[00:00] My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, the Word of God places before our hearts a truth that is both beautiful and deeply challenging, a truth that seeks our comfort and awakens our soul.

[00:32] God's love is for everyone. And Jesus, our good shepherd, came not for one group, not for one race, not for one nation, but for every human heart that longs for truth, mercy, healing, and salvation. His love is so wide, so deep, and so unstoppable

[01:03] that no wall, no prejudice, no sin, no past, no human boundary can ever contain it. In the first reading, we see St. Paul and St. Barnabas standing with courage, preaching with fire, and proclaiming with conviction that salvation is for all.

[01:33] Jews and Gentiles alike. This message shook the world because many believed that God belonged only to them, that grace was their private possession, that holiness was their exclusive privilege. But they looked at the Gentiles as unclean, unworthy, impure,

[02:07] and far from God, forgetting that God had created all hearts, desires to save all hearts. But Paul and Barnabas, filled with the Holy Spirit, broke open that narrow vision and announced that God's heart is bigger than human pride, that His mercy is wider than human division,

[02:43] that His love is stronger than human passion. Every race, every culture, every sinner, every outsider has a place in the Father's house because the shepherd came to gather, not to scatter, to heal, not to condemn, to embrace, not to exclude. In the gospel, Jesus makes this truth shine even brighter

[03:19] when He says that He knows His sheep, He calls them by name, and He gives them eternal life. This eternal life is not a distant dream, but a living relationship with a shepherd who walks with us in our affairs, protects us in our battles, forgives us in our failures, lifts us when we fall, and leads us home with tenderness and joy.

[03:54] This shepherd does not abandon the wounded, does not reject the lost, does not despise the broken, but carries them on His shoulders with a love that never grows tired. Yet, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the tragedy of the human heart is that we often behave like the Jews in the reading,

[04:25] thinking we are fine, thinking we are righteous, thinking we are better than others, thinking we do not need mercy, thinking we do not need conversion. This pride blinds us, hardens us, and closes our hearts to the shepherd who is calling us back with a voice full of love. Many today live as if God is unnecessary,

[04:58] as if prayer is optional, as if sin is normal, as if the gospel is outdated. Unlike the Pharisees, we can become judgmental, cold, and self-satisfied, forgetting that we, too, are sinners in need of healing, forgetting that we, too, have wandered, forgetting that we, too, need the shepherd to find us, forgetting that without Him,

[05:33] we are lost sheep walking in circles in the darkness. And so the Lord calls us today to let go of pride, to let go of judgment, to let go of the illusion that we are spiritually strong, and to return to Him with humility. Only the humble can hear the shepherd's voice. Only the humble can receive His mercy.

[06:06] Only the humble can receive His mercy. Only the humble can walk in His light. And only the humble can be transformed by His love. Today, the Church also gives us a powerful example of St. Athanasius, a bishop who stood firm when almost the whole world fell into error, a shepherd who defended the truth of Christ's divinity

[06:38] when many leaders, priests, and even bishops abandoned the faith during his time because of Arianism, that heresy denied the divinity of Christ. But St. Athanasius was a man who suffered exile, persecution, slander, and betrayal. Not only one time was he exiled, but many times.

[07:09] Yet he never stopped proclaiming that Jesus is true God and true man, the eternal Son of the Father, the good shepherd who saves His people. Athanasius teaches us that truth is worth fighting for, that faith is worth suffering for, that Christ is worth everything, and that even when the world

[07:42] rejects the gospel, the disciple must stand firm, remain faithful, and keep the flame of truth alive. Because the shepherd never abandons His flock, and the disciple must never abandon the shepherd. And so, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Lord invites us to become disciples like Paul, like Barnabas, like Athanasius.

[08:14] Disciples who are courageous, humble, faithful, and full of love. Disciples who do not close the doors of God's mercy to anyone. Disciples who do not hide the gospel out of fear. Disciples who let the good shepherd lead them every day. Disciples who allow His voice to shape their choices,

[08:45] their relationships, their priorities, and their hearts. And now, on this first Saturday of May, in some countries, May is dedicated to Our Lady, Flores de Mayo. In Asia, in Latin America, because of the blooming flowers, we have the Flores de Mayo, the flowers of May.

[09:18] With our hearts open, humble, we turn to Mary, the Mother of the good shepherd. A woman whose immaculate heart beats with tenderness for every sinner. The Mother who gathers all her children. The Mother who never stops interceding for us. The Mother who teaches us to be humble, to be pious,

[09:54] to be devout, and how to listen, how to love, how to follow, how to surrender ourselves completely to the will of God. Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever. ♪♪

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