Catholics in the Roman Rite celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday during Eastertide.
Similar to "Divine Mercy Sunday," it is fixed on a particular Sunday during the Easter season.
Jesus the Good Shepherd
This particular Sunday typically coincides with the following passage from the Gospel according to St. John:
I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Another option for this Sunday are the verses that follow that sentence:
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand.
The Father and I are one.”
(John 10:27-30)
The exact verses change each year, but they all revolve around Jesus calling himself the "Good Shepherd."
Prior to Vatican II this day was celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of Easter, but since then it is always on the 4th Sunday of Easter, due to the reorganization of the Lectionary, which is the cycle of readings in the Catholic Church.
Good Shepherd Sunday is a day to focus on Jesus' role as shepherd of souls and our role of following his voice wherever he goes.
Interestingly, this image of God is not new. The Old Testament is full of verses that describe God has a "good shepherd."
When Israel (Jacob) was blessing his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, he speaks of God as a "shepherd."
May the God in whose presence
my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has been my shepherd
from my birth to this day.
(Genesis 48:15)
What this should teach us is that God loves us tenderly, as a shepherd looks over and watches his flock. He does not one of them to perish and will search far and wide for the one sheep that strayed from the ninety-nine.
