April 26, 2026 Fourth Sunday of Easter (Fr. Stephan Bauer)

0:00Welcome to St. Patrick Catholic Community Podcast. We're glad you're with us. How many here are wonder? Have some kind of gate at their home or in their neighborhood? The gate of the community have a gate to come in. Some people have gates for the front door. Our community that grows your village, we have three gates to come into the campus. You can drive to the parking lot, but to get into the campus, you have to open the gates. And it's my job every morning to open the three gates. There's a close-up. Why is it open? Early in the morning. And the idea, close and open, is that when it's closed, it protects those inside of the campus. When it's open, you're more than welcome to come in. I'm not sure that's really true. You can just jump over the gate.

1:01But okay, that's the idea that we have. There's some kind of protection. But I want to use that image of the gate because Jesus says he's the gate. And on the gate, he says, in time of Jesus, the sheep, on the sheepers, we make sure that sheep are gathered in this enclosure, usually by rocks, so they get the sheep fold in there. There was an opening. There was no gate. So the shepherd would be the gate, would lay across the opening. To know who could come in, the sheep would come in, or sheep would go out. It was the shepherd who did that. So he was the gate. So when Jesus says, I am the gate, he's telling us, he's the one not to control us, the sheep, we're a sheep, but to help us realize he's there to protect us, to help us, to help make sure, gain danger that I come in or were at. He wants to protect us. He wants to make sure we're safe. He wants to save us from anything that could harm us.

2:04That's why he uses the image, I'm the gate. I'm here to protect you. Do you realize that? He's come to protect us. I'm always wondering how parents think that with their children. I'm here to protect you. My parents had to protect 16 of us. I'm not sure they did a good job, but they know they're trying to protect us. And in some people who only have one child, boy, are they protected? Sometimes I thought to my own family that, my parents wanted to protect us, but they didn't always protect us from their older brothers and sisters. I'm glad that parents have brought their children to be baptized today. Because for me, this is the best thing of protection that they could know, the life in Christ, the good shepherd. And we may do a ritual of baptism. They walk them into the church, pray new,

3:05but it's your lives. They see who this good shepherd is, caring, being cared for and protected. When Jesus uses these images, he speaks about also being a good shepherd who is sheep listened to his voice. So how well do we listen to the voice of the shepherd? Because he did say, there are thieves and robbers who are going to try to tell you other things. They may promise you good things, but they actually drain your way and even kill you. So what are some of the voices we're hearing? Because I think the thieves and robbers, this is his image, I would have been very loud and consistent and make sure you were unbelievable. And some of these voices are outside of us, some voice are within us. I remember when I, a friend of mine, so a voice outside of me told me, you should be at priest.

4:06I said, oh, okay. But then the voice within me said, you could never do that. You're a sinner. You can't do that. You're not good enough. Who would even want to listen to you? I'm on the twelfth child. Who would want to listen to you? All these thoughts, the voices are saying, are not good enough. I couldn't do it. That's the voice of, I would say, the thieves and robbers. And sometimes we hear the voice within among us, too. But you're not good enough. What do you do to really earn the love that God has for you? Come on. Or sometimes the voice says, if you want to be successful, then you have to have a lot of things. And people better know who you are. And you have to have power over people. We hear all these voices. And those are voices, are not life-giving at all. But the voice of the shepherd is different. The voice of the shepherd is compassionate. And unfortunately, sometimes the voice of the shepherd is quiet,

5:08not so loud. So we have to quiet our hearts to hear what the good shepherd is saying to us. Remember, it's competing against the loud noise, the loud voices. But the quieter hearts, we hear the good shepherd saying, I love you. You belong to me. You can do nothing to separate your love, who you are for me. I love you that much. And I'll be there for you, even in difficult times. I am there. I love you. That's the good shepherd's voice. I'm here to protect you. But my question is, what is it that we stop listening to that voice? It's so easy to listen to the bigger voice. That's the question for us. Jesus says that this voice he offers is to give life. Life, the full, our abundant life.

6:09Not just life as existence. Just making through, remember someone just told me yesterday, she knows a person who's just retired and he is bored as can be. Almost as existing. And I thought, what does it mean for us? If we're existing, it means nothing much. But if we realize we've been given a whole new life in Christ, abundant life. What does abundant life look like? Well, it's not about having everything you need. That's not abundant life. That means that people will listen to you and you have to take control of their family. You have to control your things. That's not abundant life. The abundant life that Christ offers is the peace that no one can give to us. The joy that only comes from the Spirit among us is that love that moves us to be compassionate when everyone else says, don't be compassionate. They deserve what they get.

7:11And that life begins to change us. The life in Christ begins to change us. I'm hoping that the children here who baptized will see this abundant life already in their families and how we share our faith. In the first reading, Peter is out there preaching to the good news about Jesus Christ. He's the Savior. You guys, you try to kill him, but he raised raisin and he changed everything. And the people just started what he was saying. It's amazing what he said. And they cut him to the heart. They realized what he was saying was powerful. So they're saying, what can I do? What can I do to be a part of this? They said, it says two simple things. Repent or change your life and be baptized. In other words, he's really saying, change the voice you're listening to. Today, children will be baptized. And their life has turned around.

8:11As we baptize them, I'm hoping the parents of all of us see how it's calling us to change our life again. Be fully in Christ. It's a challenge for us. But the deepest challenge of the gospel is, what we can do, challenge the gospel. Who are we listening to? But the biggest good news of the gospel is, Christ is with us. Loves us. Guards us like a shepherd and protects us like a gate. This is the good shepherd. Don't just believe it. But live the life he offers us in Christ. This has been a St. Patrick Catholic Community podcast for more of our shows. Go to our website and click St. Patrick's Studio.