Welcome

e are a Roman Catholic community of believers in Jesus Christ in Lincoln Park and surrounding areas, located in the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey.  Our Bishop is Bishop Arthur Serratelli.  Please feel free to visit the pages of our Parish site, learn about who we are as a community of faith and the services our parish provides. If you are thinking about moving to the Lincoln Park area, we cordially invite you to make St. Joseph's your parish.

THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

April 21/22, 2018

In this Sunday’s Gospel (Jn 10:11-18) Jesus speaks of two kinds of people, those who work only for pay, and those whose actions are motivated by love.

Jesus' heals the man born blind, and the religious leaders question the miracle and Jesus' authority to heal. Jesus responds by calling himself the Good Shepherd.

Jesus contrasts the actions of the good shepherd with the actions of the hired shepherd who abandons the sheep in the face of danger. Jesus is referring to Pharisees and the other religious leaders when he describes the hired shepherds.

Jesus says that the actions of the good shepherd are based on the loving relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. This is the difference between the good shepherd and the hired shepherd. For the Good Shepherd, it is never simply a job; it is love-in-action.

Good shepherd is such a familiar image that if Jesus came back to Earth today do you think he would use that image? Probably not. There are so many other examples of a good caregiver.

St. Theresa of Calcutta is one example. “I see somebody dying, I pick him up. I find somebody hungry, I give him food. He can love and be loved. I don’t look at his color, I don’t look at his religion. I don’t look at anything. Every person whether he is Hindu, Muslim or Buddhist, he is my brother, my sister,”

As followers of Jesus, once we recognize those human and spiritual connections we will seek to bring the stray sheep back home.

Through knowing Jesus, our relationship gives us the power to do great things, at home, in the community, and for our neighbors. We can be agents of social change and witnesses to the presence in prayer of the Risen Jesus, our good shepherd.

Saint Mother Theresa could see the face of Christ in a leper. When asked how she could see Him, she replied, "It's not hard, because in each one I see the face of Christ in one of His more distressing disguises."

Her plea was that we look for Christ not just in those who are ill, in prison, hungry, or in obvious pain, but in the others, too. The truth is there are many who urgently need our blessing.

We don't have to go far to find them. They're right beside us at work; they drive next to us on the highway, and they shop with us at the grocery store.

What if I met Jesus on my faith journey? Would I recognize him?