April 26, 2026 • 12 mins
fr lou shares his memories of Peter John, in Ireland, taking care of his sheep.
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SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
A few years ago, I went with Jerry to Ireland to
visit his family, and one day hewas talking about Peter John,
one of his relatives, who ownedthe farm with animals.
Now I'm a city boy, so animalson a farm are novelty to me.
(00:30):
So we went to see Peter John,and as it turns out, one of his
animals had a calf the nightbefore.
So he had to go take care of themother.
And we were in the house, and Isaid, Can I go out with you?
He says, Well, you wouldn't wantto walk in the muck.
(00:53):
I said, Well, I'll be careful,but I I don't see animals up
close.
So I want to see the sheep andthe cows.
Okay, he said.
So I went out into the muck,walked into the the um
enclosure, and he showed me theanimal that had a fold the night
(01:16):
before.
And I said, Oh, I said, it'sbeautiful, and the baby was
beautiful.
And I said, What it what's itsname?
He said, Father Lu.
We don't name the sheep.
I said, Well, okay.
Uh, how about if I just blessit?
So I blessed it and I named itRosie.
So one of his sheep is Rosie.
(01:38):
Years later we went back andRosie was quite big.
Jesus is talking about naminghis sheep.
So Jesus is, I can do it, right?
And he's not talking aboutsheep, he's giving them a great
metaphor.
He's trying to teach thePharisees how they had been poor
leaders.
(01:59):
They weren't leading theirpeople correctly.
And in his little metaphor, herefers to them as thieves and
marauders and robbers becausethey weren't doing the job they
were supposed to do, lead theirsheep.
And a shepherd, besides takingcare of the sheep, is a
(02:21):
well-known metaphor in historyof the Jews.
Their king was referred to as ashepherd.
The leader of people werereferred to as shepherds.
Their Pharisees and Sadduceeswere supposed to be shepherds.
(02:43):
People who lead by example andteaching.
So Jesus given this greatmetaphor, and he makes it very
clear that I say to you, I amthe shepherd.
I'm the gate, I'm the shepherd,you hear my voice and you follow
me, and we're okay.
(03:06):
Now, just so you know, themetaphor carries on a little
more specifically.
Sheep folds were in a cage witha gate.
The animals were inside.
The shepherd would come and openthe gate, as Jesus mentions.
(03:27):
I mean, he's talking to peoplewho do this for a living, so you
know there was no lack ofinformation and no lack of
connection.
So they knew that a shepherdwhose job was to keep that gate
closed in the fold because thesheep were inside and they had
to be taken care of.
(03:48):
The shepherd didn't want themstolen, didn't want them to roam
around, didn't want them to getlost, didn't want them to follow
false leaders.
So he knew each one of hissheep.
This is Jesus talking aboutsheep.
But now we know he's talkingabout us.
(04:09):
We can be led astray byanything, by false leaders.
We could be led astray by greatpromises that are false.
We could be led astray by theallure of sex, money, drugs,
power, and the list goes on.
(04:33):
Now we're not sheep, but we arelistening to the voice of the
good shepherd, as he refers tohimself more than once in the
scriptures.
The good shepherd who cares forhis sheep.
Take it one step further.
The good shepherd who cares foryou and me.
He knows our voices.
(04:56):
He knows us by name.
In the scriptures today, we havethe beginning in the Acts of the
Apostles, one of Peter's greatcharismas.
Peter gave about four or fivegreat speeches in the Acts of
the Apostles.
And all of them talk about Jesuscoming from God, being our gift
(05:22):
from God, and giving usdirection as to how to follow
God.
That's the Acts of the Apostles.
So this is nothing new.
Peter was using the informationthat he had gleaned from Jesus
and from listening to Jesus.
In the second reading, we havethat beautiful letter from Peter
again telling us that if wesuffer for doing good, we'll be
(05:50):
rewarded, and God will be withus.
So if we suffer for standing upfor appropriate behaviors,
whether that's political,whether that's conversational,
if we stand up for what's right,we're not going to win, we're
(06:12):
not going to get a reward, we'regoing to suffer.
