Our readings today teach us what it means to bear fruit as disciples of Christ. We hear in each of our readings that it is from the Lord that good effects will be produced in our lives. 
 
In our first reading, we hear about disciples that were preaching the Good News and defending the faith. The work they were doing was “with the consolation of the Holy Spirit.” It was not their work alone, but the work of God. 
 
We must ask ourselves, ‘how is God bearing fruit in my life?’ and ‘have I invited the Holy Spirit to work in me?’ The more we try to produce good effects in our lives, the more we will become disappointed if all we are relying on is our own efforts. It is only by inviting the Holy Spirit into our everyday moments that we will see goodness poured out. 
 
Jesus clearly tells us how to do this in our Gospel. He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.” We can remain in Christ by staying faithful to His commandments and frequently receiving the sacraments. And our day to day moments should be a reflection of those commitments.
 
That could mean opening our day with a prayer of thanksgiving, smiling at those we see on the street, asking God for help as we begin our workday, praising God in moments of trial, taking time to listen to our spouse after a long day. To remain in Christ means, in all that we do, we do it with the Lord.
 
When we live a life like that — as a branch never separated from its vine — God will produce bountiful fruit in our lives. 

On this fourth Sunday of Easter, we hear that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep. Our readings today call us to reflect inward — do we allow Jesus to shepherd our lives?
 
In our Gospel Jesus reveals His radical love for us. He says, “I will lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus tells us that we are His. We can compare this relationship to that of a loving parent to their child. The parent gives without much in return and if any evil came near the child, the parent would do anything, even lay down their life for their baby.
 
We are Christ’s — even more so than a child is to a parent. He created us and sustains our lives each day. Evil persists in our world, so Jesus willingly laid down His life for us at Calvary for our salvation. He is our Good Shepherd, whether we remain in His flock or go astray. 
 
But just as a baby is happiest in the arms of a parent, so too are we happiest in the flock of our Shepherd. And just as sheep go astray, we also stray from God, test our limits and even follow false shepherds. 
 
Thankfully our Shepherd is a Good Shepherd, and He laid down His life for us knowing every sin we will ever commit. Therefore, let us examine our hearts and return to our flock. We don’t even need to find the way. He is right there always waiting to guide us home. 
 
Let us look inward this week and ask ourselves, ‘who is my Shepherd?’ and ‘have I gone astray?’ Name the areas in your life that you have neglected. Ask Jesus to bring you home. Pray for His mercy, seek His forgiveness in the sacraments and begin again. 
 

In addition to celebrating all Christ did for us this Easter season, we also are reminded of how His sacrifice impacts our lives. 
 
Today’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus should be the center of our lives. This passage begins with two disciples realizing Jesus had just appeared to them. 
 
We can learn a valuable lesson from these disciples. To recognize Jesus’ appearances in our lives, we need to know Him. And the best way to know the Lord is to spend time with Him. It can start with just 10 minutes of quiet prayer a day and increasing that each week. We might begin by reading Scripture, books on the lives of the Saints, or even a decade of the Rosary. Yet the goal should be to carve out time each day, in a quiet space, for just you and the Lord. 
 
As the disciples mentioned, they recognized it was Jesus in the breaking of the bread. We, too, can better know the Lord through the sacraments, most especially the Holy Mass. The Eucharist is Jesus Himself — Body, Blood Soul, and Divinity. What better way to grow in intimacy with Christ than to receive Him frequently or to go talk to Him in front of the Blessed Sacrament? As we make Jesus the center of our lives through prayer and the sacraments, we will be able to recognize Him in day-to-day moments. 
 
As we are still in the midst of this Easter season, take time to think about what Christ did for us and the changes we should make in our daily lives to help us grow closer to Him.

On this second Sunday of Easter, we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. We celebrate this feast today since God’s mercy was shared with us through the resurrection of Jesus. To put it simply, today, we are celebrating Jesus’ merciful love for us and how we can partake in it. 
 
No matter where we are on our journey as a disciple of Christ, we are all in need of God’s merciful love. There are countless times throughout our day when we miss the mark. For instance, we might fail to respond in kind to our spouse or kids, fall into gossip in our workday, or even forget to think positively of others. These shortcomings call us to humble ourselves and receive the unwavering mercy of God. 
 
Jesus is Mercy itself. He was born into time to save us from sin. And to ensure His Mercy was always available to us, He gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In our Gospel, Jesus encounters the apostles after the resurrection and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Jesus gave us the gift of this sacrament because He wants to help us reach eternal life. He knows we cannot do it without His merciful love, and a resolve to do better and to follow Him more faithfully. 
 
Today, may we recall the precious gift God has given to us through His Son — Mercy itself. May we never forget that, with a contrite heart and a resolution to do better, God is always willing to forgive.