other way is a thief and a brigand. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the flock; the gatekeeper lets him in, the sheep hear his voice, one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out. When he has brought out his flock, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow because they know his voice. They never follow a stranger but run away from him: they do not recognise the voice of strangers.’
Jesus told them this parable but they failed to understand what he meant by telling it to them.
So Jesus spoke to them again:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
I am the gate of the sheepfold.
All others who have come
are thieves and brigands;
but the sheep took no notice of them.
I am the gate.
Anyone who enters through me will be safe:
he will go freely in and out
and be sure of finding pasture.
The thief comes
only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come
so that they may have life and have it to the full.’
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