We'll be isolated.
But he's telling us if you arepatient when you suffer for
doing good, this is grace beforeGod.
So when we hear that Jesus hearsour voice in the metaphor of
(06:35):
being his sheep, those readingsfrom the Holy Scriptures really
apply.
Because we can be listening toJesus' words in church, and then
as soon as we go out, listeningto other people's words.
And I don't mean neighbors orfamily and friends, big, big
(06:59):
voices, politicians,philosophers, big important
people, actors, actresses, bigsignificant people, or little
significant, insignificantpeople, whose voices we listen
to on the internet, onInstagram, on Facebook.
(07:23):
And the disease, the mentaldisorder that has arisen from
our use of the internet.
Phenomenal, especially youngpeople.
Why?
Because they're listening to thevoices of the false shepherd.
How to be beautiful, how to berich, how to be famous, how to
(07:46):
be popular.
This is not Jesus' concerns.
He's not saying, in order to bemy sheep, you gotta be
beautiful, you've got to berich, and you gotta be popular.
No, no, no.
We use the scriptures and wesay, in order to be his
shepherd, excuse me, in order tobe a sheep of Jesus, a follower
of Jesus.
(08:06):
We're not sheep, we're notanimals.
In order to be a follower ofJesus, we're gonna suffer.
We don't have to suffer, butwe're probably gonna suffer.
The world goes one way and we gothe other.
When we're seeking a closerelationship with God, who comes
to us in the flesh in Jesus, wehave to realize it's gonna be a
(08:31):
challenge to live that way.
It's gonna be a challenge to befaithful.
We receive the body of Christ inthe Eucharist.
When we leave here, the body ofChrist goes with us, and we are
part of the body of Christ.
And it's not easy because thereare other voices out there.
(08:52):
And I'm not being psychotic, I'mnot being paranoid.
There are other voices out therethat call us and call us by
name.
Jesus knew that would happen.
That we're gonna be distracted,that we're gonna be pulled in
different directions.
(09:14):
We who are Catholics, we who arefollowers of Jesus Christ are
gonna be tempted.
But we're taught by Jesus tohold on, to hear his voice and
follow his voice.
Metaphorically, just like a goodshepherd would go ahead and his
(09:39):
sheep would follow him becausethey recognize his voice.
He tells us, you know, in the21st century, you're gonna hear
voices that you want to follow,that you want to travel with.
Don't, because they're not myvoice.
So he knew the future would be achallenge for us.
(10:03):
And the scriptures know thatwe're gonna suffer as a result
of that challenge.
Peter knew, Paul knew, all theapostles knew, that if we really
tune in, and that's prayer, bythe way, tune in to the voice of
Jesus and acclimate ourselves tohis voice in all we do.
(10:31):
It's not going to be easy.
But if you love someone, youknow the best way to show that
love is to want what's best forhim or her.
And that's not easy.
Because we're a me-me-mesociety.
(10:52):
We want to take care ofourselves.
We want to achieve and go backto the internet, the
communication tool that we useso well in the 21st century, and
the number of people that aresuffering from that.
Really, mental disorders risingup from listening to the wrong
(11:14):
voices.
And through the centuries, therehave been many of those wrong
voices.
They exist even today.
But we have the right voice.
We have the voice of Jesusspeaking to each one of us.
As a matter of fact, stop for asecond and say your own name in
(11:37):
your head.
Just say your name.
Jesus hears that.
And Jesus is speaking to thatperson in prayer.
He's available to every one ofus.
He's the good shepherd.
And another thing to rememberabout the shepherd, at night
(12:01):
they had a gate, the shepherdwould lay down there at the gate
so no one could come in, and hisshepherd his sheep would not
leave.
He's protecting us always.
And we saw him lay down hislife.
We just remember the beautifulholy week passion.
(12:25):
He laid down his life, but theFather brought that life back to
us.
