Introit

Rite of Sprinkling

Gloria

Collect

Almighty ever-living God,
lead us to a share in the joys of heaven,
so that the humble flock may reach
where the brave Shepherd has gone before.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (RM)

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people;
Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who
calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with
you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen. (BCP)

God of all power,
you called from death our Lord Jesus,
the great shepherd of the sheep.
Send us as shepherds to rescue the lost,
to heal the injured,
and to feed one another
with knowledge and understanding;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen. (BCW)

First Reading Acts 2:14, 36-41

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
   raised his voice, and proclaimed:
“Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
   that God has made both Lord and Christ,
   this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,
   and they asked Peter and the other apostles,
“What are we to do, my brothers?”
Peter said to them,
   “Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
   in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
   and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your children
   and to all those far off,
   whomever the Lord our God will call.”
He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,
   “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
   and about three thousand persons were added that day.

Responsorial Psalm

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.

He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.  

Second Reading 1 Peter 2:20-25

Beloved:
If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,
   this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called,
   because Christ also suffered for you,
   leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.
He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When he was insulted, he returned no insult;
   when he suffered, he did not threaten;
   instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
   so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.
For you had gone astray like sheep,
   but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. 

Verse before the Gospel

Gospel John 10:1-10

Jesus said:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
   whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
   but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
   as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
   he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
   because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
   they will run away from him,
   because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.”
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
   the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,
   I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
   but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
   and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
   I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Catena Nova

In our sickness we need a saviour, in our wanderings a guide, in our blindness someone to show us the light, in our thirst the fountain of living water which quenches forever the thirst of those who drink from it. We dead people need life, we sheep need a shepherd, we children need a teacher, the whole world needs Jesus! If we would understand the profound wisdom of the most holy shepherd and teacher, the ruler of the universe and the Word of the Father, when using an allegory he calls himself the shepherd of the sheep, we can do so for he is also the teacher of little ones….How bountiful the giver who for our sake gives his most precious possession, his own life! He is a real benefactor and friend, who desired to be our brother when he might have been our Lord, and who in his goodness even went so far as to die for us! (St. Clement of Alexandria)

Where are you pasturing your flock, O good Shepherd, who carry the whole flock on your shoulders? (For the whole of human nature is one sheep and you have lifted it onto your shoulders). Show me the place of peace, lead me to the good grass that will nourish me, call me by name so that I, your sheep, hear your voice, and by your speech give me eternal life. Answer me, you whom my soul loves. I give you the name ‘you whom my soul loves’ because your name is above every name and above all understanding and there is no rational nature that can utter it or comprehend it. Therefore your name, by which your goodness is known, is simply the love my soul has for you. … A greater love cannot be imagined, than exchanging your life for my salvation. Show me then (my soul says) where you pasture your flock, so that I can find that saving pasture too, and fill myself with the food of heaven without which no one can come to eternal life, and run to the spring and fill myself with the drink of God. (St. Gregory of Nyssa).

If anyone enters the sheepfold through me he shall be saved; he shall go freely in and out and shall find good pasture. He will enter into a life of faith; from faith he will go out to vision, from belief to contemplation, and will graze in the good pastures of everlasting life. So our Lord’s sheep will finally reach their grazing ground where all who follow him in simplicity of heart will feed on the green pastures of eternity. These pastures are the spiritual joys of heaven. There the elect look upon the face of God with unclouded vision and feast at the banquet of life for ever more. Beloved, let us set out for these pastures where we shall keep joyful festival with so many of our fellow citizens. May the thought of their happiness urge us on! Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith, and long eagerly for what heaven has in store for us. To love thus is to be already on our way. No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that heavenly feast. Anyone who is determined to reach his destination is not deterred by the roughness of the road that leads to it. Nor must we allow the charm of success to seduce us, or we shall be like a foolish traveler who is so distracted by the pleasant meadows through which he is passing that he forgets where he is going (St. Gregory the Great).

Christ said that the shepherd enters through the gate and that he is himself the gate as well as the shepherd. Then it is necessary that he enter through himself. By so doing, he reveals himself, and through himself he knows the Father. But we enter through him because through him we find happiness. Take heed: no one else is the gate but Christ. Others reflect his light, but no one else is the true light. (St. Thomas Aquinas).

of the eternal Godhead.  (St. Catherine of Siena)

I have read in the Gospel that the Good Shepherd leaves the faithful ones of His flock in the desert to hasten after the lost sheep. This confidence touches me deeply. You see He is sure of them. How could they stray away? They are prisoners of Love. In like manner does the Beloved Shepherd of our souls deprive us of the sweets of His Presence, to give His consolations to sinners; or if He lead us to Mount Tabor it is but for one brief moment . . . the pasture land is nearly always in the valleys, "it is there that He takes His rest at mid-day." (St. Therese of Lisieux)

Offertory Chant

 Offertory Motet (Jean Lheritier)

Communion Antiphon

 Closing Hymn (Cecil Francis Alexander)