So he loves us that much that hehears every one of our voices,
he knows us, and invites us tofollow him every day.
A few years ago, I went with Jerry to Ireland to
visit his family, and one day hewas talking about Peter John,
one of his relatives, who ownedthe farm with animals.
Now I'm a city boy, so animalson a farm are novelty to me.
(00:30):
So we went to see Peter John,and as it turns out, one of his
animals had a calf the nightbefore.
So he had to go take care of themother.
And we were in the house, and Isaid, Can I go out with you?
He says, Well, you wouldn't wantto walk in the muck.
(00:53):
I said, Well, I'll be careful,but I I don't see animals up
close.
So I want to see the sheep andthe cows.
Okay, he said.
So I went out into the muck,walked into the the um
enclosure, and he showed me theanimal that had a fold the night
(01:16):
before.
And I said, Oh, I said, it'sbeautiful, and the baby was
beautiful.
And I said, What it what's itsname?
He said, Father Lu.
We don't name the sheep.
I said, Well, okay.
Uh, how about if I just blessit?
So I blessed it and I named itRosie.
So one of his sheep is Rosie.
(01:38):
Years later we went back andRosie was quite big.
Jesus is talking about naminghis sheep.
So Jesus is, I can do it, right?
And he's not talking aboutsheep, he's giving them a great
metaphor.
He's trying to teach thePharisees how they had been poor
leaders.
(01:59):
They weren't leading theirpeople correctly.
And in his little metaphor, herefers to them as thieves and
marauders and robbers becausethey weren't doing the job they
were supposed to do, lead theirsheep.
And a shepherd, besides takingcare of the sheep, is a
(02:21):
well-known metaphor in historyof the Jews.
Their king was referred to as ashepherd.
The leader of people werereferred to as shepherds.
Their Pharisees and Sadduceeswere supposed to be shepherds.
(02:43):
People who lead by example andteaching.
So Jesus given this greatmetaphor, and he makes it very
clear that I say to you, I amthe shepherd.
I'm the gate, I'm the shepherd,you hear my voice and you follow
me, and we're okay.
(03:06):
Now, just so you know, themetaphor carries on a little
more specifically.
Sheep folds were in a cage witha gate.
The animals were inside.
The shepherd would come and openthe gate, as Jesus mentions.
(03:27):
I mean, he's talking to peoplewho do this for a living, so you
know there was no lack ofinformation and no lack of
connection.
So they knew that a shepherdwhose job was to keep that gate
closed in the fold because thesheep were inside and they had
to be taken care of.
(03:48):
The shepherd didn't want themstolen, didn't want them to roam
around, didn't want them to getlost, didn't want them to follow
false leaders.
So he knew each one of hissheep.
This is Jesus talking aboutsheep.
But now we know he's talkingabout us.
(04:09):
We can be led astray byanything, by false leaders.
We could be led astray by greatpromises that are false.
We could be led astray by theallure of sex, money, drugs,
power, and the list goes on.
(04:33):
Now we're not sheep, but we arelistening to the voice of the
good shepherd, as he refers tohimself more than once in the
scriptures.
The good shepherd who cares forhis sheep.
Take it one step further.
The good shepherd who cares foryou and me.
He knows our voices.
(04:56):
He knows us by name.
In the scriptures today, we havethe beginning in the Acts of the
Apostles, one of Peter's greatcharismas.
Peter gave about four or fivegreat speeches in the Acts of
the Apostles.
And all of them talk about Jesuscoming from God, being our gift
(05:22):
from God, and giving usdirection as to how to follow
God.
That's the Acts of the Apostles.
So this is nothing new.
Peter was using the informationthat he had gleaned from Jesus
and from listening to Jesus.
In the second reading, we havethat beautiful letter from Peter
again telling us that if wesuffer for doing good, we'll be
(05:50):
rewarded, and God will be withus.
So if we suffer for standing upfor appropriate behaviors,
whether that's political,whether that's conversational,
if we stand up for what's right,we're not going to win, we're
(06:12):
not going to get a reward, we'regoing to suffer.
We'll be isolated.
But he's telling us if you arepatient when you suffer for
doing good, this is grace beforeGod.
So when we hear that Jesus hearsour voice in the metaphor of
(06:35):
being his sheep, those readingsfrom the Holy Scriptures really
apply.
Because we can be listening toJesus' words in church, and then
as soon as we go out, listeningto other people's words.
And I don't mean neighbors orfamily and friends, big, big
(06:59):
voices, politicians,philosophers, big important
people, actors, actresses, bigsignificant people, or little
significant, insignificantpeople, whose voices we listen
to on the internet, onInstagram, on Facebook.
(07:23):
And the disease, the mentaldisorder that has arisen from
our use of the internet.
Phenomenal, especially youngpeople.
Why?
Because they're listening to thevoices of the false shepherd.
How to be beautiful, how to berich, how to be famous, how to
(07:46):
be popular.
This is not Jesus' concerns.
He's not saying, in order to bemy sheep, you gotta be
beautiful, you've got to berich, and you gotta be popular.
No, no, no.
We use the scriptures and wesay, in order to be his
shepherd, excuse me, in order tobe a sheep of Jesus, a follower
of Jesus.
(08:06):
We're not sheep, we're notanimals.
In order to be a follower ofJesus, we're gonna suffer.
We don't have to suffer, butwe're probably gonna suffer.
The world goes one way and we gothe other.
When we're seeking a closerelationship with God, who comes
to us in the flesh in Jesus, wehave to realize it's gonna be a
(08:31):
challenge to live that way.
It's gonna be a challenge to befaithful.
We receive the body of Christ inthe Eucharist.
When we leave here, the body ofChrist goes with us, and we are
part of the body of Christ.
And it's not easy because thereare other voices out there.
(08:52):
And I'm not being psychotic, I'mnot being paranoid.
There are other voices out therethat call us and call us by
name.
Jesus knew that would happen.
That we're gonna be distracted,that we're gonna be pulled in
different directions.
(09:14):
We who are Catholics, we who arefollowers of Jesus Christ are
gonna be tempted.
But we're taught by Jesus tohold on, to hear his voice and
follow his voice.
Metaphorically, just like a goodshepherd would go ahead and his
(09:39):
sheep would follow him becausethey recognize his voice.
He tells us, you know, in the21st century, you're gonna hear
voices that you want to follow,that you want to travel with.
Don't, because they're not myvoice.
So he knew the future would be achallenge for us.
(10:03):
And the scriptures know thatwe're gonna suffer as a result
of that challenge.
Peter knew, Paul knew, all theapostles knew, that if we really
tune in, and that's prayer, bythe way, tune in to the voice of
Jesus and acclimate ourselves tohis voice in all we do.
(10:31):
It's not going to be easy.
But if you love someone, youknow the best way to show that
love is to want what's best forhim or her.
And that's not easy.
Because we're a me-me-mesociety.
(10:52):
We want to take care ofourselves.
We want to achieve and go backto the internet, the
communication tool that we useso well in the 21st century, and
the number of people that aresuffering from that.
Really, mental disorders risingup from listening to the wrong
(11:14):
voices.
And through the centuries, therehave been many of those wrong
voices.
They exist even today.
But we have the right voice.
We have the voice of Jesusspeaking to each one of us.
As a matter of fact, stop for asecond and say your own name in
(11:37):
your head.
Just say your name.
Jesus hears that.
And Jesus is speaking to thatperson in prayer.
He's available to every one ofus.
He's the good shepherd.
And another thing to rememberabout the shepherd, at night
(12:01):
they had a gate, the shepherdwould lay down there at the gate
so no one could come in, and hisshepherd his sheep would not
leave.
He's protecting us always.
And we saw him lay down hislife.
We just remember the beautifulholy week passion.
(12:25):
He laid down his life, but theFather brought that life back to
us.
So he loves us that much that hehears every one of our voices,
he knows us, and invites us tofollow him every day.
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